The Express.
London, England, 1849-09-27 00:00:00

THE MECHANICS' INSTITUTIONS LN
LANCASHIRE AND CHESHIRE.
The following report by Mr. T. Hop g, Secretary
to the Laseastire and Cheshire Union of Marbanies' sad
other Lit-racy and fleitrotiflo Innieations, has been presented
to the etairal
Maaelmater, August 26,1849.
Gentlemen,--1. In compiling* wish your inetrnetimia, I
beg to moat a repeat on eke Mate of dm menhanke
tines in Lancashire and Cheshire.
2. No complete list of these inatitstioue has yet bees pub-
lished, and it was principally by reference to direetotia• and
bypasenal inquiries, that I obtained the names of date Ave
pions in the two counties; fifty of these I have whited
106 times is all (mulling altogether 2,876 mila); four I
toned had been closed from want of adequate support, and
regarding the remainder, I have obtained information ISM
orlese complete. There may be some institutions that have
escaped ritte wps.otiee, bat they must be few in number, sad is
obscure
3. The fifty institutions whose Mahan I an enabled to
give are established in towns which had in 1841 en aggre-
gate population of 1,236,430. Estimating the rate of increase
in Lalonde** at 2.1t0 per cent. per swum, and in Cheshire
at 1444, the population of thaws towns may be calculated as
at present 1,469,426.
4. In Lancashire, forty-two institutions had 11,543 males
and 862 female members; 87,632 volumes in the libraries,
and an annual revenue of 16,7601. In Cheshire, eight in-
stitutions had 1,725 male sad 66 female members; 11,649
volumes in the libraries, and an annual revenue of 1,3032.
6. The per tentage of the population above 16 and under
60 years et age attending these institutions, is, therefore, in
Lancashire, 3.6 nudes and '26 females; in Cheshire, 41
males and 'l6 females.
7. It is in the mannfesturing district', almost exclusively,
that mechanics' insitutiass aro found. It& line be drawn from
Crewe northward, in the direction of the Orated Junction and
NorthUniaißeilways,itwill be font* to divide thetwo waggles
into two nearly t goal party ; on the tut side of tlt's line are
nearly all the manufacturing towns and 61 institutions, and
on the west are the aspects, the principl agricultural dis-
tricts, and 10 Institutions. If the ability to sign the mar-
riage althea be taken as some index to education, It wi;l be
found that the population are better educated to the west
than to the east of this line; but that where it pates through
the great Lancashire coal field, in the Wigan district, the
want of education is very masked. The proportion per cent.
who signed the marriage register with marks was in 1846 t
Leer/ire West of the line 28 men and 36 women.
goat el the line 43 „ 74 „
chaidre West of %tidier:De 4 " 833
,
Saes of the line 34 " 82
8. In Canceshire, if the seaports of Liverpool and Eat-
wood are omitted, I do not know of any institution b teen
this ;ins and the sea, except at Wooltoo, Present, and Ulcer-
eon. This district in :Jude. St. Helens. with a population of
about 20,000 • Ormskitk, 5,000; North Mule, 8080 ;
Clanton, 2,000; Kirkham, 3,000; and other pliers, with
populations tug/ enough to support institutions. halt of
the line in Cheeky, with a manufacturing population of
13,000. and Rade.uffe, with 5,000, the inaituttous had to
be given op from want of adequate supped. In the
district of Roesendale, with a population of more than
11,000, I found two institutions with shout 150 members
each—o eat Becup and the other at Rewtensrall ; and
the establishment of one at Newchureh was in contempla-
tion. There is an institution in Cane, with 130 members;
and another at Pada:lam ; but there is not one in &meg-
ton. There is an institution in each of the villages of eddies-
den, Barkley, Yeileworth, and Lee', and one was recently
opened, wit% Lair prospects of in Chowb.nt. In Olti.
ham there are a lyceum and a mechanics' instil action ; the sta-
tistics of the former are given in the table, but the latter does
not appear to be conducted with spirit or success. In Tod-
morden and Holmtirth, which are mud) in Lancashire and
partly in Yorkshire, there an initinitione vital .h are, or were,
in connexion with the Yorkshire Union. In Wigan, with a
populati n of more than 25,000, the institution exists only *
name. Its principal supporter for some years his been
R. A. Thickilesse, Etei , M.P. ; and from all I could learn
there is every probability of its being closed this year. I have
not heard of the existence of any institution, in the mining
val iges &retied Wigan, such as Kindler, 6,469 ; !main-
tdackerfield, 2,665; °rail, 2,478; Pernbutoa, 4,394 ; and
Upbolland, 3,113.
9. In Cheshire, the institutions of Birkenhead and Run-
corn have been closed from want of adequate support, and
very few of the agricultural towns and vtllaite s have institu-
tions. There ere no institutions in the following pieces :
Sendbaoh, 4,687; Northwich, 6,000; Knuteford, 3,400 ; and
Cheadle, 6,400.
10 It will thus be seen that in the mining districts, where
education is most wanted, these institutions tea not east, or
exist but in name ; in the manufacturing districts they are
found in the greatest numbers ; and in toe agricultural die-
triets, where education is not is deficient, very few have been
stablisbed •
11. In addition to mechanics' instituti .ns there arc in
many of the towns enumerated other institu I ins of a similar
setae*, but connected with some society or religious body.
Teen are many courch institutes, Sunday-school institutes,
(the ear =ben reing principally Sender school teachers),
and literary institutes in connexion with lodges of Old-
, fellows. These u hilly embrace lectern, libraries, and
evening classes. A building to be used as • temperance-hall
and mechanics' institution has recently been opened at
Cruinraal, near Manchester, and a simi u building is about
to be erected in Chutes.
12. bearteurion BVILDINOB.—Of 55 institutions, 37 occu-
pied hired buildings, 9 buildings erected expressly tar the
purpose, 8 buildings whose use was obtained free, and 1
building erected for a different purpose and afterwards pur-
chased for the institution. A new buildi g will be ready for
the Presten institution this year, and the plans hare been
prepared and nearly all the money procured fur new build-
ings at Bur. and Heywood.
13. In 21 al the proceedings of the institution are not
eyrie dou under the same roof ; in tome of these the library
and news-room are in one building, the lectures dtl.vered in
another, and the evening classes conducted in a third, and
all the 21 require to engage rooms apart from their hired
buildings for lectures; the expense thereby incurred is con-
siderable, and in some places is a great preventive of the
delivery of lectures.
14. Of 60 institutions visited, the buildings of 2i are good,
10 bad, mid 16 tolerable.
15. There ie nothing of more importance to a mechanics'
institution then a good building, erected expressly for its
proceedings. It is seldom possible, anti always espene:ve,
to alter another building Do as to render it ie every respect
suitable. On the ether hand, it is extremely difficult to
raise funds for the erection of a new edifice ; but this dial-
tulip has been repeatedly overcome by the pens and
zeal of boards of directors. Funds for the erection of in-
stitutions have already been and may be again obtained by
public subscriptions, by polytechnic exhibitions, by b teem's,
and by shares; end though the measures that succeed in
one town may not in another, yet directors and members
really anxious ter a suitable building, will find ways and
means for erecting it. Even though it is necessary to mort-
gage, yet, in many eases, it would be better to do so than
to pay rent. For example, 10 institutions included in the
shoes number pay, out of a revenue of '2,0142, no less than
2831. in rent, a sum representing the interest at five per cent.
of 6,6601.
16. CLAIIIIIS, BY WHOK SUPPOBTID.—The alias already
given, shows that a very small portion of the imputation
are members of mechanic.' institutions, and I am sorry to
say that even of that small number, very few belong to the
working classes. By written returns that I have obtained
from 32 of the principal institutions, I find that in only four
do the working deneesgenerally take an interest in and sup-
port the institution ; in nine the members belong almost
exclusively to the working classes; in five to the middle ; in
five to tradesmen end shopkeepers; in nine to the middle
and working; and In four to all elmees.
17. Ltanaatna —ln many of the institutions the library
Is the most enteral department, and in all the books are ex-
tensively read. It was a general remark, however, that the
volumes most in demand are those calculated te &turn° rather
than instruct, while the more solid and useful works seldom
leave the library shelves. The following is a statement of
the average number of volumes issued each week, and the
average number taken out by each member during the year
1848-9, at fifteen institutions :

