| Description | Printed minutes containing matters laid before Council, the Royal Society's governing body of Fellows, with records of decisions taken.
Commencing with a list of Council members present: Francis Baily; William Thomas Brande; Benjamin Collins Brodie; Marc Isambard Brunel; John George Children; William Clift; Michael Faraday; George Bellas Greenough; Reverend Dr. Philip Jennings; Charles Konig; William Hasledine Pepys; Peter Mark Roget; Captain William Henry Smyth; the Treasurer, John William Lubbock, in the chair, succeeded by the President, His Royal Highness [Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex] in the chair.
Among matters discussed or noted: minutes of the last meeting were read and confirmed. Lord Tyrconnel applied for an extension of time for admission to the Fellowship, granted. Letter from George Burke, Secretary of the Great Western Railway Board, to the Treasurer, requesting that the Society dispose of part of their land at Acton, with compensation, for the projected railway now going through Parliament; the Society to reply that it would not oppose the Bill. Application from James Walker to take a copy of his paper on the resistance of fluids, granted. Letter read from George Elliot, stating that the Lords of the Admiralty would consent to collect and print the Observations on Tides, but that they decline to furnish the calculations. Letter from Dr. Rosen, on behalf of Dr. Long, requesting permission to consult Oriental manuscripts in the Library, granted. Mr. J. F. Palmer requested permission to take impressions from Mr. Hunter's plates of 1822, granted. Mr. Faraday applied for the use of a piece of platinum, part of Dr. Wollaston's legacy, for the pursuit of electrical experiments, granted. The report of the Finance Committee was read again, a committee to be formed to consider the paper quality and page size of the Philosophical Transactions. The Secretary requested to adopt a system of economy in the engraved plates for the Transactions. Treasurer directed to invest all sums for composition of annual Fellowship fees. Postage of circular letters addressed to Fellows in general would not, in future be paid by the Society. Repeal of the word 'ten' in Section III Chapter I of the Statutes to be proposed at the next meeting, replaced by the word 'five'. |