The Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-10-19 00:00:00

good manners as I have witnessed to-day, I have never
seen in my life. (Loud applause.)
The Mai ox then said that a venerable , gentlemao,
who had long resided iin this town, had been Oiled for,
but he could•uot see him. (A 1.7.-oite-:Ls" He is tere.';)
The flex. Dr: ItiFiLgs, upon being loudly called for,
Came forward and said that he wished on that occasion
he had been just in the position, which the worthy
Mayor said he was in, for- when he was called for, the
Mayor said " I can't see him.". (Laughter) lie
wished that n'obOdy 'else seen Min. (Laughter and
applause.) e The Lord. Bishop of: the Diocese had
pleaded that he' could not 'address them, in consequence
of his having lost his voice, and was then suffering front
illness; and° in that he was sorry to say be Was hiniseif
a Conformist so far. (Laughter:) He said qd fat' he: }ids
sail to say that 11e dodfdfaligt; although
Wee many'things he shottld rejoice in 'con-
forming to hi respect to the lord bishop, if,
as an humble individual, he might be permitted
to do so that of 'sharing in the veneration
and respect in which he was held by all. (Cheers.)
But he was also suffering from a violent cold, so much
so that he could scarcely make himself heard to his
esteemed friend who stood near, when that friend did
him the honour of being one of his congregation on
Sunday night last.. He was happy to say that, he
was much better, but still scarcely able to address
such 0., mewl*. Bat had he his Mil health,
he eceild Only reiterate .*hat aid been said, • and
eipres,s his adniKtiOn and gratitude for the munifi-
Cent gift Of Mr. Wm. Brown, as a resident amongst the
people of Liverpool for nearly half a 'century, and he did
not know of any occasion in which, if he could have
raised his voice, it would have been done with more
pleasure than on such an occasion as that. (Applause.)
For such' a munificent gift he had no doubt that all
would be grateful, and he felt that with such a
library much good would be derived, not to the
working classes alone, but to alle and quite sure
was he that if a right' use Was Made of that library,
his . son's situation gin the town would heeopie a
sinecure, and that they.*ould.not re dire, ally niagis-
trates gaols,- and „that the tier° such libraries and
similar institutions were multiplied, the more would be
Ifie good works observable which they produced.
(Applause.) He had also a pleasing duty to perform.
The Mayor had been the recipient, on behalf of the
people of Liverpool, of the noble building in which they
then stood and he (Dr. Raffles) had also a donation, to
make. • Atha meeting of the British and: Portita
Society—of which sotiety.he had uln honour to be the
secretary L-it
Vas pig resolved to vote that a copy
of ,the Holy Scriptures, in all the languages in which it
'tied been
,printed, should be
,presented to the library ;
and, if the Mayor would permit him, he would present
to the institution those volumes. (Applause.) The Rev.
Dr. Raffles concluded by expressing a hope that all the
lovers of truth would read that book, and great benefits
would be the result, not to the people of this town, but
to the country at large
Mr. PreTort, the ehairniaii of the Library deninlittee,
was neli Called upon to address the ileeting, and Upon
his eorning forward, WO greeted With the Most
ddthu-
siestiC applause. re said that he did not eipeat that
he should liaire been Called Ipen to 4ddresi .theni.en
that i)ceaslori, and therefore,..lie, hosted that anv nude
remarks he might Make would be reeeik'red with kind-
ne'ss. -Re ass fired thent that this Was one of the proudest
and happiest days Of his life. (Applause.) When they
liieked bads for ten or twelve years since, when the first
seed of that institution was laid, all could but be grati-
fied with the result, and express their deepest gratitude
to the munificent donation of Mr. Brown, and also to
the late noble Earl of Derby, for his magnificent
present of the museum,' which was to be deposited
within the walls of that institution. (Three cheers
for the Earl of Derby.) Mr. Picton then Went
on to say that Mr Brown • had net drily giVen the
mones for the entire ereotimi Of the building, Whieh far
eXCeeded what he had first ContelOptated;.-htlit
giving the itteiieyh had Wistehed over it with a. foster-
ing.
