Chapter X: Part 10

£ s. The Mayor (Mr. Jesse Collins). .. .. .. 100 0 Alderman Chamberlain, M.P. (as Trustee of the late Mrs. Chamberlain, Moor Green) .. .. .. .. 1000 0 Alderman Chamberlain, M.P. .. .. .. .. 500 0 Alderman Avery .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 500 0 Mr. John Jaffray.. .. .. .. .. .. .. 500 0 Mr. A. Follett Osler, F.R.S... .. .. .. 500 0 Mr. John Feeney .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 250 0 Mrs. Harrold .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 250 0 Mr. Timothy Kenrick .. .. .. .. .. .. 250 0 Mr. William Middlemore .. .. .. .. .. 250 0 A Friend .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 250 0 Mr. James Atkins.. .. .. .. .. .. .. 105 0 Lord Calthorpe .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 100 0 Lord Teynham.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 100 0 Mr. Thomas Gladstone.. .. .. .. .. .. 100 0 Messrs. William Tonks and Sons .. .. .. 100 0 Mr. W.A. Watkins.. .. .. .. .. .. .. 100 0 Mr. and Mrs. T. Scruton .. .. .. .. .. 75 0 Dr. Anthony .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 52 10 Mr. Oliver Pemberton.. .. .. .. .. .. 52 10 Alderman Baker .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 50 0 Alderman Barrow .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 50 0 Messrs. Cadbury Brothers.. .. .. .. .. 50 0 Mr. J.H. Chamberlain.. .. .. .. .. .. 50 0 Alderman Deykin .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 50 0 Mr. T.S. Fallows.. .. .. .. .. .. .. 50 0 Mr. J.D. Goodman.. .. .. .. .. .. .. 50 0 Councillor Johnson .. .. .. .. .. .. 50 0 Mr. William Martin .. .. .. .. .. .. 50 0 Councillor Thomas Martineau .. .. .. .. 50 0 Councillor R.F. Martineau .. .. .. .. 50 0 Mr. Lawley Parker .. .. .. .. .. .. 50 0 Mrs. E. Phipson .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 50 0 Messrs. Player Brothers .. .. .. .. .. 50 0 Mr. Walter Showell .. .. .. .. .. .. 50 0 Mr. Sam Timmins .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 50 0 The Rev. A.R. Vardy .. .. .. .. .. .. 50 0 Mr. J.S. Wright and Sons.. .. .. .. .. 50 0 In sums of £20, &c .. .. .. .. .. .. 480 5 In sums of £10, &c .. .. .. .. .. .. 247 2 In sums of £5, &c .. .. .. .. .. .. 169 5 Smaller amounts .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 88 8

