On a Minute of Council of the Boi/al Society. ■1;4<7 



November last, preparatory to the anniversary meeting, was 

 not correctly entered, as far as regards the recommendation 

 of gentlemen proper to compose the Coimcil for the ensuing 

 year, and that, consequently, the minutes generally are un- 

 worthy of confidence, I cannot suffer such assertions to pass 

 uncontradicted ; and take this mode of appealing to you in 

 confirmation of the correctness of that minute. You cannot 

 but remember that at the meeting in question the eligibility 

 of the several persons proposed by yourself was canvassed ; 

 that some of those actually nominated were suggested by other 

 members of that Council; and that, in filling up the last va- 

 cancy, their choice lay between Captain Beaufort and Sir John 

 Franklin ; it being perfectly agreed upon that either the one 

 or the other of these two gentlemen should be placed upon 

 the list of those who were to be recommended for election at 

 the anniversary. The sense of the Council having been so 

 clearly and unequivocally manifested in favour of placing the 

 name of Sir John Franklin on that list, in preference to any 

 other except that of Captain Beaufort, it became my duty, 

 upon being verbally informed by yourself that Captain Beau- 

 fort had declined the honour intended him, to make out the 

 list as I did ; that is, conformably to the views of the meeting, 

 substituting for his name that of Sir John Franklin ; more 

 especially as you, at the same time, intimated to me that you 

 did not consider it worth while (even had there been time, 

 during the two days which intervened previous to the anni- 

 versary on the 30th, and one of which days was Sunday,) to 

 go through all the formalities of issuing notices to all the 

 members of the Council, and of holding another meeting, in 

 order to ascertain what, upon this particular contingency, had 

 already been sufficiently ascertained. I am warranted, there- 

 fore, in maintaining that the minute as it stands was substan- 

 tially correct; and that in ordering it to be so entered I have 

 on this, as on all other occasions, faithfully discharged the 

 duty I owe to yourself and the Council, of representing the 

 real sense of that body as expressed at their meetings. 



That any minute of the jn-oceeding was made at all, I ac- 

 knowledge to be my own act, and I am willing to bear the 

 whole responsibility attaching to it. I conceived it to be my 

 duty to put upon record the result of the deliberations of the 

 Council upon that occasion, which it seems had not hitherto 

 been done. This reference to the Council of the selection of 

 members to compose the future Council is, indeed, the very 

 measure strongly recommended by Mr. Babbage in the scheme 

 which he has |)ropi)sed for reforming the Society. 



As a check upon the accuracy of the muiutes of each Council, 



they 



