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local governors of our great towns be brought to feel their 

 power, in advancing the cause of civilization and the quantum 

 of human happiness ; to know that they are not merely orna- 

 mental, but useful ; that they convey lessons of virtue, and 

 are conducive to the present and future fame of their country ; 

 and that, while the other departments are so well understood 

 among us, we yet want that patronage which must give cha- 

 racter to our country ; for, whatever may be her power or 

 prosperity, her triumphs, or her splendour — and what nation 

 has such heroes to commemorate, or triumphs to transmit to 

 posterity — it is to her intellectual attainments she must look 

 " for living dignity and deathless fame." That the higher de- 

 partments of the fine arts have had but little, and in many 

 instances, no protection from the government, is a circum- 

 stance deeply to be lamented ; admitting this as a fact, it is 

 no reason why such an example should be followed; and 

 while the government is occupied with other subjects of na- 

 tional importance, we may be allowed to hope that our local 

 governors, standing as they do in the same relative position to 

 the town as the government does to the nation at large, and 

 having the means to accomplish much, may be prevailed upon 

 to set an example, by ornamenting their halls by the purchase 

 of historical and poetical works in Sculpture and Painting j we 

 should then find, that whenever the protection commenced, it 

 would create a flame which would spread wherever they had 

 the power to emulate ; and I think it is not a loose specula- 

 tion to say, that a period would soon approach raising our 

 national taste, and with the increased demand we should find 

 no want of candidates in the honourable field of distinction ; 

 our artists, thus excited, would display the dormant powers of 

 their minds ; and in thus setting an example to our neigh- 

 bours, we may be at least permitted to hope, lay the founda- 

 tion of a school, little if at all inferior to the proudest day of 

 historical art. If our Corporation could be prevailed upon to 

 set apart £500 or £1000 a year for this object, and that sum 



