26 THE VOYAGE OF THE 'DISCOVERY' 



members who constituted the Joint Committee I was person- 

 ally known to only four or five ; the responsibility vested in 

 them was a large one, and it was not to be supposed that they 

 would immediately place it in my hands without the showing 

 of a strong case and reasonable guarantees. In this dilemma 

 I have to acknowledge most gratefully the advice and assist- 

 ance of Sir Arthur Riicker, then Secretary of the Royal Society, 

 who, seeing my case, clearly pointed out the difficulties and 

 offered to support me, provided I could produce a reasonable 

 scheme by which they could be overcome. 



On November 4 the Joint Committee met to consider such 

 a scheme, and after some discussion passed it. 



This resolution was of great importance ; it left me practi- 

 cally with a free hand to push on the work in every department 

 under a given estimate of expenditure in each, whilst to safe- 

 guard the interests of the Societies it provided that this 

 expenditure should be supervised by a Finance Committee, 

 which should control the business arrangements and sign the 

 necessary cheques. 



This plan has worked successfully down to the present 

 time ; that it has done so is mainly due to the generous 

 manner in which the members of the Finance Committee have 

 given their services to the business of the expedition, and to 

 the complete accord with which they have worked together. 

 It would be impossible to exaggerate the importance of the 

 vast amount of business transacted by this Committee, and 

 certainly no history of our expedition would be complete 

 without a due acknowledgment of the individual and collective 

 services of its members. 



It was originally arranged that it should consist of the 

 Presidents and Treasurers of the two Societies, but the 

 President of the Royal Society desired that his place should 

 be taken by an official from the Treasury, and the constitution 

 eventually became : Sir Clements Markham (Chairman) ; Mr. 

 A. B. Kempe, K.C., Treasurer of the Royal Society; Mr. 

 Chalmers, C.B., of the Treasury; and Mr. E. L. Somers Cocks, 

 Treasurer of the Geographical Society ; whilst Mr. Cyril Long- 



