| 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; Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie; 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; Captain George Henry Richards; William Sharpey; Archibald Smith; George Gabriel Stokes; the President, Lieutenant-General Edward Sabine, in the Chair.
Among matters discussed or noted: minutes of the last meeting read and approved. Letter from Thomas Romney Robinson, Observatory, Armagh, 31 October 1868, to George Gabriel Stokes, full text entered into the minutes: a suggestion for the spectroscopic study of stars and nebulae, with a series of questions to be answered; Robinson believes that the observatory of William Huggins would be suitable for the purpose, if equipped with a powerful telescope, giving some specifications for an appropriate instrument, together with its significant costs; Messrs. Cooke of York could supply it at £2,000 and the Society should consider financing it. Report of a committee set up by the Royal Society for considering Dr. Robinson's letter, stating that an estimate of £2,100 had been obtained for a telescope with fittings and clockwork, and that a recent bequest by Mr. Oliveira might be used: the committee recommends the purchase of a 15-inch refractor, to be supervised by Mr. Huggins, who would himself defray the costs of the observatory and spectrum apparatus. Letter from Messrs. Few, stating that the anticipated £1,800 from the Oliveira bequest was likely to be less than expected due to a legal ruling by Vice-Chancellor Stuart that morning. Resolved that it was desirable to construct a telescope for the purposes described, and a committee was to be appointed to report to Council on the best means to carry this forward. The preliminary report on dredging operations conducted by Drs. Carpenter and Wyville Thomson was considered, and it was thought desirable to renew and extend the exploration the following summer, with the support of the Government: a committee to be appointed to carry forward the resolution. Report on the distribution of Dr. Bigsby's Thesaurus Siluricus, with lists of institutions and individuals to receive copies. Lord Houghton was granted an extension of time for admisison to the Royal Society. Letters from Sir John Macneill and Edward Solly explaining the circumstances of default in their annual contributions, requesting to be readmitted to the Society: the cases to be read from the Chair at the next Ordinary Meeting. Letter from Alexander Agassiz returning thanks for Mr. Kitchen Parker's work on the sternum and shoulder girdle of the vertebrata. Letter from Ernest Haeckel of Jena, giving thanks for the grant of Philosophical Transactions. The Foreign Secretary reported on two vacancies in the list of Foreign Members, a preliminary list of candidates to be formed at the next Council. Letter from W.R. Greg of the Stationary Office, requesting a copy of the Catalogue of Scientific Papers to be supplied to the Admiralty, granted. Letter from the Librarian of the Birmingham Free Library requesting copies of Philosophical Transactions, the request acceded to. Photographs of the recent solar eclipse taken by Major Tennant to be lent to Alexander Herschel to illustrate a lecture at the Royal Institution. Bill for payment, for paper. |