PAPERS MOVED FOR. (Hansard, 9 August 1860)

§ MR. ADDERLEY
said, there were only two Motions on the Paper on going into Supply—one in the name of the hon. Member for Devonshire (Sir Lawrence Palk), who was absent, and the other his own. He should not occupy the House many minutes. He intended to move for a copy of the plan and estimate of Captain Fowke for alteration of the National Gallery, and of any other plan for that purpose now under the consideration of the First Commissioner of Works; and of any Corre- 936 spondence thereon. The First Commissioner of Works was in possession of two plans—one that of Captain Fowke, which he had rejected, and the other by the architect of the right hon. Gentleman's own Department. Captain Fowke was a man of first rate ability, of European celebrity, and of peculiar genius for architectural arrangement, and he had submitted to the Government a plan for the alteration of the National Gallery, involving an estimate of £34,000 only, of the utmost value and importance. The plan which was proposed to be carried out by the Government, on the other hand, would cost £200,000, and be infinitely inferior in internal arrangement. He (Mr. Adderley) could not conceive why Captain Fowke's plan had been rejected by the First Commissioner of Works. The only objection he had heard to it was, that it would be a breach of etiquette to take a scheme from a military man instead of the regular official architect. But the fact was that Captain Fowke was an architect by profession, as well as a military engineer. Captain Fowke's plan involved four alterations internally, and two externally. First, he proposed to raise the floor of the hall to the level of the rooms, by which means he would give full space for exhibition room; secondly, he would devote the basement to sculpture halls and schools; thirdly, instead of compelling the public to go up steps from the pavement external to the portico, he would enable them to enter the building at once from their carriages; fourthly, he would enlarge the Gallery by introducing into it the side rooms. Then, externally, he would raise the whole centre, and lie would do away with the dome, which he (Mr. Adderley) believed was in popular parlance known as "the canister." He would also bring out the front, now frittered away in no less than eleven facades, making it at present only three, besides the large centre. He had heard that the Royal Academy objected to this plan; but he would observe that he did not see what right the Royal Academy had to say a word about it, as they were only tenants there. Their objections, however, were—first, that there were no separate entrances for the two departments; but Captain Fowke's plan readily admitted that alteration, if it were required; secondly, they said it involved a transfer of their works of art that the spaces would be reduced, and that excavations would be necessary; but any one who examined the plan would find that it did 937 not curtail their space one inch, while it I doubled the space for the National Gallery. They further objected, that Captain Fowke's plan did not make use of the pre-1 sent portico; but of what use had the portico ever been? Some old pillars of Carlton House were worked up to make it, and the public were forced to go up a flight of steps out of doors in all weathers to make use of it—covered by a huge unsightly wooden canopy to shelter them in the ascent. But what did the House think was the use to be made of the portico by the Government architect? The House would scarcely believe that, according to the plan about to be adopted by the Board of Works, it was proposed that the public should continue to go up the portico steps, descend into the hall, and then mount up again a flight of steps inside into the exhibition rooms. He (Mr. Adderley) hoped that the First Commissioner would spare the Government and the country from the ridicule of such a scheme. He did not wonder at the right hon. Gentleman's reluctance to produce the correspondence; but having the highest opinion of Captain Fowke's plan, he begged to move formally for copies of the letters of which he had given notice.

§ MR. CONINGHAM
could not but think that there was some occult influence at work in respect to both the National Gallery and the British Museum. Successive Governments bad pledged themselves that the Royal Academy should be moved from the National Gallery; it would now seem that there was an intention to keep it there. Four or five Cabinet Ministers seemed to be doing all in their power to knock up that very useful institution the British Museum. He hoped that nothing would be clone in the matter of the National Gallery till the House met again next Session, especially as a very large expenditure of money was involved. The whole question called for serious and minute consideration.

