69 



THE LOCAL (ESSEX) MUSEUM, LABORATORY, 

 AND LIBRARY. 



Wednesday, Marc/i iH/Zi, 1891. 



A PUBLIC Meeting, convened on behalf of their respective Societies by Mr. 

 ■^^ W. Cole, //on. Sec. to the Essex Field Club, and Mr. Edmund Durrant, 

 //on. Sec. to the Essex and Chelmsford Museum, was held in the Grand Jury 

 Room of the Shire Hall, Chelmsford, on Wednesday evening, March i8th, 

 1891, at seven o'clock, Mr. W. J. Beadel, M.P., in the chair. There was a large 

 and representative attendance, not only from Chelmsford and its neighbourhood, 

 but also from other parts of the county and from London ; the attendance 

 would have been larger, had not a Town Council and other meetings, and the 

 lamented sudden death of Mr. Alderman Grey, prevented many from being 

 present. 



The Chairman, in opening the proceedings, said that they had met to lay the 

 foundation of something which he trusted would be highly beneficial, not only to 

 themselves, but moreparticularlj-to those who succeeded them. The Essex Field 

 Club and the Chelmsford Museum had arranged a scheme which, no doubt, 

 would result in great good to the county at large. (Applause). No man was 

 more proud of his county than he was of his. (Applause). He frequently had 

 the opportunity of hearing Essex abused, but he had the satisfaction of telling 

 those who abused it that the abuse was simply the result of absolute ignorance. 

 (Laughter). The step they were about to take would, he believed, dispel many 

 of the illusions which had existed with regard to the county. Those who had 

 prepared the scheme before them had taken very considerable pains to arrive at 

 something which would be for the benefit of the community at large, and it 

 would be a satisfaction to them to feel that the inauguration had taken place that 

 night, and that the}' had been sowing seed on good ground, where it would fruc- 

 tify and would bring forth great benefit to the people of the county. (Applause). 



Mr. W. Cole (//ow. Sec), announced that the following had agreed to act as 

 Trustees of the proposed Museum, under the conditions imposed by the scheme : 

 Lord Brooke, M.P., Sir T. Powell Buxton, Bart., Mr. G. P. Hope, the Arch- 

 deacon of Essex, Professor Meldola, F.R.S., Lord Rayleigh, F.R.S., and Mr. 

 W. .\L Tufnell. The bankers would be Messrs. Sparrow, Tufnell, and Co., 

 Chelmsford, and the National Bank, London. 



The Secretary also read a number ofletters from prominent men who had taken 

 an interest in the scheme, but who, from various causes, were unable to be present at 

 the meeting, including: Prof. G. S. Boulger, Mr. James Britten, F.L.S., Sir T. Fowell 

 Buxton, Bart., Mr. Horace Fulton, M.P., Mr. E. B. Knobel (^Secretary to the Royal 

 Astronomical Society), S)T John Lubbock, Bart., M. P., P'.R.S., Colonel Makins,M.P., 

 Mr. R. McLachlan, F.R.S., Prof. Meldola, F.R.S., Mr. H. B. Monckton, F.G.S., 

 Mr. Hildebrand Ramsden, F.L.S., Right Hon. Lord Rayleigh, F.R.S., Righ' 

 Hon. Lord Reay, Sir Henry Roscoe, M.P., F.R.S., Mr. J. Round, M.P., Sir H 

 Selwin-Ibbetson, Bart., .\LP., Dr. Henry Woodward, F R.S., &c., &c. Sir John 

 Lubbock wrote: " I sincerely trust that the Essex County Council will devote the 

 sum receivable from the Wine and Spirit Duties to Technical Instruction in 

 accordance with the .Act of Parliament, for it seems clear that we must improve 

 our system of education in this respect if we are to hold our own in the future. 



