The Sun. — London, England, 1816-06-08 00:00:00

. „ tiow it pitch thit city (now floTen and de graded) hid been raised by the posscss;tm of those taleotsitati t thuit taste, Which had priathiced thi , se tnost viduAle works of art now in tt'estioni. lii every 'matter 'Of bargain,and sale, there must 'he *ewe 'iide of the . pdrties, in whose power it could dot he ta Mt the precise tinteat which the bargain t ottld li c e concluded. In the instance of the Marbles, the public, having an absolute tight of pre-emption, might fix upon what should Considered a fair Jpriee, tool might also take „lneasures to prevent their being exporttd from the country to a Isigher purchaser. Thos. tat vve ~.Thight go, but no farther. It was hardly necessary tor hint to insist on the importance of promo. Mg a taste in the Fine Arts. In otu I er States, both 'ancient and niodern, how malty had there beeti, "itlierwis e 'p os S ess i ng no grea t ativentage,who had Theli.to the 'highest dignity and splendonr, by liidellenee in the Fine Arts. He wished to tin ect the attentifon 'of the Committee to that part et the Report of the Select Committee, which re later) to the authority under which the collection had bee n ma d e . T o t hi s part of the inquiry, Cointnitte e had come with great anxiety and ap prehension Lord Elgin did nut obtain the work/ Solely as British Ambasstolor. The report con tented the traaslation of the authority on which tort! Elgin had acted. In additiuu to this au thority, no objection was made by the local limbo-, rities, or by the Court,ot that State ftorn whence they had 'been taken. In short, eat the part of that State, no objection had been made ; on the 'contrary, although a short period of war hail in tervened', the moment peace was Te-established, the powers had been fully renewed. There was therefore no foundation in fact for those rumours and invectives; ,both in prose and rhyme, which bad' been circulated relative to the mode in 'Which these works bad been meg...veil. Front the evidence of Lord Aberdeen it appeared, that when under the authority of the Otto,. Than Court, and of the nicht' of the province, he Lad attempted to open one of the Tumuli, an the Troad, which was supposed to contain the remains of Ajax, or Patrocks, the population had panitested such a disposition of hostility and op position to the opening of ,the tumulus, that his Lordship bad been obliged to desist 13ut in the case of the Elgin Marbles, there year so far from . any opposition on the part of •the inhabitants of the• district frolii which they , bid been taken, that they rather rejoiced at it as the means of bringing money among them. He there• tore meintained , there was no spoliation iu taking 'away these, Marbles. It could not be said that there was the most remote analogy between the Way in which they had been obtained, and that in which every State iti - Rwope but ourselves haul been stripped of works of art .by France. If there any ewho said that we 'ought to.osnike sonic recompenee to the nation front which we had obtained t tte.n, he would reply to this, that he did taut know how any such secompence could or ()tigh t to be made. The fact avas, that those 'works where they hall been were in a state. of sratloal dilapidation and corrosiontreated with the most wanton neglect, and exposed to injuries Vif every kind. Besides this, France had maoi tested a strong dispoAtion to e , hbrace the very first • opportueity of taking posbession of them. Yt . was.ulterefora,-nor only a justifiable but H wise locagnre that we should ' have the possession of 'these works. The next givat question was as to the value of these' works. As models, their value to artists was inestimable; and if they were rated according to, this, the scum which it was proposed to give, was, he would not scruple to say, quite •_inadequate. But then it Was to be recollected, "that the present times were veryamfarourable for the'sale of such works, and this made soinelhl . - leveller. There was also a criterion to judge of the amount proposed to be given for these works, 'by looking at the price of others. The Townley Ctillection had been bought at a time very un favourable for such works . ,fetchiug a doe !tripe, and had cost 20,0(101. Now, he would say that, compared With