to receive the fame t, for the purpose of being lodged in one general national repofitory in the metropolis; there to be preferved for the use of the public at all future times.

To prevent evasion, let the printer who shall neglect to lodge a copy of any paper printed by him, within the space of days after it is finished, be fubjected to the following penalties, viz. one guinea for every copy of any fuch printed paper, confifting of one sheet or under, (were it only a fingle fentence, and whether of a public or private nature); and if the performance confifts of more than one fheet, the penalty fhall be one guinea for each copy of every fheet fo printed. In cafe the printer cannot be difcovered, the publisher, or vender, or diftributer, or poffeffor of fuch paper, in any way, fhall be liable in payment of the penalty, with recourfe upon the printer if he can discover him.‡

The printer, on delivering this copy, fhall, for his own fecurity, be entitled to demand a receipt for it; Ipecifying the title of the paper, or otherwife fo defcribing it, as to identify it fufficiently. He may alfo, if he inclines, be intitled to see the fame entered into a register to be kept by the receiver, who shall be liable to the fame penalties, if he neglects to enter it in his regifter, as the printer would have been, if he had neglected to deliver them.

The books or papers, when thus obtained, to be tranfmitted to London, from every part of Britain, by fome fafe land-conveyance, at fuch stated times, and in fuch manner, as thofe to whom this department fhall be affigned, fhall be pleased to order: And from places beyond fea, they fhall be fent by the king's packet boats.

The collectors of the flamp-duties, which we fuppose.

Perhaps it would be proper, alfo to require, that every printed paper fhould bear the name of the printer, under a penalty of for every sheet, &c.

N. B. It is fubmitted, whether it would not be neceffary in all cafes, efpecially beyond feas, to order two copies at leaft, in place of one-thefe two copies to be fent by separate conveyance, to prevent its being wholly loft in cafe of accident. The fupernumerary copy of fuch works as were published, as come fafe to hand, might be fold for defraying the expences of the inftitution; but no unpublished paper, to be thus fold on any account: Or the fecond copy may be fent to Edinburgh, to be kept in a national repofitory there! If any copy be loft in the fending, the deficiency to fall on the Edinburgh repofitory.

Thefe papers, as they arrive at the proper office, fhall be regularly arranged into volumes; the detached papers to be bound up with others of a fimilar kind, and of the fame fize and form. All the volumes of the fame fize, &c. to be arranged in regular order, on Thelfs of a proper form, each clafs to be regularly numbered from the beginning, in chronological order. The feparate title of fuch books as have titles, to be marked on the back of each. In the beginning of each volume of detached papers, fhall be put a written table of contents, referring to pages to be alfo written, fo as to admit of being readily confulted. Other contrivances for diftinctnefs of reference, that are ommitted here as unneceffary, might be mentioned.'

All books, pamphlets and published papers, fhall be regulary entered into a catalogue duly arranged, (the particulars of which need not be here fpecified), which catalogue fhould be publifhed at regular periods, and fold for the benefit of the public at large. In this catalogue fhould be marked the price, &c. of each feparate publication.

The repofitory, when thus eftablished, to be put un der the care of fome reputable perfon duly qualified, with a reasonable number of affiftants, who fhall receive fuitable falaries for their trouble; thefe falaries, and all other neceffary expences, to be paid by the public, out of funds fubject to the controul of parliament.

This repofitory, when thus established, to be open each lawful day for a specified number of hours, during which time, every perfon in a decent drefs, and unfufpicious appearance, (otherwife bringing a written recommendation, from fome known perfon of a reputable character), fhall have accefs to the common hall, which thall at these times be kept properly heated, having also benches, and convenient reading desks, where fuch perfons may confult the catalogues; and, on calling for any volume in that catalogue, shall have it brought to him, and fhall be permitted, in the prefence of the librarians, to read on it, if he fhall fo incline, or to make extracts from it, while the doors continue open. Perhaps it might be found neceffary to lay fome greater restrictions on reading than is mentioned here, to prevent books from being too much ufed.Perhaps no books fhould be lent for reading to any perfon, but in confequence of an order from fome particular person, which should never, however, be refused, on a proper application, with reasons afligned for the demand. But no book, or paper of any fort, shall be allowed to be carried out of the repofitory, on any account whatever; nor hall it be lawful for any perfon belonging to the repofitory, to accept of fees or gratuities of any fort, under any pretext.