This fund has received many noble additions since the above, the total, with interest, amounting, up to the end of 1883, to no less than £15,500, of which there is still in hand, £10,000 for the purchase of books. The precaution of insuring such an institution and its contents had of course been taken, and most fortunately the requisite endorsements on the policies had been made to cover the extra risk accruing from the alteration in progress. The insurances were made in the "Lancashire" and "Yorkshire" offices, the buildings for £10,000, the Reference Library for £12,000, the Lending Library for £1,000, the Shakespeare Library for £1,500, the Prince Consort statue for £1,000, the models of Burke and Goldsmith for £100, and the bust of Mr. Timmins for £100, making £25,700 in all. The two companies hardly waited for the claim to be made, but met it in a most generous manner, paying over at once £20,000, of which £10,528 has been devoted to the buildings and fittings, nearly £500 paid for expenses and injury to statues, and the remaining £9,000 put to the book purchase fund. In the Reference Library there were quite 48,000 volumes, in addition to about 4,000 of patent specifications. Every great department of human knowledge was represented by the best known works. In history, biography, voyages, and travels, natural history, fine arts, all the greatest works, not only in English, but often in the principal European languages, had been gathered. Volumes of maps and plans, engravings of all sorts of antiquities, costumes, weapons, transactions of all the chief learned societies, and especially bibliography, or "books about books" had been collected with unceasing care, the shelves being loaded with costly and valuable works rarely found out of the great libraries of London, or Oxford, Cambridge, Edinburgh, or Glasgow. Among the collections lost were many volumes relating to the early history of railways in England, originally collected by Mr. Charles Brewin, and supplemented by all the pamphlets and tracts procurable. Many of those volumes were full of cuttings from contemporary newspapers, and early reports of early railway companies, and of the condition of canals and roads. Still more valuable were many bundles of papers, letters, invoices, calculations, etc., concerning the early attempt to establish the cotton manufacture in Birmingham at the beginning of the last century, including the papers of Warren, the printer, and some letters of Dr. Johnson, and others relating the story of the invention of spinning by rollers--the work of John Wyatt and Lewis Paul--long before Arkwright's time. Among the immense collection of Birmingham books and papers were hundreds of Acts of Parliament, Birmingham Almanacs, Directories (from 1770) most curious, valuable, and rare; a heap of pamphlets on the Grammar School, Birmingham History, Topography, and Guides; the political pamphlets of Job Nott and John Nott, some of which were the only copies known, the more ancient pamphlets describing Prince Rupert's Burning Love (date 1613) and others of that time; reports from the year 1726 of the several local learned institutions; an invaluable collection of maps; programmes of the Festivals; and copies of all the known Birmingham newspapers and periodicals (some being perfect sets) etc., etc. Of all the host not more than 1,000 volumes were saved. The fame of the Shakespeare Memorial Library at Birmingham was world-wide and to us it had extra value as emanating from the love which George Dawson bore for the memory of Shakespeare. It was his wish that the library should be possessed of every known edition of the bard's works in every language, and that it should contain every book ever printed about him or his writings. In the words of Mr. Timmins, "The devotion of George Dawson to Shakespeare was not based upon literary reasons alone, nor did it only rest upon his admiration and his marvel at the wondrous gifts bestowed upon this greatest of men, but it was founded upon his love for one who loved so much. His heart, which knew no inhumanity, rejoiced in one who was so greatly human, and the basis of his reverence for Shakespeare was his own reverence for man. It was thus, to him, a constant pleasure to mark the increasing number of the students of Shakespeare, and to see how, first in one language and then in another, attempts were made to bring some knowledge of his work to other nations than the English-speaking ones; and the acquisition of some of these books by the library was received by him with delight, not merely or not much for acquisition sake, but as another evidence of the ever-widening influence of Shakespeare's work. The contents of this library were to Mr. Dawson a great and convincing proof that the greatest of all English authors had not lived fruitlessly, and that the widest human heart the world has known had not poured out its treasure in vain." So successful had the attempts of the collectors been that nearly 7,000 volumes had been brought together, many of them coming from the most distant parts of the globe. The collection included 336 editions of Shakspeare's complete works in English, 17 in French, 58 in German, 3 in Danish, 1 in Dutch, 1 in Bohemian, 3 in Italian, 4 in Polish, 2 in Russian, 1 in Spanish, 1 in Swedish; while in Frisian, Icelandic, Hebrew, Greek, Servian, Wallachian, Welsh, and Tamil there were copies of many separate plays. The English volumes numbered 4,500, the German 1,500, the French 400. The great and costly editions of Boydell and Halliwell, the original folios of 1632, 1664, and 1685, the very rare quarto contemporary issues of various plays, the valuable German editions, the matchless collection of "ana," in contemporary criticism, reviews, &c., and the interesting garnering of all the details of the Tercentenary Celebration-- wall-posters, tickets, pamphlets, caricatures, &c., were all to be found here, forming the largest and most varied collection of Shakspeare's works, and the English and foreign literature illustrating them, which has ever been made, and the greatest literary memorial which any author has ever yet received. So highly was the library valued that its contents were consulted from Berlin and Paris, and even from the United States, and similar libraries have been founded in other places. Only 500 of the books were preserved, and many of them were much damaged. The loss of the famed Staunton or Warwickshire collection was even worse than that of the Shakespearean, rich and rare as that was, for it included the results of more than two centuries' patient work, from the days of Sir William Dugdale down to the beginning of the present century. The manuscript collections of Sir Simon Archer, fellow-labourer of Dugdale, the records of the Berkeley, Digby, and Ferrers families, the valued and patient gatherings of Thomas Sharpe, the Coventry antiquarian, of William Hamper, the Birmingham collector, and of William Staunton himself, were all here, forming the most wonderful county collection ever yet formed, and which a hundred years' work will never replace. The books, many rare or unique, and of extraordinary value, comprised over 2000 volumes; there were hundreds of sketches and water-colour drawings of buildings long since destroyed, and more than 1,500 engravings of various places in the county, among them being some 300 relating to Birmingham, 200 to Coventry, 200 to Warwick Castle, 200 to Kenilworth Castle, and more than 100 to Stratford-on-Avon. The thousand portraits of Warwickshire Worthies, more rare and valuable still, included no less than 267 distinct portraits of Shakespeare, every one from a different block or plate. There was, in fact, everything about Warwickshire which successive generations of learned and generous collectors could secure. Among other treasures were hundreds of Acts of Parliament, all pedigrees, pamphlets, &c., about the Earls of Warwick and the town of Warwick; the original vellum volume with the installation of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, to the Order of St. Michael, with his own autograph; volumes of rare, curious autographs of county interest; county poll books, newspapers and magazines; all the rare Civil War pamphlets relating to the Warwickshire incidents; ancient deeds, indulgences, charters, seals, rubbings of brasses long lost or worn away, medals, coins, hundreds in number; and rare and invaluable volumes, like the Duc de Nortombria's "Arcano de Mare," and two fine copies of Dugdale's Warwickshire; besides hundreds of books, engravings, caricatures, pamphlets and tracts. The catalogue of this precious collection had only recently been completed, but even that was burnt, so that there is nothing left to show the full extent of the loss sustained. The only salvage consisted of three books, though most providentially one of the three was the splendid Cartulary of the Priory of St. Anne, at Knowle, a noble vellum folio, richly illuminated by some patient scribe four centuries ago, and preserving not only the names of the benefactors of the Priory, and details of its possessions, but also the service books of the Church, with the ancient music and illuminated initials, as fresh and perfect as when first written. Of almost inestimable value, it has now an acquired interest in the fact of its being, so to speak, all that remains of all the great Staunton collection. The Cervantes Library, which had taken him a quarter of a century to gather together, was presented by Mr. William Bragge. For many years, even in a busy life, Mr. Bragge, in his visits to Spain and his travels all over Europe, had been able to collect nearly all the known editions, not only of "Don Quixote," but of all the other works of Cervantes. Not only editions, but translations into any and every language were eagerly sought; and, after cherishing his treasures for many years, Mr. Bragge was so impressed with the Shakespeare Library that he generously offered his unrivalled collection of the great contemporary author to the town of which he is a native, and in which he afterwards came to live. The collection extended from editions published in 1605 down to our own days, and included many very rare and very costly illustrated volumes, which can never be replaced. All the known translations were among the thousand volumes, and all the works were in the choicest condition, but only ten survived the fire.--From the Lending Library about 10,000 volumes were rescued, and as there were nearly 4,000 in the hands of readers, the loss here was comparatively small. The present number of books in the Reference Library bids fair to surpass the collection lost, except, of course, as regards the Shakespeare, Cervantes, and Staunton gatherings, the latter of which it is simply impossible to replace, while it will take many years to make up the other two. There are now (March, 1884) over 54,000 volumes on the shelves, including 4,300 saved from the fire, about 33,000 purchased, and nearly 17,000 presented. Among the latter are many rare and costly works given to Birmingham soon after the catastrophe by a number of societies and gentlemen connected with the town, as well as others at home and abroad. To catalogue the names of all donors is impossible, but a few of those who first contributed may be given. Foremost, many of the books being of local character, was the gift of Mr. David Malins, which included Schedel's Nuremberg Chronicle, 1492, one vol.; Camden's Britannia, ed. Gibson, 1695, one vol.; Ackermann's London, Westminster Abbey, Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, &c., ten vols.; Works of Samuel Parr, 1828, eight vols.; Illustrated Record of European Events, 1812-1815, one vol.; Thompson's Seasons, illustrated by Bartolozzi, and other works, seventy vols.; Notes and Queries (complete set of five series), 1850-78, fifty-seven vols.; Dugdale's "Warwickshire, 1656, and other books relating to Birmingham, Warwickshire and neighbourhood, seventy-four vols.; books printed by Baskerville, ten vols.; Birmingham-printed books, 203 vols.; books on or by Birmingham authors, fifty-six vols.; total, 491 vols.; in addition to a collection of about 600 portraits, maps and views relating to Birmingham, Warwickshire and the neighbourhood, including sixty portraits of Shakespeare. The Manchester Town Council sent us from their Public Library about 300 volumes, among which may be named the edition of Barclay's Apology printed by Baskerville (1765); a fine copy of the folio edition of Ben Johnson (1640); the Duke of Newcastle's New Method to Dress Horses (1667); several volumes of the Maitland Club books, the catalogue of the Harleian MSS (1759); two tracts of Socinus (1618); the Foundations of Manchester (4 vols.); Daulby's Rembrandt Catalogue; Weever's Funeral Monuments (1631); Visconti's Egyptian Antiquities (1837); Heylyn's History of St. George (1633), and Nicholl's History of English Poor Law. There are also a considerable number of works of science and general literature of a more modern date. The trustees of the British Museum gave about 150 works, relating to Greek, Egyptian, Syrian, Phoenician, and other antiquities, to various departments of natural science, and other interesting matters, the whole constituting a valuable contribution towards the restored library. The Science and Art Department of South Kensington sent a selection of catalogues, chromo-lithographs, books of etchings, photographs, &c. Dr. F.A. Leo, of Berlin, sent a splendid copy of his valuable _fac-simile_ of "Four Chapters of North's Plutarch," illustrating Shakespeare's Roman plays, to replace his former gift-volume lost in the calamitous fire. The volume is one of twenty-four copies, and the learned Professor added a printed dedication as a record of the fire and the loss. Dr. Delius, of Bonn, Herr Wilhelm Oechelhaüser, of Dessau, and other German Shakespeare authors sent copies of their works. Mr. J. Payne Collier offered copies of his rare quarto reprints of Elizabethan books, to replace those which had been lost. Mr. Gerald Massey offered a copy of his rare volume on Shakespeare's Sonnets, "because it is a Free Library." Mr. H. Reader Lack offered a set of the Patent Office volumes from the limited number at his disposal as Chief of the Patent Office. Dr. Kaines, of Trinder Road, London, selected 100 volumes from his library for acceptance; Mrs. and Miss L. Toulmin Smith sent all they could make up of the works of Mr. J. Toulmin Smith, and of his father, Mr. W. Hawkes Smith, both natives of our town; Messrs. Low, Son, and Co., gave 120 excellent volumes; Messrs. W. and R. Chambers, Messrs. Crosby, Lockwood, and Co., and other publishers, valuable books; Mr. James Coleman his "Index to Pedigrees," "Somerset House Registers," and "William Penn Pedigrees;" Miss N. Bradley (Bath) the new reissue of Professor Ruskin's works; Mr. H.W. Adnitt (Shrewsbury) his reprint of Gough's curious "History of Myddie," and of Churchyard's "Miserie of Flaunders," and "The Four Ministers of Salop:" Mr. H.F. Osle presented a, fine collection of Art books, including Grüner's great work, and Mr. J.H. Stone made a valuable donation of the same kind. The above are mere items in the list of generous donors, and gives but small idea of the many thousands of volumes which have streamed in from all parts. Many indeed have been the valuable gifts and additions by purchase since the fire, one of the latest being nearly the whole of the almost priceless collection of Birmingham books, papers, &c., belonging to Mr. Sam. Timmins. The sum of £1,100 was paid him for a certain portion of backs, but the number he has given at various times is almost past count. Immediate steps were taken after the fire to get the lending department of the Library into work again, and on the 9th of June, 1879, a commodious (though rather dark) reading room was opened in Eden Place, the Town Council allowing a number of rooms in the Municipal Buildings to be used by the Libraries Committee. In a little time the nucleus of the new Reference gathering was also in hand, and for three years the institution sojourned with the Council. The new buildings were opened June 1st, 1882, and the date should be recorded as a day of rejoicing and thanksgiving. The Reference department was opened to readers on the 26th of the same month. In place of the hired rooms so long used as a library in Constitution Hill, there has been erected in the near neighbourhood a neat two-storey building which will accommodate some 2,000 readers per day, and the shelves are supplied with about 7,000 volumes. This new library was opened July 18, 1883. To summarise this brief history of the Birmingham Free Libraries it is well to state that £78,000 has been spent on them, of which £36,392 has been for buildings. The cost of the Central Library so far has been £55,000, the remaining £23,000 being the expenditure on the branch libraries. The present annual cost is £9,372, of which £3,372 goes for interest and sinking fund, so that an addition must soon be made to the 1d. rate, which produces £6,454. The power to increase the rate is given in the last Act of Parliament obtained by the Corporation. At the end of 1882 the Reference Library contained 50,000 volumes. The number of books in the Central Lending Library was 21,394, while the branch lending libraries contained--Constitution Hill, 7,815; Deritend, 8,295; Gosta Green, 8,274; and Adderley Park, 3,122. The aggregate of all the libraries was 98,900 volumes. The issues of books during 1882 were as follows:--Reference Library, 202,179; Central Lending Library, 186,988; Constitution Hill, 73,705; Deriteud, 70,218; Gosta Green, 56,160; Adderley Park, 8,497; total, 597,747; giving a daily average of 2,127 issues. These figures are exclusive of the Sunday issues at the Reference Library, which numbered 25,095. The average number of readers in the Reference Library on Sundays has been 545; and the average attendance at all the libraries shows something like 55,000 readers per week, 133 different weekly and monthly periodicals being put on the tables for their use, besides the books. At a meeting of the School Board, June 4, 1875, permission was given to use the several infants' schoolrooms connected with the Board Schools, as evening reading rooms in connection with the libraries.

