MASTER 
 NEGA TIVE 
 
 NO. 93-81441 
 
MICROFILMED 1993 
 COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES/NEW YORK 
 
 as part of the 
 "Foundations of Western Civilization Preservation Project" 
 
 Funded by the 
 NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES 
 
 Reproductions may not be made without permission from 
 
 Columbia University Library 
 
COPYRIGHT STATEMENT 
 
 The copyright law of the United States - Title 17, United 
 States Code - concerns the making of photocopies or 
 other reproductions of copyrighted material. 
 
 Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and 
 archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other 
 reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the 
 photocopy or other reproduction is not to be "used for any 
 purpose other than private study, scholarship, or 
 research.'* if a user makes a request for, or later uses, a 
 photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair 
 use," that user may be liable for copyright infringement. 
 
 This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a 
 copy order if, in its judgement, fulfillment of the order 
 would involve violation of the copyright law. 
 
A UTHOR: 
 
 WATSON, ROBERT 
 SPENCE 
 
 TITLE: 
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE 
 LITERARY AND... 
 
 PLACE: 
 
 LONDON 
 
 DATE: 
 
 1897 
 
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES 
 PRESERVATION DEPARTMENT 
 
 DIBLIOGRAPHIC MTrRQFORM TARHFT 
 
 Master Negative it 
 
 Original Material as Filmed - Existing Bibliographic Record 
 
 oeai 
 
 B 
 
 V/atBon, Robert Spence 1837- 1911. 
 
 The history of the literary and philosophical 
 society of Newoastle-upon-Tjme (1793-1B96) 
 London, Soott 1397 Sq 12 + 334 + 4 p por 
 pi 1 tab 
 
 Ho 7n oC 5^^ copies print r<-l 
 
 Restrictions on Use: 
 
 >'!*>(.)•> 
 
 ( " 
 
 TECHNICAL MICROPORM DATA 
 
 FILM SIZE: 3.5,h^yD^^__ REDUCTION RATIO- //^ 
 
 IMAGE PLACEMENT: lA,<hA) IB IIB i^'^iiu. _^y_^_ 
 
 DATE FILMED: 2llT^_ INITIALS ^f 
 
 FILMED BY: RESEARCH PUI3LICATIONS. INC WOODDRIDGe7cT 
 
c 
 
 Association for information and Image Management 
 
 1100 Wayne Avenue, Suite 1100^ 
 Silver Spring. Maryland 20910 " 
 
 301/587-8202 
 
 Centimeter 
 
 mi 
 
 
 iiiiliii 
 
 Inches 
 
 ? 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 n 12 13 14 1 
 
 ''['h'l'|i'l''|i|'!'iiMii|iH^ 
 
 mm 
 
 1 
 
 2 3 
 
 1.0 
 
 1.25 
 
 IB.0 
 
 I.I I 
 
 13.6 
 14.0 
 
 ■uuu 
 
 1.4 
 
 4 
 
 " IIIIIM IIIIM 
 
 S.6 mil 3.2 
 
 2.2 
 
 2.0 
 
 1.8 
 
 1.6 
 
 MfiNUFflCTURED TO fillM STflNDfiRDS 
 BY PIPPLIED IMFIGE, INC. 
 
''^if^^.:-^ :jfi.i ji>%>^j*«% <^^^^#k ^-i'^fii 
 
 _>.-<At...-;: 
 
 
 ,il. ■■*'■ 
 
 
 ■^•V;.^.. 
 
 ^^:'-i';iv-;ft:'-.^'^ 
 
 MWWISTBMT 
 
 0F Mite 
 
 r^l -.V, 
 
 _';>V 5-'.;4 -...*> 
 
 -•:v-- 
 
 ,JMNi«^HJ<<>^'Hiiit4klw^NMH^ 
 
 5?*4as<*i..>jflf ^- y^ikmMc^^tii^..^^^ *«^^^<^5iwaNi*iH*4&wl 
 
EDITION LIMITED TO 500 NUMBERED COPIES. 
 
 No. Xci 
 
 06 2. (H 
 
 B 
 
 in th^ ffiita J0f $l^w ^arH 
 
 l^ibrarg 
 
 
<H 
 
 <? 
 
 The History of the Literary and Philosophical Society, 
 
 Newcastle-upon-Tyne 
 
 / 
 
 r> 
 
^Pfl 
 
 IBP 
 
 wmm 
 
 ipv I > ^ ■ ^ 
 
 i 
 
 ^ 
 
LORD ARMSTRONG, CU., F.R.S. 
 
 THE HISTORY 
 
 OF 
 
 The Literary and Philosophical 
 
 Society 
 
 OF NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE 
 
 (1793— 1896) 
 
 By ROBERT SPENCE WATSON 
 
 WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 LONDON: WALTER SCOTT, LIMITED 
 
 i'ATERNOSTER SQUARE 
 1 897. 
 
LORD ARMSTRONC, CI!., F.R.S. 
 
 THE HISTORY 
 
 OF 
 
 The Literary and Philosoph"^^' 
 
 Society 
 
 OF NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE 
 
 (1793— 1896) 
 
 By ROBERT SPENCE WATSON 
 
 WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 LONDON: WALTER SCOTT, LIMITED 
 
 PATERNOSTER SQUARE 
 1897. 
 
f 
 
 ''I - i- ^ J- 6 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 •—^ 
 
 A BOOK which must perforce be written in the irregular 
 and infrequent leisure of a busy professional life, is 
 sure to be fruitful in faults. That the curious reader 
 will find more than enough in this book I doubt not, but I pray 
 him to set down some of the frequent repetitions, for example, 
 to the abiding sense of the writer that most persons will but dip 
 into such a work, perusing carefully, at the most, such chapters 
 only as may directly appeal to their special interest 
 
 For other faults the reader may find some excuse in the love 
 which I bear for a Society of which I have been a member for 
 forty-three years, during thirty-three of which I have had the 
 honour and privilege of serving it. That its story ought to be 
 told has long been present to my mind, and the attachment of 
 the narrator may perchance be permitted somewhat to condone 
 the imperfections of his narration. 
 
 I have to acknowledge, with much gratitude, the ready 
 
 response which the many friends to whom I have applied for 
 
 A* 
 
VI 
 
 PREFACE, 
 
 information have made to my requests. Especially must I 
 thank the bodies of management of public and private institu- 
 tions, and the ladies and gentlemen, who have enabled me to 
 enrich my little volume with illustrations, many of which are 
 portraits of those who have made our Society famous. I have 
 avoided, as much as may be, speaking of the eminent men who 
 are still with us, and who hand on to the future the fine 
 traditions of the past. In only one case have I inserted the 
 likeness of a living person, but that case is so exceptional that 
 every one will agree in the propriety of my action. Lord 
 Armstrong's services to the Society have been unvarying and 
 invaluable over a period of half-a-century. 
 
 ROBERT SPENCE WATSON. 
 
 Bensham Grove, 
 
 December loM, 1896. 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 -M- 
 
 CHAP. 
 
 I. Newcastle a Century Ago 
 II. Our Predecessors 
 
 III. The Birth and Infancy of the Society 
 
 IV. The Building of the House . 
 V. The Society at Home . 
 
 VI. Its Growth and its Changes 
 
 VII. Monthly Meetings 
 
 VIII. The Library .... 
 
 IX. Lectures .... 
 
 X. Lectures — continued . 
 
 XL The part which the Society has played in the 
 
 promotion of Education in the City of New 
 
 CASTLE • • • * • 
 
 XII. The Mother of many Societies 
 XIII. The Centenary, and after . 
 
 Appendix A — Paper by Mr. William Thomas 
 „ B — Lectures and Lecturers i 
 „ C — Honorary Officials . 
 Index . . . . 
 
 PAGB 
 I 
 
 12 
 
 33 
 
 65 
 88 
 
 "5 
 134 
 
 173 
 202 
 
 226 
 
 260 
 292 
 320 
 
 331 
 339 
 367 
 
 371 
 
 ! 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 -••^ 
 
 PACK 
 
 LORD ARMSTRONG, C.B., F.R.S. . . . FrontispUu 
 
 By W. B. Richmond, R.A. ; in the possession of Lord Armstrong. 
 
 VIEW OF NEWCASTLE FROM GATESHEAD DURING SEVERE 
 
 FROST IN MARCH 1 784 . . . • . 4 
 
 From a drawing in the possession of the Author. On the back of 
 this drawing is written : '* This view of part of the town of New- 
 castle, and representing the Tyne frozen over, is unique. The 
 artist's name is not given, but the date, 1784, marks the time of 
 its execution. In that year there was a severe storm of frost and 
 snow, when the T3nie was three times frozen over in one month, 
 a circumstance not before remembered by the oldest person living. 
 The Castle appears in its original state. Tyne Bridge (with its 
 oil lamps) had been completed some three years. The venerable 
 Chapel of St. Thomas, with the old Exchange, and the famous 
 crow's nest on the pinnacle of its spire, is introduced for the first 
 time in this drawing, sketched from nature. A pair of crows first 
 began to build their nest upon the top of the vane in March 1783. 
 During the severe winter of the following year the crows had a 
 very comfortable home ; here they resided for some years, hatching 
 and rearing their young, but not Mdthout a very determined re- 
 sistance from some other crows, who appeared envious of their 
 curious and novel structure. All on a sudden the birds left, 
 without any apparent cause, and never returned to it again. 
 * Coming events' had *cast their shadows before.' Not long 
 after their departure the Exchange took fire. Had they re- 
 mained, not only their skilfiilly-built nest, but its feathered inmates 
 would have been destroyed." — R. Robinson, Bewick's Head — 
 November 1874." 
 
 By using a powerful magnifier I find the artist's name and the 
 date— "R. O. Clark— March 1784." 
 
X LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 GROUP OF MERCHANTS ON 'CHANGE (c, 1826) . 
 
 From a drawing belonging to the Literary and Philosophical 
 Society, and by Joseph CrawhalL 
 
 THE VICARAGE, WESTGATE STREET (1856) 
 
 From a drawing in the possession of the Author. 
 
 THE FORTH (1840) ....•• 
 
 From a drawing in the possession of the Author. 
 
 JOHN GEORGE LAMBTON, M.P., AFTERWARDS THE FIRST EARL 
 OF DURHAM ...••• 
 
 From a copy of Sir Thomas Lawrence's (P.R. A.) portrait, by R. 
 R. Reinagle, R.A., belonging to the Newcastle Liberal Club. 
 
 SIR J. E. SWINBURNE, BART., F.R.S. AND F.S.A. 
 
 From a portrait by T. Phillips, R.A., belonging to the Literary 
 and Philosophical Society. 
 
 THE DUKE OF SUSSEX, K.G. . . • • • 
 
 From a portrait by Richard Wilson, belonging to the Literary and 
 Philosophical Society. 
 
 FRONT VIEW OF THE SOCIETY'S BUILDING 
 
 CHARLES HUTTON, LL.D., F.R.S. .... 
 
 From a portrait by Andrew Morton, belonging to the Literary and 
 Philosophical Society. 
 
 THOMAS DOUBLEDAY ...••* 
 From a photograph in the possession of Philip Wood, Esq., Head 
 Master of the Darlington Grammar School. 
 
 WILLIAM KENNETH LOFTUS . . • • • 
 
 From a photograph in the possession of the Literary and Philo- 
 sophical Society. 
 
 DR. HEADLAM ...•••' 
 From a silhouette in the possession of the Author. 
 
 PAGE 
 10 
 
 34 
 
 58 
 
 68 
 
 72 
 
 82 
 
 92 
 
 100 
 
 104 
 
 108 
 
 120 
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 JOSEPH WATSON . . 
 
 From a photograph in the possession of the Author. 
 
 GEORGE STEPHENSON ...... 
 
 From the copy of a portrait by John Lucas made by C. A. Mitchell, 
 and by him presented to the Literary and Philosophical Society. 
 
 ROBERT STEPHENSON, M.P., F.R.S. 
 
 From a portrait by John Lucas, in the possession of the Literary 
 and Philosophical Society. 
 
 THE REV. E. MOISES . ..... 
 
 From a portrait by Mr. Andrews, belonging to the Literary and 
 Philosophical Society. 
 
 INTERIOR OF THE OLD LIBRARY .... 
 
 INTERIOR OF THE NEW WING OF THE LIBRARY 
 
 FACSIMILE OF DR. KATTERFELTO'S BILL OF LECTURE 
 ANNOUNCEMENTS . . . . 
 
 THE REV. WILLIAM TURNER ..... 
 From a portrait by Andrew Morton, belonging to the Literary and 
 Philosophical Society. 
 
 HUGH LEE PATTINSON ...... 
 
 From a portrait by T. Carrick, belonging to Mrs. W. W. 
 Pattinson. 
 
 THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. 
 
 From a photograph belonging to Mrs. Sopwith. 
 
 JOHN COLLING WOOD BRUCE, D.C.L., LL.D. 
 From a photograph. 
 
 JOHN CLAYTON, F.S.A. . 
 
 From a portrait by H. T. Wells, R.A., belonging to the Corpora- 
 tion of Newcastle. 
 
 XI 
 
 PAGE 
 146 
 
 168 
 
 174 
 
 182 
 196 
 
 206 
 
 222 
 
 228 
 
 244 
 
 248 
 
 256 
 
 »^ 
 
xu 
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS, 
 
 * 
 
 I 
 
 EARL GREY, PRIME MINISTER IN 1832 
 
 From a portrait by J. Ramsay, belonging to the Literary and 
 Philosophical Society. 
 
 T. M. GREENHOW ...... 
 
 From a photograph in the possession of Dr. Philipson. 
 
 NICHOLAS WOOD, C.E., F.R.S. ..... 
 
 From a portrait by R. Turner, belonging to the Mining Institute. 
 
 THOMAS BEWICK ...... 
 
 From a portrait by T. J. Good, belonging to the Natural History 
 Society. 
 
 THE RUINS, FEBRUARY 8tH, 1 893 
 
 From a photograph by Mr. F. Park, of Collingwood Street. 
 
 PAGE 
 262 
 
 270 
 
 282 
 
 296 
 
 ALBANY HANCOCK . . . • • -3^° 
 
 From a photograph in the possession of the Natural History 
 Society. 
 
 JOHN HANCOCK . . . . • . 312 
 
 From a portrait by F. H. Michael, belonging to the Natural 
 History Society. 
 
 JOHN BUBBLE .....•• 3'^ 
 
 From a portrait by J. Ramsay, belonging to the Mining Institute. 
 
 LORB ARMSTRONG, C.B., F.R.S. .... 32O 
 
 From a portrait by M. L. Waller, belonging to the Corporation 
 of Newcastle. 
 
 322 
 
 It was intended that a portrait of the Rev. James Snape, D.D., should have 
 appeared among the illustrations. A lithograph was kindly furnished by the Rev. 
 R. W. Snape for this purpose. It has been unfortunately mislaid, to the Author's 
 great regret. 
 
 The statement on page no, that the Society has no portrait of Thomas Bewick, 
 is incorrect. 
 
 CHx\PTER I. 
 
 NEWCASTLE A CENTURY AGO, 
 
 CENTURY ago Newcastle-upon-Tyne was fully 
 recognised as a great industrial centre. Thanks 
 to the proximity of the Northern coal-field, which 
 ii^had from time immemorial been the most impor- 
 tant in Great Britain, it had many centuries of more than local 
 fame to look back upon. Since the twenty-eighth year of 
 Henry III.'s reign (1244 A.D.) it had been governed by a Mayor 
 chosen by the burgesses ; and Henry IV., in the last year of the 
 fourteenth century, conferred upon it all the privileges of a 
 distinct county with its own Lord Lieutenant, Sheriff, and 
 Magistrates : it should " be a county of itself with the title of 
 the County of the Town of Newcastle-upon-Tyne." Although 
 it has possessed this dignity ever since, for seven hundred years, 
 persons may even yet be found who speak of it as in the county 
 of Northumberland ! 
 
 Placed upon the northern side of a steep, deep, and richly- 
 wooded glen ; connected with its opposite neighbour, little 
 
 I 
 
 •I 
 
 ! 
 
 J . 
 
NEWCASTLE A CENTURY AGO, 
 
 Gateshead (inaptly, perhaps, described as " a dirty lane leading 
 to Newcastle "), by a handsome stone bridge crossing the broad, 
 clear, and beautiful river Tyne, the abode of lordly salmon and 
 delicious trout; rejoicing in a bright and dry atmosphere ; swept 
 by bracing but not unkindly breezes ; and with a variable yet, 
 on the whole, genial climate ; it was truly a pleasant habitation. 
 In 1759, John Wesley had written of it: "Certainly, if I did 
 not believe there was another world, I would spend all 
 my summers here, as I know no place in Great Britain 
 comparable to it for pleasantness." At that time there were 
 probably some thirty thousand people in the canny old town 
 and Gateshead, who had, as they best might, to reconcile the 
 spending of all their summers there with such belief in another 
 world as was vouchsafed to them. Nearer to the close of last 
 century, another writer called it " an ancient, large, disagreeable, 
 and dirty town." Even at the present day those who are so 
 fortunate as to inhabit it would dispute the accuracy of such 
 a description. But no one could deny the correctness of the 
 "Town Improvement Act" of 1786, which declared in its 
 preamble that "the town of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, in the 
 county of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, is very large and populous." 
 It was a walled town, and had been walled since the earliest 
 years of its existence. We know, indeed, nothing of it when it 
 was the Pons M\\\ of the Romans or the monastic Monkchester, 
 but most of it may well have been contained within the walls 
 which surrounded the castle garth, the yard of the new castle 
 which Robert Courthose began to build in the year 1080. 
 Finished by William Rufus, that new castle soon looked down 
 upon a spreading town, the growth of which was favoured and 
 fostered by succeeding monarchs. Its position near the " gate 
 of Scotland " gave it a special importance, for the restlessness 
 of their Scotch neighbours demanded constant care on the part 
 
 NE WCA STLE A CENTUR Y AGO. 3 
 
 of the dwellers in the chief Border town of England. In the 
 reign of Edward I. the Newcastle people began to construct 
 new walls, eight feet thick and twelve feet high, which had 
 strong turrets at every angle, and important towers, of pleasing 
 variety of design and dimensions, at each of the different en- 
 trances to the town. At least one of these, the Newgate, was 
 itself a great castle, having its moat and drawbridge, as well as 
 the heavy gate and portcullis which were common to all the 
 towers alike. Writing in the middle of the sixteenth century, 
 Leland says, " The strength and magnificense of the waulling of 
 this towne far passith al the waulles of the cities of England, 
 and most of the townes of Europe." Excepting towards the 
 river, these walls and towers were still perfect a century ago. 
 The Quay side portion had been removed in 1762. The last to 
 be completed, in Edward III.'s reign, it was the first to be taken 
 down ; the Privy Council ordering its destruction upon the 
 petition of the Corporation, which stated that it was no longer of 
 any use for defence, but a very great obstruction to carriages 
 and hindrance to the despatch of business. Some of the town 
 gates began to give trouble upon market-days and during festival 
 seasons, and our Scotch neighbours acquired the art of getting 
 the better of us by gentler means, so that only a few relics of the 
 ancient defences of the town now remain. 
 
 There was but little building outside the walls a century ago. 
 The town might fairly be described as having been enclosed by 
 them ; and within the enclosure there was room for the crofts, 
 fields, and gardens, which, with their abundant trees, gave the 
 quaint old Border stronghold its unique charm. It was indeed, 
 a few years earlier, "a place of broad rivers and streams." 
 Where Dean Street now stands, the Lorke Burn flowed down to 
 join the Tyne, its steep and dangerous banks being crossed by 
 stone bridges, the Upper Dean Bridge and the Low Bridge, the 
 
4 
 
 NE WCA S TL E A CENTUR Y AGO. 
 
 latter not being removed until the year 1788 to allow of the 
 opening of the new street. Grey states in his CJiorograpJiia that the 
 Picts Wall came over the " neather Deane Bridge, and that boats 
 came under it from the river, and so along into Pandon, as 
 appears by the rings that in many places are to be seen at this 
 day" (1649). These boats brought wares and commodities for 
 the merchants whose shops and warehouses were in the Flesh 
 Market. The site of the arch still bears the name of the " Low 
 Bridge," and Bourne thinks that the adjoining Painter Fleugh 
 preserves the memory of the time when boats used to be moored 
 to the heugh, haugh, or steep side of the stream by ropes 
 fastened to their bows, and yet known as painters. But so far 
 as I have been able to ascertain, there is no evidence that the 
 term "painter" was applied to boat ropes until a comparatively 
 recent date, whereas the name " Paynter Hugh " is said to have 
 occurred in a deed once preserved in the vestry of All Saints' 
 Church, and of the year 1373. On the other hand, a place at 
 the north of this lane still known as Painter Heugh was called 
 " Pencher Place," and the Paynter of 1373 may well have been 
 the Pencher of a yet earlier date.* 
 
 A century ago, the Sandhill — once a naked hill of sand 
 " where were wont to assemble the inhabitants for their recrea- 
 tion " — was the great market-place of the town ; and round it, 
 and along the Close, many of the principal inhabitants of the 
 town, and some of the county nobility and gentry, had handsome 
 dwelling-houses. There, too, stood the stately Mansion House, 
 built in 1 69 1 at a cost of ;^6ooo, with its terrace overlooking the 
 
 * It is, perhaps, dangerous to remind the reader that we have a Penshaw, 
 or Pencher, in the County of Durham, which, it is claimed, derives its name 
 from the British word Pen, a hill, and the old English word Scua, a shade, 
 and thus a shaded place, a wooded place ; or, possibly, the British word 
 Sceach, a bramble. 
 
 
 ■ ■ ' '"a 
 
 
 ■' 
 
 ^ 
 
 i|i|[|kH 
 
 
 A--' 
 
 
 • 
 
 4- 
 
 — i iH 
 
 
 y- 
 
 i^^i^^H 
 
 ♦ 
 
 JL 
 
 f - 
 
 
 
 
 H ^WK^ 
 
 
 --^^ 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 
 ^m 
 
 ^H^^Bi^j 
 
 
 ' ] 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 Uipt ■■ 
 
 
 
 
 - k — 
 
 <% ,ji 
 
 
 «l- 
 
 
 y. 
 
 H 
 r. 
 
 O 
 
 zc 
 
 
 y. 
 
 Pi 
 
 X 
 
 IT. 
 
 H 
 < 
 
 O 
 05 
 
 H 
 
 < 
 u 
 
 y. 
 
 > 
 
4 NEWCASTLE A CENTURY AGO. 
 
 latter not being removed until the year 1788 to allow of the 
 opening of the new street. Grey states in his CJiorographia that the 
 Picts Wall came over the " neather Deane Bridge, and that boats 
 came under it from the river, and so along into Pandon, as 
 appears by the rings that in many places are to be seen at this 
 day" (1649). These boats brought wares and commodities for 
 the merchants whose shops and warehouses were in the Flesh 
 Market. The site of the arch still bears the name of the " Low 
 Bridge," and Bourne thinks that the adjoining Painter Heugh 
 preserves the memory of the time when boats used to be moored 
 to the heugh, haugh, or steep side of the stream by ropes 
 fastened to their bows, and yet known as painters. But so far 
 as I have been able to ascertain, there is no evidence that the 
 term "painter" was applied to boat ropes until a comparatively 
 recent date, whereas the name " Paynter Hugh " is said to have 
 occurred in a deed once preserved in the vestry of All Saints' 
 Church, and of the year 1373. On the other hand, a place at 
 the north of this lane still known as Painter Heugh was called 
 " Pencher Place," and the Paynter of 1373 may well have been 
 the Pencher of a yet earlier date.* 
 
 A century ago, the Sandhill — once a naked hill of sand 
 " where were wont to assemble the inhabitants for their recrea- 
 tion " — was the great market-place of the town ; and round it, 
 and along the Close, many of the principal inhabitants of the 
 town, and some of the county nobility and gentry, had handsome 
 dwelling-houses. There, too, stood the stately Mansion House, 
 built in 1 69 1 at a cost of ;^6ooo, with its terrace overlooking the 
 
 * It is, perhaps, dangerous to remind the reader that we have a Penshaw, 
 or Pencher, in the County of Durham, which, it is claimed, derives its name 
 from the British word Pen, a hill, and the old English word Scua, a shade, 
 and thus a shaded place, a wooded place; or, possibly, the British word 
 
 Sceach, a bramble. 
 
 CO 
 
 A 
 
 H 
 r. 
 
 O 
 
 
 X 
 
 A 
 
 W 
 r. 
 
 H 
 
 G 
 OS 
 
 
 u^ 
 
 A 
 
/^ 
 
 I 
 
 !'" 
 
 NEWCASTLE A CENTURY AGO, 
 
 river, and the broad flight of steps leading down to the spot 
 where the somewhat gaudy Corporation barge lay moored, which 
 proved so dangerous an attraction to " my Lord *Size." Here 
 did successive mayors exercise great, and at times inconvenient, 
 civic hospitality, towards which the town contributed ;^2000 
 a year and an extensive cellar of choice wines. The Guildhall, 
 in which the courts were held, stood between the Sandhill and 
 the river, almost exactly opposite to the picturesque house 
 whence "on the night of the i8th November, 1772, Miss Bessie 
 Surtees descended by a ladder into the arms of her lover, from 
 a window," and the future Lord Eldon, then plain John Scott, 
 bore her safely " o'er the Borders and awa'." That early hours 
 were the fashion in those days is shown by one of the old rules 
 of the Burgess and Non-Burgess Courts, which provided that 
 solicitors attending them were not to appear in their dressing- 
 gowns and slippers. The town was for the first time lighted by 
 oil lamps and a regular nightly watch established in 1763. 
 
 I have said that at times the hospitality of the Mansion 
 House was so great as to be inconvenient I may illustrate this 
 by the tale which used to be told about a worthy alderman who, 
 having built a house on the top of the steep bank north of the 
 Close, and near Hanover Square, with a garden running down 
 the bank, found himself seriously inconvenienced by the volumes 
 of black smoke which constantly issued from the Mansion 
 House chimneys. Remonstrances having proved of no avail, he 
 at length sued the Mayor and Corporation for damages. The 
 great Henry Brougham, or "Hairy Brum," as the Newcastle 
 folk fondly called him, was then the leader of the Northern 
 Circuit, and he was duly retained for the defendant authorities. 
 But alas ! when injured Alderman S. was in the witness-box, 
 and was arousing the sympathies of his fellow-townsmen in the 
 jury-box with a detailed recital of how his health and that of 
 
6 NE WCA S TLB A CENTUR Y A GO, 
 
 his wife and family had been rudely shattered by the perpetual 
 smoke, the learned leader seemed to be wrapped in profound 
 and peaceful sleep. His wig was over his eyes, his hands were 
 where his pockets would have embraced them nowadays, his 
 head nodded gently as though in unconscious acquiescence. At 
 length, the examination in chief being finished, it was time for 
 the alderman's cross-examination to begin. His junior must at 
 all hazards arouse the chief, and gently whispered into the ear 
 of the all-but-lost leader, who was at once on his feet. Pushing 
 back his wig and staring strangely round the court as one who 
 awaketh from a dream, his eye fell on Alderman S., whom 
 he had met once before at an Assize Ball. " Ah! Alderman S., I 
 hope you're very well?" Delighted at the friendly recogni- 
 tion, the unsuspecting alderman replied, " Quite well, sir, quite : 
 thank you very much." "And Mrs. S.?" The yet more 
 delighted alderman, " Oh yes, sir, indeed : it's very good of 
 you to remember her. She never was better in her life." 
 " And your family ? " " Yes, yes, perfectly well, perfectly well. 
 I shall never forget your kindness." " Ah, yes ! you may stand 
 down." The damages are said to have been nominal. 
 
 Nearly all of the traffic by land between Scotland and 
 that part of England which is now served by the East Coast 
 railways had to come down the precipitous Bottle Bank in 
 Gateshead, and up the narrow and tortuous Side, the principal 
 street of Newcastle, picturesque enough, but decidedly incon- 
 venient. At the top of that steep and difficult thoroughfare 
 stood the "Cock" tavern, whence the mail, the only coach 
 between Newcastle and London, started three times a week, 
 making the journey in two nights and three days. Nearly two 
 days were required to reach Edinburgh, and eighteen hours 
 were all too few for crossing the island to Carlisle. Gigs or 
 comfortables conveyed passengers by land to the towns near 
 
 NE WCA S TIE A CENTUR Y AGO. 7 
 
 the mouth of the river, and wherries carried those who preferred 
 the passage by water. Persons who could not walk or ride on 
 horseback were borne in sedan-chairs from one part of the town 
 to another. These chairs were still occasionally used half a 
 century ago, and had certain advantages. The lady who, 
 " going out to cards or tea," wished to avoid damp feet, stepped 
 into her chair in her own hall, and out of it in that of her 
 entertainer, without the least exposure to the elements — a 
 luxury unknown in our advanced days. 
 
 It seems to us, as we look backwards, that life a century ago 
 must have been a quiet, slow, rather easy performance, with 
 neither telegrams nor telephones, with eightpence to pay on 
 every half-ounce London letter, and only weekly newspapers. 
 But, as I have said, Newcastle was already, and had been for 
 centuries, an important industrial centre. She had almost as much 
 communication by land with the rest of the country as any other 
 large town, and much more by water than even most seaports. 
 The water transit was better adapted for goods than for persons, 
 for the delays were sometimes prolonged. Thomas Bewick was 
 a month upon the voyage when he first visited London in 1776. 
 The custom was to make a bargain with the captain of a 
 " coaster " to take you up for a certain sum (usually a guinea), 
 all found, and, when the chances of contrary winds or calms are 
 taken into consideration, the charges were not exorbitant. 
 
 It is difficult to speak with certainty of the actual amount of 
 work done by sea in connection with the port of Tyne a 
 century ago. I find it stated in 1772 that no fewer than 950 
 ships then entered our port annually ; but our fine local song, 
 "Canny Newcassel," was written in 18 18, and it says — 
 
 " Wiv uz, man, three hundred ships sail iv a tide." 
 
 Perhaps we might take a medium course between these two 
 
n 
 
 NEWCASTLE A CENTURY AGO, 
 
 statements to get at a reasonable approximation to the fact for 
 1793. A^ ^^^ events, at the earlier date it was also written : — 
 
 " The trade and shipping of this place are very considerable, 
 and have always made it of the utmost consequence. Besides 
 its necessary services in supplying a great part of the nation 
 with coals, etc, and the very great revenues arising from thence, 
 it is of the greatest consequence as a nursery for brave and 
 hardy seamen who have always struck such a terror into the 
 hearts of all the enemies of Great Britain, that, whenever a 
 rupture happened with any foreign power, attacks upon this 
 branch of commerce and body of men were always studiously 
 avoided. 
 
 "Besides the home and coast trade, the foreign trade of 
 Newcastle, in general, is with Spain, Portugal, France, Holland, 
 Germany, Russia, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Poland; 
 besides occasional ships to and from America, the West Indies, 
 etc., and four or five fitted out every season for the Greenland 
 fishery. The manufacture of steel and both cast and wrought 
 iron in this neighbourhood are very considerable ; that for 
 wrought iron, at Swalwell, about three miles from Newcastle, up 
 the river, commonly called Crawley's Works, being the greatest 
 in England. Here is also a considerable manufactory of broad 
 and narrow woollen cloth (in Gateshead), and two sugar-houses 
 which have been established here for some time. Likewise two 
 public offices of insurance upon ships and merchandise, and 
 three printing offices whose weekly newspapers circulate several 
 hundred miles." 
 
 There was also a dark side to the life of this district at the 
 time of which I write. The punishment of death was inflicted 
 with startling frequency for crimes against property. The 
 stocks were in frequent use. On 23rd October, 1790, "a woman 
 was exalted on a pillory erected on purpose, in the centre of the 
 
 NE WCA S TLE A CENTUR Y AGO. 9 
 
 Sandhill, for perjury. She was exhibited from twelve o'clock 
 to one o'clock." The terrible scourge of the pressgang was 
 constantly at work, at times arousing bitter but ineffectual 
 resistance. On the 26th April, 1793, "most extraordinary 
 preparations for impressing were made by the crews of the 
 armed vessels lying in Shields harbour. That night the regi- 
 ment at Tynemouth barracks was drawn up and formed into 
 a cordon round North Shields to prevent any person from 
 escaping. The different pressgangs then began, when sailors, 
 mechanics, labourers, and men of every description, to the 
 amount of two hundred and fifty, were forced on board the 
 armed ships." How many of those stolen men ever again saw 
 wife, or child, or home ? 
 
 Only the year before, "a petition to parliament was agreed on 
 by the inhabitants of Newcastle and Gateshead, for the abolition 
 of the slave-trade. The whole kingdom appeared at this time 
 to be interested in the degraded state of the poor blacks. 
 Newcastle, in particular, has ever been foremost in craving 
 parliament to exert its powers, and do away with that traffic in 
 human flesh." But there was no petition for the poor whites, 
 the " brave and hardy seamen," and yet the poet had said — 
 
 " Skins may differ, but affection 
 Dwells in white and black the same." 
 
 Highwaymen were not unknown : so near to us as on Gates- 
 head Fell even the royal mail being robbed. And in public 
 places in our city quack doctors were permitted to place them- 
 selves, and young women " troubled with a scorbutic disorder," 
 naked in the earth, and covered up to their lips, from noon to 
 six o'clock at night, in the presence of "great numbers who 
 attended to see this curious exhibition." 
 
 But we need not dwell too much upon this dark side of our 
 
lO 
 
 NE I VGA S TLE A CRN TUR Y AGO. 
 
 local life a century ago. Where and when shall we look upon 
 the shield of human existence which is gold throughout? No 
 doubt in some things we are better than our fathers. It would 
 take away the chief inducement to endeavour, if this were not 
 so. More especially has the lot of the poor amongst us gone 
 through a mighty change for the better. But w^e are constrained 
 to admit thU we have lost something in making the gain — 
 
 "E'en though better follow, good must pass," 
 
 and with the disappearance of the quaint old houses, and keels, 
 and hustings, and stately processions to meet the judges, much 
 of the picturesqueness has gone out of life. Look at the 
 delightful old picture of " Some Newcastle Worthies," which is 
 one of the recent acquisitions of the Literary and Philosophical 
 Society, and see the 'Change as it once was, and you will be 
 constrained to admit that this is really so. 
 
 Thus then, a century ago, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, without 
 railways, steamers, trams, hansom or other cabs, penny post, 
 telegrams, telephones, gas, electric light, daily papers, lucifer 
 matches, primary schools, workhouses, policemen, grain w^are- 
 houses, docks, slipways, High Level or Redheugh bridges, 
 Elswick works, public libraries, town council, board of guardians, 
 school board, trade unions, household franchise, building 
 societies, co-operative stores, gin palaces, lunatic as) lums, or 
 other nineteenth century Jin-de'Siecie joys or sorrows, was a busy 
 and important place, with, for that period, somewhat unusual 
 facilities of communication with the rest of the world. She had 
 abundantly shown that she was fully abreast of other places in 
 the mental activity of her inhabitants. At one time, about the 
 date of George IIl.'s accession to the throne (1760), there were 
 at the Newcastle Grammar School, under the tuition of the Rev. 
 Hugh Moises, two brothers Scott, William and John, and " a 
 
 o 
 CO 
 
 2 
 
 < 
 
 X 
 
 o 
 
 H 
 X 
 
 u 
 
 '■.^ 
 
 o 
 
 o 
 
 o 
 
 C ^ rt ^ 
 
 '■J V 
 
 
 
 
 '•^ <^ 
 
 -^ O 
 
 rt '-J 
 
 r. r. 
 
 '■J — 
 
 X 
 
 .rt 
 
 i 5.^ 
 
 
 
 >. ^ 1- -£ 
 
 -^ c ^ -2 
 
 % '-J b "i ^ 
 
 o ii i* U c 
 
 C C w . 
 
 zj a ^ o 
 
 -^ ^ ^ jz i= 
 
 ^ t^ "' ^ 
 c ^ ^ 
 
 O = "^ •''*- 
 7. •" o •;= 
 
 C -J-. — c 
 
 .X § .ti .u -^ 
 
 u 
 O 
 
 
 0) i^-> 
 
 
 O "^ '" r^ 
 
 '^ ./> 1> - ..- 
 
 vy. "^ *-. -^^ 
 
 ii 5:= ^ 2 o 
 
 ^' •'" ^ E G 
 
 1> !- 
 
 -A 
 
 ^'^ ^ .':z 
 
 t:: ii .«2 2 ^ £ 
 
 g .j; ^ < 2 O 
 
 QJ r- ^ £■ rr ... 
 
 ^ rt c *" 2 
 
 — f2 C ^ •> 
 
 rt J-. OJ O •« C 
 
 y («?; _, tjo S t/5 
 
 > f- c rt 
 
 c/i £2'cU.sH 
 
 "^ rt K V. • — 
 
 P^ u u S ^ 
 
lO 
 
 NE IV CA S TLE A CEN TUR Y AGO. 
 
 I 
 
 local life a century ago. Where and when shall we look upon 
 the shield of human existence which is gold throughout? No 
 doubt in some things w^e are better than our fathers. It would 
 take away the chief inducement to endeavour, if this were not 
 so. More especially has the lot of the poor amongst us gone 
 through a mighty change for the better. But we are constrained 
 to admit th ^t we have lost something in making the gain — 
 
 " E'en though better follow, good must pass," 
 
 and with the disappearance of the quaint old houses, and keels, 
 and hustings, and stately processions to meet the judges, much 
 of the picturesqueness has gone out of life. Look at the 
 delightful old picture of " Some Newcastle Worthies," which is 
 one of the recent acquisitions of the Literary and Philosophical 
 Society, and see the 'Change as it once was, and you will be 
 constrained to admit that this is really so. 
 
 Thus then, a century ago, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, without 
 railways, steamers, trams, hansom or other cabs, penny post, 
 telegrams, telephones, gas, electric light, daily papers, lucifer 
 matches, primary schools, workhouses, policemen, grain w^are- 
 houses, docks, slipways. High Level or Redheugh bridges, 
 Elswick works, public libraries, town council, board of guardians, 
 school board, trade unions, household franchise, building 
 societies, co-operative stores, gin palaces, lunatic as} lums, or 
 other nineteenth ccniMry Jin-de-siccle joys or sorrows, was a busy 
 and important place, wath, for that period, somewhat unusual 
 facilities of communication with the rest of the world. She had 
 abundantly shown that she was fully abreast of other places in 
 the mental activity of her inhabitants. At one time, about the 
 date of George III.'s accession to the throne (1760), there were 
 at the Newcastle Grammar School, under the tuition of the Rev. 
 Hugh Moises, two brothers Scott, William and John, and " a 
 
 00 
 
 o 
 < 
 
 O 
 
 H 
 
 U 
 
 a 
 
 o 
 
 J2 C C jT ^5 
 O j= rt^ Si 
 
 «- E c wT 
 
 -j; y 2 o 5 
 03-5 <« ..'H 
 
 = v5 --^ o 
 « ecu 
 
 C — -^ rt '-> 
 
 O c. ^^^ 
 
 ^ I.J *^ !L> ^ 
 
 pq-^.c ^ o 
 
 a> a> fc, c 
 
 O *" «J • 1) 
 
 ■ --I 
 
 ^U g Sir 
 
 u i> i> U c 
 
 £ c t: . _ 
 Qj a «- O 
 ^ -C e "5 -^ 
 
 ^Z X - o 
 
 t/! 
 
 '5 5:.^ o-rt C 
 
 .ii ^ ^ ^'^ V 
 
 o-— rz ^- 7Z1 ^ 
 
 ^ ":> ^ •= •= 
 
 ~ (V •— ,C W 
 — f2 c ^ - 
 
 rt >- II O ~ C 
 
 3 ^ ]Z^"Sd £ ° 
 •- , c = 2 P 
 
 KU'O^ 
 
^ 
 
 [ T 
 
 lit 
 
 NEWCASTLE A CENTURY AGO, 
 
 II 
 
 pretty and gentle boy," somewhat their junior, Cuthbert Collincr- 
 wood. They were all to achieve great things, and to attain 
 high rank amongst England's noblest sons. William Scott, 
 better known to history as Lord Stowell, presided over the 
 High Court of Admiralty at a time when " England became 
 the sole occupant of the sea, and held at her girdle the keys of 
 all the harbours upon the globe." He framed and established a 
 just and comprehensive system of maritime law, in decisions 
 which are remarkable alike for their logical acumen and their 
 classical style, and which have been accepted as having authority 
 by every civilised nation in the world. His younger brother, 
 John Scott, who became Lord Eldon in 1799, when he was 
 made Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, held the proud office 
 of Lord High Chancellor of England for a longer period than 
 any other person before or since, "and, during a quarter of a 
 century exercised an influence almost unprecedented in the 
 Cabinets of successive Sovereigns." And Cuthbert Colling- 
 vvood,— the simple sailor, the stainless soul, the great admiral, 
 who sleeps in St. Paul's Cathedral by the side of his not greater 
 comrade. Lord Nelson,— combining loyalty to duty with courage 
 and gentle courtesy, gave to our history one of the most heroic 
 and beautiful lives which its pages record. 
 
 But, a century ago, a change, undreamed of by any of the 
 men whom I have named, was already beginning to show itself— 
 a change which was to pass over the spirit of the world. The 
 mighty deeds of the future were to be those, not of the lawyer 
 or the warrior, but of the man of science, still looked upon but 
 as an idle dreamer or a machine-maker a century ago. No 
 small share in those mighty deeds was to fall to our good old 
 town, and in the brilliant scientific achievements of her most 
 distinguished sons, the Society whose story I am to tell has 
 borne an honourable part. 
 
OUR PREDECESSORS, 
 
 13 
 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 OUR PREDECESSORS, 
 
 
 OR England and France the eighteenth century was a 
 period of mental emancipation, which resulted for both 
 in a new life in all departments of thought, and ulti- 
 mately for both in political revolution and the partial reformation 
 of society. In looking back upon great movements, accidental or 
 abnormal phases of an exceptional and transitory character are 
 apt to claim an undue proportion of the view. The long period 
 of incubation, the many patient processes of preparation, the 
 gradual growth and fructification of the mental seed, are too 
 often lost sight of, to the injury of truth. Thus comes the too 
 popular idea that Nature delights to indulge in spasms, to work 
 by fits and starts, rather than to carry forward, slowly but con- 
 stantly and certainly, quiet, orderly, and continuous operations. 
 
 And thus the brutal excesses of the later years of the French 
 Revolution forced themselves upon the attention of all men, and 
 hid the wholly beneficent operations of the earlier years of that 
 mighty event. The indignation and horror which such orgies 
 of blood-thirstiness aroused, prevented the observation that they 
 were but the inevitable outburst of accumulated and violently 
 restrained beliefs — beliefs as to man's position on earth, the real 
 nature of government, and the like, — the outbreak necessarily 
 
 consequent upon the mad attempt to check the general 
 tendency towards freedom which had been growing in strength 
 and intensity, and becoming more widely diffused throughout 
 the century. This tendency had been fostered and developed 
 by the influence of English thought upon the French mind. 
 Half a century before the commencement of this great period. 
 Englishmen had gone through the intense and actual struggle 
 which attends, in a progressive country, the permanent limita- 
 tion of the kingly power. Their philosophers had availed 
 themselves of the comparative licence to publish freely that 
 which was in them which, in its fulness, Milton had pleaded for 
 so nobly ; and which, though as compared with that of the 
 present day but slight, appeared complete and wonderful when 
 contrasted with the censorious repression which prevailed in 
 France. Here the right and reason of all things were widely 
 canvassed, but the minds of the great English thinkers were 
 especially turned to political and economic questions, and even 
 upon these, though with many restrictions, they had much free- 
 dom of thought and! expression ; and thus from France the men 
 of thought, who had yet to see and learn what freedom meant, 
 poured into England in great numbers. "The civilised world 
 was restless with dreams of political emancipation ; it trembled 
 with expectation of a deliverance yet to come." And because, 
 here in England, although not without some peril of pains and 
 penalties, men had long been used to think for themselves and 
 to speak out their thoughts, England became, as it were, a 
 school for French thinkers in every department of investigation. 
 " During the two generations which elapsed between the death 
 of Louis XIV. and the outbreak of the Revolution, there was 
 hardly a Frenchman of eminence who did not either visit 
 England or learn English ; while many of them did both." 
 
 It has indeed been brought as a kind of charge against 
 
* . 
 
 14 
 
 OUR PREDECESSORS, 
 
 OUR PREDECESSORS. 
 
 IS 
 
 I 
 
 
 *l; 
 
 the mental character of the English people that, whilst the 
 philosophy of the eighteenth century was born there, it could 
 only be developed in France ; that in England there was much 
 speculation but it was divorced from even the idea of practical 
 application, whilst in France the two were ever united. But 
 surely this is a somewhat too impatient manner of looking at 
 such a question. It is not the fact that the French came to 
 England empty. On the contrary, they were filled with new 
 ideas and came to men filled with new ideas, and it was not the 
 case of master and pupil between the two, but rather that of the 
 flashes of soul light struck out by the friendly but fearless 
 attrition of equal minds. The result was reached more quickly 
 in France, more surely in England. The hasty eagerness for 
 immediate application of the new ideas bore fruit in the 
 Revolution ; their patient and gradual enforcement in the 
 Reform Bill of 1832. 
 
 The mental ferment in England was by no means confined 
 to the metropolis. On the contrary, philosophical investigations 
 were widely indulged in, and questions of the first political 
 importance were debated, in many different parts of the country. 
 Indeed, the Government of the day concerned itself very much 
 about the amount of argument which went forward everywhere, 
 and laws were repeatedly passed to regulate and restrain the 
 Debating Societies of that day, which would have been as useful 
 and as void of ofience as those of our day if the Government 
 had wisely let them alone. Some of the questions discussed, 
 and which related to what we now speak of as "the Land 
 Question,*' were treated of from points of view not widely 
 dissimilar to those of Mr. Henry George or Mr. Alfred Russel 
 Wallace, and one of these discussions gave considerable trouble 
 and annoyance to our Literary and Philosophical Society in its 
 youthful days. As even yet the story is not infrequently told 
 
 incorrectly, it is perhaps worth while to set out the truth about 
 it in this introductory chapter. 
 
 Amongst the eminent Frenchmen who visited England 
 towards the close of last century was " People's Friend " Marat. 
 He settled down for some time in Newcastle as a veterinary 
 surgeon, and it is probable that he there wrote his C/tains of 
 Slavery in English. In 1774 it was published anonymously, 
 but in the following year it came out with the author's name, 
 and was advertised on the 28th of October and the 4th of 
 November in the following manner : — 
 
 This day is published, price los. 6d., 
 
 And sold by J. Almon in Piccadilly ; T. Slack, W. Charnley, 
 
 and E. Humble, in Newcastle; J. Graham, in Sunderland; 
 
 J. Pickering, in Stockton ; N. Thorn, in Durham ; E. Lee, in 
 
 Hexham ; and A. Graham, in Alnwick, 
 
 THE CHAINS OF SLAVERY: 
 
 A work in which the clandestine and villainous attempts of 
 Princes to ruin Liberty are pointed out, and the dreadful scenes 
 
 of Despotism disclosed. 
 
 To which is prefixed, 
 
 An Address to the Electors of Great Britain, in order to draw 
 
 timely attention to the choice of proper representatives. 
 
 By J. T. Marat, M.D. 
 
 Vitam wipendere vero. 
 
 Whether the one had or had not anything to do with the 
 other I cannot say, but upon March 15th, 1775, a small Philo- 
 sophical Society, for the consideration of questions of mental 
 and social philosophy, was started in Newcastle. It held its 
 meetings somewhere in Westgate Street, but its deliberations 
 do not appear to have been very attractive, for it never had 
 
 i' 
 
 i < 
 
f^ 
 
 -*"V 
 
 iM 
 
 IM 
 
 ,5 OUR PREDECESSORS. 
 
 more than twenty members, and it would have been unknown 
 to fame if it had not chanced to include amongst them a 
 certain Thomas Spence, who is not yet forgotten, and who still 
 
 has followers. 
 
 The Society was too painfully didactic for its own or any 
 other day, as the questions discussed at the first two meetings 
 show pretty plainly. At the first gathering, after a lecture 
 the title of which is fortunately swallowed up in night had 
 been delivered, the subject of debate was : " Which of two 
 persons, equally qualified, is most likely to attain first to a 
 distinct knowledge of any intricate subject, he who searches 
 into it by contemplation and the help of books only, or he 
 who attends a well-regulated society, where the subject is freely 
 debated, as a question, on both sides, or demonstrated by the 
 joint endeavours of the members?" "After being ably dis- 
 cussed for about two hours, the question was at last determined 
 in favour of the latter proposition." Very right and natural, 
 and quite to be expected : " our noble selves." 
 
 The second problem was as priggish as the first : *' Whether 
 does an exquisite sensibility of mind make for or against the 
 happiness of the possessor ? " 
 
 These are emphatically the questions which, at all events 
 in this country, can only be discussed with relish and eagerness 
 by very young men who have not come much into contact with 
 actual life, or learned how vain a thing disputation is. There 
 is a time for mental exercitation of the kind, which most 
 mortals pass through, most thinking mortals, just as there is a 
 time for writing the youthful verse which all ends in the grave 
 or heaven. These are, like the distemper with puppies, or the 
 chicken-pox or measles with children, incident to young healthy 
 life, and need not give alarm to the most anxious parents. 
 They may safely be left to the vis medicatrix Natures, 
 
 OUR PREDECESSORS. 
 
 17 
 
 But these considerations make it less likely, although of 
 course it is still possible that, as has been frequently suggested, 
 Marat himself was the instigator, if not the founder, of this 
 Society, or, at all events, attended its early meetings. This is 
 simply a supposition. There is no evidence whatever upon the 
 matter. But it is rather interesting to note that, on the 25th 
 October, 1775, the question brought forward for discussion was, 
 " Which is the better form of Government, a Limited Monarchy, 
 as in Great Britain, or a Republic?" and a majority of two 
 decided that " a Republic might be formed productive of more 
 real advantage to the governed than can be effected by a 
 Limited Monarchy like our own." We shall hear more of this 
 Society shortly in connection with the Thomas Spence who, 
 as I have mentioned, was one of its members. We shall see 
 how, like some other societies and multitudes of individuals, 
 these philosophers had no objection to a wide and general pro- 
 position, but how they shrank terrified from any attempt to 
 carry their theories into practice, or, it might be more correct to 
 say, to develop them in specific directions. 
 
 Thomas Spence was born on the Quayside of Newcastle on 
 the 21st June, 1750, his mother being an Orkney woman, the 
 second wife of an Aberdonian who was blessed with nineteen 
 children. Thomas became a clerk in a merchant's oflfice, but 
 was one of those singular youths who are filled with ideas. In 
 very early life he constructed a phonetic alphabet which had 
 forty letters, each of which was to represent a separate and distinct 
 sound. This he expounded in the " Grand Repository of the 
 English Language," published by subscription, and in the 
 "Repository of Common Sense and Innocent Amusement," 
 which he brought out in penny numbers. This latter work 
 was given to the public before the author was twenty-five 
 years old. 
 
 2 
 
fi 
 
 i8 
 
 OUR PREDECESSORS. 
 
 We learn the most about him from his friend Thomas 
 Bewick, who would seem to have been brought into contact with 
 him when cutting the steel punches for his types. Bewick says 
 of him, " He was one of the warmest philanthropists of the day. 
 The happiness of mankind appeared to absorb with him every 
 other consideration." 
 
 He was just the man to become a member of any philo- 
 sophical society, for amongst his most cherished ideas was 
 that of property in land being every man's right, and before the 
 Newcastle Society was eight months old we find him bringing 
 his favourite thesis before it We know nothing of how it was 
 received, but we do know that he printed and published it, 
 apparently immediately after reading it to the Society. This gave 
 dire offence, and his fellow-members, with due solemnity, on the 
 22nd of the same month (November, 1775), "expelled Mr. Thomas 
 Spence for publishing without and against the approbation of the 
 Society a lecture with the title of * Property in Land every 
 One's Right,' which he had delivered at a former meeting, of 
 which they disclaim all patronage, being informed that he had 
 previous to the lecture read it in different public-houses, and 
 became a member, apparently, for the purpose of intruding 
 upon the world the ERRONEOUS and dangerous levelling prin- 
 ciples with which the lecture is replete, under the sanction of 
 
 the Society.'* 
 
 Happy public-houses! Alas, poor Society! And it lives 
 now in the recollection of any portion of mankind only because 
 of this paper, cast forth as an abominable thing ; and it died 
 speedily after it got rid of the author, as it ought to have died, — 
 but when — no man knows or cares. 
 
 I have recently come across the rules of this Philosophical 
 Society, which was indeed only an early debating society, and I 
 think that it is worth while to quote one or two of them, for they 
 
 r ii 
 li jl 
 
 OUR PREDECESSORS. 
 
 19 
 
 throw some light on the mental attitude of those young people 
 who were, at this interesting period, so far advanced as to wish 
 to belong to such a body, but who were otherwise staid and 
 respectable members of society generally. 
 
 The rules in question were adopted on 13th February, 1777, 
 " by the Society, Westgate Street, Newcastle," and were evidently 
 prepared with direct reference to Mr. Spence's paper read and 
 condemned fifteen months previously. 
 
 " The intention of this Society is, to enable its Members to 
 speak with Facility on every Subject that comes before them, to 
 collect and arrange their Ideas, and not to admit, without 
 Examination, the Force of any Argument however specious : to 
 accomplish these Purposes, the Members of this Society propose, 
 each night of meeting, to discuss some Question, or elucidate 
 some Proposition, with all the Freedom of Debate that is con- 
 sistent with a decent Attention to those established Opinions, on 
 the Belief of which the Welfare of Society in a great measure 
 depends." 
 
 Good, sound, sensible young people ! It is self-evident that 
 Marat and Spence were no fitting comrades for such as you. 
 "If these things be done in the green tree, what shall be done in 
 the dry : " if these were the youth of that fin-de-siecle, what 
 were the old fogies like ? 
 
 " Oh, *tis hard to believe that our parents were so good, 
 So ridiculously good, so preposterously good ;" 
 
 but they understood, at all events, the art of making smooth the 
 outside of the cup and the platter. 
 
 "The Utility of a well-regulated Institution of this Nature will 
 scarce be denied, but some Objections have arisen from the 
 Conduct of other Societies established with similar Intentions, 
 which are too well founded not to require some Notice. 
 
 II, 
 
 i 
 
 i 
 
20 
 
 OUR PREDECESSORS, 
 
 p 
 
 " The most important of these Objections are, that Meetings 
 of this kind too frequently degenerate to drinking Clubs, and 
 that they become Schools of Sedition and Infidelity ; to obviate 
 the first, it will be sufficient to observe, that the Meetings of this 
 Society are held in a private House, and every Sort of Liquor 
 absolutely excluded, and Precaution is taken to prevent the 
 second, by admitting no Question till it is allowed to be fit for 
 Debate, by a Majority of Opinions taken by Ballot ; by which 
 means, there is an Opportunity to reject any Subject, which 
 might lead to Arguments, too freely and incautiously calling 
 in Question, the fundamental Principles of Religion or good 
 Government. And, that no imputation of Vanity may arise to 
 the Society for the Name they have assumed, they wish to have 
 it understood that they adopt the original meaning of the Word 
 PHILOSOPHY, which implies the Desire not the Possession of 
 Wisdom." 
 
 A priggish, conservative sort of society, with plenty of 
 limitations, but unsparingly liberal in the use of commas and 
 capital letters. They met every Thursday evening at six, and 
 parted at eight ; each member subscribed 6d. a night to meet 
 expenses "and support a fund for charitable purposes;" 
 speeches were limited to eight minutes each, but a member 
 might speak any number of times; and there was power of 
 expulsion, the general causes being "attempting to injure the 
 Society by Scandalous Aspersions, refusing to comply with its 
 Rules, or outrageously violating good Order and Decorum." 
 
 This was clearly too respectable a body for a man of original 
 thought, erratic ways, and short temper, like Thomas Spence. It 
 was quite too good to live, and the gods took it early. 
 
 Thomas Spence had given up clerking, and had become a 
 schoolmaster in the Broad Garth, and, in order to make 
 converts to his views, he started a debating society of young 
 
 OUR PREDECESSORS, 
 
 21 
 
 men, who met in the evenings in his school-room. Like 
 certain other great reformers, he was rather impatient of oppo- 
 sition. " One night," says Thomas Bewick, " when his favourite 
 question was to be debated, he reckoned upon me as one of his 
 * backers.' In this, however, he was mistaken ; for, notwith- 
 standing my tacitly assenting, in a certain degree, to his plan — 
 viz., as to the probability of its succeeding in some uninhabitable 
 country or island — I could not at all agree with him in thinking 
 it right to upset the present state of society by taking from 
 people what is their own ; and then, launching out upon his 
 speculations, I considered that property ought to be held sacred ; 
 and, besides, that the honestly obtaining of it was the great 
 stimulant to industry, which kept all things in order, and society 
 in full health and vigour. The question having been given 
 against him without my having said a word in his defence, he 
 became swollen with indignation, which, after the company was 
 gone, he vented upon me. To reason with him was useless. 
 . . . * If I had been as stout as you are, I would have thrashed 
 you ; but there is another way in which I can do the business, 
 and have at you.' He then produced a pair of cudgels, and to 
 work we fell. He did not know that I was a proficient in 
 cudgel-playing, and I soon found out that he was very defective. 
 After I had blackened the insides of his thighs and arms, he 
 became quite outrageous, and acted very unfairly, which obliged 
 me to give him a severe beating." 
 
 This early and novel proof of "Bewick's wood-cuts" fur- 
 nishes another evidence of the truth of the famous old line— 
 
 "The falling out of faithful friends renewing is of love." 
 
 The friendship between the artist and the philosopher was but 
 cemented by their mutually striking arguments. In 1776 
 Spence received an appointment as teacher in the Grammar 
 
 li 
 
 •1 
 
22 
 
 OUR PREDECESSORS. 
 
 OUR PREDECESSORS. 
 
 23 
 
 School at Haydon Bridge, and there Bewick, then twenty-three 
 years of age, visited him, and happy times they had, wandering 
 through that lovely country which the great artist knew and 
 drew so well, and loved so much. But Spence was a restless 
 and arbitrary being, as became the inventor of schemes for 
 universal and lawless liberty. He removed to London, that 
 constant cave of Adullam, where he hailed from the Hive of 
 Liberty, No. 8 Little Turnstile, High Holborn, and there he 
 brought out a weekly paper, which was illustrated by strange 
 plates, and which he called "Pigs' Meat, or Lessons for the 
 People, alias (according to Burke) the Swinish Multitude.*' 
 Before long he came into direct conflict with the authorities: 
 he was fined and imprisoned repeatedly, and on one occasion 
 for twelve months ; and, after learning by much and bitter 
 experience the inconvenience of being in advance of his time, 
 he died on the 5th September, 1814, and his admirers gave 
 him a public funeral, and formed a society in his memory, and 
 for the discussion and propagation of his views, and called 
 themselves the Spenceans, after his honoured name. 
 
 But what was this evil paper, the product of Thomas 
 Spence's e«irly days, which sorely troubled the spring-time of 
 our Literary and Philosophical Society, and which has quite 
 recently been republished by ardent admirers? What was it 
 all about ? The title, " Property in Land Every-one's Right," 
 has a somewhat philosophical sound in these days, but seemed 
 revolutionary enough when it appeared, and revolution was 
 what Spence desired. He proposed that landlords should be 
 abolished, and that all land should be held by parishes, which 
 should have no right of alienation. But the parishes were also 
 to have powers which, in the lengthy debates on the Parish 
 Councils Act, no one dreamed of asking for them. Every man 
 was to have a vote ; each parish was to be a corporation ; the 
 
 h 
 
 land, with all that appertains to it, was to be its property ; and 
 it was to have all power over such land, except that of aliena- 
 tion. There were to be no more or other landlords in the 
 whole country than the parishes, and each of them was to be 
 sovereign lord of its own territories. 
 
 The people were to pay their rent into the parish boxes, and 
 it was to be employed by each parish " in paying the govern- 
 ment its share of the sum which the parliament at any time 
 grants ; in maintaining and relieving its own poor, and people 
 out of work ; in paying its clergymen, schoolmasters, and 
 officers, their salaries; in building, repairing, and adorning its 
 houses, bridges, and other structures; in making and main- 
 taining canals and other conveniences for trade and navigation ; 
 in planting and taking in waste ground ; in providing and 
 keeping up a magazine of ammunition and all sorts of arms 
 sufficient for all its inhabitants in case of danger from enemies ; 
 in premiums for the encouragement of agriculture, or anything 
 else thought worthy of encouragement ; and, in a word, in doing 
 whatever the people think proper." 
 
 This is a tolerably comprehensive measure of local self- 
 government; but Thomas Spence went much further. The ballot 
 was always to be used in all voting, in order to avoid animosities. 
 " Buildings, clergymen, etc., for the established religion of the 
 country were to be maintained by each parish out of its treasury, 
 but dissenters, if they set up any other religion, must bear the 
 expence of it themselves." But each parish was to have the 
 power of putting the laws in force in all cases, even to the 
 inflicting of death ; and government was only to interfere when 
 any of the parishes acted manifestly to the prejudice of society 
 and the rights and liberties of mankind as established in their 
 glorious constitution and laws. " For the judgment of a parish 
 may be as much depended upon as that of a house of lords. 
 
 II 
 
24 
 
 OUR PREDECESSORS, 
 
 w 
 
 because they have as little to fear from speaking or voting 
 according to truth, as they." 
 
 Perhaps it is true that to-day, in this England of ours, 
 " a man may speak the thing he will," but, when the eighteenth 
 century was beginning to grow old, it required some courage 
 to write as Thomas Spence wrote. His paper is well worth 
 reading, for it is full of interesting points, and furnishes, in some 
 measure, a standard by which we can gauge the progress which 
 has been made in the mental attitude of people generally to 
 several important questions. Political problems which have, 
 even yet, not entered the realm of practical politics, although 
 they are in the nearest border-land, were the cause of much 
 disturbance in, and were living matters to, one member of a 
 speculative society a century and a quarter ago. The world 
 of mind moves slowly. Where should we find to-day a man 
 who longed to abolish all private holding of land, and who 
 would intrust parish councils with absolute power in domestic 
 affairs, and who at the same time advocated the more complete 
 establishment and endowment of the State Church ? But the 
 most valuable feature of the paper is that it clearly shows how 
 widely the speculative character of the thought of those times, 
 which had so great an effect upon French thinkers, and was to 
 develop so rapidly in France into cataclysmal action, had per- 
 meated the whole of our country. 
 
 For we may thus take courage, and possess our souls in 
 patience, when, from time to time, a rising wave of generous, 
 impulsive ignorance of or indifference to facts threatens 
 speedily to sweep away every ancient landmark which our 
 fathers have set, however necessary for the true steering of 
 the ship of the State such landmark may be. Men learn by 
 slow degrees that actual life needs actually working machines, 
 not successful laboratory experiments. 
 
 OUR PREDECESSORS. 
 
 25 
 
 But, for my present purpose, the only important point about 
 the reading of an original and flighty paper before this little 
 Philosophical Society in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, is that our own 
 Society had, from the first moment of its existence, to dissociate 
 itself entirely from any suspicion of a connection, however slight 
 or remote, with that which had numbered amongst its members, 
 for however brief a period, so dangerous an innovator as 
 Thomas Spence. The appointment of a certain Robert Spence 
 as Librarian in 1797 may have lent some colour to the supposi- 
 tion that the Literary and Philosophical Society was but an 
 expansion of the earlier Philosophical Society. At all events, 
 at a General Meeting held on nth December, 1798, it was 
 reported that " an extract was inserted in the Annual Register 
 for 1792 (just published) from a paper purporting to have been 
 read in a Philosophical Society in this town, which might be 
 very injurious to the reputation of this Society, if it should be 
 generally understood to have been printed with its sanction," 
 and it was resolved "that the Committee be empowered to 
 refute an application which has been made of the above article 
 to the discredit of the Society." 
 
 And so the Committee duly printed a statement in the local 
 newspapers, and sent it to the Editor of the Annual Register^ 
 the Gentleman's Magazine, and the Monthly Magazine, point- 
 ing out "that the Literary and Philosophical Society of 
 Newcastle-upon-Tyne having had no existence until February, 
 1793, could not possibly have had any concern in a transaction 
 not later than the year 1792." The grammar may be doubtful, 
 but the meaning is plain and the inference obvious. They 
 further stated that it had been a fundamental rule of the Society, 
 which in no instance had been departed from, " that Religion, 
 British Politics, and all Politics of the Day, shall be deemed 
 prohibited Subjects of Discussion.*' 
 
 » 
 
 I 
 
 !i 
 
 
 xiLHAiii. 
 
26 
 
 OUR PREDECESSORS. 
 
 .y 
 t 
 
 \% 
 
 :! 
 
 And here it might reasonably be supposed that all difficulty 
 would have ended, and forever. But such was not the case. In 
 1803 the Committee, in the course of an explanation of the care 
 taken by them to prevent religious and political debates, refer to 
 this charge, founded upon a passage in the Annual Register, as 
 " a most gross and foul calumny." Thirteen years afterwards, in 
 1816, "an article in a celebrated periodical journal 'revived' the 
 absurd and groundless imputation that the wild visions of Spence, 
 with regard to property in land, had in any form originated " in 
 this Society. The Committee were so much troubled and pained 
 by this suggestion that they furnished the President, who was then 
 in London, with the full detail of all the circumstances connected 
 with the original production of Spence's paper, and, through the 
 medium of Mr. Cookson, one of the Vice-Presidents, they trans- 
 mitted a duplicate of this " detail " to the Right Worshipful the 
 Mayor of the Borough. But they even went further than this. 
 "Impressed by an anxious concern to preserve the Society 
 perfectly clear of all imputations of interference in political or 
 religious subjects," they found it necessary to declare a vacancy 
 in the office of Librarian. 
 
 Why? The name of that official was not Spence but 
 Marshall. At an earlier period of the Society's history, as 
 I have mentioned, Robert Spence had been appointed Librarian 
 in spite of his objectionable name. But Mr. Marshall was an 
 author, and under the date 4th February, 1817, I find the 
 following Minute : — 
 
 "The Committee having referred to the VII. Law of the 
 Literary and Philosophical Society, in which Religion and 
 British Politics are declared to be prohibited subjects of dis- 
 cussion, Resolved 
 
 "That Mr. Marshall, having printed and published a 
 Pamphlet, entitled, a Political Litany, in which both the above 
 
 OUR PREDECESSORS. 
 
 27 
 
 subjects have been introduced in a manner calculated to injure 
 the reputation and interests of the Society, is no longer Librarian 
 to the said Society, and the Treasurer is hereby authorized to 
 pay his Salary up to March next." 
 
 It seems rather a high-handed and arbitrary proceeding this 
 sudden dismissal. The Committee appear to have thought that 
 the prohibition contained in the Law extended even to discus- 
 sions without the walls of the institution, and the members seem 
 to have acquiesced in the extraordinary interpretation. They 
 took care that no question should arise with future holders of the 
 office, for they enacted : 
 
 "That he [the Librarian] be careful to avoid all employ- 
 ments and pursuits which may be inconsistent with the duties 
 which he owes to this Society as its Librarian, — more especially, 
 that he shall in nowise interfere or concern himself with any 
 disputes which may at any time arise among the several 
 members of this Society. And that, in general, the Society 
 expect that he do as Librarian not mix in the concerns of any 
 particular party, either of Religion or Politics." 
 
 To us it, no doubt, appears strange that the Society should 
 have felt so strongly upon small matters, and yet, until but a few 
 short months ago, we all still recognised that it was well to keep 
 religion and the politics of the day, the two subjects upon which 
 feeling runs more strongly than it does upon any others, without 
 our walls. There seemed to be manifest advantages in having 
 one place, at all events, where men of all parties and creeds 
 could meet upon the neutral ground of common interests and 
 sympathies. Younger and, possibly, wiser men have proposed 
 to change all that, but so far unsuccessfully. 
 
 " Old things need not be therefore true : 
 No, fellow-men, nor yet the new." 
 
 Again : we must not forget that ours was really a pioneer 
 
 ' I 
 
 '^nr- ; .r'^.i^— t 
 
 I I 
 
28 
 
 OUR PREDECESSORS, 
 
 4 
 
 
 ' I 
 
 Society. When ours was formed, there was only one other of 
 the kind in provincial England, and that was the Literary and 
 Philosophical Society of Manchester, which held its first meeting 
 twelve years earlier, on 14th March, 1781. Its commencement 
 was consequent upon the example set by many towns in different 
 parts of the Continent, where, the Preface to the first volume of its 
 Transactions (published in 1785) states, " numerous Societies for 
 the projnotion of Literature and Philosophy have been formed 
 in the course of the last and present centuries." France is 
 specially mentioned as the country where "societies for these 
 purposes have been instituted in several of the provinces," whilst 
 " in England they have almost been confined to the Capital." 
 
 If we reckon amongst "learned bodies" the Christian Know- 
 ledge Society, and bear in mind the Royal Irish Academy, the 
 Royal Society of Edinburgh, and the Highland Society, ours was 
 the twelfth, in order of date, to be started in the United Kingdom. 
 In the year of its birth, 1793, the Royal Society of London for 
 improving Natural Knowledge was nearly a century and a half 
 old, but, with the exception of the Linnaean Society, which was 
 founded in 1788, there was not a single association of learned 
 men in this country devoted to the special investigation of any 
 one branch of natural or physical science. The Royal Institu- 
 tion began its labours in the year 1800; the Geological Society 
 in 1808; the Royal Astronomical Society in 1820; the Zoolo- 
 gical Society in 1826; the Royal Geographical Society in 1830; 
 and the Chemical Society did not make its appearance until 
 1 84 1. So that our Society came into being at a time when 
 there were only three learned societies in the metropolis itself, 
 and when, with the single exception of the good city of Man- 
 chester, none of the great English towns, which we now look 
 upon as the principal commercial or manufacturing centres 
 of light and learning, could boast a Society at all. 
 
 OUR PREDECESSORS. 
 
 29 
 
 We must not forget that the time was 51 critical one. 
 Seventeen days before our Literary and Philosophical Society 
 first met, Louis XVI. was guillotined in Paris, and at once one 
 of those great waves of public feeling swept over England 
 which, even with the graver, calmer, and more thoughtful men, 
 destroy for a time all power of reflection or discrimination, and 
 the effect of which only the long lapse of years can eradicate 
 from the popular mind. The whole land went into mourning, 
 and all that savoured of France was abhorrent to all good 
 English citizens. Edmund Burke's Letters on a Regicide 
 Peace tells us, with startling clearness, how mad, upon matters 
 relating to France and the French, sane men and great leaders 
 of men had become. 
 
 Though there were those who kept their heads, and remem- 
 bered that, bad as the French Revolution became when "a 
 separation (was) made between liberty and justice," yet the 
 outbreak was only possible because the woes and wrongs of an 
 entire people had become intolerable, we cannot be surprised 
 that, for a time, any innovation was looked upon as rash, and 
 that the charge of being responsible for the promulgation of 
 revolutionary doctrines was not one which a quiet and orderly 
 Literary and Philosophical Society in a provincial town could 
 patiently rest under. 
 
 When this Society had reached the fiftieth anniversary of its 
 establishment, poor Thomas Spence, whose only faults were that 
 he thought for himself and was in advance of his time, was once 
 again dragged forth in connection with it. In a paper which 
 Dr. Glover read on that occasion, and in which he gave a brief 
 sketch of the history of the Society up to that year, he speaks 
 of " the founding of a Debating Society in 1777, of which the 
 celebrated or notorious Spence was a member, but from which 
 he was expelled for hawking about the streets a pamphlet in 
 
 il 
 
hi 
 
 30 
 
 OUR PREDECESSORS. 
 
 i\ 
 
 i » 
 
 J 
 
 !J 
 
 I ' 
 
 r 
 
 \ ; 
 
 which he expressed some of his wild views. This occurrence 
 was afterwards the cause of some obloquy being directed by 
 mistake against the Literary and Philosophical Society, as if 
 that Institution had been political at its commencement" 
 
 This statement is specially interesting because of its want of 
 accuracy — even the date being incorrect. 
 
 This, then, is the history of the Philosophical Society which 
 preceded the Literary and Philosophical Society, and which, 
 although in olden days frequently confounded with it, had really 
 nothing whatever to do with it. 
 
 But another Society came into being towards the end of last 
 century, which certain writers have erroneously supposed con- 
 templated to some extent the work which this Society afterwards 
 took up. On the ist November, 1786, the Gentlemen of the 
 Medical Faculty in this district resolved to form a Philosophical 
 and Medical Society. From the Rules of the Society it was 
 apparently not intended to be confined to members of the 
 medical profession, nor is there anything to show that the 
 papers to be read at its monthly meetings were to be restricted 
 to any special class of subjects. Upon the 7th February, 1787, 
 a committee was formed to draw up the outlines of a general 
 library, and this was certainly meant to be for the town 
 generally. The proposals which they prepared set out with the 
 following declaration : — 
 
 " A number of gentlemen, sensible of the Advantages that 
 will result from the Establishment of a General Library in this 
 Town, have entered into a Subscription for that purpose, and 
 wishing for the Approbation and Concurrence of others, take 
 this method of communicating the Outlines of their Plan to the 
 Public." 
 
 The first proposal ran thus: "The Library shall consist of 
 the most approved Authors in every Branch of Philosophy : in 
 
 OUR PREDECESSORS. 
 
 31 
 
 the Belles Lettres, History, Theology, Law and Medicine, 
 Agriculture and Commerce ; but Romances, Novels, and the 
 like shall be excluded." Philosophy, in those days, had a much 
 wider meaning than we give to it now. It more nearly corre- 
 sponded to the term Science as we use it popularly. " Natural 
 Philosophy" is no longer heard amongst us, and "Natural 
 Science " is almost as rare. Dr. Johnson defined " Philosophy " 
 as " Knowledge, natural or moral," and " Science " as " Know- 
 ledge, pure and simple." But, as in the Literary and Scientific 
 Societies of our time, the Natural Sciences are most generally 
 intended, so, in the Literary and Philosophical or Philo- 
 sophical and Medical Societies of a century ago, it was the 
 philosophy of Buffon rather than that of Berkeley which was 
 thought of. 
 
 I gather from the records of the Society that all its actual 
 members belonged to the medical profession. Certainly the 
 whole of the papers read at its meetings were technical, and it 
 was practically a medical society and nothing else. It was not 
 highly successful in point of numbers at all events, and it was 
 finally dissolved in November 1800, its books being transferred 
 to the Medical Book Club, which had been formed in May 
 1790. 
 
 This Club consisted of thirteen members, who met at each 
 other's houses once a month at eight o'clock, breaking up at 
 eleven. " The Member at whose house the Club meets shall 
 furnish a Supper, consisting of Cold Beef, Bread and Cheese, 
 Malt Liquor, and Spirit and Water. If any Member wishes for 
 Wine, he may call for it." The books belonging to the Club 
 were " lodged in a Book Case in the possession of the Librarian 
 of the Literary and Philosophical Society," according to a Club 
 Minute of November 1799. 
 
 Thus, then, the learned Societies of which I find any record 
 
 ( 
 
 /! 
 
 A 
 
r 
 
 <^ 1 
 
 32 OUR PREDECESSORS. 
 
 as existing in this City before the Literary and Philosophical 
 Society's date are the Philosophical Society which expelled 
 Spence, and the Philosophical and Medical Society which died 
 in 1800. The more convivial Club had a much longer existence, 
 changing its name to " The Medical Society," and only dying of 
 extreme old age in the year 1875. 
 
 H 
 
 > , 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE BIRTH AND INFANCY OF THE SOCIETY. 
 
 ^ 
 
 HERE are few men to whom the town of Newcastle- 
 upon-Tyne is more deeply indebted than it is to the 
 Rev. William Turner. When scarcely twenty-one years 
 of age, at the beginning of 1783, he became the minister of the 
 Unitarian congregation worshipping in the Hanover Square 
 Chapel. Here, in the following year, he started the first Sunday- 
 school in Newcastle, and, under his charge, which continued for 
 fifty-eight years, this chapel became for the town and district a 
 focus of light and learning. The history of our Society is 
 indissolubly connected with it, for not only was Mr. Turner its 
 founder, but many of its most valuable members sat under his 
 genial ministrations. It is not too much to say that for more 
 than half a century he was foremost in every movement which 
 had for its object the social, moral, or intellectual welfare of the 
 community, and the good work he did was not " interred with 
 his bones." He lived until the year 1859, when he died at 
 Manchester, at the age of ninety-seven years. The Society still 
 possesses an excellent portrait and bust of this good man and 
 worthy citizen. 
 
 In the winter of 1792 a few friends who met weekly for the 
 purpose of conversation discussed the formation of a conver- 
 sational society, and Mr. Turner was asked by them to draw out 
 
 3 
 
34 
 
 THE BIRTH OF THE SOCIETY, 
 
 ii 
 
 \^} 
 
 a sketch of the arguments for such an Institution. The follow- 
 ing week he produced a paper which he called " Speculations 
 on^'a Literary Society." This was circulated in manuscript, and 
 it aroused such interest that a meeting of a more general kind 
 was called to take the matter into consideration, and was duly 
 held on the 24th January, 1793, in the new Assembly Rooms 
 in Westgatc Street. 
 
 These rooms, which have seen so many changes in their 
 surroundings, are still fulfilling their important social functions 
 with stately grace. The present generation have no recollection 
 of the earden attached to the Vicarage House of Newcastle, 
 whose trees gave a certain charm to Westgate Street less than 
 forty years ago, but that garden was much smaller than it had 
 been at the middle of last century. Upon part of the old garden 
 the new Assembly Rooms had been built by subscription. They 
 were opened on the 24th June, 1776, and "a very numerous and 
 brilliant company " gathered to hansel them. The inscription 
 which, two years before, had been placed under the foundation- 
 stone is perhaps worthy of preservation. It ran thus : — 
 
 *' In an age 
 when the polite arts, 
 By general encouragement and emulation, 
 Have advanced to a 
 State of perfection, 
 unknown in any former period : 
 The first stone 
 Of this edifice, 
 Dedicated to the most elegant recreation, 
 Was laid by William Lowes, Esq., «. 
 On the 1 6th day of May, i774-" 
 
 The meeting of the 24th January, 1793, was convened " for 
 
 
 w 
 
 i/) 
 
 O 
 r. 
 
 
 U 
 
I 
 
 t 
 
 \ 
 
 I 
 
 
 34 THE BIRTH OF THE SOCIETY. 
 
 a sketch of the arguments for such an Institution. The follow- 
 ing week he produced a paper which he called " Speculations 
 on^'a Literary Society." This was circulated in manuscript, and 
 it aroused such interest that a meeting of a more general kind 
 was called to take the matter into consideration, and was duly 
 held on the 24th January, 1793. i" the new Assembly Rooms 
 in Westgatc Street. 
 
 These rooms, which have seen so many changes in their 
 surroundings, are still fulfilling their important social functions 
 with stately grace. The present generation have no recollection 
 of the garden attached to the Vicarage House of Newcastle, 
 whose trees gave a certain charm to Westgate Street less than 
 forty years ago, but that garden was much smaller than it had 
 been at the middle of last century. Upon part of the old garden 
 the new Assembly Rooms had been built by subscription. They 
 were opened on the 24th June, 1776, and "a very numerous and 
 brilliant company" gathered to hansel them. The inscription 
 which, two years before, had been placed under the foundation- 
 stone is perhaps worthy of preservation. It ran thus :— 
 
 "In an age 
 when the polite arts. 
 By general encouragement and emulation, 
 Have advanced to a 
 State of perfection, 
 unknown in any former period : 
 The first stone 
 Of this edifice, 
 Dedicated to the most elegant recreation. 
 Was laid by William Lowes, Esq., 
 On the i6th day of May, 1774." 
 
 The meeting of the 24th January, 1793, was convened " for 
 
 mi 
 
 1 
 
 00 
 
 W 
 H 
 
 < 
 O 
 H 
 
 X 
 
 > 
 
 < 
 
 Pi 
 
 -■4 
 
 u 
 > 
 
 X 
 
 H 
 
THE BIRTH OF THE SOCIETY, 
 
 35 
 
 the purpose of taking into consideration the propriety of estab- 
 h'shing a Literary and Philosophical Society in Newcastle," and 
 the matter seems to have been introduced by the Rev. William 
 Turner reading the paper which I have already mentioned, and 
 the full title of which was " Speculations on the propriety of 
 attempting the establishment of a Literary Society in New- 
 castle." There is no information available as to the other 
 proceedings, and even the name of the chairman is unknown. 
 
 As upon this paper our Society was founded, I shall describe 
 its argument in some detail. 
 
 After a brief introduction, in which allusion was made to 
 " the Royal Society in London, which was the first in order of 
 time, and continued to claim the first place among the Literary 
 Societies of Europe," and to the fact that, amongst the pro- 
 vincial towns of England, Manchester alone possessed such a 
 Society, Mr. Turner proceeded to discuss whether such pro- 
 vincial Literary Societies might not become more general. 
 They would act as nurseries to the larger and more important 
 institutions; would diffuse more extensively a taste for philo- 
 sophical and literary enquiries; and would answer a salutary 
 moral purpose. " Might they not be expected to increase the 
 pleasures and advantages of social intercourse, by providing an 
 easy method of spending the evening agreeably and usefully ; and 
 may they not thus be a means of checking the first formation 
 of dissipated habits ; of banishing from our tables the coarser 
 pleasures of intemperance ; and of substituting for the always 
 trifling, and frequently destructive, pursuits of the gamester, the 
 rational and manly entertainments of literature and philosophy?" 
 
 He next explained that the circumstances which had induced 
 him to look upon Newcastle as a favourable seat for such an 
 institution as he contemplated, were — 
 
 First, the two great natural products of this part of the 
 
36 
 
 THE BIRTH OF THE SOCIETY. 
 
 THE BIRTH OF THE SOCIETY. 
 
 37 
 
 country— coal and lead. Under this head he pointed out how 
 •*the origin and chemical properties of coal, the position in 
 which it is found in the earth, the thickness and inclination of 
 its strata, the nature of the strata above and below it, and the 
 frequent interruption by perpendicular fissures called dykes, 
 troubles, etc., were curious and interesting objects of enquiry, 
 concerning which the ingenious persons who are employed as 
 viewers are capable of supplying better information than can be 
 obtained any other way. To these gentlemen, on the other 
 hand, the speculative philosopher might perhaps have an oppor- 
 tunity of returning the obligation, by communicating useful hints 
 concerning the nature of the several damps and vapours which 
 infest the mines, with the view of destroying or removing them." 
 Mr. Turner mentions also improvements in machinery, both 
 above and below ground, and thinks that " the speculations of 
 ingenious men in this line" might afford both entertainment 
 and advantage. Perhaps the French wit who found that the 
 English took their pleasures sadly, had heard of this curious 
 idea of entertainment. But he goes on to speak of improve- 
 ments in the method of working the coal, and in the means of 
 preserving the health, and providing for the safety of the miners. 
 He makes similar observations respecting lead, laying stress 
 upon "what concerns the health of the workmen employed in all 
 the branches of it, from its first discovery in the mine, to the 
 manufactures in which it is even most remotely concerned." He 
 alludes to the various manufactures which depend upon the 
 plenty and cheapness of fuel, and suggests that a Society of the 
 nature he contemplates might point out and encourage the 
 establishment of such as are, on this account, peculiarly adapted 
 to this country. He shows also how Newcastle enjoys special 
 advantages for chemical investigations, and the opportunity 
 afforded of seeing many chemical processes " at the works of 
 
 various ingenious persons residing in this town and neighbour- 
 hood." 
 
 The second object of such a Society would be to enquire how 
 far the country was still improvable. Mineral treasures might 
 yet be discovered ; hints might be given for the advancement of 
 agriculture ; and the arguments for and against facilitating 
 communication by means of inland navigation might be can- 
 vassed. Again, the mineral waters found in the district, and 
 those which supplied this town, might be carefully analysed, and 
 perhaps further hints given for obtaining a better supply. 
 
 Thirdly, the romantic scenery, especially on the banks of the 
 Tyne, and other rivers, would furnish a variety of subjects for 
 the pencil, and for the lover of picturesque description, and these 
 might occasionally entertain the Society. 
 
 Fourthly, the profusion of antiquities, not only in Newcastle, 
 but all along the Roman Wall, "which, though they have 
 furnished abundance of employment for many pens, are not yet 
 by any means exhausted, will engage the attention of the patient 
 enquirers after these venerable monuments of extinct nations 
 customs, and religions." 
 
 It is interesting to note, as we go through this paper upon 
 which our Society was founded, how many of the hopes to which 
 Mr. Turner gave expression a century ago have been amply 
 realised. The coal trade has been enormously developed, and 
 " the several damps and vapours which infest the mines " have 
 been, on the whole, successfully grappled with. The lead and 
 chemical industries have taken innumerable forms then all 
 undreamed of; the town supply of water has attained, what 
 would have appeared to Mr. Turner, impossible proportions ; 
 Thomas Bewick, old Tom Richardson, and other future members, 
 have entertained wider audiences than the Society with "the 
 subjects for the pencil ; " and the " profusion of antiquities " 
 
38 
 
 THE BIRTH OF THE SOCIETY. 
 
 alluded to owe their preservation and elucidation in a great 
 measure to two gentlemen who, for many years, took a deep and 
 active interest in the Society's work, our late Vice-presidents, 
 Mr. John Clayton and the Rev. Dr. Bruce. 
 
 Under his fifth head Mr. Turner mentions an exact enumera- 
 tion and classification of the inhabitants of the town. This had 
 not at that time been attempted. Many guesses and calcula- 
 tions had been made, but with widely differing results. There 
 was still a strong religious superstition against the State under- 
 taking such a task. He went on to suggest as subjects for 
 inquiry the history and progress of commerce, particularly of 
 the coal trade ; accounts of the introduction and gradual 
 extension of the various manufactures, "and of the regu- 
 lations for the internal government of the workmen employed 
 by Crawley's company at Swalwell, which, I am told, are very 
 curious, though probably but little known.'* 
 
 Crawley's company deserves a passing word. Few people 
 now know even the name, and yet it was for some time one 
 of the most important manufacturing companies in the whole 
 country. Sir Ambrose Crowley, towards the end of the 
 seventeenth century, "first fixed upon Sunderland near the 
 Sea, as an eligible situation for his projected manufactory ; 
 but, after an experience of five or six years, he transplanted 
 his Cyclopean colony to the district between the Tyne and 
 Derwent, a cheaper country, and abounding with coal." This 
 was about the year 1690. Winlaton corn-mill was turned into 
 an iron forge, and ironworks were started also at Swalwell. 
 Anchors, chain cables, pumps, spades, saws, "in short, almost 
 every form of which iron and steel are susceptible were produced 
 in these works." 
 
 Sir Ambrose Crowley was a Staffordshire man, who worked 
 his way up from the anvil. He lived in London, and had ware- 
 
 THE BIRTH OF THE SOCIETY, 
 
 39 
 
 houses and wharves for the purposes of his great business 
 operations. These places he called " The Doublet," and the 
 sign which he placed upon them is said to have represented 
 the leather jerkin in which he worked when a smith. He 
 was knighted in 1706, made Sheriff of London in 1707, and 
 afterwards became an alderman for that city and Member of 
 Parliament for Andover. He is an interesting specimen of the 
 self-made man, and tl^at not so much because he managed to 
 get rich and to die leaving great estates and works and a fortune 
 of ;f 200,000, but rather because he was a man of advanced ideas 
 upon the labour question, and that two centuries ago. 
 
 His works were regulated by a special code of laws, which 
 " had the happiest effect in reconciling differences, adminis- 
 tering justice expeditiously, and rendering unnecessary the 
 oppressive, absurd, and ruinous processes of the common law." 
 The laws were administered by the officials, but all disputes 
 were settled by a court of arbitrators, amongst whom all the 
 different interests of the great concern were represented, and 
 which met at stated intervals. The laws dealt with most of 
 the matters which are now relegated to the County Court or 
 to Petty Sessions, and questions of debt to outside tradesmen 
 as well as to fellow- workmen, wages, work, personal disputes, 
 bastardy claims, and the like, were brought before and decided 
 by " Crowley's Court" The sick, aged, or permanently disabled 
 were cared for; a surgeon was appointed to attend all who 
 required his services ; widows and orphans were assisted, and 
 schools were established for the workmen's children. In 18 19 
 the workmen formed and opened a library at Winlaton, which 
 contained three thousand volumes. To provide the necessary 
 funds for the different social operations I have mentioned, 
 deductions of so much in the pound were made from each man's 
 wages, the firm also contributing its quota. 
 
 i' 
 
40 
 
 THE BIRTH OF THE SOCIETY. 
 
 
 f, 
 
 y 
 
 I have been led rather far away from Mr. Turner's paper by 
 his allusion to " Crawley's company at Swalwell," but there is 
 surely a special interest, now that Winlaton Mill has long been 
 a ruin and the Swalwell works have been abandoned for more 
 than twenty years, about this early and, on the whole, successful 
 attempt towards Industrial Peace. 
 
 Mr. Turner's sixth point for the operations of the proposed 
 society was the biography of eminent men, natives of, or 
 resident in, these parts; and, as the seventh point, he notes that 
 "Newcastle is peculiarly well situated for procuring Literary 
 Intelligence," because it enjoys more frequent opportunities of 
 communicating with the capitals both of England and Scotland, 
 than any other town in either kingdom, and because of its 
 much trade with other parts of the world. 
 
 And this brought the learned speaker to his last point. 
 Navigation and the Mathematics. A century ago, " the solution 
 of various important problems still necessary to the perfection 
 of navigation " had for nearly a hundred years been looked upon 
 as a national object ; whilst " the Mathematical Sciences, in 
 their various branches, are capable of almost universal extent 
 and application." Thus he came to his concluding words : — 
 
 " I might further remark, with what good ground we might 
 hope to look forward to the pleasure of being favoured, from 
 the most respectable quarter, with various classical illustrations, 
 enquiries into antient manners, customs, etc., etc. ; what a 
 favourable prospect we might reasonably entertain of being 
 regaled with specimens of eastern literature, which is daily 
 becoming more and more important in a commercial view, and 
 which appears to be fraught with various beauties, both of 
 sentiment and diction : I might resume a former general argu- 
 ment, and shew the advantages which may arise to our youth 
 in particular, from any institution which may tend to obviate 
 
 THE BIRTH OF THE SOCIETY, 
 
 41 
 
 the many temptations arising from the great degree of leisure 
 which seems, from whatever cause, to attend the trade of this 
 port : — But I am fearful of exhausting the patience of my 
 readers ; whom I wish to convince, but not to fatigue." 
 
 The reader will have noticed that the idea which was upper- 
 most in Mr. Turner's mind was that of forming a kind of 
 debating society combined with an essay meeting ; or it might 
 be better to call it a conversation club, upon an extensive scale. 
 Papers were to be read by the members who had special 
 information to communicate, and were afterwards to be talked 
 over in the freest way. 
 
 This was the plan which had been adopted by " the Philo- 
 sophical and Medical Society" which I described in the last 
 chapter, and which Mr. Turner mentioned at the beginning of 
 his paper. He said, " it appears to be formed upon such liberal 
 principles, as to admit into its body any lovers of general 
 literature who might offer themselves as candidates, though not 
 of the Faculty." He then distinguished between the principal 
 (and really the exclusive) object of that society — the improve- 
 ment of the practical part of the medical profession, and that of 
 such a society as he wished to form " admitting persons of all 
 professions, parties, and persuasions," and in which " the intro- 
 duction of practical medicine, as well as, for obvious reasons, of 
 politics and religion," should be forbidden. 
 
 The meeting resolved that it was highly expedient that such 
 a society should be formed, and it appointed a committee to 
 draw up a plan, which was to be submitted to the next general 
 meeting. 
 
 The men appointed were, in the truest sense, representa- 
 tive. William Cramlington, twice mayor, and half-brother by 
 marriage of Lords Stowell and Eldon ; Robert Hopper William- 
 son, Recorder of Newcastle, and Chancellor of the County 
 
 
 I 
 
 1 
 
 ♦^ 
 
42 
 
 THE BIRTH OF THE SOCIETY. 
 
 II 
 
 Palatine of Durham ; the Rev. Edward Moises, who had 
 succeeded his uncle as head-master of the Royal Grammar 
 School ; the Rev. William Turner ; Dr. Pemberton, Physician 
 to the Infirmary; Dr. Ramsay, then President of the Philo- 
 sophical and Medical Society; Dr. Wood, also Physician to the 
 Infirmary; Mr. John Anderson ; Mr. John Murray, Visiting 
 Surgeon to the Dispensary ; Mr. William Newton ; Mr. David 
 Stephenson, architect, who designed and carried out the forma- 
 tion of Mosley Street and Dean Street ; Mr. Thomas Gibson ; 
 Mr. Robert Doubleday, for forty-six years secretary to the 
 Newcastle Dispensary, secretary also to the Lying-in Hospital 
 and Fever Hospital, one of the founders and a vice-president 
 of the Royal Jubilee School, and one of the founders and 
 directors of the Newcastle Savings Bank. He was one of the 
 original Committee of Management of the Literary and 
 Philosophical Society, acted for some time as joint-secretary 
 with Mr. Turner, and was for twenty-six years an active and 
 highly valued vice-president of the Society, which owed much of 
 its early success to his tact and ability. The remaining members 
 of the Committee were Mr. Malin Sorsbie and Mr. Nicholas 
 Storey, who appear to have been amongst " the few friends " 
 whose social meetings first gave birth to the idea of the Society. 
 The Committee thus appointed applied itself at once to its 
 task, and presented a plan for the formation and government of 
 a Literary Society to the next general meeting, which was held 
 at the Dispensary in Pilgrim Street, on Thursday, the 7th of 
 February, 1793, the Rev. Edward Moises being in the chair. At 
 this meeting it was resolved — " That this meeting do form itself 
 into a Society by the name of * The Literary and Philosophical 
 Society of Newcastle-upon-Tyne;'" and rules for nomination 
 of members, election of officers, and reading of papers were 
 adopted, the annual subscription being fixed at one guinea. 
 
 1 
 
 THE BIRTH OF THE SOCIETY, 
 
 43 
 
 The rules provided, amongst other things, that any member 
 might recommend, and any general meeting direct, the purchase 
 of such books, etc., as they thought proper. The subjects of 
 conversation should comprehend " the Mathematics, Natural 
 Philosophy and History, Chemistry, Polite Literature, Anti- 
 quities, Civil History, Biography, Questions of General Law 
 and Policy, Commerce, and the Arts." But with practical 
 wisdom, considering the character of the burning questions of 
 that day (and perhaps the implied limitation of the observation 
 is not necessary), " Religion, the practical branches of Law and 
 Physic, British Politics, and indeed all Politics of the day," were 
 " deemed prohibited subjects of conversation." 
 
 The ruling idea of the Society's functions was that of a club 
 for talk and argument, both being conducted methodically and 
 with serious objects in view. It was arranged that it should 
 meet once a month, the chair being taken at a quarter before 
 seven in the evening, but the members being " requested to 
 meet at half-past six, to hear such literary intelligence, etc., as 
 any person might have to communicate." 
 
 All friends of literature and philosophy, whether members 
 or not, were invited to favour the Society with papers on any 
 of the permitted subjects, or with literary intelligence, curious 
 productions of nature or art, etc., directed to any member of 
 the Society. The reading of papers was to commence at seven 
 o'clock precisely, other business being adjourned until after the 
 discussion of the subject for the night. 
 
 These arrangements sound strange and precise now, but we 
 must remember that the gentlemen who prepared the rules were 
 feeling their way. I have pointed out that there were scarcely 
 any learned societies in the land a century ago, but we must 
 also remember that there were no debating societies, no local 
 colleges, no systematic courses of lectures, no quarterly reviews, 
 
 i-1 
 
lit 
 
 
 THE BIRTH OF THE SOCIETY. 
 
 THE BIRTH OF THE SOCIETY. 
 
 u 
 
 45 
 
 HI",: 
 
 
 no monthly magazines to speak of, no penny daily newspapers. 
 A public gathering at regular intervals for intellectual purposes 
 was quite a new departure for our good town, and required 
 much thought and careful preparation. 
 
 This department of the Society, which was the chief one in 
 Mr. Turner's estimation, had developments which are of much 
 interest, and which will be dealt with in a subsequent chapter. 
 But at this first meeting it was also resolved — " That the Society 
 will consider itself as particularly indebted to those who shall 
 favour it with notices concerning coal or lead, with the strata, 
 etc., accompanying them ; or with specimens, draughts, plans, 
 sections, borings, etc., illustrative of the natural history of these 
 minerals." The replies to this suggestion, and to that mentioned 
 a little earlier, of forwarding to the Society " curious productions 
 of nature or art," led to the formation of another department 
 altogether — the gathering together of a large and valuable 
 museum. This story will also have a chapter to itself. These two 
 departments have ceased to exist in connection with the Society. 
 
 It was further resolved at this first meeting that it should be 
 left to future deliberations to determine what, or whether any, 
 measures should be taken for obtaining the establishment of a 
 General Library. This, which has long been the principal feature 
 of the Society, was not directly contemplated by its founder ; but 
 at that first meeting a novel and interesting arrangement was 
 made for the systematic borrowing of books by the members 
 from one another. By this plan members who wished to peruse 
 any particular book were to give notice of the fact in the Society's 
 room, in order that, if any other member were in possession of it, 
 and were disposed to lend it, or could give information where it 
 might be obtained, the person wanting it might be accommo- 
 dated upon the following terms — viz., "that he give a written 
 receipt for any book furnished by a member, with an engage- 
 
 ment to return it within a specified time in as good condition as 
 received." 
 
 We have no means of ascertaining how this original method of 
 circulating other people's books answered, but there are persons 
 even in these days who would have fewer agonising gaps upon 
 their library shelves if some benevolent society had volunteered to 
 undertake the task of book-lending for them, and had observed the 
 precaution of obtaining a written receipt for each book lent 
 
 There was no provision made for women members, and, as 
 will be seen hereafter, none were admitted for a considerable 
 time. This was the case with all societies which were known as 
 " learned " ; and even to-day, when women have surpassed men 
 in the highest mathematical and classical examinations at the 
 old universities, there are societies claiming the title of "learned" 
 in the metropolis itself which deny to women the title of fellow, 
 and that not from chivalrous motives. But the earliest rules of 
 this Society did make a slender provision for the youth of the 
 male sex, for, " in order to encourage a taste for literature in the 
 younger members of the community," any member was allowed 
 to introduce a young person between the ages of seventeen and 
 twenty-one. It was, however, resolved " that this class of visitors 
 be expected to withdraw immediately after the reading of papers 
 is concluded." 
 
