tice as to the arrangement of the different titles that a periodical has taken. Should the entries follow on after the original title with a cross-reference from each new one; or should each new title take its place in the alphabet with a series of cross-references under the first title? There is something to be said in favour of each plan the former shows the history of the periodical at a glance, while under the latter it has to be worked up from the cross-references; but for my own part I prefer the latter, because the last title is the one under which it is usually referred to. This is the plan adopted by Mr. Wheatley, whilst Messrs. White and Newton and Mr. Scudder follow the former rule, and anyone using the,hree catalogues will, I think, soon come to the conclusion that Mr. Wheatley's is by far the easiest in this respect. There remains another important point. Rule 30 of the Committee on Titleentries, that "A society is to be entered under the first word, not an article, of its corporate name, with references from any other name by which it is known, and from the name of the place where its head-quarters are established," is, I think, the best way of managing transactions, except that prefixes such as " Royal," "Königliche," &c., should be omitted; and Rule 17, that periodicals shall be entered under the first word, not an article, of their titles, cannot, in my humble opinion, be improved upon. Mr. Scudder differs from both these rules in arranging transactions and periodicals under the place of publication. In his preface he owns that this is an error as regards transactions, and says that they should be entered under the place where the society is established. But the plan recommended by the Committee seems much more convenient, because it is not always easy to find out where a society is located. Messrs. White and Newton place their transactions under the towns where they are published, with no cross-references, so that the Meteorological Society of Great Britain and Ireland appears under "Truro," and nowhere else in the catalogue. This is doubly troublesome for periodicals, because the title is hardly ever any guide to the place of printing. It may appear waste of time to discuss this, but it ought not to be passed over, because so competent a cataloguer as Mr. Scudder has arranged his catalogue in this manner and gives this reason: "The plan here adopted of entering all serial publications, independent or otherwise, under the place of publication (or location), seems far better than ar ranging them by the first word of the title. For societies the first plan can only be defended. For independent journals it is also better: first, to secure uniformity in the mode of entering all serial publications, and because it is often difficult to decide whether a journal is independent or not; and second, because of the time required to pass the eye over all the various 'Journaux,' "Zeitschriften,' or 'Magazines,' to find the one sought; while in the abbreviated form in which these appear in the index of titles, this is far easier and answers every alphabetical purpose." I cannot help thinking that Mr. Scudder has exaggerated the difficulties that would have befallen users of his catalogue if the different

periodicals had been entered under their titles instead of under their place of publication. Take the case of those periodicals that would have appeared under "Journals." I have chosen this because it is an extreme case, the word being the same in English, German, and French, There are 90 periodicals in Mr. Scudder's catalogue beginning with journal, and their titles would have occupied about four printed pages; surely if these had been properly arranged in alphabetical order, there could have been no difficulty in finding any particular one. Another reason given by Mr. Scudder is that his system shows "at a glance how prolific the different book-marts have been, or how enterprising the publishers or editors in some small country town." But, interesting as this information may be, it does not seem worth while to sacrifice the utility of the catalogue for its sake; and, besides, it might have been shown in an index of towns similar to the one Mr. Scudder has appended to his catalogue. Mr. Wheatley has arranged his periodicals according to the L. A. U. K. plan, and I venture to say that any reader can get the information he is searching after, in this catalogue, without any index or guide, and with very little trouble.

