THE ROYAL SOCIETY AND THE STATE 



to them." To the extent of this sum the Society's funds 

 were enriched by the royal gift. 



The grants of 4000 and 1000 now received annually 

 by the Royal Society from the Government are not applic- 



able to its own needs, but are placed in its hands in trust 



for grants in aid of the prosecution of scientific research, 

 and of the publication of scientific papers ; indeed, with 

 the exception of part of the publication grant, are so far 

 from being of the nature of a State bounty, that the careful 

 administration of these grants brings no light burden upon 

 the Society. 



It may not be generally known that the Royal Society 

 just missed becoming a richly endowed Society. Charles 

 ii.'s interest in the young Society did not end with 

 the grant of a Charter of Incorporation, for in 1662 he 

 addressed a letter, written with his own hand, to the 

 Duke of Ormonde, then Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, 

 recommending the Royal Society for a " liberal contribu- 

 tion from the adventurers and officers of Ireland for the 

 better encouragement of them in their designs." That 

 is to say, in the new settlement in that country, on the 

 / Restoration, of the confiscated estates of such persons as 

 by the King's declaration were disqualified. The Royal 

 Society had but a poor chance, notwithstanding the King's 

 letter, of coming in for a portion of these so-called " frac- 

 tions," when so many high families were cheated of their 

 rights, and the Duke's own estates, through his methods 



of adjudication, increased from 7,000 to 80,000 per 



66 



