8 



"3. To furnish the Society, from time to time, with early notice 

 of researches of special importance carried on abroad ; such notice 

 to be drawn up in the form of a short communication, to be read as 

 early as practicable at an evening Meeting of the Society, and pub- 

 lished in the ' Proceedings.' ' 



These additions are to be regarded for the present simply in the 

 light of Regulations made under the authority of the Council. They 

 may hereafter be embodied in the Statutes, if after trial it shall 

 appear desirable to do so, with any further additions or modifica- 

 tions which experience may point out. 



I shall now proceed, with your permission, to read Sir Benjamin 

 Brodie's Address. 



" Since our last Anniversary, the Royal Society has continued to 

 pursue its mission, and I hope that I may add, with no unsuccessful 

 result. Papers of great importance have been given to the world in 

 the last volume of the 'Philosophical Transactions;' and many 

 others which are of much interest may be found in the lately pub- 

 lished Numbers of our * Proceedings.' This last publication has 

 become a valuable addition to scientific literature, and, as such, has 

 risen in estimation both in this and in foreign countries, beyond the 

 expectation of those by whom it was originally suggested. The 

 meetings of the Society have been fully attended ; and the occasional 

 dryness of scientific details has been not unfrequently relieved by the 

 display of new experiments, and by discussions in which many of our 

 Fellows have taken part, uninfluenced by any other desire than that 

 of mutually giving and receiving information. The increasing num- 

 ber of candidates for admission into the Royal Society sufficiently 

 shows how highly that honour is appreciated by the public ; and I 

 may take this opportunity of repeating an observation which I made 

 formerly, namely, that this distinction, like those afforded by the 

 Universities, is all the more valuable to those on whom it is conferred, 

 inasmuch as it is one of the very few which cannot be obtained either 

 by the favour of the great or through the partiality of friends. As 

 the election of the Fellows is now conducted, it is barely possible that 

 that honour should be on any occasion improperly bestowed. There 

 can indeed be no doubt that the present mode of election has been a 

 great improvement on that which had been adopted previously, and 



