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AN HISTORY OF THE INSTANCES OF EXCLUSION FROM THE ROYAL SOCIETY, WHICH WERE NOT SUFFERED TO BE ARGUED IN THE COURSE OF THE LATE DEBATES. WITH STRICTURES ON THE FORMATION OF THE COUNCIL, AND OTHER INSTANCES OF THE DESPOTISM OF SIR JOSEPH BANKS, THE PRESENT PRESIDENT, AND OF HIS INCAPACITY FOR HIS HIGH OFFICE. BY SOME MEMBERS IN THE MINORITY. Sir, you are a public man in this Society j your corduiSV, therefore, mud be fubjefl to revifion. Dr. Horsley's Speech. Still the minority feel no abafliment. Two and two ever will be four and the three angles of a triangle ever will be equal to two right an- gles, whatever majorities Prefidents of Royal Societies may procure ta Yote the contiary. tlaryatl ue of the Dxgenfmu in the Rojal Society, LONDON: PRINTED FOR J. DEBRETT, OPPOSITE BURLINGTON-HOUSE, PICCADILLY i AND SOLD BY J. BEV/, PATERNOSTER ROW J AND J. SEWELL, IN CORNHILL. M.DCC.LXXXIV. » ' ^""M \i !l ! im:^- ft* V E R R A T A, n, 6. for Cooke, read Cook. p. II. 1. 16. for Oxford and Cambridge diflenters, r. Oxftrd an Camhr'Jge of the dijjenters, p. f^. 1. ?. Confequence. p. 14. Noie. for his fxn towards the fociety, read, his Jin is fowam the fociefy. ih. 1. 26. for friends to the perfonal diftinftions of men, in oppofi tion to the imaginary ones, read, for friends to the real d'tjlm tions of mcjiy in oppofition to the perfonal ones. p. 16. for dignity of fociety, read dignity of tl^: fociety. v\ a( \, inters, r. Oxford «« ;ad, .'jts fin is t' . .>«.T.-.G — "I I 'J I' ( >' 1,1 ■J i W ■I 'I 1 ,J^ JITT' fi ij r J ] ^ of our Mcnilirrs, wlio had hcftjic tliat tiinc no fixed dcflc^n of a fyllciu.Tticnl oppofuion, to lUclarc, tliat lie liad other charges to bring forward, wliiih inii^lit pollibly kce|) the Society in clel)ate tlic whole winter. The Prefidciit, inftfailof aniwering this as, if Hrin in innocence, lie oiiL;ht to have ilone, by quitting the chair, ciiallcnging his enemies to produce their charges againft him, and calling upon the Society to hear them, deceived one of his friends fo far as to make him come to the Society, and demand of it (after what had juft palled !) not only a vote of general approbation, but an unconditional proinile of fupport. What was natural, took place : Ihe oppofition, who, ignorant of what was to follow, had never thought the game could be lb played into their hands, came for- ward with their charges, and let up, amougft the forc- moft, that of the interpolitions at eledlions ; but we were immediately flopped by a clamour more worthy of a Co- vent-Garden rabble, tlinn the Fellows of a learned Society; and ' tliis clamour, or aitiliecs llmilar to it, has been repeated, whenever we have endeavoured to gain a hearing to our juft complaints. What, therefore, coiihl not be done, when it ought to have been done, tntt/i be done now, when we lliould not have wiflied it to be done. The Prerulent has thrown the defenlivc part from himlelf upon us, and we are obliged to de- clare what we have to fay, that wc may no longer pals for fac- tious and turbulent men. VVhen this debt to ourlelves is paid, then, if no farther out rages fliall be committed, we both may and will lit quiet ; for, though certainly our contempt for Sir Jo- fcpli Banks's puny pretenlions to the Chair of the Society, ever moft flrong, has been greatly incrcalcd by his conduct throughout the whole of thisj affair ; and though we firmly believe that he will only plunge the Society deeper and deeper into ridicule and dilgrace, yet if numbers fhali ftill continue to think otherwife, with numbers we do not mean to carry on an unavailing conteft. We came forward on what we conceived to be the call of duty ; we have not haftily given up a caufe which we thought required only time, and the wearing ofFof firft im- prellions, to be feen by others, in the lame light in which we fee it ourfelvcs ; but if vve ftill fhall find that nothing is to be done, wc certainly feel too much what is due to ourlelves, as well as to the Society, to difturb either by a fruitlcfs purfuit. — Let the experiment be tried, it may not perhaps turn out fo ill as our fears tell us that it will. ^ The mode of eleftion of Fellows, which is prefcribed by the ftatutes of the Royal Society, is the following : The candidate propofcd has a certificate, attclling his qualifications, figncd by three or more Members. The certificate, thus figned, is read at the public meeting of the Society, After having hung up dur- ing I I >- Jng twc the ball( bcrs pre >hc though cuftom, per, and which h he has cure rej( taking a fcif the narch of Befon juftilicati well-groi give hiiu Firft t PrcfKlent in comm to exerci nitics of than any apply to wc cannc In the of clectio in which by nature or moral c whole roo of whom after fuch upon, it i Ihould b( when a againft a probably, jo the free ries ; but natural co clulions ? * By taJ to /uijjiife balls, or I Ifiking dow :td ikflt^n of a lier changes to :iety in cicliatc Bering ihis as, y quilting tlie :haiges againft iicm, deceived 3 the Society, !) not only a >ial promile of he oppofition, ;r thought the i, came for- igft the forc- but we were thy of a Co- xl Society i and * been repeated, ng to our juft clone, when it ;hen we fliould lias thrown the : obliged to de- Tcr pals for fac- urfelves is paid, e both may and nipt for Sir Jo- f the Society, his conduct »ugh we iirmly per and deeper ^ill continue to to carry on an we conceived to p a caufe which offof firft im- in which we fee ig is to be done, "elves, as well as urfuit.— Let the ut fo ill as our efcribed by the The candidate tions, figncd by gned, is read at ghung up dur- ing ing twelve m«?etin:^s in the public room, the candidate is put to the ballot, and it- he has two-thirds of the vo .s of tiic Mem- bers prelcnr, he ischofcn 5 if not, he is rejected. Mic charge we bring againfl: air folcph ii;uik<:, !■?, that, though not entrufted with any fuch power, cither hy ftiituic or cuftom, and very unfit, from his acknowledged violence of" tem- per, and from his incapacity to judi^c of literary qualitications, iti which he is him.'clf fhamcfully deficient, to i)e cutruflcd with it, he has repeatedly iiiterpofed, in a cbii leftinc mnnncr, to pro- cure rejcdtions of proper candidates *, with the viiiblo deligii of taking away the privilege of the body at large, and making him- fclf the fole inaftcr of the admidions, in other words, the AIs- narch of the Society. Before we bring our proofs of the fact, wefhall examine the juftificationsof it that have been offered ; as, if thefc are really well-grounded, no doubt it will be unncceli'ary for the reader to give himfclf the trouble to proceed. Kirft then it has been laid, that in influencing elections, the Prefident had only exercifcd a right which every Fellow enjoyed in common with himfelf, but which it particularly becaffie him to cxercife, becaufe from his fituation he had greater opportu- nities of being acquainted with the characters of the candidates, than any other Fellow could have ; but to this doctrine, dul it apply to the complaints, as 't will be prefcntly feen it does nor, we cannot accede for the following reafons. In the firfl place, from what has jufl been ftated of the mode of election, it muft appear that there are very few cafes indeed in which it can be fuppofcd that a Prclident, however omnilcient by nature, or great in connection, can know more of the literary or moral character of a Candidate, than the 456 other Fellows, in whole room the certificate hangs up for 12 weeks and about 200 of whom have opportunities of converling together upon it. If after fuch opportunities, the Society is flill liable to be impofed upon, it is much better it fhould be fo, than that the negative fhould be put with fo much danger into one hand. Foe when a private Fellow exercifes his right of afking balls againfl an improper candidate, he exercifes it pro una vice, probably, from the pureft motives, andcertainly with no danger p the freedom of the Society, whether he fucceeds or mifcar- ries ; but it is not fo with the Prefident, for what mufl be the natural confequence of his repeatedly intercfting himfelf in ex- tlufions ? Will it not foon be feen that his favour is the onlj^ * By taking advantage of his fituation on the very night of ele£lioQ to .funjiife luch Fellows, as were ignorant of tlie cal'e, to put in black- balls, or by frightening the Candidate, by the tear of his Oi)porition, into tpilting down the certificate. B % pair- I, v.: '3 A '1 .1- - -^vS > ■•I > li 'M • I il [ 4 I paflportinto the Society ? Will it not foon be nnc^crftoocl ; nt as thole who arcexcludcil arc excluded by him, lb tiiolc who are fuffcrcd to come in come in through his connivance ? And will not this create a counter obligation, and adcpendance in every new Member, that nmft fecurc voices to the Preiulent on the 30th of November, and keep him perpetually in his I'e.it, thoiigli ever (o dilHgreeable in his adminiftration ? It would certainly be much better, fuppofmg that tliofe whom we believe to be the wifeft, greateft, and heft men amongft us, in other inftances, are, indeed, grown To weak as to fct their hands to certiiicates they are afliamed to fupport, and that, confcquently, all the guards and checks to improper eleflion, luch as the dirlaration of perfonal knowledge, &c. &C. are no checks at all ; it would, furely, be much more dignificfl, and much lafer, rather than to fufFer a Prefident to run about the room on a night of elec- tion, out of breath, it may be, with anger and impa- tience, reducing the ignorant, awing the timid, and deceiving the wife, to have recourfe to the old method, and give the Prefident and Council the power of negativing every Can- didate propofed, before his certificate is hung up. In this cafe, at leaft, Ibme fign of deliberation would be kept up, fome previous difcuflion would take place, and the Candi- dates, inflead of being facrificed to the caprice of an individual, or the caprice of the junto of an individual, (for to that the power contended for leads) would depend upon men who come forward, and are anfwerable for their decifions. This previous ballot, wag, however, in the year 1730, given up 1)y the Council, it fliould I'eem upon the fuggellions of the late Lord Hardwicke, who being confulted on a ftill farther extent of power intended, cautioned them, in the true fpirit of a v.'hig lawyer, to have a care how they encroached upon the chartered rights of the Society.