The Sun.
London, England, 1849-03-15 00:00:00

NAVIGATION-LAWS.

Mr. HERRIES asked whether her Majesty's Minis-
ters were prepared to proceed with the Bill for the
repeal of the navigation-laws ; and if so, when ?
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said, if
the Right Hon. Gentleman thought the Government
entertained the slightest doubt about this Bill he was
mistaken. The time of bringing it on must depend on
the private business.—(Hear, hear.)
PUBLIC LIBRARIES.
Mr. EWART presented a petition from the inha-
bitants of Birmingham, complaining of the want of
public libraries.

The Hoer. GENTLZMAN then proceeded to move the
following resolution, of which he had given notice, viz.,
for a Select Committee on existing public libraries in
Great Britain and Ireland, and on the best means
of extending the establishment of libraries freely
open to the public, especially in large towns.
For several years they had introduced into this country
various amendments in our system of public instruction,
in emulation of foreign countries—for instance, the
National Gallery, and various modes of refining the
minds of the people; but there was one means of refining
common; to foreign countries; which did not exist
in this, and that was by means of public libra-
ries freely accessible to all the people. He was sorry
to say, if the House compared the existing public libra-
ries in England with those existing in foreign countries,
they would find them few indeed. In France he found,
from a late publication, conducted by a gentleman to
whom the public was indebted for much valuable in-
formation on this subject, that there are in France no
less than one hundred and seven public libraries freely
accessible to any one who might ask admission.
Over the whole of Germany it was the same, while in
London there were only two public libraries. In Liver-
pool there was not one public library, while in Ham•
burgh there were no less than six.—(Hear, hear.) In the
large town of Manchester there was only one, while in
Rouen there were two.—(Hear, hear.) He thought,
therefore, that the subject that he was about to bring to
the notice of the House deserved its deepest consideration.
Look again across the Atlantic, look to the United
States. In America there were no less than eighty-
one public libraries.—(Hear.) It was true the people of
this country had access to the British Museum.
but that access was not so easy as it was to the public
libraries abroad; there was not the ,means of taking
the books away and pondering over them that there
was in foreign countries.—(Hear, hear.) He be-
lieved that in a great measure these things were
caused by the apathy of the people of this country;
and by his motion he sought to increase in the minds—
in the minds of the people of England—a desire
to obtain further knowledge by means of reading the
established works of the day.—(Hear.) The British
Museum, the Bodleian Library at Oxford, the
Library of Trinity College, Dublin, and several others
taxed every author by compelling him to furnish to them
a copy of his work, and such being the case he thought
they ought to be compelled to open their doors to the
public generally unless they consented to do so voluntarily.
In all the cathedral towns of this country there were
.
libraries belonging to the Dean and Chapter, and he did
not see why those libraries should not be thrown open
to the public.—(Hear.) Some of those establishments he
was happy to say had opened their libraries to the public.
It was the wise custom adopted after the Reformation to
establish parochial libraries, where the means for doing
so were at all feasible, and their establishment had been
attended for years afterwards with the most beneficial
effects. He would not adduce any numerous instances,
but he thought that the inquiry might with great
addvantage . be extended to
Museum itself to
all parts of the
kingdom, even from thethe
de d t
o perootiene terdy.i
thisn He
would then teastte pthaernochhioawl lhiberairnytenin
Committee, supposing the Committee to be granted. He
quire into the constitution of all the pub. ic libraries in
proposed in the first place to work, in thie. second to in-
the kingdom, and in the third to ascertain such data as
might point out where public libraries should bed
formed. He was convinced if this plan where adopted
that as soon as it was known at any particular
place that a library was to be formed there
would be a number of individuals who would readily
come forward to make donations.—(Hear, hear.) He
might instance the case of the British Museum itself, half
the contents of which had been presented as gifts to the
institution, though in making such an assertion, he must
state to the House, that he of course included the muni-
ficent donations of Geo. 111. and Geo. IV. Nor could
he conceive any more honourable object of ambition
than that of an individual who wished to see his name
inscribed in some prominent place in a public library
and handed down to future ages as a benefactor of his
kind. The Hon. Gentleman concluded by moving for
the Select Committee.
Sir GEORGE GREY qnite concurred with the
Honourable Member in the great advantages which