The Express.
London, England, 1857-04-21 00:00:00

riving at the principal entrencawill be received by a guard of
honour ; and a military kr" under Sir Merry Smith, the
coomandent of the district, will also be present. The Prince
having been drat conducted to the reception room near the
satrence, which is being Strad up at great cost, will proceed
to the centre of the transept, where addressee will be
presented by Mr. Fairbeire and the Mayor of Manchester.
The orchestra which will consist of *boat 600 singers end
inatrumentalists, accompanist by the organ, will then give
the " National Anthem." After this the committee will
present their report. The orchestra will ant give "The
Heavens are telling," from the Orentios, In which the pria-
cipal soloists, Madams Novella Mr. Sias Roma, and Mr.
Weise, will take part. The Lead Bishop of Maneheiter will
nest offer up a prayer, which will be followed by the Old
Hundredth Psalm. A grand precooks will afterwards be
formed, end while it is proceeding road the building, the
march will be given by the lastrumentalista from the
music by Mendelsohn to Athalis, which will be fol-
lowed by • china given with the whole strength
of the orchestra, bon Hendee Ode to St Oeilm'i
Day, the solos being sung by i the peincipals.
The promotion will then return to the dais, which is to be
erected at the intersection of the central hall by the transept.
Hie Royal Rattner Prince Albert is then to declare the ex-
hibition tamed, and the proceedings are to conclude with
the Hallelujah chorus.

THE INAUGURATION.
(From. theMassairaior Guardian.)

On Saturday last Mr. Thomas Fairbai;n and Mr.
Heron had the honour clan interview with his Royal High-
ness Prince Albert, at Buckingham Palace, to submit for ap-
proval the anal arrangements for the ceremonial to be observed
on the opening of the exhibition on Tuesday the 6th May.
AU the formalities usual on great ocaudone which ere
honoured with the pitmence of royalty are to be adopted ;
end invitations will be issued to her Majesty's ministers, the
foreign ambassadors, the heads of the various societies asso-
ciated with sot, and those who aro officially connected with
the surrounding districts.

Am we are informed that the Prism has expressed his inten-
tion of appearing in full uniform, it will be necessary for all
otlicially engaged in the ceremonial to attend in uniform, or
court drew As no doubt visitors generally, who may be
entitled by office to wear uniform, will under the circum-
stances appear in hall costume, we may anticipate that the
spectacle will be ene of unusual splendour.

THE PEEL PAIN EXIIIBITION OF PAINTINGS BY
LOCAL ARTISTS le to be opined on Wednesday, when a con-
versazione will bo held, at which are to be present many of
the leading merchants, manufacturers, and most influential
inhabitants both of Manchester and Salford. The exhibition
is to be open for several months, contemporaneously with
that of the Art Treasons. It wee commenced tint
of no spirit of Arabi, but at the suggestion of a
gentleman connected with the borough of Salford,
who forgave the probable completion of • new
wing of the Peel Perk Museum, designed for a picture gel-
key about this time, affording an opportunity for an exhi-
bition of the kind which might never recur. The paintings
are limited to works by artists, living or deceased, who have
been bum, or who have lived or followed their profession
In Manchester and its neighbourhood. The exhibition will
come under the rules applicable to the museum and library
of Peel Park, and the adnilesions will consequently be free
of charge. Visitors to the Art Treasures will thus have an
opportunity of seeing these works at the same time
with the free library and museum, without addi-
tional cost, and there is no doubt that it will be an
addltionel moons at attraction to many thousands of people.
There ere between 300 and 400 oil and water-colour paintings
collected, and amongst them are many works of considerable
merit.

THE NEW LIBRARIES OF THE BRITISH
MUSEUM.

The Zrpreaa of Saturday last contained a full
description at the new resdhig room of our national mnamun.
From a lengthy article fa to-day's Tina we glean a few
intimating details rssfacting the libraries.
The prank maim al r:27.:_^!* in the British Mumma it
upwards of half a miWan ; bat even that large figure does
not comprise the IM larger colleotka of separate and distinct
artiese—in biota, psisphlsta, sad msnuseripte. They are
legion, sad not yet scaustely catelomeed or computed.
Probably, the saormeoes gaudily of pamphlets, political,
theological, and seleatiecof Gras Britain. since the Reforma-
tion, constitute the British Museum Library the largest
collection ot printed Mantas to the world. Mace also
tone a relatively coamidsrable portion. The rate of
haness is gas man's. In the parliamentary re-

