1854 W. H. Sykes; John Percy ; Thomas Graham 367 



members had not attended any meeting of the Club 

 since the last Anniversary. Last year the number of 

 defaulters was eight, yet no vacancies were declared in 

 the case of any of them, and there was an increasing list 

 of candidates for admission. It seemed desirable that some- 

 thing should be done, and one member of the Club proposed 

 that a certain member who had not appeared for two years 

 should be " discontinued." This was agreed to by the 

 meeting. But the member selected for retirement was by 

 no means the chief delinquent. Another defaulter had 

 been absent for six years, and he was allowed to remain 

 on the list of members. It is obvious that in a Club the 

 definitely limited membership of which is much sought 

 after, as shown by the list of candidates, the regulation 

 as to non-attendance ought to be enforced, if not with 

 absolute strictness, at least with some consideration for the 

 candidates who are kept outside. 



Five vacancies were declared, one owing to the death 

 of Hart Davis, one to the " discontinuance " of a member 

 for non-attendance, and three to the resignation of Sir 

 George Back, Sir Francis Beaufort, and Sir William Burnett. 

 These five places were duly filled by the election of Colonel 

 William Henry Sykes, George Bishop, General William 

 Monteith, John Percy, and Professor Thomas Graham. 



Colonel Sykes was well-known for many years as member 

 of Parliament for Aberdeen. In earlier life he had seen 

 much service under the East India Company. He was 

 elected into the Royal Society in 1834. George Bishop 

 was another practical astronomer who built an observatory 

 near his residence in Regent's Park. Entering the Astro- 

 nomical Society in 1830 he became in succession its Secretary, 

 Treasurer, and President. He was elected F.R.S. in 1848. 

 General Monteith became a Fellow of the Royal Society in 

 I ^45. John Percy took the degree of M.D. at Edinburgh 

 in 1838, and was in practice for some time in Birmingham, 

 but he soon abandoned the medical profession, and devoted 

 himself to metallurgical studies. He was appointed Pro- 

 fessor of Metallurgy in the new School of Mines which was 