this sum, the 'nice proposed to be giveofor theElgin Marbles (35,0001) wasexteme ly moderate, considering the great superiority and authenticity of these works. Io 1811, Mr. Peree val ainhoriied a Gentleinan to Art; to Lord Elgin for the Collection as it then stood 30,0001. pro vided his Lordship could prove that his ex pones iiu procuring and conveying these, works had itrantinted to such ;usual. This offer had been re futed by 'his Lordship, who was ready to prove that his expences had exceeded this sum. It Was to be considered, that since this offer bad been made, the Collection 'had been very mach ire. :creased. Under all those circumstances, he anti cilia,' d that the vote which be was about to pro list! wou. I be a g reed t o . 'Hot if there was any on. Gentleman who should be inclined to op .pose it, ue would cotruat /him to go and examine the worlts If after doiug so, any oite.shoold he alispowut to persist in Oppo,ing it, he would feel a degree of imlignationat his conduct not easily to he expi•essed. He concluded by moving, " This it was the opinion of, the Committee. that the sum of 35 . .0 1 ,i0/. should he granted to his Ma jesty to puicliase the Elgin Collection of Marbles, that this sum should be granted without any fee or dedection." Mr. CoaweN, in ,rising to oppose this motion, slid so from a feeling of :mpt.riousilitty. It seemed to be - admitted by the HonottranleGentletono whit proposed the . tnoti:te, that the present was , not a tune when the coOotry could afford to bestow suelt tis sum tin any uutteeessary . Object; and it was pre tisely on this iinond that he would oppose it. did not. ;mend to enter into the inquiry how 06 5 / 4 401012, had been obtained of those works ; al though his opinion was, that botit.good faith And good ;age forbear their removal room that spot 'where they b a d b een originally erected. lie in tended to oppose the sole solely on the ground that the tom required was one which the country mail nor aliorti for snot) a purpose. Ho?.• had the Honnmlible Gentleman entlenvottred to get over this difficulty ' He had been obliged to r e r er to the Vote of the !louse lOr the erection of mo tument's to commemorate the victories of Water too and Trafalgar. ot these , votes, he wotihil only say, that no monument could add any thing to the 'splendour of those aehievetnetits, the it ittetY of which would last for ever. But he would be g t . the Honourable Gentleman to refl ect on ait"ttisw. the elk& n'igVt,. that the expetiditaee the coon try exceeded its revenue by rhe ciarnions sem of seventeen tWillionS of pound's. Ilc could not conteniplete such it situatiou Witlioiit feeling a'tlegree enrin •which Would norke the ol) , ;. ject - to - Vote a single shilling trirtl'ier than was absolutiey necessary for the ~ e rvice of the - eolith ! try. Ihriad been argued by the liOn. Gentleman that attlie commencenreut Of the . ,tar the Holise :not voted large stuns for a similar purpose: 7 ; • brit he would ask If it could be Seppossed that those sums would have been voted if it had been be lieved that the war would have reduced the color try to its present situation ? If the country were in a 'condition to make such a puVelime, lie ed witted , that thiiy ought not to higgle about price; or Whether it should he a te%v.thtinsand pounds more or less. But the tact being, that we were not in a condition . to make such a purchase, ! aim, abstaining from it was a sacrifice necessary for the good of the country, he oppoied the Re solutiooon these grounds, admitting at the same time, in its fullest - extent, the value of theie works. j Mr. J. W. WARD thought, that under the pre sent circumstances of the country it would not be proper togo aboutseeking tor such purchases ; butt the opportunity of purchasing the works now in question had occurred by chrince. If the present oppOrtueity was not embraced, the works were lost to this country for ever. He agreed with the Lion. Gentleman in the principle that there should be no semi unnecessarily expended, and it was just because he thought that the principle would not in the present instaoce he infrieged upon, that be agreed to the present vote. Mr. HastmensLeY, tkongli sorry to oppose the Ityport of any Select Committee of the lio%Ae, felt it his duty to vote