MR. DAWSONsaid, he would beg to ask the First Commissioner of Works, Whether, in the present state of the enclosure in Leicester Square, it would be in the power of the Government either to remove or repair the mutilated statue, and otherwise improve the dilapidated condition of the space in the centre of the Square; and, considering that the locality is used as so common a resort among foreigners, whether any steps could be taken to render it more suitable to the proper appearance of a public thoroughfare in the Metropolis?
MR. COWPERsaid, in reply, that the dirty and disorderly condition of Leicester Square was an evidence of the want of any control or authority on the part of the Government over that ill-fated quarter of the town. It was not Crown property; if it were, any one who held his (Mr. Cowper's) office would not consent that the person of His Majesty George II. should be presented to the public in its present mutilated and ridiculous form. The statue had only one leg, and that a crooked one, and only one arm, which was quite distorted. The difficulty was that Leicester Square was claimed as private property, and that the owners were not prepared to fulfil the duties that attached to them. The year before last, however, an Act was passed called the "Gardens in Towns Act," intended to remedy this very disastrous and disgraceful state of things; and this Act would shortly come into operation. It empowered the Metropolitan Board to undertake the management, and in the absence of any well-defined rights on the part of others, to repair the railings, clean the walks, and put the statue in order. The Metropolitan Board of Works had given the necessary notice, which would expire in about four months, and by next July he trusted that the Metropolitan Board would be able to interfere and improve the condition of the square.