_The Shakespeare Memorial Library_, though to all intents and purposes part and parcel of the Reference Library, has a separate and distinct history. Mr. Sam. Timmins, who is generally credited with having (in 1858) first suggested the formation of a library, which should consist solely of Shakespeare's works, and Shakespeareana of all possible kinds, said, at the tercentenary meeting, that the idea originated with George Dawson, but perhaps the honour should be divided, as their mutual appreciation of the greatest poet whose genius has found utterance in our language is well known. The first practical step taken was the meeting, held (July 10, 1863) of gentlemen interested in the tercentenary, for the purpose of considering a proposal to celebrate that event by the formation of a Shakespearean library. The Rev. Charles Evans, head master of King Edward's School, presided. The following resolution, moved by Mr. G. Dawson, and seconded by the Rev. S. Bache, was adopted:--"That it is desirable to celebrate the tercentenary of the birth of Shakespeare by the formation of a Shakespearean library, comprising the various editions of the poet's works, and the literature and works of art connected therewith, and to associate such library with the Borough Central Reference Library, in order that it may be permanently preserved." A hundred pounds were subscribed at this meeting, and a committee formed to proceed with the project. In a very few months funds rolled in, and Shakespeareans from all parts of the world sent willing contributions to this the first Shakespearean library ever thought of. It was determined to call it a "Memorial" library, in honour of the tercentenary of 1864, and on the poet's day of that year, the library was formally presented to the town at a breakfast given at Nock's Hotel by the Mayor (Mr. W. Holliday). Dr. Miller, George Dawson, M.D. Hill (Recorder), T.C.S. Kynnersley, R.W. Dale, Sam. Timmins, and others took part in the proceedings, and the Mayor, on behalf of the Free Libraries Committee, accepted the gift on the terms agreed to by the Town Council, viz., that the Library should be called "The Shakespearean Memorial Library," that a room should be specially and exclusively appropriated for the purposes thereof; that the library should be under the same regulations as the Reference Library; and that the Free Libraries' Committee should maintain and augment it, and accept all works appertaining to Shakespeare that might be presented, &c. As George Dawson prophesied on that occasion, the library in a few years become the finest collection of Shakespearean literature in Europe therein being gathered from every land which the poet's fame had reached, not only the multitudinous editions of his works, but also every available scrap of literature bearing thereon, from the massive folios and quaint quartoes of the old times to the veriest trifle of current gossip culled from the columns of the newspapers. Nothing was considered too rare or too unimportant, so long as it had connection even remote to Shakespeare; and the very room (opened April 23, 1888), in which the books were stored itself acquired a Shakespearean value in its carved and elaborately-appropriate fittings. When started, it was hoped that at least 5,000 volumes would be got together, but that number was passed in 1874, and at the end of 1878 there were more than 8,700, in addition to the books, pictures, documents, and relics connected with Stratford-on-Avon and her gifted son contained in the Staunton collection. How all the treasures vanished has already been told. Much has been done to replace the library, and many valuable works have been secured; but, as the figures last published show, the new library is a long way behind as yet. It now contains 4,558 volumes, valued at £1,352 9s. 3d., classified as follows:--English, 2,205 volumes; French, 322; German, 1,639; Bohemian, 14; Danish, 25; Dutch, 68; Finnish, 4; Frisian, 2; Greek, 9; Hebrew, 2; Hungarian, 44; Icelandic, 3; Italian, 94; Polish, 15; Portuguese, 3; Roumanian, 1; Roumelian, 1; Russian, 56; Spanish, 18; Swedish, 30; Ukraine, 1; Wallachian, 1; and Welsh, 1.

