Of the Funds of the Institution.

Having long been in a habit of considering all useful improvements as being purelymechanical, or as depending on the perfection of machinery and address in the management of it, and of consideringprofit(which depends much on the perfection of machinery) as the only incitement toindustry, I was naturally led to meditate on the means that might be employed with advantage to diffuse the knowledge and facilitate the general introduction of such improvements; and the plan which is now submitted to the public was the result of these investigations.In the beginning of the year 1796 I gave a faint sketch of this plan in my second essay; but, being under a necessity of returning soon to Germany, I had not leisure to pursue it farther at that time, and I was obliged to content myself with having merely thrown out a loose idea, as it were by accident, which I thought might possibly attract attention.After my return to Munich, I opened myself more fully on the subject in my correspondence with my friends in this country, and particularly in my letters to Thomas Bernard, Esq., who, as is well known, is one of the founders andmost active members of the Society for Bettering the Condition and Increasing the Comforts of the Poor.This gentleman I found, on my return to England in September 1798, not only agreeing with me in opinion in regard to the utility and importance of the plan I had proposed, but very solicitous that some attempts should be made to carry it into immediate execution in this capital.After several consultations, that were held at Mr. Bernard’s apartments in the Foundling Hospital and at the house of the Lord Bishop of Durham, at which several gentlemen assisted who are well known as zealous promoters of useful improvement, it was agreed that Mr. Bernard should report to the Committee of the Society for Bettering the Condition of the Poor the general result of these consultations, and the unanimous desire of the gentlemen who assisted at them, that means might be devised for making an attempt to carry the scheme proposed into execution.The gentlemen of the Committee agreed with me entirely in the opinion I had taken the liberty to express, that the Institution which it was proposed to form would be too conspicuous, and too interesting and important, to be madean appendixto any other existing establishment, and, consequently, that it must stand alone, and on its own proper basis; but as these gentlemen had no direct communication with any persons, except with the members of their own Society, they appointed a Committee, consisting of eight persons, from their own body, to confer with me on the subject of the plan.[12]I had the honour to meet this Committee on this business on the 31st of January, at the house of Richard Sulivan, Esq., where a plan I had previously drawn up for forming the Institution in question was read and examined, and its principles unanimously approved; but, as some of thegentlemen present were of opinion that the plan entered too much into detail to be submitted to the public in the beginning of the business, I undertook to revise it, and to endeavour to accommodate it to the wishes of the Committee.Having made such alterations in it as I thought might satisfy the Committee, I sent a corrected copy of it to them, accompanied by the following letter:‘Gentlemen,—Inclosed I have the honour to send you a corrected copy of the Proposals I took the liberty of laying before you on Thursday last, for forming in this capital, by private subscription, a public Institution for diffusing the knowledge and facilitating the general and speedy introduction of new and useful mechanical inventions and improvements; and also for teaching, by regular courses of philosophical lectures and experiments, the application of the new discoveries in science to the improvement of arts and manufactures, and in facilitating the means of procuring the comforts and conveniences of life.‘The tendency of the proposed Institution to excite a spirit of inquiry and of improvement amongst all ranks of society, and to afford the most effectual assistance to those who are engaged in the various pursuits of useful industry, did not escape your observation; and it is, I am persuaded, from a conviction of the utility of the plan, or its tendency to increase the comforts and enjoyments of individuals, and at the same time to promote the public prosperity, that you have been induced to take it into your serious consideration. I shall be much flattered if it should meet with your approbation and with your support.‘Though I am perfectly ready to take any share in the business of carrying the scheme into execution, in case it should be adopted, that can be required, yet there is one preliminary request which I am desirous may be granted me, and that is, that the Government may be previouslymade acquainted with the scheme before any steps are taken towards carrying it into execution; and also that his Majesty’s Ministers may be informed that it is in the contemplation of the founders of the Institution to accept of my services in the arrangement and management of it.‘The peculiar situation in which I stand in this country, as a subject of his Majesty, and being at the same time, by his Majesty’s special commission, granted under his royal sign manual, engaged in the service of a foreign prince, this circumstance renders it improper for me to engage myself in this important business, notwithstanding that it might perhaps be considered merely as a private concern, without the knowledge and the approbation of the Government.‘I am quite certain that my engaging in this, or in any other business in which there is any prospect of my being of any public use in this country, will meet with the most cordial approbation of his Most Serene Highness the Elector Palatine, in whose service I am; for I know his sentiments on that subject; and although I do not imagine that his Majesty or his Majesty’s Ministers would disapprove of my giving my assistance in carrying this scheme into execution, yet I feel it to be necessary that their approbation should be asked and obtained; and, if I might be allowed to express my sentiments on another matter, which, no doubt, has already occurred to everyone of the gentlemen to whom I now address myself, I should say that, in my opinion, it would not only be proper, but even necessary, to inform Government of the nature of the scheme that is proposed and of every circumstance relative to it, and at the same time to ask their countenance and support in carrying it into execution; for although it may be allowable in this free country for individuals to unite in forming and executing extensive plans for diffusing useful knowledge and promoting the public good, yet it appears to me that no such establishment should ever beformed in any country without the knowledge and approbation of the Executive Government.‘Trusting that you will be so good as to excuse the liberty I take in making this observation, and that you will consider my doing it as being intended rather to justify myself, by explaining my principles than from any idea of its being necessary on any other account, I have the honour to be, with much respect, Gentlemen, your most obedient and most humble Servant,(Signed) ‘Rumford.‘Brompton Row, February 7, 1799.(Addressed)‘To the Gentlemen named by the Committee of the Society for Bettering the Condition of the Poor to confer with Count Rumford on his scheme for forming a new Establishment in London for Diffusing the Knowledge of Useful Mechanical Improvements, &c.’The Committee above mentioned having, in the meantime, made their report to the Society for Bettering the Condition and Increasing the Comforts of the Poor, that Society came to the following resolution:‘At a meeting of the Society for Bettering the Condition and Increasing the Comforts of the Poor, on Friday, the 1st of February, 1799,‘Present:TheBishop of Durham, in the chair,Patrick Colquhoun, Esq.,Thomas Bernard, Esq.,William Manning, Esq.,John Sullivan, Esq.,TheRev. Dr. Glasse,John J. Angerstein, Esq.,William Wilberforce, Esq.,Richard Joseph Sulivan, Esq.,Matthew Martin, Esq., Secretary,the Committee appointed to confer with Count Rumford reported that they had had a conference with the Count, and that they were satisfied that the Institution proposed by him would be extremely beneficial and interesting to the community; that, in order to provide the pecuniary funds of the Society at its commencement, it was proposed that subscribers of fifty guineas each should be the perpetual proprietors of the Institution, and be entitled each to perpetual transferable tickets for the lectures and for admission to the apartments of the Institution; and that as soon as thirty such subscribers offered it was proposed to call a meeting of those thirty subscribers, in order to lay the plan before them and elect managers for the Institution.‘Resolved,—That the said report be approved of, and that it be referred to the gentlemen of the Select Committee to communicate the outlines of the plan to the members of the Committee of the Society, and to such other persons as they shall think fit, desiring that those who wish to have their names inserted among the original subscribers to the Institution would communicate their wish to the Special Committee.‘Extracted from the Minutes.‘M. Martin, Secretary.’In consequence of this resolution a paper was printed by the gentlemen of the Select Committee containing the outlines of the plan, and sent round privately among their friends and others whom they thought likely to countenance the scheme, accompanied by a printed copy of the foregoing resolution, with a request that those who were willing to allow their names to be put down among the original subscribers and proprietors of the Institution would be so good as to communicate their intentions by aletter addressed to Thomas Bernard, Esq., at the Foundling Hospital.The Proposals that were circulated in this manner met with so much approbation that fifty-eight of the most respectable names were sent in before measures could be taken for holding a meeting, and these successful beginnings encouraged those who were principally concerned in forming and bringing forward the plan to make some alterations in it, and particularly in respect to the time and manner of choosing the first set of managers, and in regard to an application for a charter for the Institution, which it has been determined to make, in order to place the establishment on a more solid and more respectable foundation, and to give full security to the subscribers against all future claims upon them.In this stage of the business, and especially as a meeting of the subscribers is to be held in a few days for the purpose of determining what other steps shall be taken for carrying the proposed plan into execution, I have thought it to be my duty to lay all these particulars before the subscribers, and at the same time to state to them at length the general outline of the plan I have taken the liberty to propose, and in the execution of which, if it should be adopted, I am ready to take any part that the subscribers may wish me to take.Rumford.Brompton Row, March 4, 1799.The Proposals for forming by subscription, in the Metropolis of the British Empire, a Public Institution for diffusing the knowledge and facilitating the general introduction of useful mechanical inventions and improvements, and for teaching by courses of philosophical lectures and experiments the application of science to the common purposes of life were these:The two great objects of the Institution being the speedy and general diffusion of the knowledge of all new and useful improvements, in whatever quarter of the world they may originate; and teaching the application of scientific discoveries to the improvement of arts and manufactures in this country, and to the increase of domestic comfort and convenience, these objects will be constantly had in view, not only in the arrangement and execution of the plan, but also in the future management of the Institution.As much care will be taken to confine the establishment within its proper limits as to place it on a solid foundation, and to render it an ornament to the capital and an honour to the British nation.In the execution of the plan it is proposed to proceed in the following manner:A place having been fixed on by the managers for forming the Institution,Spacious and airy rooms will be prepared for the reception and public exhibition of all such new and mechanical inventions and improvements as shall be thought worthy of the public notice, and more especially of all such contrivances as shall tend to increase the conveniences and comforts of life, to promote domestic economy, to improve taste, or to promote useful industry.The most perfect models of the full size will be provided and exhibited in different parts of this public repository of all such new mechanical inventions and improvements as are applicable to the common purposes of life. Under this head will be included:Cottage Fire-places and Kitchen Utensils for Cottages.A complete Kitchen for a Farm-house, with all the necessary Utensils.A complete Kitchen, with Kitchen Utensils, for the family of a gentleman of fortune.A complete Laundry for a gentleman’s family, or for a public hospital, including Boilers, Washing-room, Ironing-room, Drying-room, &c.Several of the most approved German, Swedish, and Russian Stoves, for heating rooms and passages.In order that those who visit this establishment may be enabled to acquire more just ideas of these various mechanical contrivances, and of the circumstances on which theirpeculiar meritprincipally depends, the machinery exhibited will, as far as it shall be possible,be shown in action, or inactual use, and with regard to many of the articles it is evident that this can be done without any difficulty and with very little additional expense.Open Chimney Fire-places on the most approved principles will be fitted up as models in the different rooms, and fires will be kept constantly burning in them during the cold season.Ornamental as well as Economical Grates, for Open Chimney Fire-places, will also be exhibited; as also,Ornamental Stoves, in the form of elegant Chimney-pieces, for halls, drawing-rooms, eating-rooms, &c.It is likewise proposed to exhibitworking models, on a reduced scale, of that most curious and most useful machine the Steam Engine.Of Brewer’s Boilers, with improved Fire-places.Of Distiller’s Coppers, with improved Fire-places and improved Condensers.Of large Boilers for the kitchens of hospitals, and of Ships’ Coppers, with improved Fire-places.Further it is proposed to exhibit in the repository of the Institution—Models of Ventilators for supplying rooms and ships with fresh air.Models of Hot-houses, with such improvements as can be made in their construction.Models of Lime-kilns on various constructions.Models of Boilers, Steam-boilers, &c., for preparing food for cattle that are stall-fed.Models of Cottages on various constructions.Spinning-wheels and Looms, on various constructions, for the use of the poor, and adapted to their circumstances, together with such other machinery as may be useful in giving them employment at home.Models of all such new-invented Machines and Implements as bid fair to be of use in Husbandry.Models of Bridges on various constructions, together withmodels of all such other machines and useful instruments as the managers of the Institution shall deem worthy of the public noticeand proper to be publicly exhibited in the repository of the Institution.It is proposed that each article exhibited should be accompanied with a detailed account or description of it, properly illustrated by correct drawings. The name of the maker and the place of his abode will also be mentioned in this account, together with the price at which he is willing to furnish the article to buyers.In order to carry into effect the second object of the Institution—namely,TEACHING THE APPLICATION OF SCIENCEto theUSEFUL PURPOSES OF LIFE—A lecture room will be fitted up for philosophical lectures and experiments, and a completeLABORATORYandPHILOSOPHICAL APPARATUS, with the necessary instruments,will be provided for makingchemicaland otherphilosophical experiments.In fitting up this lecture room (which will never be used for any other purpose than for giving lectures in natural Philosophy and Philosophical Chemistry) convenient places will be provided and reserved for the subscribers, and care will be taken to warm and light the room properly, and provide for a sufficient supply of fresh air, so as to render it comfortable and salubrious.In engaging lecturers for the Institution care will be taken by the managers to invite none but men of the first eminence in science to officiate in that most important and most distinguished situation; and no subjects will ever be permitted to be discussed at these lectures but such as are strictly