SCOTTISH PALACES AND CASTLES. (Hansard, 4 May 1893)

§ *MR. A. C. MORTON (Peterborough)
had the following Notice on the Paper:— To call attention to the neglected condition of the Hollywood and Linlithgow Palaces, and Edinburgh, Stirling, Dumbarton, and Blackness Castles, and to move, 'That these Scottish Palaces and Castles should be put and kept in a decent state of repair, as agreed upon at the time of the Union. He said he did not propose to take up more than a few minutes in dealing with this matter. He wanted the Government to understand that those buildings were national property, and should be protected and kept in decent repair by the Government, as was agreed upon at the time of the Treaty with Scotland. The First Commissioner of Works was good enough, early in the Session, to promise, with regard to the Palaces of Holyrood and Linlithgow and Edinburgh Castle, to go and see these places later in the year. He was satisfied with that promise, and did not, therefore, propose to trouble the House with any remarks as to these places. With regard to Stirling Castle, he wanted to get some undertaking from the Minister for War. Part of the building, containing a chapel, palace, and hall, with which the Secretary for War should have nothing to do with, had been taken by the War Authorities; and he wanted to have an undertaking from the right hon. Gentleman that he would put that portion in repair and give it back to the Civil Authorities of the country. He understood that the hall and palace and chapel had been made into a barracks, a canteen, and all sorts of strange things. The Scottish Society of Antiquarians 144 had communicated with the right hon. Gentleman, and he (Mr. Morton) would be quite satisfied if the right hon. Gentleman would say that he would give consideration to the representation that had been made by that Society and to any other representations that might yet be made by other Societies.

§ *MR. CAMPBELL-BANNERMAN
said, his hon. Friend took him between wind and water, because he was not only Minister for War, but also Member for Stirling, and a Scotsman as well, so that he had three reasons for being very sedulous in his care of the Castle of Stirling. He did not know that the hon. Member had displayed any intimate knowledge of the subject which he had discussed.

§ MR. A. C. MORTON
May I tell the right hon. Gentleman that I could have done so, but I did not want to take up the time of the House.

§ *MR. CAMPBELL-BANNERMAN
acknowledged the desire of his hon. Friend to spare the time of the House, and would follow him in the example he had set. He would only say that, in the observations the hon. Member had made as to what had occurred, he had mixed up one or two things which were not connected with each other. Undoubtedly Stirling Castle, which contained within the fortress—if it could be called a fortress— the old Parliament House and a chapel and other buildings of interest, had been very badly treated in past years. He had paid very close attention to it himself. He had gone over every part of it, and the general conclusion he had come to was that they had better endeavour to prevent the process of destruction and degradation going any further. As to attempting to restore what there was in times past, he was afraid they would merely let in the imaginative architect, and that possibly the so-called restorations might be even worse than the present condition of things. That was the general impression on his mind. As the hon. Member had said, he had received a communication from the Society that had been referred to, and he had answered them. He would keep a very close watch on the matter, and with all his heart he would be delighted to do anything to save the old buildings and the associations connected with them.

§ MR. PARKER SMITH (Lanark, Partick)
thought that there was one thing worse than the imaginative architect, and that was the unimaginative soldier, who had had possession of Stirling and Edinburgh Castles, and had worked great mischief on both. Edinburgh Castle had been happily rescued from him. He (Mr. Smith) trusted that a certain amount of money might be found to set free the most interesting parts of Stirling Castle from the present use to which they had been turned; and that they might have buildings containing objects of the greatest historical interest in Scotland kept in a better way than they had been. If any spur were needed to induce the right hon. Gentleman to be unselfish enough to devote a certain amount of public money to this end, he might rest assured that none of them would grudge it to him, or suspect him of unworthy motives in doing that which would be to the advantage of his constituency and the country at large.