AND 
REGULATIONS 
OF THE 
American Philosophical Society, 
HELD AT PHILADELPHIA, 
FOR PROMOTING USEFUL KNOWLEDGE, 
As finally amended and adopted, Dec. 16,1859. 
TOGETHER WITH THE 
CHARTER OF THE SOCIETY, 
AND 
A LIST OF ITS PRESIDENTS. 
KING & BAIRD, PRINTERS, No. 607 SANSOM STREET. 
PHILADELPHIA: 
1866, THE LAWS 
OF THE 
AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY. 
CHAPTER I. 
OF THE MEMBERS, AND MANNER OF THEIR ELECTION. 
Section 1. The election of members shall be by ballot, and 
shall form part of the stated business of the meetings on the 
third Friday of January, April, July and October. 
2. A member may, at any meeting, nominate in writing a 
candidate for membership, and the nomination so made may, in 
like manner, be concurred in by other members. The board of 
officers and council may also nominate candidates for member- 
ship; and such nominations shall be certified to the Society by 
minute thereof in writing, attested by the clerk of said board. 
3. Nd person shall be balloted for, unless his nomination, 
with the names of the members proposing him, or the minute 
of the board of officers and council, made as aforesaid, shall 
have been publicly read to the Society at the two stated meet- 
ings preceding that at which the balloting takes place. Nor 
shall any person be deemed duly chosen unless three-fourths of 
the votes given shall be in his favor. 
4. Before entering upon an election for members, one of the 
secretaries shall read the names of the several candidates ; and 
any member may then, for the information of the Society, speak 
to their character and qualifications for membership. 
5. The names of the candidates and their places of abode shall 
be designated on the ballot-boxes, and the names of the members 
qualified to vote shall be called by one of the secretaries. The 
members as they are named shall then ballot for the several can- 4 
didates in succession; a white ball being considered in favor of 
the candidate. 
6. After all the other business of the meeting shall have been 
disposed of, the boxes shall be opened and the result of the poll 
declared by the presiding member. 
7. The members are mutually pledged not to mention out of 
the Society the name of any candidate proposed, nor of any 
withdrawn or unsuccessful candidate ; and the papers containing 
the names of the unsuccessful candidates shall be destroyed im- 
mediately after the election. 
8. Every member, upon his introduction into the Society, shall 
be presented to the presiding officer, and shall subscribe the laws. 
9. Such members as reside within ten miles of the hall of the 
Society, and such other members as desire to .vote at the meet- 
ings anc\ elections, shall pay an admission fee of ten dollars, and 
annually thereafter, on the first Friday of January, a contribution 
of five dollars. The payment of fifty dollars at one time, by a 
member not in arrears, shall exempt him from all future annual 
payments. 
10. Members elect, residing within ten miles of the hall, shall 
lose the right of membership unless they subscribe the laws and 
pay their admission fee within one year after their election. Any 
member liable to an annual contribution, who shall neglect or 
refuse to pay the same for the term of two years, shall be noti- 
fied by the treasurer in writing, on or before the'second Friday 
in January after such default, that his rights as a member are 
suspended; and, in case the said arrears, together with the con- 
tribution due on the first Friday in January after such notice, 
shall not be paid to the treasurer on or before the said last 
named day, the membership of such defaulting membey shall be 
forfeited, his name stricken from the roll, and reported to the 
Society by the treasurer. 
11. On the Society being informed of the death of a member, 
the fact shall be entered on the records, and a member may be 
appointed to prepare an obituary notice of the deceased. 
12. The obituary notices of members shall be read to the 
Society, and they shall be bound' together whenever they are 
sufficiently numerous to form a volume. 
13. The catalogue of the members shall be read at the meet- 
ing on the third Friday of January, for the purpose of correction. 5 
CHAPTER II. 
Section 1, The officers, shall be a patron, a president, three 
vice-presidents, four secretaries, three curators, a treasurer, and 
twelve counsellors. 
2. The governor of the State of Pennsylvania shall be, ex- 
officio, the patron of the Society. 
3. On the first Friday of January in every year, between the 
hours of two and five in the afternoon, as many of the members 
as shall have paid up their arrears due to the Society, and shall 
declare their willingness to conform to the laws, regulations, and 
ordinances of the Society, then duly in force, by subscribing the 
same, and who shall attend in the hall, or place of meeting of 
the Society, within the time aforesaid, shall choose by ballot, one 
president, three vice-presidents, four secretaries, three curators, 
and one treasurer; and, at the same time and place, the mem- 
bers, met and qualified as aforesaid, shall in like manner choose 
four members for the council, to hold their offices for three years. 
4. No person residing within the United States shall be cap- 
able of being president, vice-president, secretary, treasurer, or 
member of the council, or of electing to any of the said offices, 
who is not capable of electing and being elected to civil offices 
within the State in which he resides. Provided, that nothing 
herein contained shall be considered as intended to exclude any 
of the officers or counsellors, whose time shall be expired, from 
being re-elected, according to the pleasure of the Society. 
