MISGOVERNMENT OF 1.11E BRITISH MUSEUM.
Foams of government do not call urgently for reform provided they are reductive of good works ; but if theory and practice are alike bad, there can be no hesitation in attempting amend- ments. Such appears to be the pervading state of the British Museum. Its original foundation was excellent in plan and purpose ; but, either from having outgrown the first design, or from the tendency to decay inherent in corporate bodies, both the actual direction and the practical results of its rule have become decidedly objectionable. For proof of this general de- flection. it will be sutheient to affirm and establish, that no admi- nistrative arrangement can be imagined worse—none more likely to lead to gross abuses—than that which now exists ; in which all the chief officials are in a false position, in which there is great power without responsibility, and. great responsibility without any power at all. Such was the main scope and conclusion of our first exposition from the Commissioners' Report and Minutes of Evidence. The Standing Committee, chosen by the general Board of Trustees, was meant to be the acting ministry, individually re- sponsible for the management of the Museum ; but in appointment and functions it has degenerated, into a mere instrumentality of the. Secretary ; who determines both the number and choice of its members, assembles them at pleasure, and from the reports of the heads of departments reveals so much of the affairs of the institu- tion as he deems fit or convenient. The Sub-Committees have be- come in a still greater degree ineffective, and have ceased to exercise their former visitatorial power of correction and inspection into the state and property of the establishment. The Secretary himself is quite-as great an anomaly, but of an opposite character—rising with the decline of his superiors, and establishing his ascendancy on the ruin of the legitimate authorities. Originally meant to be the head. clerk or amanuensis of the principal Librarian or Crown Go- vernor, at a humble stipend, (60/.., since raised to 7001., with one of the best houses, and a numerous staff of persons attached, to the office,) he has absorbed the powers of his chief and other func- tionaries ; and, aided by constant intercourse with. the Trustees, though without legal recognition or responsibility, has become the directing manager of the national Depository. Having lost caste and influence by this revolution, the other officers are discontented and mistrustful ; which prevents their acting so concurrently and. harmoniously as is desirable for the successful, management of affairs.
But a more important issue than the internal feuds, of the Mu- seum is the extent to which the public interests may. be endangered oa compromised by Mr. Forshall.'s dictatorship. One of the leading objects of all governments is the protection of property. That of the British Museum is immense.. Upon any approximate-estimate five millions sterling would be too low an appraisement ; and double that amount, or indeed any sum, would be inadequate to bring together its invaluable collections. It follows that the secue cities in this respect can hardly be too strict, and that remissness is a culpable betrayal of the trust.. One of the most important duties of the Secretary is to register the acquisitions made by the Mu- senm, whether by purchase or donation, as a check on each depart- ment. But this register has either not been kept at all, or when kept has been not only of no practical use, but in some cases de- structive of the very responsibility it was intended to secure, es- pecially in the department of printed books. Every volume as it comes in is sent from the Library to the Secretary's office to be stumped and registered ; which as the Keeper of the Printed Books neither-sees nor authenticates, it can form no evidence or charge against him,. neither is the receiving of the book after being re- turned to the Library authenticated by the Keeper. The result is, should any be missing, an impossibility. of ascertaining which of the two departments is responsible. The charge also of obtaining and receiving the books transmitted under the Copyright Act ap- pears from the Report to have been an unnecessary interference -with the Library Department, and an undue extension of the Se- cretary's power. Mr. Forshall stated in evidence, that copies of forty-nine fiftieths of the books printed in London are received in the. Museum. But this Mr. Panizzi conceives to be a great mis- take. Of the works published in the provinces some are obtained, hat nothing. comparison to the number required miderthe sta- tute ; of works published in Scotland and Ireland hardly any are sent ;r and :none from the Colonies. The evasion by many may be thought excusable, like smuggling ;. but equal justice demands that alaw ought to he either, uniformly enforced or repealed. The indisposition of the Secretary prevented a full investigation into the mods of keeping the accounts. of the Museum.; but it ap- pears to be unsatisfactory.. There in deficiency in the accounts kept of receipts and .payments,. and ne.book is kept in which the receipts and expenditure in. re et of estates- bequeathed to the Museum are separately entered. The accounts relating to the Bridgewater estates, for example,. are contained only in letters ad- dressed. to the Museum authorities from, their agents in the coun- try. Considering:the expenditure of the establishment as a branch of the public service, and its large' amount, the Commissioners:
1847. 5848.