~Libraries Suburban.~--The ratepayers of the Manor of Aston adopted the Free Libraries Act, May 15, 1877, and their Library forms part of the Local Board buildings in Witton Road. At the end of March, 1883, the number of volumes in the reference library was 3,216, and the issues during the year numbered 8,096. In the lending department the library consists of 5,582 volumes, and the total issues during the year were 74,483; giving a daily average of 245. The number of borrowers was 3,669.--Aston and Handsworth being almost part of Birmingham, it would be an act of kindness if local gentlemen having duplicates on their library shelves, would share them between the two.

_Handsworth_ Free Library was opened at the Local Board Offices, of which building it forms a part, on May 1, 1880, with a collection of about 5,000 volumes, which has since been increased to nearly 7,500. That the library is appreciated is shown by the fact that during last year the issues numbered 42,234 volumes, the borrowers being 514 males and 561 females.

_Smethwick_ Free Library and Reading Room was opened Aug. 14, 1880.

_King's Norton_.--In or about 1680, the Rev. Thomas Hall, B.D., founded a curious old Library for the use of the parishioners, and the books are preserved in the Grammar School, near the Church. This is the earliest _free_ library known in the Midlands.

~Licensed Victuallers' Society.~--See "_Trade Protection Societies_."

~Licensed Victuallers' Asylum.~--See "_Philanthropical Institutions_."

