§ MR. T. DUNCOMBEsaid, he had a question to put to the noble Lord the Chief Commissioner of Works, which related to the rational enjoyment and pleasures of the people. He wished to ask whether it was intended to remove or to retain the building of the Great National Exhibition? He (Mr. T. Duncombe) was to have put this question to the noble Lord (Lord Seymour) about a fortnight since, but in the meantime a little mishap had occurred to the then Government.
§ LORD JOHN MANNERSsaid, that under the existing arrangements, the contractors were bound to remove the building by the 1st of June next. The House were aware that last year an Address was presented to Her Majesty, praying that an inquiry might be instituted into the expediency of retaining the building in its present position, or removing it to some other site, as a monument of the Exhibition. Commissioners were subsequently appointed, and they sat some time, and received a considerable amount of evidence on the subject of their inquiry. They had since presented their Report, and both the Report and the evidence were now being printed for the use of the House. That Report recommended that the existing ar- 1151 Commissioners to come to that conclusion appearing to the Government to be amply satisfactory, it was not the intention of Government to propose that the existing arrangements should he interfered with. They were of opinion that that great enterprise which originated with the fine conception of a Prince, and which resulted in affording means of enjoyment, information, and instruction to 4,000,000 of people, did not require a memorial of this nature. They thought that the reasons assigned by the Commissioners for not acceding to any proposition of that nature were conclusive and satisfactory, and therefore the Government had decided not to interfere with the arrangement that would necessitate the removal of the building on the 1st of next June.