§ MR. CONINGHAMasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether, as the authorities at the National Gallery were reported to have expressed their willingness to give a large sum for a picture by Raffael, it would not be desirable that the Govern- 818 ment should secure for the nation the famous picture of "The Apollo and Marsyas," now in the possession of Mr. Morris Moore,— the original drawing for which is in the academy at Venice. His question, he said, involved a name and a picture; the name was that of a man who had made for himself a European reputation as an eminent connoisseur, and who had rendered important services to the country by protecting the national property from the attacks of the picture cleaners; by checking the purchases of worthless pictures, and by preventing the removal of the National Gallery from its central position in Trafalgar Square to the suburbs. Sidney Smith once observed that no man in this country could afford to entertain an independent opinion on less than a thousand a year; and Mr. Morris Moore had experienced the truth of the remark, for, by his exertions to reform the administration of the National Gallery, he had been totally ruined. In the performance of these services, he had incurred the enmity of aristocratic and courtly circles, and this had brought him into the position which he had described to the House; while an incompetent official, whose removal from the gallery Mr. Moore had formerly succeeded in procuring, had been subsequently restored to office with a quintupled salary. It so happened, that while a German agent of the Gallery was travelling on the Continent at the public expense, purchasing third and fourth-rate pictures, the collection of a private gentleman was brought to the hammer at Christie's Auction Rooms, in King Street. Mr. Moore there saw and purchased the "Apollo and Marsyas," which he at once recognized as a genuine work of the" divine Master;" and it was, in fact, a gem of the purest water, and of the finest period of Italian art. By a singular coincidence, the original drawing for the picture was discovered about the same time, in the gallery at Venice, which Mr. Moore had photographed, and one of those photographs was now in his (Mr. Coningham's) possession. Considering the debt of public gratitude due to Mr. Moore, which he hoped the Government would recognize, he believed they would be rendering service, not only to the cause of Art, but performing an act of great popularity by purchasing the picture. The hon. Member made some further observations, which were rendered almost inaudible by loud expressions of impatience on the part of the House.
MR. VERNON SMITHsaid, he rose 819 to put a Question to the Secretary of State for India.
§ MR. CONINGHAMPerhaps the Chancellor of the Exchequer will be good enough to answer my Question before the House proceeds to another subject.
§ MR. ROEBUCKintimated his opinion that the Chancellor of the Exchequer ought first to answer the Question of the hon. Member for Brighton.
§ THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUERsaid, he rose to order. As he could speak but once upon the Motion of the adjournment of the House till Monday; he did not think it desirable that he should proceed to answer the Question of the hon. Member for Brighton until he should have an opportunity of knowing whether any other question which might also require a reply upon his part would be addressed to him.
§ MR. BRIGHTsaid, he also rose to order. It appeared to him that the House was falling into a most absurd practice every Friday evening. He observed that on the other evenings of the week Ministers rose several times to answer questions which were put to them; but on the Friday they could rise but once, and the consequence was, that the Questions addressed to them and their replies to those Questions presented, when reported in the public prints, a most disjointed appearance. He would put it to the right hon. Gentleman in the Chair and the House, whether it would not be better to allow the Minister to answer in its natural order each Question as it was addressed to him on the Friday in the same manner as he replied to the Questions that were put to him during the other days of the week.
§ MR. SPEAKERsaid, it was perfectly true that on ordinary evenings, if two or three Questions were addressed to a Minister, he had the power of rising and answering each of them in its proper order; but no debate could then take place in reference to those questions. Upon the present occasion, however, there was a Motion for the adjournment of the House, and notice was given that several Questions would be put on that Motion being made, hon. Gentlemen wishing to accompany those Questions with certain observations. But if the hon. Member for Birmingham (Mr. Bright) wished to ask him, in the first place, whether anything out of order had taken place 820 upon that occasion, he should answer in the negative; and if the hon. Member further asked him whether he thought the convenience of the House would be promoted by allowing any hon. Member to speak two or three times on the Motion for the adjournment, he should say that the inconvenience of the present system, which was very great, would be considerably increased by following a suggestion of that kind.
§ MR. BRIGHTsaid, he rose to explain. He merely proposed that a Minister answering Questions, and not any other Member, should be allowed to speak twice or thrice on the Motion for the adjournment.
§ THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUERsaid, he thought he could put himself right with the House. He believed that the hon. Member for Sheffield (Mr. Roebuck) and the hon. Member for Birmingham (Mr. Bright) laboured under a complete misconception. The fact was, that when a Question was addressed in the ordinary way to a Minister there was no Motion before the House, and therefore it was his duty at once to notice it. But at that moment there was a Motion before the House, and, as he could speak but once upon that Motion, he thought it right that before he rose he should have an opportunity of ascertaining whether any further Question might be put to him that would require an answer upon his part. Therefore, he naturally waited until the last moment before he replied to the hon. Member for Brighton.
§ [At a later period of the evening.]
§ THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUERsaid, that he found very great difficulty in answering the Question addressed to him—whether, as the authorities at the National Gallery were reported to have expressed their willingness to give a large sum for a picture by Raffael, it would not be desirable that the Government should secure for the nation the famous picture of "The Apollo and Marsyas, "now in the possession of Morris Moore, Esq., the original drawing for which was in the Academy at Venice. He really never heard of the report, and never saw the picture. He was, therefore, called upon to deal at the same time with an hypothesis and a contingency. In what more puzzling situation could a man be? All that he could say was, that, filling the situation which he now had the honour to occupy, he naturally looked with alarm when he heard of large sums in connection with famous pictures; but he at least ex- 821 pressed the opinion of the Government when he said he thought that when the trustees of the National Gallery did purchase pictures, unless they purchased pictures of the highest possible class they would incur a very heavy responsibility.