* But if the power was takeri away from 21 perfons, furely it is not fitting that it fliould be tmfted to one, and that one, perhaps, of all others, the mofl improper to have it. For the Prefiden':, (we do not now fpeak of Sir Jofeph Banks) is what is commonly called, in this country, a great man ; he has thofe who flatter him, and he has thofe whom he flatters ; he has purpofes to ferve, and prejudices to attend to} he lives alfo much with perfons who know nothing of the Society, or its purfuits, or its regulations. Shall fuch a one then didat? to us whom we are to chule ? Shall it be to him that we refiga the little power that is left ? or what is worfe, fhall it be by him that we fliall fufFer ourfelves to be tricked out of this power ? Certainly not, if we are confiftent philofophers, or confiflen^ Engliflimen, if we recolleft that there can be no fuch thing as a fmall encroachment, and that what is not very i ight, and very ♦ See the Journals fof 1750, iitting, inclcrftoocl : nt ) tliol'c who are ice ? And will icbnce in every lelulent on the his le.ii, though kroukl certainly clicve to he the ither inftances, Is to certificates ucntly, all the the dirlaration ; all ; it would, , rather than to night of elec- iger and impa- , and deceiving , and give the ing every Can- y up. In this Id be kept up, and the Candi- of an individual, for to that the upon men who lecifions- This 1730, given up llions of the late U farther extent true fpirit of a >ached upon the power was taken hat it (liould be others, the mofl not iiow fpeak of n this country, a has thofe whom ices to attend to } ig of the Society, , one then diftate m that we refign hall it be by him of this power ? :rs, or confiften^ 10 fuch thing as a light, and very iitting, t S 1 ^ fitting, IS very wrong, and very uniittins;, that it mud hav^ very bad confctjuenccs, as without doubt this muft, if tliii prelliming man be not now at leaft taught to knowhimlclf, and the rcfnedlaijle body he prcfidcs over. Bt-fides, as lias jiift l)crn oblerved, the Prefidcnt is himrelf an derive an- nual ofliccr, who is never to fuppofe he will be rc-eUiU-d, and that alone militates againft the idea of giving him, o\ all other poiHblo Members, a power, that, in the end, kcuics his rc-cled^ion. But, sdly, it is aflcrtcd, that other Prefidcnts have exercifed the fame power, and that it has not been found fault with. I his isablblutely denied. For if other Prefidcnts — Prcfidents called for, notfelf-obtrudedonthc Society, who had firtcn long in thcirchairs, and were (urroundcd by a fet of Counfellors, who could bear wit- nefs to the temperance and propriety of their conduct — havefome- times fallen upon this method ; tncy never purfueJ it to the ex- tent of 12 Candidates in four years ; nor did their cxclufion fall upon fuch men as Sir Jofeph Banks has excluded, nor was it capricious, nor (what is moft important of all,) was it carried on in the under-hand clandedine manner, in which the late exclufions have been ; on the contrary, the gentlemen who figncd the certificate were applied to to take it down, the Candidate had it intimated to him, that upon great grounds, not for capricious reafons, it was probable he would be rejected ; the matter was difcufled at the Mitre Club : but in the prelent cafes, as will now be feen, either thefe fteps have not been taken at all, or they have been taken on occafions, of all others, the^moft improper. Of Mr. Clarke of Mancheftcr, the firft unfortunate Can- didate, fomuch has already been faid by Dr. Horfley, that wc ihall only obferve, that he is an inventor in mathemalicks— that the certificate attefling his moral character, and the cha- racter he hears in his own country, was figned by the moft ref- pectable Fellows of the Society in his neighlx)urhood — that it was farther figned by the Aftronomer Royal, Mr. Wales, and Dr. Hutton, three of the firft mathematicians in our Society—* and that, notwiihftanding this. Sir Jofei^h Banks thought pro- per to go about the room on the night of election, when none of Mr. C'sfrienilscould fufpcct any danger, and alk votes ag.iinft him. The ©xcufe now given is, that Mr. Clarke is a fchool mafter, and a low man ; if by a low man is meant a man unfit, from his habits, to commune with philofophers, upon philofophical fub- jects, we fay that Mr. Clarke's temper and manners make him a fitter man to commune with philofophers than Sir Jofeph Banks himfelf. Any other acceptation cf the word loiVj as well as the objection which arifes from Mr. Clarke's being afchool maftcr, yf9 l^^yc tp be cftiinated b^' Fweign Academicians, and the gentle- V V. i -1 i m r 6 ] gentlemen amongft ourfelves, who have not forgotten Horace. At pueri ludcntcs, Rex eris aiunt. Si rede facies, I 1.^ n I the only anfwer we conceive that it becomes literary men to give to luch an accufation. But if Mr. Clarke was a fchool- mafter, and, therefore, in- eligible, what was Major Delbarres? The I'chool- mailer of Captain Cooke ; 'f- whofe friend, by the fatality which fights ngainft men, who fufFer their paffions to play where their rea- son only fhouUl be heard. Sir Jofeph Banks, contrived to dilgrace nearly in the fame hour that he was paying deferved honours to the Captain's memory. Major Defbarrcs bears a moft unblemilhed private character ; he received a regu- lar mathematical ed ication, under the two Hernouillis ; the prefeut Firft Lord of the Admiralty, bears witrjefs to his abi- lities as a maritime furveyor, and a practical aftronomer ; and the Major fpeaks ftill more ftrongly for himfelf in his arduous, nioft difficult, moft important, and moft univerl'ally well fpoken of work, entitled the Atlantic Neptuney for the ul'c of the Royal Njivy of Great Britain. Such a man, one would luppol'e ;— a traveller too into diftant and remote countries, where he might make ufcful difcoveries, or fend ufeful communica- tions of Science, — would be one of the firft perfons the Royal Society would chufe to take into their body ; it had been their policy always to do fo, and the gentlemen who figned his certificate. Sir Herbert Mackworth, Major Grant, Mr, Jodderel, Dr. Fordyce, and Dr. Richardfon, thought themfelves lb fure of their adhering to it, that they deemed it needlels to at- tend. VVIiat was the confequence? Major Delbarres was black- balled. Let Sir Jofeph Banks ftep forward, and fay it was not by his whilpers. We can, and are ready to prove, from very ftrong and very extraordinary evidence, that notiiing but his whlfpers did produce it. The next perfon black-balled was Mr. Meyrick the army ai- gent, and his certificate was figned by Lord Loudoun, Sir William Mulgravc, Sir James Napier, Mr. Peter Crawford, Colonel Duroure, Colonel Caldevvood, Alexander Bennet, Efq. and Doctor William Pitcairne, and he was black-balled by the Prefidcnt aiking votes in the room.* With \ Captain Cooke received his firft Icflbns of maritime furvcying from !M,ij'tr DefbiHiies. • In this cale Mr. Maty was aAied to black-ball, as Mr. Poore was in ttial of Mr. Clciike, but it is I'upnofed tins intluencb is not meant tu be denied j ten Horace. iterary men lerefore, in- lol- mailer of which fights re their rea- rontrived to ing deferved barrcs bears red a regu- louillis i the 5 to his abi- omer ; and his arciuous, ' well fpoken 3f the Royal 1 fuppole ;— * ;, where he conimunica- ns the Royal had been who figncd Grant, Mr. t themfelves ^edlefs to at- s was black- y it was not jrove> from nothing but he army a^ Sir William rd, Colonel Efq. and led by the With irveying from Poore was in t meant tu he dcuied i [71 With Mr. Mcyrick's literary abilities we happen not to b'^ particularly acquainted, (though vvc have heard good account* of them,) and, therefore, Iball fay nothing of them j his moral character muft, we prefume, have been refpcctable, from the rc!'pc£lable fignatures attcfting it. If then there was no reafou Avhy Mr. Meyrick ibould be a Member of a Society, which nei- ther does nor can profefs to reward^ but only to encourage and promote fcicnce, there was certainly no reafon why he fliould not ; or if there was, it becomes the Prefident to fliew, why he has encouraged fo many other Candidates, — every titled man, foreigner or Englilh, he could pick up, not at all more learn- ed than Mr. Meyrick, if indeed he be not learned, which it is ccrtoin the PreliJent does not know — to offer themfelves as Candidates to the Socif^ty ; now this, it is aflferted, the Pre- fident cannot llievv, and therefore, in this inftance too, he has afted partially and capricioully by the Society, and, inftead of approbation, merits great reprehenlion from us. Come we now to Dr. Bates's certificate, which, it is pre- fumed, will find us room for much