~Licensed Victuallers.~--The following table shows the number of licensed victuallers, dealers in wine, beer, &c., in the borough as well as the holders of what are known as outdoor licenses:--

Year. Licensed Beer and Total. Population. Beer, &c., Grocers. Victuallers. Wine On. Off. 1870 687 1166 1853 337,982 .. .. 1871 683 1165 1848 343,690 .. .. 1872 684 1117 1801 349,398 .. 23 1873 684 1083 1767 355,106 4 53 1874 680 1081 1761 360,814 4 53 1875 676 1057 1733 366,522 7 73 1876 675 1059 1734 372,230 171 73 1877 673 1054 1727 377,938 223 74 1878 672 1046 1718 383,646 334 77 1879 671 1061 1732 389,354 433 61 1880 670 1060 1730 395,063 454 63 1881 669 1054 1723 400,774 454 55 1882 670 1054 1724 406,482 459 57

~Lifeboats.~--In 1864-65 a small committee, composed of Messrs. H. Fulford, G. Groves, J. Pearce, D. Moran, G. Williams, R. Foreshaw, and G. Lempiere, aided by the Mayor and Dr. Miller, raised about £500 as a contribution from Birmingham to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. Two boats were credited to us in the Society's books, one called "Birmingham" (launched at Soho Pool, November 26, 1864), and the other the "James Pearce." These boats, placed on the Lincolnshire and Norfolk coasts, were instrumental in the saving of some hundreds of lives, but both have, long since, been worn out, and it is about time that Birmingham replaced them. Messrs. C. and W. Barwell, Pickford Street, act as local hon. secs. The "Charles Ingleby" lifeboat, at Hartlepool, was paid for, and the establishment for its maintenance endowed, out of the sum of £1,700, contributed by C.P. Wragge, Esq., in memory of the late Rev. Charles Ingleby.

~Lifford,~ in the parish of King's Norton, once boasted of a Monastic establishment, which was squelched by Bluff King Harry, the only remains now to be found consisting of a few more than half-buried foundations and watercourses.

~Lighting.~--Oil lamps for giving light in the streets were in limited use here in 1733, even before an Act was obtained to enforce payment of a rate therefor. Deritend and Bordesley obtained light by the Act passed in 1791. The Street Commissioners, Nov. 8, 1816, advertised for tenders for lighting the streets with gas, but it was nearly ten years (April 29, 1826) before the lamps were thus supplied. The Lighting Act was adopted at Saltley April 1, 1875. Lighting the streets by electricity _may_ come some day, though, as the Gas Works belong to the town, it will, doubtless, be in the days of our grandchildren.

~Lighting by Electricity.~--After the very successful application of the electric light in the Town Hall on the occasion of the Festival in 1882, it is not surprising that an attempt should be made to give it a more extended trial. A scheme has been drawn out by the Crompton-Winfield Company for this purpose, and it has received the sanction of the Town Council, and been confirmed by the Board of Trade, shopkeepers in the centre of the town may soon have a choice of lights for the display of their wares. The area fixed by the scheme is described by the following boundaries:--Great Charles Street to Congreve Street; Congreve Street to Edmund Street; Edmund Street to Newhall Street; Newhall Street to Colmore Row; Colmore Row to Bull Street; Bull Street, High Street, New Street, Stephenson Place, Paradise Street, and Easy Row. The streets to be supplied with electric mains within two years are as follows:--Great Charles Street (to Congreve Street), Congreve Street, New Street, Stephenson Place, Easy Row, and Paradise Street. The Corporation are to have powers of purchasing the undertaking at the end of sixteen years-- that is, fourteen years after the expiration of the two-years' term allowed for the experimental lighting of the limited area. The order, while fully protecting the rights of the public and of the Corporation, justly recognises the experimental character of the project of electric-lighting from a common centre, and is much more favourable, in many ways, to the promoters than the legislation under which gas undertakings are conducted. Whether this will tend towards reducing the price of gas remains to be seen.

~Lightning Conductors~ were introduced here in 1765.

~Lindon.~--The Minerva, in Peck Lane, was, circa 1835, kept by "Joe Lindon," a host as popular then as our modern "Joe Hillman," up at "The Stores," in Paradise Street.

~Literary Associations.~--The Central Literary Association first met Nov. 28, 1856. The Moseley and Balsall Heath, Oct. 11, 1877.

~Livery Street.~--So called from the Livery stables once there, opposite Brittle street, which is now covered by the Great Western Railway Station.

~Livingstone.~--Dr. Livingstone, the African traveller, delivered an address in the Town Hall, October 23, 1857.

~Loans.~--According to the Registrar-General's late report, there were 380 loan societies in the kingdom, who had among them a capital of £122,160, the members of the said societies numbering 33,520, giving an average lending capital of £3 12s. 10-1/2d. each. That is certainly not a very large sum to invest in the money market, and it is to be hoped that the score or two of local societies can show better funds. What the profits of this business are frequently appear in the reports taken at Police Courts and County Courts, where Mr. Cent.-per-Cent. now and then bashfully acknowledges that he is sometimes satisfied with a profit of 200 per cent. There _are_ respectable offices in Birmingham where loans can be obtained at a fair and reasonable rate, but _Punch's_ advice to those about to marry may well be given in the generality of cases, to anyone thinking of visiting a loan office. Young men starting in business may, under certain conditions, obtain help for that purpose from the "Dudley Trust."--See "_Philanthropical Trusts_."

~Loans, Public.~--England, with its National Debt of £776,000,000, is about the richest country in the world, and if the amount of indebtedness is the sign of prosperity, Birmingham must be tolerably well off. Up to the end of 1882 our little loan account stood thus:--

Borrowd Repaid Owing. Baths .. .. .. .. £62,425 £27,743 £34,682 Cemetery .. .. .. 46,500 19,316 27,184 Closed Burial Gr'nds 10,000 41 9,959 Council House .. .. 135,762 10,208 125,554 Fire Brigade Station 6,000 53 5,947 Free Libraries.. .. 56,050 7,534 48,516 Gaol .. .. .. .. 92,350 79,425 12,925 Industrial School .. 13,710 2,310 11,400 Asylum, Winson Gn... 100,000 97,020 2,980 " Rubery Hill.. 100,012 5,887 94,125 Markt Hall & Markts 186,942 73,463 113,479 Mortuaries.. .. .. 700 103 597 Parks .. .. .. .. 63,210 12,347 50,863 Paving roads .. .. 158,100 30,088 128,012 Paving footways .. 79,950 8,113 71,837 Police Stations .. 25,231 9,839 15,392 Public Office .. .. 23,400 14,285 9,115 Sewers & Sewerage .. 366,235 81,338 284,897 Tramways .. .. .. 65,450 17,125 48,325 Town Hall .. .. .. 69,521 37,885 31,636 Town Improvements .. 348,680 134,156 214,524 ------------------------------ 2,010,227 668,278 1,341,949 Improvem't scheme .. 1,534,731 31,987 1,502,744 Gasworks .. .. .. 2,184,186 142,359 2,041,827 Waterworks.. .. .. 1,814,792 5,086 1,809,706 ----------------------------- Totals.. .. .. .. 7,543,936 847,710 6,696,226

