THE ROYAL SOCIETY. 433 



jection is, in the mind of any one who has well 

 considered the subject, it would, doubtless, be suf- 

 ficient to prevent the execution of such an arrange- 

 ment. It, therefore, only remains to consider the 

 practicability of the fourth plan, which would, in 

 process of time, purge the society of all " useless 

 fellows" and thus restore it to its pristine vigour. 

 To effect this, let no future members be considered 

 eligible until they have given in an essay or paper 

 to the society, in their own line of science, by which 

 their fitness and proficiency can be fairly judged. 

 Some few exceptions to this general rule might be 

 made, as in the case of philosophers, whose works 

 have already procured them high reputation ; or 

 of noblemen, who are acknowledged patrons of 

 science or of learning. By these regulations the 

 present members, worthy or unworthy, will be left 

 in quiet possession of their " vested rights ; " and 

 no offence will be given to either. Admission to 

 the society will immediately become an object of 

 ambition from the very moment the new law is 

 promulgated, and the next generation would see the 

 society assuming that elevated station in the ranks 

 of European science, which is her legitimate right, 

 concentrating within herself nearly all the varied 

 talents of the nation. 



(299.) It is clear, however, that even this last 

 regulation would be much less effectual than it 

 should be, unless some considerable reduction was 

 made in the amount of fees paid for admission. 

 These amount, at present, we have been told, to no 

 less than 50/. ; whereas, some fifteen years ago, we 

 remember to have paid only about 30/. We know 



F F 



