The Sun. — London, England, 1823-06-21 00:00:00

~ • t PA RLI AME NT. ROUSE OF LORDS, JUNE 20. The LORD CHANCELLOR presented a petition from the Sills-weavers and Manufacturers of a parish in Essex, against the Bill for the Repeal of the Spittalfields Acts.—Ordered to be referred to the Committee on the Bill. The Earl of GOSFORD presented a petition from the Linen Manufacturers of Forfar against the Scotch Linen Trade Bill. Referred to the Committee. on the Bill. Lord BEXLEY moved that the second reading of the Scotch Linen Trade Bill should be postponed to Monday. The Earl of' ROSSIXN would not oppose the delay, but he trusted that the measure would be proceeded in on Monday. The Earl of LAUDERDALE expressed his approbation of the Bill. The Duke of ATIIOLL declared his intention of opposing the Bill in the Committee, as its tendency appeared to him prejudicial to the smaller manufactorers. After a few words from Lord MELVILLE, who declared his intention of supporting the bill, the second reading was fixed for Monday next. The Harlot ROSS LY N then presented several petitions from the manufacturers, flax-spinners, and others connected with the linen trade of Fife, the districts of Cupar, Kirkaldy, and from merchants of London concerned in the export trade, in favour of the Scotch Linen Bill. The Earl of ABERDEEN presented a petition to the same effect from the manufacturers of Aberdeen. After a few words from the Duke of A re nou., the petitions -were referred to the Committee on the Bill. Lord AUCKLAND presented a petition frcni Maher- Icy, who was the appellant in the cause before the House in which the Bank of Scotland was the respondent, and which arose out of the refusal of the Bank of Scotland to pay the half of a bank-note of which the other part was lost. The petition prayed that the cause might be advanced on the paper, so that might have an early hearing. After a few words from Lord MELviLLE and the Earl of LAUDERDALE, The LORD CHANCELLOR said, that he thought the best .course would be to refer the Petition to the Appeal Com mittee. *For his own part, he had resolved, from the represen tations which were daily made to him of the hardships sus tained by persons from causes being taken out of the regular turn, never himself to make a mutton to that effect.—The Pe tition was referred to the Appeal Committee. Lord STOWELL brought in a Bill for declaring valid cer tain marriages which had been solemnized abroad. Lord ELL/ENBOROUG II approved of the Bill, as it would tend to relieve the minds of persons who had been married un der certain circumstances, and could not disquiet the minds of any persons. The Bill was then read the first time. Lord BEXLEY moved the second reading, pro Arm, of th Silk-weavers' Bill. Lord ELLENBOROUGH expressed his hope that the in. tcrval between this and Wednesday next might be employed by both parties in coming to some understanding; and he be. lived that on the part of the journeymen there would be no indisposition to agree to such an alteration of wages for the manufacturing of figured articles as would be satisfactory to the masters. The LORD CHANCELLOR said he had understood that 'nothing farther, was to be done in this matter till Wednesday. Of course, if the Bill was read the second time, it did not at 'all prejudge the question between the parties. After a few words from the Earl of LAUDERDALE and Lord lixxLEr, the Bill was read the second time, and or. tiered to be committed on Wednesday next...:-.Adjourned to Monday. HOUSE OF COMMONS. LONDON BRIDGE. The LORD MAYOR presented a Petition from three Ar. ichitects, complaining that the design of the late J. Rennie, Esq., was adopted for the proposed new London Bridge. They corn. 'planned of many parts of the design, and added, that if adopted, and the bridge were built upon that plan, it would be a dis. grace to the arts and the city of London. They also complained ' , of the selection of civil engineers for the superintendence of otv.tch a work, rather than architects, who, they observed, were better qualified tbr such a task. They prayed that the words " according to the plan of the late J. Rennie, Esq." might be struck out of the London Bridge Bill, and that the word architect." might be substituted for "engineer." After a short discussion, in which Mr. Ca.t.caare, and Mr. H..SuatNER took a part , the Petition was laid on the table. LANIBTON presented a Petition to nearly the same a'ect as the last from Messra.Yowle,r, Deaken, and another architect whose ,name we could not collect. The Hon. 51em bit said - lie would offer no opinions upon the merits o 4 any of theltient, because he lidieved that a new bridge was net neees, • 'stay, and that the erection of one was only an .unncessary ex penditure of the funds of the city. • After a few words from Sir J. GRAHAM, Sir 4. Ccwr Mr. NEW MAN, Mr. H. Sustt4 Ea, and Sir W. DM CitES VIGNY, the Petition was laid. on the table ; as was another Petition on the same subject presented by Mr. HUME. The Holyhead Harbour Bill went. through a Committee, when several amendments were agreed to, and the Report or. dered to be received on Monday. - • LONDON BRIDGE BILL. Sir GEORGE COCKBURN moved that this Bill be read a third time. The LORD MAYOR said-he would - oppose the measure. It was the opinion of the Corporation of London that a new bridge was not at all necessary. The7Hon. Magistrate, after going into some detail to prove this, concluded by moiing . ,. as art amendment, that the Bill be rea d third time that day-three omits. After a few words front Mr. Alderman TuoittPsoN . , Mr.T. WILSON, and Alderman C. Saturn, the House divided, when the numbers were— . . for the amendment, 4 j .Against it, 71 I Majority, 67. - • On our re-admission, we found Mr. It. SU3IXEIt proposing claUse to prevent the Corporation of London appointing an engineer, architect, or contractor for the new bridge, without the eonsent of three or inure Lords of the Treasury. The LORD MAYOR objected to it. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER supported the clause, on the ground that the public contributed 160,000/.. is the new bridge. MAN, Sir I. COFFIN. and Mr. T. WlLsow, hav ing each spoken briefly, another division took place upon this obtuse-. - _Fur the clause, 711 I Against it, 16 I Majority, 62. The clause was,of course carried, and the Bill read, a third .time tout passed. Sir T. BARING brought up the Report on the petition of M'Adatn, Afr. MAXWELL laid upon the table a petition from Sut.. .tou Ashfield, against the Combination Laws. iiL.AVJJtY. WILIIcti.FORCE presented three petitions against the cootinuance of Negxs Slavery—they were from Bridgenorth, Lanark. and Brecon. 