20 MEMOIR OP SIR HANS SLOANE, BART. 



tion, and of entering into such communication with the Chancellor of the 

 Exchequer as may appear advisable, with reference to the financial consider, 

 ations connected with the report of the select committee, and particularly 

 with the 16th resolution of that report. 



" Extracted from the minutes. 



"J. Forshall, Secretary." 



Such are the various improvements recommended by the commit- 

 tee, and, if these suggestions are properly followed out, and acted 

 upon by the trustees, much public good may be expected from the 

 recent inquiry. We regret to find, however, that neither the com- 

 mittee, nor the trustees of the Museum allude to the necessity of a 

 classed catalogue of the literary treasures contained in the British 

 Museum, consisting of about 220,000 printed books, 24,000 volumes 

 of the most rare and curious manuscripts, and of more than 19,000 

 charters, which, without such aid, may be considered as little bet- 

 ter than sealed books to the public. The British nation ought not 

 to be satisfied with a comparatively worthless alphabetical catalogue, 

 whilst the libraries of minor institutions are accurately classed; 

 more particularly since that public-spirited bookseller, Mr. Murray, 

 of Albemarle-street, has offered to print and publish a classed cata- 

 logue at his own risk, without any expense to the government. 



The annual grant, amounting to £21,974., about £4000. more 

 than that for 1835, passed the House on the 8th of August ; and 

 we lament to add that, notwithstanding several petitions had been 

 presented to Parliament, signed by the most distinguished scholars 

 and scientific persons of the day, praying for classed catalogues of 

 the books and MSS., no notice whatever was taken of them in the 

 debate on the grant, it being merely stated that a more perfect ca- 

 talogue (alphabetical) would be ready by the end of the year. And 

 this catalogue, it is understood, will be printed to the exclusion of 

 a Catalogue Ttaisonne, the only useful aid to the literary treasures 

 of the British Museum. 



