| Description | Present at a Council; The President; Lord Charles Cavendish; Mr West; Mr Jones; Mr Burrow; Mr Hodgson; Mr Eames; Dr Mortimer; Mr Machin
' The Treasurer said, that pursuant to the Directions of the last Council he had made a Purchase of five East India Bonds of one hundred Pounds each for the Use of the Society. Which Bonds, all dated on October 9th 1736, and payable to Mr William Webb, with the Interest indorsed to the 31st March 1742, numbered in order successively from 11090 to 11094, were delivered in by him at the same time, and immediately put up into the Strong Box.
It being represented by Mr Hauksbee, that he having had some reason to think there was a defect in the Lintel that runs cross the Wall over the Cellar Windows n the back part of the House, which if not timely repaired might be dangerous; he had thereupon consulted with Mr Gwynn the Carpenter, who upon a view being of the same opinion he was now,, he said, waiting ready, if the Council thought fit, to lay before them an account of such Defects and Repairs as in his judgment woudl be necessary to secure the safety of the Houses.
Mr Gwynn being accordingly called in said it was his opinion that the oaken Lintel on the back side of the House was muich decayed and in a rotten State; and that a new one could not be put in without shoreing up the back Front, which must be attended with many Charges in Carpenter's Work, Mason's Work: the particulars whereof estimated (as he said) according to the best of his judgment he delivered in, amounting to the sum of £59.19.0.
Whereupon it was ordered, that it be made a Request to Mr Gill, in the name of the Council, that he would be pleased to grant a Meeting, some day in the Vacation, with Mr Gwynn the Carpenter, to take a view of the State of the Society's House and that he would report his opinion concerning the same to the Treasurer.
And further it was Ordered, that the Treasurer be desired, pursuant to the opinion of Mr Gill, to give the proper Directions to the Workmen with regard to the Repairs thereof.
The Report of the Committee appointed to take a view of the State of the Books and Papers of the Society, the Copy whereof is hereunto annexed, was delivered in : and being read over,
Thanks were ordered to the President and to the rest of the Gentlemen of the Committee for the extraordinary pains they had taken in their care of the affairs of the Society.
The President communicated a Paper intitled : a Proposal concerning the Papers of the Royal Society: the copy whereof is also hereunto annexed.
Which Paper being read and approved; it was resolved that the several new orders and Regulations therein proposed should hereafter be observed.
And it was Ordered, that the annual meeting Day for the Committee of Papers shall be upon the first Monday that falls in the resumption of the Society's Meetings after the long vacation. And that the Summons be to the several Gentlemen of the Council for the time being, to meet at the Society's House at eleven of the clock in the forenoon.
Ordered that Dr Stack be desired to complete the general Catalogue of the Papers, and to deliver to Mr Machin the Key of the Closet.
Ordered, that the Boxes for holding the Guard Books of the original Papers be made according to such directins as the President shall please to give concerning the same.
Ordered that Mr Machin had liberty to keep at his own house the last Book of Guards containing the original Minutes of the Council, so long as he continues in his office.
Two Bills of Doctor Stack, one of £22.12.0 and the other of £12.01.06: in all £35.13.6 were agreed to by Ballot, and ordered to be paid.
It wa agreed by Ballot and Ordered that a Gratuity of ten Guineas to each of the two Secretaries be made, in consideration of some additional trouble with regard to the meetings of the Committee for taking a view of the State of the Books and Papers.
'To the President and Council of the Royal Society, the Report of the Committee appointed to view the State of the Journal, Register and Letter Books, and other Papers of the Society.
That this Committee have in obediende to your commands met several times at the Royal Society's house in Crane - Court, where they have been constantly attended and assisted by Doctor Stack, who is the Gentleman that has from time to time been employed by the Secretaries of the Society, and by virtue of several former Orders of the Council, to sort and put in order their Letters and other Papers, to digest the same into the several Guard-Books, and to take copies in the Register and Letter Books, of such of the same as have formerly been directed to be so copied and entered.