volume
Wieldy to each
beim asemeer.
Amittoa — lO
AS
24
CU*, IN
23
=leagaii.eles.... ********
1,631 —.. ***** ....
Allawwww ..... ...... 1,40 ..... ...........
Oldham
Panama MI
neabials ......— ... ... 101
tv=l
110
N
It is to be obprvettlin, ms all the nessbon d• not use the
library, the real number of books imaed to each reader is
greater than is indicated in the above statement. Allowance
mast also be made for magazines and other periodicals,
which are extensively read, but even with this qualification
the vault shows how extensively the libraries are Used.
18. I have analysed the eatalogues of eight institution
libraries, containbsg altogether 27,670 volumes ; of them
there were in
Theology :Ind Iretardpies
History 9.342
Hiceralehr •
Vamps and Travels 2,012
=g0.710116., Aooollo9as lls
01
Salami 1190ryina=tt=
Natural awl 7 ns
1,111
Arts sal eslimes
Pesreg MI the Deena l,lOlO
Flolden
Miesslhaseis. limheding Ineydometies, Palatka* CM
laird ats.

• The somber of day whoois is iamb greater in Wofortion to the
Is the waters than in the sinters part of the two coultlea.
firataedttelv correct statement ens be wade up from 'Meting mate-
dab, bat the f Mowing Is as approximation to the tenth :
ropuladon In 1141. Day Schack..
Imaceehlre, But of the Lae 3,031,360 936
~ West ..
~ Oa „

1,727,1 "II

Cheshire, &Si of the Lime ..... 199,767
West n 11,722
n On 67,193

311,682 411
This statement is quite eandstsat with the returns of those *ivies
the marriage register with marks, and it will be seen in a suisepwa
pert of the report that the inetrastien given in
done is in a great shaman elementary, thus explaining to .onie es.
teat why these institutions are esoa ly most nauserous where there
' sm leirsit day schools.