5. No one shall be esteemed a qualified voter at the election, 
who has not subscribed the laws and jmid the admission fee, or 
who is in arrears to the Society, or has not attended a meeting 
during a whole year next preceding the election. .. 
6. Of the day, hour, and place of election, notice shall be 
given by the librarian at least one week before the day of elec- 
tion, in such one or more of the public newspapers of the State 
of Pennsylvania, as the Society shall direct. 
7. Before opening the election, the company that shall be met 
at half an hour after two, shall appoint three members of the 
Society as judges of the election, and also two clerks or secre- 
taries for taking down the names of the voters. 
OF THE OFFICERS, AND MANNER OF THEIR ELECTION. 6 
8. In case of an equality of votes for the candidates for any 
office, the decision shall be by lot, to be drawn by one of the 
judges. 
CHAPTER III. 
OF THE PRESIDENT AND VICE-PRESIDENTS. 
Section 1. The president shall preside at the meetings, pre- 
serve order, regulate the debates, state and put questions 
agreeably to the sense and intention of the members, and 
announce the determination of the Society thereupon. 
2. In the absence of the president from a meeting, his duties 
shall devolve upon the vice-presidents in rotation ; or, at his re- 
quest when present, his duties may be performed by either of 
the vice-presidents. 
3. If the president and vice-presidents be absent, the mem- 
bers met shall appoint one of their number to take the chair for 
the time. 
4. At some time, within the year, the president shall deliver 
to the Society a discourse on some literary or scientific subject, 
accompanied by such suggestions, with regard to the affairs of 
the Society, as he shall judge proper! 
CHAPTER IV. 
OF THE SECRETARIES. 
Section 1. The Secretaries shall minute the proceedings of 
the Society at the meetings, read all papers which are required 
to be read at the meetings, and preserve, in regular files, all 
documents presented to,the Society. They shall give notice to 
members of their election, acknowledge in writing the reception 
of all communications, and generally conduct the correspondence. 
2. Two of them, at least, shall officiate at every meeting; and 
unless a different arrangement shall be made and announced by 
them at the beginning of the year, the first and third named on 
the list of secretaries shall be considered responsible for the 
performance of all the duties of the office during the first, third, 
fifth, seventh, ninth, and eleventh months of the year, and in 
like manner the second and fourth named on the list, during the 
alternate months. 7 
CHAPTER V. 
Section 1. The curators shall have charge of the cabinet of 
the Society, and shall be responsible for its preservation and 
security. They shall classify and arrange the articles therein, 
and shall preserve an exact list of them, with the' names of the 
donors. 
2. One of them, at least, shall be in attendance as curator at 
every meeting; and, unless a different arrangement shall be 
made and announced by them at the beginning of the year, 
they shall be considered severally responsible, in monthly rota- 
tion, for the performance of all the duties of the office. 
OF THE CURATORS. 
CHAPTER VI. 
OF THE TREASURER. 
Section 1. The treasurer shall collect and receive all moneys 
belonging to the Society, or entrusted to its care, unless other- 
wise specially directed; and he shall disburse or apply the same 
upon the orders or according to the appropriations made by the 
Society, which orders and appropriations shall be duly certified 
to him by the presiding officer and secretary for the time. 
2. He shall keep regular accounts: and on the first Friday of 
December in every year, and as much oftener as jnay be 
required, he shall present to the Society a full report on the 
state of its funds. • 
3. He shall preserve for the use of the Society at elections, 
and meetings, a catalogue of all the members, designating 
thereon as a distinct class those who have paid the admission 
fee and the annual contributions, and noting opposite to their 
names the several meetings at which they have attended during 
the year. 
4. On the expiration of his office he shall deliver up to his 
successor, the books, papers, vouchers of property, and moneys 
remaining in his hands. 
5. To secure the faithful execution of all his trusts, he shall, 
before he enters upon his office, give bond and security to the 8 
Society in such iftnount as the committee of finance shall judge 
proper ; which bond shall, without renewal, apply to the several 
years for which he may be re-elected treasurer. 
G. He shall, as full compensation for his services, receive five 
per cent, on the amount of the annual income of the Society 
collected by him. 
CHAPTER VII. 
Section 1. The officers and council shall meet together 
statedly on the second Friday of February, May, August and 
November respectively, at the same hour in the evening at 
which the stated meetings of the Society are Appointed to be 
held; and specially at such times as they may judge proper. 
2. They shall keep regular minutes of their proceedings, to 
be laid before the Society at its stated meetings, on the third 
Friday of the same months respectively. 
3. They shall, from time to time, lay before the Society such 
measures as in their judgment will conduce to the well-governing 
and ordering of the affairs of the Society, or promote the ob- 
jects of its institution; particularly, they shall recommend 
subjects for premiums to be offered by the Society, with the 
conditions on which they shall be awarded. 
4. They shall also, from time to time'nominate to the Society 
as candidates for membership, such persons, of our own or of 
foreign countries, as may in their judgment merit such a dis- 
tinction. Such nominations shalfe as nearly as may be prac- 
ticable, be agreed to by them in the manner pointed out by law 
for the election of members, except that no previous notice of 
any intended proposal to them for their nomination shall be 
required; and the names of all persons duly, nominated by them 
shall be certified to the Society by a minute thereof, made in 
writing and attested by their clerk. 