I'peculation. Dr. Bates, it feems, is a phyfician at Buckingham, of whom Sir Richard Jebb is faid to think fo highly, that he recommends it to all his patients who happen to be within a day's journey of him, to think them- felves as fafe with the Doctor as they would be with himfelf. The Doflor came to us recommended by Lords Defpencer and Hamden, by Dr. William Saunders and Mr. Richard Sharp, by Mr. Hemming, Mr. Whitehurft, and Mr. Felton, names, one fliould imagine, that would have merited fome degree of attention, if any names could. But the Prefidcnt was then de- termined to have no country phy/icians. No country phy- licians, Mr. Prefidcnt ! the men, who, by their purfuits, the (lability of their refklcnce, and their wide excurfions into diflant and oblcurc parts of the country, are, without doubt, the moil likely to be fcrviceablc to us ! Here would certainly be tiie place to ajk, who made thee a lawgiver over usi' and to explode that filly maxim that has long been creeping into the Society, that this or that body of men were too powerful, and ought to be kept down : but we will not interrupt our narra- tive. The Prefidcnt was determined to have no country phyficians— and what way did he take to keep them out ? Why, becaul'e Mr. Hcmmings and Mr. Felton were not im- mediately convinced of the jullice of this moft Higacious deter- mination, and the two Jj/eJ/ors* (fo the two Sccrctaiies were for the denied; for if it is, no dcabt, but General Melville, and loo other Fellov,s, will Ihiit up and give their telliinony, * " You ;irc hard run, Sir Jolepli," faid a Gentleman — " How (houU i-t be othei wife, when my two AffrjJ'crs aic ai;:iiiilt ine ? Note, the Aflellbii iiud r.wcivcd ivi erJers w'lut lu dtj, till ihty c.>ruS liito ihc room. Some pciior.s 1 I I i ■••»*" 1 '.,'. ii. ) 1 I [ 8 J the firft time denominated by the Prefidcnt) had had the indifcrc- tion and temerity to engage their votes without going to head quarters for the word, he was obliged to run up and dow n the room, btgging black-balls, a lift of 36 of which he afterwards fhewed Mr. Felton, as fome confolaticn for the little mortifi- cation of having frightened him into taking down the certifi- cate. May we be allowed here to afk thofe refpcctable gentlemen, who, by the pains they have taken to keep this }>oint from being difcuffed, fecm to be fo very well fatisfied with refigning the right of private judgment, whether they have made up their minds about their names being written down, fliewed about the room, and kept by the Prefident ? Would they be perfectly eaiy to meet Dr. Bates with the confcioufnefs that he may perhaps know, that after having voted for ten ordinary Candidates be- fore, and as many fince, they have excluded him upon an ipfe dixit f ipfe voluit, ipfe cogitavitt of Sir Jofeph Banks ? But how long did this rage againft country phyficians laft ?— Was it belluiii internecinumy as that denounced oy our aaceflors againft the wolves, or is it made up ? It lafted juft three months ; for three months after, Dr. Blackburn, a country phyfician, at Durham, was chofen. And here let it not be contended, that the rcfpectable atteft- ations of Dr. Heberden, Dr. Turton, Dr. Simmonds, or Dr. Kayc, faved Dr. Blackburn. No, it was the confcioufnefs that there had been a fpirit rouzed, which would not have been laid, if another outrage of the fame kind had been foon repeated. Had the iignatures of Drs. Heberden, Turton, and Simmonds, faved Dr. Blackburn, the equally refpectable Iignatures of Dr. Warren, Dr. Gifborne, and the two Jebbs, with the additional ones of Lord Hardwicke and Dr.Lort, would probably have faved Mr. Hallifax. Here, on the contrary, the Prefident took a firm and decided part indeed, and, proud of the victory he had obtained, determined to drive over the necks of the flain, and terrify the unconquered into fubmifTion. The two JJpJfors had been in oppofition, as has been feen, on a former occafion ; here, as it happens, only one of them proved contumacious, Mr. Maty, who, allowing no man, and laft o£ perfons Indeed have thought, that this phrafe might be ufed by the Prefi- dent in a very innocent lenfe, and thac be meant no more by it than the Chancellor does, when he fpeaksof his Afll-ffor, the Mafterof the Rolls : But why then ufe it all ? why life ihe novel expreflion of my Afl'eflbrs, iiiftead of the Secretaries of the Society ? The thing i'pcaks for itlelf to any one who knows Sir Jofeph B.mks, and the idea he unhappily entertain* of the innginary diftindions of rank and fortune ; but it would not have ■■een infilled on, if it had not been to eftabliih the truth of a ilory which vriliijc told in the next paee. all, all. Sir old frie friend, ference ther's fr took pla Hallifax vealbn, fvvcr) 1 k — " Vet inoppofi never urn my vote v another; come bef Privy Co or the Co be very a fay I. Is fee that i Secretary ^vifh to b< forward ? rcfiftiblc i cncc may indifcreet) no matter &c. Hen faid to us. " Dr. Hi " as a cla •E X As the minute for 'I'ntly as .Society, flat influence ov Candidate, fitierations. Affe/Tors to "Pply it at Mr. Maty fiich an obft has p fingle and not 'his not pofTefs, "latter befo ("ncontrad h; ')' v.crc \ ■•'**•'- 1' *•'-•■- .»,•.•«- j^i,._ . . ■•£ thcindifcrc- »ing to head id down the e afterwards ittle mortifi- i the certifi- e gentlemen, it from being refigning the ide up their ed about the perfectly ealy may perhaps mdidates bc- upon an ipfe s ? cians laft ?— our aaceftors ed juft three J, a country xtable atteft" nonds, or Dr. confcioufnefs (uld not have lad been foon Jen, Turton, ly refpectable e two Jebbs, r.Lort, would contrary, the , proud of the ;r the necks of niflion. The :n feen, on a fthem proved n, and laft o£ fed by the Prefi- ; by it than the erof the Rolls : of my Afleffors, sfor itlclftoany jily entertain* of would not have of a ftory which all, ,[ 9 ] all, Sir J. Banks to prefcrlbe to him, had moreover, promifedan old friend *, the mod amiable man of his time, to vote for his friend, and likewife thought it became him to pay fome de- ference to the fignature of a nobleman who had been his fa- tlier's friend and his ovvn-f^. Hereupon, the following dialogue took place — " Mr. Maty, do you know any rcafon why Mr. Hallifax lliould be a Fellow of this Society ?" — " I know no realbn, (not meaning that he did not, but intending a fliort an- fvvcr) 1 know no reafon, but that Ihave promifed to vote for him.'* — " Very well, Sir, take notice, this is the fecond time you are inoppolitiontome." — " Inoppofition toyou, Mr. Prefidenr, I never underftood, when I became a Secretary of this Society, that my vote was to follow yours" — "V^ery well,no\vwe underftand one another; we never underftood one another before ; but it may come beforetheCouncil."—— Whether the Prefident meant the Privy Council, or the Cabinet, or the Cabinet in Soho-fquare, or the Council of Ten at Venice, or whether he only meant to be very angry, is uncertain; but thefe words he alTuredly did fay |. Is the Society fenfible of its danger now ? Does it fee that if the ftanding Secretaries are fo treated, the Foreign Secretary will be lb treated next ? Then, thofe Members who uifli to be in Council, then thofe who have Candidates to bring forward ? Does the Society fee this ? Does it feel that an ir- reliftible influence muft thus be created, and that fuch an influ- ence may hereafter, by an indifcrcet man, (we will call him only ind'ifcreet) be extended to the fending up addrefles, whig or tory, no matter which ; to tranfaftions with Foreign Academies, &c. &c. Here, however, we are fenfible, that it may perhaps be faid to us, ** amiable and refpeftable as every body muft allow *' Dr. Hallifax*s charafter to be, and diftinguiihed as he is " as a clailical fcholar; do you really think yourfelves, that an , ^ C " apothecary, • Edward Chamberlaync, Efq. f ^^^^ °f Hardwicke. X As the Prefident did not recollect this converfation, at a very critical minute for himlcif, viz. when theoppofitior, (not. fo abfurdiy or inctntift- tintly as has been fuppofed,) endeavoured to obtain a rcfolution from the bocisty, ftating, that it wonld be highly indecent for a Prefident to ufe his influence over any officer of the Society, to induce him to black-ball a Candidate, it is proper to etbblifli the truth of it by the following con- fiderations. Sir Jofcph Banks does not deny that he applied the term Affeflors to the two Secretaries, upon a former occafion. Why did he apply it at all > He confcffes that he made foine fuch obfervation a: that Mr. Maty and he were always upon difFeient fides : Why did he make fuch an obfcrvation ? Was itdelicnte, was it jult ? Does he piciei.d he has ji fingle claim, except his own idea that Mr. Maty was his secretary and not his fellow-fervant, to form a judgn.ent which Mr. Maty does nijtpoflefs, in an infinitely higher degree ? As to the threat of brinijinj the matter before Council, Mr." Maty, who cinne, and told the lioiy (nncontradifled) in his place tlu- ThurfJay alter the debate, allowtd iii-y were words fpoken in a palliuii (juft fuch wosds as the thitats of i ,„ ..X n ^ I. t ^ [ 10 ] <* apothecary, not ciriinent in any of the purfuitsof the Society, *' is a proper Member ?" Our antwer to that is, the Prefident mult certainly think lb; for, with his own peculiar conliftency, he encouraged and admitted Mr. Hurlock, apoihccarY» of St. Paul's Churchyard, within the lame year ; but we clo think, that if an apothecary is happy enough to get a kifficient num- ber of friends to think lb, he is as proper a Member as a vice- admiral of the Rulfian navy, or as a Knight