820,965 N7 935 67;525 65,869'
3,608 , 3,694
4572 5,813
For a, decline like this, in lien of augmentation, special causes. must exist. Outside the walls of the establishment intellectual tastes and pursuits were never more in. vogue ; and there must be reasons why the Museum has not shared. the popular impulse:. Irk cannot have arisen from deficiency of resources, but more likely the defective management of them.. The Library forms the best portion of the collection : for intrinsic worth it is unequalled, and• its varied riches might be made productive of the most extensive: benefits. It was not intended, as Mr. Cureton, Mr. Carlyle, and some other witnesses seemed to infer, for an exclusive purpose. It is national in foundation, in its endowment and maintenance, and' ought to be kept steadily directed to national purposes. If not in- tended for all, with what show of reason can annual grants of pub- lic money be asked, or the provisions of the Copyright Act be. de- fended? Under this statute, it is not the high or any special class of works that are exigible by the Museum, but a copy of every new publication, so that all wants and all tastes may be suited_ It is not, however, intended that superior facilities ought not, if possible, to be conceded to the learned over the unlearned, to those who devote. themselves exclusively to science and literature : this preference the public interest itself requires. Books are the raw materials of authorship ; men of letters have the most need of them, and use them not for private purposes only but general utilities,. According to Mr. Payne Collier's statement, there are from 30,000 to 40,000 cards of admission hicirculation ; but the proper-. tion of persons who care to use their privilege is miserably small- The total number of annual visitens to the Reading Room. appears' from the last return to. be 05,8691 but the number of persons may be conjectured to be much less, as many doubtless enter the room twice in the course of the day. Probably the number of daily fre- quenters does not average much above 200, and does not exceed the attendance given to many private literary institutions in London,. Liverpool, and other provincial towns. Such result every one must deem unsatisfactory—unsatisfactory considering the sumptuous mental treat provided by past nomitirence and great presentchargoi. and further considering that the rich and gratuitous intellectuaL feast is. spread in the centre of the Metropolis,. where all that is. eminent in science and literature is congregated, and who, it might be inferred, would be ready to partake of the national bounty-- And why, it may be asked, do they not? Is it pride, perver sity, indolence, or better provision elsewhere,. that keeps them. away ? No, it is none of these: they know the banquet is of the best,. and. abundant to profusion, but so environed by cold, obstructions and repellent conditions, that they prefer humbler and more stinted fare with a cordial and easy welcome. In the ma- nagement of the Library, the Museum authorities have committed. a great mistake, by husbanding their rich store of books in the- same way as their birds and beasts—something to be looked_ at, not used or handled. Now this, we submit,. is a great error,. and wholly at variance with the intent and scope of any portion of the national repository. The vast treasury of books colientsit were not meant to rest idly on. the shelves,. to be admired only for their elegant or antique binding ; it is from their contents- that they derive their chief value, and they were doubtless meant to het used, and used by the greatest possible number of persons comps, tible with safe or proper custody. It would be a. high- gratifies.. tion to a literary person to. be allowed free access to the rooms, containing them,. inspect with his own eyes their-outside titles, and sit and. contemplate the mental array around him, in spacious welleaired apartments., in lieu. of being rigorously pent in the athie.- ter he now is, without room. for motion or even to'breathe freely.
and purely. •
But this is only one and- the least important of the openinget desirable. Everything connected with the Reading. Room,. except the civility of the attendance, is repelling and obstructive. Tors.. stranger seeking it for the first time, it is likely he will. commits: half-a-dozen mistakes or wrong turnings before he find its whew, abouts ; for it is situated in the most remote and obscure nook oft the building, and the approaches, and descent are so-mean andres, volting, that any one might be suspected to be going to empty the- dust-bins or blacken the shoes of the servants of the institution.. After reaching the pit-entrance, and ascending, with the aid of a. guide, the long tortuous staircase,. he is ueher into the moss.. What further difficulties he has to surmount before ha can, grasp the desired book, and what works and seliemes are in train, tee: lessen them, must be reserved for a future exposition.. suggest that it should be subject to the audit of the Treasury which should also prescribe a form for keeping the accounts.
In these strictures the Secretary's sole and irresponsible juris- diction is alone questioned, and not the least imputation meant to be cast upon his official competence, character; or conduct- But one obvious ill result of the engrossment of power by him,. is its tendency to paralyze or render other officers nulifferelit to the in- terests of the repository. It is to some drawback of this sort—to the want of zeal and activity in devising facilities, andin impressing rightly on the Trustees both the kind and degree of accommodation required by the public—that may be. ascribed. the unpopular state of the Library. Increase of interest and increase of visiters are observable in other departments of the ]lusenin, but in this there has been a positive decline. This will appear from the subjoined, statement, which is collected, from the returns inrele to Parliament for the last two years of the number of visiters- to the several, departments.
General Collection
Reading Room Galleriesof Sculpture Print' Room
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