against the present motion; and he Wenned to rest his opposition on the way in which the works had heel; obt ined. -He adverted to what he conceived the Imbue:owing rind tiiihonest-manner In which those monuments' had been obtained ; and conteuded that the Bri tish Ambassador had forwarded the views of the Pot to against the French in Egypt, in order to be allowed to plunder the remains of antiquity in the citadel of Athens. • He then read severe', pens of the.evidence, to show that the' Finnan given to Lord Elgin', would not here authorized him to carry away those antiquities, had not pro• setts been given to the Chief Magistrate at Athens, to lead him interpret the order differently from what was intended. lie wished that what had been dishonestly übtairied should neither be kept nor suffered to be purchased by other Powers, but should be restored to those from whom it had been laken. That alone could wash out the stain which the transaction had affixed to the character of Britons. He then proposed a resolution to the following effect, 'Virtu the Committee, consider ing the 111411111er In which Lard Eight had procur ed the. Athenian Marbles, regretted that he should have so far forgotten his Official character ; that they imputed no venal motive to the Noble Lord, and recommended to th e Horse, that a sum of 25,0001. be offered to 'his bordstrip to recover and 'keep together those monuments for the•Govern mem from whom they had been Improperly token, and that a negociatiun be opened to inform tlist Government that they wete merely kept In trait 'by'this'eermitry, and to proprise theie restoration. CROK1:11 expressed his .usionislonent that th e nnignifivent and classic a l s p eec h o f t h e Il nu . Gentletiu , m should have been hollowed by so far cical a resolution. He then defended the conduct of Lord Elgin. If the Hon. Alember had read the whole evidence produced befOre the Commit tce, he had dune that Noble Lord IS great injus tier, in only quoting part to the Houte.• He eon tended that it was after the fullest investigation that the. Committee had come to the ummimous resolution now proposed to the House. Ile itatrii, that instead of deSpoi.lng Adieus, Lord Elgin l" 4 onlylaiil his liamis on' what wits in ruins. lie had bought a house Wenn a Turk, in the hopes, front its situation, of finding some of the Most precious statues underoeath. . The wily Turk had suffered to pull it down and to dig in vain, -and then tOld thin that the statues for which 'he was looking had been pounded flu° nor tar to bond' the house 'which he lend sold. 'Jr was only then' that' Lord Elgin for the - first time had thought of c arr yi ng away the still existing remains of 'stinky, many of Which were built upon the walls of the citadel, and the rest in • ruins. The Temple of• Theseus was per fect, and Lord Eight had therefore not touched it, bu: only 'caused casts to be Wien from its fi gures and= relievos . . As to the Parthenon, it was completely ruined. When Lord Elgiu had given up his ambassadorial character in 1802, not Is single • piece had been removed. It was only eller he had left Collaantinnple, whilst he was y. prisoner in Franee, or resided In Scotland, that those ma. ottowlits' hid !Neu brought. Ahil lip to this very time, Signor Litliiani, who cootioctvil Lord El gin's operations at 'Athens, was fully employed, with the consent of the Turkish ;Government. 'Could this therefore he termed spoliation ? He concluderlby ridiculing the idea of restoring those monuments to the, Turks, to be pounded like the rest. Serjeant REST Ikbiected to paying 35,0001. for the marbles in question, whatever their intrinsic value might be; because he conceived flint Lord 'Elgin had not acted as the Representative of Great Britain should have done. Ile could not approve that the character' of an 'Ambassador should have been wed to obtain a Finnan trout the. Turkish Government to plunder Athens of its statues, and still less, that bri•iery bbOtild 111.1%e been elOplibyed to give ais interprettition to that FirinaU, tthiclt it would not oat orally bear. lustead of doing good by bringing those monuments to this cottony, Lord F.Agiu foul done mach Mischief. if he had forwarded the interests oh the arts, lie haul pulled down something else of still greater importance, the character of the nation. Ile had obtained an instrument restraining him from 'doing particu lar things, Bud lie had done that front which lie ‘Vai testrained, and how ?. By turniog, - a public officer from the Line his tiiity• di(' not dare what In:CA IT3C Of those moirblei. provided the shame att , ielted to the manner in which they bud been procmcd, thotdd no* he transfercen . to Govern nwnt by their purcloole. •Mr. W.