§ MR. MUNDELLAasked the Right Honourable Member for Cambridge Uni- 801 versity, If it is true, as stated in the "Standard" of 9th March, that the Trustees of the British Museum propose to sell by auction in the month of April a large and valuable collection of duplicate prints, many of them original works of the great engravers; and, if so, why it is that the Trustees do not avail themselves of the powers conferred upon them two years ago to distribute such duplicates amongst the museums of the great provincial towns, which contribute so largely by taxation to the maintenance of the British Museum?
§ MR. SPENCER WALPOLE,in reply, said, there were old Acts of Parliament of the 7th Geo. III., in which express power was given to the Trustees of the British Museum to sell duplicates in the collection for the purpose of purchasing other prints. That power had very rarely been exercised—never, he believed, or, at least, hardly ever, except for special purposes with the concurrence of the Treasury; but the occasion which had arisen for resorting to that power was a somewhat peculiar one. A few weeks ago an offer was made to the Trustees of a very important collection of drawings and illustrations of Old London, showing the character and growth of the Metropolis. That offer was made at a very much larger sum than the amount which was granted annually for prints; and there were, therefore, only two other ways in which the purchase could be effected. There might have been an application for a special grant; but it could not have been obtained in the present year owing to the requirements of the Treasury; and, consequently, the only other alternative was either to forego the purchase of this very valuable and interesting collection, or to make it by the sale of such duplicates as they had in the Museum, which the Trustees resolved to do rather than let the proffered prize slip from their hands.