scientifical, and immediately connected with that particular branch of science publicly announced as the subject of the lecture. The managers to be responsible for the strict observance of this regulation.In case there should be places to spare in the lecture room, persons not subscribers will, on the recommendation of a subscriber, and on paying a certain small sum to be determined by the managers, be permitted to attend the public lectures or any one or more of them.Among the various branches of science that will occasionally be made the subjects of these public lectures may be reckoned the following,viz.: These lectures will treat—Of Heat, and its application to the various purposes of life.Of the Combustion of Inflammable Bodies, and the relative quantities of Heat producible by the different substances used as fuel.Of the Management of Fire and the Economy of Fuel.Of the Principles of the Warmth of Clothing.Of the Effects of Heat and of Cold, and of hot and of cold winds, on the human body in sickness and in health.Of the Effects of breathing vitiated and confined air.Of the Means that may be used to render Dwelling-houses comfortable and salubrious.Of the Methods of procuring and preserving Ice in Summer, and of the best principles for constructing Ice-houses.Of the Means of preserving Food in different seasons and in different climates.Of the Means of cooling Liquors in hot weather, without the assistance of ice.Of Vegetation, and of the specific nature of those effects that are produced by Manures, and of the Art of composing Manures and adapting them to the different kinds of soil.Of the nature of those changes that are produced on substances used as food in the various processes of cookery.Of the nature of those changes which take place in the Digestion of Food.Of the Chemical Principles of the process of Tanning Leather, and of the objects that must particularly be had in view in attempts to improve that most useful art.Of the Chemical Principles of the art of making Soap, of the art of Bleaching, of the art of Dyeing, and in general ofall the Mechanical Arts, as they apply to the various branches of manufacture.Of the Funds of the Institution.It is proposed to raise the money necessary for defraying the expense of forming this Institution, and also for the future expense of keeping it up, in the following manner:1st. By the sums subscribed by the original founders and soleproprietorsof the Institution, atfifty guineas each person, to be but once paid.2dly. By the sums contributed by those who shall subscribefor life, atten guineaseach person, to be but once paid.3dly. By the sums contributed by theannual subscribersat two guineasper annumfor each person.4thly. By the particular donations and legacies that may be expected to be made for the purpose of extending and improving so interesting and so useful an Institution; and,Lastly. By the sums that shall be received at the door from strangers who shall visit the repository of the Institution, or who shall obtain leave to frequent the philosophical lectures.Privileges of the Original Subscribers or Proprietors of the Institution.1mo.These subscribers, who willnever be called upon for any further contributionsafter the sum subscribed (fifty guineas) shall have been once paid, will be effectually secured against all future legal claims and demands upon them on account of any debts the managers of the Institution may contract, as a charter for the Institution will be applied for and obtained, for the express purpose of providing for that security, before any other step shall be taken for carrying this plan into execution, and before any part of the money subscribed will be demanded.2do.Proprietors will not be deemed liable to serve, either as managers or as visitors, against their consent; and none will be considered as candidates for either of those offices, or will be entered on the lists as candidates, or be proposed as such, except it be those who shall have previously signified their willingness to serve in one of those offices in case of their being elected.3tio.For the still greater security of the proprietors, aswell as to found the Institution on a more solid basis, one-half of the sums subscribed by the original subscribers and proprietors of the Institution will be permanently vested in the public funds, or in the purchase of freehold property, and the annual produce thereof employed in defraying the expense of keeping up the Institution.4to.Each original subscriber and proprietor of the Institution to be an hereditary governor of the Institution—to have a perpetualtransferableshare in all the property belonging to it—to have a voice in the election of the managers of the Institution, as also in the election of the Committee of Visitors—to have, moreover, twotransferabletickets of perpetual admission into the establishment, and into every part of it, and twotransferabletickets of admission to all the public philosophical lectures and experiments.5to.Although the shares of proprietors and all the privileges annexed to them are hereditary, and are alsotransferableby sale or by donation, yet those to whom such shares are conveyed by sale or by donation must, in order to their being rendered capable of holding them, have obtained the approbation and consent of the majority of the managers for the time being. Those who shall become possessed of these shares by inheritance will not stand in need of the consent of the managers to be qualified to hold them, and to enjoy the rights and privileges annexed to them.6to.Proprietors’ tickets will admit any persons who shall be the bearers of them.7mo.Proprietors will have the privilege of recommending persons for admittance to the philosophical lectures and experiments, and the persons so recommended will be admitted in all cases where there shall be room for their accommodation, provided that the persons so admitted conform to the rules and regulations which will be established by the managers for the preservation of order and decorum within the walls of the Institution.8vo.No more thanforty per cent.of the sum subscribed by each proprietor will be wanted immediately, and the remainder may be furnished in three equal payments at the expiration of the three next succeeding half-years; but it will be in the option of proprietors to pay the whole sum of fifty guineas at once if they should prefer doing it.Privileges of the Subscribers for Life.Each subscriber of this class will receiveoneticket for life, but not transferable, of free admission into the Institution, and into every part of it, together withoneother ticket for life, but not transferable, of free admission to all public philosophical lectures and experiments.Privileges of Annual Subscribers.Each annual subscriber will receiveoneticket for one year, but not transferable, of admission into the Institution, and into every part of it; as alsooneticket for one year, but not transferable, of admission to all the public philosophical lectures and experiments. Subscribers of this class will, moreover, have a right of becoming subscribers for life, on paying at any time within the year for which they subscribe an additional sum of eight guineas.Privileges that are common to Subscribers of all Denominations.1mo.Subscribers for life and annual subscribers, as well as the proprietors of the Institution, will be entitled to have copies or drawings (made at their own expense, however) of any of the models in the repository, and this even when such copies are designed for the use of their friends, as well as when they are wanted for their own private use; and for their better and more speedy accommodation workshops will be prepared, and workmen provided under the direction of the managers, for executing such work properly and at reasonable prices. And, to prevent mistakes, all copies or drawings that shall be made of the machines, models, and plans lodged in the repository of the Institution will be examined by persons appointed for that purpose, and marked with a seal or stamp of the Institution.2do.Tradesmen and artificers employed in executing any work after any of the models lodged in the repository will, on the recommendation of a proprietor or of a subscriber for life, or for one year, be allowed free access to such model as often as shall be necessary; and any workman or artificer so recommended who shall be willing to furnish to buyers any article exhibited in the repository that is in his line of business, will be allowed to place a specimen of such article of his manufacture in the repository, with his name and place of abode attached to it, together with the price at which he can furnish it, such specimen having been examined and approved by the managers.Of the Government and Management of the Institution.1mo.All the affairs of the Institution will be directed and governed byninemanagers, chosen by and from among the proprietors of the Institution.2do.For the greater convenience of the proprietors, and to spare them the trouble of a general meeting, all the elections of managers, after the first, will be made by ballot, by means of sealed lists of names sent in by the proprietors individually to the Institution, which lists will be opened, and the result of the election ascertained and published, by the united committees of the managers and of the visitors for the time being.3tio.The first set of managers will be chosen by thefirst fifty or more original subscribers, at a general meeting of them to be held for that purpose; and of this first set of managers three will be chosen to servethree years, three to servetwo years, and three to serveone year, reckoned from the 25th day of March, 1799.4to.All managers, as well those of the first set as others, will be capable of beingre-electedwithout limitation.5to.The elections of managers to be made annually on the 25th day of the month of March,[13]and fourteen days previous to each election the managers for the time being will send to each proprietor individually a printed list containing the names of all such of the proprietors as shall have offered or consented to be candidates for the places among the managers that are to be filled up. On this printed list, which each proprietor will receive, he will indicate the persons to whom he gives his suffrage by making a mark with a pen and ink in the form of a small cross just before the names of those persons; and, this being done, he will seal up the list without signing it and send it to the Institution, directed ‘To the United Committee of the Managers and of the Visitors.’ In order that these lists may be recognised on their being returned to the Institution, they will all be marked with the stamp of the Institution previous to their being issued or sent to the proprietors. And, for still further security, each proprietor will be requested to send in his or her sealed list of names under an additional cover, signed with his or her own name, which additional cover will be taken off, and all the sealed lists mixed together in an urn, previous to any of them being opened—an arrangement that will effectually prevent the vote of any individual subscriber being known.6to.The managers are to serve in that office without any pay or emolument or pecuniary advantage whatever; and by their acceptance of their office they shall be deemed solemnly to pledge themselves to the proprietors of the Institution and to the public for the faithful discharge of their duty as managers, and also for their strict adherence to the fundamental principles of the government of the Institution as established at its formation.7mo.The managers are to take care that the property of the Institution, as far as it shall be practicable, be insured against accidents by fire.8vo.The managers will cause exact and detailed accounts to be kept of all the property belonging to the Institution, as also of all receipts and expenditures. They will also keep regular minutes of all their proceedings, and will take care to preserve the most exact order and the strictest economy in the management of all the affairs and concerns of the Institution.9mo.The managers are never, on any pretext, or in any manner whatever, to dispose of any money or property of any kind belonging to the Institution inpremiums, as the design or object of the Institution isNOT TO GIVE REWARDSto the authors of ingenious inventions, but todiffuse the knowledge of such improvements as bid fair to be of general use, and to facilitate the general introduction of them; and to excite and assist the ingenious and the enterprising bythe diffusion of science, and by awakening a spirit of inquiry.10mo.The ordinary meetings of the managers for the despatch of the current business of the Institution will be held weekly—namely, on every, at the hour of,—and extraordinary meetings will be held as often as shall be found necessary.11mo.Any three or more of the managers being present at any ordinary or at an extraordinary meeting, the others having been duly summoned, to be a quorum.12mo.The managers will be authorised to make all such standing orders and regulations as they shall deem necessary to the preservation of order and decorum in the Institution, as also such regulations respecting the manner of transacting the business of the Institution as they shall think proper and convenient, or that may be necessary in order to regulate the responsibility of the managers for their acts and deeds; all such standing orders and regulations must, however, in order to their being valid, be approved by six at least of the managers, and they must all be published and made known to all the proprietors.Of the Committee of Visitors.1mo.The Committee of Visitors will be composed ofninepersons, the first set to be elected three months after the opening of the Institution.2do.Three persons of the nine of which this Committee will consist will be chosen forthree years, three of them to servetwo years, and three of them to serveone year, reckoned from the 25th of March, 1799.3tio.Any three or more of the members of this Committee being present at any meeting of the Committee, the others having been duly summoned, to make a quorum.4to.It will be the business of this Committee formally to inspect and examine the Institution, and every part and detail of it, once every year—namely, on the 25th day of the month of March—and to give a printed account or report to the proprietors, and to the subscribers of all denominations, of its state and condition, and of the degree and manner in which it is found to answer the important ends for which it was designed. This Committee will also once every year—namely, on the 25th of the month of March—examine and audit the accounts of the receipts and expenditures of the Institution kept by the managers or by their orders; and the report of the Committee of Visitorson this audit will always make the first article in their public annual reports.5to.A person actually serving as a visitor will not be eligible as a manager, nor can his name be put on the list of candidates for that office till one whole year shall have elapsed after he shall have ceased to belong to the Committee of Visitors. Those, however, who serve as visitors will be capable of beingre-electedon that Committee without limitation.Miscellaneous Articles.1mo.The managers will take care to procure, and to exhibit in the repository as early as possible, models of all such new and useful mechanical inventions and improvements as shall, from time to time, be made in this or in any other country.2do.All presents to the Institution, and all new purchases and acquisitions of every kind, will be and remain the joint property of the proprietors of the Institution and of their heirs and assigns, and all the surplus of the income of the Institution, over and above what shall be found necessary for maintaining it and keeping it up, will be employed by the managers in making additions to the local accommodation of the Institution, or in augmenting the collection of models, or in making additions to the philosophical apparatus, accordingly as the managers of the Institution for the time being shall deem most useful.3tio.In order that the proprietors of the Institution and the subscribers may have the earliest notice of all new discoveries and useful improvements that shall be made, from time to time, not only in this country, but also in all the different parts of the world, the managers will employ the proper means for obtaining, as early as possible, from every part of the British Empire, and from all foreign countries, authentic accounts of all such new and interesting discoveries in the various branches of science, and in arts and manufactures, and also of all such new and usefulmechanical improvements as shall be made; and a room will be set apart in the Institution where all such information will be lodged, and where it will be kept for the sole and exclusive use and inspection of the proprietors and subscribers, and where no stranger will ever be admitted.

