THE ROYAL DUBLIN SOCIETY 307 



approval. A division was taken at the meeting held 

 on that day, and 103 votes were recorded in favour of 

 the draft, 82 being cast against it. The Act required 

 a majority of three-fifths of those voting, and as the 

 majority was eight votes short of that number, the 

 motion was accordingly declared lost. The Council 

 made some amendments to meet objections which 

 had been raised, and issued an appeal to the Society 

 with the notice convening another meeting for April 

 the 5th. On this occasion the draft was adopted by 

 326 to 54 votes, a majority considerably exceeding 

 that required by statute. 



In May 1883 the Royal Irish Academy forwarded 

 a memorial to the Lord Lieutenant, in which the 

 conviction was expressed that " the grant of a charter 

 extending the functions of the Royal Dublin Society 

 to the field of science generally, as the draft in question 

 purports to do, ought not to be recommended by 

 Your Excellency to Her Most Gracious Majesty." 

 In support of this opinion the Academy stated that 

 " the number of investigators in abstract science in 

 Ireland is not sufficient for the support of more than 

 one body chartered for science generally." It was 

 anticipated that scientific men in Ireland, rather than 

 disoblige either Society by favouring its rival, would 

 probably send their papers to neutral societies out of 

 Ireland. The memorialists added that " although they 

 have not been invited by the Royal Dublin Society 

 to concur in any of the provisions of the draft in 

 question, they would be well pleased to see the Society 

 placed in a position legally to fulfil here such functions 

 as are performed by the Society of Arts in London, or 

 the Royal Scottish Society of Arts in Edinburgh." 



The Society, in a lengthy reply dated July the 9th, 

 1883, stated that the draft charter "simply provides 



