On Tuesday the Royal Society celebrated its 250th anni- versary,
when a commemorative service was held at West- minster Abbey and a banquet at the Guildhall. Some 300 delegates from all over the world took part in the celebration. The Prime Minister, who proposed the toast of "The Royal Society" in the evening, paid a tribute to Bacon as the spiritual founder of the Society. Its actual founder was to be sought for in a very different quarter. "Strange as it may seem, the Royal Society is to-day the most vital, if not the most characteristic, monument of King Charles II." Later in his speech Mr. Asquith remarked that the Society had never at any time had any direct financial assistance from the Government. "For this the Government may be criti- cised; but I venture to think the Society is to be congratu. lated." Mr. Asquith concluded with an eloquent tribute to the influence of the Society, which, he declared, is "still faithful, still fruitful in the cause of human progress and human enlightenment."
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