Minutes of a Committee of the Council of the Royal Society for enquiring into the effects of the application of Coal Tar to His Majesty's Ships of War Present at the meeting: President in the chair; Mr Brande; Mr Combe; Mr Hatchett; Me Herschel.; Dr Marcet; Dr Wollaston; Dr Young Minutes of the last committee read Report presented by several members of the Committee on their experiments on Coal Tar., including conclusion that it contained not substance capable f acting on metals except water and ammonia; that timbers in contact from coal tar seem to have been preserved not damaged; and that it does not emit a vapour capable of being inflamed at temperatures below 200 degrees Fahrenheit, about 100 % above the highest temperature to which a ship is ever exposed in a hot climate. 18 April 1822