'The Hon. Member also moved an Address to the King, fur ..copica or extracts from the Correspondence between the British tioyornment and Foreign Powers, relative to the execution of the several treaties for abolishing the illegal traffic in Slaves.— Ordered. On the motion of Mr. J.rlir,tr.r.t A ms, an account was ordered respecting the demi at which petitions of appeal and rehearing wet." presented to the House of Lords. Mr. HUME laid upon the table ayetition from Mr. Robert ()outlay,' On the subject of the POW' Laws. CliltWEN presented a petition from Carlisle, againct ti.m•ttrietiwis Ott the Importation of Spirits from Scotland. Ziir O.IIAIA NNE V, in so low anti indistinct to tone as to reod,:r it impossible that we sliould hear him, Rave some expia hation of what, had fallen from him in the course of the debate last. night. We could only catch that he admitted that he said tbst a roan who did. not yorify sacred promises, deserved the name of a reptile. Re also moved for a return respecting the captures of pintios (we believe by ships on th e West India station), from the Ist of January, 11121, to the 31st.of March, ; but at the zuggeation of aIr.CANNINO he converted. • it into a notice for Monday. EdIPLOYMENT .01." THE POOR IN IRELAND. :Ylr. S. RICE moVed, and it was ordered, that the following Select Committee be appointed to inquire into the conditio" of the labouring poor in Ireland, with a view to f ac ili tate the application of the private ,coutributions, : Mr. Spina Rice Mr. G rn oulbu, Sir John Newport, M r . Ve.4cy Fitz- Gerald , Mr. Courtertay, Mr. Abercromby, (;harles Grant, Mr.-Jelin :8114W1, Mr. Villiers, Mr. Wellesley, Mr. Grattin, Mr. Calcraft, Sir henry Parnell, 111 r. Barry, Mt. Fitz-Gibbon, Mr. Wilberforce, Mr. Hutchinson, Jr.' Powell Buxton., Mr. George Lamb, Mr. Agar Ellis, Lord Oxmantown, gr. Knox, Mr. Dawson, gr. Meade Smith, ~lr. Forde, Mr..:Brownloiv, Mr. Stewart' (of Tyrone), Mr. ;Witty/ell, and Sir Arthur Chichorter, THE ALLIES and Me KING cf WURTEM BERG. Mr. BROUGHAM wislicd.uo.put a question to the Right 'Honourable Secretary for FOrel.gn, .Afrairs : it WAS dill—Wile "lbex there was any foundation Tor the story which had reached the public through the ibreign Journals, el: the Allied Powers liad withdrawn their Aliniatert from Stutgard, this step having .originated is a refusal oil the part of the King of Wurtemberg to sunpress il;•.wsrtsper and to mate certain alterations in the I. • t con t Icon of ins lugdom : t h e it seemed., had grown ,out of a protest ,by the King of Wurtemberg against the late invasion of Spain. Mr. CANNING was understood to cemmence his reply by ..4jecting to this :node of pti:ting interrogatories. Ile observed, that this country was no way a party to the pnceedings of the Allied Powers, and that some of the accounts received by Mi nisters were similar to those referred to by the Hon. Gentle man ; but others were dissimilar as to material points. He had no hesitation in admitting that Government had obtained in fbrmation upon the subject;' but he begged to decline stating,► more. Mr. nnouerrAn contended, that.he wt►s justified by the strictest rules of Parliamentary courtesy in putting the question he had asked. In his opinion nothing of the kind could occur between foreign Continental Powers in which this country was not more or less immediately interested.—t Hear !) Mr. CANNING was willing to allow that this country , might be interested in the consequences ; but there was a mark ed and clear distinction between transactions in which this king. dom had no interest, and was only a spectator. If he were to attempt to answer the Hon. Gentleman, he must go into a great deal of detail on uncertain data. The fairest course was, there fore, to say, that Ministers were not in possession ofany distinct information. Mr. BROUGHAM begged to enter his protest most strongly against being understood as concurring with the Right lion. Gentleman; that it was possible for this country to be a mere tame spectator of such acts. —(Hear !)—The principles of the Allies were utterly detestable in themselves, and ruinous to the liberties of the world.— (Hear !) Mr. CANNING wished only to add, that the Honourable Gentleman had assumed that this country was to be a mere tame spectator. SCOTCH JURIES BILL. Mr. KENNEDY moved that the Bill should be read a se. cord time. The law passed last Session, from the extensive power of challenge which it gave, rendered the adoption of the present measure peremptorily necessary. The Order of the flay was then read. The LORD ADVOCATE moved that the Bill should be read a second time this day six months Mr. J. P. GRANT supported the Bill. Mr. PEEL, supported the amendment. Sir IMACKINTOSH warmly supported the Bill, which, he contended, was necessary, in consequence of the measure passed last year. The Gallery was then cleared for a division, when there ap. peared— For the original motion, 471 Against it, 421 Majority, 5. The Bill was then read a second time, and ordered to be committed on Monday. COMMITTEE OF SUPPLY:—LIBRARY OF THE LATE KING. On the Motion of the CILAYCEr.r.oit of the EXCHEQUER, the House resolved itself into a Committee c; the whole House, to consider farther of the supply to be granted to his Majesty.. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER, in submit ting to the Committee a vote for the erection of a new building, for the reception of his law Majesty's Library, at the British Museum, observed, that he supposed the Gentlemen whom he then addressed had read the Report relative to the magnificent donation of his late Majesty. That Report fully stated the rea sons why his late Majesty's Library should be placed in the custody of those who presided over the British Museum.— Though he had not,in consequence of the pressure of public business, been able constantly to attend the meetings of the Committee from whom that Report had emanated, he was yet satisfied, from the discussions which had taken place there, and from the concurrent feeling of all those whom he had consulted, on the subject, that the most convenient situation, in every re spect for the disposition of' that Library, was under the roof of the British Museum.—( !rear, hear !)