 This somewhat mysterious and harsh regulation remained in 
 force for six years, by which time experience had shown that the 
 discussions and conversations indulged in by the older members 
 might be listened to with impunity by such of the ingenuous 
 youth of the district as happened to have a taste that way. 
 
 Thus then, at this meeting on the 7th February, 1793, it was 
 resolved that the Society should be formed, and should hold its 
 meetings once a month. At the first of these, which fell on the 
 7th March, it was reported that seventy-three Ordinary Members 
 
 
46 
 
 THE BIRTH OF THE SOCIETY, 
 
 THE BIRTH OF THE SOCIETY. 
 
 47 
 
 f- 
 
 \\' 
 
 
 and fifty-four Honorary Members had been already enrolled. 
 The numbers seem to be, relatively, rather disproportionate, but 
 persons who lived more than five miles from Newcastle were 
 eligible as Honorary Members, so that nearly one-half of their 
 number were resident in Northumberland and Durham. Still 
 there were some great names upon the list, names of men of 
 national importance, such as Matthew Boulton, Soho, near 
 Birmingham ; Sir Joseph Banks, P.R.S. ; Dr. Charles Hutton, 
 Dr. Lettsom,* Dr. Percival, President of the Literary and Philo- 
 sophical Society of Manchester ; Rev. Dr. Priestley, and others. 
 This meeting was adjourned until the 12th March, when the 
 officers of the Society were elected. The list of these first 
 bearers of office should, I think, be preserved. It runs thus : — 
 
 President . 
 Vice-Pt esidenis . 
 
 Secretaries . . 
 
 Treasurer . . 
 Committee . . 
 
 . John Widdrington, Esq. 
 . Stephen Pemberton, M.D. 
 
 Robert Hopper Williamson, Esq. 
 
 John Clark, M.D., F.R.C.M. Ed. 
 
 William Cramlington, Esq. 
 . Rev. William Turner, Jun. 
 
 Mr. Robert Doubleday. 
 . Mr, Thomas Gibson. 
 . John Ramsay, M.D. 
 
 Mr. Walter Hall. 
 
 Mr. David Stephenson. 
 
 James Wood, M.D. 
 
 * The learned and famous Quaker physician whom most men now remember 
 only by the naughty epigram : 
 
 *' Should any sick to me apply, 
 
 I blisters, bleeds, and sweats 'em; 
 If, after that, they chance to die, 
 What's that to me? 
 
 I. Lettsom." 
 
 The Committee has been increased to twelve members, but 
 the other offices remain as they were first settled. It is amusing 
 to note that the Secretaries precede the Treasurer. More than 
 three-quarters of a century afterwards a serious question arose 
 upon this vital point ; and it was settled at last by the Secre- 
 taries allowing the Treasurer's name to be printed before their 
 names, but always taking precedence in introducing lecturers 
 and the like. It is on such questions that much valuable time 
 and thought must be bestowed, for they appear to be of the 
 first importance. 
 
 With three exceptions, the officers were members of the 
 original committee. With their election the Society may be 
 considered to have begun its actual work. But it was very 
 soon felt that the members required something more than the 
 opportunity of meeting once a month for conversation, and of 
 borrowing books which they were not allowed to appropriate. 
 Scarcely half a year had passed before a forward movement was 
 made in the direction of establishing a General Library. The 
 Rev. Edward Moises led this movement, and at his suggestion 
 a special committee was appointed on loth December, 1793, to 
 take the matter into consideration, their attention being drawn 
 to the resolutions of the meeting of the 7th February upon the 
 subject. The Committee " held repeated meetings, at each of 
 which they found no difficulty in agreeing that the establish- 
 ment of a General Library, subject to the restrictions of the 
 eighth Article of the 7th of February, was an object highly desir- 
 able," but the best mode of carrying out such establishment 
 gave them much trouble. 
 
 The usual plan was to give each subscriber a share in the 
 undertaking, which was a definite item of personal property, and 
 could be sold or bequeathed by will. The objection to this 
 course in the case of a library was that the chief interest might 
 
I 
 
 » 
 
 It 
 
 4S 
 
 THE BIRTH OF THE SOCIETY. 
 
 I* 
 f 
 
 come, in course of time, to be vested in illiterate persons, infants, 
 or absentees. To prevent this, it was proposed to give the 
 Society a right of pre-emption, but this was considered dangerous, 
 as a few members might combine and, by selling out, " very 
 seriously distress the Society." Several other suggestions were 
 made, but the Committee at length wisely concluded that " it 
 appeared most agreeable to the original principles of the associa- 
 tion, as well as the most simple and free from difficulties, that 
 the Library, etc., should always continue to be considered as the 
 undivided property of the General Body for the time being ; and 
 that every Member should be understood to receive a sufficient 
 compensation for his subscription, in the information derived 
 from the stated meetings of the Society, and in the use of the 
 books and other property, so long as he continues a Member." 
 
 This plan was adopted, and has always been adhered to. 
 At the time it was unique, and Lord Brougham, in a pamphlet 
 on Mechanics* Institutes, instanced it as a case of liberality of 
 treatment which deserved to be celebrated. But the best 
 method of carrying out the resolve of the subscribers was a 
 frequent cause of anxiety. That learned lawyer, Mr. Robert 
 Hopper Williamson, whose fame survives even to this day, 
 advised that an order should be made at the anniversary meet- 
 ing in 1797 declaring that the property of the Library and other 
 effects of the Society should be vested in the Committee for the 
 time being, in trust for such uses and purposes as should from 
 time to time be directed by the laws of the Society. Each 
 Committee was to deliver to its successors the whole of these 
 effects with an accurate catalogue thereof 
 
 This plan, it is obvious, could only be satisfactory so long as 
 the Society's possessions were few. As they increased, its 
 inadequacy was felt more and more, and at the Anniversary 
 Meeting in 1805 the Committee announced that they had 
 
 THE BIRTH OF THE SOCIETY. 
 
 49 
 
 w 
 
 resolved, " upon the most mature deliberation, and after availing 
 themselves of the best legal advice, to propose a Deed of Trust, 
 renewable from time to time to new Trustees to be appointed by 
 the Society." The heads of the proposed deed having been 
 read, the meeting directed it " to be sent to Charles Butler, Esq., 
 of Lincoln's Inn, — and, having been corrected and approved 
 by him, to be engrossed and signed by the parties concerned." 
 
 But although our predecessors were not troubled by " the 
 insolence of office," they could not escape " the law's delays, " 
 and no more was heard of the proposed deed for twenty years. 
 There was an abortive attempt made to get a General Act of 
 Parliament passed which should relate to all societies of a similar 
 description, but in 1825 the whole of the Society's property, 
 including its new building, was " vested in the sole name of our 
 most worthy President." And so at long last the matter was 
 submitted to Mr. Butler, " whose eminence as a Conveyancer is 
 universally acknowledged." 
 
 Mr. Butler advised as follows : — 
 
 " I have perused this case, and the Deeds and Rules and Regula- 
 tions accompanying it. 
 
 In all of these cases, a difficulty arises, from part of the property 
 being real estate, and part of it personal estate. To avoid which, I 
 recommend that all the real estate should be properly vested in the 
 Trustees for a term of 1000 years. 
 
 Another difficulty frequently occurs in these cases, from the difficulty 
 of disposing of the property, if the parties should wish to sell or ex- 
 change any part of it ; or if the institution should fail. To prevent 
 which, there should be a regulation that it shall be lawful for the 
 Members, or a majority of them, to direct the property to be sold ; and 
 that in such a case, a resolution for that purpose should be framed and 
 entered in the minutes; and that a recital of the resolution in the 
 conveyance or assignment should be evidence of it, and of its having 
 
 4 
 
'i i 
 
 50 
 
 THE BIRTH OF THE SOCIETY. 
 
 THE BIRTH OF THE SOCIETY. 
 
 SI 
 
 \b f 
 
 hi 
 
 I f 
 
 rj 
 
 >. 
 
 been regularly and properly made : — and a declaration that the receipts 
 of the Trustees, for the time being, should discharge the purchasers 
 from seeing to the application of the purchase money ; and from all 
 obligation of ascertaining the existence of the resolution, or of its 
 having been duly made. 
 
 When it becomes necessary to appoint new Trustees, it should be 
 done at a meeting of the company, but proper Deeds must be exe- 
 cuted for vesting the property in the new Trustees, and the continmng 
 Trustees. The resolution for the appointment of the Trustees should 
 contain a provision for this purpose, and a declaration that a recital of 
 this provision in the Deed appointing the new Trustees, shall, in 
 respect to all persons dealing with the Members, be evidence of the 
 existence of the resolution, for its having been duly entered into. 
 
 I think the language of the rules requires some alterations, and 
 that some new rules should be framed. 
 
 All the Members (except the Trustees) should covenant with the 
 Trustees ; and the Trustees should covenant with five or six of the 
 principal Members. 
 
 A general description of the property will be sufficient. 
 
 I recommend that whenever a new Member is chosen, he should 
 sign and seal the proposed Deed, and that his signature and sealing 
 should be witnessed by a new attestation. 
 
 It is never absolutely necessary to insert the character or place of 
 abode of the parties to the Deed, but there should always be such 
 certain mention of them, as will ascertain who they are ; this may be set 
 opposite to their names in the schedule. 
 
 The Equity of Redemption should be vested in the Trustees. 
 
 Lincoln's Inn, Fed. 5, 1825." Charles Butler. 
 
 A deed of trust was duly prepared in accordance with this 
 opinion, and was laid upon the table for a month for the edifica- 
 tion of members. It was explained by Mr. Brockett to the 
 annual meeting in 1826, and that meeting resolved that it 
 should be laid before Mr. Williamson for his approbation ; and 
 
 that, if the general principle of it were approved by him, it 
 should be brought with his corrections before the next general 
 monthly meeting, which should be duly authorised to fill up the 
 deed with the proper number of trustees. 
 
 Experience teaches, but very slowly, whilst " Hope springs 
 eternal in the human breast." The next general monthly 
 meeting and two anniversary meetings had to pass over before 
 the deed was laid on the table for signature by the members. 
 It was, indeed, dated the ist day of March, 1828, but it was the 
 8th day of March, 1829, before the chief parties had signed it 
 and the fact was announced to an annual meeting. 
 
 The deed recited, amongst other things, that the Literary 
 and Philosophical Society had by the annual subscriptions of 
 the members purchased a large library of valuable books and 
 an extensive philosophical apparatus, as also a museum of 
 natural and artificial curiosities, with other valuable property 
 necessary and requisite for the use and purposes of the Society, 
 and that the several members had agreed that it should be 
 governed by the several rules or regulations and laws set forth 
 in the first schedule to the deed. The buildings, lands, 
 hereditaments and premises were conveyed, and the books, 
 philosophical apparatus, museum, goods and chattels, personal 
 estate, property, and effects whatsoever were assigned, unto 
 Sir Matthew White Ridley, Cuthbert Ellison, Henry Thomas 
 Liddell, Matthew Bell, Addison John Cresswell Baker, John 
 Adamson, Charles John Bigge, John Trotter Brockett, Charles 
 Bertram, John Bulman, George Burnett the younger, William 
 Henry Brockett, Christopher Cookson, John Clayton, Joseph 
 Croser, Thomas Doubleday, William Gray, Robert Ingham, 
 Robert Ormston the younger, James Smith, and Charles Thorp, 
 in trust for the benefit and advantage of the Literary and 
 Philosophical Society, and to be held, enjoyed, and applied by 
 
 in 
 
s» 
 
 THE BIRTH OF THE SOCIETY. 
 
 THE BIRTH OF THE SOCIETY. 
 
 S3 
 
 
 ti 
 
 m 
 
 the said Society in the manner and for the purposes for which 
 the same was constituted and established, and according to the 
 then present and future rules or regulations and laws, made and 
 to be made for the management of the same, and to be for no 
 other use, intent, or purpose whatsoever. 
 
 The deed contained a proviso that no person who then was, 
 or who, at any time thereafter, should become a member, should 
 have or be entitled to a transmissible estate or interest, either 
 legal or equitable, in the real or personal property of the Society, 
 but that, when any person ceased to be a member, all his estate, 
 right, and interest in the premises immediately determined and 
 became void, to all intents and purposes whatsoever. 
 
 The signatures of persons becoming members were contained 
 in a second schedule to the deed, and it was usual, until some 
 forty years ago, for every one to sign upon election. That 
 custom is no longer observed. ^ 
 
 There has been one new appointment of trustees up to the 
 present time, and that was in 1871. The surviving trustees 
 then were the Right Hon. Lord Ravensworth, A. J. B. Cress- 
 well, Esq., John Clayton, Esq., Robert Ormston, Esq., Matthew 
 Bell, Esq., and Robert Ingham, Esq., all of whom have since 
 passed away. The new trustees were Sir W. G. Armstrong, C.B., 
 Ralph Brown, Esq., Rev. J. C. Bruce, LL.D., Edward Charlton, 
 Esq., M.D., R. C. Clapham, Esq., R. R. Dees, Esq., D. 
 Embleton, Esq., M.D., Thomas Hodgkin, Esq., Thomas Humble, 
 Esq., M.D., R. O. Lamb, Esq., G. H. Philipson, Esq., M.D., 
 Rev. J. Snape, D.D., Sir John Swinburne, Bart, Hugh 
 Taylor, Esq., and Robert Spence Watson, Esq. 
 
 I have gone fully into the position of the property belonging 
 to the Society, not only because our constitution has served as 
 a model to many others, and has stood the test of long experi- 
 ence, but because new members have so frequently inquired 
 
 about it that it seemed desirable to give all persons interested in 
 the matter the fullest opportunity of knowing the exact facts. 
 
 We must now return to the Special Committee of December 
 1 0th, 1793, which had resolved that a General Library should be 
 formed, and which had also, after much anxious consideration, 
 arrived at the admirable plan for getting over the difficulties 
 of proprietorship, the full history of which I have just detailed. 
 
 By the permission of the authorities, the Society had been 
 allowed from the first to use the Governors' Hall of the 
 Dispensary for their meetings. The Dispensary had removed 
 from the entry below the Queen's Head Inn (now the Liberal 
 Club) in Pilgrim Street to St John's Lodge in Low Friar Street, 
 the lease of which had been purchased by the Governors from 
 the Incorporated Company of Saddlers. The Literary and 
 Philosophical Society agreed to pay six guineas annually to 
 the Dispensary, and they were allowed to put up a bookcase in 
 the hall, the first bookcase which the Society acquired. It 
 cost the modest sum of five pounds, is described as " handsome," 
 and was "eighteen feet wide, and completely furnished with 
 drawers, shelves, and doors, to the lower part" 
 
 But the hall and bookcase would manifestly be unequal 
 to the requirements of a General Library, and the Special 
 Committee was therefore desired to join the Standing Com- 
 mittee in endeavouring to find more suitable accommodation. 
 On the nth February, 1794, they reported that they had engaged 
 for a year, upon trial, a room in St. Nicholas* Churchyard, which 
 was then used as a billiard-room. Three years later, as the growth 
 of the Society was rapid, they had to take the large room under 
 that already occupied. The old room was used for the meetings 
 of members, whilst the new one, with entrances from Mosley 
 Street and the Churchyard, was the Library proper. The 
 yearly rental of the two rooms was twenty guineas. Rules 
 
 \y *'< 
 
s!l 
 
 S4 
 
 THE BIRTH OF THE SOCIETY, 
 
 THE BIRTH OF THE SOCIETY, 
 
 55 
 
 1 
 
 i. 
 
 m 
 
 I 
 
 r 
 1 ■ 
 
 f 
 
 |i|; 
 IW 
 
 'llf 
 
 were drawn up for the circulation of books, several of which 
 are still in force, and Messrs. Charnley and Bell, who were book- 
 sellers and members of the Society, were appointed the first 
 Librarians. The orders for books were to be divided between 
 them as nearly as might be, and for this privilege they 
 undertook to attend in rotation, either personally or by some 
 responsible person, on Tuesday and Thursday of each week, 
 between the hours of twelve and two. 
 
 But as the number of members increased, so there grew the 
 demand for an extended and more regular delivery of books ; 
 and at the annual meeting in 1798 it was reported that Mr. 
 Robert Spence had been engaged as Librarian at twelve guineas 
 a year, and that he would attend daily from eleven to two 
 o'clock. A new class of honorary members, who were to have 
 the privileges of ordinary members, had been formed in the 
 preceding year but their number was limited to four. This 
 class still continues to afford a valuable means of recognising 
 local merit, often to the great benefit of the Society as well as 
 of the recipient of the distinction. 
 
 It is interesting to find, amongst the purchases of the 
 Committee, many things which are unknown to those of the 
 present generation, such as a lanthorn to light the entry, and 
 a pair of snuffers for the use of members : there is nothing, 
 however, so remarkable as the purchase of a lottery ticket, 
 which Dr. Embleton mentions in his admirable account of the 
 Newcastle Medical Society as having been agreed to for the 
 benefit of that Society in 179a 
 
 At the same annual meeting (1798) the Committee ex- 
 plained that they had found it necessary to obtain yet more 
 extensive premises, and that they had agreed to take the Old 
 Assembly Rooms, adjoining Ridley's Court in the Groat 
 Market, at ;fi8 a year. They had also arranged that the 
 
 Librarian should attend for two entire afternoons in each 
 week, for the need of extra service developed almost with his 
 appointment, and his salary was raised to £i2> per annum. 
 
 The Committee rejoiced greatly in the acquisition of the 
 new rooms, and congratulated "their brethren on the pleasant 
 and commodious manner in which they were enabled to hold 
 their Anniversary Meeting, in the spacious and elegant apart- 
 ment provided for their use, and in which they might hope that 
 the Society had at length arrived at something like a permanent 
 establishment." 
 
 They had obtained "an ample Repository for a very ex- 
 tensive collection of books, as well as for a cabinet of fossils." 
 Gifts of interesting and curious objects had, indeed, been made 
 to the Society from the beginning of its career. The first annual 
 report, presented at the Anniversary Meeting of March 1794, 
 mentions, amongst presents of essays, papers, and the like, 
 
 A Section of the Strata in Alstone Moor and Dunston 
 Fell Lead Mines (to the depth of 241J fathoms), with a large 
 collection of specimens, illustrative of the products of the 
 Lead-Mine district, from Nicholas Walton, jun., Esq. 
 
 Various unusual Mineral Productions found in a dyke in 
 Denton Colliery, from Mr W. Thomas. 
 
 A collection of Specimens from the Lead-Mines in Swale- 
 dale, Yorkshire, from the Rev. Mr. Turner. 
 
 Ditto, from the Copper Mine at Parys Mountain, Angle- 
 sea, by ditto. 
 
 Various curiosities of Nature and Art from the islands 
 in the South Sea, and from China, from Mr. Flower Humble. 
 
 A Section of the Strata to the Low Main Coal in St. 
 Anthon's Colliery (depth 135 J fathoms), with a box containing 
 Specimens of all the Strata methodically arranged, by Mr. 
 George Johnson. 
 
 1/1 
 
 \\ 
 
 M .i 
 
 \i 
 
 > 
 
56 
 
 THE BIRTH OF THE SOCIETY. 
 
 THE BIRTH OF THE SOCIETY. 
 
 If 
 
 'fi 
 
 This statement of gifts is of special interest because it marks 
 the beginning of the great collection which, nearly forty years 
 afterwards, was entrusted to the care of the then newly-born 
 Natural History Society, and which now forms part of the 
 treasures contained in that Society's noble museum. How this 
 collection grew, and how it came to pass away from the Literary 
 and Philosophical Society, I shall treat of fully in a subsequent 
 chapter. For the present the new home in the Groat Market 
 sufficed for the wants of the institution. 
 
 That home seems to have had a spacious and adaptive 
 character. There was to be found in it « suitable accommoda- 
 tions" both for general meetings and for daily resort to the 
 Library ; but there was also " power, in cases of necessity, to 
 accommodate Lecturers on such useful subjects as the Society 
 might think fit to patronise"! What came of this, and the 
 whole of the curious and interesting history of lectures in con- 
 nection with the Society, will be fully gone into hereafter. 
 
 The cost of repairs to the rooms, fitting up bookcases, 
 makmg alterations, and the like, was heavy, and from the first 
 there were subscribers whose habit it was to get into arrear in 
 the payment of their subscriptions. Their irregularities caused 
 the purchase of books at one time to be entirely suspended for 
 a considerable period. And now, with the new premises, ladies 
 began to express the desire to join the Society, and it was 
 considered that, if this were permitted, some mode of election 
 must be found " less revolting to their delicacy than the usual 
 nomination." And so a new class of members was formed, and 
 they were called Reading Members, but they could neither 
 attend General Meetings nor vote in the choice of members. 
 To this class ladies were declared to be eligible, " the Society 
 waiving, in their case, the month's previous proposal " required 
 of men. 
 
 57 
 
 • So far as I have been able to ascertain, ours was the first 
 English Society which opened its doors to women. There does 
 not seem to have been any burning anxiety about admission 
 upon their part, for in 1801 there was but a single lady Reading 
 Member, but they soon seem to have successfully asserted their 
 equal rights, for in 1 804 two ladies actually appear amongst the 
 newly-elected Ordinary Members. How dangerous it always is 
 to let in the thin end of the wedge ! Yet, as a matter of fact, 
 ladies did not begin regularly to join the Society, as a matter 
 of course and in the ordinary way, until after the reduction of 
 the annual subscription in 1856, consequent upon the payment 
 off of the Society's mortgage debt, chiefly through the generosity 
 of Robert Stephenson, and they joined then without note or 
 comment, as a matter of course. 
 
 No vigorous and healthy body remains long out of difficulty. 
 Difficulties are the salt of life, and alone make it truly worth 
 living. The new Library made an excellent Lecture Room, but 
 when it began to be used regularly for the purpose of lecturing, 
 the readers not unnaturally, began to rebel. As early as 1803 
 the question of separate apartments for these purposes was 
 raised, and a model of a proposed Lecture Room was prepared 
 and exhibited. But it was not to be. The joint-occupation con- 
 tinued until 1809, ^^^ then the lectures were removed from the 
 Old Assembly Rooms in the Groat Market to the Concert Hall 
 attached to the Turk's Head in the Bigg Market. 
 
 By that time "the spacious and elegant apartments," which had 
 seemed at first sufficient not for that day only but for all days 
 to come, began to appear somewhat small and cramped, and by 
 18 13 they had proved so entirely inadequate longer to afford 
 any tolerable accommodation for the Society's increasing Library 
 and other valuable property, that the question of how to obtain 
 new and fitting premises began to be entertained. The pro- 
 
 si ' 
 
 <i 
 
 
 
 jOtSG^ 
 
58 
 
 THE BIRTH OF THE SOCIETY. 
 
 prietor of the Old Assembly Rooms had c^iven notice that he 
 intended to dispose of the property of which they formed a part, 
 and therefore the possibility of continued tenure upon the part of 
 the Society became problematical. Many sites upon which an 
 appropriate building could be erected were discussed, but at the 
 Annual ?^Ieeting in 1815 the Committee recommended the 
 members to confirm a treaty which they had negotiated with 
 the Corporation for a lease of ground immediately north of the 
 Girls' Jubilee School, and adjoining the new street from Pilgrim 
 Street to the new bridge, — the place now occupied by the Lying- 
 in Hospital. This site they looked upon as more central than 
 Charlotte Square or the Cross House. As for the funds which 
 would be required for the erection of the building, it was 
 presumed " that many opulent and spirited individuals, disposed 
 to encourage the interests of literature and science, would afford 
 some extraordinary assistance in the form of donations." It w^as, 
 at the same time, proposed to raise the annual subscription to 
 one and a half guineas for four years, which scarcely, perhaps, 
 deserves the name of an heroic measure. 
 
 The next report shows that little actual progress had been 
 made in the twelve months which had elapsed. The sum 
 of £261 19s. 6d. had been obtained from the increase of sub- 
 scriptions ; £2^^ had been subscribed by way of life-interests 
 in the use of the Society's property; and the donations of 
 "opulent and spirited individuals" amounted to ^513 /s. The 
 disappointment was attributed to " the severe pressure of the 
 times. The difficulties, however, arising from this cause, it was 
 to be hoped that the continuance of peace, and their increasing 
 finances, might in time overcome." It was then not a year since 
 Waterloo had been won. 
 
 But, in the meantime, whilst the property of the Society was 
 receiving much injury from the cramped space into which it was 
 
 o 
 
 -1- 
 
 00 
 
 H 
 O 
 
 X 
 
58 
 
 THE BIRTH OF THE SOCIETY. 
 
 prietor of the Old Assembly Rooms had given notice that he 
 intended to dispose of the property of which they formed a part, 
 and therefore the possibility of continued tenure upon the part of 
 the Society became problematical. Many sites upon which an 
 appropriate building could be erected were discussed, but at the 
 Annual Meeting in 1815 the Committee recommended the 
 members to confirm a treaty which they had negotiated with 
 the Corporation for a lease of ground immediately north of the 
 Girls' Jubilee School, and adjoining the new street from Pilgrim 
 Street to the new bridge, — the place now occupied by the Lying- 
 in Hospital. This site they looked upon as more central than 
 Charlotte Square or the Cross House. As for the funds which 
 would be required for the erection of the building, it was 
 presumed " that many opulent and spirited individuals, disposed 
 to encourage the interests of literature and science, would afford 
 some extraordinary assistance in the form of donations." It was, 
 at the same time, proposed to raise the annual subscription to 
 one and a half guineas for four years, which scarcely, perhaps, 
 deserves the name of an heroic measure. 
 
 The next report shows that little actual progress had been 
 made in the twelve months which had elapsed. The sum 
 of £261 19s. 6d. had been obtained from the increase of sub- 
 scriptions ; ;^257 had been subscribed by way of life-interests 
 in the use of the Society's property; and the donations of 
 "opulent and spirited individuals" amounted to £s^Z 7^- The 
 disappointment was attributed to "the severe pressure of the 
 times. The difficulties, however, arising from this cause, it was 
 to be hoped that the continuance of peace, and their increasing 
 finances, might in time overcome." It was then not a year since 
 Waterloo had been won. 
 
 But, in the meantime, whilst the property of the Society was 
 receiving much injury from the cramped space into which it was 
 
 o 
 
 00 
 
 H 
 O 
 
 X 
 
THE BIRTH OF THE SOCIETY, 
 
 59 
 
 necessary to crowd it, the unfortunate Committee were repeatedly 
 in the receipt of vexatious notices, apparently from the proprietor 
 of the rooms, who was not unnaturally somewhat impatient at 
 the long delay in giving them up, and who wished to offer them 
 for public sale. 
 
 We have, however, gained greatly by that delay, for no more 
 central site than that ultimately fixed upon could possibly have 
 been obtained, when the necessities of the two towns of Newcastle 
 and Gateshead are considered. The Cross House site, now occu- 
 pied by livery stables and offices, and extending from Westgate 
 Street to Fenkle Street in breadth, and from Westgate Street to 
 Clayton Street in length, might have been purchased in 1815 for 
 ;^840. That sum was considered to be so large that the Com- 
 mittee saw no prospect of effecting its purchase, and afterwards 
 completing the requisite buildings, by any funds which it was 
 probable that they could raise. So the concert-room attached 
 to the Turk's Head was considered. It was entered through a 
 public inn yard ; was too small ; and " it would have been 
 scarcely consistent with the liberal principles on which the 
 Society would choose to act to induce the proprietor to detach 
 it from its present connection with the Turk's Head; or to 
 deprive the town of almost the only room which it is possible to 
 engage for various public purposes." 
 
 The next place thought about was the Circus, near that fine 
 old pleasure-ground, the Forth, which has had so recently as 1846 
 to make way for the Central Railway Station and its surround- 
 ings — Newcastle losing thereby one of the most charming of 
 mediaeval pleasure-grounds. The Government had been using 
 the Circus as a tobacco warehouse, and it was a great shell of a 
 building which could be made to do all that was necessary. But 
 the consequent alterations would cost almost as much as " an 
 original building," a considerable annual rent would be asked, 
 
6o 
 
 THE BIRTH OF THE SOCIETY, 
 
 THE BIRTH OF THE SOCIETY, 
 
 6i 
 
 and in those days, the town being much more compact than it 
 is in ours, the Circus was thought to be " at so great a distance 
 from a very large majority of the members," that the situation 
 formed an insuperable objection. 
 
 How curiously the existence of streets and houses changes 
 ideas of distance. The Central Station is scarcely nowadays 
 looked upon as too far away for a walk from Northumberland 
 Street, or even from the Barras Bridge, but these were outlying 
 districts of Newcastle at the time of which I write. Miles of 
 what was then beautiful country have, in every direction, been 
 swallowed up by the ugly town, and we think little of walking 
 distances every day which our forefathers looked upon as some- 
 thing of journeys. 
 
 Then a field outside the Walls, opposite to the Baths, vacant 
 ground opposite Charlotte Square, a site on the Castle Mount 
 in the immediate vicinity of the New Courts and the Castle, 
 another at the foot of Westgate Road, and a combination of the 
 building for the Society with an intended new Corn Exchange, 
 were successively taken into consideration. I have already 
 explained that the Committee advised the annual meeting in 
 1815 to confirm their treaty with the Corporation for the New 
 Bridge Street site. This was not done. On the contrary, at a 
 special meeting held on May 2nd of that year the members 
 rejected this site, but instructed the Committee to purchase a 
 freehold piece of ground adjoining it, or any other that might be 
 found commodious, if it could be obtained for a sum not ex- 
 ceeding £1000 ; and they sanctioned the election of a hundred 
 life members, who were each to pay twenty-one pounds. 
 
 But the Committee, failing to find such a site, called another 
 special meeting for the 22nd September following, and it was 
 then resolved to accept the land granted by the Corporation, 
 and to build upon it so soon as the funds of the Society would 
 
 admit of it. The Town Clerk had already prepared a lease of 
 the site at the annual rent of £2, and the first half-year's rent 
 had been paid, and rent continued to be paid up to Michaelmas, 
 1 82 1. The Corporation had certainly acted handsomely towards 
 the Society in granting it so much land at a nominal rental. 
 It is interesting to note that the site in question is almost 
 opposite to that now occupied in the same street by the Public 
 Library. The Committee were, at the same meeting, desired to 
 consider and report upon the propriety of a private Act of 
 Parliament being obtained to enable the Society to raise money 
 for a suitable building, and to give it power to regulate its 
 proceedings. 
 
 I have already shown how slowly the requisite funds came 
 to hand, but the necessity for quitting the Old Assembly Rooms 
 seems (with the advent of a new proprietor) to have diminished, 
 for attempts were made to alter them so as to obtain more 
 book-space and greater comfort for the members, and the 
 reading-room was divided from the assembly-room by a per- 
 manent screen. In January 1818, amidst the cheers of a great 
 crowd, some of the shops in Mosley Street and elsewhere were 
 for the first time lighted with gas, and, by the middle of that 
 year, the Society abandoned oil-lamps and candles in favour of 
 the new illuminant. The introduction of the gas-light was looked 
 upon as, and undoubtedly was, a great improvement, and it was 
 expected to be " a considerable saving in the article of expense," 
 which is not quite so certain at its then cost' From 1817 to 
 1 82 1, the Reports say little about the question of new premises, 
 but the building fund was, all the time, steadily increasing. 
 
 But on November 6th of the last year, a special meeting was 
 held " for the express purpose of taking into consideration the 
 question of a proper site for the new building;" and at this 
 meeting it was finally resolved to surrender the Corporation 
 
 sr 
 
 II 
 
62 
 
 THE BIRTH OF THE SOCIETY. 
 
 lease with grateful thanks, and to take over a site in Westgate 
 Street which had been purchased for the purpose by Dr. 
 Headlam and certain gentlemen associated with him. The 
 names of these gentlemen were inserted in the Annual Report 
 of 1822, " that posterity may have the opportunity of knowing to 
 whom the Society was obliged for this public-spirited measure." 
 I am therefore in honour bound to record them here. They 
 were : " Isaac Cookson, Esq., C. W. Bigge, Esq., James Losh, 
 Esq., R. W. Brandling, Esq., Isaac Cookson, jun., Esq., Thomas 
 H- Bigge, Esq., Thos. Cookson, Esq., Thomas Fenwick, Esq., 
 Sir R. S. Hawks, Rev. Anthony Hedley, Dr. Ramsay, William' 
 Boyd, Esq.. Thomas Davidson, Esq., John Davidson, Esq., 
 Armorer Donkin, Esq., Joseph Bainbridge, Esq., J. T. Brockett,' 
 Esq., John Adamson, Esq., William Fife, Esq., William Moore,' 
 Esq., Mr. Charnley, Mr. Henry Marshall, William Thomas, Esq.,' 
 Dixon Brown, Esq., Dr. Headlam, Rev. I. Headlam." 
 
 In those more formal days, it must have been no small 
 burden upon the Secretaries of the Society properly to apportion 
 the Misters and Esquires amongst subscribers and committee- 
 mea 
 
 This is the first time that I have mentioned Dr. Headlam's 
 name in connection with the Society, but he had been a member 
 of it since 1803. Already he was zealous of good works, and so 
 he continued through a long and honoured life. This century 
 has seen no citizen more universally and justly respected and 
 beloved. That "good gray head which all men knew," that 
 kmdly voice, that keen glance, and that bent but distinguished 
 figure, are delightful memories. His life was devoted to the 
 highest interests of science and humanity, and to this city he 
 was of infinite and unwearying service. When he died in 1865 
 he had been a member of our Society for sixty-two years ; he 
 had served it first as a Committee-man, and then as a Vice- 
 
 THE BIRTH OF THE SOCIETY. 
 
 63 
 
 President, and from 1850 to 1855 he was its energetic and 
 honoured President 
 
 The site of the proposed building cost a thousand pounds, 
 and the building itself was on no account to cost more than 
 four thousand pounds. So said the circular which the Secretaries 
 speedily laid before the more opulent members of the Society, 
 and other gentlemen connected with the town and district. It 
 also represented that "the fund already on hand might be 
 stated at ;f 2200, and it was proposed to leave a mortgage on 
 the premises of at least ;f 1000, as it seemed reasonable that 
 posterity should pay in rent as much as the founders had paid 
 for very inferior accommodations, besides accumulating so large 
 a store of valuable property." 
 
 And now, at the end of thirty years, "the few who survived 
 of the founders of the Society gave up their trust with mingled 
 feelings of serious recollection and encouraging hope." A 
 generation had passed, but the Society still flourished. A very 
 extensive and valuable library, a considerable apparatus of 
 philosophical instruments, and several curious specimens of 
 natural history had been accumulated; and now a site for a 
 permanent home had been obtained, and twelve sets of plans 
 for a suitable building lay on the table. The manner of 
 ultimately selecting an architect was left to the decision of that 
 annual meeting of 1822. 
 
 And that meeting appointed a Building Committee, which 
 should consist of Isaac Cookson, Esq., Charles William Bigge, 
 Esq., James Losh, Esq., Dr. Headlam, and the treasurer, William 
 Boyd, Esq., and four members to be chosen out of and by the 
 Committee elected that night This building committee was to 
 fix upon a plan, but subject to the sanction of a general meeting; 
 to choose an architect, to make contracts, and to transact all 
 business which was necessary for the due execution of the work: 
 
t* 
 
 64 
 
 THE BIRTH OF THE SOCIETY. 
 
 but they were not to spend more than £^000, including the 
 sum obtained for the old materials of the houses to be pulled 
 down. 
 
 What they did spend, and how, as well as the subsequent 
 history of the Society's buildings, will be found in the following 
 chapters. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE BUILDING OF THE HOUSE. 
 
 E have now followed the wanderings of the Society 
 since its birth in the New Assembly Rooms, and its 
 infancy in the Old Dispensary in Low Friar Street, 
 to St. Nicholas Church-yard, where it was not buried, but whence 
 it escaped to the Old Assembly Rooms in the Groat Market, 
 and it has at last got possession of a site of ground of its own, 
 part of the gardens and outhouses of Bolbeck Hall, the seat 
 of the Earls of Westmoreland, and called also Westmoreland 
 Place. The house itself, Westmoreland House, was standing 
 until a few years ago, a charming old English mansion, but 
 was pulled down to make way for the Mining Institute. 
 Upon this site it was resolved, in 1822, to erect the permanent 
 home of the Literary and Philosophical Society, at a cost 
 which was, on no account, to exceed ;£"4000. 
 
 The Building Committee appointed Mr. John Green the 
 architect of the undertaking, and his plans were laid before the 
 members, and were formally approved of in April 1822. Mr 
 Green did not let the grass grow under his feet : his contracts 
 were soon ready, and that for masonry was let to Mr. John Ions 
 of Gateshead, whilst the joiners' and carpenters* work fell to 
 Mr. C. Burnup of the Barras Bridge, at that time a bridge in 
 
 5 
 
r 
 
 m 
 
 THE BUILDING OF THE HOUSE. 
 
 THE BUILDING OF THE HOUSE. 
 
 67 
 
 fact. No time was lost in commencing operations, and, so soon 
 as the 2nd of September, the foundation-stone of the new 
 building was laid by no less a person than the Duke of Sussex, 
 and with appropriate ceremonial. 
 
 Then, as now, the approaching advent of royalty stirred the 
 society of the town and district to its depths, and aroused an 
 interesting amount of excitement amongst the inhabitants 
 generally. There was to be high holiday, and there were 
 circumstances connected with the person of the visitor which 
 lent themselves to special pomp and ceremony. The Royal 
 Duke was the Most Worshipful Grand Master of the Ancient 
 Freemasons of England, and the Provincial Grand Lodges of 
 Northumberland and Durham, and the warranted Lodges of 
 Craft Masonry then existing in the District, resolved to receive 
 their Royal Brother with fitting honours. Fraternal circulars 
 flew hither and thither. Banquets were contemplated, a Grand 
 Masonic Festival was arranged. An elaborate order of pro- 
 cession was prepared and promulgated ; full directions as to 
 signals by blast of trumpet, as to different tickets of admission 
 to the various functions or the different rendezvous, and as to 
 the dress to be worn, were given ; the Brethren were all to be 
 in black (Regimentals excepted), with regulation aprons and 
 white gloves. Upon the great day, the Provincial Grand 
 Lodge was to assume the high character of the Supreme Grand 
 Lodge of England. 
 
 But other bodies were also taking steps of a careful and 
 weighty nature to ensure the due reception of so distinguished a 
 visitor. The Mayor, Sheriff; and other members of the Cor- 
 poration were unremitting in their exertions : platforms were 
 erected ; a throne was prepared ; and songs were written. The 
 poetry might be of a somewhat dubious character, but the 
 sentiment was loyalty itself, trig loyalty. It is possible that the 
 
 \ 
 
 precise and detailed character of the compliments with which 
 each verse was filled somewhat puzzled even the royal recipient, 
 for, with all his princely virtues, the Duke of Sussex could 
 scarcely be truthfully said to " range in wisdom's sphere," and 
 he was not supposed by the uninitiated to " diffuse learning bright 
 around." It was, no doubt, simple and natural enough to hail 
 the principal performer on such an august occasion as " Royal 
 Star," and, from his portrait, it is clear that, as a star, he was of 
 the first magnitude. But I must quote in its entirety the open- 
 ing verse of this song, " dedicated (by Permission) to the Right 
 Worshipful Aubone Surtees, Esq., Mayor": — 
 
 "The beauteous orb of light had rose, 
 
 And spread the curtain of the sky. 
 When science woke from soft repose 
 
 To friendship, love, and masonry ! 
 Ye kindred powers ! united shine, 
 
 To ages yet unborn be shown : — 
 Great Sussex now has crossed the Tyne, 
 
 And laid the temple's corner-stone." • 
 
 It was little wonder that the great event made a durdum 
 in our good old town. The presence, even the anticipated 
 presence, of royalty has a curiously exciting and upsetting effect 
 upon people who are usually calm, quiet, and sensible. And 
 then we English folk are such rigid formalists. In a town which 
 is a county in itself, and which rejoices in a Sheriff as well as 
 a Mayor, it is evident that somewhat unusually difficult ques- 
 tions of precedence and ceremonial must arise. Nowadays, of 
 course, they have been systematised for a long time, like every- 
 thing else. Our high civic dignitaries are no longer "in a 
 parlous state," for, unlike the Shepherd of our favourite drama, 
 they have "been to Court," and Mayors, Sheriffs, and even 
 
 U 
 
 LA-jr.^_ ^L 
 
6S 
 
 THE BUILD ING OF THE HOUSE. 
 
 Town Clerks, wear, upon (Treat occasions, cocked hats, and 
 knee-breeches, and silk stockings, and swords, and other mar- 
 vellous items of costume " fearfully and w^onderfully made." 
 " How we apples do swim." Remembering recent incidents of 
 civic dignity, and reading between the lines, I gather from the 
 detailed accounts of the preparations and their ultimate carrying 
 out, that there had been certain points of difficulty to arrange 
 between the Mayor and Sheriff, but that all these had that ended 
 in a judicious compromise which gave to each that which was 
 his due. 
 
 The Royal Duke was the guest of the famous John George 
 Lambton, who then represented the county of Durham in Parlia- 
 ment, and who was the idol of the Durham people ; and that 
 not without cause, for not only was he the son of the great and 
 good man, William Henry Lambton, one of the most advanced 
 of the reformers of the eighteenth century, chairman of the 
 Society of the Friends of the People, and earnest in his bitter 
 antagonism to negro slavery, but John George Lambton had 
 himself carried forward the principles which he had inherited. 
 He brought forward a Reform Bill in 1819 of so advanced a 
 character that several of its provisions have only become law 
 during the past quarter of a century, and some are still to be 
 carried. This is not the place for his biography, although," 
 strange to say, it has not yet appeared. That it should not 
 have done so is a national loss, for there is none other man who 
 has done comparable service to the nation of whom so little is 
 yet known. There must surely be abundant stores of the neces- 
 sary material in the archives of Lambton Castle and Howick 
 Hall. John George Lambton is the man who, when he had 
 (alas the day) become the first Earl of Durham, saved Canada 
 to England, and established our colonial system. He returned 
 home to receive coolness from his friends and cruel and wicked 
 
 JOHN GEORGE LAMBTON, M.P. 
 AFTERWARDS THE FIRST EARL OF DURHAM. 
 
 ti 
 
6S 
 
 THE BUILDING OF THE HOUSE, 
 
 Town Clerks, wear, upon great occasions, cocked hats, and 
 knee-breeches, and silk stockings, and swords, and other mar- 
 vellous items of costume "fearfully and wonderfully made." 
 " How we apples do swim." Remembering recent incidents of 
 civic dignity, and reading between the lines, I gather from the 
 detailed accounts of the preparations and their ultimate carrying 
 out, that there had been certain points of difficulty to arrange 
 between the Mayor and Sheriff, but that all these had that ended 
 in a judicious compromise which gave to each that which was 
 his due. 
 
 The Royal Duke was the guest of the famous John George 
 Lambton, who then represented the county of Durham in Parlia- 
 ment, and who was the idol of the Durham people ; and that 
 not without cause, for not only was he the son of the great and 
 good man, William Henry Lambton, one of the most advanced 
 of the reformers of the eighteenth century, chairman of the 
 Society of the Friends of the People, and earnest in his bitter 
 antagonism to negro slavery, but John George Lambton had 
 himself carried forward the principles which he had inherited. 
 He brought forward a Reform Bill in 1819 of so advanced a 
 character that several of its provisions have only become law 
 during the past quarter of a century, and some are still to be 
 carried. This is not the place for his biography, although, 
 strange to say, it has not yet appeared. That it should not 
 have done so is a national loss, for there is none other man who 
 has done comparable service to the nation of whom so little is 
 yet known. There must surely be abundant stores of the neces- 
 sary material in the archives of Lambton Castle and Howick 
 Hall. John George Lambton is the man who, when he had 
 (alas the day) become the first Earl of Durham, saved Canada 
 to England, and established our colonial system. He returned 
 home to receive coolness from his friends and cruel and wicked 
 
 JOHN GEORGE LAMBTON, M.p. 
 AFTERWARDS THE fIRST EARL OF DURHAAL 
 
I 
 
 THE BUILDING OF THE HOUSE, 
 
 69 
 
 calumny and contempt from his political foes, and died a dis- 
 appointed man ; but all men nowadays unite in acknowledging 
 that in him we had one of our greatest Northerners, and our 
 country one of the noblest of her sons. 
 
 The Royal Duke, as I have said, was the guest of the county 
 member who was popularly known as " Radical Jack," and on 
 the morning of the 2nd September, 1822, he and his party 
 drove over to Gateshead in the Lambton carriages. But when 
 the cortege approached the town, the horses were taken out by 
 the enthusiastic crowd, and the Duke and the party were 
 dragged by "prodigious multitudes" of the delighted inhabi- 
 tants down High Street and the Bottle Bank to the Tyne 
 Bridge. For the Royal Duke it must have been the most 
 thrilling moment of his life when he made the descent of the 
 narrow, winding, and precipitous bank, at erratic and break- 
 neck speed. The people waiting upon the bridge must have 
 shared the thrill. "An immense mass of people was seen 
 pouring down from the streets of Gateshead to the Bridge; 
 the street seemed literally choaked, and in the centre of the 
 mass appeared the carriage of Mr. Lambton, borne as it were 
 along upon the shoulders of the people." 
 
 Upon the Bridge a vast multitude awaited the coming 
 crowd. The "spirited Sheriff," Alfred Hall, Esq., had issued 
 a notice to his friends that it was his intention to meet " His 
 Royal Highness" at the Borough boundary, and he reached 
 that boundary, in this instance the famous blue-stone on the 
 Bridge, in much state, a procession having been formed at the 
 Exchange, and proceeding to its position with the band of the 
 South Tyne Hussars leading the way. When the carriage 
 containing the Royal Duke arrived at Newcastle, a royal salute 
 was fired from the guns on the Castle, the bells of St Nicholas 
 pealed forth, and the hosts of people gathered everywhere, in 
 
70 
 
 THE BUILDING OF THE HOUSE. 
 
 THE BUILDING OF THE HOUSE, 
 
 71 
 
 the streets, at the windows, even " at the chimney-tops/* made 
 so universal a shout, 
 
 "that old Tyne trembled underneath his banks.** 
 
 # 
 
 But the constables had to make a free and hearty use of their 
 staves before the spirited Sheriff and the members for the 
 Borough, Sir Matthew White Ridley and Mr. Cuthbert Ellison, 
 could make their way to the Royal guest When they did at 
 length arrive, the Sheriff tendered a brief but appropriate 
 welcome in the name of " the ancient and very loyal town of 
 Newcastle," and this was duly acknowledged. But when he 
 turned to follow the band which was to march at the head of 
 the procession into the town, the carriage containing Royalty 
 could not follow the Sheriff. The Newcastle men thought that 
 the pull should now become theirs, but the Gateshead men had 
 got their hands well in and would not give up the ropes, and 
 there was a fair and friendly contest between the parties. It 
 ended in a compromise, the Newcastle men succeeding in 
 getting two more ropes fixed to the carriage, and away it went 
 at a great speed along the crowded Close, and drew up at 
 " the door of the Mansion House amidst the enthusiastic cheers 
 of an immense crowd of people." As it were by a miracle, no 
 one was injured, and the carriage had only suffered to the extent 
 of a broken pole and splinter-bar. 
 
 " In the Drawing Room his Royal Highness was received by 
 such an assemblage of beauty and fashion as is seldom witnessed. 
 When his Royal Highness had taken his place, the Corporation 
 advanced," and presented him with an address, which was read 
 by the Recorder, Mr. R. Hopper Williamson, " in a very energetic 
 manner." The Corporation next presented the Duke with the 
 freedom of the town. After he had made a somewhat incoherent 
 reply, the presenting began again. "Major Thompson was 
 
 introduced, and had the honour of presenting a statement of 
 the present garrison of Newcastle, and of regretting its inability 
 to provide his Royal Highness with a guard of honour." Whence 
 this inability proceeded does not appear. 
 
 Then the company proceeded to the dining-room, where they 
 partook of a dejeuner a la fourchettey the ladies being present 
 until the speech-making began. A bumper was drunk to the 
 health of the Royal visitor, and was duly acknowledged in a 
 " neat speech." The King was toasted, and the Duke gave the 
 Corporation of Newcastle, to which the Mayor responded. The 
 Mayor was Aubone Surtees, a member of a good old Newcastle 
 family, and nephew to Lady Eldon, whose romantic marriage 
 with John Scott has already been mentioned. After this toast- 
 ing was over, the Royal Grand Master " caused himself to be 
 equipped with all his masonic badges," and stood on the steps 
 of the Mansion House whilst a thousand brethren passed in 
 procession before him, bearing all the insignia of the fraternity, 
 banners, silver cups containing corn, wine, and oil, silver trowel 
 and setting mallet, golden square, level, and plumb rule, the 
 Book of Constitutions on a cushion, the Great Seal, the Sacred 
 Law on a crimson velvet cushion, and so forth. 
 
 When the rear of this " splendid and striking " procession 
 reached the Mansion House, Mr. Lambton's carriage and six, 
 with seven outriders, drew up to the steps, and the Duke of 
 Sussex, Mr. Lambton, Sir M. W. Ridley, and the Mayor took 
 their places in it, and the great cavalcade proceeded to Westgate 
 Street There "a most numerous and respectable company" 
 had assembled, and had whiled away the time of waiting in 
 expectation by examining the vase containing the records to be 
 for ever deposited, and the brass plate bearing the inscription 
 for the foundation-stone. 
 
 And they had not been badly employed. Ihe vase was 
 
 jjk^-. 
 
72 
 
 THE BUILDING OF THE HOUSE, 
 
 presented by Mr. Price, the proprietor of the Durham and 
 British Sheet Glass Works at Gateshead, and was desi<zned 
 "to afford to posterity a specimen of the height to which the 
 arts of glass-making and cutting had arrived." It is rather 
 difficult to see how this admirable intention is to be fulfilled, 
 as the vase was carefully embedded in the solid masonry of the 
 building, and will, it is to be feared, be somewhat imperfect 
 when the New Zealander inspects its ruins. But it is interesting- 
 to learn how long Gateshead has shone in that department of 
 industry, which has, in our own day, attained there its highest 
 artistic development, so far as this country, at all events, is 
 concerned. The one regret is that this loveliest of plastic 
 materials should be so perishable. 
 
 The vase in question was "an exquisitely-wrought glass 
 vessel, thirteen inches long and three inches in diameter, and 
 was richly cut with pointed diamonds and strawberry diamonds, 
 rings, and twist." In those days the costly folly of cutting a 
 material, which lends itself to moulding as none other does, had 
 not been exposed. In the vase were deposited all the coins of 
 George III.'s reign, the last report of the Society, a list of the 
 members, and plans and elevations of the intended building. 
 The brass plate was enclosed within strong plates of glass 
 cemented together, and secured with a strong black oak frame. 
 Upon one side it was inscribed thus : — 
 
 " This Foundation Stone of a new building, to be erected for 
 the use of the Literary and Philosophical Society of Newcastle- 
 upon-Tyne, was laid on the second day of September, 1822, by 
 His Royal Highness Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of 
 Sussex and Earl of Inverness, in Great Britain, Baron of 
 Arklow, in Ireland, Knight of the Most Noble Order of the 
 Garter, President of the Society of Arts, Colonel of the Royal 
 Artillery Company, etc., etc., and Most Worshipful Grand Master 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 SIR J. E. SWINBURNE, BART., 
 
 F.R.S., F.S.A. 
 
72 
 
 THE BUILDING OF THE HOUSE, 
 
 presented by Mr. Price, the proprietor of the Durham and 
 British Sheet Glass Works at Gateshead, and was designed 
 " to afford to posterity a specimen of the height to which the 
 arts of glass-making and cutting had arrived." It is rather 
 difficult to see how this admirable intention is to be fulfilled, 
 as the vase was carefully embedded in the solid masonry of the 
 building, and will, it is to be feared, be somewhat imperfect 
 when the New Zealander inspects its ruins. But it is interesting 
 to learn how long Gateshead has shone in that department of 
 industry, which has, in our own day, attained there its highest 
 artistic development, so far as this country, at all events, is 
 concerned. The one regret is that this loveliest of plastic 
 materials should be so perishable. 
 
 The vase in question was "an exquisitely -wrought glass 
 vessel, thirteen inches long and three inches in diameter, and 
 was richly cut with pointed diamonds and strawberry diamonds, 
 rings, and twist." In those days the costly folly of cutting a 
 material, which lends itself to moulding as none other does, had 
 not been exposed. In the vase were deposited all the coins of 
 George III.'s reign, the last report of the Society, a list of the 
 members, and plans and elevations of the intended building. 
 The brass plate was enclosed within strong plates of glass 
 cemented together, and secured with a strong black oak frame. 
 Upon one side it was inscribed thus : — 
 
 " This Foundation Stone of a new building, to be erected for 
 the use of the Literary and Philosophical Society of Newcastle- 
 upon-Tyne, was laid on the second day of September, 1822, by 
 His Royal Highness Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of 
 Sussex and Earl of Inverness, in Great Britain, Baron of 
 Arklow, in Ireland, Knight of the Most Noble Order of the 
 Garter, President of the Society of Arts, Colonel of the Royal 
 Artillery Company, etc., etc., and Most Worshipful Grand Master 
 
 i| 
 
 / 
 
 SIR J. E. SWINHURNE, BART., F.R.S., F.S.A. 
 
I 
 
 1 
 
 THE BUILDING OF THE HOUSE. 
 
 n 
 
 of the United Grand Lodge of Ancient Free Masons of England ; 
 assisted by Sir J. E. Swinburne, Bart, F.R.S. and F.S.A., Pro- 
 vincial Grand Master of Northumberland, and President of the 
 Literary and Philosophical Society; and by J. G. Lambton, Esq., 
 M.P., Provincial Grand Master of Durham." 
 
 Upon the other side the foundation-stone was inscribed thus : — 
 
 ©fficets ot tbe Soctetg. 
 
 President 
 Sir J. E. Swinburne, Bart, F.R.S. and F.S.A. 
 
 Vice-Presidents. 
 
 Chas. W. BiGGE, Esq. 
 James Losh, Esq. 
 
 Isaac Cookson, Esq. 
 
 ROBT. DOUBLEDAY, Esq. 
 
 Treasurer, 
 William Boyd, Esq. 
 
 Committee. 
 
 Mr. J. T. Brockett, F.S.A. 
 
 Mr. T. Hodgson. 
 
 Mr. J. Murray. 
 
 Mr. Wm. Armstrong. 
 
 Mr. E. Charnley. 
 
 Mr. G. Burnett. 
 
 Mr. N. J. Winch, F.L.S. 
 Mr. H. Atkinson. 
 Mr. Wm. Falla. 
 Rev. J. CoLLiNSON, M.A. 
 
 Mr. T. DoUBLEDAY. 
 
 Mr. H. Edmondston. 
 
 Building Committee^ 
 
 C. W. BiGGE, Esq. 
 James Losh, Esq. 
 Isaac Cookson, Esq. 
 T. E. Headlam, MD. 
 Wm. Boyd, Esq. 
 
 Mr. J. T. Brockett. 
 Mr. T. Hodgson. 
 Mr. W. Armstrong. 
 
 Mr. G. Burnett. 
 Architect — John Green. 
 
 « 
 
 The procession began to draw near to the site for the build- 
 ing about two o'clock in the afternoon. The pressure of the 
 
74 
 
 THE BUILDING OF THE HOUSE. 
 
 dense crowd was so severe that it was difficult to make progress 
 Our forefathers do not seem to have quite understood the art of 
 keeping great numbers of people in good order. It is amusing 
 to learn that, before the Duke could be driven up to the entrance 
 of the place prepared for the ceremony, there were several " most 
 active scuffles between the constables and the crowd." The 
 poor constables ! They can scarcely have entered fully into the 
 enjoyment of the day, for even the delight of freely indulging in 
 the agreeable pastime of cudgelling your fellow-citizens with the 
 impunity of authority must pall with too constant repetition. 
 And then, at last, the crowd fairly got the upper hand. When 
 the brethren reached the stand, they " entered in great confusion, 
 it being impossible to preserve anything like order from the 
 pressure of the crowd, whose attacks were at length found irresist- 
 ible, for in spite of the efforts of the constables and the hearty 
 blows dealt by them, the outer barriers were fairly borne down, 
 and an indiscriminate entry ensued. The area became in conse- 
 quence so crowded as only to allow sufficient room for the 
 ceremony." 
 
 But whatever temporary annoyance might be occasioned by 
 the disorder, the "grand and imposing" ceremony was duly 
 performed ; the stone well and truly laid ; three short speeches 
 were made; and, whilst the brethren left the ground with 
 difficulty, the Duke inspected the plans of the building. Then 
 " the Committee, on his Royal Highness rising, formed around 
 him in order to preserve him from the pressure of the crowd, a 
 service which was not performed without much exertion. After 
 a severe struggle," the carriage was at length safely reached, and 
 the Turk's Head Inn was the next place to be visited, where a 
 Lodge was held at once, and closed soon after four o'clock. 
 
 " From labour to refreshment " is the favourite motto of the 
 ancient and worthy craft, and no great ceremony can be con- 
 
 THE BUILDING OF THE HOUSE. 
 
 sidered complete without " victuals and drink." There was yet 
 to be a banquet, and the Duke had requested that it should be 
 open to any gentleman who might wish to attend it It was to 
 be given in the Assembly Rooms, and there the Royal guest 
 was at length allowed to rest in a room which had been specially 
 prepared for him. But the rest was rather short, for dinner 
 was served shortly after five o'clock, a " most sumptuous" dinner, 
 consisting of turtle, venison, grouse, and every other delicacy in 
 
 season. 
 
 But the tale of the viands moves us less than the curious 
 details respecting the Chairmen and the speeches. In both of 
 these points it was indisputably " most sumptuous," and I must 
 go somewhat minutely into the account of them, even at the 
 risk of being more tedious than usual. For, in these degenerate 
 days, we dine late, eat little, and drink less; speeches after 
 dinner have a blessed tendency to grow shorter, and that time- 
 honoured abomination, the formal toast list, promises, at no 
 distant date, entirely to disappear. 
 
 Far otherwise was it seventy years ago, as the sequel will 
 abundantly prove. Upon this occasion the chair was, in the 
 first instance, taken by the senior member for the borough, the 
 second Sir Matthew White Ridley, who, when (in the good old 
 fashion) the cloth was removed, gave " The King," a toast which 
 was received with three times three, " God save the King," and a 
 salute fired by the guns on the Castle. Next came " The Royal 
 Family," "The Duke of York and the Army" (Tune, "The 
 Duke of York's March"), "The Duke of Clarence and the Navy" 
 (Tune, " Hearts of Oak"). But words nearly failed the good 
 Chairman when he came to the next toast : " He felt it was 
 not in the power of language to express the respect with 
 which they wished to receive His Royal Highness the Duke of 
 Sussex that day. But he did not think that silence would be 
 
7^ 
 
 THE BUILDING OF THE HOUSE, 
 
 THE BUILDING OF THE HOUSE. 
 
 77 
 
 altogether proper on the present occasion," and so the toast 
 was given, and "drunk with most rapturous applause, and was also 
 marked by a royal salute from the guns on the Castle." After 
 the amount of firing done that day, the fact that the old Castle 
 continued to stand its ground is an excellent tribute to the 
 building qualities of our Norman conquerors. 
 
 The response which the Duke of Sussex made to this drink- 
 ing of his own health has a certain interest which is all its own. 
 Omitting what I may call the purely complimentary part of his 
 speech, he said : " My Hon. Friend with great propriety intro- 
 duced my name as connected with the House of Brunswick, 
 that family which had been called to the throne of these Realms, 
 that came over to this country under a solemn compact of civil 
 and religious liberty; a principle I have always laid down for 
 the guidance of my public conduct, — a principle which I am sure 
 is congenial with the feelings of every member of the Royal 
 Family." 
 
 The good man had got this hazy notion upon the brain 
 and it came out upon every occasion with parrot-like iteration. 
 Compare with the above extract from his after-dinner speech the 
 following gem from his preprandial exhortation to " Mr. Mayor, 
 Recorder, Aldermen, Sheriff, and Common Council of Newcastle- 
 upon-Tyne " at the Mansion House. He then said : " I perfectly 
 agree with you. Gentlemen, that it was upon the principles of 
 civil and religious liberty that that branch of the Royal Family 
 to which I belong was called to preside over these realms. It 
 is, therefore, with great sincerity and pleasure that I can assure 
 you, that as I always have, so I ever shall regulate my public ' 
 conduct in conformity with such conviction." 
 
 Both speeches, or both editions of the speech, are a little 
 hazy, and perhaps slightly inaccurate — historically at all events 
 — but on the second occasion the Duke was evidently resolved 
 
 that he would not disturb the harmony of the evening, for he 
 went on to say: " In a company like this, I am aware it would 
 be extremely improper to go beyond certain lengths" (com- 
 moners, at all events, would say in any company, nowadays), 
 "but there are sentiments which must be congenial to the 
 feelings of every one, and I should be extremely sorry if any- 
 thing should occur to disturb the harmony or shock the good 
 sense of this company." (The reader involuntarily asks, " What- 
 ever astounding thing is he going to do or say?" But the 
 speech at this point recalls Captain Cuttle's declamation, or the 
 speeches of certain local celebrities : it becomes incoherent and 
 spasmodic.) "All I say is that I am proud of being a member 
 of the Royal Family, denominated the House of Brunswick. 
 I say denominated, because it is to this country that we are 
 indebted for the title and rank in society of being so. I am, 
 therefore, not unlikely to be a friend and supporter of English 
 Royalty ; but I do not like Foreign Royalty. I like the English 
 Constitution. I like the principle that the King can do no 
 wrong; but I do not wish the evasion of responsibility. I 
 respect and love the aristocracy of the country, as a link 
 between the Sovereign and the People ; but I do not like 
 oligarchy. I am an admirer and supporter of the Rights of the 
 People ; but it is not my interest, and I am not paid for being a 
 Republican." (A right royal idea, to be sure: it is a mere 
 money question, after all : he " did not get the fees.") " Such, 
 gentlemen, are briefly my principles, and I thought it but fair, 
 as you have done me the honour of electing me a citizen of 
 Newcastle, that you should know a little of my principles.'* 
 Truly, a precious little 1 
 
 After this brilliant effort, the Duke proposed " The health of 
 the President and Members of the Literary and Philosophical 
 Society of Newcastle," to which Mr. Bigge responded. Sir C 
 
78 
 
 THE BUILDING OF THE HOUSE, 
 
 M. Monck — the first Middleton who took the name of Monck, a 
 great lover of Greece, whose cause he warmly supported, and 
 whose architecture he endeavoured to adapt, at Belsay, to 
 English domestic requirements — followed with " The health of 
 His Royal Highness the Grand Master of England, and the 
 Free Masons of England, particularly those who had assisted in 
 the proceedings of that day." The Grand Master made another 
 speech, and then proposed "The Chairman," who found the 
 difficulty of speaking, which he had mentioned at an earlier 
 period of the entertainment, increased, but he spoke neverthe- 
 less, and he concluded by giving " The health of the new Free 
 Burgess of Newcastle, his Royal Highness the Duke of Sussex," 
 and upon this the band struck up the remarkably appropriate 
 tune, "May we ne'er want a friend or a bottle to give him." 
 The Duke was equal to the occasion, and " felt it his duty to give 
 * The Mayor and Corporation.* " In reply the Mayor made " an 
 animated speech," and sat down, amidst reiterated cheers, 
 " lamenting that it was not in his power to express his feelings 
 more strongly." It was a rather dubious compliment to cheer 
 that statement, unless it was felt that he had succeeded in going 
 quite far enough. The appreciative band struck up, with a 
 slight suspicion of sarcasm, " What will the people say ? " 
 
 The next health was that of Mr. J. G. Lambton, proposed 
 by the chairman, and responded to by the good Radical in a long 
 speech about the virtues of the Royal Family in general, and of 
 this special member of it in particular, and he " sat down amid 
 rapturous applause." It is difficult now to read the fulsome 
 periods of the great and advanced Radical orator of that day 
 without thankfully recognising that in the interval the feeling 
 about royalty has grown less slavish, amongst sensible people at 
 all events, although at least equal respect is paid where respect 
 is due. 
 
 < .'. 
 
 THE BUILDING OF THE HOUSE, 
 
 79 
 
 And now the toasting left the Duke of Sussex alone for a 
 little, although he took his part manfully in the more general 
 work. The chairman proposed "The Lord-Lieutenant of 
 the County," and his Royal Highness gave "The Fair Sex 
 of the town of Newcastle-upon-Tyne," concluding by a facetious 
 remark which caused great merriment throughout the room, 
 but which it was apparently considered safer not to reproduce 
 in print. After this diversion, Mr. Mayor toasted "The 
 Members for the Town," and Sir M. W. Ridley, in reply, made 
 his ninth speech. Mr. Ellison, who had been Sir Matthew's 
 colleague for fourteen years, and who was father to the late 
 Lady Northbourne, also responded to the toast, and then the 
 chairman seems to have got his second wind. He gave in rapid 
 succession, " Prosperity to both sides of the Tyne," upon which 
 our local " national anthem," " The Keel Row," was played ; 
 "The health of Dr. Charles Hutton," the eminent mathema- 
 tician, and a native of the town, who only lived into January of 
 the following year ; and then, returning once more to his first 
 love, " The health of the Duke of Sussex as President of the 
 Society of Arts and Manufactures," which he recommended 
 "should be drunk with three times three, or nine times nine, 
 in their hearts "—a truly difficult feat to perform ! 
 
 Up to this time the toasts had, with one exception, but little 
 reference to the men who had really worked at the Society, and 
 but for whose wise and devoted labours the very gathering itself 
 would not have been. This is, as a rule, the case at all great 
 meetings of a similar kind. Those who have given their lives 
 to the work, patiently, ungrudgingly, and zealously, and who 
 know every detail of it thoroughly, have the pleasure and satis- 
 faction of seeing the men who have got bigger names, and who 
 have the inestimable advantage of complete ignorance of the 
 matter in hand— who, like other figure-heads, are of small use 
 
 I 
 
A 
 
 80 
 
 THE BUILDING OF THE HOUSE, 
 
 THE BUILDING OF THE HOUSE, 
 
 Si 
 
 and of uncertain ornamentation, — calmly and dignifiedly enter 
 into their labours, and appropriate the merit of them with the 
 air of those who confer favours upon society in general, and 
 upon them in particular. 
 
 But now, when eighteen toasts had been drunk and twenty- 
 seven speeches made, and the gentleman who had spent a few 
 hours in the Society's service had been toasted five separate 
 times, Mr. Ellison " rose to propose the health of a gentleman 
 whose character endeared him to all who had the pleasure of 
 his acquaintance, and whose name was associated with those 
 of the founders of the Literary and Philosophical Society, of 
 which he might be called both the Father and God-Father, — the 
 Rev. William Turner." 
 
 The reply was characteristic : worthy of the man, and more 
 than worthy of the occasion. There was no grovelling at the 
 feet of royalty, no simulated paralysis of the vocal chords, 
 about the good, honest Unitarian minister. Simply acknow- 
 ledging that the first idea of the Society had been his, and 
 accepting the honourable connection of his name with it, he 
 pledged himself to further exertions for its success. But he 
 scorned, as all men should scorn, to appropriate to himself 
 praise which was properly another's. "He could claim for 
 himself very little merit as to that important feature of its plan 
 which had called for the erection of the building of which their 
 Royal visitor had that day laid the foundation-stone. The 
 object of the paper which had the good fortune to give birth to 
 this Society contemplated chiefly conversation and the reading 
 of literary essays ; the accumulation of books and the collection 
 of a museum were treated in it as distant, though desirable, 
 objects." He then went on to explain who was the author of 
 the library scheme, "a reverend and learned associate in the 
 establishment of the Society," no longer " among the number 
 
 of its active supporters." " But it would be unjust to forget the 
 real author of a great benefit received ; if therefore he might be 
 permitted for once to break the order of toasts to be given from 
 the Chair, he would feel gratified in being allowed to propose 
 " The Rev. Edward Moises, the Father of the Library," which 
 was accordingly drunk, but apparently without applause. Prob- 
 ably the breaking of the formal toast list was felt to be a 
 dangerous innovation. 
 
 The Rev. Edward Moises left the Society in 1809, because 
 he did not approve of the course which was taken with reference 
 to the lectures given by Mr. Turner in connection with the insti- 
 tution. I shall have to treat of this matter more fully in a 
 subsequent chapter. Other men of mark dropped away for 
 very different reasons. The Recorder, Mr. Hopper Williamson, 
 who was one of the first Vice-Presidents, withdrew from it at 
 a very early date, because, alarmed by the atrocities of the 
 French revolutionary leaders, and recognising how largely the 
 idea of our Society was generated from the growth of such 
 bodies in France, he dreaded (and not without reason) the 
 levelling and disturbing influence of scientific discussion and 
 
 observation. 
 
 But to return to the toast list. The Worshipful the Mayor 
 next took the matter in hand, and gave the healths of Lady 
 Ridley and Mrs. Ellison, whilst each husband, as in duty bound, 
 made suitable response. The Duke of Sussex was to sleep at. 
 Blagdon that night, and now the hour of his departure drew 
 nigh. The Chairman was commanded to explain that he had a 
 toast to propose. " His Royal Highness then rose, and said, 
 there were moments when perhaps it might be said it was a pity 
 to have enjoyed them, as the remembrance of them was only 
 productive of regret." The Royal guest's oratory was certainly 
 original, consisting for the most part of a series of Delphic 
 
H 
 
 82 
 
 THE BUILDING OF THE HOUSE, 
 
 utterances. You would certainly suppose, but for the context, 
 that he was aUuding to forbidden pleasures. He went on to 
 say, " Such, he could truly say, were his emotions on that 
 occasion, for had he not spent so pleasant an evening, he should 
 not have felt that regret which he then experienced, when he 
 was obliged to take his leave of them, l^ut," added his Royal 
 Highness, "the least said is best mended, and he would there- 
 fore conclude by proposing a toast in the language of a favourite 
 poet, and old friend of his. Captain Morris — 
 
 ' One toast, my good friends, I propose ere we pass, 
 May life's sweetest concord be spent round our glass.' 
 
 The pleasure which he had experienced on that day he only 
 hoped was reciprocal, and that it would be lasting. In conclu- 
 clusion, his Royal Highness emphatically and feelingly ex- 
 claimed, ' God bless you all ! ' " 
 
 A most sweet, literary, oratorical, and good-natured Prince, 
 and pious withal. Happily for us we may still gaze on the 
 counterfeit presentment of his features in the Society's com- 
 mittee-room. He stands there in royal robes, and with a most 
 conspicuous garter round his left knee. If we remove the 
 clothes we have a jolly, fat, unintellectual man, from whom no 
 great things would be expected, and the accidental clothes should 
 not too greatly increase the severity of our judgment of a man 
 who, at the least, was of a kindly disposition. 
 
 He had completely won the hearts of the Newcastle folk 
 gathered around that social board at the Assembly Rooms, and 
 if we fail quite to catch the reason for the enthusiasm with 
 which they greeted and treated him, we must picture the sym- 
 pathetic influence of a general determination to be delighted, 
 the stirring effect of words earnestly spoken, even when they 
 do not bear the perusal of long subsequent years, the English 
 
 J 
 
 THE DUKE OF SUSSEX, K.G. 
 
 li 
 
 4\ 
 
i ' 
 
 82 
 
 THE BUILDING OF THE HOUSE. 
 
 utterances. You would certainly suppose, but for the context, 
 that he was alluding to forbidden pleasures. He went on to 
 say, " Such, he could truly say, were his emotions on that 
 occasion, for had he not spent so pleasant an evening, he should 
 not have felt that regret which he then experienced, when he 
 was obliged to take his leave of them. But," added his Royal 
 Highness, " the least said is best mended, and he would there- 
 fore conclude by proposing a toast in the language of a favourite 
 poet, and old friend of his. Captain Morris — 
 
 *One toast, my good friends, I propose ere we pass, 
 May life's sweetest concord be spent round our glass.' 
 
 The pleasure which he had experienced on that day he only 
 hoped was reciprocal, and that it would be lasting. In conclu- 
 clusion, his Royal Highness emphatically and feelingly ex- 
 claimed, * God bless you all ! ' " 
 
 A most sweet, literary, oratorical, and good-natured Prince, 
 and pious withal. Happily for us we may still gaze on the 
 counterfeit presentment of his features in the Society's com- 
 mittee-room. He stands there in royal robes, and with a most 
 conspicuous garter round his left knee. If we remove the 
 clothes we have a jolly, fat, unintellectual man, from whom no 
 great things would be expected, and the accidental clothes should 
 not too greatly increase the severity of our judgment of a man 
 who, at the least, was of a kindly disposition. 
 
 He had completely won the hearts of the Newcastle folk 
 gathered around that social board at the Assembly Rooms, and 
 if we fail quite to catch the reason for the enthusiasm with 
 which they greeted and treated him, we must picture the sym- 
 pathetic influence of a general determination to be delighted, 
 the stirring effect of words earnestly spoken, even when they 
 do not bear the perusal of long subsequent years, the English 
 
 THE DUKE OF SUSSEX, K.G. 
 
THE BUILDING OF THE HOUSE. 
 
 83 
 
 exultation in royalty, by which every class of the community is 
 thoroughly permeated, and the genial and fraternal glow which 
 a good dinner and its accompaniments diffuse throughout the 
 system, and which awaken the more sentimental tendencies of 
 the human heart 
 
 The Prince retired from the banquet about half-past eight 
 o'clock, amidst every demonstration of the most enthusiastic 
 attachment and respect, the company all standing, and the band 
 playing " God save the King." " Mr. Lambton, we regretted to 
 observe, appeared extremely indisposed." 
 
 And little wonder ! He had not been well to begin with, and 
 the festivities of the day had already been somewhat prolonged 
 for a sick man. The strong probability is that upon the following 
 morning a large proportion of the company would also " appear 
 extremely indisposed ; " for, whilst Sir Matthew White Ridley 
 and Sir Charles Monck took the Royal Duke off to Blagdon, 
 Mr. Ellison was called to the chair, and the fun began afresh, 
 every new toast being drunk with three times three, and, as 
 though that were not enough to relieve the pent-up feelings of 
 the convivial company, the three times three was frequently 
 followed by " loud cheering." 
 
 The choice of Mr. Ellison must, for a moment, have seemed 
 somewhat unfortunate to such valiant trencher-men, for he began 
 by regretting his own delicate health, which would tend to his 
 giving them but little satisfaction as their chairman. But he 
 was still well able to get through more work than falls to the lot 
 of most men who preside over a dinner in these degenerate days, 
 and he was number two. He proposed "The health of Lady 
 Louisa Lambton, and prosperity to the House of Lambton." 
 Mr. Mayor then rose, and explaining, in rather a peculiar way 
 why he had not included them in his former toast to the wives 
 of the Borough Members, gave " Lady Loraine and the family 
 
«4 
 
 THE BUILDING OF THE HOUSE, 
 
 at Kirkharle," for which Sir Charles Loraine returned thanks 
 "in a neat speech," which was received with much cheering. 
 The chairman again apologised for his delicate health, but pro- 
 ceeded to give " The Coal Trade,*' " The health of Sir Charles 
 Monck," " who differed from him a little in opinion, but never 
 in anything that concerned the interests of the town of New- 
 castle," and " The health of Sir Charles Loraine," which Sir 
 Charles Loraine duly responded to. 
 
 The chairman then gave the health of the Sheriff of New- 
 castle, who, in returning thanks, stated in terms how he revered 
 the House of Brunswick, and how proud he was of "the 
 attention paid him since he came into his present official 
 situation." Have we not heard the echoes of that speech in the 
 utterances of more recent civic dignitaries ? Next, the chairman 
 " begged one more toast before he retired," and that proved to be 
 " The Committee of Management, and thanks to them for their 
 services." To this Mr. Thomas Hodgson, the editor and part 
 proprietor of the Newcastle Chronicle, then a strongly Liberal 
 paper, and one of the Rev. William Turner's congregation, 
 replied upon behalf of the Committee of which he was an 
 active member. 
 
 And now Mr. Ellison was obliged to quit the chair. Only 
 seven toasts had been given during his tenure of office, and ten 
 speeches made, but he was in poor health, and was to be par- 
 doned any shortcomings upon that account 
 
 Sir Charley Loraine was his successor. He was one of an 
 old Northumbrian family, and was the fifth member who bore 
 the title of Baronet, but he does not seem to have been ^ 
 remarkable otherwise. He began his duties on this occasion 
 by proposing " Mrs. Mayoress." As the Mayor does not seem 
 to have acknowledged the courtesy, we may presume that he 
 too had retired from the festive board, and we can readily 
 
 THE BUILDING OF THE HOUSE, 
 
 85 
 
 believe that the labours of the day had told heavily upon him. 
 But the Rev. William Mark stepped into the gap. He began 
 by giving his opinion " that clergymen should have nothing 
 to do with politics, and that the more they interfered with 
 them the less they did their duty as ministers." It is a 
 view which is still held, and even practised where neither 
 "Squoire, nor Choorch, nor Staate" happen to be involved 
 in the special question of politics upon the carpet. But 
 Mr. Mark went on to utter a dark saying which, at this dis- 
 tance of time, it is difficult to understand. It has, however, a 
 certain interest, for we see that the happy diners were growing 
 more confidential if less intelligible. " Whether it might impede 
 his preferment or not," he valiantly said, " he would propose the 
 health of the Heir Apparent of the House of Lambton, and 
 may he live to succeed his father — and may he inherit his 
 father's virtues — may he inherit his father's abilities — and — 
 what shall I say — ^yes, I will — may he inherit his father's 
 principles" 
 
 We must all hope that the heroism of this courageous 
 clergyman neither led him into any kind of trouble nor stood in 
 the way of his receiving the preferment which he was evidently 
 expecting. 
 
 After this the Chairman proposed the health of Mr. Green, the 
 architect of the intended new building, and he returned thanks 
 for the very flattering compliment paid him. Then was drunk 
 "the Committee of these Rooms, and thanks to them for 
 granting the use of the large room on the present occasion." 
 And now Mr. Emerson Charnley was allowed to take up the 
 tale. The famous bookseller, son of a famous bookseller, was 
 an active member of the Committee, and took a leading part 
 in the affairs of the town, which were, indeed, to some extent 
 settled in his back-shop in the Bigg Market He now gave a 
 
86 
 
 THE BUILDING OF THE HOUSE. 
 
 toast which he thought should have been given at an earlier 
 part of the evening. He explained that not only was a building 
 contemplated, but also an extensive museum of natural history. 
 The foundation-stone of the former had been laid that day, the 
 latter the Society had been enabled to purchase. He spoke 
 of the exertions of Mr. Fox, the value of the collection, the 
 generosity of the subscriptions towards its cost, and said that 
 "the celebrated Bewick had contributed his subscription and 
 sanction to the plan, a name that did honour to the country, 
 but more especially our own neighbourhood. He concluded 
 by hoping that ere long we should have such a collection as 
 would teach the young and improve the old in this delightful 
 science, and equal to any other collection of Natural History in 
 this kingdom. Mr. C. then gave the health of Mr. G. T. Fox 
 and the Subscribers to the Wycliffe Museum." 
 
 After this had been duly honoured, the Chairman proposed 
 *' The Heir to the House of Blagdon," and at a quarter past ten 
 he left the chair. But this by no means meant that the con- 
 viviality of the evening was at an end. The Sheriff was fully 
 equal to the emergency, and became the fourth Chairman, 
 leading off at once with the important toast of " Prosperity to 
 the Shipping interests of this Kingdom." 
 
 But at this point the reporter broke down. He had heard 
 thirty.five toasts proposed and fifty-three speeches made, and it 
 is as ill to have a surfeit of good things as to starve. The record 
 states that "various other toasts were drunk " (probably not the 
 only things which were drunk), " and the hilarity of the evening 
 prolonged to a late hour. Thus ended the enjoyments of one ^ 
 of the most animated days Newcastle ever witnessed." 
 
 I have dealt with this " animated day " in so much detail 
 because its story illustrates more forcibly than anything else 
 with which I am acquainted the many changes, in mind and 
 
 THE BUILDING OF THE HOUSE, 
 
 87 
 
 in manners, which the past seventy years have brought. We 
 read in the house which our fathers builded, but the world in 
 which that house stands is a new world, and the people by 
 whom it is inhabited are another people. 
 
 It may even be that in some things we are, after all, better 
 than our fathers. 
 
 Ii 
 
THE SOCIETY AT HOME, 
 
 89 
 
 ! 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 THE SOCIETY AT HOME. 
 
 E saw in the last chapter with how much good-will the 
 building of the Society's new house was begun. We 
 are now to learn that in such a great undertaking 
 the old proverb, Ce riest que le premier pas qui coAte, is not 
 correct. No proverb is always correct ; its truth depends upon 
 your standpoint It is but seldom in actual life that the anti- 
 cipation and the realisation correspond. The building of the 
 home for the Society proved no exception to this rule. We 
 have seen that the expenditure of the Building Committee was 
 nominally restricted to £\ooo, but within six months of the 
 laying of the foundation-stone they reported to the annual 
 meeting of the Society that they contemplated certain altera- 
 tions in the architect's plans, which would entail an additional 
 expenditure of at least ;^iooo. The meeting agreed to the 
 alterations proposed by the Committee. The sum of about 
 ^3600 had been subscribed or promised towards the expense 
 of the building, but the site had cost more than £\ 100, and it 
 was proposed to meet the deficiency by obtaining a mortgage 
 upon the premises, and the sum of £2000 had already been 
 offered at 41^ per cent, as low a rate for such an advance in 
 those days as it would be high now. Then it was also agreed 
 
 that the annual subscription should remain a guinea and a half, 
 and thus would not only part of the extra cost of the building 
 be defrayed, but the extra expense of cleaning, lighting, and 
 taking care of it when finished, would also be provided. 
 
 The architect, Mr. Green, lost no time over getting the 
 requisite specifications ready. The masonry contract was let, 
 as I have already stated, to Mr. Ions, of Gateshead, at ^I977> 
 and that for joiner's and carpenter's work to Mr. Cuthbert Burnup 
 for £\\2g. The rate of progress which the contractors made 
 was highly satisfactory at first— at all events, when all the 
 difficulties were taken into consideration. During the first 
 winter, for an unusually long time, out-of-doors work was 
 not possible, for there was what we in this part of the country 
 know as " weather " in abundance. In January and February, 
 1823, there was a six weeks' storm of unusual violence. Travel- 
 ling in any shape was impracticable for part of the time. The 
 stage-coaches stayed in the town. The mail coach had to be 
 abandoned near Swarland, and no trace of it was visible until 
 after many days' thaw. On one day, during the storm, the 
 mails for the north were despatched on thirteen saddle-horses. 
 At one place on Gateshead Fell the snow was level with the top 
 of a two-storey house, and here the guard of the London mail 
 narrowly escaped a terrible death. Well is it described as " a 
 dreadful snowstorm." 
 
 But this makes the rapid progress of the building all the 
 more remarkable. The Building Committee became rather too 
 sanguine, and ventured to assure the Society that it would be 
 ready for occupation before the end of 1824. At the annual 
 meeting held in March of that year, they speak of the exterior 
 as completed, and say that "owing to the very favourable 
 winter, no inconvenience has been experienced" from delays 
 consequent upon the enlargement of the building (already 
 
 ^ 
 
I 
 . ! 
 
 r 
 
 90 
 
 THE SOCIETY AT HOME. 
 
 
 alluded to) and certain difficulty in obtaining stone, but " tl.e 
 different kinds of work have proceeded in such regular and 
 uninterrupted order, that not only has the building been com- 
 pletely covered in without receiving the slightest injury from the 
 weather, but the Society may assure itself of the certainty of being 
 in the occupation of it before the close of the year. Much, indeed, 
 remains to be done ; but from the progress which all the work 
 is now making, there is no fear of its being completed before 
 that time," I suppose that they really meant that there was no 
 fear of its not being completed, but completed it was not. They 
 were too hopeful, and when March again came round the Society 
 had not yet taken possession, but the members seem to have 
 been quite satisfied with the progress which had been made. 
 Indeed, at the annual meeting in 1825 the Building Committee 
 expressed their "highest satisfaction with the attention and 
 skill of all employed in the erection," and their view appears to 
 have been generally adopted. 
 
 The most important question which they had then to con- 
 sider was that of the best method of lighting the building. I 
 have explained how certain shops in the town had been lighted 
 with gas since January 181 8, but coal gas was still an expensive 
 luxury, and people had no real knowledge of what was the best 
 way of utilising it, and other cheaper methods of artificial 
 illumination were much pushed. There was somewhat the same 
 kind of feeling about this new illuminant as there still is about 
 the electric light, and we shall see in a later part of this 
 chapter how, at the present time and in this matter of lighting, 
 history is repeating itself The Building Committee had 
 carefully pondered the question, and, wishing to get the most 
 economical, cleanly, and effective system, they had determined 
 to adopt oil gas. Its greater cleanliness and brilliancy than 
 coal gas were acknowledged, and the supply would be under their 
 
 THE SOCIETY AT HOME. 
 
 91 
 
 own control. At a cost of ^51 ids., exclusive of the gasometer, 
 they had obtained a small apparatus from the patentees, and 
 the Society was to manufacture its own oil gas. The cost of 
 the apparatus proved to be but a small part of the entire 
 expense, the piping, gasometer, and plumber's work coming 
 together to nearly five times as much. And the whole of this 
 was thrown away or nearly so, for in two years the Committee 
 reported that the apparatus was too small, was " exceedingly 
 difficult to manage, and was, besides, continually choaking up." 
 They, therefore, must either replace it with a larger apparatus or 
 make use of the town gas, and, in the state of the Society's 
 funds, they recommended the latter expedient. 
 
 The Committee went, in this report, into a detailed explana- 
 tion of their reasons for advising the Society in the first instance 
 to manufacture its own gas. In 1824 they had applied to the 
 Gas Company to ascertain at what price that company would 
 supply the number of lights wanted. They asked £1 a light, 
 or, if supplied by measurement, 12s. 6d. per thousand feet of gas. 
 This was, of course, a most disheartening demand. The Com- 
 mittee correctly believed that the payment for gas consumed 
 would be more satisfactory to all parties if it were by measure- 
 ment and not by burners. But in 1824 "gas-meters had not 
 been introduced into the town, and from the accounts which the 
 Committee had received of them, they were not themselves very 
 strongly impressed with an opinion of their utility, nor did they 
 know that the Company here would be willing to admit them ; the 
 Committee had, in consequence, always thought that a gasometer 
 on some part of the Society's premises would be necessary." 
 
 But no sooner was the oil gas apparatus erected than the 
 Committee discovered that the Gas Company were privately 
 offering to supply several of the manufacturers of the town with 
 gas at 7s. 6d. per thousand feet. Had this been known sooner, 
 
92 
 
 THE SOCIETY AT HOME. 
 
 the oil gas experiment would never have been tried, but as the 
 expense had been incurred, the trial had to proceed. In a few 
 months the apparatus was useless. Then the Gas Com.pany 
 was again approached ; but they said that the charge of 7s. 6d. 
 was only an experiment which they were afraid would not 
 answer, and that the Society must pay like other people. 
 " Upon this understanding it was agreed to receive the Com- 
 pany's gas into the gasometer, an account being kept by both 
 parties of the number of feet received each time the gasometer 
 is filled. Since that period the Building has been lighted with 
 the Company's gas, and a bill has been received from the 
 Company charging it at los. per thousand feet." 
 
 The concluding paragraph of this part of the report is of 
 special interest : " The Society have the satisfaction of knowing 
 that their supply of gas is measured by their gasometer with 
 accuracy and safety. The Committee will not say that gas- 
 meters are necessarily inaccurate and unsafe ; but they have 
 been found inaccurate, registering sometimes the same number 
 of feet when the burners have been reduced one half, and, on the 
 other hand, registering none when they have been doubled : and 
 they have also been found unsafe." 
 
 Upon the i8th July, 1825, the new building was opened to 
 the members for the perusal of periodical publications, and for 
 the general purposes of the Society a week later. It was 
 abundantly evident that the cost of the work would greatly 
 exceed all estimates, although it was yet too soon to say what it 
 would amount to. Many important alterations in, and additions 
 to, the original design had been made as the building progressed, 
 and the whole had been finished in a better and more costly 
 style than had been originally intended. The Committee were 
 empowered to raise £^000 upon mortgage of the premises at 
 4 per cent, interest. 
 
 'r. 
 
 FRONT VIEW OK THE SOCIETY S BUILDING 
 
 ii 
 
92 
 
 THE SOCIETY A T HOME, 
 
 the oil gas experiment would never have been tried, but as the 
 expense had been incurred, the trial had to proceed. In a few 
 months the apparatus was useless. Then the Gas Company 
 was again approached ; but they said that the charge of 7s. 6d. 
 was only an experiment which they were afraid would not 
 answer, and that the Society must pay like other people. 
 " Upon this understanding it was agreed to receive the Com- 
 pany's gas into the gasometer, an account being kept by both 
 parties of the number of feet received each time the gasometer 
 is filled. Since that period the Building has been lighted with 
 the Company's gas, and a bill has been received from the 
 Company charging it at los. per thousand feet." 
 
 The concluding paragraph of this part of the report is of 
 special interest : " The Society have the satisfaction of knowing 
 that their supply of gas is measured by their gasometer with 
 accuracy and safety. The Committee will not say that gas- 
 meters are necessarily inaccurate and unsafe ; but they have 
 been found inaccurate, registering sometimes the same number 
 of feet when the burners have been reduced one half, and, on the 
 other hand, registering none when they have been doubled : and 
 they have also been found unsafe." 
 
 Upon the i8th July, 1825, the new building was opened to 
 the members for the perusal of periodical publications, and for 
 the general purposes of the Society a week later. It was 
 abundantly evident that the cost of the work would greatly 
 exceed all estimates, although it was yet too soon to say what it 
 would amount to. Many important alterations in, and additions 
 to, the original design had been made as the building progressed, 
 and the whole had been finished in a better and more costly 
 style than had been originally intended. The Committee were 
 empowered to raise £^QOO upon mortgage of the premises at 
 4 per cent, interest. 
 
 ',. 
 
 FRONT VIEW OF THE SOCIETY S DUII.DING 
 
THE SOCIETY AT HOME. 
 
 93 
 
 t 
 
 8 
 
 But I have not explained what manner of a building had 
 been erected, or what was the accommodation which it afforded. 
 That it was greatly admired by the people of Newcastle is shown 
 by the fact that, twelve years after it was opened, the Corporation 
 in their Improvement Act recited as follows:— 
 
 " And whereas the new hall or library of the Literary and 
 Philosophical Society, situate in Westgate Street, is an ornament 
 to the said borough, but the view thereof is much obstructed by 
 an ancient dwelling-house belonging to Mr. Robert Leadbitter 
 and now in the occupation of Mr. Joseph Anderson ; and it is 
 desirable that a part of such ancient dwelling-house should be 
 removed, in order to open out the view of the said new hall or 
 library : Be it therefore enacted. That it shall be lawful for the 
 said Council to take down and remove so much of the said 
 dwelling-house, and of the offices belonging thereto, not ex- 
 ceeding fifteen feet in depth from Westgate Street, as adjoins 
 to the said new hall or library and to Westgate Street aforesaid ; 
 and that no building, except a fence wall not exceeding ten feet 
 in height, shall hereafter be erected upon the site of such part of 
 the said dwelling-house as shall be so taken down, nor upon 
 such part of the court-yard of the said Robert Leadbitter as is 
 situate between the said street hereby authorized to be made 
 from Collingwood Street to the Scotswood Road and the said 
 part of the said ancient dwelling-house of the said Robert 
 Leadbitter hereby authorized to be taken down, without the 
 license and consent of the said mayor, aldermen, and burgesses, 
 under their common seal, first obtained for that purpose." 
 
 As it was when first built, so it is now externally, a plain, 
 heavy, well-constructed Doric building; but the ground floor 
 has been greatly altered. What I may call the large hall and 
 the handsome staircase remain as they were. The Towneley 
 vases above the first landing, and the casts of the Elgin marbles 
 
 \ 
 
94 
 
 THE SOCIETY AT HOME. 
 
 ff 
 
 I 
 
 in five compartments at the top of the staircase, were the original 
 ornamentation. The Lough statue, the slabs from Nineveh, and 
 the important oil-painting by Mr. W. B. Scott, are gifts sub- 
 sequently acquired. I shall have more to say about them 
 hereafter. Immediately on the left upon entering was the 
 committee-room, which is now used as an ante-room to the 
 lecture-room ; and next came two apartments then occupied 
 by the Antiquarian Society; whilst on the right was a large 
 room for the Society's scientific apparatus. A door at the end of 
 the passage led into the lecture-room, which would accommodate 
 about 300 persons, but it was not a pleasant place. 
 
 The large library upstairs remains as it was originally, with 
 the important exceptions of the roof and the method of light- 
 ing, which have been greatly improved. For simple nobility of 
 appearance it cannot be surpassed. The gallery which sur- 
 rounded it has not been altered, nor has the narrow staircase 
 which connects it with the main room. From the east end of 
 the gallery the Museum was entered. It was too small, only 40 
 feet long and 20 feet broad, and for many years it has been 
 used as the committee-room, and also as a reading-room. The 
 reading-room proper is still, as it was then, on the left as the 
 library proper was entered. The principal room was 79 feet in 
 length by 40 feet in breadth, and 42 feet high. 
 
 The first meeting which the Society held in its new apart- 
 ments was upon 6th September, 1825, vvhen the Rev. William 
 Turner delivered an address, which was afterwards printed by 
 the request of the members. He gave a short account of its 
 history and present state, explaining that "the idea originally 
 contemplated was a meeting for literary and philosophical 
 discussion ; and agreeably to that idea, regular monthly meetings 
 had been held, at which a series of papers had been produced 
 highly creditable to their various authors." But " it was soon 
 
 II 
 
 THE SOCIETY AT HOME. 
 
 95 
 
 found that there prevailed a wish to extend the plan of the 
 Society by super-adding the establishment of a public library ; 
 the consequence had been the gradual formation of the noble 
 collection which now adorned the walls of the magnificent room 
 under a part of which they were then assembled." He then 
 went on to defend the formation of Public Libraries, which had 
 been attacked on the ground that " while they induce a medio- 
 crity of information apparently favourable to morals, as affording 
 the means of occupation to the leisure hours of the manufacturer, 
 the artisan, and mechanic, which might otherwise have been spent 
 in mere vacancy, or something worse, there is a danger that, by 
 the circulation of books of every kind, the public principles may 
 be corrupted ; that while they have almost created the character 
 called a well-informed man, and exalted in the scale of intelligence 
 men of no profession, they have a natural tendency to depress to 
 the same level those whose professions are denominated learned ; 
 and even to destroy amongst them that pertinacity of meditation, 
 correctness of reasoning, and exactness of style, which are best 
 formed by the use of a small library, well selected and digested 
 by frequent perusal." 
 
 These views were combated at what now seems somewhat 
 excessive length, but there is a curiously apologetic tone about 
 the defence which makes us feel that, in those days, the attack 
 was felt to be really a serious matter. Mr. Turner went on to 
 explain the further important extension of the Plan of the 
 Society when it was resolved to establish the Lectureship on 
 Subjects of Natural and Experimental Philosophy in connection 
 with it, and described how this had been carried into execution. 
 Twenty-two courses of Lectures had been delivered, "with 
 various advantages for assistance to the Lecturer in the experi- 
 mental parts, and, of course, with various degrees of satisfaction 
 to his audience and himself." 
 
 V 
 
 ■v.! 
 
'tm.fJi'J'' 
 
 96 
 
 THE SOCIETY A T HOME. 
 
 THE SOCIETY AT HOME. 
 
 97 
 
 
 The formation of a Literary Club amongst the members of 
 the Society, in 18 14, was explained, and certain jealousies which 
 it had aroused were removed. The beginning of the Anti- 
 quarian Society, about the same time, " occupying apartments 
 in the same building as ourselves, and proposing to exhibit its 
 antiquarian stores to the public inspection in such a way as to 
 render them, at the same time, an interesting decoration to the 
 open space behind our building," led the speaker up to the new 
 and commodious premises in which the Society met for the first 
 time. 
 
 And he concluded by explaining in considerable detail the 
 extreme liberality of the Society's unique constitution, stating 
 that it had been celebrated even by " Mr. Brougham in his late 
 pamphlet on Mechanics' Institutes ; " and he described the 
 steps which it was intended to take to place it upon a firm legal 
 basis. He alluded to "the ample foundation which has been 
 laid for a Museum of Natural History, through the intervention 
 of Mr. Fox, and the very liberal terms on which he purchased 
 for the Society the Wycliffe collection. Tbe only danger is 
 lest, in this respect, our apartments may not be sufficiently 
 extensive." 
 
 This danger was, indeed, a real one, but one which could not 
 be avoided, and the accommodation sufficed for more than half 
 a century of honest work. But when we find that, at this very 
 first meeting in the new building, Mr. William Hutton announced 
 his intention to present a series of 1200 geological specimens, 
 Mr. John Adamson to supplement that gift by 300 more, and 
 Mr. John Thomhill to add an Herbarium of British plants, we 
 begin to appreciate the grounds upon which Mr. Turner's 
 apprehension was based. 
 
 We have now got our Society housed in its permanent home, 
 and have only to give some account of the alterations and 
 
 additions which have been made in that home during the 
 seventy years of occupancy already flown. But in these days 
 of shortened hours and simplified duties, — when all that pertains 
 to domestic service has been revolutionised in this free country, 
 and you must cross the Channel to find the early rising, late 
 working, and low wage, once characteristic even of our own 
 country, — it is not without interest to peruse the " Outlines of 
 Duty of two servants wanted by the Literary and Philosophical 
 Society of Newcastle-upon-Tyne," which were printed and 
 distributed by the Committee in December of this year, 
 
 1825. 
 
 The chief or leading part of the man's duty was to make the 
 gas, and to attend to the burning of it ; but he had a multitude 
 of other things to attend to. Amongst these was the scrubbing 
 of the flags in front of the door : " the whole should be scrubbed 
 down once a week, but if advantage were taken of every shower 
 of rain, great labour on this point would be avoided." "At 
 twelve o'clock he must have himself cleaned " — the instructions 
 do not specify by whom—" and attend the Museum, or as he 
 may be wanted, from that hour to three." Then he was to 
 keep the back-yard and garden clean and orderly ; was to be 
 constantly about the building; keep up the fires; blacklead 
 the grates, stoves, and hearths, and clean the fenders and fire- 
 irons ; clean the mats and scrapers ; keep the outside rails clear 
 of nuisances, and the urns on the staircases free of dust ; assist 
 the librarian in locking-up ; clean the windows ; keep the water 
 cistern filled; the brass hand-rails of gallery and staircase, 
 and the oakdoors, handles, and finger-plates, in order and 
 bright "Besides what is stated, he must endeavour to make 
 himself as useful as he can, and to make it his study to keep 
 the building and rooms in proper order, and as clean as possible. 
 He must also be ready to give his assistance whenever required. 
 
