﻿52 
  

  

  Anniversary 
  Meeting. 
  

  

  [Nov. 
  30, 
  

  

  Society's 
  cost 
  within 
  the 
  same 
  period, 
  you 
  will 
  also 
  conclude 
  that 
  there 
  

   is 
  no 
  want 
  of 
  means 
  for 
  providing 
  illustrations 
  to 
  papers 
  communicated 
  

   to 
  us 
  for 
  publication. 
  

  

  The 
  landed 
  property 
  of 
  the 
  Society, 
  as 
  stated 
  in 
  the 
  printed 
  balance- 
  

   sheet 
  now 
  before 
  you, 
  consists 
  of 
  an 
  estate 
  at 
  Acton, 
  in 
  the 
  neighbour- 
  

   hood 
  of 
  London, 
  and 
  an 
  estate 
  at 
  Mablethorpe, 
  Lincolnshire 
  ; 
  each 
  

   yielding 
  a 
  good 
  rental. 
  The 
  Acton 
  estate, 
  at 
  present 
  on 
  lease 
  to 
  an 
  

   agricultural 
  tenant, 
  is 
  planned 
  to 
  be 
  let 
  as 
  building 
  land, 
  for 
  which 
  it 
  is 
  

   favourably 
  situate, 
  and 
  will 
  thus 
  become 
  increasingly 
  valuable. 
  

  

  The 
  subject 
  of 
  the 
  tenure 
  under 
  which 
  the 
  Society 
  holds 
  the 
  apart- 
  

   ments 
  we 
  now 
  occupy 
  was 
  brought 
  up 
  on 
  a 
  question 
  of 
  Insurance. 
  That 
  

   question 
  has 
  been 
  satisfactorily 
  settled 
  by 
  reference 
  to 
  the 
  Treasury; 
  

   but 
  it 
  may 
  still 
  be 
  worth 
  while 
  briefly 
  to 
  state 
  the 
  facts 
  which 
  the 
  Council 
  

   considered 
  as 
  furnishing 
  valid 
  grounds 
  for 
  appealing 
  against 
  the 
  require- 
  

   ment 
  to 
  insure, 
  and 
  for 
  at 
  the 
  same 
  time 
  requesting 
  an 
  assurance 
  that 
  the 
  

   permanence 
  of 
  our 
  tenure 
  is 
  in 
  no 
  way 
  weakened 
  by 
  our 
  removal 
  to 
  this 
  

   building. 
  These 
  are 
  : 
  — 
  that 
  when 
  the 
  apartments 
  in 
  Somerset 
  House 
  were 
  

   originally 
  assigned 
  to 
  the 
  Society 
  by 
  command 
  of 
  George 
  III., 
  they 
  were 
  

   granted 
  " 
  during 
  the 
  pleasure 
  of 
  the 
  Crown 
  without 
  payment 
  of 
  rent 
  or 
  

   any 
  other 
  pecuniary 
  consideration 
  whatever;" 
  that 
  the 
  Society 
  was 
  not 
  

   required 
  to 
  insure 
  either 
  in 
  Somerset 
  House 
  or 
  old 
  Burlington 
  House 
  ; 
  

   that 
  when 
  the 
  Society 
  removed 
  at 
  the 
  request 
  of 
  the 
  Government 
  from 
  

   Somerset 
  House, 
  and 
  accepted 
  temporary 
  accommodation 
  in 
  Burlington 
  

   House, 
  it 
  was 
  under 
  the 
  written 
  assurance 
  of 
  the 
  Secretary 
  of 
  the 
  

   Treasury, 
  addressed 
  to 
  the 
  President 
  of 
  the 
  Society, 
  that 
  the 
  claims 
  of 
  

   the 
  Society 
  to 
  " 
  permanent 
  accommodation 
  should 
  not 
  be 
  thereby 
  in 
  any 
  

   respect 
  weakened;" 
  that 
  in 
  the 
  debate 
  on 
  the 
  estimates 
  in 
  1857, 
  the 
  

   Secretary 
  of 
  the 
  Treasury 
  stated, 
  in 
  his 
  place 
  in 
  Parliament, 
  that 
  " 
  the 
  

   Society 
  could 
  not 
  be 
  turned 
  out 
  of 
  Somerset 
  House 
  without 
  its 
  own 
  

   consent," 
  and 
  that 
  " 
  it 
  was 
  entitled 
  to 
  rooms 
  by 
  Royal 
  grant." 
  

  

  To 
  this 
  appeal 
  the 
  Lords 
  Commissioners 
  returned 
  a 
  satisfactory 
  answer 
  ; 
  

   and 
  their 
  letter, 
  dated 
  October 
  27th 
  last, 
  assures 
  us 
  " 
  that 
  there 
  is 
  no 
  

   intention 
  on 
  the 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  Treasury 
  to 
  alter 
  the 
  terms 
  on 
  which 
  the 
  

   Royal 
  Society 
  holds 
  its 
  appointments 
  under 
  the 
  Crown 
  ; 
  the 
  conditions 
  

   of 
  the 
  Society's 
  tenure 
  will 
  therefore 
  be 
  the 
  same 
  as 
  those 
  on 
  which 
  it 
  

   occupied 
  rooms 
  in 
  Somerset 
  House, 
  and 
  was 
  subsequently 
  transferred 
  

   to 
  Burlington 
  House." 
  

  

  While 
  f 
  eeling 
  it 
  my 
  duty 
  to 
  lay 
  these 
  details 
  before 
  you, 
  I 
  must 
  accom- 
  

   pany 
  them 
  with 
  the 
  assurance 
  that 
  nothing 
  has 
  occurred 
  during 
  this 
  cor- 
  

   respondence 
  to 
  disturb 
  the 
  unbroken 
  harmony 
  that 
  has 
  existed 
  between 
  

   Her 
  Majesty's 
  Government 
  and 
  the 
  Royal 
  Society 
  ever 
  since 
  our 
  occu- 
  

   pation 
  of 
  apartments 
  under 
  favour 
  of 
  the 
  Crown. 
  

  

  On 
  every 
  occasion 
  of 
  change 
  of 
  quarters 
  the 
  Society 
  has 
  received 
  

   abundant 
  proofs 
  of 
  the 
  regard 
  shown 
  by 
  the 
  Government 
  for 
  its 
  position, 
  

  

  | 
  

  

  