The Sun.
London, England, 1850-03-11 00:00:00

EASTER, RECESS.

Lord ROBERT GROSVENOR said, in the absence
of the Noble Lord at the head of the Government, be
was in doubt whether to ask the question of which he
had given notice, namely, to ask the first Minister of
the Crown, whether he will move the adjournment of

the House so as to include passion week-in the Easter
recess. Ho bored the House would excuse him for
bringing this subject forward, but he had done it at the
request of many Members who wished to have
the whole week preceding Easter Sunday en-
tirely free from the turmoil cf business.
The House would be curious to know what had been the
practice of the House in regard to the Easter holidays up
to the present time. Ile had exeminoi the journals on the
subject, and the resultof that examination had been to find
that the longest duration of the Easter holidays had been
twenty•two days, while the shortest had been nine days.
The House would. perceive that even the shortest period
would have included what was called Passion Week; but
upon the average of twenty years the Easter holidays had
extended over fourteen days, and if the House thought it
would better promote the business of the House and the
convenience of Honourable Members who came from
Ireland and Scotiand, that it should extend to a given
and curtain period, let them adopt a little longer time,
and make the holidays sixteen instead of fourteen
days.—(Hear, hear.) The present system of conducting
the business of the House was by no means satisfactory,
and in point of fixt they had rather lost than gained
time by the manner of fixing the holidays, and he would
therefore ask the Noble Lord the question which he had
already mentioned as a matter of feeling on the part of
those in whose name he now made this application—as
a matter of convenience to Hon. Members coming from
Scotland, Ireland, and a distance—and as a matter of
convenience to the House generally, in settling the mode
of conducting some of its business.—(Hear, hear.)
Lord JOHN RUSSELL (who had entered the House
whilst the question was being put, amid much laughter)
said he proposed to MOW) the adjournment of the House
on the Tuesday in Passion week, until Monday, the Bth.
of April. His Noble Friend asked him to postpone the
adjournment in order to include Passion week. That
course, if acceded to, would be exceedingly inconvenient
to the public business, as the Government proposed to
bring forward the financial statement this year sooner
than usual, and therefore the estimates and some other
business would not be brought on on the day now
proposed if the request of his Hon. Friend was complied
witb. He (Lord John Russell) should therefore adhere
to the arrangement he had already made, leaving it for
the House in a future year to say whether the Easter
recess should be farther prolonged than at present.
NATIONAL GALLERY.
Mr. OGLE asked the First Lord of the Treasury
whether it was the intention of theltruatees of the National
Gallery to persevere in cleaning the pictures of the old
masters; and also, whether they contemplate removing
the pictures of the Royal Academicians from that part of
the building at present appropriated to them.
Lord JOHN RUSSELL said he understood'on inquiry
that none of the pictures in the National Gallery had
been ordered to be cleaned during the last two years.
He was not prepared to say that the trustees would be
satisfied with what had been already done. With respect to
the further question, no arrangement had been finally
made with regard to the National Gallery; but it was
under the consideration of the Government to provide ad-
ditional accommodation for the pictures presented by pri-
vate individuals, especially those in the Vernon Gallery.