This work attempted to encourage the adoption of the Public Libraries Act 1855. The act's provisions were to extend the right to adopt public library legislation beyond municipal boroughs to parish vestries, to lower the population need from ten thousand to five thousand, to allow parishes to meet the population need, to include The Metropolis explicitly. This act was to be adopted if a two-thirds majority were in favor at a public meeting. Matthew Feilde addressed the work to taxpayers giving several distinct reasons for supporting the act throughout and presented his views cautiously.