5. To them shall be submitted all communications from candi- 
dates for premiums, whether the Magellanic or those offered by 
the Society, all of which shall be immediately referred to the 
standing committee on premiums. Reports on such communi- 
cations shall Jbe made without unnecessary delay. 
OF THE OFFICERS AND COUNCIL. 9 
6. They shall annually appoint a standing committee of 
seven members, to be called the committee on premiums, of 
which three members shall be a quorum. It shall be the duty 
of this committee to publish the terras on which the Magel- 
lanic and other premiums are to be granted by the Society, to 
consider and report upon all 'communications from candidates 
for premiums, 'and to recommend to the officers and council 
subjects for which new premiums shall be offered by the Society. 
7. The president and senior secretary of the Society, shall 
be, ex-officio, the president and clerk at their meetings ; and 
three of their number shall be a quorum. 
8. The ex-presidents of the Society shall be members of the 
board of officers and council. . • 
CHAPTER VIII. 
OF THE LIBRARIAN. 
Section 1. A member of the Society shall be chosen at'the 
stated meeting on the third Friday of January in each year, 
to be the librarian of the Society. Nominations for said office 
shall be made at the first stated meeting in January, and no 
person shall be voted for who has not been so nominated. 
2. The librarian shall have, under the direction of the proper 
standing committees, the custody' and care of the hall, and of 
the books and papers belonging to the Society, which he shall 
dispose and arrange in such a manner as shall be judged most 
convenient, and shall keep an arranged catalogue of them, with 
the names of the donors. He shall assist the curators in their 
charge of the cabinet. 
3. He shall attend at the library at every meeting of the 
Society, and daily, excepting Sundays, from 10 A. M. to 1 
P. M. except when allowed leave of absence by the presiding 
officer of the Society, and shall then, and at such other times 
as he may think proper, lend out to any resident member of the 
Society, who is not indebted to him for fines or forfeitures, any 
books belonging to the library, except the last volumes and loose 
numbers of periodical journals, and except recent donations 
made to the Society, which shall not be lent out; taking from 
each member, borrowing a book, an obligation, with a sufficient 10 
penalty, to return the same uninjured, within one month there- 
after, subject to a fine of fifty cents at every stated meeting that 
shall occur after the limited period before he returns the book, 
and a forfeiture of double the value of the book, or of the set 
of which it is one, if not returned in six months after being 
borrowed. 
4. He shall levy and collect these fines and forfeitures, and 
pay over the moneys thence arising to the treasurer, at the end 
of his official year, in aid of the appropriation for the library. 
5. He shall give notice in the newspapers of the meetings of 
the Society and of the officers and council, and of all elections, 
and shall make all such publications on behalf of the Society as 
Sre not otherwise devolved by law or special order. 
6.. He shall, at 'the beginning of each year, cause tables to be 
.prepared for the use of the members, on which shall be noted 
the days for the meetings of the Society and of the officers and 
council, the stated business to be transacted thereat, and the 
names of the officiating secretaries and curator. 
7. lie shall transcribe carefully and correctly the minutes of 
the Society, as made by the officiating secretaries. He shall 
acknowledge the reception of all donations made to the Society, 
and transmit copies of its Transactions and Proceedings as 
directed, and shall from time to' time perform such other execu- 
tive or ministerial duties as may be charged on him by a vote 
of the Society, given according to the laws. 
8. He shall, under the direction of the secretaries, act as 
reporter of the proceedings of the Society, and shall cause such 
abstract of them to be published for the use of the members, 
and for distribution to correspondents, as the secretaries may 
deem expedient or proper, or as the Society may direct; but no 
expense shall be incurred, nor any contracts made for printing 
or publishing the same, beyond the sum appropriated by the 
Society for such purposes. . 
9. He shall receive an annual salary of seven hundred dollars, 
to be paid monthly from the treasury of the Society, and his 
services shall commence on the first Monday after his election. 11 
CHAPTER IX. 
of the meetings of the society. 
Section 1. The ordinary meetings of the Society shall be on 
the first and third Fridays of every month from October to 
May, both inclusive, and on the third Friday of each of the 
other four months, at seven o'clock in the evening. Special 
meetings may be called at any time by order of the president; 
or, in. his absence, by order of a vice-president. 
2. The chair shall be taken by the presiding officer within 
one hour after the time appointed for the meeting. 
3. The qualified voters, present at 'any stated or special meet- 
ing, shall be a quorum, and be competent to elect members, 
dispose of property, appropriate money, and award premiums ; 
but no property shall be alienated or encumbered, except by 
the vote of three-fourths of the qualified voters present, and 
given at two successive stated meetings. For the transaction 
of the ordinary business, the reception and reference of com- 
munications on literary, scientific, or other subjects, all other 
members present shall be deemed competent to act, and, in the 
absence of qualified voters, shall form a quorum. 
4. Those members shall be considered qualified voters at the 
meetings, who have subscribed the laws and paid the admission 
fee, and who are not in arrears to the Society. 
