House:

"That a committee be now appointed to consider and report to
Convocation a scheme of revision on the principles laid down in the
Report now adopted. That the Bishops of Winchester, St. Davids,
Llandaff, Gloucester and Bristol, Ely, Salisbury, Lincoln, Bath and
Wells, be members of the committee. That the committee be empowered
to invite the co-operation of those whom they may judge fit from
their biblical scholarship to aid them in their work."

This resolution was followed by a request from the Archbishop that as
this was a committee of an exceptional character, being in fact an
executive committee, the Lower House would not appoint, as in ordinary
committees, twice the number of the members appointed by the Upper House,
but simply an equal number. This request, though obviously a very
reasonable request under the particular circumstances, was not acceded to
without some debate and even remonstrance. This, however, was overcome
and quieted by the conciliatory good sense and firmness of the
Prolocutor; and, on the following day, the resolution was accepted by the
Lower House, and the Prolocutor (Bickersteth) with the Deans of
Canterbury (Alford) and Westminster (Stanley), the Archdeacon of Bedford
(Rose), Canons Blakesley and Selwyn, Dr. Jebb and Dr. Kay, were appointed
as members of what now may be called the Permanent Committee.

This Committee had to undertake the responsible duty of choosing experts,
and, out of them and their own members, forming two Companies, the one
for the revision of the Authorised Version of the Old Testament, the
other for the revision of the Authorised Version of the New Testament.
Rules had to be drawn up, and a general scheme formed for the carrying
out in detail of the whole of the proposed work. In this work it may be
supposed that considerable difficulty would have been found in the choice
of biblical scholars in addition to those already appointed by
Convocation. This, however, did not prove to be the case. I was at that
time acting as a kind of informal secretary, and by the friendly help of
Dr. Moulton and Dr. Gotch of Bristol had secured the names of
distinguished biblical scholars from the leading Christian bodies in
England and in Scotland from whom choice would naturally have to be made.
When we met together finally to choose, there was thus no lack of
suitable names.

In regard of the many rules that had to be made for the orderly c