A Note on the History of the Statutes. 501 



A NOTE ON THE HISTORY OP THE STATUTES OF THE 



SOCIETY. 



BY M. FOSTER, M.A., M.D., LL.D., SENIOR SECRETARY. 



The following note was drawn up for the use of the Council of 

 the Society while preparing the foregoing revised edition of the 



Statutes : 



THE FIRST STATUTES. 



.Ann 1663 Tlie second Charter, amending the first granted in 1662, 

 having been granted April 22nd, 1663, the Statutes were 

 drawn up in that year. A copy of these is published in Weld's 

 " History of the Royal Society," 



THE STATUTES FROM 1663 TO 1752. 



During the succeeding ninety years changes were from time to time 

 made in the Statutes ; but no new version of the Statutes appears to 

 have been drawn up until the year 1752.* 



" The laws of the Royal Society, like those of other communities, 

 were altered from time to time, until they appeared sufficient to 

 embrace every contingency that might occur, while they held their 

 meetings in Gresham College, which they continued to do for near the 

 space of fifty years. But the arrangement of the Society's affairs 

 being somewhat altered upon possessing a house of their own, it 

 became necessary to make different establishments in many particulars 

 and to alter and augment some of their Statutes. However, the 

 greater part of them was still left in the original form, suited to the 

 situation of the Society at Gresham College." (Preface to Statutes, 

 Edition of 1776.) 



Between 1663 and 1752, the following seem to have been the most 

 important changes. 



The Election of Fellows. 



Ann 1663 In the ori g inal Statutes, Cap. VL, "Of the Election and 



Admission of Fellows," Sec. 1 provides that candidates 



be propounded at one meeting, and put to the vote at some other 



* The British Museum contains a small 8vo. edition, dated 1728, but this appears 

 to be a verbatim copy of the Statutes of 1663, except that Cap. VI., Sec. 7, begins 

 with the words " The admission of," instead of " The election and admission of." 



