New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1854-02-06
THE STATE LIBRaRY.

The editor Of the Crescent, resuming his post,
will continue his unfinished remarks on one of
those subjects touched upon in his late cores
pondenoe from Baton Rouge.
He has endeavored to set in plain light the
necessity that State, as it has in charge the
whole body Of those great, difficult and complex
public interests which demand, for their regu-
lar good administration, the very highest en-
Hghtenment, should ever place at the command
of its agents all the means Of exact information
by books that not to do so is most wretched
and false economy, which must every year be
attended, where the mass of objects is SO i'm
portant, by loss amply sufficient to have each
year procured the books that might have pre-
vented it; and that, in fine, civilized govern.
ment can nowhere any more afford to Go with
out those great utensils Of working intelligence
the best books, than craftsman can afford to
20 without the implements and tools of his trade
Yet further to enforce, these propositions-not
because they we're not plain. but because they
seem unfelt-we will proceed to illustrate a lit
tie by comparisons with other countries, the
restitution of intellectual neeessaries in which
we are living, not merely for the luxurious pur
poses Of learning, hut as to the daily bread of
indispensable knowledge.
We cannot, in such statistics, pass Germany
by: for Though country of small States, many
of them less extensive than our parishes and
hardly SO rich, it is the wealthiest land in the
world for the instruments of erudition. The
imperial library Of Vienna for instance, con.
tains probably $4,000 books and Mss that i,
to say, about as many considering only mum
bers, as all the public libraries together, in tn,
United States. Of course it far exceeds then
all in the extent Of learned matters which i
embraces. The library of Munich is still lar
ger, or near 100000 volumes. That of Coffin
gen is about S25 ,000 that of Dresden is still
larger; and not only every university of eael
petty State has collection more numerous anc
learned than the very richest in this country
but each gymnasium usually has more and bet
ter books than any of our universities excep
Harvard; and every large town has library
far better than any of our States can boast
All this is aided by multitudinous private col.
lections. often very rich and curious in that
special department which the pursuits or tastes
of the possessor have led him to make the object
of his life.
For us, however, France--less country Of
erudition---is filter instance than Germany
where study and speculation flourish much
more than the practical The libraries of Paris
alone may be estimated at much above mil
lion and half Of volumes for the Bi5liotheque
du ros Of itself counts above $50, 900 volumes
and some $4,000 MSS; while those of the Arse
nal 5,000,) of ST. Genevieve (125, 0O0,) of tn,
Institute 10000, in little but sciences of thu
Chamber of Deputies (mainly on Legislation,
$4,000, and the Mazarine (say 100 ,000,) almos
make up that amount, independently of the col
leges, etc. But let us look from the capital t.
the provinces; these contain no less than 27;
public libraries, numbering in all considerable,
above 100000 of volumes Those of Lyon
comprise 100000; those of Bordeaux 10000
Of AK $4,000; and each of the Sc Depart.
ments of France has its own territorial library
endowed and supported by the public taxes
and scarcely in any case forming collection
less than six times as numerous as that which
we, to the shame of our wealth and intelligence
call State library.
We have, however, more yet to say, in thi.
our plea for books; and shall take early coca.
sion to speak of other practical parts of the
matter, such as the method upon which the for
nation Of public libraries should proceed 20
thing apparently but very ill understood
among us) and the particular contents which
should form its basis