EARLY MEETINGS 27 



can assure themselves that it is as feasible in practice 

 as it appears in theory/ 



It will be seen from one of the above paragraphs 

 that the government of the Association was conceived 

 on the broadest lines to be in the hands of a General 

 Committee, for service upon which any member 

 should be eligible who, as the present rule lays 

 down, 'by the publication of works or papers' has 

 ' furthered the advancement of knowledge in any of 

 those departments which are assigned to the sections 

 of the Association/ This wise though not difficult 

 qualification, together with membership under 

 certain conditions ex officio, has given the General 

 Committee a roll of some 700 names at the present 

 day, and at the outset it was clear that a body so con- 

 stituted could not be expected to deal with details 

 of administration. In 1832, therefore, the General 

 Committee constituted the Council, a less unwieldy 

 body, to discharge administrative functions, while 

 the General Committee exercises powers of super- 

 vision and legislation. It is an ingenious develop- 

 ment of later years that while the General Committee 

 appoints the Council, the Council admits members to 

 the General Committee. 



RECOLLECTIONS OF EARLY MEETINGS (BREWSTER : 

 MURCHISON : SEDGWICK : WHEWELL) 



When Brewster, in 1850, looked back upon the 

 birth and early years of the Association from its 

 presidential chair, he spoke as follows : ' Sir John 

 Robison, Professor Johnston, and Professor J. D. 

 Forbes were the earliest friends and promoters of 

 the British Association. They went to York to 