In the beginning of the year 1796 I gave a faint sketch of this plan in my second essay; but, being under a necessity of returning soon to Germany, I had not leisure to pursue it farther at that time, and I was obliged to content myself with having merely thrown out a loose idea, as it were by accident, which I thought might possibly attract attention.

After my return to Munich, I opened myself more fully on the subject in my correspondence with my friends in this country, and particularly in my letters to Thomas Bernard, Esq., who, as is well known, is one of the founders andmost active members of the Society for Bettering the Condition and Increasing the Comforts of the Poor.

This gentleman I found, on my return to England in September 1798, not only agreeing with me in opinion in regard to the utility and importance of the plan I had proposed, but very solicitous that some attempts should be made to carry it into immediate execution in this capital.

After several consultations, that were held at Mr. Bernard’s apartments in the Foundling Hospital and at the house of the Lord Bishop of Durham, at which several gentlemen assisted who are well known as zealous promoters of useful improvement, it was agreed that Mr. Bernard should report to the Committee of the Society for Bettering the Condition of the Poor the general result of these consultations, and the unanimous desire of the gentlemen who assisted at them, that means might be devised for making an attempt to carry the scheme proposed into execution.

The gentlemen of the Committee agreed with me entirely in the opinion I had taken the liberty to express, that the Institution which it was proposed to form would be too conspicuous, and too interesting and important, to be madean appendixto any other existing establishment, and, consequently, that it must stand alone, and on its own proper basis; but as these gentlemen had no direct communication with any persons, except with the members of their own Society, they appointed a Committee, consisting of eight persons, from their own body, to confer with me on the subject of the plan.[12]

I had the honour to meet this Committee on this business on the 31st of January, at the house of Richard Sulivan, Esq., where a plan I had previously drawn up for forming the Institution in question was read and examined, and its principles unanimously approved; but, as some of thegentlemen present were of opinion that the plan entered too much into detail to be submitted to the public in the beginning of the business, I undertook to revise it, and to endeavour to accommodate it to the wishes of the Committee.

Having made such alterations in it as I thought might satisfy the Committee, I sent a corrected copy of it to them, accompanied by the following letter:

‘Gentlemen,—Inclosed I have the honour to send you a corrected copy of the Proposals I took the liberty of laying before you on Thursday last, for forming in this capital, by private subscription, a public Institution for diffusing the knowledge and facilitating the general and speedy introduction of new and useful mechanical inventions and improvements; and also for teaching, by regular courses of philosophical lectures and experiments, the application of the new discoveries in science to the improvement of arts and manufactures, and in facilitating the means of procuring the comforts and conveniences of life.‘The tendency of the proposed Institution to excite a spirit of inquiry and of improvement amongst all ranks of society, and to afford the most effectual assistance to those who are engaged in the various pursuits of useful industry, did not escape your observation; and it is, I am persuaded, from a conviction of the utility of the plan, or its tendency to increase the comforts and enjoyments of individuals, and at the same time to promote the public prosperity, that you have been induced to take it into your serious consideration. I shall be much flattered if it should meet with your approbation and with your support.‘Though I am perfectly ready to take any share in the business of carrying the scheme into execution, in case it should be adopted, that can be required, yet there is one preliminary request which I am desirous may be granted me, and that is, that the Government may be previouslymade acquainted with the scheme before any steps are taken towards carrying it into execution; and also that his Majesty’s Ministers may be informed that it is in the contemplation of the founders of the Institution to accept of my services in the arrangement and management of it.‘The peculiar situation in which I stand in this country, as a subject of his Majesty, and being at the same time, by his Majesty’s special commission, granted under his royal sign manual, engaged in the service of a foreign prince, this circumstance renders it improper for me to engage myself in this important business, notwithstanding that it might perhaps be considered merely as a private concern, without the knowledge and the approbation of the Government.‘I am quite certain that my engaging in this, or in any other business in which there is any prospect of my being of any public use in this country, will meet with the most cordial approbation of his Most Serene Highness the Elector Palatine, in whose service I am; for I know his sentiments on that subject; and although I do not imagine that his Majesty or his Majesty’s Ministers would disapprove of my giving my assistance in carrying this scheme into execution, yet I feel it to be necessary that their approbation should be asked and obtained; and, if I might be allowed to express my sentiments on another matter, which, no doubt, has already occurred to everyone of the gentlemen to whom I now address myself, I should say that, in my opinion, it would not only be proper, but even necessary, to inform Government of the nature of the scheme that is proposed and of every circumstance relative to it, and at the same time to ask their countenance and support in carrying it into execution; for although it may be allowable in this free country for individuals to unite in forming and executing extensive plans for diffusing useful knowledge and promoting the public good, yet it appears to me that no such establishment should ever beformed in any country without the knowledge and approbation of the Executive Government.‘Trusting that you will be so good as to excuse the liberty I take in making this observation, and that you will consider my doing it as being intended rather to justify myself, by explaining my principles than from any idea of its being necessary on any other account, I have the honour to be, with much respect, Gentlemen, your most obedient and most humble Servant,(Signed) ‘Rumford.‘Brompton Row, February 7, 1799.(Addressed)‘To the Gentlemen named by the Committee of the Society for Bettering the Condition of the Poor to confer with Count Rumford on his scheme for forming a new Establishment in London for Diffusing the Knowledge of Useful Mechanical Improvements, &c.’

‘The tendency of the proposed Institution to excite a spirit of inquiry and of improvement amongst all ranks of society, and to afford the most effectual assistance to those who are engaged in the various pursuits of useful industry, did not escape your observation; and it is, I am persuaded, from a conviction of the utility of the plan, or its tendency to increase the comforts and enjoyments of individuals, and at the same time to promote the public prosperity, that you have been induced to take it into your serious consideration. I shall be much flattered if it should meet with your approbation and with your support.

‘Though I am perfectly ready to take any share in the business of carrying the scheme into execution, in case it should be adopted, that can be required, yet there is one preliminary request which I am desirous may be granted me, and that is, that the Government may be previouslymade acquainted with the scheme before any steps are taken towards carrying it into execution; and also that his Majesty’s Ministers may be informed that it is in the contemplation of the founders of the Institution to accept of my services in the arrangement and management of it.

