| 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; Jacob Lockhart Clarke; Frederick Currey; Warren De La Rue; William Henry Flower; Captain Douglas Galton; John Peter Gassiot; John Hawkshaw; John Marshall; William Allen Miller; William Hallows Miller; 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. Financial statement on the position of the Royal Society by the Treasurer, William Allen Miller, in response to the propriety of purchasing a large aperture astronomical telescope, full text entered into the minutes. Report of the committee appointed to consider the best means of carrying out the objectives in Dr. Robinson's letter, full text entered into the minutes: the committee determined that it would be desirable to construct a larger speculum than originally thought, of 22 inches aperture, and a plan and estimate had been received from Mr. Grubb; the committee asked to be empowered to proceed to a detailed plan and estimate from Grubb, for a telescope that could be used optionally as a refracting or reflecting instrument, with a probable cost of £2,100; resolved that the committee should be empowered ,with a sum not exceeding £2,000 to be appropriated. Report of a commitee on marine researches, full text entered into the minutes: noting the conclusions of the dredging operations carried out by HMS Lightning during August-September 1868 and the temperature sounding of Captain Shorland in the Arabian Gulf and the potential of the deep ocean floor for scientific research; the work of the Lightning cruise should be followed up with the Government by a detailed survey of the depths between the North of Scotland and the Faroes and the report gives suggestions on the course to be taken and natural history work to be completed; detailed consideration of the necessary instruments should be referred to a specialised committee; the report adopted and an application to be made to Government accordingly. Draft letter, William Sharpey, Secretary of the Royal Society, Burlington House, 18 February 1869, to the Secretary of the Admiralty, full text entered into the minutes: referring to the preliminary report by Dr. Carpenter on the dredging carried out by HMS Lightning and requesting assistance for a second expedition. Resolved that a committee be appointed to consider instruments for the proposed expedition. Report of the Government Grant Committee in the form of minutes of the meeting of 17 February 1869, full text entered into the minutes: lists of applications for grants, with a provisional list of successful applicants; the committee ordered that the attention of grant recipients should be drawn to the resolution declaring that all instruments and apparatus purchased with Government Grant funds should be considered the property of the Royal Society, and shall, if deemed desirable, be deposited ultimately in a museum of instruments; the same rule should apply to drawings. Grants of £25 and £50 recommended to be made by the Scientific Relief Committee, for applicants. Letter from W.G. Romaine, Admiralty, 10 February 1869, to the President of the Royal Society, full text entered into the minutes: on the question of the best method of protecting iron ships sheathed with wood and copper from the effects of atmospheric discharges of electricity, the design elements are summarised and the Royal Society is asked for an opinion on the desirability of lateral conductors, and any other reamrks on the novel plan of vessel construction; referred to a committee set up for the purpose. List of candidates to be considered for election as Foreign Members of the Royal Society at a future meeting. £15 from the Donation Fund allocated to Warren De La Rue to enlarge solar negatives from Kew Observatory for a paper on sunspots. £7 15s from the Donation Fund granted to Mr. Loewy for experiments on thermometers in a vacuum; and £10 to Mr. Cayley for obtaining models of surfaces. Letter of resignation from Mr. Hux and his wife from the positions of Porter and Housekeeper, £20 presented to them for their twelve years of service. The Treasurer reported that Few and Company had sent a copy of the judgement delivered by the Lords Justices in the case of Beamont vs. Oliveira. List of bills for payment, for lithography, printing and binding. |