1875.] President's Address. 75 



has been under two years. Furthermore, from the one third who have not 

 been elected are to be excluded the deaths, the withdrawals, and those whose 

 proposers have omitted to suspend their names a second year. Subtract- 

 ing these, the " caput mortuum " is not only a very small one, but is one 

 which the Society would not, in my judgment, wish to have takeu into 

 Fellowship. 



It has been observed, and justly, "that the Fellows know little of the 

 composition of the Scientific Committees," and that, " if they are to judge 

 by the composition of the Council, the choice seems limited." With 

 regard to the first observation I need hardly remind you that the Council 

 Minutes, in which the nomination and duties of the Committees and the 

 names of their members are detailed, lie open daily to the inspection of the 

 Fellows ; and with regard to the second, that Dr. Williams himself 

 would, were he to inquire, be surprised to know how few resident 

 Fellows there are who, being competent, are both willing and able to 

 serve on the Council. I have had some experience in public business, 

 and can confidently affirm that, for number and duration of sittings, 

 amount of work brought before them, and amount of thought devoted 

 to that work, I know no labours of the kind more various, onerous, and 

 engrossing than those of the Council and Committees of the Royal 

 Society. I have had at various times during the last quarter of a century 

 much experience of these Councils, and never knew a year in which, 

 of the ten Members of the Council who, in accordance with the Charter, 

 have to be replaced, there were not some who had attended a very limited 

 number only of its meetings ; and as by a Minute of Council five names of 

 Fellows who have never previously served must annually enter into the 

 composition of the new Council, and as these five are, for the most part, 

 chosen from comparatively new Fellows, it cannot be said that sufficient 

 fresh blood is not annually incorporated. But for the punctual attendance 

 of the Members of Council, the Officers could not carry on the Society's 

 business. These latter meet punctually at 1 p.m. on every Council-day 

 (sometimes at intervals of a week), and sit continuously until the Council 

 breaks up, which is rarely before six. 



And if it is difficult to obtain Members to sit in the Council, it is in 

 my experience far more difficult to secure attendance at the Committees, 

 which in many instances include no Councillor among their number. To 

 go into the reason for this is here not necessary ; it is sufficient to 

 say, that additions to the number of Fellows annually elected would 

 not overcome the difficulty now in question. 



I have but one remark to make further on this subject. It is asked, 

 "Are we not straitened by our restrictive measures?" and it is implied 

 that we are unable to meet the cost of illustrations to papers communi- 

 cated by Fellows. The following statements, given on the Auditors' 

 authority in my last year's Address, have escaped the attention of the 

 writer of the letter, viz. that " there was no cause for apprehension in 



