' v 



1 70 Literary and Philosophical Society. 



These ideas have been carried out with great fulness in 

 Paris. 



Manchester has always been aware of the importance 

 of such advice, but it has not been much inclined to look 

 forward, and to take it ; it has looked to the next year 

 perhaps, but seldom farther, and late in this century Salford 

 moved a step in advance, and by great care the energy of 

 some of its citizens has made a museum which is at least a 

 very valuable portion of that which would long ago have 

 existed had the advice of Dr. Barnes and Mr. Henry been 

 adopted an advice which this Society disseminated over 

 Europe. The idea of museums was not quite new, i.e. 

 cabinets existed of all kinds of curiosities, both natural and 

 artificial, not applied however by manufacturing towns for 

 their purposes, or at least to a very small extent, and 

 scarcely known to scientific men. 



As with the sanitary idea, Manchester began by think- 

 ing, but showed itself more of a speculative town at the time, 

 instead of a practical one. The world had got little beyond 

 the times of De Monconys, who published his travels in 

 Europe and the Levant in 1666 at Lyons, and describes for 

 us the various collections of wonders as well as the experi- 

 ments he saw. Certainly there were museums in more 

 than one town in England : many were absurd collections 

 not understood. Even Sir Hans Sloane, who was earlier 

 in action, had not risen up to Dr. Barnes' ideal. Dr. 

 Barnes, who brought forward the plans for colleges and 

 museums, was born atWarrington in 1747, and died July 8, 

 1810. He was above thirty-one years minister of Cross 

 Street Chapel. (See ' Manchester Academy/ App. A.) 



When the scientific men of Manchester were thus 

 struggling for the welfare of the community around them, 



