46fi REPORT— 1887. 



Corresponding Society, when once admitted by the Association, should 

 not always be retained on the list, or at any rate so long as the Society 

 kept up its scientific activity. 



The question was partially answered at the Conference by the 

 Secretary, and the Corresponding Societies Committee having since 

 taken the matter under their consideration beg to direct attention to 

 Rule 4, which states that — ' Every Corresponding Society shall return 

 each year, on or before June 1, to the Secretary of the Association a 

 schedule properly filled up, which will be issued by the Secretary of the 

 Association, and which will contain a request for such particulars with 

 regard to the Society as may be required for the information of the 

 Corresponding Societies Committee.' The Committee in accordance 

 with this rule see no reason why a Corresponding Society, when once 

 admitted, should not be retained as long as it maintained its activity, 

 but it is expected that each Society will make an annual return of the 

 papers pabHshed by it on the schedule supplied for that purpose.' Some 

 few of the Societies which were enrolled in 1885 did not appear in the 

 list pubHshed last year in the Birmingham Report, the reason for this 

 being that the Secretaries had neither returned their schedules with the 

 required entries nor taken any notice of a second application asking 

 whether it was the wish of their Societies to be retained as Correspond- 

 ing Societies. The Secretary of the Committee had accordingly con- 

 cluded that these Societies desired to withdraw. 



Attendance of Delegates. — Another question raised at the last Con- 

 ference of Delegates — viz., whether each of the Corresponding Societies 

 is expected to send a Delegate annually to the meeting of the British 

 Association — has also been considered by the Corresponding Societies 

 Committee. In accordance with Rule 6, a ' Corresponding Society has 

 the right to nominate any one of its members, who is also a Member of 

 the Association, as its Delegate to the annual meeting of the Association, 

 who shall be for the time a member of the General Committee.' The 

 sending of a Delegate is not therefore compulsory, and the Committee 

 are of opinion that an occasional failure on the part of a Corresponding 

 Society to send a Delegate to the meeting of the Association should not 

 disqualify that Society for retention on the list of Corresponding 

 Societies. It is hoped, however, that these Societies will use their best 

 endeavours to send Delegates to represent them. It is expected that 

 every Delegate nominated and present at the meeting of the Association 

 will attend the Conferences. 



The Corresponding Societies Committee have in conclusion to report 

 that the Council of the British Association have sanctioned the presenta- 

 tion of the complete volume of Annual Reports to each of the Correspond- 

 ing Societies so long as these are retained on the list. 



It is recommended that all the Societies on last year's list should be 

 retained ; also that the Croydon Microscopical and Natural History Club 

 and the Manchester Geographical Society should be enrolled as Corre- 

 sponding Societies. 



' In cases where no papers have been published during the year it is only neces- 

 sary to atate this fact on the schedule. 