And that the Gentlemen of this Committee having been shewed several Quires of weritten Papers, containing either part of the Journal of the ordinarly weekly meetings of the Society, or of their Register and Letter Books, or of the duplicates of the same , intended to be kept at the house of the President for the time being ; they did thereupon order the same to be bound up so far as they would make entire Volumes: which has accordingly been done, those Books being now placed among the rest, and the duplicates sent to the President's house, who has given his Receipt for the same.
And this Committee further desire to acquaint you, that on the view by them taken of the several Journal and other Books of the Society, they find thqt the Minutes of the Council from the beginning of the Society to the present time are contained in a Volume in folio, of which the first Volume only has been copied: which copy is among the Books delivered by the late President to his Successor.
And that the Minutes of the ordinary weekly Meetings, from the Beginning to the 22d day of November 1739, are contained in 17 Volumes in folio : all which have been again copied in 16 Volumes, which last are also in the hands of the President.
And tht the Register - Books of the Society contain 20 Volumes in folio, numbered severally from 1 to 21, omitting number 10, as designed for Papers supposed to be now missing, but which may hereafter be recovered to the Society. All which volumes in the same number of Volumes : which copies are also deposited with the President.
And that the Letter - Books of the Society cvontain 25 Volumes in folio, numbered severally from 1 to 26, omitting numbe 17, designed as above for Letters missing : all which Letter Books have also been again copied in 24 Volumes, which last are deposited as before.
Besides whicih, several old Letters, not formerly entered, have been lately copied and bound up in 5 Volumes in folio, by the name of Supplement to the Letter Books : wherein the said Letters are entered in alphabetical order from A to L. Which five volumes, duplicates of the same from A to H, have been deivered to the President.
And that besides the several Journal, Register and Letter - Books before mentioned, there is also a general Index to all the Books of the Society , made by the late Richard Waller Esq., and by him brought down to the year 1695 in two Volumes in folio; with a duplilcate of the same but only brought down to 1689 in one volume: which duplicate has been sent with the others to the President.
And that there remain yet unbound a parcel of Sheets, being the copies of some Papers recovered towards the tenth volume of the Register efore mentioned, with duplicates of the same ssent to the President. And also the Minutes of the weekly Meetings from the 30th November 1739 to the present time, the duoplicates of which are not yet finished, and which are not yet of a sufficient quantity to be bound up. And also some other Sheets yet unbound, and which are intended for an additional Volume of the Register, and an additional Volume of the Letter-Books before mentioned.
Besides which, there are also, together with the said Books, an old duplicte copy of the second Colume of the Register-Book; and a Volume of Papers entered on the subject of Inoculation of the Small - Pox only.
And the Committee further desire to acquaint you, that they are informed, and tht it appears to them, that in the several Egistyer and Letter - Books abovementioned, together with the aforementioned Sheets not yet bound up, are contained, all the Papers have been entered an copied, which have been laid before the Society, from the beginning to the recess of the same the 24 June 1741 : except such as being now missing may hereafter be recovered to complete the tenth volume of the Register - Book, and the seventeenth volume of the Letter - Books before mentioned: and also except some few other Papers missing, and for which some blanks hae been left in the said Books : and except also such of the old Letters anot formerly entered, as have been designed to fill the remaining part of the Supplement to the Letter - Books from L to the end of the Alphabet.
And further this Committee desire to acquaint you, that having been shewed several parcesl of manuscript Paper, which they were informed did belong to several of the Guard Books of th Society, being for the most part original Letters adn Papers communicated to the same, adn which had been taken out of the said Guard Books, for the more convenient transcribing them into the Register and Letter - Books; they did direct the same to be replaced and again pasted into their proper places : which has accordingly been done. Whereby the several Guard - Books of the Society are now, as far as appears to this Committee, made entire and complete : excepting that some parcels of original Papers are still remaining in the hands of the Secretries of the Society ; which, when they shall have done with them, are to be returned, and then should be pasted nto proper places either of the present Guard - Books, or into new Guard - Books to be provided for that purpose.
