The Sun.
London, England, 1857-07-31 00:00:00

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not easily reconcileable and afforded us but little
assistance.
" The same may be said of the recorded judg-
ments of an eminent individual. Sir C. Barry was
examined before the committee of 1848. He was
thus questioned by the chairman, Lord Morpeth:—
" Since you were last examined by the commit-
tee have you directed your attention to the site of
the present National Gallery with a view of ascer-
taining the capabilities of that building for the re-
ception of additional works of art?' His answer
was :—" Yes, I. have, and I am now prepared to
report to the committee on the subject. I am of
opinion th Lt if the site of St. Martin's Workhouse
were purchased, an alteration were made in the
form of the barrack-yard, and a portion of Castle-
street stopped ; if the Royal Academy were located
els .wliert>, the portico and °tin r projections be-
yond the line of the present front taken down, and
consider".ble additions were male to the present
building, a National Gallery could be obtained on
the pre ent site that would be an ornament to the
metropolis, and afford accommodation equal to the
requirements of the country for the national pic-
tures for ages to come. I should add, the proposed
additions to the present building would have the
effect of entirely concealing the front of it. I have
gone very minutely into the subject, and have pre-
pared certan plans and diagrams to illustrate my
proposition, and 1 shall have great pleasure in sub-
mitting and explaining them if it be the wish of the
committee.' (Answer 182).
" The whole tenor of Sir C. Barry's evidence in
1848 is i& favour of the site of the present National
Gallery ; but when examined by us on the 2d of
last April, and his former evidence being referred
to, he said, "I would not hold to that answer
now, because I'have had opportunities since of
'-ese.tra;nix;g -verT. carefully the capabilities of the
British Museum', I have Considered also the ad=
vantages of the greater centrality of its position,
and other matters which I was not aware of and
did not consider when I gave that evidence. My
opinion is now modified, and I have no hesitation
in saying that the site for the National Gallery, in
my opinion, is the British Museum, in preference to
that of Trafalgar-square.*
" We have referred to these striking differences
of opinion of the same eminent persons at different
times, to show the small amount of assistance we
have received from consulting authorities on the
matter in question, and also to suggest an excu,e
for any differences of opinion which the minutes of
our proceedings will prove to have existed among
ourselves. And it may not be improper to add that
our difficulties have not been diminished by the
fact that our commission originates in a difference
between a decision of a committee of the late House
of Commons and a vote of that house itself, the
vote in each instance having been carried by a very
small majority.
" At the outset of our deliberations it appeared
:that many sites might be considered worthy of espe-
cial notice, but on closer examination we found our
choice to be limited to a very few. We felt that any
encroachment on the royal parks would meet with
general opposition, and we must add that it would,
in our opinion, be most undesirable. This convic-
tion excluded us also from recommending the 'bite
of either of the Royal Palaces, supposing that such
a proposal could with propriety be made, for no
suitable structure could be raised on such a site
without to a certain degree encroaching on the
parks, either by the building itself or by the requi-
si'e approaches to it. A suggestion was made in
favour of the inner circle of the Regent's-park by a
witness who has given much attention to the sub-
ject,l- but our resolution not to advise the erection
of large buildings on any of the open spaces now
u ed for public resort, as well as objections to the
nature of the soil, induced us to exclude that site
from our final consideration.

" We could not adopt the proposal to remove the
national pictures to the upper floor of the British
Museum, although the plan came_ recommended to
us by a high authority.
" After these and other deductions, for which we
do not think it necessary to five detailed reasons in
tbis report, we found our choice, in fact, limited to
two sites—the site of the present National Gallery,
sufficiently enlarged, and the Kensington-gore
estate.

" The advantages and disadvantages of the Ken-
sington-gore estate were stated in full and minute
detail before the select committee of 1853, and we
examined some of the principal witnesses who then
gave evidence on that subject.
" So far as space for a building of great magni-
tude with capacity for future enlargement is con-
cerned, tbis site is, in our opinion, undoubtedly,
to be preferred, and we cannot but conclude that
the air must be on the whole less impure there than
at Charing-cross. Whether it will continue to be
so when the neighbouring land to the south-west
and west shall be covered with buildings and be-
come part of the metropolis may by some be
doubted.

" We ought not altogether to overlook the fact,
although it need not govern our decision, that the
choice of this site would occasion a saving to the
amount of whatever ow lay might be requisite for
the purchase of land elsewhere.
"Orythe ether hand, the site of the present Na-
tional Gallery is incontestably more accessible—
more in the way of all classes, and, from long usage,
more familiar to them, than any position in the
outskirts of the metropolis. The surpassing merits
of this sit© in this respect are fully set forth in the
unanimous report of the select committee of 1848,
to which we have previously referred. And in re-
gard to capacity for enlargement, which seems to
be the chief matter of doubt, there can be no
impediments now which were not known to the
eminent practical statesmen who composed the
committee and prepared the report of 1848.
"In regard to atmospheric impurities, it is, as
has been previously admitted, inferior to the site
of Kensington-gore ; but additional care, the more
general protection of the pictures by glass, which,
is strongly recommended by some of our more com-
petent witnesses, architectural improvements in a
new building, and recent legislation, which has
done much to purify the metropolitan atmosphere
and may do mo:e, would probably much improve
its present condition. Considered architecturally
the site of Trafalgar-square stands by common con-
Lent without a rival ; and the substitution of a
building worthy of the British people for the pre-
sent edifice would command universal admiration,
and do honour to the age.
"It only remains for us to state that, having
duly considered the premises, we have decided by
a majority of three votes to one (one of our col-
leagues having declined to vote) in favour of the
site of the present National Gallery.
" Witness our hands and seals this 15th day of
June, 1857,

" BROUGHTON.
"H. H. MILMAN.
"M. FARADAY.
" C. R. COCKERELL.
" GEO. RICHMOND."

* " See a report by Sir C. Barry to the Board of Works
in 1853, in the appendix.
t Mr. Alexander J. B. Beresfora Hope, M.P.

PRIVATE AND JOINT-STOCK BANKS.

The Bankers' Magazine furnishes the returns of circu-
lation of the private and joint-stock banks in England
and Wales for the four weeks ending the 4th of July,
1857, and gives the following as the average weekly cir•
culation of those banks during the past month, viz.:—
Private banks
Joint-stock banks 3,008,534

Average weekly circu1ati0n........... £6,625,775
On comparing the above with the returns for the pre-
ceding month, ending the 6th of June last, it shows—
A decrease in the circulation of the private
banks of .. ............................................... 2361,984
A decrease in the circulation of the joint-stock
banks of ................................................ 69,212

Decrease on the month £431,196
And, as compared with the return for the correspond-
ing period of the preceding year—viz., July 5, 1856, it
shows—
A. decrease in the circulation of the private
banksof ............................................. .„ £123,596
A decrease in the circulation of the joint-stock
banks of

26,567

Decrease on the year
On comparing
.the above with the amounts of the fixed
issues the following appears to be the comparative state
of the circulation :
The private banks are below their fixed issues R 878,304
The joint-stock banks are below their fixed
issues

293,823

Total below the fixed issue £1,172,127

TEM HARVEST.—Harvest is progressing most rapidly.
The crops are large and heavy. Wheats are remark-
able for the length and squareness of the ear. Oats in
many places are already housed. Some large breadths
of barley are cut in good condition. Peas and beans
are abundant. The crops are ripening so fast that it is
difficult to decide which field to begin first. If as
weather holds fine for 10 days the bulk of the harvest
will be got over, and by this day week many temples
will have been laid on the market tables.