-IVY:4Ie defended the- 'original ituuut efloteuded 11t,xt ttl3e 11UWelvitilitt:4414 oars . cntdci not Trave Oceetictl since the eto'verninent towed, but copthip,d it to tile nri • ent . chic to anprove the opern:ions of Lted Lie . , rimier crnisn'ier'an the htrmttn iti t he ' l4;ltt of a per mission to purchase the Athenizo Monitinents tout the GOvernOr ;"and ho►v totild.klint he called it grsntrif-35,0041. which would in fi t act have been procured by an expence of 61:0001. ineur.ed by the Noble Lord? if the pret.ent collection were not purchased, it moan full into the hands of 'other Powers; and indeed it was welt th at xn offer had already been made . by a foreign State *to very nearly tticisame ronoroti the grant 'tow proposed. Ile shutild vote fUr the ret•olution of 'ttp!, Connkiittee. • Sir J.i4itwPOßT'disapptoved or the transaction altogether, r and sho'Uld therefore vote against the grant. Air. C. Lor intiintßined that the construction put upon the Finnan ,by Lord Elgin had been sanctioned by the approbation of the Turkish GOvernment for 14 years. He was as disposed its any person to save the public ,money, but if this opportunity were lost it would , never recur, and those exquisite works If art would pass into the hands of anoth'et: Power. As to the amendment proposed by the Hon, Gentleniatt, who also re commended economy, to What (lid it tend ? To I»ty 25',0001. to Lord P4lght, and for what? .• To send back those monuments to their former pos. ses.ors ! So that the Noble Lord'4 alleged dis honesty was• to he rewarded tvith 4,0001.; and economy to be etmitilteo by paying so large a sum to retain nothing in Our pospession ! Lord Mt t.Tos- contended that the value of thoSe most exquisite works of autignity was destroyed by the manner in whicht they had beets obtained. lie also objected to the grant on the ground of economy. • Mr. P. Moobe hoped a catagaical answer would be given to these t %co quest ions : Ist, %Vitra Power had offered to purchit,e these rtsonuuteuts for something very insignificantly less than the stun which e proposed r and 2dly, Was it the fact that these Marbles %vete already in the posses sion of the Officers of Government, havitig been sequestrated to make good a debt due by the Noble Lord to the Crown ) In the latter case they, were already ours, and t he money they would cost onght to .he distributed amongst the people. Indeed he should claim it, and particidarly for his Coos, h nen ts.— ( Laugh t cr.) —Hc concluded by Op. posing-the grant. Mr. Bantion , or wished only to' ask, setting the utility and value of the articles out of the ques tion, whether we had the money to give ? In the first place he thought the sum of 35,000/. was not all that these marbles would cost the country. It would be necessary to house them,,. and this might cost the country about as intiCh inure. lie did not say that this money would be thrpwn away,. for it was impossible, iii his opinion, to estimate these treasures too ; but hint we, such times as these, when Petitions from the first to the preient day of the Session hail bt'r 1 10 ' 161 )g in, imploring economy, the money to ex pend ? uroula reluctantly rate against the mo tion, that he t4ight do his utmost to redeem the pledge that, bad . been given. The ex4neidh , of this question, if carried, might, lead to 'others. - Ile understood .that within these few days the Pigot Diamond had been relanded in this country, and no doubt some Gentleman might argue, that this precious gem of nature, which only had one or two specks upon it, ought to be purchased:— Great as the loss may be, respecting these um hies, w e si ma ld have the satisfaction of knou%iug that we had mimic our duty by rejecting them, in times of such unexampled difficulty and distress. Mr. LoNG, in explanation, said that the subject of a building for them in the British