The Sun.
London, England, 1870-05-07 00:00:00

DISMISSAL OF MR. E. BARRY.

Mr. TEMPLE-COWPER gave notice that on Friday next
he should call the attention of the Douse to the dismissal
of Mr. E. Barry, and conclude with a motion.
THE NATIONAL GALLERY AND THE
BRITISH MUSEUM.

Mr. ALLEN moved that in the opinion of the House it
was desirable that the National Gallery and the British
Museum should be opened for the inspection of'the public
between the hours of seven and ten in the evening at least
three evenings in the week. He spoke of the great
importance of allowing the working classes to take advan-
tage of two such great institutions, and remarked that if
the regulations had been framed to exclude the working
population, they could not have accomplished that
end more effectually. He quoted a paragraph
from the report of a committee to enquire into
the question, in support of his ♦iew of the subject.
lie also quoted from the report of a royal commission to
prove that pictures would not be injured by. gas. The
British Museum, too, could be safely lighted with gas.
Competent authorities, whose evidence he now
adduced, were of opinion that if properly
managed, no apprehension need be entertained by the
lighting of the museum with gas. He called attention to
the fact that the South Kensington Museum was lighted
with gas,and he contended that that institution formed a
conclusive case in his favour.

MT. WALPOLE, on behalf of the Trustees of the British
Museum, said nothing would give them greater gratifica-
tion than the opening of the institution to the working
classes as far as could be done with safety. Having
described the existing arrangements, he said the objec-
tions to the opening of the Museum, as proposed,
had been fully pointed out by the hon. gentleman. The
first duty of the trustees was to see that the magnificent
collection should not be imperilled. The hon. gentleman
read from a report made on the subject under considera-
tion, ten years ago by the then superintendent of the
London Fire Brigade, and the architect of
the museums in which they pointed out the
danger of lighting the building with gas. Cap-
tain Shaw was of opinion that there were three
sources of danger by the introduction of gas—namely,
the escape of gas, the great heat, and its injurious
chemical effects. They wouldhave to increase the watch-
men and police fourfold, and even then the danger would
be much greater than it was at present. The hon.
gentleman said that it was the intention of the
trustees to open the museum to the artisan class as much
as possible, and on Saturdays and Mondays during the
summer months the building would be open from twelve
until eight and half-past eight. If the proposal now
made were carried into effect it would involve the altera-
tion of structural arrangements, and necessitate a cost
of somothins like Ri0,004,

mir J. TRELAWISTET said years ago he had made the mo-
tion for the purpose of sowing seed, and he had succeeded.
He could not but confess that he wished to have these
institutionsen on Sunday, and he felt that there were
many that could be with advantage so opened to the
public at large. It was simply a mockery to tell a
large portion of the working class that these institutions
were open for them, because if they did not open them at
an hour at which they could go, they were practically
closed against them. He knew it was hopeless in that
House to ask for the opening of those institutions on Sun-
day, yet his own individual opinion was that there
were portions of these public institutions which could not
be of very great advantage to be so thrown open, and the
doing so would be attended with the greatest possible
good.

Mr. KINNAIRD said it was a mistake to close as
early as was the case at present, because experience showed
that if the public institutions were kept open later
the working class would only be too happy to avail them-
selves of the facilities of examining the matchless trea-
sures of art in the public institutions. He hoped that a
portion of the duplicates of the British Museum might be
sent to South Kensington Museum, where they could be
most admirably placed, and where the working class
were afforded the greatest facilities. He hoped his hon.
friend would press his motion to a division, as he should
give him his hearty support.
Mr. THOMAS BARING said, as one of the trus-
tees of the British Museum, he thought that the
proposal to open the National Gallery late at night
could not be accomplished without continual danger arising
from fire. He did not think the experiments that had
been made were enough to prove that the effect of gas-
light did not deteriorate pictures. It was true that Mr.
Cole had said that his opinion was that it im;
proved them, but he could not agree with him.
He hoped that everyone who was interested
in the progress of art would take care of the priceless
treasures they possessed, and would not run within the
shadow of danger, and therefore he could not, under pre-
sent circumstances, consent to the motion of the hon.
member for Newcastle.

Mr. W. GREGORY thought that however great the
desire might be to throw open the National
Gallery at night, to do so under present circumstances
would be to run a great risk, because the construction of
the building was altogether unsuited for the introduction
of gas. Then with respect to the opinion of Professor
Faraday, he said it was true that the lighting-up of the
South Kensington Museum was goodland efficient, but then

he further stated that he was decidedly of opinion that the
roof of all buildings constituted for such a purpose ought
to be made of iron, and yet there was not one of our pub-

lic institutions which was so constructed. He thought
it very dangerous to open the National Gal-
lery at night, but the danger, in his opinion,
did not exist in so great a degree at the British Museum.
He hoped that when the Government gave them a new
National Gallery they would make such arrangements as
would lead them to exhibit the pictures in the most effi-
cient manner. As a trustee of the National Gallery, he
was quite ready to do as much as the trustees of the
British Museum, provided the Government gave them the
means.

Mr. B. Hors strongly opposed the proposition to open
the museum under such circumstances, and pointed out
the irreparable injury which would result from a fire at
the National Gallery or the British Museum.

