Page:History of the Royal Astronomical Society (1923).djvu/248

 216 HISTORY OF THE [1880-1920 done at once, and the Committee thus constituted (which included the members of the Solar Physics Committee) arranged for observing the eclipse of 1893 April 16 in West Africa and in Brazil.* In 1894 January the Council of the Royal Society enquired what the R.A.S. intended to do with regard to the eclipse of 1896, and whether they would take joint action with the Royal Society as in 1893. To the suggestion that the Royal Society might appoint additional members of the R.A.S. Committee the Council of the senior Society not unnaturally objected. They proposed instead of this that a permanent Joint Committee should be set up, having executive powers, electing its own Chairman and officers, applying on its own authority to the Government Grant Committee of the Royal Society, and taking care of instruments purchased out of any grant thus received. This was at once agreed to, and the permanent Joint Committee held its first meeting on 1894 May 2. It has existed ever since, the members being appointed annually in equal numbers (at present eleven) from each Society, to the great benefit of solar research, as the preparations for and the observations of total eclipses have been most efficiently organised. Arrangements were made in 1898 for the publication of results ; the preliminary reports were printed in the Proceedings of the Royal Society, and a sufficient number of copies were supplied to be issued as appendices to the Monthly Notices at the expense of the R.A.S. Similarly with the final Reports in the Philosophical Transactions. This arrangement came, however, to an end in 1906, a subject to which we shall return when describing the Society's publications. While thus taking a leading part in organising eclipse expeditions from this country, the Council continued as in former years to watch the state of efficiency of the Nautical Almanac. Hind had been Superintendent since 1853 and held this post till the end of 1891. Towards the end of this long term of office he was perhaps somewhat unwilling to make any changes of importance ; but in 1890 June the Council took the initiative, probably instigated by a paper read by Tennant two months earlier. In this paper various changes were advocated, while attention was called to the limited number of apparent places of stars, which was much smaller than that of the star lists of the Berliner Jahrbuch and the Connaissance des Temps. f A Com- mittee was appointed (including the Superintendent) to report to the Council as to whether the Society should approach the Admiralty on the subject. The Committee handed in their report in 1891 June and it was approved by the Council. Among the improve- ments suggested were : a considerable increase in the number of
 * Report in M.N., 53, 472. t MJU. 9 50, 349-