 7 
 
 t 
 
98 
 
 THE SOCIETY AT HOME. 
 
 THE SOCIETY AT HOME. 
 
 99 
 
 
 During the Lectures, his attendance or services will often also 
 be wanted for them." 
 
 Two days in each week were entirely taken up with gas- 
 making. He had to wear "old clothes" in the gas-house, 
 fustians up to twelve o'clock, and a suit provided by the Society 
 during the rest of the day. What with making gas, cleaning 
 the building and himself, changing dresses, and making himself 
 generally and ubiquitously useful, his office would be no sinecure. 
 The duties prescribed for the woman are worthy of those laid 
 down for the man. 
 
 But this is by way of interlude. The Building Committee 
 was not able to give a full account of the sum actually expended 
 upon the new premises until March 1827, and it then proved to 
 have been ;f 13,756 5s. i|d., including the cost of the ground. 
 This amount had been raised thus : 
 
 By the annual half-guinea contributed 
 
 by members ;^3.35o o 6 
 
 Donations 1,869 M 6 
 
 Borrowed - 8,200 o o 
 
 -£i3>4i9 15 o 
 the balance being discharged out of revenue. 
 
 The large amount of borrowed money proved a source of 
 constant anxiety and trouble to the Society, and I shall have to 
 speak at some length about the many unsuccessful devices for its 
 liquidation, and to show how, through the enlightened liberality 
 of one of the most famous members, the incubus was at length 
 removed. 
 
 It is not a little amusing to see with what dismay these 
 accounts were received, and how busy the prophets of evil at 
 once were. One said with some truth that " private societies, as 
 well as national governments, have their periods of folly and 
 
 extravagance," and went on to show how the incidental and 
 necessary payments would exceed the receipts, without leaving 
 anything to purchase new books, or to pay off the enormous 
 amount on mortgage : the two guinea subscription would 
 have to be again increased, "and consequently the library 
 would lose its former usefulness, and become merely a fashion- 
 able lounging-place for the opulent classes of society." Another 
 complained that the Committee had concealed the true financial 
 position, and spoke of " the ruin that threatens the institution." 
 He declared that the proposed sinking fund was a complete 
 humbug ; showed how and why the expenses must exceed the 
 receipts; and explained precisely how, in order to purchase any 
 books at all, the Society would have to borrow ;£"200 every year, 
 thus plunging deeper and ever deeper into the slough of financial 
 embarrassment. 
 
 You cannot reply to a prophet, but you may, as a rule, 
 disbelieve him if he prophesies nothing but unadulterated 
 evil. Sixty-seven years have flown since the utterance of 
 these gloomy vaticinations, and they have not yet been fulfilled. 
 
 For the men who raised our building were not such as lie 
 down before difficulties. They fully realised their situation, and 
 began at once to grapple with it The despised sinking fund 
 itself is one proof of this. The members and friends of the 
 Society subscribed ;£^2<X)0 in amounts of not less than ;£^20, and 
 ;f 1200 further was obtained on loan. These sums were to be 
 repaid by setting aside a certain part of the annual income each 
 year for that purpose. But this and other ways in which it was 
 sought to raise the wind, I shall deal with hereafter. 
 
 Because, as this chapter tells of the Society at home, I must 
 note, before going further, that it had already begun to gather 
 together its interesting and valuable collection of busts, portraits, 
 and other pictures. Its first acquisitions of this kind seem to have 
 
 i 
 
lOO 
 
 THE SOCIETY AT HOME. 
 
 P i 
 
 »j 
 
 been made in the Session 1823-24. "That venerable ornament 
 of his native town, Dr. Charles Ilutton," died on the 27th 
 January, 1823. He is a man to be remembered. The son of 
 a " deputy," and himself in early Vi^c a hewer at Benton Colliery, 
 he worked his way up until he became one of England's leading 
 mathematicians. The University of Edinburgh gave him the 
 degree of LL.D., the Royal Society made him a Fellow, and 
 appointed him Foreign Secretary ; he was for thirty-four years 
 Professor of Mathematics in the Royal Military Academy at 
 Woolwich ; and his mathematical writings won him European 
 fame, his paper upon the " Force of Exploded Gunpowder, 
 and the Velocity of Balls projected from Artillery," gaining 
 him many flattering testimonials, and amongst them the 
 gold prize medal of the Royal Society. This, and his re- 
 searches into the density of the earth, were the works by which 
 he was to be remembered. 
 
 Dr. Charles Hutton was one of the first Honorary Members 
 of our Society. At the banquet which followed the laying of 
 the foundation-stone of the new building in 1822 he had been 
 specially honoured, but the Annual Report presented in March, 
 1823 told of his death. He had not forgotten our Society, for 
 he bequeathed to it the valuable marble bust of himself by 
 Chantrey, which had been presented to him by public sub- 
 scription the year before. In September 1823, Mr. Andrew 
 Morton presented the Society with his portrait of the learned Dr. 
 Hutton, and thus the Newcastle people may to-day have a good 
 idea of how one of their most famous townsmen really looked. 
 
 Then followed the gift by the Rev. John Headlam of a por- 
 trait of Marmaduke Tunstall, who collected the Museum which 
 the Society had purchased ; the further present of a cast from 
 the bust of James Watt, given by his son; one from that of 
 Matthew Boulton ; and a marble bust of Thomas Bewick, by 
 
 CHARLES HUTTON, LL.D., F.R.S. 
 
 
lOO 
 
 THE SOCIETY AT HOME. 
 
 Vi 
 
 been made in the Session 1823-24. " That venerable ornament 
 of his native town, Dr. Charles Hutton," died on the 27th 
 January, 1823. He is a man to be remembered. The son of 
 a " deputy," and himself in early life a hewer at Benton Colliery, 
 he worked his way up until he became one of England's leading 
 mathematicians. The University of Edinburgh gave him the 
 degree of LL.D., the Royal Society made him a Fellow, and 
 appointed him Foreign Secretary ; he was for thirty-four years 
 Professor of Mathematics in the Royal Military Academy at 
 Woolwich ; and his mathematical writings won him European 
 fame, his paper upon the " Force of Exploded Gunpowder, 
 and the Velocity of Balls projected from Artillery," gaining 
 him many flattering testimonials, and amongst them the 
 gold prize medal of the Royal Society. This, and his re- 
 searches into the density of the earth, were the works by which 
 he was to be remembered. 
 
 Dr. Charles Hutton was one of the first Honorary Members 
 of our Society. At the banquet which followed the laying of 
 the foundation-stone of the new building in 1822 he had been 
 specially honoured, but the Annual Report presented in March, 
 1823 told of his death. He had not forgotten our Society, for 
 he bequeathed to it the valuable marble bust of himself by 
 Chantrey, which had been presented to him by public sub- 
 scription the year before. In September 1823, Mr. Andrew 
 Morton presented the Society with his portrait of the learned Dr. 
 Hutton, and thus the Newcastle people may to-day have a good 
 idea of how one of their most famous townsmen really looked. 
 
 Then followed the gift by the Rev. John Headlam of a por- 
 trait of Marmaduke Tunstall, who collected the Museum which 
 the Society had purchased ; the further present of a cast from 
 the bust of James Watt, given by his son; one from that of 
 Matthew Boulton ; and a marble bust of Thomas Bewick, by 
 
 1 
 
 CHARLES HUTTON, LL.D., F.R.?. 
 
 (I, 
 
THE SOCIETY AT HOME. 
 
 lOI 
 
 Bailey, presented by the subscribers. The next art present did 
 not give unqualified satisfaction, but was the occasion of a long 
 and rather bitter contest. This came about simply enough. 
 
 John Graham Lough, who was born at Greenhead in 1798, 
 was certainly one of the few Northumbrians who have had an 
 undoubted touch of genius. The son of a husbandman, he had 
 to make his own way in the world, and found it a difficult task. 
 He came to Newcastle; got work upon the Society's new 
 building ; flitted to London, where, " in an obscure lodging, he 
 had long wrestled with that giant with a hundred hands, Ad- 
 versity, but had ultimately succeeded in perfecting works of the 
 most astonishing character." His sudden leap into notoriety is 
 one of the pleasantest of latter-day art romances, and neither 
 the fact nor the fiction are without some justification. In 
 judging of a man's art we have nothing to do with how it was 
 produced. It must stand absolutely and simply upon its own 
 merits. We should scarcely now speak of Lough's art as his 
 contemporaries spoke of it His works are only great in the 
 sense of being big. But in speaking of him as a man we have 
 to consider the pit from which he was digged, the opportunities 
 he had of ascertaining and appreciating the truth, and the work 
 which was going on about him and which coloured his whole 
 mental life ; and, so doing, we shall not hesitate to call him a 
 
 great man. 
 
 In 1827 Lough exhibited his colossal statues of "Milo" and 
 "Samson" in the Hanover Square Rooms in the metropolis. 
 " Milo " is that work which is said, I fear upon slight authority, 
 to have introduced him to the public gaze. Henry Brougham 
 had advised upon the strange case of a young mason who, 
 finding that his garret was too low to admit of a figure upon 
 which he was working being constructed of sufficient height, 
 removed part of the ceiling. This was so strange a case that 
 
 
 1 1 
 
 r 
 
 I 
 
 i 
 
 <\ I 
 
 mmmmm 
 
102 
 
 THE SOCIETY AT HOME. 
 
 the leading Queen's Counsel and greatest orator of the day 
 went to inspect the locus in quo. There he found this young 
 Northuhibrian, who was all but starving, but who nevertheless 
 laboured heroically at his giant figure of him " who of old would 
 rend the oak." Wherever Brougham went (and he went every- 
 where) the tale was told, and at once Lough became the lion of 
 the day. In the opinion of the press of that day, his exhibition 
 in the Hanover Square Rooms "proved him to be a man of first- 
 rate genius, and a decided ornament to British art." 
 
 In 1828 Lough presented a cast of "Milo" to this Society, 
 and it was placed in the Library, amidst the plaudits of the 
 Committee and the local press. 
 
 " Then began a battle grim and great." Mr. John Fenwick, 
 afterwards one of the Society's secretaries, wrote to the Com- 
 mittee submitting that " the figure was too open for a place of 
 general resort, and that the credit and respectability of the 
 Society would be better preserved by removing the cast to the 
 Committee-room, or some other apartment where female delicacy 
 might not be exposed to that trial to which it is now subjected." 
 The Committee, however, " saw no cause to make any alteration 
 in the situation of the cast, the objections to it evidently arising 
 out of a misapprehension of the principles upon which the 
 practice of statuary is regulated : " a fine unmeaning reply to 
 a silly attack. Mr. Fenwick attended the next Committee 
 meeting, and, not unnaturally, complained of the reply made 
 to him, pointing out that he had made no profession of ac- 
 quaintance with "the principles of statuary," but that "he 
 supposed that the Committee held that, when they came in 
 contact with the principles of morality, the principles of morality 
 should be given to the wind." 
 
 It is not easy to follow closely the meaning of this declaration. 
 The complaint, the reply, and the rejoinder are alike remarkable 
 
 f 
 
 THE SOCIETY AT HOME. 
 
 103 
 
 for the skilful way in which they avoid relation. But Mr. Fenwick 
 took the practical step of giving notice that, at the next general 
 meeting, he should move " That the Library is not a fit place for 
 the reception of the bust of * Milo.' " 
 
 And then the warfare broke out in the local press, both in 
 prose and verse. The verse was worse, perhaps, than the 
 statuary. In prose, " that stupendous work of art, the colossal 
 figure," was extolled ; members were exhorted to attend the 
 meeting, "and both by their sentiments and votes rescue the 
 Society from the stigma which would attach to it should such a 
 motion be carried." On the other hand, an "Old Member" 
 wrote that he was compelled, when he took his daughters or 
 female friends to the Library, to avoid the part of the room 
 where the statue was, and, if possible, to divert their attention to 
 other objects. 
 
 The meeting was held on the 6th January, 1829, and Mr. 
 Fenwick submitted the following theses : — 
 
 I. That to place a colossal statue in a library was out of 
 
 good taste. 
 
 II. That the general exhibition of an open statue like Milo 
 was a violation of good old English feeling, and had a tendency 
 to reduce the national character to that of the French ; and 
 
 III. That such an exhibition was contrary to Christian 
 morality, which enjoined modesty and shamefacedness on the 
 
 female sex. 
 
 No one venturing to second the motions, Mr. W. H. Brockett 
 did so formally, in order that they might be fully discussed ; and 
 then Mr. Christopher Cookson, "the Barrister," led the oppo- 
 sition in a vigorous and humorous, but abusive, speech, which Mr. 
 Fenwick described as "one of the most profligate and infidel 
 speeches ever heard in the Society." If this description were 
 accurate, the Society is to be congratulated upon the high 
 
 i 
 
 ■ 
 
104 
 
 THE SOCIETY AT HOME. 
 
 average tone of its speeches. One of the severest things Mr. 
 Cookson said was that ''whatever indcHcacy there was existed, 
 not in the statue, but in the vitiated minds of those who objected to 
 it." The discussion was a warm and Hvely one, but Mr. Fenwick 
 only got three persons to vote witli him, whilst there was "a 
 tremendous majority in favour of Milo remaining where he is." 
 
 Poor old Milo ! how we marvelled at him in the days of 
 childhood, and perhaps shuddered a little at him when we grew 
 a little older and had learned what the great men of old could 
 do in sculpture with more knowledge and less material! But 
 none of us ever dreamed that his peaceful existence in the 
 Library reflected in any way upon the morality of the Society. 
 Perhaps few of us shed even a tear of memory when we heard 
 that, in the sad fire by which the Centenary gathering of the 
 Society was terminated, the colossal cast had disappeared for 
 ever. 
 
 But other presents of an artistic kind were made to the 
 Society about this time. Mr. Edward Train, still remembered 
 by many of us as the most genial of painters, and whose 
 undoubted ability gave promise which was never quite fulfilled, 
 presented the Society in 1828 with a portrait of Mr. Robert 
 Doubleday, who had died five years before, and who had done 
 yeoman service to the Society from the first The Newcastle 
 Courant of that day said of this portrait, " It is an excellent 
 likeness, and a most beautiful drawing, the more extraordinary 
 as being executed with pen and ink. It looks so like a proof 
 print of one of the finest species of engravings, that it would 
 almost deceive the eye of an experienced artist." Mr. Robert 
 Doubleday is chiefly remembered now as the uncle of a greater 
 man who, in service to the Society, trod in his footsteps. 
 
 When I mention Thomas Doubleday I name the most dis- 
 tinguished literary man our good old town has given birth to. 
 
 THOMAS DOUBLEDAY. 
 
I04 
 
 THE SOCIETY AT HOME, 
 
 average tone of its speeches. One of the severest things Mr. 
 Cookson said was that "whatever indeh'cacy there was existed, 
 not in the statue, but in the vitiated minds of those who objected to 
 it." The discussion was a warm and Hvely one, but Mr. Fenwick 
 only got three persons to vote with him, whilst there was "a 
 tremendous majority in favour of Milo remaining where he is." 
 
 Poor old Milo ! how we marvelled at him in the days of 
 childhood, and perhaps shuddered a little at him when we grew 
 a little older and had learned what the great men of old could 
 do in sculpture with more knowledge and less material! But 
 none of us ever dreamed that his peaceful existence in the 
 Library reflected in any way upon the morality of the Society. 
 Perhaps few of us shed even a tear of memory when we heard 
 that, in the sad fire by which the Centenary gathering of the 
 Society was terminated, the colossal cast had disappeared for 
 ever. 
 
 But other presents of an artistic kind were made to the 
 Society about this time. Mr. Edward Train, still remembered 
 by many of us as the most genial of painters, and whose 
 undoubted ability gave promise which was never quite fulfilled, 
 presented the Society in 1828 with a portrait of Mr. Robert 
 Doubleday, who had died five years before, and who had done 
 yeoman service to the Society from the first The Newcastle 
 Courant of that day said of this portrait, " It is an excellent 
 likeness, and a most beautiful drawing, the more extraordinary 
 as being executed with pen and ink. It looks so like a proof 
 print of one of the finest species of engravings, that it would 
 almost deceive the eye of an experienced artist." Mr. Robert 
 Doubleday is chiefly remembered now as the uncle of a greater 
 man who, in service to the Society, trod in his footsteps. 
 
 When I mention Thomas Doubleday I name the most dis- 
 tinguished literary man our good old town has given birth to. 
 
 THOMAS DOUBLEDAY. 
 
 
THE SOCIETY AT HOME, 
 
 lOS 
 
 A poet, a novelist, a dramatist, a politician, an economist, his 
 pen had a wide range to suit his capacious mind. But he will 
 live longest as the writer of the best angling songs which were 
 ever conceived. His economic works deserve careful perusal 
 and show his profound thought and originality, but they are 
 already, for the most part, of the far past His " Coquetdale 
 Angling Songs" will live so long as the Coquet flows and fishers 
 tread her braes. They are instinct with the true spirit of poetry, 
 and are one of the chief glories of our city and of the county 
 which adjoins it. 
 
 Thomas Doubleday was for many years an active and im- 
 portant member of the Committee of the Society. He was 
 eighty -one years old when he died at the close of the year 1870. 
 
 In that same year, 1828, the President, Sir J. E. Swinburne, 
 presented the Society with "the highly-finished portrait of 
 himself by T. Phillips, Esq., R.A., which is not only highly 
 valuable in itself as a capital work of art, but also as, by its 
 striking likeness to the esteemed original, it presents him con- 
 tipually to the minds of those who have so long been his 
 associates, and will convey to their successors an idea of the 
 Society's early Patron and constant Friend." 
 
 Sir John Edward Swinburne of Capheaton became the 
 President of the Society in 1798, succeeding Mr. John Widdring- 
 ton, the first President, who died in November 1797, and con- 
 tinuing to hold the office for forty years. He was seventy-six 
 years old when he resigned, but he did not die until September 
 i860. He had paid much attention to his duties, and was 
 peculiarly well fitted to discharge them with dignity and 
 ability. He was a fellow of the Royal Society, and President of 
 our local Society of Antiquaries from the time of its formation 
 until his death. Both the present baronet and the poet Algernon 
 Charles Swinburne are among his grand-children. 
 
 i 
 
 \\ 
 
 II 
 
1 ' 
 
 I 
 
 
 I 
 
 io6 
 
 THE SOCIETY AT HOME, 
 
 At this time a movement was on foot " to procure for the 
 Institution some Work of Art as a lasting Memorial of the 
 eminent and gratuitous services of the Rev. William Turner, as 
 one of the Secretaries to the Society for a Period of Five and 
 Thirty Years, and Lecturer of the Institution since the establish- 
 ment of lectures in 1803." It was resolved at a meeting of the 
 subscribers in December 1828, that *' E. H. Bailey, Esq., R.A., 
 should be the artist employed to execute a Bust of Mr. Turner, 
 and Mr. Andrew Morton should be the artist employed to paint 
 the Portrait." At the anniversary meeting held on the 2nd March, 
 1830, the thanks of the meeting were "given to those ladies and 
 gentlemen who have, by their voluntary subscriptions, put the 
 Society in possession of the valuable Bust and Portrait of the 
 Senior Secretary." 
 
 Although I shall get in advance of my story by so doing, I 
 may mention here that Mr. Bailey was himself the donor (in 
 1832) of the cast of his bust of Lord Brougham, which we still 
 possess. In the same year a bust in marble of James Losh, 
 and, in 1836, "the splendid colossal Monument" of the same 
 gentleman by Lough, were presented by the subscribers. Mr. 
 Losh, who died in 1833, was Vice-president of our Society 
 for several years, and Recorder of Newcastle for rather more 
 than a year. He was a zealous reformer, and took a lead- 
 ing part in the movement for the abolition of slavery in the 
 colonies. For thirty-one years he had made and carefully 
 recorded meteorological observations, and, in memory of him, 
 his sons had these records copied, and presented them to the 
 Society, bound in seven folio volumes. 
 
 The "large picture by Mr. Train, representing Highland 
 Scenery, with the introduction of Macbeth and the Witches," 
 which now adorns the Committee-room, was given in 1833 by 
 Mr. W. Hutton and some other friends, and at the same time 
 
 THE SOCIETY A T HOME. 
 
 107 
 
 Mr. Dunbar presented a bust of Earl Grey of the Reform Bill, 
 and " a cast taken from the skull of King Robert the Bruce, 
 discovered at Dunfermline in the year 18 19." 
 
 " It never rains but it pours." At the same meeting Mr. 
 Nicholson, of Edinburgh, sent a portrait of "our former 
 esteemed associate, Mr. George Gray," and, three months later, a 
 likeness of the Rev. Dr. Morrison, the eminent Chinese mission- 
 ary and linguist, was given by Mr. H. P. Parker. Although 
 born in Newcastle, Dr. Morrison does not appear to have been 
 otherwise connected with the Society. 
 
 George Gray was an eccentric character who was something 
 of a traveller, a teacher of drawing, a chemist and botanist, and 
 " a portrait, fruit, house, and sign painter." He lived a simple 
 and retired life in the Pudding Chare, and was held in high 
 esteem by many men of science and art in many parts. He was 
 sixty-one years of age when he died in 18 19. 
 
 In July 1833, " Mr. Robson" gave the Society a bust of Laocoon, 
 and " Richard Wilson, Esq.," a full-length portrait of the Duke of 
 Sussex. In 1836, Earl Grey consented to sit to Mr. Ramsay for 
 his likeness, which the artist painted for the express purpose of 
 presenting to the Society; and in 1838, Mr. Andrew Morton 
 received the thanks of the members "for his valuable and 
 interesting present of the portrait of Lord Brougham." 
 
 It is convenient that, at this point, I should complete 
 the long list of valuable gifts of a similar kind which the Society 
 has received, nearly all of which are still in its possession and 
 greatly add to the interest of its rooms. 
 
 In 1844, "Dr. Headlam, in the name of the subscribers, 
 presented a portrait of the Rev. Edward Moises, whom he 
 characterized as an eminent minister of religion, an accomplished 
 teacher of youth ; one whose labours had given a fine classical 
 tone and cast to his pupils — who was one of the few surviving 
 
 11 
 
 K\ 
 
io8 
 
 THE SOCIETY AT HOME. 
 
 originators of the Society, and to whom the town was under the 
 greatest obligations for having first suggested a library in con- 
 nection with this Institution, and applied himself for a series of 
 years in making the Library eminently efficient." 
 
 In 1856, William Kenneth Loftus, another of those Grammar 
 School boys of whom Newcastle is so justly proud, presented 
 "the five Sculptures of the Nimroud Marbles, found by him 
 during his excavations in the East," which now adorn the 
 principal staircase of the Society's building. He was a keen 
 naturalist, an intrepid traveller, and one of the most successful 
 explorers of the realms surrounding Babylon the Great. He 
 was the discoverer of the vast palace of Darius at Susa, the 
 honours and spoils of-which have been so largely appropriated 
 by the French. The remains of the great city of Nineveh were 
 the work upon which he was actively engaged when his labours 
 were interrupted by the Crimean War. The slabs which he gave 
 to us form an important part of these, his most recent, dis- 
 coveries. He worked under General Williams of Kars, the 
 Assyrian Excavation Society, and the Indian Government, and 
 died on his way home from India in 1858, when only thirty- 
 seven years old. Of him General Williams said that "a better 
 man, a more zealous and faithful public servant, never lived." 
 The Society received a photographic portrait of him in 1859, 
 from his relative, Mr. James Radford. 
 
 Mr. Robert Stephenson gave the bust of his illustrious father 
 in 1857, and in i860 the members subscribed for those of 
 Robert Stephenson himself and of Sir W. G. Armstrong, which 
 are now in the Library. The photographic likeness of Robert 
 Stephenson which hangs in the Reading-room was presented by 
 Mr. Joseph Glynn in 1859, and in connection with the George 
 Stephenson Centenary in 1881, Mr. Charles Mitchell, jun., made 
 the Society a present of his copy of Lucas's portrait of George 
 
io8 
 
 THE SOCIETY AT HOME. 
 
 originators of the Society, and to whom the town was under the 
 greatest obligations for having first suggested a library in con- 
 nection with this Institution, and applied himself for a series of 
 years in making the Library eminently efficient." 
 
 In 1856, William Kenneth Loftus, another of those Grammar 
 School boys of whom Newcastle is so justly proud, presented 
 "the five Sculptures of the Nimroud Marbles, found by him 
 during his excavations in the East," which now adorn the 
 principal staircase of the Society's building. He was a keen 
 naturalist, an intrepid traveller, and one of the most successful 
 explorers of the realms surrounding Babylon the Great. He 
 was the discoverer of the vast palace of Darius at Susa, the 
 honours and spoils of*which have been so largely appropriated 
 by the French. The remains of the great city of Nineveh were 
 the work upon which he was actively engaged when his labours 
 were interrupted by the Crimean War. The slabs which he gave 
 to us form an important part of these, his most recent, dis- 
 coveries. He worked under General Williams of Kars, the 
 Assyrian Excavation Society, and the Indian Government, and 
 died on his way home from India in 1858, when only thirty- 
 seven years old. Of him General Williams said that " a better 
 man, a more zealous and faithful public servant, never lived." 
 The Society received a photographic portrait of him in 1859, 
 from his relative, Mr. James Radford. 
 
 Mr. Robert Stephenson gave the bust of his illustrious father 
 in 1857, and in i860 the members subscribed for those of 
 Robert Stephenson himself and of Sir W. G. Armstrong, which 
 are now in the Library. The photographic likeness of Robert 
 Stephenson which hangs in the Reading-room was presented by 
 Mr. Joseph Glynn in 1859, and in connection with the George 
 Stephenson Centenary in 1881, Mr. Charles Mitchell, jun., made 
 the Society a present of his copy of Lucas's portrait of George 
 
 Pf 
 
THE SOCIETY AT HOME, 
 
 109 
 
 ¥ 
 
 Stephenson. The portrait of Robert Stephenson himself had 
 been presented by a few friends in 1849. 
 
 For many years Mr. William Bell Scott, poet and painter, 
 was Master of the Newcastle School of Design. He was a 
 distinct force in the town at a time when strong influence in 
 literature and art was greatly needed. In 1864, when he left to 
 live in London, some of his friends commissioned him to paint 
 a picture which was to be hung in one of the public buildings of 
 the town. He had already enriched Wallington Hall with a 
 deeply interesting series of paintings illustrative of the history 
 of Northumberland, and he now did one such painting for 
 Newcastle. He was interested in this Society and had taken 
 part in its management. It was his desire that the picture 
 should be hung in its house, and we thus became possessed 
 of the valuable " Building of the Castle." 
 
 The last gift I have to mention is that of " Some Newcastle 
 Worthies," presented by Miss Crawhall in 1894, and the work of 
 her father, Mr. Joseph Crawhall the elder. It represents the 
 great men of the town gathered together on 'Change, and is 
 probably of the year 1826. Most of the figures have been 
 identified, and some of them are men who have been mentioned 
 in these pages. It is a quaint, delightful, and rarely charac- 
 teristic bit of the business life of the old town. 
 
 And now let us turn back to the Society at home, noting 
 some of the chief incidents in its history which will be dealt 
 with in more detail hereafter, but paying more particular 
 attention to changes in the structure or in the terms of 
 membership. 
 
 The Annual Report presented in 1829 speaks of the death of 
 "our late lamented associate, Mr. Thomas Bewick, the eminent 
 reviver of the Art of Wood-engraving, or rather the inventor of 
 a new art ; by which, and by his singularly felicitous application 
 
 \\ 
 
 .jaikSit. 
 
 if 
 
no 
 
 THE SOCIETY AT HOME, 
 
 of it to the illustration of Natural History, he has secured for 
 himself a reputation which will never die." 
 
 He became a member of the Society in 1799, and took 
 special interest in its collection of birds, many of which indeed 
 appear in his British Birds. Those who wish to learn more 
 about a Northumbrian of whom his country may be justly 
 proud should read his "Autobiography," surely as charming 
 and simple a story of a worthy life as can be met with. He 
 was seventy-five years old when he died on the 8th November, 
 1828. We have no likeness of him, but there is one in the 
 Museum of the Natural History Society at the Barras Bridge, 
 which well repays a pilgrimage to that noble institution so 
 sadly neglected by the people for whose benefit it was built. 
 This portrait is by that fine but most enigmatical artist, Good 
 of Berwick, and it is a living likeness. 
 
 The history of that Natural History Society I shall have to 
 tell in some detail in a subsequent chapter, but I may mention 
 here that the Literary and Philosophical Society gave birth to 
 it in the month of July 1829. In the same month the parent 
 society made a strong endeavour to obtain the full benefit 
 for the people of Newcastle of a gift made to them nearly 
 ninety years before, but from which they had profited little; 
 and this was but one of a series of similar attempts which 
 extended over a period of more than fifty years, and which were 
 occasioned by the flagrant maladministration of the noble 
 benefaction known as " Thomlinson's Library." 
 
 Dr. Robert Thomlinson was for some time Lecturer at 
 St. Nicholas' Church. On the 31st January, 1735-36, he wrote 
 to the then Mayor of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Walter Calverley 
 Blackett, to tell him that, wishing that on his death his books 
 should be put into a public way of being useful, he had left in 
 his will his whole Study of books to the Mayor and Burgesses 
 
 THE SOCIETY AT HOME. 
 
 Ill 
 
 of Newcastle, and he asked the good Mayor to build a Library 
 to hold them, which the good Mayor accordingly did. He was 
 at that time Alderman Blackett only, and we may well regret 
 that his great influence obtained for him the permission to 
 erect the building close to the south side of the fine old church, 
 and that his small taste led him to be responsible for so hideous 
 a building. He became a baronet in 1749, was five times Mayor, 
 represented the Borough in Parliament for forty years, and was so 
 popular that he was long known as the " King of Newcastle." 
 
 Dr. Thomlinson kept his part of the bargain. He thought 
 the hideous excrescence '* a handsome Fabric," and proceeded, 
 in 1 741, to put some sixteen hundred volumes into it In the 
 same year he made his will, by which he left the remaining 
 volumes to the town, as he had promised. He also left £^ a 
 year to be spent in purchasing further books, and the Mayor 
 endowed the Library with £2^ di year which was to provide its 
 keeper, who was to be chosen from amongst the Curates of the 
 Churches of St Nicholas, All Saints, St John, and St. Andrew, 
 in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, preference being given to those of St 
 Nicholas. 
 
 The direction of the Library devolved upon the Mayor of 
 Newcastle, the Archdeacon of Northumberland, the Vicar of 
 Newcastle, and the Lecturer of St Nicholas for the time being. 
 Excellent regulations were made for the borrowing of books, 
 giving security for their return uninjured, and the like ; but, like 
 all similar regulations, their value depended upon their being 
 strictly observed, which they never were. 
 
 Dr. Thomlinson died on March 24th, 1748, but it is prob- 
 able that he had himself seen his whole collection of books 
 placed in their intended home before his death. For some 
 years afterwards the Visitors seem to have really looked after 
 matters in a superficial way, examining the books on the shelves 
 
 't 
 
 I 
 
 . ,' 
 
112 
 
 THE SOCIETY AT HOME, 
 
 I 
 
 with the written catalogue. Their report made in 1789 was 
 that the books were in good condition, but that fourteen 
 volumes were already missing. In the preceding year, Mr. 
 William Charnley, the well-known bookseller, had written to 
 Dr. Sharp, the Archdeacon of Northumberland, and had pointed 
 out that the Library had been shut up for many years— twenty 
 consecutive .years at the least ; that many of the books were 
 much injured by damp ; that the Librarian's salary was being 
 expended without being earned, and the ;^5 a year left for the 
 purchase of books was not being expended for that purpose. 
 The diligence of the Visitors seems to have been exhausted 
 in twenty years at the most, and the Report of 1789 to have 
 been inaccurate, to say the least 
 
 But Dr. Sharp took no notice of Mr. Charnley's letter, and 
 he therefore wrote to the Bishop of Durham, who had really 
 nothing to do with the matter; he had much better have 
 applied to the Mayor of Newcastle, who was directly connected 
 with it. The Bishop did nothing, which indeed was all that he 
 had to do. There was a rush of correspondence in the public 
 press about the Library and its neglected condition, and the 
 Bishop was again appealed to in 1 801, but with a like result. 
 The matter was then apparently allowed to sleep until 1813, 
 when it was proposed that a catalogue should be printed of 
 " this valuable Library bequeathed to the Inhabitants of this 
 Town so many years ago." The Committee of this Society 
 agreed to bear one-half of the expense of printing, upon con- 
 dition that the members should be entitled to purchase copies 
 at cost price. But the idea was abandoned for the time, and 
 the books got into still worse condition. 
 
 William Charnley died in 1803, but his son, Emerson 
 Charnley, who succeeded him in the business, became perhaps 
 even more eminent in his own line, and was as full of public 
 
 THE SOCIETY AT HOME, 
 
 "3 
 
 spirit as the good father. In 1826, Mr. Emerson Charnley was 
 given leave to print and publish a Thomlinson Library catalogue 
 at his own risk and expense, and the Librarian was instructed 
 to attend every day, between the hours of eleven A.M. and one P.M., 
 excepting on Sundays, Festivals, Fast Days, and Saturdays. 
 
 The catalogue was published in 1829, and the Corporation 
 ultimately agreed to pay the cost There was, however, still great 
 negligence in the management, and there was frequent complaint 
 in the weekly newspapers of the difficulties which intending 
 readers found in obtaining access. So in that year this Society 
 took the matter up in serious earnest Several monthly meetings 
 were devoted to the consideration of the wrongs of the public and 
 their remedy. The attention of the Trustees was called to the 
 original statutes, which required the Library to be open from 
 seven to one o'clock every day in summer, and from nine to one 
 o'clock every day in winter, and it was shown to them that these 
 statutes were habitually disregarded, and that the payment of 
 the salary was the only part of the whole performance which was 
 regularly and punctually attended to. In order that the Society 
 might make sure of attention, they appointed a deputation to 
 wait upon the Mayor, and the appeal to. temporal authority 
 proved more efficacious than that to the spiritual powers had 
 been : the Mayor called the Trustees together, and they con- 
 sented to accede to the wishes of the Society. 
 
 I need not pursue this matter further. The promises which 
 the Trustees made were broken with but small delay: for fifty 
 years this Society endeavoured to get the books transferred to 
 its care, upon condition that the public had full and free access 
 to them ; they were more and more wantonly neglected ; if an 
 attempt to use them or examine them were to be successful, it 
 demanded a lavish expenditure of time and patience, and 
 the possession of unusual persistency. From time to time the 
 
 8 
 
 I 
 
 i 
 
I 
 
 I 
 
 114 THE SOCIETY AT HOME. 
 
 public roused itself, got into a state of indignation and made 
 a fuss ; but it was not until the Committee of the Newcastle 
 Public Library turned its attention to the matter in 188 1, and 
 resolutely stuck to the task, that any real and lasting reform was 
 made. The negotiations for the transfer of the books to that 
 Library were somewhat intricate and prolonged, but on the 
 1st April, 1884, the Charity Commissioners issued a scheme for 
 the future governance of the charity which enabled the Trustees 
 to accede to the general wish. 
 
 Four thousand three hundred and sixty-five volumes were 
 handed over to the Public Library, but nearly all were in a 
 shockingly dilapidated condition. Many had been deliberately 
 mutilated by borrowers ; some had pages torn out ; from others 
 the plates had been cut ; most were without backs or in rotten 
 bindings; all had been cruelly neglected by the authorities. 
 The collection, described at an early period as " a truly noble 
 collection of most valuable books, handsomely bound, and of 
 the best editions : an inestimable literary treasure, worthy of a 
 prince, bequeathed by the reverend and generous donor to the 
 people of Newcastle," has at length found a fitting home. 
 At the cost of six hundred and eighty pounds, and with infinite 
 care and loving labour, it has been repaired, catalogued, and 
 arranged in a room specially prepared and set apart for it ; and 
 it is now one of the prominent features of that admirable 
 Public Library which is already of inestimable value, and which 
 bids fair to become one of the chief glories of this great centre of 
 industry as is right and fitting. The constant watchfulness and 
 earnest labour of this Society for the welfare of the Thomlinson 
 Library has thus borne good fruit, to the great benefit of our 
 city and its inhabitants, and the end so long aimed at, and so 
 strenuously striven for, has at last been attained. 
 
 Let us return to the more immediate or domestic work 
 of our Society. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 TBE SOCIETY AT HOME, 
 
 Its Growth and its Changes. 
 
 E have now reached the year 1830 in the history of 
 our Society at home — a time when, in spite of evil 
 prophecies, it was undoubtedly prospering. The 
 Committee had turned its attention to the possibility of com- 
 bining its funds with those of the young Societies which had 
 branched out from it, but which were still accommodated under 
 its roof-tree. The Committee trusted that they would ever 
 remain connected with it, on terms of friendly co-operation, and 
 that the various collections might thus form separate parts, as 
 it were, of one great establishment, and the beneficial arrange- 
 ments which had been mutually made and ought perpetually to 
 subsist amongst them, might be firmly consolidated. 
 
 The desire was a worthy and natural one, but it was not 
 fulfilled, and we can see now that it was well that this was so. 
 There is something attractive in the idea of a vast building 
 which shall contain under one roof the whole of the intellectual 
 efforts of a city, but it is not quite a practical one. It is in its 
 very nature too cramping. The many isolated but splendidly 
 constructed and admirably arranged museums of Berlin afford 
 
 
, i 
 
 i) 
 
 I 
 
 ■ I 
 ( i 
 
 i i 
 
 f I 
 
 ii6 
 
 THE SOCIETY AT HOME, 
 
 much greater facilities for actual work, than the noble, vast, and 
 heterogeneous collections of the Louvre or South Kensington. 
 
 Newcastle was rapidly growing at this time, and Mr. Richard 
 Grainger had begun those building operations which converted 
 the picturesque, old, irregular town into the modern city of grand 
 stone streets which are, in their own way, unrivalled by those of 
 any other business centre. I do not think that he was concerned 
 in the making of the new street which was to run from Colling- 
 wood Street westward past the Forth, and which was named 
 after the family whose charming town mansion made way in 
 our own day for the Mining Institute. The opening of Neville 
 Street was of considerable importance to our Society, and con- 
 tributed to make it what it has gradually more and more 
 become, the centre of the twin boroughs of Newcastle and 
 Gateshead, but it was many years before this street assumed 
 anything like its present appearance. 
 
 In 1834 the Natural History Society purchased from this 
 Society the land upon which they built their museum, the old 
 museum, which has quite disappeared having been absorbed 
 by the North Eastern Railway Company. The Antiquarian 
 Society was accommodated upon the ground-floor of their 
 building, and a few years later the Fine Arts Society also found 
 a home there. 
 
 And now the Lecture Room proved too small for the number 
 of members wishing to attend the discourses of the eminent 
 men who were from time to time engaged to deliver courses of 
 lectures, and, in July 1836, it was resolved to enlarge it by 
 taking in two rooms which had been lent to the Antiquarian 
 and Phrenological Societies for their meetings. When they 
 reported the completion of this work to the Annual Meeting 
 in 1837, the Committee thought that the new lecture-room 
 would comfortably accommodate nearly, if not quite, five 
 
 1 1 J 
 
 THE SOCIETY AT HOME. 
 
 117 
 
 hundred persons. This proved to be too liberal an estimate, 
 and those of us who remember the old room think of it 
 now as inconvenient and uncomfortable. But in all matters of 
 the kind the wants of men increase: in all that pertains to 
 personal comfort, "Appetite doth grow by that it feeds on." 
 
 With this alteration of the Lecture Room several other 
 reforms were introduced, the chief of them being the provision 
 of a room " as a place of deposit for ladies* cloaks, etc, and a 
 convenient waiting-room for their servants." When our present 
 Lecture Room was constructed in 1859-60, this cloak-room was 
 absorbed, and the ladies had to leave their wet cloaks where 
 they could until the existing room was made for them in 1866. 
 It was with difficulty that any place could be found for it, but 
 to carry the resolution to make it at all was much more difficult, 
 and required a long and severe struggle. In one of the many 
 discussions upon the subject, a worthy but contradictious and 
 irascible alderman astonished the Committee by roundly 
 denouncing the whole project as "the most disgusting and 
 immoral proposition which he had ever heard." 
 
 I have endeavoured to ascertain the exact number of 
 members of the Society from time to time, but this is not to 
 be done, for the Roll and the balance-sheet never coincide, 
 many members in past times being allowed to remain on the 
 Roll when their subscriptions were greatly in arrear. I think 
 that when it had completed its forty-sixth year, in 1839, there 
 were more members than at any other date preceding 1856-57, 
 when the subscription was reduced to ;f i is. But how many 
 were there at this time of greatest prosperity? The Annual 
 Report says 751 in all — 690 gentlemen and 61 ladies; the 
 Roll which accompanies the Annual Report, but which only 
 gives the names of the ordinary subscribers (who were all 
 gentlemen), says 699, which makes a total of 760: but when 
 
 H 
 
 I 
 
 « 
 
 ^ 
 
ii8 
 
 THE SOCIETY AT HOME. 
 
 L 
 
 ! 
 
 \ > 
 
 I 
 
 we turn to the Treasurer's account, we find that only 700, 
 including ladies and gentlemen, paid their subscriptions. 
 
 The fact is that the accounts of the Society have, from time 
 to time, given great trouble to the gentlemen who have, with 
 much ability and sometimes at great personal sacrifice, acted as 
 Treasurer, as well as to the financially-minded members of the 
 Committee. But, at the time of which I am writing, many 
 improper practices had crept in — practices which are not unknown 
 to private persons who are chronically hard up. Thus when a 
 Committee wished to appear better than it really was, it simply 
 ignored the debts which it had incurred, leaving them to be 
 dealt with by its successor. The Treasurer's account showed 
 truly what had been received, and the accounts, the payment of 
 which law or accident had necessitated, but it gave no hint that 
 there was anything owing. This is a simple and convenient way 
 of keeping accounts whilst it lasts, and it saves much trouble for 
 the time, but as a creditor obstinately remains unpaid whether 
 you say so or not, the trouble quietly accumulates for the future 
 at a high rate of compound interest 
 
 In this year, 1839, the Committee brought the state of affairs 
 which I have described before the Annual Meeting, and laid on 
 the table a statement which showed that the outstanding debts 
 then amounted to A73» gave the dates of their " contraction " 
 (an unlucky word, for the tendency of unpaid debts is to expand, 
 not to contract), and an estimate of income and expenditure for 
 the year then commencing. The print of the Report contains 
 the note, " These points of business have been copied into the 
 Committee and the Resolution Books," but it is satisfactory to 
 be able to add that in due time they were disentombed, 
 although the evil practices were not finally got rid of for many 
 a year. 
 
 We may pass on to the Society's jubilee year with no 
 
 THE SOCIETY AT HOME. 
 
 119 
 
 special incident to note, except that, in 1840, it was resolved to 
 keep a register at the Library of the daily atmospheric changes. 
 The instruments which it was necessary to acquire in order to 
 carry this resolution into effect were not to cost more than £2$. 
 The register was regularly kept until, in 1886, the North Eastern 
 Railway Company absorbed the yard space belonging to the 
 Society. But although of considerable interest and some value, 
 the great extension of the town, and the erection of lofty build- 
 ings closely adjoining that of the Society, had interfered with the 
 general utility of the register. The air-currents had been so inter- 
 cepted and their true course so changed, that the Society's vane 
 had, as an inveterate legal punster remarked, become indeed a 
 vain thing. From time to time the Librarian received a subpoena 
 duces to produce the record at some trial for damages done to 
 crops by smoke or noxious vapours, but when by incontestable 
 evidence it was proved that the wind was really S.W. when 
 our vane (not unnaturally, considering the district) declared 
 that it had been N.E., his services were not in so great 
 
 demand. 
 
 I may notice in passing that on the 24th September, 1842, 
 the library of our Society was lent to the Corporations of New- 
 castle and Gateshead for an important civic function. The 
 Duke of Cambridge was staying at Ravensworth Castle, and on 
 that day he " visited Newcastle, where, in the Library of the 
 Literary and Philosophical Society, addresses were presented to 
 him by the Corporations of Newcastle and Gateshead, to which 
 he made suitable replies. The library was crowded by gentle- 
 men connected with the town and neighbourhood, and the 
 gallery was well filled by ladies. His royal highness passed 
 through the library into the museum, and was highly delighted 
 with the various specimens submitted to his notice." 
 
 The jubilee year was 1843, and in the annual report the Com- 
 
 i 
 
H 
 
 1 20 
 
 THE SOCIETY AT HOME, 
 
 mittee briefly reviewed the history and progress of the Society, 
 and it was resolved to celebrate the event by a public dinner, 
 which was held in the Assembly Rooms at five o'clock on 
 the 6th February. In the absence, through ill-health, of the 
 President, Mr. C. W. Bigge, Dr. Headlam presided, and Mr. 
 John Clayton filled the vice-chair. Although ten of the original 
 members still survived, Mr. John Buddie was the only one who 
 was able to be present. He was then only seventy years of age 
 and was one of the speakers, and gladly was this father of our 
 northern coal-trade listened to, few persons dreaming that his 
 h'fe was so near its close. He died in October of that very 
 year. 
 
 The dinner was rather a big affair, for there were forty-seven 
 speeches, and some of them were a little long ; but, at the very 
 outset, the apple of discord was introduced by the Chairman 
 himself. He twice spoke of the Rev. Edward Moises as the 
 founder of the Society, and, whilst in proposing the toast of the 
 Society he only referred incidentally to the Rev. William 
 Turner, he afterwards gave the health of the Rev. Edward 
 Moises as the founder of the Society, and ignored Mr. Turner 
 altogether. But this was going too far. The successor to 
 Mr. Turner in his religious oflfice, and himself a relative of that 
 gentleman, the Rev. J. McAlister, rose, and gently but firmly 
 spoke up for the man who had not only founded the Society, 
 but who had, for nearly half a century, done far more for its 
 prosperity than any other man. He read a short extract from 
 a letter which he had himself received from Mr. Turner respect- 
 ing the origin of the Society, and in which he said of it that 
 "it was in conversation at a friendly society of which I was 
 a member, and which met at the house of Mr. Page, a most 
 amiable man and a member of the Hanover Square Chapel. I 
 was desired to draw up a paper entitled " Plan of a Literary 
 
 II 
 
 
 DR. HEADLAM. 
 
120 
 
 THE SOCIETY AT HOME, 
 
 mittee briefly reviewed the history and progress of the Society, 
 and it was resolved to celebrate the event by a public dinner, 
 which was held in the Assembly Rooms at five o'clock on 
 the 6th February. In the absence, through ill-health, of the 
 President, Mr. C. W. Bigge, Dr. Headlam presided, and Mr. 
 John Clayton filled the vice-chair. Although ten of the original 
 members still survived, Mr. John Buddie was the only one who 
 was able to be present. He was then only seventy years of age 
 and was one of the speakers, and gladly was this father of our 
 northern coal-trade listened to, i^^ persons dreaming that his 
 h*fe was so near its close. He died in October of that very 
 year. 
 
 The dinner was rather a big affair, for there were forty-seven 
 speeches, and some of them were a little long ; but, at the very 
 outset, the apple of discord was introduced by the Chairman 
 himself. He twice spoke of the Rev. Edward Moises as the 
 founder of the Society, and, whilst in proposing the toast of the 
 Society he only referred incidentally to the Rev. William 
 Turner, he afterwards gave the health of the Rev. Edward 
 Moises as the founder of the Society, and ignored Mr. Turner 
 altogether. But this was going too far. The successor to 
 Mr. Turner in his religious office, and himself a relative of that 
 gentleman, the Rev. J. McAlister, rose, and gently but firmly 
 spoke up for the man who had not only founded the Society, 
 but who had, for nearly half a century, done far more for its 
 prosperity than any other man. He read a short extract from 
 a letter which he had himself received from Mr. Turner respect- 
 ing the origin of the Society, and in which he said of it that 
 "it was in conversation at a friendly society of which I was 
 a member, and which met at the house of Mr. Page, a most 
 amiable man and a member of the Hanover Square Chapel. I 
 was desired to draw up a paper entitled " Plan of a Literary 
 
 DR. HEAor A^^. 
 
THE SOCIETY AT HOME. 
 
 121 
 
 Society," which, having been circulated, gave occasion to the 
 meeting at the Dispensary which established and drew up 
 regulations to which they prefixed my plan by way of intro- 
 duction." Mr. McAlister apologised for intervening, "but he 
 could not permit the respected Chairman's omission as to the 
 true paternity of the Society to pass unnoticed at the earliest 
 moment." 
 
 The Chairman, unfortunately and not very wisely, tried to 
 defend his untenable position, but Mr. Emerson Charnley, who 
 had to propose Mr. Turner's health, traced the beginning of the 
 Society to the paper read by that gentleman and entitled 
 " Speculations for a Literary Society to be formed in this town." 
 Mr. Charnley said that whether he was the founder or not, he 
 was one of the founders, and quoted with great effect a speech 
 made by the late Mr. James Losh, in which he said : " I do not 
 know, nor is it very material, whether Mr. Turner was the father 
 of this Society or not ; but he was the founder of its usefulness, 
 the origin of its success, the director of its purposes, and its 
 highest ornament from beginning to end." Then Mr. William 
 Armstrong, who had been a member since 1798, and had known 
 the Society since 1794, fully confirmed the accuracy of Mr. 
 McAlister's statement, spoke warmly in praise of Mr. Turner's 
 " characteristic modesty," and ended by saying " there was no 
 monthly meeting at which Mr. Turner had not some informa- 
 tion to supply, and sure he was that Mr. Turner's equal they 
 never could live to see again." 
 
 It is strange that but half a century after the event, and only 
 six years after one of the two gentlemen who had thus, un- 
 wittingly and unwillingly, been placed in ungrateful opposition, 
 had retired from the secretaryship which he had held for forty- 
 four years, and whilst both of the gentlemen were still living, 
 such a dispute should have arisen at all. Happily there was 
 
 A 
 
 1 1 
 
 
122 
 
 THE SOCIETY AT HOME, 
 
 THE SOCIETY AT HOME, 
 
 123 
 
 no doubt in the mind of the man to whom the credit had been 
 wrongly attributed. The Rev. Edward Moises was appealed to, 
 and at once wrote : " Mr. Moises presents his compliments to 
 Mr. McAlister, and, in reply to his inquiry concerning the 
 Literary and Philosophical Society, begs to assure him that 
 Mr. Moises disclaims all pretensions to be considered as the 
 founder of that institution, which is solely due to Mr. Turner. 
 Towards the close of 1792, Mr. Moises received a circular from 
 Mr. Turner inviting him to join the proposed Society, to which 
 Mr. Moises expressed his ready consent." Thus it was finally 
 established that Mr. Turner was the father of the Society, and 
 Mr. Turner had himself explained that the movement for the 
 addition of a general library was due to Mr. Moises. 
 
 At the monthly meeting in April 1793, Dr. Glover read a 
 paper entitled " Remarks on the History of the Literary and 
 Philosophical Society of Newcastle-upon-Tyne," in which he 
 gave a brief sketch of the work which the Society had done 
 since its commencement. It is interesting to note his view that 
 its development had not fulfilled the intention of its founder, 
 Mr. Turner, which, he held, was to found a Society like the 
 Royal Societies of London and Edinburgh, and the Literary 
 and Philosophical Society of Manchester. " Although," he said, 
 " our Society has now become little more than a large reading 
 club, the branch societies which have sprung from it have main- 
 tained the character originally contemplated by Mr. Turner." 
 
 The truth is that the original scheme was, to a certain 
 extent, tentative. It was intentionally wide and elastic, and 
 thus it allowed the Society to take the shape which the varying 
 needs of the district from time to time suggested It was 
 better thus than if the attempt rigidly to copy some institution, 
 existmg elsewhere and under other conditions, had been per- 
 sisted in. 
 
 It is well that we, who have celebrated the centenary of the 
 Society, should see what those who were directing its affairs 
 when its jubilee was celebrated thought of its past and hoped 
 from its future. At the conclusion of his paper Dr. Glover 
 summed up the situation thus: — "Enough has been said to 
 manifest the numerous benefits which this Institution has con- 
 ferred. In its early career it excited a spirit of inquiry, and 
 afforded facilities to students otherwise not easily acquired. Its 
 members took the lead in efforts to improve the education of 
 the poor. The papers and subjects brought before its meetings 
 were frequently of the highest interest, and of great literary and 
 scientific worth. Inventions and proposals of the most essential 
 value to the commercial and mining interests of the district, and 
 to the cause of humanity, originated from the exertions of its 
 members, and were sanctioned and made known by the 
 approval, and diffused by means of the Society. But we can 
 scarcely perceive the thousand almost imperceptible modes in 
 which the operation of this institution has beneficially affected 
 the intellectual, social, and moral state of the district within its 
 sphere. The termination of fifty years has witnessed the fulfil- 
 ment of almost all the objects contemplated by the author of 
 the prospectus ; but the Society is about to enter a new epoch 
 of its existence ; and let us hope that the conclusion of the next 
 fifty years may witness the attainment of so many objects as 
 may render the Centenary as auspicious an event as the late 
 Jubilee ; so that the progress of the Society during the inter- 
 vening period may be found to be as great in proportion as it 
 has been in the time already passed." 
 
 Whether this pious wish has been answered admits of argu- 
 ment. The changes of the last fifty years have been indeed 
 amazingly great, but some of the principal ones have their roots 
 in the earlier years, although those years were profoundly 
 
 \ 
 
 l\\ 
 
124 
 
 THE SOCIETY AT HOME. 
 
 m 
 
 unconscious of the fact When the Duke of Sussex came to 
 lay the foundation-stone of the new building, who thought 
 that the brakesman of a local colliery who, in that very year, 
 bought a piece of land at the Forth and erected a modest 
 manufactory for locomotive engines, was to become more 
 famous, and to do more for the world, than all the peers and 
 commoners assembled to do honour to royalty put together, and 
 with royalty thrown in ? Yet so it was. A subsequent chapter 
 will show that George Stephenson was already known to the 
 members of this Society. He was engineer to the Stockton 
 and Darlington Railway Company, and had persuaded them 
 to get an amended Act of Parliament so as to have iron 
 instead of wooden lines, and locomotives instead of horses or 
 fixed engines. He had surveyed and was constructing their line, 
 and was to receive the remuneration of ;^30o a year. 
 
 But railways were slow to reach Newcastle. Upon the 1 8th 
 June, 1844, the Newcastle and Darlington line was opened, but 
 the northern terminus was at Gateshead not Newcastle, the 
 River Tyne barring further progress. Still it was now possible 
 to get all the way from Gateshead to London by rail, but it was 
 a long business. The writer made what he thinks was the first 
 through journey, the train leaving Gateshead at six in the 
 inorning and reaching Euston Square half-an-hour after mid- 
 night. The weekly papers went into ecstasies over the extreme 
 rapidity of the transit. 
 
 The line could not long be allowed to terminate at Gates- 
 head, "the dirty lane leading to Newcastle," and a terra 
 incognita to the Newcastle people. " I hope that you will come 
 to our Gateshead Dispensary ball, Mr. G.," was the request 
 made by a Gateshead belle to a well-known Newcastle lawyer, 
 about the time of which I am writing. "And pray, madam,' 
 where is Gateshead?'' was the uncompromising reply. Mr. 
 
 THE SOCIETY AT HOME. 
 
 125 
 
 R. W. Brandling had conceived the idea of a High Level Bridge 
 across the Tyne in 1841 ; George Stephenson was consulted 
 upon the matter in 1842; the following year a High Level 
 Bridge Company was formed, with George Stephenson and 
 George Hudson, the Railway King, on the committee of manage- 
 ment, and with Robert Stephenson as consulting engineer; and 
 then the Newcastle and Darlington Railway Company took the 
 matter up, and in 1845 obtained an Act of Parliament for the 
 construction of the bridge. 
 
 George Hudson, then at the height of his fame, was the 
 chairman of that company. In 1844, when the line to the South 
 was opened, he had been extolled in the Newcastle papers as 
 the greatest of benefactors, but the Committee of the Society 
 were afraid of his further extensions, and they tried to discover 
 what his exact aims were. That was by no means an easy task, 
 for deputations failed to see the great man, and he did not 
 answer letters. When at length, after much trouble and by 
 special influence, a reply was obtained, it was to the effect that 
 his operations would be beneficial rather than prejudicial to the 
 institution, and that he should be glad to meet the Secretaries 
 and discuss the matter with them. I find no record of a 
 meeting, but there seems to have been further correspondence, 
 for the Committee were informed that, as the Railway Company 
 would not touch the Society's property, they had no locus standi 
 or right to interfere. This common-sense statement had a 
 rather startling effect, for the Committee contented themselves 
 with " requesting the members of parliament for the district to 
 support the bill, especially those clauses which bore on their 
 own particular case." 
 
 In March 1846 the first conversazione was held in the 
 Society's rooms, and its success surpassed the most sanguine 
 hopes and expectations of its promoters, and well it might, for 
 
 I 
 
 V 
 
 !^ 
 
 
 I 
 
 iii 
 
 r 
 
 A^Miuii<n»vrK'i4 
 
 ^fi^^Ht 
 
124 
 
 THE SOCIETY AT HOME, 
 
 \ 
 
 unconscious of the fact When the Duke of Sussex came to 
 lay the foundation-stone of the new building, who thought 
 that the brakesman of a local colliery who, in that very year, 
 bought a piece of land at the Forth and erected a modest 
 manufactory for locomotive engines, was to become more 
 famous, and to do more for the world, than all the peers and 
 commoners assembled to do honour to royalty put together, and 
 with royalty thrown in ? Yet so it was. A subsequent chapter 
 will show that George Stephenson was already known to the 
 members of this Society. He was engineer to the Stockton 
 and Darlington Railway Company, and had persuaded them 
 to get an amended Act of Parliament so as to have iron 
 instead of wooden lines, and locomotives instead of horses or 
 fixed engines. He had surveyed and was constructing their line, 
 and was to receive the remuneration of ;£'300 a year. 
 
 But railways were slow to reach Newcastle. Upon the 1 8th 
 June, 1844, the Newcastle and Darlington line was opened, but 
 the northern terminus was at Gateshead not Newcastle, the 
 River Tyne barring further progress. Still it was now possible 
 to get all the way from Gateshead to London by rail, but it was 
 a long business. The writer made what he thinks was the first 
 through journey, the train leaving Gateshead at six in the 
 niorning and reaching Euston Square half-an-hour after mid- 
 night. The weekly papers went into ecstasies over the extreme 
 rapidity of the transit. 
 
 The line could not long be allowed to terminate at Gates- 
 head, "the dirty lane leading to Newcastle," and a terra 
 incognita to the Newcastle people. " I hope that you will come 
 to our Gateshead Dispensary ball, Mr. G.," was the request 
 made by a Gateshead belle to a well-known Newcastle lawyer, 
 about the time of which I am writing. "And pray, madam,' 
 where is Gateshead?" was the uncompromising reply. Mr. 
 
 THE SOCIETY AT HOME. 
 
 125 
 
 R. W. Brandling had conceived the idea of a High Level Bridge 
 across the Tyne in 1841 ; George Stephenson was consulted 
 upon the matter in 1842; the following year a High Level 
 Bridge Company was formed, with George Stephenson and 
 George Hudson, the Railway King, on the committee of manage- 
 ment, and with Robert Stephenson as consulting engineer; and 
 then the Newcastle and Darlington Railway Company took the 
 matter up, and in 1845 obtained an Act of Parliament for the 
 construction of the bridge. 
 
 George Hudson, then at the height of his fame, was the 
 chairman of that company. In 1844, when the line to the South 
 was opened, he had been extolled in the Newcastle papers as 
 the greatest of benefactors, but the Committee of the Society 
 were afraid of his further extensions, and they tried to discover 
 what his exact aims were. That was by no means an easy task, 
 for deputations failed to see the great man, and he did not 
 answer letters. When at length, after much trouble and by 
 special influence, a reply was obtained, it was to the effect that 
 his operations would be beneficial rather than prejudicial to the 
 institution, and that he should be glad to meet the Secretaries 
 and discuss the matter with them. I find no record of a 
 meeting, but there seems to have been further correspondence, 
 for the Committee were informed that, as the Railway Company 
 would not touch the Society's property, they had no locus standi 
 or right to interfere. This common-sense statement had a 
 rather startling effect, for the Committee contented themselves 
 with " requesting the members of parliament for the district to 
 support the bill, especially those clauses which bore on their 
 own particular case." 
 
 In March 1846 the first conversazione was held in the 
 Society's rooms, and its success surpassed the most sanguine 
 hopes and expectations of its promoters, and well it might, for 
 
 -I 
 
 »* I 
 
IV • * 
 
 126 
 
 THE SOCIETY AT HOME, 
 
 the men who entertained the company were of the race of 
 giants. Mr. Hugh Lee Pattinson, the discoverer of the method 
 of extracting silver from lead, held a scientific levee. Mr. H. G. 
 Potter convulsed his many customers with laughing gas. Mr. 
 W. G. Armstrong (our honoured President) "was galvanizing 
 the ladies— and also the gentlemen." Dr. Embleton, Dr. Bruce, 
 Mr. W. K. Loftus, Mr. W. B. Scott, Mr. John Hancock, and 
 many more, contributed of their best " We must have another 
 before long," was the constant cry of the delighted members 
 and guests, and another was held in the following October, when 
 " Mr. W. G. Armstrong gave an interesting lecture in explana- 
 tion of the principles and operation of the electric telegraph, 
 the instrument having been kindly contributed for the occasion 
 by Mr. Allport, Manager of the York and Newcastle Railway." 
 These conversazioni became an annual institution, and such 
 they continued to be for many years. Even yet they are 
 occasionally held, the Mining Institute throwing open its rooms 
 at the same time, and the tale of the last which has been given 
 up to the time at which I write will be told in my concluding 
 chapter. Many of us still look back to the old Lit. and Phil, 
 soirees as amongst the most charming evenings of our lives, but 
 we were young in those days. 
 
 All this time the finances of the Society were getting steadily 
 worse. In 1849. the Annual Report showed that the amount 
 due upon mortgage was £6,20o\ there was a debit balance of 
 ^389 9s. 9d. upon current account ; whilst for the year then 
 ending only 537 subscriptions were paid. After a long and 
 warm discussion, it was arranged to limit the amount expended 
 in the purchase of books, and thus to materially lessen the 
 expenditure, the money saved going to form a redemption 
 fund. But the regular diminution in the number of members 
 gave the Committee much concern, for the interest must be paid 
 
 THE SOCIETY AT HOME. 
 
 127 
 
 whether there were more or fewer subscriptions. They proposed 
 to consolidate the amounts due from them, hoping that they might 
 thus get some reduction in the rate of interest. They thought 
 of having a kind of vast reunion, which should be attended by 
 the most eminent literary men of the time, and at which they 
 might open a subscription list for the benefit of the Society. They 
 planned a great Bazaar or Fancy Fair, which should be held in 
 the Library and the Museum, and this idea commended itself 
 to the ladies of the district, who took up the matter actively. 
 
 It is strange now to look back to this great attempt, which 
 promised so well but performed so indifferently. The ladies 
 determined that the new Fine Arts Society should have two- 
 fifths of any profits which might be made. The Duchess of 
 Northumberland was to preside at a stall, and the county 
 gentry pressed into the matter with considerable ardour and* 
 enthusiasm. Immense exertions were made upon all hands to 
 ensure a success. The Library was mirrored throughout, " and 
 looked like a dream of Fairy-land." In the Museum you might 
 partake of refreshments to the appetising strains of a brass 
 band. The yard was covered over, and a great horticultural 
 exhibition was held in it, to which Mr. Joseph Paxton (who in 
 the following year was knighted in record of his designing the 
 Crystal Palace) contributed that " wonderful plant, the Victoria 
 Regia," then a complete novelty. " Flora and Pomona vied 
 with each other in lending grace and beauty to the Fancy 
 Fair." 
 
 It was opened on the 2nd October, 1850, and remained open 
 for three days. It was universally admitted to have been a 
 remarkable success, but it did little towards attaining its object. 
 The total receipts were only ;£^868, and when all expenses had 
 been paid, this Society's share amounted to ;^420 ! At the end 
 of that financial year the mortgage debt still remained at 
 
 A- 
 
 W 
 
 
 
Ill 
 
 128 
 
 THE SOCIETY AT HOME, 
 
 I: 
 
 £6,200, and the floating balance against the Society was 
 ^981 17s. I id. Then, by the direction of the Annual Meeting, 
 and " almost as a last resort," the Committee made an appeal 
 to "the Nobility, Gentry, Manufacturers, Merchants, and In- 
 fluential Inhabitants of the North of England." They briefly 
 sketched the history of the Society, and pointing out how all 
 classes had participated in its benefits, urged that all should 
 join to relieve it from debt. The slight response which their 
 appeal met with grievously disappointed the expectations of the 
 Committee. The position of the Society never seemed less 
 secure than at that moment. 
 
 "The darkest hour is that which precedes the dawn." 
 Relief was close at hand, and from such a source as gave it 
 something of a romantic character. The then President of the 
 Society, Mr. Robert Stephenson, had when a youth received 
 great benefit from the Library, and both he and his father had 
 received much help from Mr. Turner, who lent them books and 
 instruments, and gave them valuable counsel. In this hour of 
 deep need, Mr. Robert Stephenson came forward, and, in token 
 of his lasting gratitude, he oflered that if before the next 
 Anniversary Meeting, February 1855, the members and other 
 friends of the Society would raise sufficient money to discharge 
 one half of the debt, and if the annual subscription were reduced 
 to one guinea, he would himself clear off the other half of the 
 debt 
 
 It is not easy, even for those who took part in the struggle, 
 to believe that this generous offer met with fierce and powerful 
 opposition. It was accepted at a Special General Meeting held 
 on the 7th of March, 1854, and the task of collecting the 
 necessary funds to secure the gift was set about immediately 
 and earnestly. But those who wished for the freedom of the 
 Society had to encounter a strange amount of hostility, which 
 
 jsas 
 
 THE SOCIETY AT HOME. 
 
 129 
 
 showed itself at times in a not too scrupulous manner. The 
 opposition was not numerically strong, but in it were included 
 a few of the active members of committee. They declared that 
 the acceptance of the offer would prove fatal to the best interests 
 of the Society. They would not have the subscription reduced, 
 for then the Institution would become " popular," and " its solid 
 and permanent character" would be jeopardised. Warm 
 language was used at the Society's meetings; strong efforts 
 were made to re-open the question of the acceptance or 
 rejection of Mr. Stephenson's offer; and when the Town 
 Council was asked to contribute to the fund and the question 
 was debated by that body, the Society was bitterly attacked by 
 Town Councillors, who spoke of its operations with that superb 
 confidence which absolute ignorance gives. How many men, 
 then as now, came well within the fiery denunciation of 
 the impetuous Apostle Peter, whose characteristic plain 
 language on this matter of "speaking evil of the things they 
 know not " may be found by the curious in the twelfth verse 
 of the second chapter of his second Epistle. But the ignorant 
 were happily in the minority, and two hundred guineas were 
 subscribed. Still divided counsels were dangerous to success, 
 and the general fund grew slowly, and the required amount 
 had not been raised when the allotted time came. Mr. 
 Stephenson generously kept his offer open. It was freely 
 stated that there were traitors upon the Committee itself, and 
 at a general meeting held in November 1855 a further attempt 
 was made to upset the whole arrangement, but this was defeated 
 by an overwhelming majority. At length, at the Annual 
 Meeting in 1856, it was reported that the necessary amount 
 had been raised, and, upon the motion of the Senior Secretary, 
 Mr. Joseph Watson, to whose strenuous exertions the success 
 of the movement and the defeat of the opposition were in a 
 
I30 
 
 THE SOCIETY AT HOME. 
 
 4 ' 
 
 great measure due, it was then and there resolved that the 
 subscription should be reduced to a i^uinea. By the next 
 Annual Meeting the number of members had risen from 506 
 to 1016, and it continued to increase until, in 1867, it reached 
 1452, the highest number which it ever attained until the 
 present day. 
 
 Joseph Watson was a member of the Society from 1824 
 until 1874, the year of his death, and took an active and 
 prominent interest in its affairs almost from the first, being a 
 member of the Committee for more than twenty years, and one 
 of the Honorary Secretaries from 1852 to i860. He was in early 
 life a regular writer for Taifs Edinburgh Magazine, to which 
 he contributed (amongst other things) the popular ballad "The 
 Lambton Worm." 
 
 The benefactions which the Society was to receive from 
 Robert Stephenson did not end with the clearing away of that 
 incubus of debt under which it had groaned so long. He 
 died in October 1859, and left a bequest of seven thousand 
 pounds "for the general purposes of the Institution, but not to 
 be applied to building purposes, or in aid of any fund for build- 
 ing." Well might the Annual Report for i860 say, " The Com- 
 mittee are utterly at a loss to find terms in which they may, with 
 any approach to propriety, refer to such princely munificence." 
 In 185 1 he had presented to the Society an admirable bust of 
 his father, and at this meeting it was resolved to open subscrip- 
 tion lists to procure a similar bust of Mr. Robert Stephenson 
 himself, and one of the new President, Sir William George 
 Armstrong, who had also placed the Society under great and 
 special obligation in the manner which I shall proceed to relate. 
 
 When the subscription list was finally closed, the Committee 
 found themselves in the novel and happy position of having 
 a balance in hand, and, as the greatest need of the Society 
 
 JOSEPH WATSON. 
 
I30 
 
 THE SOCIETY AT HOME, 
 
 great measure due, it was then and there resolved that the 
 subscription should be reduced to a guinea. By the next 
 Annual Meeting the number of members had risen from 506 
 to 1016, and it continued to increase until, in 1867, it reached 
 1452, the highest number which it ever attained until the 
 present day. 
 
 Joseph Watson was a member of the Society from 1824 
 until 1874, the year of his death, and took an active and 
 prominent interest in its affairs almost from the first, being a 
 member of the Committee for more than twenty years, and one 
 of the Honorary Secretaries from 1852 to i860. He was in early 
 life a regular writer for Taifs Edinlnwgh Magazine, to which 
 he contributed (amongst other things) the popular ballad " The 
 Lambton Worm." 
 
 The benefactions which the Society was to receive from 
 Robert Stephenson did not end with the clearing away of that 
 incubus of debt under which it had groaned so long. He 
 died in October 1859, and left a bequest of seven thousand 
 pounds "for the general purposes of the Institution, but not to 
 be applied to building purposes, or in aid of any fund for build- 
 ing." Well might the Annual Report for i860 say, " The Com- 
 mittee are utterly at a loss to find terms in which they may, with 
 any approach to propriety, refer to such princely munificence." 
 In 1 85 1 he had presented to the Society an admirable bust of 
 his father, and at this meeting it was resolved to open subscrip- 
 tion lists to procure a similar bust of Mr. Robert Stephenson 
 himself, and one of the new President, Sir William George 
 Armstrong, who had also placed the Society under great and 
 special obligation in the manner which I shall proceed to relate. 
 
 When the subscription list was finally closed, the Committee 
 found themselves in the novel and happy position of having 
 a balance in hand, and, as the greatest need of the Society 
 
 ^ 
 
 JOSEPH WATSON. 
 
 i^i»— g» 
 
]) 
 
 t * 
 
 [' I 
 
 It 
 
 :\ 
 
 THE SOCIETY AT HOME. 
 
 131 
 
 was the construction of a new Lecture Room, they resolved to 
 appropriate £\<iO towards that object. But the many plans 
 suggested agreed in requiring a much larger outlay, and the 
 burnt bairn dreaded the fire. No one could think of again 
 incurring the liability of debt. Again, at the critical moment 
 there was a friend in need. The Report for 1859 states that 
 "Mr. W. G. Armstrong, one of the Vice-Presidents, has inti- 
 mated that it is his intention to place the sum of £\200 at 
 the disposal of the Committee for the purpose of providing a 
 suitable Lecture Room." The site and plans were to be 
 approved by an architect appointed by Mr. Armstrong, and 
 the Society entrusted the task to Mr. Dobson. After his plans 
 had passed a special meeting of the members, they were 
 accepted by Mr. Armstrong, and the work was carried on so 
 speedily that, in spite of the illness of the architect and the 
 severity of the weather, in i860 the room was ready for use. 
 The generous donor had then become Sir William, and President 
 of the Society. He wished to have mahogany instead of deal 
 seats, and this with the cost of painting, furnishing, etc., raised 
 the expense considerably above the estimate. Sir William sent 
 the Society a cheque for ;^I450, which more than defrayed every 
 charge, including the architect's fee. 
 
 In this part of the country we are decidedly clannish. We 
 take much pride in our great and wise people, and in our 
 institutions. We speak of them with the familiar abbreviation 
 which, in itself, implies affection, but which has certain draw- 
 backs. I remember a staunch Newcasseler holding forth to 
 a party of Southrons in London, and constantly quoting or 
 instancing " Sir William." His audience was evidently puzzled, 
 and astonished and somewhat annoyed the speaker by inquiring 
 whether he meant " Harcourt " or " Alexander." To him our 
 "Sir William " was der Einzige, 
 
:§ 
 
 t 
 
 132 
 
 THE SOCIETY AT HOME. 
 
 And so with our Society : it has always been " the Lit. and 
 Phil."; nothing more. A gentleman coming to lecture to us 
 stayed at the Neville, now the County, Hotel, exactly opposite 
 the Central Station. Wishing to view the scene of his rhetorical 
 efforts beforehand, a cab was called for him, and he told the 
 driver to take him to the Literary and Philosophical Society. 
 The cabman had never heard of such a place, and when boots 
 was applied to, he was equally ignorant. To the lecturer's 
 amazement and alarm the landlord himself could throw no light 
 upon the matter. Now, although he had never before been 
 in the town, the lecturer had many Newcastle friends, and he 
 chanced to say to himself, as it were, " Well, this beats every- 
 thing : not one of them knows where the Lit. and Phil, is ! " 
 Then was there light in the darkness, and a great chorus arose, 
 "The Lit. and Phil, sir? Why did you not say so before? 
 Why, it's there ! " And there, close to, it was. 
 
 But to return to the Society. With its liabilities discharged, 
 its roll of members largely increased, and its Lecture Room 
 enlarged, it went on its useful way without any great change 
 until the Railway Company did what the Committee, forty years 
 before, had seen that it would one day do, and obtained 
 parliamentary powers to take the Natural History Society's 
 property, and to interfere with our yard and building. One of 
 the Secretaries conceived the idea that the Society and the 
 Company might come to an amicable arrangement which should 
 be mutually beneficial, and proposed that the Company should, 
 in exchange for the Society's yard, give an equal quantity of the 
 land which it had just purchased on the south of our existing 
 building, and should also pay to the Society such a sum of 
 money as would enable it to extend its buildings, greatly in- 
 creasing the size of the Library proper, and the general accom- 
 modation of the Institution. This idea was accepted by the 
 
 THE SOCIETY A T HOME. 
 
 133 
 
 Company, Lord Armstrong taking an active part in the negotia- 
 tions, and advising upon the further conditions which were 
 necessary to diminish as much as might be the noise which 
 would inevitably arise from the shunting of trains and the 
 regular work of a great station. The necessary formalities 
 were soon gone through, the new building erected, and many 
 alterations made in the roof and windows of the old building. 
 The Society has by this transaction gained a larger library, a 
 handsome smoking-room, lavatory accommodation, and cellarage 
 sufficient to house its electric lighting apparatus, and it has now 
 its own complete electrical installation. 
 
 The new building was opened in May 1889, and the Society 
 then seemed to be fully equipped for a long career of extended 
 usefulness. Never did its rooms look more charming, never 
 did its perennial youth seem more fully renewed, than on the 
 evening of February 7th, 1893, when it was thronged by a 
 brilliant crowd of members and friends who had gathered to 
 celebrate the centenary of its existence. The next morning it 
 was in ruins. This tale of destruction I shall relate in my 
 concluding chapter. 
 
 \ 
 
 II ■■ -at «•>> 
 
•I* 
 
 MONTHL Y MEETINGS. 
 
 I3S 
 
 si 
 
 1 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 MONTHL Y MEETINGS. 
 
 T has already been fully explained that the principal 
 idea which Mr. Turner had in his mind when he 
 suggested the formation of the Literary and Philo- 
 sophical Society, was that of establishing a conversation club 
 which should, in his own words, "provide an easy method of 
 spending the evening agreeably and usefully." He intended 
 the members to meet for the purpose of exchanging views 
 upon literary or scientific matters, and that those who might 
 have special information upon the topic of the evening should 
 bring it before their fellow-members by the reading of a paper 
 prepared with that object. The meetings at which such papers 
 should be read would be held once a month, but there was to 
 be no stated cessation in the informal talks which went on in 
 the intervals. 
 
 The proposition was a half-baked one. A few friends had 
 been in the habit of coming together and talking matters over, 
 and they now thought that they would enlarge their borders. 
 But such an enlargement means an entire alteration, and 
 although the monthly meetings of the Society became of much 
 importance, they never seem to have been such as were con- 
 templated by Mr. Turner, a blend of essay club and debating 
 
 society. They soon settled down to serious business, and this 
 district owes much to the invaluable work which was done at 
 them. 
 
 Although there was naturally much formal business to be 
 gone through at the early meetings of the young society, at an 
 adjournment of the very first, held on the I2th March, 1793, 
 one of the resolutions passed was — 
 
 "That any papers which, having been submitted to the 
 Committee through the hands of the Secretaries, shall receive the 
 sanction of any three members of it, may be read at the general 
 meetings of this Society." 
 
 The general meetings of the Society were to be held on the 
 second Tuesday in every month, the chair being taken at a 
 quarter before seven, " but the Members are requested to meet 
 at half-past six, to hear such literary intelligence, etc., as any 
 person may have to communicate." At the adjournment of the 
 first meeting which I have mentioned, no sooner was the rule 
 passed than " two papers, one on the Cultivation of Taste, the 
 other on the Study of the Classics, were handed to the President, 
 and the meeting (wisely) adjourned." 
 
 But think of the men who had papers with such portentous 
 titles already prepared ! How strange and improving a sound 
 it all has ! As we turn over the earlier contributions, we expect 
 to come upon essays on " Friendship," " Truth," " Was the 
 execution of Charles I. justifiable under the circumstances?" and 
 the like. But we are pleasantly disappointed. The meetings, 
 from the first, were serious and valuable opportunities for ad- 
 vancing matters of real importance. The thoughtful and 
 studious members of the community took advantage of the 
 facilities offered to them. They drew together with the 
 direct object of communicating to others and learning from 
 others in the true spirit of the wise words, " he that watereth 
 
. ) 
 
 136 
 
 MONTHL V MEETINGS, 
 
 shall be watered himself." The general or monthly meetings 
 were not only times when scientific observations, and the results 
 of research and experiments, were brought forward, explained, 
 and discussed, but they had also an immediate and important 
 influence upon the entire district, and upon the social and intel- 
 lectual advancement of Newcastle. 
 
 How and why this was the case, the wide extent of the 
 interest excited, the practical character of the work done, and 
 the instant appreciation and successful carrying out of Mr. 
 Turner's idea, will probably be best seen by my giving some 
 account of what actually took place at the monthly meetings 
 held during the first year of the Society's existence, following 
 that in March to which I have already alluded. 
 
 At the meeting in April, " a letter was read from M. Norberg, 
 an eminent Swedish naturalist, to Matthew Anderson, Esq^ on 
 the discovery of a species of air, possessed in an extraordinary 
 degree of the property of exciting and maintaining combustion." 
 This is the entire record. We should have been glad of some- 
 thing more. The essay upon " The Cultivation of Taste," by 
 the Rev. Dr. Enfield, which I have mentioned before, was also 
 read. It is sufficiently elegant and insipid. A dozen of such 
 effusions would have killed this or any other Society. 
 
 Mr. Matthew Anderson communicated in May " an account 
 of the production of an extraordinary degree of cold by the 
 mixture of snow with the caustic vegetable alkali crystallized by 
 a peculiar process." A letter was read on the present state of 
 the settlement at Port Jackson, which had just been called into 
 existence, the first cargo of criminals having been shipped off to 
 Botany Bay in the year 1787. What course the discussion 
 upon this letter took we do not know, but how little those who 
 felicitated themselves upon having found a convenient locality 
 for the deportation of law-breakers dreamed of the great colony 
 
 MONTHLY MEETINGS, 
 
 137 
 
 of New South Wales which they were founding, and its splendid 
 capital city upon the sea. 
 
 This meeting closed with an essay on the Study of the 
 Classics. 
 
 In June the members enjoyed what is described as "a very 
 curious paper entitled * Conjectures on Light, considered as an 
 object of Chemistry,'" by the Rev. Dr. Thorburn, of South 
 Shields. 
 
 We English folk were hard at work, towards the end of last 
 century, possessing ourselves of places where we could dispose of 
 the inconvenient part of our population. Sierra Leone offered 
 many special advantages for the attainment of this object. In 
 1786 the streets of London were thronged by free blacks who 
 had inconvenient views of meum and tuum, and the directors of 
 the Sierra Leone Company ceded a considerable district of land 
 for the purpose of being colonised by these freebooters. A free 
 negro settlement was to be formed in that region so deadly to 
 the white man. Five years afterwards the directors of the 
 Sierra Leone Company applied to the Government for a free 
 passage for the Nova Scotian Africans, the negroes who had 
 remained loyal to England during the American war, and who 
 had emigrated to Nova Scotia, which was an altogether unsuit- 
 able locality for them. In March 1792, 1,131 out of the 1,196 
 who had sailed from that far northern region landed at Sierra 
 Leone, but found scarcely any of the London emigrants remain- 
 ing, and in half a century nearly all of the new-comers had 
 disappeared. It is not for me to describe the accumulated 
 miseries under which they suffered, but we find that, at the 
 July meeting in 1794, the attention of this Society was turned 
 to the matter, and letters were read upon the present state of 
 the settlement at Sierra Leone. These were written to Mr. 
 Turner by the Reverend Thomas Clarkson, for thus the first 
 
138 
 
 MONTHL V MEETINGS. 
 
 Report of the Society styles him, but the noble old Abolitionist 
 had but little claim to the title, which he would have heartily 
 disliked. 
 
 There was certainly no lack of variety in the subjects intro- 
 duced, for there were communications to this same meeting 
 respecting a discovery of four ancient pigs of lead, and also on 
 some remains of antiquity in Cumberland and Westmoreland. 
 
 In August various specimens of tradesmen's tokens, which, 
 from 1648 to 1672, they were permitted to issue as small coin, 
 were exhibited ; King James the Second's gun money, eight 
 half-crowns of which were not intrinsically worth twopence, and 
 the promissory half-pence then in circulation, were also shown ; 
 and a paper was read upon private coinages in England. 
 
 Mr. Turner read a paper, in September, upon the lead-mine 
 district in the northern counties, with observations on the 
 practicability of continuing a section of the strata from sea to 
 sea; and in the following month there was a paper on the 
 aerated barytes, with an inquiry whether it had yet been found 
 in the northern lead-mines. An essay was also read on the 
 phenomena of heat extricated in various chemical mixtures, 
 with an attempt to apply them to the correction of the existing 
 tables of elective attractions. 
 
 The November meeting opened with the inquiry, by Dr. 
 Enfield, whether there be any essential distinction between 
 poetry and prose. The question is always turning up, and is 
 probably unanswerable except in respect of minor details. The 
 best reply I know is that which was made to me by a little girl 
 to whom I put a similar question, " Please, sir, in poetry you 
 may use bad grammar, but in prose you mayn't." 
 
 This barren quest was followed by the reading of a corre- 
 spondence with Sir John Sinclair on the objects of the Board of 
 Agriculture, which had been established in 1793, and which had 
 
 ^- 
 
 MONTHLY MEETINGS. 
 
 139 
 
 drawn up a series of questions to be answered by practical 
 agriculturists in different parts of the country. The Committee 
 had taken steps to ensure the circulation of these queries in this 
 district, and the meeting approved their action. 
 
 The consideration of Mr. Moises' proposal for a general 
 library occupied most of the time of the two following meetings, 
 yet opportunity was found, in December, for a memoir on the 
 circulation of the air in mines, which was translated from the 
 French ; and in January, a tribute to the memory of Robert 
 Watson, artist, philosopher, and military and civil engineer, who, 
 son of a porter and born in the Flesh Market, died of fever 
 in India when but twenty-eight years of age. He had already 
 distinguished himself in the defence of Fort Osnaburgh, but he 
 died too young for the enduring fame which at one time seemed 
 to await him. 
 
 The final meeting of the first year of the Society listened to 
 an essay upon "the production of the hydro-gene and carbonic 
 acid gases, or the fire and choke damps in coal-mines." This 
 was evidently felt to be of importance, for it was ordered to be 
 read again and more fully considered at some future meeting. 
 
 Now I have gone through each item of the bill of fare, and 
 I submit confidently that it was a right and rare good one for 
 the first year of a new talk-society. There is not only much in 
 it which is well calculated to awaken interest and to promote 
 and encourage inquiry, but also much which directly appeals to 
 the actual needs of the district. How quickly and thoroughly 
 that hackneyed didacticism, which is the beginning and the end 
 of most essay societies, was overgrown and destroyed by actual 
 and living thought and observation bearing immediately upon 
 
 real life. 
 
 It would occupy too much space if I were to attempt to give 
 any account even of the principal papers which have been 
 
I40 
 
 MONTHLY MEETINGS, 
 
 brought before the Society at its Monthly Meetings, but we find 
 with much interest how they dealt from the very first with the 
 whole of the subjects which may be considered as peculiarly 
 belonging to this district. At the time of its birth this Literary 
 and Philosophical Society stood alone. There was none other 
 anywhere within a day's journey to which inquirers, observers, 
 or thinkers, could make their thoughts, observations, or inquiries 
 known ; and thus we find among the communications many 
 upon improved methods of agriculture ; upon matters of interest 
 connected with coal, lead, and iron mining ; upon commercial 
 chemistry, fisheries, and navigation; and learned dissertations 
 upon the meaning of the inscriptions upon stones dug out of 
 the Roman Wall. 
 
 We should expect to find the papers upon coal, coal-mines, 
 and coal-mining the most numerous of all, and such was the 
 case. We have seen that at two meetings, in the first year of 
 the Societ/s existence, the subject of the air and gases in coal- 
 mines had been brought forward. In December 1794, the 
 indefatigable Mr. Turner proposed that queries respecting the 
 natural history of coal should be circulated. He prepared a 
 paper containing twenty-two questions, and after they had been 
 submitted for the approval of several gentlemen connected with 
 the direction of " Coal Works," they were printed and circulated. 
 They dealt with the original formation of coal, with its position 
 relatively to its accompanying strata, its thickness, dip, dykes 
 and troubles, and the like ; inquired into the nature and consti- 
 tution of such troubles, and the manner in which they affected 
 the adjacent coal; asked about fossils, calcareous stalactites, 
 whin, quicksands, water, foul air, etc.; suggested that, where 
 permissible, the means for overcoming difficulties, and the 
 nature and construction of any special machines, should be 
 described; and they concluded with the query, "Are you 
 
 MONTHLY MEETINGS, 
 
 141 
 
 disposed to favour with your assistance any attempt to form 
 a Vocabulary of the Technical terms in use amongst practical 
 miners, particularly in the Coal Works?" The letter which 
 accompanied the questions explained that the idea of the Com- 
 mittee was to obtain materials for illustrating the Natural 
 History of Coal, as well as for the construction of a mineralogical 
 map of the northern coal district 
 
 So far as this district was concerned only two gentlemen 
 replied to the queries, and they gave the desired information 
 respecting the Pontop Pike Colliery and the Montague Mine 
 Colliery, both in the county of Durham. But Mr. Matthew 
 Boulton, partner, at the Soho Works, Birmingham, of the great 
 discoverer James Watt, had a special interest in the matter, for the 
 new steam engine which they were turning out was beginning 
 to be of great service in pumping, sinking, and working mines 
 generally : it was in fact to revolutionise coal-mining, as it 
 revolutionised every other manufacture dependent upon the 
 use of coal. We are therefore not surprised to find that Mr. 
 Matthew Boulton sent answers to some of the questions, and we 
 may guess that they were those which specially related to 
 machinery. The only other person at a distance who took the 
 trouble to reply was Mr. Gervase Bourne, of Eastwood, in 
 Nottinghamshire, and he accompanied his communication with 
 copious lists of borings in various parts of England, and a 
 valuable collection of specimens illustrative of the stratification 
 of the coal district in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. 
 
 In remarking upon the slight local response to their invita- 
 tion, the Committee wisely observe that " The evils which arise 
 from the want of a due application of the principles of science 
 to a well-digested collection of the facts which at present 
 remain, detached and scattered, in the possession of a few 
 individuals, are too frequently and fatally evinced by the dread- 
 
142 
 
 MONTHL V MEETINGS. 
 
 ful accidents which happen from the generation of damps, from 
 ignorance of the best methods of correcting or expelh'ng them, 
 from the inattention of our predecessors to the regular delinea- 
 tion of the fields of coal they wrought, and the consequent 
 wastes they have left, and from various other causes." 
 
 This great question of coal-mining having once been taken 
 up by the Society, it continued to make its appearance at 
 brief intervals. There was a strong feeling that there should 
 be more organised effort, and that the true interests of 
 the trade would be best consulted by the closer communica- 
 tion and association of those interested in it In September 
 1796, Mr. William Thomas, who was himself engaged in con- 
 nection with the trade, was induced, in consequence of an 
 accident occasioned by the pricking of an ancient waste filled 
 with water, at Slatyford in Northumberiand, by which six persons 
 lost their lives, to bring forward the question of association. 
 This he did in an important and valuable paper entitled " Hints 
 for the formation of a plan to be proposed to the Coal Owners 
 for establishing an office in Newcastle for recording various 
 important information respecting the Coal Works and Wastes 
 in this neighbourhood." It aroused much interest and attention, 
 and the meeting resolved, *' That this Society doth very highly 
 approve the benevolent and liberal spirit which dictated the 
 above plan; and that an open Committee be held at this place, 
 to which those members who are concerned in the Coal Trade 
 be particulariy invited, on Saturday, the 24th inst, at eleven 
 o'clock, for the purpose of further considering this plan, as well 
 as the propriety of submitting it to the Coal Owners for their 
 adoption." 
 
 The meeting was duly held ; several coal-owners attended it; 
 and Mr. Thomas was requested to revise and re-model the plan 
 before it was brought under the notice of the Coal Trade 
 
 MONTHLY MEETINGS. 
 
 143 
 
 generally. But other things pushed in and claimed prior atten- 
 tion. The whole matter stood over until June 181 5, when— in 
 consequence of the falling in of several old and forgotten shafts 
 at Heaton Main Colliery, which had become filled with water, 
 seventy-five persons and many horses lost their lives — the paper 
 was again brought before the Society, and was ordered to be 
 printed. But the " benevolent and liberal proposal " was coldly 
 received, and the proposer was to pass away, and thirty-seven 
 years to go over, before, in the formation of the Mining Institute 
 in 1852, his dream was realised. 
 
 This paper seems to me to be of sufficient interest to warrant 
 my printing it in extenso in an Appendix to this book. 
 
 Mr. Thomas was a valued member of the Society, and took 
 an active interest in it from the first. He was one of those men 
 who are filled with ideas. He was largely instrumental in 
 drawing up the questions I have mentioned, and in 1805 he 
 brought before the Society " Observations on the Propriety of 
 introducing Roads on the principle of Coal Waggonways for the 
 general Conveyance of Goods ; with a particular reference to 
 shewing the Practicability of a Road on this principle from 
 Newcastle to Hexham." Unfortunately no notice of this paper 
 appeared in the local press, and the author's engagements were 
 too numerous to permit him to devote the time required for 
 carrying the idea practically into effect In their report pre- 
 sented in 1825 the Committee lament his death, and, in justice 
 to his memory, record that " the projects of this kind which are 
 now so numerous owed to him the first idea of them." 
 
 All new inventions connected with the coal-trade in its 
 many branches came for several years before the Monthly Meet- 
 ings,' and were often illustrated by drawings, the production of 
 specimens, or the exhibition of apparatus. Improved methods of 
 drilling and preparing for blasting, the treatment of water in 
 
I 
 
 144 
 
 MONTHLY MEETINGS. 
 
 MONTHLY MEETINGS. 
 
 14s 
 
 mines, fresh methods of ventilation, novel forms of gin, and 
 the like, were in turn discussed. And, before the August 
 meeting in 1812, was laid a drawing of a lamp which Dr. 
 Clanny of Sunderland proposed to make, with the object of 
 preventing the fatal effects of explosions in coal-mines. I may 
 just mention, en passant, that it is curious and interesting to 
 note that Mr. Turner gave to the October meeting in the same 
 year "an account of the moveable Steam Engine lately intro- 
 duced in the colliery at Middleton, near Leeds." This was the 
 Blenkinsop engine, which was soon after introduced at the 
 Kenton and Coxlodge collieries, where George Stephenson saw 
 it at work drawing seventy tons of coal in sixteen chaldron 
 waggons at the rate of about three miles an hour, and quietly 
 remarked that " he thought he could make a better engine than 
 that, to go upon legs." 
 
 At this time men's minds were peculiarly turned to the 
 subject of explosions of fire-damp in pits. Such lamentable 
 occurrences were sadly common and destructive, the Felling pit 
 explosion in that very year, 18 12, alone causing the death of 
 ninety-two men and boys, and a second explosion at the same 
 place in the following year carrying off twenty-two more victims. 
 The only artificial illuminant was the tallow candle, and it was 
 actually in use for testing the presence of fire-damp. Amongst 
 many abortive schemes to procure safety, the lamp which 
 Dr. Clanny invented, and completed in 1813, stands out as 
 the solitary success. It became a great favourite with the 
 pitmen, and though too unwieldy to become of universal use, 
 the inventor improved it much as years went by, and it was 
 certainly the first really in the field. In 1816 he received the 
 silver and gold medals of the Society of Arts for a steam safety- 
 lamp, which was an attempt to construct a safety-lamp on a 
 different principle from that on which his first lamp or the 
 
 4 
 
 Davy lamp was constructed. He presented his original lamp 
 to this Society in 1822. 
 
 The coal-owners of the north, headed by the Marquis of 
 Londonderry, presented Dr. Clanny, in 1848, with a piece of 
 plate "as an acknowledgment of his eminent services in the 
 cause of humanity and science." But they had not been fully 
 satisfied with the Clanny lamp when it was submitted to them 
 in 1 81 3, for the Committee who examined it, and who were 
 expressly associated together for the purpose of investigating 
 the causes of explosions and the best method of preventing 
 them, afterwards specially invited Sir Humphrey Davy down 
 to advise and assist them in their labours. Upon the 24th 
 August, 181 5, he visited certain of the collieries near Newcastle, 
 and upon the 9th November of that year he read to the Royal 
 Society a paper "On the Fire-Damp of Coal Mines, and on 
 Methods of Lighting the Mine so as to prevent its Explosion." 
 Dr. Clanny, not unnaturally, believed that the "Davy" was 
 but a pirated copy of the "Clanny," and there is now little 
 question that, in many respects, the " Clanny " was the better 
 of the two. 
 
 Our Society was to have an honourable share in this impor- 
 tant life-saving contest. George Stephenson was at this time 
 engineer at Killingworth Colliery, and was busily employed in 
 improving his locomotive engine, which had made its first essay 
 in running in the preceding year, 18 14. But he had also for 
 several years been considering the best way of fighting against 
 fire-damp, and, as the busy man has the most time, he got his 
 friend Nicholas Wood to draw out a lamp, which he (Stephenson) 
 had thought out as being well adapted to resist explosions, 
 and it was also, with the same friend's assistance, actually 
 constructed. Then, on the 21st October, the very night upon 
 
 which it was received from the makers, George Stephenson, 
 
 10 
 
 t 
 
146 
 
 MONTHLY MEETINGS. 
 
 Nicholas Wood, and Moodie, a hewer, went down the Kilh'ng- 
 worth pit, and made their way into one of the most dangerous 
 places. They boarded up part of the gallery into which the 
 death-bearing gas was escaping with a loud hissing noise. 
 There they waited until Moodie said that enough had collected 
 to make an explosion certain if a naked candle were introduced. 
 And then, his chosen friends warning him of the probable 
 consequences, and taking refuge in a place of safety, George 
 Stephenson advanced alone with his lighted lamp and held it 
 up, fully exposed to the force of the deadly blower. Was it 
 the act of a madman or a hero? As the world judges, that 
 question was to be decided by success or failure. But Georf^e 
 Stephenson's faith was justified. If he were wrong, he well 
 knew the penalty and was ready to pay it ; if right, he was the 
 saviour of his fellows. And he was right. The flame darted 
 up as the dread agent reached it, then flickered, then died out ; 
 and the safety-lamp was an accomplished fact. 
 
 But George Stephenson made many improvements upon 
 his original invention. A second lamp was tried on the 4th 
 November, and a third on the 30th of the same month, both 
 being experimented with before either George Stephenson or his 
 friends had heard that Sir Humphrey Davy was at work in the 
 same direction. In this year (1814) Nicholas Wood became a 
 member of the Literary and Philosophical Society. In some 
 way, possibly through him, Mr. William Turner had become 
 interested in George Stephenson, and thus it came to pass 
 that some of his experiments, at all events, were made with 
 apparatus belonging to the Society, and advice and aid were 
 freely given him by our excellent Secretary. Mr. Stephenson 
 never forgot this, and in after-life he said, "Mr. Turner was 
 always ready to assist me with books, with instruments, and 
 with counsel, gratuitously and cheerfully. He gave me the most 
 
 GEORGE STEPHENSON. 
 
146 
 
 MONTHLY MEETINGS, 
 
 Nicholas Wood, and Moodie, a hewer, went down the KiUing- 
 worth pit, and made their way into one of the most dangerous 
 places. They boarded up part of the gallery into which the 
 death-bearing gas was escaping with a loud hissing noise. 
 There they waited until Moodie said that enough had collected 
 to make an explosion certain if a naked candle were introduced. 
 And then, his chosen friends warning him of the probable 
 consequences, and taking refuge in a place of safety, George 
 Stephenson advanced alone with his lighted lamp and held it 
 up, fully exposed to the force of the deadly blower. Was it 
 the act of a madman or a hero? As the world judges, that 
 question was to be decided by success or failure. But George 
 Stephenson's faith was justified. If he were wrong, he well 
 knew the penalty and was ready to pay it ; if right, he was the 
 saviour of his fellows. And he was right. The flame darted 
 up as the dread agent reached it, then flickered, then died out ; 
 and the safety-lamp was an accomplished fact. 
 
