Page:Speeches and addresses by the late Thomas E Ellis M P.pdf/157

 is partly due to the same cause as that which prevails too often in connection with the educational work of the country, viz., want of room, want of money, want of responsible officers specially allotted for the work. Aberystwyth and Bangor Colleges collect as many books relating to Wales as possible, but they are only at the very beginning of that work. The municipality of Swansea has a very valuable collection of Welsh books, and the public spirit of some leading Cardiff citizens has enabled their Free Library to become the possessors of that unique treasure, the Welsh manuscripts of Sir Thomas Philipps. From conversations I have had with many Welshmen, I find there is a deep and strong desire on the part of many lovers of Welsh literature to make collections for themselves and then to hand them over to one national library or to a library attached to one of the three University Colleges. I consider it a matter of the first importance that when any of the Welsh collections come into the market, a great and supreme effort should be made to secure possession of them for some public