194 P">c. B. N. F. C, 



and the building was put in hand, progressing deliberately 

 until the foundation stone was laid on June 18th, 1884, 

 by his Excellency the Earl Spencer, K.G., &c. The omission 

 of a Museum has been all along seriously commented upon, 

 because it was considered one of the most essential points in 

 the scheme of the promoters as a necessary condition towards 

 obtaining any valuable aid from South Kensington. Upon this 

 ground the necessity for a Museum was most forcibly advocated 

 by the Joint Committee from the School of Art, United 

 Trades 1 Council, and our Naturalists' Field Club, who 

 waited on the Library Committee, 3rd December, 1883. 



With an expression of regret that local building materials 

 were not used in the superstructure, I must pass over the long 

 time occupied by the erection of the building, from the laying 

 of the foundation stone on 18th June, 1884, up to the 13th 

 October, 1888, when the Lending Library was formally opened 

 by His Excellency Lord Londonderry, Lord Lieutenant of 

 Ireland. 



In preparation for that event, the Mayor called a meeting of 

 citizens to consult as to the best means of furnishing the Art 

 Gallery, and a committee was formed with the result that by 

 their aid a very interesting and instructive loan collection of 

 art objects was brought together in a few weeks, which became 

 a source of intellectual recreation to the thousands who visited 

 the gallery during the short time it remained open. The com- 

 plete success of this undertaking demonstrated the value of a 

 composite committee, and should be an inducement to the 

 Town Council to adopt such a committee for the entire 

 management of the Library and all that is possible under the 

 Libraries Act. This management has been adopted with great 

 advantage in all the best regulated Public Libraries throughout 

 the Kingdom. 



Since the end of last year, when the Loan Exhibition was 

 closed, I had a correspondence with the Library Committee, 

 and advocated the necessity of obtaining a loan from South 

 Kensington, so as to occupy the rooms vacated by the late local 



