xxx BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 



these causes was his action with regard to the election of 

 Fellows. Owing to the absence of any scrutiny of the 

 claims of the candidates proposed for the Fellowship, Banks 

 announced his intention of performing this office himself, 

 and of making known his views concerning each proposal 

 to the Council and Fellows. This measure, which created 

 considerable dissatisfaction amongst a certain section of the 

 Fellows, was nevertheless necessary, owing to the recent 

 election of numerous candidates of no scientific merit what- 

 ever. " D'Alembert, in allusion to the extreme prodigality 

 with which the honours of the Fellowship were distributed, 

 was in use to ask jocularly any person going to England, if 

 he desired to be made a Member, as he could easily obtain 

 it for him, should he think it any honour. . . . Upon this 

 subject Lord Brougham says : ' Two principles were laid 

 down by him [Banks] ; first, that any person who had 

 successfully cultivated science, especially by original inves- 

 tigations, should be admitted, whatever might be his rank 

 or fortune ; secondly, that men of wealth, or station, disposed 

 to promote, adorn, and patronise science, should, but with 

 due caution and deliberation, be allowed to enter ' " (Weld's 

 History of the Royal Society}. 



A crisis was, however, brought about by the following 

 circumstance. The Council, under the influence, it is said, 

 of the President, passed a resolution recommending that the 

 Foreign Secretary should reside in London ; and this 

 measure was followed by the resignation of Dr. Hutton, then 

 Foreign Secretary, and Professor at Woolwich, who, it was 

 complained, had neglected his duties as secretary of the 

 Society. Dr. Horsley, afterwards Bishop of St. Asaph, 

 attacked the President in very bitter terms, lamenting that 

 the chair which had been filled by Newton should be thus 

 lowered in dignity, and predicting all kinds of disasters as 

 the direct consequence of electing a naturalist as President. 

 He induced several influential members to follow him, but 

 when the fact became clear, as it soon did, that he desired 

 the reversion of the chair for himself, his influence declined ; 

 he withdrew from the Society with a few intimates, and 



