﻿54 
  

  

  Anniversary 
  Meeting. 
  

  

  [Nov. 
  30, 
  

  

  will 
  be 
  reinforced, 
  and 
  that 
  statesmen 
  who 
  may 
  have 
  considered 
  them- 
  

   selves 
  inelegible 
  through 
  want 
  of 
  purely 
  scientific 
  qualifications, 
  or 
  who 
  

   have 
  hesitated 
  to 
  offer 
  themselves 
  from 
  the 
  fear 
  of 
  interfering 
  with 
  

   the 
  scientific 
  claims 
  of 
  others, 
  will 
  in 
  future 
  come 
  forward 
  and 
  recruit 
  

   our 
  ranks. 
  

  

  A 
  passing 
  notice 
  of 
  the 
  manner 
  of 
  proposing 
  candidates 
  for 
  the 
  ordi- 
  

   nary 
  class 
  of 
  fellowship 
  may 
  not 
  be 
  out 
  of 
  place. 
  Theoretically 
  this 
  is 
  

   done 
  by 
  a 
  Fellow 
  who 
  is 
  supposed 
  to 
  be 
  a 
  friend 
  of 
  the 
  candidate, 
  is 
  

   versed 
  in 
  the 
  science 
  on 
  which 
  his 
  claims 
  are 
  founded, 
  and 
  is 
  satisfied 
  of 
  

   his 
  fitness 
  in 
  all 
  respects 
  for 
  fellowship. 
  It 
  is 
  most 
  desirable 
  that 
  the 
  

   Fellow 
  who 
  proposes 
  a 
  candidate 
  should 
  take 
  upon 
  himself 
  the 
  whole 
  duty 
  

   and 
  responsibility 
  of 
  preparing 
  the 
  certificate, 
  should 
  sign 
  it 
  first, 
  and 
  

   himself 
  procure 
  the 
  signatures 
  of 
  other 
  Fellows 
  in 
  whose 
  judgment 
  of 
  the 
  

   candidate's 
  qualifications 
  the 
  Council 
  and 
  the 
  Society 
  may 
  place 
  implicit 
  

   confidence. 
  It 
  is 
  unsatisfactory 
  to 
  see 
  attached 
  to 
  a 
  candidate's 
  certificate 
  

   an 
  ill-considered 
  list 
  of 
  signatures, 
  whether 
  given 
  from 
  personal 
  or 
  from 
  

   general 
  knowledge 
  ; 
  and 
  the 
  happily 
  rare 
  practice 
  of 
  soliciting 
  signatures 
  

   and 
  support, 
  directly 
  or 
  indirectly, 
  by 
  the 
  candidate 
  himself, 
  cannot 
  be 
  

   too 
  strongly 
  deprecated. 
  For 
  obvious 
  reasons 
  the 
  President, 
  Officers, 
  and 
  

   other 
  Members 
  of 
  Council 
  have 
  hitherto 
  during 
  their 
  periods 
  of 
  office 
  

   abstained 
  from 
  proposing 
  a 
  candidate 
  of 
  the 
  ordinary 
  class 
  or 
  from 
  signiug 
  

   his 
  certificate, 
  but 
  have 
  not 
  withdrawn 
  their 
  signatures 
  from 
  certificates 
  

   sent 
  in 
  before 
  they 
  took 
  office. 
  The 
  Council 
  and 
  Officers 
  will 
  probably 
  

   not 
  feel 
  the 
  same 
  objection 
  to 
  signing 
  the 
  certificates 
  of 
  candidates 
  of 
  the 
  

   privileged 
  class, 
  as 
  these 
  will 
  not 
  be 
  selected 
  for 
  ballot 
  by 
  the 
  Council, 
  

   but 
  will 
  be 
  elected 
  by 
  the 
  Society 
  at 
  large 
  at 
  their 
  ordinary 
  meetings. 
  

  

  In 
  carrying 
  on 
  the 
  business 
  of 
  the 
  Society 
  the 
  Council 
  is 
  much 
  

   indebted 
  to 
  Committees 
  appointed 
  annually 
  for 
  special 
  purposes, 
  or 
  to 
  

   whom 
  an 
  occasional 
  question 
  is* 
  referred. 
  The 
  annual 
  appointments 
  

   include 
  the 
  Government-Grant, 
  the 
  Library, 
  the 
  Soiree, 
  and 
  the 
  Acton- 
  

   Estate 
  Committees. 
  The 
  temporary 
  Committees 
  of 
  the 
  past 
  year 
  have 
  

   been 
  the 
  Circumnavigation, 
  the 
  Transit- 
  of 
  -Venus 
  -Expeditions, 
  the 
  

   Arctic, 
  the 
  House, 
  the 
  Brixharn-Cave, 
  the 
  Privileged-Classes, 
  and 
  the 
  

   Davy-Medal 
  Committee. 
  Besides 
  these 
  there 
  are 
  two 
  permanent 
  Com- 
  

   mittees, 
  the 
  Meteorological 
  and 
  the 
  Scientific-Belief, 
  to 
  which 
  fresh 
  

   Members 
  are 
  appointed 
  as 
  vacancies 
  occur. 
  From 
  these 
  designations 
  it 
  

   will 
  be 
  understood 
  that 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  Committees 
  have 
  been 
  occupied 
  

   with 
  questions 
  connected 
  with 
  the 
  Government 
  service, 
  while 
  others 
  have 
  

   devoted 
  themselves 
  exclusively 
  to 
  the 
  business 
  of 
  the 
  Society. 
  

  

  I 
  shall 
  now 
  mention 
  such 
  of 
  the 
  labours 
  of 
  these 
  Committees 
  as 
  seem 
  

   to 
  be 
  most 
  worthy 
  of 
  your 
  attention. 
  

  

  The 
  Meteorological 
  Committee 
  of 
  the 
  Board 
  of 
  Trade, 
  as 
  it 
  ought 
  to 
  

   be 
  called, 
  discharges 
  in 
  all 
  respects 
  the 
  most 
  arduous 
  and 
  responsible 
  

   duties 
  of 
  any, 
  controlling 
  as 
  it 
  doe? 
  the 
  whole 
  machinery 
  of 
  the 
  British 
  

  

  