The Sun.
London, England, 1853-08-05 00:00:00

BRITISH MUSEUM ESTIMATE.

Sir R. H. INGLIS moved a Aote of 55,840/, for defray-
ing the salaries and expenses of the establishment of the
British Museum.

Mr. HUME thought the house had a right to hear from
a Minister of the Crown some explanation of the reasons
why none of the recommendations of the commission, ap-
pointed some years back to inquire into the state of the
such a balanc
Museum,. had been adopted. He considered the vote enor-
mousin its amount, and thought the public were entitled
plied asvt
to
a much more efficient administration of the
expect
establishment. He wished to know how there came to be
e as 11,000 allowed to stand over, to be ap-
the catalog:::
preparation had It
commissioners might think best. Great com-
plaints
de on the subject of the non-completion of
consisted of 1,200 folio volumes ; its
sent rate of progress, 100,000/. ; it would take, at the pre-
it would then elii:iss't4ofrtY years to have it completed, and
which would give manager,their undivided
or council of management,
have a responsible °- 13,000 volumes. They ought to
of the Museum, instead ufndivided attention to the affairs
the present board of trustees.
It was now proposed to°
quir:S.
of
fpply considerable sums for the
unable
eerals and other matters,
purchase of collectionss
though they were utterly
on the
rodu.tnits outside, which destroyed
present system
findnargoeommsei:to.r sHeveeorbal-
seecgurilditiniegs
large collections already a,e
ob-
jected daawl also taol it
h
the plain English character of the buiain
great waste of the public money. g, and occasioned
Sir R. H. INGLIS said the hon. member was '
taken in supposing that none of the recommrnendatio Ts-
the commission had been carried into effect. Immediately
of
after their report was made, a meeting of the trustees
vevly
held, which was attended by the late Sir Robert Peel, for
the purpose of considering the various recommendations
made, and adopting such of them as fell within the
competency of the trustees, and met their approval.
He considered the present board of trustees inferior to
no fixed board of management which could be appointed.
rly during the ast
Amongst those who attended regula .
of _1)
found the names of the Marquis Lana.
year he Earl of R. 0980, the
downs, the Earl of Aberdeen, the
David
Dandas
Bishop of London, Mr. Macaulay, and Sir
b r,
on. member,
As to the floating balance alluded to by the h
but in those
it was lodged, not in the hands of trustees, .
of the Treasury, and was merely nominal in its character,
arising from one quarter of the year falling into one ac-
count, and another quarter into a different one. During..
the three or four years that had passed since the report of
the commission was laid on the table accommodation had
beenprovidedfora great portion of the collections for which

it was wanted • but there was still one department in which
he was most ready to acknowledge that extensive additional
accommodation was required—that of printed books. Some
years since it had been proposed to set apart 10,000/.
a-year for the purchase of printed books, but such was the
amount of accommodation that would have been required
that the trustees found themselves obliged to decline
10,0001. and accept 5,0001. a-year for that purpose. No
man who saw the Museum would hesitate to admit that
there was an enormous deficiency of space for the reception
of books, the trustees being bound to receive all copy-
right books and sets acquired by the public. An opportunity
of providing adequate room for this and other objects for
a long series of years to come, would be obtained by acced-
ing to the plans that had been laid before the trustees
for the construction of a new quadrangle to the east of the
present building at an expense of 250,0001. This would
enable them to accommodate a greatly increased number
of books and additional collections of natural history, as
well as to furnish adequate reading rooms. With regard
to the vexed question of the catalogue, he would only ob-
serve that in no public library of Europe were such facili-
ties given to the readers as were provided by the 1,200
volumes alluded to by the hon. member.
Slr W. MOLESWORTH was most ready to admit the
want of accommodation existing; in the British Museum,
especially for printed books. Plana had been proposed for
providing increased accommodation, which had been re-
ferred by the Treasury to the Board of Works, and re-
ported upon by that board. The report was now under
the consideration of Government, and he was in hopes that
next session steps would be taken which would enable such
increased accommodation to be provided. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. W. BROWN adverted to the falling off that had
taken place in the number of visitors to the Museum. The
decrease was from more than 2,000,000 in 1851 to 500,000
in 1852.

Sir R. H. INGLIS said the same decrease had been
observed in all places of public resort, but there was an
increase as compared with the year preceding the Exhibi-
tion.

