and Procetdings of the late President of the Royal Society. 255 



he subsequently treated with coolness and incivility ; and some 

 he even affected not to know. Shortly afterwards he summoned 

 the Council of the Royal Society (" his Council," as they were 

 still denominated), laid before them this address, and with a coun- 

 tenance half tinged with melancholy, half with anger, asked what 

 was to be done ? They recommended him to let the new So- 

 ciety alone, unless he wished to establish it on a firm and dura- 

 ble basis by his opposition : but this was advice too judicious 

 and sensible to be followed. He then expostulated with the 

 Astronomer Royal upon his grossly reprehensible conduct, in 

 sanctioning the new Society: but the Astronomer Royal was in- 

 flexible, and so stupidly blind as not to be convinced by Sir 

 Joseph's arguments, that to sanction a British Astronomical So- 

 ciety was altogether irreconcileable with the duties of Astronomer 

 Royal of Britain. Sir Joseph next expostulated with the Duke 

 of Somerset, who had consented to be President of the Astrono- 

 mical Society, and who, if I am correctly informed, had actually 

 attended one of the meetings, on the incompatibility of this pro- 

 cedure with the duty of a faithful member of the Royal Society: 

 His Grace, in consequence, withdrew from the new Society. 



An active member of the Astronomical Society, whose name 

 I need not specify, had received a promise from Sir Joseph Banks, 

 that whenever there was a vacancy among the Royal Society 

 members of the Board of Longitude, he would recommend him 

 as an admirably qualified person. On the death of Gen. Mudge, 

 tliis gentleman called upon Sir Joseph Banks and reminded him 

 of his promise. Sir Josej^h replied, that ly hecomhig a member 

 of the Astronomical Society he had forfeited all claims upon, 

 his recommendation for the Board of Longiljidt ! 



How utterly repugnant all this is to the character of an Eng- 

 lish gentleman, to say nothing of a philosopher, must be evident 

 to every one. Nothing, it seems, that had a tendency to pro- 

 mote British science in any department, could be tolerated by 

 Sir Joseph Banks, unless it were in league with, or rather in sub- 

 serviency to, the Royal Society: nothing was to be encouraged by 

 that Society unless it met his full approbation : and scarcely any 

 person could obtain admission for his papers into the Philoso- 

 phical Transactions (however hidisputable their merit), or for 

 himself as Zi fellow (however established his reputation), unless 

 either by dancing attendance with assiduous frequency, or, by 

 getting some approved friend to sue for his excuse froni this de- 

 grading process, he caught the smiles and the sanction of the 

 great man. If genuine science and philosophy have gained 

 ground in England, during the last 40 years, notwithstanding 

 the tendency of those things to impede their progress, it must 



have 