of the Order of Januavius and Malta, or as an Alderman of London, (no dil- paragement te Mr. John Wilkes,) or as any other idle gentle- man in our motley and variegated lift ; for whatever we ought to be, (which is another queftion,) \vc are not an Academy of Sciences, i.e. a receptacle for the Great in Science, but a Society of Oentlemcn, of all ranks and jirofeflions, all opinions, and, we muft add, all kinds of learning, (or no-learning) paying 52 s. a-yearforthe encouragement of literature. Though \vc ouc;hr, therefore-, certainly to fet ourfelves Ibme limits, as to our Mcndxrs, thtiy arc limits which each of us ought to let himfelf, .Tnd not to allow tu be let for him by any other man, v\ho may remove r!ic;n ;u bis plcafure. And where, after all, will be the damac'^", it thelb limits are a little wide? A philolbpher is ad- mitted cr.e Thurlday, a clallical Icholar the next; 7 he third, nc't'acra clallical Iclujiar nor a philolbpher; Siinius,ethancveni()7n petimufquc (lawufque vicij/im-y it is lb, we know it, there is a liberty in introducing our iVieiuls, which we take and give, by turns ; Philolbphy does not lulc much ; good humour and friendlhip get a great deal; and, to cut the matter fhort, it has always been a cuftoin and a piivjlegc, which we do not fee why the Society fliould give up, to a perlbn lb unqualified both by temper and abi- lities toilireft iheir choice, as Sir Jofeph Banks. That he is lb unqualified, and that his caules of exclufion are the moft frivo- lous, illiberal, and unfair, that can be, will again appear by con- fidering the hillory of the next unfortunate Candidate, Dr. En- field, tutor of the Academy at Warrington, of whofe exaltation and humiliation, the following is the faithful hiftory. A let of gentlemen. Fellows of the Royal Society, and others, were dining together at Mr. Shore's, in a large mixed company; Dr. Pricftley, Mr. Buttcrworth Bailey, and Mr. Maty, were of the number : Says Dr. Pricftlcy to Mr. Mary, " Mr. of tiirnino hjm out of his place Co often, ntic', till Mr. Maty, long tired out, thought proper to emancipate hiinJ'elf, lb fruitlefsly repeated.)— 'i hey were fo ; but what then ? The Prtfidtiit of the Royal Society fliould be like bir Hany Sycan)o;e in the play ; he Ihould not put him- Itlf ill a paflion j or wlicn he finds a piopenfity to it lifmg, he fliould fay his alphabet.— ——The elected officers of ofie cf the (not the moft ref- pcclablc, as Sir J. 13. in his idle Ipcech idly calls it) moft refpeflablc liieraiy Societies in Europe, are not to be the viilims ©f Sir Jolieph Brnks's pi'.filons. Give us the m;ui that is not paflion'sflave 1 « Bailey *-~-* o-'' *■- «« Bai " Soc *• Wh " tion or 1 fliev will illilx perli univ (( (( ♦' cv) ♦' ichoc ** forti *• defer *' be fi " Wt({ " Difle *' certai *' tcr in " purllr ** as lev *' but w ** that t " fore, : *' ftand ** the m «' will " Prcfid *' to be '1 he i Dr. Prie Dr. Enh inexprefli other pr room, w tilicatc w Kij)pis, Percival, Thel fident fig muft trai jedted. lation oft cleftion h the oppof] defire to good end 1 of the Society, 1, the Prefident iar confiftency, ilhccary, of bt. It we clo think, kifficient num- mher as a vice- )f the Order of andon, (no dit- her idle gentle- atever we ought lot an Academy- Science, but a ns, all opinion«, learning) paying re. Though wc limits, as to our ;httol"et himlelt", r man, who may ;r all, will be the liilolbpher is ad- ext; The third, lus, et banc veniarn , there is a liberty give, by turns : ir and friendlhip thas always been : why the Society he (not the moft ref- it) moft reipeaable iftims *f Sir Jolepli lion's Have I *« Bailey <« (( (C (i (( (( (( (( {( (( <; <( cc ^'•1 [ II ] '* Bailey and I wlfli Dr. Knfidd to be a Fellow of the Royal Society ; but ilie times are difficult — What lay you to it ?— Why, really, Do£lor, Tome veryrtrnnge notions about elec- tions have been propagated ; but as 1 cnnnor approve them, or think they apply to Dr. Enfu-jd, J ih:\\\ lie very glad to flievv my dillike to them, by Ihpporring him tirmlv'. It will be ohjcftccl, that he is a Icho;)! mafter ; but ns that very illil)cral and partial argument can originate only from Ibnie pcribn notorious for flupidiiy at fchool (as none fpeak ill of univerfities but thole who were pointed at there for infufficien- cy) and would never, 1 am pcvluaded, be urged ngainll fucli rchool-maflcrs as the maftci s of Weftminfter or Eton, I think, for the honour of the Society as pliilofophers, and, as luch, defenders of the freedom of religious opinion, it ought not to be fufFered to weigh ag.iinfl: one who is at the head of the Weftniinfter and Eton, or rather the Oxford and Canibritlgc, *' Diflenters : With relpect to Dr. Enfield's (the Doctor is *' certainly an ingenious ethic writer, and a man of i.igh charac- *' tcr in his profclhon,) not hiiving diflinguilhed Ir.mklf i:i tiie *' purfuits of the Society, heilands exactly on the lame footin."- *' as fcveral other Doflors of Divinity, whom wc both know, *' but will not mention. However, after all 1 have laid, I know " that the things I have mentioned will l)e ur.f*ed , and there- " fore, as it does not become me, nor would I, in my iituation, *' fland forth in a fruitlefs oppolltion, I dclire you to conficier *' the matter, to weigh it well before-hand ; ami, if Dr I'niikl *' will (land, I am perfuaded we mufl get the better of tho " Prcfidcnt j but, above all things, do not fuffcr the ccri ificatc *' to be taken down." The fubftance of this converfation was repeated in a letti.-^ to Dr. Prieflley ; Dr. Pricflley acceded on die parr, of his t'ri.vl. Dr. Enfield : The Doflor's name was hung up . nd, to tiic inexprcflible furprife of Mr. Maty, who certainly did mea ., it other prefervatives had failed, to have run up one fiue of the room, vvhilft the Prelident was running down the other, the ce: - tilicate was taken down. This certilicate was figned HoujjU( n, Kij)pis, Prief\ley, Stewart, Whitehuift, Butterworlh liailry^ Pcrcival, Holies ! The hiftory of the taking down feems to be this. The Prc- fident fignified to Mr. Wedgewood, that his friend Dr. KnfieM niuft tranl'mit a paper, and that, if he did not, he fliould be re jey other methods than by fair argument. Had we thought it fit, and decent to make this a perfonal bufi- nefs, it will be confefled our names are not fo inconfiderable, nor our perfonal friends fo few, but we muft have carried fome more votes, and have neutralized many, but we difdained to adopt any fuch artifices^ and never went farther (the proofs exift) than to dcfire a few friends to literary liberty to be prefent and hear. We trufted to the force of truth upon liberal minds, we truft to it ftill, and doubt not but it muft be vi£lo- rious. For, as to the Prefident's laft refuge, and the only cover his friends ever attempted to make him tly to, that the attack ujwn his interference in elections, is an unfair one, becaufe it; makes his defence perfonal ly dangerous, * who that is ufed to realbn but fees that it provestoo much ? Once allow that any pulillr officer is not to anfwcr a charge of injuftice and illiberality, in the proper tribunal, becaufe the confequence of his own a£tion may bring himfclf into danger, you allow all that faint- hearted fraudulent tyranny ever can contend for; whereas the true reafoning is, that, whoever undertakes to exclude a man from any club or foc'ety, on the fcore of character, of connl-, does it at his own rilk; he trufts his fecret to cars which he has- a right to depend upon, (when he has fuch a right) and muil • Add the nnmes of the infiilted al>fi-ntee$ who would have been afk'-d to come if the bold ftroke to be (truck had been apprehended .and uif r.umbevs mult have been ftill nearer to an equality. • Sec Mr, Angnifii'j fpecchi \ ilfrjIftAtrJiXirilu'ai;; i ii„^».t.jfcfc> » Q i ■ [ 14 J take tlic conrv-'quenccs,* if cither thofc cars have chinks in them, or he has cholen ears which were not ajfeffedio hear him. At all events that this is a general flefence, ill applied in this par- ticular inftance, any one will fee who once more reads the rdpec^aMe names <»t Mr. Clarke, Major Dcibarrcs, Mr. Mey- rick, Dr. r»atc>^, Mr. Hallifax, Dr. Enfield, Dr. Bercnbiock, and Dr. IJlanc. If any thing fa/ther could be wanting, after what has been fajd, to induce t\c Society, now at lcn::;th, fince it has not done it l)cforc, to iiiterpofe, it would he the following very ftrong coniulerations : to wit, That from the nature of our ele^ions, two remedies remain in the breaft of the oppnlition, which may be tried, and, probably, with fuccels, if all the reft fail. The one is for the members of it to form into a firm and ftcady phalanx, to fliut the doors of the Society entirely, and oppofe all admiflions whatlbevcr, till there is full afiurance given that the outrages now complained of fliall never be repeated. As the law, which places the power of rejeflion in the hands of one third only of the company prcfcnt, affords great fa- cility for doing this, fo it is more than probable, that many, even of the members who have lately voted with the Prefi- dent, would fee, with pleafure, any attempt to reftrain that deluge of ignorance, and idlcncfs, which, in the courfe of the prcfentPrefidcncy, has flowed down upon lis from the upper parts of the town. Nor, indeed, would it be an improper flcp if the friends to thepcifonaldiiiinfiionsof men, in oppofition to the imaginary ones, were to fci/c the prcfcnt occalion of holding out, that they will no longer chufeany Peers or Privy Counfcl- lors of the three kingdoms, vvhoareipiritler'; enough to fufFcrtlieir friends xo fmuggle them into the Society by furpri/c, under the cover of the ftatiitc, which c/Zstfj but does not (as, pcihaps, is commonly thought it does,) compel thetn to l.