LORD HENRY LENNOXsaid, he would beg to ask the First Lord of the Treasury, Whether he will authorize the necessary steps being taken to effect the systematic circulation to Local Museums, Libraries, and Institutions of the United Kingdom of the superfluous and unexhibited specimens of Art, Science, and Literature now deposited in the National Museums and Galleries in the Metropolis?
MR. GLADSTONEsaid, in reply, that Her Majesty's Government were very favourable to the object contemplated in the question of the noble Lord. Some things had been done in this di- 947 rection, especially at the South Kensington Museum, the powers of whose directory were, however, not adequate to enable them to effect everything they thought desirable. Within the past month the Treasury had received a letter from the Trustees of the National Gallery to the effect that they had made collections of drawings intended to be deposited on loan at centres remote from London. Government would consider the whole subject systematically, with the view of obtaining the utmost benefit possible for the public.