Second report of the Commissioners for the Exhibition of 1851, to the Right Hon. Spencer Horatio Walpole, &c. &c., one of Her Majesty's principal Secretaries of State / presented to both Houses of Parliament by command of Her Majesty.

  • Great Britain. Commissioners for the Exhibition of 1851
Date:
1852
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Second report of the Commissioners for the Exhibition of 1851, to the Right Hon. Spencer Horatio Walpole, &c. &c., one of Her Majesty's principal Secretaries of State / presented to both Houses of Parliament by command of Her Majesty. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    APPENDIX C. Copies of Memorials praying for the Establishment of a Central Institution of Arts and Manufactures. No. 1. Birmingham. To His Royal Highness Prince Albert and others, the Royal Commissioners for the Exhibition of the Industry of all Nations for 1851. We the undersigned magistrates, merchants, manufacturers, designers, and others, interested in the commercial and manufacturing prosperity of the Borough of Birmingham, beg respect- fully to address your Honourable Board. Your Memorialists have witnessed with the highest gratification and pride the unparalleled success of the Exhibition of 1851, and the beneficial results which it has drawn forth, and which will be felt not only by this nation, but by the whole civilized world. This vast undertaking, conceived in the first instance by your Royal Highness, interpreted in its true light by the various great manufacturing districts of this kingdom, and carried out so effectively by all nations, has produced a large surplus from its revenues, which, if devoted to some great object, might extend the beneficial effects of the Exhibition of 1851 over centuries to come. With this object, your Memorialists, as partly representing one of the greatest manufac- turing towns of the empire, have felt called on to address your Board. Amongst the many projects for usefully disposing of the large sum of money alluded to, one, apparently the most favoured, has been to purchase the Great Building for the purpose of creating a Winter Garden. Your Memorialists feel that whatever might be their individual opinions on the advantages of such a project to the inhabitants of, and visitors to the Metropolis, still they cannot per- ceive that the solemn pledge given to the original subscribers and to the country, to devote any surplus to the promotion and improvement of arts and manufactures could be fully carried out by such an appropriation, or that such would benefit the nation generally. Your Memorialists have long felt the necessity of some more extended system of practical and scientific education in England, which should place within the reach of the industrial classes a much higher standard of scientific attainments than they can now ever hope to possess without very ample means. Your Memorialists are convinced that with greater facilities in elementary scientific educa- tion, intimately connected with, and always accompanied by practical illustrations and mani- pulations, there would be found as much original genius and talent to develop in the people of this country, as in those of the great continental states of Europe ; and that such development would greatly facilitate the maintenance and extension of our manufactures and commerce. The great and rapid strides which locomotion has taken on the Continent, and the con- stant international communication which is the result, have extended science and mechanical and artistical knowledge widely over those nations ; and thus one vast school of arts and sciences exists, with its members in constant communication, from which this country is partly excluded by its geographical position. Some of your Memorialists, in their late visit to Paris, have witnessed the advantages which the rising generation of manufacturers is there enjoying in their educational establish- ments ; and although not favoured by the possession of such vast resources in raw materials, mineral vTealth and fuel as Great Britain has the blessing to enjoy, they have established such colleges as the Conservatory of Arts and Manufactures, and the Central School of Arts and Manufactures, which are especially destined for the instruction of manufacturers and artisans, either entirely free or at a low charge. These Central Colleges, under the charge of the State, and with most efficient and interest- ing museums attached, have ramifications extending over other important manufacturing districts of the country. In such schools are the youth of France brought up, receiving, particularly in the provincial schools attached to the Conservatory, and in the Central School of Arts, the highest standard of scientific instruction in connexion with the arts, manufactures, and design, matured by practical illustrations and experience in manipulation, and a knowledge of the particular trade in which they are eventually to devote their professional talent as designers. Numerous young men educated at these colleges, of first-rate talent and practical experi- ence, pass examinations of very high standard, and receive diplomas v’hicli are a passport for them to many parts of the Continent as managers and directors of most important manu-
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