of the numbers of the Bee. He wrote to me, to make out a scroll of what clauses I should think necessary to be inserted in the Bill, which I have sent to him. A copy of this I also transmit to you for your inspection and correction.* I have *As the opinion of so eminent a man as Dr. Anderson can scarcely be considered otherwise than worth recording, upon a subject so closely affecting the vital interests of literature, I here transcribe what he inclosed to Mr. Pinkerton, intitled "Scroll to be altered and amended as shall be thought proper. "Whereas it would contribute much to the advancement of literature, if a general repository were established in this country, where every book, pamphlet, or paper of any sort that shall be in future printed in Great Britain, might be preserved for the use of the public, may it therefore please your majesty, &c. "It is hereby enacted, &c., That, from and after the first day of June next, all printers in Great Britain, and in the islands of Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney, Sark, Man, and the northern Scottish Isles, shall deliver to (say the collector of stamp-duties in the district where such printers reside, or in some other district in Britain, or to any other person whom the lords of his majesty's treasury shall nominate for that purpose,) two copies of every book, pamphlet, or paper, without receiving any price for the same, that shall be printed by them or their servants, and that within the space of one kalendar month after the last sheet of such book or pamphlet, or the last copy of any paper smaller than one sheet shall have been worked off. These two copies to be furnished at the expense of the owner of such book, pamphlet, or paper; and, if any printer shall fail to deliver such two copies of such book, pamphlet, or paper, as above set forth, he or she shall forfeit and pay, as a penalty for such transgression, one guinea for each sheet of paper contained in one copy of such book, pamphlet, or paper so printed, if it amounts to one or more sheets; and in like manner one guinea for each paper, however small in size it may not the honor of being personally known to Mr. Johnes; but, from his letters, he appears to be one be, that shall have been so omitted. And, when such books, pamphlets, or papers, shall be delivered to the collector of stamp-duties, or other person authorised to receive the same, the bearer shall be entitled to demand, and the receiver is hereby required to grant, a receipt for the same, without fee or reward; the person who brings the books or papers being required to bring along with him or her a receipt or receipts ready written out for that purpose. In these receipts shall be specified the day and place of delivery, the complete title of the book or pamphlet, the printer's name and place of abode, the form in which it is printed (that is, folio, or 4to., or 8vo., &c.,) the number of pages, with the first and the last three words it contains, if not exceeding one volume, and, if more than one volume, the number of pages in each volume of which it consists, with the three first and the three last words of each volume mentioned seriatim, according to their order, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, &c.; and, if it be a single detached paper with or without any distinct title, the receipt shall specify, in a few words, its nature, with the three first and the three last words, all for the sake of identifying the several articles; which receipt thus prepared shall be copied into a book or books to be kept by the receiver of the papers for that purpose, and then signed by him and delivered back to the bearer, for his exoneration, in case of being afterwards challenged. "And it is further ordained, that the receiver of such books and papers shall, once in three months at farthest, or oftener, if need be, transmit to London by some safe mode of conveyance one of the copies he has received of each book, pamphlet, or paper, together with an exact transcript of his book of entries, addressed to the lords of the treasury, or to such other persons as they shall appoint for receiving the same, by whom they shall be bound up in volumes and disposed in a proper form for preservation, in a repository to be provided for that purpose. The second copy of such books and papers to be transmitted in like manner to Edinburgh, there to be preserved for the use of the public in a repository to be provided for that purpose; but of the most obliging men I have ever met with, and fond of promoting literature. I have sent this under his cover, and informed him that it concerns this business; so that, if you think it proper to make any remarks or suggest any improvements, I am persuaded you will find him ready to attend to them. He writes to me that he has spoken already to Mr. Dundas, Mr. Rose, and several other ministerial persons on the subject, who favor the proposal; and that he means to apply to the chancellor and Mr. Pitt as soon as under this express limitation, that, in case any of the copies that shall have been transmitted to London shall have been, by any unavoidable accident, damaged or destroyed, the deficiency thus arising shall be supplied from the repository in Edinburgh; so that the collection in London may be perfectly complete. And, if any of the books or papers, through the carelessness or the inattention of the person who receives them, shall be omitted to be sent to the general repository, or lost or damaged while in his possession, he shall be liable to the same penalties as the printer would have been subjected to, should he have neglected to deliver them to him. And when such a repository shall be provided for receiving these books and papers in London and in Edinburgh, they shall be there so arranged as to admit of being easily found. For that purpose, catalogues shall be made out in a proper form, and duly continued, and published from time to time, for the information of the public. The doors of this repository shall be kept open for a certain number of hours each lawful day, during which hours the public shall have admittance to it, for inspecting and for making extracts from the papers therein contained, under such regulations as shall be afterwards adopted for that purpose. But on no account, nor by any authority, short of an act of Parliament, shall any book or paper belonging to this repository be permitted to be carried out of it." he shall have heard from me. I cannot help thinking, that if this institution were established on a liberal footing, it would prove one of the greatest literary improvements that has taken place since the art of printing was discovered. But you will observe, that I have not thought it necessary to embarrass the question at present with the regulations that would be necessary for rendering the institution extensively useful. These could more properly be introduced in a future bill for establishing the repository itself. I am only afraid of one clause provoking opposition from the fraternity of booksellers. It is one of the least objectionable of the whole; that which requires that every paper should bear the printer's name. You know well enough that half the books printed in Edinburgh and the country towns in England bear to be printed in London. This is at the desire of the booksellers; and, when a fraudulent practice is once begun, it is difficult to eradicate it. I have written to Mr. Johnes that, should any opposition be apprehended on this account, it were better to omit it entirely. One other objection, I fear, will start forward, and to none more readily than to men of vigorous minds. They will think it folly to heap up great piles of useless rubbish, as they will call them, of temporary advertisements, current letters, and other things of such a local and temporary nature. I am however not inclined to think these will be useless rubbish. They may be easily so arranged as to occupy little room, and cost little expense; so as not to give trouble to any one who does not wish to consult them; and to those who may have occasion to examine them they may prove occasionally of great use. But, were they of no use at all, I should be sorry to see any exception made, because the limits of that exception can never be so accurately defined as not to give room for frauds and evasions, the extent of which it is impossible to foresee. There is a vast difference between a perfect and an imperfect collection; and the last can never be obtained, should any dispensations be given. I hope you will pardon this freedom in a cause that must interest every literary person. How much trouble would you yourself have been freed of, if such an institution had been made 500 years ago! MR. PINKERTON TO THE EARL OF BUCHAN. Kentish Town, Feb. 20th, 1792. In arranging my materials for the History of Scotland, I find a remarkable deficiency in the reign of James II. Fordun ends with James I.; and the only original author of the history of James II. is Hector Boece, from whom, though a most suspicious authority, and often flatly contradicted by records, all later writers have borrowed this reign. Lindsay of Pitscottie only translates Boece Lesly and Buchanan merely abridge Boece. At the reign of James III., Lindsay, |