MONTHLY NOTES

OF THE

Library Association

of the United Kingdom.

Ar the meeting on Friday, February 4, 1881, a paper will be read by Mr. W. H. OVERALL, Librarian to the Corporation of London, entitled "Notes on Broadsides and Proclamations."

JANUARY MONTHLY MEETING.

THE third Monthly Meeting of the fourth year of the Association was held at the London Institution on Friday, January 7, 1881, at 8 p.m., Mr. W. H. OVERALL in the chair.

The minutes of the previous meeting having been read and confirmed, Mr. S. SANDERS was elected a member of the Association.

The following gentlemen were proposed for election, and will be balloted for at the next meeting. By Mr. C. E. SCARSE, Local Secretary for Birmingham:-Mr. J. H. Chamberlain, Dr. Schwarz, Mr. J. Weir-Crosier, Mr. C. J. B. Duchemin, Dr. R. J. Drury, Mr. T. E. Pemberton, Mr. J. Suffield, Mr. J. P. Porter, Dr. J. Hickinbotham, Mr. F. Talbot, and Mr. C. Linnell. By Mr. T. W. SHORE, Local Secretary for Southampton :-Mr. H. M. Gilbert.

The following gentlemen engaged in library administration were reported by Mr. SCARSE as having joined the Association :— Alderman R. Chamberlain, Mayor of Birmingham; Mr. J. T. Bunce, Birmingham; Mr. W. Bragge, Birmingham; Dr. J. A. Langford, Birmingham; Mr. E. W. Badger, Birmingham; Dr. B. Foster, Birmingham; Mr. H. S. Pearson, Birmingham; Mr. C. J. Woodward, Midland Institute, Birmingham; Mr. J. C. Woodhill, Birmingham; Rev. F. Wagstaff, Librarian, Wednesbury; Mr. G. Wakeling, Sub-Librarian, Birmingham Free Libraries; Mr. W. H. Smith, Librarian, Free Library, Constitution Hill, Birmingham; Mr. G. Harris, Librarian, Free Library, Deritend, Birmingham; Mr. F. S. Herne, Birmingham Library; and Mr. T. G. Johnson, Librarian, Medical Institute, Birmingham.

The Chairman then called on Mr. W. R. DOUTHWAITE, Librarian of Gray's Inn, to read his paper entitled

NOTES ON THE GRAY'S INN LIBRARY.

Mr. DOUTHWAITE said: The origin of those singular institutions known as the Four Inns of Court is veiled in considerable obscurity. Although the Society of GRAY'S INN is not now the most conspicuous among them, yet it was at one time by far the most popular and the best attended of all, and was the chosen Inn of the Bacons, the Burghleys, and other distinguished lawyers and statesmen in the golden days of Great Elizabeth.' Its earlier history cannot now be recovered from the wreck of time, though it is certain that it existed as an Inn of Court as early as the reign of Edward III. Unfortunately, a great portion of its records have perished. There may exist, indeed, amongst family papers and unpublished manuscripts much that would throw light both on its general history and on the origin and progress of its collection of books, and if these few notes should lead to the discovery of further information, I shall be glad that this opportunity has been afforded me. The Library of Gray's Inn is not likely to be as old as the Inn itself; nor, in fact, can the Library of any one of the Inns of Court be traced further back than the very end of the fifteenth century. Indeed, the extent of legal literature in those days was too limited to make large collections necessary or possible. Even when Coke wrote in the seventeenth century, he only counted up fifteen books or treatises, and as many volumes of reports, in addition to the statutes; or as it was expressed by Fuller a good deal later :-"I can but admire at the comparative paucity of the books of our Common Law, in proportion to those written of the Civil and Canon Law. Oh, how corpulent are the corpuses of both those Lawes! besides, their shadows are far bigger than their bodies; their glosses larger than their text. Insomuch, that one may bury two thousand pounds and upwards, in the purchase, and yet hardly compasse a moity of them; whereas all the Writers of the Common Law (except they be much multiplyed very lately), with all the year books belonging thereunto, may be bought for three-score pounds or thereabouts."

In the manuscripts of William Oldys is a statement that the Library of the Inn was "first founded by the Lord Verulam."t

But Bacon only became a member of the Inn in 1576, while we find in the existing records of the Society mention of the Library as far back as 1568; and several Orders, from the year 1571 and onwards, speak of candidates for the degree of utter-barrister having to perform exercises at the "skreen of the Library." Moreover, the will of Robert Chaloner, dated 7th July, 1555, shows that there was even then a Library. Chaloner had been a Reader of the Society in 1521. An extract from his will is given in the "Register of the Guild of Corpus Christi in the city of York,” * "Worthies," ed. Nichols, 1811, i. 21.

