| Description | Printed minutes containing matters laid before Council, the Royal Society's governing body of Fellows, with records of decisions taken. Individual minutes are numbered.
Commencing with a list of Council members present: William Bateson; William Thomas Blanford; Hugh Longbourne Callendar; Francis Darwin; Harold Bailey Dixon; George Carey Foster; John Wesley Judd; Alfred Bray Kempe (Treasurer); Joseph Larmor (Secretary); George Downing Liveing; Augustus Edward Hough Love; Henry Alexander Miers; Edward Albert Schafer; Thomas Edward Thorpe (Foreign Secretary); Thomas Henry Tizard; Herbert Hall Turner; Sir John Wolfe Barry; the President, Sir William Huggins, in the chair. The Assistant Secretary [Robert Harrison] attended.
Among matters discussed or noted:
1. Minutes of the previous meeting read and approved, after amendment.
2. Death of Lord Pirbright, Dr. Schunck, the Reverend Dr. Watson and Mr. Wimshurst. Professor H. B. Dixon had attended the funeral of Dr. Schunck and Mr. Burbury that of Dr. Watson, these requested to write the Obituary Notices: Professor S. P. Thompson to write the Obituary Notice of Mr. Wimshurst.
3. Proposal for a discusion meeting on the formation of coral reefs on 19 March, to be opened by Professor Agassiz, referred to the Officers in consultation with the Coral Reef Committee.
4. C. T. Heycock and F. H. Neville to be invited to deliver the Bakerian Lecture, on the recommendation of the Physics and Chemistry Sectional Committee.
5. Letter from G. L. Barstow, Treasury Chambers, Whitehall, 22 January 1903, to the President of the Royal Society, full text entered into the minutes: on a committee to report on the distribution of Parliamentary Grant funding by the Meteorological Council, requesting that the President or representaives of the Royal Society give evidence on 3 February. Sir Michael Foster nominated, with Sir Arthur Rucker.
6. Report of the Malaria and Tsetse Fly Committee, dissatisfied with the progress of investigations of Sleeping Sickness in Uganda, recommending that Lieutenant-Colonel Bruce be sent to supervise the investigation: £295 from the Reserve Fund of the Government Grant to be allocated to the Sleeping Sickness investigation, with the Treasurer to apply to the Government Grant Committee for additional funding.
7. List of applications for Publication Fund grants, from the Linnean Society, the National Physical Laboratory and Dr. A. J. Ewart: the National Physical Laboratory application rejected, the others funded.
8. Professor Copeland and Meldola unable to serve on Government Grant Boards, L. Fletcher and Professor Augustus Dixon to take their places.
9. Treasurer's report on a request from Mrs Lydiard, a sister of Sir W. A. Mackinnon, for support from the Mackinon Fund. The request was to be declined, as being outside the terms of the Trust established under Sir William Mackinnon's will.
10. Letter from Eyre Hutson, Colonial Secretary's Office, Hamilton, Bermuda, 29 November 1902, to Sir Michael Foster, full text entered into the minutes: on the establishment of a Marine Biological Station in Bermuda and the Legislature's committment to its erection. With advice from the Sectional Committee for Biology to support such a project, £100 from the Donation Fund to be made available in four annual payments, with the hope that laboratory facilities might be extended to Royal Society nominees.
11. Report of the Coral Reef Committee on disbursements of specimens from Funafuti, to the British Museum, to Mr. Chapman in Melbourne and to Professor David in Sydney.
12. Report of the Magnetic Observatory Committee, on the extension of work proposed at the new Magnetic Observatory to include research into Atmospheric Electricity, to be communicated to the Meteorological Council and to the National Physical Laboratory.
13. Letter from the Director of the Magnetic Observatory at Christchurch, New Zealand, to Sir Clements Markham, stressing the danger of interference in magnetic observations caused by electric trams. With a draft letter from the Junior Secretary, 27 January 1903, to the Agent-General for New Zealand, full text entered into the minutes: on the importance of simultaneous magnetic observations being made in New Zealand and Antarctica, noting the parallel case of tramway interference and its solution at the Kew Observatory.
14. Junior Secretary reported that London County Council wishes to investigate smoke abatement with the advice of the Royal Society: the matter referred to the Executive Committee of the National Physical Laboratory.
15. Astrographical observations in Western Australia to be continued for the moment, until the undertaking is handed to the Federal Government, reported by Professor H. H. Turner. With a letter from the Government Astronomer at Perth Observatory, requesting a grant in aid of the observations, deferred.
16. Letter from the Decimal Association requesting Royal Society support in introducing the metric system, discussion deferred.
17. Professor Schafer conveying thanks from the Royal Philosophical Society of Glasgow from its cenetanary celebrations.
18. Report of the Scientific Relief Committee on grants made to applicants.
19. Application from the North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers for a copy of the Royal Society Record, refused.
20. Letter from Sir John Evans noting that his Imperial Institute duties had ceased, following the merger with the Board of Trade.
21. Letter from the Colonial Office stating that the South African colonies had requested the services of Dr. Koch to investigate Redwater.
22. Treasurer had received the audited balance sheet of the National Antarctic Expedition.
23. Letter from the Honorary Secretary of the Aeronautical Society stating that they would co-operate with the Royal Society on any plan on international aeronautics.
24. Correspondence with H.M. Treasury on the guarantee of the Royal Society in the cost of publishing the International Catalogue of Scientific Literature, full text of leters entered into the minutes.
25. Professor G. H. Darwin and Professor J. Milne nominated as representatives to the proposed Seismological Conference.
26. Letter from Professor Bushnell, requesting an opinion on the value of establishment of a Pathological and Bacteriological (Public Health) Laboratory.
27. Leave granted for copying of illustrations.
28. Bills for paper, engraving and other expenses.
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