And further this Committee desire to acquaint you, that the Guard-Books of the Society are of severl Sorts : first Numerical digested into 24 Classes, wherein the Papers are placed according to their respective Subjects, but ranged in order of time in the several Classes ; And of these there are 43 Volumes in folio, in all which the Papers are pasted in, excepting four of the Volumes allotted to the several Journals of the Weather communicated to the Society, and whihc being less fit for pasting have been laid in loose, till they can be more conveniently disposed. And to these 43 Volumes of numerical Guard - Books are added 5 bound up volumes of different sizes marked with the first five Letters of the greek Alphabet and containing diverse miscellaneous original Papers.
Secondly, alphabetical Guard-Books containing Letters, of which there are 49 volumes in folio.
Thirdly, Guard-Books containing the original Minutes, wrote by the Secretaries themselves, of the ordinary meetings of the Society from the beginning of the same to St ANdrew's day 1741, so far as the same could be collected, in 10 Volumes in folio, numbered severally from 1 to 11, omitting No 6, which is in great measure supplied by three lesser Volumes bound up in Vellom ; as some other Chasms in the other Guard - Books are by 2 more of the same sort, containing rough Minutes both of the ordinary meetings of the Society and of the meetings of the Council . And of these Guard - Books the four last are kept by Mr Secretary Machin at his own house, as being the Minutes of his won time, and which are constantly wanted for his daily Use and Perusal.
Fourthly, Guard - Books containing so many of the original Minutes of th meetings of the Council as could be found, in two bollumes in folio.
With one Cover on or Guard - Book, wherein are laid some loose Papers relating to the proceedings of Committees, to Arrears of the Members at several times, and to other matters of less general consequence.
Besides all which there is lso contained in five parcesl not yet bound up, a general Catalogue of all the Papers produced before the Society from their first Constitution to the year 1736, with references to the several Guard-Books, Register and Letter-Books, wherethe said original Papers or their Copies are to be found. Which Catalogue is a Work of great Use to the Society, and was carefully made out some yers sice by Doctor Stack, who undertook to complete and keep up the same for the future, on the considertion of having his Bond for contributions to the Soc8iety deleivered up to him.
And now this Committee desire to lay before you, that they are informed that Doctor Stack has been for several years empl.oyed in the affairs fo the Society, and that the Society are still indebted to him for several Services done them from the 19th day of July 1739 to the 20th day of January 1741, when this Committee was opened ; and that he has laid before them an account of such Services, and of the time he has employed therein : which account is contained int he hereunto annexed Paper No. 1.
And further, tht the said Doctor Stack having also attended this Committee from the said 20th January last to the present time, has also been employed by them in several Services : an account of which and of his time employed therein they hae desired him to make out, and the same is contained int he hereunto annexed Paper No. 2.
This Committee also having observed, that among the Books and Papers above mentioned, there were also some others, which by their nature seemed more properly to belong to the Society's Library; they caused a Catalogue of the same to be made, and delivered the said Books to the Clerk to e kept in the Library accordingly : which forementiond Catalogue of the said Books is caontained in the hereunto annexed Paper No. 3.
And this Comittee desire yet further to acquaint you, tht by a former Order of Council, the several Guard - Books of the Society with the original Papers therein contained were ordered to be put up in Presses, to be provided for that purpose and set in the Repository ; in order to the keeping the said original Papers the more secrely, and separate from the copies of the same contained in the Journal, Register and Letter - Books of the Society : and this Committee humbly apprehend, and are of the opinion, that the bringing the said Order into effect, woudl be for the Service and benefit of the Society.
And lastly this Committee desire leavre to lay before you, that they think it will be ery necessary for the ouncil to make some new Orders and Regulations concerning the future disposing, registering or copying the several Papers that are come in since the recess of 1741, and which shall hereafter come into the Society : and they hope the Council will take the same into their consideration, and give such Orders therein as they shall think most proper, and conducing to the advantage of the Society.