The above large total, however, does not show all that was owing. The United Drainage Board have borrowed £386,806, and as Birmingham pays £24,722 out of the year's expenditure of £33,277 of that Board, rather more than seven-tenths of that debt must be added to the Borough account, say £270,000. The Board of Guardians have, between June, 1869, and January, 1883, borrowed on loan £130,093, and during same period have repaid £14,808, leaving £115,285 due by them, which must also be added to the list of the town's debts.

~Local Acts.~--There have been a sufficient number of specially-local Acts of Parliament passed in connection with this town to fill a law library of considerable size. Statutes, clauses, sections, and orders have followed in rapid succession for the last generation or two. Our forefathers were satisfied and gratified if they got a regal of parliamentary notice of this kind once in a century, but no sooner did the inhabitants find themselves under a "properly-constituted" body of "head men," than the lawyers' game began. First a law must be got to make a street, another to light it, a third to pave it, and then one to keep it clean. It is a narrow street, and an Act must be obtained to widen it; when widened some wiseacre thinks a market should be held in it, and a law is got for that, and for gathering tolls; after a bit, another is required to remove the market, and then the street must be "improved," and somebody receives more pounds per yard than he gave pence for the bit of ground wanted to round off the corners; and so the Birmingham world wagged on until the town became a big town, and could afford to have a big Town Hall when other big towns couldn't, and a covered Market Hall and a Smithfield of good size, while other places dwelt under bare skies. The Act by which the authority of the Street Commissioners and Highway Surveyors was transferred to the Corporation was passed in 1851; the expenses of obtaining it reaching nearly £9,000. It took effect on New Year's Day following, and the Commissioners were no longer "one of the powers that be," but some of the Commissioners' bonds are effective still. Since that date there have been twenty local statutes and orders relating to the borough of Birmingham, from the Birmingham Improvement Act, 1851, to the Provisional Order Confirmation Act, passed in 1882, the twenty containing a thousand or more sections. All this, however, has recently been altered, the powers that are now having (through the Town Clerk, Mr. Orford Smith) rolled all the old Acts into one, eliminating useless and obsolete clauses, and inserting others necessitated by our high state of advanced civilisation. The new Act, which is known as the Birmingham Corporation Consolidation Act, came into force January 1, 1884, and all who desire to master our local governing laws easily and completely had better procure a copy of the book containing it, with notes of all the included statutes, compiled by the Town Clerk, and published by Messrs. Cornish, New Street.

~Local Epitaphs.~--Baskerville, when young, was a stone cutter, and it was known that there was a gravestone in Handsworth churchyard and another in Edgbaston churchyard which were cut by him. The latter was accidentally broken many years back, but was moved and kept as a curiosity until it mysteriously vanished while some repairs were being done at the church. It is believed that Baskerville wrote as well as carved the inscription which commemorated the death of Edward Richards who was an idiot, and died Sept. 21st, 1728, and that it ran thus:--

"If innocents are the fav'rites of heaven,
And God but little asks where little's given,
My great Creator has for me in store
Eternal joys--What wise man can ask more?"

The gravestone at Handsworth was "under the chancel window," sixty years ago, overgrown with moss and weeds, but inscription and stone have long since gone. Baskerville's own epitaph, on the Mausoleum in his grounds at Easy Hill, has often been quoted:--

'Stranger,
Beneath this cone, in unconsecrated ground,
A friend to the liberties of mankind directed his body to be inurned.
May the example contribute to emancipate thy mind
From the idle fears of Superstition,
And the wicked Act of Priesthood!

Almost as historical as the above, is the inscription on the tombstone erected over Mary Ashford, at Sutton Coldfield:--

As a Warning to Female Virtue,
And a humble Monument of Female Chastity,
This Stone marks the Grave
of
MARY ASHFORD,
Who, in the 20th year of her age,
Having incautiously repaired
To a scene of amusement
Without proper protection,
Was brutally violated and murdered,
On the 27th May, 1817.

Lovely and chaste as is the primrose pale,
Rifled of virgin sweetness by the gale,
Mary! The wretch who thee remorseless slew,
Will surely God's avenging wrath pursue.

For, though the deed of blood be veiled in night,
"Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?"
Fair, blighted flower! The muse, that weeps thy doom,
Rears o'er thy sleeping dust this warning tomb!

The following quaint inscription appears on the tombstone erected in memory of John Dowler, the blacksmith, in Aston churchyard:--

Sacred to the Memory of
JOHN DOWLER,
Late of Castle Bromwich, who
Departed this life December 6th, 1787,
Aged 42,
Also two of his Sons, JAMES and CHARLES,
Who died infants.

My sledge and hammer lie reclined,
My bellows, too, have lost their wind
My fire's extinct, my forge decayed,
And in the dust my vice is laid;
My coal is spent, my iron gone,
My nails are drove, my work is done.

The latter part of the above, like the next four, has appeared in many parts of the country, as well as in the local burial grounds, from which they have been copied:--

From St. Bartholomew's:

"The bitter cup that death gave me
Is passing round to come to thee."

From General Cemetery:

"Life is a city full of crooked streets,
Death is the market-place where all men meets;
If life were merchandise which men could buy,
The rich would only live, the poor would die."

