| 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: Lionel Smith Beale; William Bowman; Commander Frederick John Owen Evans; Edward Frankland; John Hall Gladstone; William Robert Grove; William Huggins; Thomas Henry Huxley; William Lassell; William Allen Miller; William Hallows Miller; William Sharpey; Colonel William James Smythe; William Spottiswoode; George Gabriel Stokes; Thomas Thomson; John Wrottesley, 2nd Baron Wrottesley; the President, Lieutenant-General Edward Sabine, in the Chair.
Among matters discussed or noted: minutes of the last meeting read and approved. Report of the Committee appointed to consider the letter of Mr. Hennessey, on observational work that might be done at Mussoorie, full text entered into the minutes: recommendations on observations of the brightness of fixed stars, with special attention on any periodic stars detected; zodiacal light; actinometer observations; the solar spectrum by spectroscope; and the total solar eclipse visble in India during the next year, with recommendations on the cost of instruments to be used; the report adopted and a sum of £300 from the Donation Fund authorised to defray expenses. £25 from the Scientific Relief Fund granted to an applicant recommended by the President of the Linnean Society, and a grant of £50 to an applicant recommended by the President of the Royal Society. Letter from H.W. Chisholm, Warden of Standards, 7 Old Palace Yard, 19 July 1867, to Edward Sabine, full text entered into the minutes: requesting the loan of the Royal Society's platinum metre, to facilitate in the preparation of a metre being made for the Standards Department by Troughton and Simms; if granted, the metre should be delivered to James Simms for removal to the Factory at Old Charlton; Mr. Chisholm's request acceded to. Letter from Few and Company, 2 Henrietta Street, Covent Garden, 19 June 1867, to Walter White, full text entered into the minutes: on the present legal status of the Oliveira Legacy in the Court of Chancery. Adjudication of Royal Society Medals: additional names added to the lists for Copley and Royal Medals, and candidates for medals proposed and seconded with brief citations. Letter from Professor B. Price referring to calculating services of Mr. Shanks of Houghton-le-Spring and recommending a small donation to him: 20 guineas from the Donation Fund to be presented to Mr. Shanks for his arithmetical labours. Application from the Royal Geographical Society for permission to hold their meetings in the Royal Society's Meeting Room in the ensuing sesson, granted. Letter from Mr. Busk at the Linnean Society, stating that permission had been granted to the Zoological Society and to Entomological Society to use Linneann Society rooms, and seeking the approval of the Royal Society: and Dr. Miller intimated that the Chemical Society had granted permission to the Mathematical Society of London to meet in their rooms; permissions granted on the same terms as previously. The President had given leave to St. George's Volunteer Rifle Corps to use the Great Hall at Burlington House with Council's permission, approved. An application from the Commissioners of the National Exhibition of Works of Art at Leeds to borrow portraits of Henry Spelman, Francis Bacon and John Smeaton, acceded to. Letter from Mr. Claudet requesting permission to use the wood block from his paper on a new focus equalizer, granted. Mr. Francis applied to reprint the plate from Mr. Wilde's paper on magnetism and electricity, granted. Letter from Mr. Charles Tomlinson requesting permission to copy from the archives a paper by Sir William Snow Harris, granted. £100 to be placed at the disposal of the Library Committee for the expenses of the Catalogue. The Treasurer was authorised to purchase £600 stock of 3 percent consols. Dr. Abel's paper on gun cotton selected as the Baklerian Lecture for 1867. Dr. Julius Haast granted an extension of time for admission into the Fellowship. All books belonging to the Royal Society to be returned by 31 July and none issued during August. Leave of absence granted to the Assistant Secretary. List of bills for payment, for paper, lithography and for other expenses. |