‘The peculiar situation in which I stand in this country, as a subject of his Majesty, and being at the same time, by his Majesty’s special commission, granted under his royal sign manual, engaged in the service of a foreign prince, this circumstance renders it improper for me to engage myself in this important business, notwithstanding that it might perhaps be considered merely as a private concern, without the knowledge and the approbation of the Government.

‘I am quite certain that my engaging in this, or in any other business in which there is any prospect of my being of any public use in this country, will meet with the most cordial approbation of his Most Serene Highness the Elector Palatine, in whose service I am; for I know his sentiments on that subject; and although I do not imagine that his Majesty or his Majesty’s Ministers would disapprove of my giving my assistance in carrying this scheme into execution, yet I feel it to be necessary that their approbation should be asked and obtained; and, if I might be allowed to express my sentiments on another matter, which, no doubt, has already occurred to everyone of the gentlemen to whom I now address myself, I should say that, in my opinion, it would not only be proper, but even necessary, to inform Government of the nature of the scheme that is proposed and of every circumstance relative to it, and at the same time to ask their countenance and support in carrying it into execution; for although it may be allowable in this free country for individuals to unite in forming and executing extensive plans for diffusing useful knowledge and promoting the public good, yet it appears to me that no such establishment should ever beformed in any country without the knowledge and approbation of the Executive Government.

‘Trusting that you will be so good as to excuse the liberty I take in making this observation, and that you will consider my doing it as being intended rather to justify myself, by explaining my principles than from any idea of its being necessary on any other account, I have the honour to be, with much respect, Gentlemen, your most obedient and most humble Servant,

(Signed) ‘Rumford.

‘Brompton Row, February 7, 1799.(Addressed)

‘To the Gentlemen named by the Committee of the Society for Bettering the Condition of the Poor to confer with Count Rumford on his scheme for forming a new Establishment in London for Diffusing the Knowledge of Useful Mechanical Improvements, &c.’

The Committee above mentioned having, in the meantime, made their report to the Society for Bettering the Condition and Increasing the Comforts of the Poor, that Society came to the following resolution:

‘At a meeting of the Society for Bettering the Condition and Increasing the Comforts of the Poor, on Friday, the 1st of February, 1799,‘Present:TheBishop of Durham, in the chair,Patrick Colquhoun, Esq.,Thomas Bernard, Esq.,William Manning, Esq.,John Sullivan, Esq.,TheRev. Dr. Glasse,John J. Angerstein, Esq.,William Wilberforce, Esq.,Richard Joseph Sulivan, Esq.,Matthew Martin, Esq., Secretary,

‘At a meeting of the Society for Bettering the Condition and Increasing the Comforts of the Poor, on Friday, the 1st of February, 1799,

‘Present:

the Committee appointed to confer with Count Rumford reported that they had had a conference with the Count, and that they were satisfied that the Institution proposed by him would be extremely beneficial and interesting to the community; that, in order to provide the pecuniary funds of the Society at its commencement, it was proposed that subscribers of fifty guineas each should be the perpetual proprietors of the Institution, and be entitled each to perpetual transferable tickets for the lectures and for admission to the apartments of the Institution; and that as soon as thirty such subscribers offered it was proposed to call a meeting of those thirty subscribers, in order to lay the plan before them and elect managers for the Institution.

‘Resolved,—That the said report be approved of, and that it be referred to the gentlemen of the Select Committee to communicate the outlines of the plan to the members of the Committee of the Society, and to such other persons as they shall think fit, desiring that those who wish to have their names inserted among the original subscribers to the Institution would communicate their wish to the Special Committee.

‘Extracted from the Minutes.‘M. Martin, Secretary.’

In consequence of this resolution a paper was printed by the gentlemen of the Select Committee containing the outlines of the plan, and sent round privately among their friends and others whom they thought likely to countenance the scheme, accompanied by a printed copy of the foregoing resolution, with a request that those who were willing to allow their names to be put down among the original subscribers and proprietors of the Institution would be so good as to communicate their intentions by aletter addressed to Thomas Bernard, Esq., at the Foundling Hospital.

The Proposals that were circulated in this manner met with so much approbation that fifty-eight of the most respectable names were sent in before measures could be taken for holding a meeting, and these successful beginnings encouraged those who were principally concerned in forming and bringing forward the plan to make some alterations in it, and particularly in respect to the time and manner of choosing the first set of managers, and in regard to an application for a charter for the Institution, which it has been determined to make, in order to place the establishment on a more solid and more respectable foundation, and to give full security to the subscribers against all future claims upon them.

In this stage of the business, and especially as a meeting of the subscribers is to be held in a few days for the purpose of determining what other steps shall be taken for carrying the proposed plan into execution, I have thought it to be my duty to lay all these particulars before the subscribers, and at the same time to state to them at length the general outline of the plan I have taken the liberty to propose, and in the execution of which, if it should be adopted, I am ready to take any part that the subscribers may wish me to take.

Rumford.

Brompton Row, March 4, 1799.

The Proposals for forming by subscription, in the Metropolis of the British Empire, a Public Institution for diffusing the knowledge and facilitating the general introduction of useful mechanical inventions and improvements, and for teaching by courses of philosophical lectures and experiments the application of science to the common purposes of life were these:

The two great objects of the Institution being the speedy and general diffusion of the knowledge of all new and useful improvements, in whatever quarter of the world they may originate; and teaching the application of scientific discoveries to the improvement of arts and manufactures in this country, and to the increase of domestic comfort and convenience, these objects will be constantly had in view, not only in the arrangement and execution of the plan, but also in the future management of the Institution.

As much care will be taken to confine the establishment within its proper limits as to place it on a solid foundation, and to render it an ornament to the capital and an honour to the British nation.

In the execution of the plan it is proposed to proceed in the following manner:

A place having been fixed on by the managers for forming the Institution,

Spacious and airy rooms will be prepared for the reception and public exhibition of all such new and mechanical inventions and improvements as shall be thought worthy of the public notice, and more especially of all such contrivances as shall tend to increase the conveniences and comforts of life, to promote domestic economy, to improve taste, or to promote useful industry.

The most perfect models of the full size will be provided and exhibited in different parts of this public repository of all such new mechanical inventions and improvements as are applicable to the common purposes of life. Under this head will be included:

In order that those who visit this establishment may be enabled to acquire more just ideas of these various mechanical contrivances, and of the circumstances on which theirpeculiar meritprincipally depends, the machinery exhibited will, as far as it shall be possible,be shown in action, or inactual use, and with regard to many of the articles it is evident that this can be done without any difficulty and with very little additional expense.

It is likewise proposed to exhibitworking models, on a reduced scale, of that most curious and most useful machine the Steam Engine.

Further it is proposed to exhibit in the repository of the Institution—

It is proposed that each article exhibited should be accompanied with a detailed account or description of it, properly illustrated by correct drawings. The name of the maker and the place of his abode will also be mentioned in this account, together with the price at which he is willing to furnish the article to buyers.

In order to carry into effect the second object of the Institution—namely,TEACHING THE APPLICATION OF SCIENCEto theUSEFUL PURPOSES OF LIFE—

A lecture room will be fitted up for philosophical lectures and experiments, and a completeLABORATORYandPHILOSOPHICAL APPARATUS, with the necessary instruments,will be provided for makingchemicaland otherphilosophical experiments.

In fitting up this lecture room (which will never be used for any other purpose than for giving lectures in natural Philosophy and Philosophical Chemistry) convenient places will be provided and reserved for the subscribers, and care will be taken to warm and light the room properly, and provide for a sufficient supply of fresh air, so as to render it comfortable and salubrious.

In engaging lecturers for the Institution care will be taken by the managers to invite none but men of the first eminence in science to officiate in that most important and most distinguished situation; and no subjects will ever be permitted to be discussed at these lectures but such as are strictly scientifical, and immediately connected with that particular branch of science publicly announced as the subject of the lecture. The managers to be responsible for the strict observance of this regulation.

In case there should be places to spare in the lecture room, persons not subscribers will, on the recommendation of a subscriber, and on paying a certain small sum to be determined by the managers, be permitted to attend the public lectures or any one or more of them.

Among the various branches of science that will occasionally be made the subjects of these public lectures may be reckoned the following,viz.: These lectures will treat—

It is proposed to raise the money necessary for defraying the expense of forming this Institution, and also for the future expense of keeping it up, in the following manner:

1st. By the sums subscribed by the original founders and soleproprietorsof the Institution, atfifty guineas each person, to be but once paid.

2dly. By the sums contributed by those who shall subscribefor life, atten guineaseach person, to be but once paid.

3dly. By the sums contributed by theannual subscribersat two guineasper annumfor each person.

4thly. By the particular donations and legacies that may be expected to be made for the purpose of extending and improving so interesting and so useful an Institution; and,

Lastly. By the sums that shall be received at the door from strangers who shall visit the repository of the Institution, or who shall obtain leave to frequent the philosophical lectures.

1mo.These subscribers, who willnever be called upon for any further contributionsafter the sum subscribed (fifty guineas) shall have been once paid, will be effectually secured against all future legal claims and demands upon them on account of any debts the managers of the Institution may contract, as a charter for the Institution will be applied for and obtained, for the express purpose of providing for that security, before any other step shall be taken for carrying this plan into execution, and before any part of the money subscribed will be demanded.

2do.Proprietors will not be deemed liable to serve, either as managers or as visitors, against their consent; and none will be considered as candidates for either of those offices, or will be entered on the lists as candidates, or be proposed as such, except it be those who shall have previously signified their willingness to serve in one of those offices in case of their being elected.

3tio.For the still greater security of the proprietors, aswell as to found the Institution on a more solid basis, one-half of the sums subscribed by the original subscribers and proprietors of the Institution will be permanently vested in the public funds, or in the purchase of freehold property, and the annual produce thereof employed in defraying the expense of keeping up the Institution.

4to.Each original subscriber and proprietor of the Institution to be an hereditary governor of the Institution—to have a perpetualtransferableshare in all the property belonging to it—to have a voice in the election of the managers of the Institution, as also in the election of the Committee of Visitors—to have, moreover, twotransferabletickets of perpetual admission into the establishment, and into every part of it, and twotransferabletickets of admission to all the public philosophical lectures and experiments.