5. No meeting shall be continued after eleven o'clock • nor 
shall any new matter be introduced after ten, unless in the 
transaction of business, enjoined by the laws. 
6. The hall of the Society shall be open on every Friday 
evening, when the Society is not in session, to the members and 
such friends as they tnay introduce, for the purposes of reading 
and social intercourse. . 
CHAPTER X. 
OF THE TRANSACTIONS OF THE SOCIETY. 
Section 1. Every communication to the Society which may 
be considered as intended for a place in the Transactions, shall 
immediately be referred to a committee to consider and report 
thereon. 12 
2. If the committee shall report in favor of publishing the 
communication, they shall make such.corrections therein as 
thej' may judge necessary to fit it for the press ; or if they shall 
judge the publication of an abstract or extracts from the paper 
to be more eligible, they shall accompany their report with such 
abstract or extracts. But if the author do not approve of the 
corrections, abstract, or extracts, reported by the committee, he 
shall be at liberty to withdraw his paper. 
3. Communications not intended by their authors for publi- 
cation in the Transactions, will be received by the Society, and 
the title or subject of them recorded; and, if they be in writing, 
they shall be filed by the secretaries. 
4. The • Transactions shh.ll be published in numbers, at as 
short intervals as practicable, under the direction of the com- 
mittee of publication, and in such a form as the Society shall 
from time to time direct; and every communication ordered to 
be published in the Transactions shall be immediately sent to 
the printer, and fifty copies thereof be given to the author as 
soon as printed. 
5. The order in which papers are read shall determine their 
places in the Transactions, unless otherwise ordered by the 
Society ; priority of date giving priority of location. 
G. The expenses of publishing the Transactions shall be 
defrayed by subscriptions and sales, aided by such funds as 
the Society shall from time to time appropriate for that purpose. 
CHAPTER XI. 
OF STANDING AND SPECIAL COMMITTEES. 
Section 1. There shall be chosen, at the* stated meeting on 
the third Friday of January in each year, three members of the 
Society, to be a committee of finance, five to be a committee 
of publication, three to be a committee on the hall, and five to 
be a committee on the library. 
2. The committee of finance shall have the general superin- 
tendence of the financial concerns of the Society. They shall 
consult with the treasurer, and authorize and direct investments 
of its surplus funds. They shall always have access to his 
books, accounts, and vouchers; and they shall annually, on 13 
the thh'd Friday of December, make a full report on the state 
of the treasury, particularly distinguishing the several funds, 
and the income and disbursements of each, and recommending 
the amounts which should be appropriated for different objects 
of expenditure during the ensuing year. They shall also have 
power to remit the fees and contributions of members, when 
they shall judge that circumstances make it proper. 
3. The committee of publication shall superintend the print- 
ing and distribution of the Society's Transactions. They shall 
make all contracts for the same in the name of the Society, but 
shall have no power to incur any debt, beyond the amount ap- 
propriated by the Society for said publication, or derived from 
subscriptions. They shall audit and certify all bills for expenses 
attending the publication, to the treasurer for payment, fix the 
price of the different numbers, and receive subscriptions. They 
shall furnish the treasurer, immediately after the publication of 
any number of the Transactions, with a list of the subscribers, 
and the sum due from each, to enable him to collect the amount 
thereof, and shall annually, on the first Friday of December, 
make a full report of their .doings to the Society. They shall 
have power to call on the librarian for his assistance in the per- 
formance of their duties. 
4. The committee on the hall shall have charge of the real 
estate of the Society, and shall direct all necessary repairs. 
They shall effect insurance upon the property of the Society in 
such amounts as may from time to time be directed. 
5. The committee on the library shall confer with and assist 
the librarian in the disbursement of the annual appropriations 
for the library, and in the disposition and arrangement of the 
books, charts, and documents belonging to the Society. 
6. No committee appointed on any subject of deliberation 
shall consist of less than three members; but any other matter 
may be committed to a single member. A majority of any com- 
mittee shall be a quorum. 
7. All committees shall be chosen, unless otherwise directed 
by the Society, on nominations previously made and seconded, 
the question being put on each member separately. 
8. The member first elected of any committee shall be the 
chairman, and considered responsible for the discharge of the 
duties enjoined on the committee. 14 
9. Committees shall report at the meeting next following their 
appointment, unless otherwise ordered by the Society. 
10. All reports shall be in writing, and signed by the mem- 
bers agreeing thereto. 
11. The names of the committees, the time of their appoint- 
ment, the matter or business committed to them, the time at 
which they are to report, and the time at which their final 
report is presented, shall be entered by the secretaries in a book 
provided for that purpose. 
CHAPTER XII. 
OF THE MAGELLANIC FUND. 
Section 1. John Hyacinth de Magellan, in London, having in 
the year 1786 offered to the Society, as a donation, the sum of 
two hundred guineas, to be by them vested in a secure and per- 
manent fund, to the end that the interest arising therefrom 
should be annually disposed of in premiums, to be adjudged by 
them to the author of the best discovery, or most useful inven- 
tion, relating to Navigation, Astronomy, or Natural Philoso- 
phy (mere natural history only excepted) ; and the Society hav- 
ing accepted of the above donation, they hereby publish the con- 
ditions, prescribed by the donor and agreed to by the Society, 
upon which the said annual premiums will be awarded. 