—But the Committee was, perhaps aware, that the state of the British Museum at present • was such as to render it perfectly incapable of containing the treasure which the bounty of the Sovereign had bestowed upon his people. If, therefore, the library were attached to the British Museum, it would be necessary that means should be found to provide a suitable building for its reception. It ap peared very desirous (and such, he belieVed, was the general feeling) that the library , should be deposited in the British Museum, and that it should be separated from every other part of the collections contained in the building, although the rooms in which it wits placed should form a part of the general structure. The idea which prevailed in the Committee was, that the new building for this Library should be erected in such a manner as to form a part of a large building : it being evident to every one who looked at the British Musuinn, that no great time would elapse before it would be found abso lutely necessary to rebuild the whole of that structure. 'lt would; therefore, be unwise to adapt the new building to the existing arrangement, or to the existing architecture of the British Museum. It was intended, in consequence, that the contem plated building . should be formed as part of a new plan ; with out aiming, on the one hand, at any ostentatious display of architectural grandeur ; but taking care, on the other, that the principles of sound taste, and of simple elegance, should not he forgotten. It was proposed to erect such a budding as would do honour to that rich and powerful metropolis which was the possessor of those Inestiun treasures. LVery lover of Meta. tutu must be anxious thatthey should be placed in a building commensurate with their great worth and value ; and it was obvious that the plan could not be carried into eill , et without calling on the public for considerable sums for - its completion. Ile was now about to call on the Committee for the first vote of money for that object. He should propose a resolution for a grant of 40,0001.; whether that would be actually sufficient for the completion of the building it was impossible to say, but that was all which it was necessary to cull for in the way of advance at the present moment. The Right Hon. Gentleman then moved—" That a sum not exceeding 40,000/. he granted to his Majesty towards defraying the expence of erecting an additional building at the British 'Museum, for the reception of the library of his late Majesty." Mr. HOBHOUSE said, that in objecting to this motion, he did so with considerable diffidence, considering • the superior information on this subject which was possessed by those Gen tlemen Iv!: c formed the Committee, and who had drawn up the Report. Still, however, he had many and very great objections to the proposition of the Right lion. Gentleman, which he felt himself bound to state to the Committee. In the tirst place, he wished it to be understood that he made no objection what ever on the score of economy.-.-(Bear, hear !)—Tor the honour of the nation, and of those who represented it, he should be ex tremely glad, not only that every thing which was necessary should be granted, but he would even go to 'a point of super fluity, for the purpose of preserving this magnificent collection as ithught to be preserved ; for it was perhaps the most splen did collection of books, on subjects of the greatest interest, th a t ever graced this or any other country.—(Hear o—The Report to which the Right Hon. Gentleman had alluded was, he ad. mined, drawn up with considerable effect and abilityy ; still, however, he must observe that it gave, comparatively, but very little information es to the value, in a mental point of view of this copious and exc e llent c o llection. Thi s library was de signed for statesmen and politicians—and more particularly for those who wished to info r m themselves on t h e history and constitution of this country. It abounded in geographicid and topographical works. The Survey of ,Veotlond the Ordnance Sarvele (at least so he understood), and many other plans of a similar nature, were comprised in this grand. collection. Generally speaking, it would be in vain to look to any other place fin the mass of information interesting to the statesman. to the politician, to the scholar, or to any person who wi s h e d to form an adequate notion of the real practice of the Constitu tion, which was to be found in this collection.—They were in formed by the Report that his late Majesty had expended nearly 120,000/., or about 2,00t)1. a-year out of his privy purse during a period of 00 years, in the purchase of this Library. But he understood that 200 , 000/. would not now bei sufficient to pur chase a similar collection. It was to the immortal honour of his late Majesty that he had formed this collection with, out calling for any aid from Government;. and sorry should he be if this great country, renowned for its devotion to the arts and the liberal _sciences, should be the only one in Europe where a Royal library was not attached to a Royal palace. Those who had seen the palace where this library was originally deposited, must admit that it was a receptacle every way worthy of such precious treasures. The .ectagon room, the great room, an t i the remaining apartments, for there were six of them, ,were all of them fitted up in a style worthy of the purpose to which they were appropriated.— No person could wander about those roorna, . and view, even cursorily, the treasures they contained, without seeing the pro.. priety, if possible, o f reta i ning t h em i n a R o y a l residence. If those rooms were to be script of the treasures which they had so lung contained (and he was grieved to hear such was the intention), was there no other Royal palace to which they. could be removed P lie did not deny that the gift granted to the people by Ida Majesty was a noble one; but he must say, if he could keep that royal library where it at present was, he as one of the people, would willingly forego his share in that grant. But If it should happen, as the. rumour went, that this octagon was to be applied to a strange and a very differ ent purpose, with what a melancholy confusion would Jeng.. lislunen in future ti mes , s h ow i ng t h e pa l ace, Coa t e " that' the founder, George, 111., had designed it4-first fur a chapel, and secondly, for a scarcely less holy purpose, the reception of this library, white, now, alas ! the only books which were received in it were some stray pamphlets, used for the purpose of heating a stove or warming a bath. Though this was not the age of Omar, scarcely had the Alexandrian library shared a more lamentable fate. It was, lie assured the Howie, rather for information than with any other intention that he asked whether his Majesty had any right to give away these books, would he have right to eel!? lie (Mr. tiohhouse) said he would nor; and, therefore he had a right to inter dint he could not