Meetings of the Society. 
199 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE STATUTORY 
Beginning the 137th Session, 
GENERAL MEETING 
1919-1920. 
At the Statutory Meeting of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, held in the Society’s Lecture 
Room, 24 George Street, on Monday, October 27, 1919, at 4.30 p.m., 
Dr John Horne, F. R.S., F.G.S., President, in the Chair, 
the Minutes of the last Statutory Meeting of October 28, 1918, were read, approved, and signed. 
The Chairman nominated asjScrutineers, the Rev. R. S. Calderwood and Dr A. Morgan. 
The Ballot for the Election of Office-Bearers and Members of Council was then taken. 
The Secretary submitted the following Report : — 
Since the last Report was submitted the war, which influenced in many ways the work of the 
Society, has come to an end ; one important consequence of this is the return of Mr George 
Stewart, Librarian and Assistant Secretary, to his work in the Society. With the rearrangement 
of duties Miss Le Harivel, who has acted during the war as temporary Librarian and Assistant 
Secretary, has been officially appointed Assistant Librarian, Most of our activities are proceeding 
very much as during the Avar. The number of papers read at our meetings during Session 
1918-1919 was 23, as compared with 25 the preceding year. Of these 13 have been, or are being, 
published in the Proceedings and 6 in the Transactions. Of the papers read 4 were in mathematics, 
5 in physics, 2 in meteorology, 5 in chemistry, 3 in zoology, and 4 in botany. An address on 
Colour Blindness, with Lantern Demonstration, was given by Mr C. R. Gihson of Glasgow. 
Last year the Society elected 11 new Fellows, and we lost by death 15 Ordinary Fellows and 
4 Honorary Fellows. 
The Makdougall-Brisbane Prize was awarded to Professor A. A. Lawson. 
With the great increase in the cost of publication, and the loss the Society sustained some 
years ago by fire, it was evident to the Council that, with the ordinary output of papers and 
publications, there would be a serious deficit during the Session. At the beginning of the Session 
there was already £200 of debt to clear olf incurred by the fire, and a careful estimate showed that 
the Council could only use £600 for publication purposes, and would be compelled to postpone the 
binding of serials and journals. These considerations induced the Council to approach the 
Chancellor of the Exchequer and ask for an increased annual grant. Before presenting their 
Memorandum the Council had a meeting with the Secretary for Scotland, and encouraged by the 
reception given by him, the Council prepared the following Memorandum : — 
ROYAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH. 
Application to the Treasury for an Increased Government Grant. 
Memorandum. 
The Royal Society of Edinburgh was founded by Royal Charter in 1783, in the reign of 
George III ; ad Statum illius partis Imperii nostri quce Scotia vocatur accommodata. According to 
the Charter the work of the Society was to include Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Natural 
History, Archteology, Philology, and Literature ; but, in comparison with the scientific subjects 
specified, Literature has long occupied a subordinate position. The Society takes rank as the 
National Scientific Academy in Scotland, in the same manner as the French Academy of Sciences, 
the Royal Society of London, the Royal Irish Academy, the National Academy of Sciences of 
Washington, and other like Institutions in their respective countries. It has been, since its founda- 
tion, the centre of scientific activity for the whole of Scotland, and has included among its Presidents 
such distinguished men as Sir .Tames Hall, Sir Walter Scott, the eighth Duke of Argyll, Sir David 
Brewster, Lord Kelvin, Sir William Turner, and Professor James Geikie. 
The chief aim of the Society is the development of original research in Scotland. Its success in 
this respect has been remarkable. The Transactions and Proceedings of the Society have always 
contained papers of high scientific value, some of which have laid the foundations of new branches 
of science. In recent years there has been a large increase in its publications, especially in those 
relating to Natural Science. 
From 1826 to 1909 the Society occupied rooms in the Royal Institution. These rooms being 
required for an extension of the Royal Scottish Academy, the Government purchased and equipped 
the building in George Street at present occupied by the Society, and agreed to allot an annual grant 
of £600 to assist its scientific work. 
The other main source of revenue of the Society is derived from the contributions of its Fellows. 
These amount to about £890 per annum. The total income is about £2100. The expenditure may 
be arranged under three heads : — 
(1) Publication of scientific researches. 
(2) Upkeep of Library, which, with the exception of that belonging to the Royal Society of 
London, is the most complete library of scientific reference in the United Kingdom. 
(3) Salaries and current expenses. 
During the twelve years 1902-1914 the annual sum spent on the Transactions and Proceedings 
averaged £1050. Before 1906 there was a constant excess of payments over receipts ; the balance 
being met by gifts and bequests from friends of the Society. From 1906 until the beginning of the 
war the Society was able, with the aid of its grant from the Government, to cope with the papers 
