The Sun.
London, England, 1865-05-06 00:00:00

SUPPLY-THE BRITISH MUSEUM.

,ime.

On the motion for the house going into committee of
supply,
Mr. GREGORY rose to call the attention of the house to
the condition of the British Museum, the National Gallery,
and the Kensington Museum. He commenced his observa-
tions by remarking that notwithstanding the annual visits
of the great connoisseurs in painting connected with the
National Gallery to the continent, this country managed
to lose the majority of the valuable paintings that were
gladly secured by other countries. The arrangements of
the National Gallery he considered altogether bad, and he
was of opinion that instead of the scattered state of the
national pictures, a fitting and proper place should be con-
structed, so as to unite the whole collection. At present the
most valuable pictures were put in the wrong place, and he
could not better illustrate his observations than by remark-
ing upon the bad taste of removing the cartoons of
Raphael from Hampton Court Palace to Kensington,
instead of placing them in the National Gallery. The whole
thing called for a reorganisation, and he hoped such a step
would soon be taken. With respect to the British Museum,
speaking generally, the whole arrangement, in his opinion,
was a complete jumble. There was no order, arrange-
ment, or anything else. Sizo seemed to be the great
consideration, and thus we had the most hetreogeneous
collection under one roof in any country in the world.
Nothing could be more faulty than the management of the
British Museum ; no doubt there were gentlemen of high
position and standing, as trustees ; yet the business was,
in fact, left to the secretary, and however energetic
that gentleman might be, he thought it totally impossible
. .

for him to do his work in a satisfactory manner. Govern-

ment, in his opinion, were responsible for the state
of things that existed, and he thought it would be
of the greatest public benefit if they at once set about in
earnest to provide better accommodation for the national
collection. He should postpone his observations respect-
ing the Kensington Museum till a future day.

Mr. COWPER said he had listened with much satisfac-
tion to what had fallen from his hon. friend, and was glad
he had taken a survey of the collections of art and natural
history in a spirit which encouraged him to hope that the
question would now meet with better consideration
on the part of the house, and that, laying aside the ten-
dency to criticism and levity, it would be dealt with prac-
tically. The people of this country had shown that
they thoroughly appreciated and enjoyed the collections
in the National Gallery, British Museum, and South
Kensington Museum. When they had instances of
11,000 persons visiting the Museum in a single day, and
10,000 passing through the, National Gallery, one could not
but see that those institutions were thoroughly popular I
with all parties, and were conducting to the cultivation of

the knowledge of art. His hon. friend had described the
deplorable state to which the collections were reduced for
want of space. He quite agreed in the praise which his
hon. friend had bestowed upon them, and thought with
him that they were worthy of an expenditure which might
be necessary to provide suitable accommodation for them.
It should not be forgotten that England possessed the two
greatest series of works that existed in the world in sculp-
ture and painting. The Elgin Marbles and the Cartoons
of Raphael were considered the greatest works in each de-
partment of art. The great difficulty in the way of any
satisfactory arrangement was, that two alternatives were
before the Government and the country. It was obvious
that the present National Gallery was a very inferior
building, and one that no architect in the present day
would think of constructing. At the time it was built the
proper mode of arranging pictures was not known, and
anybody who had seen the modern galleries and exhibi-
tions would at once perceive the inferiority of the building
in Trafalgar-square. But, on the other side, people were
accustomed to the National Gallery, and could not bear the
idea of its removal ; and perhaps more than this, there was
a desire that the National Gallery should remain upon the
most prominent site in the metropolis. There was some
suspicion too that the Royal Academy should derive some
advantage from the change. The only large, great, and
cheap exhibition of modern paintings *as that of the Royal
Academy, and he had no doubt in the new building which
they intended to erect their pictures would be exhibited to
greater advantage than in the National Gallery. He en-

entirely denied that there was any binding engagement in
1860 never to remove the National Gallery. He quite
agreed that it would be desirable to have the Cartoons of

