424 PROCEEDINGS or THE SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATION. 
land the formation of Town Libraries has been authorized! 
by Act of Parliament, and many towns have taken advan- 
tage of those Acts. The limit of legislation has probably, 
not yet been reached, for it. is proposed that all such Li- 
braries should be placed under a system of management- 
and inspection similar to that of national schools. It is 
highly probable, that when a system of national educa r 
,tion is adopted in England, and it cannot be long de- 
layed, that the Libraries will come in for a share of atten- 
tion, and steps be taken to ensure the maintenance of at 
least one such institution in every town of importance. 
The reasons set forth herein, and the desire to make 
our Public Library as useful . as possible to all classes of 
the comrdunity, who have in, fact an equal interest and 
an equal' right in it, have prompted me to lay these 
views before you; and I trust the time is now at hand 
when those principles of Library management, which, 
after a long and severe struggle, have asserted themselves, 
and obtained the recognition of every State of importance, 
will be duly applied in our Island. 
I shall conclude this paper by stating briefly what steps 
should, in my opinion, be taken to place the Public Library, 
as far as possible, upon such a ground of usefulness as 
every such institution ought to occupy. I would there- 
fore recommend that Hinde’s bequest, together with such 
amount as can be raised by private subscription, be de- 
voted to the construction of a prop dr building for the Li- 
brary, and that the Government b*e petitioned to supple- 
ment theso funds, which of themselves would be insufficient, 
by a grant for that purpose. The building ought to in- 
clude accommodation for a museum, the foundation for- 
which already exists, in Dr. Leotaud’s collection of Birds, 
I>r, Court’s collection of Pep tiles, Mr. Keato’s collection 