 But George Stephenson made many improvements upon 
 his original invention. A second lamp was tried on the 4th 
 November, and a third on the 30th of the same month, both 
 being experimented with before either George Stephenson or his 
 friends had heard that Sir Humphrey Davy was at work in the 
 same direction. In this year (1814) Nicholas Wood became a 
 member of the Literary and Philosophical Society. In some 
 way, possibly through him, Mr. William Turner had become 
 interested in George Stephenson, and thus it came to pass 
 that some of his experiments, at all events, were made with 
 apparatus belonging to the Society, and advice and aid were 
 freely given him by our excellent Secretary. Mr. Stephenson 
 never forgot this, and in after-life he said, "Mr. Turner was 
 always ready to assist me with books, with instruments, and 
 with counsel, gratuitously and cheerfully. He gave me the most 
 
 
 GEORGE STEPHENSON. 
 
MONTHLY MEETINGS, 
 
 147 
 
 i* 
 
 valuable assistance and instruction, and to my dying day I can 
 never forget the obligations which I owe to my venerable 
 
 friend." 
 
 We are not then surprised to learn that, at the Monthly 
 Meeting held on December 5th, 181 5, "a paper was read, 
 transmitted by Dr. John Murray of Edinburgh, on an Improved 
 Lamp for lighting Coal Mines, with a drawing. The Lamps 
 also of Dr. Clanny, Mr. Brandling, and Messrs. Stephenson 
 and Wood, were exhibited, and experiments performed with 
 carburetted hydrogen gas, to prove the safety of the latter." 
 But Mr. Samuel Smiles, in his Lives of the Engineers 
 (vol. iii., p. 119, Ed. 1862), has given so graphic an account 
 of this very meeting that I may be pardoned for repro- 
 ducing it. 
 
 "Mr. Stephenson was at that time so diffident in manner 
 and unpractised in speech, that he took with him his friend, 
 Mr. Nicholas Wood, to act as his interpreter and expositor on 
 the occasion. From eighty to a hundred of the most intelligent 
 members of the Society were present at the meeting, when 
 Mr. Wood stood forward to expound the principles on which 
 the lamp had been formed, and to describe the details of its 
 construction. Several questions were put, to which Mr. Wood 
 proceeded to give replies to the best of his knowledge. But 
 Stephenson, who up to that time had stood behind Wood, 
 screened from notice, observing that the explanations given 
 were not quite correct, could no longer control his reserve, and, 
 standing forward, he proceeded in his strong Northumbrian 
 dialect to describe the lamp down to its minutest details. He 
 then produced several bladders full of carburetted hydrogen, 
 which he had collected from the blowers in the Killingworth 
 mine, and proved the safety of his lamp by numerous experi- 
 ments with the gas, repeated in various ways ; his earnest and 
 
148 
 
 MONTHL Y MEETINGS. 
 
 impressive manner exciting in the minds of his auditors the 
 liveliest interest both in the inventor and his invention." 
 
 There soon arose a long and bitter controversy as to with 
 whom the honour of having invented the safety-lamp should 
 rest, Sir Humphrey Davy or George Stephenson, the world- 
 renowned scientist or the Northumbrian pitman. Those who 
 are curious in the matter can find volumes of letters and 
 pamphlets, upon both sides, carefully preserved amongst the 
 archives of the Society. There is much bitterness, wrath, and 
 evil-speaking ; some indignation on the part of some wealthy 
 and educated persons at the presumption of an ignorant rustic ; 
 much written with reference to each of the great men 
 which the writers probably lived to be heartily ashamed of. 
 Perhaps our Society did actual justice when, in 18 18, it elected 
 both inventors as honorary members, but placed George 
 Stephenson the first 
 
 Long years after this found Dr. Clanny still at work upon 
 the safety-lamp. In 1844, Dr. Glover described an improvement 
 which his friend had made on the ordinary form of the Davy 
 lamp, and, the Committee say, "as every Lamp invented by 
 parties in this neighbourhood has at one time or other been 
 brought before the Society, it may not be out of place to state 
 the alteration suggested by Dr. Clanny." He proposed to use 
 the gauze for the admission of air only, and to have glass for the 
 transmission of light. The lower part of the lamp was of the 
 usual construction, the upper part being a cylinder of wire 
 gauze sufficiently fine to prevent the passage of flame. Beneath 
 this was a cylinder of glass, within which the flame burned, and 
 through which the light was transmitted. 
 
 There was much discussion upon this project, and many 
 were the objections made to it. Mr. H. Smith, of the High 
 Bridge, Newcastle, produced a combination which he had made 
 
 MONTHLY MEETINGS, 
 
 149 
 
 of the Stephenson lamp and the Davy lamp. " Stephenson's 
 Lamp as now made consists of a cylinder of glass fitted to a 
 brass bottom of the same constructioji as the ordinary Davy 
 Lamp ; outside the glass cylinder is one of wire gauze similar 
 to that of the Davy Lamp ; and the air is admitted by means of 
 small holes in the brass bottom of the Lamp. In Stephenson's 
 Lamp, from the small quantity of air admitted, the light is 
 too easily extinguished by a current, or fall, or other similar 
 casualty. The principal improvement in Mr. Smith's Lamp 
 is that the holes for the admission of air, after many experi- 
 ments, have been so apportioned that the flame of the Lamp 
 would not go out until the air had become so foul that a man 
 could not continue in it and live. Another advantage of this 
 Lamp is that, if by a fall or otherwise the glass should be broken, 
 it would still be a Davy Lamp." Even Dr. Glover dreaded the 
 liability of the Clanny lamp to accident, and proposed to add 
 a cylinder of mica within the glass. But, after all, " the proof 
 of the pudding is the eating," and Dr. Clanny received a letter 
 from Broadsfield Colliery, Staffordshire, which stated that his 
 lamp had been found better in that colliery than any other, that 
 the workmen had never refused to work with it on account of 
 any deficiency of light, and that it had proved safe in every 
 instance." 
 
 There is scarcely a report of the Society's operations which 
 does not show how much care and thought were bestowed at 
 its meetings upon coal and coal-mining. There was not one of 
 the great men who made that industry what it is to-day who did 
 not appear before it as the reader of a paper or the candid critic 
 of his friend the reader. Of Mr. Nicholas Wood, the first presi- 
 dent of the North of England Institute of Mining Engineers, 
 chairman of the Coal Trade Association of Great Britain, 
 and Fellow of the Royal Society, I have already spoken, 
 
ISO 
 
 MONTHLY MEETINGS. 
 
 
 but I might have mentioned Mr. John Buddie, Mr. Barnes, 
 Mr. Matthias Dunn, and many another well -remembered 
 name. In the annual report presented in 1816 the Committee 
 truly say, " Discussions have originated, or have been promoted 
 in this place, which have materially contributed to arouse the 
 attention of the scientific world, and to lead to results which 
 promise the most extensive and durable benefits to the com- 
 munity ; " they further speak of the " aid given by the co- 
 operation and experience of the principal viewers, and of others 
 intimately conversant in all the details of mining concerns;" and 
 they add, "it is most satisfactory to see that on this highly 
 interesting subject, public curiosity has been powerfully and 
 universally awakened." 
 
 When the Natural History Society began its operations in 
 1830, a special effort was made "to obtain the support of the 
 mining proprietors of the district." It was proposed to make 
 an extensive public collection of specimens illustrative of the 
 sciences of Mineralogy and Geology. It was also suggested 
 that the new Society should be made " the place of deposit for 
 information connected with the collieries, by the formation of 
 general plans, which shall at once show the extent and position 
 of the old workings in each seam." 
 
 From this time I find fewer papers upon coal and coal- 
 mining read at the monthly meetings of this Society, but they 
 do occur from time to time, the last apparently being in 
 September 1848, and a communication from Birmingham upon 
 a new form of safety-lamp. I have already mentioned that the 
 North of England Institute of Mining Engineers was formed in 
 1852. 
 
 Our Society was fortunate in having amongst its most active 
 members some of the most famous men connected with lead- 
 mining in the North of England, and they brought before the 
 
 MONTHLY MEETINGS, 
 
 151 
 
 monthly meetings the results of their observation and con- 
 sideration in many directions. I may specially mention Mr. 
 Hugh Lee Pattinson, the inventor of the well-known process for 
 extracting silver from lead, by which, for a long succession of 
 years, not less than 2CX),000 ounces of silver, which previously 
 had been thrown away, were annually saved. He was a fellow 
 of the Royal Society, and took a great interest in this Society, 
 of which he was one of our vice-presidents when his death 
 occurred in 1858. I must also mention Mr. Thomas Sopwith, 
 eminent as a civil engineer and a geologist, standing in the 
 very first place as manager of lead-mines, a successful road 
 and railway engineer, fellow of the Royal and many other 
 learned societies, the inventor of a multitude of useful drawing 
 instruments, the author of a host of books and essays, and 
 withal a bright, genial, and true-hearted Northumbrian bred 
 and born. Both of these gentlemen will reappear frequently in 
 my narrative. 
 
 I need not go into much detail upon the other subjects 
 which, in the early days, were regularly brought forward, and as 
 a matter of course, at the monthly meetings, but which now 
 find a more certain audience in some society which devotes its 
 whole attention to study and observation in their special 
 directions. Next to mining, the most prominent feature for 
 the first quarter of a century was the number and importance 
 of the papers upon agricultural subjects. " The use of lime in 
 Agriculture," by the Rev. James Thorburn, M.D., of South 
 Shields ; correspondence with the Board of Agriculture, which 
 was instituted in the same year as this Society, and discussion 
 and circulation of the queries which it printed with the object 
 of correctly ascertaining the existing agricultural conditions ; 
 " The size of Farms ; " " Improved methods of cultivating 
 Peaches and Nectarines;" "The importance of elastic gases 
 
i 
 
 152 
 
 MONTHLY MEETINGS. 
 
 MONTHLY MEETINGS, 
 
 IS3 
 
 in the process of vegetation, with an application of these prin^ 
 ciples to the management of Fold-Yard Manure," by Dr. 
 Fen wick ; " Reflections on Calcareous Manures," by the same 
 gentleman ;* "The best method of taking up from, and laying 
 down, land to Grass," by Mr. Joseph Atkinson of Swarland, 
 who received the silver medal of the Board of Agriculture for 
 this paper ; these were amongst the earliest matters brought 
 forward. Some of these papers, as well as some of those 
 which appeared at later stages, were subsequently produced 
 in pamphlets or magazines, and they aroused no little con- 
 troversy. At times the local weekly press teemed with corre- 
 spondence upon controversial points contained in them, and 
 even the great London papers deigned to notice their argu- 
 ments pro and con. The Society thus fulfilled the most 
 important of the objects of a Farmers* Club. 
 
 Again, the antiquities of the district came in for a large 
 share of attention. I have mentioned that in June 1794 a 
 paper was read by Mr. J. R. Wilson on two stones, with inscrip- 
 tions, which had been lately dug out of the Roman Wall near 
 Walbottle, and which were presented to the Society by Mr. 
 Charles Nixon. Where are those inscribed stones now? 
 They are only the first of quite a considerable number of 
 similar objects of vast antiquarian interest presented from 
 time to time to the Society, but not one of which is now in 
 its possession ; and yet such stones have neither legs nor 
 wings. It is perhaps not too much to say that there was 
 scarcely a discovery of Roman remains during the first twenty 
 years of the Society's existence which was not communicated 
 to the members at a monthly meeting. 
 
 * These essays were afterwards reprinted by Mr. Young in his Annals 
 of Agriculture, and also, but without acknowledgment, by Dr. Hunter in his 
 Geological Essays, 
 
 I have said enough to show that these meetings were seasons 
 of much interest and instruction. They were, in fact, the 
 precursors of all the learned Societies in which our city is now 
 so rich. Their width of range and great variety of subject, and 
 the high local value which we may properly attach to them, 
 will be best seen by some further account of certain of the 
 matters with which they dealt. 
 
 Let us take a few examples. Before 1801 there was no 
 official census of the population of the United Kingdom, but in 
 1795 there was a proposal made to a monthly meeting that an 
 attempt should be made to enumerate the inhabitants of New- 
 castle and Gateshead. A Committee was appointed to draw up 
 a report upon the best method of procedure. There was a 
 strangely strong feeling, it would be scarcely too much to say a 
 strong religious feeling, against anything of the kind No actual 
 steps were taken with the view of really carrying the project 
 into effect, but the Committee reported in due course on January 
 1 2th, 1796. They suggested that the town should be divided 
 into districts, which should be assigned to such members of the 
 Society, and other respectable inhabitants, as might volunteer 
 for the purpose. Some days before the inquiry was actually to 
 commence, a printed address was to be delivered to every family 
 in the town stating the objects with which the inquiry was 
 made, and setting out the questions to which the heads of 
 families were invited to reply. In this manner the Committee 
 conceived that the enumeration might easily be completed. 
 But " it is to be lamented that a sufficient number of persons 
 did not offer their assistance to encourage the execution of the 
 plans ; which might, in that case, have furnished a model for 
 a more complete National Enumeration than afterwards took 
 place under the Authority of Parliament." 
 
 I note that in April 1801 Mr. Turner read "some observa- 
 
154 
 
 MONTHLY MEETINGS, 
 
 MONTHLY MEETINGS, 
 
 155 
 
 I* 
 
 tions on the lately completed enumeration of the Towns of 
 Newcastle and Gateshead, particularly on the deficiency in the 
 total result, and the great disproportion between the sexes; 
 as well as on the omission, in the plan prescribed by the Act, 
 of many enquiries which would have been highly useful to the 
 philosopher and political arithmetician." 
 
 Let us turn to another question which was brought before 
 the monthly meetings, and with which some attempt was made 
 to deal practically : I allude to the state of the poor amongst us. 
 It is difficult for us really to appreciate the terrible immediate 
 effect of the marvellous inventions of the last quarter of last cen- 
 tury upon the working people in our large towns. This effect 
 showed itself with the greatest clearness in the concluding years 
 of the eighteenth and the opening years of the nineteenth 
 centuries. Those inventions had wrought a mighty change, 
 which, like most changes, had its evil as well as its good side. 
 Numbers of men found themselves thrown out of employment 
 Wages fell, rents increased. For the first twenty years of this 
 century the price of wheat was, on the average, 98s. 6d. per 
 quarter. Population grew with startling rapidity. Diseases, 
 which are now scarce and greatly reduced in danger and 
 severity, were rampant The law was bloody in the extreme. 
 Flogging, the stocks, the pillory, hanging, gibbeting, were still 
 frequent punishments, the penalty of death being exacted for 
 innumerable trivial offences. Society made men brutes, and 
 punished them because they were what it had made them. 
 The law was against the poor: the State and society were 
 against the poor : then, as always, " the destruction of the poor 
 (was) their poverty." 
 
 In 1797 the state of the poor, especially in Newcastle, was 
 brought before the Society, and assuredly not before time. The 
 Monthly Magazine stated that it was shown on this occasion 
 
 that the sum raised for the support of the poor of that town 
 from September 1796 to September 1797 amounted to ;tio,ooo. 
 " Notwithstanding the expenditure of this large sum, the streets 
 of Newcastle are said to be more encumbered with common 
 beggars than almost any other town in the kingdom." I must 
 not dwell further upon the wretched state of the poor, or upon 
 the hopeless and evil ways which were taken for its relief until, 
 at length in 1834, the Poor Law was reformed, and it was 
 thenceforward no longer true that " the whole character of the 
 people was lowered by the admission that they had a right 
 to relief independent of work." The matter was introduced 
 to the November meeting in a paper by Mr. Clennell, which 
 was read again at the meeting in December, when it 
 was resolved to appoint an open Committee, which should 
 meet every Monday evening at five o'clock, for the purpose 
 of collecting information on the subject of making provision 
 for the poor. 
 
 Closely connected with the better provision for the bodies of 
 the poor was that of better provision for their minds. We were 
 contented to lag far behind other civilised peoples in the matter 
 of education. " It is difficult to conceive," says Mr. Porter in 
 his Progress of the Nation, "that any nation calling itself 
 civilised, and boasting itself to walk in the light of Christianity, 
 could have so neglected the all-important subject of education, 
 as did the rulers of England up to the beginning of the present 
 century." There were, indeed, parochial charity schools, in 
 which " the little that was taught had nothing in it which was 
 useful;" Sunday-schools had recently been started, but had 
 made, as yet, little progress; Joseph Lancaster had begun, in 
 a humble and tentative way, his grand work of primary school 
 teaching in 1798 ; and Dr. Bell had started his great scheme in 
 a similar direction when this century entered upon its course. 
 
156 
 
 MONTHL Y MEETINGS. 
 
 v 
 
 III 
 
 But it was not until 1839 ^^^^ ^ Board of Education was 
 formed. It was to consist of five Privy Councillors, over whom 
 the President of the Council was to preside. To this Board 
 was to be entrusted the distribution of such a sum as should 
 be voted by Parliament for the promotion of education, and it 
 was specially charged with the formation of normal schools. 
 The House of Commons resolved, by a majority of two, that 
 ;£'30,ooo should be put at the disposal of this Board, but the 
 House of Lords, on the motion of a learned prelate, carried 
 against the Government, and by a majority of 1 1 1, an address 
 to the Queen, praying her to revoke the order in Council by 
 which the Board of Education had been appointed. The 
 Government, happily, went quietly on with its plans, and left 
 the House of Lords lamenting. 
 
 But more than a quarter of a century before this had the 
 education of the poor claimed the close and frequent attention 
 of this Society. It appears to have been brought forward, in the 
 first instance, by Mr. James Graham, of Berwick, in an essay 
 read at the monthly meeting in June 1806. The following month 
 "the subject was again taken up by Mr. Isaac Richardson, who 
 read an Essay on the Propriety of introducing the Mode of 
 Instruction proposed by Dr. Bell and Mr. Lancaster." In June 
 1808 the Committee advertised thus : — " Education of the Poor. 
 A Paper having been read at the last monthly meeting of the 
 Literary and Philosophical Society, recommending a more 
 effectual attention to the Education of the Poor, it was deemed 
 expedient to renew the consideration of this very important 
 subject at their next meeting on July 5, when the Committee 
 request a full attendance, as it is expected that some Proposals 
 will be laid before the Society on the best mode of introducing 
 into this Town some mode of Education on the plan of Dr. Bell 
 and Mr. Lancaster." Mr. Isaac Richardson at this meeting 
 
 / 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 MONTHLY MEETINGS. 
 
 157 
 
 again brought the matter forward, and the next Report says : 
 "In consequence of this, a number of individuals, as well 
 members of the Society as others, joined in a respectful appli- 
 cation to the Corporation for their countenance and support in 
 so laudable an undertaking; and the Committee have the 
 satisfaction of reporting that the Mayor and Corporation have 
 publicly advertised their intention to bring forward a plan for 
 this important purpose." 
 
 This movement proved to have been peculiarly opportune, 
 for when George III. attained his jubilee in 18 10, although the 
 event was celebrated with the time-honoured swilling and 
 guzzling which are, in our favoured land, the outward and 
 visible signs of inward and abiding rejoicing, some sober- 
 minded people ventured to think that something more might 
 be attempted. And thus arose the Royal Jubilee School in 
 this as in many another town, where a little (very little) free 
 education might be given to the children of the poor. The 
 foundation-stone was laid, and the School was built in com- 
 memoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the accession of 
 George III. That respectable but limited monarch had said, 
 " May every poor child in the kingdom learn to read the Bible." 
 It was something, however little, in the right direction. The 
 school built to fulfil this wish soon grew and widened its cur- 
 riculum, and it continued to do a useful work until the passing 
 of the Education Act in 1870 made a national system of 
 education a possibility, when it became the property of the 
 
 School Board. 
 
 But these beginnings of primary education are so interesting 
 and of such importance that I must show a little more precisely 
 what our Society did, at Mr. Isaac Richardson's instigation, to 
 aid the valuable movement The resolutions passed are worth 
 recording : — 
 
158 
 
 MONTHL Y MEETINGS. 
 
 MONTHLY MEETINGS. 
 
 159 
 
 li!| 
 
 ** I. That the establishment of a general institution for the education 
 of the poor agreeably to the plan of Dr. Bell and Mr. Lancaster is a 
 measure which it is highly expedient should be adopted in the town of 
 Newcastle-upon-Tyne. 
 
 2. That from the printed Regulations it appears that in the chari- 
 table institutions in Newcastle for the education of the children of the 
 poor? 358 Boys and Girls receive weekly instruction in reading, writing, 
 and the first rules of arithmetic (and the Girls in sewing and knitting), 
 and that about 750 other children are taught to read and taken to 
 places of public worship on the Sundays. 
 
 3. That the probable amount of children under fourteen years of 
 age is not less than 5600; perhaps considerably exceeds this number — 
 that of course, after every reasonable deduction for the numbers above 
 mentioned, and also for children educated at the expence of their 
 parents, a large proportion of the population of this town must remain 
 without education. 
 
 4. That a letter be respectfully addressed to the Mayor and 
 Corporation in Common Council assembled, submitting to their con- 
 sideration the above-mentioned facts — and requesting that they will be 
 pleased to call a general meeting of the inhabitants, for the purpose of 
 considering the best mode of providing for the establishment of a 
 general scheme for the education of the children of the poor. 
 
 5. That the next meeting of the Committee (on Tuesday, July 12) 
 be an open Committee, which any of the members who are friends to 
 the proposed institution are requested to attend." 
 
 Mr. Isaac Richardson has long since passed away, but his 
 descendants have been proud to continue his good work. They 
 may still be found in the front rank of our local educationists ; 
 and the loss of few citizens has been more justly mourned than 
 that of his niece, Miss Ellen Richardson, a wise, powerful, and 
 persistent worker in the cause of education, and who only died 
 in the spring of this year, 1 896. 
 
 To the resolutions are appended certain notes and educa- 
 tional statistics : — 
 
 " Charity Schools in Newcastle. 
 
 Saint Nicholas* 
 All Saints' 
 St. Andrew's - 
 St. John's 
 St. Ann's 
 
 40 Boys 
 
 40 Girls. 
 
 40 II 
 
 40 II 
 
 33 » 
 
 40 M 
 
 30 » 
 
 —' 
 
 60 „ 
 
 20 „ 
 
 15 clothed, 
 
 — expence £/^o. 
 
 218 Boys 
 
 140 Girls. 
 
 140 
 
 
 358 
 
 The only Sunday Schools in Newcastle belonging to the established 
 church are those in the Parish of All Saints, where 120 Boys and 120 
 Girls are taught by Three Masters and Three Mistresses. 
 
 Annual Expence of All Saints' Charity School, £2^^, 
 
 1 20 Boys - 120 Girls All Saints. 
 30 „ - 30 „ Hanover Sq., expence ;^2i. 
 
 175 „ - 175 „ Methodists. 
 
 325 Boys 
 325 Girls 
 
 325 Girls. 
 
 650 
 
 There are now in Newcastle-upon-Tyne 37,000 children of 
 school age as compared with the estimated 5600 in 1809, and of 
 these 33,000 are at school. The amount spent annually in the 
 city upon primary education exceeds £6$,ooo. There are, 
 according to returns kindly furnished me by members of the 
 different religious denominations, 31,484 scholars in the Sabbath- 
 schools of the city. 
 
 'i>.i^ti^-i 
 
i6o 
 
 MONTHLY MEETINGS. 
 
 MONTHLY MEETINGS. 
 
 i6i 
 
 * 
 
 \i 
 
 Upon the 29th July, 1808, it was announced formally, from the 
 Mayor's Chamber, that a subscription would be opened for " the 
 erection of a School Room for the Education of the Children of 
 the Poor of Newcastle and its Neighbourhood, according to the 
 Principles of Instruction proposed by Dr. Bell and Mr. Joseph 
 Lancaster, immediately after a sufficiently convenient Scite for 
 the said Building should have been determined upon." 
 
 Then, upon the 28th September, a representation was 
 presented from several of the respectable inhabitants to the 
 mayor, aldermen, and common council of this town, suggesting 
 the expediency of marking the fiftieth year of the accession of 
 his majesty to the throne, by some token of respect more per- 
 manent and valuable than that of illumination. The corporate 
 body highly and unanimously approved the suggestion, and 
 resolved to recommend, in lieu of illumination, a subscription for 
 the establishment of a school for the religious and more general 
 education of the children of the poor of the town. 
 
 The Committee, on the 20th February, 1810, placed one of 
 the rooms of the Society at the service of "the Committee for 
 the establishment of the Schools for the more general education 
 of the children of the poor, for holding their meetings on the 
 business of that institution." 
 
 I may quote upon this subject the words of the Report of 
 18 12 :— " The members of the Society will reflect, with conscious 
 satisfaction, that they have frequently been the means of pro- 
 moting by their co-operation the public-spirited and benevolent 
 views of others. Particularly, that they have mainly contributed 
 to excite the general attention which has been paid in this town 
 and neighbourhood to the education of the children of the poor. 
 This interesting subject was first brought forward for discussion 
 by an excellent member since deceased (Mr. Isaac Richardson) ; 
 and engaged the attention of several monthly meetings of the 
 
 Society under the personal sanction of the President. From 
 these discussions arose the several propositions which were made 
 for carrying into (effect) so important a measure, and which, 
 both in Newcastle and Gateshead, have excited so much the 
 laudable exertions of the public at large. Whatever differences 
 of opinion may have taken place on matters of detail, it is 
 sufficient that the great object contemplated by this Society, 
 which had no party views or purposes to serve, is promoted in 
 either way ; nay better, perhaps, in the end, by the activity 
 which a spirit of competition may excite and maintain : and 
 there can surely be none but a laudable and beneficial activity 
 in such a cause." 
 
 But we have got a little far forward and must turn back to 
 April 1798, when we have an illustration of the great variety 
 of the questions discussed at these monthly meetings, for 
 the question then brought forward was that, which has not 
 yet been solved, of a universal standard of Weights and 
 measures, and the most practical and easy way of applying 
 it to remove the inconveniences which arose from the weights 
 and measures then in use. That the variety of the papers 
 was great, and the questions discussed were of local as 
 well as of general interest, are shown by the fact that 
 in the following year two meetings were chiefly occupied in 
 considering the question of the embankment of Jarrow Slake. 
 Questions relating to the improvement of the River Tyne were 
 often brought forward, and in many ways. Thus in February 
 1802, the making of a canal from Newcastle to Hexham was 
 discussed, and in the same year Mr. Joseph Bulmer introduced 
 the subject of " certain improvements in Newcastle Bridge, and 
 of a new line of quay above bridge on the north side of the 
 river, with a view to promote the deepening of the tide-way, the 
 removal of the sand, and the accommodation of small craft." 
 
 II 
 
M 
 
 162 MONTHL Y MEETINGS, 
 
 This paper was afterwards published. Again, the construction of 
 a bridge across the Tyne between North and South Shields was 
 advocated, and these matters were not merely talked about and 
 then thrown aside, but they were carefully developed and dis- 
 cussed again and yet again. 
 
 The river leads naturally to the sea, and the sea suggests to 
 those of us who look back to the first half of the century, 
 thoughts of wild winter nights when the waves held high 
 carnival and sported with the lives of those who go down to the 
 sea in ships. It is a dangerous strand that of mountainous 
 Northumberland, and in those days there was no refuge to be 
 found by those who were so unfortunate as to be near it when 
 the fell north-easter blew. Before the invaluable labours of 
 the Tyne Commissioners had borne fruit, you might see, at 
 one and the same time, many gallant ships lying wrecked at 
 the mouth of the Tyne, on the dangerous rocks on the north 
 known as the Black Middens, and upon the less forbidding 
 but even more treacherous Herd Sands on the south. It is 
 not to be wondered at that the Port of Tyne is the birthplace 
 of lifeboats and life brigades. 
 
 In May 1798 the attention of the Society was drawn to the 
 subject of lifeboats by a great and disastrous storm which 
 occasioned much loss of life. The lifeboat had been invented 
 some nine years before. Without mentioning the London 
 coachbuilder, Lionel Lukin, who is said to have taken out a 
 patent for such a boat in 1785, it is certain that there was a com- 
 petition in 1788 for a premium offered by a Committee of 
 South Shields citizens for the best design of a boat which would 
 set the terrors of a stormy sea at defiance. One model was sent 
 by Henry Greathead, a boatbuilder, and another by William 
 Wouldhave, a journeyman painter. Neither of them satisfied 
 the Committee, who gave Wouldhave a small sum for his as the 
 
 MONTHL Y MEETINGS. 
 
 163 
 
 second best, but ordered Greathead to build a boat, apparently 
 founded upon his model, but with many alterations suggested 
 by them. This boat was built, and it first put to sea on the 
 30th January, 1790. 
 
 Now, when the members of this Society wished to have 
 accurate information upon this important subject, they not 
 unnaturally applied "to Nicholas Fairies, Esq., an Honorary 
 Member of this Society, requesting that he would take the 
 trouble to procure them an account of its construction and ad- 
 vantages, and favour the Society with his sentiments on the most 
 probable method of rendering the knowledge of it general, so as 
 not only to be consistent with, but to promote, the interest of its 
 inventor." For some reason Mr. Fairies did not reply to this 
 communication, but the matter did not drop, and the Society, 
 having had the advantage of personal explanation from the 
 inventor, and of an inspection of his drawings and plans, took 
 active steps to have his claims brought before Parliament, which 
 voted him ;fi200. The Trinity House, Lloyds, the Royal 
 Humane Society, and the Society of Arts, also presented him 
 with medals and gifts of money. 
 
 But in July 1802 Mr. Wouldhave wrote to the Society and 
 formally laid claim to the invention of the lifeboat, and then and 
 ever since there has been much contention as to the true inventor. 
 There can be little doubt in the mind of any one who has, at this 
 distance of time, carefully looked into the matter, that there was 
 more of the Wouldhave model than the Greathead model in the 
 boat ultimately constructed. So far as the invention is a north- 
 country one, it must be admitted that the man who most 
 certainly and sagely thought out the true principles upon which 
 any successful boat must be constructed did not get the rewards. 
 
 One peculiarity of many of the papers read to the Society was 
 that they seemed to have the power of arousing antagonism. 
 
U! 
 
 m 
 
 m 
 
 164 MONTHL Y MEETINGS. 
 
 opposition, or competition, to quite an extraordinary extent. We 
 have seen this already evidenced in the instances of the hfeboat 
 and the safety-lamp, and I note that at the December meeting 
 in 1808, no sooner has one gentleman introduced a washmg 
 machine constructed on a new method, than a grocer at the 
 Head of the Side addresses a letter to the Society announcing 
 that he has discovered another washing machine of a very simple 
 construction, and soliciting the inspection of members. This 
 was to be the beginning of the end of the familiar and dreaded 
 washing-day. It is not recorded whether the Society ascertamed 
 by experiment which of the rival machines did the least damage 
 to the articles entrusted to it. Not inappropriately, a drawing 
 and description of an improved mangle was submitted to the 
 inspection of the members at the July meeting of the followmg 
 
 year. , , • i 
 
 Indeed, the monthly meetings were like a good sherris sack 
 
 in that they had a manifold operation. New methods of tanning, 
 of glass-making, of chemical manufacture, of milling, of hat- 
 making ; new ways of growing plums and peaches; the mode in 
 which the decay of the older kinds of apple and pear trees might 
 most certainly be checked, were not merely mentioned but care- 
 fully thought out and fought out. In December 1809, Sir 
 George Cayle/s papers on the possibility of constructing an 
 apparatus for flying were discussed; and the subject for con- 
 sideration at the two following meetings was " a proposed mode 
 of ballasting ships by water confined in iron tanks." Turning 
 these two problems over in their minds, our fathers probably 
 found it hard to say which, if either, would be fully and 
 satisfactorily solved before the close of the century. 
 
 Bearing in mind the remarkable discoveries in electrical 
 science which have been brought before this Society by our 
 President, Lord Armstrong, and our Vice-President, Mr. J. W. 
 
 MONTHLY MEETINGS, 
 
 16S 
 
 Swan, the following entry in the report presented in 1801 has 
 a certain interest : — 
 
 " Few persons can be totally unacquainted with the many curious 
 phenomena which have been noticed by those ingenious persons who 
 have set themselves to investigate that surprising modification of the 
 electric fluid, which, from its first observer, has obtained the name of 
 Galvanism. Desirous to exhibit to his fellow-members some of the 
 most striking of these phenomena, the senior Secretary, with the 
 friendly assistance of the ingenious Mr. Joseph Garnett, to whom, 
 though not a member, the Society has on former occasions been much 
 obliged, constructed a pretty powerful galvanic pile, which for several 
 weeks continued to amuse those who visited the Rooms." 
 
 There is a sense of home enjoyment, of family life, about 
 such a proceeding, which I am afraid is wanting in the Society 
 of to-day. 
 
 But it was not easy to keep up the supply of papers, 
 although, looking back over three-quarters of a century, it 
 seems to us as though nothing of great importance happened 
 without the Society's having its say in connection with it In 
 1812, the Comet of 18 11 was discoursed upon "very elaborately 
 and its path elucidated by a model." The Blenkinsop engine 
 and its work at Leeds were described by Mr. Turner in the 
 same year. In 18 17 Mr. George Raine, an apprentice at the 
 Team Iron Works, exhibited "an ingenious invention for 
 obviating the resistance of the back-water to the float-boards 
 of steam-boats." But the managers of the Society were 
 uneasy because of shortness of supply, and made many 
 an endeavour to get more communications. In January 
 1 8 14, Mr. Turner brought this matter forward, introducing 
 it by a paper in which he explained what had been done 
 already. I may quote what he says about the origin of 
 
 ! 
 
 I I 
 
i66 
 
 MONTH L Y MEETINGS. 
 
 the Society, because it more fully establishes that which has 
 been explained in a preceding chapter. " It was in consequence 
 of the circulation of a paper read to a private meeting of a few 
 friends . . . that this Society was established more than twenty 
 years ago. Its original scheme was on a scale comparatively 
 limited ; being little more than a club or meeting for friendly 
 discussion on literary subjects, either formally introduced by 
 the reading of papers, or spontaneously arising in the course 
 of ordinary conversation." He then went on to show how this 
 object had been but partially accomplished, and how original 
 communications were diminishing in number. He pointed out 
 that by the starting of Societies formed to investigate some of 
 the special matters which had been taken up by ours, the 
 sources of supply would be still further lessened, and he con- 
 cluded by stating that a few members had resolved to take in 
 turn the duty of furnishing papers for the monthly meetings. 
 
 For a time this plan was successful. The number of papers 
 and the attendance of members alike increased ; the value and 
 interest of the discussions was widely acknowledged; and 
 the Society was once more kept fully abreast of the literary and 
 scientific movements of the day. But ere long the demon of 
 jealousy showed its ugly head, and the idea was set loose that 
 the members who read papers formed a select coterie who 
 dictated the policy of the meetings. As that policy had 
 succeeded, this was not an unmixed evil if it had been true, 
 but it was not true, and the false notion did harm. 
 
 When the Society got into its new building the meetings 
 were at first kept up more easily, and many matters of 
 great value and importance were brought before them. It 
 had often been suggested that some of the papers should be 
 published by the Society, and about this time the idea took 
 shape; a sub-committee was appointed to attend to the 
 
 MONTHLY MEETINGS. 
 
 167 
 
 matter, and it actually set about the work. But it came to nothing. 
 It is interesting to read in the Annual Report presented in March 
 183 1, as part of the elaborate excuse offered by the sub- 
 committee to explain their slow progress, "the distraction of 
 the public attention, and particularly of the Press, by the various 
 political questions and proposals which have taken up so much 
 of it, and which at this hour are approaching their crisis." How 
 long ago it seems! How hard it is for us to enter into the 
 feelings of our forefathers during the fierce fight over the first. 
 Reform Bill ! 
 
 It is to some extent regrettable that the idea of publication 
 was abandoned, for many of the papers were of such a character 
 as to have an enduring interest. Some of these were indeed 
 printed, but in a fugitive form, and the Society has, in more 
 than a century, published nothing which might serve as a 
 permanent record of the excellent work which it has done. 
 And yet it has been connected in quite an unusual way with 
 many of the great men who have given that century its special 
 feature, that of the triumphant application of science to the 
 service of man. I have already mentioned several instances, 
 notably that of George Stephenson and the safety-lamp. He 
 does not seem to have brought his locomotive engine before 
 it at any time, but when he was engaged in his splendid 
 struggle with Chat Moss, and when the most eminent engineers 
 had reported in favour of stationary engines and against the 
 locomotive, we find that in that highly critical year in the 
 history of steam locomotion, 1828, the members were following 
 the bold construction of that tremendous undertaking, the 
 Liverpool and Manchester Railway, with pride and interest. 
 They do not seem to have shared the doubts and fears of the 
 Southerners about the locomotive engine, for they were busily 
 discussing, amongst other points, Mr. Robert Stephenson's 
 
1 68 
 
 MONTHLY MEETINGS. 
 
 scheme of using coke instead of coal in steam engine 
 
 boilers. 
 
 In November 1831, another of the great discoverers who 
 have been connected with the Society, ]\Ir. Hugh Lee Pattinson, 
 then Assay Master at Alston to the Greenwich Hospital, 
 read an elaborate paper upon the smelting and refining of 
 lead ore, a process which had become so closely identified 
 with his name when, in the year 1829, he discovered "the 
 world-famous Pattinson process of separating lead and silver 
 
 by crystallising." 
 
 There are many other papers which it would be pleasant to 
 dwell upon, but I must only mention one or two more which have, 
 in one way or another, quite a special interest. I shall have, in a 
 subsequent chapter, to devote considerable attention to that in 
 which, in 183 T, Mr. T. M. Greenhow developed his views " On the 
 expediency of establishing in Newcastle an Academical or Col- 
 legiate Institution for the education of Youth in the higher 
 branches of knowledge." In the same year two evenings were 
 devoted to discussing the important question of the state of the 
 River Tyne, with a view to the improvement of its navigation, 
 Mr. John Macgregar reading a "Treatise" on the subject, 
 which was afterwards published, and which contained " many 
 important and valuable remarks and suggestions." I note in 
 passing, with much interest, that a gentleman who admirably 
 filled the office of Treasurer for many years, and who is happily 
 still with us, Mr. R. R. Dees, on October 7th, 1834, "read a 
 paper on 'the Inexpediency of Capital Punishments,' which 
 has since been printed at the request of several friends." In 
 nothing, perhaps, has this century seen greater advance than in 
 the art of travel. Whether knowledge be increased or not, men 
 run to and fro upon the earth to an extent which is simply 
 amazing. There was nothing to compare with this in the first 
 
 ROBERT STEPHENSON, M.P., F.R.S. 
 
1 68 
 
 MONTHLY MEETINGS, 
 
 scheme of using coke instead of coal in steam engine 
 
 boilers. 
 
 In November 1831, another of the great discoverers who 
 have been connected with the Society, Mr. Hugh Lee Pattinson, 
 then Assay Master at Alston to the Greenwich Hospital, 
 read an elaborate paper upon the smelting and refining of 
 lead ore, a process which had become so closely identified 
 with his name when, in the year 1829, he discovered "the 
 world-famous Pattinson process of separating lead and silver 
 
 by crystallising.*' 
 
 There are many other papers which it would be pleasant to 
 dwell upon, but I must only mention one or two more which have, 
 in one way or another, quite a special interest. I shall have, in a 
 subsequent chapter, to devote considerable attention to that in 
 which, in 1831, Mr. T. M. Greenhow developed his views " On the 
 expediency of establishing in Newcastle an Academical or Col- 
 legiate Institution for the education of Youth in the higher 
 branches of knowledge." In the same year two evenings were 
 devoted to discussing the important question of the state of the 
 River Tyne, with a view to the improvement of its navigation, 
 Mr. John Macgregar reading a "Treatise" on the subject, 
 which was afterwards published, and which contained " many 
 important and valuable remarks and suggestions." I note in 
 passing, with much interest, that a gentleman who admirably 
 filled the office of Treasurer for many years, and who is happily 
 still with us, Mr. R. R. Dees, on October 7th, 1834, "read a 
 paper on *the Inexpediency of Capital Punishments,' which 
 has since been printed at the request of several friends." In 
 nothing, perhaps, has this century seen greater advance than in 
 the art of travel. Whether knowledge be increased or not, men 
 run to and fro upon the earth to an extent which is simply 
 amazing. There was nothing to compare with this in the first 
 
 ROBERT STEPHENSON, M.P., F.R.S. 
 
MONTHLY MEETINGS. 
 
 169 
 
 half of this century. The men who travelled had some clear 
 reason for doing so ; they did it with a definite object in view, 
 quite other than mere pleasurable or restful change of scene. 
 Norway was, for all practical purposes, further off from us then 
 than Greece or Palestine is now, and he who could speak of it 
 from personal knowledge was a much greater acquisition than a 
 Greek or Syrian traveller of to-day is. In 1835 Mr. W. C. 
 Hewitson, the eminent oologist, enlivened two meetings with an 
 account of a tour which he had made in the Scandinavian penin- 
 sula in search of birds, eggs, and other objects connected with 
 Natural History. Upon this tour he was accompanied by John 
 Hancock, and they made their way to the far North, spending a 
 considerable time in the Arctic Circle, then an almost unknown 
 part of an all but unknown land, and gathering good harvest of 
 knowledge of the life and habits of the innumerable birds 
 which make the cliffs and mountains of the Land of the 
 Midnight Sun their summer home. 
 
 But although other forms of usefulness, as we shall see more 
 fully hereafter, were opening to the Society, the reading of 
 important papers at the monthly meetings was nearly at an 
 end. It is hardly too much to say that it died a natural 
 death, partly from the constant increase in the number of local 
 societies each with its own specific object of research, and partly 
 from the rapid extension of the railway system. The Literary and 
 Philosophical Society no longer held a unique position. It had 
 no longer a monopoly of the opportunities which the town and 
 district could offer for literary and scientific discussion, and soon 
 the members who were carrying on independent research found 
 it more satisfactory to take the results of their labours to the 
 learned Societies in the metropolis, where they would receive 
 the attention and have the advantage of the criticism of men 
 of kindred pursuits from all parts of the United Kingdom. In 
 
170 
 
 MONTHLY MEETINGS. 
 
 MONTHLY MEETINGS, 
 
 171 
 
 \h 
 
 i 
 
 the forty-fifth year of the Society's existence the Committee 
 reported that only one paper, a communication from Lieutenant 
 A. M. Skene respecting his patent paddle-wheel, had been 
 read. There was little improvement in the following years. In 
 1840 Mr. H. L. Pattinson explained the new invention of the 
 Daguerreotype, which has long since been superseded by more 
 rapid photographic processes. I must also note that in the 
 Session 1842-43, Mr. T. P. Barkas, whose genial face was for 
 so many years so familiar to our members, who took so active a 
 part in the voluntary work of the Society, and who became " a 
 household word " in this district for the zeal and ability with 
 which he spread abroad the truths and disputable phases of 
 scientific and quasi-scientific investigation, first made his appear- 
 ance in connection with this institution, reading a paper upon 
 " Phonography, or General Shorthand." 
 
 The Committee never ceased to urge upon the members the 
 great importance of keeping up the supply of papers. Nay, 
 they went much further than this : like Goldsmith's good pastor, 
 
 " They tried each art, reproved each dull delay, 
 Allured to (better things), and led the way." 
 
 « 
 
 In the report presented in 1846 they speak with some pride of 
 the fact that six papers had been forthcoming in the Session 
 which was just over, but they little dreamed that, half a century 
 afterwards, the civilised world would be prepared gratefully to 
 acknowledge that their pride was justifiable and amply justified 
 by the results. The whole of the papers were contributed by 
 members of the Committee, and they arranged with the pro- 
 prietors of the Newcastle Daily Chronicle to give full reports which 
 should afterwards be put into octavo form, uniform with The 
 Newcastle Reprints, and a number of copies were to be struck 
 off for those members who cared to obtain them. Amongst the 
 
 '^. 
 
 papers thus provided were three by " our talented young towns- 
 man, Mr. W. G. Armstrong," as the papers of that day spoke 
 of our honoured President of to-day. The first was " On the 
 spheroidal condition of liquids, and on the freezing of liquids in 
 a red-hot crucible," and well do those who were privileged to 
 be present remember the burst of enthusiastic applause which 
 greeted the successful performance of an experiment which 
 seemed really to be the achieving of the impossible. The 
 second paper was " On the employment of a column of water 
 as a motive power for propelling machinery," and was illustrated 
 by many novel and interesting experiments, and "a beautiful 
 model representing a portion of the quay of this town, with a 
 crane upon it adapted to work by the action of the water in the 
 street pipes, was placed upon the floor." This was described 
 and shown in operation, and then follows in the report a striking 
 and admirable instance of the caution and modesty of our great 
 townsman. " Mr. A. concluded with some appropriate remarks, 
 in which he stated that he did not advocate the immediate 
 adoption of his plan, because any plan, however useful, might 
 be injured if forced prematurely forward, before the age was 
 ready to receive it." His third paper was "On some of the 
 characteristics of voltaic and frictional electricity." With 
 peculiar pleasure I record how nearly half a century afterwards, 
 on the 7th February, 1893, — that memorable night when our 
 Society celebrated its centenary, — Lord Armstrong once more 
 delighted a large and brilliant audience by his treatment of this 
 subject, and the remarkable and unique series of experiments by 
 which he illustrated it 
 
 But the day of the monthly meetings was over. The 
 audiences grew smaller and smaller, the papers scarce, and 
 discussions upon them scarcer. By the year 1856 the annual 
 reports ceased to notice them. A few earnest attempts have 
 
172 
 
 MONTHLY MEETINGS, 
 
 
 been made to revive them, but there was no demand for them, 
 and the endeavours failed. The only business transacted at 
 them came to be the election of members, save on two or 
 three occasions when some special question closely affecting 
 the welfare of the Society has been brought forward by 
 special notice. Since June 1889 they have ceased to be held 
 at all, the election of members having been entrusted to the 
 Committee. 
 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE LIBRARY. 
 
 \ 
 
 V ' 
 
 r \ 
 
 I 
 
 h 
 
 " With awe, around these silent walks I tread ; 
 These are the lasting mansions of the dead : — 
 
 * The dead ! ' methinks a thousand tongues reply ; 
 
 * These are the tombs of such as cannot die ! ' " 
 
 HE collection of books for public use shows that a 
 people has reached that stage of civilisation when 
 some considerable part of it has begun to enjoy the 
 quiet and studious phases of life. Amongst the most interesting 
 relics which have been discovered of that Assyrian people which 
 was once the foremost of the nations of the earth are the small 
 tablets, some of minute size, covered with cuneiform inscrip- 
 tions, and preserved together in great numbers. The enormous 
 number of volumes said to have been contained in the Alex- 
 andrian libraries, or in those which were established by the 
 Moorish conquerors of Spain, fills us with amazement. The first 
 of these numbered some yoofyoo volumes, and that founded by 
 Hakam at Cordova 400,000 volumes. It is quite possible that 
 these figures are exaggerated, and as they record manuscripts, 
 not printed books, it is fallacious to compare them with the great 
 libraries of the present day, for a comparatively small printed 
 book would make a large manuscript. But the difficulty of 
 collection then was incomparably greater than it is now. At 
 
t\ 
 
 174 
 
 THE LIBRARY. 
 
 present the largest library in the world is the Bibh'otheque 
 Nationale in Paris, with 2,600,000 volumes, the British Museum 
 coming next with 1,600,000. We may perhaps find some con- 
 solation for the fact that we have to occupy only the second 
 place in the knowledge that our National Library has 203,000 
 readers in the year, whilst that of the French has not even 
 a third of that number. 
 
 A century ago there were few public libraries out of London; 
 few to which the public could obtain admission by subscription; 
 and what there were did not contain any great number of books. 
 Here, as in other lands, wealthy noblemen of learned tastes 
 gathered large collections together as book-collectors, or for the 
 delectation of the owners or their friends, but it would have 
 been a noteworthy incident if, in a private house, you could 
 have found four or five thousand well-selected volumes. Now 
 there are many of such libraries to be found in every part of 
 the country. 
 
 We are not surprised to find that when Mr. Turner brought 
 forward his scheme for a Literary Society on January 24th, 
 1793, he left the question of the establishment of a General 
 Library for future consideration. When, at the next meeting 
 on the 7th February, with the Rev. Edward Moises in the 
 chair, the Society was formed and its laws were discussed, one 
 of the rules agreed to gave members the right to recommend, 
 and General Meetings the right to direct, the purchase of books. 
 In December of the same year, Mr. Moises wrote to Mr. Turner 
 recommending the appointment of a committee to consider the 
 outlines of a plan for carrying into more immediate effect the 
 establishment of a General Library. Upon the loth of that 
 month the committee was duly selected, and in due course it 
 made its report, and drew up regulations for the management 
 of the intended Library. 
 
 THE REV. E. MOISES. 
 
I I 
 
 174 
 
 THE LIBRARY, 
 
 present the largest library in the world is the Bibliotheque 
 Nationale in Paris, with 2,600,000 volumes, the British Museum 
 coming next with 1,600,000. We may perhaps find some con- 
 solation for the fact that we have to occupy only the second 
 place in the knowledge that our National Library has 203,000 
 readers in the year, whilst that of the French has not even 
 a third of that number. 
 
 A century ago there were few public libraries out of London ; 
 few to which the public could obtain admission by subscription; 
 and what there were did not contain any great number of books. 
 Here, as in other lands, wealthy noblemen of learned tastes 
 gathered large collections together as book-collectors, or for the 
 delectation of the owners or their friends, but it would have 
 been a noteworthy incident if, in a private house, you could 
 have found four or five thousand well-selected volumes. Now 
 there are many of such libraries to be found in every part of 
 
 the country. 
 
 We are not surprised to find that when Mr. Turner brought 
 forward his scheme for a Literary Society on January 24th, 
 1793, he left the question of the establishment of a General 
 Library for future consideration. When, at the next meeting 
 on the 7th February, with the Rev. Edward Moises in the 
 chair, the Society was formed and its laws were discussed, one 
 of the rules agreed to gave members the right to recommend, 
 and General Meetings the right to direct, the purchase of books. 
 In December of the same year, Mr. Moises wrote to Mr. Turner 
 recommending the appointment of a committee to consider the 
 outlines of a plan for carrying into more immediate effect the 
 establishment of a General Library. Upon the loth of that 
 month the committee was duly selected, and in due course it 
 made its report, and drew up regulations for the management 
 of the intended Library, 
 
 THE REV. E. MOISES. 
 
41 
 
 THE LIBRARY. 
 
 175 
 
 I 
 
 ||! 
 
 w 
 
 m 
 
 U 
 
 How humble the ideal of Mr. Moises and his committee was 
 may well be gathered from the fact that at first an attempt 
 was made to get the books by begging. The second Annual 
 Report, presented on the loth of March, 1795, has this note 
 appended to it — 
 
 " May it be permitted to hint that many books have found 
 their way into the libraries of individuals, which, having no 
 connection with the general line of study of their respective 
 owners, are of little use to them, but might form a valuable 
 addition to a general Library." 
 
 Now of all the ways which there are of collecting books, — 
 buying, begging, reviewing, or stealing, — begging is the least 
 satisfactory. The works which men are anxious or willing to 
 get rid of are, as a rule, exactly those which other men do not 
 wish to possess. Still, in our case, the hint was taken, and some 
 of the proffered presents were worth the having. In the follow- 
 ing report (the third) a catalogue of all the books then in the 
 possession of the Society is given. There were 20 folios, 142 
 quartos, 240 octavos, 27 duodecimos, and 10 maps! The 
 greater part of the books were what at that time were called 
 works upon Natural Philosophy (and what we should style 
 scientific books), and books of travel. 
 
 Let me say here, in order that I may not be misunderstood, 
 that from the earliest infancy of the Society there have been 
 handsome gifts of books made to it, books of the highest worth. 
 Many of the most valuable works in our great collection have been 
 thus acquired ; but they were voluntary presents, not alms-gifts. 
 I may instance the case of Alderman Armstrong, in 1858, who 
 had desired that the Society should be invited to select from his 
 library such scientific works as it did not already possess. This 
 desire was so liberally fulfilled by his son, the present Lord 
 
 ill 
 
 fl 
 
1/6 
 
 THE LIBRAR Y. 
 
 f 
 
 I 
 
 i 
 
 i.i 
 
 Armstrong, that 1 284 works of great value were added to the 
 Society's collection, and it obtained a more complete Mathe- ^ 
 matical Department than any other provincial institution in the 
 kingdom. 
 
 But, even in Solomon's time, " of the making of books there 
 was no end," and the practice has considerably increased 
 through the twenty-eight centuries which have elapsed since 
 that strange mixture of philosopher and fool placed the fact on 
 record. What is true of the making is equally true of the 
 collecting of books, and in reading, " increase of appetite doth 
 grow by that it feeds on." From the previous chapters the 
 reader has learned that the Society's books became numerous 
 so rapidly that it had to move from one place to another for 
 more accommodation, and had at length to build a home of 
 permanent residence. At the time of opening this new building 
 in 1825, the Society possessed more than 8000 volumes. I 
 cannot find the exact number stated in any report, and it is not 
 mentioned in Mr. Turner's address to the members on the 
 occasion of their first meeting in the new rooms ; but in the 
 case which was submitted for Mr. Charles Butler's opinion 
 about this very time, and in which the question of the best 
 mode of holding the Society's property was raised, it is stated 
 that the library then contained upwards of 8oo(3^volumes. At 
 the time of the Centenary celebration they were supposed to 
 have increased in number to 35,000, and there are now in 1896, 
 48,000 books belonging to the Society, upwards of 2000 
 volumes being added each year. To this I may add that the 
 salaries of the staff of paid officers has increased from 
 nothing in the first year of the Society's existence to ;£^454 
 6s. 8d. in the year 1895 ; and the sum expended upon books 
 from £yi ys, in the first year of its possessing a library to 
 £10^7 5s. id. in the year 1895-96. 
 
 1 1 
 
 THE LIBRARY. 
 
 177 
 
 We find that, from the first, the usual difficulties which attend 
 upon the keeping and lending of books were fully experienced 
 by our Society. The borrowers were frequently at fault. The 
 books were returned in a mutilated condition ; alterations, 
 erasures, inscriptions, and marginal notes were made in them ; 
 illustrations were removed and retained ; books were lent to 
 non-members ; and many volumes joined that great regiment of 
 lotos-eating works which is so painfully familiar to those who 
 lend their books, and returned no more. Then, as so frequently 
 since, there were certain works which were objected to by 
 certain members because they considered them to be works of 
 religious controversy. So early as 1796 a written protest was 
 made against Hume's Essays, Cudworth's Intellectual System, 
 and Paley's Evidences of Christianity, and the Committee 
 allowed the propriety of the remonstrance, and those books 
 were ordered to be removed from the Society's shelves. 
 
 Perhaps the hardest of all the battles which have been 
 fought upon this knotty question of proper books was that 
 which was waged in January and February, 1829, over the 
 purchase by the Committee of Lord Byron's Don Juan. One 
 curious feature of these discussions was the introduction of 
 letters written to individual members by gentlemen living at a 
 distance, and of more or less literary distinction, and another 
 was the great part which the press of the district took in the 
 fray. The book had to be withdrawn, but, from the observations 
 which they make in the Annual Report presented in March of 
 that year, the Committee evidently felt aggrieved at the way in 
 which their selection had been attacked, and "the peace and 
 comfort " of the Society had been disturbed. 
 
 I suppose that those of us who did not live in the first 
 quarter of this nineteenth century have but little idea of the 
 literary zeal, devotion, and enthusiasm which then permeated 
 
 12 
 
n 
 
 II 
 
 176 
 
 THE LIBRARY, 
 
 Armstrong, that 1 284 works of great value were added to the 
 Society's collection, and it obtained a more complete Mathe- ^ 
 matical Department than any other provincial institution in the 
 kingdom. 
 
 But, even in Solomon's time, " of the making of books there 
 was no end," and the practice has considerably increased 
 through the twenty-eight centuries which have elapsed since 
 that strange mixture of philosopher and fool placed the fact on 
 record. What is true of the making is equally true of the 
 collecting of books, and in reading, " increase of appetite doth 
 grow by that it feeds on." From the previous chapters the 
 reader has learned that the Society's books became numerous 
 so rapidly that it had to move from one place to another for 
 more accommodation, and had at length to build a home of 
 permanent residence. At the time of opening this new building 
 in 1825, the Society possessed more than 8000 volumes. I 
 cannot find the exact number stated in any report, and it is not 
 mentioned in Mr. Turner's address to the members on the 
 occasion of their first meeting in the new rooms ; but in the 
 case which was submitted for Mr. Charles Butler's opinion 
 about this very time, and in which the question of the best 
 mode of holding the Society's property was raised, it is stated 
 that the library then contained upwards of 8000 volumes. At 
 the time of the Centenary celebration they were supposed to 
 have increased in number to 35,000, and there are now in 1896, 
 48,000 books belonging to the Society, upwards of 2000 
 volumes being added each year. To this I may add that the 
 salaries of the staff of paid officers has increased from ^ 
 nothing in the first year of the Society's existence to ;f454 
 6s. 8d. in the year 1895 ; and the sum expended upon books 
 from £^1 ys. in the first year of its possessing a library to 
 £10^7 5s. id. in the year 1895-96. 
 
 THE LIBRARY, 
 
 177 
 
 We find that, from the first, the usual difficulties which attend 
 upon the keeping and lending of books were fully experienced 
 by our Society. The borrowers were frequently at fault. The 
 books were returned in a mutilated condition ; alterations, 
 erasures, inscriptions, and marginal notes were made in them ; 
 illustrations were removed and retained ; books were lent to 
 non-members ; and many volumes joined that great regiment of 
 lotos-eating works which is so painfully familiar to those who 
 lend their books, and returned no more. Then, as so frequently 
 since, there were certain works which were objected to by 
 certain members because they considered them to be works of 
 religious controversy. So early as 1796 a written protest was 
 made against Hume's Essays^ Cudworth's Intellectual System^ 
 and Paley's Evidences of Christianity^ and the Committee 
 allowed the propriety of the remonstrance, and those books 
 were ordered to be removed from the Society's shelves. 
 
 Perhaps the hardest of all the battles which have been 
 fought upon this knotty question of proper books was that 
 which was waged in January and February, 1829, over the 
 purchase by the Committee of Lord Byron's Don Juan, One 
 curious feature of these discussions was the introduction of 
 letters written to individual members by gentlemen living at a 
 distance, and of more or less literary distinction, and another 
 was the great part which the press of the district took in the 
 fray. The book had to be withdrawn, but, from the observations 
 which they make in the Annual Report presented in March of 
 that year, the Committee evidently felt aggrieved at the way in 
 which their selection had been attacked, and "the peace and 
 comfort " of the Society had been disturbed. 
 
 I suppose that those of us who did not live in the first 
 quarter of this nineteenth century have but little idea of the 
 literary zeal, devotion, and enthusiasm which then permeated 
 
 12 
 
178 
 
 THE LIBRAR Y. 
 
 V' 
 
 the reading world. Looking back upon that great time, we are 
 not surprised that this should have been the case. It followed 
 closely upon an astounding y?« de Steele, Old things, intellectual 
 as well as social, industrial, and political, had been whirled away 
 as in a devil's storm, and all things were to become new. 
 Some of them have certainly taken their own time over the 
 process. That first quarter of the century was alive with 
 dreamers, thinkers, and actors. Life was full of stir. The old 
 world was going through a period of new birth, for better or 
 for worse as you may elect to think, but it would never be the 
 same world again. What an outburst of noble song moved men's 
 hearts, with what strange, morbid relics of the dead and dirty 
 past somewhat dimming the glory, but doing much less harm 
 than might, not without reason, have been expected ! The 
 healthy mind absorbed the beauty but rejected the excre- 
 mentitious adjuncts. How the world waited for a new poem, 
 and how they devoured it, and discussed it, and dreamed of it, 
 until it became a part of their very lives! It was one of the 
 golden times of our English literature, one of those times which 
 enormously added to that precious inheritance to which every 
 one, rich or poor, great or humble, who can read our English 
 tongue, is entitled as of right. 
 
 It is amusing but refreshing to recall too the tremendous 
 fights which have been waged in this grave Society over the 
 admission of novels. In bygone days men were ready to spill 
 much ink and to spend good store of strength to get the Waverley 
 Novels admitted or kept out of the Library. If I remember 
 rightly they were at last accepted as a gift from some generous 
 member! But even so early as 1803 the Committee had ex- 
 perienced the extreme difficulty of keeping out fiction, as well as 
 other things supposed to be objectionable. They mention then 
 that the collected works of " authors who are an honour to our 
 
 THE LIBRAR Y. 
 
 179 
 
 nation " must be purchased, even though theology may be found 
 in some part of such works. They also point out that, in the 
 case of periodical literature, you must either do without it alto- 
 gether, or you must be prepared for " the intermixture of articles 
 on all subjects." And so novels which came out in monthly 
 magazines were admitted to our shelves, but when completed 
 and appearing as separate works, they were strictly tabooed. 
 Frequently indeed did "Oliver ask for more," but he did not 
 get it. The last fierce battle on this subject was fought some 
 thirty years ago, and so fierce was it that timid members fled 
 from the crowded and noisy room in unnecessary trepidation. 
 It was " all sound and fury, signifying nothing." And in due 
 course, not many years ago, novels were at length freely 
 admitted, and "nobody seems a penny the worse," excepting, 
 possibly, those who are so unfortunate as to read them. 
 
 The fact is that people have grown a little tired of en- 
 deavouring to prevent other grown-up people reading what 
 they wish to read, and perhaps a little doubtful of the wisdom 
 or justice of such a proceeding, and a little conscious that it is 
 dictatorial and absurd. No doubt, in point of zeal, we are not 
 nearly so good as our fathers were, but ours is certainly tem- 
 pered with more discretion than theirs was. The day may come 
 when men will feel some surprise to know that for long years 
 Auguste Comte's Philosophie positive was a book forbidden to 
 our members, and that in quite recent years certain gentlemen 
 actually withdrew from the Society because, at a meeting of one 
 of the many small associations to which from time to time we 
 lend one or other of our rooms, a paper was read upon " The 
 Unearned Increment." 
 
 But let us return to the Library. The principal aim of the 
 Society has, from the first, been to make it of as much use and 
 value to the student as possible, and with this object in view 
 
i8o 
 
 THE LIBRAR Y. 
 
 i 
 
 ■ T 
 
 I 
 
 there has been a constant endeavour to have the books properly 
 classified and catalogued. 
 
 The custom in the early years of the Society was to issue 
 with the annual report a list of the presents received during 
 the preceding twelve months. Books, pamphlets, geological 
 and mineralogical specimens, telescopes, shells, inscribed stones 
 from the Roman Wall, stuffed birds, maps, and similar mis- 
 cellaneous articles, are all mixed up together in these lists in 
 the most admired confusion. But the third report, presented 
 in March 1796, contains the first catalogue of the Society's 
 books, divided according to their sizes, and a supplement to 
 this catalogue is given with the fourth report. In the year 
 following this plan was again pursued, but in 1798 the Com- 
 mittee printed the report by itself, and, in a separate pamphlet, 
 they set forth the rules of the Society, a list of its members, and 
 a complete catalogue of the books, still classified by size alone, 
 blank sheets for the insertion of additions being duly interleaved. 
 The Committee intended to make a small charge for these 
 pamphlets, but, as the annual accounts were first published in the 
 year 1804, I do not know whether this intention was or was not 
 carried out. In 1799 the plan of publishing a supplement to 
 the catalogue with the annual report was again resorted to, and 
 this has been done with considerable regularity ever since. In 
 addition to this supplement, a complete catalogue of the books 
 and maps was published in 1801. It fills nearly seventeen 
 octavo pages, and the division is still that of size. 
 
 Another complete catalogue was published in 1807, and an 
 historical sketch of the Society was prefixed to it. In this 
 sketch it is stated that the Library then contained nearly four 
 thousand volumes ; " that there are few instances of so large a 
 collection having been formed of books so generally valuable ; 
 and that access to this collection has been rendered more easy to 
 
 THE LIBRAR Y. 
 
 181 
 
 
 persons of every description, as well occasionally as permanently 
 resident, than has been done by any other institution." 
 
 This is a proud boast to make, and we may truly say that 
 the liberality which distinguished our Society from the begin- 
 ning has continued to be one of its prominent characteristics 
 throughout its long and useful career. 
 
 The fifth complete catalogue was published in 181 1, when 
 the Library was about seventeen years old. The books were 
 divided into eighteen classes, the books in each class being 
 arranged alphabetically. There was also a general index, in 
 which the whole of the books in the Library were arranged 
 alphabetically. This catalogue gave much satisfaction, and one 
 consequence was a marked increase in the number of members 
 resorting to and making use of the Library. The Committee, 
 in commenting upon this satisfactory state of affairs, announced 
 that the authorities designed to print the catalogue of the 
 Thomlinson Library, and that thus the members, as a part of 
 the general public, would at length be able to avail themselves 
 of the privilege of access to more than eight thousand volumes 
 of much value, and it would be no longer necessary to purchase 
 for the Society many costly works which the other library 
 contained. Now the Public Library of the city has become 
 the repository of the sadly shrunken and shorn Thomlinson 
 Library, and we may well bear in mind the wise conclusion of 
 our predecessors, that, " unless in particular cases, the purchase 
 of many works of great price, but chiefly valuable for purposes 
 of reference," may be avoided, their existence " in one accessible 
 library in a place being sufficient for every purpose." 
 
 Still, however the purchasing of books might be limited in 
 certain directions, it went briskly forward, and the store grew 
 with such rapidity that only six years afterwards, in 18 17, 
 the annual report stated that considerable progress had been 
 
 I 
 
 ^ 
 
l82 
 
 THE LIBRARY, 
 
 made in the reduction of the various lists of new books issued 
 with the annual reports since 1811 into one general supplement, 
 classified and arranged in a similar manner to the catalogue of 
 that year. It would very shortly be committed to the press. 
 But that hope was fallacious, for the preparation of the supple- 
 ment proved a much longer business than the Committee had 
 anticipated. The examination of the books showed that more 
 than a hundred and fifty volumes were missing, and great efforts 
 were made to discover their whereabouts and to recover them. 
 Amongst other means which were adopted, it was resolved to 
 remit the fines in favour of those borrowers who had retained 
 and not returned the books which they had taken out. These 
 fines had been exacted with much regularity from the 
 members who had shown a want of due punctuality in their 
 return, and they amounted in one year to more than ^^24. 
 The great delay meant, of course, a corresponding great 
 increase in the number of books, and thus it came to pass 
 that the idea of a general supplement was at length aban- 
 doned, and it was resolved to once more revise and print the 
 entire catalogue. The missing volumes were, for the most 
 part, recovered ; the new catalogue was ready for sale by 
 July 1 8 19, and it gave great and general satisfaction. After 
 this time the list of works purchased which was issued with 
 each annual report was arranged in classes, so that the lists 
 and the catalogue might correspond. 
 
 When the Society had completed its new building and the 
 books had been removed into it, the Library proved to be very 
 deficient " in the standard works of learning and science which 
 are necessary to make this a library of reference, as well as of 
 mere reading." By frequent perusal, many of the more popular 
 books had been soiled and worn, and were no longer fit to 
 circulate. They must be replaced. And yet the Committee 
 
 < 
 
 3i 
 
 ;5 
 o 
 
 25 
 O 
 
 H 
 
l82 
 
 THE LIBRARY. 
 
 made in the reduction of the various lists of new books issued 
 with the annual reports since 1811 into one general supplement, 
 classified and arranged in a similar manner to the catalogue of 
 that year. It would very shortly be committed to the press. 
 But that hope was fallacious, for the preparation of the supple- 
 ment proved a much longer business than the Committee had 
 anticipated. The examination of the books showed that more 
 than a hundred and fifty volumes were missing, and great efforts 
 were made to discover their whereabouts and to recover them. 
 Amongst other means which were adopted, it was resolved to 
 remit the fines in favour of those borrowers who had retained 
 and not returned the books which they had taken out. These 
 fines had been exacted with much regularity from the 
 members who had shown a want of due punctuality in their 
 return, and they amounted in one year to more than £2\. 
 The great delay meant, of course, a corresponding great 
 increase in the number of books, and thus it came to pass 
 that the idea of a general supplement was at length aban- 
 doned, and it was resolved to once more revise and print the 
 entire catalogue. The missing volumes were, for the most 
 part, recovered ; the new catalogue was ready for sale by 
 July 18 19, and it gave great and general satisfaction. After 
 this time the list of works purchased which was issued with 
 each annual report was arranged in classes, so that the lists 
 and the catalogue might correspond. 
 
 When the Society had completed its new building and the 
 books had been removed into it, the Library proved to be very 
 deficient " in the standard works of learning and science which 
 are necessary to make this a library of reference, as well as of 
 mere reading." By frequent perusal, many of the more popular 
 books had been soiled and worn, and were no longer fit to 
 circulate. They must be replaced. And yet the Committee 
 
 I 
 
 < 
 
 o 
 
 X 
 
 o 
 
 2 
 
 H 
 55 
 
THE LIBRARY. 
 
 183 
 
 feared that, even without this expense, much difficulty would 
 be found in providing a sum of ;6'230 a year for the purchase 
 of new books, and the £<^ " annually required for the purchase 
 of works in continuation. Encyclopaedias, Transactions of learned 
 Societies, Reviews, Magazines, and Philosophical Journals. It 
 was now also necessary to provide more than one copy of 
 popular works in order to accommodate members, in any 
 adequate way, with new and interesting books." 
 
 This fear was in a measure justified, and the amount ex- 
 pended upon the purchase of books had to be reduced ; but, on 
 the other hand, the Society received numerous and valuable 
 gifts, becoming the possessor of (amongst other things) the 
 Public Records, and a fine and important collection of local 
 Acts of Parliament Indeed, in spite of poverty and enforced 
 parsimony, the year 1827 found the Committee again at its 
 familiar task of " the completion and printing of a very complete 
 Catalogue of the Society's large and valuable Library." At this 
 time It was said that nearly 9000 volumes had been gathered 
 together, and the task proved an arduous one. The catalogue 
 was not finished until 1829. The Committee then spoke of it 
 as " most complete and excellently arranged," and added, " The 
 judgment and skill with which the contents of each book, it may 
 almost be said, certainly of the several distinct works of each 
 considerable author, have been examined, and their respective 
 portions assigned to the class of subjects to which they belong, 
 while they evince a very extensive range of knowledge, and are 
 a striking proof of the patient attention and diligence of the 
 Compiler, must eminently contribute to the convenience of those 
 Members who may wish to study any particular subject; who 
 will thus be directed, not only to those authors, but also to those 
 parts of each author's works, in which the objects of their 
 research will be found. When it is known, besides, that not the 
 
1 84 
 
 THE LIBRAE Y. 
 
 THE LIBRARY. 
 
 185 
 
 slightest charge has been made for the many weeks, and even 
 months, which have been devoted to this work, your Committee 
 are persuaded that the Society will consider itself as under 
 obligations to Mr. Hodgson; and will think no more of the 
 delay with which its completion must necessarily have been 
 attended, and for which the inspection of the Catalogue itself 
 will sufficiently account." 
 
 And the Society, as in duty bound, did award its thanks to 
 Mr. Thomas Hodgson for the great care and trouble he had 
 taken in this matter. 
 
 Mr. Thomas Hodgson, one of the proprietors and editor of 
 the Newcastle Chronicle^ became a member of this Society in 
 1805, and continued to take an interest in its management until 
 his death in 1850. He was trained under the Rev. William 
 Turner, and was a man of great and varied ability. He was 
 "an elegant and correct classical scholar, of profound anti- 
 quarian research and intelligence. . . . His contributions to the 
 Typographical Society of this town, whilst they display the 
 great excellency to which he had raised the art of printing in 
 Newcastle, exhibit the versatility of his intellectual powers, and 
 shed a lustre on his native town." He gave the Chronicle the 
 position of the leading political organ between York and 
 Edinburgh, but the Committee, speaking after his death, say of 
 him, " whilst he fearlessly and regardless of consequences avowed 
 and urged his principles on public attention, he never wrote a 
 line personal to an opponent, or un-becoming a gentleman to 
 compose. His kindness and urbanity of disposition endeared 
 him to a large circle of devotedly attached friends, and it is not 
 the least tribute to his character that all parties regarded him as 
 an upright and honest man.'* 
 
 When the traditions of the Elders which had, through long 
 centuries, gathered round the Law as given by Moses, were 
 
 reduced into writing, and the Mishnah was an accomplished 
 fact, the traditions which were in turn to form the Gemara, 
 began at once to cluster round the Mishnah. And similarly, 
 the very year which saw the new Catalogue appear, saw also a 
 Supplement printed of the books which had been added to the 
 Library since the date of the Catalogue, and each subsequent 
 year saw a similar Supplement appear. In five years* time, 
 1834, a General Supplement was printed, alphabetically arranged 
 for the purpose of easy reference, but with the class of each 
 book inserted before its date; but this publication did not in any 
 way interfere with the regular annual appearance of classified 
 book lists. 
 
 All this time there were difficulties in actual working, such 
 as are, I suppose, incident to all institutions of this kind. 
 Resolutions were passed occasionally that the Reference Depart- 
 ment of the Library should be more carefully attended to, or, in 
 other words, that in the purchase of books the Committee should 
 aim at obtaining those which are too costly for private purchase, 
 and those which, though not perhaps immediately popular, 
 remain for all time of actual service to the student, and give 
 character to a collection. The more valuable books of reference 
 were not allowed to circulate, and in 1836 the room upstairs, 
 which is still used as the Committee-room, was set apart (when 
 not in use by the Committee) as the place where members 
 might consult those works of reference which came into the 
 before-mentioned category. But we find that every now and 
 then complaints continued to be made — as they have continued 
 to be made, at uncertain intervals, ever since — by one or other 
 of the two great classes into which the members may at any 
 time be divided, the readers and the students. The former 
 declared that the Committee expended too great a proportion of 
 the funds available for the purchase of books in buying scientific 
 
 "A, 
 
1 86 
 
 THE LIBRAE Y. 
 
 THE LIBRA R Y. 
 
 187 
 
 works which the great majority of the members cared nothing 
 about ; whilst the latter rejoined that far too much money was 
 laid out in acquiring the lighter and more ephemeral publica- 
 tions of the day. 
 
 The simple fact is that Committees vary both in their views 
 of their proper functions and in their notions about the purchase 
 of books. This year the fact that a work is cheap will be a 
 sufficient recommendation ; next year the same fact will ensure 
 its rejection. There is always a tendency, not merely natural, 
 but frequently wholesome, for the Committee to constitute itself 
 censor of the morals or method of a book, rather than simply to 
 consider how far it is likely to be in demand amongst the 
 members. In 1842, the then Committee explicitly stated that 
 their object was " rather to lead the taste of the Society, than to 
 pander to a corrupt desire for trashy works." And yet the 
 members of the Committee are elected annually from the 
 general body of subscribers, to represent them and, presumably, 
 to purchase those works for them which they wish to read. If 
 this is not done, many persons leave off subscribing to the 
 Society, and join "some of the numerous Book Clubs which 
 have been formed in the town, and are likely to increase." 
 This report of 1842 also states that "the Library is the bond 
 which has held the Society together for so many years, and 
 which has enabled it to struggle through so many difficulties. 
 In short, every day's experience shews that it is by those 
 persons who subscribe for the use of the books the institution 
 is principally supported.'* 
 
 This report is of special interest, because it shows how much 
 thought was bestowed upon the purchase department, and that 
 the Committee was specially anxious to give their due considera- 
 tion to every class alike. As they had just added many valuable 
 and expensive books, they proceeded to explain the principles 
 
 which had guided them in their choice. The proportion of 
 scientific works was large, not only from their being useful, 
 and suitable in the studies of many persons resident in this 
 neighbourhood of chemical manufactures, mechanical arts, and 
 coal and lead mines, but also because so many works of 
 intrinsic merit on those subjects had of late appeared. Several 
 additions had been made in ecclesiastical history, in which the 
 Library had been defective, and these remarks apply also to 
 British topography. Wisely indeed did the Committee " recom- 
 mend to the attention of their successors the propriety of 
 setting apart a moderate yearly sum with a view to gradually 
 complete the collection of County Histories, and other books of 
 this class.'* Then they also point out how much is to be done 
 in completing the Society's copy of the statutes at large. After 
 discussing the graver works at some length, they proceed to 
 speak of the great demand for the publications of the day in 
 the lighter department of literature, and the difficulty of 
 meeting it They account for the demand itself by remember- 
 ing "that very many of the members, being engaged in 
 arduous professions, will not feel inclined, after the labours of 
 the day are closed, to read other than the lighter works." And 
 then, as the manner of committees is, they make one or two 
 vague suggestions, and leave to their successors the dealing 
 with the difficulties which they have described. 
 
 It was eleven years since the publication of the last 
 catalogue, and the Committee had taken the publication of a 
 new one into serious consideration, but, although some of the 
 yearly supplements were out of print, many copies of the cata- 
 logue itself remained on hand, and this question was also referred 
 to the new Committee for further consideration. This did not 
 prevent a whole page of the report being devoted to discussing 
 the best mode of doing that which it was resolved not to do.. 
 
 ^-j-^i«.'v; 
 
I 
 
 1 88 
 
 THE LIBRAR Y. 
 
 THE LIBRARY. 
 
 189 
 
 But the new Committee did take many of the matters 
 bequeathed to it into further consideration. In the purchase 
 of books they laid down three great objects to be kept in 
 view — "to supply the members with the best of the lighter 
 publications of the day, novels excepted ; to give them access 
 to such Books of Reference as are too expensive for the 
 generality of private libraries ; and gradually to form a con- 
 nected chain of human knowledge, advancing as it advances, 
 and giving the student, if he cannot follow out his pursuits with 
 the aid of the books in the Library, from the limited time 
 allowed for keeping them, the opportunity of ascertaining which 
 it would be desirable he should himself procure." But they 
 took up seriously "the supply of the lighter publications of 
 the day." They state that "they are fully aware that the 
 publications of the day are not those to which the book fund 
 should be especially devoted." That there was no book fund 
 was, of course, a detail. Political economy has furnished us 
 with a similar non-existent wages fund, also a detail. It would 
 have been useful and interesting if they had given the reason 
 for their conclusion, especially as they add, " Of the 700 mem- 
 bers, ladies and gentlemen together, at least one-half take out 
 books of this kind — many of them works of no other descrip- 
 tion, and it does not suffice that the book should be of an 
 amusing character, it must also be new." Then they go 
 on to show at how small an expenditure every one could be 
 satisfied, and again leave it to the new Committee to take the 
 question into their early consideration ! The new catalogue is 
 not mentioned. 
 
 The new Committee does not seem to have troubled them- 
 selves about either matter. They turned their attention to " the 
 Law Books in possession of the Society." They agreed, upon the 
 suggestion of Mr. William Bainbridge (well known as a barrister 
 
 practising in Newcastle, and the author of a learned work on 
 Mines and Mining, and other books of a lighter character), that 
 these books should " in future be classed and placed together 
 for the more convenient access of those who may wish to 
 consult them, and that the Society should invite the further 
 donation of Law Books from those members and other persons 
 who may be interested in establishing an useful legal Library 
 for research and reference." But the only donation received 
 was one of fifty volumes in folio of old Reports from Mr. John 
 Adamson, then Senior Secretary. The Committee had come 
 to the conclusion that there were only two sure ways of 
 providing a legal Library : the first, to rescind that part of the 
 rules of the Society which forbade the purchase of professional 
 Law Books ; the other, and perhaps the better way, was that 
 the gentlemen of the legal profession of this town should form 
 themselves into a society expressly for the purpose of " establish- 
 ing an useful legal Library for research and reference." This 
 broad hint was not lost, and for many years the Law Society 
 of Newcastle and Gateshead has been in the possession of an 
 excellent and useful library of the kind suggested. 
 
 In the following year's report the Committee are still silent 
 on the purchase of books and the new catalogue, although they 
 enter into the history of the Library and say that " competent 
 persons, both connected with the Society and from a distance, 
 have stated that so useful and well-selected a provincial Library 
 is scarcely to be met with." This being the case, why not 
 leave well alone? At the annual meeting, Mr. R. R. Dees 
 made an unsuccessful attempt to instruct the Committee "to 
 order for the Library, from time to time, such Standard Prose 
 Works of Fiction as they may see fil." 
 
 The discussion upon this motion may have wakened the 
 Committee up, especially as there was a serious and continuing 
 
igo 
 
 THE LIBRAE Y. 
 
 (I 
 
 I 
 
 decrease in the number of members. The Librarian reported 
 constant discontent arising from the great difficulty experienced 
 in getting new books, and a gentleman, once a member of the 
 Committee, and who was in the Library nearly every day, had 
 waited sixteen months before he got the particular book which 
 he wanted! The Librarian had suggested the purchase of 
 several copies of the more popular works, as well of the 
 magazines and reviews, disposing of a certain number after a 
 time, and the Committee, " after weighing the matter, had come 
 to the conclusion that something must be done," and " begged 
 to recommend the subject to the serious consideration of their 
 successors." After that who can say that life is short ? 
 
 But the old nursery story of the pig which would not go 
 over the bridge comes to an end when the cat would catch 
 the rat, and so the story of the Committee which would not 
 purchase sufficient books to satisfy the desires of the members 
 reaches an appropriate conclusion when a new one is appointed 
 which has the temerity to act as well as to talk about action. 
 That which was elected in 1846 set to work at once to buy a 
 large supply of the magazines and reviews, and of the more 
 popular books, and the result was that the applications for 
 membership at once began to increase. Arrangements were 
 made for the systematic sale of duplicate copies. 
 
 After this good example we are not surprised to learn that 
 the Committee elected in 1847 set to work in good earnest 
 upon " the formation of a new Catalogue." The last had been 
 printed in 1829; there had been seventeen supplements to it, 
 and the number of books in the Library had nearly doubled. 
 The report presented to the Annual Meeting in 1848 states 
 that the Catalogue is prepared and is about to be sent to the 
 press, and that Mr. George Wailes had undertaken to see the 
 work promptly and properly executed. 
 
 THE LIBRAR Y. 
 
 191 
 
 This Catalogue was to be really an important undertaking. 
 Many copies of the last still remained on hand, and the Com- 
 mittee were anxious to get so many purchasers of the new one 
 that the cost would be materially reduced. They therefore gave 
 much time and thought to the best form to adopt, and they ulti- 
 mately concluded to adhere to the classified form, ** such modi- 
 fications only being introduced as the more advanced state of 
 Science and the greater number of books seemed to demand." 
 The sub-divisions would be more numerous than before, and in 
 some instances the arrangement of the subjects would be slightly 
 altered; and, in order to render the whole more efficient, an 
 alphabetical index both of authors and subjects was to be 
 added. The catalogue so formed would "be a guide to 
 literature generally." But this new Mishnah would necessarily 
 have its Gemara. Books would continue to be multiplied, 
 and supplements would shortly be again required ; but the 
 idea was to print them upon one side of the paper only, 
 and so to classify the books in them that members whose 
 copies of the catalogue had been properly interleaved might 
 cut up each supplement when it came out and insert the 
 different works in their proper places. This could not, of 
 course, be done with the alphabetical index. The catalogue 
 thus prepared would have many advantages ; amongst others, 
 was " the facility with which it would shew both the riches and 
 poverty of a library." 
 
 The cost of printing it would come to more than £^00^ 
 and the Committee hoped that, by offering it at a very low 
 price, a rapid sale would be ensured. " When the last Catalogue 
 was printed, after much clamour and disturbance, not half the 
 impression was sold during a space of twelve years." This 
 new one would form a handsome volume of a thousand pages, 
 and five shillings per copy did not seem an exorbitant price. 
 
192 
 
 THE LIBRAR Y, 
 
 THE LIBRARY. 
 
 193 
 
 I 
 
 Mr. Wailes was ably assisted in his labours by Mr. John 
 Thornhill, so long Librarian to the Society, but the task proved 
 to be a greater one than had been anticipated. They certainly 
 did not shirk the work, for they included in it references to the 
 more important papers in the Transactions which the Library 
 contained of the various learned societies. The Committee 
 had expected that the catalogue would be in the hands 
 of the members about August, and it was ready by the end of 
 the year. Its cost had been much less than was anticipated, for 
 it apparently was completed for about ;t200. Its existence 
 enabled reductions to be made in the cost of Library Assistants, 
 which saved some £6$ a year, and as £y^ los. 6d. was realised 
 by its sale in the first two years, and as no other catalogue has 
 been printed since, the Society was not much out of pocket by 
 the transaction. 
 
 And thus, at last, the shortcomings of the Library had 
 been fairly attended to, and this was wise. In the report of 
 1842, which I have already made frequent allusion to, the true 
 principles which should regulate the due maintenance of a 
 subscription Library had been laid down, and the theory had 
 actually, in seven short years, been carried into practice. 
 
 The troubles of book-buyers or book-collectors do not, how- 
 ever, end when the books have been purchased. The next 
 question which demands an answer is, " Where are you going to 
 put them?" The provision of sufficient room for the constantly 
 and rapidly increasing stock presented a serious difficulty. 
 Three thousand volumes, which no one was likely ever to ask 
 for, had been placed in the room upstairs, but this proved 
 a homoeopathic measure of relief. The Library remained 
 obstinately overcrowded. The idea of having cross-presses 
 from the pilasters, at right angles to the wall and extending 
 into the room, had been seriously entertained, but to carry this 
 
 out would make it necessary to go to the heavy expense of 
 providing much more light Then another of these imperative 
 questions which address themselves to all who acquire books is, 
 "Having got them, how are you going to keep them?" I do 
 not allude now to the minute ravages of the book-worm or the 
 extensive dilapidations of the professional book-borrower, but 
 rather to what the law calls " the act of God," to wit, damp, gas 
 fumes, and the like. The binding of the books was suffering 
 greatly from the products of the imperfect combustion of poor 
 coal gas. When you took a book off the higher shelves it 
 would generally act like a hermit-crab and leave its outer 
 covering. These are samples of the troubles which the increase 
 of the library brought with it. 
 
 And all this time the heavy liabilities of the Society hung 
 like a millstone about its neck, and the Committee was ever 
 confronted with the difficulty which is perhaps a more common 
 one now than when Israel was face to face with it in Egypt, 
 that of having to make bricks without straw. 
 
 But they were full of resource. They set to work at once to 
 adopt a new method of ventilation which Mr. T. Gray, a 
 worthy tobacconist, and well-known Newcastle character half 
 a century ago, had adopted on his premises in Grey Street, and 
 they also resolved to borrow instead of continuing to buy the 
 lighter books. They entered therefore into an arrangement 
 with Mr. Mudie by which, in consideration of a large annual 
 subscription, he undertook to keep the Society supplied with 
 a large number of the newest books. This arrangement, with 
 modifications, and with one short break, when the London 
 Library Company took Mr. Mudie's place, continued in force 
 until the year 1893, when it was abandoned in favour of the 
 purchase and re-sale of considerable numbers of popular works. 
 
 In 1852 the Duke of Northumberland presented the Society 
 
 13 
 
194 
 
 THE LIBRAR Y, 
 
 THE LIBRAR Y. 
 
 195 
 
 with 203 cases containing the Ordnance Maps of Ireland and a 
 portion of those of England, but he expressed the wish that 
 inhabitants of the county who were not members of the Society 
 should have the opportunity of referring to the maps. This 
 introduced rather a new state of affairs, and gave the Society a 
 semi-public character, which was confirmed when, in 1856, the 
 Government presented to the Corporation of Newcastle a set of 
 the Specifications of Patents from the establishment of the 
 Patent Office in James I.*s reign, and undertook to keep them 
 up regularly, upon condition that a convenient place should be 
 provided for them, and that they should be open to public 
 inspection without charge. The Society, with its wonted 
 liberality, gave them house-room, the Corporation paying for 
 the needful shelving and for binding the volumes, and 
 this arrangement continued to the year 1882, when they were 
 all removed to the new Public Library. Several prominent 
 members of our Society took an active part in the agitation 
 which led to the adoption by Newcastle of the Public Libraries 
 Acts. 
 
 The reduction of the annual subscription in 1856 was 
 followed by a great increase in the number of members, and 
 a corresponding increase in the demand for and the circulation 
 of books. The Committee resolved to prepare and publish a 
 Supplement to the Catalogue, and it made its appearance in 
 some two years' time. The Catalogue itself was still in demand, 
 and the new members no doubt accounted for this to a con- 
 siderable extent. It is interesting to note that they joined with 
 the intention of making regular use of the library, for whilst the 
 number of subscribers doubled, the circulation of books increased 
 threefold, and, at the same time, the complaints of difficulty in 
 obtaining books were greatly fewer. The arrangements with 
 Mudie had for the time fairly met the requirements. 
 
 But the Committee found much dif!iculty in persuading 
 the new members that the laws as to the circulation of books 
 should be obeyed, and they had even to threaten offenders with 
 expulsion from the Society. And they were greatly troubled 
 by the carrying away of new books without having them duly 
 entered by the Librarian, for this usually meant that they were 
 never returned. The theft of books has been slight, but it was 
 almost constant until the porter caught a gentleman, who was 
 not even a member, making his way down the back staircase 
 with seven volumes under his arms and in his pockets. He was 
 brought before the magistrates, and that worthy specimen of 
 rough North-country common sense, Alderman Ralph Dodds, 
 was on the seat of justice. The evidence having been given, 
 " Well, what have you to say for yourself? " shouted the Alder- 
 man. " I thought it was a Free Library, your worship." This 
 was more than the aldermanic temper could stand, and there 
 followed a roar of " A Free Library ! a Free Library ! I'll larn 
 ye what's a Free Library! Six months: six months: a Free 
 Library ! " After this books ceased to be conveyed. 
 
 The "accumulated literary treasures of the Society" had 
 quite outgrown all the provision which had been made for them 
 long before the year i860, when a determined effort was made 
 to grapple with the difficulty. The book-shelves of the gallery 
 were extended to the recesses underneath the windows and to 
 every available space there, and nine double book-cases were 
 placed transversely on each side of the library floor, six writing- 
 tables being arranged in the recesses formed by these book- 
 cases. But in ten years' time the old difficulty had again made 
 itself felt, and in 1870 an agreement was come to with the 
 new Mining Institute by which a communication was made 
 between the two buildings. Most of the Society's scientific 
 books were removed to the Wood Memorial Hall, and the 
 
196 
 
 THE LIBRAR W 
 
 'I 
 
 entire stores of the two societies were thrown open to the 
 members of each aHke, but for purposes of reference only. 
 This at once reheved the Society from the difficulty of finding 
 
 storage room. 
 
 In 1868 another Supplement to the Catalogue was prepared 
 and printed. It included the ten years' additions since the 
 Supplement of 1858. It was resolved that the annual pur- 
 chases were also to be regularly printed in future and circulated 
 with the report of the Committee. 
 
 And then, in 1885, a step was taken which has added 
 greatly to the permanent comfort and usefulness of the Institu- 
 tion. The North Eastern Railway Company served notice on 
 the Society that they proposed to take away its yard under 
 parliamentary powers. Fortunately, one of the Secretaries was 
 interested in certain land which the Company had already 
 acquired to the south of the Society's building, and, as 
 before mentioned, he suggested to the Company's Chief 
 Engineer that the Company should give to the Society 
 as much land to the south as it took from it on the west, 
 and should pay it in cash such a sum as would enable the 
 Society to increase its building by adding a fresh wing at 
 right angles to the existing premises. Ultimately this plan was 
 fully carried out, the Company paying ;^5500, Lord Armstrong, 
 with his wonted liberality, giving i^/oo, and the members 
 generally subscribing £7^0. The fresh book-space which the 
 Society has thus obtained will put it beyond difficulty on that 
 score for many a long year to come. 
 
 " In contemplation of the extension and re-arrangement of 
 the Library consequent upon the increased accommodation," 
 arrangements were made for a fresh catalogue of the books, and 
 the report of 1888 stated that the work was well advanced, and 
 thanked " those ladies and gentlemen who, under the able and 
 
 u. 
 
 \1^ 
 
 o 
 
 u 
 ^ 
 
 o 
 
 H 
 A 
 
196 
 
 THE LIBRARY, 
 
 entire stores of the two societies were thrown open to the 
 members of each alike, but for purposes of reference only. 
 This at once relieved the Society from the difficulty of finding 
 
 storage room. 
 
 In 1868 another Supplement to the Catalogue was prepared 
 and printed. It included the ten years' additions since the 
 Supplement of 1858. It was resolved that the annual pur- 
 chases were also to be regularly printed in future and circulated 
 with the report of the Committee. 
 
 And then, in 1885, a step was taken which has added 
 greatly to the permanent comfort and usefulness of the Institu- 
 tion. The North Eastern Railway Company served notice on 
 the Society that they proposed to take away its yard under 
 parliamentary powers. Fortunately, one of the Secretaries was 
 interested in certain land which the Company had already 
 acquired to the south of the Society's building, and, as 
 before mentioned, he suggested to the Company's Chief 
 Engineer that the Company should give to the Society 
 as much land to the south as it took from it on the west, 
 and should pay it in cash such a sum as would enable the 
 Society to increase its building by adding a fresh wing at 
 right angles to the existing premises. Ultimately this plan was 
 fully carried out, the Company paying ;^5500, Lord Armstrong, 
 with his wonted liberality, giving ;^700, and the members 
 generally subscribing £7^0. The fresh book-space which the 
 Society has thus obtained will put it beyond difficulty on that 
 score for many a long year to come. 
 
 " In contemplation of the extension and re-arrangement of 
 the Library consequent upon the increased accommodation," 
 arrangements were made for a fresh catalogue of the books, and 
 the report of 1888 stated that the work was well advanced, and 
 thanked " those ladies and gentlemen who, under the able and 
 
 I 
 
 Pi 
 
 
 z 
 
 X 
 H 
 
 o 
 
 X 
 
 o 
 
 2 
 
r T 
 
 THE LIBRARY, 
 
 197 
 
 \ 
 
 enlightened guidance of Mr. Frederick Emley, have devoted 
 much valuable time and attention to this task." To Mr. Emley 
 I am indebted for the following account of the new Catalogue. 
 It was still in course of preparation when, in February 1893, 
 there came the great catastrophe by which we lost the greater 
 part of our books, and in the heavy task of replacing them, which 
 I shall have to speak of in greater detail in my concluding 
 chapter, the value of the new Catalogue, which fortunately 
 escaped the flames, could scarcely be over-stated. 
 
 " In the catalogue of 1848 and the two supplements pub- 
 lished in 1858 and 1868, the books were grouped in eighteen 
 classes, with numerous sub-divisions, and with an alphabetical 
 index to subjects and authors. 
 
 "From 1868 to 1888, lists of the additions, in alphabetical 
 order, were published annually, but in 1888 even these lists 
 were discontinued. 
 
 "The old catalogue had thus fallen twenty years in arrear, 
 and, admirable as it was in its day, it had become quite 
 inadequate to the expansion of the field of knowledge, more 
 especially in natural science, and moreover, the increased 
 attention given to the subject of cataloguing consequent on the 
 growth of the Free Libraries here and in the United States, had 
 resulted in the introduction of new and better systems. 
 
 " But strongly as the necessity for a revision of the Catalogue 
 was felt by individual members, no action was taken until 
 when Mr. B. J. Snell obtained the appointment of a sub- 
 committee to consider the subject. The writer is not aware 
 that anything was done by this sub-committee, owing perhaps 
 to Mr. Snell's quitting Newcastle shortly afterwards. 
 
 "In 1887 the Sub-committee was reappointed. Mr. J. J. 
 Butcher and the writer, its new members, met several times to 
 talk over the subject, and soon came to the conclusion that 
 
 1 1 
 
>ln 
 
 198 
 
 THE LIBRAR V. 
 
 nothing could be done without an examination of the various 
 systems of cataloguing in use. 
 
 " The engagements of Mr. Butcher and his departure from 
 Newcastle threw the whole of this work upon the writer, who 
 examined, as well as he was able, the British Museum system 
 and the principal systems in use in the United States. 
 
 "In this work he was greatly helped by the Library Joumaly 
 the organ of the American Librarians* Association, and by the 
 States Government report on Public Libraries in that country, 
 1876. The result of this preliminary examination, and it may 
 be admitted of an attempt to construct a scheme, was to con- 
 vince the writer that the best system for the Society's use was 
 Mr. Melvil Dewey's 'Decimal Classification.* 
 
 "The main feature of Mr. Dewey's scheme is the division 
 of the field of knowledge into ten classes, named and numbered 
 as follows : — 
 
 "o General Works. 
 
 1 Philosophy. 
 
 2 Religion. 
 
 3 Sociology. 
 
 4 Philology. 
 
 5 Natural Science. 
 
 6 Useful Arts. 
 
 7 Fine Arts. 
 
 8 Literature. 
 
 9 History. 
 
 "Each class is divided into ten divisions, and each division 
 in ten sections. Thus Mathematics is numbered 51, as the first 
 division of Class 5, Natural Science; and similarly, 511 denotes 
 Arithmetic as the first section of Mathematics. 
 
 " Sub-division can thus be carried as far as may be required. 
 
 THE LIBRARY, 
 
 199 
 
 "The class, division, and section-titles, together with their 
 synonyms or alternate titles and relative numbers, are arranged 
 in one simple alphabet, which thus affords a reference quick, 
 short, and clear to every part of the scheme. 
 
 " The system is complete to date, and is capable of unlimited 
 expansion. While it offers special advantages to the student 
 who will take the trouble to master it, the ordinary reader can, 
 through the indexes, use it without preliminary study. 
 
 "In addition to the printed subject index there is an 
 alphabetical index on cards to every author represented in the 
 
 library. 
 
 "After the name-card come the title-cards to the author's 
 works, each work being on a separate card, which gives the 
 number of the section in which the work is classed and the 
 number of the work in that section. 
 
 " Societies publishing transactions are treated as authors. 
 
 "Titles of well-known series, e.g., *Bampton Lectures,' 
 ' Badminton Series,* are also specially indexed. 
 
 " Thus the reader in search of a work, or of the works of a 
 known author, or of the transactions or proceedings of any 
 society, or of any series bearing a distinctive title, will at once 
 find the object of his search entered in the Alphabetical Author 
 
 Index. 
 
 " And any subject index study will be found entered in the 
 
 Alphabetical Subject Index. 
 
 " In each case the number on the card will enable the reader 
 to refer easily and quickly to the shelves. 
 
 "Anonymous works will be entered in the Author Index, 
 and, to facilitate search, a separate list of them will probably be 
 made. 
 
 "Mr. Dewey's scheme was recommended by the Sub- 
 committee to the Committee and adopted in 1887. 
 
ll 
 
 I ' 
 
 200 
 
 THE LIBRAE V. 
 
 " The first step taken was the making of a card catalogue, 
 which should ultimately form the copy for the printed catalogue. 
 With the help of a number of members, both ladies and gentle- 
 men, the old printed catalogue was cut into single titles and 
 mounted on cards, but, owing to the defective nature of the 
 cataloguing, this part of the work proved of little value. 
 