Musenid had been considered, bat, that under any circumstances, the expence of an additional building,woold not, by any possibility, tome to one half of the stun mentioned by the lion. Genilentan. Mr. J. P.Gamir was in favour of the question, on the ground that the country w►►s not in such a state that site could not contribute to whatever relatetho bier own hononr or interest. In every view, tLiere Was nothing that mill contribute to the wealth ot the country more than the patronage ot the Fine Arts. After 0 few words from a Member whose name could not be lenity, The House divitied•—• Ayr* isi NOUS .. Nlisp►rity The- house !hell WCIIL ,into a Committee of , Supply, when Mr. t'. Mointa, on the proposal of the Vote re lative to the support of tire Civil Establishment • of the Bahama Islands, reminded the House that a Petition had been presented from an individual whOlaid claim to those hiancls, and he firmly be lieved great adv a nta g e had 'been taken of that persOn. . fie hoped the subject would be impar tially re-considered by Parliament, as such a ease could be mode unt as would Opef4 the eyes of Mi nisters• to; the immense value of that colony ) , and prove io them that besides supporting it would produce a vast ruventte to,this country.. `The ResolutiOn was then agreed to, as were, those for the Civil Establishutents for some of. t h e other Colonies. On the proposition for that relating to Canada,. a eoaversatiou took place between Mr. ‘Vynne,' Mr. Lionlburn, 1.0 Milton, and Mr. Forbes, on the sum to he given to the Society for propagat-' tug the Gospel. it turned on the impriwriety of sending out MisNion,tries to the Colonies at the: expeuce Of GOVCrIIIIIOIt, purl .Mr. Forbes tr ade: some pointed remarks on the number of those persous'wlu, hail arrived in I idia. tie tinder, , tond that orders had been sent from Calcutta, to pre vent any more from comi ng ou t. Coo ot 19)plaineu, that the Vote in question Wits for the support of the Protestant cler,zymen in ,Upper Canada. Oa the Resolution being read for the grant to the Colony of N e w Smolt Wales, Mr. Fottlo;4 observed, th at Ike considered the 1-eatohintela of the Governor of that Colotty to ltv ' nothing like adequat e to what his ldhouts deserv ed, or to those of ,trust othet Groyernors, to whose sal4rics it did cot llear Iron than tlac proportion ut out,- Mr. P. , MoottE thott:lit, if this were the case, the other - S had five !inn. too much —(Lan;hter.) On the vote for the t pences of the Mien Office, Mr. 11. Anotrioi•os •aid, that he had stated Mile current expences t.:r this year to be about 3,b00/. bitt it 'nOw . turned out to be less. Mind ing, to what had been said during the discussion on the Alien 13 1 11; respecting a Mr. Labonchere having been imiiroperlV sent out of the coutt:ey, he observed that he field in his hand two letters which he had shown,to the Hon. Member, who made the assertion (Mr. , f l aring), and he had, in c! , usequence, !Admitted that he himself was wrong in his statement, and that he (Mr. Add;ngton) was right. 11e had proniised that he would' take the first opportunity of doing lani (Mr. A.) justice in that House ; hut not seeing the Honourable Member iu his place, and imagining that t h ere might be no other opportunity of alluding to the subject, he had heen now induced to mention it. Various other miscellaneous Estimates were then proposed and agreed to, amongst 'Which was a vote of 30001 for the National Vaccine Estab lishment, which drew forth some observations trom.Mr. ‘VIY . t;IVE, to the etirCt that the Institutiott ought to bear its own expenses out of the feei it Air. ROSE replied; that the Institution was of the.,greatest advantage, in affording pure Matter fot' vaccination. Ile instanced a tact of his hav ing been lately alitlied to front his neighbourhood. tei obtain &envie ofl ess t halt thirty persons had died through (saving been hut culated with an impure sort, not obtained front this Listitinion. On the n'esidonons being moved for the eXpencei of 'Printing liills,lieports, and other Papers for the rise of the Ilt ttse,• Air. VV. IVY 'N.III iioll4llt it would be desirable t to have one complete set of papers open to the inspectiOn of all the Aiwnhers, kept for reference. This Might save the printing of many paper s . The CHANcetLott of tilt PACIIEQUF.II thought this subject ought to be taken into cOnsideratimt the next Session of l i arliainent. The capon:6i of printing had certainly become very consider able. in the-piesent Session it would amount to 90 or 100,000/. . . 