104 Presidentship of James West 1769 



addition to the assistance afforded by the Admiralty, had 

 collected a considerable sum of money towards financing 

 the scientific part of the expedition. One of its youngest 

 Fellows, Joseph Banks, had proposed to accompany Captain 

 James Cook on the voyage to the Central Pacific Ocean, 

 and his offer had been accepted by the Society and the 

 Government. His wealth enabled him to make extensive 

 arrangements for collecting objects in natural history, and 

 to take with him a competent staff of assistants and artists. 

 With the vigour of youth (he was then only five-and- twenty) 

 and with the whole ardour of his enthusiastic nature, he 

 worked hard to secure that his preparations should be well- 

 considered and complete down to the smallest detail. It 

 must have been with no little pride and hope that the Fellows 

 of the Royal Society and members of the Club witnessed 

 these labours, and finally bade farewell to the Endeavour, 

 which under Captain Cook sailed from Plymouth on the 

 25th of August. 



1769. The Annual General Meeting, held this year on July 

 27th, was attended by eleven members and presided over by 

 James Burrow. The statement by the Treasurer showed 

 that he had paid out 7 is. 6d., which included a sum of 

 6 135. 6d. for deficiencies in attendance, leaving in his 

 hands a residue of no more than 33. 7d. He naturally 

 appealed for an addition to the Fund, and the meeting 

 ordered that a contribution of 55. should be levied on every 

 member. 



One vacancy arose from the death of Dr. Alexander 

 Russell. Dr. Crusius not having attended for more than 

 a year had lost his place, and thus a second vacancy was 

 caused. 



The places were filled by the election of Dr. Richard Huck 

 and William Man Godschall. Dr. Huck entered the army 

 in 1745 as surgeon, served abroad and in America, was 

 promoted to be physician to the army, and went through 

 the whole of the Seven Years' War. Thereafter he settled 

 in London as a practising physician and became physician 

 to St. Thomas' Hospital. In 1777 he married the niece 



