§ MR. W. H. JAMES (Gateshead)asked Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer, Whether application has been made on behalf of the National Gallery Trustees for the renewal of the grant of £10,000 to the Gallery for the purchase of pictures; whether any reply has been received; and, whether he would have any objection, when complete, to lay a copy of this Correspondence upon the Table?
§ THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER (Mr. GOSCHEN) (St. George's, Hanover Square)The House is familiar with the arrangement concluded in 1885, on the occasion of the purchase of two pictures from the Blenheim Collection for £87,500. In assenting to the expenditure of this very large sum of money the then Board of Treasury intimated to the Trustees of the National Gallery that the ordinary purchase grant of £10,000 a-year would be suspended for some years, and this decision was made known to Parliament. At the same time, the then Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr. Childers) expressed his readiness to consider favourably any proposal of the Trustees should any exceptionally advantageous opportunity occur of acquiring works of a representative character, and of a school or period of which examples are wanting in the Gallery. Since 1885 several applications have been made by the Trustees for a renewal of the purchase grant; but, so far as I have had to deal with them, I have said frankly that I was not prepared to depart from the arrangement made in 1885. I consider that continuity of policy is indispensable in such matters, on pain of Parliament never putting faith in declarations of intention made by the Executive Government; and so I have refused to entertain applications for a renewal of the annual grant.
§ MR. W. H. JAMESasked, whether the right hon. Gentleman would lay the Correspondence on the Table?
§ MR. GOSCHENsaid, he thought that no public advantage would be served by doing so. Such a practice was likely to lead to the members of Departments adopting a controversial style of correspondence instead of writing in a business-like manner.