| 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: Major-General John Theophilus Boileau; Warren De La Rue; Peter Martin Duncan; Willam Henry Flower; Edward Frankland; Francis Galton; William Augustus Guy; John Russell Hind; Thomas Henry Huxley; Reverend Robert Main; William Pole; Admiral George Henry Richards; Henry John Stephen Smith; Henry Clifton Sorby; William Spottiswoode; Balfour Stewart; George Gabriel Stokes; Alexander William Williamson; the President, Joseph Dalton Hooker, in the chair.
Among matters discussed or noted: minutes of the last meeting read and approved. Deaths of James Scott Bowerbank, William Henry Hyett and Charles Towneley. The Secretary reported that the paper Mr. Chisholm had promised was not yet received. Report of the Government Grant Committee, in the form of minutes of a meeting of 1 March 1877, full text entered into the minutes: list of members present and correspondence of the committee, including with Mr. Rodwell on the return of equipment purchased under his grant, and a recommendation to Council that grant recipients should report on progress before 1 June of each year; list of applications for grants, with a provisional list of grantees, following discussion; a second list of applications received after 31 January was considered and successful applicants added to the overall list of recommended grants. Report of the Government Fund Committee, in the form of minutes of the meeting of 2 March 1877, full text entered into the minutes: list of members present and a recommendation that £1300 should be allocated to each sub-committee; lists of applications referred to Sub-Committees A-D, with the provisionally successful applicants listed, and various recommendations to Council. The Treasurer moved that accounts for printing, and other purposes, should be forwarded to the Science and Art Department, agreed. Report of the Naturalists' (Transit of Venus) Committee was read, recommending that Council find funds to publish the Natural History of the Transit Expedition 1874-1875 at an estimate of £1,292: the President stated that from conversations with Dr. Gunther, that amount might be reduced; the Treasurer offered to undertake the printing at his own expense, which was accepted with thanks; resolved to publish the work as a volume of Philosophical Transactions under the editorial supervison of the President and Dr. Gunther. £30 from the Scientific Relief Fund was placed in the hands of Dr. Hooker and £100 in the hands of Mr. Gwyn Jones, for the benefit of applicants. Letter from Norman MacLeod, Council on Education, Kensington Museum, Science and Art Department, London, 21 February 1877, to the Secretary, Royal Society, Burlington House, full text entered into the minutes: noting that the £1,000 of Government Grant for 1877-78 would be accounted for as before, with the additional £4,000 only being accounted for by that department. David Milne-Home appointed to the Government Fund Committee, in place of Sir William Thomson. Letter from R.R.W. Lingen, Treasury Chambers, 23 February 1877, to the President of the Royal Society, Burlington House, full text entered into the minutes: on the reporting of the late Arctic Expedition by Captain Feilden and Mr. Hart, those two to retain collections and receive the advice of experts at the British Museum and elsewhere, communicating directly with the Royal Society in the course of their work; with questions on remuneration and publishing. Letter from R.R.W. Lingen, Treasury Chambers, 23 February 1877, to Captain Feilden, Langham Villa, Shooter's Hill, full text entered into the minutes: following from a meeting between Feilden, the President of the Royal Society and the Permanent Secretary of the Treasury, he communicates on the Report, giving his understanding of the Natural History of the Arctic Expedition, Feilden's acceptance of the duty assigned to him, with expenses for remuneration and a deadline of three months. Letter from R.R.W. Lingen, Treasury Chambers, 23 February 1877, to H.C.Hart, Trinity College, Dublin, full text entered in the minutes: noting the Natural History Report, with expenses and terms. Letter from R.R.W. Lingen, Treasury Chambers, 23 February 1877, to the Trustees of the British Museum, full text entered into the minutes: reiterating the terms of the Natural History Report, with the Royal Society's role and requesting assistance, with the possible ultimate deposit of the collections at the British Museum. Draft letter from Thomas Henry Huxley, Royal Gardens, Kew, 3 March 1877, to R.R.W. Lingen, full text entered into the minutes: acknowledging Lingen's letter and stating the Royal Society's position with regard to the production of an Arctic Natural History Report and its authors. Admiral Richards and General Strachey appointed to the Meteorological Report Committee. Letter from Mr. Huggins, £100 granted to him from the Donation Fund for the purchase of spectroscopic equipment to be used with the Society's telescope. Applications from various individuals and institutions for copies of Philosphical Transactions, electrotypes, and a copy of the Society's Charters. Letter requesting that the Society send a delegate to the International Horticultural Congress in Amsterdam referred to the President. Letter from Dr. Hector, stating that magnetic observations in New Zealand had been deferred. The Treasurer reported donations of £400 for general purposes. A committee appointed to consider the finances of the Society. List of bills for payment, for lithography and other expenses. |