dispose of them in any man ner. lie was not certain that the library was in the nature of an heir-loom, but he thought it was. To refer to that rity so commonly quoted in the .Uouse—that .31r. Justice Blackstone--he looked upon the library in thu ,ante light as the crown Jewels, which that Learned Judge had said were ituilienitble from the person the King, beano they were necessary to support the dignity of the Sovereign for the time being. If the crown, and the sceptre, and jewels, were thus thought necessary for the maintenance of the kingly state, he considered that this noble collection of books was no less ne cessary, and would much more contribute to that purpose. By the provisions of the King's Private P r ope r ty Act, it was provided, that in case no actual disposition should be made by will, all other methods of distributing the property should be void ; now, his late Majesty had made no will, and therefore, if the former part of his argument had been cor rect, the books could not have been disposed of. What, therefore, was the manifest intention of his late Majesty was, that the library should be for ever attached to one of the royal palaces ; and that George 111. had never in tended to send this portion of his books to the British Museum, was evident from the magnificent donation which he made to that institution in his life-time, of pamphlets and MSS. If, therefore, the House was desirous to effectuate the late King's Wishes, they never would sanction the removal of his books front a Royal' Palace, and the snore particularly when there was not the shadow of any evidence that his late Majesty wished his books to go to the British Museum. It appeared to him that one way of Satisfying the intentions of his late .Majesty presented itself. If it were not asking too much of his present !Majesty, he thought Buckingham Ifouse might be left open to those who chose to consult the books in that place, where they were situated to the utmost advantage. His Majesty holding, as lie did, only a few Courts in the year at this palace, might afford some days in every week for the public to refer to those books. But if this were too much, still the ob jections to the British Museum remained as strong and as nu merous as before. The first intimation of this building being the intended receptacle for the books, came from Lord Liver pool : the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his announcement 'of the subject had never hinted at this. It was very natural that the Trustees of the British Museum should see at once that their house was of all others the best adapted to preserve the library ; and without supposiqg they were actuated by any unworthy or improper motives; he (Mr. Ilobhouse) could easily conceive that they were earnest in their recommendations. But it should be recollected, before any disposition was made of the books, that a numerous and very valuable part of them consisted of the donations of individuals, who, when they made them, thought they were raiding to a Royal library, always to be pre served in El Royal Palace. Among others he would mention one, whom he had known, and the reputation of whose learn ing had spread his fame far beyond this county—Mr. Jacob Bryant: this disposition of the library to which lie had been a contributor would at least defeat his intentions. What, he must be allowed to ask, had ‘Vestminster done, that when the ques , tion of a place wherein to deposit the lute King's library was agitated, it was not remembered ? There was, within that im portant part of the metropolis, no library, or none which could be properly so called. An example had been afforded by the trustees of the British Museum, of their unfitness to be in. trusted with the present collection, from the use which they had made of that complete collection from the reign of Henry 11. to that of George 11. which hail been presented to them.— This collection had been mixed up with the books which they already possessed; the admirable order in which It was ar ranged had been confused ; and by losing its identity, the whole of the collectio n had lost its interest. There was no se. curity that the same confusion would not take place in the present instance, or that the books might lie in boxes (as many other valuable parts of the treasures of the British Museum gill did) until the building intended to receive them should be congleted. Ile could not account for the strange attachment which seemed to be shown for having these collections all under the same roof, He now came to an objection which he con sidered a vital one—it was the number of duplicates, already great, and which must be necessarily increased by the addition of the King's library to that of the British Museum. It ap peared that of the e 55,000 volumes, of which the latter consisted, 1,000, or one-third of the whole number, would be duplicates. He had been informed th a t the number of duplicates would even extend to 99,000; but taking it at. the lower amount, he asked, could any thing be more preposterous than this ? This objec. Lion could not be got rid of by the sapient excuse formed by the Committee, that the seine book might be in requisition by different Gentlemen at the sonic time. Ile had never heard of such a pretence being urged, and it was quite absurd to apply it to literature of a character so recherche as that which coin. posed the library of the British Museum. It was said that this union of the two libraries would make that of the British Mu seen] one of the most complete in Christendom ; but it was well known that in topography and geography the collection of the British Museum was not by any means complete. Would the House, then, for the mere purpose of completing this collection, condemn 12,000 valuable books, so carefully collected, to the hammer? There could be no difficulty in finding a place fit for the reception of the late King's library. The Banqueting. hall, at Whitehall, was, us to its dimensions, admirably adapted for this purpose ; he u ndett;:-.r3d that for the sum of 5,0001. this building might be completely fitted up ; but even if it required is much larger emu, he thought this was not an occasion upon uhich the House ought to hesitate to incur IL-- Upon the convenience of the situation of the Banqueting-house, he felt it was unneeessary to enlarge • and to make the inte rna l decorations agree with the beauty of architecture, nothing could conduce more than the filling it with the rare volumes which his Majesty's bou nty h a d p resente d t o t h e p u bli c . I t might be said that this building was devoted to the cele bration ,of divine