History of the Government Grant. 163 



derives no pecuniary benefit from the Grant, but in administering it 

 undertakes an onerous and difficult task, the President and Council 

 would be glad if the terms could be so modified as to prevent any 

 misapprehension with regard to this point on the part of the public." 

 The Secretary of the Treasury, in his reply, called attention to the 

 fact that " a Grant in aid means a Grant of which the detailed 

 expenditure is not subject to the same detailed appropriation as the 

 expenditure of an ordinary Grant," and that this was " the reason 

 for using the expression here." Ultimately, in a Treasury Letter 

 dated April 8, 1882, it was agreed that the estimate should be 

 submitted to Parliament in the following terms : 



" A. Royal Society. 



Grant for Scientific Investigations undertaken with the 

 sanction of a Committee appointed for the purpose." 



The question of detailed vouchers was authoritatively settled by 

 the above-quoted letter, dated March 24, 1882, a decision which was 

 confirmed by a letter dated May 7, 1885. 



The constitution of the Government Grant General Committee 

 under the new scheme was identical with that of the Government 

 Fund Committee which it superseded, but the Sub- Committees under 

 this scheme were : 



A. Mathematics, Physics, and Astronomy. 



B. Biology and Geology. 



C. Chemistry and Mineralogy. 



D. For the revision of Personal Grants, recommended by 



the other Sub-Committees. 



The Code of Regulations adopted at this time was amended and 

 consolidated on December 6, 1883 ; and in January, 1887, Sub- 

 Committees A and C were combined into one Sub- Committee, called 

 41 A C." 



In 1888 the Regulations were again under consideration, and on 

 July 5 of that year a code, which is in the main the same as that 

 now in force (see 'Year-book'), was adopted, and communicated to 

 Her Majesty's Treasury, by whom it was approved. 



In the letter accompanying this code, the Secretary drew the 

 attention of My Lords to the fact that, whereas in 1882 their 

 Lordships had laid it down that " no excessive balance was to be 

 accumulated over a series of- years," the Secretary of the Treasury 

 had in 1885 stated, in answer to an appeal for a Grant in aid of 

 observing the Solar Eclipse of 1886, that u My Lords desire to keep 

 State aid to scientific investigations as much as possible within the 

 limits of the 4000 per annuJi annually placed by Parliament at the 

 disposal of the Government Grant Committee of the Royal Society." 



M 2 



