§ MR. CONYBEAREI beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has noticed the extent to which the action of the weather has corroded Cleopatra's Needle so that many of the hieroglyphics appear to be becoming effaced; and whether any steps can be taken to remedy the mischief?
§ MR. MATTHEWSI am informed by the Clerk of the London County Council, who have charge of this obelisk, that in May of last year the acting engineer made an examination as to the condition of the Needle, and reported that its present state was not unsatisfactory; that the surface of the stone does not seem to have been affected by the weather to a greater depth than a quarter of an inch, and the hieroglyphics are in many places more than two inches deep. The granite does not seem to have deteriorated since the Obelisk was examined 16 years ago.
§ DR. TANNER (Cork Co., Mid)Cannot something be done to protect the Obelisk in the same way as the Mosaics in Italy are protected?
§ MR. MATTHEWSI will draw the attention of the London County Council to the matter.