. -
turn for the year ending the 24th of December,
1866, not yet published, It will appear that the
last annul additions somber 10,434 volumes, including
mimic, maps, end newspapers, of which 763 were ;vacated,
4.018 purchased. 6.831 enquired by how eeprterrhi. The
number of distinct article. to mese volumes was 27,616. In
addition, the library had accumulated numerous
charts, and plane, variously obtained. The number alp=
music alone added was 2,347. In gross, the total
articles that year numbered 42,839 Of the complete works
accumulated in the twelve months 1,908 were presented,
2,006 purchased, and 7,933 were acquired under the Copy-
right Acts. In the same year, also, each article being
stamped, the number of stamps used was 162,9401
The number of books returned to the shelves of the
General Library wee 110,873; to theme of the Royal
Library 8,869; to those of the Grenville Library,
1,018; to the closets in which books are kept from day to
day for the us of the raiders, 79,598 ; making • total of
200,358, or 604 per deem Adding the number of volumes to the shelvesof the reading-rooms, about 144,000,
the whole amounts to 344,368, or 1,176 per diem. The num-
ber
of readers within that year was 53,209, or an average of
181 per diem, the Reading-rooms having been kept open
293 days. Bach reader had, therefore, coneelted on an
average 64 volumes per diem.
It is calculated that the inner library shelves in galleries
within the Dome-room will contain 110,000 volumes. Two
lifts are placed at convenient sallow for the purpose at rais-
ing the books to the level of the amend gallery goora. The
Welcomes are of novel sad simple oonatetion, the upright*
or standard. being formed of malleable 'von galvanised and
framed together, having hard wood Inserted between the iron
to receive the brass pins upon which the shelves rest. The
framework of the bookcases forme the support for the iron
performed Soon of the gallery avenues, and which are gene-
rally eight feet witle, the central six feet, being appropriated
to die cerforated floor, sad the remainder bang -dmr epees
between the back of the books and the flooring, and by which '
contrivance the light from the skylights (in all cases extend-
ing to the full width of the avenues) is thrown down the
back of the books on each story, so that the lettering of the
hooka may be easily diamened throughout the book ranges.
The Melva are formed of iron gelvanised plates, edged
with wawa and covered with russet hide leather, and
having a book-ball attached. They are fitted at each end with
plainieed iron leather coverekand wadded pads placed next
the skeleton kookous framing, to prevent injury to the
binding what the books are taken out or replaced. Be-
tween these pads the skeleton framing of the cues forms
an aperture, by which • current of air may pa
and ventilation be kept up throughout. The shelves
rest upon been pins, the holes for which are pierced
at three-quarters of an inch apart from centre to center;
but by a contrivance in cranking the shaft of the pin, which
may be turned upwards or downwards, this interval is
practically halved, sad the position of the shelves may be
I altered tha of an inch at a time. Thenare
3,760,060 of these holes! In all cares, except against the
external walls, the bookcases are double, the books being
placed tack to back, a lattice of iron work being fixed for
their longitudinal separation. Thu, throughout the whole
interior of the new building there ere no WIRUP' the division
being in aL cases formed of a double range of books, bark to
beck. The only exception is at the shelving provided for
newspapersomingie range of which y occupies the
meow of two ranges of books. Three thousand superficial
feet Messed are provided for newspapers. For convenience
of access to the mamas ties 'tarmacs have been placed so
that, throughout the building, they are within 40 feet of each
other. The building contains three miles lineal of Dogh-
ouse, and which in all the eases ere eight feet high ; assum-
ing than all to be meted for the averaged octavo book Om,
the entire ranges kern 26 miles of shelves. Aniuming the
shaves to be filled with bootie, of paper of average ihickne'a
the leaves plead edge to edge would extend about 26,
mike, or more than three times the diameter of the globe 1
The out, about 160,0001., Includes the fittings and furniture,
and the necessary shelves for the working of the existing
library establishment.
The amalgamation of the several catalogue, which are
drawn up on various plena, with one catalogue prepared
on a uniform plea, is proceeding rapidly. Letters
A, B, C, D, E, F constitute about one-third of the entire
catalogue, and this portion completed will be pieced in the
new reading room on its opening, on the Bth of next
month; it will be comprised in 600 volumes. The completion
of this Herculean work is now under the responsible super •
intendence of Mr. J. Winter Jones, the euccemor of Mr
Ferran in the keepership of the department of printed books,
Mr. Faunal being now the principal librarian.

PHOTOGRAPHIC VIEWR PROP EGYPT; Among the
passengers by the Pus, whkh has just arrived home with
the India mail, was Mr. DM, the photographer, who hes
brought home a large collection of photographs, stcreceoopic
sad others, of some of the most interesting scenes on the
borders of the Nile, particularly of spate which are domed
with ylum, and ruins of temtles and cities of ancient
Egypt