PROCEEDINGS FOR 1883. XLVII. 
The extent to which the Mother Country is practically carrying out a similar principle, at the 
present time, cannot be too widely known; and it is chiefly for the purpose of presenting such facts 
before the Canadian public, that the present paper has been written. In estimating the benefit which 
may be anticipated from the establishment in this Dominion of an efficient and representative Royal 
Society, it is important to ascertain the direction in which such an association is capable of 
rendering valuable service to the body politic. 
To assist our enquiry, it may be well to know precisely the position now occupied by the Royal 
Society of London towards the Imperial Government, and the duties which are assigned to that emi- 
nent association on behalf of the Crown. A brief mention of the origin of this Society should first 
be made, to explain the circumstances under which its present connection with the State has been 
brought about. The Royal Society of London is the oldest association of the kind in Europe, with 
the solitary exception of an academy in Rome. It dates as far back as the middle of the seventeenth 
century, having obtained a royal charter from King Charles IT., in 1662. 
We are indebted to the Royal Society for the publication of the Philosophical Transactions, which 
is probably the most valuable repository of scientific research and information extant. It contains a 
record of the labours of the Society and a copy of the principal papers read before them. It began to 
be issued in 1665, and has been continuously published ever since. It now comprises upwards of 170 
quarto volumes. A copy of this work is preserved in the Library of Parliament, together with the 
interesting series of the Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, which has been in existence 
for a century, and of the Royal Irish Academy, which was incorporated in 1786, to promote the study 
of science, polite literature, and antiquities in Ireland. 
For a lengthened period the Royal Society of London was the only institution in Great Britain 
which aimed at promoting scientific research. Numerous associations have since arisen in the 
United Kingdom of a kindred description, which undoubtedly owe their formation to this famous 
body. Many expeditions have been equipped and sent forth from time to time, to different parts of 
the globe, under the auspices of the Royal Society, for the prosecution of geographical and scientific 
enquiries. Of these the most important of late years has been the surveying voyage of H. M. S. 
“Challenger.” This expedition, during its progress in the years 1872-1876, travelled over 69,000 
miles in the pursuit of learned investigations by sea and land. Several instructive accounts of the 
voyages of the “ Challenger” have appeared from the pens of various intelligent observers, who accom- 
panied the expedition, all of which are to be found in the Parliamentary Library. But Her Majesty’s 
Government are now printing an elaborate and comprehensive work which will contain a complete 
record of the results of this famous exploration. I have reason to believe that a copy of this splendid 
and costly publication, when completed, will be presented by the Imperial Government to the Domi- 
nion Library. 
In addition to these onerous and self-imposed duties, the Royal Society, ever since 1849, has been 
entrusted by Government with the expenditure of an annual sum of £1,000, voted by Parliament for 
scientific purposes. This fund is intended to enable the Society to defray the cost of any scientific 
investigations which may be deemed by a committee of the Society to be worthy of such aid. It is 
open to applicants from all parts of the United Kingdom, who can make out a good case for pecuniary 
assistance on behalf of scientific research. The grant is never less than £1,000 per annum, and is 
occasionally increased for specific purposes. Thus, in 1876, the Government resolved to enlarge the 
appropriation by a further sum of £4,000 per annum, to be expended, upon the advice of a committee, 
composed of members of the Royal Society, together with the presidents of various scientific bodies, 
“in promoting scientific investigations.” This additional grant is applicable to the payment of per- 
sonal allowances to gentlemen engaged in such studies, to defray the cost of any assistance they may 
require, and to the purchase of the apparatus. 
Tn the estimates for the year ending, 31 March, 1883, the total sum, to be expended by the Royal 
Society for the purposes of scientific research, within the year (which, from 1876 to 1882 had amounted 
