Rules of the Kent Archaeological Society

1. The Society shall .consist .of Ordinary, Members and Honorary Members. 2. The affairs of the Society shall be conducted by a Council consisting of the President of the Society, the Vice-Presidents, the Honorary Secretary, the Honorary Editors, and twenty-four Members elected out of the general body of the Subscribers : one-fourth of the latter shall go out annually in rotation, but shall nevertheless, be re-eligible; and such retiring and the new election shall take place at the Annual General Meeting: but any intermediate vacancy, by death or retirement, among the elected Council, shall be filled up either at the General Meeting or at the next Council Meeting, whichever shall first happen. Five Members of the Council to constitute a quorum. 3. The Council shall meet to transact the business of the Society on the second Thursday in the month of March in Maidstone, in the month of June in London, in the month of September in Rochester, and iu the month of "December in Canterbury, and at any other time that the Secretary may deem it expedient to call them together. But the Council shall have power, if it shall deem it advisable, at the instance of the President, to hold its Meetings at other places within the county; and to alter the days of Meeting, or to omit a Quarterly Meeting if it shall lie found convenient. 4. At every Meeting of the Society or Council, the President, or, in his absence, the Chairman, shall have a casting vote, independently of his vote as a Member. 5. A General Meeting of the Society shall be held annually, in July, August, or September, at some place rendered interesting by its antiquities or historical associations, in the eastern and western divisions of the county alternately, unless the Council, for some cause to be by them assigned, agree to vary this arrangement; the day and place of meeting to be appointed by the Council, who shall have the power, at the instance of the President, to elect some Member of the Society connected with the district in which the meeting shall be held, to act as Chairman of such Meeting. At the said General Meeting, antiquities shall be exhibited, and papers read on subjects of archseological interest. The accounts of the Society, having been previously allowed by the Auditors, shall be presented; the Council, through the Secretary, shall make a Report on the state of the Society; and the Auditors and the six new Members of the Council for the ensuing year shall be elected. 6. The Annual General Meeting shall have power to make such alterations in the Eules as the majority of Members present may approve : provided that notice of any contemplated alterations be given, in writing, to the Honorary Secretary, before June the 1st in the then current year, to be laid by him before the Council at their next Meeting; provided, also, that the said contemplated alterations be specifically set out in the notices summoning the Meeting, at least one month before the day appointed for it. 7. A Special General Meeting may be summoned, on the: written requisition of seven Members, or of the President, or two Vice-Presidents, which must specify the subject intended tq be brought forward at such Meeting; and such subject alone can then be considered,:.. > BULKS AND REGULATIONS. XV 8. Candidates for admission must be proposed by one Member of the Society, and seconded by another, and be balloted for, if required, at any Meeting of the Council, or at a General Meeting, one black ball in five to exclude. 9. Each Ordinary Member shall pay an Annual Subscription of Ten Shillings, due in advance on the 1st of January in each year; or £6 may at any time be paid in lieu of future subscriptions, as a composition for life. Any Ordinary Member shall pay, on election, an entrance fee of Ten Shillings, in addition to his Subscription, whether Annual or Life. Every Member shall be entitled to a copy of the Society's Transactions; but none will be issued to any Member whose Subscription is in arrear. The Council may remove from the List of Subscribers the name of any Member whose Subscription is two years in arrear, if it be certified to them that a written application for payment has been made by one of the Secretaries, and not attended to within a month from the time of application. •. . • . , . 10. All Subscriptions and Donations are to be paid to the Bankers of the. Society, or to one of the Secretaries. 11. All Life Compositions shall be vested in Government Securities, in the names of four Trustees, to be elected by the Council. The interest only of such funds to be used for the ordinary purposes of the Society. 12. No cheque shall be drawn except by order of the Council, and every cheque shall be signed by two Members of the Council and the Honorary Secretary. 13. The President and Secretary, on any vacancy, shall be elected by a General Meeting of the Subscribers. 14. Members of either House of Parliament, who are landed proprietors of the county or residents therein, shall, on becoming Members of the Society, be placed on the list of Vice-Presidents, and with them such other persons as the Society may elect to that office. 15. The Council shall have power to elect, without ballot, on the nomination of two Members, any lady who may be desirous of becoming a Member of the Society. 16. The Council shall have power to appoint as Honorary Member any person likely to promote the interests of the Society. Such Honorary Member not to pay any subscription, and not to have the right of voting at any Meetings of the Society; but to have all the other privileges of Members. 17. The Council shall have power to appoint any Member Honorary Local Secretary for the town or district wherein he may reside, in order to facilitate the collection of accurate information as to objects and discoveries of local interest, and for the receipt of subscriptions. 18. Meetings for the purpose of reading papers, the exhibition of antiquities, or the discussion of subjects connected therewith, shall be held at such times and places as the Council may appoint. 19. The Society shall avoid all subjects of religious or political controversy. 20. The Secretary shall keep a record of the proceedings of the Society, to be communicated to the Members at the General Meetings.