§ MR. MACARTNEYsaid, he wished to ask the hon. Secretary of the Treasury whether any, and what, sums of money have been expended on behalf of the na- 1294 tion by the officers of the Society of Arts and Sciences in Marlborough House, and the trustees of the British Museum, in the purchase of articles of virtÙ at the sale of the property of the late Mr. Bernal; and, if so, by whose authority such purchases have been made, without the sanction of Parliament being first obtained.
§ MR. WILSONsaid, it was first suggested to the Government that they should purchase the whole of the collection. That suggestion was considered by the Government, and it was decided that the sum of 12,000l. should be given to the department of Art and Science for the purpose of purchasing those portions of the collection which they considered necessary to make perfect their present collection, and that 4,000l. should be given to the British Museum for the same purpose. The authority on which this was done was an authority vested in the Treasury by that House. 100,000l. was granted annually by the House, and the Government had a discretion to expend that sum in the course of the year, furnishing to Parliament at the close of the year a statement of the expenditure. This, and a great variety of other expenditure at the discretion of Government had been incurred under that authority.
§ MR. MACARTNEYUnder what head of the Estimates does that 100,000l. appear?
§ MR. WILSONThere is a special Estimate by itself in the Civil Contingencies.