Mr. JAMES M`GREGOR believed the cause of the di-
minution of visitors to arise from the fact that the doors of
the Museum were not left open all the working days of the
week. When visitors arrived from the country, one of
their first visits was to the British Museum; but knowing
nothing of the days when it was open, they often went on
days when it was shut, and getting disgusted, they refused
to go back. He wished the authorities would arrange that
the Musuem should be open for six days in the week.
Sir R. H. INGLIS said there were two classes of visitors
to the Museum—those who come from motives of curiosity,
and those who visited it in pursuit of science. The Tues-
days and Thursdays were reserved for scientific visitors
and foreigners of distinction—Mondays, Wednesdays and
Fridays, for the general public—and Saturdays were re-
served or cleaning.
_ .

Mr. HUME called attention to the fact that the trus-
tees had a balance of 11,0001. on hand from the vote of last
year, and he proposed to reduce the estimate for the pre-
sent year by that sum, and make it 44,0001.
Mr. WILSON explained that though the balance of
11,0001. remained in the Treasury-, there were several pay-
ments and obligations still outstanding, which must be
provided for. The house might depend upon it that not a
shilling would be spent without the sanction and control of
the Treasury.
After some further conversation, the vote was agreed to.
On the next vote of 11,9961. for the salaries of the offi-
cers of the Board of Health, five or six members started up
at once to object to it, when
Sir W. MOLESWORTH begged to state that the func-
tions of this board would terminate next year. (Loud
cheers and laughter.) Under these, circumstances he
trusted hon. gentlemen would not think it worth their
while to enter into any debate on the subject. (Hear.)
Sir G. PECHELL, Mr. BASS, and one or two other mem-
bers, expressed their satisfaction at this announcement,
and the vote was agreed to.
The following votes were agreed to :-
15,087/. for the salaries of the officers of the Irish En-
cumbered Estates Court.
10,9301. for foreign lighthouses.
2,0001. for the improvement of the navigation of the
Menai Straits.
On the vote of 2,5731. for the expense of drainage and
improvement of the navigation of certain rivers in Ireland.
Mr. F. FRENCH complained of the want of supervision
connected with the workmen on the Shannon.

Colonel DUNNE also complained that through some en-
gineering defects in the works carried on at Banagher, the
town was frequently flooded.
Mr. WILSON said none of these complaints had reached
the Government. If representations were made to the
Treasury, he could assure hon. members that they would
be attended to.

On the vote of 5,8201. for repairs of the house of the Bri-
tish embassy at Paris,
Mr. A. WYSE wished to know what was the necessity
for these repairs. He believed that great part of the sum
was nominally given for the building of a chapel ; but there
were already five or six Protestant capels in Paris, where
Englishmen could both worship according to their own
faith and improve their knowledge of the French language.
Sir W. MOLESWORTH said, that in the spring of last
year a representation was made from the Foreign-office to the
Board of Works of the indecent and dilapidated state in which
the house of the embassy was. An architect wassent over to
examine and report, and his report fully bore out the re-
presentation of the Foreign-office. The verandah round
the house had fallen down—the rooms abounded with ver-
min—the rooms had not been painted for years, and the
furniture was stained with the ordure of dogs and cats.
(Laughter.) A French architect had been employed to
keep it in repair for some years past ; but though he re-
ceived large sums of money he did nothing, and these
repairs were now rendered necessary. On the receipt of
this report the Board of Works reported to the Treasury,
who directed that the repairs required most immediately
should be at once carried out to the extent of 3,4201. They
at the same time ordered that a further report should be
made upon the general state of the ambassadorial residence
at Paris. The result of that was the present report. With
respect to the fitting up of the dining-room of the embassy
as a chapel, he had to observe that the ball-room had been
used for that purpose in previous years, but that the late
Government very properly thought it was not fitting that
a ball-room should be used for this sacred purpose.
Mr. HUME expressed his great surprise at the ill state of
repair into which this public property appeared to have
fallen, notwithstanding the annual votes which had been
made for keeping it in repair.
Lord SEYMOUR asked who was the architect who had
made the report upon which the present vote was asked
for, and also who was the architect who had inspected the
ambassadorial residence in years past ?
Sir W. MOLESWORTH said that the architect recently
sent over was Mr. Albano ; the inspection in previous
years had been made by Mr. Burton.
Mr. DISRAELI thought that the committee should
pause before agreeing to this vote. During the late Go-
vernment Lord Cowley addressed to him (Mr. Disraeli) a
letter containing such a representation of the state of the
ambassadorial residence at Paris, that a regard for the de-
cent regulation of the things requisite for the proprieties of
life required that an inquiry should be forthwith made
into the state of the house. Under these circumstances
Mr. Albano, a gentleman previously unconnected with
the repairs of ambassadors' houses, was sent to Paris, and
his report had not been received when the late Govern-
ment went out of office. Having now before them the
statement of the minister with respect to the contents of
that report, he would ask them whether they ever
heard a statement of the condition of a public building equal
to that of the residence of her Majesty's representative
in the most polished capital of Europe ? He could not say
he thought the vote asked for extravagant ; on the contrary,
he could hardly conceive a sum equal to meet such an exi-
gency as the right hon. gentleman had painted with such
graphic force. According to his statement there was not
a chamber which was not in a state of corruption • not a
piece of furniture which did not breed vermin. The cel-
lars of the building are propped up.