CONDITIONS OF THE MAGELLANIC PREMIUM. 
1. The candidate shall send his discovery, invention or im- 
provement, addressed to the president, or one of the vice-presi- 
dents of the Society, free of postage or other charges ; and shall 
distinguish his performance by some motto, device, or other sig- 
nature, at his pleasure. Together with his discovery, invention, 
or improvement, he shall also send a sealed letter containing 
the same motto, device oi' signature, and subscribed with the 
real name and place of residence of the author. 
2. Persons of any nation, sect or denomination whatever, 
shall be admitted as candidates for this premium. 
3. No discovery, invention or improvement shall be entitled 
to this premium, which hath been already published, or for 
which the author hath been publicly rewarded elsewhere. 15 
4. The candidate shall communicate his discovery, invention 
or improvement, either in the English, French, German, or 
Latin language. 
5. All such communications shall be publicly read or exhib- 
ited to the Society at some stated meeting, not less than one 
month previous to the day of adjudication, and shall at all times 
be open to the inspection of such members as shall desire it. 
But no member shall carry home with him the communication, 
description, or model, except the officer to whom it shall be 
entrusted; nor shall such officer part with the same out of his 
custody, without a special order of the Society for that pur- 
pose. 
6. The Society, having previously referred the several com- 
munications from candidates for the premium, then depending, to 
the consideration of the twelve counsellors and other officers of 
the Society, and having received their report thereon, shall, at 
one of their stated meetings in the month of December, annu- 
ally, after the expiration of this current year (of the time and 
place, together with the particular occasion of which meeting, 
due notice shall be previously given, by public advertisement) 
proceed to final adjudication of the said premium ; and, after 
due consideration had, a vote shall first be taken on this ques- 
tion, viz., Whether any of the communications then under in- 
spection be worthy of the proposed premium ? If this question 
be determined in the negative, the whole business shall be de- 
ferred till another year; but if in the affirmative, the Society 
shall proceed to determine by ballot, given by the members at 
large, the discovery, invention, or improvement most useful and 
worthy; and that discovery, invention, or improvement, which 
shall be found to have a majority of concurring votes in its 
favor, shall be successful; and then, and not till then, the sealed 
letter accompanying the crowned performance shall be opened, 
and the name of the author announced as the person entitled to 
the said premium. 
7. No member of the Society who is a candidate for the pre- 
mium then -depending, or who hath not previously declared to 
the Society, that he has considered and weighed, according to 
the best of his judgment, the comparative merits of the several 
claims then under consideration, shall sit in judgment, or give 
his Vote in awarding the said premium. 16 
8. A full account of the crowned subject shall be published 
by the Society, as soon as may be after the adjudication, either in 
a separate publication, or in the next succeeding volume of their 
Transactions, or in both. 
9. The unsuccessful performances shall remain under consid- 
eration, and their authors be considered as candidates for the 
premium for five years next succeeding the time of their pre- 
sentment ; except such performances as their authors may, in 
the mean time, think fit to withdraw. And the Society shall 
annually publish an abstract of the titles, object, or subject 
matter of the communications, so under consideration ; such 
only excepted as the Society shall think not worthy of public 
notice. 
10. The letters containing the names of authors whose per- 
formances shall be rejected, or which shall be found unsuccess- 
ful after a trial of five years, shall be burnt before the Society, 
without breaking the seals. 
11. In case there should be a failure, in any year, of any com- 
munication worthy of the proposed premium, there will then be 
two premiums to be awarded the next year. But no accumula- 
tion of premiums shall entitle the author to more than one pre- 
mium for any one discovery, invention or improvement. 
12. The premium shall consist of an oval plate of solid stand- 
ard gold, of the value of ten guineas. On one side thereof shall 
be neatly engraved a short Latin motto suited to the occasion, 
together with the words ; " The Premium of John Hyacinth de 
Magellan, of London, established in the year 1*186 ; and on the 
other side of the plate shall be engraved these words : ' 'Awarded 
by the A. P. S. for the discovery of A. D. " And the 
seal of the Society shall be annexed to the medal by a ribbon 
passing through a small hole at the lower edge thereof. 
Section 2. The Magellanic fund of two hundred guineas shall 
be considered as ten hundred and fifty dollars, and shall be in- 
vested separately from other funds belonging to or under the 
care of the Society, and a separate and distinct account of it 
be kept by the treasurer. 
The said fund shall be credited with the sum of one hundred 
dollars, to represent the two premiums for which the Society is 
now liable. 17 
The treasurer shall credit the said fund with the interest re- 
ceived on tfie investment thereof, and, if any surplus of said in- 
terest shall remain after providing for the premiums which may 
then be demandable, said surplus shall be used by the Society 
for making publication of the terms of the said premium, and 
for the addition, to the said premium, of such amount as the 
Society may from time to time think suitable, or for the insti- 
tution of other premiums. 