Mr. B. R. WHEATLEY said that in the old catalogue of his society transactions were dispersed under Abhandlungen, Comptes Rendus, Memoirs, &c., which seemed so incongruous that he adopted the present method.-Mr. KNAPMAN stated that in his new catalogue the plan was to take the first word of the title of the society, other than an article, and put it in its alphabetical place, with crossreferences under subjects and places of head-quarters, and sometimes under titles. With anonymous works and periodicals he took the first word other than an article, with cross-references to them under the subjects. Periodicals which changed their name were put under one name, thus Liebig's Annalen under Annalen, as the title of the first part in the library, with cross-references under "Liebig" and the subjects "Chemistry" and "Pharmacy." This was in accordance with Mr. Cutter's rules.-Mr. H. B. WHEATLEY said that the difference was that books are complete, but with transactions we cannot be certain, and much confusion is avoided by keeping them apart from ordinary books. Transactions should be arranged geographically and journals under names. Catalogues could hardly be considered ordinary books. As to editors, Liebig's Annalen had been called by his name for years, but his name had not appeared on the title-page until within a year or so. Geographical names would be best arranged alphabetically.-Mr. WELCH thought that the balance of convenience lay in arranging transactions with other books, for, having no author, the society was regarded as the author.-Mr. B. R. WHEATLEY objected to general headings as creating an alphabet within an alphabet.

Votes of thanks to Messrs. HARRISON and BAILEY for their papers were then proposed and carried unanimously.

London: TRÜBNER & CO., Ludgate Hill. Single Numbers, Threepence each. Annual Subscription, post free, 38. 6d.

MONTHLY NOTES

OF THE

Library Association

of the United Kingdom.

Ar the Meeting on Friday, April 2, a paper will be read by Mr. B. R. WHEATLEY, "Thoughts on Title-taking, trite, trivial, or tentative. No. 1."

THE following paper by Mr. R. HARRISON, Treasurer, was read at the February monthly meeting.

DR. PRIESTLEY AND HIS RELATION TO

PROPRIETARY LIBRARIES.

DR. PRIESTLEY is one among many remarkable Englishmen who have not received the full meed of fame due to their great powers and considerable achievements. Quite lately, indeed, the monument erected to his memory in Birmingham, scarce six years ago, and the illumination it received from the eloquent oration pronounced by Professor Huxley at its unveiling, has in some degree redeemed Englishmen from the disgraceful charge of neglecting one of their true worthies. If we examine with any attention the published records of Priestley's life, especially his correspondence, we shall find that he was not only a man of science, earnestly engaged in the investigation of electrical phenomena, the composition of air, the nature of oxygen, and other mysteries of the physical world, but that he was a social and religious reformer, a staunch advocate of toleration and liberty in matters both political and religious. Unfortunately for him, and as I venture to think, for his country, he became a martyr to his faith and was driven from his native land by the force of that prejudice which arose from the reactionary parric in England caused by the outbreak of the French Revolution. The outrages committed in Birmingham in July, 1791, by a Church and King mob, involved the destruction of Priestley's chapel and his dwelling-house, with all his books, manuscripts, and philosophical instruments. He bore the calamity with philosophical calmness, and was in some degree consoled by numerous tributes of sympathy from friends and admirers at home and abroad. In a letter addressed to him by Condorcet in the name of the French Academy of Sciences, he is told that "he is