 "The next step was the engagement of four young ladies, 
 who proceeded to re-catalogue the Library, and at the same 
 time to classify the books approximately on Mr. Dewey's 
 system. 
 
 " This cataloguing and classification were carried out under 
 the superintendence of the Librarian, assisted by Professor 
 Merivale, who, on the 14th July, 1891, delivered a lecture to the 
 members on the new system. 
 
 "In June 1891 the work had progressed so far that the whole 
 of the Library could be re-arranged on the shelves according 
 to the Dewey class numbers, and the catalogue cards were 
 thrown into order in two sets, the one set in the order of the 
 books on the shelves, and the other in author alphabet order, the 
 cards having been made in duplicate for the purpose. More- 
 over, cross reference cards had been made out to the extent of 
 not less than 50,000. The Dewey system comprises a subject 
 index of 20,000 headings, providing for subjects from the most 
 general to the most highly specific, and a close classification 
 necessitated the reference to some works under many headings. 
 One book received 3000 such references. The completion of 
 this enormous amount of cross reference work had to be deferred ; 
 but in the meantime a rough revision of the class numbers of 
 the books was being hurried through, when the fire occurred and 
 threw the work into confusion. 
 
 " After the fire it was found necessary to pass three-fourths of 
 the Library through the bookbinders' hands for rebinding or 
 
 Ul 
 
 THE LIBRARY. 
 
 201 
 
 repairs, and over three years was taken to finish them. As soon 
 as they were practically all returned (September 1896), the 
 Committee decided to go on with the catalogue work, and push 
 it through to completion as quickly as possible, and appointed a 
 special staff to do the work. They have been at work about 
 three months at the time this is being written. Mr. Peddie, 
 who is specially qualified for the work, is revising the classifica- 
 tion of both the book cards and cross reference cards, while the 
 others of the staff re-write and re-assort as directed. Besides the 
 catalogue cards, catalogue slips are being type-written, five copies 
 for each main title and four copies for each cross reference, to 
 form two complete sets arranged in subject order, and two in 
 author order, while the fifth main title set will form a shelf list 
 for the purposes of stocktaking. 
 
 " The slips are to be put in loose binders, and will receive 
 further insertions as new books are purchased, thus being kept 
 constantly up to date. 
 
 " In addition to these slips, one is also being made for each 
 portrait, and one for each locally printed book or pamphlet. 
 
 " Local works are being arranged in a parallel Library, having 
 a letter to signify the place, e.g-, N = 742*82 Northumberland; 
 and if not history or topography it is followed by the Dewey 
 class number, as N580 Flora of Northumberland. A parallel 
 Library is also being formed of large books that will not go in 
 the ordinary fixed shelves. These will be arranged around the 
 main wall of the main library and will run in the Dewey order, 
 the same as the 8vo works." 
 
 When it is completed the Society will assuredly have a noble 
 catalogue, but it will have been obtained by a heavy expenditure 
 of time and money. 
 
 li 
 
li ' 
 
 11 
 
 \' 
 
 ! 
 
 i<° 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 ZECTC/J^ES. 
 
 jT the present time the good folk who inhabit Newcastle- 
 upon-Tyne are a much-lectured people. During the 
 winter months, which in our latitude may be held 
 to extend from September to April, we have probably no 
 night, Sunday or workday, upon which the seeker after knowledge 
 may not have his desire gratified, and, upon most of them, he 
 may even select the means of gratification most suited to his 
 taste. And, in saying this, I take no account of regular 
 systematic courses of lectures wholly educational in their 
 nature, or of those, also possibly educational, which are of a yet 
 more private character being indeed specially adapted for and 
 only intended to reach the ear of the one person actually 
 addressed. This plethora of intellectual wealth is of quite 
 recent growth, and it has developed with startling rapidity since, 
 owing to the Education Act of 1870, boys and girls generally 
 became the possessors of that dynamitic force, "a little 
 knowledge." 
 
 But there was nothing of the kind here or elsewhere in 1793. 
 I do not mean to say that lectures and courses of lectures were 
 not delivered in some unknown places on earth. All things are 
 possible even if you do not believe. But, unless in University 
 
 LECTURES. 
 
 203 
 
 towns, they were few and far between, and for any practical 
 purpose there was no such thing as the popular lecture. For 
 centuries much of the teaching at Universities had been done 
 by lecturing. It has been surmised that the frequent dis- 
 cussions of the Academies of the Renaissance sometimes gave 
 place to discourses or addresses. No doubt the step from the 
 learned circle to the unlearned multitude outside was only a 
 short one, but it was one of peculiar difficulty, one in fact which 
 Mrs. Grundy would not be quick to tolerate, and which would, 
 at first, be taken secretly, accidentally, or only by bold men. 
 
 I cannot say certainly who was the first person who gave 
 popular lectures in Newcastle, but the earliest record of anything 
 of the kind which I have found is a series of lectures upon 
 the Nature and Properties of Water, given in 1770 by Dr. 
 Rotherham, a physician in large practice, in "Parker's Long 
 Room, Bigg Market*' They seem to have been illustrated by 
 experiments, and were apparently dictated by the insufficiency 
 of the existing water-supply, and with the object of assisting 
 the Corporation, who were then considering which of the springs 
 or streams in this vicinity was the best adapted for public use. 
 
 Then in "the Reports, Papers, Catalogues, etc., of the 
 Literary and Philosophical Society of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 
 collected by Anthony Hedley," and presented by Miss 
 Hedley to the Society, it appears that one of the original 
 honorary members, Henry Moyes, M.D., Ac. Americ. Soc, etc., 
 issued a syllabus of nineteen lectures on the Philosophy of 
 Natural History, "to be illustrated and confirmed by experi- 
 ments where the subjects may require them," and that the 
 first lecture was to be delivered in the Assembly Rooms at 
 12 o'clock on the i8th inst, whenever that might be. The 
 only clue to any date is upon the portrait which accompanies 
 the syllabus. It shows a benevolent-looking elderly gentleman, 
 
'.\ 
 
 i 
 
 ! 
 
 
 
 204 
 
 LECTURES, 
 
 with a white wig and dark-blue spectacles, wearing a rich velvet 
 coat and elaborately frilled shirt, and standing in a kind of 
 pulpit, with a lighted candle on his right hand, and four phials 
 and (apparently) a bottle of Hollands on his left hand. There 
 is pathos in the dark spectacles when you have learned that the 
 lecturer was blind. The portrait bears the date 1796. As 
 lectures were a rare commodity in those days, they were 
 correspondingly dear. 
 
 "Admittance of Gentlemen to the whole Course, One Guinea each. 
 „ of Ladies, Half a Guinea. 
 
 „ to a single Lecture, Two Shillings." 
 
 I need not say much about the syllabus. It was wide in 
 scope. The first lecture was "On the Formation, Antiquity, 
 and Present State of the Terraqueous Globe," and the first item 
 in it was " A general view of the Structure of the Universe." 
 The subjects of the different lectures were very numerous and 
 agreeably varied: "the never-ceasing frost in the superior 
 regions of the atmosphere," "the whispering gallery in St. 
 Paul's Cathedral," "electrical fishes," "the Draco Volans," 
 " Warm and Tepid Baths— their theory and effects," " directions 
 relating to Cold Water bathing," " the Cold Bath and its effects 
 on the system," and last of all, " the associating principle, and 
 the influence of Society on the Human Mind." 
 
 But I have not been able to ascertain whether this course of 
 lectures was given in connection with this Society, or, indeed, 
 whether it was ever given at all. The first lectures which were 
 given in this connection were a course upon "Comparative 
 Anatomy," by Mr. Wilkinson, who was a surgeon at Sunderland. 
 The resolution to lend the room for this purpose was come to 
 by the Committee on the i6th January, 1798, and is so brief and 
 general as almost to induce the belief that it was quite a usual 
 
 LECTURES. 
 
 and customary thing, and that the terms upon which the use of 
 the room was allowed were well known. There is no certain 
 mention of these lectures anywhere else in the Society's papers. 
 
 A much stranger and more interesting lecturing announce- 
 ment appears amongst those papers in September of that 
 same year. " Dr. Katter-felto, M.D., Professor and Teacher of 
 Natural Experimental Philosophy, Astronomy, Natural History, 
 and other Occult Sciences," the poet Cowper's 
 
 " Katterfelto with his hair on end 
 At his own wonders, wondering for his bread," 
 
 was, for a whole week, "to deliver his various useful Philosophical 
 lectures in this town," and " at the Philosophical Society's Room 
 in St. Nicholas Church Yard." The bill which makes this 
 announcement states that he "has been travelling these 34 
 years past through most parts of Europe, and has lectured in 
 London for many years, with great applause, where he has been 
 honoured with some of the Royal Family." But that those 
 who are really interested in these matters, and who wish to 
 know exactly the kind of scientific pabulum afforded to our 
 citizens ninety-six years ago, may have the whole matter before 
 them, I reproduce here the bill itself, as nearly as the circum- 
 stances of the case will allow. But it is only right that I should 
 clearly explain that, although these lectures were given in this 
 Society's rooms, they were in no sense lectures of the Society. 
 Dr. Katterfelto took the rooms for the purpose. It was just at 
 the time that the Society was removing to the Old Assembly 
 Rooms, and probably the books and furniture had already been 
 taken away. The very learned and astute lecturer was the very 
 man to seize eagerly upon such a splendid opportunity to 
 surround his caravan with a philosophical halo. 
 
 This announcement is indeed passing strange. There are 
 
 =.;i 
 
\ 
 
 200 
 
 LECT[/f:ns. 
 
 vvondcrs wiiic 
 
 inii;nt \vc 
 
 f>"> '■ 
 
 
 and business and most empirical science arc blcndcci \\\ iiuiicioii , 
 
 's h.iir Gtaiid nn en 
 
 ,1 
 
 ,1 
 
 : 1 I 
 
 clS^I:-.l at t 'l 
 -K.-. .... 
 
 proportions. How delightful it would iai\c i)^ 
 of those early evenin^^ lectures! Ilnw cnn. taut tlv? u-.- < ,[ 
 lancets must then have been to penait t!u ir introduction in 
 a popular lecture, for now many persons scarce^- [aa \ <.f their 
 existence! How charming to be a Freemason, and thus liable 
 to be surprised (although the reason is scarcely so clear as it 
 might be) by a Magnetical Clock ! And what would not the 
 Watch Committee of to-day be prepared to give for the " Model 
 of a House whereby he (the lecturer) explains how a thief may 
 be catched or killed when robbing a house " ! 
 
 But, apparently, this course of lectures, amazing as it was, 
 did not satisfy the inquiring public of Newcastle. Perhaps 
 
 " increase of appetite did grow 
 By what it fed on," 
 
 and, like Oliver Twist, they asked for more. Perhaps the Com- 
 mittee felt bound, as their rooms had been used by so extra- 
 ordinary a person, to give the people of the good old town the 
 chance of seeing what an ordinary scientific man was like. At 
 all events, in December of that same year, 1798, the indefati- 
 gable Mr. Turner read "Some observations on the propriety 
 of attempting the introduction of Courses of Lectures on 
 subjects connected with the happiness of mankind as members 
 of Society," and it was resolved "that the Secretaries be 
 directed to write to Dr. Garnett, Professor of Natural Philosophy 
 and Chemistry in Anderson's Institution, Glasgow, inviting him 
 to deliver Lectures in this town on these important subjects 
 during the course of the ensuing summer." 
 
 The Scotch Universities take their Long Vacation from April 
 to October, this practice having probably originated from the 
 
 g...,. 
 
 I'Z::--^^ i 
 
 
 m 
 
 i 
 
 B 
 
 =3 o 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^r^ 
 
 ^i 
 
 
 
 *> u 
 
 i 
 
 o 
 
 -5ft.'. f. 
 
 
 '^'i 
 
 <« <U3 *St 
 
 
 «4^ 
 
 i^. Hi' «% Wff ■■: .^^ •! 7 i« 
 
 
 Si 
 
 rt 
 
 •o w "3 
 
 
 M-^4-^ 
 
 
 i« "O 2 •'« '^ "^ 
 
 5^1 a- 
 
 j- "^ ,S s '"^ ^ 
 
 en te« 
 
 O -cah£«5 
 CO S §.«• 
 
 "^ :.S •» P. -3 > 
 
 01 • • Its 
 
 i«2i 1 I'l, 
 
 3 «> O m^^mmt 
 
 
 ,13 CO 
 
 
 S & 
 «> 
 
 r- a 
 0.2 
 
 cj "■ "O C5 ii 
 
 - — .0 C. 
 
 
 
 a ^ «» 
 
 « *. ^ .« .y - <^ 5 .2 
 
 . 1 t^ 
 
 rt Q,.S 
 
 'J n tj 
 
 O ** -S "O 
 
 O ^ M) U 
 
 O bc:^ ^ 
 
 ** C — . H 
 
 <-• "C! ♦» ,2 
 
 .ir « ♦J'w 
 
 •^ rt o h 
 CH .2 ft^ Si 
 
 M w-3 S-5 J»<i 
 
 *^rJj|f^B • 
 
 Jl.s 
 
 
 3 « 
 
 ^ «J .jO JS •- /S 
 
 •». :3 "3 _ t. W 
 S T! JCS =2 M 
 
 M 
 
 o 
 
 Ou«ut! .C5G Jf.r 
 
 •3 _! >»-5 ''' « tj -i< "J w "T^ 
 
 «* J- — ii- «s U %a '- o j.^ 
 
 ,0 TS ti 
 
 
 3; es "^ *- 
 
 
 « 
 
 
 %^ Z, "^ M-n 
 
 => ^ 
 
 > 
 
 a 
 
 
 I 
 
 ^4^ 
 
 4) 
 
 C 
 
 
 2 ** 
 
 3 T3 
 
 
 u 
 
 "5 ^ I? " J .:; ;i „ 
 <^ -, • »> *- ij = *J 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 "-.. "5 
 
 :§"^ 
 
 
 " 5 - X .a; S - s -o -* 
 
 o / 
 
 3 
 
 •^ tJ .5 *^ »-^ 
 
 
 !T 
 
 3 
 
 -^5 
 
 .-J 
 
 tiQ o 
 
 
 
 00 > S o 
 
 a 
 
 ♦J 
 
 ^ J » I 6 * 
 
 
 u 
 u 
 
 
 ca 
 
 "■^O^ 
 
 2 jC. § 0. 
 
 , t3 W ^ 
 bit; 3 « -5 S w 
 
 c h •*- "5 5, o 
 
 .* o 
 
 " fe o 
 
 •i ^ O -d \Jk^ r-^ 
 
 ■ .2 OS S ^ h '^ 
 
 .2 
 
 
 «* tJ ?^ *= 1 
 
 a. *< t»s « e 
 - o Ji ja Is § 
 
 
 to « ,rt 
 
 "*>• r , ►-« ° ., !t W O *-• 
 
 o a k , '^ 
 
 
 a- 
 
 8 
 
 >< o 2 « « 
 
 »>*»S'^'2 3t>TS 
 
 
 4> 
 
 CI 
 
 > 
 
 o 
 
 
 
 o 
 
 ••.o .-• 
 
 C V 
 
 ,. it°-.4J 
 
 ;^ 
 
I 
 
 REDUCTION 
 
 RATIO 
 
 WITHIN 
 

 > 
 
 ) 
 
 i I 
 
 i 
 
 On] 
 
 
 Q 
 
LECTURES. 
 
 207 
 
 necessity which many students were under of devoting the summer 
 months to agricultural avocations. True that Anderson's Institu- 
 tion was not a University, but the greater includes the less, and 
 in all probability there was some kind of concurrence between it 
 and the greater body in the date and duration of the vacations. 
 No doubt it was the fact of Dr. Garnett having more leisure 
 in the summer, and not the idea that the light and bright days 
 are best adapted for indoor pastimes, which led to the request 
 for lectures at that special season. Arrangements were duly 
 made that he should deliver three distinct courses of a less 
 exciting but more purely educational character than those of 
 "Dr. Katterfelto, M.D.," in July, August, and September, 1799. 
 They were to be — 
 
 I. A Course of not less than Fifteen Lectures on the principal 
 
 subjects relating to Mechanics, Hydro-statics, Optics, 
 Astronomy, Magnetism, and Electricity. Transferable 
 Tickets, each admitting a Lady and a Gentleman, at 
 One Guinea. 
 
 II. A Course of not less than Thirty Lectures on Chemistry, 
 
 and its Application to Arts, Manufactures, and Agriculture. 
 Tickets as before at Two Guineas. 
 
 11 
 
 LVJ^LT-fW* L . 7^f 
 
 III. If desired, a Course of Lectures on Botany. 
 
 But none of these lectures were delivered. When the 
 arrangements were well forward, Dr. Garnett was prevented 
 from coming by a severe domestic affliction, and shortly after- 
 wards he received an appointment at the Royal Institution, 
 which had just been opened in London, and his consequent 
 removal from Glasgow "prevented the execution of this most 
 desirable project." 
 
 *.' 
 
 'II 
 
 I: 
 
208 
 
 LECTURES, 
 
 Jn the Annual Report presented in 1802 mention is made 
 of " the numerous and punctual attendance lately given to the 
 Lectures we have heard on that interesting Science, Chemistry," 
 and the hope is held out of " a course of systematical Lectures'" 
 upon the Society's already famous mineralogical collection. I 
 have not yet been able to find anything further about the chemical 
 lectures referred to. *'An address to the Public, from the 
 Literary and Philosophical Society of Newcastle-upon-Tyne," 
 published on June 2nd, 1802, speaks in a note of " the judicious 
 and accurate lectures delivered by the late Dr. Rotherham on 
 several branches of Natural and Experimental Philosophy, 
 (which) greatly contributed to excite a taste for these 
 important investigations among his fellow-townsmen and 
 neighbours." Dr. Rotherham died in 1787. 
 
 There is sufficient to show us that Newcastle was one of the 
 first places to feel the stirrings of that new spirit of patient 
 inquiry and investigation which was to revolutionise the whole 
 scheme of education, and to produce results upon actual life 
 which have made this nineteenth century, for good or ill, unique 
 amongst the centuries of the world's life. 
 
 It seems quite an appropriate proceeding that, on the 4th 
 May, 1802, Mr. Thomas Bigge, one of the Society's Vice-Pre- 
 sidents, should read a paper " On the expediency of establishing, 
 m Newcastle-upon-Tyne, a Lectureship on subjects of Natural 
 and Experimental Philosophy, etc." In it he pleads for regular 
 experimental courses of scientific lectures, and points out that 
 " the town of Newcastle is singularly fitted to become the seat 
 of a Philosophical Institution." He goes on to say :— 
 
 " We are placed here at a considerable distance from any 
 part of the kingdom where Experimental Philosophy is 
 systematically taught. The Scotch Universities are least 
 remote : yet to them it is evidently impossible for a great 
 
 LECTURES, 
 
 209 
 
 majority of those persons to resort, who wish to acquire a 
 knowledge of the sciences most applicable to the various 
 concerns of life. When we consider the expence of long 
 journies, and of a residence at these places, and the incon- 
 venience of absence to persons who have a daily employment, 
 it will appear that the miner, the mechanic, the manufacturer, 
 and the agriculturist, can rarely hope to participate in the 
 advantages of experimental science, unless they reside in the 
 neighbourhood of a Philosophical Establishment." 
 
 There is deep interest in the fact that, so long ago, Mr. Bigge 
 contemplated scientific education in which working men should 
 receive a share of benefit. This was really advanced and 
 prophetic. 
 
 Mr. Bigge speaks of the Grammar School and its excellence 
 under "the late revered Master"— the Rev. Hugh Moises,— and 
 says, "the more frequent union of classical education with 
 elementary science is extremely to be wished." This was in 
 1802, and in 1891 the Grammar School at length got a chemical 
 laboratory. 
 
 Then he turns to the medical profession, and trusts that 
 "the late important addition to the Infirmary" may lead to 
 " lectures on anatomy, on the principles and practice of surgery, 
 and on the science of pharmacy." He thinks that medical 
 students would avail themselves " of lectures in chemistry and 
 other branches of natural philosophy when they see their elders 
 acknowledging, by a frequent attendance, the importance of 
 such instruction." But he carefully disclaimed the idea that 
 Newcastle could or should become a school of medicine which 
 ought in any instance to supersede the Medical Universities. 
 
 And when we boast ourselves of the strides which we have 
 taken since the century, whose end we approach so nearly, 
 began, it is well for us to listen to such words as these :— " The 
 
 14 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 < • 
 
r 
 
 2IO 
 
 LECTURES, 
 
 peculiar district we inhabit affords the strongest argument in 
 favour of the proposed institution. There are few countries 
 more interesting to a philosophical eye, and none more indebted 
 to the discoveries of science. Bountiful as Nature has been to 
 us, her gifts would be offered in vain were it not for the aid of 
 the experimentalist. Without mechanics and chemistry, how 
 wretched would be our manufactures, and how worthless the 
 amount of our mineral possessions ! Exactly in proportion to 
 the state of these sciences is the condition of the one and the 
 value of the other. So great has been the progress of experi- 
 mental philosophy, so astonishingly successful its application 
 to our principal manufactures, that superficial observers may 
 think enough has been done for all useful purposes, or that 
 nothing of importance can hereafter be effected. This ignorant 
 surmise is the reverse of truth ; for no proposition more clearly 
 results from the progress of discovery than this, that immense 
 desiderata remain to be supplied, and that, with all our rich 
 acquirements, we are still in the infancy of science. Could we 
 compare the state of this district a century ago, or at different 
 later periods, with what it is at present,— could we trace out the 
 authors of every particular improvement, the local importance 
 of philosophical studies would be distinctly exemplified. We 
 should, moreover, at one view, be convinced that, whatever great 
 inventions were bequeathed to us by our ancestors, the know- 
 ledge they left was at no period more widely extended, or more 
 variously applied ; and that the latest era of science has wit- 
 nessed some of the most valuable discoveries. What then is 
 the obvious inference from this fact? Undoubtedly, that the 
 more is already known, if proper means be taken for its 
 diffusion, the more rapid will be the advancement of knowledge; 
 and that in proportion to the numbers of ingenious enterprising 
 men enlisted in these pursuits, and to the encouragement held 
 
 LECTURES. 
 
 211 
 
 out by the opulent and great, will be the success of future 
 efforts to perfect what has been left incomplete." 
 
 I give this extract verbatim because it is important that we 
 should clearly understand that the primary idea in attaching 
 courses of lectures to this Society was that of educational 
 courses. There was no thought of elegant discourses which 
 should enable the dilettanti to amuse an idle hour, no thought 
 of listening to the author's reading of a magazine or review 
 article, no thought of imparting curious information to curious 
 men and women. Education was the root idea of the scheme 
 from the very first. 
 
 ^ Mr. Bigge went on to point out the great value of systematic 
 scientific training to the younger mining pupils; warned his 
 hearers against expecting too much from this or any other plan ; 
 pointed out that the details would require the most careful 
 consideration, and that considerable expense must be incurred 
 in providing "a lecture-room, a laboratory, philosophical 
 apparatus, models of machinery, mineralogical collections," and 
 that this could not be met by annual subscriptions alone ; and 
 again warned his hearers against aiming at too much at the 
 outset The conclusion of his admirable paper has so curious 
 an historical interest that I am tempted to give it in full. He 
 says : — 
 
 "There is, however, one remaining topic upon which it is 
 impossible to be silent— the restoration of Peace ; an event which 
 opens to us not less delightful prospects as lovers of science, 
 than as friends of humanity. The diminution of taxes and 
 public burdens, we may hope, will enable us to experience 
 a liberality of patronage we could not otherwise have expected. 
 Reconciled to a great nation after a long suspension of inter- 
 course, we are about to begin a competition with her of a most 
 liberal kind, in which our interests and our honour are intimately 
 
 : 
 
212 
 
 LECTURES. 
 
 LECTURES. 
 
 213 
 
 concerned. May that competition be prosperous and lasting ! 
 A rivalship in arts and sciences, in everything that can improve 
 or adorn life, with a people long celebrated for ingenuity in these 
 pursuits, and deriving from their government every practicable 
 assistance, ought to animate us to correspondent exertions, did 
 we, putting interest out of the case, only consider the contest as 
 involving national character. Our own government has not 
 been deficient in attention to science. The late foundation in 
 Albemarle-street, on a scale so magnificent and extensive, 
 is a noble instance of the spirit of the times, and augurs well to 
 our best interests. But the Royal Institution of England, like 
 the National Institute of the Republic, is in one respect limited 
 in its operation. All cannot frequent, for demonstration, the 
 metropolis of their respective countries. Provincial establish- 
 ments are therefore evidently necessary. That associations for 
 this purpose will be formed in both countries, there can be little 
 doubt The glory will belong to that community which forms 
 them first" 
 
 The Peace of Amiens was signed on the 27th March, 1802. 
 England declared war against France on the 1 8th May, 1 803. 
 
 After hearing Mr. Bigge's paper, the Society resolved "That 
 the object stated by Mr. Bigge appears to this meeting of great 
 importance to the interests of society at large, and of this district 
 in particular," and an open Committee was formed to meet 
 weekly for the consideration of the matter, and to report to the 
 next general meeting. The paper was printed for general 
 circulation. 
 
 In June this Committee's report was presented. Its chief 
 suggestion was " the establishment of a permanent Lectureship 
 in the several branches of Natural and Experimental Philosophy, 
 Chemistry, etc.," the expenses being raised partly by donations 
 and annual subscriptions, and partly by the appropriation of a 
 
 portion of the Society's funds. The report also suggested that 
 the Rev. Wm. Turner should be chosen Lecturer, and Mr. 
 Bigge produced the draft of an address to the public, which was 
 read and adopted. It was a short epitome of his paper, and set 
 forth some of the reasons which had induced the Society to pass 
 the resolutions which were duly appended. 
 
 Much interest was aroused by the scheme. "At the July 
 meeting it was announced that his Grace the Duke of North- 
 umberland had been pleased to accept the Patronage of the New 
 Institution, and had made a donation of £200 to be applied 
 towards the purchase of an Apparatus; and besides proposed an 
 annual subscription. A report was also made that the Right 
 Rev. the Lord Bishop of Durham had made a donation of 
 £100!' It is interesting to preserve the exact words of such an 
 announcement, for they serve to show us how far we have 
 travelled since those old courtly days when a peer was placed upon 
 a special platform, and even learned societies sought for noble 
 patrons. In November, Mr. Turner read "a general Intro- 
 ductory Discourse on the objects, advantages, and intended plan 
 of the New Institution for Public Lectures on Natural Philosophy 
 in Newcastle-upon-Tyne." It was twice delivered on the same 
 day, and was afterwards printed by the direction of the Com- 
 mittee. 
 
 The objects which he laid down were threefold : — 
 
 First — To provide for the competent instruction, in the various 
 branches of Natural Philosophy, of those young persons 
 who, from distance, commercial engagements, or other 
 causes, have no opportunity of enjoying the advantages of 
 academical education. 
 
 Secondly, — To furnish useful preparatory information to those 
 who are afterwards to pursue their studies in a more 
 regular and scientific way. 
 
 *i' 
 
214 
 
 LECTURES, 
 
 Thirdly.— 'To supply an agreeable and instructive source of 
 entertainment to persons of all ages and of each sex ; and 
 particularly to enable those who have made them the 
 subjects of their youthful studies to renew their acquaint- 
 ance with them in their present improved state. 
 
 Having taken this step, the lecturer proceeded to enlarge 
 upon each head in a somewhat ponderous way. At times, 
 indeed, he is not quite so clear as We might wish. Speaking of 
 the need of means of systematic instruction in every great 
 commercial centre, for example, he says that such centre 
 " either is itself the seat of various arts and manufactures, that 
 require a knowledge of Chemistry in their processes, and of the 
 several branches of Mechanical Philosophy, in order to the 
 successful management of the requisite machinery ; or, if either 
 with or without these, it be the maritime outlet of an extensive 
 inland district, requires, moreover, the united application of a 
 great variety of sciences and arts, in order to the construction 
 of that most curious and complicated machine, by means of 
 which the productions of the district are dispersed throughout 
 the earth, and raw materials are brought back from every region 
 to give fresh exercise to the inventive faculties of our ingenious 
 mechanics." 
 
 You feel inclined to turn back to Dr. Katterfelto's bill to see 
 whether the " most curious and complicated machine " was one 
 of his invention. 
 
 After mentioning the lectures of Professor Parish on the 
 application of Philosophy to the arts attended with avidity " by 
 the youth of every rank who resort to the University of Cam- 
 bridge," and the lectures on Trades and Arts " now forming at 
 Hull under the auspices of an ingenious Honorary Member of 
 this Society," Mr. Turner said a few words about several 
 sciences and their connection with local industries. He 
 
 LECTURES. 
 
 215 
 
 specially mentioned the smelting furnaces lately erected on a 
 large scale for the ores of the Yorkshire coast ; " and that the 
 iron-stone itself, which was not formerly considered as a native 
 mineral of this district, has lately been found in a continued 
 stratum by an ingenious member of this Society." He also 
 alluded to "our Glass-works, the most ancient of our manu- 
 facturing establishments, and the first of this kind introduced 
 into this kingdom." Electricity and magnetism, which have 
 become of such vast importance in the last decade, he dismisses 
 in a few words. " Electricity," he says, " exhibits many striking 
 phenomena, and illustrates many important operations of nature; 
 and is also capable of useful application in the preservation 
 of ships and houses. Magnetism is of great use in Land and 
 Mineral Surveying, and absolutely essential to Navigation." 
 
 Glancing at "the excellent fruits of the instruction" given 
 at the Grammar School, " conspicuous to the whole world in the 
 character and talents of those of our townsmen who now fill, 
 with such distinction, some of the most important offices of the 
 State," he passed on to speak of the moral advantages of the 
 scheme, the danger of leisure hours not properly employed, and 
 he disputed the common objection that " Science and Business 
 are incompatible, and that a youth who devotes his time to 
 study is unfit for a commercial life." Finally, he explained the 
 plan of the proposed lectures in much detail, and gave directions 
 as to the course of reading desirable for those who wished to 
 profit by their attendance. 
 
 The Committee were speedily at work collecting apparatus 
 for the purpose of illustrating the different courses of lectures 
 with appropriate experiments, and they raised and expended 
 in perfecting the apparatus nearly a thousand pounds within a 
 few years. The first purchase which they made was that of the 
 Philosophical Apparatus belonging to Dr. Garnett of the Royal 
 
 ■i 
 
2l6 
 
 LECTURES. 
 
 Institution. He had died shortly before this time, and the 
 price paid to his representatives was £/^$$ us. pd. 
 
 The Apparatus Room, which many of us remember well, 
 always had the effect of being as full of curious and interesting 
 things as could be reasonably expected. It was a place of 
 much resort, and the apparatus was in constant use. The room 
 itself had to disappear when the present Lecture Room was 
 built, and most of the apparatus disappeared sympathetically 
 about the same time. It is possible (I have been told) even 
 yet to discover some fragments in those gloomy cellars of the 
 Society in which so many things of priceless worth have 
 perished, and one or two valuable items are doing good service 
 at the College of Science. The Society is no longer the proud 
 possessor of any part of that which our forefathers spoke of as 
 " an apparatus." 
 
 The first course which Mr. Turner gave was of twenty-one 
 lectures, and the subjects which he chose were "Mechanics, 
 Hydrostatics, and Pneumatics." The syllabus was printed and 
 illustrated, and it extended to eighteen pages. The charge for 
 the course was a guinea to ordinary members, but they were 
 permitted to transfer their tickets to any lady or young gentle- 
 man under age, being a member of their own family. Non- 
 members had to pay two guineas, but their tickets were freely 
 transferable in any direction. Ladies were only charged half-a- 
 guinea, and young persons under eighteen a guinea. Members 
 who chose to pay ten guineas, or non-members who chose to 
 pay twenty guineas, became entitled to tickets admitting to all 
 courses in perpetuity. The cost of admission to a single lecture 
 was three shillings. 
 
 It was no sinecure the post of lecturer to this Society. The 
 demands which were made upon him at first seem to us rather 
 unreasonable. He had to hold forth thrice a week, on Mondays, 
 
 LECTURES, 
 
 217 
 
 Tuesdays, and Fridays, and twice upon each of those days. 
 The early lecture was given at eleven in the forenoon to suit the 
 convenience of country members, and it was repeated for the 
 inhabitants of the town at eight o'clock in the evening. A 
 somewhat similar arrangement obtains, I am told, at the present 
 time with reference to pantomimes. The first course opened on 
 4th April, 1 803, and it was " countenanced " throughout by " a 
 numerous and respectable audience," which afforded " a favour- 
 able ground of hope of a continuance of the public encourage- 
 ment." The need of a new lecture-room made itself felt at 
 once, but it could not at once be satisfied. Indeed, for a 
 number of years the lectures were habitually looked upon as 
 being carried on by an organisation distinct and separate from 
 the Society proper, and this is shown clearly by the following 
 paragraph, which was sent out by the Committee as a companion 
 to the advertisement of the second course in the spring of 
 
 1804: — 
 
 *^ Newcastle, March 17. 
 "The facility afforded to an early proficiency in science, by its 
 elements being presented to the youthful mind, accompanied by experi- 
 ments that arrest the attention by mingling amusement with instruction, 
 is a reflection excited by the second course of Lectures announced by 
 the New Institution (see advertisement), and which, however obvious, 
 is not less important. The approbation that has hitherto attended the 
 measures adopted to establish in this town a permanent and stationary 
 course of instruction in various branches of science, renders general 
 panegyric superfluous ; but indifferent or rather adverse as its promoters 
 probably are to its aid, we must be pardoned if, deeply impressed with 
 this particular view of the subject, we desire earnestly to call the 
 attention of the parents of youth to the important advantages they will 
 derive from making that an ordinary and stated branch of the education 
 of their offspring, which they were wont to seek by an expensive 
 residence in a distant capital, or refer to the precarious arrival of 
 occasional lecturers." 
 
 ii 
 
 :l 
 
 i 
 
2l8 
 
 LECTURES. 
 
 There is much to amuse the casual reader in such a passage 
 as this. It sets forth very plainly the powder-in-jam method of 
 education, and its whole atmosphere is fragrant of thoughts and 
 ways which have become obsolete long ago. But to those who 
 have followed the struggles of Natural Science to be allowed an 
 entrance into the jealously guarded and preserved domain of the 
 subjects which may be properly considered educational ; who 
 have seen it slowly emerge from the surrounding darkness into 
 great light, until it has at length, not perhaps without something 
 of effrontery, arrogated to itself upon all occasions, as the 
 originators of our lectures did upon this, the universal name of 
 Science, as though it would, in its turn, declare 
 
 " What I know not is not knowledge ; " 
 
 to those the marvel is that, at the very beginning of this pre- 
 eminently scientific century, our fathers were so far in advance of 
 the average mind of their time as to propose that Natural Science 
 should form "an ordinary and stated branch of education." 
 
 When the third course had been delivered, the donations and 
 subscriptions received for lectures, up to that time, amounted 
 to £iA9S 19s. 4d. The purchase of apparatus I have already 
 spoken of, and Mr. Turner had been paid two hundred guineas 
 for each of the two first courses, and £1^7 los. for the third course 
 The lectures were called the New Institution, and the accounts 
 were kept distinct from those of the Society, and were published 
 separately. This course was adopted because of the suspicion 
 with which some members regarded the movement from the 
 commencement, and their erroneous belief that it was solely 
 supported out of the general funds of the Society. 
 
 Indeed, there had been considerable opposition to the 
 New Institution from the very first A large number of the 
 members cared for nothing but the Library, and they looked 
 
 LECTURES, 
 
 219 
 
 upon all assistance rendered to the lectures as an actual loss to 
 the Library. Open war broke out in 1808, and raged for some 
 three or four years. The part played by Mr. Turner himself 
 was invariably judicious, conciliatory, and dignified. Pamphlets 
 were poured forth; poetical effusions, from which the poetic 
 element was conspicuously absent, were scattered broadcast; the 
 local press was appealed to; and anonymous letters were 
 circulated. Such a pother and a racket over the lectures and 
 the lecturer. It is difficult to wade through the floods of 
 rubbish now. The fun can never have been funny, but some of 
 the disputants would seem to have been in earnest, although 
 they betray more anxiety to wound their antagonists than to 
 convince them. There is bludgeon play of a coarse and vulgar 
 type, but no rapier flashing. Some of the attacks are imperti- 
 nent and disgraceful. The fact that Mr. Turner was a Unitarian 
 minister is paraded as though it were in itself a reproach. But 
 patience, dignity, and moderation, carried the day, and, at many 
 largely attended meetings of the Society, the Lecturer received 
 abundant proof and frequent assurance of the confidence and 
 gratitude felt towards him by the overwhelming majority of the 
 members. 
 
 But there was one ground of complaint which was altogether 
 reasonable. The lectures were delivered in the Library itself, 
 and this was manifestly unfair to those subscribers who wished 
 to sit and read without being talked to all the time. Mr. Turner 
 immediately admitted the force and justice of this complaint, 
 and in 1809 he made arrangements by which the lectures should 
 thenceforth be delivered in the Concert Hall in the Bigg Market. 
 
 But there was one serious loss to the Society involved in the 
 great gain of the New Institution. It was a personal one, but 
 such are often, in one sense, the most serious of losses, for they 
 are irreparable. Of course when the choice is between the 
 
220 
 
 LECTURES. 
 
 LECTURES. 
 
 221 
 
 satisfaction of an individual and the benefit of the Society, the 
 individual, however important, must give way. It is hard, 
 indeed, when any one has worked for long years in the Society's 
 service, that his earnest wishes should be set aside, but this is 
 incident to the very existence of such societies, which would 
 otherwise exist at the will of a dictator. Difficulties of this 
 kind are incident to all institutions of voluntary association, and 
 the freer their constitution, the more complete the equality of their 
 members, the more certain are such troubles to arise frequently. 
 Mr. Moises took a somewhat active part in opposition to 
 the New Institution. He joined Mr. Beilby, who led that 
 opposition, and there was a strong attempt upon their part 
 to put an end to the lectures. At length Mr. Moises wrote 
 Mr. Turner, explaining that he had asked Mr. Marshall, the 
 Librarian, that a special meeting of the Committee should be 
 called to take into consideration the objections which he and 
 his friends would then bring forward "to the Connexion at 
 present subsisting between the L. & P. S. and the N. I., and 
 the consequences that are likely to result from a continuance 
 of such connexion." He added that as Mr. Turner might feel 
 it not pleasant to attend such meeting, he should be glad to 
 meet him in the interim, either alone, or each accompanied by a 
 friend, " in order to state to him openly and explicitly the light 
 in which Mr. M. and his friends view the subject alluded to." 
 
 But Mr. Turner was unfortunately leaving home by the next 
 day's mail, and could not make an appointment. He wrote Mr. 
 Moises an admirable letter, in which he said that " he would 
 have felt nothing unpleasant in attending any meeting at which 
 the question of the Institution was to be discussed ; having had 
 no concern in the original proposal, having sought no appoint- 
 ment in it, being conscious of no blame, though of much im- 
 perfection, in the discharge of the office assigned him, and 
 
 being very ready to resign that office whenever the Society shall 
 intimate a wish to that effect." 
 
 One of the many long unsigned letters which appeared in the 
 newspapers about this time seems to have greatly aroused Mr. 
 Moises* ire. The correspondence I have mentioned above was 
 apparently of February's date. The letter last spoken of was 
 dated the 3rd March, 1809, and it showed the improper part which 
 Mr. Marshall, the Librarian, had taken against Mr, Turner, and 
 traced the rather strange and under-hand action which Mr. 
 Beilby and others had taken. In a note to this letter (which 
 was printed and circulated) it is observed, " Even the Rev. Mr. 
 Moises, who attended the last meeting, to give notice of some 
 counter-resolutions, with a degree of candour which does him 
 honour, consented to withdraw his opposition." For some 
 unknown reason this seems to have stirred the worthy peda- 
 gogue to fury. Under the date of "Spital, March 7th, 1809," he 
 writes to Mr. Turner : — 
 
 " Revd. Sir, 
 
 The perversion of facts, which have been published by those 
 who advocate your cause, and the abuse of my name, and my motives 
 by your immediate Friends, I have smiled at, — but now that I am 
 become the object of their nauseous Compliments, and my Candor 
 admired in a case, which you know never existed, my mind revolts 
 from such a system of low trick and vulgar chicane ; and I should feel 
 myself out of my proper place were I ever to appear in your Society again. 
 As I am ignorant who the proper Officer is to whom I ought to 
 send my Resignation, I must entreat you to do me the favour of erasing 
 my name from the list of Members. 
 
 I am. Reverend Sir, 
 
 Your most obedient 
 
 and very humble Servant, 
 
 EDWD. MOISES." 
 
 I 
 
 r, 
 
222 
 
 LECTURES, 
 
 That is a letter which should have gone into the blotting- 
 pad, not into the post-office. The President well described it as 
 a "strangely un-gentlen:ian-like passionate Letter." It was read 
 at the next meeting. Mr. Moises and his friends made a half- 
 hearted attempt to form a rival library, but it came to nothing, 
 and the storm passed away. 
 
 And now, in the Reading Room, benevolent Mr. Turner and 
 irascible Mr. Moises contemplate each other from morning to 
 night every day with perfect equanimity. But before I hap- 
 pened upon this correspondence, I never looked upon their 
 portraits without at once thinking of the ingeniously twisted 
 cruets out of which you can pour at pleasure oil or vinegar. 
 
 In the report presented at the Annual Meeting in 1816, the 
 Committee " embraced the opportunity of noticing that the New 
 Institution continued to answer all the purposes for which it was 
 originally designed." They then go on to say, " This interesting 
 branch, which received its existence and its nurture from the 
 Society, has in its turn eminently contributed to support the 
 credit and to extend the usefulness of the parent establishment. 
 The Committee may be pardoned for remarking here that by 
 respectable strangers, whose capability and means of judging 
 were undeniable, flattering testimony has been repeatedly borne 
 to the superior intelligence and attainments of the inhabitants 
 of Newcastle. This reputation, so honourable to the place in 
 which we live, the partiality of the Committee would dispose 
 them to refer partly to the influence of the Society, and partly 
 also to that free spirit of enquiry and desire of improvement 
 which public lectures are so well calculated to bring forth." 
 
 And partly, I fear, to buncombe. What large town did 
 those « respectable strangers " visit next, and what did they say 
 of the intelligence and attainments of its inhabitants? I think 
 that nowadays we all know those "respectable strangers." But 
 
 4 
 
 i 
 
 THE REV. WILLIAM TURNER. 
 
222 
 
 LECTURES, 
 
 That is a letter which should have gone into the blotting. 
 pad, not into the post-office. The President well described it as 
 a "strangely un-gentleman-like passionate Letter." It was read 
 at the next meeting. Mr. Moises and his friends made a half- 
 hearted attempt to form a rival library, but it came to nothing, 
 and the storm passed away. 
 
 And now, in the Reading Room, benevolent Mr. Turner and 
 irascible Mr. Moises contemplate each other from morning to 
 night every day with perfect equanimity. But before I hap- 
 pened upon this correspondence, I never looked upon their 
 portraits without at once thinking of the ingeniously twisted 
 cruets out of which you can pour at pleasure oil or vinegar. 
 
 In the report presented at the Annual Meeting in 1816, the 
 Committee " embraced the opportunity of noticing that the New 
 Institution continued to answer all the purposes for which it was 
 originally designed." They then go on to say, " This interesting 
 branch, which received its existence and its nurture from the 
 Society, has in its turn eminently contributed to support the 
 credit and to extend the usefulness of the parent establishment. 
 The Committee may be pardoned for remarking here that by 
 respectable strangers, whose capability and means of judging 
 were undeniable, flattering testimony has been repeatedly borne 
 to the superior intelligence and attainments of the inhabitants 
 of Newcastle. This reputation, so honourable to the place in 
 which we live, the partiality of the Committee would dispose 
 them to refer partly to the influence of the Society, and partly 
 also to that free spirit of enquiry and desire of improvement 
 which public lectures are so well calculated to bring forth." 
 
 And partly, I fear, to buncombe. What large town did 
 those " respectable strangers " visit next, and what did they say 
 of the intelligence and attainments of its inhabitants? I think 
 that nowadays we all know those "respectable strangers." But 
 
 
 THE REV. WILLIAM TURNER. 
 

 LECTURES, 
 
 223 
 
 we are always glad to meet them, and ready to receive and 
 acknowledge their good opinion. 
 
 "What ardently he wished, he long believed." 
 
 And it IS so soothing to think that we are not exactly like other 
 men. Only the very day upon which I write this a letter has 
 appeared in the London press from no less a person than the 
 brand-new " Poet Laureate," in which he clearly shows that, if 
 a bad poet, he is a good patriot He says that for the United 
 States to declare war upon England would be " an awful crime," 
 but that for England to declare war upon the United States 
 would be — " an appalling responsibility." How admirable an 
 arrangement it is that no power exists which can give us the art 
 of seeing ourselves as others see us ! 
 
 The report of which I was speaking, before I was led to 
 digress and transgress, states that the attendance at the lectures 
 had " of late years been considerably on the increase." 
 
 The Rev. Mr. Turner continued to hold the office of Lecturer 
 to the Society until the year 1833. He gave each year either 
 one or two courses of lectures, from twelve to thirty-two lectures 
 constituting a course. His subjects, besides those which I have 
 already mentioned, included Electricity, Galvanism, Magnetism, 
 Chemistry, Optics, Astronomy, the Philosophy of Natural 
 Appearances, Botany, the Philosophy of Natural History, the 
 Animal Kingdom, the Vegetable Kingdom, the Mineral King- 
 dom, and the application of Chemistry to the Arts and Manu- 
 factures, Domestic Economy, Agriculture, etc. " In the drawing 
 up of each course," he explained, " his aim was to be sparing of 
 mathematical formulae ; to take his illustrations as much as 
 possible from common and obvious appearances ; to apply the 
 principles laid down to the explanation of the machines, etc., 
 most useful in this district ; and to lead his hearers to remark 
 
 I 
 
 -II 
 
 :) 
 
 ■i 
 
224 
 
 LECTURES. 
 
 and admire the benevolence and wisdom displayed in the works 
 of the Creator." 
 
 When the present building was completed and opened a 
 change was made in the lecturing arrangements. Thenceforth the 
 Lecturer was to receive ;^5o a year from the funds of the Society, 
 and the members were to be admitted free to the annual course. 
 For the course, non-members were to pay a guinea each, and 
 ladies and young persons under twenty-one, half-a-guinea, 
 whilst the admission to a single lecture was to be half-a-crown. 
 All expenses were to be defrayed out of the sum received for 
 tickets, and the balance was to be handed over to the Lecturer. 
 The lectures were to commence in the first week of the month 
 of October in each year, and the subject of the intended course 
 was to be announced at the preceding annual meeting. 
 
 In 1833 Mr. Turner resigned the position of Lecturer, which 
 he had held for thirty years. He gracefully thanked the Society 
 "for having been allowed for so many years to discharge, 
 however imperfectly, the duties of that office. Finding, how- 
 ever, that his other numerous engagements prevented him from 
 keeping up with the rapid march of science— chemical science 
 more especially— he thought it his duty to resign." 
 
 He had undertaken an enormous task, and had loyally 
 performed it to the best of his ability. Our gratitude is due to 
 him for the work which he did, and not less due to him for the 
 fact that he knew when, owing to the increase of scientific 
 research, and to more perfect specialisation, he was no longer 
 able to do it 
 
 Mr. Turner was the father of the Society, and continued 
 to act as one of its Secretaries until the year 1837, when he 
 retired from that office and became a Vice-President. He left 
 Newcastle in 1841, and a special meeting was held in September 
 of that year, at which it was resolved " that the long-continued 
 
 LECTURES. 
 
 225 
 
 and inestimable services which have been rendered by Mr. 
 Turner, in the formation or encouragement of our various 
 institutions, for the promotion of Science, Literature, and the 
 Fine Arts — the improvement of education, and the purposes of 
 charity and benevolence, have justly entitled him to some mark 
 of public respect and gratitude, on his retiring from public life, 
 and ceasing to reside among us." 
 
 It was resolved further that it would be most acceptable 
 to him, and most conducive to his comfort in his retirement, 
 to raise a sum of money by public subscription to be applied as 
 seemed most advisable for his benefit. 
 
 4\ 
 
 1 
 
 •I 
 
 1 
 
 IS 
 
 H**)! 
 
LECTURES, 
 
 227 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 LECTURES— Continued, 
 
 N my last chapter I followed the lectures which have 
 been given in connection with the Society from the 
 earliest date to the time when the Rev. William 
 Turner ceased to hold the position of Lecturer. I did not, 
 however, mention that lectures other than his had already begun 
 to make their appearance. 
 
 So far as I have been able to ascertain, the first of these 
 were given by Robert Bakewell, Lecturer at the Russell and 
 the Surrey Institutions, London, and were a course of ten 
 Geological and Mineralogical lectures " to elucidate the Natural 
 History of the Earth and its Mineral productions." They were 
 "illustrated by Experiments, Mineral Specimens, and numerous 
 original Drawings and Sections." Tickets were to be had at 
 the rooms of the Literary Society, and cost for the course — 
 Gentlemen, £\ 5s. ; ladies, £\ is.; tickets including the resident 
 members of the family, not exceeding five, £1 5s.; single 
 lecture, 4s. 
 
 Next came Mr. Sadler, who " respectfully announced to the 
 Ladies and Gentlemen of Newcastle his intention of delivering 
 a Lecture on the History, Theory, and Practice of iErostation ; 
 in which will be explained the Methods of constructing and 
 inflating Montgolfier and inflammable Air Balloons, illustrated 
 
 by Models which will be made to ascend in the Lecture Room." 
 Here again our Society sold the tickets, which were 3s. each, 
 but would admit two young persons. 
 
 Then Mr. T. Longstafl) a member of the Society, began a 
 course in September 18 14, at the Joiners* Hall in High Friar 
 Street, where Mr. Turner's lectures were, at this time, delivered. 
 Tickets were to be had for the "Course of 6 Lectures on the 
 sublime Science of Astronomy" at the principal booksellers 
 and the Library of the Literary and Philosophical Society. Six 
 transferable tickets cost 14s., and single lectures 3s. each. 
 
 But these all seem to have been independent ventures, only 
 countenanced by our Society. The earliest course which the 
 Committee acknowledge in their report is thirteen years later. 
 In March 1827, Mr. Henry Atkinson gave a course of ten or 
 twelve lectures on Astronomy, half-a-guinea being charged for 
 the course, and two shillings for a single lecture. The advertise- 
 ment says, " As these lectures are principally designed for the 
 benefit of young people, all complicated calculations and intricate 
 mathematical demonstrations will be studiously avoided by the 
 Lecturer." 
 
 Mr. Henry Atkinson was one of those Redesdale mathe- 
 maticians who made Woodburn so famous at the beginning of 
 this century. Many a learned paper on higher mathematics 
 and on deep astronomical questions did he lay before the 
 Monthly Meetings of the Society, whence some of them found 
 their way to the Royal Astronomical Society, by whom they 
 were published. He was one of the Rev. William Turner's con- 
 gregation, and an active member of the Committee of this Society 
 for eleven years. He died in 1829 at the age of forty-eight. 
 
 But other lectures of a more philosophical type also began 
 to make their appearance. The son of the founder of the 
 Society, and himself called the Rev. William Turner, who was 
 
228 
 
 LECTURES, 
 
 a minister in Halifax, gave a course, during the winter of 1830, 
 upon " The Origin and Progress of Civil Society." It is ex- 
 ceedingly difficult to ascertain with any certainty what was 
 done at this period in the way of gratuitous lecturing by 
 members and others, for the allusions which the Committee 
 make to the matter in their reports are meagre in the extreme. 
 Thus, for instance, we find, under the date of May 3rd, 183 1, 
 the following entry : " Mr. Arnaud gave notice that he should 
 be ready to commence his Lectures on Political Economy on 
 Monday, the sixteenth of that month. It is greatly to be 
 regretted that the attendance was not such as might have been 
 expected from the acknowledged importance of the subject, and 
 from the very able manner in which it was treated." 
 
 In 1895 Political Economy w^as a tabooed subject for our 
 Society. A number of the members had formed a small 
 association to study the many vitally important questions with 
 which this invaluable science deals, but there was so much 
 opposition to it from some members that the Committee 
 thought it necessary to prohibit the meetings. Surely " we are 
 not better than our fathers ! " 
 
 In that same report for 1832 we read that, upon July 21st, 
 i83i,Mr. T. M. Greenhow delivered an elaborate lecture on the 
 Structure and Functions of the Eye to a numerous audience. 
 But the most important event in this line was the giving of the 
 second part of the regular course " on Magnetism, Electricity, 
 Galvanism, and Electro-Magnetism, by Mr. H. L. Pattinson, 
 Assay Master of the Greenwich Hospital at Alston ; a gentleman 
 who has paid great attention to this very important, though, in 
 many respects, novel subject; and whose Lectures may therefore 
 be expected, from his known abilities, to be very interesting." 
 
 But that grim Asiatic fiend, cholera morbus, was amongst 
 us, and created great consternation. In three months 937 people 
 
 il 
 
 HUGH LEE PATTINSON. 
 
 '■r 
 
228 
 
 LECTURES, 
 
 a minister in Halifax, gave a course, during the winter of 1830, 
 upon "The Origin and Progress of Civil Society." It is ex- 
 ceedingly difficult to ascertain with any certainty what was 
 done at this period in the way of gratuitous lecturing by 
 members and others, for the allusions which the Committee 
 make to the matter in their reports are meagre in the extreme. 
 Thus, for instance, we find, under the date of May 3rd, 183 1, 
 the following entry : " Mr. Arnaud gave notice that he should 
 be ready to commence his Lectures on Political Economy on 
 Monday, the sixteenth of that month. It is greatly to be 
 regretted that the attendance was not such as might have been 
 expected from the acknowledged importance of the subject, and 
 from the very able manner in which it was treated." 
 
 In 1895 Political Economy was a tabooed subject for our 
 Society. A number of the members had formed a small 
 association to study the many vitally important questions with 
 which this invaluable science deals, but there was so much 
 opposition to it from some members that the Committee 
 thought it necessary to prohibit the meetings. Surely "we are 
 not better than our fathers ! " 
 
 In that same report for 1832 we read that, upon July 21st, 
 i83i,Mr. T. M. Greenhow delivered an elaborate lecture on the 
 Structure and Functions of the Eye to a numerous audience. 
 But the most important event in this line was the giving of the 
 second part of the regular course " on Magnetism, Electricity, 
 Galvanism, and Electro-Magnetism, by Mr. H. L. Pattinson, 
 Assay Master of the Greenwich Hospital at Alston ; a gentleman 
 who has paid great attention to this very important, though, in 
 many respects, novel subject; and whose Lectures may therefore 
 be expected, from his known abilities, to be very interesting." 
 
 But that grim Asiatic fiend, cholera morbus, was amongst 
 us, and created great consternation. In three months 937 people 
 
 HUCH LKK I'ATTINSOX, 
 
T 
 
 LECTURES. 
 
 229 
 
 were attacked in Newcastle by the disease, 306 of whom suc- 
 cumbed to it I think that not even the tales of woe which in 
 childhood many of us heard from our parents, who had taken their 
 part in combating the dire foe, so called up before our minds the 
 beleaguered state to which our town was reduced as does the 
 simple entry in the report of which I am speaking: " In conse- 
 quence of the disturbed state of the public mind, engrossed as 
 it has necessarily been by the present awful visitation, it has 
 not been thought expedient to commence the Lectures till 
 Monday, the 22nd January" (1832), I cannot tell whether 
 they were actually given then, but Mr. Pattinson certainly gave 
 a course of six upon the same subject, and in March of the same 
 year, to " a numerous and respectable auditory, who warmly testi- 
 fied their admiration of the perspicuity of the lectures, and the 
 precision with which the illustrative experiments were made." 
 
 The demand was still rather for courses of lectures than for 
 single ones, and, in 1833, the Committee engaged Mr. James 
 F. W. Johnston, who was Professor of Chemistry in the new 
 University of Durham, to give a course of twenty-two lectures 
 upon Chemistry. These gave universal satisfaction, and they 
 proved so popular that the receipts from them not only paid 
 the expenses, but left a handsome surplus towards the next 
 year's course, so that no contribution was required from the 
 Society. Mr. Johnston had a practical class for students upon 
 the mornings of his lecture-days, and they reaped the greatest 
 benefit from it. He was a man of striking ability, and his work 
 in this district is not yet forgotten. It is pleasant to be able to 
 record that the splendid chemical laboratory at the College of 
 Science in this city bears his honoured name. 
 
 The time had now come when it was generally felt that the 
 New Institution should be absorbed by the Society, and accord- 
 ingly, at the Annual Meeting in 1835, certain alterations were 
 
 ■\ 
 
 A 
 
 i 
 

 230 
 
 LECTURES. 
 
 1 1 
 
 I'i 
 
 made in the Laws, one of which declared that "The New 
 Institution shall merge into the Literary and Philosophical 
 Society, the subscribers to the former retaining all their privi- 
 leges." It was further decreed that lectures should be delivered 
 annually in the Society's Lecture Room, a sum not exceeding 
 £,100 a year being expended upon them, and a discretionary 
 power being vested in the Committee as to the sum to be paid to 
 the lecturer, the commencement of the lectures, and the prices of 
 admission. A resolution was also carried that a Sub-committee of 
 seven should be appointed by the General Committee at the first 
 meeting after their election every year from their own body, or 
 from the members at large, for the purpose of managing the 
 Lecture Department of the Society. This Sub-committee was 
 " to enter into correspondence so as to obtain the services of men 
 of talent, and to make every arrangement in connection with the 
 annual course of lectures." The title, « New Institution," con- 
 tmued to appear in the Reports until 1838. 
 
 The work was carried out admirably and successfully 
 Professor John Phillips, then Assistant Secretary to the newly- 
 formed British Association for the Advancement of Science, 
 and Professor of Geology at the newly-formed King's College 
 m London, gave, in the autumn of 1834, a course of twenty-two 
 lectures on "Geology," in "a clear and luminous manner" 
 highly gratifying to his numerous audience. He had also a 
 very interesting and instructive practical class, with which he 
 took various excursions "to the many Geological points with 
 which this district abounds." To understand what this means 
 we must remember that the science of geology, as we now know 
 It, was still in the process of being formed. Dr. Buckland's 
 " Bridgewater Treatise " had not appeared ; Sir Charles (then 
 Mr.) Lyell had not published his Elements of Geology ■ Sir 
 Roderick Murchison was still labouring, " in the field and the 
 
 . 
 
 LECTURES, 
 
 231 
 
 closet," at his Silurian System ; and the man who, in our young 
 days, did the most to make geology popular, Hugh Miller, had 
 just exchanged the chisel of the stone-mason for the pen of the 
 bank-clerk. It was indeed a great thing for our members at 
 such a time to have such a teacher as John Phillips, amongst 
 those scientific giants "himself not least, but honoured of 
 
 them all." 
 
 But the Committee did not forget that the intellectual man 
 does not live by scientific bread alone, and so they planned a 
 course "on subjects of General Literature." They thereupon 
 " addressed a letter to Thomas Campbell, Esq., the author of 
 *The Pleasures of Hope,* requesting from him a course of 
 lectures on the Belles Lettres." What a funny sound it has ! 
 The poet was unfortunately absent from England. However, 
 Dr. Knott, who was a member of the Society, consented to fill 
 the gap, and he gave six lectures in 1835 gratuitously. They 
 were on " The Laws of Organic and Inorganic Nature, with the 
 particular view of elucidating the Phenomena of Vegetable and 
 Animal Life," and they were received with much approbation 
 by crowded audiences. 
 
 In that year (1835) Mr. George Combe, the well-known 
 phrenologist, was the Society's special lecturer. He was a 
 Writer to the Signet in Edinburgh, and had devoted much time 
 and thought to the inquiries of Dr. Gall and his followers into 
 the connection of the mind with physical organisation. He was 
 a clear and polished writer and an admirable speaker. He 
 arranged for three courses : one of sixteen lectures on " Phren- 
 ology," one of eight lectures on " Animal Physiology," and the 
 third of seven lectures on " The Principles on which a sound 
 Education should be founded." This third course was to be at 
 noon on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Members were charged 
 half-a-guinea for it, and non-members fifteen shillings, whilst the 
 
232 
 
 LECTURES. 
 
 admission to any single lecture was three shillings. And this 
 was sixty years ago. I wonder how many single admissions 
 there were at that price : I can guess how many there would be 
 at this day ! 
 
 At all events the lectures on " Phrenology " were so great 
 a success that they scarcely cost the Society anything. People 
 were impatient to know what stories their skulls told about 
 them. As wee bairns, we were terrified by the horribly neatly- 
 numbered and departmentalised busts and casts which lay 
 m waiting for us in dusky and unlooked-for places in many 
 a Newcastle house. A Phrenological Society was formed to 
 carry the fearful and wonderful study to yet more appalling 
 lengths. It was allowed to meet in one of the parent Society's 
 rooms, and there it kept its casts and models, but its life seems 
 to have been but brief. Even so long ago there were irreverent 
 people who laughed at the whole science of bumps, whilst there 
 were others whose discoveries in their eager search for light in 
 this special direction were curiously suggestive. Thus it was 
 ascertained that ballet-dancers were endowed with the bump of 
 " Tiptoe-ativeness," whilst an unappropriated enlargement on 
 the head of Paganini was duly noted, and was named the 
 organ of « Singlestring-ativeness." The phrenological lecturer 
 appeared even in the pages of Punch, He is made to illustrate 
 his discourse by an interesting performance upon a living model, 
 thus : — ** * 
 
 "Ladies and Gentlemen, this head presents a conformation 
 Of Benevolence deficient, with excessive Veneration • 
 Destructiveness is very large, Acquisitiveness ample,' 
 Of a crimmal development this man is an example : 
 
 Bow, wow, wow ; 
 This man was executed, 
 Bow, wow, wow. 
 
 LECTURES, 
 
 233 
 
 He committed the atrocity a little boy of killing 
 For a silken pocket-handkerchief, a pencil-case and shilling : 
 For cruelty he oft was fined, had once been tried for arson, 
 But in Newgate was remarkably attentive to the parson. 
 
 Bow, wow, wow, 
 Highly corroborative. 
 
 Bow, wow, wow." 
 
 But, like many other popular subjects, this held its own for 
 several years, and, although it has long since been put upon the 
 shelf, there are persons even now who have their bumps duly 
 noted. 
 
 There was quite an outburst of lecturing in 1836, and some 
 variety was given by the introduction of literary lectures. The 
 first of these were the work of James Montgomery, then sixty- 
 five years of age. Born in Ayrshire, educated to become a 
 Moravian minister, apprenticed to a grocer at Mirfield, the love 
 of writing drove him out into the great world when but sixteen 
 years old, and there he bravely faced great privations, conquered 
 unusual difficulties, and passed through much persecution. 
 When he came here to lecture his poems had all been published, 
 his political imprisonments lay more than forty years behind, 
 and he had entered upon a calm and peaceful age of lettered 
 ease which continued until the year 1853. Few persons read 
 his poems now, and that is scarcely surprising to those who 
 know them. But in my schoolboy days he stood high in our 
 esteem, and, when we reverently and timorously acquainted him 
 with the fact, the kindly old man condescended to correspond 
 genially and courteously with his boyish admirers. He had 
 lectured in 1830 and 183 1 at the Royal Institution upon Poetry 
 and General Literature, and now, when he visited our Society to 
 give six lectures on "British Poetry," he proved so great an 
 attraction that our own lecture-room would not contain the 
 audiences, and the Committee had to hire the Music Hall in 
 
 V I 
 
234 
 
 LECTURES, 
 
 Nelson Street, then some six years old This led to consider- 
 . able changes being made in the Society's own room. I need 
 scarcely say that Mr. Montgomery's lectures gave his large 
 audiences great satisfaction. 
 
 Then Mr. Robert Ingham, who represented South Shields in 
 Parliament for a quarter of a century, and who was justly one of 
 the most respected men in the North of England, gave a single 
 lecture on the state of education in Ireland. I fear that in these 
 more advanced days it would have been tabooed as savouring 
 of controversial politics ! Next came Mr. James Simpson, an 
 advocate from Edinburgh, of whom the report speaks as " an 
 amiable gentleman," and he held a course of eight lectures upon 
 "Educational Philosophy," but they, apparently, "were not 
 under the direct auspices of the Society," whatever that may 
 mean. In the month of May, Mr. John Taylor delivered twelve 
 lectures "replete with research and erudition" on "the Philosophy 
 of the Human Mind." 
 
 But the grand treat of all was reserved for December of 
 that year, when the famous scientist, the Rev. Dr. Dionysius 
 Lardner, commenced a remarkable course of twelve lectures on 
 " the Steam Engine, and its application to transport by Land or 
 Water." We are not surprised to learn that he had crowded 
 and enthusiastic audiences. The locomotive and the steam- 
 boat were still in their infancy. In 1830 British steam tonnage 
 amounted to 21,600 tons; in 1890 it had increased to more 
 than 5,500,000 tons. The Stockton and Darlington Railway 
 was opened on the 2;th September, 1825. Between that time 
 and 1840 five thousand miles of railways were constructed 
 in the whole world, and in 1889 the world contained more 
 than 305,000 miles of railways. Dr. Lardner discussed many 
 things which have long since ceased to be looked upon as 
 problems, such as the superior advantages of atmospheric 
 
 I l|i 
 
 LECTURES. 
 
 235 
 
 railways, the comparative excellence of working railroads by 
 stationary engines or by locomotives, the great gain which 
 would come of alternating gradients, or undulating lines as they 
 were called. He was evidently not a little doubtful of the real 
 powers of the locomotive engine, and broached many a theory 
 which was speedily exploded by the rude logic of experience. 
 In one of his lectures he discussed the practicability of estab- 
 lishing a line of steam communication between Great Britain 
 and the United States. He held that this might be done, but 
 that the direct passage could not be made ; the steamers must 
 call at the Azores for coaling purposes ! " Great men are not 
 always wise." On April 4th, 1838, the "Sirius" steamship 
 sailed from Cork for New York, and four days later the 
 " Great Western " sailed from Bristol for the same port, both 
 making the direct voyage, and each reaching its destination on 
 the 23rd of the same month. 
 
 But if Dr. Lardner did not shine as a prophet, he was, and 
 for many years continued to be, in the front rank as a popular 
 lecturer. His Newcastle audiences are quaintly described as 
 " very crowded and miscellaneous," and, after all expenses had 
 been paid, the Society's funds were handsomely increased by 
 the proceeds of his lectures. 
 
 The plan of adjourning to the Music Hall when a lecturer 
 proved more than usually popular was attended by many 
 inconveniences, and it was found expedient to increase the size 
 of the Society's own lecture-room. This was done (as has 
 already been mentioned) by throwing into it two small rooms 
 which had been occupied by the Antiquarian and the Phreno- 
 logical Societies. It was thus made capable of accommodating 
 nearly five hundred persons, and there was also obtained a 
 private room from which the access to the Lecture Room was 
 easy and convenient. At the same time "a place of deposit 
 
 i 
 

 III 
 
 ' li 
 
 236 
 
 LECTURES, 
 
 for ladies' cloaks, etc., and a convenient waiting-room for their 
 servants," were provided. That this last item should have a 
 strangely archaic sound speaks volumes as to the entire change 
 of our manners and customs in sixty short years. 
 
 Four courses of lectures were given in 1837-38. The first 
 was twelve upon "the Science of Music," by Mr. Thomas Adams, 
 and the Committee say of them that "considering the severity 
 of the season, and the numerous absences necessarily occasioned 
 by the severe epidemic under which we are still suffering, the 
 attendance has been very great" The epidemic was that which 
 has been so much in evidence in late years, our dread foe 
 influenza. The season was indeed severe, the cold being intense 
 and the frequent falls of snow remarkable for their volume. 
 The Committee go on to say: "Indeed, independent of the 
 important observations brought forward, the variety of illustra- 
 tions introduced, and performed with so much taste and accuracy, 
 have rendered each lecture a most elegant and exquisite musical 
 treat Mr. Adams, with that public spirit which has charac- 
 terised the whole period of his residence here, delivered last 
 night an extra lecture, for the benefit of our charitable institu- 
 tions : the proceeds of which he leaves to be distributed by the 
 Committee." They received no less than ;f 9 1 3s., which they 
 handed to that useful charity, the Dispensary. 
 
 Then Mr. William Warren gave a course of twelve lectures 
 upon the " Principles of Art," and Sir William J. Hooker a 
 course of similar length upon " Botany." These latter lectures 
 produced a profound effect upon the auditors; they were 
 pleasantly delivered and beautifully illustrated, and a movement 
 was started through their influence which had as its object " the 
 having and forming a Botanical Garden in the neighbourhood of 
 Newcastle." The Committee, in commenting upon this scheme, 
 said : " The recreation and delight afforded, in other towns, by 
 
 I 
 
 LECTURES. 
 
 237 
 
 establishments of a similar nature, are a sufficient guarantee 
 that one near this improving place would prosper and flourish. 
 It is intended to render this institution more attractive by after- 
 wards adding subjects of zoology." 
 
 Another capital bit of pavement for the only place in the 
 universe where there is already too much of the same sort : 
 
 " Spring calls forth many buds to swell 
 Which ne'er may come to flowers," 
 
 and the Botanical Garden is yet in the far future. 
 
 But the lecturer for this year who would have been much the 
 most welcome to us was the man who is so disguised in the 
 Committee's report that his own mother would not have known 
 him. Who can "Mr. Knowles, combining in himself, as he 
 does, the powerful orator and correct actor," be ? Not, surely 
 not, that curious Irish genius, the author of our childhood's 
 treasures. The Hunchback and William Tell. Actor and orator 
 indeed, but why not writer of plays, which have a charm 
 and a character of their own, and not a bad one at that ? Yes, 
 and preacher too, for he was sometimes called upon to preach, 
 especially in his later days. I used to hear how, when he was a 
 guest at North Shields, in a well-ordered but somewhat strict 
 house, he used to slip away after nightfall to the congenial bar 
 of a convenient public-house, and there unbend until the maids 
 came for him to return and perform the evening devotions. 
 Not that he was a sot, far from it ; but he appreciated variety 
 
 in life. 
 
 I need not trace the history of lectures in connection with 
 the Society any further, at all events in so much detail. The 
 plan of having long educational courses was not abandoned 
 until 1847. Dr. Nichol, the author of The Architecture of the 
 Heavens, and Professor of Astronomy in Glasgow University, 
 
 \i 
 
238 
 
 LECTURES, 
 
 gave twelve on " The Harmony and Order of Celestial Pheno- 
 mena," and Professor Rymer Jones, of King's College, London, 
 twelve upon "The Animal Kingdom," both in 1839; Mr. 
 Addams fifteen upon " Acoustics and Optics," and the Marquis 
 di Spineto, of Cambridge, fourteen upon " The Antiquities of 
 Egypt, or more properly on the Worship of Animals, of Poly- 
 theism, Mythology, and Idolatry," in 1840; the next year, 
 twelve were given by Dr. Ure on "The Application of 
 Mineralogy to the Arts and Manufactures," and fifteen by Mr. 
 Addams on "Electricity and its related branches;" and in 
 1842, ten by Professor Macintosh on " Inductive Geology," 
 six on "America" and two upon "India and England" by 
 Mr. J. Silk Buckingham, and twenty by Mr. Addams upon 
 " Chemistry." 
 
 But the courses grew shorter by degrees, six or eight, and 
 then three or four, lectures forming an entire course, and the 
 plan of interspersing single lectures was largely resorted to. In 
 1845 there were indeed three courses — one of six lectures on 
 "English Church Music," by Professor Edward Taylor, the 
 Gresham Professor of Music; one of twelve on "Geology," by 
 Professor Ansted, who had also a Field Class; and the last of 
 twelve on " Agricultural Chemistry and Geology," by Professor 
 Johnston ; but there was no course of more than eight lectures, 
 and only a few of more than three, for neariy a quarter of a 
 century from that date. 
 
 Members of the Society had begun to take an active part in 
 the lecture work. Mr. James Snape, the mathematical master 
 at the Royal Grammar School, afterwards the Rev. James 
 Snape, its head-master, and an honoured and most useful Vice- 
 President of our Society, made his first appearance as lecturer 
 in the year 1838. His two lectures were on "The importance 
 of the Study of Mathematics, more especially with regard to 
 
 i|l 
 
 [! 
 
 LECTURES. 
 
 239 
 
 their application to the Discoveries in Modern Astronomy." 
 Forty-two years afterwards he was still lecturing to the Society, 
 which he had served faithfully and well during the whole of the 
 interval, filling the offices of Committee-man and Vice-President, 
 and lecturing to it no fewer than twenty-two times. He was an 
 excellent speaker, had a prodigious voice which he used more 
 than was necessary, and was one of the most courteous, kindest, 
 and gentlest of men. There was a considerable likeness in his 
 face, figure, and ways to Professor De Morgan. Portly, good- 
 humoured, wiping away the frequent dew from their spectacles, 
 laying down the mathematical laws with a loud assurance, for a 
 moment losing temper when stupidity was too rampant, but 
 sunshine driving away the storm before it had time to burst; 
 honourable, simple, and genuine ; they had much in common as 
 well as their love of the Mathematics. "The man who has 
 mastered the Mathematics is master of everything" was, for 
 many years, one of Mr. Snape's favourite dicta, but he made his 
 Committee brethren roar with laughter as he told them with the 
 utmost naivete how he had found, by endeavouring to mount a 
 horse for the first time and ride it to Stamfordham, that the 
 rule had not quite the universal application which he had been 
 inclined to give it.- 
 
 In the year 1844 an interesting experiment was made. The 
 Committee were disappointed by Professor Phillips, who found 
 himself unable to deliver the autumn course of lectures which 
 had been arranged, and they appealed to the members to supply 
 his place. Six gentlemen were forthcoming, and they gave 
 nine lectures amongst them, and had such crowded audiences 
 that " on some of the evenings parties were obliged to go away, 
 unable to obtain admission." 
 
 The first of these lecturers was the Rev. James Snape, and 
 he was followed by Dr. Glover, who spoke upon one night on 
 
I> I 
 
 ii 
 
 f" 
 
 u 
 
 f 
 
 III;: 
 
 \n 
 
 240 
 
 LECTURES. 
 
 "Combustion," illustrating his discourse with several brilliant 
 experiments, and "giving an account of a theory which he 
 entertained with regard to the electro-chemical doctrine, and the 
 mode in which the affinities of bodies are explained by it;" and 
 upon another night on " Respiration," in which " he described 
 some of the recently published views and doctrines of Liebig." 
 
 Then came "our talented young townsman, Mr. W. G. 
 Armstrong, of the firm of Donkin, Stable, and Armstrong, 
 solicitors of this town, who has risen rapidly into celebrity,'* and 
 who " gave his very interesting lectures on * Hydro-Electricity ' 
 in a crowded room, to which several were unable to gain 
 admission." These lectures indeed "constituted, from the 
 novelty of the subject and the efficiency of the apparatus he 
 employed, the great attraction of the course." Those of us who 
 recognise in " our talented young townsman " of that day our 
 noble President of this will not be surprised to learn that he 
 was, "from the perspicuity of his language, which was not 
 veiled in technicalities that are only known to the initiated few, 
 perfectly understood by the whole of his attentive and gratified 
 audience. The Committee considered it matter for congratula- 
 tion that the discovery of this new and most energetic mode of 
 producing electricity should have originated in this neighbour- 
 hood, and have acquired its present importance through the 
 researches of one of the members of this Society. Mr. 
 Armstrong's arrangements for the illustration of his lectures 
 were both ingenious and effectual, and his happy manner of 
 explaining the different branches of the subject could scarcely 
 be excelled." 
 
 I think that there is sufficient interest about these lectures of 
 more than half a century ago to justify my extracting from the 
 report of the Committee the account which they give of the 
 discovery of Hydro-Electricity. They say :— 
 
 l» 
 
 LECTURES, 
 
 241 
 
 "In the autumn of 1840, William Patterson, a workman employed 
 at a fixed steam-engine on the Railway of Cramlington Colliery, being 
 accidentally brought in contact with a jet of steam issuing from a chink 
 in the boiler, was surprised to observe a spark of fire, as he described 
 it, pass from his hand to the lever of the safety-valve, which he was in 
 the act of adjusting, experiencing at the same time an electrical shock, 
 which he represented as somewhat severe. From his report of what 
 had occurred the matter was brought under the notice of several 
 persons, including Mr. Armstrong, who appears to be the only person, 
 excepting Professor Faraday, who has investigated the subject to any 
 extent, or who has arrived at correct conclusions respecting the cause of 
 the electrical excitation. Mr. Armstrong's examination of the boiler 
 on the Cramlington Railway, and his subsequent experiments with 
 others in the neighbourhood, soon led him to the conclusion that 
 similar effects always attended the escape of high-pressure steam. It 
 was ascertained also by Mr. Armstrong, as well as by Mr. Hugh 
 Lee Pattinson, another of your members, that the electricity 
 evolved from the steam was positive, whilst negative electricity was 
 yielded by the boiler when measures were taken to insulate it 
 Mr. Armstrong's next step was to have experimental boilers and 
 other apparatus constructed, and the results of his investigations 
 with these instruments were published in a series of papers in the 
 Philosophical Magazine. Mr. Pattinson also published the result of 
 his investigations in the same work. When Mr. Armstrong first turned 
 his attention to the subject, he was led to believe that the development 
 of electricity arose from the conversion of water into steam, and its 
 subsequent return by condensation to its original state, and that con- 
 sequently it was a confirmation of the doctrine that the atmosphere is 
 charged with electricity by the evaporation of water from the surface of 
 the earth. As early, however, as December 1 841, Mr Armstrong found 
 that the excitation of electricity took place at the point where the steam 
 is subjected to friction, and announced the fact in a paper which he 
 published in the Philosophical Magazine for January 1842. He also 
 found, as appears by other papers published in the same periodical, that 
 
 16 
 
242 
 
 LECTURES. 
 
 LECTURES, 
 
 243 
 
 the electrical conditions of the boiler and steam cloud might in various 
 ways be reversed, and that the escape of highly compressed air was 
 attended with similar effects to that of steam. In the Philosophical 
 Magazine for January 1843 he also states that the intermixture of a 
 small quantity of water was essential to a high development of electricity, 
 and that he obtained the supply of water required for this purpose by 
 means of a condensing chamber appended to the powerful machine 
 which he there described, and which was the first apparatus that had 
 been made deserving the appellation of a hydro-electric machine. In 
 the same paper, and also in that for January 1843, Mr. Armstrong 
 noticed that the quantity of electricity produced depended greatly upon 
 both the form and material of the discharging or frictional passage— that 
 partridge wood was the best material he had tried— and that the form 
 of passage which he there described, and which is nearly the same as 
 that which he now uses in his hydro-electric machines, was highly 
 favourable to the development of electricity. The investigation had 
 proceeded thus far when Professor Faraday delivered a lecture on the 
 subject to the Royal Institution of London. In this lecture the 
 Professor differed from Mr. Armstrong only in stating that the electricity 
 is produced by the water alone >eing exposed to friction, and that the 
 steam as steam produces no electricity during its emission, whereas 
 Mr. Armstrong had asserted that the accompaniment of a portion of 
 water is * essential to a high development of electricity,' and that the 
 excitation takes place at the point * where the steam is subjected to 
 friction,' but without specifying whether the effect arises from the friction 
 of the water alone, or of the steam and water combined. He had also 
 expressed a difficulty in attributing the excitation exclusively to friction; 
 while Dr. Faraday asserted, as a matter of certainty, that friction was 
 the sole exciting cause. According to various reports of Dr. Faraday's 
 lecture, which appeared in different periodicals, he seems to have 
 considered that Mr. Armstrong retained his first opinions as to the cause 
 of the electricity in issuing steam ; but it is clear from what has been 
 stated that Mr. Armstrong had substantially arrived at the correct 
 explanation of the subject long prior to the delivery of Dr. Faraday's 
 
 lecture. In confirmation of this, it may be stated that the large hydro- 
 electric machine at the Polytechnic Institution in London (the most 
 powerful electrical apparatus in the world), and which was constructed 
 under Mr. Armstrong's direction, upon the principle of exposing dis- 
 tilled water to violent friction in its passage through a wooden orifice, 
 was complete and in operation in Newcastle in April 1843, whilst 
 Professor Faraday's lecture was not delivered until June of that year. 
 It must be stated, however, that in a paper * On the Electricity evolved 
 by the Friction of Water and Steam against other bodies,' by Professor 
 Faraday, published in the Philosophical Transactions for 1843, Part I., 
 the Professor has fully acknowledged Mr. Armstrong's claims, and has 
 referred to all his papers in the Philosophical Magazine^ as well as to 
 those of Mr. Pattinson. The experiments of Mr. Armstrong and Dr. 
 Faraday have shewn that water as an electric is the most excitable body 
 with which we are acquainted, and that by subjecting it to friction 
 against a rubbing surface of wood, frictional electricity may be more 
 copiously produced than by any other method hitherto employed 
 Thus the enormous plate-glass machine at the Polytechnic Institution 
 in London, which measures seven feet in diameter, and is worked by a 
 steam-engine of two horse-power, will charge a battery containing 
 eighty square feet of surface in fifty seconds, whilst the hydro-electric 
 machine before alluded to, and also belonging to that institution, is 
 capable of charging the same battery in about six seconds. In Mr. 
 Armstrong's second lecture he announced the following facts, which had 
 not previously been published — viz., that the electricity produced by 
 hydro electric machines is considerably increased by inserting rods of 
 tin rubbed with mercury in the pipes which supply by condensation 
 the pure water to be discharged by the steam. That the quantity of 
 electricity produced depended in a high degree upon the material of 
 the condensing pipes and the condition of their internal surface ; that 
 an iron condensing pipe with an oxidised interior was highly favourable 
 to the development of electricity, whilst the action of the machine was 
 almost entirely counteracted by using condensing pipes of the same 
 material, with a bright or metallic surface within, and that the electricity 
 
244 
 
 LECTURES, 
 
 is actually reversed by using a brass condensing pipe and introducing a 
 few grains of a neutral salt, formed by dissolving brass, the material of 
 the pipe, in nitric acid. With respect to these results, and others of a 
 similar nature, Mr. Armstrong justly observed that they were still 
 involved in difficulty, and that their further investigation presented a 
 promising field of discovery. Mr. Armstrong's lectures were illustrated 
 by very beautiful apparatus, and the small hydro-electric machine which 
 he used on the occasion displayed a degree of power which, considering 
 the smallness of its size, was truly surprising. For further information 
 on the subject of hydro-electricity your Committee must refer to Mr. 
 Armstrong's various papers in the Philosophical Magazine, amongst 
 which will be found a description of the large hydro-electric machine 
 above mentioned ; to Professor Faraday's lecture, which is published in 
 the July and August numbers of the Repertory of Patent Inventions for 
 1843, and to the Professor's paper before mentioned in the Philosophical 
 Transactions for 1843." 
 
 Is there not quite a peculiar interest in the fact that, forty- 
 nine years after the delivery of these lectures, the same gentleman, 
 now the Lord Armstrong of world-wide scientific fame, was 
 again bringing before the members of this Society some of the 
 results of his original researches into certain electrical phenomena. 
 
 In the course of lectures of which those I have mentioned on 
 " Hydro-Electricity " formed part, Dr. Embleton, who is happily 
 still with us, and who has been closely connected with the 
 working of the Society during the greater part of a long and 
 honourable life, followed with two lectures upon "Animal 
 Mechanics"; and Mr. Sopwith concluded the course with two 
 upon " Economic Geology, or the practical bearings of Geological 
 Science on the discovery and working of mines, selection of 
 materials for roads, buildings, etc., and other useful applications 
 of mineral products to the wants and comforts of mankind." 
 
 Thomas Sopwith, the learned lecturer, was truly a remarkable 
 
 THOMAS SOPWITH, F.R.S. 
 
244 
 
 LECTURES. 
 
 is actually reversed by using a brass condensing pipe and introducing a 
 few grains of a neutral salt, formed by dissolving brass, the material of 
 the pipe, in nitric acid. With respect to these results, and others of a 
 similar nature, Mr. Armstrong justly observed that they were still 
 involved in difficulty, and that their further investigation presented a 
 promising field of discovery. Mr. Armstrong's lectures were illustrated 
 by very beautiful apparatus, and the small hydro-electric machine which 
 he used on the occasion displayed a degree of power which, considering 
 the smallness of its size, was truly surprising. For further information 
 on the subject of hydro-electricity your Committee must refer to Mr. 
 Armstrong's various papers in the Philosophical Magazine, amongst 
 which will be found a description of the large hydro-electric machine 
 above mentioned ; to Professor Faraday's lecture, which is published in 
 the July and August numbers of the Repertory of Patent Inventions for 
 1 843, and to the Professor's paper before mentioned in the Philosophical 
 Transactions for 1843." 
 
 Is there not quite a peculiar interest in the fact that, forty- 
 nine years after the delivery of these lectures, the same gentleman, 
 now the Lord Armstrong of world-wide scientific fame, was 
 again bringing before the members of this Society some of the 
 results of his original researches into certain electrical phenomena. 
 
 In the course of lectures of which those I have mentioned on 
 *' Hydro-Electricity " formed part. Dr. Embleton, who is happily 
 still with us, and who has been closely connected with the 
 working of the Society during the greater part of a long and 
 honourable life, followed with two lectures upon "Animal 
 Mechanics"; and Mr. Sopvvith concluded the course with two 
 upon " Economic Geology, or the practical bearings of Geological 
 Science on the discovery and working of mines, selection of 
 materials for roads, buildings, etc., and other useful applications 
 of mineral products to the wants and comforts of mankind." 
 
 Thomas Sopwith, the learned lecturer, was truly a remarkable 
 
 THOMAS SOFWITH, F.R.S. 
 
LECTURES. 
 
 245 
 
 man. Son of "Sopwith the cabinet-maker"; with little school- 
 learning, but that little given him by one who was, in truth, a 
 master, the mathematician of whom I have spoken in an earlier 
 place, Mr. Henry Atkinson ; starting life as a joiner, but striking 
 out into the lines of architecture and land surveying before he 
 had attained to manhood ; engaged in great works, laying down 
 of the boundaries of mineral royalties, surveying and planning 
 new highways and railroads, employed as mineral surveyor and 
 adviser by the Government, he yet found time to write and 
 publish a History of All Saints Church; to invent " Sopwith's 
 Monocleid Cabinet*'; to study geology; to write a text-book on 
 isometric perspective; and to read papers to learned societies 
 on many subjects, and find out many inventions. 
 
 With a man of such great and varied ability it was certain 
 that, as his years advanced, he would ever be in greater demand. 
 And so it proved. At the very time that he was lecturing to 
 our Society he was examining the mineral deposits of Belgium, 
 and was advising the Belgian monarch as to how they might be 
 most perfectly developed. Honours, of much value as such 
 things go, and of unusual variety, were showered upon him, and 
 in 1845 he became the manager or head of the Beaumont lead- 
 mines, residing thenceforth at AUenheads. His long life of 
 unwearied industry and brilliant achievement, in many very 
 diverse directions, did not terminate until 1879. 
 
 In the lectures which he delivered to this Society in 1844-45 
 Mr. Sopwith " gave an outline of the rapid progress of geology 
 in the last and present century, and especially noticed the 
 labours of Mr. Smith, * the Father of Geology.' He alluded to 
 the influence which the mineral stratification of a country has on 
 climate, and on the distribution of society, which is thereby 
 thinly scattered over the slate and older formations, and densely 
 populous in the carboniferous districts, where the abundance of 
 
h\ 
 
 246 
 
 LECTURES. 
 
 LECTURES. 
 
 247 
 
 coal and iron give rise to manufactures, and furnish employment 
 to multitudes. The duration of public edifices, the improvement 
 of the soil, the goodness of roads, all depend much on geo- 
 logical conditions, a right understanding of which is of great im- 
 portance to national interests. Mr. S. shewed the relative 
 thickness and super-position of the strata of the British Isles, by 
 moveable models, shewing first their horizontal deposition, their 
 subsequent elevation or depression by subterranean forces, 
 attended with dislocations or fractures of the rocks, forming 
 faults or troubles, and mineral veins. These were followed by 
 denudation or extensive washing away of parts of the surface of 
 the earth, the effects of which were exhibited by several models. 
 The manner in which the British strata overlap each other was 
 explained by a model composed of leaves of coloured paper 
 representing the principal formations. Mr. S. briefly noticed 
 the chief mineral productions of each, and exhibited and 
 explained several geological maps and sections. One of these 
 represented the Bristol coalfield, with the several overlying 
 formations, and was lent for this occasion by Dr. Buckland. 
 
 " In his second lecture, Mr. Sopwith applied the general 
 principles which he had explained in the preceding lecture to 
 the illustration of local geological phenomena, which were 
 represented by large coloured sections and diagrams. In de- 
 scribing the great dislocations which occur in the coal-mines of 
 this district he particularly alluded to the great value of the 
 sections of these prepared by the late Mr. Buddie, observing 
 that they rank among the most valuable contributions which 
 practical mining has ever conferred on geological science. Mr. 
 Sopwith explained the vast extent of denudation in the vallies 
 of the Tyne, the Team, Derwent, etc., and at Allendale and 
 Alston Moor, shewing that the great limestone, one of the most 
 valuable depositories of lead ore, has been removed for many 
 
 miles by this powerful agency. He exhibited, by means of 
 coloured diagrams, the chemical composition of coals of 
 different quality and of building stone, pointing out the 
 characteristic properties which ensure its permanency, and 
 produced a great number of specimens of rocks, and of their 
 mineral contents, which he had collected in various parts of the 
 kingdom, as the Iron Pyrites of Dover, the Agates, Jaspers, etc., 
 of Aberistwythe, Magnesian Limestone, from Sunderland, and a 
 complete series of the rocks in the important lead-mine districts 
 west of Newcastle. Mr. Sopwith explained the process of 
 making the fuel recently patented by Mr. Wylam, of Gateshead, 
 and an improved German buddle for washing lead ore. Speci- 
 mens of the fuel were shewn in blocks, and also burnt in the 
 fire-place. He described the Ordnance Geological Survey, the 
 Building Stone Commission, and the admirable, useful, and 
 cheap report of it which conveys a large mass of useful informa- 
 tion. The importance of selecting good building stone was 
 shewn by reference to local edifices, and to the restoration of 
 Henry the 7th's Chapel. The connection between Geology and 
 Agriculture was also explained, as were the proceedings of the 
 Railway Section Committee— the Engraved Plans of Dean 
 Forest— the Mining Records of Belgium, and the Museum of 
 Economic Geology in London. Your Committee having 
 directed that free admission should be given to the friends of 
 the members, the room was crowded at every lecture, and on 
 some of the evenings parties were obliged to go away, unable to 
 obtain admission." 
 
 Emboldened by their success, the Committee began to think 
 of even greater things. They felt painfully the smallness and 
 inadequacy of the Lecture-room, but they wished to make the 
 very most of it The two courses of paid lectures delivered 
 annually were not to be interfered with, but the Committee 
 
248 
 
 LECTURES. 
 
 hoped that, in addition, twelve at least of the many members 
 might be induced to deliver at all events one lecture apiece 
 during the year. "This might be done at the monthly 
 meetings, and the Institution might thus be redeemed from 
 the reproach and unpleasant reflection that the members of 
 the Literary and Philosophical Society of Newcastle-upon- 
 Tyne meet once a month, but only to propose and ballot for 
 new members, whilst the original intention of such meetings, 
 viz, to hear essays on, and to discuss, literary and scientific 
 subjects, is scarcely ever carried into effect." 
 
 The hopes of the Committee were not fulfilled : the twelve 
 
 members willing to lecture were not forthcoming ; but for the 
 
 next forty years there was scarcely one lecturing session in 
 
 which one or more of the members did not take an active part. 
 
 It is not possible for me to notice in detail the admirable dis- 
 
 courses given by so many of our most distinguished citizens, 
 
 but those who desire to know who have thus done our Society 
 
 service will find the names and titles in the complete list of 
 
 lectures and lecturers contained in the Appendix. The older 
 
 members will not forget the band of earnest and advanced 
 
 students of Natural History who have done great service in 
 
 many directions by their patient and careful observations, 
 
 addmg to the sum of human knowledge, or the antiquarians,' 
 
 historians, and philosophers, whose names are "as household 
 
 words," and some of the foremost of whom still go in and out 
 
 amongst us. 
 
 But I may properly mention the name of the Rev. Dr. 
 Bruce, whose familiar face and form seem to have passed from 
 us but yesterday, and who succeeded his honoured father as an 
 active worker for the Society. For many years he was one of 
 Its Vice-Presidents. Between 1845 and 1 881 he lectured to the 
 Society more than thirty times, bringing before it the results of 
 
 JOHN COLLINGWOOD BRUCE, D.C.L., LL.D. 
 
248 
 
 LECTURES. 
 
 hoped that, in addition, twelve at least of the many members 
 might be induced to deliver at all events one lecture apiece 
 during the year. "This might be done at the monthly 
 meetings, and the Institution might thus be redeemed from 
 the reproach and unpleasant reflection that the members of 
 the Literary and Philosophical Society of Newcastle-upon- 
 Tyne meet once a month, but only to propose and ballot for 
 new members, whilst the original intention of such meetings, 
 viz., to hear essays on, and to discuss, literary and scientific 
 subjects, is scarcely ever carried into effect." 
 
 The hopes of the Committee were not fulfilled : the twelve 
 members willing to lecture were not forthcoming ; but for the 
 next forty years there was scarcely one lecturing session in 
 which one or more of the members did not take an active part. 
 It is not possible for me to notice in detail the admirable dis- 
 courses given by so many of our most distinguished citizens, 
 but those who desire to know who have thus done our Society 
 service will find the names and titles in the complete list of 
 lectures and lecturers contained in the Appendix. The older 
 members will not forget the band of earnest and advanced 
 students of Natural History who have done great service in 
 many directions by their patient and careful observations, 
 adding to the sum of human knowledge, or the antiquarians,' 
 historians, and philosophers, whose names are "as household 
 words," and some of the foremost of whom still go in and out 
 amongst us. 
 
 But I may properly mention the name of the Rev. Dr. 
 Bruce, whose familiar face and form seem to have passed from' 
 us but yesterday, and who succeeded his honoured father as an 
 active worker for the Society. For many years he was one of 
 Its Vice-Presidents. Between 1845 and 1 881 he lectured to the 
 Society more than thirty times, bringing before it the results of 
 
 JOHN COLLINGWOOD BRUCE, D.C.L., LL.D. 
 
i*» 
 
 LECTURES. 
 
 249 
 
 
 his earliest and latest researches into the history of the Roman 
 Wall and of the Bayeux Tapestry, and at times venturing a 
 flight into the realms of science. Some fifty years ago how we 
 young ones trembled as the tall, thin, worthy man raised his air- 
 gun to his shoulder and boldly fired over the heads of his 
 audience at an empty candle-box placed in that which now 
 seems to have been a somewhat dubious place of safety. He 
 was not often over the heads of his audience, many of whom 
 had indeed trembled before the worthy Dominie with better 
 reason, for on this occasion they suffered in fear, but the candle- 
 box, alone, in fact. But few had seen the air-gun before that 
 night : the old familiar weapon of woe was not hollow. 
 
 For more than forty years, indeed from 1847 to the present 
 time, many lecturers have visited the Society every year, except- 
 ing that from 1888 to the autumn of 1892 there were no 
 miscellaneous lectures by gentlemen from a distance. Especially 
 in the fifties, courses by many lecturers upon many different 
 subjects were in great demand. Let me give the Session of 
 1856-57 as an example. In it the list contained no fewer than 
 forty-five lectures. Mr. P. E. Dove gave two on " The Field 
 Sports of Scotland " ; Captain Bedford Pim, one on " The Arctic 
 Regions " ; Mr. Crowder, six on " The Manufacture of Glass and 
 Iron " ; Mr. George Brewis, one on " The Songs of Scotland " ; 
 Mr. Phillips, two on " The Music of various Nations" ; Mr. P. H. 
 Gosse, four on " Marine Zoology " ; Mr. Henry Phillips, two on 
 "Music"; Professor Nichol, four on "Astronomy"; Mr. John 
 Burne, two on " Drawing " ; Mr. Pepper, six on " Light and 
 Chemistry"; Mr. Henry Nicholls, three Dramatic Readings; 
 the Rev. Dr. Bruce, four on " Trajan^s Pillar " ; Mr. T. P. Barkas, 
 one on "Phonography"; Mr. John Watson, one on "The Moon"; 
 Mr. Gerald Massey, four on " Poetic Literature " ; Dr. Dodd, one 
 on " The origin of the names of Places, Rivers, and Mountains, 
 
 ; 'I 
 
 il 
 
 IH 
 
 \J. 
 
Il'i 
 
 M 
 
 V 
 
 250 
 
 LECTURES. 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 r«) 
 
 particularly in Northumberland " ; and Mr. Hargreaves, one on 
 " The Fancies of Science." 
 
 Ah, those were the days of youth, when indigestion, mental 
 or physical, was unknown, and the bigger the meal provided the 
 better it was liked, especially when quantity and quality were 
 alike good. And you will find it well worth your while to go 
 steadily through the long list of lectures and lecturers. You will 
 find a rare gathering of savants and men of letters, and amongst 
 them many great ones besides those already mentioned, such 
 as Froude, Morley, Seeley, Owen, Huxley, Rolleston, Fawcett, 
 Kinkel, Bryce, Freeman, Creighton, Bishop, Ramsay, Jevons, 
 Wallace, and Deutsch. 
 
 The Society which has been able to bring into our city such a 
 host of thinkers and workers has deserved well of the community. 
 Their names show that for more than half a century the people 
 of Newcastle have had the opportunity of listening to the 
 leading representatives of the principal divisions of discovery 
 and thought, whilst the titles tell how many of the lectures 
 delivered to us have taken a permanent place in English 
 literature. This branch of work has in late years devolved 
 to some extent upon younger societies, all of which are either 
 offshoots from this Society, or have received from it sympathetic 
 aid and encouragement But the proudest boast of our Society 
 is surely that from its own members have come forth a noble 
 line of scientific discoverers, who have brought the fruits of 
 their researches before it, and that the safety-lamp of George 
 Stephenson was followed by Robert Stephenson's boiler im- 
 provements ; they, in turn, by Lord Armstrong's hydraulic 
 machine and Hugh Lee Pattinson's desilverising process ; and 
 in our own day, our townsman and Vice-president, Mr. J. W. 
 Swan, introduced here his incandescent electric lamp when few 
 scientific men looked upon it as other than a pretty toy. 
 
 LECTURES, 
 
 251 
 
 Let me turn now to the accommodation provided for the 
 members and their lecturers. 
 