The treasurer shall, at the first stated meeting of the Society 
in the month of December annually, make a report of the state 
of said fund and of the investment thereof. 
CHAPTER XIII. 
OF THE LAWS OF THE SOCIETY. 
Section 1. No statute, law, regulation, or ordinance shall 
ever be made or passed by the Society, or be binding upon the 
members thereof, or any of them, unless the same hath been 
duly proposed and fairly drawn up in writing, at one stated 
meeting of the Society, and enacted or passed at a subsequent 
meeting, at least the space of fourteen days after the former 
meeting, and upon due notice in some of the public newspapers, 
that the enacting of statutes and laws, or the making and pass- 
ing ordinances and regulations, will be pa ft of the business of 
such meeting. 
2. Nor shall any statute, law, regulation or ordinance be then, 
or at any time, enacted or passed, unless thirteen members of 
the Society be present in addition to the quorum of the officers 
and council; nor unless the same be voted by two-thirds of 
the whole body present. 
3. The laws contained in the thirteen foregoing chapters, 
shall be in force from and after the time of their adoption by 
the Society; and thereafter all other laws, regulations and or- 
dinances heretofore passed or made by the Society, shall be and 
the same are hereby repealed. RULES OF ORDER, &c. 
OP THE 
AMiERICAN SGGtETV. 
1. Tho Order of Business at the ordinary meetings of the 
Society shall be as follows:- 
L The chair taken by the presiding officer. 
2. Names of members present minuted. 
3. New members presented, and visitors from corresponding 
societies introduced. 
4. Records read of last ordinary meeting, and of any subse- 
quent special meetings. 
5. Correspondence read and acted on, unless giving rise to 
debate: 
a. Acknowledgments of election to membership. 
b. Letters from learned societies. 
c. Other letters. 
G. Donations and other additions announced and acted on : 
a. To the library. 
b. To the cabinet. 
7. Reports on communications and subjects of science read 
and acted on : 
a. From standing committees and officers. 
b. From special committees. 
8. Obituary notices of members read, and announcements 
of the decease of members made and acted on. 
9. Communications for Magellanic premiums and communi- 
cations intended for the Transactions presented and 
acted on. 
10. Communications not intended for the Transactions pre- 
sented. 
11. Visiters from corresponding societies retire. 19 
12. Stated business of the meeting. 
13. Pending nominations for membership announced and new 
nominations read. 
14. Reports on business made and acted on : 
a. From standing committees and officers. 
b. From special committees. 
15. Deferred business: 
a. Of the meeting. 
b. Of former meetings. 
16. New business. 
17. Minutes read, and submitted for correction. 
18. The Society adjourned by the presiding officer. 
2. No debate shall ever take place in the Society but on 
motion duly made and seconded and afterwards stated by the 
presiding member. 
3. When a member speaks he shall stand up, addressing 
himself to the presiding member; and, avoiding desultory re- 
marks, he shall confine himself strictly to the merits of the 
question under consideration. 
4. No member while speaking shall be interrupted, unless by 
the presiding member, when he shall think fit to call him to 
order or to admonish him to a closer adherence to the question 
under discussion. 
5. When a member speaking is called to order he shall in- 
stantly sit down or appeal from the call to the Society, who 
shall determine without debate. 
6. No member shall speak more than twice to the same 
question without previously asking and obtaining leave of the 
Society. 
7. Whilst any question or motion is under debate, no other 
motion shall be admitted, unless to divide the question, to amend, 
to postpone, to adjourn, or to take the pending question. 
8. No motion to reconsider a former vote can be made or 
seconded except by a member who voted in the majority. Nor 
shall any such motion be entertained unless it be made forth- 
with, or at the next stated meeting after the action which it 
proposes to reconsider. 20 
!). A motion for adjournment shall at all times be determined 
without debate, 
10. The presiding member shall have no vote, unless in the 
case of a tie or equality of votes among the other members, or 
where the act of incorporation or the laws require more than a 
bare majority of the members present, or where the vote is 
taken by ballot. 
11. Where a ballot is not required by the laws, the votes, if 
requested by three of the members present, shall be taken by 
ayes and noes, and shall be recorded among the proceedings 
of the meeting. 
12. Every meeting of the Society and of the council shall be 
advertised in at least two of the daily newspapers of the city on 
the day previous to the time of meeting. 
13. Any of the foregoing rules of order may, for the more 
convenient despatch of business at any meeting, be suspended 
by a vote of two-thirds of the members present. 21 
AN ACT 
For Incorporating the American Philosophical Society, held at Philadelphia, 
for promoting Useful Knowledge. 
Whereas, the cultivation of useful knowledge, and the ad- 
vancement of the liberal arts and sciences in any country, have 
the most direct tendency towards the improvement of agricul- 
ture, the enlargement of trade, the ease and comfort of life, the 
ornament of society, and the increase and happiness of mankipd. 