From Witton Cemetery:

"O earth, O earth! observe this well--
That earth to earth shall come to dwell;
Then earth in earth shall close remain,
Till earth from earth shall rise again."

From St. Philip's:

"Oh, cruel death, how could you be so unkind
To take him before, and leave me behind?
You should have taken both of us, if either,
Which would have been more pleasing to the survivor."

The next, upon an infant, is superior to the general run of this class of inscription. It was copied from a slab intended to be placed in Old Edgbaston Churchyard:

"Beneath this stone, in sweet repose,
Is laid a mother's dearest pride;
A flower that scarce had waked to life,
And light and beauty, ere it died.
God and His wisdom has recalled
The precious boon His love has given;
And though the casket moulders here,
The gem is sparkling now in heaven."

Ramblers may find many quaint epitaphs in neighbouring village churchyards. In Shustoke churchyard, or rather on a tablet placed against the wall of the church over the tomb of a person named Hautbach, the date on which is 1712, there is an inscription, remarkable not only for lines almost identical with those over Shakespeare's grave, but for combining several other favourite specimens of graveological literature, as here bracketed:

"When Death shall cut the thread of life,
Both of Mee and my living Wife,
When please God our change shall bee,
There is a Tomb for Mee and Shee,
Wee freely shall resign up all
To Him who gave, and us doth call.

{Sleep here wee must, both in the Dust,
{Till the Resurrection of the Just.

{Good friend, within these Railes forbear
{To dig the dust enclosed here.
{Blest bee the man who spares these stones
{And Curst be he that moves our bones.

{Whilst living here, learn how to die;
{This benefit thoul't reap thereby:
{Neither the life or death will bee
{Grievous or sad, but joy to thee.

{Watch thoue, and pray; thy time well spend;
{Unknown is the hour of thy end.

{As thou art, so once were wee,
{As wee are, so must thou bee,
Dumspiramus Speramus."

It is a collection of epitaphs in itself, even to the last line, which is to be found in Durham Cathedral on a "brass" before the altar.

~Local Landowners.~--It is somewhat a difficult matter to tell how much of the ground on which the town is built belongs to any one particular person, even with the assistance of the "Returns" obtained by John Bright of "the owner" of land so called, possessing estimated yearly rentals of £1,000 and upwards. That these "Returns" may be useful to biassed politicians is likely enough, as Lord Calthorpe is put down as owner of 2,073 acres at an estimated rental of £113,707, while Mr. Muntz appears as owning 2,486 acres at an estimated rental of £3,948. His lordship's £113,707 "estimated" rental must be considerably reduced when the leaseholders have taken their share and left him only the ground rents. The other large ground landlords are the Trustees of the Grammar School, the Trustees of the Colmore, Gooch, Vyse, Inge, Digby, Gillot, Robins, and Mason estates, &c., Earl Howe, Lench's Trust, the Blue Coat School, &c. The Corporation of Birmingham is returned as owning 257 acres, in addition to 134 had from the Waterworks Co., but that does not include the additions made under the Improvement Scheme, &c. The manner in which the estates of the old Lords of the Manor, of the Guild of Holy Cross, and the possessions of the ancient Priory, have been divided and portioned out by descent, marriage, forfeiture, plunder, and purchase is interesting matter of history, but rather of a private than public nature.

~Local Notes and Queries.~--The gathering of odd scraps of past local history, notes of men and manners of a bygone time, and the stray (and sometimes strange) bits of folklore garnered alone in the recollections of greybeards, has been an interesting occupation for more than one during the past score or two of years. The first series of "Local Notes and Queries" in our newspapers appeared in the _Gazette_, commencing in Feb., 1856, and was continued till Sept., 1860. There was a somewhat similar but short series running in the columns of the _Journal_ from August, 1861, to May, 1862. The _Daily Post_ took it up in Jan., 1863, and devoted a column per week to "Notes" up to March, 1865, resuming at intervals from 1867 to 1872. The series now (1884) appearing in the _Weekly Post_ was commenced on the first Saturday (Jan. 6) in 1877.

~Local Taxation.~--See "_Municipal Expenditure_."

~Locks.~--The making of locks must have been one of the earliest of our local trades, as we read of one at Throckmorton of very quaint design, but rare workmanship, with the name thereon of "Johannes Wilkes, Birmingham," towards the end of the 17th century. In 1824 there were 186 locksmiths named in the Directory.

~Lodger Franchise.~--Considering the vast amount of interest taken in all matters connected with local Parliamentary representation, and the periodical battles of bile and banter earned on in the Revision Courts over the lists of voters, it is somewhat curious to note how little advantage has been taken of the clause in the last Reform Bill which gives the right of voting to lodgers. The qualification required is simply the exclusive occupation of lodgings which, if let unfurnished, are of the clear yearly value of £10; and there must be many hundreds of gentlemen in the borough residing in apartments who would come under this head. Out of a total of 63,221 electors in 1883 there were only 72 who had claimed their right to vote. In many other boroughs the same discrepancy exists, though here and there the political wire-pullers have evidently seen how to use the lodger franchise to much better effect, as in the case of Worcester for instance, where there are 59 lodger voters out of a total of 6,362.--See "_Parliamentary Elections_."

~London 'Prentice Street,~ was called Western Street or Westley's Row on the old maps, its continuation, the Coach Yard, being then Pemberton's Yard. How the name of London 'Prentice Street came to be given to the delectable thoroughfare is one of "those things no fellow can understand." At one time there was a schoolroom there, the boys being taught good manners upstairs, while they could learn lessons of depravity below. With the anxious desire of putting the best face on everything that characterises the present local "fathers of the people," the London 'Prentice has been sent to the right-about, and the nasty dirty stinking thoroughfare is now called "Dalton Street."

~Loveday Street,~ from Loveday Croft, a field given in Good Queen Bess's reign, by John Cooper, as a trysting-place for the Brummagem lads and lasses when on wooing bent.

