114 Record of the Royal Society. 



Ordinary Meeting being held on the day of Election of Fellows, and 

 Statute, Cap. XIII, Sec. 7, was altered to allow Fellows to receive 

 their copies of the ' Philosophical Transactions ' upon a request in 

 writing. 



In 1891 a new edition of the Statutes was published containing, 

 among other smaller changes made in that year, the following more 

 important ones : 



1 11 Chapter XI power was given to the Council to omit weekly 

 meetings with a view to increase, when desirable, the Christmas and 

 Easter recess, and greater freedom was allowed in the conduct of the 

 weekly meetings. 



In Chapter XIII certain changes were introduced in the hope of 

 expediting the publication of papers. 



A new chapter (XVI).. was added in order to insert a Statute 

 passed in 1871 prohibiting dividends to Fellows. 



In 1896 changes were again made, some in Chapter XI " Of the 

 Meetings of the Society," but more in Chapter XIII " Of the Publica- 

 tion of Papers." Both these chapters, especially the latter, were 

 simplified, some of the regulations previously existing as statutes 

 being withdrawn from the Statutes and embodied in " Standing 

 Orders." In respect to " publication," the main change effected was 

 the institution of Sectional Committees to assist the Council sitting 

 as a Committeee of Papers or otherwise, with regard to the publica- 

 tion of papers and other matters. In the first days of the Society 

 several Committees were formed to take charge of the several 

 branches of science as well as for special objects; but these, after a 

 while, and apparently after a short while, ceased to exist. On May 

 31, 1838, " Scientific Committees " to assist the Council were again 

 established, but these were found not to work satisfactorily, and on 

 December 20, 1849, were abolished. The Standing Orders adopted 

 at the time of the change of the Statutes in 1896 will be found in 

 the 'Year-book.' 



