KEW GARDENS. (Hansard, 26 May 1892)

§ DR. TANNER (Cork Co., Mid.)
I want to say a work in reference to Kew Gardens. Up to somewhere about 1888 people were not allowed to take into Kew Gardens a basket or a packet of sandwiches, for fear they might throw paper on the walks or grass, and in that way damage these gardens. Well, Sir, after a good deal of trouble, the Government consented to the erection of a kiosque, and I can assure the right hon. Gentleman that the management of it is distinctly bad. The tea is poured out from a big tin can, in which it is all boiled together, and this vile concoction, and coffee just as bad, is sold to the public, and served by German waiters, who are almost ignorant of the English language. I paid a visit to these gardens last Sunday, and I heard a great many people complaining about these things, and I hear that the management is just as bad on public holidays when people from London go down there to enjoy themselves. I hope the right hon. Gentleman will see his way to look 1940 into this matter. Then I should like to impress upon the right hon. Gentleman the necessity of making the ordinary summer houses in Kew Gardens brighter. With the manifest advantages Kew Gardens possess, they might be made very much more attractive. I hope the First Commissioner will look into these matters, for when he does he generally finds we are in the right. We had to agitate some time for the kiosque before it was erected, but now we have it we desire to see an improvement in the existing state of things. I might add, too, that the kiosque is not large enough for the public requirements on holiday occasions, especially when we are blessed with such waiters as are now employed there. I hope the right hon. Gentleman will direct his attention to this matter and give us a satisfactory reply.

§ *MR. EDWARD HOLDEN (Walsall)
I could hardly believe the other day that the right hon. Gentleman was serious when he stated that in order to benefit students Kew Gardens are not open to the public before noon. To-day I went to the National Gallery, and I found that although students were at work the public were admitted. Why should not the same thing be allowed at Kew Gardens? These Gardens belong to the public—not only to Londoners, but to the whole country; and I say it is a perfect disgrace that they should not be open before twelve o'clock. On one of my visits to Kew Gardens, I asked some of the workmen whom I saw about whether there was any reason why the Gardens were not open earlier—I generally find one can get from the lower officials more information than from the higher—and they told me they did not know of any reason. I asked if they had ever seen students at the Gardens, and they said that occasionally they saw some. I ask the right hon. Gentleman to be considerate towards the public, and I most strongly press upon him the desirability of opening Kew Gardens not later than eight or nine o'clock in the morning.

§ MR. PLUNKET
The hon. Member for Mid-Cork (Dr. Tanner) has some locus standi for bringing forward his complaint, because he is really the 1941 author of the kiosque in Kew Gardens, and I may add that it has been a very popular institution there. Since he put his question respecting Kew Gardens on the Paper I have instituted inquiries, and I must say that so far as I can learn the hon. Member must have been unfortunate in the particular moment he was there, and in the waiters he had to address, because I am sure that the general opinion is that the refreshments at Kew Gardens are as good as can be expected in such a hurried entertainment, and that the same can be said of the waiters. It is impossible for the caterer to always have at hand a large staff of waiters, and, considering how the number of visitors to Kew Gardens fluctuates, some allowance should be made. Then I am asked about opening before twelve o'clock. The only demand so far as I know that the Gardens should be opened before that time comes from people who live in the immediate neighbourhood.

§ MR. E. HOLDEN
I live in the South-west, and I have not been able to get in when I desired.

§ MR. PLUNKET
The reason why the Gardens are not open earlier is because it would be necessary to increase the staff. We should have to engage more men if the public were admitted in the early morning, but if there were a substantial demand on the part of the public generally, the additional expense would not be allowed to stand in the way. The view that we take is that Kew is not only a place where the public can go to enjoy the pretty sights and pleasant gardens, but it is a great school of horticulture, not only for England and the Colonies, but for the whole world. There is no other place like it in the world, and very often students come from long distances to avail themselves of the advantages which the Gardens afford. I may say that any person who wishes to go there to take photographs or for any purpose of that kind will find no difficulty whatever, and I promise the hon. Member that if he will apply to the Director, he will at once receive the permission without any difficulty.

§ MR. E. HOLDEN
What about the new guide?

§ MR. PLUNKET
It is approaching completion, and will, I believe, be published in a few days.

§ (7.32) DR. TANNER
I should like to suggest that the tea at Kew Gardens should be served in small teapots instead of being drawn from one of those horrible apparatus which are in use in prisons, as many of us know. I should also like to suggest with respect to Hyde Park that at certain times in the day, at least, cabs and bicycles should be permitted to go through. Perhaps at a certain time of the day the aristocracy must be permitted to use the parks at the expense of the people, but I think during business hours cabs and hansoms should be allowed to drive through. The congestion in the Brompton Road, at Hyde Park Corner, and even at the Marble Arch is something terrible, and now that the timber pavement is up people are put to great inconvenience. The opening of the park would greatly relieve the obstruction, and I hope the right hon. Gentleman will consider the mater. Then there is another matter int which I am not the only person who takes an interest, that is the question of plants on the Terrace. The matter was mentioned in 1883, and there is no doubt that something could be done. This portion of London is not particularly exposed, and is no colder than Paris, where orange and lemon trees are cultivated with great success. I have spoken to some of the officials at Kew and they tell me that plants could be placed along the Terrace without any difficulty. Hon. Members might have smiled when I put the question this afternoon. I think we ought to have some eucalyptus trees in pots on the terrace. You have plenty of them at Kew, and they would make the Terrace much more attractive. I should like also to call the attention of the right hon. Gentleman to the want of ventilation in the Ministers' lobby.

§ THE CHAIRMAN (Mr. COURTNEY,) Cornwall, Bodmin
Order, order! That does not arise on this Amendment.