Accommodation at Burlington House 47 



and Sir R. I. Murchison had obtained an interview with 

 its Vice-Chancellor, Mr. Shaw Lefevre, and discussed the 

 project. This he had promised to bring before the Uni- 

 versity, and hoped it would appoint a committee to co-operate 

 with Lord Wrottesley in pressing the matter on the attention 

 of the Government. A conversation followed, in which 

 hopes were expressed that Colonel Sabine and Dr. Playfair 

 would continue to watch the progress of the movement 

 for juxtaposition. The prospects were favourable, for 

 two- thirds of the Cabinet were pledged to support it. 



On February 22nd, Dr. Sharpey informed the Club 

 that the officials of the University of London had been 

 requested to state what accommodation they desired, and 

 that after referring the matter to the University, had 

 communicated with him. He had replied by suggesting the 

 conversion of the west wing of Burlington House into a 

 large hall for examinations, the appropriation of the east 

 wing to the University, and of the central building to such 

 scientific societies as it would accommodate. But the 

 members of the Club, then present, thought it would be a 

 wiser course for the Royal Society not to move unless it could 

 obtain better quarters than it now occupied and space 

 sufficient to accommodate the other chartered societies 

 under the same roof with itself. 



Dr. Hooker referred to the appointment of a Parliamentary 

 Committee to enquire how the Government could best 

 forward the interests of science, and asked whether the 

 above-named subject had been brought to its notice. Lord 

 Wrottesley replied that the Committee, after consideration, 

 was not then in favour of bringing it before the House. 



At the Anniversary Meeting on April 28th, two motions 

 for altering the mode of election into the Club, of which 

 Colonel Sykes and Mr. Gassiot had previously given notice, 

 were put to the vote, but the one was rejected and the 

 other failed to obtain a sufficient majority. 



1857. On Feb. 5th, Mr. Bell stated that the Linnean 

 Society, as a body, was strongly in favour of meeting in 

 Burlington House on the same evening as the Royal Society. 