service, at which the soldiers attended, and That it was not proper to desecrate so holy an edifice. To this his reply would be simply, that it never was consecrated: bat it it had been be could not help thinking that there would be nothing impious in placing the Royal Library within those walls in which the soldiers wont to assist at the divine service once a week. If, however, these objections should prevail he would mention' the King's Mews as a very fit and convenient place nigbrarY• He we e sure th a t thi s wou ld b e de toa much m ore const it u tional p ur p ose , t v f l u l i an r tin t g i ca le t i h it aZ u cild al a ti g i i i t as it was 11( m, a barrack for soldiers. The reason why he wished to retain the collection at that end of the town, was, that at the same time a place might be provided for keeping the records. of the kingdom. They were at present scattered, Places; and were exposed tolmsaalties, from deposi ts oug h t to b e guar d e d. H e hoped, upon the present occasion, to engage the votes of gentle. men t hose ich 12 differentpreci prec i ou s u inen of all p a rties, in securing to the public the benefit of the munificence of the late, and of the good taste of the present King, and to prevent the library from being . placed in a situa tion where not ten persons would consult it in ten years. He should conclude by moving, ," That no money be granted to ,provide a building for the reception of the late King's library, until the House were informed whether it could nut be tlepo forSittli(2. 0.4 sited in the neighbourhood of the 'toyed Palaces, and of t h e house of Parliament." which ti n r ad hhe gave the Hon. Gentleme n cre di t prompted the appeal he h a d j us t made, must ditfer from hint with respect to the intention of hi s 1 0 t i N v e G s , nl Mikio§tv, which, he believed, was to render a service to the public, and which it was the duty of the House to make as con. foiinabl e itg . possible to the public convenience. The lion. Gentleman, i n calling the library of the British Museum one of the most complete in Christendom, had greatly overrated it. It was, in fact, only the ruli or fith public library in Europe. It consisted of only 125,000 volumes, and must therefore be Called almost insignificant when compared with that of Paris, which appeared, in the catalogue published last year by M. Van I'raet, to contain 450,000 volumes. He would not be understood to depreciete the British Musenuilibrary,which was highly curl. ous and interesting, but which he could not deny was incomplete as a general collection: t was necessarily KO, having been formed front the private collections of persons, whose object in making them had been to illustrate some favourite branch of sci ence.'The library able late Majesty was, on the contrary, per- I hape the most comete for its extent, that had ever been I formed. It was obvious , therefore, that this must be, in every respect, a valuable acquisition; and lie believed he wits autho rized in saying, that his Majesty would prefer its being added 1 to that of the British Museum. He had already considered 1 the exjiediency of placing it in the Banqueting-house at White. hall ; out the great expellee the inconvenience to which it i would expose th e soldier*, anti the fear he had that it would I become a lounge, situated as It was in the noisiest part of London, had convinced hirn that that place was unfit for such I purpose.a tstr 3IACKINTOSH said there were two questions in the vote before the House which his Hon. Friend (Mr. ilobhouse) had not sufficiently distinguished. One was, the union of the two libraries, and the oth er t h e s ite of the buildings in which they were to. be contained. Th e House must recollect that the British Muse um , w h ether the. King ' s lihrarY should be united to that which it already contained or not, must be rebuilt ; and the expence necessarily attendant upon this formed no Mean point of the ty-;ections to the proposed measure. He really thought that his Majesty, in the disposition of this library, was entitled to th e hi ghest credit, for removing it from a place where it must be necessarily surrounde d b y t h e pomp and glare of a Palace—attractions, indeed, of a different kind from those whi c h are calculated to i nv i te t h e stu d ent to literary investigation. Besides, to use the homely proverb, it was rather ungraciouit to look " the gift-horse in the mouth," and he w as p ersua d e d i t was th e - Royal wish that this fine collection should be placed in the situation best adapted for rendering it most getrrally advantageous.— Thu union of this library with that at the British I%luseuni was., fur all purposes of general reference, so desirable an object, that all who knew th e va l ue of the facilit i es for literary research, must at once concur in its 'obvious propriety. The advantage of one great library for general purposes was, independent of its utility, so essential for the honour and dignity of litera ture, that he never before heard any doubt cast upon the value of such an accumulation, lie knewhow easy it was to throw dicule upon the compilation of duplicates; but scholars knew the distinction to be drawn between editions of the same author, and the value to be estimated by philologists, althOugh the ore dinary reader might ridicule the refinement of' " e's restored, and pomp of p's deposed." Ile was perfectly aware, that from the nature of the British Museum, strong objections arose in consequence of its being so combustible; but all were agreed that there must' be a new building, which, surely, might be rendered incombustible.—(Hear, hear, hear!)—lt was due to the greatness of this country diet it should have what de served to be Tailed a national library ; the present one at the British Mnieum did not deserve the name, and even with the addition of the King's magnificent gift, it would be rather a basis for the ultimate formation of a suitable library, than a complete collection ofwhich they could have reason to be proud, with this great addition, it would not be half the value of the Royal Public Library of France, the most useful and most ac cessible library in Europe, though, certainly, in some of its de partments, less curious than the imperial collection at Vienna, and the library at the Vatican. When he looked at the state of the library , at the British Museum, he must complain of the manner in which that collection had been stinted and starved by Parliament; a library, if curtailed of its adequate sources of supply, by a diminished endowment was deprived of the great principle of its utility, and such was the case at the