Mecca.—The late Mr. J. H. Chamberlain, shortly before his death, said that he looked upon Birmingham, "perhaps with a foolish pride," as the Holy City, the Mecca of England; where life was fuller of possibilities of utility—happier, broader, wiser, and a thousand times better than it was in any other town in the United Kingdom.
Mechanical Engineer's.—The Institution of Mechanical Engineers was organised in this town, in October 1847, but its headquarters were removed to Loudon, in 1877.
Mechanics' Institute.—The proposal to form a local institution of a popular nature, for the encouragement of learning among our workers, like unto others which had been established in several large places elsewhere, was published in June, 1825, and several meetings were held before December 27, when officers were chosen, and entry made of nearly 200 members, to start with, the subscription being 5/- per quarter. The formal opening took place March 21, 1826, the members assembling in Mount Zion Chapel, to hear an address from Mr. B. Cook, the vice president. The class-rooms, library, and reading-rooms, were at the school attached to the Old Meeting House, and here the Institution, to far as the conduct of classes, and the imparting of knowledge went, thrived and prospered. Financially, however, though at one time there were nearly 500 members, it was never successful, possibly through lack of assistance that might have been expected from the manufactuers and large employers, for, hide it as we may, with a few honourable exceptions, that class, fifty years ago, preferred strong men to wise ones, and rather set their backs against opening the doors of knowledge to their work-people, or their children. It was a dozen years before the Institution was able to remove to a home of its own in Newhall Street, but it rapidly got into a hopeless state of debt. To lessen this incubus, and provide funds for some needed alterations, the committee decided to hold an exhibition of "manufactures, the fine arts, and objects illustrative of experimental philosophy, &c." The exhibition was opened Dec. 19, 1839, and in all ways was a splendid success, a fairly-large sum of money being realised. Unfortunately, a second exhibition was held in the following years, when all the profits of the former were not only lost, but so heavy an addition made to the debt, that it may be said to have ruined the institution completely. Creditors took possession of the premises in January, 1842, and in June operations were suspended, and, notwithstanding several attempts to revive the institution, it died out altogether. As the only popular educational establishment open to the young men of the time, it did good work, many of its pupils having made their mark in the paths of literature, art, and science.
Medical Associations.—According to the "Medical Register" there are 35 physicians and 210 surgeons resident in the borough, and there are rather more than 300 chemists and druggists. According to a summary of the census tables, the medical profession "and their subordinates" number in Birmingham and Aston 940, of whom 376 are males and 564 females. In 1834, at Worcester, under the presidency of Dr. Johnson, of this town, the Provincial Medical and Surgical Association was formed for encouraging scientific research, improving the practice of medicine, and generally looking after the interests of the profession. In 1856 the name was changed to The British Medical Association, with head offices in London, bat prior to that branches had been established in various large towns, the Birmingham and Midland Counties' branch being foremost, holding its first meeting at Dee's Hotel, in December, 1854. The society has now about
