BRITISH MUSEUM. (Hansard, 1 July 1823)

Mr. Hobhouse
said, that the hon. member for Corfe Castle had objected to his hint about placing the royal library at Whitehall, that the banquetting-room was unsuitable for such a purpose, from its construction as to windows, and from the impossibility of making reading-rooms near it. Now, the banquetting-room at Whitehall was 115 feet long by 60 broad, and 55 feet high. It was the largest room in England except Westminster-hall, and would contain the whole of the collection in question. He had his information upon this point from a gentleman whose means of knowledge were perfect; and the words in which that information was conveyed were these—"The hon. member for Corfe Castle is as much mistaken as to the banquetting-room at Whitehall, as he was in supposing that marble could be burnt without the aid of a kiln." In fact, it was a little surprising how the hon. member had fallen into that mistake; because there was scarcely an ancient marble now remaining in the world, which had not been dug from some house or situation which had been consumed by fire. For himself, he still thought Whitehall incomparably the better place for the library; and was averse to spending money upon such a piece of patchwork as the British Museum.

§ Mr. Croker,
on rising to move an amendment, expressed his general assent to what had fallen from the hon. member for Westminster. He thought the British Museum a very ill-contrived; inconvenient, insecure building, and wished very much 1358 to remove the Museum from its present situation. The library now in the Museum he was content to leave there; but, for the models and pictures, which ought to stand in the public eye and aid the public taste, Russell-street was not the proper place of deposit. If the House would build up the open wing of Somerset-house and suffer the models and paintings to be thrown open there, it would do that towards forming a public taste for science, which could never be effected by the mere purchase of the works themselves. The amendment with which he intended to conclude was one to which he imagined there would be no objection. He proposed to place the design and expenditure of the buildings, whatever and wherever they were to be, under the control of the lords of the Treasury. This was meant as no slight to the trustees of the British Museum; nor could it be considered as such. The buildings occurring in the departments of the Ordnance and Admiralty were subject to the control of the Treasury; and even the new London-bridge, towards which the public had only contributed 100,000l. was to be placed under the same direction. He would move as an addition to the words of the resolution, "but that it is expedient, before any such building shall be undertaken, that a general design, with plans and estimates, be prepared under the direction, and subject to the approbation of the lords of the Treasury, of a suitable edifice for the reception of the several collections of the British Museum; and that the works which may, from time to time, become necessary, shall be erected in conformity with such general design."

Sir C. Long
thought the hon. member's amendment quite unnecessary. The trustees of the British Museum would never have thought of building with the public money, without taking the opinion of the Treasury. The right hon. gentleman proceeded td defend the building and arrangements of the British Museum, and declared that the entertainment which the House had derived from the address of the hon. member for Bodmin on a former evening, they owed to the fertility of his invention, rather than to the accuracy of his statements. Room was certainly wanted; for sir George Beaumont had offered his collection to the Museum, and it had been declined, for want of a place to put it in. The gallery of which the hon. gentleman had so bitterly complained, had 1359 been planned by Mr. Townly himself; and, with all due deference to the taste of the hon. gentleman, it was a matter upon which Mr Townly was likely to be, at least, as well instructed as himself. He should oppose the project for carrying the exhibition to Somerset-house. In the first place, he believed that there would not be space for the undertaking; in the next, it was evident that the cost of a building would be immense; and a further objection still was, that the foundation was a very bad one—so bad, indeed, as to be the reason why Somerset-house had never been completed.

§ Sir J. Yorke
observed upon the great sums which had been laid out on the Elgin marbles, and the inconvenience of their present situation. He recommended that Somerset-house should be completed, the unfinished state of which was a disgrace to the capital and the country; and that a gallery should be added, in which these marbles might be deposited, together with what other works of art the money which the House should choose to vote would purchase. At all events, he trusted that no more money would be granted until a regular plan should have been submitted to the House, of the intended alterations.

Mr. A. Ellis
very much objected to sending the late king's library to the Museum, because he thought that two great libraries were not more than the metropolis required. He defended the committee of the Museum, from the reflections cast upon them by the secretary of the Admiralty, whose amendment he should oppose. He praised the noble and patriotic gift of sir G. Beaumont. The collection of Mr. Angerstein would be sold in the course of next year, and if not looked after, would very probably go out of the country. His intention was to move for a grant in the next session, to be applied, under commissioners, to the purchase of this and other collections, for the formation of a national gallery.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer
justified the committee of the British Museum. He happened to be one of them, and was denied that credit for taste by his hon. friend, as a member of the committee which had been abundantly bestowed upon him as a lord of the Treasury. He did not conceive that it was a matter of course, that, because the lords of the Treasury were responsible for the raising and laying out of money, they were the most capable persons in matters of mere taste. For his 1360 own part, he really dreaded the censures of his hon. friend near him; who, be it known to the House, considered himself, very justly no doubt, to have considerable taste in architecture. He certainly thought that Somerset-house, which was a noble pile of buildings ought to be finished; and at some other time he might, perhaps, move for a grant for that purpose. But as to building, there he must be excused—he was afraid of falling under the criticism of his hon. friend, who would be apt to apply to him the epitaph on sir John Vanbrugh— Lie heavy on him, earth, for he Laid many a heavy load on thee. He thought the situation of the Museum not so very objectionable. As to the argument, that the library was not open to all the world, he thought that was rather an advantage than otherwise. The models of antiquity ought to be as open as possible to the examination of artists. Certainly, a national Museum ought to be magnificent, and the present building was not the best calculated for that effect: but, where could they select a situation in which they could command the same space of ground? He entirely disapproved of the proposal of the hon. member for Westminster. He was glad to see the attention of the House directed to this subject, and hoped that early in the next session, they would not only be able to afford the money, but that a plan would be matured which might be thought worthy of the subject.

Mr. Baring
supported the amendment. He considered the mixture of antiquity, books, natural history, and marbles in the Museum, to be a most jumbling and incongruous arrangement. The works of art should be in a gallery by themselves. There were collections now purchasable, which could never again be come at by the public. Vast quantities of valuable works had been thrown into the hands of individuals by the French Revolution, which must in the nature of things return again to the great cabinets and collections. And really, for a country of such inordinate wealth and power as this to be without a gallery of art, was a national reproach. He highly approved of the spirit with which this subject was now taken up, and of most of the projected arrangements; especially that of purchasing the rich collection of the late Mr. Angerstein.
After a few words from Mr. H. Gurney 1361 and. Mr. W. Smith, the House divided on Mr. Croker's amendment: Ayes 80,; Noes 54.