>e put to tlic ballot on the night they arc fnft propofed ; thus precluding the ufual previous enquiry into their chara£lers and literary qualifications. Thi.^ ftatutc, which is a diigrace to the framers of it, might, pcrliaps, be lei's obnoxious at a time when Peers and Privy CounicUors were fewer, and when the real claims of high birth v.cre lefs underllood ; but now that miflakes in thefe matters are no longer (puljlicly at Icaft) made with impunity, it is proper tiiat the only literary body in .^iurope, which knows any thing f>f ihc kind, fliould throw down this monument of the adtilation and fervility of its firft Founders. And it will enilly be thrown down, without giving tlie council tlic trouble of repealing the liatute, (which, however, it Ihould be re- commended to it to do,) if a few members will give in • Whirl) ii} tliis caiV c;innot be bad, for we c!o not afTeit that Sir J. IJ. hasfxcliidcd any iiian on the Icore of moiai cliaraflei', ami any other caulfs of exrliiuon, be was c. rtainly, quoadf the candidate, at full liberty to mgc, J)i;~. ijn js towauis the Suciefy.| thciv --" "i^^:iSr^;^^^:z,x^ss'--_^ ^^itit£,^S|Si " ift Ti n »ii i i 1 . inks in them, ar him. At ;1 in this par- re reads tiie , Mr. Mey- Bercnbiock, lat has been has not done T very ftrong iir elei^ions, ition, which the reft fail, m and ftcady , and oppolc e given that cpcatcd. As n the hands •ds great fa- that many, ih the Preli- reftrain that le courfe of om the upper proper ftepif )ofition to the 1 of holding ivy Counfel- to fufFcr their under the , pet haps, is to tliC ballot np; the ufual ualifications. )f it, might, and Privy jf high birth e matters are , it is proper ws any thing lent of tlie And it will tlie trouble lould be re- i\'ill c give m that Sir J. ]J. )y other caules thciv [ 15 ] their names, and unite to confider, as unworthy, all fuch per- Ibns as fhall ftill think proper to infult all the commons, as well as all the learned men of this country, by claiming, on the fcore of birth only, what any man muft confefs to be the fole due, if not of literary merit, yet of other qualities with which birth or ilation have nothing to do. To fuch an aflb- ciation, therefore, i. e. to the reje£tion of every Candidate, ex- cept pcrfons of the Royal Family, whofe certificate does not liang up twelve nights, the Fellows of the Royal Society arc here moft earnellly invited. Another remedy of a quite different kind, (and which we only mention to ihevv the danger of not checking Sir Jofeph Banks's ufurpation, as we Ihould be fori y to fee Canditlatcs have recourfc to it,) is the following: — Let every Candidate, who vvifhes to be a Member, make a regular canvals of the Society, as one gentleman did j his admiifion will then depend upon per- funal civility, upon common good nature, againft which it is folly to iuppole Sir Jofeph, who has himlelf llretched that ftring lb fur on a late occaiion, could either contend or weigh. Hnd he, indeed, appeared to have had a proper fenfe of the dignity of the Society ; had he uniformly rejefted improper Candidates ; had he not ihtwn fo fhameful a partiality to high birth and lituation, as, amidft all his profefllons of attachment to the mi- nutijc of onler, to fuffer, only live weeks ago, the Earl of Salif- bury and Sir William Younge, to fit in the room vvhilft their elcftion was going forward, thus precluding all poffible enquiry into their literary qualifications : if it did tiot appear from what has been ftated, that he had yielded to favour at one time, and followed private refentment or caprice, at another ; he might have expefted that the indcpendant Members would have joined him in preventing fo improper a mode of getting into the Society; but till he abjures, in apublic manner abjures, (the only fecurity he can give us) any interference as Prehdent, direft ni indired i 'till he gives unequivocal figns of repentance, by fup- porting, with all his ftrength, the eight Candidates he hasufcd hi> ftrength to overthrow, it is folly to inppolc, that any gcntlemaf. of the Society will any longer fufFcr hiinlelF, or his friend, to be laughed at and duped by Sir Jofeplr Hanks : that hi! will not, ou the contrary, avail himfclf of the facility the intercomrc ot this great toun aflbrds to thofe who know liow to canvafs, to bring about, what the Prefident brings aiwut by furprize and a fccrct junto, ^'^'e repeat it, that we do not mean al)iblutcly to ve- commc )d luch meafure:., but only mention tht-iii to Ihcw whnt the Prcfident's conduct unavoidably mufl; end in. hut perh ips, after all, we may be reminded, that we fpeak [ily of the certificates which Sir Jolt-nh Hanks 0L!i;ht not to liave but oiTjit to mention fgrnc \{\ which his intei- fcrencs only rejcilcd, I ■*u*-'.^— *— .— Q^. \ [ l(> ] fercnce has done cood. To this we briefly anfwer, tliat the good done even in thofc cal'es, the merit of which wc know very well, is extrcmclv dubious, that it remains to be proved, that the eftcdt Sir Jofeph Banks's influence produced, would not have been produced in a natural way ; and that, if ever ib much good had been produced, we do not think', the whole cafe being flated, and the contidcrations prefixed to this article having been taken in, that the good at all balances the evil. It is true. Sir Jofeph had a certificate withdrawn, the owner of which foon after advertifed a patent for water-clofets— ( water- clofets, by the bye, are parts of mechanics, and very iiecelTary parts too, even to philofophers) ; but he did not get Dr. Price, the gold-finder's^ certificate witlidrawn ; and if lie had, ftill \te mufl ever think, the depriving the Society of Major Delbarres, and Mr, Clark of Manchcfter ; the contempt thrown upon the flaiutable mode of clcftion, prcfcribed by our anceflors, the infult offered to upward^ of fifty refjiectable men, who, as we faid above, the Prcfidcnt well knew could not have voted approbation, if this matter had been brought forward when it ihould have been, and, above all, the violences, and diiingenuous artifices, exercifcd in the above cafes of Dr. Bates Mr. Hallifax, and Mr. Defbarres, *' are more than a balance to any accidental good that might arife from fuch unconflitu- tional interference. Hitherto we have confined ourfelves to matters which, tho* dangerous to the fafely, onlyafFe£ted thedignityof Society in this country ; but we come now to the confederation of a bufinels, which tends to lelTen, degrade, and ruin us, in the fight of the whole European world of letters — We mean, the formation of every Council fincc Sir Jofeph 's prefideney, but particularly, of the lafl Council. 1 he Council of the Royal Society is, at the fame time, as is well kuown, its Committee of papers, that part of the body who is to decide upon the merit of difcoveries, either foreign or domeftic, and to hold the equal balance between its own laborious Members. The nomination of this body is in the Society at large, who, however, in a very evil hour, of later years, have in fact left it to their Prelident, evidently under an implied, though not cxprefi'ed, covenant, that he would take care that there fliould always be in it a proper number of men of fcience in each branch, fit to do the work for which they arc deputed. With this" fccurity, wc rife from our beds on the foggy 30th of November, come and make our bows to the Chair, and throw our lifts into the balotting boxes with- out ever looking at them. But what lifts have we put into the • Sy giving out that he was the wiiter of pei ioJical publications. . boxes c boxes Papers liberati ' vvhatd forbiin cxuir, touchcc gcntlen dition of their is ac fta them to not that indeed much pi dear to 1 Hiflory ofNatui ordinary has foil where N conclude brinq;s us he underi ciencyin every hui longs to r much goc Ijjoken of able on a felves, ev fence of j but ftill V fcience vi object ? t if we maj moftly oc which n( Where ii fefTed che the practi( What no Society o knowledgi the days of ! Sir W. I gri '^ _. *-' *"'7**'.««r^ :r, that the which \\c wins to be ; produced, and that, if t think', the fixed to this balances the idrawn, the ater-clofets-— I, and very ; did not get J ; and if he ; Society of :he contempt ribed by our lectable men, uld not have ught forward violences, and of Dr. Bates in a balance li unconftitu- ■s which, tho* iocicty in this if a bufinefs, the fight of Ithe formation particularly. Society is, at papers, that >f difcoveries, lance between (his body is in liour, of later itly under an le would take Iper number )rk for whicli le from our lake our bows boxes with- putiiito the ltcations> . boxes boxes this year I Jrufpex arufftcem \ Let the Committee of Papers confidcr their own aJlcmhly, when they meet next to de- liberate upon the papers before thtm, and then let them cftimate whatdegrccof gratitude they, or theSociety, owe to the Prcfident, for bringing them into this fituation. And here let not malignity cxulr, as though in our zeal we cared not on what fubjects we touched, or how many rcfpcctable characters we attacked } the gentlemen arc public men, and too well acquainted with the con- dition of fuch men in this country to be offended at a difcuffion of their public characters, when any part of the public intereft is ac Hake ; but bcfides, unqualified though wc muft maintain them to be, when thus joined together in one body, it follows not that we cannot allow great and diftinguiflicd merit to many, indeed to