 In the year 1859 the making of the present Lecture-room was 
 begun, and it was completed and the room opened in the following 
 year. It was (as has already been stated) the timely and hand- 
 some gift of our then President, the present Lord Armstrong. 
 Those of us who remember the small and inconvenient theatre 
 which it replaced, recognise to the full the great boon which the 
 new room was to the Society. No doubt that at times it has 
 proved inadequate to the accommodation of the audiences which 
 have assembled to welcome and listen to men of the highest 
 eminence, and on more than one occasion the Town Hall has 
 had to be resorted to. But, upon the whole, it has been efficient 
 and sufficient for the purposes of this Society, and for scientific, 
 educational, or literary objects it has been freely lent to un- 
 numbered societies, both such as were of local fame and such as 
 boasted a wider scope. 
 
 There are many changes, as years roll on, in the popular 
 demand for lectures, and one of the principal duties of the 
 Committee which manages such a Society as this is to watch 
 the demand, and, noting when and how it alters, to supply to 
 the members that which is desired by the great majority. For 
 thirty years one or two long courses of scientific lectures in each 
 session seems to have satisfied the demand. Then for half a 
 century the desire was to have in each session many lectures by 
 many lecturers. For a long time the audiences were large, 
 were amused or bored, as the case might be, and the cost to the 
 Society was comparatively small. Such cost was in no sense 
 loss ; it was part of the proper working expenses of the Society. 
 But very gradually and very certainly the audiences began to 
 diminish. Let us see more exactly what happened. 
 
 The present Lecture-room was opened in 1859, and in 1861 
 
 
i 
 
 252 
 
 LECTURES. 
 
 I'i 
 
 II 
 
 the plan of selling season tickets, which were transferable 
 amongst the families of members or amongst the teachers in 
 schools, was tried with considerable success. In 1865 the new 
 room was frequently so crowded that there was great annoyance 
 amongst the members who could not obtain admission to their own 
 room. It is curious to remember that the great subject of dis- 
 cussion was, at that time, the best plan of limiting the attendance 
 at the lectures, and that which was resorted to, and which 
 proved effectual, was simply doubling the price of admission to 
 the more popular lectures. When, in 1866, Mr. J. A. Froude 
 gave three lectures upon " The Times of Erasmus and Luther," 
 the room was packed full half-an-hour before the time for the 
 lecture, and the audience overflowed into the hall, and so crowded 
 it and the staircase as to make access to the building from the 
 street all but impossible. Some fifteen years afterwards, when 
 another distinguished literary man and admirable lecturer gave 
 two lectures upon his special subject, it was with great difficulty 
 that seventy persons could be induced to listen to them. 
 
 This serious decline of interest in the miscellaneous lectures 
 was brought by one of the secretaries before the Annual 
 Meeting of the Society held on February 7th, 1882. He read 
 a paper which was entitled, "Some account of the lectures 
 hitherto delivered in connection with the Literary and Philo- 
 sophical Society of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, together with a 
 suggestion for making them more extensively useful in the 
 future," and the meeting ordered the paper to be printed and 
 circulated. Fuller allusion will be made to this matter in the 
 following chapter, which treats of the Society in relation to 
 education in Newcastle. Here I need only say that the ruling 
 idea of the paper was that the time had come for the Society to 
 revert to the educational courses, not giving up the miscellaneous 
 lectures entirely, but largely reducing their number. This idea 
 
 l\ 
 
 LECTURES. 
 
 253 
 
 was taken up and given effect to, and, as I have already 
 mentioned, the miscellaneous lectures were abandoned entirely 
 in 1888, and were not resumed until 1892. Since then, the 
 educational courses have been continued, but some miscellaneous 
 lectures have also been given each session and have been fairly 
 
 well attended. 
 
 In the Session 1885-86 an interesting new departure was 
 taken in the form of Lectures for young people during the 
 Christmas holidays. They were given upon six afternoons. 
 Principal Garnett, of the College of Science, leading the way 
 with a discourse upon "Faraday and his Discoveries"; Mr. J. S. 
 Chippendale, Head Master of the Orphan House School, 
 following with two lectures upon "The Breath of Life," and 
 Mr. J. T. Dunn, Head Master of the Boys' High School at 
 Gateshead, giving three lectures upon " Water." There was a 
 numerous attendance, and the audiences were highly apprecia- 
 tive. Similar courses were held in the two following sessions, 
 and gave the greatest satisfaction, as they were indeed bound to 
 do, for they were clear, simple, and forcible, and were admirably 
 illustrated. The young auditors paid much attention and 
 carried away with them much of what they heard This is 
 shown by the following true story. One of the lecturers had 
 shown the working of the heart and lungs by an ingenious 
 model, which represented the internal structure of the human 
 frame with these organs in actual operation. Amongst the 
 audience who watched this experiment with keen delight was 
 the four-year-old son of a well-known Newcastle gentleman. 
 He had a baby sister at home, and when he returned she 
 was asleep in her cradle in the nursery. The boy was 
 ominously quiet. His nurse at length saw him kneel down by 
 the cradle and carefully lay back the clothes which covered the 
 sleeping child. She at once challenged him, inquiring what he 
 
 H 
 
 If, 
 
 'i i 
 
2S4 
 
 LECTURES. 
 
 I'A 
 
 was doing. " Oh, nurse," he reph'ed, " I'm just going to open 
 Baby to see her heart working." With this laudable thirst for 
 experimental knowledge he had armed himself with one of his 
 father's razors, and was grievously disappointed when he was 
 not permitted to complete the interesting experiment. 
 
 There are thus two sides even to the question of scientific 
 lectures to children. 
 
 I have now brought the account of the lectures which have 
 been delivered before the Society during more than ninety 
 years, down to the present time. But, having been a listener to 
 them for more than half a century, I may perhaps be par- 
 doned if I indulge in a few reminiscences of the past. In the 
 means of amusement and instruction, young people have now so 
 much choice that they can scarcely understand what the lectures 
 meant to us who were young people when the century was half- 
 way through. They were, practically, the only things of the 
 kind which were available. We had no College, no School of 
 Science and Art, no Evening Classes, no Debating Societies. 
 They were places and occasions at and upon which we met our 
 friends of either sex. Then, at times, there occurred amusing 
 little episodes which created much more diversion then than 
 they would do in these wise and over-crowded days. In a 
 paper read before the Society in March 1859, by Mr. James 
 Clephan, for many years an invaluable member of the Committee 
 and himself a literary man of conspicuous merit, he tells how 
 one evening, when Mr. W^illiam Turner was lecturing upon 
 " Mechanics," Mr. Nathaniel John Winch, a useful member of 
 the Committee, but short of stature, kindly undertook to perform 
 the part of bellows-blower. He was patiently and laboriously 
 turning away at his handle, when the lecturer calmly and 
 deliberately addressed his audience thus: "And so, ladies and 
 gentlemen, all this mighty machinery is made to revolve, as you 
 
 LECTURES. 
 
 255 
 
 see," and here he pointed in perfect innocence to his crank and 
 
 his colleague, — "by this simple little winch." And amidst a 
 roar of laughter, which astounded and confounded the un- 
 conscious lecturer, poor Mr. Winch resumed his seat. 
 
 Then there was the dear old gentleman who must be name- 
 less, but who read his learned dreary discourse in a low mono- 
 tonous voice, with his manuscript close to his nose, and whose 
 short sight and perfect mental absorption did not permit him to 
 notice that, after a weary hour and a half, only three auditors 
 remained in the hall. How we could ever manage to stop 
 him without accident was a serious question, for we feared the 
 physical shock which any ordinary method of arousing him 
 would occasion. So we gradually turned the gas lower and 
 lower, and this brought him to a full stop some quarter of an 
 hour after the regular time for closing the building had passed. 
 He quietly folded his papers together, bowed to the empty 
 benches, and saying, " Ladies and gentlemen, to-morrow evening 
 we shall resume the consideration of this subject," left the room. 
 But let us come down into more recent times. With what 
 pleasure do we recall the beautiful hoary head and wise, witty 
 face of our Vice-President, Mr. John Clayton, whose finished 
 language, careful enunciation, and polished manners, spake him 
 a survival of a grand and rare order of men which has quite 
 passed away. What gems of dry humour, and how exquisitely 
 felicitous, were the little speeches with which he would propose a 
 vote of thanks to a lecturer. I seem still to see the sly twinkle 
 of his eye when, after Admiral Collinson's lecture. Captain 
 Palmer, the father of Jarrow, made a few observations upon his 
 own experience in the land of storms and ice, when, in early 
 life and before iron shipbuilding had been dreamed of, he was 
 master of a whaling vessel and visited the Arctic regions. Mr. 
 Clayton made a short but pregnant speech afterwards, and con- 
 
 
 II 
 
 n 
 
256 
 
 LECTURES. 
 
 eluded, " Nor must we omit In the expression of our gratitude, 
 our friend and neighbour, the gallant angler of Baffin's Bay." 
 
 It was not so much the words w^hich were used, althoug-h 
 they were always carefully selected, as the manner in which they 
 were spoken, which gave them their effect. They came forth 
 with a kind of amused hesitancy which cannot be described. The 
 most delicious things cannot: they must be heard or seen, for they 
 cannot be imagined. The Society lost much when increasing 
 years at last succeeded in depriving them of the interest and 
 delight of his presence at its meetings, but, to the closing days 
 of his ripe and charming old age, he retained a keen and warm 
 interest in all its affairs. 
 
 He was more than ninety-eight years old when he died, in 
 1890. Newcastle owes much to him in many ways, but perhaps 
 most of all because he, at an early date, recognised the common- 
 sense, business-like inspiration of Richard Grainger, and was 
 chiefly instrumental in enabling him to carry out some portion 
 of the gigantic schemes which, if fully realised, would have 
 turned the busy little mediaeval town into the most majestic 
 city of Europe, and w^hich, even in their incompleteness, have 
 left it, for stateliness of street architecture, without a rival in the 
 United Kingdom. 
 
 Mr. Clayton was perhaps, next to the high position which 
 he held as a local lawyer, most eminent as an antiquarian. 
 It was fortunate that a considerable length of that Roman wall 
 which has made our county the resort of learned pilgrims from 
 all parts of the earth, lay within his extensive domains. It was 
 to be measured by miles, and embraced at least three of the 
 most important stations. At the time of his death he had been 
 a member of this Society for sixty-five years, and an invaluable 
 vice-president for fifty-seven years. 
 
 Then we had a strange man w^ho came to lecture to us upon 
 
 JOHN CLAYTON, F.S.A. 
 
If I 
 
 m 
 
 256 
 
 LECTURES. 
 
 eluded, " Nor must we omit in the expression of our gratitude, 
 our friend and neighbour, the gallant angler of Baffin's Bay." 
 
 It was not so much the words which were used, although 
 they were always carefully selected, as the manner in which they 
 were spoken, which gave them their effect They came forth 
 with a kind of amused hesitancy which cannot be described. The 
 most delicious things cannot : they must be heard or seen, for they 
 cannot be imagined. The Society lost much when increasing 
 years at last succeeded in depriving them of the interest and 
 delight of his presence at its meetings, but, to the closing days 
 of his ripe and charming old age, he retained a keen and warm 
 interest in all its affairs. 
 
 He was more than ninety-eight years old when he died, in 
 1890. Newcastle owes much to him in many ways, but perhaps 
 most of all because he, at an early date, recognised the common- 
 sense, business-like inspiration of Richard Grainger, and was 
 chiefly instrumental in enabling him to carry out some portion 
 of the gigantic schemes which, if fully realised, would have 
 turned the busy little mediaeval town into the most majestic 
 city of Europe, and which, even in their incompleteness, have 
 left it, for stateliness of street architecture, without a rival in the 
 United Kingdom. 
 
 Mr. Clayton was perhaps, next to the high position which 
 he held as a local lawyer, most eminent as an antiquarian. 
 It was fortunate that a considerable length of that Roman wall 
 which has made our county the resort of learned pilgrims from 
 all parts of the earth, lay within his extensive domains. It was 
 to be measured by miles, and embraced at least three of the 
 most important stations. At the time of his death he had been 
 a member of this Society for sixty-five years, and an invaluable 
 vice-president for fifty-seven years. 
 
 Then we had a strange man who came to lecture to us upon 
 
 I 
 
 JOHN CLAYTON, F.S.A. 
 
<1 
 
 li 
 
 LECTURES. 
 
 257 
 
 
 M>r 
 
 hf 
 
 art-subjects, and covered all our great hanging space with 
 photographs and Arundel Society publications, and then pro- 
 ceeded to address his audience, without taking his eyes off his 
 paper, thus : " There was a great painter called Giotto. He was 
 born in 1276, and died in 1336, and he painted many beautiful 
 pictures in churches and other places." Then, without raising 
 his head, but indicating the screen behind him with a backward 
 movement of his thumb, " You'll find several specimens there." 
 The reader can imagine how, when eight or nine " great painters " 
 had been treated of in this exceedingly lucid manner, the 
 audience were too busily engaged in speculating upon the 
 authorship of the multitude of pictures " there " to listen to the 
 slightly monotonous discourse. 
 
 Again, from time to time, certain of the lecturers, notably 
 George Dawson and Professor Blackie, singled out individuals 
 in the audience and made them the recipients of curiously 
 personal criticisms or observations. Leaving his desk, Professor 
 Blackie suddenly strode up to the place where quietly sat one of 
 the secretaries, who happened to be a member of the Society of 
 Friends. Then, apropos des bottes, he burst out, "Now, you, 
 you are a man of Peace, a Quaker ; yet if I were to say that 
 you are a liar, you would knock me down. Serve me right too;" 
 and he returned to his desk with a triumphantly satisfied air, 
 whilst his hearers wondered what it was all about. 
 
 One excellent lecturer, a man from a far country, greatly 
 puzzled his auditors by constant allusions to " the loafs of the 
 goats." What were the goats, and how did they come into the 
 subject of the lecture, and what did they do with the loafs ? 
 Eat them? But, being interpreted, this mysterious saying 
 resolved itself into the Loves of the Gods. 
 
 The lecturers who have had the misfortune to be born in 
 the South, and have therefore never learned to talk English, 
 
 17 
 
 nl 
 
 !! 
 
 [I. 1 
 
 I 
 
\\\ 
 
 iil'l 
 
 I! 
 
 258 
 
 LECTURES, 
 
 have sometimes been at a considerable disadvantage. I re- 
 member one highly-cultured and eloquent man who gave an 
 admirable course of lectures, and night after night charmed 
 his entire audience. At last, in an evil moment, he ventured to 
 quote the concluding lines of "the yell of the Forum," from 
 Macaulay*s "Virginia," and the consequences were convulsive. 
 It came forth thus — 
 
 " Thou that wouldst mike our midens slives mest ferst mike slives 
 of men : 
 Twibunes, huwwah for twibunes " 
 
 Neither the quotation nor the lecture were finished. 
 
 But these are not the recollections which crowd most 
 quickly and thickly to the mind as it turns back to the 
 nights spent in listening to our visitors from a distance. The 
 brave, calm face of the fearless seeker after truth; the quiet, 
 convincing exposition of some new doctrine; the words of simple 
 but thrilling eloquence; the great teaching, the deep and high 
 thought, the mighty truths which have been unfolded to us, the 
 far-off scenes and times which have been made to live before 
 us, — these are what are uppermost in my mind as I think over 
 the lectures which we have been privileged to listen to. It is 
 good to have looked into the faces, and to have heard the voices, 
 of the men who have spoken to us and taught us, by their words 
 as by their books, many of the lessons which, in life, we have 
 found of the greatest value. 
 
 And let me, in conclusion, sum up in figures the lecturing 
 work which the Society has done. In its one hundred and 
 three years of existence (up to the end of 1895) nearly three 
 thousand lectures have been delivered to ks members. In 72 
 of the 92 sessions, since 1803, there have been systematic or 
 educational courses of lectures. There have been, in all, 140 
 
 LECTURES. 
 
 259 
 
 courses of this kind, and they have varied in the number of 
 lectures in each course from six to thirty. The total sum 
 which this Society has expended in this way to meet certain 
 of the educational requirements of this district is not less than 
 £1^,000, 
 
I 
 
 M 
 
 \( ^' 
 
 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 THi: PART WHICH THE SOCIETY HAS PLAYED IN 
 THE PROMOTION OF EDUCATION IN THE CITY 
 OF NE WCASTLE. 
 
 HOSE persons who have taken the trouble to glance 
 over the earlier chapters of this book must have come 
 to the conclusion that the Literary and Philosophical 
 Society has deserved well of the public of this district But in 
 no department has it rendered such conspicuous service as in 
 that of education. From the address delivered by the Rev. 
 William Turner when the Society was founded in 1793 to the 
 most recent brochure issued by the Committee more than a 
 century afterwards, the furthering of education in all, but 
 especially in the highest branches, has been held out as one of 
 its principal objects ; it is perhaps scarcely too much to say 
 that it was, is, and should ever be, its chief raison ditre. 
 
 My last two chapters tell the story of the lectures given in 
 connection with the Society, but with one important exception 
 which I shall deal with shortly. This part of the Society's 
 educational work has gone on steadily for more than ninety 
 years, and has been of inestimable value to the town and district. 
 Again, in Chapter VH., I have spoken of the services which, at 
 a very early date, our Society rendered to the cause of primary 
 education. It is not uninteresting to note that it was in the 
 
 h I 
 
 THE SOCIETY AND EDUCATION. 
 
 261 
 
 Society's Lecture Room that a valuable movement was set on 
 foot by members of the Society to establish exhibitions or 
 scholarships from primary to secondary schools; that the 
 managers of the fund raised met to conduct the business 
 connected with it in the Society's rooms, and that, in them, the 
 scholarships were publicly awarded to the successful com- 
 petitors. This valuable movement only ceased some twelve 
 years ago, when other agencies of a more permanent nature had 
 taken up the work. 
 
 But I must trace at some length the endeavours which have 
 from time to time been made by the Society to obtain the 
 foundation of a College at Newcastle, and which, though quite 
 independent of each other, extended over the long space of 
 forty years before they were crowned by success. The history 
 of a struggle of this kind has an interest which is more than 
 local. 
 
 The man who began the great endeavour was a doctor of 
 medicine, Thomas Michael Greenhow. He was in large 
 practice, and took an active part in the philanthropic and 
 political work of the town and district But he was specially 
 interested in education in all its branches, and upon the 5th 
 April, 1 83 1, he read a paper before this Society which he 
 entitled, "The expediency of establishing in Newcastle an 
 academical Institution of the nature of a College or University 
 for the promotion of Literature and Science, more especially 
 amongst the Middle Classes of the Community, briefly con- 
 sidered." It was felt to be of so much importance that the 
 paper was at once ordered to be printed, circulated amongst 
 the members, and more widely distributed. 
 
 In this paper, after general observations upon "the advan- 
 tages of mental culture," Mr. Greenhow went on to state that 
 it was " a remarkable fact that in no country of Europe were 
 
 c» 
 
262 
 
 THE SOCIETY AND EDUCATION. 
 
 the means of obtaining a liberal and systematic course of 
 academic instruction so sparingly supplied to youth as in 
 England." He spoke of the difficulties in the way of youths 
 of the middle-class at Oxford or Cambridge; the disadvantage 
 of their associating in the same schools with those of noble 
 birth or of unlimited pecuniary resources; the dissipation and 
 temptations of the old-established seats of learning; and the 
 patronage on the one hand, and subserviency and humiliating 
 dependence on the other, which arose out of college intimacies 
 between youths of different ranks and opposite fortunes. 
 
 Where then were the middle ranks to obtain "those ad- 
 vantages of education which the general progress of society 
 imperatively demands?" London had an institution in active 
 and useful operation, but London was far away, and was " the 
 last place where a prudent father would be induced to entrust 
 a youth from 16 to 18 or 19 years of age in a great degree to 
 his own guidance." The Scotch universities were neither so 
 distant nor so expensive, but they were local rather than 
 national, "and not likely to be extensively resorted to by 
 English students for the purposes of general attainments only." 
 Then the only thing which remained to be done was to establish 
 for ourselves a college or university where a systematic course 
 of instruction in the higher branches of classical literature, 
 mathematics, and general science, might be accessible to every 
 youth in the middle walks of life. 
 
 Mr. Greenhow then went on to show why Newcastle was 
 " the most eligible site " for one of " these marts of literature." 
 It was the centre and capital of a large and wealthy district, 
 and would be convenient to students from several of the 
 northern counties. " In proof that the present time is favour- 
 able for such an undertaking, I may likewise refer," he said, 
 " to the liberal character of the existing ministry " (Lord Grey's, 
 
 It 
 
 EARL GREY, PRIME MINISTER IN 1832. 
 
 HJ. 
 
262 
 
 THE SOCIETY AND EDUCATION, 
 
 ilit 
 
 the means of obtaining a liberal and systematic course of 
 academic instruction so sparingly supplied to youth as in 
 England." He spoke of the difficulties in the way of youths 
 of the middle-class at Oxford or Cambridge; the disadvantage 
 of their associating in the same schools with those of noble 
 birth or of unlimited pecuniary resources; the dissipation and 
 temptations of the old-established seats of learning; and the 
 patronage on the one hand, and subserviency and humiliating 
 dependence on the other, which arose out of college intimacies 
 between youths of different ranks and opposite fortunes. 
 
 Where then were the middle ranks to obtain "those ad- 
 vantages of education which the general progress of society 
 imperatively demands?" London had an institution in active 
 and useful operation, but London was far away, and was " the 
 last place where a prudent father would be induced to entrust 
 a youth from 16 to 18 or 19 years of age in a great degree to 
 his own guidance." The Scotch universities were neither so 
 distant nor so expensive, but they were local rather than 
 national, "and not likely to be extensively resorted to by 
 English students for the purposes of general attainments only." 
 Then the only thing which remained to be done was to establish 
 for ourselves a college or university where a systematic course 
 of instruction in the higher branches of classical literature, 
 mathematics, and general science, might be accessible to every 
 youth in the middle walks of life. 
 
 Mr. Greenhow then went on to show why Newcastle was 
 " the most eligible site " for one of " these marts of literature." 
 It was the centre and capital of a large and wealthy district, 
 and would be convenient to students from several of the 
 northern counties. " In proof that the present time is favour- 
 able for such an undertaking, I may likewise refer," he said, 
 " to the liberal character of the existing ministry " (Lord Grey's, 
 
 EARL GREY, PRIME MINISTER IN 1 832. 
 
THE SOCIETY AND EDUCATION, 
 
 263 
 
 iHi 
 
 and so one of which Newcastle folk might be proud), "and 
 their known desire to promote and encourage the progress of 
 literature, as circumstances likely to ensure for it the counte- 
 nance of government." 
 
 He next discussed some of the stock objections to higher 
 education, and the special advantages of it to the merchant as 
 well as to young men who proposed to enter the professions of 
 law or medicine, and indeed " to all who properly constitute the 
 middle ranks of the community." As to the merchants, he said 
 that it was both probable and desirable that members of the 
 legislature should be frequently chosen from among them. He 
 then turned to the coal trade and to the young men preparing 
 to discharge the responsible duties connected with it, and 
 claimed that this consideration alone " furnished a powerful and 
 unanswerable argument in favour of an Academic Establish- 
 ment, which could not fail to render more effective and more 
 easily attainable the regular scientific education required by 
 those concerned in the direction of works of such commercial 
 magnitude, and implicating so great hazard to human life." 
 Finally, after noticing how favourable a situation Newcastle 
 was for "a flourishing and beneficial school of medicine" because 
 of "its excellent and extensive hospital, and the numerous 
 other medical charities, which might all be made subservient 
 to the acquisition of valuable practical knowledge," he claimed 
 for his project " the serious consideration of this Society, and of 
 the community at large, as an institution which could not 
 fail to exert the most beneficial influence over the moral and 
 intellectual happiness of the entire mass of population in the 
 North of England ; . . . while it would give a great additional 
 consequence to, and shed a glory over, a town which is so 
 rapidly increasing in extent, in beauty, and in commercial 
 importance." 
 
 ■It 
 
 ji 
 
 
 »!: 
 
 in 
 
 
 I uttj 
 
264 
 
 THE SOCIETY AND EDUCATION, 
 
 THE SOCIETY AND EDUCATION. 
 
 26s 
 
 « 
 
 ^\' 
 
 This paper was read at a time when the middle-class were 
 receiving the most attention. It was of higher education for 
 the middle-class that Mr. Greenhow thought, and one of his 
 dreams was that from this class, under a new political system 
 which was about to be introduced, the parliamentary ranks 
 might frequently be recruited. " But that was sixty years ago." 
 
 The suggestions which Mr. Greenhow made excited much 
 interest, and upon the 7th June, 1831, he followed the matter 
 up by reading a second paper, in which he went into closer 
 detail. This was also printed by the Society, and was sold 
 amongst the members who were specially interested in the 
 subject, and amongst the general public. A Committee was 
 also appointed to draw up a prospectus of the proposed College, 
 and to issue an address to the public upon the general question. 
 
 But very soon after the last date it was announced that a 
 University was about to be started in the City of Durham, and 
 there seems to be some reason for supposing that Mr. Greenhow*s 
 activity hastened the development of the Durham scheme. A 
 Bill was passed through Parliament in 1832 to enable the Dean 
 and Chapter of Durham to provide funds for the establishment 
 of an University, and it received the royal assent on the 14th 
 July of that year. It was opened in October 1833. 
 
 Whether Mr. Greenhow's activity hastened the advent of 
 the Durham University or no, " the subsequent announcement 
 of a College at Durham" evidently stayed the proceedings of 
 the Newcastle Committee. But in their annual report pre- 
 sented in February 1832, the General Committee of the Society 
 truly say that " the plan of the College there contemplated can 
 not be said to have at all superseded the desirableness of an 
 Institution like that proposed for Newcastle, since many of the 
 objects contemplated by it do not appear to have entered into 
 the scheme of the Durham College, particularly the medical 
 
 part of it; and since that Institution is obviously not at all 
 calculated for supplying the wants of the resident youth of 
 Newcastle." 
 
 Twelve months elapsed before the Special Committee pre- 
 sented to a Monthly Meeting of the Society held on the 5th 
 June, 1832, the prospectus of a Collegiate Institution, which the 
 meeting ordered to be printed and circulated. I shall speak 
 more in detail of this document shortly, but the chief idea was 
 to start a proprietary College, raising the proposed capital of 
 ;f 1 5,000 in twenty pound shares. These were to confer the 
 right of proprietorship, and might be transferred or bequeathed, 
 and they were to carry the right of voting in the election of 
 officers, etc., in proportion to the number of shares, ladies voting 
 by proxy, and they were also to give the right of nominating 
 pupils at lower fees. 
 
 The notion was that but a small capital was required, 
 because " it seems highly probable, if not quite certain, that the 
 several chairs might be filled by gentlemen resident in New- 
 castle, who would be at once competent to undertake the duties 
 of professors, and so zealous in the cause as to be induced to do 
 so without further pecuniary reward than what might arise 
 from the admission fees to their several courses of instruction." 
 Mr. Green supplied a plan to accompany the prospectus, and 
 estimated that the " elegant and commodious " building it repre- 
 sented could be erected for ;f 10,000. This is surprising, for it 
 was to contain eight lecture theatres on the ground floor, the 
 largest 40 feet by 26 feet, and the smallest 27 feet by 16 feet; 
 besides a Writing and Arithmetic class-room, 41 feet by 18 feet; 
 two spare rooms, each 26 feet by 15 feet; an apparatus room, 
 26 feet square, and a Practical Anatomy room, 41 by 18, with 
 the needful offices, etc.; piazzas in front, 338 feet long and 8 feet 
 wide; and, on the first floor, libraries, museums, and the like. 
 
 i\ 
 
266 
 
 THE SOCIETY AND EDUCATION. 
 
 THE SOCIETY AND EDUCATION 
 
 267 
 
 III 
 
 ■S\' 
 
 pi 
 
 
 III 
 
 The general scheme of instruction was to embrace every 
 department of literature, and natural and mental science. The 
 studies and students were to be divided into general or pre- 
 paratory, and specific or professional. The junior classes on the 
 general side were to be " initiated in classical and mathematical 
 studies, in a knowledge of modern languages, in general history, 
 and English literature and composition." The method of in- 
 struction was to correspond with that adopted in the High 
 School and Academy at Edinburgh, and seems to have included 
 the much neglected but useful and gentle art of penmanship. 
 The senior classes were to pursue the same studies in their 
 higher departments, but the principles of logic and mental 
 philosophy were to be added. 
 
 Upon the specific or professional side, instruction was to be 
 " communicated in full courses of lectures by competent pro- 
 fessors." The prospectus goes on : " They will be comprised in 
 the following arrangement — 
 
 1. Political economy. 
 
 2. English law, ethics, and jurisprudence. 
 
 3. Natural philosophy. 
 
 4. Natural history, zoology, and comparative anatomy. 
 
 5. Chemistry, geology, and mineralogy. 
 
 6. Botany, and the physiology of plants. 
 
 The two latter must be considered as constituting a part of the 
 course of medical study, which will also comprise : — 
 
 1. Anatomy and physiology. 
 
 2. Principles and practice of surgery. 
 
 3. Principles and practice of medicine. 
 
 4. Materia medica and pharmacy. 
 
 5. Midwifery and diseases of women and children. 
 
 6. Clinical lectures in surgery. 
 
 7. Clinical lectures in medicine." 
 
 Thus the scheme proposed to carry on the work which is at 
 the present time being performed by the Royal Grammar School, 
 the College of Medicine, and the Durham College of Science. 
 
 The newspapers took the matter up, and, whilst criticising 
 many of the details of the scheme, approved heartily of it from 
 the general point of view. Prophetically did the Newcastle 
 Chronicle write : " The announcement of the proposed College 
 at Durham may, in the estimation of some, be thought to 
 preclude the necessity of such an institution at Newcastle. We 
 must, however, confess that we are not of that number. The 
 auspices and influence under which the College at Durham has 
 been announced are not what we think will answer the demands 
 and wishes of the neighbourhood and the wants of the country. 
 The exclusive restrictions which it is intended to impose upon 
 the students must prevent a very large mass of the wealthy 
 and intelligent classes of the district from taking advantage of 
 the instruction it offers; while the influence and profession of 
 the individuals by whom it is proposed to be established tend 
 strongly to encourage the belief that it will be conducted too 
 much for theological objects, and we fear in too clerical a 
 spirit, and too much on the plan and in the system of the old- 
 established Universities, to answer public expectations, and 
 supply the wants and demands of the middle classes of the 
 community." 
 
 The article from which I have quoted is of peculiar interest, 
 because, while it attacks strongly " the minute labour and high- 
 wrought attention which are bestowed, in the old institutions, 
 on classical learning, it puts in an earnest plea for that which 
 we now call technical education. Utility and applicability to 
 the business of life should be, and must be, their chief objects." 
 " A glorious field is now open to them. It is a disgrace to the 
 country that there exists no institution in it appropriated to 
 
 'I 
 
t 
 
 I I 
 
 III 
 
 268 
 
 THE SOCIETY AND EDUCATION. 
 
 instruction in those branches of knowledge which are requisite 
 to constitute eminence in mechanics, engineering, chemistry, 
 and those useful arts which are necessary for the well-being of 
 all classes — spread around general happiness and comfort, and 
 tend to civilise man. It is from the middle classes, from those 
 who feel the want of it, that such an institution must spring ; 
 and why should Newcastle not take the initiative in such an 
 honourable proceeding. Nowhere is such an institution more 
 needed, and nowhere could it be founded in a situation better 
 qualified to attain its object than in this, where those branches 
 of knowledge are so necessary, and where they can have so 
 extensive an application and illustration. It has * means * 
 enough for a seminary of the highest worth, let but the * ap- 
 pliances ' be meet, and the support adequate, and there can 
 be no fear of the result" 
 
 Wise and true words indeed, but we shall see that, when 
 half a century had passed away, and when a College in which 
 the appliances were meet had been provided, the means for its 
 due support were not forthcoming. The chance of being first 
 in the field had, indeed, long been lost, and the chance of being 
 best seems even now remote. 
 
 A requisition to the Mayor, John Brandling, Esq., to hold a 
 town's meeting upon the subject was extensively signed, and, 
 on the 24th January, 1833, such a meeting was duly held at 
 the Guildhall, under the presidency of the Mayor himself. 
 Resolutions were unanimously passed approving of the estab- 
 lishment of a College, and a Committee was appointed for the 
 purpose of forming the Joint-Stock Company which it was 
 proposed should carry it on. The Committee set to work to 
 find out what could be done, but its ideal was not sufficiently 
 high. It soon " deemed it proper to communicate to the public 
 its conviction " that a building could be rented and a start made 
 
 THE SOCIETY AND EDI/CATION 
 
 269 
 
 if a capital of ;^S000 were forthcoming, and that the fees would, 
 " on a moderate computation, amply suffice to meet the current 
 expenditure of the Institution as well as the payment of the 
 interest of the invested capital." 
 
 Such ideas could never bring forth any satisfactory result. 
 The reward of those who labour in the cause of higher education 
 must not be expected in the form of interest on invested capital. 
 It is a mistake to minimise the needs and cost of any educa- 
 tional undertaking. Districts differ in the value which they set 
 upon such things. In some parts of the country there is more 
 public spirit, more readiness to give, than in others. But 
 experience teaches that there is nothing but danger and dis- 
 appointment in half- measures, and that in matters of this kind 
 it is not infrequently easier to raise ;fi'so,ooo than ;f 5000. 
 
 At all events, the ;^5000 was not forthcoming. For whatever 
 reason, the scheme did not " catch on," and, notwithstanding the 
 extraordinary interest which had been aroused, nothing resulted 
 from the thought and labour of years. We find Mr. Greenhow 
 reading a paper before the Society in December 1834, on the 
 circumstances which still rendered it desirable to attempt an 
 Academical Institution in Newcastle for the instruction of its 
 youth in the higher branches of education. In October 1835, 
 Dr. George Fife brought the matter forward, reading a paper on 
 the facilities which Newcastle presented for such an Institution, 
 and in March 1 836 he carried a resolution that the Society should 
 memorialise the Corporation in favour of an academical institu- 
 tion ; and at the same meeting Mr. Greenhow was thanked for his 
 long and persevering exertions, and a Committee was formed 
 which drew up and presented the memorial, and the Corporation 
 appointed an Education Committee. But there the matter 
 ended for some years, so far as a College was concerned. 
 
 But Mr. Greenhow made another effort in favour of higher 
 
., f 
 
 268 
 
 THE SOCIETY AND EDUCATION. 
 
 THE SOCIETY AND EDUCATION. 
 
 269 
 
 ii 
 
 
 instruction in those branches of knowledge which are requisite 
 to constitute eminence in mechanics, engineering, chemistry, 
 and those useful arts which are necessary for the well-being of 
 all classes — spread around general happiness and comfort, and 
 tend to civilise man. It is from the middle classes, from those 
 who feel the want of it, that such an institution must spring ; 
 and why should Newcastle not take the initiative in such an 
 honourable proceeding. Nowhere is such an institution more 
 needed, and nowhere could it be founded in a situation better 
 qualified to attain its object than in this, where those branches 
 of knowledge are so necessary, and where they can have so 
 extensive an application and illustration. It has * means ' 
 enough for a seminary of the highest worth, let but the * ap- 
 pliances ' be meet, and the support adequate, and there can 
 be no fear of the result" 
 
 Wise and true words indeed, but we shall see that, when 
 half a century had passed away, and when a College in which 
 the appliances were meet had been provided, the means for its 
 due support were not forthcoming. The chance of being first 
 in the field had, indeed, long been lost, and the chance of being 
 best seems even now remote. 
 
 A requisition to the Mayor, John Brandling, Esq., to hold a 
 town's meeting upon the subject was extensively signed, and, 
 on the 24th January, 1833, such a meeting was duly held at 
 the Guildhall, under the presidency of the Mayor himself. 
 Resolutions were unanimously passed approving of the estab- 
 lishment of a College, and a Committee was appointed for the 
 purpose of forming the Joint-Stock Company which it was 
 proposed should carry it on. The Committee set to work to 
 find out what could be done, but its ideal was not sufficiently 
 high. It soon " deemed it proper to communicate to the public 
 its conviction " that a building could be rented and a start made 
 
 if a capital of £yyx> were forthcoming, and that the fees would, 
 " on a moderate computation, amply suffice to meet the current 
 expenditure of the Institution as well as the payment of the 
 interest of the invested capital." 
 
 Such ideas could never bring forth any satisfactory result 
 The reward of those who labour in the cause of higher education 
 must not be expected in the form of interest on invested capital. 
 It is a mistake to minimise the needs and cost of any educa- 
 tional undertaking. Districts differ in the value which they set 
 upon such things. In some parts of the country there is more 
 public spirit, more readiness to give, than in others. But 
 experience teaches that there is nothing but danger and dis- 
 appointment in half-measures, and that in matters of this kind 
 it is not infrequently easier to raise ;£"50,ooo than ;f 5000. 
 
 At all events, the ;f 5000 was not forthcoming. For whatever 
 reason, the scheme did not " catch on," and, notwithstanding the 
 extraordinary interest which had been aroused, nothing resulted 
 from the thought and labour of years. We find Mr. Greenhow 
 reading a paper before the Society in December 1834, on the 
 circumstances which still rendered it desirable to attempt an 
 Academical Institution in Newcastle for the instruction of its 
 youth in the higher branches of education. In October 1835, 
 Dr. George Fife brought the matter forward, reading a paper on 
 the facilities which Newcastle presented for such an Institution, 
 and in March 1836 he carried a resolution that the Society should 
 memorialise the Corporation in favour of an academical institu- 
 tion ; and at the same meeting Mr. Greenhow was thanked for his 
 long and persevering exertions, and a Committee was formed 
 which drew up and presented the memorial, and the Corporation 
 appointed an Education Committee. But there the matter 
 ended for some years, so far as a College was concerned. 
 
 But Mr. Greenhow made another effort in favour of higher 
 
1 1 
 
 )l 
 
 270 THE SOCIETY AND EDUCATION, 
 
 education, which, although unsuccessful, proved how much he 
 was in advance of his time. In March 1838 he carried 
 resolutions that full and systematic courses of lectures in Mathe- 
 matical and Mechanical Science, in Chemistry, and in Geology 
 and Mineralogy, with a view more especially to the instruction 
 of persons intended for civil and mining engineers, should be 
 instituted, the Lecturers being appointed by the Society, and 
 having the use of the Lecture Room and philosophical appa- 
 ratus, but being paid only from the moderate fees actually 
 received. Advertisements were to be inserted in the Newcastle 
 and Gateshead newspapers requesting persons desirous to under- 
 take the duties of Lecturers to send in applications to a Lecture 
 Committee, which would settle all details subject to the approba- 
 tion of the Society at a General Meeting. 
 
 In the report presented at the Annual Meeting in February 
 1840, the Committee remark that nothing has been done to 
 carry out these resolutions. " Your Committee, however, have 
 learnt with great satisfaction that the subject has been taken up 
 by the University of Durham, where regular college instructions 
 are afforded to students in those branches." 
 
 Poor, easily-satisfied Committee ! For all practical purposes, 
 so far as the Newcastle students were concerned, such college 
 instructions might as well have been given in the moon. 
 
 Indeed, in October of that very year Mr. Greenhow seems to 
 have had doubts of the probability of any action on the part ot 
 the University of Durham, for he again read a paper on the 
 expediency of establishing a Collegiate Institution in Newcastle, 
 and at the following Monthly Meeting, assisted by Mr. Joseph 
 Watson, the Rev. D. C. Browning, and Mr. Fenwick, he carried 
 a series of resolutions on the subject Again there was a Com- 
 mittee appointed to confer with the Town Council, and other 
 bodies were invited to assist, and this Society's rooms were 
 
 u| 
 
 T. M. GREENHOW. 
 
ir-IL 
 
 i 
 
 II 
 
 
 270 THE SOCIETY AND EDUCATION. 
 
 education, which, although unsuccessful, proved how much he 
 was in advance of his time. In March 1838 he carried 
 resolutions that full and systematic courses of lectures in Mathe- 
 matical and Mechanical Science, in Chemistry, and in Geology 
 and Mineralogy, with a view more especially to the instruction 
 of persons intended for civil and mining engineers, should be 
 instituted, the Lecturers being appointed by the Society, and 
 having the use of the Lecture Room and philosophical appa- 
 ratus, but being paid only from the moderate fees actually 
 received. Advertisements were to be inserted in the Newcastle 
 and Gateshead newspapers requesting persons desirous to under- 
 take the duties of Lecturers to send in applications to a Lecture 
 Committee, which would settle all details subject to the approba- 
 tion of the Society at a General Meeting. 
 
 In the report presented at the Annual Meeting in February 
 1840, the Committee remark that nothing has been done to 
 carry out these resolutions. "Your Committee, however, have 
 learnt with great satisfaction that the subject has been taken up 
 by the University of Durham, where regular college instructions 
 are afforded to students in those branches." 
 
 Poor, easily-satisfied Committee! For all practical purposes, 
 so far as the Newcastle students were concerned, such college 
 instructions might as well have been given in the moon. 
 
 Indeed, in October of that very year Mr. Greenhow seems to 
 have had doubts of the probability of any action on the part of 
 the University of Durham, for he again read a paper on the 
 expediency of establishing a Collegiate Institution in Newcastle, 
 and at the following Monthly Meeting, assisted by Mr. Joseph 
 Watson, the Rev. D. C. Browning, and Mr. Fenwick, he carried 
 a series of resolutions on the subject. Again there was a Com- 
 mittee appointed to confer with the Town Council, and other 
 bodies were invited to assist, and this Society's rooms were 
 
 T. M. GREENHOW. 
 
THE SOCIETY AND EDUCATION, 
 
 271 
 
 \\ 
 
 I 
 
 offered " for the purposes of the said projected Academy until 
 other accommodation shall be obtained." Nothing of a practical 
 kind was done in the matter, but Mr. Greenhow was not dis- 
 couraged. In 1844 he read a paper advocating compulsory- 
 National Education. In 1845 he returned to the question of 
 a collegiate institution for Newcastle, pointing out "that the 
 means of education for the middle classes were inadequate in 
 this district, in science, and in the higher departments of science 
 and literature, especially that branch of science which related to 
 mining. Every day the operations of mining were growing 
 more difficult and complicated, therefore means should be pro- 
 vided to educate those who have the management of such 
 operations up to the necessities of the situations in which they 
 would be placed, more especially as regards human life and the 
 investment of capital." 
 
 On Mr Greenhow's motion the Government was appealed 
 to, a memorial being presented to Sir James Graham by a 
 Committee appointed for the purpose. The answer received, 
 although not exactly favourable, did not preclude the hope of 
 future assistance. The above-named Committee determined, 
 however, to memorialise the Queen herself on the subject, which 
 was done, and since then the matter seems to have rested. But 
 once again did Mr. Greenhow bring it forward, reading the only 
 paper contributed to the Monthly Meetings in 1849, and upon 
 his pet project. By this time he had come to the conclusion 
 that much more money would be required, if the project were to 
 succeed, than he had at first considered necessary. He died in 
 1850, eighteen years in advance of his time, but he had done 
 a good work. The cause of his failure was that he had looked 
 too much, latterly, to help from the Corporation or the Govern- 
 ment, and did not make a beginning, however humble. 
 
 And now, excepting the annual courses of lectures already 
 
 ii .1 i. 
 
 I^i 
 
I. 
 
 • 
 
 !\ 
 
 272 THE SOCIETY AND EDUCA TION. 
 
 fully described, nothing specially educational was done by or in 
 the Society for fifteen years. Then an eminently practical step 
 forward was taken. In the Session 1863-64, the Rev. James 
 Snape, always in the front in matters of this kind, gave a 
 course of six lectures on " The Philosophy of Mathematics," and 
 Mr. J. F. Spencer a course of eight on " Mechanical Engineer- 
 ing"; and in that of 1866-67 Professor Freire Marreco gave a 
 course of twelve upon ** Chemistry." But the great impulse 
 towards a more systematic endeavour at higher education came 
 from personal intercourse with one of the most suggestive and 
 stimulating minds of our time, Professor (the late Sir) J. JR. 
 Seeley. He gave three lectures to the Society on " Milton " in 
 December 1867, and, in one of the many invaluable private 
 conversations which those who knew him look back to as of 
 infinite worth, he asked his listener, already specially interested 
 in such matters, " why not start a College for Newcastle ?" 
 
 The idea took root, and some correspondence with certain 
 of the professors at Durham followed, both by letter and per- 
 sonal interview. It was thought that help would come most 
 naturally from those persons in the neighbouring city who were 
 actually engaged in the work of high education. But they at 
 first received the proposals made to them somewhat coldly, which 
 was right and natural, for they were not backed up by any Society 
 or Committee, but were simply those of an obscure individual. 
 At length they said, "If it is proved to our satisfaction that 
 there is a demand for high education in Newcastle,>ven if it be 
 of that kind which, as has been laid before us, must be chiefly 
 given in the evenings, we shall be prepared to take the matter 
 up seriously, and to bring it before the Senate of the University." 
 Then the next thing to be done was to provide the proof 
 
 At a general Monthly Meeting of the Society held on the 
 3rd March, 1868, a paper was read entitled "A plan for making 
 
 THE SOCIETY AND EDUCATION 
 
 273 
 
 the Society more extensively useful as an educational Institu- 
 tion." It had been prepared, as the writer explained, quite 
 independently and without any knowledge of the earlier 
 endeavours which I have already described. The writer began 
 by describing the systems of education adopted in France and 
 Germany respectively, and comparing them with the want, the 
 entire want of system which at that time prevailed in our own 
 country from primary teaching to that of the Universities. He 
 explained fully what had been done at Owen's College in Man- 
 chester, advocating that whilst we should not be able to begin 
 upon so great a scale, yet our aims should be as high. We 
 should exclude no one because of sex or social position, and 
 should contemplate every branch of learning. What we wanted 
 was to move the University of Durham bodily to Newcastle, 
 and slightly to modify its constitution. "I advocate neither 
 more nor less than the establishment amongst us of a College, 
 where instruction of a high and liberal kind in every branch 
 of learning should be given to all who can and will avail them- 
 selves of it." 
 
 If the thing were to be begun properly, a large sum of 
 money would be required at the very outset. " The only safe 
 and sound plan is to endow the professors* chairs as you found 
 them. This will require a large sum, because the professors 
 must be men who will devote their lives to their subjects, the 
 best men who can be obtained ; and if we want such, we must 
 make it worth their while to come and settle in this east wind 
 land. Beyond their value as teachers, there would surely be a 
 gain to us in having added to the few men who are still 
 amongst us of * the salt of the earth/ others whose presence in 
 our town would give to it a character and tone, for the absence 
 of which no material prosperity can compensate. A little 
 leaven leaveneth the whole lump." 
 
 18 
 
274 THE SOCIETY AND EDUCATION. 
 
 The writer went on to explain that he had brought this 
 subject forward because of some dissatisfaction amongst the 
 members with the position held by the Society, and much desire 
 that it should exert the power for good which was latent in it 
 " Compared with what it once was, as a Society it is dead." 
 The idea was that the Library and Lecture-room might be 
 made of much more general use. " We have here (and they 
 had not in Manchester) ready made to our hand in this and the 
 neighbouring Societies, many of the requisites of such an 
 institution, enough to keep it in active work for many years to 
 come, with very little new building and very little alteration in 
 the old. We have, first of all, upon our own premises, an 
 excellent collection of books, which could at comparatively 
 small expense, without altering our present character as a 
 Lending Library, but with the assistance of men thoroughly 
 competent to undertake the several branches, be made an 
 admirable Library of Reference. We have a Lecture Room so 
 good that I never enter it without a feeling of regret that it 
 should only be used on thirty to forty evenings out of each 
 three hundred and sixty-five ; and we have a large space of 
 vacant ground, of use to no one but an eyesore to everybody, 
 which, at but little cost, might be covered with class-rooms and 
 reading-rooms, giving instruction and wisdom, the best and 
 truest happiness, to numbers of earnest men and women. We 
 must not forget how this centre of desolation is surrounded. 
 It is hemmed in on all sides by learned Societies with objects 
 kindred to our own. First, we have the Natural History Society 
 with its noble museum, an honour to the North of England, but 
 requiring extension, and which would be a fortune to any 
 college in the world. With it we must take into account its 
 powerful and important ally, the Field Club, with its five 
 hundred members, perhaps the most living Society in the 
 
 THE SOCIETY AND EDUCATION. 275 
 
 district. Then comes the Medical School, which has its own 
 class-room, laboratory, and museum, and is closely allied to the 
 University of Durham. . . . This school, managed as it is by 
 men who belong to a profession more enlightened than any 
 other on this matter of education, we may confidently look to 
 for sympathy and co-operation in any work which has for its 
 object higher and better culture ; and some of the classes which 
 are now so ably taught there, and which deal with subjects of 
 general interest, might readily be made available for general 
 students. Coming round, we have that influential and active 
 body, the Mining Institute, perhaps the wealthiest Society to 
 which we can appeal for support ; and we must not forget the 
 quiet, unostentatious, but most useful School of Art, which has 
 for many years done good work in an effectual way. But be- 
 sides these societies, which are collected together here, and which, 
 if working together, have so many of the most important imple- 
 ments which a College needs, there are others outside anxious 
 and striving for better education in their respective specialities • 
 and they would, no doubt, gladly co-operate in the formation 
 of such an institution as would, amongst other good things, 
 afford them this. I may mention that fraternity to which we 
 owe more mental and bodily pleasure and comfort (or, at times, 
 the reverse!) perhaps than any other, the Architectural Asso- 
 ciation, and I may also mention the lovers of the sadly neglected 
 art of Music, for both of these have been moving in the question 
 of higher and better education in their own walks." 
 
 The writer went on to explain that he did not in any way 
 advocate the destruction or vital alteration of any society, or 
 any interference with funds, etc., but simply that each should be 
 ready to contribute its quota to the common cause. He pointed 
 to the character of the time, one of intellectual awakening, of a 
 searching and inquiring present giving promise of a fuller and 
 
<< 
 
 276 
 
 THE SOCIETY AND EDUCATION, 
 
 THE SOCIETY AND EDUCATION 
 
 277 
 
 wiser future. "With these things going on around us we 
 cannot stand aside. Education,— higher, deeper, wider educa- 
 tion,— humbling yet ennobling all,— must come and will come. 
 The question for England to-day is,— in high thought, in true 
 culture, in the better part of life,— will it hold its own amongst 
 the nations of the earth,— knowing that, if it fail in these, the 
 things which are lower will be lost with them; and for us, men 
 of Newcastle, are we ready and willing to do our part in this 
 high and holy labour for the common weal !" 
 
 We must remember that these words were spoken twenty- 
 eight years ago; that there was then no general system of 
 primary education; the only secondary school in Newcastle and 
 Gateshead was the Royal Grammar School; there was no 
 College of Science, no University Extension lectures, no Science 
 and Art classes, no recognition of Dissenters at the old Univer- 
 sities, no High Schools or Colleges for Women. We were 
 indeed standing on the threshold of great things, but who could 
 be certain of their speedy advent in that deep darkness which 
 precedes the dawn. 
 
 The meeting was largely attended, and was presided over by 
 Dr. Bruce. Mr. T. P. Barkas moved, and Mr. Joseph Cowen, jua, 
 seconded, "That the present Executive Committee of the Literary 
 and Philosophical Society, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, be respectfully 
 requested to constitute themselves a preliminary committee for 
 the purpose of considering the suggestions contained in the 
 paper read by Mr. R. S. Watson, to inquire into the state of 
 middle-class education in the North of England, to suggest a 
 collegiate plan of middle-class education somewhat analogous 
 to that of Owen*s College in Manchester, and to ascertain the 
 amount of pecuniary support likely to be obtained in furtherance 
 of such a project." This resolution was carried unanimously; 
 there was some expression of opinion as to the value and need 
 
 of the movement, and then, as many members wished to have 
 time to consider the paper fully, it was resolved to print it and 
 to take it into further consideration at an adjourned meeting. 
 This was accordingly done, and the adjourned meeting was 
 held on the 7th April, 1 868. 
 
 The Committee then reported that they were prepared to 
 recommend that the proposed college should have the use 
 of the lecture-room and reference library upon terms to be 
 arranged, and that if in the meantime a sufficient number of 
 students should be obtained to commence classes in any given 
 department of literature or science, every facility should be 
 given to such classes. 
 
 An appendix to the former paper was read, advocating that 
 this Society should at once make an experiment in the way of 
 evening courses of lectures of an educational character, to be 
 followed by examinations. In answer to certain objections on 
 the score of the proximity of the Scottish Universities, the 
 writer replied that they did not wish classes for those who could 
 attend the Scotch Universities, but for those who must get 
 their higher education after seven o'clock at night. This idea 
 being approved, the Committee speedily received offers from 
 seven gentlemen who were willing to take part in the work, and 
 arrangements were made for six courses of twenty-five lectures 
 each, commencing in October 1868, and terminating in May 
 1869. They were : — 
 
 7uesdays,—CiizmsTKY (Mr. Marreco), lyi to 8>^ p.m. in the 
 
 lecture-room of the College of Medicine. 
 English Language and Literature (Mr. Spence 
 
 Watson), 7^ to 8>^ in the Society's Committee 
 
 Room. 
 Engineering (Mr. Jacob Wallau), 8^ to 9j^ in the 
 
 Society's Lecture Room. 
 
278 
 
 THE SOCIETY AND EDUCATION. 
 
 f'i 
 
 Ihitrsdays. — Mathematics (Mr. T. Dobson, assisted by Mr. 
 
 W. Lyall)— Junior Class, 7>^ to 8j4 in the 
 Society's Committee Room. 
 Senior Class, 8J^ to 9j^ in the Society's Com- 
 mittee Room. 
 Music (Mr. W. Rea and Mr. F. Hehnore), 3>^ to 
 4^ P.M. and 7}^ to 8J^ in the Society's Lecture 
 Room. 
 
 At the Annual Meeting held in February 1869, Dr. Bruce 
 spoke of the origin of the scheme and its success, and said that 
 he felt sure that it would, ere long, prove the nucleus of a 
 Newcastle University. A letter was read from the writer of the 
 papers, in which he explained that when he brought the matter 
 forward he had not calculated on more than 60 to 80 students 
 in all, but there had been 230.* He pleaded for an extension 
 of the courses, so as to embrace the whole range of subjects 
 required by the matriculation examination of the University of 
 London, and for some guarantee of their permanence, so that 
 the examination might be held here. 
 
 In the following session the classes were continued, the 
 Rev. Dr. Snape taking one in Greek. The work began to be 
 recognised outside. The Committee of the Early English Text 
 Society examined the replies to the Examination papers in the 
 English Class and awarded valuable prizes to the successful 
 students. Not only were terminal and sessional examinations 
 held, but a part of each evening was devoted to replying to 
 questions asked by students, and subjects for essays or printed 
 questions were given out weekly and the replies carefully 
 corrected and returned to the students. In the monthly publi- 
 cation which he edited at that time. Professor Seeley had, in 
 
 * Wlien the experiment of evening classes was first made at Owen's 
 College, Manchester, they had only ninety-two students. 
 
 i 
 . 
 
 THE SOCIETY AND EDUCATION 
 
 279 
 
 April 1868, warmly commended the project of the paper. In 
 October 1868, after speaking of the character of the proposed 
 lectures, his paper says : " We heartily wish the scheme success. 
 Newcastle is in fact constructing a University. There is no 
 reason in the world why many such schemes should not be 
 devised and attempted. Why should not other provincial 
 towns essay something for their own intellectual culture ? Can 
 no similar good thing come out of Liverpool, for example? 
 Anything so brilliant cannot be generally looked for, but some 
 modest effort might be made. Whatever the success of the 
 Newcastle scheme, the idea is noble. The dimensions of the 
 plan may have to be reduced next year, but we trust the plan 
 itself will not soon become extinct It deserves to live and to 
 prosper." 
 
 Those kind words awaken some sad recollections and reflec- 
 tions. Newcastle has failed to hold its pride of place. The 
 struggle indeed was a severe one, but the plan never became 
 extinct It was full of life when the College of Science came 
 into existence, and that College took up the struggle and waged 
 it with conspicuous success and against the greatest difficulties. 
 There have been grand teachers and a host of students. Only 
 in this Northern district there have been no wealthy men to do 
 for higher education what the rich men in Manchester, Liver- 
 pool, Dundee, or Glasgow have done, or what is now being 
 done at Aberdeen. 
 
 Let me continue the story of the struggle. In the year 1 870 
 the Social Science Association held its meeting in Newcastle, 
 and the results of the effort which was being made to establish 
 high education here were made known to them in a paper 
 which explained exactly what had been done up to that time. 
 It then raised the question how this movement was to be 
 extended and made permanent The writer looked to the old 
 
 
28o 
 
 THE SOCIETY AND EDUCATION. 
 
 universities with hope for an answer, and, with all diffidence and 
 reserve, pointed out that the State did not receive from them as 
 much practical aid as it ought to do. The greatest loss was in 
 college fellowships, which were rewards quite out of proportion 
 to any services rendered. " Fellows are highly-trained men, who 
 receive their fellowships as rewards of intellectual distinction, 
 who draw a certain yearly emolument for services which they 
 have rendered to themselves, but who, although frequently 
 young and generally capable, are not required to do anything 
 further in return for those emoluments. . . . These fellows are 
 the very men who are wanted, if they could only be stationed 
 in small bodies in different large towns and required to teach, 
 instead of being retained in large bodies in two small towns, 
 and permitted to do nothing. Say, for example, that a fellow 
 was required to spend the first three or five years of his fellow- 
 ship in teaching in some large town in which his university had 
 formed a local college; that such town were required to add to 
 the amount usually paid to each fellow one half more, and that 
 he also received a portion of the fees. No more is wanted. No 
 building is necessary. In every large town there are plenty of 
 rooms to be had, and we have had the example in Germany of 
 large universities being conducted without — a university, like a 
 church, being the people who gather together, not the building 
 in which they gather. I need only indicate the great, if indirect, 
 benefit that it would be to our large towns to have a number of 
 men dwelling in them, holding a high position, but not engaging 
 in the mere pursuit of wealth. They would exercise a leavening 
 influence of incalculable benefit, and they would gain by that 
 actual knowledge of their fellow-men, which we who regard the 
 operations of university men afar off sometimes think is their 
 greatest want at present." 
 
 With the Newcastle classes there had been many difficulties. 
 
 THE SOCIETY AND EDUCATION 
 
 281 
 
 The fee for twenty-five lectures had at first been fixed at half 
 a guinea, but that sum was too great for nearly all working 
 men. It was reduced, and we found that, although the total 
 number of students fell off after the first session, we had 
 amongst those who came many working men. As a matter of 
 fact, the lecturers practically gave their services. For example, 
 the master of a county grammar school, a Cambridge man, a 
 high wrangler, travelled twenty miles each way to his two 
 classes every week, gave forty lectures in the session and 
 corrected his exercises, and received in all £11 17s. 6d., out of 
 which he had to pay his railway fare and night's accommoda- 
 tion. The wonder was that any movement which could only 
 boast such slender resources should have any vitality at all. 
 
 The paper concluded with urging the old universities to be 
 truly the heads and directors of our national education, and with 
 the wish that the writer might be " spared to see the day when 
 the best teaching in England is open and at the door of every 
 English man and English woman who cares to have it." 
 
 As there was a desire expressed that the matter should 
 receive further consideration than the time at the disposal of 
 the Association allowed for it, the paper was read again in 
 January 187 1, at a special meeting held by the Society of Arts 
 in London. 
 
 But the discussions which followed the paper were, in both 
 cases, barren, and those who were looking for help and counsel 
 got little of either. And yet men who were true educationists 
 approved of what was being done and gave the work much 
 valuable encouragement; prominent amongst them was the 
 well-known Professor of Economic Science in the University 
 of Edinburgh, Dr. W. B. Hodgson. And the task of keeping 
 the work alive was a hard one, for the men who lectured had to 
 lead double lives, working at their professions in the day and 
 
282 
 
 THE SOCIETY AND EDUCATION. 
 
 toiling at their teaching, or the many matters connected there- 
 with, during the night. But that was at hand of which they 
 knew nothing, but which promised them relief, and the promise 
 was kept. Let me now show what it was which was the 
 immediate cause of the University of Durham taking action in 
 the establishment of a Science College at Newcastle. 
 
 I have mentioned, in speaking of George Stephenson's 
 experiments with the safety-lamp, and of its exhibition to the 
 Literary and Philosophical Society, that he was accompanied 
 and assisted by his friend Nicholas Wood, the son of a Tyneside 
 farmer, but educated for the profession of a colliery viewer. In 
 that profession he attained absolute pre-eminence, becoming 
 the President of the North of England Institute of Mining 
 Engineers and Chairman of the Mining Association of Great 
 Britain. The Wood Memorial Hall in the Mining Institute's 
 building in Neville Street was erected in his honour, and the 
 statue which it contains carries down to futurity a fair possi- 
 bility of forming some idea of the personal appearance of this 
 remarkable man. He was an educational enthusiast, and in 
 1854, within two years of the formation of the Institute, he 
 urged upon its Council the necessity of providing a Mining 
 College for the systematic training of young men for the mining 
 profession. The idea was eagerly seized upon ; a report was 
 prepared upon the matter and discussed at a special General 
 Meeting, and was printed for circulation among the members. 
 It recommended the establishment in this city of a College of 
 Mining and Manufacturing Science. This report was also 
 brought by Mr. Wood before the General Committee of the 
 Coal Trade of the kingdom meeting in London, and there 
 the idea of a National College seems to have been broached. 
 Negotiations were entered into with the principal landed pro- 
 prietors of the district, the royalty owners and coal owners, and 
 
 NICHOLAS WOOiD, C.E., F.R.S. 
 
282 
 
 THE SOCIETY AND EDUCATION. 
 
 toiling at their teaching, or the many matters connected there- 
 with, during the night. But that was at hand of which they 
 knew nothing, but which promised them relief, and the promise 
 was kept. Let me now show what it was which was the 
 immediate cause of the University of Durham taking action in 
 the establishment of a Science College at Newcastle. 
 
 I have mentioned, in speaking of George Stephenson's 
 experiments with the safety-lamp, and of its exhibition to the 
 Literary and Philosophical Society, that he was accompanied 
 and assisted by his friend Nicholas Wood, the son of a Tyneside 
 farmer, but educated for the profession of a colliery viewer. In 
 that profession he attained absolute pre-eminence, becoming 
 the President of the North of England Institute of Mining 
 Engineers and Chairman of the Mining Association of Great 
 Britain. The Wood Memorial Hall in the Mining Institute's 
 building in Neville Street was erected in his honour, and the 
 statue which it contains carries down to futurity a fair possi- 
 bility of forming some idea of the personal appearance of this 
 remarkable man. He was an educational enthusiast, and in 
 1854, within two years of the formation of the Institute, he 
 urged upon its Council the necessity of providing a Mining 
 College for the systematic training of young men for the mining 
 profession. The idea was eagerly seized upon ; a report was 
 prepared upon the matter and discussed at a special General 
 Meeting, and was printed for circulation among the members. 
 It recommended the establishment in this city of a College of 
 Mining and Manufacturing Science. This report was also 
 brought by Mr. Wood before the General Committee of the 
 Coal Trade of the kingdom meeting in London, and there 
 the idea of a National College seems to have been broached. 
 Negotiations were entered into with the principal landed pro- 
 prietors of the district, the royalty owners and coal owners, and 
 
 I 'I 
 
 NICHOLAS WOOD, C.E., F.R.S. 
 
THE SOCIETY AND EDUCATION. 
 
 283 
 
 M 
 
 were kept up actively through 1855 and 1856. A memorial 
 was presented to Her Majesty's Government upon the subject 
 and another to the Charity Commissioners, who were asked to 
 appropriate a portion of the funds of the Virgin Mary Hospital 
 of Newcastle to the purposes of the proposed Institution. It 
 was then resolved to introduce a Bill into Parliament for the 
 establishment and endowment of the College, and the Bill 
 seems to have been duly drafted. From May 1857 to 1859 
 no further step seems to have been taken, but the matter was 
 then brought before the authorities of Durham University, and 
 got no further. 
 
 In November 1869 the Mining Institute appointed a Com- 
 mittee, the Mayor of Newcastle being a member of it, to confer 
 with the Durham authorities " upon the practicability of extend- 
 ing the usefulness of the University by organising, in connection 
 with this body, a system of scientific education in the North of 
 England for the instruction of young men destined for the 
 mining or manufacturing professions." This time the attempt 
 succeeded. By 1871, largely owing to the enlightened view 
 of the matter taken by Dean Lake,* it had been resolved to 
 establish a College of Physical Science at Newcastle; a tem- 
 porary home was found in the Mining Institute; this Society 
 lent its Lecture-room and apparatus, and gave students special 
 facilities for study, and merged its own educational work in that 
 of the new Institution, with results that were for many years the 
 reverse of satisfactory. It was not easy for those who were 
 deeply imbued with educational traditions, received in places 
 devoted to education alone, to appreciate the entirely different 
 needs of a great centre of actual life. 
 
 * Dean Lake was at this time Warden of the University, and was of 
 the greatest benefit to the movement, which the University itself generously 
 assisted and continues to assist. 
 
284 
 
 THE SOCIETY AND EDUCATION. 
 
 THE SOCIETY AND EDUCATION. 
 
 285 
 
 li 
 
 l! ■' 
 
 I 
 
 The gentlemen who took an active part in the starting of 
 the new college were, for the most part, University men who 
 looked upon evening lectures as amusing or informing, but 
 certainly not as educational. The evening classes for 1871-72 
 were indeed held at the Literary and Philosophical Society, but 
 as College classes, and this Society gave, and has continued to 
 give, every assistance in its power to the College. Although it 
 was to be a Science College, yet there was from the first the 
 clear understanding that the title should relate only to that 
 which the more wealthy and influential of the founders desired 
 to be the first branch of learning to which the resources placed 
 at its disposal should be applied. The way was to be left open 
 for the introduction of an Arts side when it was thought that the 
 proper time had come. 
 
 And so the Literary and Philosophical Society handed over 
 its evening work to the College of Science. It is needless to 
 tell here in any detail how that evening work was treated in a 
 spiritless and sceptical manner, how suitable advertising and 
 publicity generally were held not to be " academic," how it was 
 supposed that the true knowledge of Latin and Greek was the 
 gift of fortune, but that the English language and literature 
 came by nature, and how it languished and gradually died out 
 
 I must not leave this part of my subject without mentioning 
 the fact that, in the Sessions 1882-83, and 1894-95 courses of 
 six lectures each were delivered by Dr. J. T. Merz, which were 
 designed to serve as an introduction to the study of Mental 
 Philosophy. Newcastle may properly be congratulated on the 
 fact that one who is so rarely endowed, at once as a scholar and 
 a teacher, has taken up his home in it. 
 
 Let us pass on to the next great educational work to which 
 our Society devoted itself. 
 
 The old need of educational lectures delivered in the 
 
 evening soon made itself strongly felt, and an Industrial 
 Evening College had been organised on the plan which our 
 Society had already followed, and was about to be started, when 
 communications were entered into with the syndicate of the 
 University of Cambridge which had charge of the University 
 Extension Lectures. Although the early communications were 
 made by a member of this Society, who was advised and assisted 
 by Mr. Albert Grey,* the preliminary steps were taken without 
 the Society or the College being consulted. Indeed, when the 
 Council of the College was asked at a subsequent period to take 
 the matter up it declined to be connected with it, upon the 
 ground that it was a Radical dodge. The first meeting in 
 connection with this new departure was held in the Lecture 
 Room of the Society on September loth, 1879. It was a small 
 gathering, but a successful effort had been made to ensure that 
 it should be representative. Mr. W. M. Moorsom attended as 
 representing the University Syndicate, and the Co-operative 
 Society. Trade Council, Working Men's Club, and some of the 
 larger Unions had their leaders present. It was resolved to 
 introduce the movement to this district. That winter the first 
 course of lectures was given by Mr. W. M. Moorsom upon 
 " Political Economy," and was greatly appreciated. North and 
 South Shields and Sunderland joined in the undertaking, and 
 very shortly several of the centres of mining industry took the 
 matter up with eagerness. There was no lack of students; 
 indeed I doubt whether in the history of education there has 
 ever been anything to compare with the numbers, especially of 
 working men, who came forward eager to learn. At one time 
 there were more than 1300 students in a colliery district 
 boasting a population of igjooo men, women, and children. 
 All classes alike were anxious to benefit by the lectures. At 
 
 * Now Earl Grey. 
 
286 
 
 THE SOCIETY AND EDUCATION. 
 
 THE SOCIETY AND EDUCATION. 
 
 287 
 
 the final examination held at the end of the first Session in the 
 four Northern towns I have mentioned, the most successful 
 student was a working man, the second was the daughter of a 
 Northern M.P. 
 
 Dean Lake took an active interest in the movement almost 
 from the first, and, through him, the lectures were called 
 " Cambridge and Durham University Extension Lectures," but, 
 after 1882, Durham ceased to assist in them in any way. 
 
 It must be clearly understood that there was no playing at 
 education in this University Extension movement It was 
 genuine, honest, good work as far as it went. It is absurd 
 to suppose that an exhaustive knowledge of any subject can be 
 given in twelve, twenty-four, or indeed any number of lectures. 
 But even more absurd is the position of those who scfoff at such 
 a course as useless or even worse than useless. The men whom 
 Cambridge sent down to us were men with strong convictions, 
 filled with that enthusiasm of humanity which is the privilege of 
 a generous early manhood, imbued with a living knowledge of 
 their subject and a burning desire to impart that knowledge to 
 others. They were the missionaries of higher education filled 
 with the proselytising spirit. Each lecturer issued a complete 
 syllabus which gave the chief heads of each lecture. Each 
 lecture was preceded by a class, which had the privilege of 
 heckling the lecturer for an hour, consulting the living book 
 upon points in preceding lectures or met with in that study 
 which should accompany all attendance at lectures, or dis- 
 cussing difficulties propounded by the lecturer himself. The 
 class was followed by an hour's lecture. Questions upon the 
 ground covered were given out, to which answers in writing 
 were to be sent to the lecturer during the week, and he returned 
 them duly corrected, and from them he ascertained how far he 
 was attaining the end aimed at. He advised upon the course 
 
 of reading by which the lectures could be most usefully supple- 
 mented, and at the end of each course a written examina- 
 tion was held by some examiner specially selected for the 
 purpose. 
 
 At the Annual Meeting of this Society held on February 7th, 
 1882, a paper was read by the Senior Secretary, entitled, "Some 
 account of the lectures hitherto delivered in connection with the 
 Literary and Philosophical Society of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 
 together with a suggestion for making them more extensively 
 useful in the future." The object of the writer was to point out 
 that the earliest idea of lectures in connection with the Society 
 was an educational one. Miscellaneous lectures gradually crept 
 in, and were for a time successful ; but the tide had turned, and 
 it had become difficult to keep up the supply of lecturers of true 
 eminence, and even more difficult to find them an audience. 
 At the same time the University Extension courses, given in the 
 same room by consent of the Society, were crowded. Popular 
 taste had evidently changed. The membership in the Society 
 was decreasing, and was actually smaller than it had been since 
 1859, ^"d although the money spent upon lectures was not loss, 
 for without lectures the membership would be yet smaller, still 
 so much money could no longer be spent upon them. The 
 proposal now made by the writer of the paper was that there 
 should be educational courses of lectures in the autumn and 
 spring of each year, one of these being scientific and the other 
 literary. These should be provided, and the work should be 
 carried on in thorough harmony with the University Extension 
 Committee. There should be no serious change in the method 
 of conducting them. " The University Extension lectures for 
 Newcastle are now given in the Society's lecture-room ; my 
 proposition is that they should become the Society's lectures." 
 This was not to ititerfere with the engagement of eminent men 
 
 f>\ 
 
t 
 
 288 
 
 THE SOCIETY AND EDUCATION. 
 
 when thought desirable or with lectures by members of the 
 Society. 
 
 The paper closed with the motion, " That the Committee to 
 be appointed to-night endeavour to arrange for two systematic 
 courses of lectures during the next session, in connection with 
 the University Extension movement," and it was carried nem 
 con. The courses were arranged for, and continued to be given 
 with good though varying success up to 1887, when a scheme 
 was brought by the Senior Secretary before the Annual Meeting 
 for an extension of this kind of work. 
 
 It was proposed that the Society should take into its counsel 
 in this matter the College of Science, now anxious to participate 
 in the benefits of the work which it had once rejected. New- 
 castle would then be affiliated as a University Extension Centre 
 to the University of Cambridge ; two courses in science and two 
 in arts would be given in each session ; students, who passed 
 successfully two courses in arts or science and six courses in 
 the other class obtained the title of Associate direct from 
 Cambridge, and were entitled to certain privileges if they after- 
 wards proceeded to the University. The scheme was adopted, 
 and Newcastle was the first place in the United Kingdom to be 
 affiliated to the old University of Cambridge. 
 
 In the Session 1888-89 miscellaneous lectures were given up, 
 and were not resumed until 1892. In Epiphany Term, 1893, 
 the second affiliation period of three years came to an end, 
 and it was resolved not to continue the system, but to return to 
 the two educational courses and to miscellaneous lectures. The 
 fact is that, although Cambridge had greatly modified its require- 
 ments, they still remained too great for most of those who had 
 to do all their work in the evenings of working days. 
 
 It is interesting to note one or two facts about the pecuniary 
 results of the different classes of lectures. When the University 
 
 THE SOCIETY AND EDUCATION. 
 
 289 
 
 Extension lectures were introduced the average attendance at 
 them was 190, and the average cost to the Society was less 
 than £1 a lecture, but in the miscellaneous course, at the same 
 time, the average attendance was only 175, whilst the cost to 
 the Society was £^ 4s. a lecture. 
 
 Since the Society undertook the charge of the University 
 Extension lectures up to Easter, 1896, there have been altogether 
 39 courses of lectures, and they (the courses) have been attended 
 by 7668 students, of whom 1023 have sat for the final examina- 
 tion. There has been a total attendance at University Extension 
 lectures of more than 90,000 persons. When the reader casts 
 his eye over the following list of the courses given and the 
 lecturers who gave them, he will scarcely doubt that in this 
 matter also the Society has been invaluable to higher education 
 in our city, and has deserved well of the community. 
 
 
 Courses of Twelve Lectures each given in connec- 
 tion WITH the Literary and Philosophical Society 
 BY Cambridge University Extension Lecturers. 
 
 YEAR. SUBJECT. 
 
 1882. Electricity and Magnetism 
 
 1883. Development of English Litera- 
 
 ture since 1789 
 
 Animal and Plant Life 
 
 1884. Elizabethan Literature 
 
 Plant Life .... 
 
 1885. England from 1760 to 1848, the 
 
 State in relation to Industry 
 and Commerce 
 
 lecturer. 
 Dr. C. M. Thompson. 
 
 Mr. Richard Hodgson. 
 Mr. E. a. Parkyn. 
 Mr. W. R. Sorley. 
 Mr. E. a. Parkyn. 
 
 Mr. a. H. Thompson. 
 
 19 
 
290 
 
 THE SOCIETY AND EDUCATION. 
 
 THE SOCIETY AND EDUCATION 
 
 291 
 
 I 
 
 
 1885. The French Revolution from 
 
 1789101795 
 
 1886. The Nervous System and the 
 
 Senses . . . . 
 
 Four Thinkers of Life: Goethe, 
 Shakespere, Rousseau, and 
 Wordsworth 
 
 1887. Ancient Tragedies for English 
 
 Audiences .... 
 The Forces of Nature 
 
 1888. Heat and Light .... 
 Ancient Comedies for English 
 
 Audiences .... 
 The Principles of Chemistry 
 Elizabethan Literature 
 
 1889. Electricity and Magnetism 
 Milton and his Times 
 
 Earth, Air, and Water: Studies in 
 
 Physical Geography 
 Poetry and Teaching of Robert 
 
 Browning .... 
 
 1890. Earth History from the Rocks . 
 Milton's " Paradise Lost " . 
 Plant Life, with special reference 
 
 to Vegetal Biology 
 History of France and the Nether- 
 lands during the Age of the 
 Reformation 
 
 Mr. Arthur J. Grant. 
 
 Mr. E. a. Parkyn. 
 
 ) Mr. R. G. Moulton. 
 ( Mr. G. C. Moore-Smith. 
 
 Mr. R. G. Moulton. 
 Mr. Arthur Berry. 
 
 Principal Garnett. 
 
 Mr. R. G. Moulton. 
 Mr. C. W. Kimmins. 
 Mr. R. G. Moulton. 
 
 Professor Stroud. 
 Mr. G. L. Dickinson. 
 
 Mr. W. W. Watts. 
 
 Mr. Owen Seaman. 
 
 Mr. W. W. Watts. 
 Mr. R. G. Moulton. 
 
 Mr. M. C. Potter. 
 
 1 89 1. The Classification of Plants 
 The Making of Modern Europe . 
 Human Physiology . . 
 The Absolute Monarchy in France 
 
 1892. Human Physiology . 
 The French Revolution 
 Animal Life 
 Napoleon and his Times 
 
 1893. Darwinism 
 The Victorian Half-Century 
 
 1894. The Expansion of England 
 Elementary Political Economy, or 
 
 the Making and Sharing of 
 Wealth 
 
 1895. The History of English Gothic 
 
 Architecture .... 
 Modern Novelists 
 
 1896. English Essayists 
 
 The Venetian Republic 
 
 Mr. M. C. Potter. 
 Mr. W. F. Moulton. 
 Mr. E. a. Parkyn. 
 Mr. a. J. Grant. 
 Mr. E. a. Parkyn. 
 Mr. a. J. Grant. 
 Mr. C. Warburton. 
 Mr. J. H. Rose. 
 Mr. Hugh de Haviland. 
 Mr. C. S. Terry. 
 Mr. C. S. Terry. 
 
 Mr. H. S. Mundahl. 
 
 Mr. D. H. S. Cranage. 
 
 Mr. E. J. Mathew. 
 
 Mr. E. J. Mathew. 
 
 Mr, H. J. Boyd Carpenter. 
 
 During the time v\^hen our Lecture-room was being restored 
 after the great calamity vfhich befell our building on the night of 
 our Centenary celebration, the lectures were held in the College 
 of Science. We have now two educational courses given each 
 year, and we have also a long and important course of miscel- 
 laneous lectures which are very fairly attended. The old Society 
 is still carrying on the great and noble educational work which 
 it began more than a century ago. 
 
 Mr. Arthur J. Grant. 
 
It 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE MOTHER OF MANY SOCIETIES. 
 
 HEN our Society started on its long and brilliant 
 career it was without any rival in the North-eastern 
 land. Standing quite alone in this city, it fulfilled in 
 itself the objects which, at this day, are the raison d'etre of a 
 multitude of different societies which have taken to themselves 
 and specialised some one branch of our Society's wide-stretching 
 and far-reaching original work. To the large majority of these 
 it has stood in loco parentis, and to all alike it has given its 
 welcome, and has aided them freely and willingly. It is not 
 possible to give anything like an exhaustive account of how the 
 Society's rooms have, from the first, been lent to all manner of 
 bodies for all manner of purposes, and that without fee or 
 reward, the introduction of religion and the politics of the day 
 being alone forbidden. In this chapter I shall endeavour to 
 give some idea of the part which our Society has played as the 
 mother and helper of kindred Societies. 
 
 I need not say anything further than I have already done 
 in a prior chapter about the way in which, for many years, it 
 performed several of the duties which have since appropriately 
 devolved upon the Mining Institute. This was, in fact, one of 
 the earliest tasks which it undertook, but the very first loan of 
 the Society's room seems to have been in April 1796, when 
 
 THE MOTHER OF MANY SOCIETIES. 293 
 
 certain of the members were granted its use for special conver- 
 sation once a month and on days when it was not otherwise 
 required. This was the origin of the formation of those branch 
 Societies within the fold of the parent Society which are now so 
 familiar to us. 
 
 In June 1798 permission was given to the Musical Society 
 to use the room once a fortnight for a private concert, and we 
 may look upon this as the beginning of that free lending of 
 meeting accommodation which has become a useful and generous 
 practice. As I proceed it will become plain to the reader that 
 a similar privilege has invariably been accorded to the Societies 
 and individuals who have applied for it and merited it, and that 
 the laudable objects which have thus been assisted have been 
 infinite in variety and character. 
 
 I may mention at the outset that, on the i6th May, 1820, a 
 meeting was held in our Society's rooms, with the Mayor in the 
 chair, and there "The Newcastle-upon-Tyne Society for the 
 gradual abolition of Slavery in the British Dominions" was 
 formed. This Society in due course became our Anti-Slavery 
 Society, and in 1848 our Society became, through it, the possessor 
 of a collection of tracts on Slavery and its extinction in the 
 British dominions which form almost a complete history of 
 the great movement 
 
 To those of us who were privileged to work in the Anti- 
 Slavery cause in times of much darkness and discouragement, 
 and who have had to explain to our own children what slavery, 
 even in the United States of America, meant, there is a proud 
 satisfaction in the fact that our Society was an early helper in 
 the mightiest reform which history records. 
 
 The first Society which sprang from the parent tree was the 
 Natural History Society of Northumberland and Durham. It 
 was not indeed the earliest to become an independent body, 
 
294 THE MOTHER OF MANY SOCIETIES. 
 
 but it took possession of the collection of curiosities which the 
 parent Society began to form almost as soon as it began to exist. 
 In the third chapter, p. 55, I set out some of the presents which 
 had been received in the first twelve months of its life as given 
 in the first Annual Report, but I fear that I omitted to state the 
 fact that the articles from the South Sea Islands were "rendered 
 extremely valuable from the circumstance that they were actually 
 brought to this country by the celebrated Captain Cook." Every 
 year saw new and valuable additions to the general collection. 
 Amongst the numerous gifts of 1794-95 we find a reflecting 
 telescope, a miner's compass, two inscribed stones from the 
 Roman Wall near Walbottle ; a collection of stones, probably 
 coralline, found upon the banks of the Tyne, and polished to 
 show their internal structure ; and several collections of shells. 
 The coralline stones were presented by Mr. John Hancock, a 
 saddler and hardwareman on the Sandhill, who was an 
 enthusiastic naturalist, and was father to two men, Albany 
 Hancock and John Hancock, of whom I shall have to speak 
 more fully hereafter, and who stand in the foremost rank of 
 those citizens who, by their original accomplishments, have 
 made our good old city "dear for her reputation through the 
 world." 
 
 As the possessions of the Society increased so did the 
 necessity of making due provision for them. You have got but 
 a little way on when you have bought your horse, and no further 
 if he should have been given you. In September 1795 it was 
 resolved to appropriate a sum of £i 5s. annually to defray the 
 expense of " establishing a Repository for subjects of Natural 
 History." Many birds were presented at this time, but money 
 to provide sufficient cases for them was not forthcoming. The 
 Committee express their regret at this difficulty, saying that it 
 ** is the more to be regretted on account of the ease with which 
 
 THE MOTHER OF MANY SOCIETIES. 295 
 
 a collection in this branch of Natural History might at present 
 be made from the specimens which are so frequently sent to 
 Messrs. Beilby and Bewicke for their intended work on British 
 Birds, the figures drawn from nature."* 
 
 Ralph Beilby, the engraver to whom Thomas Bewick was 
 apprenticed, was one of those men who excel in nearly every- 
 thing which they put their hands to. He taught his pupil 
 everything but drawing and engraving on wood In those 
 accomplishments Thomas Bewick received encouragement, if 
 not instruction, from Dr. Charles Hutton, of whom I speak at 
 p. 100. He cut his first wood-block, an outline sketch of the spire 
 of St. Nicholas' Church, for Hutton's Treatise on Mensuration^ 
 whilst he was still an apprentice, his master contributing a steel 
 engraving to the same work. Beilby and Bewick afterwards 
 became partners, and they remained together in that intimate 
 association for twenty years, during which Bewick produced his 
 famous History of Quadrupeds and History of British Birds, 
 Beilby contributing the letterpress to each. At that day, as the 
 Report shows, these works were thought to be as much Ralph 
 Beilby's as Thomas Bewick's, but time in its long run puts 
 reputations into their proper place. 
 
 There is a certain interest in noting that in February 1796 a 
 proposal was made that the Society should purchase a complete 
 mineralogical collection then on sale at Dresden, but it was 
 withdrawn chiefly owing to the "circumstance that collections 
 of this nature (were) liable to a very heavy duty on importation." 
 
 * In the noble Museum of the Natural History Society, at the Barras 
 Bridge in this city, there is a case of the birds above mentioned as they were 
 when Bewick's pencil made them live. The collection of original drawings 
 and woodcuts by our greatest artist in the Museum Gallery is also of the 
 deepest interest. No one can form an idea of what Bewick really was who 
 has not carefully studied them. 
 
 !1S^ 
 
296 THE MOTHER OF MANY SOCIETIES. 
 
 The only gifts which the Society seems to have received in 
 1798-99 seem, curiously enough, to have been of coins, gold, 
 silver, and copper. Five donors presented no fewer than 234 of 
 these. Where are those coins now, and where are the 420 more 
 received in the following year? The minerals had accumulated 
 to such an extent that a special committee was appointed to 
 arrange them. But the most interesting entry about this time 
 is the following : — 
 
 "December 10 (1799). Drawings and descriptions of two 
 hitherto nondescript animals, lately found in New South Wales, 
 were laid before the Society by John Hunter, Esq., Governor of 
 that Colony; and the proprietors of the General History of 
 Quadrupeds, with Mr. Bewick's figures, were permitted to insert 
 them in their new edition (now just published). The animals 
 themselves, preserved in spirits, have since been received from 
 Governor Hunter." 
 
 New South Wales was formally taken possession of by 
 Captain Cook in the name of King George HI. on the 20th 
 April, 1770, he landing for that purpose at Botany Bay, and to 
 Botany Bay the earliest convoy was despatched from England 
 on the 13th May, 1787. It took eight months to reach its 
 destination, but it was thought more prudent to land its 
 passengers, 757 convicts, of whom 200 were women, a few miles 
 further north, at Port Jackson. The early years of the colony, 
 which was then a mere penal settlement, were not satisfactory. 
 The convicts were a lawless crew who were kept under military 
 rule. There were frequent quarrels with the natives. The fact 
 that there were three Governors in less than eight years is not 
 without special significance. Governor Hunter entered on his 
 five years' rule in 1795, and, under his firm and capable sway, 
 things soon began to assume a better shape. The colony is, 
 indeed, under a great debt of gratitude to him. At the time 
 
 THOMAS BEWICK. 
 
296 THE MOTHER OF MANY SOCIETIES, 
 
 The only gifts which the Society seems to have received in 
 1798-99 seem, curiously enough, to have been of coins, gold, 
 silver, and copper. Five donors presented no fewer than 234 of 
 these. Where are those coins now, and where are the 420 more 
 received in the following year? The minerals had accumulated 
 to such an extent that a special committee was appointed to 
 arrange them. But the most interesting entry about this time 
 is the following : — 
 
 "December 10 (1799). Drawings and descriptions of two 
 hitherto nondescript animals, lately found in New South Wales, 
 were laid before the Society by John Hunter, Esq., Governor of 
 that Colony; and the proprietors of the General History of 
 Quadrupeds, with Mr. Bewick's figures, were permitted to insert 
 them in their new edition (now just published). The animals 
 themselves, preserved in spirits, have since been received from 
 Governor Hunter." 
 
 New South Wales was formally taken possession of by 
 Captain Cook in the name of King George HI. on the 20th 
 April, 1770, he landing for that purpose at Botany Bay, and to 
 Botany Bay the earliest convoy was despatched from England 
 on the 13th May, 1787. It took eight months to reach its 
 destination, but it was thought more prudent to land its 
 passengers, 757 convicts, of whom 200 were women, a few miles 
 further north, at Port Jackson. The early years of the colony, 
 which was then a mere penal settlement, were not satisfactory. 
 The convicts were a lawless crew who were kept under military 
 rule. There were frequent quarrels with the natives. The fact 
 that there were three Governors in less than eight years is not 
 without special significance. Governor Hunter entered on his 
 five years' rule in 1795, and, under his firm and capable sway, 
 things soon began to assume a better shape. The colony is, 
 indeed, under a great debt of gratitude to him. At the time 
 
 THOMAS IJKWICK. 
 
Ill 
 
 THE MOTHER OF MANY SOCIETIES. 297 
 
 of his appointment he was an Honorary Member of this 
 Society. 
 
 These " nondescript animals " are treated of at considerable 
 length as addenda to Bewick's Quadrupeds, and figures of them 
 are duly given. The one is named " The Wombach," and the 
 other is said to be " an animal sui generis; it appears to possess 
 a three-fold nature, that of a fish, a bird, and a quadruped, and 
 is related to nothing which we have hitherto seen." The account 
 which accompanied them from Mr. Hunter is given verbatim, 
 and it tells how the creatures have been preserved in spirits 
 " for the inspection of the learned members of the Literary and 
 Philosophical Society, Newcastle-upon-Tyne." The unnamed 
 animal is the Platypus-Ornithorhyncus or Duck-billed Platypus, 
 and the other is the more familiar Wombat. 
 
 By this time the Society's collections had acquired much 
 notoriety, and they formed a subject of frequent discussion in 
 many of the learned publications of the day. The methodical 
 arrangement of the mineralogical department had been care- 
 fully completed, and room had been provided " for a complete 
 Herbarium of British Plants, which Messrs. Winch, Thornhill, 
 and Waugh have, with great liberality, engaged to prepare for 
 the Society. They have already presented it with above 
 700 specimens of dried indigenous plants, arranged accord- 
 ing to Dr. Smith's Flora Britannica: and they have lately 
 published, under the title of the Botanist's Guide through the 
 Counties of Northumberland and Durham, a List of the Habitats 
 of the several plants; which, while it will serve as an Index to 
 the Society's Hortus Siccus, will also, it is presumed, be found 
 a useful assistant to future Botanists in their excursions in 
 search of curious plants." This branch of the Society's collec- 
 tions was greatly enriched in 181 1 by a valuable present of a 
 large number of plants from New South Wales. In 1808 the 
 
 ^1 
 
 \ '- 
 
 I 
 
298 THE MOTHER OF MANY SOCIETIES. 
 
 minerals were more completely and effectually rearranged, and 
 a catalogue of them was printed in 1811. 
 
 Two years later the Society of Antiquaries was formed " for 
 the special purpose of investigating the antiquities of a district 
 so intimately connected with the events of the last seventeen 
 hundred years." The twentieth report, in mentioning the fact, 
 observes that, in the plan of the Society, this had been stated 
 as one of the subjects likely to engage its attention, but that it 
 had not proved to be so in any considerable degree. So far 
 from there being any " tincture of jealousy " felt at this breaking 
 off from the parent stem, the operations of the new Society 
 were facilitated by the old one in every possible way. Both 
 had the same President, and accommodation was willingly 
 afforded to the off-shoot in the rooms of the parent institution 
 " until the more appropriate apartments in the Castle, for which 
 they are understood to be in treaty with the Corporation, shall 
 be ready to receive them." 
 
 The Society of Antiquaries remained as guests of this 
 Society through its changes of habitation for many years. 
 When the present building was erected their treasures were 
 housed in the rooms on the ground floor, beneath those which 
 were appropriated to the Natural History Museum, and there 
 they remained until, in the year 1855, the Antiquarian Society 
 at length obtained possession of the Castle. It may well be 
 that the sculptured stones and the coins which, in its early 
 days, had been presented to this Society, disappeared about the 
 same time. 
 
 To return to the days of which we were speaking when we 
 turned aside to notice the formation of the first provincial 
 archaeological Society : the old Society's collections continued 
 to be constantly increased. In 1820 "a handsome present of a 
 collection of insects made at Demerara " is acknowledged, and 
 
 THE MOTHER OF MANY SOCIETIES. 299 
 
 it is also stated that " these have been arranged and named by 
 G. T. Fox, Esq., of Westoe, who has also added useful references 
 to entomological works." The Society was peculiarly happy 
 in having many absent friends who thought of it with affection 
 when in far-distant lands, and not less happy in including 
 amongst its members, from time to time as occasion required, 
 distinguished naturalists who were able and willing to take 
 charge of its numerous, various, and valuable gifts, and to 
 make the most of them. 
 
 In the letter which was widely circulated when the new 
 building had been resolved upon, and pecuniary help was 
 required, it is stated that the house about to be erected is to 
 be suited "to the creditable accommodation of the Books, 
 Philosophical Apparatus, Antiquities, and Subjects of Natural 
 History, which (the Society) has now been engaged for nearly 
 thirty years, in accumulating for the public benefit ; and of the 
 collections which will probably be made by it in future years, 
 and also by the Antiquarian Society of Newcastle, more recently 
 established, with the same public-spirited views." 
 
 Perhaps the most immediately popular present which the 
 Society ever received was in September 1821, when it became 
 the happy owner of a real mummy — that very mummy in the 
 contemplation of which so many of us, as small children, have 
 " snatched a fearful joy." We were always told with charming 
 vagueness that this withered, weird, brown specimen of humanity 
 was none other than Pharaoh's daughter, and for us then, and 
 perhaps even now, there was but one Pharaoh and one daughter. 
 Those were the very arms which lifted little Moses out of the 
 ark of bulrushes. How he must have cried from terror, and how 
 frightened his poor mother must have been, if indeed the 
 Hebrew women were not dried up like those of Egypt ! Had 
 this gaunt scarecrow ever been extolled as a beautiful and 
 
 /1 
 
300 THE MOTHER OF MANY SOCIETIES. 
 
 benevolent Princess? Much might be expected from people 
 who worshipped crocodiles and beetles, but this was too much. 
 And yet it taught us something, and some of us were told — 
 
 " Now, get you to my lady's chamber, and tell her, let her paint 
 an inch thick, to this favour she must come." 
 
 We did not laugh at that. 
 
 The great event of the arrival of this mummy made much 
 stir in our canny town. I extract the following account from 
 the twenty-ninth year's report : — 
 
 "The Committee also received during this month from 
 Thomas Coats, Esq., of Haydon Bridge, the munificent present 
 of a mummy, in high preservation and of great beauty, purchased 
 by himself at Gournou, the celebrated burial-place of the ancient 
 Thebes, the capital of Upper Egypt And to gratify the public 
 curiosity with regard to this curious relic of antiquity, the 
 Secretaries engaged to attend for a fortnight two hours each 
 day, that the members and their friends might be accommodated 
 with its inspection, without the risk of its receiving any damage. 
 The multitudes who sought admission during this period having 
 exceeded all expectation, so as to render it impossible for many 
 who wished to see it to contemplate it at their leisure, the 
 Secretaries have ever since been ready, on the shortest notice, 
 to accompany private parties to inspect an object which, it will 
 be admitted, could not, without extreme hazard of its suffering 
 irreparable injury, have been left open for indiscriminate inspec- 
 tion ; and which the Librarian could not, without the neglect of 
 his indispensable duties, have left the Library to shew in a 
 separate apartment to all who might apply on the spur of the 
 moment. The Committee have been engaged in an extensive 
 correspondence on the subject of the Mummy: and they have 
 accepted the obliging offer of Mr. Ramsay to make an accurate 
 
 THE MOTHER OF MANY SOCIETIES. 301 
 
 drawing of its beautiful external case, which drawing he has 
 executed in a manner highly creditable to himself and satis- 
 factory to the Committee." 
 
 The mummy was placed in a glass case, and it continued to 
 attract much attention. Such things were not so common when 
 our fathers were young as they are in this time of universal 
 travel and encyclopaedic information when our children approach 
 middle age. But the mummy Ram which joined the mummy 
 Princess in 1823, and has, I think, disappeared, did not draw 
 at all in the same way. The surprise was over. A thing which 
 has once been done, with whatever difficulty, is easily repeated. 
 Granted that the human form divine can be preserved for ages, 
 even with the loss of its divinity, there is little difficulty in 
 assuming that any other form may, although the anxious 
 inquirer might find it hard to understand why any person 
 should wish to preserve the mundane form of an old tup. 
 
 Now, just at the date of our Society's receiving the first 
 mummy, much attention was being paid to the deciphering of 
 hieroglyphics. The famous Rosetta stone had been discovered 
 at Reshid or Rosetta, in the Nile delta, in the year 1799, and, 
 with it, the clue to the mysterious hieroglyphics. Surely that 
 stone with its thrice repeated inscription is one of the most 
 fascinating objects in our national museum. By the aid of the 
 Greek the decipherment of the picture-language was attempted, 
 but it was not until 18 18, and after the discovery of a further 
 inscription on the plinth of an obelisk in which the name of 
 Cleopatra was given in hieroglyphic writing and in Greek, that 
 Dr. Young made out the names of Ptolemy and Berenice, at 
 the same time discovering the true principle to be pursued in all 
 such investigations. In 1822 Frangois Champollion read the 
 whole of the inscription which still remains, and he continued 
 to work patiently and scientifically at similar tasks until his 
 
 1^ 
 
 •-iia 
 
302 THE MOTHER OF MANY SOCIETIES, 
 
 death in 1832. He must be called the discoverer of this new 
 intellectual realm, and he left not only a dictionary, but also a 
 grammar of the long-forgotten written language of Egypt of 
 the Pharaohs. Well might his distinguished countryman, 
 Chateaubriand, say of him, " ses admirables travaux auront la 
 dur^e des monuments qu*il nous a fait connaitre." 
 
 In 1823 an exact copy of the inscription on the mummy 
 was forwarded to M. Champollion, and on October 31st he 
 wrote a full and long explanation of each of the signs used, and 
 concluded by saying, " The entire legend answers pretty nearly 
 to the following phrases: — 
 
 " May she be approved by Phre, the Lord of the Celestial 
 
 Gods, and by T M. (Egyptian Mars), Lord of the Worlds 
 
 May Osiris, the Supreme Ruler of Amenti (Hades), grant repose 
 to the Osirian Lady, her daughter Tashorpe ** daughter of ** 
 (mother) deceased." 
 
 It is not much, but enough. This grubbing up of coffins 
 and withered carcases to gratify the curiosity of peoples who 
 are quite content to become, in their turn, manure for the 
 common Mother Earth from which they were taken, is some- 
 thing of a ghoulish proceeding after all. The only other thing 
 to be said about this mummy or its case is that some skilful 
 and triumphant collector succeeded in surreptitiously carrying 
 off the foot-board of the coffin which held upon it part of the 
 inscription. 
 
