123 
1850-60] ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY 
the main uneventful. The Medal in 1854 was awarded to Charles 
Riimker for his astronomical observations in general, and for his 
Catalogue of twelve thousand stars in particular. In 1855 it was 
given to Dawes for his long-continued devotion to astronomy, his 
numerous contributions to the science and the excellence of his 
observations. The Presidential address on that occasion was a 
model of terseness and brevity and filled barely two pages of the 
Monthly Notices. All the addresses of this period were in fact much 
shorter than we have been accustomed to recently, and though it is 
doubtless often of great value to have a reasoned review of a man’s 
work put before us, and such review, if it is to be complete, cannot 
be very short, it is nevertheless possible that the present generation 
might learn something of the art of condensation by studying the 
models set by their great predecessors. 
In 1855 the choice of the Council fell upon M. J. Johnson, the 
Radcliffe observer, and De Morgan yielded the secretaryship, which 
he had held so long, to De la Rue. Carrington from Durham, and 
W. Simms, of the famous firm of Troughton and Simms, took their 
seats at the Council table. In 1856 January the Council, which had 
become somewhat uneasy at the large number of Associates elected, 
appointed a Committee to consider the question and recommend 
whether any limitation should be imposed. In July the Committee 
made a long and careful report. It appeared that the number 
had risen from about 21, at which it stood in the early years of the 
Society’s existence, to 56. The names were carefully scrutinised 
and it was found that no one had been appointed who did not reflect 
honour upon the Society and that, in general, the selection could 
not have been better done. The Committee, however, thought 
it would be desirable in future to have an understanding, not 
explicitly embodied in a Bye-law, that the number should be 
restricted to about 50. This was accepted by the Council and has 
remained a working principle since that date. Even with the 
enlarged astronomical developments of the present times the number 
appears to be sufficient to include everyone of real distinction, and 
it would be hard to find any instance of a foreign astronomer of 
high merit who has not been included in the list. 
It may be noted that the original idea of the qualifications and 
functions of an Associate differed in one important particular from 
our present conceptions. Now we look upon the election as an 
honour to a foreign astronomer, accorded him upon the sole basis 
of his services to astronomy. In the early years of the Society, 
and still persisting in 1856, it was held that an Associate should be 
recommended for election not only in recognition of his past 
achievements but also in hopes of his future services, and great 
stress was laid on the importance of selecting such men as could