415 



June 23, 1836. 



At a Special General Meeting of the Royal Society, convened by 

 order of H. R. Highness the President and Council, to take into 

 consideration the principle of the Resolution passed on the 5th of 

 May, which goes to withhold the thanks of the Society from the 

 author of a work presented by him to the Society ; 



FRANCIS BAILY, Esq., V.P. and Treasurer, in the Chair; 



The Secretary, by direction of the Chairman, read a requisition, 

 signed by Dr. Granville and five other Fellows, to convene a Spe- 

 cial General Meeting of the Royal Society for the purpose of con- 

 sidering and determining the necessity of expunging from the Jour- 

 nal-Book of the Society the minutes of certain Resolutions passed 

 at three several ordinary meetings on account of an alleged informa- 

 lity, and also the principle of the Resolution of the 5th of May, 

 which goes to withhold the thanks of the Society to the author of 

 a work presented by him to the Society, which requisition was de- 

 livered to the Secretary at the ordinary meeting on the 2nd in- 

 stant. 



The Chairman then informed the Society, that, upon the above 

 requisition being laid before the Council, they passed the following 

 resolutions, viz. 



" That it is the unanimous opinion of His Royal Highness the 

 " President, and the Council, that no Special Meeting has the 

 " power of expunging minutes of past proceedings of the Society." 



" That a General Special Meeting of the Society be called on 

 " the 23rd instant, at two o'clock, for the purpose of taking into 

 " consideration that part of the above requisition which proposes 

 ** to afford to the Society an opportunity of taking into considera- 

 " tion the principle of the Resolution passed on the 5th ult., which 

 " goes to withhold the thanks of the Society from the author of a 

 " work presented by him to the Society." 



The Chairman then made a statement of what had taken place at 

 the meetings of the Society with regard to the Resolutions referred 

 to in the above requisition. 



On being asked by a Fellow present, by what authority the pre- 

 sent meeting had been convened, he referred him to Statute I. 

 Chap. XII. of the Statutes, which is as follows : 



" The President or Council may at any time call a Special Gene- 

 " ral Meeting of the Society when it may appear to them to be ne- 

 " cessary." 



It was then moved and seconded, That, in the opinion of this 

 meeting, the meeting of May the 5th exercised a sound discretion 

 in refusing thanks to Dr. Granville for his publication entitled "The 

 Royal Society in the XlXth Century "; which motion, being put, 

 was carried in the affirmative. 