all the individuals. We know, and repeat ic with as much pleafurc as the reader reads it, that one honourable member, dear to the Society, as well for his amiable qualities, as for his Hiftory of Vefuvius, is well cjualificd to decide in feveral branches of Natural Hiftory ♦; we arc fenfible, that fame of w more than ordinary proficiency in the particular ftudies of the Society has followed an amiable young nobleman -j- from the place where Newton begun his illuftrious careerj, to that where he concluded it ; we gladly confefs that another learned member || brings us allthatfundof honcfty,all thatattachment to the bufinefs he undertakes, all that ardour for uleful knowledge, and that profi- ciency in it, which render him the boaft of every learned as well as every humane fociety he belongs tp in this country, and he be- longs to many ; in a word, we know that, in hisfingle capacity, much good of every man is to be fpoken,and that no evil is to be fpoken of any j that all are wife and learned, and moft honour- able on all accounts — honourable indeed, they have (liewnthem- felves, even amidft all thofe little irregularities to which the de- ^ fence of a firft opinion, too eagerly taken up, has carried thetn— but ftill what is this to profelfional fkill ? to that accuracy of fcience which arifes from having been employed only about one object ? to that acquaintance, in fliort, with the niinutta;^ and if we may fo call them, the finelTes of thofe dry ftudies which moftly occupy us in the times of our meeting, and without which no man is fit to judge of philofophical inventions ? Where in a word are the mechanics ? Where are the pro- fefled chemifts ? Where are the mathematicians ? Where are the practical aftronomers ? — What not a fingle one of either I What not a practical aftronomer in the council of the Royal Society of London, inftituted for the promotion of natural knowledge, at a time vvlien the Heavens, almoft (hut up fince thedaysof the immortal Newton, feem to be again opened by Mr. • Sir W. Hamilton. f ^or^ Spencer. % Pruvcd his infant iving, as a great writer calls it, ji Uaac Hawkins Urowp, Ef4. D Heifchel I ■/^sffifch.-- cy.TS'Sf*4;=«5!lll^-^ [ i8 ] Hcrfchcl to the curiofity of mankiiul ? Is it poITihlc ! and Jo \\9 affect (for jifK'ct it vvc muft) to be fcrioully uncafy, hccaufc uc (ufpcct that fomc foreigners may not have had anfwtrs in form to their letters of form, while this is our Ihamc and this our dilgracc ? And let it not be faid that this evil, great as it is, may be remedied, and that the council have the power of calling into their committee any member to aflift them ; we know that they have this power, and we know that they inufl: ufe it this year ;.but what is this irregular, tcnjpoi^ry, and partial mode of proceeding to the regular nomination of a Handing body known, and, in lomc degree at Icafl, refponfible for its proceedings? Such a body vvc expected and bad a right to cxpeft, from otu: prefidcnt ; we trufted him to procure it us ; he has abuleJ that truft, and is anfwerable not only to us, but to all Europe for the abufe. He is To much the more anfwerable, bccaufe it will immediately be made appear that the diftrcfs arofc not from accident. The aftronomer royalwas difmiffcd fuddenly from ihc council*; why he was difmiflcd, makes no part of the prcll-nt enquiry ; tiie [U'cfident, indeed, told General Rainsford, in the prelcnce of three or four gentlemen, on the '^oth of Ko- vcndicr, that it was to haflcn the publication of the Grecnuicli Obfervations ; it might be fo ; if it was, never was vigorous meafurc of government attended with more complete lutcefs ; for the obfervations were ready for prcfs within the month, as, indeed, (which certainly the good prcfident did not re* colled) the aftronomer had promifed that they fliould :-~ But, once more, be this as it may, the aftronomer- royal was difmifled ; he might very conftitutionally be difmiU'cd, jicrhaps there may be fomc propriety in liis being fomc- timcs left out of our council, as we are viiitors of the Royal * Obfcrvatory ; but when he liad been diuniired, u liy was not ano- ther aftronomer put in his plnce ? What had Mr, Wales done, or Mr. VVollafton, or Sir G. Shuckburg, or Sir H. Engleficld, or Mr. Herfchel himfelf ? In other Icicnccs, what has Mr. Smea- ton done (he comes to town once a year)? What had Mr. Ca- vallo done ? What had Dr. Horlley done r lliislaft gentleman may, indeed, be iuppofed to have dijquaiificd iince, but at that time *. . . . Not a cheniift, not a mechanician, not a mathemati- cian, not a praftical aftronomer in our councils ! What then is to become of the papers, home papers we mean ? (foreign papers we henceforward fliall have none), and by whom arc they to be tried ? Formerly there was fome kind of eftabliflied order in the Society ; the learned man gave his papers, to the fecretary, the fecretary • Et ce mcme Seneque ct ce meme Bunhus Qui depuis . . , , , Rome alors honoroit ieurt vertui* in ever, \^ l)lc ! and ilo \\9 incal'y, hccaufc had anlwcis in fhamc nnd tl.is il, great as it is, Ipovvcr of culling ; W'c know thaC nmfl: ulb it this partial mode of Ing body known, Us proceedings ? xpcft, from our he has abullJ us, but to all bccaufe it will is arcji'c not from :l luddcnly from no part of the cncral Rainsfonl, the 30th of No- tf the Grccnulcli ver was vigorous romplete lucccls ; thin tiic month, ent did not re- they fliould :— - aftronomer royal ly be difmillljd, his being fome- ors of the Royal Ally wasnot aao- r. Wales done, or i"i. Englefield, or n has Mr. Smca- hat had Mr. Ca- lls lafl gentleman lince, but at that not amathemati- ' What then is lo brcign papers wc ; thev tobetried ? er in the Society ; 17, the fecretary ri vertuf » in I '0 ] in due time produced them to a body of men t!\at w.is known, aiul eatli of v\Iioin was rcTponlibIc for the lenr>nco he rave l^hcIVcfidcnt now takes tiiern, the Prcridentclian^rcs the order of reading them (not in particular cafes, as alone he is pcriuitted by cxcepiion in the ftatutes, !)ui every I'hurfday) th.- Pr ildcnt may, if he plcafes, hand them about to a junto (lie mult hand them about to fomebody) for an opinion, who may, for autdit he knows, be the enemies or the rivaU of the wri'er, or wIkuii, at leaft, he docs not know that tlie wiittr would eith-rthoufe for his judges, or like to communicate hi; j)apiT to. Surely, who- tyer fees not in this, as well as in the imperial ludi-maQiftc- rial knock with the hamnr-r, in the dictatorial rtbiilF, whicii Mcflis- Bridgen and Brereton received in vcrv early days, for fpeaking modcftly about the alteration in the hour of meeting; in the affected introcUiciion of great people into the So- ti^ty i in diflinctlons of rank upon every occaUon ; in the no- mination of Dr. Dryander to take the catalogue of the books, when there was a Librarian in the houfe, who having given I'e- curity, might have refufcd aftranger admittance ; anti when, if there jiad been no librarian, a Prelidcnt, duly diidainful of jobs, might have propofed the bulinefs to fcnnc of the Fellows ; who- ever, in all this, as well as in the then avowed and nJ yet rclin- qniflied plan of laft year, to ruin a whole family, by difmifling our Librarian and Clerk, unheard and unadmoniflicd, for a ffw venial and many imaginary faults'^', fees not a fixed and fettled plan of defpotifm, not lefs violent in the means than trifling in the objedt, mull have been born blind, or have made lum- felffo. Does there remain a doubt in the mind of any man ? We will ftate one more anecdote. After all that has been now pal- ling for nine months in the Society, it was not fix weeks ago, that in the prefenceof trn of the moft refpcftablc members of the Council, thePrefident told Mr. Maty, whenlierofe inhis placeas Counlellor, to give an opinion, which happened not to be ex- aftly that of the Prefident, that he was always in oppofition to the Prefident, and that it was fufficient that the Preficicnt fliould propofe a thing, for Mr. Maty to oppofc it. Is it plain now of whatmabdy the Prefident is fick, and how incurable and invete- rate the dilbrdcr is, fincc aii the medicine given has had no efFctfl ? * This matter went fo fnr, that the feveral members of the Council were applied to in form to prote6t their Clerk, and that many of them, the T)f^nu of Chrid Church amongCt others. Dr. Maflcelyne, Mr. Harrifon, and Dv. Hoare attended, or declared themfelves ready to attend Coimci I for that purpofe : But the Prefident rclinquiflied his idea for that time, as the year before he had rciinqniflied the idea of propofing another Secretary, in litii of Mr. Matv, in whole noll'afTion nvrittcu evidences of this laft fail wxilt, * D a Docs ■ J, I i .