And whereas, this country of North America, which the good- 
ness of Providence hath given us to inherit, from the vastness of 
its extent, the variety of its climate, the fertility of its soil, 
the yet unexplored treasures of its bowels, the multitude of its 
rivers, lakes, bays, inlets, and other conveniences of navigation, 
offers to these United States one of the richest subjects of cul- 
tivation, ever presented to any people upon earth. "And whereas, 
the experience of ages shows that improvements of a public 
nature, are best carried on by Societies of liberal and ingenious 
men, uniting their labors, without regard to nation, sect or 
party, in one grand pursuit, alike interesting to all, whereby 
mutual prejudices are worn off, a humane and philosophical 
spirit is cherished, and youth are stimulated to a laudable dili- 
gence and emulation in the pursuit of wisdom. And whereas, 
upon these principles, divers public spirited gentlemen in Penn- 
sylvania,, and other American States, did heretofore unite them- 
selves, under certain regulations, into one voluntary Society, by 
the name of "The American Philosophical Society, held at Phil- 
adelphia, for promoting Useful Knowledge," and by their suc- 
cessful labors and investigations, to the great credit of America, 
have extended their reputation so far, that men of the first emi- 
nence in the republic of letters in the most civilized nations in 
Europe, have done honor to their publications, and desired to 
be enrolled among their members. And whereas, the Society, 
after having been long interrupted in their laudable pursuits by 
the calamities of war, and the distresses of our country, have 
found means to revive their design, in hopes of being able to 
prosecute the same with their former success, and being further 22 
encouraged therein by the public, for which purpose they have 
prayed the representatives of the freemen of the Common- 
wealth of Pennsylvania, that they may be created one body 
politic and corporate for ever, with such powers, privileges, and 
immunities, as may be necessary for answering the valuable pur- 
poses which the said Society had originally in view: 
Wherefore, in order to encourage the said Society in the pro- 
secution and advancement of all useful branches of knowledge, 
for the benefit of their country, and of mankind ; be it enacted, 
and it is hereby enacted, by the representatives of the freemen 
of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in general assembly met, 
and by the authority of the same, that the members of the said 
American Philosophical Society heretofore voluntarily asso- 
ciated for promoting useful knowledge, and such other persons 
as have been duly elected members and officers of the same, agree- 
ably to the Fundamental Laws and Regulations of the said So- 
ciety, comprised in twelve sections, prefixed to their volume of 
transactions, published in Philadelphia by William and Thomas 
Bradford, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred 
and seventy-one; and who shall in all respects conform themselves 
to the said laws and regulations, and such other laws, regula- 
tions and ordinances, as shall hereafter be duly made and enacted 
by the said Society, according to the tenor hereof, be, and for 
ever hereafter shall be, one body corporate and politic in deed, 
by the name and style of The American Philosophical Society, 
held at Philadelphia, for promoting "Useful Knowledge, and by 
the same name they are hereby constituted and confirmed one 
body corporate and politic, to have perpetual succession, and by 
the same name they and their successors are hereby declared 
and made able and, capable in law, to have, hold, receive, and 
enjoy lands, tenements, rents, franchises, hereditaments, gifts 
and bequests of what nature soever,, in fee simple, or for term 
of life, lives, years, or otherwise, and also to give, grant, let, 
sell, alien, dr assign the same lands, tenements, hereditaments, 
goods, chattels, and- premises, according to the nature of the 
respective gifts, grants, and bequests, made to them the said 
Society and of their estate therein. 
Provided, That the amount of the clear yearly value of such 
real estate do not exceed the value of ten thousand bushels of 
o'ood merchantable wheat, 
o 23 
And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the 
said Society be, and shall be for ever hereafter, able and capable 
in law to sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded, answer and 
be answered unto, defend and be defended, in all or any of the 
courts or other places, and before any judges, justices and other 
person and persons, in all manner of actions, suits, complaints, 
pleas, causes and matters, of what nature or kind soever, within 
this Commonwealth: and that it shall and may be lawful to 
and for the said Society, for ever hereafter, to have and use one 
common seal in their affairs, and the same at their will and 
pleasure to break, change, alter and renew. 
And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That for 
the well governing the said Society, and ordering their affairs, 
they shall have the following officers, that is to say, one Patron, 
who shall be his Excellency the President of the Supreme 
Executive Council [now the Governor] of this Commonwealth, 
for the time being, and likewise one President, three Vice- 
Presidents, four Secretaries, three Curators, one Treasurer, to- 
gether with a council of twelve Members: and that on the first 
Friday of January next, between the hours of two and five 
in the afternoon, as many of the members of the said Society 
,as shall have paid up their arrears due to the said Society, and 
shall declare their willingness to conform to the laws, regula- 
tions and ordinances of the Society, then duly in force, accord- 
ing to the tenor hereof, by subscribing the same, and who shall 
attend in the Hall, or place of meeting of the said Society, 
within the time aforesaid, shall choose by ballot, agreeably to 
the Fundamental Laws and Regulations herein before referred 
to, one President, four Secretaries, three Curators, and one 
Treasurer, and at the same time and place, the members met 
and qualified as aforesaid, shall in like manner choose four 
members for the council, to hold their offices for one year, four 
more members foi' the council to hold their offices for two years, 
and four more members for the council to hold their offices for 
three years. And on the first Friday in January, which shall be 
in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty- 
two, and so likewise on the first Friday of January, yearly and 
every year thereafter, between the hours of two and five in the 
afternoon, the members of the said Society met and qualified as 
aforesaid, shall choose one President, Three Vice-Presidents, 24 
four Secretaries, three Curators, and one Treasurer, to hold 
their respective offices for one year, and four Councilmen, to 
hold their offices for three years. Provided, That no person 
residing within the United States shall be capable of being 
President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, or member of 
the Council, or of electing to any of the said offices, who is not 
capable of electing and being elected to civil offices within the 
state in which he resides. Provided also, That nothing herein 
contained, shall be considered as intended to exclude any of the 
said Officers or Counsellors, whose times shall be expired, from 
being re-elected, according to the pleasure of the said Society; 
and of the day, hours, and place of all such elections, due notice 
shall be given by the Secretaries, or some one of them, in one 
or more of the public newspapers of this State, agreeably to 
the said Fundamental Laws and regulations before referred to. 
