LINNEAN SOCIETY OF LOXDON. ^^ 



capital of tlie Society a sum the interest ou which will ultimately 

 coiupeiisate foi- the loss to the revenue of the Society of the 

 corresponding annual contributions. In practice, we know, that 

 throughout our history some part of what, having been received 

 in composition-fees, might have been added to onr capital 

 account, has had to be used as if it were revenue. Had this not 

 been done, it would have been impossible to meet the cost of the 

 Society's publications. We know, too, that tlie mischief is pro- 

 gressive. For some time we liave been impelled to suspend the 

 issue of our ' Transactions.' That this, to some extent, is to be 

 explained by the unfortunate tendency to make excessive use of 

 the privilege of compounding, which is so marked a characteristic 

 at the present time, is at least probable. Compounders must 

 necessarily be a source of keen anxiety to a careful Treasurer of 

 any Society such as ours. Whether we like it or not, we must 

 face the situation, and endeavour to find some equitable solution 

 of our difficulty. 



When the concession was first granted, Fellows who availed 

 themselves of the convenience were asked to pay a uniform 

 composition-fee, supposed on actuarial grounds to be sufficient to 

 safeguard the financial interests of the Society. That it would 

 be adequate for the purpose, if every Fellow were to compound 

 for all future payments, we can easil}'' believe. But every Fellow 

 does not compound. If, therefore, by any chance, composition 

 becomes characteristic of a particular class of Fellow, tlie balance 

 between capital and revenue is liable to be upset. 



So long as the original system, under which a uniform fee was 

 enacted, remained in operation, any Fellow under the age of 35 

 who might decide to compound, could do so by paying a fee from 

 £4: to ^9 lower "than the amount which the compounder's 

 ' expectation of life ' entitled the Society to demand. The group 

 of Fellows under 35, moreover, included a fair proportion of the 

 newly elected non-resident Fellows upon whom our Statutes 

 bring indirect pressui'e to become compounders rather than 

 contributors. The tendency under the old system therefore was 

 for an undue proportion of our younger Fellows to compound. 



A few years ago the Society gave careful consideration to this 

 question and, as a result, our composition bye-law was so altered 

 that the payment in lieu of all future contributions ceased to be 

 uniform. This payment is now made in accordance with an 

 actuarial scale that takes account both of the ' expectation of life ' 

 and the ' standing in the Society ' of any individual Fellow "who 

 may compound. This new method eifectually counteracts the 

 tendency so disadvantageous to the Society which the old method 

 that prescribed a uniform fee was known to have induced ; the new 

 systeui takes account, up to the age of 40, of the individual, not of 

 the collective ' expectation of life ' of our Fellows. Eut, so far 

 as the financial interests of the Society are concerned, the new 

 system seems as defective as the old. After the nge of 40 it takes 

 account of the ' standing in the Society ' of any Fellow who may 



LINN. SOC. PROCEEDINGS. — SESSION 1918-1919. d 



