6 GENERAL REPORT. 
known outside these walls. The organisation required to deal with 
the multitudes who daily throng these buildings, to cater for their 
wants in every department, and to keep the Institutions always 
advancing and abreast of the times, must of necessity be not only 
very perfect but must be intelligent and progressive. There is 
‘no standing still in Literature, Science, or Art, and perhaps at no 
time has this unrest been so marked as at present, when the desire 
by the masses for self-improvement (so noticeable in America) seems 
to have been aroused in this country, and this, if properly directed 
and encouraged, must place this country in the forefront of 
intellectual activity and material progress. 
As this is the last report I shall have the pleasure of writing, I 
may perhaps be pardoned if I take the opportunity of expressing 
my gratitude to my colleagues and to our officers for their great 
kindness and assistance. To have had the opportunity of taking 
part in the establishment of nine Branch Libraries, in the extension 
of our Museum Galleries, in laying the foundation for Technical 
Education in this City, and in linking in bonds of co-operation these 
Institutions with the University, has been a valued privilege; and 
it is a source of great satisfaction to feel that Liverpool, a pioneer in 
the Free Library and Art movement, still holds a foremost position, 
and is recognised as the centre of the most enlightened and 
intelligent activity in Library and Art matters. 
WILLIAM B. FORWOOD, 
CHAIRMAN. 
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