5to.Although the shares of proprietors and all the privileges annexed to them are hereditary, and are alsotransferableby sale or by donation, yet those to whom such shares are conveyed by sale or by donation must, in order to their being rendered capable of holding them, have obtained the approbation and consent of the majority of the managers for the time being. Those who shall become possessed of these shares by inheritance will not stand in need of the consent of the managers to be qualified to hold them, and to enjoy the rights and privileges annexed to them.

6to.Proprietors’ tickets will admit any persons who shall be the bearers of them.

7mo.Proprietors will have the privilege of recommending persons for admittance to the philosophical lectures and experiments, and the persons so recommended will be admitted in all cases where there shall be room for their accommodation, provided that the persons so admitted conform to the rules and regulations which will be established by the managers for the preservation of order and decorum within the walls of the Institution.

8vo.No more thanforty per cent.of the sum subscribed by each proprietor will be wanted immediately, and the remainder may be furnished in three equal payments at the expiration of the three next succeeding half-years; but it will be in the option of proprietors to pay the whole sum of fifty guineas at once if they should prefer doing it.

Each subscriber of this class will receiveoneticket for life, but not transferable, of free admission into the Institution, and into every part of it, together withoneother ticket for life, but not transferable, of free admission to all public philosophical lectures and experiments.

Each annual subscriber will receiveoneticket for one year, but not transferable, of admission into the Institution, and into every part of it; as alsooneticket for one year, but not transferable, of admission to all the public philosophical lectures and experiments. Subscribers of this class will, moreover, have a right of becoming subscribers for life, on paying at any time within the year for which they subscribe an additional sum of eight guineas.

1mo.Subscribers for life and annual subscribers, as well as the proprietors of the Institution, will be entitled to have copies or drawings (made at their own expense, however) of any of the models in the repository, and this even when such copies are designed for the use of their friends, as well as when they are wanted for their own private use; and for their better and more speedy accommodation workshops will be prepared, and workmen provided under the direction of the managers, for executing such work properly and at reasonable prices. And, to prevent mistakes, all copies or drawings that shall be made of the machines, models, and plans lodged in the repository of the Institution will be examined by persons appointed for that purpose, and marked with a seal or stamp of the Institution.

2do.Tradesmen and artificers employed in executing any work after any of the models lodged in the repository will, on the recommendation of a proprietor or of a subscriber for life, or for one year, be allowed free access to such model as often as shall be necessary; and any workman or artificer so recommended who shall be willing to furnish to buyers any article exhibited in the repository that is in his line of business, will be allowed to place a specimen of such article of his manufacture in the repository, with his name and place of abode attached to it, together with the price at which he can furnish it, such specimen having been examined and approved by the managers.

1mo.All the affairs of the Institution will be directed and governed byninemanagers, chosen by and from among the proprietors of the Institution.

2do.For the greater convenience of the proprietors, and to spare them the trouble of a general meeting, all the elections of managers, after the first, will be made by ballot, by means of sealed lists of names sent in by the proprietors individually to the Institution, which lists will be opened, and the result of the election ascertained and published, by the united committees of the managers and of the visitors for the time being.

3tio.The first set of managers will be chosen by thefirst fifty or more original subscribers, at a general meeting of them to be held for that purpose; and of this first set of managers three will be chosen to servethree years, three to servetwo years, and three to serveone year, reckoned from the 25th day of March, 1799.

4to.All managers, as well those of the first set as others, will be capable of beingre-electedwithout limitation.

5to.The elections of managers to be made annually on the 25th day of the month of March,[13]and fourteen days previous to each election the managers for the time being will send to each proprietor individually a printed list containing the names of all such of the proprietors as shall have offered or consented to be candidates for the places among the managers that are to be filled up. On this printed list, which each proprietor will receive, he will indicate the persons to whom he gives his suffrage by making a mark with a pen and ink in the form of a small cross just before the names of those persons; and, this being done, he will seal up the list without signing it and send it to the Institution, directed ‘To the United Committee of the Managers and of the Visitors.’ In order that these lists may be recognised on their being returned to the Institution, they will all be marked with the stamp of the Institution previous to their being issued or sent to the proprietors. And, for still further security, each proprietor will be requested to send in his or her sealed list of names under an additional cover, signed with his or her own name, which additional cover will be taken off, and all the sealed lists mixed together in an urn, previous to any of them being opened—an arrangement that will effectually prevent the vote of any individual subscriber being known.

6to.The managers are to serve in that office without any pay or emolument or pecuniary advantage whatever; and by their acceptance of their office they shall be deemed solemnly to pledge themselves to the proprietors of the Institution and to the public for the faithful discharge of their duty as managers, and also for their strict adherence to the fundamental principles of the government of the Institution as established at its formation.

7mo.The managers are to take care that the property of the Institution, as far as it shall be practicable, be insured against accidents by fire.

8vo.The managers will cause exact and detailed accounts to be kept of all the property belonging to the Institution, as also of all receipts and expenditures. They will also keep regular minutes of all their proceedings, and will take care to preserve the most exact order and the strictest economy in the management of all the affairs and concerns of the Institution.

9mo.The managers are never, on any pretext, or in any manner whatever, to dispose of any money or property of any kind belonging to the Institution inpremiums, as the design or object of the Institution isNOT TO GIVE REWARDSto the authors of ingenious inventions, but todiffuse the knowledge of such improvements as bid fair to be of general use, and to facilitate the general introduction of them; and to excite and assist the ingenious and the enterprising bythe diffusion of science, and by awakening a spirit of inquiry.

10mo.The ordinary meetings of the managers for the despatch of the current business of the Institution will be held weekly—namely, on every, at the hour of,—and extraordinary meetings will be held as often as shall be found necessary.

11mo.Any three or more of the managers being present at any ordinary or at an extraordinary meeting, the others having been duly summoned, to be a quorum.

12mo.The managers will be authorised to make all such standing orders and regulations as they shall deem necessary to the preservation of order and decorum in the Institution, as also such regulations respecting the manner of transacting the business of the Institution as they shall think proper and convenient, or that may be necessary in order to regulate the responsibility of the managers for their acts and deeds; all such standing orders and regulations must, however, in order to their being valid, be approved by six at least of the managers, and they must all be published and made known to all the proprietors.

1mo.The Committee of Visitors will be composed ofninepersons, the first set to be elected three months after the opening of the Institution.

2do.Three persons of the nine of which this Committee will consist will be chosen forthree years, three of them to servetwo years, and three of them to serveone year, reckoned from the 25th of March, 1799.

3tio.Any three or more of the members of this Committee being present at any meeting of the Committee, the others having been duly summoned, to make a quorum.

4to.It will be the business of this Committee formally to inspect and examine the Institution, and every part and detail of it, once every year—namely, on the 25th day of the month of March—and to give a printed account or report to the proprietors, and to the subscribers of all denominations, of its state and condition, and of the degree and manner in which it is found to answer the important ends for which it was designed. This Committee will also once every year—namely, on the 25th of the month of March—examine and audit the accounts of the receipts and expenditures of the Institution kept by the managers or by their orders; and the report of the Committee of Visitorson this audit will always make the first article in their public annual reports.

5to.A person actually serving as a visitor will not be eligible as a manager, nor can his name be put on the list of candidates for that office till one whole year shall have elapsed after he shall have ceased to belong to the Committee of Visitors. Those, however, who serve as visitors will be capable of beingre-electedon that Committee without limitation.

1mo.The managers will take care to procure, and to exhibit in the repository as early as possible, models of all such new and useful mechanical inventions and improvements as shall, from time to time, be made in this or in any other country.

2do.All presents to the Institution, and all new purchases and acquisitions of every kind, will be and remain the joint property of the proprietors of the Institution and of their heirs and assigns, and all the surplus of the income of the Institution, over and above what shall be found necessary for maintaining it and keeping it up, will be employed by the managers in making additions to the local accommodation of the Institution, or in augmenting the collection of models, or in making additions to the philosophical apparatus, accordingly as the managers of the Institution for the time being shall deem most useful.

3tio.In order that the proprietors of the Institution and the subscribers may have the earliest notice of all new discoveries and useful improvements that shall be made, from time to time, not only in this country, but also in all the different parts of the world, the managers will employ the proper means for obtaining, as early as possible, from every part of the British Empire, and from all foreign countries, authentic accounts of all such new and interesting discoveries in the various branches of science, and in arts and manufactures, and also of all such new and usefulmechanical improvements as shall be made; and a room will be set apart in the Institution where all such information will be lodged, and where it will be kept for the sole and exclusive use and inspection of the proprietors and subscribers, and where no stranger will ever be admitted.

At a general meeting of the proprietors, held at the house of the Right Honourable Sir Joseph Banks, Bart., K.B., in Soho Square, on the 7th day of March, 1799, the Right Hon. Sir Joseph Banks in the chair, the following list of the proprietors and original subscribers of fifty guineas each was read:

The following Resolutions were agreed to unanimously:I.—That before any measures are taken for carrying the plan into execution, a petition be presented to his Majesty, praying that he would be graciously pleased to grant a charter to the Institution.II.—That an outline of the plan be laid before the Right Honourable Mr. Pitt and his Grace the Duke of Portland.III.—That for these purposes it is expedient to elect the Committee of Managers.IV.—That the following proprietors (who have agreed to serve in case they shall he elected) be now elected as thefirst managersof the Institution:For three years.The Earl Spencer.Count Rumford.Richard Clark, Esq.For two years.The Earl of Egremont.Rt. Hon. Sir Joseph Banks.Rich. Joseph Sulivan, Esq.For one year.The Earl of Morton.The Rt. Hon. Thomas Pelham.Thomas Bernard, Esq.V.—That the said managers be desired to solicit a charter for the Institution, upon principles conformable to the Proposals which have been printed and distributed, and (as soon as the charter is obtained) to publish the plan for the benefit of the public, in such manner as they shall deem most expedient; and also to take preparatory measures for opening the Institution.That these resolutions be inserted in the public papers.Jos. Banks, Chairman.Sir Joseph Banks having quitted the chair,Resolved,—That the thanks of the meeting be given to him for his conduct in the chair.

The following Resolutions were agreed to unanimously:

I.—That before any measures are taken for carrying the plan into execution, a petition be presented to his Majesty, praying that he would be graciously pleased to grant a charter to the Institution.

II.—That an outline of the plan be laid before the Right Honourable Mr. Pitt and his Grace the Duke of Portland.

III.—That for these purposes it is expedient to elect the Committee of Managers.

