i8a Presidentship of Sir Joseph Banks 1788 



and it was resolved that a call should be made for one 

 guinea from each member to pay off this adverse balance 

 and meet the expenses of the current year. Mr. Topham 

 stated that being prevented from attending the meetings 

 as often as the interest of the Club required of the Treasurer 

 he desired to be excused from continuing in the office. At 

 this Meeting " it was agreed with Mr. Simpkin, the Master 

 of the Crown and Anchor Tavern, that from the first Thurs- 

 day in August till the last Thursday in October, both in- 

 clusive, the Dinners shall be provided for seven only instead 

 of ten, at 4/- per head, as at present, and subject to the 

 same regulations in other respects as subsist at present." 



The number of vacancies was declared to be five and 

 on a ballot the following candidates were elected Major 

 James Rennell, Dr. Samuel Foart Simmons, Richard Moles- 

 worth, William Parsons and Sir George Leonard Staunton, 

 Bart. William Marsden was chosen Treasurer for the ensu- 

 ing year. The President, Sir Joseph Banks, was re-elected 

 as usual. 



The new members had all frequently dined with the 

 Club. Major Rennell [1742-1830] was one of the ablest 

 geographers of his day. As surveyor-general of Bengal he 

 had the charge of the first survey of that province, and his 

 Bengal Atlas is a lasting monument of his scientific ability. 

 His great map of India placed him in the front rank of 

 cartographers. Having never wholly recovered from wounds 

 inflicted by a party of fakirs when in the field, he retired 

 from active service in 1777 and came to London, where 

 he devoted himself to the consideration of problems in 

 comparative geography, to the study of African geography 

 and to the investigation of the currents of the Atlantic 

 Ocean. The Royal Society elected him a Fellow in 1781, 

 and in recognition of the great value of his researches 

 awarded to him the Copley Medal in 1791. For many years 

 he was regarded as the leader of the geographers in this 

 country, and his house became a centre to which travellers 

 from all parts of the world repaired. Miss Burney's 

 little sketch of him may appropriately be quoted here. 