Sir W. MOLESWORTH—" Were" propped up. Since
that report was made 3,420/. have been expended in re-
pairs.

Mr. DISRAELI—I trust that the vermin have disap-
peared. I think, if so, they have been most cheaply got
rid of. (Laughter.) He understood that this unprecedented
state of a public building had been brought about in con-
sequence of there having been a false expenditure of the
public money for many years. There appeared to have been
for a series of years statements made by a professional man
—not an English professional man—on the faith of which
the House of Commons had annually voted a certain sum
to support, renovate, and maintain the residence of
the English ambassador at Paris. And now it appeared
that these sums had never been expended. He wished to
know whether an English ambassador had resided in this
house during this series of years ; whether he had permit-
ted a sum to be voted by the House of Commons year after
year for the maintenance of this structure, which he never-
theless allowed to fall into this unparalleled state of dilapi-
dation? He wished to know too what security the house
would have against the repetition of such ladies in
future._(Hear, hear.)
_ _

Mr. MIME thought the vote should be postponed until
the report of the architect sent over to examine the house
had been laid before them.

Mr. WILSON said that there was undoubtedly some
degree of mystery connected with this matter, and it was
clearly necessary that the inquiry should take place. The
report which had been referred to in the course of the dis-
cussion should be laid on the table ; but he hoped the house
would not postpone the vote, as the repairs were of urgent
necessity.

Mr. HENLEY thought that the reports for some years
previous ought also to be laid on the table. (Hear, hear.)
It was evident that a fraud of some kind had been prac-
tised ; and if they could have no guarantee against that in
future, it became a serious question whether they ought
not to sell this palace, and allow the ambassador an annual
sum out of which to priivide himself with a residence.
_ _

Lord SEYMOUR considered the postponement of the
vote was perfectly unnecessary ; but he thought that they
ought to have not only the report of Mr. Albano, but the
last report of Mr. Burton. (Hear, hear.) He believed
Mr. Albano had been employed by the Government before,
and that he had always given great satisfaction, his plans
c, bein suitable, and framed with a due regard to economy.
Mr.i FRENCH considered the proposition of the Govern-
ment a perfectly fair one.
Mr. V. SMITH asked whether there was no clerk of the
works to see that these buildings were kept in a proper
state of repair.
Sir W. MOLESWORTH said that a French architect
had been charged with the general care of the building;
and that once a-year an English architect was sent over to
examine and report upon it. Upon his reports the esti-
mates had been founded year by year.
Mr. HUME suggested that the only remedy for the state
of things which had occurred would be to make the ambas-
sadors responsible for the condition of their residences.
Mr. DISRAELI said the committee was wandering from
the real point at issue. It was impossible that any public
structure could have fallen into the state which had been
detailed by the right hon. gentleman the President of the
Board of Works if there had been that expenditure upon
it which had been annually voted by the House of Com-
mons. Who, then, was responsible for this state of affairs?
(Hear, hear.) What ho wanted to know was, whether the
ambassador had been living in a house of the description
they had heard ; whether a single farthing had been ex-
n3imttree.
pended of the yearly votes; and if so, who had received
chanceno- n
the money? (Hear, hear.) He did not think that they
would receive this information from the papers the hon.
gentleman had promised ; but he thought that if the com-
did
mittee
this obtainingefficial
residencew hat they
ndsetshhavvde.
given (H e (Hear,
the
ai•
Parisians)
MALINSnot votetoek tahseimmiloanyreyvitehweyofthe wouldcahsea%ve a
Whatet ear
have permittedll'irsn
arrlianr.giwngitiahseoniNatrteep Why,
Mr. HUME
withdraw the vote forr •;
of English mann
sair porter to have resided in such a place.
no gentleman in London would
eaahtetphreesmenotst. satisfactory manner of
would be for the hon. gentleman to
Mr. HAMILTON said thatthat :hhee
smtaotneemyehnatdmalradeeadbyybethene
r to the late government was to the effect that
ambassador
expend
ae
dd
0.
the house was in a dangerous condition, and that the
Alban The,
and upon n statement
o a
dining-room floor was sinkin late government,
therefore, sent over Mr,-