Page:History of the Royal Astronomical Society (1923).djvu/146

 122 HISTORY OF THE [1850-60 at Somerset House, and the Council at first " unanimously de- precated " any removal ; if, however, removal was insisted upon, they formulated certain conditions. It must be remembered that the original Government scheme for Burlington House would have given accommodation of a different character from that now pro- vided. The intention was to give all the societies offices of sufficient size for their routine clerical work and rooms for Councils or Com- mittees to meet, while the rooms for scientific or general meetings were to be common to all the societies, and used by each in turn in accord with a mutually arranged calendar. The libraries of all the societies were also to be amalgamated into one, to which all Fellows and Members would have access. In many ways the original proposal was a thoroughly businesslike and practical one, and would have resulted in great saving of space, while the effective accommodation for each science would have been quite as ample as at present. The individuality of the various societies was, however, too strong, the measure of co-operation proposed proved impossible, and the plan was ultimately abandoned. Several of the societies, our own included, were prepared to accept a common meeting- room, but they could not reconcile themselves to a common library. The other conditions laid down by the Council were that they should have not less space than they had at Somerset House, that quarters should be provided for a resident Assistant Secretary, and that they should be put to no expense. At the same time, the officers were not anticipating an early move. In 1854 July, De Morgan wrote to Admiral Smyth on this subject : " All is going on well as to the Government proceedings. We shall not be stirred these ten years, I augur. You know the story of the birds in the nest listening to the farmer plotting how to cut the corn. Now Government is a man who cannot work for himself. He works through people who report. Deep calleth unto deep that is, one office reports to another, and the other refers back, and then they consider, and red tape becomes grey before they have settled how to proceed. And if you give them six months' start and set a snail at them, the snail beats them by a thousand lengths ; and then there is a change of Ministry and a new report to ' my lords,' and ' my lords ' make a minute, which means in time a year, and so ad infinitum." De Morgan over-estimated the speed of a Government Depart- ment ; it was twenty years before the shift of quarters was accom- plished. In 1853, Airy again took the Presidential chair, and among new members of Council were De la Rue, then just beginning his work in astronomical photography, and Grant, whose History has already been mentioned. The two years of Airy's Presidentship were in