Sir WILLIAM TITS thought the introduction of gas
would be attended by injurious consequences. He could
shew hundreds of books which had suffered great injury
in the binding by the absorption of gas products. The
Atheneum library was a singular example of the injurious
effects of gas. He also spoke of the destructive influence
of gas upon pictures.
Mr. LowE thought it would be a most dangerous thing
to introduce gas in the British Museum. They could
not tell what the effect of gas products would
be on the various collections. The progress of science
was very great, and that which appeared insuperable to•
day might be made superable to-morrow, and therefore he
counselled them to wait. The buildings were not con-
structed with the view of introducing gas. No words could
express the blow which the burning of the British Museum
would inflict upon the progress of science and art, nor
could any amount of money compensate the nation
for the loss which it v ould sustain und, r such z.
calamity. It had long been decided that the
natural history collection of the British Museum should
be removed and a suitable building erected, and he ap
prehended that the working classes would be more in-
terested in the works of nature than of man. The new
building Could be constructed so as to be lighted
with gas. He hoped before long to lay some proposition
on the su')ject before the House.
After some remarks from Alderman LAURENCE the
motion was withdrawn.
ILLEGAL LOTTERIES.

Mr. CHARLEY, in a very thin House called attention
to the question of illegal lotteries. He said whilst the
Government had, down to the year 1823, sanctioned lot-
teries, since that time it had exerted itself to put down
lotteries of every description, and thus done a great good
in suppressing a system that had led to such very
bad results. The hon. member then entered into a resumd
of the law relating to lotteries, but only twenty-eight
members took sufficient interest in the matter to occupy
their seats while he did so.

In answer to Mr. CHARLEY, Mr. Baucu explained and
defended his reasons for not having put the Lottery Acts in
operation against recent Roman Catholic lotteries.

The House then went into Committee on the Irish Land
Bill.

The numerous amendments standing on the paper to
Clause 4 were rapidly disposed of, and the clause, as
amended, was ordered to stand part of the bill.
Clause 5 enacts that for the purposes of compensation all
improvements shall be deemed to have been made by the
tenant.

An amendment moved by Mr. PLUNKET, to limit the
presumption to tenancies created after the Act, gave rise to
a long discussion, which turned to a great extent on tho
principle of the clause.

On a division the amendment was rejected by 191
;co 132.

At the end of the clause, at the instance of Mr. O. FOR-
TESCUE, a pro- iso was added excepting from the presump-
tion against the landlord improvements made before the
acquisition of the estate by the existing landlord--im-
provements made under lease granted twenty years
before the passing of the Act, and on holdings of an
annual value of more than £lOO. The Opposition took a
division on the question, that clause 5, as amended, stand
part of the bill, and it was carried by 167 to 103.
The further progress of the bill was then adjourned until
Monday.
Several other bills were forwarded a stage, and the House
adjourned at two o'clock.

The screw steamer Siberia, one of the Cunard mail
sat-3, which left Liverpool for Boston on the 19th ult.,
era:, spoken on the 30th, by the steamer India, putting
back to Queenstown with broken shaft.

An inquiry has just been made at Trowbridge, by Mr.
Coroner Sylvester, into the circumstances attending the
sudden death of a tradesman named James Butler,
outfitter. The deceased went to an early prayer meeting
on Stine' and caught a cold. He called in ti-, id of a
quack . died. The jury return :diet of
died from natural causes.

A quantity of rewly-made bricks of the estimated
value of £3O, was destroyed on Wednesday night, or early
yesterday morning, in the brickcroft of Mr. James
Wyatt, situated between Ordeal Lane and Oldfield-road,
Salford. The condition in which the bricks were found
in the Morning leaves no doubt that the destruction wax
Oita and malicious. The person who committed the act
Faust have got over the palings which enclosed the brick.
croft, and then deliberately Walked along on the bricks,
row by row, as they lay on the ground to dry. A
reward of 25, has been offered for the discovery of tho
poketraters.
The Stamford Mercury reports that at Haven
Bank, near Coningsby, on Sunday, four young men,
while taking a walk, were stricken down by a flash of
lightning. One of them, named George Aistho:pe, 15
years of age, was rifled, and the others were rendered
temporarily insensible, and remained paralysed for some
hours. In the case of Aisthorpe, death must have been
instantaneous. The electric fluid struck and entered his
head, traversed the entire length of his body, and passed
out at his right foot, which was much lacerated; and
almost torn away from his leg. The body was also lite,
rally stripped of clothing.
o
Newdegate
subject
must
surely f
On the lllll. INEIVDF.
be a GATE AND " ROMISH INSTITUTIONS."
CatholiCms
onaonmd
anCiaacth. s
oliciosmme Mfewr.
years ago, at a country house where he was dining, he
tor
thisak e
personhe r downn his
i to dinner.hef lierbefore,
had
ds ineverntrodaueceend
or
o a l
heardel
but as he took her down stairs he commenced theee
she
on conver-
sation—apropos of nothing--by saying he hoped
an enemy to Romish institutions. The lady, who
happened to be a convert tp the Catholic Church, replied,
" Oh, dear no, Mr. Newdegate, it is only about six
months since my husband gave up his living as Vicar
of ----- in order to become n Oathalic, and we have just
sent our daughter to the convent at for her educa-
tion." Mr. Newdegate seemed perfectly aghast at this
reply. He led the lady to her seat at table, but half
turned his back up on her, and never spoke a word to her
the whole of dinner time.—Weekly Register.