184T.] 



of the Literary Society > 



103 



Brown, thereby relieving that Gentleman from the charge still volun- 

 tarily incurred by him. The whole might with advantage be'placed un- 

 der the charge of the Secretary to the College as a temporary expedi- 

 ent, who should be considered responsible for the preservation and 

 safety of the collection, and should see that the volumes are frequent- 

 ly counted and their condition examined by his establishment. 



But this arrangement which is only supported by considerations of 

 present conveniency, should ultimately give place to one more calcu- 

 lated to render the MSS. accessible to persons able and desirous 

 to make use of them. Overtures have been made to the Literary 

 Society for the formation of a Public Library, with which, should 

 the plan succeed, the collection might be incorporated or it might 

 hereafter be lodged in the Library of the University, (whenever one 

 is formed) as being more particularly a Government Institution. 

 But in every case the greatest precautions must be taken to prevent 

 the MSS. being pilfered and carried away, a fate to which they 

 will be very liable from the value they possess in the estimation of 

 the Native community. As an immediate precaution they might be 

 stamped or sealed with a Government chop, but this could only be 

 done with such as are written in paper. The Sub-Committee are 

 not aware of any means for impressing a permanent mark on the 

 cadjans which form so large a proportion of the collection. 



"With regard to the value of the collection the Sub-Oommittee 

 have no hesitation in stating that as a Library of Southern Hindoo 

 Literature it is unrivalled. As regards Sanscrit Literature more 

 especially Law and Grammar, it cannot compete with some of those 

 to be found in Calcutta, but certainly no collection in the Peninsula 

 can approach it. As a whole, it far excels all known collections in 

 extent and probably none has ever existed, so distinguished for the 

 variety and general interest of its contents. The Libraries of Native 

 Princes and of Mat'hams or Colleges, usually consist for the most 

 part of works in Sanscrit only, and if vernacular compositions are 

 admitted, they are confined to the dialect of the district in which 

 the collection has been formed. Religious bigotry excludes every 

 work deviating from the particular creed of the founders and the 

 lighter literature which the learned despise, but which the people 

 value, finds no place in institutions of such pretension. 



But the present collection formed by European scholars, embraces 

 every language, every creed, and every class of literature, 



