NOTES ON HISTORY OF TIIK STATITKS 171 



tional, personal, or official advantages of position, or of great emim -net- in an\ 

 branch of learning, instead of any qualification based only on accident of line- 

 age or of political status', the Statute concerned was referred to the considera- 

 tion of a Committee, and on April 23rd, 1874, a new Statute was enacted 

 limiting the privileged class to Princes of the Blood Royal and Members of 

 the Privy Council, the provision as to the election of the former being tint 

 now in force (Cap. I, Stat. xii) and the mode of election of Privy Councillor- 

 being assimilated to that of ordinary Fellows, * the fact of the candidate I > 

 a member of the Privy Council being alone stated as the qualification/ 



On December 17th of the same year (1874), a Committee was appointed to 

 consider the election of candidates for Fellowship, which Committee presented, 

 on November 30th, 1875, a long report giving reasons why no changes should 

 be made. 



In 1878-9 changes were made in the payment of fees. 



In 1879 the Statutes relating to Foreign Members were altered to their 

 present form. 



In 1880 the hour of meeting was changed from the evening to the afternoon. 



In 1885 the time during which the Library is open to Fellows was extended. 



In 1888 the Statute, Cap. XI, Stat. ii, was altered to admit of an Ordinary 

 Meeting being held on the day of Election of Fellows, and Statute, Cap. XIII, 

 Stat. vii, was altered to allow Fellows to receive their copies of the ' Philo- 

 sophical Transactions ' upon a request in writing. 



VII. THE STATUTES FROM 1888 TO 1905. 



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

 other smaller changes made in that year, the following more important ones : 



In 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 Publication 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 

 Committee of Papers or otherwise, with regard to the publication 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 



