§ The report of the Committee of Supply was brought up. On the Resolution, "That the sum of 5,580l. be granted, for enabling the trustees of the British Museum to carry on the trusts reposed in them by Parliament; and also, that the sum of 1,000l. be granted to enable the said trustees to proceed in making the necessary purchases for improving the collection of printed books,"
General Thorntonobserved, that some improvement was necessary in the system of this establishment. He could not conceive any good reason why the public should not be admitted into this institution every day, instead of being excluded three days in the week, as was the present custom; and he thought that more facilities should be afforded to the reading of the books contained in the Museum. At present no one was allowed to look into those books without a recommendation from a trustee, or some officer of the House; and those country gentlemen and others who had no acquaintance with those trustees or officers, were, however respectable, excluded from any access to this valuable library.
§ Mr. Bankesthought that the system upon Which the Museum was at present conducted scarcely admitted of any improvement, and particularly deprecated the idea of farther facilitating access to the library of that institution. For it must be known, that through improper facilities, many public libraries had been, stripped of the most valuable books. Such had notoriously happened to the public library of Paris, when opened indiscriminately to all visitors; and it would be recollected that several valuable prints had recently been stolen from the British, Museum.
General Thorntoncalled to the recollection of the hon. gentleman, that those prints were purloined, not by an ordinary visitor, but by a friend of a reverend gentleman, one of the officers of the Museum. He hoped that the suggestions which he had thrown out would be taken into 227 consideration by the proper authorities. The motions were agreed to.