every
Care. (Cheers.. Ili Minding to the gift of the
Ceplel4-4- the Holy Scriptures, presented by Dr. Rail es,
frdni the British and Foreign Bible Society, he would
ripoot
s illustrations,ihe
also, library
sa
nry say that it was the intention of the committee to have
books
bd ye devoted t
we
andchl
ct
hoscrip-
turalanu
sc r
a m ,
bnu tthose
who liked to• study t
x onlyeln
worksily
could search for and gain
-
the. truth. - Such an addition to the library would
eviee
be a great acquisition to the student, as he boilld then
go forth armed With the- tiiith. itig assured the
meeting Ahat the COMMittee, of which lie was only the
iteCiti-piece, had done all in its power to accomplish
successfully the design of the liberal and noble-hearted
donor, he concluded by passing a high eulogium upon Mr.
W. Brown, and said that'sue.h an institution would stand
.for centuries, as a monument of his munificence;' and
hoped that he (Mr. -Brown) might live long td =cam the
fruits of it. (Applause ), •-
-Mr. W. Eseesssi., for Dumf • ries, was next
Called WA to :address a few words to the meeting, and
, s
as no stranger to Liverpool, the Mayor said he required
no further introduction. Upon coming forward he was
greeted with most enthusiastic applause. He said that
he had not only to apologise for being absent from the
meeting last night, being detained on the other sideof the
water, so that lie could not possibly- attend, it, but he
had also to apologise for the absence of his brother, Who
was detained on the Contitieht, perfqraling &Weil of. an
inipottant Character toka. 6datitientai railway company.
He ward not possibly be present,
but, in his
lette`il, IA; deeply regretted that he 'could not be present
to take a part in the movement: He thea alluded to
the kindness of the mayor in directing attention to his
own humble attempt to extend the principles of free
public libraries in- this country, but which must sink
into isisignificancy,.when he saw standing by his side his
-respected friend and fellow-townsman, Mr. Brown, who
,had carried into practical' effect what Others lied been
discussing in theory. (Cheats';) That Was indeed a proud
day for tiVerpool. (Applatise.). He belieied that
the establishment of suchau- haValsiable institutionwould tend to Civilise and ehristiatilse , the Charactei. Of
the popiilation. He heli6-ed it. tirOtild c±tend. the feel-
inta of peace And aniongst theta, and Nliliere, he
would ask, UMW such principles be better extended than
;amongst, a large commercial community ? for peace,
-religion, and commerce went hand in hand together ;'
:and when those principles-were
,carried• out, they added
to the' Prosperity and ,vell-being of the country. He
concluded-by wishing every success to the Free Library,
and that the donor might live long in health and happi-
ness to see the fruits of his labours amid munificence
.enjoyed by the whole commanity: (A.pplatise.),
It having been announced to the Chairnian that
Sir 11,011ERT PEEL', Bart., waspresent, and in the
'library, that hon. •gentlernati was loudly called for.
Cable forward and was received with' great applause.
'lle- said, if the former spealsexs-had,pleaded okeilseS in
consequence of not being prePared to addi•eSs.ilieni On
such :an. interesting, oecasioin he Certainty was in the
same position, and he Mast therefore ask them to tender
to him their indulgence, if he ventured to. come forward
and address to them a few observations, on the present
most interesting occasion. The fact was that he was'
merely passing through the town, and on seeing such a
vast-assenibly he felt anxious to see what it meant. A
former speaker, ho thought it was Dr. Rallies, had said
he was suffering from the pressure of a dolkod he
was suffering from the smite: jaded. Ike Would gad-
that he had-, sine he had been lit the loWn, been suffering
front a personal pressure:" (Laughter.) But -he must
Say, that what he had witnessed had filled him with
the 'deepest admiration for the -character of Mr.
