The Sun.
London, England, 1863-05-01 00:00:00

THE PALACE OF WESTMINSTER,

The following is the thirteenth report of the
Commissioners on the Fine Arts;-
"We the Commissioners appointed by your Majesty
under aCommission bearing date the 22d day of November,
1841, for the purpose of inquiring whether advantage might
not be taken of the rebuilding of your Majesty's Palace at
Westminster—wherein your Majesty's Parliament is wont
to assemble—for the purpose of promoting and encouraging
the fine arts in your Majesty's United Kingdom, and in
what manner an object of so much importance might be
most effectually promoted, beg leave to submit to your Ma-
jesty a report respecting the progress of the works recom-
mended by us to be undertaken, and, at the same time, to
bring under your Majesty's notice the position in which the
commission is at present placed.
" Bearing in mind the warm interest which our late
chairman, his Royal Highness the Prince Consort, at all
times took in the labours of the commission and in the pro-
gress of works undertaken under its direction, we should
have deemed it our duty to proceed to the election of
another chairman, difficult, nay impossible, as we should
feel it to be to supply in any adequate degree that combina-
tion of knowledge in art, of tried experience in business, and
of high personal authority, by which his Royal Highness
was distinguished. But we feel ourselves relieved from the
necessity of this most difficult selection, since in our opinion
the term of our prescribed duties has now arrived. The
whole scheme of decoration for the Palace of Westminster
has been considered and decided ; and, trusting that the
series of works now in progress can be carried on to their
completion, it does not appear to us that the commission
need be continued to superintend the execution.
" In our 12th report, dated the 25th of February, 1861,
we entered so fully into the history of the labours of the
commission from the first that it will be sufficient on the
present occasion to specify the works that have been com-
pleted since the date of that report, and to submit our view
as to the extent to which various series of wort. s, both in
painting and sculpture, now begun should be continued.
" We have the pleasure to report that Daniel Maclise,
R.A,, has brought to a successful and highly satisfactory
termination the large wall-painting, executed in the water.

glass method, representing the meeting of Wellington and

Blucher after the battle of Waterloo ; and that he has al-
ready begun the corregponding painting representing the
Death of Nelson. Those works measuring each 45tt. in
length, occupy the principal compartments in the Royal

Gallery. - -
" Referring in our last report to the vast scheme of deco-
ration proposed for the Royal Gallery, we observed that,
while so extensive a plan cannot be completed in the life-
time of one artist, it would be desirable that the necessarily
partial execution should be so conducted as that the works,
when interrupted, should, as far as possible, present a sym•
metrical arrangement. On this principle we recommended
that the two large compartments facing each other ia the
Royal Gallery should be completed first.
" Anticipating the same industry on the part of Mr. Ma-
cßae as he has hitherto manifested, we by no means recom-
mend the limitation of his labours even to the two vast sur-
faces referred to. On the contrary, believing that a painter
combin ng so much skill with so much energy is especially
qualified for such undertakings, we recommend that, as
sliming willingness on his part, such other portions of the
Royal Gallery be subsequently intrusted to him as may,
according to the principle above explained, still produce a
satisfactory arrangement and a relative completeness.
" In the apartment called the Queen's Robing Room,
William Dyce, R.A. has, since the date of our last report,
been occasionally employeei on the largest of the frescoes
belonging to the series of subjects he has undertaken to
treat in that place from the legend of King Arthur. The
stipulated remuneration for the entire series having been
long since received by him, we have only to express our
earnest hope that he will see the importance of prosecuting
the work with greater assiduity; more especially since his
exclusive occuration of the apartment must, as we have
observed in our last report, occasion great inconvenience to
your Majesty.
"We next come to the decoration of another apartment

--The Peers' Robing Room—which is also required for the
meeting 6f one of the standing committees of the House
of Lords. Here the general subject is Justice on Earth
and its Development in Law and Judgment,' John Rogers
Herbert, R.A., who has undertaken the series, and who has
prepared sketches for several of the subjects, h's nearly
completed a largo wall-painting, representing Moses bring-
ing down the Table of the Law to the Israelites.' The delay
that has taken place in the execution of this, the first of the

series, has been chiefly in consequence of frequent experi.
raenta by the artist in the water-glass method of painting
We are informed, however, that the Committee of the Lords

finds its business at present most seriously obstructed, and