By the said codicil the testator directs that his trustees should make their humble application to His Majesty, or to Parliament at the next session after his own decease, offering the entire collection for the sum of £20,000. This consisted of a numerous library of books, and MSS., with drawings, prints, medals, and coins, articles of virtu, cameos, precious stones, &c., &c., which he had himself collected at an outlay of £50,000. His testamentary offer to the nation was accepted by Parliament, and in 1753 an Act (26 George II., c. 20) was passed, which may be termed a Charter of Foundation. Trustees were appointed, the identical individuals named by Sir Hans during his lifetime, who had been consulted by competent persons, and strongly felt the necessity of procuring the collection as a whole for the use of the nation. The attention of the legislature was not confined simply to the collection of Sir Hans Sloane. The Act which directed the purchase of his museum also gave instructions for the purchase of the Harleian collection of MSS., for which a sum of £10,000 was granted. This Act also directed that the Cottonian Library of MSS., which had been granted to the Government for public uses by an Act of the 12th and 13th, William III., should, with the addition of the library of Major Arthur Edwards, form part of the general collection. It was ordered that these several collections should be kept in their respective places of deposit until a more convenient and durable repository, safer from fire, and nearer to the chief places of public resort, could be provided for the reception of them all. To defray the expenses of these purchases, to procure a fit repository for their preservation, and to provide a fund for the permanent support of the establishment when formed, the Act directed that £100,000 should be raised by way of lottery, the net produce of which, together with the several collections, was to be vested in a corporate body selected from the highest in the land so far as regards rank, station, and literary attainments, upon whom it conferred ample powers for the disposition, preservation, and management of the Institution, which, it was determined, should bear the name of _The British Museum_.