^' '=**. I r ft i ,Tr )<) ,1 [ 20 ] Does not it ftrlke every man vvlio reads, that Sir Jofepli Banlcs cannot give up the idea of being the Governor and DlreSior of a body, whofe cuftom it never has been to choofe a Governor or Diveftor ? But ought he, or ought he not, to give this idea up ? Ye hitherto faithful fupportcrs of authority, will ye publicly maintain, and can ye maintain, that ihe conftitution of the Soci- ety will be prefervecl, if he keeps it ? Will ye fay, that by the conftitution of the Society, by the Royal charters which define its conftitution, the annual eleftion of a council is meant to be a mere mockery of an election, and that the Prefident of the Royal Society has greater powers than the Head of a Houfe at Oxlord or Cambridge? If ye cannot fay this, and (if )e can, ye take very difficult ground indeed) be c\^nflftent, and have the fpirit to do fomethingcfFeftualto prevent abufe. Either choofe a new Pre- fident on next St. Andrew's day, which we muft think will be the beft flcp you can purfuc, or, if that be going farther than ye think for the good of the Society, unite 'in putting an ef- fectual rcftraint upon the prefent one ; give him Ephori ; choofe two or three, it matters not what two or three, but choofe two or three profeffed members of the oppofieion into your councils. Do ye ftart ? Be affured, that this is the only way ye can take, either of checking him or evincing your own fairncfs. As there can be no pretence whatever for the twenty members of a Coun- cil, deputed jointly to do the duty of the body, being all per- sons who think vv'.th the Prefident upon all fubjefts, and as no- thing can be fo illiberal or fo unworthy of ye as to fuppofe that the gentlemen who have oppofed him now from public principle, ivill thwart and oppofe him when he fliall happen to be right, from motives of peevifhnefs or revenge ; fo, depend upon it, you can only give the Society reft by this means ; othervvife, think of what palliatives you may, introduce as many moderate men as you pleafe, heap together as many learned ones as you can. things will foon return again to the fame ftate in which they now are. The Prefident is incurably fick with the luft of domination, he imagines himfclf born to rule (Good God ! how little do men know themlblves \) ; and cannot perceive that he has neither the intelleftual nor the moral tjuaiities of a ruler. Honefty he poflcfles— the honcfty of a private man. Of the honcfty of a governor, for which modern languages have no nam2, the Greeks called it J7r«£ixjt«, he is deftitute. — His attach- ment to the interefts of the Society may be warm and fincere ; but while his underftanding of its interefis is defeftive, the mif- chicf which is daily done by his mifmanagement muft be in- creafcd proportionably to his zeal for your fervice. Put, there- fore, about this well-intentioned and ill-advifed Prefident, thole who profefledly difallovv his omnifcience and divine right to govern wrong, thofe who have ditFerent views for the bo- tjety from his, thofe who will Afit be held in from Ipeaking by fahb falfc tim preventil can. li are to e) ScicncesI and for as it will all over (juired tl within a| leave y( body in oully wij the ufurj lift, and themfelv Not tc lingly p; nature, t conccivcc t'ce of, and may, little ven( fccond ni one whic money j point at ; tion of ve rooms, f( that this in view, ledged b] not a pro of the V idea that chairs to Somerfet to thofe . not be fu as it is J tlnones, peflive ported 1 They w fuch Ro clo the S but at 1 prcl^cnd ^ "L. .^. a^„ iirtiff^-« fofepli Banks DireSIor of a Governor or this idea up ? ye publicly n of the Soci- ', that by the hich define its Ticant to be a of the Royal ufe at Oxford can, ye take e the fpirit to ofe a new Pre- think will be farther than (utting an ef- ^phiti i choole It choofe two pur councils. ' ye can take, cfs. As there ;rs of a Coun- being all per- s, and as no- fuppofe that iblic principle, to be right, lend upon it. Is ; otherwife, ny moderate ones as you ate in which lith the luft of |(Good God ! perceive that es of a ruler. Ian. Of the es have no His attach- Jand fincere ; live, the mil'-' |mu(l be in- Put, there- Prefidcnt, divine right for the Ho- lipeaking by fallb C 21 ^] falfc timidity or partial regards. This may prefcrve peace, by- preventing the commiffion of frefli outrages, but nothing elle can. If this, or fomething of the kind be not foondonc, you are to expeft the creftion of a new Society, a real Academy of Sciences, in the country. This will be weak at firft, perhaps, and for fomc years the objc£l of your mirth and derifion ; but, as it will be founded upon the true principles now acknowledged all over Europe, and condudted by men who know what is re- ^^^ f? t^ [ 22 ] volous as the public may have been taught to think, and nmy, for aught we know, invidioufly be luggcfled in another phue, Astothe intention of levelling principalities and powers, of which fome of us are fo ridiculoufly and fenfelclly accufed on this oc- cafion ; nothing of that tendency can be attributed to our mcafures ; For wliatever may be this man's or that man's opi- nion of the utility of honorary diftinflions, and the refjicft due to them (and where fhall opinions of that kind l^c free, if not atnong the members of a Philofophical Afllnibly r) it is, we think, pretty well agreed on, that every man leaves his rank at the door of the Royal Society, except with regard to the bare object of civility, juft as every man leaves his iword at the door of Tome other peaceable alTcmblics. The qucftion, therefore, is not whether any Margrave, or Bargravc, or Palfgrave, is great enough to have particular refpect llie^'n him ; but wlie- tlier it is more manlv for him to be contented with tlie attention thtit was 'hewn to Peter the Great the great civili/cr of JRuffia, to the prefcnt King of Denmark, the prclent King of Poland, he. when they vifited the fociety, than to have innova- tions made on his acccount. Now it is apprehended there are feme very good reafons why he fliould be contented with ihcfe civilities. In the firft place, if he is a man of fcnfc, or has had a tolerable good tutor, he will be taught, what vvc coticeive to be very good morality, even that of king Solomon, and no level- ling doctrine at all, that it becouics crowned heads to bow to ici- cnce, and not fcicnce to bow to crowned heads. Seccnclly, lie will fee, thr,t though he fits in ever To fine a chair, he will Hill be but the fecond man in the room, for the Preiidcnt muft fit above him, covered too, whilfl he fits uncovered, unlcfs it is m" ^ttdi appointed, conjiitutedy and ordainedo\}itx'vi\{t byanewflatute*. * Since this article has been drawn up, Mr. Maty has written to Paris, »o know what the cuftom of the academies there may be, with regard to the 'liftinftions paid to great perfonages. The following is the anfwer he re- ceived. '• L'Academie Francoife, mon cher con.', ere va recevoir a la defcentc clu *' carofle les Souverains ctrangers qui lui font I'honneiir de la vihtcr et •* leur ofFre le fauteiiil dn DirciStenr. L'Empereur I'a refufc- abfolunient, ** coinme noii? arons vu a I'acad^mie des Belles Lettres le Grand Due ** & la Grande Duchcfie de Ruffle refufer ablblumcnt les fauteuils qui les " auroient dijiingiies et vouloir etre affis fur nos chaifes. A I'Academie *' Francoife ainli quTi I'acadcmie des Bclles-Lettrcs les perfonnes de la " fuite occupent les ficges places dcrriere les fauteuils des academicicns, *• ou chcz nous derriere les tieges des ofliciers." No doubt the Kings of Bolabola and O-why-hee are the only inonarchs in the world who would dream of introducing the "ceremonies that to great ones 'long," into a literary atrembly. Not again that we lay great Itrefs on fuch matters, one way or other ; but they ferve to fliew the i'pirlt by which the Prefident isgoycrned, and the fplendid impiov#nents he li iikeiv to introduce. But, "» great mg, ■>'».-- hink, and may, in another place-. owers, of which ulecl on this oc- tiibatetl to our that man's opi- \ the refjicft chic 1 he frcf, if not bly I) it is, \ve :avcs his rank at t^ard to the bare aord at the door ftion, therefore, or Pahgrave, is him ; but whe- ;entcd with tlie great tivili/er oi "prdent King of 1 to have iniiova- hended there are ented wiih thcle fcnfc, or has had i vvc conceive to on, and no kvcl- wls to bow to Ici- s. SecciKlly, he lair, he will ftill ^•elidcnt muft fit d, unlcfs it is in- byanewftatute*. as written to Paris, ,vvith regard to the the anfwer he re- oir a la Hefcentc clu leiir He la vi Titer et refufu abfolument, tres !e Grand Due es fauteuils qui k's es. A I'Academie es peifonnes de la s des acadeniicicns, the only monarchs ceremonies that to n that we lay great fc to fliew the Ijiirit improv^nents he But, .J:^***^"" t 23 ] But# bcfides thefc confiderations, which are to the Prefident . and his Jjfiffors., there is one which immediately concerns the Society, and that is, that if the ducal chairs are once to be bellowed, we (hall be involved in endlefs unprofitable debates, about recommending to Council, on whom they fliall be be- llowed. The republican, whea he hears they are to be given to Sovereign authority, will alk them for the fcnators of Lucca and San Marino ; or if he is not a very learned republican, for the lenator of Rome ; fomebody elfe will think that Meer Cata- baw, a Cherokee King, or the well-educated Omiah, now perhaps a powerful Chief, in his own country, ought to have them ; and a third party will be of opinion, that General Paoli, Ibmetime Protector, tho' never King of Corlica, and certainly not theworfe for having been unfortunate, ought to have them perpetually. Thus the Geographer and Heralds of the Society, will be con- llantly at work about the jus gentium^ and Somerfet Place con- tinue in as great a ferment as the diet of Ratilbon, 'till it is determined who jue fovercign princes and who are not. But this muft not be : traditum ab antlquis tnoretn fervare mementOy which being tranflated means, no chair butthe Prefident'sand tiie two Secretaries ever ouQ;ht to come into the meet in f^ room of the Royal Society. Jt is the lame Ipirit of adulation to great perlpnagcs, which has dictated the new alterations in the Ijils, in which, amidft the truly courtly carL to fecure protec- tion, lupport, and forbearance for the Royal Society of Lon- don, by inlerting the additions of every Commilfioncr of tijc Cuftoms, and Member of Parliament, who has the honour to be of the body j we cannot but admire, that it has been thouglit improper to print any addition after the name of the furgeons. As to Mr. Nairnc, the inftrument-maker, though foreign aca- demies may think the admifTion of an eminent man in his pro- feffioH, does us as much honour as any admiffion on the lift, vvc can account for his profeffion not being marked. The Prefident, (preluding, as it fhoulcl feem, to his future greatnefs) endea- voured formerly to exclude him, as well as feveral other learned ipembers, from the Society. Another proof, if any was want- ing, that the gentleman now in the chair, however qualified, or whatever his merits of another kind may be, has not the ideas proper for a Prefident of the Royal Society, and that he never will have them. Two words more, and we have done. — Much has been faid of the Prefident's attachment to the interefts of the Royal Society, as far as his abilities v/iil allow him to fee them (nobody has fpoken of him as a lynx) and of his nice attention to the management of our finances. Neither of thefe qualifi- cations we mean abfolutely to deny him ; for, though the two worft papers in the Tranfa<^ions of the four laft years'—papei s very I ' ^^:— k > \ 4 •■■?