British Museum. For the last five years, in consequence of the pur chase of Dr. Burney's library, the grant for this establishment was only 3001. a-year for printed books, and 501. for manuscripts. Now he had the authority of a beamed Friend, one of the Members for the Universty of Oxford, for saying, that in the department of foreign classical literature alone, 5001. a-year would be necessary for suitably keeping up, even a private gentleman's library, upon an extensive scale, to say nothing of the natural and exact sciences, and works of a political character. The Bodleian Library, which enjoyed under the Copy-right Act the same advantages as the British Museum, for the gra. tuitous acquirement of new English publications, had during the last five years expended for foreign and old books 1,6001. a year, and yet the National Library of England was allowed only 3001. a year for the same purpose. The Advocates' Library, a private collection of a very distinguished body, with all the same copy, right privilege, expended from NU to 1,000/. a year in the pur chase of foreign works; and the Royal French Library, which bad also a copy-right presentation, purchased 1,500/. worth of books annually. He hoped that these examples, and the knowledge that every petty state in Europe had its national library, would stimulate this country to mend her ways, and place literature upon a station befitting the greatness of such a nation in the civilized world.—(Hear 4---He would now, by way of sugges tion, merely make a few remarks; he lamented the determina tion to rebuild the great national depository upon the site of the present Museum ; lie knew that two great objects were to b e considered upon the subject of the site of the building—namely, accommodation and ornament.' NVitli respect to the first, he did not think a walk of an additional half mile, although he w a s afraid that was the mode of conveyance to which must literary men must resort—(a lauKll)—would be of any material conse quence; but something had been said of the necessity of a place of seclusion, for purposes of study. How this was con sistent with the union of the ails and sciences in the same building, it was for others to determine. There was a wide difference bet Ween what was proper for a museum, and what was essential for a library : the latter should be protected from intrusion, or else the student must be exposed to an interrup tion in his pursuits. Far different was the case of a museum; for that, to be effective, must be made an alluring lounge, to entice, as it were, spectators to acquire in the easiest way a taste for the arts. Great Russell-street was rather out of the way for such a purpose : they who wished to see the Museum must go there expressly fur the purpose, it did not stand in any public situation, inviting by its architectural beauties the passengers to enter. He entirely concurred in the pro. priety of making such an edifice externally, as well as inter nally attractive. London, although the greatest city, w as t h e least ornamental metropolis in Europe. For almost a century this city was without any ornamental architectural additions—. the late efforts st improvement (of which he wished to speak without any disparagement) partook more of the neatness cf individual taste, than of general grandeur. This was perhaps owing to inadequate encouragement; and upon that subject he begged to deny that the fine arts flourished under private pa. tronage. The history of ancient Greece and modern Italy showed that public patronage alone could secure the triumph of art; that which was calculated to excite universal attention must , spring from enlarged patronage, and must consist of works in. teresting, not alone to individual taste, but , to the general feel ing of mankind. Thus it was, that in the absence of national patronage, painting had been comparatively degraded in land , t an the genius of' a Reynolds and a 14wrence, in a great degree, circumscribed, by the prevailing demand for portrait painting. As to the improvement of architecture in the ca pital, there were three great causes to retard it the first was the distance of materials ; the second, the taste of the higher classes for country life; the third, that of the middling classes for comfort, rather than display. The first was unavoidable: the second diffioulty to be surmounted ; and the third not to be removed. With respect to the site of the building, lie timely wished to say one word, and perhaps it was the offspring of a too aspiring fancy which, prompted him to suggest the conve nient spot in every respect for such a builtitng, which the fine situation of Constitution-hill presented on the line between Hyde-park-corner and Buckingham House. He begged pardon for havlng troubled the House so long, and concluded by re. peating the high sense he entertained of the value of his Ma jesq's munificent literary gift to the British nation. 11Ir. LENNARD entirely concurred in the propriety of unit ing the two Libraries, and expressed a wish for some more con venient alteration of the hours for admitting artists to the gal lery of statues. 31r. R. COLBORNE concurred in the propriety of uniting the two libraries, and suggested the value of establishing a national gallery of pictures. It was a reproach to this coun try, to be the only one in Europe without such an ornamental .acquisition. Mr. CROXER was anxious to reconcile some d the con. , !liming opinions upon this subject, by suggesting the propriety of omitting a specification of the solace where the new building was to be erected. He entirely disapproved of the peddling and huckstering - plan of selling a part of the present collection to get rid of 21,000 duplicate copies. 'Phis lie thought en un worthy and unsuitable 'course, and one which ought not to be I resorted to. He concurred in the propriety of uniting the King's library to that in the British Museum ; but lie would not have them placed in that building, but deposited in another, the situa. tion of which ought to be selected after the most mature delibe ration. A very erroneous opinion had gained ground among the public, that the house of the Duke of Montague, whicli had been devoted to die reception of the British Museum, had been built by the generosity of Louis XIV., to cons. pensate the English Ambassador at his Court for the destruc tion of his own mansion by fire. Louis XIV., however, was accustomed to build his mansions upon a much more durable and liberal plan than this manifested. One should 'have sup. posed that time place which was chosen for the reception of all the most valuable and curious collections in science and Natu ral Philosophy that had been accumulated at the expsnce and on the account of a great nation, would have been so con. atrusted as to have possessed some security against the ravages of accidental fire, :or instance. The fact was, however, that ex. cepting one dirty old wooden house at the corner of Chancery.: lane, which was formerly the residence of Isaac Walton, the British Museum was just about the least fire-proof tenement in all London.