NOTES ON HISTORY OF THE STATUTES ir.i 



Majesty's Privy council of either of the said Kingdoms, and for every foreign 

 Prince or Ambassador, to be propounded by any single person, and to be put 

 to the ballot for Election on the same day, there being present a competent 

 number for making Elections." 1 



The Statute appears in this form in the Edition of 1752 as Stat. x of Cap. VI. 



(b) The Admission of Fellow ft. 



At the same meeting on January 4th, 1728, the two following Statutes were 

 enacted : 



' II. Every Person who is a Foreigner and every one of his Majesties 

 Subjects whose habitation or usual place of residence is at more than fortv 

 miles distance from London, shall be and be deemed as a Fellow of the Society 

 immediately after he shall be Elected, and shall be registered in the Journal 

 Book of the Society as such : Provided always, that no such person shall have 

 liberty to Vote at any Election or meeting of the Society before he shall be 

 qualified pursuant to the Statutes. And if he shall neglect so to qualify him- 

 self the first time he comes to London when he may be present at a meeting of 

 the Society and can be admitted ; his election shall be declared Void, and his 

 Name shall be cancelled in the Register. 



' III. No Person shall be Proposed, Elected, or Admitted a Fellow of the 

 Society upon St. Andrew's Day or the Day of the Anniversary meeting for 

 Electing the Council and Officers.' 



These two paragraphs appear in the Edition of 1752 as Stats, viii and ix 

 respectively of Cap. VI. 



As far, then, as the election and admission of Fellows are concerned, no new 

 Statutes were enacted in 1752 ; the Edition of that year simply adds to the 

 Statutes of 1663 the two enacted in 1727 and the one enacted in 1730. 



(c) The Election of Council and Officers. 



In the original Statutes, Cap. VII, ' Of the Election of the Council and 

 Officers,' makes arrangements that the eleven members of the existing Council 

 who are to be continued should first be determined, after that the ten new 

 members, and finally the officers. The Statutes of 1752 reproduce the chapter 

 in its original form of twelve statutes, with the addition of Stat. xiii, enacted 

 in 1735, which provides that in order to lessen the tediousness of the election, 

 Fellows may give in at the same time three lists (1) of eleven old Members of 

 Council to continue, (2) of ten new Members, (3) of Officers. 



(d) The Philosophical Transactions. 



But the most important changes introduced in 1752, those which probably 

 led to the issue of the new version of the Statutes in that year, relate to the 

 1 Philosophical Transactions '. In the old Statutes, Cap. XIII, ' Of the 

 Printer to the Society,' provides for the printing and binding of books, cata- 



M 



