§ MR. STIRLINGsaid, he rose to ask the Chief Commissioner of Works whether it is the intention of Her Majesty's Government to order any one of the Prize Designs for the Wellington Monument, now exhibited in the Conference Room, to be executed for Saint Paul's? and if not, whether he will state the course which the Government proposes to adopt with regard to the design and construction of the Monument? The result of the competition for the Wellington Monument was the exhibition last year in Westminster Hall of a number of designs, which, as a whole, he must say, with all respect, turned out to be a failure. In this opinion he was fortified by the concurrence of every one with whom he had conversed on the matter. This was, in the main, a subject of great regret; for it was a melancholy thing to see so much time, thought, and genius, as must have been expended in their preparation completely thrown away. There were, no doubt, monuments of great merit exhibited; but many of them were wholly in-applicable to the purpose for which they were intended. There were designs in the rich and fanciful style of the sixteenth century, very beautiful in themselves, but totally incongruous with the severe and chaste architecture of Wren. He thought that these mistakes and all this waste of labour were greatly owing to the want of more explicit conditions than those which had been laid down for the guidance of the competitors; for those who had issued the conditions appeared to have forgotten the important fact that in these times sculptors were no longer architects, as was the case in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, when every great sculptor was also a great architect, and every eminent architect was a sculptor. As an instance of this, it was sufficient to name Michael Angelo and other eminent men. He thought he might safely say that since those professions had been separated monumental art had declined, and very few good monuments had been erected in the churches. As for Poet's Corner it represented an undertaker's shop rather than a 15 collection of works of art. A piece of sculpture placed in a building depended as much for the effect which it produced upon the architecture which surrounded it as upon its own intrinsic merits; for a work charming in the studio might be utterly destructive of effect if placed in an inappropriate situation. The fact was that if anything really good were to be expected in this direction the architect and the sculptor must work hand in hand, and the sculpture must be made subordinate to the architecture; for the latter was, as it were, the cloth, and the former was the mere trimmings which adorned it. Taking this into consideration, it appeared to him that the instructions which had been issued for the guidance of the competitors were extremely meagre and insufficient. The instructions issued to the artists contained a ground plan, showing the proposed site of the monument, and that was all they had to guide them. They were told that it was to be placed in a certain position—that the space was not to exceed thirteen feet by nine feet, and that the cost was not to exceed £20,000. The consequence was that artists all over the world seized their moulding tools, many with very little knowledge of architecture; the result was the loss of their time, pains, and trouble; for some of the designs were more fitted for a confectioner's shop than for Saint Paul's. If it were to be a mural monument an architect must be employed. If it were to be an isolated monument, which he hoped it would not be, very strict directions should be given as to its dimensions and outline. He hoped that his noble Friend (Lord J. Manners) would not adhere to the site which had been chosen, and which was under one of the arches on the north side of the church, next the centre. If the monument were placed under that arch it would necessarily interfere with the north window immediately behind it. Saint Paul's, as it was, was by no means too light, and he was sure that those who visited it in November would admit that there was no window in which marble could with advantage be substituted for glass. There was also this objection—that for the sake of symmetry it would be necessary at some future time to erect another monument, which would block up another window, or at least have partially that effect. Moreover a monument erected on the site selected would interfere with the space that it was to be hoped would be required by the worship- 16 pers at Saint Paul's, and the monument itself would be very badly seen. Everybody knew how difficult it was to observe the features of a face behind which was a strong light. The monument should not only be worthy of the Great Duke of Wellington, but also a landmark of our national art. What had been done hitherto had been done extremely well. The sarcophagus in which rested the remains of the Duke was one of the most beautiful ever erected in this country. It was made from a single block of granite, and altogether. was one of the finest monoliths of modern times, and he saw no reason why the monument should not, in accordance with the wish of the House and the country, be worthy of the man and the place—of the man whom they delighted to honour and the place which was the most beautiful and classical church in the world.
§ LORD JOHN MANNERSsaid, that with the permission of his hon. Friend he would postpone his answer, as another question on the same subject was to be asked him.