>.— . ! B [ 24 1 very cxpenfive in the publication, and certainly no ornament td the volume— were written by the Prefident's friends, and have been publifhed folely out of compliment to him ; and though the fending Mr. Nairnc, who had taken a decided part in the controverfy about condu«Slors, at all to Heckingham was an imprudent^ and the fending him nsfecond to Dr. Hlagden, was an improper ftep, we are willing to attribute them both to thofe little partialities infeparable, perhaps, from the condition of hu- man nature, and which we fhould evendifdainto remark in one who did not plume himfelf fo much on difdaining jobs. We allow then that our finances have been well managed (not bet- ter managed than they were by Sir John Pringle) we grant our Prefident the praife of being attentive in his attendance and fe- licitous to do us good (not more attentive, nor more folicitous than Sir J. Pringle was)— But what then ? We have not written thus far to dillemble what we think. Sir Jof. fianks mght make a very good Clerk, a very good Attorney, or even a very good Treafurer to the Society j but the man who is to fill the place of Prefident, fhorld be fomething more. As to the procuring more papers, better papers than other Pre- fidents have done, though poffibly fome flight praife is to be beftowed upon the hofpitality that has aimed at this (God for- bid that we fhould ferioufly detrad from this hofpitality any more than from the hve of fcience, or any other praife-worthy quality the Prefident may poflefs) ; nobody will tell us that it is owing folely to this hofpitality. Surely the papers of MefT. Cavendifh, Kirwan, and Herfchell ; of Dr. Mafkelyne, Dr. Hutton, and Mr. Wales j of Mr. Vince, Dr. Waring, Mr. Hunter, and Mr. Maferes j (and take thefe away, what fo great remains ?) would have been produced, though there had been no breakfafls in Soho Square, and thoufrh it had not been known that Sir Jofeph Banks wifhed the Society fhould have many papers. And who knows, after all, (we fpeak upon more than conjecture) how many papers have been ftifled. and how manyyi/^yf'.^ C 26 ] we fent for<:h to Europe, at the head of our learned volume, 1 fpeech of that gentleman, deficient in Engliih, deficient in grammar, deficient in idea, full of fulfome and undignified adulation tif ourfelves, mean and inadequate in expreflions of relped and gratitude, where the higheft refpefl and gratitude is due. The dignity of the Society was committed, when we fat patiently by, and faw that gentleman encouraging the very difordeis he was elefted to reitrain, At one time voting in his own caufe ; at another, afFedling not to count the balls in a qucftion which was goina againft him* ; a third, taking the fenfe of the body, in diredt oppofition to a politive ftatute, by * On a qiieftion moved by Sir Henry Englefield, without the knowledge! of nny picfcflld member of the oppoiition, to infert in imitation of other, academies, in the volumes of the Tranfailions, the naines of the perfonss who gained the Society^medal. Whether Sir Henry thought that abufes) had exifted, which would by this means be corre6\ed, and that L'Abbe Montana and Dr. Ingenhouz, (great del'pii'ers of imaginary dillinslioiisf and literary charlatai.s,) had been particularly ill-ufed by not having itk given to them, is more than can be iaid ; but it is certain that Sir Jofcph j Jlunks was dellred by one of his intimate friends, on the very morning j the queftion was to be debated in the Society, to let the Council do whaci Sir Henry alked, and that he refull-d it. — He will tell the world, whetherj it was for the purpofe of Hopping ulelel's and unprofitable debates, in| which he has fo admirably fucceeded. On this occafion, however, the! debate, profitable os'ftfcprofitable, went againil him ; for Sir Henryj carried the queftion by a great majority, though Sir Jofeph was ihenj in the plenitude of his power j but, ftranee to tell I though the queftion was carried four months ago, the Council have as yet made no order in the bulinefs. Is this perfevering in the fupport of claims that cannot be I'uppotted, cr is it not ? Surely, a conciliating and moderate-minded man,j would not only havo dirtSlly feized this occafion of feeming to yield a little to the declared lenfe of the body ; but he would have anticipated their dtfircs, and been himielf the mover to take a frefli opinion of Council^ concerning the right of nomination to the place of Foreign Secje- tary, which he could not but be fenfible was not only a point very: likeiy to be dil'puted, but%very difputable point. Yet Sir Jofeph will be j iiivprizeil, and inveigh againft thole who conl'ume the time of the Societyj in frivolous and unprqSlable debates, when at the very next meeting of| the Society the Secretary receives, as he certainly will, a motion figned for the puipofe of lecommending to the next yeai's Council, immediately to t.4kc this opinion— As to this whole quarrel with the Foreign Secretary, ii; appears lb ihoioughly ridiculous, that one would hardly think new cir- cuiuiianccs could come out to make it more fo ; and yet, itrange to tell ! tlicic r'.re fuch. An iniquitous law was made, that Dr. Hutton ftiouiJ jiot rtiiil,; at Woolwich, and lo! his immediate luccclFor refides near Chel- fca : Dr. Hutton was held up as a negligent man, for not having an-,' Jvvcitd an infignificar.t letter of Mr. Bonnet; and, for aught that ap-| ptLiis upon oiu' books, ^ •jarinwnious are all thy^i'^rcdopeiatjuns ! rrr. ..'t .A., ■^ cone blov be JiJld r earned volume, i glifli, deficient in le and undignified e in expreffions of pefl and gratitude utted, when we fat ouraging the very me time voting in :ount the balls in a third, taking the pofitive ftatute, by without the knowledge t in imitation of othex* le names of the peifons iiy thought that abiifes 5teJ, and that L'Abbt' imaginary dillin^ioii;; ufed by not having it ^ certain that Sir Jofcph .J on the very morning t the Council do what, lell the world, whether 1 nprofitable debates, in./ ccafion, however, the him; for Sir Henryj I Sir Jofeph was then' II ! though the queftion as yet made no order ^ f claims that cannot be moderate-minded man, feeming to yield a little, I have anticipated their- efli opinion of Council ace of Foreign Secje-, ot only a point very"' Yet Sir Jofeph will be the time of the Society] e very next meeting of / will, a motion figned s Council, immediately h the Foreign Secretary I hardly think new cir id yet, itrange to tell !• hat Dr. Hutton fliou!J'| cclfor refides near Chel- an, for not having an-, nd, for aught that ap' /■ ordered that it /boulf^ panying a moll I'plcndiii " ritof iiiconfiftencjr, ho\rJ / - ■>f^. J^' i^ [ 27 1 tumultuous acclamation t ; clinging, inftort, like a polypus, to every one of his ufurpations i and n.-ver (vvhich has driven us to this harfli neceflity) never at any one. ' triod of the long nine months the conteft has nowr lafted, zdnu Pledging that he tnight be raiftaken, promifing that he wouW amend j or even foliciting a friendly conference of the two p'arties, authorita- tively to fettle what might be amifs. Finally> our dignity h is been eflentially committed, by fome ofu^ perfifting, agaip^ft every admonition, and by every artifice rfifting, to fupport " ads which it is one of the firft and darling diftinftions of fcience to abhor and reprefs, af the madnefs of party, than that grave and learned men fhould hav *»etted this ignorance ? P. S. Since this fheet has been fait to prefs, the following paragraph has appeared in all the public papers. *' Yefterday, Major Defbarres kifled Vis Majefty's hand, on being appointed Governor of Nova Sec •" This reward, wo hear, has been conferred on this abP^nd fpirited officer— for great national fervices — in recompencf "nuch time and much money— for having faved, by his ph^ophical labours, many ' of the King's fhips, and the lives of t»any of our fellow fub- jeds. W hat will the Ro^l Society of London, inftituted for the promotion oT natural knowledge, dV"ow? will it choofe this rival of Cook, this fucceflb ' ' ^Halley, if he fhould condefcendto offer, or will it/«/)j '' chair ^ follow up the * blow, and becaufe it has been in ' " . f gonce, determine to be in the wrong forever ? The e^ p» Europe are upon us, jiftd we are called upon to corred w we have done amifs. •■ i ■ I N 'iri'^^ ♦ -^ ■^ ^- k:-^*^^ '"^ •■-,. •* /■-5:/ '}*/^