IV.—That the following proprietors (who have agreed to serve in case they shall he elected) be now elected as thefirst managersof the Institution:

V.—That the said managers be desired to solicit a charter for the Institution, upon principles conformable to the Proposals which have been printed and distributed, and (as soon as the charter is obtained) to publish the plan for the benefit of the public, in such manner as they shall deem most expedient; and also to take preparatory measures for opening the Institution.

That these resolutions be inserted in the public papers.

Jos. Banks, Chairman.

Sir Joseph Banks having quitted the chair,

Resolved,—That the thanks of the meeting be given to him for his conduct in the chair.

After this meeting of the proprietors a meeting of the managers was held, and the following resolutions taken:

At the first meeting of the Managers of the Institution, held at the house of the Right Honourable Sir Joseph Banks, in Soho Square, Saturday, March 9, 1799,

On a motion made by Count Rumford—

I.—Resolved, That Sir Joseph Banks be requested to take the chair, and that he do continue to preside at all future meetings of the managers, until a charter shall have been obtained from his Majesty for the Institution.II.—Resolved, That all acts and deeds of the managers, in carrying on the business of the Institution, be transacted and done in the name of the managers of the Institution.III.—Resolved, That at each meeting of the managers one of the managers present be elected by a majority of those present to act as secretary to the managers at that meeting.IV.—Resolved, That the minutes of the proceedings of each meeting of the managers for the despatch of the business of the Institution, as well as all orders, resolutions, and other acts and deeds of the managers, be signed by the person who acts as president, and also by the person who acts as secretary at the meeting at which such business is transacted.V.—Resolved, That the persons present at this meeting do now proceed to make choice of one of their number to act as secretary at the present meeting.VI.—Resolved, That Thomas Bernard, Esq., is duly elected to act as secretary at the present meeting.VII.—Resolved, That the Proposals for forming the Institution, as published by Count Rumford, be approved and adopted by the managers, subject, however, to such partial modifications as shall be by them found to be necessary or useful.VIII.—Resolved, That the Earl of Morton, the Earl Spencer, Sir Joseph Banks, and Mr. Pelham, or any one or more of them, be requested to lay the Proposals for forming the Institution before his Majesty and the Royal Family, and before his Majesty’s Ministers and the Great Officers of State.IX.—Resolved, That the Proposals for forming the Institution be laid before the Members of both Houses of Parliament, and also before the members of his Majesty’s Most Honourable Privy Council and the twelve Judges.Messrs. Cadell and Davies, booksellers in the Strand, having generously offered to make a donation to the Institution of 500 copies of the original Proposals for forming the Institution, published by Count Rumford:—X.—Resolved, That the thanks of the managers be given to Messrs. Cadell and Davies for this donation; that it be accepted; and that these 500 copies of the Proposals be distributed among such persons as the managers may think most likely to give their assistance in forming the Institution.

II.—Resolved, That all acts and deeds of the managers, in carrying on the business of the Institution, be transacted and done in the name of the managers of the Institution.

III.—Resolved, That at each meeting of the managers one of the managers present be elected by a majority of those present to act as secretary to the managers at that meeting.

IV.—Resolved, That the minutes of the proceedings of each meeting of the managers for the despatch of the business of the Institution, as well as all orders, resolutions, and other acts and deeds of the managers, be signed by the person who acts as president, and also by the person who acts as secretary at the meeting at which such business is transacted.

V.—Resolved, That the persons present at this meeting do now proceed to make choice of one of their number to act as secretary at the present meeting.

VI.—Resolved, That Thomas Bernard, Esq., is duly elected to act as secretary at the present meeting.

VII.—Resolved, That the Proposals for forming the Institution, as published by Count Rumford, be approved and adopted by the managers, subject, however, to such partial modifications as shall be by them found to be necessary or useful.

VIII.—Resolved, That the Earl of Morton, the Earl Spencer, Sir Joseph Banks, and Mr. Pelham, or any one or more of them, be requested to lay the Proposals for forming the Institution before his Majesty and the Royal Family, and before his Majesty’s Ministers and the Great Officers of State.

IX.—Resolved, That the Proposals for forming the Institution be laid before the Members of both Houses of Parliament, and also before the members of his Majesty’s Most Honourable Privy Council and the twelve Judges.

Messrs. Cadell and Davies, booksellers in the Strand, having generously offered to make a donation to the Institution of 500 copies of the original Proposals for forming the Institution, published by Count Rumford:—

X.—Resolved, That the thanks of the managers be given to Messrs. Cadell and Davies for this donation; that it be accepted; and that these 500 copies of the Proposals be distributed among such persons as the managers may think most likely to give their assistance in forming the Institution.

At the next meeting of managers, on March 23, Count Rumford was elected secretary.

It was decided that ladies should be admitted as proprietors and subscribers, and entitled to all privileges, ‘excepting only that ladies will not be called upon to take any part in the management with the officers of the Institution.’

And on the 30th, Mr. Bernard being secretary, the draft of the charter was read.

On April 30 Dr. Glasse was elected honorary secretary, and Mr. Bernard treasurer. Mr. Mellish’s house in Albemarle Street was ordered to be bought. Count Rumford was asked to see the Rev. Mr. Farish regarding lectures on experimental philosophy. Mr. Swan was chosen as clerk assistant to the treasurer and secretary. Mr. Webster, a young architect twenty-six years old, was engaged as Clerk of the Works. He had been educated at Aberdeen, and had studied at the Royal Academy and with an eminent architect. At this time he had also a small school for about a dozen mechanics.

In May it was decided that the treasurer and secretary should be entitled to assist at all the deliberations of the managers, and a committee of expenditure was appointed.

On Wednesday, June 5, the managers first met in Albemarle Street.

In the second volume of the ‘Reports of the Society for Bettering the Condition of the Poor,’ Mr. Bernard gives an account of the Institution ‘so far as it may be expected to affect the poor.’ He thus gives a view of the Institution as it was intended to be, June 1, 1799: ‘Besides having a general view to the benefit of arts and manufactures and to the advancement of taste and science in this country, the Institution should specifically direct itself to the improvement of themeans of industry and of domestic comfort among the poor. In bettering the condition of the poor there is verylittle prospect of these difficulties being removed until acentre of actioncan be fixed, to which persons may apply for examples, for models, and for engravings accompanied by printed instructions, without being any longer compelled implicitly to rely on the talents, the docility, and the conscientious moderation of the different tradesmen who may be employed to make and sell them.

‘A convenient house was proposed for the purpose of lectures and experiments, and for a public exhibition of all such new and useful inventions and improvements as are applicable to the common purposes of life, and especially those which tend to increase the conveniences and comforts of mankind, and to promote domestic economy and useful industry. In the priority of introduction it was proposed that regard should be had to the degree of public utility, and particularly as they might benefit the general mass of the people.

‘Of the subjects of the lectures there are few which appear peculiarly to apply to the poor. Such as those on heat, on the principles of the warmth of clothing, and on the effects of the different temperatures of the air on the human body.

‘The models and inventions in which the poor are most immediately concerned will be those which may promote economy in food and fuel, and tend to correct and purify the air in cottages and workhouses, and which may supply means and instruments of industry on a cheap and simple construction.

‘Thus the models to be exhibited will consist of improved fire-places and kitchens, and of flues andlouvres for supplying rooms either with tepid or fresh air.

‘There will be small models of inventions at a very cheap price, with engravings and explanatory descriptions useful to those who are unable to employ the persons recommended by the Institution or to examine them in actual and constant use at the Institution.’

Mr. Bernard’s report ends thus: ‘Though the charter is not yet obtained, and the Institution may be considered only in its infancy, the subscriptions already exceed 8,000l.

‘It is not very easy to calculate what may be eventually the progress of the Institution, and what its influence on the condition of the poor. If it is followed up with an equal zeal and attention on the part of the conductors, and it receives the support it merits from the public, its effects must be extremely beneficial and important. For, without adverting to the general advantage of a new species of employment and amusement being afforded to the higher classes of life; and science and useful occupation being brought into some degree of fashion; it must be apparent to everyone that, without some such means, the poor can never receive all that benefit and assistance which the efforts and co-operation of many are now directed to procure for them; and that the improvement of the domestic comfort and means of industry in the cottage, the promotion of health, the economy and well-being of the inhabitants of poor-houses, hospitals, manufactories, and other public establishments will never be effectuallyobtained without such an establishment as the Institution.’

It is difficult to believe that the Royal Institution of the present day was ever intended to resemble the picture given of it in this report.

In June the Earl of Winchester became the first president, and the King became the patron, and he allowed the Institution to be called Royal. At the last meeting in the month Count Rumford was authorised to carry into effect his proposition for a repository of models, and to employ such artisans as he might think necessary, paying according to his discretion for their services. He was instructed to procure such instruments and utensils as relate more immediately to the management of fire; and he was empowered to draw 500l.to fit up the house for their reception.

On July 6 he submitted to the managers a form of advertisement to be inserted in the public papers, in order to carry out the exhibition of models.

In September Count Rumford was requested to engage Dr. Garnett as lecturer and scientific secretary and Editor of the Journals, with lodgings in the house and 300l.emolument, with a prospect of a gradual increase to 500l., provided the funds of the Institution in future authorised this additional expenditure. A committee was formed to prepare a lecture room on the first floor for the next winter.

Mr. Webster was appointed clerk to the treasurer and secretary, as well as Clerk of the Works, and a long report from him was read to the managers by CountRumford on the formation of an industrial school for mechanics at the Institution.

A letter written by Mr. Webster to Dr. Garnett in August 1800, and another in 1801 to a friend, give an explanation of this proposal.

Probably August 1800.The original object of the Institution was certainly to disseminate knowledge in the most effectual way possible; and for this purpose, while the higher ranks of society were amused and instructed by lecturers on science and its too much neglected applications to the purposes of common life, it was conceived necessary to do somewhat in order to enlighten the minds of that class which had not enjoyed the advantages of a liberal education, and yet whose improvement was necessarily connected with the progress of the useful arts.This was always considered as an object of so much importance by Count Rumford, who has certainly had the greatest share in establishing the Institution, that he repeatedly declared to me when I first knew him that it was his intention to do everything in his power to establish a school for science under the auspices of the Institution and particularly calculated for working mechanics, a class of men whose deficiency in knowledge proves one of the greatest drawbacks to the progress of art. It was through the prospect of being employed in this way, which would have been as agreeable to my habits of thinking as useful to my interest, that I was induced to give up the school which I then kept and the other business in which I was engaged, and to accept of a situation and salary in the Institution by no means equivalent to what I should have considered myself as entitled to under other circumstances.

