NATIONAL LIBRARY OF SCOTLAND BILL. [H.L.] (Hansard, 2 July 1925)

LORD BALFOUR OF BURLEIGH

My Lords, the purpose of this Bill, reference to which was made in the King's Speech, is the establishment of a National Scottish Library on the basis of the library belonging to the Faculty of Advocates in Edinburgh. This great library, while it is actually the private property of the Faculty, is really a great Scottish national possession, founded in the time of Charles II, which has grown and developed with the development of modern Scotland. Under the Copyright Act, which gave the library the right to receive a copy of every volume entered at Stationer's Hall, this library has become 962 in size second only, as far as libraries in the British Empire are concerned, to the library of the British Museum and the Bodleian. It is estimated to contain upwards of three-quarters of a million books and pamphlets, exclusive of manuscripts, which are indeed amongst the most valuable part of the collection. The Faculty of Advocates, although maintaining the library out of their own funds, have in practice for many years regarded their library as a national library and have afforded the public all reasonable facilities for research and reference; but of recent years, and particularly since the War, the financial burden involved has become very great and, indeed, it has become evident that it is greater than any private body of individuals can be expected to sustain.

In 1922, therefore, the Faculty of Advocates offered to hand over the library as a free gift to the State, and I will read a very short extract to your Lordships of the letter which they received in reply. The Secretary for Scotland wrote:— The Government desire to record their recognition of the fact that the Faculty have for many years made their great collection available to the public for all reasonable purposes of research and reference. They regret that in the present state of the national finances it is not practicable to proceed with the transference to the State of the ownership and management of the library. At the same time I am authorised not only to express great appreciation of the offer made by the Faculty, but to state that the Government regard the constitution of the Scottish National Library on the basis of the Advocates' Library as a public object which it would be highly desirable to achieve when financial conditions permit. The Secretary for Scotland went on to indicate that, realising that under the circumstances the Faculty could not be expected without assistance to maintain the library available to the public, the Government, subject to the consent of Parliament would give a grant of £2,000 a year, and that was carried into effect.

With the assistance of the Government grant and also with the assistance of increased subscriptions from the members of the Faculty, the difficulty was temporarily tided over. But a new situation had been created by the intimation that the Government considered the project of a Scottish National Library to be a desir- 963 able one. It wags felt that the public spirit of Scotland would not allow the matter to rest where it was if the facts were known, and accordingly a statement of facts was issued, signed by various representative Scotsmen, including the Earl of Balfour, the Earl of Rosebery and others, and a Trust was set up, called the Scottish National Library Endowment Trust, for the purpose of receiving and holding donations towards the endowment of the prospective National Library.

The confidence to which I have referred was speedily justified, possibly even more quickly than might have been expected, for within a few days of the issue of this statement Mr. Alexander Grant, now Sir Alexander Grant, came forward with an offer to give £100,000 as an endowment fund if that would enable the Government to accept the gift of the library. The provision of this endowment had that effect. The Government intimated that under these conditions they could accept the offer of the Faculty of Advocates and this Bill is the result. The realisation of this project, therefore, is the fruit of the generosity of the Faculty in handing over their library as the foundation of the National Library and also of the generosity of Sir Alexander Grant in providing the necessary endowment.

In order to give your Lordships some idea of the value of the gift of the Faculty, I should like to mention one or two of the manuscripts which are its most valuable possessions. They are a mine of information for any historian. This library contained the Charters of the Scottish Kings, from William the Lion downwards, the Bull of Pope John XXII authorising the anointing and coronation of Robert Bruce—which, incidentally, I may mention was dated a good many years after the time of the actual fact—it contains also many of the earliest types of Scottish law books, such as the Leges Scotorum Antiquae, written in the fifteenth century, and many papers which are invaluable for any one interested in Scottish history; for instance, the Balcarres Papers, presented in 1712 by the third Earl of Balcarres contain papers relating to the reign of James V, Mary Queen of Scots, and James VI. There are also the Dundas Papers, which date back to the thirteenth century, and many valuable books, but I 964 will not detain your Lordships by giving you a catalogue of them.

Altogether I can commend this project to your Lordships as one which is thoroughly satisfactory and reflects the greatest credit on all concerned. I commend it with especial pleasure to the noble and learned Viscount opposite (Lord Haldane), for I think that not only will he find it possible as a patriotic Scot to support the Bill, but also it will appeal to him as a project of nationalisation, of which he is a supporter and to which the Party he leads in this House are committed. I think, therefore, that I may expect support from all quarters of the House, and I beg to move.