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It was, however, refused; and I was at the same time
informed that the Observations could be purchased at the
bookseller's [This was a mistake; MrMurray has not copies of
the Greenwich Observations prior to 1823 When I consider that
practical astronomy has not occupied a very prominent place in my
pursuits, I feel disposed, on that ground, to acquiesce in the
propriety of the refusal This excuse can, however, be of no
avail for similar refusals to other gentlemen, who applied nearly
at the same time with myself, and whose time had been
successfully devoted to the cultivation of that science
Bessel, at the wish of the Royal Academy of Berlin, projected a
plan for making a very extensive map of the heavens Too vast
for any individual to attempt, it was proposed that a portion
should be executed by the astronomers of various countries, and
invitations to this effect were widely circulated One only of
the divisions of this map was applied for by any English
astronomer; and, after completing the portion of the map assigned
to him, he undertook another, which had remained unprovided for
This gentleman, the RevHussey, was one of the rejected
applicants for the Greenwich Observations
There was, however, another ground on which I had weakly
anticipated a different result;--but those who occupy official
situations, rendered remarkable by the illustrious names of their
predecessors, are placed in no enviable station; and, if their
own acquirements are confessedly insufficient to keep up the high
authority of their office, they must submit to the mortifications
of their false position I am sure, therefore, that the
President and officers of the Royal Society must have sympathized
MOST DEEPLY with me, when they felt it their duty to propose that
the Society over which Newton once presided, should refuse so
trifling an assistance to the unworthy possessor of the chair he
once filled
In reply to my application to the President and Council, to be
allowed a copy of the Greenwich Observations, I was informed
that, "The number of copies placed by government at the disposal
of the Royal Society, was insufficient to supply the demands made
on them by various learned bodies in Europe; and, consequently,
they were unable, however great their inclination, to satisfy the
wishes of individual applicants Now I have spent some time in
searching the numerous proceedings in the council-books of the
Royal Society, and I believe the following is the real state of
the case:--
In 1785, Lord Sidney, one of His Majesty's principal Secretaries
of State, wrote to the Council a letter, dated Whitehall, March
8, 1785, from which the following is extracted:--
"The King has been pleased to consent, that any copies of the
Astronomical Observations, made at the Observatory of Greenwich,
(and paid for by the Board of Ordnance, pursuant to His Majesty's
command, of July 21, 1767,) which may at any time remain in the
hands of the printer, shall, after you have reserved such copies
as you may think proper as presents, be given to the said Nevil
Maskelyne, in consideration of his trouble in the superintending
the printing thereof I am to signify His Majesty's pleasure,
that you do, from time to time, give the necessary orders for
that purpose, until His Majesty's further commands shall be
communicated to you
Soon after this letter, I find on the council-books:--
"Ordered, That sixty copies of the Greenwich Observations, last
published, be retained as presents, and that the rest be
delivered to the Astronomer Royal
It is difficult to be sure of a negative fact, but in searching
many volumes of the Proceedings of the Council, I have not
discovered any revocation of this order, and I believe none
exists This is confirmed by the circumstance of the Council at
the present day receiving precisely the same number of copies as
their predecessors, and I believe that in fact they do not know
the authority on which the right to those sixty rests
Supposing this order unrevoked, it was clearly meant to be left
to the discretion of the Council, to order such a number to be
reserved, "from time to time," as the demands of science might
require When, therefore, they found that the number of sixty
copies was insufficient, they ought to have directed the printer
to send them a larger number; but when they found out the purpose
to which the Astronomer Royal applied them, they ought
immediately to have ordered nearly the whole impression, in order
to prevent this destruction of public property If, on the other
hand, the above order is revoked, and we really have no right to
more than sixty copies; then, on discovering the Observations in
their progress towards pasteboard, it was the duty of the Council
of the Royal Society, as visitors of the Royal Observatory,
immediately to have represented to Government the evil of the
arrangement, and to have suggested, that if the Astronomer Royal
have the right, it would be expedient to commute it for a liberal
compensation
Whichever be the true view of the case, they have taken no steps
on the subject; and I cannot help expressing my belief, that the
President and Council were induced to be thus negligent of the
interests of science, from the fear of interfering with the
perquisites of the Astronomer Royal
It is, however, but justice to observe, that the injury already
done to science, by the conversion of these Observations into
pasteboard, is not so great as the public might have feared
Pond, than whom no one can be supposed better acquainted with
their value, and whose right to judge no man can question, has
shown his own opinion to be, that his reputation will be best
consulted by diminishing the extent of their circulation
Before I quit the subject of the Royal Observatory, on which much
might be said, I will just refer to the report by a Committee of
the Royal Society that was made relative to it, some years since,
and which, it is imagined, is a subject by no means grateful to
the memory of any of the parties concerned in it My object is
to ascertain, whether any amendments have taken place in
consequence To one fact of considerable importance, I was
myself a witness, when I was present officially at a visitation
At that time, no original observations made at the transit
instrument were ever preserved Had I not been an eye witness of
the process of an observation, I should not have credited the
fact
OF THE ROYAL MEDALS
At a period when the attention of Government to science had not
undergone any marked change, a most unexpected occurrence took
place His Majesty intimated to the Royal Society, through his
Secretary of State, his intention to found two gold medals, of
the value of fifty guineas each, to be awarded annually by the
Council of the Royal Society, according to the rules they were
desired to frame for that purpose
The following is the copy of MrPeel's
letter:--
WHITEHALL, December 3d, 1825
SIR,
I am commanded by the King to acquaint you, that His Majesty
proposes to found two gold medals, of the value of fifty guineas
each, to be awarded as honorary premiums, under the direction of
the President and Council of the Royal Society, in such a manner
as shall, by the excitement of competition among men of science,
seem best calculated to promote the object for which the Royal
Society was instituted
His Majesty desires to receive from the President and Council of
the Royal Society their opinion upon the subject generally of the
regulations which it may be convenient to establish with regard
to the appropriation of the medals; and I have, therefore, to
request that you will make the necessary communication to the
Council of the Royal Society, in order that His Majesty's wishes
may be carried into effect
I have the honour to be,
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