The Sun.
London, England, 1863-07-03 00:00:00

THE GIBRALTAR.

Lord R. CECIL asked the Secretary of State for the
Home Department whether he was willing to lay upon the
table, without reserve, all communications with respect to
the detention of the vessel Gibraltar, which have passed /be-
tween any officer or department of the Government and the
collector of customs at Liverpool.
Sir G. GREY said the matter had no reference to the
Home Office, but rested with the Customhouse authorities.
There would be no objection to lay on the table the commu-
nications that had passed between the Board of Customs
and the collector of customs, so far as it related to the 'de-
tention of the Gibraltar.
PENAL SERVITUDE COMMISSION.

In answer to a question from Lord NA AS, who said an
incorrect statement had been published relative to the report
of the Penal Servitude Commission,
Sir G. GREY said he received the report on Saturday,
and ordered it to be laid on the table of the house on Mon-
day, which he believed was done.
THE EXHIBITION BUILDING.
On the motion for going into supply,
Sir H. WILLOTJGHBY called attention to the mode of
proceeding with reference to the vote for the Exhibition
building and Kensington estate. The noble lord on acifor-
mer occasion laid a resolution on the table of the hous for
the purchase of the whole, but he suddenly altered its terms,
and took a vote for a portion only. He wished to know if
that was in accordance with the rules of the house.
The SPEAKER decided in the affirmative, and the
house went into committee of supply.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER—I rise to
propose a vote of £105,000 for the purchase of the Exhibi-
tion Building and the commencing of certain alterations with
a view of fitting a portion of it to its intended purpose ; but
before I proceed to make that statement I vigil it to be un-
derstood that I intend to look at the questiox as a dry mat-
ter of business, and I ask hon. members to hear me out be-
fore they form any judgment upon the subject. I shall
commence by endeavouring to clear the issue, and to re-
duce it to the simplest form, and to give the committee to
understand as clearly and as fully as I can the nature, the
extent, and the discretion we are going to ask for, and to
state the restrictions by which we wish to be considered
bound. With regard to the matters collateral to the issue, I
ought to state, for the information of the committee, that if
the vote we ask be granted, I shall, in pursuance of it, give
notice for leave to bring in a bill to authorise the separa-
tion of certain collections at the British Museum, because
I consider the house,
by a former vote, contemplated
the separation ; and it would have bean needless for us
to raise the question, and ask for authority to carry it
out, unless we were in a condition to give effect to it by
providing for the rearrangement of those collections by
the enlargement of the Museum on its present site, so as
to afford the greatest amount of accommodation. In the
next case, I wish to clear all misapprehension in respect
to it, and that enables me to give an answer to the
second question put to me by the noble lord (Lord J. Man-
ners)—viz., that we propose to place the management and
the control of this property, in case the committee should
sanction its purchase, not in the hands of any subordinate
department, or any department having partial responsi-
bility, but in the hands of the Treasury, in order that re-
sponsibility might be as direct and summary as possible, and
that all inquiries should be addressed direct to the head of
the Government. (Hear, hear.) 1 now, therefore, proceed
to a very irksome portion of my duty, and one which no-
thing but an absolute necessity would ever have induced me
to enter; but I have no choice. The hon. member for
Galway, in a speech made by him on a former occasion,
gave the house his opinion of the ability of Mr. Mallett, a
gentleman who, up to that time, was unknown to me ; and I
considered it my duty afterwards to inform myself who and
what that gentleman is. The hon. gentleman said he was an
eminent engineer, and drew out, under Sir C. Barry, the
whole of the working plans for the Houses or Parliament. It
is
but right that I should do justice to Mr. Mellott, and I
gent
find that he is a very is
he is best known by the
quakes. (Laughter.) ous and clever gentleman, and
productionth of
e question
was
sa WnotOark on
bouttheearth
con-
struction, but the destruction of public buildings I don't he-
sitate to say that that gentleman, from
consi-
deration of that subject, would be aconhsiids persistenteae r bl authority.
(Hear, hear, and laughter.) Mr. Mallett is also known as
the inventor of a certain mortar that is now to be seen lying