THE COUNCIE. 
3 
have made to meet the altered circumstances in which the 
establishment is placed. 
No considerations either of economy or convenience have 
been allowed to compete with the purpose of public instruc¬ 
tion. To exhibit every thing which the Society possesses, 
with the exception only of its Books and Coins, as com¬ 
pletely and constantly as possible, is the object which has 
been kept in view. 
The admission of visitors has been made more open and 
unreserved than is perhaps the usual practice of similar Insti- 
, tutions; and the Council have the satisfaction to add, that 
no loss or injury whatever has hitherto been sustained, from 
following this liberal course. On the other hand, if among 
the many thousand persons who have visited our Museum, 
there are those whose inspection of its contents has either 
promoted their enquiries, or diverted them from less elevated 
and beneficial pursuits to feel an interest in any part of the 
mechanism of nature, the object of the Society is so far 
attained. 
Neither is such a system altogether unfruitful in enrich¬ 
ing the Institution itself, and producing the remuneration .of 
a corresponding return. The attention of the public is thus 
directed to its objects and wants ; the liberality of its admis¬ 
sions is repaid with interest; its collections are remembered 
by distant friends; the stranger is heard from again as a 
benefactor, and the hoard of the private collector yields 
up something to the public use. 
B 2 