Probably August 1800.

The original object of the Institution was certainly to disseminate knowledge in the most effectual way possible; and for this purpose, while the higher ranks of society were amused and instructed by lecturers on science and its too much neglected applications to the purposes of common life, it was conceived necessary to do somewhat in order to enlighten the minds of that class which had not enjoyed the advantages of a liberal education, and yet whose improvement was necessarily connected with the progress of the useful arts.

This was always considered as an object of so much importance by Count Rumford, who has certainly had the greatest share in establishing the Institution, that he repeatedly declared to me when I first knew him that it was his intention to do everything in his power to establish a school for science under the auspices of the Institution and particularly calculated for working mechanics, a class of men whose deficiency in knowledge proves one of the greatest drawbacks to the progress of art. It was through the prospect of being employed in this way, which would have been as agreeable to my habits of thinking as useful to my interest, that I was induced to give up the school which I then kept and the other business in which I was engaged, and to accept of a situation and salary in the Institution by no means equivalent to what I should have considered myself as entitled to under other circumstances.

Later Mr. Webster wrote to a friend:

You have heard, no doubt, that I was employed as draftsman to the Royal Institution at its first formation, and was besides engaged by Count Rumford to take the management of a school for mechanics which he then proposed to establish. In order to overcome the scruples of some of the managers of the Institution on this subject, as well as to give a specimen of my abilities for conducting such an establishment, I addressed a paper to Count Rumford in August 1799, in which I gave him my opinion of the kind of school which would prove most useful to the public, and also entered into a detail of the plan which I proposed to follow. This paper, which the Count read at the meeting of the managers, was highly approved of, and I had then every reason to expect that something would be done which would be creditable to the Institution and useful to myself. I was induced in consequence to give up the school which I then had, and which promised to answer pretty well. But, after remaining some time in suspense, I found some reason to be apprehensive that those who are at the head of an Institution which professes to be a grand and national establishment were not altogether possessed of that liberality of sentiment and knowledge of the subject necessary for carrying into effect plans which can only be accomplished by those whose industry has made them acquainted with the arts and sciences taught. In short, I saw but little prospect of its being done in the way I wished, and I had no desire to engage in it otherwise. I am not certain that the plan has been entirely abandoned, but I think it is not likely to take place.

In 1837 Webster gave the following account of the intention to form an industrial school at the Institution:

Whilst employed as an architect, having occasion to direct various workmen, I had observed their frequent inability to do what was required from them through theirdeficient education, and that it was no easy matter to find those who could understand either drawings or directions; one had also frequently to contend with a species of perverseness and conceit often the result of ignorance. In attempting our improvements in fire-places, &c., I felt this the more as this kind of work demanded a superior class of artificers. Knowing from previous experience what it was possible to effect in their improvement, I conceived the idea of giving to mechanics for this purpose a species of scientific education suited to their condition, and I believe I was the first person in this country who took active steps for effecting so desirable an object. I was not unacquainted with the political feelings of that time, but I did not think a little learning was a dangerous thingif judiciously bestowed, although without due caution it might be capable of doing more harm than good. My idea was to makegood mechanics, not to force them like hot-bed plants out of the sphere in which they are so useful.I proposed, then, to found a school for mechanics in the house of the Royal Institution, in which they should be taught such principles of science as would be useful in their several occupations, which I considered would in a great degree promote the ‘application of science to the common purposes of life.’ In the house of the Institution itself the men would be under the eye of the higher classes, and anything wrong would easily be put a stop to. With this view I wrote a long letter to Count Rumford, detailing my views and plans. He was delighted with them, and he read my letter to the board of managers; the idea was favourably received, and my letter was inserted upon the Minutes of the Institution, where of course it may be seen (Managers’ Minutes, Sept. 14, 1799). Some difficulties were, however, suggested. It was thought that Sir Joseph Banks, then president, would object, and I was requested to take the minute book to him and do what I could to win him over. I accordingly saw Sir Joseph, and, by explaining to him how much the arts would gain by intelligent operatives, I overcame a few political scruples which he had. At last all objections were silenced, and everyone seemed to rejoice in the prospect that opened of adding to the Royal Institution a decided proof of liberal feeling. The general idea and intention with respect to this school were published in the Journals of the Institution;[14]and the news reached every corner of the kingdom that the managers of the Royal Institution of Great Britain, among whom were persons of the highest rank, instead of being adverse to the diffusion of knowledge, had actually formed a school for the instruction of mechanical classes.It is saying little to assert that the Institution acquired some popularity by this measure. It gained much not only here but all over Europe; and in June 1801 Professor Pictet, of Geneva, the well-known and learned editor of the ‘Bibliothèque Universelle,’ in his published account of a tour which he made through England at this time, speaks of it as one of the most important branches of the Institution. It is unnecessary to enter into a detailed account of my plan, which was, in fact, intended as an experiment. It was generally to educate a number of mechanics sent by the proprietors of the Institution. At first all were to learn the same elementary principles, but afterwards they were to branch off according to their several trades. My first intention was to instruct bricklayers, joiners, tinmen, and ironplate workers, as those were the trades most connected with our improvements at this time. In a large room on the ground floor we built up for practising the men chimneys and fire-places of all kinds in a slight manner, pulled them down, and built up others. We fitted up improved fire-places within, models of old-fashionedcottage chimneys, also boilers of various kinds, and showed how smoky chimneys might be cured, &c.; models of various culinary vessels were made from ideas of Count Rumford, and were put in the model room for the inspection of the public. Of the workmen to be instructed some were sent by Lord Winchelsea, by Sir Thomas Barnard, Lady Palmerston, &c., and when they were thought to be sufficiently instructed they returned to the part of the country from which they had come, and practised what they had learned and taught others. Thus by degrees a laudable zeal was created amongst various classes of society, even the highest, for acquiring useful knowledge and diffusing it by their several exertions. Never was there a period when this was felt in a stronger degree, and the establishment of the Royal Institution ought to be considered as the commencement of a new era in the history of science in this country. I should not here forget to mention the then existing Society for Bettering the Condition of the Poor, composed of men of the highest rank, such as the Bishop of Durham, &c.; and to this Society, which met in the house of the Royal Institution (December 23, 1799), I was made assistant secretary for the purpose of letting me the better into their views.It is impossible to state the whole of the good that has proceeded from these liberal endeavours to improve society, and the country owes more than is generally known to the benevolent spirit thus excited.

I proposed, then, to found a school for mechanics in the house of the Royal Institution, in which they should be taught such principles of science as would be useful in their several occupations, which I considered would in a great degree promote the ‘application of science to the common purposes of life.’ In the house of the Institution itself the men would be under the eye of the higher classes, and anything wrong would easily be put a stop to. With this view I wrote a long letter to Count Rumford, detailing my views and plans. He was delighted with them, and he read my letter to the board of managers; the idea was favourably received, and my letter was inserted upon the Minutes of the Institution, where of course it may be seen (Managers’ Minutes, Sept. 14, 1799). Some difficulties were, however, suggested. It was thought that Sir Joseph Banks, then president, would object, and I was requested to take the minute book to him and do what I could to win him over. I accordingly saw Sir Joseph, and, by explaining to him how much the arts would gain by intelligent operatives, I overcame a few political scruples which he had. At last all objections were silenced, and everyone seemed to rejoice in the prospect that opened of adding to the Royal Institution a decided proof of liberal feeling. The general idea and intention with respect to this school were published in the Journals of the Institution;[14]and the news reached every corner of the kingdom that the managers of the Royal Institution of Great Britain, among whom were persons of the highest rank, instead of being adverse to the diffusion of knowledge, had actually formed a school for the instruction of mechanical classes.

It is saying little to assert that the Institution acquired some popularity by this measure. It gained much not only here but all over Europe; and in June 1801 Professor Pictet, of Geneva, the well-known and learned editor of the ‘Bibliothèque Universelle,’ in his published account of a tour which he made through England at this time, speaks of it as one of the most important branches of the Institution. It is unnecessary to enter into a detailed account of my plan, which was, in fact, intended as an experiment. It was generally to educate a number of mechanics sent by the proprietors of the Institution. At first all were to learn the same elementary principles, but afterwards they were to branch off according to their several trades. My first intention was to instruct bricklayers, joiners, tinmen, and ironplate workers, as those were the trades most connected with our improvements at this time. In a large room on the ground floor we built up for practising the men chimneys and fire-places of all kinds in a slight manner, pulled them down, and built up others. We fitted up improved fire-places within, models of old-fashionedcottage chimneys, also boilers of various kinds, and showed how smoky chimneys might be cured, &c.; models of various culinary vessels were made from ideas of Count Rumford, and were put in the model room for the inspection of the public. Of the workmen to be instructed some were sent by Lord Winchelsea, by Sir Thomas Barnard, Lady Palmerston, &c., and when they were thought to be sufficiently instructed they returned to the part of the country from which they had come, and practised what they had learned and taught others. Thus by degrees a laudable zeal was created amongst various classes of society, even the highest, for acquiring useful knowledge and diffusing it by their several exertions. Never was there a period when this was felt in a stronger degree, and the establishment of the Royal Institution ought to be considered as the commencement of a new era in the history of science in this country. I should not here forget to mention the then existing Society for Bettering the Condition of the Poor, composed of men of the highest rank, such as the Bishop of Durham, &c.; and to this Society, which met in the house of the Royal Institution (December 23, 1799), I was made assistant secretary for the purpose of letting me the better into their views.

It is impossible to state the whole of the good that has proceeded from these liberal endeavours to improve society, and the country owes more than is generally known to the benevolent spirit thus excited.

After September 14 Count Rumford was absent until February 3. During this time six meetings only of the managers were held, one in October, when Sir John Hippesley brought at great length the question of the arms of the Institution before the managers. Another meeting was on December 23, when the Society for Bettering the Condition of the Poor were granted a room for the committee meetings.The prospectus and charter were ordered to be printed in octavo, and Dr. Garnett laid before the managers the plan of his lectures for the following year.

Thus, then, in 1799 the Rumford Institution began in the house of Sir Joseph Banks, the President of the Royal Society, and in the first year of its life it became the Royal Institution in Albemarle Street. It had its origin in the work which Count Rumford did for the poor in Munich, and its primary objects were models, workshops, and useful knowledge to benefit the poor; lectures, researches, and scientific experiments to amuse and interest the rich and to advance science were comparatively the secondary intentions of its founder.