—(A laugh.)--The Honourable Gentleman then alluded to the calamitous consequences which must ensue to letters in general front its destruction, if that should ever happen by lire—a danger, however so possible in its present condition, that he doubted whether. the building could he insured at any premium, in any fire-office in London.—(A laugh.)—het the Committee recollect for a moment, what were the invaluable treasures already collected under its roof : let them remember the manuscripts alone, to assist them in forming some estimate of the magnitude of the property which was even now exposed taco much jeopardy. Those manuscripts:in Hoh. and Learned Friend of hia( we presume Sir J. Mackintosh), who had long propelled to write a History of Englanti.uhear, hear).- those manuscripts his Honourable and Learn e d 1 , rien d had de clared to be the sources from whence all the matter of his lib:- tory was to be derived. Every body, doubtless, had heard of' the story which was told of Lord Nelson ; who, arriving at Copenhagen, on the eve of conducting an enterprize to which, however unpromising in its appearance, he was determined to ensure success, was ushered up a magnificent staircase, curious. ly carved, to the royal palace. The gallant Admiral paused for a moment to consider its richness, and various panelling, for it was of wood; then, turning to Sir Edward Bury, who accom panied him, observed, " Bury, this is extremely handsome, but it will burn." Now it was hardly possible for any on e to as cend the staircase of the British Museum, the beauty of - which was also much insisted upon, without making . precisely the same reflection.—( Hear ! )—Not to do any injustice to the trus tees of the Museum, however, he should mention, th at one place it was at length consider ed expedient to render tire-proof; and accordingly a new aortal' outhouse—(a laugh)--of an incom bustible fabric, was erected adjoining the Museum. In that in combustible place, for better safety, they placed—what ? The manuscripts 1 1 No; bat the marbles.—(A laugh.)—The first thing they did was to place there the Townl e y Venus ill a circular sort of closet—(a laugh)—a closet so stnall that Venus could hardly have found room to bathe in it, though she was herself represented as about to bathe. But then they had a Piping Faun ; and this Piping Faun they felt themselves bound to ac. comniodate with , another closet of, a square figure. Then they went on to accommodate other figures in an additional parallelogram, till at last this Townley Gallery was coMpleted m the line of the British Museum.—(A laugh.)—This was the taste of the trustees, and the House had heard a great deal about taste; but it was on that very score that he (Mr. Crakes.) entreated them to pause, in order that this donation might be placed in a situation that should reflect credit upon them. He coniidered that their tastes individually were at stake: the money might be easily raised and as eas ily di s p ose d of; but at I least let them recollect wh a t w as d ue t o t h emse l ves an d t o t he t • character of the nation, in the selection they made of a depo sitory ; nor let them subject themselves to the same sort of i : ridicule for au abortive attempt to rival their neighbours iii t such a selection, whi c h t h e p oet w h o had satirized the taste of i England as it prev a il e d i n his day, seemed to imply in these linim-- . " So when some cit his weak invention racks t " To dine—like Peers, at Boodle's or Almack's ;" I [The House w ou ld b e goo d enough to observe that in those days people did di ne a t Almack's.l—(A laugh.) " Three roasted geese salute th' astonished eyes, " Three legs of mutton, and three butter'd pies." —(A laugh.) ; To return, however, to th e t rus t ees ; th e y at l engt h im ported taste—(Hear !)—froin a country which was said indeed 1 'to have been once the land of arts and sciences ; they bought 11 and imported from Egypt a head of Memnon ; and having • got it safely home, they discovered that it stood rather higher than their ceiling.— _{ dear!) !)—Then they wanted a place to hold the head, and two other huge Egyptian relics of a sin gular shape; so they built a double cube, which was the continuation of 'the aforesaid parallelogram. Unfortunately it turned out that this head of Memnon was a dev'lish long head (a laugh),—insomuch that they were obliged to raise the ceiling of his closet somewhat higher—(a laugh),—so that the roof of the closet which held the Townley Venus was at one elevation, and the roof of the closet which Inclosed the Memnon's head was at another. The arrangement of these different closets was ' so odd, the closets themselves were so dissimilar the one from the other, that they were, as Shaloyeare said, " Each monstrous, till its fellow came to match it." In all that be had said he would wish the House to observe that he was satisfied no doubt could exist as to the purity laid disinterestedness with which the affairs of the British Museum were administered.' No person could in reason doubt of the earner ness or zeal of the Trustees—(hear, bear !)—but all that, he complained of was, that that zeal had hitherto taken a rather tortuous. and unsightly direction. He would submit to the House, that in regard to any proposed new building for these books, a whosesome doubt ought to be entertained about their selection of the architecture. It had been said that this was a new era of taste in England : and he hoped the truth of the assertion would be testified in that fie lection. In conclusion, he would suggest that it would be bet ter, by way of amendment, to leave out of the motion all words that had relation to the British Museum, and make the grant of money to the King merely, to he disposed of by and with the advice of Parliament. Mr. BANKES, as an individual connected with the im portant trusts of which the management of the British Museum was the principal object, felt that a very personal attack had been made upon him. Mr. CROFTER rose to order. lie disclaimed any intention of personal attack. .. Mr. BA NKES said, however that might be, the Hon. Gentle man had not been very scrupulous to adhere