162 RECORD OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY 



logues, and such other things by order of the Society or Council ; there are 

 no other provisions as to publications. From time to time the Council, acting 

 for the Society, gave the licence or imprimatur of the Society to certain books. 

 These were printed by the Society's printer, but not at the cost of the Society; 

 nor were they published at the risk of the Society. The cost and risk was 

 undertaken by the printer or by some other person or persons. The treatment 

 of the ' Philosophical Transactions ' was at first somewhat similar. These were 

 begun in 1665, but up to the 46th volume inclusive, published in 1749-50, 

 4 the printing of them was always, from time to time, the single act of the 

 respective Secretaries ' (Advertisement to ' Philosophical Transactions ', vol. 47), 

 though they were licensed by the Council. Thus with regard to the first 

 number the Council (Minutes, March 1, 1664) ordered * that the Philosophical 

 Transactions, to be composed by Mr. Oldenburg, be printed the first Munday 

 of every month, if he have sufficient matter for it, and that that Tract be 

 licensed by the Council of the Society, being first reviewed by some of the 

 Members of the same. And that the President be desired, now to Licence 

 the first papers thereof, being written in four sheets in folio, to be printed by 

 John Martyn and James Allestree.' This practice of licensing was, up to 

 1752, continued with reference to those papers read before the Society which 

 were published in the ' Transactions '. 



In 1752 it was determined to place the publication of the ' Philosophical 

 Transactions ' directly in the hands of the Council, and the Edition of the 

 Statutes of 1752, while leaving Cap. XIII intact, adds the following two new 

 chapters (XX and XXI) enacted March 26th of that year : 



Cap. XX, 'Of the selecting of Papers laid before the Society, in order for 

 Publication, 1 establishes and lays down regulations for the 'Committee of 

 Papers 1 . These regulations declare that the Quorum of the Committee of 

 Papers is to be five, and a provision is contained that no entry in the Minute- 

 book of the Committee is to be made of Papers ' thought improper to be laid 

 before the public '. 



The Statute in its original form provides that the Committee ' shall be at 

 liberty to call in to their assistance . . . any other members of the Society 

 who are knowing and well skilled in any particular branch of Science that 

 shall happen to be the subject-matter of any paper which shall be then to 

 come under their deliberation ', and this practice is still in force. The custom 

 of the Committee is now, and for a long time has been, to ' call in to their 

 assistance' two or more Fellows, by asking for written reports, and such 

 Fellows so assisting are generally spoken of as referees \ Though the records 

 of the Society show that even in the earliest days of the Society, communica- 

 tions made to the Society were frequently submitted to Fellows in order that 

 their opinions thereon might be obtained, the earliest mention which has been 

 found in the Society's records of a paper being technically ' referred ' is on 

 May 25, 1780, when a paper by Mr. Ludlow was 'referred' to Mr. Cavendish 



