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<DATE>2014-04-21</DATE>
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<NAME>TCP Staff (Michigan)</NAME>
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<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed as part of batch B140224.pdcc.</ITEM>
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<IDG S="marc" R="UM" ID="B17659">
<STC T="W">B1943</STC>
<BIBNO T="umi">99832011</BIBNO>
<VID>198845</VID>
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<DIV1 TYPE="proposal">
<PB N="1" REF="1" MS="y">
<HEAD>A Propo&s;al for building A Royal LIBRARY, And e&s;tabli&s;hing it by <HI>Act of Parliament.</HI></HEAD>
<P>THE Royal Library now at St. <HI>James</HI>'s, de&s;igned and founded for publick u&s;e, was in the time of King <HI>James</HI> I. in a flouri&s;hing con|dition, well &s;tored with all &s;orts of good Books of That and the preceding Age, from the beginning of Printing.</P>
<P>But in the &s;ucceeding Reigns it has gradually gone to Decay, to the great di&s;honour of the Crown and the whole Nation. The Room is mi&s;erably out of Repair; and &s;o little, that it will not contain the Books that belong to it. A Collection of ancient Medals, once the be&s;t in <HI>Europe,</HI> is embez|zled and quite lo&s;t. There has been no &s;upply of Books from abroad for the &s;pace of Sixty years la&s;t: nor any allowance for Binding; &s;o that many valuable Manu&s;cripts are &s;poil'd for want of Covers: and above a Thou&s;and Books printed in <HI>England,</HI> and brought in Quires to the Library, as due by the Act for Printing, are all unbound and u&s;ele&s;s.</P>
<P>It is therefore humbly propo&s;ed, as a thing that will highly conduce to the Publick Good, the Glory of His Maje&s;ty's Reign, and the Honour of the Parliament;</P>
<P N="1">I. That His Maje&s;ty be graciou&s;ly plea&s;ed to a&s;&s;ign a Corner of St. <HI>James</HI>'s Park, on the South &s;ide, near the Garden of the late Sir <HI>John Cutler,</HI> for the building of a new Library, and in the Neighbourhood of it a competent Dwelling for the Library-Keeper.</P>
<P N="2">II. This Situation will have all the advantages that can be wi&s;hed. 'Tis an elevated Soil, and a dry &s;andy Ground; the Air clear, and the Light free; the Building, not contiguous to any Hou&s;es, will be &s;afer from Fire; a Coach-way will be made to it out of <HI>Tuttle-&s;treet, We&s;tmin&s;ter;</HI> the Front of it will be parallel to the Park-Walk; and the Park will receive no Injury, but a great Ornament by it.</P>
<P N="3">III. That the &s;aid Library be built, and a perpetual yearly Revenue for the Purcha&s;e of Books &s;etled on it by Act of Parliament: Which Revenue may be under the Direction and Di&s;po&s;al of Curators, who are from time to time to make report to His Maje&s;ty of the State and Condition of the Li|brary. The Curators to be ............... ......................</P>
<P N="4">IV. The choice of a proper Fund, whence the &s;aid Revenue may be rai&s;ed, is left to the Wi&s;dom of the Parliament. In the mean time, This following is humbly offer'd to Con&s;ideration.</P>
<P N="5">V. That, as &s;oon as the pre&s;ent Tax of 40 <HI>per Cent.</HI> upon Foreign Paper, and 20 <HI>per Cent.</HI> upon <HI>Engli&s;h,</HI> &s;hall either expire or be taken off; there be
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<PB REF="2">
<GAP DESC="duplicate" EXTENT="1 page">
<PB N="2" REF="3">laid a very &s;mall Tax of .... <HI>per Cent.</HI> (as it &s;hall be judged &s;uffici|ent for the u&s;es of &s;uch a Library) upon Imported Paper only, leaving our own Manufacture free. Which Tax may be collected by His Maje&s;ty's Officers of the Cu&s;toms, and paid to &s;uch Per&s;on or Per&s;ons, as &s;hall be ap|pointed by the Curators.</P>
<P N="6">VI. This being &s;o ea&s;ie a Tax, and a Burthen &s;carce to be felt, can create no Damp upon the Stationer's Trade. And what&s;oever &s;hall be paid by them upon this foot, being to be laid out in the purcha&s;e of Books, will re|turn among them again. So that 'tis but giving with one hand, what they will receive with the other.</P>
<P N="7">VII. And whereas our Own White-Paper Manufacture, that was growing up &s;o hopefully, and de&s;erves the greate&s;t Encouragement, being all clear gains to the Kingdom, is now almo&s;t quite &s;unk under the weight of the pre&s;ent Tax; this new one upon Imported Paper, with an Exemption of our Own, will &s;et Ours upon the higher Ground, and give it a new Life. For what&s;oever is taken from the one, is as good as given to the other. So that even without regard to this de&s;ign of a Library, the Tax will be a pub|lick Benefit.</P>
<P N="8">VIII. A Library erected upon this certain and perpetual Fund, may be &s;o contriv'd for Capaciou&s;ne&s;s and Convenience, that every one that comes there, may have 200,000 Volumes, ready for his u&s;e and &s;ervice. And Societies may be formed, that &s;hall meet, and have Conferences there about matters of Learning. The <HI>Royal Society</HI> is a noble In&s;tance in one Branch of Knowledge; what Advantage and Glory may accrue to the Nation, by &s;uch A&s;&s;emblies not confined to one Subject, but free to all parts of good Learning.</P>
<P N="9">IX. The Wall that &s;hall encompa&s;s the Library, may be ca&s;ed on the in|&s;ide with Marbles of ancient In&s;criptions, Ba&s;&s;o Relievo's, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> either found in our own Kingdom, or ea&s;ily and cheaply to be had from the <HI>African</HI> Coa&s;t, and <HI>Greece,</HI> and <HI>A&s;ia</HI> the Le&s;s. Tho&s;e few Antiquities procured from the <HI>Greek</HI> I&s;lands by the Lord <HI>Arundel,</HI> and &s;ince publi&s;hed both at home and abroad, are an evidence what great advancement of Learning, and honour to the Na|tion may be acquired by this means.</P>
<P N="10">X. Upon this Parliamentary Fund, the Curators, if occa&s;ion be, may take up Money at Intere&s;t, &s;o as to lay out two or three years Revenues to buy whole Libraries at once: As at this very time, the incomparable Col|lections of <HI>Thuanus</HI> in <HI>France,</HI> and <HI>Marquardus Gudius</HI> in <HI>Germany,</HI> might be purchas'd at a very low Value.</P>
<P N="11">XI. And &s;ince the Writings of the <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> Nation have at pre&s;ent that great Reputation abroad, that many Per&s;ons of all Countries learn our Language, and &s;everal travel hither for the advantage of Conver&s;ation: 'Tis ea&s;ie to fore&s;ee, how much this Glory will be advanced, by erecting a free Library of all &s;orts of Books, where every Foreigner will have &s;uch convenience of &s;tudying.</P>
<P N="12">XII. 'Tis our Publick Intere&s;t and Profit, to have the Gentry of Foreign Nations acquainted with <HI>England,</HI> and have part of their Education here. And more Money will be annually imported and &s;pent here by &s;uch Students from abroad, than the whole Charge and Revenue of this Library will amount to.</P>
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