All of which they submit etc
July 12 : 1742
Proposal concerning the Papers of the Royal Society
I would humbly propose that at all Councils of the Society, the Secretary taking the Minutes would, before such Council breaks up, read over his rough Memoranda for the Minutes, to see tht the same are agreeable to the Resolutions taken. And then that he would always be pleased to draw out his Minutes within three days, and send the same to the Clerk, who should e directed immedately to make out a copy of the same, on propoer Paper, and to transmit such Copy to the President for his Use: it being incumbent on him to see the Orders of the Council put ihn execution, which may sometimes require haste, asnd which he cannot possibly do, unless he has a copy of the Minutes to direct and vouch his proceedings. And at the same time when the Copy is so made out for the President, another fair Copy shoudl be wrote into the Council Book.
For the Journal or Minutes for the ordinary Meetings of the Society, I would pray that after eery Meeting Mr Machin would please to leave with the Clerk, the Minutes he read that day, who should e directed immeditely to hae made out two fair Copies of the same on proper paper, the one for the Journal Book of the Society and the other for the President : and that this Work be always done so soon as that the original Minutes may be sent back to Mr Machin, and the President's Copy be sent to him, on the Monday morning following the Thursday on which the Minutes were delivered. I would also desire it might be part of the directions to the Clerk, that he take care the Minutes so transcribed for the Society and for the President, be examined and made correct before the original Minutes are so returned. And i would further pray tht the Secretaries, or one of them, would please to take care, that when the original Minutes are sufficient in number to fill a proper Guard - Book, that they be forthwith put nto such a Book, and that such ~Book may then be entered int he Catalgoue of the Society's Books, with a Note where the same is, in case the Secretray shall desire to have it for his Use at his own house. And further I would desire that when the Copies of the Journal or other Books fo the Society shall be in quantity sufficient to make decent Volumes respectively ; that such Volumes may be forthwith bound up like the rest by Order of the Secretaries, and that they would order the Clerk at the same time to call on the President for his loose Papers to be bound up in the same manner.
With regard to the Papers and other Books of the Society, besides the Journals, I would humbly propose, that between the first meeting of the Society after the Summere recess and the following St Andrew's day, there be a Committee of Papers appointed to meet in the forenoon on such day or days as may be found convenient : before whom the Secretaries should produce all such Papers as hae been read or shewed to the Society before the last past St Andrew's Day, together with the titles of the same fairly wrote down with their Dates, and the respective order in which the same have been read or shewed : and should at the same time acquaint the Committee which of the said Papers have been printed in the Transactions, or in any other place or manner by the Authors or otherwise. Which said Papers should then together with their titles be distinguished by a Note of the place where the same have been respectively printed.
After which I would humbly propose, tht the Committee would proceed to direct about the remaining Papers, which should be copied into the Register - Book, distinguishing the same by an R, and the intial Letters of the Chairman's name of the Committee and which need not be copied, marking the same with a Cross and the same initial Letters, to vouch for such Papers having been produced before the Committee.
And in the doing this I humbly propose that these or such other Rules as the Council shall please to direct, may be observed. As that no Paper already printed in .the Transactions or elsewhere be transcribed into the Register. That no translation from any foreign or other printed Book be transcribed in to the Register. And that no other Paper be transcribed, wehre it is apprehended by the Committee, that the Abstract of the same in the Minutes contains all that is material or needfull to be recorded in it.
After this I should think it proper, that all these Papers should be put together into the hands of the Gentleman, who takes the trouble of ranging and transcribing the Papers of the Society : who should be requested to transcribe into the Register such as shall have been marked as above for that purpose. Immediately after which he should e further desired to paste all the Papers into the Guard Books, in the same order they were read or produced to the Society; entering at the same time in the Catalogue of the Papers before mentioned the several Guard-Book and number in the same where each Paper is placed: together with the Volume and Number in the Register - Book, where such Papers are copied as shall have been directed to be copied as above.