not the first friend of liberty that has thus suffered; that opponents like his, arm prejudices against him when they dare not arm the laws, and that what they had done in his case was the noblest homage that tyranny dare render to probity, to talents, and to courage." Still the blow was too severe. After a short residence at Clapton, where he maintained an active correspondence with many distinguished persons, he sent his three sons to America in the autumn of 1793, and in the following spring he and his wife followed them, four years after the death of the friend he in many respects, morally and intellectually, resembled-Benjamin Franklin. After these few words on Dr. Priestley's public life, I wish briefly to draw your attention to his equally enlightened though more private labours as a promoter and administrator of libraries. Unfortunately there is little material to be found for an account of this unobtrusive work of the philosopher. He is known to have been personally connected with three subscription or proprietary libraries-one at Warrington, established in 1760; that of Leeds, founded in 1768; and with the Old Library at Birmingham in 1779, whose centenary was celebrated two months ago. The library at Warrington was started a year before the appointment of Priestley, then 28 years old, as teacher of languages in the academy there. He became a member of the library committee, and took an active part in the administration of its affairs. Mr. Madeley, the librarian of the Warrington Museum, has kindly searched for me the minute-book of the Old Library, now attached to the Museum. He informs me that Dr. Priestley served on the Committee of the library from March, 1763, to May, 1767. Fellow-committeemen with him were the Rev. J. Saddon, rector of the academy; Dr. Barnes, rector after its removal to Manchester; and Dr. Owen, rector of the parish, and author of a translation of Juvenal and Persius. The library was founded in May, 1760, and was one of the results of the establishment in Warrington of the celebrated Dissenting Academy. The minutebook contains little interesting matter, the most remarkable thing about it being, as often happens in such matters, "the imperfection of the record." There is no copy of the rules then in force, nor list of subscribers, nor any catalogue earlier than 1784. librarian was William Eyres, a printer of some celebrity, and a rival, in the excellence and importance of his works, of Baskerville and Foulis. The institution was called "The Warrington Circulating Library," and continued to exist independently until 1848, when it was taken over by the Corporation on the establishment of the Museum, and is still carried on as a department of the same. "One of our MS. treasures," writes Mr. Madeley, “is a volume of Dr. Priestley's letters (1791-1802), an account of which appeared in the Memoirs of the Lancashire and Cheshire Historic Society, Vol. VII., 1855. Characteristic extracts are impossible; the lists of books ordered contain nothing remarkable, and are evidently incomplete. There is no mention of Priestley's name, except in the list of the committee."

The

The second Proprietary Library that Dr. Priestley was connected with was at Leeds, whither he went in 1767 to be minister of Mill Hill Chapel. Here he remained six years, " very happy," he writes, "with a liberal, friendly, and harmonious congregation." While here a proposal was made to him to accompany Captain Cook in his second voyage to the South Seas-a proposal he was willing to accept, until informed by Mr. Banks that some clergymen in the Board of Longitude objected to him on account of his religious principles. The Leeds Proprietary Library was formed in 1768, and Dr. Priestley was an active promoter and a member of its first committee. I will only add here with regard to the Leeds Library, that it contains among its many valuable printed books eight volumes of MS. connected with the history and genealogy of Yorkshire and Lancashire, in the handwriting of Thomas Wilson, F.S.A., which were presented by his son.

In 1772 Priestley was tempted, by an offer made through his friend Dr. Price, to accept the office of librarian to the Earl of Shelburne, afterwards Marquis of Lansdowne, with whom he remained seven years. A letter he wrote from Leeds to Dr. Price in August, 1772, explains the position he took in this, to him, novel position of librarian. "On Saturday last, Lord Shelburne, as you gave me reason to expect, called upon me, and he explained and enforced his proposal in such a manner that I own I am much disposed to comply with it. He said he never thought of settling upon me less than £200 per annum for life, and would do as much more as you and myself should think reasonable. So we agreed on the sum mentioned in your letter, £250. Besides, I am to have a house adjoining to his own in town, and another very near his seat in the country." The terms formally agreed upon were, that Priestley should receive £250 per annum, a house to live in, and a certainty for life in case of the decease of Lord Shelburne, or of their separation during his life. On May 16th, 1772, he preached his farewell sermon at Mill Hill Chapel, and in June was established at Calne. "In this situation," he writes in his Memoirs, "I continued seven years, spending the summer with my family at Calne, and a great part of the winter in his lordship's house in London. My office was nominally that of librarian, but I had little employment as such besides arranging his books, taking a catalogue of them and of his manuscripts, which were numerous, and making an index to his collection of private papers. In fact I was with him as a friend." He was allowed every facility for carrying on his literary and scientific pursuits, and Lord Shelburne paid £40 a year towards the expenses he incurred in his experiments. This lasted till 1780, when Mr. William Petty, a son of Lord Shelburne, whose education Dr. Priestley superintended, died, and some time after, when Dr. Priestley incurred popular odium by the publication of his "Disquisitions relative to Matter and Spirit," he began to think that he observed evident marks of dissatisfaction on the part of Lord Shelburne, who finally intimated to Dr. Price that he wished to give his friend an establishment in Ireland. This," says he,

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