1856 Professor Wm. Thomson ', Eakerian Lecturer 373 



the present session." l This motion was adopted by the 

 meeting. The Treasurer was instructed to prepare printed 

 cards showing the days of meeting during the session, and 

 to send two of these cards to each member. He was also 

 directed to call the attention of members to Rule 6 : " Any 

 member who has not attended the Club at least once between, 

 and exclusive of, the two Anniversary meetings shall no 

 longer be considered a Member," and to inform them that 

 in the opinion of this meeting it was desirable that in future 

 the rule should be strictly enforced. 



The Anniversary Meeting of the Club for 1856, held on 

 June 26, was attended by nineteen members, Lord Wrottesley, 

 President, in the chair. The Treasurer's statement showed 

 that since the last Anniversary the expenses had been 

 87 i2s. 6d. and that a balance of 17 i8s. 5d. remained 

 in his hands. One of the items of expenditure was the cost 

 of the dinner of the Bakerian Lecturer, Professor Thomson, 

 which it was resolved that the Club should pay for. The 

 lecturer was the future Lord Kelvin, who took as the 

 subject of his discourse " The Electrodynamic Qualities 

 of Metals." The subscription for the ensuing year was 

 fixed at 2. 



The death of Charles Elliott was intimated. Nine members 

 had not attended any meeting for twelve months. Three 

 of these members who had been absent for two years were 

 " not re-elected " viz. Richard Penn, John Barrow, and 

 John G. Shaw-Lefevre. Letters of resignation were read 

 from Colonel Sykes, Sir John F. W. Herschel, Edward 

 Hawkins, Dr. Travers Twiss, and Sir George Staunton. 

 A special message of sympathy on his retirement was sent 

 to Sir George Staunton, the oldest member of the Club, 

 which he had joined forty- four years ago. 



1 It may be inferred that this omission of one of the dinners in each 

 month was intended to allow those members who belonged to the 

 Philosophical Club to attend the monthly dinner of that Club. The 

 third Thursday was altered at the Anniversary this year into the first 

 Thursday. Owing to this diminution, combined with the cessation of 

 meetings during the various recesses and the restriction of their number 

 during the long vacation, the dinners were now reduced to not more than 

 about twenty -four in the year. 