MR. COWPER
said, he could assure the House that nothing could be more baseless than the right hon. Gentleman's statement that Captain Fowke's plan had been rejected by him on account of official etiquette. He had rejected Captain Fowke's plan simply because he thought it a bad one. It was quite clear that the pictures of the National Gallery could not long be contained in the space now devoted to them, and that more room would have to be provided for them either in Trafalgar Square or elsewhere. In 1857, his noble Friend at the head of the Government visited the National Gallery, and after ex-examination, came to the conclusion that the great central hall should be made available as a picture gallery. It having been considered necessary to make other alterations, plans were prepared and given in by Mr. Pennethorne. Captain Fowke also sent in a plan; and he (Mr. Cowper) referred the question to the consideration of the Royal Academy, not merely because the members of that body were naturally conversant with the hanging of pictures, but because some of them were among the first architects of the day. They objected to some of the details of Captain Fowke's plan. He had the highest estimation of Captain Fowke's ability in designing picture galleries—if he were about to erect a picture gallery, one of the first men he should consult would be Captain Fowke. But his plan for the alteration of the National Gallery aimed at either too much or too little. It was too little if it was intended to make the building in Trafalgar Square a complete picture gallery; while as a mere improvement of the Gallery it did too much. Captain Fowke proposed to alter almost the whole building, beginning at the roof and ending with the basement. For himself, he thought the portico the best thing in the whole building, and the view from it was very fine; but, among others, of Captain Fowke's alterations, he proposed to make the entry, under the portico in the sides of the stylo-bate—about the most mean and paltry mode of entrance that could be devised. The right hon. Gentleman stated that the estimate for Captain Fowke's plan was only £34,000; but his impression was that, instead of £34.000, it was more likely to reach £50,000 or £60,000; and he certainly could not take upon himself the responsibility of proposing to expend the lowest of these sums upon a building which originally cost £70,000. He could not consent 939 to the Motion of the right hon. Gentleman; and, in fact, there was no such estimate as was there referred to; and, with regard to the plan of Captain Fowke, it was unnecessary that he should produce it, as it had already been published in the Cornhill Magazine. He was quite willing to produce the Correspondence, however, and if the right hon. Gentleman withdrew his Motion, he would consent to do so. As to the plan of the Government, he would he prepared to explain fully its nature when they came to Vote No. 7 in the Estimates relating to that matter, and, in the meantime, he hoped the discussion of the question would not be continued further.

§ SIR JOHN SHELLEY
hoped, on the discussion on Vote No. 7, the right hon. Gentleman would explain why the recommendation of the Committee of the House with respect to the National Gallery had not been attended to. The Committee of the House had recommended that the pictures should remain in the National Gallery, and that the Royal Academy should be removed elsewhere.

§ LORD JOHN MANNERS
would recommend his right hon. Friend (Mr. Adderley) to be satisfied with the Correspondence which the First Commissioner was pie-pared to produce. He must observe that the Government of Lord Derby was prepared to adopt the recommendation of the Select Committee in respect to the removal of the Royal Academy to Burlington House, and devoting the whole of the building in Trafalgar Square to the purposes of a National Gallery. The Academy showed every disposition to meet the Government, and had it not been for the Ministerial changes, the transfer would, in all probability, have taken place. He thought it would be well for the present to postpone any extensive alterations in the National Gallery.

§ VISCOUNT PALMERSTON
thought it desirable that some arrangement should be made by which the Royal Academy might be provided for elsewhere, and the whole of the space in the building in Trafalgar Square devoted to the pictures of the National Gallery; but even that would be only a temporary arrangement, as the increase of pictures in the national collection by bequests and purchases would soon more than fill the whole of the building. There was o Vote of £13,000 for the alteration of the National Gallery to be proposed to the House, and that sum would be sufficient for a number of years, at least, to provide 940 the room that was required. Would it not be better, then, to take that course than to embark in a large expenditure at Burlington House to provide accommodation for the Royal Academy? He thought the best course would be to expend the small sum to which he had referred in the meantime, and to postpone for some time to come the expenditure of the more considerable amount that would be necessary for a permanent arrangement.

§ MR. AUGUSTUS SMITH
said, he had hoped that nothing more was to be done on the question this Session.

§ MR. ADDERLEY
accepted the offer of the right hon. Gentleman to give the Correspondence, and would withdraw his Motion; but he should go into the whole matter on a future occasion.