A Note on the History of the Statutes. 507 



" That no one of his Majesties subjects, or any other person 

 residing in his Majesties Dominions, who shall be elected a Fellow 

 of the Society, shall be deemed an actual Fellow thereof, nor shall 

 the name of any such person be Registered in the Journal Book, or 

 printed in the List of Fellows of the Society, until such Person shall 

 have paid his admission Fee, and given the usual Bond, or paid the Sum 

 of Twenty-one pounds for the use of the Society in lieu of contribu- 

 tions : But that upon such payment or giving Bond as aforesaid, it 

 shall be lawful for the Society to give leave for the name of any such 

 person so elected as aforesaid to be entered in the Journal Book, and 

 printed in the list of Fellows of the Society : Provided always that 

 no such person shall have liberty to Vote at any Election or Meeting 

 of the Society, before he shall be duly admitted a Fellow thereof 

 pursuant to the former Statute." 



This is the first time that the Statutes contain any reference to a 

 composition fee. 



In 1766 (December 11) a Statute was passed increasing 

 the composition fee from twenty to twenty-six guineas ; 

 and the Statute of 1753 just quoted re-appears, with some slight 

 changes, in the Edition of 1776 as Sec. 8 of Cap. I., the "sum of twenty- 

 one pounds" being altered into "the sum appointed," and this the 

 Chapter on payments by Fellows states to be twenty-six guineas. 



Foreign Members. 



The Statutes of 1776 contain, what the Statutes of 1752 and 1663 

 do not, special regulations for Fellows " residing in foreign parts and 

 not subjects of the British Dominions." 



So early as 1664 (Ap. 13) a Statute was passed providing 

 Ann. 1664. that persons " residing in Forraigne parts," who are elected 

 Ann. 1716. Fellows, should not pay fees ; in 1716 a reference occurs to 

 Ann. 1737. Foreigners who are Fellows ; and in 1737 a resolution of 

 Council (which did not become a Statute) proposed that Foreigners 

 resident in London might be on the Home List if they paid contributions. 

 It would appear, therefore, in spite of no mention of the matter being 

 made in 1752, that, from an early period, a distinction was made 

 between Fellows who were Foreigners and others, and that the Fellows 

 who were Foreigners did not, of necessity, pay contributions to the 

 Society. In the Register of Fellows, however, at this date no distinc- 

 tion of any kind is made. 



It was apparently soon felt that the Foreign Members were 



too numerous and in some cases not of sufficient distinction; for 



in 1761 (March 19) the Council, in order to ensure that 



Ann. 1761. u no persoris res iding in Foreign parts, not being subjects 



of the Crown of Great Britain, be elected Fellows unless their Qualitica- 



