§ MR. ALDERMAN LUSKsaid, he wished to ask the First Commissioner of Works, If he thinks it desirable to continue the elaborate horticultural embellishment of the Park Lane side of Hyde Park, at considerable public expense, while the Bays-water side and Kensington Gardens are in the same respect comparatively neglected?
§ MR. DYCE NICOLsaid, he also wished to ask, whether the unsightly fence surrounding the Park should not be removed; whether the contractor could not be induced to complete the new railings before July, 1868; and whether it was true that the price of those railings was to be £40,000?
§ LORD JOHN MANNERSAssuming, Sir, as I cannot do, that the adjectives and adverbs of the worthy Alderman's Question are correct, I can only answer it in the affirmative. With respect to the Question of the hon. Member for Kincardineshire (Mr. Dyce Nicol) no doubt the contractor might be induced to hurry on the work, if the public are prepared to pay him more money for so doing. But, considering how and by whom the railings were destroyed, I am not prepared to recommend the House of Commons to make any additional outlay. As to the latter portion of the hon. Gentleman's Question, it is one of the most incorrect statements I have ever known placed on the notice paper of the House.