| 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: William Grylls Adams; Captain William de Wiveleslie Abney; John Gilbert Baker; Thomas Lauder Brunton; William Henry Mahoney Christie; Warren de La Rue; Sir Frederick Evans; John Evans (Treasurer); George Carey Foster; Michael Foster; James Whitbread Lee Glaisher; Sir William Gull; Hugo Muller; Joseph Prestwich; Osbert Salvin; George Gabriel Stokes; Alexander William Williamson; the President, Thomas Henry Huxley, in the chair.
Among matters discussed or noted: minutes of the last meeting read and approved. The telescope purchased by Mr. Moysey had been returned and was available in the Council Room for inspection: the Treasurer was authorised to reimburse Moysey for the £12 he had paid. Report of the Soiree Committee, stating that Receptions should continue for the present, with dates for that year's events. The seal of the Royal Society was affixed to diplomas of five Foreign Members and to a debenture warrant for Great Northern Railway stock. A collection of engravings and lithographs of scientific men was offered to the Royal Society by the Executors of Sir Edward Sabine, accepted with thanks. Letter from Leonard Courtney, Treasury Chambers, 17 January 1884, to the President of the Royal Society, full text entered into the minutes: transmitting documents and an invitation from the United States Government to H.M. Government to send representatives to an international conference to fix a meridian for a common zero of longitude and standard time reckoning. Letter from George Gabriel Stokes, Royal Society, 7 February 1884, to the Secretary of the Treasury, full text entered into the minutes: stating that it is of the highest importance to the country that there should be a Government representative at the International Conference in Washington, since there is a good chance that the Greenwich meridian would be adopted. Letter from the Treasury relative to a payment of expenses for the Circumpolar Expedition, with a draft reply, approved. Letter from Sir John Lubbock on proposed new regulations for army examination and injury to scientific education: the President authorised to accompany Sir John in a delegation to the War Office. Letter from Sir Joseph Hooker and Professor Moseley urging the collection of indigenous plants and animals from islands in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans before their final disappearence, consideration deferred. Letter from the Siamese Legation in Paris and from Mr. J.S. Dyson on solar phenomena seen subsequent to the eruption of Krakatoa, referred to the Krakatoa Committee. Letter from Principal Dawson of Montreal concerning the boring in the Nile Delta, a committee appointed to take steps for the completion of the borings. Letter from Mr. R. Belt offering to exhibit a bust of William Spottiswoode at one of the Ordinary Meetings, the Junior Secertary directed to answer that the item might be exhibited at the 20 March Reception. List of bills to be paid for printing, lithography, and for other expenses. |