I acknowledge that in the method here proposed, I do not see any Use of both REgister and Letter Books. And indeed these Books being absolutely of the same nature, the dispersing some fo the Papers in the one and some in the other, appears to me to be making a Confusion and an unnecessary Difficulty in the searching for any Paper. Whereas when every thing shall directly follow in order fo time, both in the Register and original Guard - Books, the Minutes of the Society will at once be both the regular Extract and Table of Contents of all their Books whatever: as the general Catalogue, already once or twice mentioned, will be a still shorter Table of Contents to the same also.
I pray that it may be observed, that in this new Regulation proposed, I am also humbly of opinion, that there ought not to be, as there are now, several sorts of Guard - Books, some alphabetical, some classical, some personal, and lastly some chronolog8ical ; all which appears to me to carry great danter of confusion : besides this other manifest inconvenience, thqat we have multiplicity of Guard - Books going on at the same time, whereby it is never known what books are complete, nor can the Council or any Committee appointed by them without the greatest difficulty know from time to time the State of the Books and Papers, or any ways judge of the uantity of business wanting to be done to complete the same. Whereas in the new way proposed there will never be more than one Guard -Book going on at a time : and all new business will only be the making up such Guard Book from such a No. to such a No, and the transcribing in the Register Book from such a Page to such a Page. I think besides, that for the finding any Paper, the general Catalogue of titles, though of many years standing, will be run over with very great ease : but if hereafter even Indexes of any other form should, on the increase of the Books, be judged necessary ; even those will be made with great facility, being no more that Indexes to one Book, that is, the volumes of the Journal that shall have accrued from the time of the new Regulations taking place. And since the Minutes where some account is given of every Paper produced before the Society, are in their own nature the proper Repertory, by means of which either particular Papers, or Papers opn any Subject required should be sought for.
There is indeed one sort of Papers, that I have no objection to the still keeping in a Book by themselves, which is the copy of Letters wrote by the Secretaries, which having never been reqd or shewed to the Society can have no mention made of them in the Minutes : but the number of these Letters in the present Books is not great, and the giving the copies is rather what Secretaries have done as a proof of their own care and exactness, than what the Society have any demand on them for it ; it being their own Act, except in the case of such Letters as are particularly wrote by order of the Society or Council. And even those, if not produced at any meeting, are no ways subject to the inspection of the Members : aso that the communiction copies of these Letters is, I thin, mere favour of the Secretaries; and we have only to receive as such those they shall please to give us, and preserve them in chronological Order by themselves : whereby, if wanted, they will be readily found by the time, coming soon after the business they are wrote about.
With regard to some Papers that have already been registered, though never shewed at a meeting of the Society ; I should humbly think that method is wrong, and that every thing that is thught proper to be preserved upon our Record, should always be produced at some meeting, and be then mentioned in the Minutes : without which I shold apprehend the Paper cannot properly have relation to any of our Books.
I have, in what I have said above, supported the Papers to be printed shall have already been so when they are produced to the Committee; and with regard to that I beg leave to observe, the latest Papers I have proposed to be so brought will have already been in hand eleven months at least : and I am humbly of opinnion that such Papers as are to be printed should at furtherst be so in a year's time. But sure in that time the Publisher of the Transactions should at least be able to say if he prints or does not : and in the former case when that shall happen, the Paper may be again returned to him, but after noting its place in the Guard-Book, and upon Memorandum that such Paper was borrowed for that purpose But unless there is a certain limited time for all Papers to revert to the Society, it will be absolutely impossible for things ever to be kept in order.
I should further have obsserved above, that I suppose that when any Paper is read to the Society in a translation, both the original and translation should be pasted together into the Guard-Book : but that in case of registering, the original only should be registered.
"July 12 : 1742. "
|