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: Frederick Augustus Abel; William Benjamin Carpenter; Frederick Currey; Warren De La Rue; William Henry Flower; Captain Douglas Galton; John Peter Gassiot; John Marshall; William Allen Miller; William Hallows Miller; Joseph Prestwich; Captain George Henry Richards; William Sharpey; Archibald Smith; George Gabriel Stokes; Colonel Alexander Strange; the President, Lieutenant-General Edward Sabine, in the Chair.
Among matters discussed or noted: minutes of the last meeting read and approved. Sir Samuel Baker, Mr. C. Chambers, Major Tennant and Colonel Thuillier were granted extensions on the time of admission to the Royal Society. Dr. Thomas Andrews was appointed to deliver the Bakerian Lecture on the continuity of gaseous and liquid states of matter. Letter fom the Reverend A. Davy declining to retain the centrepiece of Sir Humphry Davy's service of plate, which was order to be melted down with the rest and assayed at the Royal Mint, the total value of £720 to be received from the Mint: the sum to be invested in Government Securities. Letter from Mr. Rolleston on the subject of John Davy's portrait: resolved that the picture be accepted by the Royal Society but to be lent to Mrs Rolleston during her lifetime, then returned to the Society. Report of the committee appointed to consider the scientific apparatus required for the proposed expedition on marine researches, full text entered into the minutes: noting the questions of physical science, including temperatures at depth, dissolved gases, quantities of organic and inorganic matter, and the amount of light; plans for instruments by Sir Charles Wheatstone and Mr. Siemens involving voltaic current conveyed by a deck battery, the latter's being less expensive and simpler, thefore adopted; Dr. Miller's plan for obviating pressure effects on a thermometer and Dr. Marcet's instrument for water specimens; Mr. Gwyn Jones and Mr. W.L. Carpenter now on HMS Porcupine have reported the successful working of apparatus. Report of the Library Committee on progress with the Catalogue of Scientific Papers, Professor J.V. Carus of Leipzig is willing to undertake an alphabetical index, a catalogue of journals will be printed. Candidates for the award of Royal Society Medals were proposed and seconded. Letter from the Committee of Council on Education acknowledging the Society's House of Lords return. Letter from Louis Pasteur acknowledging his election as a Foreign Member. Application from Dr. Radcliffe requesting to withdraw his paper on animal electricity, acceded to. Philosophical Transactions and Proceedings granted as an exchange with the Institution of Naval Architects. Letter from Lieutenant Hennessey requesting that Proceedings might be granted to the Library of the Geeat Trigonometrical Survey of India, acceded to. £228 placed at the disposal of the Treasurer to pay bills during recess. All books belonging to the Library to be returned by 31 July and none issued in August. Leave of absence granted to the Assistant Secretary. List of bills for payment, for printing and advertising. |