By this means would be obtained in time, without any expence to the nation, or hardship to individuals, a more complete collection of materials for hiftory, and other difquifitions concerning civil fociety, than ever yet was formed by any nation in the universe.Here the philofopher, who wifhed to contemplate the progrefs of the human mind, would find a fund of authentic materials, greater than has hitherto been attainable, by the highest stretch of human industry. He could with eafe tranfport himself back to any period he chose, and could diftinctly fee what were the ob jects that engaged the attention of men at that period; VOL. I.

R.

what was their attainments in fcience, in arts, commerce, manufactures, manners. He could fee in what manner they wrote, and thought, and reasoned. By going forward, he could diftinctly trace the various changes in opinion, fashion, knowledge. One period might be compared with another, and in the fpace of a few weeks, might be perceived the fucceffive changes that had taken place in the course of ages. Facts allo which are now loft, by the dispersion and destruction of those fugitive pieces in which they occur, would here be preferved, for the fervice of thofe that could make ufe of them, without trouble or expence, and knowledge be thus diffufed with a degree of certainty, that never otherwife could be obtained.

To enumerate all the advantages that would result from this inftitution, would fill a volume, and to trace them out distinctly, would require a compafs of mind that few poffefs. I cannot therefore attempt it. One particular, however, ought not to be here paffed over, as it serves to remove an objection, that will probably be urged, respecting the accumulation here of many private trifling papers, hand-bills, advertisements, &c. which many perfons will think ought to be excluded, as mere useless lumber. But by these papers, ufelefs indeed, and in other refpects trifling, dates might be often afcertained with a degree of precifion, that could in no other way have been done. A fugitive advertisement, a burial letter, or fuch trifling publication, from their incidental connection with collateral events, would ferve to authenticate facts, which could be often afcertained by no other way, and by this means many a worthy family might be faved from being ruined by expenfive litigations, or might be freed from the gripe of artful villainy. On this account, therefore, and becaufe these fugitive trifles ferve effectually to mark the progrefs and prefent ftate of manners, arts, and refinement, it would be highly improper to exclude them. But were they even altogether-ufelefe, it would

ftill be right to make no exceptions, because a door might be thus opened to abufes, the nature and extent of which no one can at prefent divine.

No exceptions, therefore, fhould be made to any clafs of papers; but the catalogue of these private papers might very properly be kept by itself, and needed not be published, as no one would think of looking into them but those who wanted to fettle difputed points in law, or to investigate the state of manners at the time.

It would be very proper, however, to exclude from this collection all foreign publications whatever, and to make it really and truly a national repofitory, and nothing else. Were fuch an inftitution once fairly eftablished in Britain, it is not to be doubted but all European nations would quickly follow the example. Thus would the philofopher of an enlarged mind be enabled to compare at pleasure, not only one nation with itself, at different periods, as to mental endowments and other acquirements, but one nation alfo with another, at the fame or any other period of time. He would thus have provided for him every thing that was neceffary, to enable him to take a general furvey of the world, phyfical, moral or intellectual, at any period he chofe, fo as to illuftrate the object he had in view at the time, with the most accurate precision.

N. B. It may be proper to inform the reader, that the firft hint for this propofal was fuggefted by a circumftance which fhewed at once its practicability and utility. A gentleman, who lives in a town where only two or three printing-houses are established, has, by his private influence with the printers, obtained a copy of every paper that has iffued from their prefs for more than thirty years paft, which he has now in his poffeffion, and which forms a curious collection of provincial hiftory, from which he, as a lawyer, derives much advantage.