Raphael placed in the National Gallery ; and as regarded
the British Museum, the resolution of the trustees in 1852
would be taken as the groundwork of the plans which
would be considered in his department.
Mr. WALPOLE admitted that the collections of the
British Museum were in a state discreditable to the country,
but when his hon. friend (Mr. Gregory) attributed it to
want of management, he cast a censure on the trustees
which they did not deserve. He knew the difficulties which
the Government had to deal with, but the sooner that they
took the matter in hand the better would they settle it,
and he did not believe that they could find a session better
suited for the purpose than the present. What he would
suggest was that they should purchase the buildings which
surrounded the Museum, and apply them as the necessity
arose to the requirements of the institution. The expense
would no doubt amount to a considerable sum, but it would
be spread ever a number of years. If they did not do that,
they should divide the collections into two parts, and place
the art collection in one place and the natural history col-
lectien in another. These were the courses which were
open to the House, and they should at once choose be-
tween them.

Sir G. BOWYER disapproved of the system of tempo-
rary buildings, and suggested that the height, both of the
Museum and
,the National Gallery, might be increased
with effect.

Mr. TITE concurred with the hon. gentleman who had
spoken that the collection of the British Museum was the
finest, but worst arranged, in the world, and urged that
they should at once determine either to. make adequate
provision for it, or to divide it into two.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER denied that
the Government had been slow in meeting the expressed
wishes of the House of Commons in this matter. When the
noble lord at the head of the Government was at the head
of his former administration, he made a proposal to transfer
the National Gallery to Kensington, founded upon the re-
commendation of a committee of that:house. The vote of the
house subsequently showed their disinclination to adopt
this course, and the noble lord at once abandoned his scheme.
Her Majesty's Government then purchased a building and
land at Kensington, with a view to the most speedy and
ample accommodation for the natural history collection from
the British Museum ; but the house rejected that plan,
and her Majesty's Government abandoned it. When a com-
prehensive plan for providing for the national collection of
pictures upon the site of Burlington House was proposed
by the Government, the House of Commons differed from
them, and the Government at once deferred to that expres-
sion of opinion, and abandoned the plan. The hon. member
for Galway, Mr. Gregory, said that the Government had not
deterred to the wishes of the house, because they had not
extended the British Museum on its present site. But that
wish had never been expressed by the house. Every wish
that had been expressed by the house had been frankly ac-
cepted by the Government. In 1863 land was proposed to
be purchased at South Kensington, with a view to apply it
principally to the accommodation of the natural history
collection of the British Museum. The vote proposed by
the Government for that purpose was accepted by the
house, and the land was purchased, but the proposal to erect

a building was rejected by an overwhelming majority.
With regard to the extension of the Museum on its present
site, the Government had consulted Prof. Owen, who stated
that the least amount of accommodation for the natural
history collection would be eight acres. The trustees
found that the land round the Museum could not be ac-
quired for less than £50,000 an acre. The Government had
now a site which cost only £7,000 an acre, and if it was not
bought to put the natural history collection upon it. he
should like to know for what purpose it was bought. With
regard to what was at present in progress with regard to
the British Museum, her Majesty's Government were pro-
ceeding in concert with the trustees. It was impossible to
lay a vote on the table until they were able to say that they
had a plan on which they proposed to build. That plan
they had not yet obtained, for one plan had been selected
by those appointed to pronounce on the comparative merits
of the different competitors, while another had been chosen
by the trustees on account of its superior internal accom-
modation. An attempt was now being made to combine the
merits of those two plans; but till that was done, and the
correspondence between her Majesty's Government and the
trustees were brought to a close, he should not be in a
position to make any proposal to the house.
Mr. AYRTON said that the proposal of the right hon.
member for Bucks (Mr. Disraeli), when Chancellor of the
Exchequer, announced that the National Gallery would
be devoted to its original purpose, and some other arrange-
ment made for the Royal Academy. The announcement
had been received with acclamation. The noble lord (Pal-
merston) in 1860 stated that he had come to the same
conclusion, because it was on the faith of that statement
that the house had voted some money for altering the
National Gallery. The Government, therefore, was alone
responsible for the vacillation which had since taken
place. With respect to the British Museum, the Go-
vernment were equally open to the remarks of the hon.
member for Galway ; for the notion of eight acres of stuffed
whales and other animals had been reported against by a
committee of that house, who stated that a typical natural
history collection would be much better. In spite of the
opinion of that committee, the Government persisted until
their plan was rejected by an overwhelming majority.
He denied that because the house had agreed to the pur-
chase of the seven acres at South Kensington they were
bound to the eight acres of natural history. He contended
that the enlargement of the Museum was entirely an open
question, and that the purchase of land round the present
building might, on investigation, prove to be the most
practical and economical scheme of extension.
Mr. H. SEYMOUR was of opinion that the Government
had been at direct issue with the house ever since 1852.
The Government had been trying to drag the national
collections of all kinds down to Kensington, while the
house had been endeavouring to keep them where they
were. The Government plan of separating the collec-
tions was diametrically opposed to Col. Muir's committee

