§ MR. STIRLINGsaid, he would beg to inquire of the hon. Secretary to the Treasury the name of the artist or amateur upon whose recommendation the collection of pictures formed by Herr Krüger were purchased for the National Gallery; and whether the purchase was effected with the knowledge and advice of the trustees of the National Gallery?
MR. WILSONsaid, that the purchase to which the hon. Gentleman had alluded had been made a few years ago, when, in point of fact, the trustees of the National Gallery were in a state of transition. It took place immediately after a Report from a Committee of the House of Commons, which practically put an end to the old constitution of the Board of Trustees, and before the new constitution was established. The purchase had not been made with the advice or even with the cognizance of the trustees as a body, but under the immediate advice, he believed, of Mr. Dyce. Sir Charles Eastlake saw one of the pictures which was sent home, but he was in no way responsible for the purchase either of that picture or of the collection; neither were the trustees of the National Gallery.