CHAP. XIV. INSTITUTE OF CIVIL ENGINEERS. 475 



stitute. To this he consented, and entered upon the 

 duties of the office on the 21st of March, 1820. 



During the remainder of his life, Mr. Telford continued 

 to watch over the progress of the society, which gra- 

 dually grew in importance and usefulness. He supplied 

 it with the nucleus of a reference library, now become 

 of great value to its members. He established the prac- 

 tice of recording the proceedings, 1 minutes of discussions, 

 and substance of the papers read, which has led to the 

 accumulation, in the printed records of the Institute, of 

 a vast body of information as to engineering practice. 

 In 1828 he exerted himself strenuously and successfully 

 in obtaining a Charter of Incorporation for the society ; 

 and finally, at his death, he left the Institute their first 

 bequest of 2000/., together with many valuable books, 

 and a large collection of documents which had been 

 subservient to his own professional labours. 



In the distinguished position which he occupied, it 

 was natural that Mr. Telford should be called upon, as 

 he often was, towards the close of his life, to give his 

 opinion and advice as to projects of public importance. 

 Where strongly conflicting opinions were entertained 

 on any subject, his help was occasionally found most 

 valuable ; for he possessed great tact and suavity of 

 manner, which often enabled him to reconcile opposing 

 interests when they stood in the way of important enter- 

 prises. 



1 We are informed by Joseph 

 Mitchell, Esq., C.E., of the origin of 

 this practice. Mr. Mitchell was a 



notes of the conversations which fol- 

 lowed the reading of the papers. Mr. 

 Telford afterwards found his pupil 



of Mr. Telford's, living with | extending the notes, on which he 

 im in his house at 24, Abingdon asked permission to read them, and 



Street. It was the engineer's custom 

 to have a dinner-party every Tuesday, 

 after which his engineering friends 



was so much pleased that he took 

 them to the next meeting, and read 

 them to the members. Mr. Mitchell 



were invited to accompany him to | was then formally appointed reporter 

 the Institution, the meetings of which of conversations to the Institute ; and 

 were then held on Tuesday evenings the custom having been continued, a 

 in a house in Buckingham Street, large mass of valuable practical infor- 

 Strand. The meetings did not usually I mation has thus been placed on re- 

 consist of more than from twenty to | cord, 

 thirty persons. Mr. Mitchell took | 



