244 A Review of iomt hading Poiiils in the Official Character 



the value of time to waste niucii of it at the Soho Square break- 

 fasts; and lastly, to be really fond of his own profession (with- 

 out attempting to depreciate those of other men, whatever they 

 might be): these, it was generally understood at the time, were 

 the reasons why Sir Joseph Banks wished to deprive him of the 

 secretaryship. But, knowing that the Doctor's character and 

 reputation had made him manv friends, he determined to " let 

 him down easy" by a rvsc de nt/cne. The manner in which 

 this was to he accomplished will appear by another quotation 

 from the pamphlet last cited. 



From the preceding inquiry, " it appears that, notwithstanding 

 Dr. Hiitton's diligence in discharging the duties of the said 

 office, Sir Joseph Banks propose:^ to the Council, in a meeting 

 held November 20, 17S3, to remove Dr. Hutton from his said 

 office of Foreign Secretary, alleging in general terms, that he had 

 neglected tiie duties of it, but without specifying any instances 

 of such neglect, though requested to do so by Dr. Maskelyuc, 

 who was then a member of the Council : and that, when 

 Dr. .Maskelyne further desired that Dr. Hutton might be sent for 

 to appear before the Council, and be heard in his own defence 

 against any charges of neglect of duty which might be brought 

 against him, the President refused to do so, and still expressed 

 a wish that he should le removed from his office immediately. 

 And that, when he found the Council unwilling to concur with 

 him in removing Dr. Hutton from his said office immediately in 

 a direct mnnner, he proposed to them a resolution concerning 

 the expediency of the Foreign Secretary's residing in London, 

 which was calculated to produce Dr. Hutton's removal from it 

 in an indirect munver,v\z. bv obliging him to resign it ; and that 

 in this resolution he obtained the concurrence of the Council. 



" Tliat, in conse(|uence of this resolution of the Council, 

 Dr. Hutton soon after, viz. November 27, 17S3, resigned his 

 office of Foreign Secretary, as the President had foreseen, and 

 intended he should do; but that, as Dr. Hutton conceived him- 

 self to have been injured by the President and Council, in being 

 thus driven to the necessity of resigning his said office, he made 

 the resignation publicly to the Society at large, at one of their 

 weekly meetings." 



The whole of Dr. Hutton's conduct in this affair was marked 

 by his usual mildness and gentleness; and furnished a singular 

 contrast to the ungentlemanlyand obstreperous exultation evinced 

 by Sir Joseph, on having carried his point. But so gross a piece 

 of maltreatment of one of the most annable as well as eminent 

 memliers of the Society, kindled a flame among the other mem- 

 bers which was not easily extinguished. Warm discussions took 



place 



