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 v r ould 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 w r ho 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 r 
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 1 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 Bistory has already 
been mentioned. The two years of Airy’s Presidentship were in