to facts as they now , stood ; and from the total error under which lie appeared to la hour as to the internal arrangementof the British Museum, he Mr.. Bankes) was apt to suppose that the Hon. Gentleman had not very lately visited that establishment. The form and figure and disposition of the vestibules and compartments of the gal- lery of marbles, the Hon. Gentleman had described to be what they most undoubtedly were not at this day. Even the terms lie had employed were, neither in their acceptation nor ac- couling to the most common definitions of. geometry, cor- • rect. The Townley Venus was placed in. a rotunda, and not i in a closet ; which rotunda, to be sure, was perhaps scarcely - large or majestic enough for the treasures of art which it i. contained. As to the plan of the gallery, it was perfectly uni form in ,the original desom—a design which was not completed at different periods of time, but produced at once, and at a time much anterior to the head of the Memnon. The building which contained that head, the" lion. Ciendeman had described as containing two other pieces of antique sculpture, of which he had been pleased to speak in the most slighting terms. It was hardly necessary for hint (Mr. 13ankes)to erilurge, however, on the value of these two sarcophaguses, which had attracted ti n ie ovl la ; t e n t i l i g r e admiration o an fa ci l e l n u t scienailliipltuledres ; arts,intheth:one which was the anti possessing any gift of his late Majesty was of very singular beauty and rarity. —As to the story which the Honountble Gentleman had told k the House about Lord Nelson and the staircase of the Palace at Copenhagen, nothing could have been much mare unfortun ately chose(' by him in the way of illustration. The fact w a s, that the staircase at the British Museum was not of wood, but of stone,—(a laugh),—and therefore, all that the Honour ablehear hear!)—As to the Museum staircase being matter of o ss i bot,tl the application first Gentleman wu 0 fno o manner i ad said admira tion, everycom t l o nis t t h i e bl s e ec t o ia n t i t i tr_e ( o n f e t a l r ie , in which it was turned over a half - arch; but this the Hon.body would deem it to be so who looked at the way Gentleman had not mentioned. With respect to what had been said about receiving this accession of books in the present build ing, l' ft 'ndow must be boe et up; an tle rooms it ont i t wa s perhaps sufficient to say, that in order to do so, every wi . I e roof. Now no Honourable. Member could he (Mr. 13ankes) s p i , . 0.. to be so utterly destitute of taste, as., • could wis 1 so to demolish the paintings of the Eng- i that he lish and French schools which at present adorned the ceilings. 1 of the Museum. As to die objections which another Member had taken as to the situation of this establishment lie (Mr. skylights Bankes) begged to observe that the situation of a public li- i library ought to be ouite central; and the Banqueting-room tic Wilhelm% which had been proposed, was by no means of that 't character. As little central as the lion. and Learned Member (Sir J. Mackintosh) seemed to consider the present site of the Aluseurn, he might be surprised to learn that fretpletitly it re- 1 in t i ceived on one day as ninny as 2,000 visitors. Thu flop, Gen tleman (Mr. 13ankes) then entered into a general defence of I the conduct of the trustees, and declared hi s intention of oppos. ' I.; ing itie ttniewlment. . Sir C. LONG defended the conduct of the trustees, and said that the Hon. Secretary of the Admiralt y . was completely tuts- ; .1, informed as to what passed in the Committee. r. $ Mr. CROKEIt explained. . t Mr. 0. BEN NET complained of the want of convenience pose. The lion. Member also censured b y t i li a e ss a . re b o h u i s te e c e ts , which was felt in the British Aluseon, and said that much ' t money had been expended on that bulistliog to very little pur- i e n n i m te l g oy en ed t.ti b t y re • et. Government, the . „7 e o i c. k r s r i constructed iig particu larly to t h e k, excrescence" on the House of .14o:41., and the . 6i , i i r. 11. GURNEY concurred in the vote propog.ld 1 :1 the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Mr. AIABERLY thought that the disposition of the mu.neY which w as to b e expen d ed in u new building should he plueed.P l 1 the hands of a Committee. Mr. HOBIIOUSE rose to withdraw his motion. He would take that opportunity of observing, that his Hon. and Learned. Friend (the 11lember for knaresborough) had attacked, not any thing certainly which he (Mr. Hobhouse) had stated, but some-. thing which he had himself advanced. Like Tom Thumb, "he made the giants fir st , an d t h en he killed them." Ills lion. and Learned friend had broached a plan which he (Mr. Hob house) thought was as liable to objection as any which had been proposed front any other quarter. Ile wanted we library to be erected on Consututional-hill, in order that Ilyde,-cark H might be converted into a w a lk tb r philosophers. e Mr. Hobliouse) would recommend that th ere s h ou ld be a little Academe's in the same place, for the metaphysieiims of the north.—(A laugh.) After a few words from Mr. WILBERFORCE, Mr. CROKER moved as an amendment, Ili:) , w,Aft " British Museum," in the original motion be ()wit:. st. Mr. 11U311•; wished the present building to be pi;il,tl and a new , one erected on its site. The Commiitee then divided—the numbers were-- For the original Motion, M J Against it, 30 I Majority, !24. CAPTAIN 31 A. NB Y. The House having resolved itself into a Contmittee of Supply, a Restintion, granting 2000/. to Captain Manby, for hi, services in saving the lives of shipwrecked seamen, was moved and agreed to.—The Report was ordered to be receired on Monday. The House resumed, and, the other Orders of the Day being disposed of, adjourned at a QUART Ea nErOTIE Two o'CLocx. i 14 « A LIST OF THE MINORITY Who voted on the Duke of Devonshire's Motion for an In. quiry into the State of Ireland. - PRESENT. PROXIES. Duke of Somerset Earls Thanet Duke of Bedford 'll, Devonshire Cowpe r M arg . o f D owns hi re ! 0 Grafton (hey Earls Wahlegrave Leinster Breadalbane . Albemarle ,Marquis Larisdown Denbigh Charlemont Earls Darling ton Vi vounts C l iftien B o esborottgh ,i Rosslyn Anson Ftyrtescue Rosebery Lords Belhaven Spencer Lauderdale G wydir M into Grosvenor King Derby Carnarvon Cawdor Visas. Bolingbroke Donoughmore Lynedock Duncan Gosford • Alvanley Lords Yarborough Caledon Auckland Crewe Tankerville Saye and Sele Thtndas Cork Foley Suffield Jersey ter Holland Ilehes !)acre Elionborough Essex Bolton Darnley Calthorps. Clare t._,,