210 BRITISH MUSEUM. 



tions required additional buildings, and the formation of a new 

 department. The department of antiquities was formed in 1807. 

 Further purchases were made from the Townley family in 1814, to 

 the extent of 8,000/. ; and, in 1816, the Phigalean and Elgin mar- 

 bles were added, which together cost 50,000/. The bronzes' of Mr. 

 R; Payne Knight and of the chevalier Brondsted ought not to be 

 forgotten as valuable portions of the antiquities in the Museum. 



The coins and medals of Sir Hans Sloane were 22,000, to which 

 have been subsequently added others collected by Sir W. Hamilton, 

 Mr. Cracherode, Mr. Roberts, Captain Gust, Lady Banks, Mr. R. 

 P. Knight, Mr Rich, and Mr. Marsden. Mr. Payne Knight's Greek 

 coins and Mr. Marsden's splendid oriental coins are specially worthy 

 of notice. The botanical department was formed in 1820, at the 

 death of Sir Joseph Banks, who left his books and botanical specimens 

 to the Museum. The books were incorporated with the rest of the 

 library, and the botanical collection was united with that of Sir Hans 

 Sloane, the whole being put under the superintendence of Sir J. 

 Banks's librarian, Mr. Brown. We understand that it is a very fine 

 collection, one of the finest in Europe ; but it is not sufficiently easy 

 of access. 



The government of the Museum is vested under the act of parlia- 

 ment 26 Geo. II., and two or three other acts, in 48 trustees, includ- 

 ing 23 official trustees, nine family trustees, one royal trustee, and 

 fifteen trustees who are elected by the other thirty-three. The official 

 trustees are the archbishop of Canterbury, the lord chancellor, the 

 speaker of the House of Commons, the lord president of the council, 

 the first lord of the treasury, the lord privy seal, the first lord of 

 the admiralty, the lord steward, the lord chamberlain, the three 

 principal secretaries of state, the bishop of London, the chancellor 

 of the Exchequer, the lord chief justice of the King's Bench, 

 the master of the rolls, the lord chief justice of the Common 

 Pleas, the attorney-general, the solicitor-general, the president 

 of the Royal Society, the president of the Society of Antiquaries, and 

 the president of the Royal Academy. Of the family trustees, 

 two represent the Sloane, two the Cottonian, two the Harleian, one 

 the Townley, one the Elgin, and one the Knight families, by whom 

 they are respectively appointed. The preseut royal trustee is the duke 

 of ^Northumberland, appointed by his Majesty. The appointment of 

 the trustees of the Sloanian, Cottonian, and Harleian families was 