 In this year, 1823, the Society purchased the celebrated 
 Wycliffe Museum, a Natural History collection in an excellent 
 state of preservation, and which had been long known to 
 naturalists throughout Europe by the numerous references 
 made to it in the works of such eminent ornithologists as 
 Pennant and Latham. A notice in the Newcastle Courant of 
 the 17th November, 1827, says that when formed it was probably 
 
 THE MOTHER OF MANY SOCIETIES. 303 
 
 the foremost collection of its kind out of London, and adds: 
 " But what is of far greater moment, it was the actual cabinet 
 from which our illustrious townsman, Bewick, drew on the 
 spot the greater number of these superlatively beautiful figures 
 which illustrate and embellish his unique History of British 
 Birdsr 
 
 The purchase-money of nearly ^500 was advanced at interest 
 by Mr. G. T. Fox, and he also examined the collection for the 
 Society, and took the chief part of the labour throughout the 
 entire transaction. 
 
 Amongst other important gifts which the Society received 
 about this time was a valuable collection of some two thousand 
 insects, collected and beautifully preserved by the Rev. Dr. 
 Macculloch, Principal of Picton College, Nova Scotia. These 
 were the more welcome as most of the other insects in the 
 Society's possession had been collected in hot climates. 
 
 But, what with handsome gifts and extensive purchases, 
 fears began to be entertained that the extensive accommodation 
 provided for the Natural History Museum in the Society's 
 building would prove inadequate to its purpose. At the very 
 first meeting held in the new Lecture-room gifts were announced 
 of a large collection of birds from St. Petersburg, smaller col- 
 lections of birds from many local gentlemen, 1500 British 
 geological speciments, and 572 dried English plants duly 
 classified. It was resolved to keep the Museum open daily 
 between the hours of twelve and three, and that such members 
 as chose to subscribe half-a-guinea annually should, in addition 
 to the free admission which was enjoyed by all members alike, 
 have tickets allowing the entrance of two persons daily. The 
 general public were admitted upon payment of one shilling 
 each. Thirty-three half-guineas were at once forthcoming, but 
 the plan was hotly contested, and, although carried, did much 
 
304 THE MOTHER OF MANY SOCIETIES. 
 
 to bring about the feeling which ultimately caused a separate 
 Society to be started. 
 
 The Museum was not opened until December 1825, when 
 the local press gave it much attention, and discussed its objects 
 of interest in an earnest and amusing way, but they are evidently 
 at times speaking chiefly of the Wyclifife purchase. Thus they 
 say that there are " 27 Mammalia and 751 Birds of which about 
 30 are presents and purchases since the Museum came into the 
 Society's possession." This particular department of the Society 
 was now managed by a special Museum Committee, which 
 worked with a will, and issued a list of the comparatively few 
 British birds which were required to complete the collection, and 
 they received quite a remarkable number of presents for the 
 Society. Amongst these was another mummy, which was given 
 by Mr. J. B. Wright, of Cambridge ; it was accompanied by a 
 mummy of the sacred Ibis in a glass case, but familiarity had 
 bred contempt, and these arrivals seem to have made no special 
 
 sensation. 
 
 M. Champollion again was applied to, and he translated or 
 interpreted the hieroglyphics upon the newly acquired mummy's 
 case, but the subject-matter was of no special interest, and was 
 not published until 1830. In March of that year, however, 
 Mr. T. M. Greenhow and Mr. Baird made (in the Lecture-room) 
 an exhaustive examination of the new mummy before a number 
 of the members, occupying two evenings in the investigation. 
 The results obtained were published in detail and were con- 
 sidered to be of much value, as they proved how completely the 
 Egyptians had, some thousands of years ago, succeeded in pre- 
 serving the human frame from corruption, and how very un- 
 satisfactory such preservation is after all the trouble has been 
 
 taken. 
 
 In 1827 the Museum Committee issued an exceedingly 
 
 THE MOTHER OF MANY SOCIETIES. 305 
 
 interesting report, which not only tells of 126 distinct presents 
 of natural history objects of many different kinds, during the 
 year, and consisting of considerably over 2000 specimens but 
 mentions many other points which show how important the 
 collections which the Museum contained had become. Its 
 geological department had won the admiration and praise of 
 the leading geologists of the day, and contained a well-assorted 
 array of more than 3000 objects. In Insects it was especially 
 rich, those of the British Isles and nearly a thousand foreign 
 species having been arranged in genera The list of British 
 shells, many of which were purchased from Dr. Turton by 
 private subscription, was nearly complete, and only eighty-nine 
 species were wanting to perfect the collection of British birds, 
 forty.five of these being presented in the following year. 
 
 The Committee go on to mention that the sum of sixty 
 pounds a year had been set aside to defray the Curator's salary 
 and the other incidental expenses of the Museum, but that this 
 was not sufficient to permit of many desirable objects beinor 
 purchased, and thus special efforts were required to obtain 
 special subscriptions for this purpose. The local press took the 
 matter up, and, whilst complaining somewhat of the "attic" 
 allotted to the Museum (the present Committee Room), it spoke 
 with pride and delight of the numbers who climbed up to it 
 of the courtesy of Mr. John Thornhill, at once Librarian and 
 Curator, and of the curiosity and interest of the contributions 
 which were constantly flowing in. Some of these, such as an 
 ancient banner supposed to have belonged to the Incas of Peru 
 were only found a place by a wide and liberal interpretation of 
 the phrase " natural history." 
 
 But it had long been evident that there was considerable 
 friction between the members of this Society who cared most 
 for the Library and those members who cared most for the 
 
 20 
 
 1; 
 
 1 
 
 I 
 
 
 I. 
 
 i\\ 
 
3o6 THE MOTHER OF MANY SOCIETIES. 
 
 Museum. In 1828 a resolution was come to that "all works 
 on Natural History (except periodicals already subscribed for) 
 be purchased in future out of the funds of the Museum," but the 
 Committee explained that, whilst the public interest in this 
 department was greatly increasing,— the gifts in a single year 
 being of the value of ;^I20, and 2820 persons not members of 
 the Society obtaining free admission,— most of the great cost 
 incurred in providing for and increasing the different collections 
 had been defrayed from private sources or without entailing any 
 burden upon the funds of the Society. They evidently antici- 
 pated a stormy meeting in 1829, for they expressed their earnest 
 hope that the discussion would be " conducted with moderation 
 and good temper ; and that whatever might be finally determined 
 upon would be for the ultimate advantage of Science, and of this 
 Literary and Scientific Institution." 
 
 The resolution of the preceding Anniversary Meeting was 
 rescinded, but the further propositions were not accepted. 
 They were: — 
 
 (a) That the Committee should have power to sell the Museum. 
 
 (b) That a Committee should be appointed to consider the 
 
 best means of forming the Museum into an establishment 
 distinct from the Society, and to report to an early Monthly 
 Meeting which should have power of rejection or adoption. 
 {c) That, if the Museum were disposed of, all presents should 
 be returned to their respective donors. 
 
 The idea which found most favour was that a new Society 
 should be formed, and that it should buy ground from this 
 Society upon which a special building adapted to its purpose 
 should be built, and that the new Society should also purchase 
 the collections which belonged to this Society. 
 
 Prior to the Annual Meeting there had been a gathering of 
 
 THE MOTHER OF MANY SOCIETIES, 307 
 
 " Friends to the Formation of a Natural History Society " held 
 in this Society's rooms on the 25th February, 1829, with the 
 Rev. John Collinson in the chair. It was resolved that a paper 
 which was presented to this meeting should be printed and 
 circulated amongst the members of this Society before the 
 Annual Meeting, which was to be held on the 3rd March. This 
 paper set forth many reasons why it was desirable to separate 
 the Natural History department from the Society, but perhaps 
 the most convincing of these was that which came last Let me 
 give it in the words of the paper itself. It says : — 
 
 "But there is yet another and stronger reason why the 
 Museum should be separated from the Society, and which com- 
 pletely precludes the hope of their succeeding together, even at 
 a distant period, and that is the growing dislike of many of the 
 Members towards the Museum: from the first it has been the 
 cause of discord in the Society, but of late it has shewn itself 
 most unequivocally; so that the separation becomes advisable as 
 a means of restoring that harmony to the Society which is so 
 necessary to its prosperity. The direct effect of the separation 
 upon the funds of the Literary Society will be most beneficial. 
 Besides relieving it of ;^5oo of debt it will set at liberty nearly 
 .^100 per annum to be applied to the reduction of the floating 
 debt of the Society, which, in addition to the sum already 
 appropriated, in 10 years would reduce that debt as far as may 
 perhaps be thought advisable; the sum remaining being no more 
 than an equitable rent-charge on the property, which a future 
 race of Members may remove if they wish it The advantage 
 of the separation will thus be two-fold, whilst, in connexion, for 
 many years to come (supposing even that that connexion could be 
 kept up) the one Institution would be an obstacle to the other." 
 Then came the Anniversary Meeting of the 3rd March 
 which I have already mentioned, and, to quote The Northern 
 
 I 
 
308 
 
 THE MOTHER OF MANY SOCIETIES. 
 
 John Bull of the ist April, " Many smart speeches were made 
 for and against disposing of the Museum, but *the noes had it.'" 
 
 But the matter could not end there: the difficulties were 
 really serious, and there could be no happy union between 
 parties who differed so widely. In July 1829 a circular was 
 issued which set forth that " The Undersigned (being aware that 
 in this Part of England there are many Persons either scientifi- 
 cally or economically interested in the Pursuit of Natural History, 
 and that it would tend much to the Advancement of that Study 
 were these Persons united in a Society professedly for that 
 Object, and in Aid of the Museum at present attached to the 
 Literary and Philosophical Society of Newcastle-upon-Tyne) 
 would propose that a Society be formed, to be called "The 
 Natural History Society of the Counties of Northumberland, 
 Durham, and Newcastle-upon-Tyne." 
 
 Gentlemen who wished to become members were to signify 
 their intention by letter, addressed to Mr. Thornhill, Curator to 
 the Museum, and a meeting was to be held at the Literary and 
 Philosophical Society on the 19th of August to adopt rules for 
 the new Society, and to launch it on its way. 
 
 Looking back over the many years which have intervened 
 between that time and to-day, and remembering the varying 
 fortunes of the parent Society and this her most promising 
 child, the names of the persons who signed this circular have 
 a peculiar interest Dixon Dixon, John Trevelyan, W. C. 
 Trevelyan, James Losh, John Collinson, William Turner, John 
 Adamson, Chris. Cookson, Emerson Charnley, Thomas Crawhall, 
 J. Alder, G. T. Fox, George Wailes, R. B. Bowman, Robert 
 Stephenson, William Hutton, Thomas Baker (Whitburn), John 
 Thornhill, Cooper Abbs, Joseph Watson, Albany Hancock, 
 Nich. Wood, William Hewitson, George Gibsone : how many 
 of these men served this Society for long years in different 
 
 THE MOTHER OF MANY SOCIETIES. 309 
 
 capacities, how many have left names which hold a high place 
 in the annals of English science ? Surely the Natural History 
 Society which could boast such men amongst those who formed 
 it began its work under peculiarly favourable auspices. 
 
 Another valuable and interesting feature of this list of 
 signatories is that the staunchest friends and supporters of the 
 parent Society are fully represented amongst them. Whatever 
 troubles there may have been, how strong soever the opposition 
 of any portion of the members, there was no doubt, jealousy, or 
 misgiving amongst those to whom the fortunes of this Society 
 had been entrusted from the first, and were to be entrusted for 
 many years to come. In the report presented to the Annual 
 Meeting on March 2nd, 1830, the Committee of this Society 
 speak with pleasure of the formation of the Natural History 
 Society, and say, "Its most active promoters . . . have ever 
 been, and still are, amongst the most zealous and ardent friends 
 to this, which they are proud to call the Parent Society; and 
 although, since the members of the new Society, though all 
 friendly to, are not all members of this, the subjects in the 
 various departments of Natural History which shall be collected 
 and preserved by its funds, though proposed to be associated 
 and arranged with those in our Museum, are naturally to be 
 considered as its property, yet your Committee trust that there 
 is no wish on either part to separate them ; and they hope that 
 no untoward circumstance will ever occur which may by possi- 
 bility lead to misunderstanding." 
 
 The meetings of the new Society were to be held in our 
 Lecture-room. At the first of these " the Rev. William Turner 
 read a preliminary Essay, detailing the motives which led 
 to the formation, and the benefits which were contemplated 
 might be drawn from the operations of such a society in 
 this neighbourhood." The address was concluded amid great 
 
 1. 
 
3IO THE MOTHER OF MANY SOCIETIES. 
 
 applause ; and, on the motion of the Rev. J. Collinson, the 
 thanks of the meeting were voted to the Rev. WiUiam 
 Turner, with a request that he would allow it to be printed 
 and circulated, not only on account of its general ability, 
 but also for the comprehensive elucidation of the object 
 and utility of the society, which, the meeting was convinced, 
 needed only to be known to secure public countenance and 
 support." At the next meeting Mr. Turner was in the chair, 
 and this shows that the new Society " had been got up in a 
 spirit of friendly co-operation rather than of hostility to the 
 Literary and Philosophical Society." 
 
 And, for a time, the two Societies went on peaceably side by 
 side, and presents were received by each and put away together, 
 but it was clear from the first that such a state of affairs could 
 not continue for very long. Although great care was taken to 
 avoid any occasion of offence, there was necessarily some friction 
 from time to time, as there must always be under a twin manage- 
 ment, and there was abundant room for latent jealousies to 
 develop themselves. The meetings of the new Society received 
 many communications which the old Society had failed to get, 
 and the gentlemen connected with the coal trade furnished 
 several of these. True that an arrangement had been made 
 by which, after papers had been read at the meetings of the 
 Natural History Society they were to be available for those of 
 the Literary and Philosophical Society, but this concession 
 meant but little and was of a somewhat doubtful character. 
 There was, indeed, some hope in 1831 that the Society might, 
 " in no long time, find itself in a situation to combine its funds 
 with those of the Antiquarian and Natural History Societies, 
 for the accommodation, under one roof, of our various collec- 
 tions, and thus of consolidating and firmly establishing the 
 relations which do naturally, and ought perpetually, to subsist 
 
 ALIUNY HANCOCK. 
 
3IO THE MOTHER OF MANY SOCIETIES. 
 
 applause; and, on the motion of the Rev. J. Collinson, the 
 thanks of the meeting were voted to the Rev. WiUiam 
 Turner, with a request that he would allow it to be printed 
 and circulated, not only on account of its general ability, 
 but also for the comprehensive elucidation of the object 
 and utih'ty of the society, which, the meeting was convinced, 
 needed only to be known to secure public countenance and 
 support." At the next meeting Mr. Turner was in the chair, 
 and this shows that the new Society "had been got up in a 
 spirit of friendly co-operation rather than of hostility to the 
 Literary and Philosophical Society." 
 
 And, for a time, the two Societies went on peaceably side by 
 side, and presents were received by each and put away together, 
 but it was clear from the first that such a state of affairs could 
 not continue for very long. Although great care was taken to 
 avoid any occasion of offence, there was necessarily some friction 
 from time to time, as there must always be under a twin manage- 
 ment, and there was abundant room for latent jealousies to 
 develop themselves. The meetings of the new Society received 
 many communications which the old Society had failed to get, 
 and the gentlemen connected with the coal trade furnished 
 several of these. True that an arrangement had been made 
 by which, after papers had been read at the meetings of the 
 Natural History Society they were to be available for those of 
 the Literary and Philosophical Society, but this concession 
 meant but little and was of a somewhat doubtful character. 
 There was, indeed, some hope in 1831 that the Society might, 
 " in no long time, find itself in a situation to combine its funds 
 with those of the Antiquarian and Natural History Societies, 
 for the accommodation, under one roof, of our various collec- 
 tions, and thus of consolidating and firmly establishing the 
 relations which do naturally, and ought perpetually, to subsist 
 
 ALU ANY HANCOCK. 
 
THE MOTHER OF MANY SOCIETIES. 311 
 
 among them." But this hope was destined to remain unfulfilled, 
 
 and, at the Annual Meeting in 1834, the new arrangement 
 
 which had been come to was brought forward and sanctioned 
 
 The Committee state that arrangement in the following 
 words : — 
 
 *' The most prominent feature in the transactions of the year 
 which is now closed has been the negociation which the Com- 
 mittee have concluded with the Natural History Society for the 
 purchase of the ground on which they have erected their 
 extensive building for the accommodation of the Antiquarian 
 Society, in the Arcade, etc., on the ground floor, and for the 
 reception and convenient display of the numerous and valuable 
 articles in the Museum ; a considerable part of which is still to 
 continue the property of this Society. By the purchase money 
 (Aoo), in addition to the ;f200 annually set apart for that 
 purpose, your Committee have been enabled to pay off £600 
 of the 5 per cent. Loan, and in that proportion to reduce this 
 burden upon the Societ/s annual income. When the Museum 
 is finished, and united by a convenient passage with the Library- 
 room, a further inducement will, no doubt, be held forth to 
 persons becoming Members of this Society; to whom, and to 
 the friends whom they may introduce, your Committee have 
 secured the privilege of freely inspecting the articles in the 
 Museum; more especially as a considerable extension is pro- 
 posed of the time during which the rooms are to be kept open. 
 And, notwithstanding these additional advantages, they are 
 attained at a reduction of at least ;f20 from the annual ex- 
 penditure of this Society for the maintenance of its own 
 comparatively limited Museum: besides having the opportunity 
 of appropriating the room, which at present contains it, to any 
 other purpose which may be thought most eligible." 
 
 The exact terms of the arrangement which is talked about 
 
312 
 
 THE MOTHER OF MANY SOCIETIES. 
 
 in this Report were that the Museum of this Society should be 
 placed in the new building of the Natural History Society, to 
 whose care and management it should be entrusted, the articles 
 being carefully marked. The members of the Literary and 
 Philosophical Society and their friends were to have free access 
 whenever the Museum was open. The members of the Natural 
 History Society were allowed, for immediate reference, to take 
 books relating to objects of Natural History from the Library to 
 the Museum, such books being received from and returned to the 
 Librarian. The Literary and Philosophical Society were to pay 
 £^0 per annum to the funds of the Natural History Society. 
 
 This was surely a most liberal arrangement upon the part of 
 the parent Society. It received ^^"400 as the purchase-money of 
 its land, but paid the purchaser ten per cent, per annum upon 
 that sum, whilst, at the same time, it contributed much the 
 greater part of the show. 
 
 This arrangement continued without variation until, in the 
 year 1884, the growing requirements of the North Eastern Rail- 
 way Company compelled them to absorb the whole of the Natural 
 History Society's building and the collections were removed to 
 the fine new Museum which had been erected in memory of the 
 Hancock Brothers, at the Barras Bridge.* The careful marking 
 of the specimens belonging to this Society had long been aban- 
 doned — there was no available record of them ; and the members, 
 with that conspicuous generosity which has ever marked their 
 dealings with other bodies, consented to receive the nominal 
 acknowledgment of i^ioo in full payment for the whole. 
 
 Surely few towns ever boasted of two such brothers as Albany 
 
 * It is surprising that many citizens of Newcastle should still be unaware of the 
 noble collections of nature and art contained in this Museum. Any city on earth 
 might well be proud of it, but it is, for the most part, neglected by the general public. 
 And yet Thomas Bewick and John Hancock have given to it of their best, and, in 
 their respective lines, there is none better. 
 
 JOHN HANCOCK. 
 
312 THE MOTHER OF MANY SOCIETIES. 
 
 in this Report were that the Museum of this Society should be 
 placed in the new building of the Natural History Society, to 
 whose care and management it should be entrusted, the articles 
 being carefully marked. The members of the Literary and 
 Philosophical Society and their friends were to have free access 
 whenever the Museum was open. The members of the Natural 
 History Society were allowed, for immediate reference, to take 
 books relating to objects of Natural History from the Library to 
 the Museum, such books being received from and returned to the 
 Librarian. The Literary and Philosophical Society were to pay 
 £^0 per annum to the funds of the Natural History Society. 
 
 This was surely a most liberal arrangement upon the part of 
 the parent Society. It received ^^400 as the purchase-money of 
 its land, but paid the purchaser ten per cent, per annum upon 
 that sum, whilst, at the same time, it contributed much the 
 greater part of the show. 
 
 This arrangement continued without variation until, in the 
 year 1884, the growing requirements of the North Eastern Rail- 
 way Company compelled them to absorb the whole of the Natural 
 History Society's building and the collections were removed to 
 the fine new Museum which had been erected in memory of the 
 Hancock Brothers, at the Barras Bridge.* The careful marking 
 of the specimens belonging to this Society had long been aban- 
 doned — there was no available record of them ; and the members, 
 with that conspicuous generosity which has ever marked their 
 dealings with other bodies, consented to receive the nominal 
 acknowledgment of ;^ioo in full payment for the whole. 
 
 Surely few towns ever boasted of two such brothers as Albany 
 
 * It is surprising that many citizens of Newcastle should still be unaware of the 
 noble collections of nature and art contained in this Museum. Any city on earth 
 might well be proud of it, but it is, for the most part, neglected by the general public 
 And yet Thomas Bewick and John Hancock have given to it of their best, and, in 
 their respective lines, there is none better. 
 
 JOHN HANCOCK. 
 
THE MOTHER OF MANY SOCIETIES, 313 
 
 and John Hancock. We were rich in naturalists —Joshua 
 Alder, Selby, Fox, the Bradys, Dr. Embleton, Hewitson, Cooper 
 Abbs, Atthey, and many another, but the Hancock brothers 
 stood alone. Gentle, simple, unassuming men, there was a true, 
 natural nobility about them both. Albany was perhaps the man 
 of greatest width— or, perhaps it would be more correct to say 
 that his interests were wider— but each brother was unique. 
 Each had his own special line: Albany Hancock was the 
 highest authority in the world on the British Nudibranchiate 
 Mollusca; John Hancock was an unrivalled ornithologist. 
 Both were artists in the truest sense. Albany Hancock's 
 drawings of the anatomical details of microscopic objects are 
 unrivalled for delicacy and truth. John Hancock, as a taxider- 
 mist, stands alone in the wide world. He is first, and there is 
 no second. These are not the extravagant words of one who 
 from his early youth was privileged to see much of them, and who 
 is still enthralled by the memory of their rarely beautiful per- . 
 sonalities. They will be re-echoed by all who really know. 
 
 Both brothers took an active interest in the affairs of the 
 Society, and were of great service to it for many years as 
 members of Committee. Albany Hancock died in 1873 at the 
 age of sixty-seven, whilst John Hancock lived until 1890, and 
 was eighty-two years old when he died. 
 
 The opening of the new Museum in 1835 placed the rooms 
 which had been required for it and for the Antiquarian Society 
 at the disposal of this Society's Committee. The old Museum 
 Room was made into the Committee Room, and was also used 
 as a Reading Room; the room which the Antiquaries had 
 occupied became the home of the Medical Society, and the 
 old Committee Room was let to " the newly-established Law 
 Institute." The Medical Society continued to have possession 
 of their room until 1847, but the Law Institute seems to have 
 
I 
 
 314 THE MOTHER OF MANY SOCIETIES. 
 
 been a passing visitor. It was the precursor of the present 
 Newcastle and Gateshead Law Society. 
 
 The next off-shoot from the parent Society was to be one for 
 the promotion of the Fine Arts. At the monthly meeting held 
 in September 1836 papers were read upon this subject by Dr. 
 White and Mr. James T. Bell, and Mr. Sopwith moved, and 
 Mr. Greenhow seconded, "that a committee be appointed to 
 forward such a society, in conjunction with this society, and 
 take the affair into consideration." A committee of thirteen 
 members was accordingly appointed, and it went to work with 
 so much energy that, before the end of the year, Lord Ravens- 
 worth had accpted the ofifice of Patron, and the Bishop of 
 Durham that of President, and, in the report presented in 1838, 
 the success of the new Society is announced. Upon its 
 original Rules is printed, "Established October 22, 1836, 
 under the sanction of the Literary and Philosophical Society, 
 Newcastle-upon-Tyne." The Fine Arts Society carried on its 
 useful operations for half a century, at first in the apartments 
 connected with the Central Exchange, and afterwards, when 
 the Society of Antiquaries moved to the Castle, in the rooms 
 below the Natural History Society's Museum which the Anti- 
 quarians had occupied. It was fortunate in having for many 
 years as its Head Master a man of great original ability and in- 
 spiring genius in Mr. William Bell Scott, and a devoted and able 
 chairman in Mr. Joseph Watson. But its chief and conspicuous 
 success was due to the unwearying and loving labours of the 
 late Mr. James Leathart, who possessed an innate appreciation 
 of good art such as is rarely found, and combined with this a 
 self-sacrificing readiness to spend and be spent in its service 
 which is beyond praise. His own collection of the works of the 
 pre-Raphaelite brethren was widely known, and gave some 
 character to this district. 
 
 THE MOTHER OF MANY SOCIETIES. 315 
 
 When the North Eastern Railway drove out the Natural 
 History Society, the Fine Arts Society had also to leave, and it 
 entered into alliance with the College of Science and became 
 the Art Department of that invaluable institution. It is only 
 right that I should record how much that Department owes to 
 the wisdom and liberality of one by whose untimely death the 
 cause of learning in general, and of art in particular, has in this 
 district lost so much, the late Mr. Charles Mitchell. 
 
 In each of the meetings of the British Association in this 
 city, in 1838, 1863, and 1889, this Society has taken a promi- 
 nent part, sending deputations to urge the claims of Newcastle 
 to the honour of a visit, lending its rooms to the Local Com- 
 mittee and for the meetings of Sections, etc., opening its Library 
 to the Members and Associates, and contributing many willing 
 workers to the necessary preparations. The great success of 
 the last gathering was acknowledged ly due in a large measure 
 to the extraordinary and invaluable exertions of Professor 
 Merivale, then the Societ/s Junior Secretary. 
 
 The next off-shoot thrown out by the parent tree may 
 strike those who have not considered the nature of many of the 
 papers contributed to the Monthly Meetings as somewhat 
 remarkable. It was the establishment of a Farmers' Club for 
 Newcastle and its neighbourhood. The preliminary meetings 
 were held in this Society's Committee and Lecture Rooms, and 
 the Club took for its meeting-room the apartment once occupied 
 by the Antiquarian Society. It began at the end of 1845 and 
 remained with this Society for more than twelve years ; and in 
 1846 the use of the Lecture and Committee Rooms was granted 
 to the members of the Royal Agricultural Society of England 
 during their meeting in Newcastle, the members also having 
 permission to make use of the Library. 
 
 The Society's willing help was next afforded to a Society of 
 
3i6 THE MOTHER OF MANY SOCIETIES. 
 
 Teachers formed in this town in 1847, "having for its object 
 the raising the intellectual character of the instructors of youth, 
 and the advancement of general education, on the soundest 
 principles of intellectual philosophy." The Committee "had 
 the greatest satisfaction in placing the lecture room under the 
 controul of the managers for the meetings of the society," 
 and had "the gratification to state that three most important 
 lectures had been delivered before the Teachers' Society, . . . 
 the first, by Dr. Dodd of North Shields, on * The best means 
 of promoting the Intellectual Improvement of Youth/ The 
 second by the Rev. J. C. Bruce, * On the best means of pro- 
 moting the Moral Improvement of Youth'; and the third, by 
 Mr. Snape, * On Mathematics as a Portion of a Liberal Educa- 
 tion'; which lectures have been given to the public by their 
 estimable and talented authors." 
 
 A Sanitary Association which was got up principally by the 
 exertions of one of the members. Dr. Robinson, had also the use 
 of the lecture-room for its meetings during the same year. Half 
 a century afterwards another Society with similar objects, the 
 North Eastern Sanitary Inspection Association, has been 
 frequently indebted to this society for similar hospitality. 
 
 And here I may explain that I cannot pretend to mention 
 the names even of the innumerable bodies which have made 
 " the Lit. and Phil." their rendezvous from time to time. Some 
 of these, such as the Anti-Slavery Society, and the " Newcastle 
 Society for improving the condition of climbing boys," have long 
 since happily fulfilled their missions, and what their missions 
 were must be carefully explained to the curious of the present 
 generation. My purpose is rather to speak of those which have 
 directly sprung from this Society, or to which this Society has 
 given a home in the impecunious and struggling days of youth. 
 
 But I think that I should note that every application for the 
 
 THE MOTHER OF MANY SOCIETIES, 317 
 
 use of the Society's rooms has been carefully considered, and 
 has been decided upon its supposed merits, the granting or 
 refusal of the request being by no means a foregone conclusion. 
 Thus a motion made at the annual meeting on February 6th, 
 1850, "that it be a recommendation to the Committee to allow 
 the use of the Lecture-room for a lecture on the connection 
 between temperance and education, and between intemperance 
 and ignorance," was negatived. 
 
 For many years the Law Students' Debating Society had 
 the advantage of the Committee's permission to meet in a room 
 belonging to the Society, and it is interesting to recall that one 
 of the leading spirits of that band of eloquent young men in the 
 fifties was the present Mr. Justice Bruce. 
 
 But the most important of all the Societies which have been 
 cradled in this is beyond all doubt the North of England 
 Institute of Mining Engineers, which was founded in 1852. I 
 need not remind the reader of the early work done by this 
 Society in the direction of the systematic advancement of 
 mining science generally, or of the pleading by Mr. W. Thomas 
 for the establishment of such an Institute before last century had 
 run its course. The matter had never lost its interest, and the 
 Committee, rejoicing in 1836 over the branches which had 
 sprung from the old tree, say "it would be unnatural in the 
 Parent not to rejoice in the prosperity and success of her off- 
 spring; and, so far from cherishing the slightest envy or jealousy 
 at their individual success, will feel herself entitled to a portion 
 at least of the credit which they shall gain, particularly if the 
 eminent example of Mr. Buddie should occasion the establish- 
 ment of a General Permanent Record Office for the Mining 
 Transactions of the district, she will recollect that the idea was 
 originally started by a then distinguished Member of her own 
 body (the late W. Thomas, Esq.), as early as the year 1797, at 
 
3i8 THE MOTHER OF MANY SOCIETIES. 
 
 a time when the public mind was not sufficiently opened to its 
 many advantages." 
 
 Mr. Buddie did not live to see his ardent desires carried into 
 effect, but he did much to make a Mining Institute possible. 
 To him perhaps more than to any other man do we owe the 
 paramount position which the science of mining engineering has 
 attained. He died in 1843, but his name will live as one of the 
 great pioneers of our Northern coal industry as we know it, so 
 long as the Coal Trade flourishes "on the banks of Coaly 
 Tyne." He also was one of the invaluable men who were trained 
 under the Rev. William Turner. 
 
 Mr. Nicholas Wood, the first President of the new Society, 
 set forth its objects in his inaugural address thus : — 
 
 " 1st. By the union and concentration of professional ex- 
 perience to endeavour, if possible, to devise measures which 
 may tend to avert or alleviate those dreadful calamities which 
 have so frequently produced such destruction of life and pro- 
 perty, and which have always been attended with such misery 
 and distress to the mining population of the district; and, 2nd, 
 to establish a literary association more particularly applicable 
 to those engaged in researches in the theory and practice of 
 mining than any of the institutions at present established in 
 this locality." 
 
 The Mining Institute has grown to be an institution of 
 the first importance. The most friendly relations have always 
 existed between it and this Society, and an arrangement exists 
 between the two bodies, whose homes adjoin and are con- 
 nected by an iron bridge, whereby the members of each Society 
 have access, for the purposes of reference and study, to the 
 works in the Library of the other. 
 
 I have now dealt with the formation of the Societies which 
 may properly be considered as having sprung from the Literary 
 
 JOHN BUDDLE. 
 
3i8 THE MOTHER OF MANY SOCIETIES. 
 
 a time when the public mind was not sufficiently opened to its 
 many advantages." 
 
 Mr. Buddie did not live to see his ardent desires carried into 
 effect, but he did much to make a Mining Institute possible. 
 To him perhaps more than to any other man do we owe the 
 paramount position which the science of mining engineering has 
 attained. He died in 1843, but his name will live as one of the 
 great pioneers of our Northern coal industry as we know it, so 
 long as the Coal Trade flourishes "on the banks of Coaly 
 Tyne." He also was one of the invaluable men who were trained 
 under the Rev. William Turner. 
 
 Mr. Nicholas Wood, the first President of the new Society, 
 set forth its objects in his inaugural address thus : — 
 
 " 1st. By the union and concentration of professional ex- 
 perience to endeavour, if possible, to devise measures which 
 may tend to avert or alleviate those dreadful calamities which 
 have so frequently produced such destruction of life and pro- 
 perty, and which have always been attended with such misery 
 and distress to the mining population of the district; and, 2nd, 
 to establish a literary association more particularly applicable 
 to those engaged in researches in the theory and practice of 
 mining than any of the institutions at present established in 
 this locality." 
 
 The Mining Institute has grown to be an institution of 
 the first importance. The most friendly relations have always 
 existed between it and this Society, and an arrangement exists 
 between the two bodies, whose homes adjoin and are con- 
 nected by an iron bridge, whereby the members of each Society 
 have access, for the purposes of reference and study, to the 
 works in the Library of the other. 
 
 I have now dealt with the formation of the Societies which 
 may properly be considered as having sprung from the Literary 
 
 JOHN UUDDLE. 
 
li 
 
 I: I 
 
 THE MOTHER OF MANY SOCIETIES. 319 
 
 and Philosophical Society. I may, in conclusion, and in order to 
 give some adequate idea of the wide range of hospitality which 
 the parent has exercised, give simply the names of the different 
 bodies to which the use of the Lecture Room or Committee 
 Room, or both, has been granted free of rent during the past ten 
 years. Many of these, probably the majority, have had the 
 privilege throughout the Winter Session, frequently throughout 
 the year, and the permission has been renewed for many years 
 in succession : — 
 
 The Tyneside Students' Association, the Northern Counties 
 Photographic Association, the North-East Coast Engineers' and 
 Shipbuilders' Association, the North of England Microscopical 
 Society, the Foremen Engineers' and Draughtsmens* Associa- 
 tion, the North-Eastern Sanitary Association, the Society for 
 National Insurance, the Food Reform Association, the Wesleyan 
 Conference, the North of England Volunteer Service Institu- 
 tion, the Mining Institute, the Newcastle Royal Infirmary, the 
 Institution of Naval Architects, the Shelley Society, the Tyne- 
 side Geographical Society, the Provisional British Association 
 Local Committee, the National Society of Musicians, the Vege- 
 tarian Society, Northern Architectural Association, Trinity 
 College, Northumberland and District Teachers' Union, Royal 
 Grammar School, Fruit-Growers' Association, Linguistic Associa- 
 tion, National Home Reading Union, St. Mark's Ex-Students, 
 Horticultural Mutual Improvement Society, Newcastle Teachers* 
 Association, Newcastle Health Society, National Phonographic 
 Association, Plumbers' Association, Tyneside Naturalists' Field 
 Club, Government School of Art, Royal Archaeological Institute 
 of Great Britain and Ireland, the Society of Chemical Industry. 
 
 We are entitled to contemplate that long list with some 
 pride. Our Society has been the mother of noble children, and 
 a staunch friend to every endeavour to improve the moral, social, 
 and intellectual condition of mankind. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 THE CENTENARY AND AFTER, 
 
 HE Society attained the good old age of one hundred 
 years upon the 7th February, 1893. Arrangements 
 were made for the due celebration of the important 
 event by holding a great Conversazione in the rooms of the 
 Society and those of the Mining Institute. Never before had 
 there been so brilliant a gathering, never before had the suite of 
 fine rooms been so admirably decorated or looked so beautiful. 
 As you lounged beneath tall and graceful palms or wandered in 
 groves of richly-fruited orange trees, and the sweet strains of 
 music stole through the air, it was difficult to believe that you 
 were in "canny Newcassel." You entered sympathetically into 
 the feelings of the old lady, so fond of fairy stories, of whom 
 Tom Hood tells, when, under slightly other circumstances, she 
 exclaimed — 
 
 " Little Prince Silver-wings has ketched me up. 
 And set me down in some one else's garden." 
 
 The entertainments provided for the occasion are thus de- 
 scribed by one of the journals of the day : " The refreshments 
 purveyed in the new reading room were, quite recherche, and 
 well served. Mr. J. H. Amers' orchestral band discoursed from 
 the galleries overhead ; a double quartet party from York 
 
 LORD ARMSTRONG, C.B., F.R.S. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 THE CENTENARY AND AFTER, 
 
 HE Society attained the good old age of one hundred 
 years upon the 7th February, 1893. Arrangements 
 were made for the due celebration of the important 
 event by holding a great Conversazione in the rooms of the 
 Society and those of the Mining Institute. Never before had 
 there been so brilliant a gathering, never before had the suite of 
 fine rooms been so admirably decorated or looked so beautiful. 
 As you lounged beneath tall and graceful palms or wandered in 
 groves of richly-fruited orange trees, and the sweet strains of 
 music stole through the air, it was difficult to believe that you 
 were in "canny Newcassel." You entered sympathetically into 
 the feelings of the old lady, so fond of fairy stories, of whom 
 Tom Hood tells, when, under slightly other circumstances, she 
 exclaimed — 
 
 " Little Prince Silver-wings has ketched me up, 
 And set me down in some one else's garden." 
 
 The entertainments provided for the occasion are thus de- 
 scribed by one of the journals of the day : " The refreshments 
 purveyed in the new reading room were, quite recherchcy and 
 well served. Mr. J. H. Amers' orchestral band discoursed from 
 the galleries overhead ; a double quartet party from York 
 
 LORD ARMSTROXc;, C.B., F.R.S. 
 
THE CENTENARY AND AFTER, 
 
 321 
 
 Minster rendered with cultured effect in the Hall many fine 
 songs; and then, in other rooms, something of the inventive 
 genius of the age was demonstrated — in one place, Edison*s 
 latest phonograph, and at another quite a large number of 
 telephonic communications with the opera at the Art Gallery, 
 by which a succession of hearers, although a quarter of a mile 
 away, seemed to be too near, so loud and resounding were the 
 choruses and orchestration heard, the flute always coming out most 
 distinctively. While Dr. Spence Watson and Lord Armstrong 
 held together as large and brilliant an audience as probably 
 ever sat for a couple of hours in the theatre of the Lit. and Phil., 
 Mr. Richard Welford took up another company in the new 
 lecture room, and entertained every one fortunate enough to get 
 in with a pictorial address on * Old Newcastle.' After all these 
 enticing and entertaining things the youthful celebrants finished 
 off with a dance in the Wood Hall, the floor of which had been 
 laid with a drugget, and made it quite enjoyable. Altogether, 
 the celebration was as pleasant as the memories of the good 
 work done by the society." 
 
 The Senior Secretary's contribution was an historical sketch 
 of the Society, but that which made the evening specially 
 memorable was the account given by the venerable President, 
 Lord Armstrong, of the result of his original researches into 
 various electrical phenomena which he afterwards published 
 under the title of " Experimental Lecture on novel effects of the 
 Electrical Discharge." The experiments were new, numerous, 
 and splendid. Lord Armstrong became a member of the 
 Society in 1836, his father, Mr. William Armstrong, having 
 joined it in 1799, and having for some years taken an active 
 part in its management 
 
 Before leaving the rooms at eleven o'clock on the night of 
 the centenary celebration the writer walked round the galleries, 
 
 21 
 
 I 
 
 ' 
 
 i 
 
322 
 
 THE CENTENAR Y AND AFTER. 
 
 ^ 
 
 gazing on as gay and glittering a scene as any staid and sober 
 old Society could possibly afford. Travelling up to the 
 metropolis during the night, he took up the Times whilst 
 breakfasting on the following day, and his eye fell speedily 
 upon a short paragraph which stated, without note or comment, 
 that during the night the Society's building had been burned to 
 the ground. 
 
 And it was true. The greater part of the old building had 
 been actually destroyed or rendered useless for its purpose. 
 
 A telegraph clerk, going to his work in the neighbouring 
 General Post Office about a quarter to six on the morning of 
 the 8th February, discovered the outbreak of fire and gave the 
 alarfn. Assistance was soon forthcoming, and by great and 
 well-directed exertions, the Fire Brigade succeeded in preventing 
 any extension of the conflagration, but heavy damage was done 
 before the flames were extinguished. There was not a part of 
 the building which had not suffered from fire or water, but the 
 chief amount of destruction had been done in the principal 
 library, where the fire began. The floor had partially fallen in, 
 the roof was completely destroyed, the books were burned by 
 fire or drenched with water, and the ceiling of the lecture theatre 
 had fallen in. The destruction was not indeed complete, but 
 the sight was a sorry one, and the rain and snow and tempest 
 seemed, for a moment, to hold the institution at their mercy. 
 
 Still this was but for a moment. The Committee rose to 
 the occasion : the Secretaries, Professor Merivale and Mr. Alfred 
 Holmes, who had taken office for the first time, calmly looked 
 the situation in the face, and, with courage and business-like 
 promptitude, began at once the heavy and weary work of 
 reparation. Friends too turned up on all hands, and the aid 
 given by many, but conspicuously by the Mining Institute, was 
 of the greatest advantage. It was found that the fire had 
 
 OS 
 
 00 
 
 S 
 H 
 CO 
 
 > 
 Pi 
 < 
 
 » 
 fa 
 
 X 
 H 
 
 ll' 
 
 I* 
 
 i 
 
 f 
 
 t¥ 
 
I 
 
 322 
 
 THE CENTENAR Y AND AFTER, 
 
 ti 
 
 gazing on as gay and glittering a scene as any staid and sober 
 old Society could possibly afiford. Travelling up to the 
 metropolis during the night, he took up the Times whilst 
 breakfasting on the following day, and his eye fell speedily 
 upon a short paragraph which stated, without note or comment, 
 that during the night the Society's building had been burned to 
 the ground. 
 
 And it was true. The greater part of the old building had 
 been actually destroyed or rendered useless for its purpose. 
 
 A telegraph clerk, going to his work in the neighbouring 
 General Post Office about a quarter to six on the morning of 
 the 8th February, discovered the outbreak of fire and gave the 
 alarfn. Assistance was soon forthcoming, and by great and 
 well-directed exertions, the Fire Brigade succeeded in preventing 
 any extension of the conflagration, but heavy damage was done 
 before the flames were extinguished. There was not a part of 
 the building which had not suffered from fire or water, but the 
 chief amount of destruction had been done in the principal 
 library, where the fire began. The floor had partially fallen in, 
 the roof was completely destroyed, the books were burned by 
 fire or drenched with water, and the ceiling of the lecture theatre 
 had fallen in. The destruction was not indeed complete, but 
 the sight was a sorry one, and the rain and snow and tempest 
 seemed, for a moment, to hold the institution at their mercy. 
 
 Still this was but for a moment. The Committee rose to 
 the occasion: the Secretaries, Professor Merivale and Mr. Alfred 
 Holmes, who had taken office for the first time, calmly looked 
 the situation in the face, and, with courage and business-like 
 promptitude, began at once the heavy and weary work of 
 reparation. Friends too turned up on all hands, and the aid 
 given by many, but conspicuously by the Mining Institute, was 
 of the greatest advantage. It was found that the fire had 
 
 \¥ 
 
 CO 
 
 OS 
 00 
 
 X 
 
 H 
 00 
 
 < 
 
 D 
 
 X 
 
 X 
 
 \ 
 
 * .1 
 
THE CENTENAR Y AND AFTER. 
 
 323 
 
 originated in the south-east corner of the old library, and was 
 probably due to the over-heating of a beam beneath the hearth- 
 stone of the fire-place. In 1890 the library was heated by hot 
 water, and since that date the fire-place in question had been 
 unused, but on the afternoon of the 7th February a fire was 
 lighted in it for the purpose of providing hot water for the 
 refreshment department. As was frequently the case at the 
 time the Library was built, one of the main beams lay under 
 each hearth-stone, and this bad practice accounts for a great 
 number of fires in other places as well as for this. Alterations 
 made in the flooring to accommodate the hot-water pipes per- 
 mitted the access of air to the beam, and to this concurrence 
 of circumstances the great fire in question was probably due. 
 
 It is worth noting that when the hearth-stone under the 
 corresponding grate on the other side of the Library was raised, 
 the beam beneath it was found to be much charred, and yet no 
 fire had been lighted in that grate for at least forty years. 
 
 When the new wing was built in 1887-88 a large room 
 was provided on the ground-floor, under the extension of the 
 Library, and it had been occasionally used for meetings of 
 societies when the numbers attending were not too large. This 
 room the Committee at once fitted up as a temporary library, 
 whence magazines, new books, and the like, might be issued, 
 and also as a reading-room; and so successful were they in 
 meeting the immediate requirements of the case that, in spite of 
 much inevitable inconvenience, there was no falling off* in the 
 number of members. 
 
 They then attended to the grave questions of insurance, of 
 the reconstruction of buildings, and the re-purchase of books. 
 They appointed Mr. F. W. Rich, the well-known architect, to 
 meet the representative of the Insurance Company and to 
 endeavour to agree upon the cost of restoring the buildings ; 
 
 i 
 
 i 
 
 f i 
 
 ' ^ 
 
 i 
 
i 
 
 324 
 
 THE CENTENARY AND AFTER. 
 
 Mr. Thorne was entrusted with a similar duty with reference to 
 books lost or damaged ; and furniture, pictures, busts, etc., 
 were valued by experts, and the amount of injury or loss was 
 adjusted between the Honorary Secretaries of the Society and 
 the Secretary of the Insurance Company. It was found that 
 upwards of 9609 books had been actually destroyed, 7468 had 
 been more or less seriously injured, whilst 21,842 had received 
 damage to binding alone. The total amount ultimately received 
 from the Insurance Company was ;^ 10,648 14s. 2d., upon all 
 accounts. 
 
 Upon the 31st August, 1893, the Committee met the members 
 at a special General Meeting and reported the settlement which 
 had been come to, and the steps which were being taken to 
 replace such of the books as had been destroyed as were 
 still to be obtained and as it was in any way desirable to 
 replace. 
 
 They then entered into a careful and detailed explanation 
 of the manner in which they proposed that the building should 
 be restored. As this work has been successfully carried out it 
 is unnecessary to quote largely from this part of the report, but 
 I may summarise its chief conclusions. 
 
 The roof of a library, especially when it is to be lighted by 
 skylights, is always an anxious matter. It is not easy, at the 
 same time, to provide efficiently for the escape of impure air and 
 yet to avoid the entrance of snow and rain. In this case there 
 was the further consideration that the old roof had proved to be 
 a special source of danger in the case of fire. Now it was 
 proposed to make a double roof, an outer one of plain iron-work 
 and rough plate glass, and an inner one of three iron-framed 
 glass domes, the connecting plaster work being attached to iron 
 net-work and put up in sections. The Committee-room was 
 at the same time to have a new glass and iron roof. 
 
 THE CENTENAR Y AND AFTER. 
 
 32s 
 
 The floor of the principal library was to be replaced by steel 
 girders and concrete, paved with oak blocks. All open fire- 
 places were to be done away with, the lecture-room being 
 heated by steam and the rest of the building by hot water, 
 and special arrangements being made for the admission of fresh 
 and the ejection of foul air. Steam was only preferred to 
 hot water in the case of the lecture-room, because it admitted of 
 raising or lowering the temperature with greater rapidity. 
 
 The members confirmed the greater part of the report of the 
 Committee, but, happily for the charm of a room of perfect 
 proportions, they refused to allow a broad flight of stairs to be 
 made from the floor to the gallery at the east end of the 
 principal library. They acknowledged gratefully the zeal, 
 devotion, and business aptitude which the Junior Secretary, 
 Mr. Alfred Holmes, had displayed in the many difficult negotia- 
 tions and arrangements consequent upon the great catastrophe 
 which I have described. It was also specially mentioned, when 
 the work was at length well and satisfactorily carried out, that 
 the performance had been rather a labour of love to Mr. Rich, 
 the architect employed, than a mere professional duty. 
 
 The alterations were indeed proceeded with in a spirit of 
 commendable promptitude, and the rooms were once more 
 thrown open to the members on the ist October, 1894 There 
 had been many minor changes made which had not been thought 
 of until the work was in progress. In order that there should 
 be less probability of fire spreading to or from the old rooms 
 which kept their wooden floors, ceilings of steel and plaster and 
 marble floors had been inserted at the openings. The whole of 
 the rooms had been lighted with the electric light, the current 
 being obtained from a dynamo driven by a gas engine which 
 was placed in the basement of the new part of the building. 
 The new room on the ground -floor, which had been used for all 
 
 \ 
 
 1 
 
 I 
 
 \\\ 
 
t 
 
 326 
 
 THE CENTENARY AND AFTER. 
 
 purposes connected with the distribution of books during what 
 I may perhaps be allowed to call the interregnum, had since 
 been fitted up as a smoking-room, and was greatly appreciated 
 by the numerous followers of Sir Walter Raleigh. Before so 
 great and salutary a reform had been brought about there was, 
 naturally enough, prolonged discussion and much searching of 
 heart The idea that it was quite possible for any member who 
 objected to smoking never to enter a new room, not of the first 
 importance and which he would probably never have entered 
 at all but for the fire, seemed one which it was difficult to grasp. 
 But year runs after year, and use and wont speedily begin to 
 exercise their remarkable powers of atonement, and the objec- 
 tions and the predicted downthrows and demoralisations have 
 all ended peacefully in smoke. 
 
 It is not necessary for me to go further with this story. The 
 good old Society was never so strong, useful, and flourishing as 
 it is now in the mid-summer of 1896. The membership has 
 increased by leaps and bounds since 1893, just as though the 
 terrible fire had acted as a monstrous advertisement, and New- 
 castle people had at last awakened to the fact that they had 
 a Literary and Philosophical Society in their midst. On the 
 1st January, 1896, there were 1652 members on the roll, of whom 
 247 were associates. This was an increase of 295 over the 1357 
 of January ist, 1895, and was indeed a higher number than had 
 ever been reached before. The nearest approach to it was on 
 January ist, 1872, when there were 1533 members.* It is quite 
 possible that the admission of novels, and the large increase in 
 the number of cheaper magazines subscribed for, account for 
 a considerable proportion of the growth of members, but it 
 
 There are now, in the month of December 1896, 1554 Members 
 and 305 Associates, or together 1859 persons entitled to benefit by the 
 Society. 
 
 ■>k 
 
 THE CENTENAR Y AND AFTER. 
 
 327 
 
 must not be forgotten that the Reference part of the library 
 has been kept up with exemplary care. 
 
 In fact, the success of the Society has been well and fairly 
 earned. Where will you find another Institution which offers you 
 so much for your money ? If you are a full member and pay a 
 guinea a year, your wife, your unmarried daughters, and your 
 sons under twenty-one years of age, can become associates at a 
 half-guinea subscription apiece, and have every privilege of 
 ordinary members, excepting that they can neither vote nor 
 take any part in the management of the Society, and may only 
 take out two works at a time. 
 
 You yourself may not only vote, but may take out five works 
 at once, only one being a current Magazine or Review. 
 
 Then you have a room where you can sit, in quiet and comfort, 
 and consult encyclopaedias and dictionaries. The large Library is 
 arranged with sequestered chairs and tables with every provision 
 for quiet study, whilst the tables in the smaller room are covered 
 with periodicals, reviews, magazines, the art monthlies, and the 
 like. You have nearly 50,000 volumes, which have been carefully 
 collected through long years, to consult or to borrow for home 
 perusal, and you have also access to the valuable scientific 
 library in the Mining Institute which belongs to the Coal Trade 
 of Northumberland and Durham. New books you must return 
 to the Library in a fortnight, but books which have been more 
 than a year in the Library you may keep for three weeks. 
 
 During the winter months, from October to March, you may 
 listen on each Monday evening, in the comfortable lecture 
 theatre, to a discourse by some man of eminence in the literary, 
 artistic, or scientific world. You may also, if you should be 
 so inclined, benefit each year by two courses of twelve lectures 
 each given by Cambridge University Extension lecturers in the 
 Easter and Michaelmas terms, real educational courses which 
 
 i 
 
 f 
 
i 
 
 ^ 
 
 328 
 
 THE CENTENARY AND AFTER, 
 
 are accompanied by conversation or heckling classes, by the 
 writing of essays, and a final examination. 
 
 And you have the large and handsome smoking-room, open 
 from 10 A.M. to 9.30 P.M., and in it you can read, or talk, or 
 play at chess. There is already a Chess Club which you may 
 join, and a Shakespeare Society, a Discussion Society, and a 
 Photographic Society with a dark chamber in the basement 
 These societies have small subscriptions of their own to defray 
 their necessary expenses, but every member of the parent 
 Institution is entitled to attend every meeting which is held in 
 any part of the building, excepting those which only relate to 
 management 
 
 For that building, and all that it contains, belong to 
 the members— to all the members, old and new alike. This 
 happy and generous freedom of constitution was, I believe, 
 unknown when the Literary and Philosophical Society first 
 adopted it 
 
 There have been difficulties, more or less serious, consequent 
 on the relaxation of some of the restrictive rules, the large and 
 sudden accessions of members, the multiplication of domestic 
 Societies which are bound to observe the laws of the Society, 
 but over which the Committee can, in the very nature of things, 
 have but little control. It surely behoves us all to be very 
 careful and very considerate in these matters. We are a Society 
 of friends, and should be anxious to consult the wishes of others 
 in things lawful in preference to our own. Those who feel 
 themselves strong should be willing to condescend to the 
 weaker brethren. Where all are truly equal any endeavour to 
 force conclusions must and ought to fail. Let the young 
 remember that, though the old ones cannot be so wise as they 
 are, they may have gained something by longer experience, and 
 the old recollect that they once were young and thought that 
 
 THE CENTENARY AND AFTER. 
 
 329 
 
 they were the people and wisdom would perish with them. Old 
 and young have alike a serious responsibility accompanying 
 their membership of this Society. It is a true republic, and 
 should acknowledge no dictator. All are equal in power, and. 
 should be equally jealous of the good fame and name which 
 have come down to them through long generations. 
 
 Two great topics divide friends and make them foes — 
 religion and politics. Those who founded our Society wisely 
 resolved that ther^e. should be one place in our good old city 
 where all men and women might meet on neutral ground. 
 Those who are the most thrown into the turmoil and labour of 
 civil or religious strife are the most conscious of the blessing 
 which such a meeting-place affords. Let it be held for ever 
 sacred. 
 
 And may the member who, a century hence, continues, with 
 far greater ability, but with no more devotion, the story which I 
 have so far told, be able to say that for usefulness, for liberality, 
 and for numbers, no other local Society, then, as now, excels 
 the good old Literary and Philosophical Society of Newcastle- 
 upon-Tyne. 
 
 i 
 
 I ■ 
 
 ^M 
 
,1 
 
 ll 
 
 ' 'l 
 
 li 
 
 APPENDIX A. 
 
 Hints for establishing an office in Newcastle for collecting 
 and recording Authentic Information relative to the state 
 of the collieries in its neighbourhood, and the progress 
 that has been made towards ascertaining the nature and 
 constitution of th^ strata below those seams to which 
 the workings in this country have been confined. By 
 William Thomas, Esq. 
 
 September 13/^, 1796. 
 
 Read at a meeting of the Literary and Philosophical Society 
 of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and published by order of the Society. 
 1815. 
 
 Although to some it may appear that the plan about to be proposed 
 has more of remote than immediate advantage in view, yet if it is 
 acknowledged that such advantage will be the result, it is to be hoped 
 the measure will not be deemed superfluous, nor considered as having 
 for its object the gratification of an impertinent curiosity rather than 
 the general and permanent welfare of the public. As an institution, 
 however, of the description now contemplated may, on a cursory view 
 of the subject, awaken suspicion, by seeming to demand information on 
 subjects of too delicate and secret a nature, intimately connected with 
 individual property, it may not be improper before we enter on its 
 principles and details, to point out some of the more obvious and 
 immediate advantages to be derived from it, as well as of some other 
 circumstances which appear to be favourable to the undertaking. 
 
332 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 % 
 
 When the information, which it will be the business of such an 
 office to collect, and to arrange, shall have been carried to some degree 
 of maturity, by connecting the different properties in the district, with 
 the knowledge (as far as it has been obtained) of the nature of the 
 strata which compose each respective division of that property, a 
 regular history of the various seams of coal existing, within each 
 division, may be drawn from such information. By this means, a 
 considerable expense in the article of borings for the purpose of ascer- 
 taining the fact, will, in a great measure, be rendered unnecessary, the 
 time employed in that tedious process will be very much abridged, and 
 an effectual winning much sooner accomplished. Should suspicions 
 of the efficacy of such information to the full extent, be urged against 
 the plan (and such objections may, perhaps, in some instances appear 
 reasonable enough), yet they by no means destroy the great body of 
 advantages which it is calculated to produce. A very partial boring, 
 where previous information is obtained illustrative of the relative con- 
 nection of the strata, has, in general, been deemed sufficient authority 
 on which to form a decided opinion of the nature of the whole ; and 
 by those who are acquainted with the very great expense incurred in 
 the prosecution of extensive borings, this cannot but be regarded as a 
 very important consideration. 
 
 Another considerable advantage to be obtained by this collective 
 information and connection of property is, the knowledge that will be 
 thereby procured with respect to the nature, situation, and direction 
 of the various dikes and interruptions that have been met with, in 
 prosecution of the workings of the respective seams within each 
 individual property. By this information, neighbouring collieries, 
 towards which the direction of these interruptions tends, may be 
 extricated from a too fatal security, and led to make those preparations 
 to meet approaching evils, the necessity of which could not otherwise 
 have been foreseen, ignorant as they must have been that any disaster 
 was likely to happen. 
 
 The objection may here be urged, that dikes, or other interruptions, 
 frequent in collieries, vary their direction, and often disappear in 
 
 
 ^^ 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 333 
 
 individual workings. But this will not materially diminish the advan- 
 tages that must accrue in a general point of view; for where any 
 serious interruption to the progress of the workings is apprehended, 
 prudence dictates the use of those precautions which are necessary to 
 its discovery, as well as of those means which are requisite to ascertain 
 the full extent of its effects. And as the steps proper for this inquiry 
 may generally be followed without much inconvenience, security, drawn 
 out of this fund of associated information, may thus be purchased at a 
 very moderate expense. 
 
 Naturally growing out of this plan will be the history of the various 
 seams within the neighbourhood, their relative connections, and their 
 continuity through this district; points, which at present, strange as 
 it may appear in a country so peculiarly adapted for discoveries of 
 this nature, are very imperfectly known. This history, gathered from 
 such authentic documents, presents many advantages. The proprietor 
 becomes acquainted with the value and importance of his property; 
 the resources of this country, in the invaluable article of coal, are 
 reduced within the limits of calculation; and the adventurer, who 
 risks his fortune in those expensive and hazardous undertakings, the 
 winning and working of coals, procures to himself a degree of confidence 
 in the attempt, to animate his labours, and to strengthen the hope of a 
 successful issue. 
 
 But the further and more important consideration which so forcibly 
 urges the adoption of the plan, to which the present hints are directed, 
 appears to be, that of transmitting to posterity such authentic informa- 
 tion relative to the limits of every particular waste, and the full extent 
 of the workings in the respective seams, as to preclude (except by great 
 negligence or inattention) the possibility of any subsequent workings 
 approaching the old wastes too abruptly; thereby placing the lives of a 
 valuable description of men, as well as the property of individuals, in 
 much greater security, and preventing those destructive and melancholy 
 consequences which have but too frequently happened in this country, 
 from the total want, in most instances, of such information. The pre- 
 caution of previous boring may, by some, be said to provide all the 
 
 
 \ 
 
 ^ 
 
 rf 
 
 \ 
 
334 
 
 APPENDIX, 
 
 I 
 
 requisites for preventing the evil complained of. But independently 
 of the expense to be incurred by such a process, it is impossible, 
 in many seams of a tender quality, to pronounce on the sufficiency 
 of a barrier to withstand the weight of water that may be lodged 
 against it, in extensive wastes ; or even to guard against the frequent 
 negligence of the workmen employed in boring, to prove the extent of 
 the barrier. Yet the present ignorant state of the country respecting 
 this subject is such, and the limits of old wastes, from which the coal 
 has been wrought prior to the period of traditional testimony, are so 
 imperfectly known, that the remains of old pits, traced on the surface, 
 are the only circumstances to enforce the use of those precautions on 
 which rest so many important consequences. The frequent fallacious 
 ness, however, of such appearances on the surface, and the fatal effects 
 that have ensued from too great security in matters of this nature, 
 are too well known to those interested in the working of collieries, to 
 require more to be said in favour of a plan, which has for its object 
 the collection of such information as will remove every doubt on so 
 important a subject. 
 
 I would not be thought by this representation, to entertain the most 
 distant view of infusing into the minds of workmen a distrust of their 
 employers, or a want of confidence in their anxiety to use those means 
 which are necessary for their preservation. Neither would I be with- 
 held, by a false delicacy, from a review of those consequences which, 
 when maturely considered, may lead to the establishment of a plan for 
 procuring information, that will provide for the more permanent safety 
 both of persons and property. 
 
 Since, therefore, interest and humanity favour the introduction of 
 such a plan, I shall proceed to the Hints for that purpose, which I 
 proposed to submit to the consideration of the society. 
 
 I. That an office be established in Newcastle, for collecting, 
 arranging, and registering the various informations to be from time 
 to time communicated by those persons who are interested in the 
 collection and preservation of such information. 
 
 II. That the proprietors of collieries in the neighbourhood be 
 
 APPENDIX, 
 
 33S 
 
 solicited to subscribe to this institution, and requested to direct their 
 agents or viewers to deliver into the office, so established, plans of the 
 boundaries of their respective properties; and the linings of the work- 
 ings within the several seams that are in working, with a description of 
 the nature and direction of the interruptions met with in the progress 
 of the works; the thickness of the respective seams; their depth from 
 the surface; and the number, situation, and thickness of the bands 
 existing within them. 
 
 III. That a Committee be formed of the principal proprietors 
 resident in or near Newcastle, who shall appoint a superintendent, 
 acquainted with the principles of conducting collieries, to lay down on 
 plans, the various linings of the respective seams; and to arrange and 
 insert into books, prepared for that purpose, all the information which 
 shall from time to time be received respecting dikes, or other interrup- 
 tions that may occur; together with every other sort of communication 
 relating to the collieries, that may be delivered into the office. The 
 linings to be likewise inserted in the books, containing the report of 
 each individual colliery, and in their proper places, agreeable to the 
 dates when taken. 
 
 IV. That the plans of the respective boundaries delivered into this 
 office, by the different proprietors, be reduced by the superintendent 
 to one common standard, and the linings laid down on the same 
 principles; that the connection between the various properties may be 
 ascertained with greater ease, and the direction of the dikes, and other 
 interruptions met with in the works, may be traced through the plans 
 of adjoining collieries with more exactness. By these means the 
 occupiers may reap the reciprocal advantages of such connection of 
 property, and description of dikes, etc., by obtaining time to make the 
 necessary preparations to meet approaching inconveniences, of which 
 they otherwise would be ignorant; and thus the evil become the more 
 intolerable, from the want of proper means to resist it. 
 
 V. That a power be invested by the subscribers to this institution, 
 in the Committee for the time being, to direct occasional views of the 
 different collieries connected with the establishment, and to compare 
 
 \ 
 
 \\ 
 
 'I, 
 

 V 
 
 336 
 
 APPENDIX, 
 
 the plans of the linings with the extent of the workings. This is more 
 especially requisite when a colliery gives up working any particular 
 seam; in order to ascertain the precise limits of the waste at the 
 moment the works cease. For on this very circumstance depends, in 
 a great measure, the security which subsequent workings will derive 
 from such collected information. As this is a point to which so much 
 consequence is attached, it is hoped the proprietors will excuse the 
 solicitude here expressed to procure the most perfect intelligence 
 relating to this subject; and that they will therefore give directions to 
 their agents to transmit to the office, early notice of their intentions 
 with respect to this particular; so as to allow sufficient time to make 
 the necessary examination before the means of descending into the 
 workings are removed. 
 
 VI. In order to place the information intended to be collected on 
 the most secure footing, it may not be improper to include in the 
 linings, the situation of the winning pit, or the pit from which the 
 linings commence in each particular seam, by a course and distance 
 from the centre of the shaft, to any prominent and permanent object on 
 the surface, that shall be contiguous to the shaft : and that the situation 
 so fixed, be recorded along with the linings. By this arrangement, the 
 evils arising from the loss of plans may be prevented, and the situation 
 of the pit, as well as the extent of the waste, ascertained, by laying 
 down the linings on the surface from the object so selected. 
 
 VII. As a collection of the borings made within the neighbourhood, 
 will form an important part of the present scheme, it is confidently 
 expected that the members of the institution will contribute to so 
 desirable an end, by permitting the particulars of those made within 
 their respective properties to be transmitted to the office, for insertion 
 in a book kept expressly for that purpose. 
 
 VIII. That the situation of each particular bore-hole be laid down 
 on the respective plans; which will assist the formation of the general 
 history of the seams, by intimately connecting the various intelligence 
 necessary for that purpose. 
 
 XX, That all who may become members of this institution, shall 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 337 
 
 have recourse to the office when they think proper; and shall be at 
 liberty to extract from it such information as they may require. The 
 terms on which non-subscribers may be permitted to receive informa- 
 tion from this institution, to be determined by the Committee appointed 
 in conformity to the third article of this scheme. 
 
 Should those hints be thought to merit farther consideration, may 
 it not be deemed expedient to appoint a Committee, selected from 
 amongst the members of the Society, to digest them, and to make 
 such additions as a review of the subject, after mature deliberation, 
 may suggest; and that copies of the plan so arranged, be forwarded to 
 the different coal-owners for their consideration ? 
 
 ff 
 
 i 
 
 .• ) 
 
 
 fl 
 
 u 
 
 22 
 

 APPENDIX B. 
 
 The following is believed to be a complete list of the lectures which 
 have been delivered in connection with the Literary and Philosophical 
 Society. 
 
 The number given is the number of lectures delivered. 
 
 1803. 
 
 Mechanics, Hydrostatics, and Pneumatics (twenty-one), by the Rev. 
 W. Turner. 
 
 1804. 
 
 Electricity and Galvanism, Magnetism and the Philosophy of Chemistry 
 (twenty), by the Rev. W. Turner. 
 
 1804—5. 
 Chemistry and its application to the Arts (thirty-two), by the Rev. W. Turner. 
 
 1806. 
 Optics and Astronomy (twenty-two), by the Rev. W. Turner. 
 
 i 
 
 1807. 
 
 The Philosophy of Natural Appearances (twelve or fourteen), by the Rev. 
 
 W. Turner. 
 Botany (ten), by the Rev. W. Turner. 
 
 1808. 
 Theoretical and Practical Mechanics, by the Rev. W. Turner. 
 

 340 
 
 APPENDIX, 
 1809. 
 
 Hydrostatics and Pneumatics, or on the Mechanics of Fluid Bodies (twenty- 
 one), by the Rev. W. Turner. 
 
 1 8 10. 
 The Philosophy of Natural History (twenty), by the Rev. W. Turner. 
 
 1811. 
 Optics and Astronomy, by the Rev. W. Turner. 
 
 1812. 
 The Animal Kingdom (twenty-one), by the Rev. W. Turner. 
 
 1813. 
 The Vegetable Kingdom (twenty), by the Rev. W. Turner. 
 
 1814. 
 The Mineral Kingdom (twenty), by the Rev. W. Turner. 
 
 1815. 
 The Elements of Chemistry (twenty), by the Rev. W. Turner. 
 
 '\ ' 
 
 181 5— 16. 
 
 The Application of Chemistry to the Arts, Manufactures, Domestic Economy, 
 Agriculture, etc. (thirty-two), by the Rev. W. Turner. 
 
 1817. 
 Electricity and Electro-Chemistry, Magnetism, and the Philosophy of 
 Natural Appearances (twenty-three), by the Rev. W. Turner. 
 
 1818. 
 Mechanics, Hydrostatics, and Pneumatics, by the Rev. W. Tumor. 
 
 1819. 
 Optics and Astronomy, by the Rev. W. Turner, 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 341 
 
 1820—21. 
 Natural History, particularly of the Animal Kingdom, by the Rev. W. Turner. 
 
 1822. 
 The Vegetable Kingdom (twenty), by the Rev. W. Turner. 
 
 1822 — 23. 
 The Mineral Kingdom (twenty), by the Rev. W. Turner. 
 
 1824 — 25. 
 Chemistry (twenty-four), by the Rev. W. Turner. 
 
 1825 — 26. 
 
 Mechanics, Hydrostatics, and Pneumatics (twenty-one), by the Rev. W. 
 
 Turner. 
 Astronomy, Introductory, by Mr. H. Atkinson. 
 
 1827. 
 
 Astronomy (ten or twelve), by Mr. H. Atkinson. 
 
 Mechanics, Hydrostatics, and Pneumatics, by the Rev. W. Turner. 
 
 1827—28. 
 The Animal Kingdom (twenty-one), by the Rev. W. Turner. 
 
 1829. 
 The Vegetable Kingdom (twenty), by the Rev. W. Turner. 
 
 1830. 
 
 Mineralogy and Geology (twenty), by the Rev. W. Turner. 
 
 Origin and Progress of Civil Society (six), by the Rev. W. Turner, Jun. 
 
 1830—31. 
 Optics and Astronomy, by the Rev. W. Turner. 
 Acoustics (one), by Professor Adams. 
 The History and Progress of Knowledge and Education (four), by Mr. 
 
 W. A. Mitchell. 
 The Subject and Claims of Hebrew Learning (one), by the Rev. J. Whitridge. 
 
 H 
 
 
 M 
 
 I J 
 
) 
 
 
 11 
 
 1m 
 
 342 
 
 APPENDIX, 
 
 1831—32. 
 
 The Phenomena of Natural Appearances, by the Rev. W. Turner. 
 Electricity and Electro-Magnetism (six), by Mr. Hugh Lee Pattinson. 
 Political Economy, by Mr. — Amaud. 
 
 The Structure and Functions of the Eye (one), by Mr. T. M. Greenhow. 
 Architecture, by Mr. Higham. 
 
 1833. 
 The Improvement of the Mental Faculties, and the means of facilitating the 
 
 acquirement of Knowledge (three), by Dr. W. H. Crook. 
 Mechanics, Hydrostatics, and Pneumatics, by the Rev. W. Turner. 
 Chemistry (twenty-two), by Mr. James F. W. Johnston. 
 
 1834. 
 Mineralogy and Geology (twenty), by Professor Phillips. 
 
 1835. 
 Phrenology (sixteen), by Mr. George Combe. 
 The Laws of Organic and Inorganic Nature (six), by Dr. Knott. 
 
 1836. 
 The Philosophy of the Human Mind (twelve), by Mr. John Taylor. 
 The British Poets (six), by Mr. James Montgomery. 
 The Steam Engine, and its application to transport by Land and Water 
 
 (twelve), by Dr. Dionysius Lardner. 
 The State of Education in Ireland (one), by Mr. Robert Ingham, M.P. 
 Educational Philosophy (eight), by Mr. James Simpson. 
 
 1837. 
 The Science of Music, and on the genius and character of the most cele- 
 brated Composers (twelve), by Professor Adams. 
 The Principles of Art (twelve), by Mr. W. Warren. 
 Botany (twelve), by Sir William J. Hooker, LL.D. 
 Dramatic Literature (six), by Mr. J. Sheridan Knowles. 
 
 1838. 
 
 The Study of Mathematics, Astronomy, etc. (two), by Mr. Snape. 
 English Vocal Harmony (four), by Professor Edward Taylor. 
 
 APPENDIX, 
 1839. 
 
 343 
 
 The Education of the Blind and of the Deaf and Dumb (two), by Mr. Collier. 
 The Harmony and Order of Celestial Phenomena (twelve), by Professor 
 
 Nichol, LL.D. 
 Medical Jurisprudence (one), by Dr. Lynch. 
 Practical Chemistry (one), by Mr. Glover. 
 
 The Advantages of the Study of Botany (one), by Mr. John Thomhill. 
 The Animal Kingdom (twelve), by Professor T. Rymer Jones. 
 
 1840. 
 The Antiquities of Egypt, or more properly on the Origin of the Worship of 
 
 Animals, of Polytheism, Mythology, and Idolatry (fourteen), by the 
 
 Marquis di Spineto. 
 The Imperfectness of Historical Record (two), by Mr. James Montgomery. 
 Acoustics and Optics (fifteen), by Mr. Robert Addams. 
 The Law of Storms (two), by Professor Espy. 
 
 1841. 
 The Present State of the British Drama (one), by Mr. Eugene Macarthy. 
 The Application of Mineralogy to the Arts and Manufactures (twelve), by 
 
 Dr. Andrew Ure. 
 The Structure and Functions of Insects (four), by Mr. Henry Goadby. 
 Mathematics, their value as a Mental Discipline (one), by Mr. Snape. 
 The Applications of Chemistry to Medicine (one), by Dr. Glover. 
 Electricity and its Related Branches (fifteen), by Mr. Addams. 
 Geology : the general arrangement of Rocks and of the Composition and 
 
 Deposition of Coal (two), by Mr. King. 
 
 1842. 
 
 Astronomy and Geology (ten), by Mr. D. Macintosh, Jun. 
 America (six), by Mr. J. S. Buckingham. 
 India and England (two), do. 
 Chemistry (twenty), by Mr. Robert Addams. 
 Glaciers (one), by Mr. Sopwith. 
 
 1843. 
 The Subordinate Characters in the Plays of Shakespeare (eight), by Mr. 
 C. Cowden Clarke. 
 
 
344 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 i 
 
 The Early History, Present State, and Future Prospects of Poland (three) 
 by Count H. Krasinski. 
 
 1844. 
 
 The Means, Advantages, and Duty of Intellectual Cultivation (one), by 
 
 Mr. Snape. 
 Combustion and Respiration (two), by Dr. Glover. 
 Hydro-Electricity (two), by Mr. W. G. Armstrong. 
 Animal Mechanics (two), by Dr. Embleton. 
 Economic Geology (two), by Mr. Sopwith. 
 Phonography (one), by Mr. Barkas. 
 English Poetry (eight), by Mr. C. Cowden Clarke. 
 
 1845. 
 English Church Music (six), by Professor Edward Taylor. 
 Geology (twelve), by Professor Ansted. 
 The Employment of a Column of Water as a Motive Power for propelling 
 
 Machinery (three), by Mr. W. G. Armstrong. 
 Agricultural Chemistry and Geology (twelve), by Professor Johnston. 
 The Characteristics of the different styles of Gothic Architecture, by the 
 
 Rev. J. C. Bruce. 
 
 1846. 
 
 The Subordinate Characters of Shakespeare's Plays (eight), by Mr. C. 
 
 Cowden Clarke. 
 Pneumatics (one), by the Rev. J. C. Bruce. 
 The Divina Commedia, by Signor Bompiani. 
 The Races of Men (six), by Dr. Knox. 
 The Social and Literary State of Italy from 1746 to our own time (one), by 
 
 Signor Bompiani. 
 
 1847. 
 
 English Granmiar as a portion of English Scholastic Education (one), by 
 
 Mr. Snape. 
 Castellated Architecture (five), by the Rev. J. C. Bruce. 
 The Chivalric and Epic Poetry of Italy (three), by Signor Bompiani. 
 The Sanitary Condition of Newcastle (one), by Dr. Robinson. 
 The Circulation of the Blood (four), by Dr. Embleton. 
 
 •1 
 
 i 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 345 
 
 The Origin, Progress, and Extinction of the Italian Banditti (one), by Signor 
 Bompiani. 
 
 1848. 
 The Comic Writers of England ffour), by Mr. C. Cowden Clarke. 
 
 1848—49. 
 
 The Roman Wall (five), by the Rev. J. C. Bruce. 
 
 The Celebrated Literary Women of Italy (one), by Signor Bompiani. 
 
 Attempts to localise the Nervous Functions and Phrenology (two), by Dr. 
 
 Glover. 
 The Respiration of Animals and Plants (two), by Dr. Embleton. 
 The English Dramatic Poets who preceded Shakespeare (two), by Mr. John 
 
 Turner. 
 The European Volcanoes (two), by Dr. Charlton. 
 
 1849—50. 
 
 The Curiosities of Natural History (six), by Professor T. Rymer Jones. 
 
 The Bible in the Dark Ages (one), by the Rev. Dr. Gilley. 
 
 The History of Ecclesiastical Architecture in England (one), by Mr. J. S. 
 
 Lotherington. 
 Ecclesiastical Statesmen (four), by the Rev. J. G. Rogers. 
 The Circulation of the Blood (two), by Dr. Robinson. 
 Early Italian Navigators (one), by Signor Bompiani. 
 The Plagues of Europe (one), by Dr. Heath. 
 The Minor Dramatic Poets Contemporary with Shakespeare (four), by 
 
 Mr. John Turner. 
 Nature and Art (one), by the Rev. Dr. Davies. 
 
 The Distribution and Division of Wealth (three), by Mr. George Ramsay. 
 Certain of the more Obscure Poets of the Age of Elizabeth (one), by the 
 
 Rev. R. C. Coxe. 
 The Philosophy of Medicine (one), by Dr. Glover. 
 
 1850—51. 
 
 Ornamental Art (five), by Mr. R. N. Wornum. 
 
 The History and Genius of the German Language (one), by Mr. J. D. 
 
 Lowenberg. 
 Great Cities of the Ancient Worid (three), by the Rev. J. G. Rogers. 
 
 
 •fl 
 
 i 
 
 I; 
 
 M 
 
346 
 
 APPENDIX, 
 
 ;!': 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 .1 
 i I 
 
 I 
 
 Newcastle-upon-Tyne : its Memorabilia and Characteristics (three), by 
 
 Mr. G. Bouchier Richardson. 
 Language as an Instrument of Thinking and Communicating Thought 
 
 (one), by Dr. Dodd. 
 Poetry, Painting, and Music, their Attributes and Mutual Relations (one), 
 
 by Mr. W. Sidney Gibson. 
 The Philosophy of Liberal Studies (two), by Mr. James Snape. 
 The Connection of the Mind with the Organisation of the Brain and Nerves 
 
 (one), by Sir John Fife. 
 The Revolution in Italy, headed by Arnaldo di Brescia, di Rienzo, Giovanni 
 
 da Procida, and Massaniello (three), by Signor Bompiani. 
 Peter the Hermit, the First Crusader (one), by Mr. William Bainbridge. 
 Some account of Bishop Hall's " Mundus Alter et Idem" (one), by the 
 
 Rev. R. C. Coxe. 
 Printing (two), by Mr. R. Burdon Sanderson, Jun. 
 The Life and Writings of Akenside (one), by Dr. Robinson. 
 English Secular Music (four), and one on English Sacred Music, by Prof. 
 
 Sir H. R. Bishop. 
 The late Discoveries of changes in the appearance of the Planet Saturn 
 
 (one), by the Rev. Prof Chevallier. 
 
 1851—52. 
 Chemistry (six), by Professor Pepper. 
 The Picturesque of Early History and the Ideal of Ancient Egypt (two), by 
 
 Mr. Josiah Gilbert. 
 Popular Botany (four), by Mr. Daniel Oliver, Jun. 
 The English Border during the Middle and Later Ages (two), by Mr. G. B. 
 
 Richardson. 
 Cell Life and Sound (two), by Dr. Heath. 
 
 Language as a Medium for Communicating Thought (one), by Dr. Dodd. 
 The Extinct Gigantic Birds of New Zealand (one), by Dr. Embleton. 
 The Rise and Fall of the Spanish Power (three), by the Rev. J. G. Rogers. 
 
 1852-53. 
 
 Astronomy (six), by Professor Nichol. 
 The Harp (three), Mr. F. Chatterton. 
 
 The Advantages derivable from Archa:ological Investigation (one), by 
 Dr. Daniel Wilson. 
 
 y 
 
 APPENDIX, 
 
 347 
 
 Japan and the Japanese (two), by Dr. C. P. Downing. 
 
 The Causes and Prevention of Accidents in Coal-mines (one), by Dr. George 
 
 Fife. 
 The Bayeux Tapestry (five), by the Rev. J. C. Bruce. 
 Calico Printing (three), by Mr. William Crowder. 
 Reading, by Miss Glynn. 
 Photography, by Mr. A. S. Stevenson. 
 Electricity, Galvanism, and Electro- Magnetism (six), by Prof. Pepper. 
 
 1853—54. 
 The Old English Ballads (two), by Mr. Samuel Reay. 
 India (three), by Dr. Buist. 
 
 The Rise and Fall of the Roman Republic (six), by Mr. C. Knight Watson. 
 Archaeological Discoveries in the East (one), by Mr. C. Fiott Barker. 
 The Physiology of Plants (six), by Dr. Edwin Lankester. 
 
 1854-55. 
 The Heroes of the English Commonwealth (four), by Mr. P. E. Dove. 
 The Border and its Men (two), by the Rev. J. H. Paterson. 
 Light and Heat (six), by Prof. Hunt. 
 Thomas Hood (one), by Mr. C. Cowden Clarke. 
 Shakespeare (three), by Mr. John Taylor. 
 
 The Local Memorials of George Stephenson (one), by the Rev. Dr. Bruce. 
 The Arctic Regions (one), by Lieut. Bedford Pim. 
 
 1855—56. 
 
 Four of the Great European Novelists, by Mr. C. Cowden Clarke. 
 
 The Harp and Harp Music (two), by Mr. F. Chatterton. 
 
 The Phenomena and Theory of Revolving Storms (four), by Mr. Thomas 
 
 Dobson. 
 Popular Scientific Errors (two), by Dr. Edwin Lankester. 
 Arctic Discovery (one), by Captain Collinson. 
 Extinct Animals (two), by Mr. Waterhouse Hawkins. 
 The Siege of Kars (one), by Dr. Sandwith. 
 
 1856—57. 
 The Field Sports of Scotland (two), by Mr. P. E. Dove. 
 The Arctic Regions (one), by Captain Bedford Pim. 
 
 ;;ti' 
 
 f 
 
348 
 
 APPENDIX, 
 
 The Manufacture of Glass and Iron (six), by Mr. Crowder. 
 
 The Songs of Scotland (one), by Mr. George Brewis. 
 
 The Music of Various Nations (two), by Mr. Phillips. 
 
 Marine Zoology (four), by Mr. P. H. Gosse. 
 
 Music (two), by Mr. Henry Phillips. 
 
 Astronomy (four), by Professor Nichol. 
 
 Drawing (two), by Mr. John Burnet. 
 
 Light and Chemistry (six), by Mr. Pepper. 
 
 Three Dramatic Readings, by Mr. Henry Nicholls. 
 
 Trajan's Pillar (four), by the Rev. Dr. Bruce. 
 
 Phonography (one), by Mr. T. P. Barkas. 
 
 The Moon (one), by Mr. John Watson. 
 
 Poetic Literature (four), by Mr. Gerald Massey. 
 
 The Origin of the Names of Places, Rivers, and Mountains, particularly in 
 
 Northumberland (one), by Dr. Dodd. 
 The Fancies of Science (one), by Mr. Hargreaves. 
 
 1 
 
 1857—58. 
 Poetry and Painting (four), by Gerald Massey. 
 Subjects of Natural History (three), by William Kidd. 
 Music (two), by Henry Phillips and Mrs. Robert Grosvenor. 
 Cromwell (one), by the Rev. G. R. Moncreiff. 
 Lepers and Leper Houses (one), by Dr. Charlton. 
 Recent Astronomical Discoveries (four), by Professor Nichol. 
 
 1859. 
 
 This year the new Lecture Room was being built. 
 
 1860—61. 
 The Prevention of Accidents in Coal-mines (one), by Mr. P. H. Holland 
 The Ballads and Legends of Northern Europe (one), by Dr. Charlton. 
 The Solar Eclipse of i860 (one), by the Rev. Prof. Chevallier. 
 Roman Coins : their Historical, Architectural, and Artistic Uses (one), by 
 the Rev. Dr. Bruce. 
 
 The Fate of Sir John Franklin and his Companions (one), by Captain 
 
 W. Parker Snow. 
 Voltaic and Magnetic Electricity (three), by Mr. Edward Wheeler. 
 
 
 APPENDIX, 
 
 349 
 
 Samuel Pepys and his Diary (two), by Mr. George Dawson. 
 
 Cardinal Wolsey : his Genius and his Views (two), by Dr. J. C. Daniel. 
 
 Flesh-Forming Food and Animal Food (two), by Dr. Lankester. 
 
 The Romantic Poets of the Nineteenth Century, by Prof. John Nichol. 
 
 A Personal Visit to the Seven Churches of Asia and Fairies (two), by the 
 
 Rev. Henry Christmas. 
 An Evening with Thomas Hood (one), by Mr. Walter Bowton. 
 Three Dramatic Readings, by Mr. Henry Nicholls. 
 Queen Elizabeth (two), by Dr. Daniel. 
 Egypt and Syria (three), by the Rev. John Sibree. 
 Elocution (three), by Prof. Greenbank. 
 The Occult Powers of Nature (one), by Mr. Robert Hunt. 
 
 V 
 
 \\ 
 
 1861—62. 
 
 John Bunyan— Old Books (two), by Mr. George Dawson. 
 
 Physical Geography (six), by Prof. Ansted. 
 
 The Harp (three), by Mr. F. Chatterton. 
 
 Geology (six), by Professor Morris. 
 
 Readings (three), by Mr. Walter Rowton. 
 
 Electricity, Spectrum Analysis, and the New Dyes from Coal Tar (three), 
 
 by Dr. Dalzell. 
 The Four Stuarts (four), by Dr. Daniel 
 
 1862—63. 
 
 Readings (three), by Mr. Henry Nicholls. 
 
 Readings (three), by Rev. J. M. Bellew. 
 
 On Character in the Fine Arts (two), by Mr. J. Bell. 
 
 The Welsh Harp (three), by Mr. F. Chatterton. 
 
 Astronomy (six), by Prof. A. Herschell. 
 
 Chemistry (three), by Dr. Dalzell. 
 
 Chemistry (six), by Dr. H. M. Noad. 
 
 1863—64. 
 Iron as applied to Steam Engines and Natural Laws (two), by Mr. William 
 
 Fairbairn. 
 Telegraphy (two), by Mr. N. J. Holmes. 
 The Philosophy of Mathematics (six), by Rev. James Snape. 
 
 ^' 
 
 II 
 
) 
 
 If 
 
 350 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Mechanical Engineering (eight), by Mr. J. F. Spencer. 
 Hydraulic Machinery (one), by Mr. Percy Westmacot. 
 Elocution (three), by Prof. Greenbank. 
 Textile Fibres and Fabrics (three), by Prof. Archer. 
 
 Martin Luther, Erasmus, and Dr. Johnson (three), by Mr. George Dawson. 
 Ornamental Art (four), by Mr. C. Draper. 
 Modem German Literature (three), by Prof. Kinkel. 
 
 Microscopical Investigation, as applied to Geology (two), by Prof. Rupert 
 Jones. 
 
 Vocal Part Music (two), by Prof. John Hullah. 
 The History of Chemistry (six), by Dr. Bernays. 
 Physical Geography (four), by Mr. E. W. Brayley. 
 
 1864—65. 
 
 Hamlet, Shakespeare, and Sir Thomas More (three), by Mr. George 
 
 Dawson. 
 The Harp (three), by Mr. F. Chatterton. 
 
 The Uses of Mammalia, Birds, and Insects (three), by Prof Archer. 
 Readings (two), by Rev. J. M. Bellew. 
 Modem Pianoforte Music, by Mr. William Rea. 
 Readings (two), by Mr. Henry Nicholls. 
 The Distribution of Species and the Unity of the Human Species (two), by 
 
 Prof Rolleston. 
 Greek Art (two), by Prof. Kinkel. 
 Biology (one), by Dr. Gibson. 
 
 The Transition Period of Musical History (three), by Prof. John 
 Hullah. 
 
 Organic Chemistry (six), by Dr. Bemays. 
 
 Thomas Amold and Thomas Chalmers, and Hugh Miller's " Testimony of 
 
 the Rocks" (two), by Rev. George GilfiUan. 
 Magnetism, and its applications to Modem Inventions (two), by Mr. N. J. 
 
 Holmes. 
 
 Modem Pianoforte Music (two), by Mr. William Rea. 
 
 1865—66. 
 
 The Physical Accompaniments of the Mind (three), by Prof. Bain. 
 
 Readings (three), by Rev. J. M. Bellew. 
 
 Paintings and Painters (two), by Mr. Henry Ottley. 
 
 ifei 
 
 APPENDIX, 
 
 351 
 
 The Runic Inscriptions of Great Britain (one), by Dr. Charlton. 
 
 The Relations of Great Men to Women (two), and Thackeray's "Vanity 
 
 Fair," by Mr. George Dawson. 
 The Mechanical Properties of Air (three), by Prof. Pepper. 
 The Evidences of Geological Time (three), by Prof, A. C. Ramsay. 
 Mozart (two), by Mr. William Rea, 
 Age of Ice in Scotland and Characteristics of Scottish Scenery (two), by 
 
 Rev. H. W. Crosskey. 
 Personal Travels in Greece (one), by Mr. G. O. Trevelyan, M.P. 
 The Ocean (two), by Mr. W. Page. 
 Electrical Torpedoes (two), by Mr. N. J. Holmes. 
 Natural History (two), by Rev. T. Hincks. 
 
 1866—67. 
 Prevailing Errors on the Mind (three), by Prof. Bain. 
 Cosmical Philosophy (three), by Prof Brayley. 
 Coal and Coal Formations (three), by Mr. Page. 
 Shells and their Inhabitants (two), by the Rev. T. Hincks. 
 Solar and Stellar Chemistry, by Prof Roscoe. 
 The Genius and Works of Hogarth, Leech, and Landseer (three), by the 
 
 Rev. A. L. Simpson. 
 The Progress of Telegraphy (two), by Mr. N. J. Holmes. 
 The New England States (three), by Mr. Moncure D. Conway. 
 Readings (two), by Miss Murray. 
 
 The Times of the Reformation (three), by Mr. J. A. Froude. 
 Unitary System of Chemistry, or the New Notation (three), by Prof. 
 
 Bemays. 
 Structural and Systematic Botany (four), by Prof Henslow. 
 Mozart's Operas (two), Mr. William Rea. 
 The Absorptive and Radiative Properties of Bodies with reference to Heat, 
 
 Light, Spectrum Analysis, etc. (three), by Prof Balfour Stewart. 
 Travelling by Sea in the i8th and 19th Centuries (two), by Mr. J. F. Spencer. 
 Common Air, by Dr. R. Angus Smith. 
 Chemistry (twelve), by Prof. Freire-Marreco. 
 
 1867—68. 
 
 Recent Investigations in Geology (three), by Prof. Ansted. 
 Nature in the Tropics (three), by Mr. A. R. Wallace. 
 
352 
 
 APPENDIX, 
 
 Recent and Fossil Birds (two), by Prof. Owen. 
 
 The Tumuli of the Yorkshire Wolds, by the Rev. W. Greenwell. 
 
 Readings (three), by Miss Murray. 
 
 The Heat of Chemical Action (three), by Prof. Odling. 
 
 Milton (three), by Prof. J. R. Seeley. 
 
 The Animals of the Ancient Writers, Sacred and Profane (three), by Prof. 
 
 Rolleston. 
 The Antiquity of Man in the South- West of England (three), by Mr. 
 
 Pengelly. 
 The Philosophy of Physical Science in its Most Recent Developments (four), 
 
 by Mr. Robert Hunt. 
 Recitals : Pianoforte and Vocal Music (three), by Mrs. J. Macfarren. 
 An Old Greek War (one), by Mr. G. O. Trevelyan, M.P. 
 
 1868—69. 
 
 Italy's Place in PoHtics, Science, and Letters (three), by Prof. Leone Levi. 
 The Crust of the Earth (one), by Mr. J. B. Simpson. 
 The Pendulum and its application to Horology (one), by Mr. J. G. Allison. 
 Fossil Remains in the Northumberland Low Main Coal Seam (one), by Mr. 
 
 T. P. Barkas. 
 The Exhaustion of Coal (two), by Prof. Jevons. 
 Three Pianoforte Recitals, by Mrs. Macfarren. 
 Botany (three), by the Rev. Prof. Henslow. 
 Glimpses of the World's Great Continents (three), by Dr. Page. 
 The Involuntary Movements of Animals (two), by Prof. Michael Foster. 
 The Distribution of Animals (three), by Prof. Huxley. 
 Glaciers of Switzerland and Greenland (three), by Mr. Edward Whymper. 
 Lord Halifax, Adam Smith, and William Cobbett (three), by Prof. J. E. 
 
 Thorold Rogers. 
 Semitic Folk Lore, Phoenicia, and the Talmud (three), by Mr. Emanuel 
 
 Deutsch. 
 The Geological Causes which have brought about the present Scenery of 
 
 Britain (three), by Prof. Geikie. 
 Some of the Effects of Heat (three), by Dr. Bernays. 
 Coleridge, Scott, and Tennyson (three), by Mr. George Macdonald. 
 Colbert's Administration (two), by the Rev. Canon Ashwell. 
 Weber and Beethoven (two), by Mr. Rea. 
 Chemistry (twenty-five), by Prof. Freire-Marreco. 
 
 \k 
 
 APPENDIX, 
 
 353 
 
 English Language and Literature (twenty- five), by Mr. R. Spence 
 
 Watson. 
 Engineering (twenty-five), by Mr. Wallau. 
 Mathematics: Senior and Junior Courses (twenty-five each), by Mr. T. 
 
 Dobson. 
 Music (twenty-five), by Mr. William Rea and Mr. F. Helmore. 
 The Facilities and Grants of Money now offered by the Government for 
 
 Scientific Education (one), by Mr. J. C. Buckmaster. 
 Explorations being carried on in Palestine (one), by the Rev. Charles 
 
 Boutell. 
 
 1869—70. 
 
 Sir David Lindsay of the Mount (two), by Prof. Henry Morley. 
 
 Musical History, Discrimination of Style, Music in two Aspects, Art and 
 Science (three), by Prof, the Rev. Sir Frederick A. Gore Ouseley. 
 
 The Chemistry of the Breakfast Table (three), by Prof. Bernays. 
 
 The Great Prairies and the Rocky Mountains (two), by Mr. W. Hepworth 
 Dixon. 
 
 The Sun (two), by Prof. J. Norman Lockyer. 
 
 The Modes of Sepulture Employed in England from the Fourth to the 
 Seventh Centuries (two), by Prof. Rolleston. 
 
 Maritime and Inland Discovery (three), by Mr. Henry Kingsley. 
 
 The Roman Wall (one), by the Rev. Dr. Bruce. 
 
 Waves (two), by Prof. W. J. Macquorn Rankine. 
 
 The Ice Age in Britain (three), by Prof. Geikie. 
 
 Mathematics : a Senior and Junior Course, and a Course for Ladies (twenty- 
 five each), by Mr. Thomas Dobson. 
 
 The History and Development of the English Language (fifteen), by Mr. 
 R. Spence Watson. 
 
 Physics (twelve), by Prof. Freire-Marreco. 
 
 Inorganic Chemistry (six), by Prof. Freire-Marreco. 
 
 Music (twelve), by Mr. Marshall H. Bell. 
 
 Greek (six), by the Rev. Dr. Snape. 
 
 The Study of Language (one), by the Rev. Dr. Snape. 
 
 Two Readings, by Miss Glynn. 
 
 The Fishes and Reptiles of the Carboniferous Period (one), by Mr. T. P. 
 Barkas. 
 
 Napoleon I. and Napoleon III. (two), by Prof. J. R. Seeley. 
 
 23 
 
 HI 
 
 
354 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 355 
 
 1870—71- 
 
 The South African Gold Fields (one), by Sir John Swinburne, Bart 
 
 The Physical Geography and History of the Holy Land, the Sahara, and 
 
 North Africa (three), by the Rev. H. B. Tristram. 
 Miracle Plays, with special reference to the Passion Play at Ober- 
 
 Ammergau, 1870 (one), by Mr. R. Spence Watson. 
 Solar and Lunar Eclipses, the Stars, and the Nebulae (three), by Mr. R. A. 
 
 Proctor. 
 Recent Formations, and the Tales they tell (three), by Dr. Page. 
 The Best Society, and the Vexed Question (two), by Miss Emily Faithfull 
 Beau Brummell, Letter Writing and Letter Writers, Dean Swift (three), by 
 
 Mr. George Dawson. 
 Experiences with the Balloon, Rain (two), by Mr. J. Glaisher. 
 The Secular Music of England (three), by Mr. G. A. Macfarren. 
 The Philosophy of the Dinner Table (three), by Prof. Bemays. 
 Science: its Social and Moral Influence (one), by the Rev. Dr. Snape. 
 French Literature on the eve of the Great Revolution (two), by Prof. 
 
 W. B. Hodgson. 
 Iceland : its Literature and Folk Lore (three), by Mr. Jon. A. Hjaltalin. 
 English Universities (two), by Mr. W. G. Clark. 
 The Mechanics of Engineering (twelve), by Mr. Thomas Dobson. 
 Mathematics-Junior Course (twelve), by Mr. W. Lyall 
 The History of the Enghsh Language (twelve), by Mr. R-Spence Watson 
 Music-a General Class and a Class for Ladies (twelve each), by Mr. 
 
 M. H. BeU. ^ ^ . . . . ^ 
 
 From the Atlantic to the Pacific (one), by Mr. T. Eustace Smith, M.P. 
 French Literature (twelve), by M. Auguste Anatole Lidgaux 
 Science : its Special Value and Moral Influence (one), by the Rev. Dr. 
 
 Boston^anfBaltimore, Education and Elections (one), by Mr. T. Eustace 
 
 Recent^SoJJries in the Carboniferous Strata of Northumberland (one), 
 by Mr. T. P. Barkas. 
 
 1871—72. - 
 Some Early Ideas in Chemistry (three), by Dr. Odling. 
 Two Readings, by Mr. C. Roach Smith. 
 Pottery and Porcelain (two), by Mr. W. Chaffers. 
 
 The Saga Literature of Iceland, The Older or Poetic Eddas, The Social and 
 
 Domestic Condition of the Northerners in Early Times (three), by 
 
 Mr. Eirekir Magnisson. 
 The Education of Women, the Enfranchisement of Women, National Debts 
 
 (three), by Mrs. W. Garrett Fawcett. 
 Sleep : its Uses and Abuses (one), by Dr. Humble. 
 The Characteristic Differences between the Histories of England and France 
 
 (one), by the Very Rev. Dean Lake. 
 Arctic Explorations (two), by Dr. Rae. 
 The Religions of Races (three), by Mr. Moncure D. Conway. 
 The Human Senses (two), by Prof. G. Croom Robertson. 
 The British Empire (two), by Prof J. R. Seeley. 
 Some of the Characteristics of Modern English Literature (one), by Mr. R. 
 
 Spence Watson. 
 Palaeontology (three), by Prof. J. Young. 
 
 Science : its Social Value and Moral Influence (two), by the Rev. Dr. Snape. 
 Lord Bacon's Philosophy compared with German Thought ; compared with 
 
 English Thought (two), by Dr. J. T. Merz. 
 Eclipses (two), by Mr. J. Norman Lockyer. 
 The Physical Conditions and the Life of the Deep Sea, the Gulf Stream 
 
 (three), by Prof. W. B. Carpenter. 
 Music (twelve), by Mr. Marshall H. Bell. 
 Modern English Literature (fourteen), by Mr. R. Spence Watson. 
 
