381 



November 18, 1858. 

 RICHARD OWEN, Esq., Vice-President, in the Chair. 



In accordance with the Statutes, notice was given of the ensuing 

 Anniversary Meeting for the election of Council and Officers. 



William Henry Harvey, M.D., was admitted into the Society. 



Robert William Bunsen, Louis Poinsot, and Carl Theodor von 

 Siebold, were recommended by the Council for election as Foreign 

 Members, and to be balloted for at the next meeting of the Society. 



Dr. Arnott, Sir George Back, Mr. Bell, Mr. Hodgson, and Mr. 

 Gwyn Jeffreys, having been nominated by the President, were elected 

 Auditors of the Treasurer's Accounts on the part of the Society. 



The Secretary explained that the Croonian Lecture, delivered at 

 the last Meeting, but not yet published in the * Proceedings/ would 

 be printed in the report of the proceedings of the present Meeting. 



The Report of the Joint Committee of the Royal Society and the 

 British Association, on Magnetical and Meteorological Observations, 

 was communicated by order of the President and Council, with the 

 view of its being published in the ' Proceedings.' 



Papers were read, from Theophilus Thomson, MD., F.R.S., John 

 Lubbock, Esq., F.R.S., and R. M'Donnell, MD. 



I. THE CROONIAN LECTURE. " On the Theory of the Vertebrate 

 Skull." By THOMAS H. HUXLEY, Esq., F.R.S. Delivered 

 June 17, 1858. 



The necessity of discussing so great a subject as the Theory of 

 the Vertebrate Skull in the small space of time allotted by custom 

 to a lecture, has its advantages as well as its drawbacks. As, on the 

 present occasion, I shall suffer greatly from the disadvantages of the 

 limitation, I will, with your permission, avail myself to the utter- 

 most of its benefits. It will be necessary for me to assume much 

 that I would rather demonstrate, to suppose known much that I 

 would rather set forth and explain at length ; but on the other 

 hand, I may consider myself excused from entering largely either 

 into the history of the subject, or into lengthy and controversial cri- 

 ticisms upon the views which are, or have been, held by others. 



VOL. IX. 2 D 