in 1852. Ever since 1851, the year of the first Exhibi-
tion, he had been in favour of concentrating the national
art and science collections on some site between St. Paul's
and Westminster Abbey ; and to that end no more eli-
gible site offered than Trafalgar-square. The truth was,
however, that instead of hankering after the site at Ken-
sington, the Government ought to have carried out the
magnificent plan of Inigo Jones, and erected upon the
site of Whitehall splendid palaces, fitted for the
reception of the national collections. With respect
to the National Gallery, he could not under-
stand why the Commissioner of Works had
merely proposed to take the ground up to Hem-
ming's-row, when a plan might have been formed by the
Government, in conjunction with a great company, for the
purchase and improvement of the whole site as far back as
Leicester-square, and the opening up of the communications
between Regent-street and the Strand.
THE CURRAGH OF KILDARE.

Lord NAAS asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether
any steps had been, or were about to be, taken by the
Government for leasing the Curragh of Kildare to the War
Department, and whether it was intended to propose any
legislation on the subject during the present session.
Mr. F. PEEL said no bill was necessary to authorise the
granting the rights away of the Crown over the Curragh;
but inasmuch as the War Department might find it neces-
sary to erect buildings of considerable value during the
currency of any lease which might be granted to them, they
had asked for rights to purchase, and a bill would be intro-
duced to give effect to their request. A lease would be
given by the Crown to the War Department of 21 years,

•
extending over the whole of the Curragh, but reserving
the rights of the commoners as well as those of the Irish

Turf Club. At present the office of Woods received from
the War Department a payment of £l7O a year, and they
paid besides a sum of £350 to the Ranger. It was now
proposed that the Ranger should retire upon a pension, and
the office should remain in abeyance during the pendency
of the lease to the War Department.
Col. DUNNE asserted that the Crown had no right to
authorise any encroachments upon the Curragh. A more
atrocious invasion of public property had never been heard
of than that contemplated by the proposal just announced.
Formerly 30,000 speep, the property of the people of Ire-
land, grazed upon the Curragh. For his part, he would do
all he could to get up a subscription to oppose this atrocious
robbery on the part of the Crown, and to obtain the deci-
sion of the Court of Queen's Bench as to the legality of the
title of the Crown to this laud.
Lord DUNKELLIN, said though he was not so anxious
as his hon friend to go to law about this matter, yet:he was

very glad it had been brought under the notice of the

house. A worse state of affairs had been disclosed than he
had believed to -have existed. The camp of the Curragh
was the greatest nuisance ever erected in any spot in the
world. It was a matter of notoriety that for years past the
title of the Government to the land had been a faulty one.
He hoped the authorities at the War-office would seriously
take the matter into consideration.

Col. FRENCH thought that sufficient had been said on
both sides of the house to show the Government the neces-
sity of having some inquiry held respecting the illegal
course they were pursuing.
Mr. A. SMITH said this was another instance of the
great inconvenience which had arisen since the passing of
the Act of 14 and 15 Vic., between public lands and Crown
lands. He only regretted that the noble lord had not
moved for a committee of inquiry.