And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That 
the Officers and Council of the said Society shall be capable of 
exercising such power for the well governing and ordering the 
affairs of the Society, and of hoicking such occasional meetings 
for that purpose, as shall be described, fixed and determined, by 
the statutes, laws, regulations and ordinances of the said Society 
hereafter to be made. Provided always, That no statute, law, 
regulation or ordinance shall ever be made or passed by the 
said Society, or be binding upon the members thereof, or any 
of them, unless the same hath been duly proposed, and fairly 
drawn up in writing at one stated meeting of the Society, and 
enacted or passed at a subsequent meeting, at least the 
space of fourteen days after the former meeting, and upon 
due notice in some of the public newspapers, that the 
enacting of statutes and laws, or the making and passing 
ordinances and regulations, will be part of the business of such 
meeting; nor shall any statute, law, regulation or ordinance be 
then or at any time enacted or passed, unless thirteen members 
of the said Society, or such greater number of members as may 
be afterwards fixed by the rules of this Society, be present, 
besides such quorum of the officers and council as the laws of 
the Society for the time being may require, and unless the same 
be voted by two-thirds of the whole body then present; all which 
statutes, laws, ordinances and regulations so as aforesaid 
duly made, enacted and passed, shall be binding upon every 25 
member of the said Society, and be from time to time inviolably 
observed, according to the tenor and effect thereof; provided 
they be not repugnant or contrary to the laws of this Common- 
wealth, for the time being in force and effect. 
And whereas, nations, truly civilized (how'ever unhappily at 
variance on other accounts) will never wage war with the arts 
and sciences and the common interests of humanity ; 
Be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That it shall 
and may be lawful for the said Society, by their proper officers, 
at all times, whether in peace or war, to correspond with learned 
Societies, as well as individual learned men, of any nation Or 
country, upon matters merely belonging to the business of the 
said Society ; such as the mutual communication of their dis- 
coveries and proceedings in philosophy and science; the pro- 
curing books, apparatus, natural curiosities, and such other 
articles and intelligence as are usually exchanged between 
learned bodies for furthering their common pursuits. Provided 
always, That such correspondence of the said Society be at all 
times open to the inspection of the Supreme Executive Council 
of this Commonwealth. 
(Signed) 
JOHN BAYARD, 
Speaker. 
Enacted into a Law at Philadelphia, on Wednesday, the 
fifteenth day of March, Anno Domini one thousand seven hun- 
dred and eighty. 
(Signed) 
Clerk of the General Assembly. 
THOMAS PAINE, 
(copy.) A LIST OF THE PRESIDENTS 
OF THE 
Snrrnraa 
Held at Philadelphia, for promoting Useful Knowledge. 
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, 
DAVID RITTENHOUSE, 
Elected 2d January, 1769 ; died 17th April, 1790. 
Elected 7th January, 1791 ; died 26th June, 1796. 
THOMAS JEFFERSON, 
Elected 6th January, 1797 ; resigned in January, 1815 ; died 4th July, 1 826. 
CASPAR WISTAR, 
Elected 6th January, 1815; died 22d January, 1818. 
ROBERT PATTERSON, 
WILLIAM TILGHMAN, 
Elected 1st January, 1819 ; died 22d July, 1824. 
PETER STEPHEN DUPONCEAU, 
Elected 7th January, 1825; died 29th April, 1827. 
Elected 4th January, 1828 ; died 1st April, 1844. 
ROBERT M. PATTERSON, 
Elected 3d January, 1845 ; declined accepting the position. 
NATHANIEL CHAPMAN, 
Elected 2d January, 1846; died 1st July, 1853. 
ROBERT M. PATTERSON, 
FRANKLIN BACHE, 
Ke-elected 5th January, 1849; died 5th September, 1854. 
Elected 7th January, 1853 ; died March 19, 1864. 
ALEXANPER DALLAS BACHE, 
Elected 5th January, 1855. 
JOHN K. KANE, 
Elected 2d January, 1857; died 21st February, 1858k 
GEORGE B. WOOD, 
Elected 7th January, 1859.