CHAPTER II 
THE DECADE 183O-I84O. (By J. L. E. DREYER) 
1. In 1830 February, when the Society had existed for ten years, 
it was generally felt that it ought to obtain a Charter of incorpora 
tion in order to secure the property already acquired or which 
might be acquired, and to insure the appropriation of that pro 
perty to the particular uses for which it was destined.* A small 
committee appointed by the Council to look into this matter, 
reported the following month that they had learned that the 
expenses would to a great extent depend on the number of names 
introduced in the Charter. They had seen some recent charters, 
in which every necessary object had been fully attained by the 
insertion of one name only, that of the President, and of very few 
clauses. The amount of fees would come to about £270 and the 
law charges would not exceed £50. 
Subscriptions to cover these expenses were therefore invited 
from the Fellows, and in a few months nearly £400 were collected. 
Eventually the expenses only amounted to £268, as Mr. Henry 
Hoppe transacted the legal business gratuitously.f In 1830 May 
the President (South, since 1829 February) was empowered to 
sign the petition to the King for the grant of a Charter, while a 
committee was appointed to examine the Bye-laws of the Society 
and to propose any alterations and additions that might become 
necessary. The matter dragged on ; in the following November 
it was reported to the Council that there had been some delay 
from unforeseen causes. But on January 14, South announced 
that he had attended the Levee on December 15, when the 
King inserted his name in the autograph book as Patron of the 
Society, and that in consequence the Society would now become the 
Royal Astronomical Society. At the same meeting of the Council 
the Charter Committee reported that they had settled the draft, 
and that a clause had been inserted, providing that no Fellow 
who had filled the office of President for two successive years 
* This question had already been raised in 1825, but no effective action 
was taken. 
t An unappropriated balance of £129,18s. 1 od. was handed to the Treasurer 
for the general purposes of the Society in 1832 February. 
50