A Note on the ffistory of the Statutes of the Society. KM) 



The Ordinary Meetings of the Society. 



nn 1776 In the edition f 1776 Ca P' XT > " Of tlie Ordinary 

 Meetings of the Society," Sec. 1 provides that the ordinary 

 Meetings should be held on " Thursdays, beginning at 6 p.m., and 

 continue about an hour, as usual, at the discretion of the President." 

 A n 1769 This Statute was passed in 1769. 



The Statutes of 1663 (IV, Sec. 1) provide that the 



& "1 ftft*^ 



" ordinary meetings should be held on *' Wednesday, begin- 



ning about three of the clock in the afternoon, and continuing until 



six, unless the major part of the Fellows present shall, for that time, 



resolve to rise sooner, or sit later." And the Statutes of 



' 1752 reproduce exactly the Statute (TV, Sec. 1) of 1663. 

 Nevertheless, the records of the Society show that the day and hour 

 of the ordinary meeting were more than once changed in the interval, 

 as they have been since. The following shows the changes and their 

 respective dates up to the present time : 



1663. On Wednesdays, at 2 p.m. 



July 1, 1663, changed to Wednesday, 3 to 6 p.m. 



Feb. 5, 1666 Thursday at 3 p.m. 



April 10, 1672 Wednesday. 



Oct. 30, 1674 Thursday at 3 p.m. 



Dec. 8, 1690 Wednesday 4 



March 1, 1710 Thursday 4 



April 20, 1769 Thursday 6 



June 15, 1780 Thursday 8 



(?) 1831 Thursday 8.30 p.m.* 



Feb. 19, 1880 Thursday , ? 4.30 



The first Statute enacting that no meeting should be held 

 Ann. 1831. . . ' . 



on certain days or in certain weeks was passed in Lool ; 



previously to that the Statutes simply said "upon Wednesday," or 

 " upon Thursday." But the practice of having an Autumn recess 

 was of much older date than this ; moreover, the Journal Book shows 

 that from the earliest times it was customary to hold no meetings 011 

 Ash Wednesday and certain other holy days, and that in particular 

 no meeting was held on the anniversary of the death of Charles I. 

 In 1661 the Journal Book omits the date, January 30, without remark, 

 although a meeting was due upon that day. On January 30, 1666, 

 the Minute appears, ' This day being the Anniversary Fast-Day, there 

 was no Meeting of the Society." In 1667, the entry is, " The Society 

 met not, because of the solemne Fast." Similar entries occur in 



* Careful search lias failed to show when this change was made, but it was 

 probably about this time. 



