2 
Letters were also read from Alderman Joseph Thompson, 
and William H. Johnson, Esq., regretting tlieir inability 
to be present to join in tlie vote of thanks to Mr. Wilde 
for his liberality to the Society. 
The Pkesident stated that at a meeting of the Council it 
was resolved that the Society should be asked to express 
their gratitude for the great liberality recently displayed by 
H. Wilde, Esq., in connection with the changes recently 
made in the building belonging to the Society, and in which 
it holds its meetings. When it was determined that new 
Libraries should be erected to accommodate the rapidly 
increasing number of the Society’s books, Mr. Wilde con- 
tributed the sum of £500 to the building fund. The dif- 
ference between the elegance of the new rooms and the 
dilapidated condition of the old ones offended Mr. Wilde’s 
eye, and he resolved that he would, at his own expense, 
undertake their renovation. This he has now done at an 
additional cost to himself of £1,100. But the contribution of 
that money is only a part of what Mr. Wilde has done for us. 
He has personally superintended all the details of the work, 
rarely missing a day, during the last three months, in de- 
voting several hours to that purpose. The results obtained 
evince at once the taste Mr. Wilde has displayed in regulating 
the style and character of the decorations. Under these 
circumstances it appeared to the Council that Mr. Wilde’s 
noble liberality, a liberality dictated by his keen interest in 
the prosperity of the Society, demanded some more general 
recognition than could be given by a vote limited to the 
Council, and I feel convinced that this meeting will share 
that opinion. 
I beg, therefore, to propose “That the special thanks of the 
members of the Literary and Philosophical Society, of Man- 
chester, be — and now are — offered to Henry Wilde, Esq., 
