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mended for your choice. The operation of our rule, in point 
of fact, precludes the election of Faraday on the present occa- 
sion, as it requires that all persons elected in the department 
of Science should be foreigners. Not so, however, in the 
section of Polite Literature. Weare there free to elect natives 
of these islands, and we have to fill one vacancy which, as Irish- 
men, interested in literature, we deeply deplore. Of the two 
vacancies which have occurred in that department during the 
past year, one was caused by the death of our own great poet, 
Thomas Moore—as we had, not long before, occasion to la- 
ment the loss of the great British poet, Wordsworth. But 
when we came to consider how the places in the section of 
Polite Literature were filled, we found that several of the Mem- 
bers lately elected were Continental scholars, distinguished as 
philologists; and it was, therefore, our desire, if possible, to 
elect, in the present instance, those who represented other 
branches of Polite Literature, Many names, the claims ofall 
of which would be recognised by the Meeting, were brought 
before the Council, but ultimately, after the most careful con- 
sideration, those which appear on the summons paper, viz., 
William H. Prescott and Thomas B. Macaulay, were selected. 
As a Member of the Committee of Polite Literature, perhaps 
it would be appropriate for me to say a few words on behalf 
of the two latter candidates, if indeed anything I could urge 
would recommend them to the Academy; and it may appear 
. fitting that I should leave to the Committee of Science the 
honour of speaking on behalf of the candidates selected in their 
department, namely, Messrs. Elie de Beaumont, M. V. Reg- 
nault, and Augustin-Louis Cauchy, all of them Frenchmen, who 
have distinguished themselves in various branches of science 
But, speaking in my capacity of Secretary to the Council, I 
may be allowed to mention briefly the claims of the several 
candidates now offered to your approbation. The first-named 
gentleman, M. Elie de Beaumont, was elected many years ago 
a Member of the Institute of France in the department of 
Geology. In the year 1844 he was-raised to the rank of Vice- 