In 1800 a new and very long prospectus was written by Count Rumford. It was printed with the charter, bye-laws, and names of the proprietors and subscribers, and published on January 23. It again said, ‘the two chief purposes of the Institution were the speedy and general diffusion of the knowledge of all new and useful improvements, in whatever quarter of the world they may originate; the application of scientific discoveries to the improvement of arts and manufactures in this country, and to the increase of domestic comfort and convenience.’ There is a remarkable addition in May of two paragraphs to the edition in quarto of this publication. They read as if some one had pointed out the absence of all mention of attraction for the rich. These words were added: ‘But, in estimating the probable usefulness of this Institution, we must not forget thepublic advantages that will be derived from the general diffusion of a spirit of experimental investigation and improvement among the higher ranks of society. When the rich shall take pleasure in contemplating and encouraging such mechanical improvements as are really useful, good taste, with its inseparable companion good morals, will revive; rational economy will become fashionable; industry and ingenuity will be honoured and rewarded; and the pursuits of all the various classes of society will then tend to promote the public prosperity.’

On the 13th of January Sir J. Hippesley read to the managers a letter proposed to be sent to every proprietor and subscriber. It stated that the charter had been approved, and would be sealed the next seal day; that temporary accommodation for lectures was completed; and that Mr. Professor Garnett would lecture early in February; that the subscribers’ rooms, containing the periodical scientific publications, foreign and domestic, would be opened at the same time. All subscribers were requested to pay their subscriptions immediately to Professor Garnett, or to Mr. Webster, the clerk of the Institution, or to one of the six bankers of the Institution.

At the end of the month Mr. Webster was ordered to prepare plans for a new lecture room. When an old man he thus spoke of his work: ‘After nearly forty years the theatre of the Royal Institution is pronounced to bethe most perfect room of the kind in the kingdomfor possessing the properties of allowing the lecturer to be well heard and seen by the audience,and for affording them easy entrance and exit, &c. I have never “puffed” myself respecting it, as is very common in similar cases, and hence, probably, my name is scarcely known as connected with it. But I maynowsay, “that it has been stated by Faraday, in his late examination before a committee of the House of Commons, to be ‘almost perfect as a lecture room,’ and that ‘although architects are continually measuring and drawing it to copy from, and many other rooms have been built in imitation of it in which he has tried his voice, yet none of them proved equal to that in question.’”

‘After my designs were quite finished, and after it was resolved by the Institution that they should be carried into execution by me, Mr. Saunders, then architect of the British Museum, offered his assistance should any difficulties arise. I willingly accepted his offer, as his name would be some sanction and security in a case where I knew I had enemies as well as friends, and I took care to show him everything I did in the construction of the building; but the whole of the working drawings, even the details of the mouldings, &c., were made by my own hand. The estimate and contract were made by me and not by Saunders, and every person employed was under myimmediate direction. My designs were not in the smallest degree altered by him.

‘Soon after my designs were made they were taken away by one of the managers (whose name I shall not mention at present) and put into the hands of Mr. Spiller, an architect, in order that he might makeanother set of designs, thereby giving him the advantage of my ideas. This was accordingly done. His lecture room was upon the second story and mine was upon the first. His was covered by a lofty dome highly enriched; my ceiling was flat. His estimate was 10,000l.; mine was 5,000l.His would take two years to execute; mine was to be finished in six months. I shall pass over the unpleasant circumstances to which this affair gave rise, my resigning my situation in the Institution, being requested by the managers to retain it, &c., and shall only say both the sets of designs were submitted to the members of the Institution at their annual meeting, andmine wereadopted, and it was resolved that they should be executed under my superintendence. Mr. Spiller claimed and got, I believe, 150l.I received nothing as an architect, because I was an officer of the Institution at a very small salary, and Count Rumford had in the beginning caused a strange regulation to be made andprinted“that no one should ever berewardedby the Institution for any services which he might perform.”’

In another note he says:

‘In designing the lecture room of an institution so peculiar (unique indeed at that time) my object was to adapt it for different ranks in society, for any attempt to destroy all distinctions must be absurd. I constructed a gallery intended for those who either wished to be less observed, or who, for obvious reasons, would not like to sit down by their employers. It was also to receive such ingenious mechanics as had gained a title to be there. To this gallery aseparate stonestaircase led from the street. The whole of thiswas built.’[15]

On January 15 Count Rumford wrote to Sir Joseph Banks from Broadlands:

I certainly am in much better health than I was when I came here, which I attribute as much to my having left off taking medicines as to the salubrious air of the country. I think that I shall stay here about a fortnight longer, and shall then return to Brompton, and shall be at the disposal of the managers of the Institution for the remainder of the winter. I am very glad indeed that you like Webster. I am much deceived if he does not turn out to be a very useful acquisition. I hope Dr. Garnett will do well, but I must own that I am not as prepossessed in his favour as I am in favour of Webster.If more active and more useful men could be found to serve as managers in lieu of two or three of ours who seldom or never attend, I think it would be advisable to accept their resignation.Onehasprivatelyoffered me to resign whenever I may wish it, and I should think it would not be difficult to persuade two others to follow the example. But we will talk this matter over when we meet.I have been very busy here for the last fortnight putting up a public kitchen in the town of Romsey. It is now nearly finished, and begins to attract public curiosity. As it contains a complete well-arranged kitchen for a private family as well as cottage fire-places, German stoves, nests of small ovens, large soup boilers, &c., it almost deserves the name of a public repository, and I have no doubt but it will be useful as such. If Webster were here for a few days, he might take drawings of the whole for the use of the Royal Institution.

If more active and more useful men could be found to serve as managers in lieu of two or three of ours who seldom or never attend, I think it would be advisable to accept their resignation.Onehasprivatelyoffered me to resign whenever I may wish it, and I should think it would not be difficult to persuade two others to follow the example. But we will talk this matter over when we meet.

I have been very busy here for the last fortnight putting up a public kitchen in the town of Romsey. It is now nearly finished, and begins to attract public curiosity. As it contains a complete well-arranged kitchen for a private family as well as cottage fire-places, German stoves, nests of small ovens, large soup boilers, &c., it almost deserves the name of a public repository, and I have no doubt but it will be useful as such. If Webster were here for a few days, he might take drawings of the whole for the use of the Royal Institution.

A week after he wrote: ‘I am expecting the arrival of Webster every moment. I am glad you have sent him here, for the drawings he will make of the works that have been executed in the Romsey public kitchen will save me much trouble (for I must have made them), and his seeing the kitchen here will enable him to be of great use to me in directing the works in Albemarle Street.’

On February 3 Count Rumford was again present. Doubtless the following passage in the Managers’ Minutes refers to him: ‘The unfortunate illness and long confinement of one of the managers, whose zeal had been so conspicuous in the formation and success of the Institution, was another obstacle to the commencement of many interesting arrangements, which he necessarily considered as essential to superintend in person.’

The same day Sir John Hippesley made a long report to the managers to be laid before the proprietors of the Institution on the 10th.

He alluded to a proposal for private boxes in the new theatre, and spoke of accommodating nearly 1,000 persons, and said that the floor under the theatre was for a repository, and that the sunk floor of the new building was designed for a complete laboratory, ‘which unfortunately this great metropolis of the British Empire has hitherto failed to produce, but which is an essential appendix to the Royal Institution.’

It was proposed to raise 5,000l.by transferable debentures, and the sum subscribed during the meeting was 5,200l.

At the next meeting a building committee, consistingof Earl Morton, Count Rumford, and Sir J. Hippesley, was appointed. The following week this was made to include all the managers.

In this month Count Rumford went to live in the house, and the managers resolved ‘that as long as he did so he should be required to superintend all the works going on in the house, and to see that the servants in the house and the different workmen employed discharge their various duties with diligence and due decorum, and that the proprietors, subscribers, and others who visit the Institution are received with civility and treated with proper respect and attention.’

Sir Joseph Banks drew up the bye-laws, and Count Rumford was afterwards asked, agreeably to a provision in the draft bye-laws, to prepare internal regulations for conducting the business of the Institution. An under-librarian and clerk to the managers was also appointed.

The meeting of managers on March 31 was the starting point of the Journal of the Institution. The publication was left to the superintendence of Rumford.

A printing press was ordered to be bought as soon as possible, and a scientific committee of council was formed. This was to be a standing committee ‘to examine the syllabuses of the professor of natural philosophy and chemistry, to the end that no false scientific doctrine might be taught at the Institution, and to superintend all the new philosophical experiments that might be made in the house of the Institution, and, when made, to cause to be drawn up an account ofthe same for the managers and for the Royal Society of London.’

This committee consisted of Cavendish, Maskelyne, Blagden, Rennell, Planta, Gray, Vince, Farish, and Hatchett.

The managers also decided that fourteen committees should be appointed for the purpose of specific investigation and improvement. Persons in no way connected with the Institution might be appointed. The chairman and deputy chairman were to be nominated by the managers. The meetings were to be held in the house, and the results were to be published in the Journals. The subjects were, 1, making bread; 2, soup; 3, cottages; 4, stoves; 5, kitchen fire-places and utensils; 6, household furniture; 7, food for cattle; 8, cooking in ships and distilling fresh water at sea; 9, lime-kilns; 10, fire-balls and combustible cakes; 11, mortar and cements; 12, composition houses; 13, useful machines of all descriptions; 14, iron founding and working and refining iron and steel.

Dr. R. J. Thornton offering to lecture on botany as connected with agriculture, it was resolved that the cultivation of natural history and agriculture was not included in the original plan of the Royal Institution, and that it was not expedient to accept the offer.

On April 5 the first number of the ‘Journal of the Royal Institution of Great Britain’ was published. It contains, 1. The proceedings of the managers of March 31 and the report to the proprietors made on February 10. 2. An advertisement respecting the publication of the Journal, ‘that threepence would be the price of a number of eight pages, and sixpence if sixteen pages; that no stated period could then be fixed, but it is expected a number would appear as often at least as once every fortnight.’ 3. A short account of the works now carrying on at the house of the Institution. Mention is made of the theatre, and under it a spacious airy semicircular repository for receiving various useful machines which will be exhibited as models for imitation. Immediately under the repository will be constructed a lofty and capacious laboratory for chemical experiments. The fire-places, the kitchen, the boilers, the ovens, the complete roaster, steamers, and other articles of kitchen furniture on new principles were either prepared or preparing for exhibition. An account is given of the number of the proprietors, 248; life subscribers, 259; annual subscribers, 297; ladies, annual, 97; and a notice of the philosophical lectures for the following week.

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