+ See N. & Q. 2 s. xi. 401 (comp. 381); but see Gent. Mag., vol. 86, part ii. 213.

published by the Surtees Society in 1872 (p. 206). It is, perhaps, sufficiently interesting to give in full:

"I will that all my bookes of lawe, as well those whiche ar at Yorke, as at my house, also all those whiche be at London, yf theie can be conveied, hadde or caryed by any meanes to Grauisin, to my cosin Robt. Nowell, and then xls. in moneye to be delyvered unto the said Robert Nowell, to th'entent that he maie by cheines therwth. and fasten so manye of them in the Librarye at Grauisin as he shall think convenyente, and all the residue whiche are not necessarye for the said librarye my said cosin Nowell to take or gyve at his pleasure. To the Commoners of Grauisin xxs. for suche wronge as I did to the House when I contynued there."

These are believed to be the earliest references to the Library extant; but, scanty though they be, they are sufficient to prove the foundation of the Library prior to the time of Bacon.

During the first half of the seventeenth century a good many donations of books appear to have been made to the Library, amongst which are copies of Bacon's works, presented by Francis and Nathaniel Bacon. That some considerable use, and probably some abuse, of this collection was made, may be inferred from the fact that in 1645 two of the Masters of the Bench were desired to make inquiry 66 as to what books had been delivered out of the Library, and by whom and to whom." Possibly as a result of this inquiry a Library-keeper was shortly afterwards appointed at an annual salary of £3 6s. 8d., and he was directed to procure a "fresh lock and key for the Library."

In 1669 the first catalogue of the books was made, partly because "divers books" in the Library had been " embezzled," partly because "divers others were forthwith to be brought in by Mr. Raworth," a member of the Society. This gentleman appears to have been called upon in his turn to perform the office of Reader, an office which, besides the more obvious functions, entailed great expense upon its holder in the way of entertainments. To escape these obligations, he had offered to pay £200 into the Treasury of the Society, and the Society determined to spend one moiety of this sum in the purchase of books. Accordingly about one hundred volumes, consisting principally of law books, were added to the Library. In 1674 Simon Segar, a grandson of Sir William Segar, King-at-Arms, was appointed "second butler and Library-keeper.' This Simon Segar was the compiler of the well-known manuscript, No. 1912 in the Harleian collection. How or when this manuscript escaped from the custody of the Society is entirely unknown. It appears, at all events, to have shared the fate which had overtaken so many of the books in the Library. It may be some consolation to know, however, that this manuscript is now at least safe in the jealous custody of the British Museum. In 1689 the Treasurer and two Benchers were desired to make a fresh catalogue, which is still extant. From it we learn that the Library then contained about 320 volumes, of which only about one-third appear to have consisted of law books.

It was not indeed until long after this that the collection attained such dimensions as to require special accommodation. In 1737 it

became necessary, however, to build a library in Holborn Court, now South Square. It occupied the site of the present library buildings, which were erected in 1841. They consist of three handsome and comfortable rooms, one of which is appropriated for the use of the Masters of the Bench. The shelf accommodation recently became inadequate, and, in consequence, a set of chambers was adapted to receive some portion of the books, and to be used when the Library proper is closed.

In 1847 attention was directed to the state of the Library, and the result was that, in the same year, one of the Masters of the Bench was appointed Master of the Libra y, and this arrangement has been since continued. Since that time very much has been done for the Library, especially under the auspices of the two last Masters, Mr. W. M. Best and Mr. J. A. Russell, Q.C., who has been re-appointed year by year since his first election in 1868. The Catalogue was printed for the first time in 1872, under the direction of Master Russell, and two supplements have since been printed.

The Library at present consists of about 13,000 volumes. Of these, a not inconsiderable portion belong to historical and general literature. But the main character of the collection is, of course, determined by the purpose for which it exists--as a practical Law Library. Though it may not be so rich in American and Foreign Law as the Libraries of the other Inns of Court, it has a complete collection of the English Reports, and the latest Text-Books. For its special and rimary object, therefore, the Library of Gray's Inn is relatively as well provided with books as the other Inns. The difference in the several Libraries is in the extent of their possessions in general literature.

Instead of dwelling upon the character of a collection so special in its nature, attention may be drawn to one or two practical features in the management of the Library. The management may be regarded in some measure as exceptional :

(1.) The purchase of books is entrusted generally to the Masier of the Library, and not to a Committee. One result of this arrangemen is that new books, and new editions of text-books, are almost immediately on publication added to the Library. If the selection had to be made by a Committee meeting at comparatively distant intervals this would be impossible.

(2.) The Library is practically open all the year round, for during the month of September, when the Library proper is closed. the chambers, previously mentioned, are open for the convenience of members.

(3.) Rules have been framed, permitting members to take books from the Library, on the order of a Beucher for a limited period, to be specified in each case by the Librarian on the face of the order; and in fixing the period, due regard is always had to the nature of the book, and the convenience of other members of the Society.

The printed Catalogue is made use of in the preparation of the