| Description | Acknowledges Chrystal's letter of 20 November to the Treasurer [Alfred Bray Kempe], on whose behalf he replies. Explains that the duty from which the Royal Society has exemption is that imposed by the Customs and Inland Revenue Act of 1885. As far as he can trace, the exemption of the Royal Society from his duty has never been questioned since the Act was passed and the sums which the Society annually reclaim from the Inland Revenue are those which have ben automatically deducted, before payment, from the dividends or interest on the Society's investments. Is not aware if the Act was extended to Scotland. The law on the subject is most fully set out in the report of the leading case of the Inland Revenue against the Institution of Civil Engineers, which was decided in the House of Lords on the 1 August 1890. A full report on the judgments in the House of Lords was published in 'The Times' of 2 August 1890. Will send on Chrystal's letter to the Treasurer with a copy of this letter. |