~Low Rents.~--A return of unassessed houses in the parish of Birmingham, taken October 19, 1790, showed 2,000 at a rental under £5, 2,000 others under £6, 3,000 under £7, 2,000 under £8, 500 under £9, and 500 under £10.

~Lozells.~--In the lease of a farm of 138 acres, sold by auction, June 24, 1793, it was written "Lowcells." Possibly the name is derived from the Saxon "lowe" (hill) and "cele" (cold or chill) making it "the cold hill."

~Lunacy.~--Whether it arises from political heat, religious ecstacies, intemperance, or the cares and worry of the universal hunt for wealth, it is certainly a painful fact to chronicle that in proportion to population insanity is far more prevalent now than it was fifty years ago, and Birmingham has no more share in such excess than other parts of the kingdom. Possibly, the figures show more prominently from the action of the wise rules that enforce the gathering of the insane into public institutions, instead of leaving the unfortunates to the care (or carelessness) of their relatives as in past days, when the wards of the poor-houses were the only receptacles for those who had no relatives to shelter them. The erection of the Borough Asylum, at Winson Green, was commenced in 1846, and it was finished in 1851. The house and grounds covered an area of about twenty acres, the building being arranged to accommodate 330 patients. Great as this number appeared to be, not many years passed before the necessity of enlargement was perceived, and, ultimately, it became evident the Winson Green establishment must either be doubled in size or that a second Asylum must be erected on another site. An estate of 150 acres on the south-eastern slopes of Rubery Hill, on the right-hand side of the turnpike road from here to Bromsgrove, was purchased by the Corporation, and a new Asylum, which will accommodate 616 patients, has there been erected. For the house and its immediate grounds, 70 acres have been apportioned, the remainder being kept for the purposes of a farm, where those of the inmates fit for work can be employed, and where the sewage from the asylum will be utilised. The cost of the land was £6,576 8s. 5d., and that of the buildings, the furnishing, and the laying out of the grounds, £133,495 5s. 8d. The report of the Lunatic Asylums Committee for 1882 stated that the number of patients, including those boarded under contract at other asylums, on the first of Jan., 1882, was 839. There were admitted to Winson Green and Rubery Hill during the year 349. There were discharged during the year 94, and there died 124, leaving, on the 31st Dec., 970. The whole of the 970 were then at the borough asylums, and were chargeable as follows:--To Birmingham parish, 644; to Birmingham borough, 8; to Aston Union, in the borough, 168; to King's Norton, 16; to other unions under contract, 98; the remaining 36 patients not being paupers. The income of the asylums for the year was--from Birmingham patients £20,748 1s. 9.; from pauper patients under contract, and from patients not paupers, £2,989 9s. 5d.; from goods sold, £680 1s. 5d.; total, £24,417 12s. 7d. The expenditure on maintenance account was £21,964 4s., and on building capital account £2,966 7s. 7d.--total, £24,915 11s. 7d.; showing a balance against the asylums of £497 19s. The nett average weekly cost for the year was 9s. 6-1/2d. per head. Mr. E.B. Whitcombe, medical superintendent at Winson Green, says that among the causes of insanity in those admitted it is satisfactory to note a large decrease in the number from intemperance, the percentage for the year being 7.7, as compared with 18 and 21 per cent. in 1881 and 1880 respectively. The proportion of recoveries to admissions was in the males 27.7, in the females 36, and in the total 32.3 percent. This is below the average, and is due to a large number of chronic and unfavourable cases admitted. At Rubery Hill Asylum, Dr. Lyle reports that out of the first 450 admissions there were six patients discharged as recovered.--The Midland Counties' Idiot Asylum, at Knowle, opened in 1867, also finds shelter for some of Birmingham's unfortunate children. The Asylum provides a home for about 50, but it is in contemplation to considerably enlarge it. At the end of 1882 there were 28 males and 21 females, 47 being the average number of inmates during the year, the cost per head being £41 13s. 6d. Of the limited number of inmates in the institution no fewer than thirteen came from Birmingham, and altogether as many as thirty-five candidates had been elected from Birmingham. The income from all sources, exclusive of contributions to the building fund, amounted to £2,033 3s. 8d., and the total expenditure (including £193 3s. 4d. written off for depreciation of buildings) to £1,763 15s. 7d., leaving a balance in hand of £269 8s. 1d. The fund which is being raised for the enlargement of the institution then amounted to £605 15s., the sum required being £5,000. The society's capital was then £10,850 12s. 8d. of which £7,358 12s. 5d. had been laid out in lands and buildings. Mr. Tait, the medical officer, was of opinion that one-fourth of the children were capable of becoming productive workers under kindly direction and supervision, the progress made by some of the boys in basket-making being very marked.

~Lunar Society.~--So called from the meetings being held at the full of the moon that the members might have light nights to drive home, but from which they were nicknamed "the lunatics." Originally commenced about 1765, it included among its members Baskerville, Boulton, Watt, Priestley, Thomas Day, Samuel Galton, R.L. Edgeworth, Dr. Withering, Dr. Small, Dr. Darwin, Wedgwood, Keir, and indeed almost every man of intellectual note of the time. It died down as death took the leaders, but it may be said to have left traces in many learned societies of later date.

~Luncheon Bars.~--The honour of introducing the modern style of luncheon bar must be awarded to the landlord of the Acorn, in Temple Street, who, having seen something of the kind in one of the Channel Islands, imported the notion to Birmingham. The lumber rooms and stables at back of his house were cleared and fitted up as smoke rooms, and bread and cheese, and beer, &c., dealt out over the counter. Here it was that Mr. Hillman took his degree as popular waiter, and from the Acorn also he took a wife to help him start "The Stores," in Paradise Street. Mr. Thomas Hanson was not long behind Hillman before he opened up "The Corner Stores," in Union Passage, following that with the "St. James" in New Street, and several others in various parts of the town. The "Bars" are now an "institution" that has become absolutely indispensable, even for the class who prefer the semi-privacy of the "Restaurants," as the proprietors of the more select Bars like to call their establishments.