'After sonic Airther conversation as to the man ner in which the ptinting was Charged; the Restii lutitin Was agreed to. Several oilier sums were voted lot . Printing tiett Joiirnalg, Acts of Parliament, Ike. The then restuned, and the Report of the Committee was ordered tote received on Mondity. The Committee nit the Distressed St ate of 'Agri:. culture was postponed tti Priday next. The Dividend Tiangfer Hill and the Life An» nutty Hill went through Committees, the Reporti of which were orderen.to he received on N'lnntl4y. The other Orders of the D;iy were then ikisposeit of, !Ind the Uouse.adioncoeil at Mit"-pa%t Out o'clock this morning. LAW INTELLIGENCE. COURT or KIM;', TiEN(.II, .11;:r. 7. nitEAcH O 1 pßom I:sr, .ot 7 MARRIAGE. LANCE t".IIVNTEK, ESU. , . Tilts Was an action to recover dm uageS for ti (reach t,f PromiSe. tif 'Marriage. , The AtTONNEY::GENEKAL stated the rate to the Jury. The plainti f %VHS a young 1.4.1dy of great accomplishments, the daughter of Mr. Laneey,.a. Mathematical master, resitting at Gieenwielt ; the defendant was the son of a Gentleman :lonknotifo k in the Coniinereird World, and, from hii singular good qualities, had ncquired the naftiC Of Sterling Hunter'. On his death be left the defendant fortttne of near 10,0001. a year, by which he snp... ported a Very elegant establishment. At ill* commencement of his acquaintance with the plain. tiir, who was Governess to his children, he was married and had a large : tautilV. Th e pki nt a entered hiS family in February 1810, and temain. ed until July, 1814, when, in consequence Of ill ari lug from her close application to her professional ditties, and her attention to Mrs.. Hunter, (iring a severe Wit l ess, she returned toner father's konse, Some timeatter this, she accompa nied her eatiter anti her sisters to Prance,and di ring. her stay there, she received ' a letter front one of the Miss Hunters, announcing the decease alter toother ; upon the plaintiff's return to England, she wenr, by invitation from Misalunter, to t liend. a fortnight at the defendant's: boost! at Ke'w, Dot ing this visit, the defendant declared his senor. ments of affectiow for her, and annatinced his in tention to ask her father's consent to their Ition, which he wished to celebrete in the most publin manner ; and as a proof of his.. sincerity, he de sired her to ito to Greenwich, autl prepare her father for a visit (coin himself and his family► where they would dine with lathe ealamilles and he would then take an, opportunity of opening the business to the father. Mr. Hunter was accordingly apprized by his datighter of the defendant's in t noled visit ; and on the 11th December he went tri Greenwich in his baroache anthlottr, accompa nied by his faintly ; on this 'occasion he declared his partiality for Miss Lancey, • and spoke of her 00 a young person whose mental nccomplishments and virtues, could not: but make him happy.-- After dinner, a , privutte 'interview took place, 'be. tureen Mr. Hunter anti 'Mr. Lancey, when' the matter,Wits arranged; Mr. Hunter asked and received the consent of the t,ititer to Omni:W. , doge . the plaintiff; . The intended nuptials were afterwerds spoken of publicly, and an !Mi.' mate correspondence took place bet \vet it the plain tiff and the defendant, it) which the latter spok4 unequivocally of titc,happiness he should derive ita the approaching cons u mm a tion of his wislies..r- , This correspondenee continued until the fith,foly. 1815, when the match was suddenly broken off 4f thedeleodant, Without anyassignehle , c4use. These were the eircumattotesisvf t be ease,und tllss ATTottrotY 7 (4gwkrtat. submitted to the Jury, that considering the situation of toeftarai4ta, itIVO 4 cilSe in which exemplary timmativi tmant tas 1?0 given. In support of the ease, Mt. Lancey, die f>ttlai +r " t, the 0 411111 ft wits 411g111, von fil al.tiii)a at the CiCtS contained in the Alto - ney-General's opening aneecit: Fltx datighter tut nett « years oi age, .tam hituseit t'i't s ;04 e .010Ati,u,tos