Brown. (Applause.) He could conceive nothing more
noble or honourable than for a citizen to find hinisalf.o
enthusiastically.
received by his fell.o4i thsnien. lie
(Sir -Robert Peel) tl?> honour of having a seat -in
Pat•liament whEn kßrown' r. was there, and he enter 7
pitied 'for him the greatest respect,4and looked upon
him as• one of 'the • most distinguished of the
'citizens of the United Kingdom. (Applause.) The
present was a period when man gained great
renown, by deeds of • arms or military achievement,
but he could conceive no distinction - more worthy of
'renown than that of a citizen devoting his inirildrlS'o
fortune to the social well-being of his fellthir:ta,;iisnien;
And he conceived that Mr.. Lk roWn enjoyed 'a: very great
distinction in haVing the ceremony honoured by the
Vesence, 'ad:minty, of the most, distinguished man in
-England, Lord Brougham. He believed he uttered
the sentiments of every gentleman in the room, when
he said there was no man in England, for the last forty
years, who had' done more to promote the social and
intellectual improvement and amelioration of his fellow
countrymen than Lord Brougham., (Applause.) Of
'course, it would be quite misplaced in him (Sir Robert)
to endeayoar to oifet any more lengthened observations,
put he did hope that that great institution, dedicated to
the welfare of the commercial•metropolis of England—.
dedicated to the welfare, more espeCially of the humbler
classes of this district, would tend to promote their
happiness and Well-being; and he was certain that if
they would avail themselves of the adiatitages itch
placed within their grasp, And &ill which, until within a
few years past, they were totally debarred—if they would
avail themselves of the advantages which their noble
fellow-citizen had placed before them,—they would
be able to enjoy with greater happinesi and. expectation
of success every position which this country could offer;
and while in other countries men of _rank and wealth
Only could seek to occupy the -high offices of state, here
the humblest classes, if they would take advantage. of
the facilities offered them, might reach a poM.tioti, which
would enable them to redder service not only to their
native country, but per'oaps to the universal world.
(Loud applause, followed by Three,4o cheers for Sir
Robert.")
• This closed the speaking, and the parties present
afterwards perambulated and inspected the various parts
Of the majestic
,building. •
FLAGS AND DECORATION"Si &Os
At an early hour this nioriiio the Iloyal Standard
was hoisted at the Town Hall. Flags were in demand,
even the little juveniles had them made up for the occa-
sion, and from every window and every house-top the
British ensign 'floated in the breeze.

• CASTLE-STREET.
Over the premises of Messrs. Benson and Mallett,
stationers and printers, was suspended two large Ameri-
can flags with the English 'ensign in, the centre. The
establishment of Mr. Henry Greenwood was decorated
with three flags, and over the shop of Mr. Jackson,
clothier, was an elegant Royal Standard. The office of
the African Royal Mail Steam Packet Company dis-
played the British ensign and two other flags ; the
offices of the Electric 'telegraph Company were gaily
decorated, and here and there a row or Sags of every
description extended from one side of the street to the
other, and from their tasteful arrangement the street
presented a grand and imposing appearance.
LORD-STREET.
There was a profuse display of flags at Messrs.
Barned & Co.'s Bank, and from the windows of Messrs.
Higgs &Jones, ironmongers, were suspended three large
and elegant banners. At Mr. H. R. Wignall's iron
bedstead manufactory (No. 54) two flags were placed in
a prominent position. Messrs. Fri,by, Dyke, & Co.
invited' about three hundred of their customers to wit-
ness the procession, principally ladies, who were regaled
with wine, fruit, biscuit, &c., the premises being deco-
rated with numerous flags, tricolor, union jack, &c., and
over the new premises, recently erected at the corner of
Paradise-street, occupied by Messrs. Hyam & Co., Messrs.
Philip, and Messrs. Gillham, there was a magnificent
Royal Standard, and flags of every kind were displayed
from the windows of every shop.
CHURCH-STREET.
From Mr. Richmond's shop at the corner of Para-
dite-steeet, were displayed no less than six flags ; and at
every window of Mr. W. H. Tooke's establishment an
elegant flag was placed, being eleven in number. Mr.
F. W. Promoli, jeweller, had two very tasteful banners
erected over his shop, on which were inscribed " Suc-
, cess to the Volunteers," " A Free Library for Liver-
pool; all honour to William Brown for his princely
gift," Messrs. Winner A Smith, MVO agents erected