The Sun.
London, England, 1850-09-27 00:00:00

MOTION FOR EXTENDING THE USEFULNESS OF THE

LIBRARY.

Mr. BLADES said, that as the organ of the Library
Committee, he was bound to call the attention of the
Court to the further consideration of the report of the
29th of July, on till reference for extending the use-
fulness of the library. Ile regretted the present po-
sition of the library, and could readily imagine that
if members, instead of being obliged to cross the hall
and ascend a flight of steps, had immediate and ready
access directly by door or passage from the reading-
room into the library, a much greater resort to the
treasures of the latter might be expected.—(Hear.)
It might not be uninteresting to the Court to be re-
minded that the library, which at present numbered
nearly 20,000 volumes, and with its sister institution,
the Museum, was increasing in public estimation, was
established in the year 1824. Of the committee then
formed, time had swept away every member, with
the exception of two, but it was not a little remarkable
that he had spared the two members who had taken
the most decided and active part in its primary insti-
tution, and he had to congratulate the Court on the
presence amongst them on that day of one of those
gentlemen—Mr. Richard Taylor—(Cheers)—whose
literary tastes and attainments, and the bent and bias
of whose mind, peculiarly adapted him to the task of
discrimination.—(Cheers.) The other survivor—Mr.
Richard Lambert Jones—was the first chairman of the
committee ; he filled that office for 18 successive years
(no indifferent test of the value in which he was held)
and to his fostering care, untiring attention, and libe-
ral contributions, the brary was also greatly in-
debted.—(Cheers.) " Speaking of that gentleman
as a member of this Court," said Mr. Blades, " but
believing that to his exertions the library in a great
measure owed its success, if not its existence, I will
venture to say that if he had done no more, and he
certainly has done much, in connexion with this
Corporation for the service of his fellow-citizens,
he has earned a fair title to their grateful recollec-
tion, and will, in my opinion, leave behind him a more
enduring and appropriate memorial than the marble
bust which ornaments this hall. —(Hear, hear.)
Mr. Blades then moved, as in duty bound in his
official character, that the report be adopted, and re-
ferred back to the committee for execution, but he
reserved to himself the privilege of making any re-
marks he might think proper as an individual member
of the Court.
The following is the resolution agreed to by the
select committee appointed by the general committee,
and adopted by the latter :
" Resolved,—That this select committee, having
perused with attention the report of the select commit-
tee of the House of Commons on public libraries recently
printed, and perceiving how very far behind we are as
competed with the majority of cities on the continent in
facilities for s&lf-improvement, ere of opinion, and re-
commend, that under proper regulations and restrictions
the members of the Corporation should be allowed to
take home books from the Guildhall library. That in
allowing this advantage to members of the Corporation
it be recommended that all works of referenc', works in
foreign languages, and illustrated and other costly
works, and works that cannot be easily replaced, should
be especially excepted."
Mr. BLAKE expressed surprise at the singular
omission of remarks as to the expediency or inexpe-
diency of lending out the books of the library—the
great point to which the attention of the committee
was directed by the Court. He contended that if no
loss or damage were likely to be sustained, there
could exist no reasonable objection to the recommen-
dation of the committee, and that, at all events, the
amount of injury to the library, under a liberal alte-
ration of the kind suggested, could bear no proportion
to the amount of service which must be rendered by
an extended diffusion of its valuable contents.—
(Hear, hear.) He assured the Court that the sub-
ject had excited a warm interest out of doors, and
that if the suggestion of the report were adopted, the
amount of donations, which was now extremely con-
fined, would soon testify to the general approbation
of their growing liberality. He expressed regret that
the opinion of the officers of the Corporation was ad-
verse to the principle which he advocated, and he
concluded a speech which was very much applauded
by impressing upon those around him the paramount
duty of gratifying that appetite for books which their
great exertions for the rising generation bad so
powerfully created.
Mr. RICHARD TAYLOR did not consider that the
speech of Mr. Blake was exactly adapted to the sub-
ject of the report. The existence of loans of books in
some of the continental towns alluded to referred to
places of exceedingly limited population, where all
the residents were known to the authorities, and
where such facilities as every street in London pos-
sessed were not in existence. It would not be diffi-
cult to conjecture what inconveniences would be
likely to arise to the Corporation from a plan of lend-
ing their books to a population consisting of two
millions of people.—(Laughter.) The loans in the
places alluded to bore no analogy to the .case of Lon-
don. But the report did not recommend any course '
intended for the benefit of the public. It merely
meant that under certain regulations the members
themselves should take home books. The Court
knew well that five or six books at a time were to be
had from the innumerable circulating libraries; and
surely it would be most irrational to incur the danger
of loss or damage to a library such as the Corporation
possessed—a library raised for the purposes of the