Page:History of the Royal Astronomical Society (1923).djvu/265

 1880-1920] ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY 233 alteration of Bye-Law 23, which was proposed by the Council and passed at the Annual Meeting in 1903 : That the composition fee be raised to thirty guineas, and be reduced by one guinea each year after five years to a minimum of five guineas. While on the subject of the annual contributions, we may mention that formerly the Council had no discretion to deal with cases of Fellows who were three years in arrear with their sub- scriptions, but had to expel them. It happened, of course, occa- sionally that a man got into financial difficulties without any fault of his, in which case it was felt to be very hard to have to deal severely with him. It was therefore proposed by the Council, and passed unanimously at the Annual Meeting in 1900, that if in such a case a Fellow should desire to resign his Fellowship, it shall be in the power of the Council to remit the whole or any portion of his arrears by a special vote in which at least two-thirds of those present and voting shall concur.* During the war many Fellows found great difficulty in paying their subscriptions. It was thought that some discretion should be allowed to the Treasurer in dealing with such cases. At a Special General Meeting, held on 1917 June 8, an addition to Bye- Law 26 was therefore passed. By it, any Fellow who was on active naval or military service might be excused from payment of his annual contribution until the end of the year following that in which peace was declared. After that he could either resume his Fellow- ship or resign it without any liability for arrears of subscription. The general upheaval caused by the war brought about a reform in the constitution of the Society, which had been talked of privately for a long time without being formally proposed the admission of women as Fellows. When the British Astro- nomical Association was founded in 1890, women were at once admitted as members. But the lead thus given was not taken up, although the subject had been before the Council as early as 1886. In November of that year, Miss Pogson, of the Madras Observa- tory, was duly nominated for Fellowship by three Fellows. Before ordering her name to be suspended for election, the Council thought it well to obtain Counsel's opinion on the admission of women. Mr. Ranyard reported, that unless it could be shown that a woman could not consistently exercise the rights and perform the duties of a Fellow, the Council could be compelled to allow the name of a woman to be suspended for election. But when a second opinion was called for, it was to the effect, that regard being had to the social habits of the time when the Charter was granted, female
 * Accidentally omitted from the report of the meeting, M.N., 60, 295.