 1872—73. 
 
 Divine Contrivances in Nature (one), by Prof. S. Haughton. 
 
 Water : its Nature, Circulation, and Functions (two), by Prof. Page. 
 
 Art (one), by Mr. G. Redford. 
 
 The Life, Character, and Works of Faraday (two), by Mr. J. H. Gladstone. 
 
 Impressions of India (one), by Mr. T. Eustace Smith, M.P. 
 
 Coleridge, August von Schlegel (two), by Dr. J. T. Merz. 
 
 The Faust Legend (two), by Mr. F. Hiiffer. 
 
 The Progress of Solar Research (two), by Mr. J. N. Lockyer. 
 
 The Two Pitts (two), by Prof. J. R. Seeley. 
 
 English Literature in the time of the Commonwealth (two), by Mr. W. B. 
 
 Donne. 
 Woman's Education at American Universities, by Miss M. E. Beedy. 
 
 [H 
 
 ,i- 
 
N 
 
 3S<5 
 
 APPENDIX, 
 
 Caedmon, Robert Browning (two), by Mr. R. Spence Watson. 
 
 The Development of Music in Connection with the Drama (two), by Mr. E. 
 
 Dannreuther. 
 Stellar Astronomy (two), by Prof. R. Grant. 
 Oil Coals, Oil Shales, and Oil Wells (three), by Mr. A. Taylor. 
 Polarized Light (two), by Mr. W. Spottiswoode. 
 Early Moral and Political Copdition of Mankind (two), by Mr. E. B. Tylor. 
 
 1873—74. 
 The Roman Wall— Recent Investigations (two), by the Rev. Dr. Bruce. 
 Recent Explorations in Moab (two), by the Rev. Canon Tristram. 
 Robespierre, Danton (two), by Mr. John Morley. 
 
 The Piano, its History, Mission, and Influence (two), by Mr. Carlo Tiesset. 
 The Historic Caves and their place in British History, the Neolithic Caves 
 
 and their evidence as to the Ancient Ethnology of Europe (two), by 
 
 Mr. W. Boyd-Dawkins. 
 Stein, the Reformer of Prussia (two), by Prof. J. R. Seeley. 
 Society in the North of England in the last Century (one), by Dr. Charlton. 
 The Physical Geography of Inland Seas, Foraminiferal Life past and present, 
 
 (two), by Dr. W. M. Carpenter. 
 Travels in the Disguise of a Dervish through various countries in Central 
 
 Asia (two), by Prof. A. Vambery. 
 Reminiscences of a Visit to Egypt in 1872 (four), by Sir W. G. Armstrong. 
 
 1874—75- 
 The Discovery of the Temple of Diana, The Results of the Excavations at 
 
 Ephesus (two), by Mr. J. T. Wood. 
 The Influence of Poetry on Science, Art, and Human Belief; i€sthetic 
 
 Culture (two), by Mr. J. Devey. 
 The Legends of Izdubar and the Chaldean Account of the Deluge, Points 
 
 of Contact between the Bible and Assyrian Inscriptions, The Manners 
 
 and Customs of the Assyrians (three), by Mr. George Smith. 
 The Closing Scenes of the Earth's Geological History (two), by Prof. W. C. 
 
 Williamson. 
 The French Revolution (two), by Prof. J. R. Seeley. 
 Des Cartes and his Philosophy (one), by Dr. J. T. Merz. 
 Claudian, the last of the Roman Poets (two), by Mr. T. Hodgkin (now Dr. 
 
 Hodgkin). 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Reminiscences of a Voyage to Ceylon (one), by Mr. W. J. Barkas. 
 Art (two), by Ford Madox Brown. 
 
 357 
 
 1875—76. 
 
 English Dramatic Music (two), by Mr. W. Rea. 
 
 The Geology of Northumberland and Durham (two), by Prof. G. A. 
 
 Lebour. 
 The Mythology of our German Forefathers (two), by Mr. Karl Blind. 
 Utilitarianism ; Education Reform ; The Prussian System (three), by Prof. 
 
 Blackie. 
 Toughened Glass, by Mr. J. D. Cogan. 
 Don Quixote, A Recent Tour in America, Literary Forgeries (three), by 
 
 Mr. George Dawson. 
 Geology, its Scientific Teachings and Economic Value (two), by Prof. 
 
 Page. 
 Shelley, his Life and Poems (two), by Mr. W. M. Rossetti. 
 Nine Months in America, American Poets (two), by Miss Emily FaithfulL 
 
 1876—77. 
 
 Cowper, Bums ; Scott, Wordsworth (two), by Prof. J. Nichol. 
 
 The Northumbrian Small Pipes (one), by the Rev. Dr. Bruce. 
 
 Domestic Cookery (one), by Mr. J. D. Cogan. 
 
 The Colours of Animals and Plants, their causes and their uses (two), by 
 
 Mr. A. R. Wallace. 
 Carl Maria von Weber (two), by Mr. W. Rea. 
 
 The Arctic Regions and the Hudson's Bay Territory (two), by Dr. Rae. 
 The Geological History of the Islands of the Ocean as revealed by their 
 
 Birds (two), by the Rev. Canon Tristram. 
 Mohammed and Mohammedanism (two), by Mr. R. Bosworth Smith. 
 A Visit to the United States (one), by the Hon. E. Lyulph Stanley. 
 The History and Eccentric Form of the English Language (two), by Prof. 
 
 Meiklejohn. 
 The Poetic Interpretations of Nature as distinguished from the Scientific, 
 
 Wordsworth as an Interpreter of Nature (two), by Principal Shairp. 
 An Hour with the Microscope : Carnivorous Plants and Flower-fertilising 
 
 Animals (two), by the Rev. W. H. Dallinger. 
 Giotto's Gospel of Labour (two), by Prof. Sidney Colvin. 
 
 Hi 
 
 'i 
 
 i 
 
358 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 1877-78. 
 
 Popular Russian Tales (two), by Mr. W. R. S. Ralston. 
 
 Two Pianoforte Recitals, by Mrs. John Macfarren. 
 
 Health in Great Cities (two), by Dr. B. W. Richardson. 
 
 Beranger, Victor Hugo (two), by Mr. W. H. Pollock. 
 
 Some Mathematical and Moral Aspects of Gambling (one), by Prof. W. S. 
 
 Aldis. 
 The Progress of Sanitary Science, Sanitary Arrangements in Houses (two), 
 
 by Prof. Corfield. 
 The Religion and Morality of Shakespeare's Works, Readings from English 
 
 and American Authors (two), by Mr. C. J. Plumptre. 
 The History of some of our Domestic Animals (two), by Prof. Rolleston. 
 Parody, the Premature in Education (two), by Prof. Meiklejohn. 
 Some of the Forms of Poetry as Developed in English Poetry (one), by the 
 
 Rev. Canon Dixon. 
 The Growth and Old Age of Worlds (two), by Mr. R. A. Proctor. 
 Pottery and Porcelain Glass (two), by Prof. Archer. 
 Men of the Italian Renaissance (one), by the Rev. Mandell Creighton. 
 Investigations into the Origin and Development of Minute Organic Forms, 
 
 with consideration of the bearing of these upon the origin of Bacteria, 
 
 by the Rev. W. H. Dallinger. 
 The Economics of Mr. Ruskin (two), by Prof. W. B. Hodgson. 
 Miss Martineau : her Life, her Writings, her Critics (two), by Mrs. Henry 
 
 Fawcett. 
 
 1878—79. 
 
 Pianoforte Recital (one), by Mr. W. Rea. 
 
 Progress of Science in Japan (one), by Prof. R. W. Atkinson. 
 
 Man: his Relation to the Material Universe (one), by Mr. T. P. Barkas. 
 
 Early Struggles for German Freedom and Union (two), by Mr. Karl Blind. 
 
 Aquileia, the Precursor of Venice (one), by Mr. Thomas Hodgkin. 
 
 The Northumberland Small Pipes (one), by the Rev. Dr. Bruce. 
 
 Over Production (one), by Prof. W. Steadman Aldis. 
 
 The Chinese Written Characters: Ancient Chinese Civilisation as indicated 
 
 by the Characters (two), by Prof, the Rev. J. Legge. 
 Readings from Popular Authors (one), by Mr. W. J. Morrison. 
 Bismarck (one), by Prof. J. R. Seeley. 
 Genius, by Dr. Gibson. 
 
 APPENDIX, 
 
 359 
 
 The Dwarf Races of Mankind (two), by Dr. Embleton. • 
 
 Some Characteristic Differences of German and English Literature (one), 
 
 by Dr. J. T. Merz. 
 Justinian and his Times (one), by Prof. James Bryce, M.P. 
 English Dialects : their Classes and Sounds (two), by Mr. Alex. J. Ellis. 
 The Electric Light (one), by Mr. J. W. Swan. 
 
 The Influence of the Bible on Literature (one), by the Rev. J. B. Meharry. 
 Central Africa (one), by Mr. Donald Mackenzie. 
 Experiences during the present War (one), by Mr. Archibald Forbes. 
 
 1879—80. 
 
 The Northumberland Pipes (one), by the Rev. Dr. Bruce. 
 
 Pianoforte Recital (one), by Miss Hildegard Werner. 
 
 A Literary Lady of the Sixteenth Century (one), by the Rev. Mandell 
 
 Creighton (now Bishop of London). 
 Fish and Fisheries (one), by the Rev. Canon Tristram. 
 The Duke of Wellington, Theodore Hook (two), by Lord William P. 
 
 Lennox. 
 The Great Pyramid (one), by Mr. Waynman Dixon. 
 Tyneside before the Norman Conquest (one), by Mr. James Guthrie. 
 Edgar Allan Poe (one), by Major Jones. 
 
 The Underground Geology of London (one), by Mr. J. E. Taylor. 
 Radiant Matter (two), by Mr. W. Crookes. 
 Robin Hood and the Forest Outlaws, Kings and their Fools (two), by 
 
 Mr. Willmott Dixon. 
 Niccola Pisano (one), by Mr. Robert Spence Watson. 
 The Philosophy of Liberal Studies (one), by the Rev. Dr. Snape. 
 Pegasus, or the Story of an Old Horse, by the Rev. Canon Dixon. 
 David Hume, Benedict Spinoza (two), by Prof. W. Knight 
 Lord Stowell (one), by Mr. Gainsford Bruce. 
 The Electric Light (one), by Mr. J. W. Swan. 
 Water in Relation to Health (one), by Mr. J. A. Russell. 
 Further Researches on the Origin of the Minutest Organisms (one), by the 
 
 Rev. W. H. Dallinger. 
 Modern Italy (two), by Mr. Oscar Browning. 
 Discovery of Roman Remains at Vinovium (Binchester) (one), by the 
 
 Rev. Dr. Hoopell. 
 
 \\{ 
 
 If 
 
 '♦ 
 
 'I: 
 
 i; 
 
 1 . 
 
 1! 
 
36o 
 
 APPENDIX, 
 
 • 1880— 8 1. 
 
 Progress of Electric Lighting (one), by Mr. J. W. Swan. 
 
 On the History of the Violin (one), by Miss Werner. 
 
 Mental Powers of the Lower Animals, Mental Evolution (two), by Mr. 
 
 G. J. Romanes, F.R.S. 
 Our Musical Form (one), by Mr. W. Rea. 
 Life under Water and Underground (two), by Rev. J. G. Wood. 
 The Argonauts of '49, or Early Life in California (one), by Mr. Bret Harte. 
 Emily Bronte (one), by Mr. T. Wemyss Reid. 
 
 Phosphorescence and Luminous Paint (one), by Prof A. Freire-Marreco. 
 The Ancient Inhabitants of Britain (two), by Dr. Embleton. 
 Froebel's Educational Principles in the Kindergarten (one), by Miss M. E. 
 
 Bailey. 
 Deep Sea Dredging and Corals (two), by Mr. H. N. Moseley, F.R.S. 
 The Philosophy of Leibnitz (one), by Dr. Merz. 
 The Wives of Poets (two), by Mr. W. M. Rossetti. 
 The Doctrine of Evolution : its Strength and Limits ; Poetry and Science 
 
 (two), by Prof. W. Knight 
 The Coins of the Bible (one), by the Rev. J. C. Bruce. 
 Trade: its Recent Depression and Future Prospects (one), by Prof, the 
 
 Rev. W. M. Ede. 
 Continued Researches on the Origin of Life and Development of Lower 
 
 Organisms (two), by the Rev. W. H. Dallinger. 
 Two Odd Fellows, the New Education (two), by Prof. J. M. D. Meiklejohn. 
 The Use and Abuse of Language (one), by Mr. E. A. Freeman. 
 
 1881—82. 
 
 A Visit to Madeira in the Winter of 1880-81 (two), by Dr. Embleton. 
 The Elements of Musical Composition (one), by Mr. W. Rea. 
 Hinduism and Christianity Contrasted (one), by Sir C. E. Trevelyan, Bart. 
 A Visit to the Saalburg ; or the Roman Wall in Germany (one), by Mr. 
 
 T. Hodgkin. 
 Conference Concert on Mendelssohn (one), by Mr. Carlo Tiesset. 
 London English and Glasgow Scotch, a Contribution to British Philology 
 
 (one), by Rev. H. Batchelor. 
 The Djmamical Force of Thought (one), by Rev. W. D. Ground. 
 Natural and Artificial Colouring Matters (two), by Dr. Stevenson Macadam. 
 
 APPENDIX, 
 
 361 
 
 A Ride through the Ansairiyeh Mountains and Mesopotamia in 1881 (one), 
 
 by Rev. Canon Tristram. 
 Dante (one), by Rev. M. Creighton. 
 The Storage of Electricity— the Faure Secondary Battery (twice), by Mr. 
 
 J. W. Swan. 
 Art in the House (one), by Mr. R. W. Edis. 
 The Bearing of Modern Microscopical Work upon some Forms of Disease, 
 
 Life Histories and their Lessons (two), by the Rev. W. H. Dallinger. 
 The Tonic Sol-fa System (one), by Mr. J. S. Curwen. 
 Language and Literature (one), by Mr. R. Spence Watson. 
 
 1882—83. 
 
 Electricity and Magnetism (twelve), by Dr. C. M. Thompson. 
 
 An Introduction to the Study of Mental Philosophy (six), by Dr. Merz. 
 
 The Development of English Literature since 1789 (twelve), by Mr. Richard 
 
 Hodgson. 
 The Opinions of Ancient Philosophers, Historians, and Poets respecting 
 
 Comets (one), Mr. T. P. Barkas. 
 " A Trip to Rome " (one), by the Rev. T. Austin. 
 
 The Genius and Poetry of Wordsworth (one), by the Rev. H. Batchelor. 
 The Evolution of the Steam Engine (two), by Mr. J. A. Haswell. 
 Pianoforte Music : its Writers and Players (one), by Mr. Whatmoor. 
 Birth and Death of Worlds (one), by Mr. R. A. Proctor. 
 The Great Pyramid (one), by Mr. R. A. Proctor. 
 A Visit to Merv (one), by Mr. E. O'Donovan. 
 Modem Humourists (one), by Rev. E. Bradley (Cuthbert-Bede). 
 Wit and Humour (one), by Rev. E. Bradley (Cuthbert-Bede). 
 The Art Season (one), by Mr. Henry Blackburn. 
 The Art of Illustration (one), by Mr. Henry Blackburn. 
 Colour in relation to Art (one), by Mr. James Sully. 
 How the Eye interprets Pictures (one), by Mr. James Sully. 
 Hans Andersen (one), by Mr. Edmund Gosse. 
 English Poetry 100 years ago (one), by Mr. Edmund Gosse. 
 The Transit of Venus, 1882 (one), by Prof. R. S. Ball. 
 Comets (one), by Prof. R. S. Ball. 
 The Greatness of Northumbria in the Seventh and Eighth Centuries (one), 
 
 by Prof. J. Earle. 
 The Danish Invasions and their Effects (one), by Prof. J. Earle. 
 
 ^1 
 
 M 
 
 i 
 
 M 
 
 I 
 
 % 
 
 i 
 
3^2 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 1883—84. 
 
 The Connection between the Fine Arts (one), by Mr. Ford Madox Browne. 
 
 The Idea in Painting (one), by Mr. Ford Madox Browne. 
 
 The House Beautiful (one), by Mr. Oscar Wilde. 
 
 Personal Impressions of America (one), by Mr. Oscar Wilde. 
 
 Kairwan the Holy : a Journey to the African Mecca (one), by the Rev. 
 
 Alexander A. Boddy. 
 Festus, the Epic Poem of the Nineteenth Century (one), by Mr. T. P. 
 
 Barkas. 
 Modern Eloquence (one), by Mr. W. J. Morrison. 
 Vortex Atoms (one), by Prof. Sir W. Thomson. 
 Progress in Electric Lighting (one), by Mr. J. W. Swan. 
 Animal and Plant Life, with especial reference to Animal Physiology (twelve), 
 
 by Mr. E. A. Parkyn. 
 Elizabethan Literature (twelve), by Mr. W. R. Sorley. 
 Education in Newcastle (two), by Dr. Spence Watson. 
 Life in the Greek Heroic Age (one), by Mr. Andrew Lang. 
 The Eclipse of 1882 (one), by Mr. J. Norman Lockyer. 
 The Teaching of Science in Elementary Schools (one), Mr. W. Lant- Carpenter. 
 
 1884—85. 
 
 Plant Life (twelve), by Mr. E. A. Parkyn. 
 
 England's Social and Industrial Progress from the Conquest to the Refor- 
 mation (twelve), by Mr. G. H. Leonard. 
 
 Adventures among the Great Andes of the Equator (one), by Mr. Edward 
 Whymper. 
 
 The High Alps of New Zealand (one), by the Rev. W. S. Green. 
 
 The Correlation of Physical Forces (one), by Dr. G. H. Philipson. 
 
 The Paston Letters (one), by Mr. F. W. Dendy. 
 
 Speech for the Dumb (one), by Mr. B. St. John Ackers. 
 
 Music in its Historical and Biographical Aspects, with Pianoforte Illustra- 
 tions (one), by Mr. J. Westwood Tosh. 
 
 Germs and Disease (one), by Dr. Donald MacAlister. 
 
 Lord Collingwood (one), by Mr. Gainsford Bruce, Q.C. 
 
 Readings (two), by Mrs. Scott Siddons. 
 
 A new Putrefactive Organism, with some Deductions concerning the Group 
 (one), by the Rev. Dr. Dallinger. 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 363 
 
 1885—86. 
 The French Revolution from 1789 to 1795 (twelve), by Mr. Arthur J. Grant. 
 "The Senses and Nervous System" (twelve), by Mr. E. A. Parkyn. 
 Faraday and his Discoveries (one Juvenile), by Principal Garnett. 
 The Breath of Life (two Juvenile), by Mr. J. S. Chippendale. 
 Water (three Juvenile), Dr. J. T. Dunn. ' 
 Readings (two), by Mrs. Scott Siddons. 
 Rome, Ancient and Modern (two), by Mr. S. Russell Forbes. 
 Man and the Glacial Period (one), by Mr. S. B. J. Skertchly. 
 Do Plants think? (one), by Mr. S. B. J. Skertchly. 
 A forgotten Bible, or Hesiod, the earliest Greek Moralist (one), by Mr. 
 
 J. C. Tarver. 
 The Weather (one), by Professor A. Schuster. 
 The Origin and Progress of Gothic Architecture (two), by the Rev. J. R. 
 
 Boyle. 
 Europe after the Ice Age (one), by Prof. James Geikie. 
 Architecture, the Mistress Art (one), by Prof Baldwin Brown. 
 History and its kindred Studies, or the value of Historical Evidence (two), 
 
 by Prof. E. A. Freeman. 
 Greater Greece and Greater Britain (one), by Prof. E. A. Freeman. 
 Reading (one), by Mr. Charles Merivale. 
 Wagner and Parsifal, with illustrations (one), by Rev. P. T. Forsyth. 
 
 Mr. John Morley and the Rev. Alfred Ainger were unable to fulfil their 
 engagements. 
 
 1886—87. 
 Four Thinkers on Life : Goethe, Shakespeare, Rousseau, and Wordsworth 
 
 (twelve), by Mr. R. G. Moulton and Mr. G. C. Moore-Smith. 
 The Making of the Roman Empire (twelve), by Mr. A. J. Grant. 
 Recent and Fossil Crustacea, or an Evening with Crabs and Lobsters 
 
 (one), by Dr. Henry Woodward. 
 The Pearly Nautilus, the Cuttle Fish, and its Allies, Recent and Fossil 
 
 (one), by Dr. Henry Woodward. 
 Dramatic Readings (two), by Mrs. Scott Siddons. 
 The Astronomical Theory of the Great Ice Age (two), by Sir R. S. Ball. 
 Pianoforte Recitals: Beethoven, Mendelssohn (two), by Dr. Rea, with 
 
 introductory and analytical remarks by Mr. J. S. Shedlock. 
 Footprints on the Sands of Time (one), by Aid. T. P. Barkas. 
 
 I 
 
 1 
 
 »' Tl 
 
3^4 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 APPENDIX, 
 
 36s 
 
 The Comic Element in Shakespeare's Plays (one), by Rev. Frank Walters. 
 Recitals : Schumann, Chopin (two), by Dr. Rea. 
 Electricity and Telegraph (three Juvenile), by Dr. Dunn. 
 Electricity and Telegraph (three Juvenile), by Mr. Chippendale. 
 Bells (one), by Rev. W. R. Haweis. 
 
 1887—88. 
 
 The Forces of Nature, an exposition of the Conservation of Energy (twelve), 
 
 by Mr. Arthur Berr}\ 
 Heat and Light (twelve), by Principal Garnett. 
 
 Ancient Tragedies for English Audiences (twelve), by Mr. R. G. Moulton. 
 Ancient Comedies for English Audiences (twelve), by Mr. R. G. Moulton. 
 The Sun, the Earth, and the Moon, Mercury, and Venus, their relation to 
 
 each other (one Juvenile), by Aid. T. P. Barkas. 
 The Superior Planets (one), by Aid. T. P. Barkas. 
 Comets, Meteors, what and where are the Stars and Nebulas (one), by Aid. 
 
 T. P. Barkas. 
 Sound and Music (three Juvenile), by Mr. J. S. Chippendale. 
 Readings (two), by Mrs. Scott Siddons. 
 The Sea Serpent (one), by Mr. W. E. Hoyle. 
 
 How I crossed Africa from East to West (one), by Commander Cameron. 
 The Origin of the Domestic Cat (one), by Mr. J. E. Harting. 
 The Nature of Explosions in Gases (one), by Prof. H. B. Dixon. 
 Modern Composers of Classical Song (one), by Mr. Carl Armbruster. 
 
 1888—89. 
 
 The Principles of Chemistry (twelve), by Mr. C. W. Kimmins. 
 Elizabethan Literature (twelve), by Mr. R. G. Moulton. 
 Electricity and Magnetism (twelve), by Prof. Stroud. 
 Milton and his Times (twelve), by Mr. G. L. Dickinson. 
 
 1889—90. 
 
 Earth, Air, and Water, Studies in Physical Geography (twelve), by Mr. 
 
 W. W. Watts. 
 Poetry and Teaching of Robert Browning (twelve), by Mr. Owen Seaman. 
 Earth History from the Rocks (twelve), by Mr. W. W. Watts. 
 Milton's Paradise Lost (twelve), by Mr. R. G. Moulton. 
 
 1890—91. 
 
 Plant Life, with special reference to Vegetal Biology (twelve), by Mr. M. C. 
 
 Potter. 
 History of France and the Netherlands during the Age of the Reformation 
 
 (twelve), by Mr. A. J. Grant. 
 The Classification of Plants (twelve), by Mr. M. C. Potter. 
 The Making of Modem Europe (twelve), by Mr. W. F. Moulton. 
 
 1891—92. 
 
 The Absolute Monarchy in France (twelve), by Mr. A. J. Grant. 
 Human Physiology (twelve), by Mr. E. A. Parkyn. 
 Literary Study of the Bible (twelve), by Mr. R. G. Moulton. 
 Human Physiology (twelve), by Mr. E. A. Parkyn. 
 French Revolution (twelve), by Mr. A. J. Grant. 
 
 1892—93. 
 
 The Sunflower (one), by Mr. Grant Allen. 
 
 Pompeii (one) by Mr. Whitworth Wallis. 
 
 " Tennyson, the Poet of the Age "' (one), by the Rev. H. R. Haweis. 
 
 Electro Metallurgy (one), by Mr. J. W. Swan. 
 
 Napoleon and his Times (twelve), by Mr. J. PL Rose. 
 
 Animal Life (twelve), by Mr. C. Warburton. 
 
 The Victorian Half Century (twelve), by Mr. C. S. Terr\'. 
 
 Darwinism (twelve), by Mr. Hugh de Havilland. 
 
 1893—94. 
 Expansion of England in the Eighteenth Century (twelve), by Mr. C. S. 
 
 Terry. 
 Elementary Political Economy, or the making and sharing of Wealth, by 
 
 Mr. H. S. Mundahl. 
 
 1894—95. 
 
 Some Modern Electrical Developments (one), by Mr. James Swinburne. 
 Life in Northumberland during the Sixteenth Century (one), by Mr. W. W. 
 
 Tomlinson. 
 Weighing the Earth (one), by Mr. C. V. Boyd. 
 Tolstoi (one), by Sergius Stepniak. 
 
 i: 
 
 %^ 
 
 ii 
 
366 
 
 APPENDIX, 
 
 Social Evolution (one), by Mr. Benjamin Kidd. 
 
 Art Education (one), by Prof. Herkomer. 
 
 Comic Songs (one), by Mr. N. Kilbum. 
 
 Mental Philosophy (six), by Dr. Merz. 
 
 Climbing and Exploration in the Himalayas (one), by Mr. W. M. Conway. 
 
 Dante (one), by Mr. P. H. Wicksteed. 
 
 The Moon (one), by Mr. J. D. McClure. 
 
 English Madrigal Composers (one), by Dr. Huntley. 
 
 Shakespeare and Music (one), by Dr. J. F. Bridge. 
 
 English Composers of Glees and Madrigals (one), by Dr. Huntley. 
 
 The Realistic Movement and its Meaning (one), by Mr. W. H. Dircks. 
 
 Thomas Paine and the French and American Revolutions (one), by Mr. 
 
 Moncure D. Conway. 
 The History of Gothic Architecture (twelve), by Mr. D. H. S. Cranage. 
 Modern Novelists (twelve), by Mr. E. J. Mathew. 
 
 1895 — 96. 
 
 English Essayists (twelve), by Mr. E. J. Mathew. 
 
 The Venetian Republics (twelve), by Mr. H. Boyd Carpenter. 
 
 Maria Theresa (one), by Mr. H. S. Mundahl. 
 
 Scenic Art (one), by Prof. Herkomer. 
 
 Quartz Fibres (one), by Prof. C. V. Boyd. 
 
 Buddhist Life and Art (one), by Prof. Rhys Davids. 
 
 The Democratic Painters (one), by Miss Rose Kingsley. 
 
 Light and Colour, or the Study of a Sunbeam (one), by Prof. J. A. Fleming. 
 
 Music in every-day Life (one), by Dr. Huntley. 
 
 The Influence of Dance Forms upon the works of Classical Composers 
 
 (one), by Dr. Huntley. 
 Tales of the Scottish Peasantry (one), by Sir George Douglas. 
 The Atmosphere and its Relation to Health (one), by Prof. V. Lewes. 
 Wagner's Music-Drama : The Nibelung's Ring (one), by Mr. N. Kilburn. 
 The Migration of Birds (one), by Mr. Charles Dixon. 
 English Church Architecture (two), by Mr. G. H. Blunden. 
 Adam Smith (one), by Mr. John Rae. 
 Pepys' Diary and its Musical Notes (one), by Dr. Bridge. 
 The Troubadours (one), by Mr. Wicksteed. 
 
 i 
 
 VICE-PRESIDENTS. 
 
 1793- 
 
 1795- 
 
 1796. 
 
 1797. 
 
 1799. 
 1806. 
 1823. 
 
 Stephen Pemberton, M.D. 
 
 Robert Hopper Williamson 
 
 John Clark, M.D., F.R.C.M. Ed. 
 
 William Cramlington 
 
 Malin Sorsbie 
 
 John Ramsay, M.D. 
 
 Ralph Beilby 
 
 Robert Doubleday 
 
 Isaac Cookson 
 
 John Clark, M.D., F.R.C.M. Ed. 
 
 Thomas Bigge 
 
 E. Kentish 
 
 James Losh 
 
 G. W. Bigge 
 
 Rev. J. Collinson, A.M. . 
 
 1797 
 
 1795 
 
 1795 
 
 1795 
 1796' 
 
 1796 
 
 1796 
 
 1823 
 
 1832 
 
 1797 
 
 1806 
 
 1799 
 
 1834 
 1838 
 
 1837 
 
 APPENDIX C 
 
 HONORARY OFFICIALS OF THE SOCIETY SINCE ITS 
 
 COMMENCEMENT. 
 
 V 
 
 , Year of PRESIDENTS. 
 
 Appointment. 
 
 1793. John Widdrington ..... 
 
 1798. Sir J. E. Swinburne, F.R.S. and S.S.A. Lond. and Perth 
 
 1838. C. W. Bigge 
 
 1850. T. E. Headlam, M.D. . 
 
 1855. Robert Stephenson, M.P., F.R.S. . ' . 
 
 i860. Sir William George (now Lord) Armstrong, C.B. 
 
 Year of Death 
 or Resignation. 
 
 1797 
 
 1838 
 
 1850 
 
 1855 
 
 i860 
 
 w 
 
368 
 
 APPENDIX, 
 VICE-PRESIDENTS— r^;///V^/^^//. 
 
 R. C. Coxe, A 
 
 Year of 
 Appointment. 
 
 1832. Christopher Cookson 
 
 1833. John Clayton 
 
 1834. T. E. Headlam, M.D. 
 
 1837. Rev. W. Turner . 
 
 1838. John Buddie 
 1840. Rev. Dr. Besly 
 1846. George Burnett, jun. 
 1848. The Rev. (afterwards Ven. Archdeacon) 
 1850. Robert Stephenson, M.P. 
 1855. W. G. Armstrong, F.R.S. (now Lord Armstrong) 
 
 John Fenwick, F.S.A. 
 
 1857. Hugh Lee Pattinson, F.R.S. 
 
 1859. Sir W. C. Trevelyan, Bart. 
 
 i860. Rev. John Collingwood Bruce, LL.D., F 
 
 1865. E. Charlton, M.D. 
 
 1866. Rev. James Snape 
 1875. T. Humble, M.D. 
 1878. D. Embleton, M.D. 
 1 88 1. Joseph Wilson Swan, F.R.S. 
 1891. Thomas Hodgkin, D.C.L., D.Litt. 
 1893. Robert Spence Watson, LL.D. . 
 
 SECRETARIES 
 
 1793- 
 
 1796. 
 1804. 
 1806. 
 1809. 
 1812. 
 1815. 
 1821. 
 1825. 
 
 1837. 
 1843. 
 1852. 
 
 Rev. William Turner 
 Robert Doubleday 
 John Brumell 
 John Airey 
 John Murray 
 Armorer Donkin 
 
 Woods 
 
 Edmondston 
 Rev. Anthony Hedley, A.M. 
 John Adamson, F.S.A., F.L.S. 
 J. T. Brockett 
 John Renwick 
 Joseph W^atson 
 
 S.A. 
 
 Year 
 or 
 
 M. 
 
 of Death 
 Resignation. 
 
 1833 
 1890 
 
 1850 
 
 1846 
 
 1840 
 
 1857 
 1848 
 1855 
 
 1855 
 i860 
 
 1865 
 
 1859 
 
 1866 
 
 1893 
 1875 
 1881 
 
 1878 
 
 1837 
 1796 
 1804 
 1806 
 1809 
 1812 
 1815 
 182I 
 1825 
 1856 
 
 1843 
 1852 
 
 i860 
 
 APPENDIX, 
 SECRETARIES— ^<?;///«f^^^. 
 
 Year of 
 Appointment. 
 
 1856. William Kell, F.S.A. 
 
 i860. Thomas Humble, M.D. . 
 
 1 86 1. Robert Calvert Clapham . 
 
 1862. Henry Tuke Mennell 
 
 Robert Spence Watson . 
 
 1882. H. Salvin Pattinson, Ph.D. 
 
 1885. Rev. T. Adams, M.A. 
 
 1886. Prof. J. Herman Merivale, M.A. 
 1893. Alfred Holmes 
 
 1895. Frederick Emley . 
 
 TREASURERS. 
 
 1793. 
 1798. 
 1825. 
 
 1833. 
 
 1835. 
 1844. 
 
 1851. 
 
 1864. 
 
 1875. 
 1889. 
 
 Thomas Gibson 
 
 William Boyd 
 
 James Smith 
 
 John Spedding 
 
 Robert Boyd 
 
 John Anderson 
 
 R. R. Dees 
 
 Thomas Humble, M.D. 
 
 Thomas Hodgkin, D.C.L., D.Litt 
 
 C. J. Spence 
 
 369 
 
 Year of Death 
 or Resignation. 
 
 1862 
 
 1861 
 
 1882 
 
 1862 
 
 1893 
 1884 
 
 1886 
 1895 
 
 1798 
 1825 
 
 1833 
 
 1835 
 1844 
 
 1851 
 
 1864 
 
 1875 
 1889 
 
 » * 
 
 I ■ 
 
 I 
 
 24 
 
i! 
 
 .i 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 i > 
 
 -»♦«- 
 
 (, 
 
 Abbs, Cooper, 313 
 Abolition of Slavery asked for, 9 
 Abstract of Deed of Trust, 51 
 Actual cost of Society's new building, 98 
 Adamson, John, 51, 96 
 Adams, Thomas, lectures on Music, 236 
 Addams, Robert, 238 
 Address to the public from the Society, 208 
 Advertising held not academic, 284 
 Aerostation, lecture on, 226 
 Agreement with North Eastern Railway 
 Company, 132, 196 
 
 — with Natural History Society, 312 
 Agriculture, Board of, 138, 151 
 Agricultural questions at Monthly Meet 
 
 ings, 151 
 Agricultural Chemistry and Geology, 
 
 lectures on, by Prof. Johnston, 238 
 Alder, Joshua, 313 
 Alderman Dodds on "a Free Library," 
 
 Alexandrian Libraries, 173 
 
 America, lectures on, by J. Silk Bucking- 
 ham, 238 
 
 Anderson, John, 42 
 
 Anderson, Matthew, 136 
 
 Animal Kingdom, lectures on, by Prof. 
 Rymer Jones, 238 
 
 Animal Mechanics, lecture on, by Dr. 
 Embleton, 244 
 
 Animal Physiology, lectures on, by George 
 Combe, 231 
 
 Ansled, Prof., on Geology, 238 
 
 Antiquarian Society formed, 298 
 
 — guests of Society for many years, 298 
 
 — treasures housed beneath Museum, 298 
 
 — removed to Castle, 298 
 Anti-Slavery Society formed, 293 
 
 Apparatus for flying discussed, 164 
 
 — purchase of Dr. Garnett's, 215 
 
 — where now, 216 
 
 — some lent to College, 283 
 Apparatus Room, The, 216 
 
 Architect appointed for new building, 65, 
 
 85,89 
 Architectural Association, 275 
 Armstrong, William, 121, 175 
 Armstrong, W. G,, 126, 130, 171, 176 
 
 — SirW. G., 131 
 
 — Lord, 196, 244, 250, 251, 321 
 Arnaud, Mr., lectures on Political Econ- 
 omy, 228 
 
 Art and Artists, novel lectures on, 256 
 Art, principles of, lecture on, by William 
 
 Warren, 236 
 Art School, 275 
 Assembly Rooms, The Old, 54, 58 
 
 — The New, 34 
 
 Assyrian Excavation Society, 108 
 Assyrian tablets, 173 
 
 Astronomy, lectures on, by T. Longstaff, 
 227 
 
 — by Henry Atkinson, 227 
 
 — by Prof. Nichol, 237 
 Atkinson, Henry, 245 
 Atthey, Thomas, 313 
 
 Bainbridgb, William, suggests Law 
 
 Library, 188 
 Baird, John, 304 
 
 Baker, Addison John Cresswell, 51 
 Baker, Thomas, 308 
 Bakewell, Robert, lectures on Geology 
 
 and Mineralogy, 226 
 Banks, Sir Joseph, 46 
 Banquet to Duke of Sussex, 75 
 
 *^ 1 
 
 •1 
 
 
 \ 
 
 \\ 
 
 I 
 
372 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 > 
 
 El 
 
 Banquet at Jubilee of Society, 120 
 
 Barkas, T. P., 170, 249, 276 
 
 Be^ng books, 175 
 
 Beilby and Bewick, 295 
 
 Beilby, Ralph, 295 
 
 Bell, James T., 314 
 
 Bell, Matthew, 51 
 
 Belles Lettres, Thomas Campbell asked to 
 lecture on, 231 
 
 Bequest by Robert Stephenson, 130 
 
 Bertram, Charles, 51 
 
 Bewick, Thomas, his first voyage to Lon- 
 don, 7 
 
 — friendship with Thomas Spence, 18 
 
 — early ** wood-cuts," 21 
 
 — bust of, 100 
 
 — death of, 109 
 
 — apprenticed to Beilby, 295 
 
 — first wood-block, 295 
 
 — Quadrupeds and British Birds, 295 
 
 — Quadrupeds, 296 
 
 — Birds, no, 303 
 Bibliotheque, Nationale, 174 
 Bigge, Charles John, 51 
 
 Bigge, Thomas, paper by, on establishing 
 
 Lectureship, 208 
 Bill for Durham University, 264 
 Bishop of Durham, 213, 314 
 Bishop, Sir Henry, 250 
 Black Middens, 162 
 Blackett, Sir Walter Calverley, 1 10 
 Blackie, Prof., 257 
 Blenkinsop engine, George Stephenson's 
 
 opinion of, 144 
 
 — explained by Mr. Turner, 165 
 Board of Agriculture, correspondence with, 
 
 138. 151 
 Board of Education formed, 156 
 
 Bolbeck Hall, 65 
 
 Books, b^ging of, 175 
 
 — bequest of, by Alderman Armstrong, 
 
 — borrowing of, 44, 193 
 
 — battles about, 177 
 
 — keeping and lending of, 177 
 
 — number of, in 1796, 175 
 
 — in 1825, 176 
 
 — in 1827, 183 
 
 — in 1896, 327 
 
 — at Alexandria, 173 
 
 — at Cordova, 173 
 
 Books in Biblioth^ue Nationale, 174 
 
 — in British Museum, 174 
 
 — purchase of, 183, 185, 186, 188, 189 
 Book -case, the first, 53 
 
 Book-space, provision of, 56, 57, 192, 195 
 
 Book- worms, 193 
 
 Botanical Garden proposed, 236 
 
 Botany Bay in 1787, 296 
 
 Botany, lectures on, by Sir William J. 
 
 Hooker, 236 
 Botanist's Guide through Northumberland 
 
 and Durham, 297 
 Bottle Bank, Gateshead, 6, 69 
 Boulton, Matthew, bust of, 100 
 
 — replies to coal queries, 141 
 Bowman, R. B., 308 
 
 Bowmer, Gervase, replies to coal queries, 
 
 141 
 Bradys, The— Pro£ G. S. Brady, F.R.S., 
 
 and H. B. Brady, F.R.S., 313 
 Brandling, John, his safety-lamp, 147 
 
 — presides at Town's Meeting on College, 
 
 268 
 Brewis, George, on Songs of Scotland, 
 
 249 
 Bridge between North and South Shields, 
 
 162 
 British Association Meetings in Newcastle, 
 
 315 
 British Museum Library, 174 
 
 British Poetry, lectures by James Mont- 
 gomery, 233 
 British steam tonnage, 234 
 Brockett, John Trotter, 50, 51 
 Brockett, William Henry, 51 
 Brougham, Henry (afterwards Lord), 5 
 
 — his opinion of Society's methods, 48, 
 
 96 
 
 — discovers Lough, loi 
 Brown, Ralph, 52 
 Browning, Rev. D. C, 270 
 Bruce, Rev. Dr., 52, 248, 249, 276 
 Bruce, Justice Gainsford, 317 
 Bryce, Right Hon. James, 250 
 Buckingham, J. Silk, 238 
 
 Buckland, Dr., his Bridgewater Treatise, 
 
 230 
 Buddie, John, 120, 317 
 Building burned on night of Centenary, 322 
 Building Committee (new building), 63, 
 
 65, 74, 88, 90 
 
 ;> 
 
 index: 
 
 373 
 
 Bulmer, Joseph, on improvements in 
 
 Bridge and Quay, 161 
 Burnet, John, on Drawing, 249 
 Burnett, George, the younger, 51 
 Burnup, C, contractor for joiners' work 
 
 in new building, 65 
 Butler, Charles, 49, 176 
 
 Cambridge, Duke of, 119 
 
 Campbell, Thomas, asked to lecture, 231 
 
 Canal from Newcastle to Hexham, i6i 
 
 Capital punishments inexpedient, J 68 
 
 Captain Cook, 294, 296 
 
 Catalogue, the first in third Annual Report, 
 
 175 
 
 — of 1796, 180 
 
 — of 1801, 180 
 
 — of 1807, 180 
 
 — of 181 1 (books classified), 181 
 
 — of 1819, 182 
 
 — of 1829, 183 
 
 — 1848, 190 
 
 — cost of, 191 
 
 Catalogue, last begun, 1888, but not com- 
 pleted yet : Mr. Emley's account of, 197 
 
 Catalogues, supplements to, 180, 182, 185, 
 187, 190, 104, 196, 197 
 
 Catalogue of Thomlinson Library in 1829, 
 
 "3 
 
 — since removal to Public Library, 114 
 
 Cayley, Sir George, apparatus for flying, 
 
 164 
 Census of Newcastle proposed, 153 
 Centenary celebration, 320 
 "Chains of Slavery," by Marat, 15 
 Chairs, proposed endowment of, 273 
 Champollion, Fran9ois, deciphers Rosetta 
 
 stone, 301 
 
 — deciphers inscription on mummy case, 
 
 302 
 Changes in demand for lectures, 287 
 Charlton, Edward, M.D., 52 
 Charnley and Bell, first librarians, 54 
 Charnley, Emerson, succeeds William, his 
 father, 112 
 
 — proposes Mr. Turner's health at 
 banquet, 121 
 
 Charnley, William, and the Thomlinson 
 
 Library, 112 
 Chateaubriand on Champollion, 302 
 Chat Moss, 167 
 
 Chemical investigations, 37 
 Chemical Society, 28 
 Chemistry, 43, 214, 223, 266 
 
 — Light as an object of, 137 
 
 — proposed lectures on, 207, 209 
 
 — lectures given on, 2oi8 
 
 — lectures on, by Prof. J. F. W. John- 
 
 stone, 229, 238 
 
 — lectures on, by Robert Addams, 238 
 
 — lectures on, by *' Professor" Pepper, 
 
 249 
 
 — lectures on, by Prof. Freire-Marreco, 
 
 272, 277 
 Chief raison d*iire of Society, 260 
 Chippendale, J. S., on "The Breath of 
 
 Life," 253 
 Cholera stops lectures, 228 
 Christian lOiowledge Society, 28 
 Circulation of air in mines, 139 
 Clanny, Dr., his safety-lamp, 144, 145) 
 
 147, 148, 149 
 Clapham, R. C., 52 
 Clark, John, M.D., 46 
 Clarkson, Thomas, 137 
 Classes into which readers divided, 185 
 Clayton, John, 255 
 Clephan, James, 254 
 Coach from Newcastle to London, 6 
 Coal, Mr. Turner on, 36 
 
 — queries upon, circulated, 140 
 Coal-mines, explosions in, 144 
 Coal-Trade, office for, proposed in 1796, 
 
 142 
 
 — all inventions connected with, brought 
 
 before Society, 143 
 Coal waggon ways, 143 
 Coats, Thomas, presents mummy, 300 
 Coins presented : where are they now ? 
 
 296 
 College at Newcastle, part of Society in — 
 
 — T. M. Greenhow first brings for- 
 
 ward, 261 
 
 — his papers printed by Society, 264 
 
 — Committee appointed to prepare pros- 
 
 pectus, 264 
 
 — Durham University not to supersede, 
 
 264 
 
 — prospectus presented to Society, 265 
 
 — chairs to be filled by volunteers, 265 
 
 — Mr. Green's plan of building, 265 
 
 — scheme of instruction in, 266 
 
 'I 
 
 V •! 
 
374 
 
 INDEX, 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 37S 
 
 College at Newcastle, part of Society in — 
 
 — support of local press, 267 
 
 — Town's meeting held, 268 
 
 — Joint Stock Company proposed, 268 
 
 — further papers by Mr. Greenhow, 269, 
 
 270, 271 
 
 — paper by Dr. George Fife, 269 
 
 — Memorial to Corporation, 269 
 
 — Memorial to Queen, 271 
 
 — reasons of failure, 27 1 
 
 — Prof. J. R. Seeley's suggestion, 272 
 
 — correspondence with Durham upon, in 
 
 1867, 272 
 
 — paper to Society upon, 272 
 
 — Committee appointed to consider and 
 
 suggest, 276 
 
 — their report, 277 
 
 — further papers on, 277 
 
 — experiment successfully made, 278 
 
 — nucleus of University, Dr. Bruce on, 
 
 278 
 
 Prof. Seeley on, 279 
 
 Dr. W. B. Hodgson on, 281 
 
 — paper on, at Social Science Associa- 
 
 tion, 1870, 279 
 at Society of Arts, 281 
 
 — Mining Institute take up, in 1854, 
 
 282 
 
 — memorialise the Government and 
 
 Charity Commissioners, 283 
 
 — Draft Bill for, 283 
 
 — bring before Durham University in 
 
 1859, without result, 283 
 
 — Committee to confer with Durham 
 
 University in 1869, 283 
 
 — at length, in 187 1, established, 283 
 
 — Society lend rooms and apparatus, 
 . 283 
 
 — it finds temporary home with Mining 
 
 Institute, 283 
 
 — merge their work in that of College, 
 
 284 
 College of Medicine, 267 
 College of Science, 229, 267 
 Collingwood, Admiral, 11 
 Collinson, Admiral, 255 
 Collinson, Rev. John, 307 
 Combe, George, 231 
 Combustion, lecture on, by Dr. Glover, 
 
 240 
 Comet of 181 1, 165 
 
 Committee, 42, 46, 55, 60, 88, 91, 102, 
 112, 115, 120, 129, 157, 180, 181, 182, 
 183, 187, 189, 190, 194, 206, 227, 231, 
 236 
 
 — to draw up plan of Society, 41 
 
 — first committee of Society, 46 
 
 — number of members has been increased, 
 
 47 
 
 — on formation of Library, 47 
 
 — resolve on Deed of Trust, 49 
 
 — to find more suitable accommodation, 
 
 53 
 
 — purchases by, 54 
 
 — treaty of, with Corporation, 58, 60 
 
 — vexatious notices to, 59 
 
 — inscribed on foundation-stone, 73 
 
 — defend the Duke of Sussex, 74 
 
 — on principles of statuary, 102 
 
 — non-payment of accounts by, 118 
 
 — afraid of George Hudson, 125 
 
 — appeal to influential inhabitants, 128 
 
 — with balance in hand, 130 
 
 — circulate questions from Board of 
 
 Agriculture, 139 
 
 — circulate questions on Natural History 
 
 of Coal, 141 
 
 — open meetings on Coal Institute in 
 
 1796, 142 
 
 — open meetings on provision for poor, 
 
 155 
 
 — open meetings on education of poor, 
 
 160 
 
 — contribute all papers to Monthly Meet- 
 
 ing, 170 
 
 — election of members entrusted to, 172 
 
 — "Don Juan" purchased and rejected 
 
 by members, 177 
 
 — find it difficult to keep out fiction, 178 
 
 — purchase of books by, 185, 186, 190 
 
 — making bricks without straw, 193 
 
 — to consider and report on Lectureship, 
 
 212 
 
 — print Mr. Turner's Introductory Dis- 
 
 course thereon, 213 
 
 — collect apparatus, 215 
 
 — paper circulated prior to second course 
 
 of lectures, 217 
 
 — on New Institution, 222 
 
 — prohibition of political economy, 228 
 
 — appoint sub-committee to manage 
 
 lectures, 230 
 
 Committee encourage lectures by mem- 
 bers, 248 
 
 — must watch changing demands, 251 
 
 — on Durham University, 264, 270 
 
 — draw up prospectus of College, 265 
 
 — to form Joint-Stock Company for 
 
 College, 268 
 
 — to consider suggestions in Mr. Wat- 
 
 son's paper, 276 
 
 — action thereon taken by, 277 
 
 — to arrange for University Extension 
 
 lectures, 287 
 
 — r^ret want of money for Natural 
 
 History purposes, 294 
 
 — how they dealt with mummy, 300 
 
 — special appointment for Museum, 
 
 304 
 
 — pleasure at formation of Natural 
 
 History Society, 309 
 
 — loan of rooms for Teachers and other 
 
 Societies, 316 
 
 — grapple with fire difficulties, 322 
 
 — report settlement with Insurance Com- 
 
 pany to special meeting, 324 
 
 — small control over domestic Societies, 
 
 328 
 Comte's " Philosophie positive," forbidden, 
 
 179 
 Controversial Divinity, 177 
 Conversation Club, original idea of 
 
 Society, 41 
 Conversazione, 125 
 Cook, Captain, 294, 296 
 Cookson, Christopher, 51, 103 
 Coquetdale Angling Songs, 105 
 Cordova, Library at, 173 
 Cost of new building, 98 
 Cost of lectures from 1803, 259 
 County Histories, collection of, 187 
 Courses of lectures, total number of, 258 
 Cowen, Joseph, Jua, 276 
 Cramlington, William, 42 
 Crawhall, Thomas, 30^ 
 Crawley's Company, 38 
 Crawlejr's Works, 8 
 Crowley, Sir Ambrose, 38 
 Creighton, Bishop, 250 
 Crowder, Mr., on Manufeicture of Glass 
 
 and Iron, 249 
 Cudworth's Intellectual System complained 
 
 of, 177 
 
 Davy, Sir Humphrey, visits North to in- 
 vestigate coal explosions, 145 
 
 — reads paper thereon to Royal Society, 
 
 145 
 Dawson, George, 257 
 
 Dean and Chapter of Durham, 264 
 
 Dean I^ke makes College at Newcastle 
 
 practicable, 283 
 
 Dean Street, 3 
 
 Debating Societies, restraint of, 14 
 
 Debt of Society faced at once, 99 
 
 Debts, novel method of dealing with, 118 
 
 Deed of Trust, preparation of, 50 
 
 — settled by Mr. Hopper Williamson, 50 
 
 — Execution of, 51 
 
 — Brief abstract of, 51 
 Dees, R. R., 52 
 
 — on inexpediency of capital punish- 
 
 ments, 168 
 
 — advocates introduction of works of 
 
 fiction, 189 
 Demerara, present of insects from, 298 
 Details of restoration after fire, 324 
 Deutsch, Emmanuel, 250 
 Dewey's plan of cataloguing, Mr. Emley 
 
 on, 198 
 Difficulties of middle class at Universities, 
 
 262 
 Discoveries by members, 250 
 Discovery of Centenary fire, 322 
 Dixon, Dixon, 308 
 Dobson, Thomas, 278 
 Dodd, Dr., on Names of Places, 250 
 Dodds, Ralph, on *'a Free Library," 
 
 195 
 
 " Don Juan," fierce fight over, 177 
 
 Doubleday, Thomas, 51, 104 
 
 Dove, P. E., on Field Sports of Scotland, 
 
 249 
 Dr. Clanny, 144, 145, 147. 148, I49 
 Dunn, J. T., on Water, 253 
 Durham, Bishop of, 213, 314 
 
 — College of Science, 207 
 
 — Dean and Chapter of, 264 
 
 — Professors unsuccessfully appealed to, 
 
 272 
 Durham University opened, 264 
 
 — Newcastle Chronicle on, 267 
 
 — hopes from, unfulfilled, 270 
 
 — removal to Newcastle suggested, 273 
 
 — helps at last, 283 
 
 1 
 
 i 
 
 j 
 
 
 I' 
 
 II 
 
376 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Early English Text Society give prizes to 
 
 English class, 278 
 Education in Ireland, lecture by Robert 
 
 Ingham, M.P., 234 
 Education in Newcastle twenty-eight years 
 
 ago, 276 
 
 — eighty- seven years ago, 159 
 Education of Poor considered, 156- 161 
 Education, lectures on, by George Comlie, 
 
 231 
 Educational courses of lectures advocated 
 by T. M. Greenhow, 270 
 
 — actually adopted by Society, 272 
 Educational Institution, the Society as a, 
 
 273 
 Educational Philosophy, lectures by James 
 
 Simpson, 234 
 Egypt, Antiquities of, lectures by Marquis 
 
 di Spineto, 238 
 Electric Light, Society's own installation, 
 
 325 
 Ellison, Cuthbert, 51 
 
 Embleton, Dr., 52, 244 
 
 Emley, Frederick, detailed account of new 
 
 CataJogue by, 197-201 
 Endeavours to obtain College in Newcastle, 
 
 261 
 Endowment of Chairs needed, 273 
 Enfield, Dr., on Cultivation of Taste, 136 
 
 — on distinction between prose and 
 
 poetry, 138 
 Engineering lectures by J. F. Spencer, 272 
 
 — English Church Music, lectures by 
 
 Prof. Edward Taylor, 238 
 English Language and Literature, lectures 
 by Spence Watson, 277 
 
 — University notions about, 284 
 Experimental lecture on novel effects of 
 
 Electrical Discharge, given at Centenary 
 Celebration by Lord Armstrong, 321 
 Eye, The Structure and Functions of, by 
 T. M. Greenhow, 228 
 
 Fancy Fair, 127 
 
 Farmers' Club, Society fulfilled objects of, 
 
 152 
 
 — started in Society's rooms and re- 
 
 mained for twelve years, 315 
 Fawcett, Henry, 250 
 Fellows, utilisation of, 279 
 Fenwick, John, 102, 270 
 
 Field Club, 274 
 
 Fife, Dr. George, on College, 269 
 Finances getting steadily worse, 126 
 Fine Arts Society, 314 
 
 — established under sanction of Society, 
 
 314 
 
 — at first in Central Exchange, 314 
 
 — then below Natural History Society's 
 
 Museum, 314 
 
 — Head Master, W. B. Scott, 314 
 
 — now Art Department of College of 
 
 Science, 315 
 Fines for keeping books too long, punctual 
 
 exaction of, 182 
 Fire and choke-damp in coal-mines, 139 
 Fire at Centenary and origin of, 322 
 First Annual Report, 55 
 First Conversazione, 125 
 First lectures in Newcastle, 203 
 First lectures by Mr. Turner, 216 
 First purchase of apparatus, 215 
 Floor, how restored after fire, 325 
 Food Reform Association, 319 
 Foreman Engineers' and Draughtsmen's 
 
 Association, 319 
 Foundation-stone of New Assembly Rooms, 
 
 34 
 Foundation-stone of new building, 72 
 
 Fox, G. T., 299, 303. 313 
 France, system of education in, 273 
 France and England, mental emancipa- 
 tion of, in 1 8th century, 12 
 Freeman, E. A., 250 
 French Revolution, real causes of, 12 
 
 — feeling in England about, 29 
 Fresh appointment of Trustees, 52 
 Froude, J. A., 250, 252 
 
 Fruit Growers' Association, 319 
 
 Garnett, Dr., negotiations for lectures 
 by, in 1798, 206 
 
 — purchase of his apparatus, 21$ 
 Garnett, Principal, on Faraday and his 
 
 discoveries, 253 
 Gas, streets lighted by, in 1818, 61, 90 
 
 — Society makes its own, 91 
 
 — coal-gas V. oil-gas, 90 
 
 — gas-meters not introduced in town in 
 
 1824, 91 
 
 — gas-meters inaccurate, 92 
 
 — porter's chief duty to make gas, 97 
 
 . I- 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 377 
 
 Gateshead, terminus of railway from South, 
 124 
 
 — '* Where is Gateshead?" 124 
 General Committee on College at Durham, 
 
 264 
 
 General conveyance of goods on wa^on- 
 ways, 143 
 
 General Library left at first for considera- 
 tion, 174 
 
 — Rev. E. Moises proposes, 174 
 Geology, lectures on, by Prof. Ansted, 238 
 
 — lectures on, by Prof. Phillips, 230 
 
 — and Mineralogy, lectures by Robert 
 
 Bakewell, 226 
 
 — science of, being formed, 230 
 Geological Society, 28 
 
 George III., Jubilee of— Schools estab- 
 
 blished for Poor, 160 
 Germany, system of education in, 273 
 Gibson, Thomas, 42, 46 
 Gibsone, George, 3oi8 
 Gifts to Society, 55, 294, 295, 303 
 Glover, Dr., 29, 122, 148, 239 
 Gosse, P. H. , on Marine Zoology, 249 
 Government School of Art, 319 
 Graham, Sir James, memorialised for 
 
 College, 271 
 Grainger, Richard, 116, 256 
 Grammar School, 10 • 
 Grand Masonic Festival, 66 
 Gray, George, 107 
 Gray, Thomas, his method of ventilation 
 
 adopted, 193 
 Gray, William, 51 
 
 Greathead, Henry, and Lifeboat, 162 
 Great men who have lectured to Society, 
 
 250 
 Greek lectures by Rev. Dr. Snape, 278 
 Green, John, architect for new building, 
 
 65, 85, 89 
 
 — plans for College, 265 
 Greenhow, T. M., 168, 228, 261, 264, 
 
 269, 270, 271, 304 
 Grey, Earl, of the Reform Bill, 107 
 
 — his Ministry friendly to education, 262 
 Grey, Albert (now Earl), advises Uni- 
 versity Extension lectures, 285 
 
 Hancock, Albany, 294, 313 
 Hancock, John, Sen., 294 
 Hancock, John, 169, 294, 313 
 
 Hargreaves, Mr. , on the Fancies of Science, 
 
 250 
 Harmony of Celestial Phenomena, by Prof^ 
 
 Nichol, 238 
 Headlam, Dr., 62, 63, 120 
 Heating of building after the fire, 325 
 Hedley, Anthony, collection of reports, 
 
 etc., 203 , 
 Helmore, F., lectures on Music, 278 
 Herbarium of British Plants presented, 
 
 297 
 Herd Sands, 162 
 Hewitson, W. C, on Tour in Norway, 
 
 169 
 Hieroglyphics deciphered, 301 
 Higher Education, objections to, 263 
 Highland Society, 28 
 High Level Bridge, building of, 125 
 Highwaymen, 9 
 Hints for establishing Coal-owners' Record 
 
 Office at Newcastle, 142 
 Hodgkin, Dr., author of "Italy and her 
 
 Invaders," etc, 52 
 Hodgson, Dr. W. B., on Classes prior to 
 
 College, 281 
 Hodgson, Thomas, compiler of Catalogue 
 
 of 1829, 184 
 Holmes, Alfred, valuable services after fire, 
 
 322, 325 
 Honorary Members, number of, 46 
 — new class of, 54 
 
 Horticultural Mutual Improvement So- 
 ciety, 319 
 How to stop a lecturer, 255 
 Hudson, George, the Railway King, 125 
 Humble, Thomas, M.D., 52 
 Hume's Essays objected to, 177 
 Hunter, John, Governor of New South 
 
 Wales, 296 
 Hutton, Dr. Charles, 46, 100, 295 
 Hutton, William, 96 
 Huxley, Prof., 250 
 Hydro-Electricity, detailed account of 
 
 lecture on, by W. G. Armstrong, 240 
 
 Improved mangle, 164 
 
 Increase of members as popular books in- 
 crease, 190 
 
 Increase of payments to Library Staff, 176 
 
 India, lectures on, by J. Silk Buckingham, 
 238 
 
 I 
 
 fl 
 
 I 
 
378 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Inductive Geology, lectures on, by Prof. 
 
 Macintosh, 238 
 Industrial Evening College organised, 
 
 284 
 Ingham, Robert, 51, 234 
 Ions, John, contractor for masonry of new 
 
 building, 65 
 Inscription on foundation-stone of New 
 
 Assembly Rooms, 34 
 of new building, 72 
 
 — mummy case, 302 
 Insects in Museum, 303, 305, 
 
 — from Demerara, 298 
 Institute of Naval Architects, 319 
 Insurance Company (North British), settle- 
 ment with, 324 
 
 Introductory discourse on New Institution 
 for public lectures by Mr. Turner, 213 
 
 J ARROW Slake, embankment of, 161 
 
 Jevons, Prof., 250 
 
 Johnston, Prof., 229, 238 
 
 Johnston Laboratory at Durham College 
 
 of Science, 229 
 Joiners' Hall, Low Friar Street, lectures 
 
 in, 227 
 Jubilee School, scheme for, started by 
 
 Society, 157 
 Jubilee year of Society, 120, 122 
 
 Katterfelto, Dr., lectures by, 205 
 Killingworth Colliery, 145, 146 
 Kinkel, Prof. Gottfried, 250 
 Knowles, Sheridan, 237 
 
 Ladies eligible as Reading Members, 56 
 
 — this first Society to admit, 57 
 
 — cloak-room for, 117, 236 
 
 Lake, Dean, aids movement for College, 
 
 283, 285 
 Lamb, R. O., 52 
 Lambton, H. W. , 68 
 Lambton, J. G. , 68, 73, 78 
 Lanthom purchased, 54 
 Land traffic between England and Scotland, 
 
 6 
 Lardner, Dr. Dionysius, 234 
 Law Library suggested, 189 
 Law Society of Newcastle and Gateshead, 
 
 189 
 Law Students' Debating Society, 317 
 
 Lead-mines, papers on, at Monthly Meet- 
 ings, 138 
 
 — ore, smelting and refining of, Hugh 
 
 Lee Pattinson on, 168 
 Learned Societies, growth of, in England, 
 
 28 
 Leathart, James, 314 
 Lecture-room, 94 
 
 — enlarged, 116 
 
 — new one presented by Sir W. G. 
 
 Armstrong, 131 
 Lecturer to Society, post no sinecure, 216 
 
 — first course by, 216 
 
 — cost of, to end of third course, 218 
 
 — his courses generally, 223 
 
 — new arrangements for, in new building, 
 
 224 
 Lectures (general under titles and names of 
 lecturers, and complete list in Appendix 
 
 B.) 
 
 — to children, 253 
 
 — courses other than Mr. Turner's, 226 
 
 — under Society's patronage, 226, 227 
 
 — courses by Society's arrangement, 228- 
 
 238 
 
 — Special Committee for, 230 
 
 — by members, 238, 248 
 
 — changes in character of, 251 
 
 — paper upon history and future of, 252 
 
 — statistics of, 258 
 
 — educational courses advocated, 270 
 
 — courses on Philosophy of Mathematics, 
 
 by Rev. James Snape, 272 
 Mechanical Engineering, by J. F. 
 
 Sp>encer, 272 
 Chemistry, by Prof. FreireMarreco, 
 
 272 
 Mental Philosophy, by Dr. Merz, 
 
 284 
 
 — courses to prove need for College, 277 
 
 — paper suggesting University Extension 
 
 lectures, 286 
 
 — miscellaneous lectures suspended, 288 
 
 — courses of University Extension 
 
 lectures, 289 
 
 — Centenary lecture by Lord Armstrong, 
 
 321 
 Letter from M. Norberg, 136 
 Lettsom, Dr. John, 46 
 Library proposed by Rev. E. Moises, 47, 
 
 174 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 379 
 
 Library, numbers of books at different 
 periods, 175, 176, 180, 183, 327 
 
 — aim of Society in, 179 
 
 — novels admitted, 179 
 
 — Reference department of, 185 
 
 — shortcomings attended to, 192 
 
 — ventilation of, 193 
 
 — increase of book-room in, 1951 196 
 
 — on fire, 322 
 
 — temporary accommodation, 323 
 
 — re-construction of, 324 
 
 — what it now offers, 327 
 Liddell, Henry Thomas, 51 
 Lifeboat, invention of, discussed, 162 
 Linguistic Association, 319 
 Linnaean Society, 28 
 
 Literary Club amongst members, 96 
 "Lit. and Phil.," The, 131 
 Liverpool and Manchester Railway dis- 
 cussed, 167 
 *• Loafs of the Goats," 257 
 Loftus, William Kenneth, 108 
 Losh, James, 106 
 Lough, John Graham, loi, 102 
 Lukin, Lionel, patents a lifeboat, 162 
 Lyall, William, 278 
 Lyell, Sir Charles, 230 
 
 Macaulay's "Virginia," 258 
 
 Macbeth and the Witches, by Edward 
 
 Train, 106 
 MaccuUoch, Rev. Dr., presents Nova 
 
 Scotian insects, 303 
 Macgregor, John, on state of River Tyne, 
 
 168 
 Macintosh, Prof., on Inductive Geology, 
 
 238 
 Magnetism and Electricity, paper by 
 
 Hugh Lee Pattinson, 168 
 Manchester, Literary and Philosophical 
 
 Society of, 28 
 Mansion House, inconvenient hospitality 
 
 at, 5 
 Marat, "People's Friend," in Newcastle, 
 
 15 
 
 Marreco, Prof. Freire, lectures on " Chem- 
 istry," 272, 277 
 
 Massey, Gerald, on " Poetic Literature," 
 
 249 
 Mathematics, by Rev. James Snape, 238, 
 
 239, 272 
 
 McAlister, Rev. J., defends Mr. Turner, 
 120 
 
 Medical Book Club, 31 
 
 Medical Society, 32 
 
 Medicine, School of, 263, 275 
 
 Mental Philosophy, lectures by Dr. Merz, 
 284 
 
 Merivale, Professor, 315, 322 
 
 Merz, Dr. J. T., 284 
 
 Meteorological observations, 1 19 
 
 Milo makes mischief, 102 
 
 Mineralogical collection at Dresden, pur- 
 chase of, proposed, 295 
 
 Mineralogy, application of, by Dr. Ure, 
 238 
 
 Minerals, Committee to arrange, 297 
 
 Mines, circulation of air in, 139 
 
 Mining Institute, 195, 275, 282, 283, 292, 
 
 317 
 Miscellaneous lectures, 249, 287, 288 
 
 Mitchell, Charles, 315 
 
 Moises, Rev. Edward, 42, 81, 107, 174, 
 
 220 
 
 Moises, Rev. Hugh, 10 
 
 Montgomery, James, on " British Poetry," 
 
 233 
 
 Monthly Meetings, early papers at, 135 
 
 — account of papers read in first year, 
 
 136 et seq. 
 
 — papers on coal questions most numer- 
 
 ous, 140 
 
 — all new inventions connected with 
 
 coal brought before them, 143 
 
 — safety -lamp discussed, 147, 148, 150 
 
 — agricultural questions, 151 
 
 — antiquarian papers, 152 
 
 — proposed census of Newcastle, 153 
 
 — state of the poor, 154 
 
 — education of the poor, 155 
 
 — miscellaneous questions, 161, 162, 164, 
 
 165, 168, 170 
 
 — improvement of river, 161, 162, 168 
 
 — smelting of lead ore, 150, 168 
 
 — invention of Daguerreotype, 170 
 
 — phonography, 170 
 
 — spheroidal condition of liquids, 171 
 
 — water for propelling machinery, 171 
 
 — voltaic and frictional electricity, 171 
 Moorsom, W. M., on Political Economy, 
 
 285 
 Morley, The Right Hon. John, 250 
 
 
m 
 
 380 
 
 INDEX, 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 381 
 
 Morrison, Rev. Dr., 107 
 
 Moyes, Henry, on Philosophy of Natural 
 
 History, 203 
 Mudie's Library, large subscription to, 193 
 Mummy presented, 299 
 
 — Ram, 301 
 
 — No. 2, 304 
 
 — examined before members, 304 
 Murchison, Sir Roderick J., 230 
 Murray, John, 42 
 
 Museum, purchase of Wycliffe collection, 
 96 
 
 — insects in, 298, 303, 305 
 
 — British shells in, 305 
 
 — expenses of, 306 
 
 — jealousy of, 306 
 
 — collections deposited with Natural 
 
 History Society, 311 
 
 — terms of deposit, 312 
 
 — sale to Natural History Society, 312 
 Musical Society granted use of rooms, 293 
 Music, Science of, by Thomas Adams, 236 
 
 — lectures, by Mr. W. Rea and Mr. F. 
 
 Helmore, 278 
 Mutilation of books, 177 
 
 National Home Reading Union, 319 
 
 — Phonc^aphic Association, 319 
 
 — Society of Musicians, 319 
 
 Natural History, repository for subjects of, 
 
 294 
 Natural History Society, birth of, 1 10 
 
 — purchases land from the Society, 116 
 
 — aims at Mining Institute, 150 
 
 — requiring extension, 274 
 
 — first child of parent Society, 293 
 
 — noble museum, 295 
 
 — friends to formation of, called together, 
 
 307 
 
 — formed, 308 
 
 — harmonious relationship with parent, 
 
 309 
 
 — land sold to, by parent, 31 1 
 
 — precise terms of arrangement, 312 
 
 — purchase Society's collections, 312 
 
 — remove to Barras Bridge, 312 
 
 — splendid collections of Nature and 
 
 Art, 312 
 New Assembly Rooms, foundation-stone 
 
 laid, 34 
 New building, foundation-stone laid, 74 
 
 New building opened, 92 
 
 — description of, 93 
 
 — first meeting held in, 94 
 
 — actual cost of, 98 
 
 — new wing of, 132, 196 
 Newcastle, county of self, I 
 
 — John Wesley on, 2 
 
 — walls and gates of, 3 
 
 — improvement of bridge, 16 1 
 
 — leading place in scientific inquiry, 208 
 
 — cholera in, 229 
 
 — work done for by Society, 250 
 
 — eligible site for College, 262 
 
 — hospital at, excellent and extensive, 
 
 263 
 
 — education in, twenty-five years ago, 
 
 276 
 
 — affiliated to Cambridge, 288 
 Newcastle alderman on ladies' cloak-room, 
 
 117 
 Newcastle Daily Chronicle prints papers 
 read at meetings, 170 
 
 — upon College at Durham, 267 
 Newcastle Health Society, 319 
 Newcastle Royal Infirmary, 319 
 Newcastle Teachers' Association, 319 
 New Institution, title of lectures at first, 
 
 218 
 
 — opposition to, 218 
 
 — merges in Society, 230 
 
 New Lecture Room, 130, 131, 217, 219, 
 235, 251 
 
 New premises, 58 
 
 New South Wales, animals from, 296 
 — plants from, 297 
 
 New wing to Library, 132, 196 
 
 Neville Street opened, 116 
 
 Nichol, Professor, 237, 249 
 
 Nicholls, Henry, dramatic readings by, 
 249 
 
 Norberg, M., 136 
 
 North- East Coast Engineers' and Ship- 
 builders' Association, 319 
 
 North-Eastern Institute of Mining En- 
 gineers, 150 
 
 — John Buddie, 120, 317 
 
 — Nicholas Wood's opening address, 318 
 
 — and College, 282 
 North-Eastern Railway, 132, 196 
 North-Eastern Sanitary Association, 319 
 Northern Aichitectural Association, 319 
 
 Northern Counties' Photographic Associa- 
 tion, 319 
 North of England Microscopical Society, 
 
 319 
 North of England Volunteer Service Insti- 
 tution, 319 
 Northumberland and District Teachers' 
 
 Union, 319 
 Northumberland, Duke of, 193 
 Norway, by W. C. Hewitson, 169 
 Nova Scotia, insects from, 303 
 Novels, introduction of, 178, 179, 189 
 Number and cost of lectures, 258 
 Number of members, 46, 117, 130, 326 
 — of volumes destroyed or damaged by 
 fire, 324 
 
 in Library, 175, 176, 183, 327 
 
 to be taken out at once, 327 
 
 Objections to Higher Education, 263 
 
 Oil-gas, lighting by, 90 et seq. 
 
 Old Assembly Rooms, 54 
 
 Old Newcastle, by Richard Welford, 321 
 
 Opinion of Mr. Butler on holding Society's 
 
 property, 49 , , ^ , . 
 
 Ordnance Maps presented by Duke of 
 
 Northumberland, 194 
 Origin and Progress of Civil Society, by 
 
 Rev. W. Turner, Jun., 227 
 Ormston, Robert, 51 
 Outline of porter's duties, 97 
 Owen, Prof. Richard, 250 
 
 Painter Heugh, 4 
 
 Pair of Snuffers, 54 
 
 Paley's Evidences objected to, 177 
 
 Palmer, Captain, and Baffin's Bay, 255 
 
 Patent paddle-wheel, 170 
 
 Pattinson, Hugh Lee (desilverising pro- 
 cess), 151, 170, 228, 250 
 
 Peace, restoration of, 1802, 211 
 
 Pemberton, Dr., 42, 46 
 
 Pepper, Mr., on Light and Chemistry, 249 
 
 Percival, Dr., 46 
 
 Pharaoh's daughter, 299 
 
 Philipson, Dr., 52 
 
 Phillips, Prof., on Geology, 230 
 
 Phillips, Henry, on Music, 249 
 
 Philosophy, lectures by Dr. Merz, 284 
 
 Philosophy of the Human Mind, by John 
 Taylor, 234 
 
 Philosophical Society in Westgate Street, 
 
 IS 
 
 — Thomas Spence a member of, 18 
 
 — expelled from, 18 
 
 — rules of, 19 
 
 — thorn in Society's side, 25 
 Philosophical and Medical Society formed, 
 
 30 
 Phonography, 170 
 
 Phrenology, lectures by George Combe, 231 
 
 Phrenological Society, 232 
 
 Pillory in Newcastle, 8 
 
 Pim, Captain Bedford, on the Arctic Re- 
 gions, 249 
 
 Platypus Ornithorhyncus, 297 
 
 Plumbers' Association, 319 
 
 Poet Laureate, the new : poet or patriot ? 
 223 
 
 Point of precedence, 47 
 
 Political Economy, lectures by Mr. Arnaud, 
 228 
 
 Poor, State of, 154 
 
 — Education of, 156 
 
 Port Jackson, settlement at, 136, 296 
 Position of Education in Newcastle twenty- 
 eight years since, 276 
 Press-gang, 9 
 Priestley, Rev. Dr., 46 
 Primary Education, England, 155 
 
 — Newcastle, 156 
 Privileges offered by Society, 327 
 Procession to site of building, 71 
 Professors, value of, to city, 273, 280 
 Prophets of evil, 98 
 
 Public Library, Thomlinson's transferred 
 
 to, 181 
 Public Libraries, defence of, 95 
 Punch on Phrenolc^, 232 
 Purchase of works *' in continuation," 183 
 
 Quack doctors, 9 
 
 Quay, new line of, above bridge proposed, 
 
 161 
 Questions respecting natural history of 
 
 coal, 140 
 
 Railways in the world, 234 
 Ramsay, Dr. John, 42, 46 
 Ramsay, Prof., 250 
 Ravensworth, Lord, 314 
 Rea, W., 278 
 
 W 
 
382 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 383 
 
 h 
 
 Reading members, new class of, 56 
 
 — students, 185 
 
 Reading (now smoking) room used as 
 library, 323 
 
 Reference, works of, 182, 185 
 
 Register of atmospheric changes, 119 
 
 Religion and Politics, discussion of, pro- 
 hibited, 43, 329 
 
 Respiration, lecture by Dr. Glover, 240 
 
 Richardson, Isaac, 156, 157, 160 
 
 Rich, F. W., appointed Architect for 
 restoration, 323, 325 
 
 Ridley, Sir M. W., 51, 70, 75. 83 
 
 River T)me Commissioners, 162 
 
 Robert the Bruce, 107 
 
 Robinson, Dr., 316 
 
 Rolleston, Prof. George, 250 
 
 Rooms opened after fire, 325 
 
 Rosetta stone, 301 
 
 Royal Archaeological Institute, 319 
 
 — Agricultural Society, 315 
 
 — Astronomical Society, 28 
 
 — Geographical Society, 28 
 
 — Grammar School, 10, 209, 267, 276 
 
 — Institution, 28 
 
 — Irish Academy, 28 
 
 — Society of Edinburgh, 28 
 
 — Society of London, 28 
 Rules, earliest, 43 
 Rymer Jones, Prof. , 238 
 
 Sadler, Mr., on Aerostation, 226 
 
 Sandhill, 4 
 
 Safety-lamps, 144-150 
 
 Sanitary Association, 316 
 
 Scheme of instruction in proposed College, 
 266 
 
 Scholarships to Secondary Schools, 261 
 
 School of Art, 275 
 
 Scotch Universities, 206, 262 
 
 Scott, John (Lord Eldon), 1 1 
 
 Scott, William (Lord Stowell), 11 
 
 Scott, William Bell, 109 
 
 Seeley, J. R. (Sir), 250, 272 
 
 Selby, Mr., 313 
 
 Servants, outlines of duties, 97 
 
 Shelley Society, 319 
 
 Sheridan Knowles, 237 
 
 Sierra Leone, 137 
 
 Simpson, James, on Educational Philo- 
 sophy, 234 
 
 «' Sir William," 131 
 
 Sites for new building, 58, 62 
 
 Skene, Lieut. A. M., his patent paddle- 
 wheel, 170 
 
 Slave-trade, 9 
 
 Smith, James, 51 
 
 Smoking Room, 326 
 
 Snape, Rev. James, 52, 238, 239, 272, 278 
 
 Social Science Association Meeting at New- 
 castle, paper on utilisation of fellows, 279 
 
 Society of Arts, paper on Society's classes, 
 281 
 
 Society of Chemical Industry, 319 
 
 Society for National Insurance, 319 
 
 Society of Teachers, 319 
 
 Some Newcastle worthies, 109 
 
 Song in honour of Duke of Sussex, 67 
 
 Sopwith, Thomas, 244 
 — lectures on economic geology by, 244 
 
 Sorsbie, Malin, 42 
 
 South country pronunciation, 258 
 
 South Sea Island curios brought by Captain 
 Cook, 294 
 
 Specifications of Patents kept for public, 
 
 Speculations on a Literary Society, 34 
 
 Spence, Robert, 54 
 
 Spence, Thomas, 16-22 
 
 Spencer, J. F., on " Mechanical Engineer- 
 ing," 272 
 
 Spineto, Marquis di, on Antiquities of 
 Egypt, 238 
 
 St. Mark's ex-students, 319 
 
 St. Nicholas' Churchyard, 53 
 
 Statistics of education in Newcastle, 159 
 
 Steam-engine, Dr. Dionysius Lardner on, 
 
 234 
 Stephenson, David, 42, 46 
 
 Stephenson, George, 108, 124, 145, 147, 
 
 167, 250 
 Stephcison, Robert, 108, 109, 128, 130, 
 
 167, 250 
 Stocks, 8 
 
 Stones from Roman Wall, 152 
 Storey, Nicholas, 42 
 Study of the classics, 137 
 Suggested combination of Societies, 115 
 Sussex, Duke of, 66, 69, 70, 71, 74 et seq. 
 Swan, J. W., 250 
 Swinburne, A. C , 105 
 Swinburne, Sir John E., 52, 105 
 
 » 
 
 Taylor, Prof. Edward, on English Church 
 
 Music, 238 
 Taylor, Hugh, 52 
 Taylor, John, on Philosophy of the Human 
 
 Mind, 234 
 Temporary Library during restorations, 
 
 323 
 Theft of books, 195 
 "The Lit. and Phil," 131 
 Thomas, William, 142, 143 
 Thomlinson's Library, no, in 
 
 — catalogue to, printed, 113 
 Thomlinson, Dr. Robert, no 
 Thorburn, Dr., on "Conjectures on 
 
 Light," 137 
 Thornhill, John, 96, 192, 297 
 Thorp, Charles, 51 
 Town Council, debate in, upon Society, 
 
 129 
 Town Improvement Act on Building, 93 
 Tradesmen's tokens, paper on, 138 
 Transverse book-cases introduced, 195 
 Travelling and traffic between England and 
 
 Scotland, 6 
 Trevelyan, John, 308 
 Trevelyan, Sir W. C, 308 
 Trinity College, 319 
 Trustees, 51 
 
 Tunstall, Marmaduke, 100 
 Turner, Rev. William, 42, 46, 174, 222, 
 
 254, 260 
 
 — brief account of, 33 
 
 — " Speculations on a Literary Society," 
 
 by, 34 
 
 — read at meeting at Assembly Rooms, 
 
 35 
 
 — his hopes since fulfilled, 37 
 
 — idea in his mind as to Society, 41, 134 
 
 — health proposed at banquet to Duke of 
 
 Sussex, 80 
 
 — address at first meeting in new build- 
 
 ing, 94 
 
 — memorial to, 106 
 
 — was he founder of Society ? 120 
 
 — letters to, from Thomas Clarkson, 137 
 
 — on northern lead-mine district, 138 
 
 — proposes queries on coal, 140 
 
 — gives account of movable steam- 
 
 engine, 144, 165 
 
 — assists George Stephenson, 146 
 
 — comments on census of 1801, 153 
 
 Turner, Rev. William, brings forward short 
 supply of papers at meetings, 165 
 
 — proposes introduction of lectures, 1798, 
 
 2io6 
 
 — chosen lecturer to Society; intro- 
 
 ductory discourse, 213 
 
 — first course by, 216 
 
 — pajrment for lectures, 218, 224 
 
 — patience in controversy, 219 
 
 — Mr. Moises and, 220 
 
 — held post to 1833 ; courses given, 223 
 
 — resignation and testimonial, 224 
 
 — preliminary essay for Natural History 
 
 Society, 309 
 Turner, Rev. William, Jun., on Civil 
 
 Society, 227 
 Turton, Dr., 305 
 Tyne, port of, 7 
 
 — trade of, 8 
 
 Tyneside Geographical Society, 319 
 Tyneside Naturalists' Field Club, 319 
 
 Unearned Increment, result of lecture on, 
 
 179 
 Universal standard of weights and measures, 
 
 161 
 University of Cambridge Extension lectures, 
 
 285 
 University of Durham opened, 264 
 
 — Newcastle Chronicle on, 267 
 
 — broken hopes of, 270 
 
 — proposal to move to Newcastle, 273 
 
 — School of Medicine and, 275 
 
 — immediate cause of Collie at New- 
 
 castle, 282 
 
 — Mining Institute appeal to, in vain, 
 
 283 
 University Extension lectures, how intro- 
 duced, 285 
 
 — students in colliery districts, 285 
 
 — character and nature of movement, 
 
 286 
 
 — adopted by Society, 287 
 
 — affiliation scheme adopted and given 
 
 up, 288 
 
 — number of courses already given, 288 
 
 — attendance at, of students and others, 
 
 289 
 
 — list and titles of courses given, 289 
 Utilisation of Fellows scheme in 1870, 
 
 279 
 
384 
 
 INDEX, 
 
 Vacations of Scotch Universities, 206 
 
 Vegetarian Society, 319 
 
 Ventilation of Library, new method of, 
 
 193 
 
 Wailes, George, superintends Catalogue 
 
 of 1848, 190 
 Wallace, A. R., 250 
 Wallau, Jacob, on Engineering, 277 
 Washing machine described in paper, 164 
 Water ballast, paper on, 164 
 Watson, John, on the Moon, 249 
 Watson, Joseph, moves reduction of sub- 
 scription, 129 
 
 — short account of, 130 
 
 — assists Mr. Greenhow in movement 
 
 for College, 270 
 
 — chairman of Fine Arts Society, 314 
 Watson, Robert, military and civil en- 
 gineer, 139 
 
 Watson, Robert Spence, 52, 132, 276, 277, 
 
 285, 286, 287 
 Watt, James, bust of, lOO 
 Waugh, Mr., 297 
 
 Waveriey Novels not introduced, 178 
 Weights and Measures, universal standard 
 
 of, 161 
 Welford, Richard, on "Old Newcastle," 
 
 321 
 Wesley, John, in Newcastle, 2 
 Westmoreland Place and House, 65 
 ** Where is Gateshead? " 124 
 Widdrington, John, First President, 46 
 Wilkinson, Mr., lectures on Comparative 
 
 Anatomy, 1798, 204 
 
 Williamson, Robert Hopper, Recorder of 
 Newcastle, 42 
 
 — advises as to Society's property, 48, 50 
 
 — leaves Society as too revolutionary, 81 
 Winch, N. J., 254, 297 
 
 Wombach or Wombat, 297 
 Women Members, no provision for, at 
 first, 45 
 
 — admitted as Reading Members, 56 
 
 — our Society first which admitted, 57 
 
 — "the thin edge of the wedge," 57 
 Wood, Dr., 46 
 
 Wood, Nicholas, assists with * ' the Geordy," 
 
 14s 
 
 — explains it to Society, 147 
 
 — President of Mining Institute, 282 
 
 — advocates provision of Mining College, 
 
 282 
 Wood Memorial Hall, 195, 282, 321 
 Wouldhave, William, and lifeboat, 162 
 Wright, J. B., presents second mummy, 304 
 Wycliffe Museum, purchase of, 302 
 
 Young, Dr., and Rosetta stone inscription, 
 
 301 
 Youth of male sex allowed to become 
 
 Associates, 45 
 
 Zoological Society, 28 
 
 Appendix A— Mr. Thomas's paper (see 
 
 p. 142), 331 ^ . , T * A 
 
 Appendix B — List of Lectures and 
 
 Lecturers, 339 
 Appendix C— Honorary Officials, 367 
 
 PRINTED BY WALTER SCOTT, LTD., FELLING, NEWCASTLE. 
 
 i 
 
 ^ixai %\iii of ^\x%m\%m. 
 
 Adams, W. E., Esq., 32 Holly Avenue, 
 Newcastle-on-Tyne 
 
 Adamson, Rev. E. Hussey, M.A., St. 
 Alban's Vicarage, Heworth 
 
 Allan, George, Esq., 18 Blackett Street, 
 Newcastle-on-Tyne 
 
 Allan, Messrs. T. & G., 18 Blackett Street, 
 Newcastle-on-Tyne 
 
 Andrew, David, Esq., 33 Osborne Road, 
 Newcastle-on-Tyne 
 
 Archer, Mark, Esq., Farnacres, Ravens- 
 worth, Gateshead-on-Tyne 
 Armstrong, Hugh C, Esq., Tynemouth 
 
 Armstrong, The Right Hon. Lord, Crac- 
 side, Rothbury 
 
 Arnison, W. D., Esq., M.D., Oxford 
 btreet, Newcastle-on-Tyne 
 
 B. 
 
 Barclay, Robert Grenfell, Esq., Bank 
 House, Shotley Bridge, Co. Durham 
 
 Bell, Sir Lowthian, Rowton Grange, 
 Northallerton 
 
 Bowden, Thomas, Esq., 42 Mosley Street. 
 Newcastle on-Tyne 
 
 Boyd, W., Esq., North House, Lomr- 
 benton ^ 
 
 Brown, Peter, Esq., Cambridge House, 
 Newcastle-on-Tyne 
 
 Browne & Browne, Messrs., Grey Street, 
 Newcastle-on-Tyne 
 
 Burton, W. S., Esq., 19 Claremont Park, 
 Gateshead-on-Tyne 
 
 c. 
 
 Cackett, Jas. T., Esq., 113 Osborne Road, 
 Newcastle-on-Tyne 
 
 Cail, Septimus, A., Esq., 20 Hawthorn 
 Terrace, Newcastle-on-Tyne 
 
 Clarke, Mrs., The Hermitage, Gateshead- 
 on-Tyne 
 
 Cochrane, John, Esq., Westgate Road, 
 Newcastle-on-Tyne 
 
 Cowen, Joseph, Esq., Stella Hall, 
 Blaydon-on-Tyne 
 
 Cox, Dr., West View, Gateshead-on-Tyne 
 
 Craig, James, Esq., 11 Prior's Terrace, 
 Tynemouth 
 
 Crawford, Thomas, Esq., 10 Haldane 
 Terrace, Newcastle-on-Tyne 
 
'WW 
 
 u 
 
 FIRST LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 
 
 FIRST LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 
 
 \\\ 
 
 D. 
 
 r 
 
 Dale, Sir David, West Lodge, Darlington 
 
 Dees, R. R., Esq., The Hall, Wallsend, 
 Newcastle-on-Tyne 
 
 Dendy, Fred. W., Esq., Eldon House, 
 Jesmond, Newcastle-on-Tyne 
 
 Duke, Henry, Esq., The Castle, Tyne- 
 mouth 
 
 B. 
 
 Elswick Mechanics' Institute, Elswick, 
 Newcastle-on-Tyne 
 
 Embleton, Dennis, Esq., M.D., F.R.CP., 
 19 Claremont Place, Newcastle-on- 
 Tyne 
 
 Emley, Fred., Esq., Mosley Chambers, 
 Mosley Street, NewcasUe-on-Tyne 
 
 P. 
 
 Fenwick, George J., Esq., Crag-Head, 
 Bournemouth 
 
 Foster, Robert, Esq., The Quarries West, 
 Newcastle-on-Tyne 
 
 FrankUn, W. E., Esq., 42 Mosley Street, 
 Newcastle-on-Tyne 
 
 Franklin, Mrs. W. E., 42 Mosley Street, 
 Newcastle-on-Tyne 
 
 Friends' Book Society, Sunderland 
 
 a 
 
 Gibb, Charles John, Esq., M.D., Sandy- 
 ford Park, Newcastle-on-Tyne 
 
 Gibson, Miss G. M., Shotley Bridge, Co. I 
 
 Durham 
 Goodger, C. W. S., Esq., Tynemouth 
 Gurney, Mrs., White House, Newcastle 
 
 on-Tyne 
 
 Hall, James, Esq., 9 Pnor's Terrace, 
 Tynemouth 
 
 Hedley, E. A., Esq., 8 Osborne Villas, 
 Newcastle-on-Tyne 
 
 Hills & Co , Messrs., 19 Fawcett Street, 
 Sunderland 
 
 Hodgkin, Thomas, Esq., LL.D., The 
 Keep, Bamburgh 
 
 Holdsworth, D. A.. Esq., 2 Rectory 
 Terrace, South Gosforth, Newcastle- 
 on-Tyne 
 
 Holmes, Alfred, Esq., Broomfield, Jes- 
 mond, Newcastle-on-Tyne 
 
 Holmes, Wm. Henry, Esq., Wellburn, 
 Jesmond, Newcastle-on-Tyne 
 
 Howson, Alfred, Esq., 8 Heaton Road, 
 Newcastle-on-Tyne 
 
 J. 
 
 Jackson, Joseph, Esq., 25 Leazes Terrace, 
 Newcastle-on-Tyne 
 
 Joicey, Sir James, Bart., M.P., Longhirst, 
 Morpeth 
 
 Knowles, W. H., Esq., Wyncote, Jes- 
 mond Park East, Newcastle-on-Tyne 
 
 Lamb, Edmund, Esq., Old Lodge, Salis- 
 bury 
 
 Lambert, Thomas, Esq., 38 Beverley 
 Terrace, CuUercoats 
 
 Literary and Philosophical Society, The, 
 Newcastle-on-Tyne (20 copies) 
 
 Lord, Riley, Esq., Highfield, Gosforth 
 
 Lovibond, Thos. Watson, Esq., West 
 Jesmond House, Newcastle-on-Tyne 
 
 Lupton, B., Esq., Beechcroft, Gosforth, 
 Newcastle-on-Tyne 
 
 Lyell, Mrs. Knox, Peepy, Stocksfield-on- 
 Tyne 
 
 M. 
 
 Maclean, G. W., Esq., Jesmond Villas, 
 Newcastle-on-Tyne 
 
 Martin, N. H., Esq., F.L.S., etc., 8 
 Windsor Crescent, Newcastle-on-Tyne 
 
 Mawson, Swan, & Morgan, Messrs., Grey 
 Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne 
 
 Marshall, Frank, Esq., Claremont House, 
 Newcastle-on-Tyne 
 
 McPherson, John E., Esq., 4 Bentinck 
 Villas, Newcastle-on-Tyne 
 
 Merivale, John H., Esq., Togston Hall, 
 Acklington 
 
 Merz, J. Theo., Esq., The Quarries, New- 
 castle-on-Tyne 
 
 Mitchell, Charles A., Esq., Jesmond 
 Towers, Newcastle-on-Tyne 
 
 N. 
 
 North of England Institute of Mining and 
 Mechanical Engineers (per M. Walton 
 Brown, Esq.), Newcastle-on-Tyne 
 
 North of England School Furnishing Co., 
 Ltd., Messrs. The, Grainger Street 
 West, Newcastle-on-Tyne 
 
 Newall, Mrs., Femdene, Gateshead-on- 
 Tyne 
 
 Nisbet, Robt. S., 8 Grove Street, New- 
 castle-on-Tyne 
 
 o. 
 
 Oliver, Thomas, Esq., M.D., 7 Ellison 
 Place, Newcastle-on-Tyne 
 
 P. 
 
 Pattinson, John, Esq., F.I.C., Shipcote 
 House, Gateshead-on-Tyne 
 
 Pease, John W., Esq., Pendower, New- 
 castle-on-Tyne 
 
 Philipson, John, Jun., 9 Victoria Square, 
 Newcastle-on-Tyne 
 
 Philipson, Prof. George Hare, M.A., 
 M.D., F.R.CP., 7 Eldon Square, 
 Newcastle-on-Tyne 
 
 Plummer, W. R., Esq., 4 Queen Square, 
 Newcastle-on-Tyne 
 
 Porteus, Messrs. R. J. & Co., Ltd., 
 Grainger Street West, Newcastle-on- 
 Tyne 
 
 Powell, David, Esq. , Grove House, Sum- 
 merhill Grove, Newcastle-on-Tyne 
 
 Proctor, Bernard S., Esq., II Grey Street, 
 Newcastle-on-Tyne 
 
 B. 
 
 Rapp, Messrs. W. & Sons, The Library, 
 
 Saltburn 
 Rea, J. S., Esq., 19 Beverley Terrace, 
 
 CuUercoats 
 
 Reid, W. B., Esq., Cross House, Leazes, 
 Newcastle-on-Tyne 
 
 Richardson, David, Esq., The Gables, 
 Elswick Road, Newcastle-on-Tyne 
 
 Richardson, Lawrence, Esq., The Gables, 
 Newcastle-on-Tyne 
 
 Richardson, Miss C. c/o Dr. Merz, The 
 Quarries, Newcastle-on-Tyne 
 
 Richardson, Mrs. James, South Ashfield, 
 Newcastle-on-Tyne 
 
 Richardson, Wigham, Esq., Wingrove 
 House, Newcastle-on-Tyne 
 
 Richardson, William, Esq., Rosehill, 
 Willington-on-Tyne 
 
 Ridley, Sir Matthew White, Bart., M.P., 
 Blagdon, Cramlington, Northumberl'd 
 
 Ridley, Thomas D., Esq., Coatham, 
 Redcar 
 
 Ritson, U. A., Esq., I Jesmond Gardens, 
 Newcastle-on-Tyne 
 
 Robinson, Wm. H., Esq., 20 Osborne 
 Avenue, Newcastle-on-Tyne 
 
IV 
 
 FIRST LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 
 
 
 Robinson, W. H., Esq., Nelson Street, 
 Newcastle-on-Tyne 
 
 Robson, Robert, Esq., 13 Framlington 
 Place, Newcastle-on-Tyne 
 
 Rowntree, Joseph, Esq., The Cocoa 
 Works, York 
 
 s. 
 
 Scott, Walter, ^Esq., Bentinck House, 
 Newcastle-on-Tyne 
 
 Shipley, J. A. D., Esq., Salt well Park 
 House, Gateshead-on-Tyne 
 
 Simpson, Edward, Esq., 26 Dean Street, 
 Newcastle-on-Tyne 
 
 Simpson, Henry, Esq., 9I Ridley Villas, 
 Newcastle-on-Tyne 
 
 Simpson, John B., Esq., Bradley Hall, 
 Wylam-on-Tyne 
 
 Simpson, Walter C, Esq., 26 Dean Street, 
 Newcastle-on-Tyne 
 
 Spence, C. J., Esq., South Preston Lodge, 
 North Shields 
 
 Stenhouse, The Rev. Thomas, Ph.D., 
 Stocksfield-on-Tyne 
 
 Stockdale, H. F., Esq., Durham College 
 of Science, Newcastle-on-Tyne 
 
 Strang, T. R., Esq., Beverley Terrace, 
 CuUercoats 
 
 Swinburne, M. W., Esq., 117 Park Road, 
 Newcastle-on-Tyne 
 
 Taylor, The Rev. Edward J., F.S.A., St. 
 Cuthbert's, Durham 
 
 Temperley, Nicholas, Esq., Carlton 
 Terrace, Low Fell 
 
 Thorne, Thomas, Esq., 40 Blackett Street, 
 Newcastle-on-Tyne 
 
 Tristram, The Rev. Canon H. B., D.D., 
 F.R.S., The College, Durham 
 
 u. 
 
 Urwin, Robert, Esq., Sherburn Villa, 
 Jesmond, Newcastle-on-Tyne 
 
 w. 
 
 Walker, Rev. J., Whalton Rectory, 
 Whalton 
 
 Waugh, R., Esq., 135 Northumberland 
 Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne 
 
 Welford, Richard, Esq., Thornfield Villa, 
 Gosforth, Newcastle-on-Tyne 
 
 Westmacott, Percy G. B., Esq., Benwell 
 Hill, Newcastle-on-Tyne 
 
 Whitwell,^ William, Esq., J.P., C.C, 
 Overdene, Saltburn-by-the-Sea 
 
 WUson, R. H., Esq., 8 Walker Terrace, 
 Gateshead-on-Tyne 
 
 T. 
 
 Youll, J. Gibson, Esq., Clerk of the 
 Peace, Newcastle-on-Tyne fL 
 
 ■ l 
 
 j^*..' ■i.: > 
 
/ 
 
 i ( 
 
 / 
 
 /- 
 
 / ' 
 
 ^ 
 
 u 
 
 062n 
 
 Watson 
 
 ^A history of the Literazy and 
 
 B 
 
T>r" 
 
 ."»;>'.:• ^ -.•:=ra 
 
 .frSr.-yi'jt-' 
 
 
 5^*-^ 
 
 ^*V-*{ J^i^'- 
 
 s>^-. 
 
 - ?i--.-«;ii¥^« 
 
 *^-.jS^. -:_ 
 
 A-^i. i^«> 
 
 :%■»;.:.■;:■;' '^•** 
 
 
 fy 
 
 j.f* -" ■ 
 
 is'-, f .W-'. - 
 
 '^si»'i?iA-:i-.«.:-:^''; 
 
 ■ :i»*^^ft^fe^4Mi?i^. , ^^