40 
had been made in 1829 for increased subscriptions, but the 
calamitous fire in the Minster materially impeded its success, 
by diverting the liberality of the public towards a still more 
pressing want. It was determined therefore at the annual 
meeting in 1830, ta make a fresh appeal to the county, and at 
the same time the privileges of members were enlarged by 
the power of granting tickets of admission to occasional 
visitors, and a class of lady subscribers w’as created, at the rate 
of £1, which in 1871 numbered between sixty and seventy. 
The appeal made at the annual meeting enabled the Council 
to append to the Report a list of new or renewed donations to 
the amount of £660, and a large increase of subscribers. In 
this year Mr. V. Harcourt resigned the presidency, which he 
bad held from the beginning, to Lord Milton, but as a member 
of Council he continued to bold the guiding band in its 
deliberations as long as be remained in the neighbourhood of 
York. 
The meeting of the scientific men of England and Scotland, 
which gave birth to the British Association, September 27, 
1831, w’as a most important event in our history. It made 
the Society — its site, so full of venerable traditions; its 
museum, already rich in curious and w’ell arranged specimens, 
widely known to the lovers of arcbseology and science. Above 
all, it brought into the notice of some of the most eminent 
men of the time the rare talents and acquirements of the 
Keeper of the Museum—a result which we must not regret, 
though it led, ultimately, to bis removal to a higher and larger 
sphere of action than York could ever have afforded him. The 
scientific character of the Society was increased by the erection 
of the Observatory, to receive the astronomical instruments 
presented by the Rev. Dr. Pearson. The expense thus occa¬ 
sioned w-as partly met by a subscription among the members of 
the Society, but part of it remained, increasing the general debt. 
It bad been suggested, as a means of improving the income, 
to make a charge for the admission of visitors not furnished 
w’itb an order, nor personally introduced by a member. The 
proposal did not at first meet with acceptance from the Council, 
but the experiment was tried at the Musical Festival in 1835, 
