Page:History of the Royal Astronomical Society (1923).djvu/266

 234 HISTORY OF THE [1880-1922 Fellows were not likely to have been in contemplation ; and as the masculine pronoun is used throughout, they must be taken as not included. The Council, however, decided that Miss Pogson's name should be suspended, so as to forward it to the general body of Fellows to be dealt with by them as they thought fit. In voting adversely there could be nothing personal, as it would be understood to mean that the question should first be considered by a General Meeting. Miss Pogson's proposers thought so too, and withdrew her name. Again in 1892 three ladies were proposed for election and the Council adopted the same procedure, but this time the proposers did not shrink from the ballot. It was taken at the April meeting * and resulted in the three ladies failing to obtain the requisite three-fourths of the votes given. The matter was now allowed to rest for many years. A mild plaister was offered to the possibly wounded feelings of the ladies a few months after their rejection. It was resolved by the Council that the President be authorised to issue cards of admission to the meetings " to such persons as it may be thought desirable to admit," available for one season (November to June) ; the President to submit a list, and one-third of all the members of the Council to be sufficient to veto a name. This system worked very well, and was continued as long as ladies were ineligible for Fellowship. At last the matter was settled in 1915. At the Annual General Meeting the Council proposed that the Meeting should approve of the admission of women as Fellows and Associates, and that it should request the Council to take the necessary steps to render their election possible. It was explained that enquiries had been made at the Crown Office and the Privy Council Office. A draft petition to the King in Council and a draft Supplemental Charter had been prepared, the forms of which had been approved by the Privy Council Office. The expense would be about 100. During the discussion which followed, not a single voice was raised against the proposal. It was pointed out that a few years only after the foundation of the Society, Caroline Herschel had been elected an Honorary Member ; she was soon followed by Mary Somerville, and later by Miss Sheepshanks (a benefactress of the Society), Lady Huggins, Miss Agnes Clerke, and Miss Cannon. The resolu- tion was passed by fifty-nine votes to three. At the meeting in the following November it was announced from the Chair that the Supplementary Charter had been received. The first lady- candidates for Fellowship were balloted for and duly elected at the meeting in 1916 January. piano and a fiddle, dancing through most of the papers, etc.
 * After some would-be facetious remarks by a Fellow about getting a