MR. NEWDIGATE (Warwickshire, Nuneaton)On behalf of the hon. Member for the Romford Division of Essex, I beg, to ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the offer of the Rev. the Marquess of Norman by to the Trustees of the National Portrait Gallery, with respect to the full-length portrait of Her Majesty the Queen in Her Robes of States, painted by Sir David Wilkie, R.A., is still open; whether a similar offer with respect to portraits of King Charles I. and Queen Henrietta Maria, of whom the gallery possesses but very inadequate portraits, is also open; and whether he will allocate the sum of £3,159 for the purchase of the three portraits aforesaid, which, executed by great painters, have been. declared by the trustees to be of great historical importance, and their acquisition a great benefit to the nation.
§ THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER (Sir M. HICKS-BEACH,) Bristol, W.I understand that the Trustees of the National Portrait Gallery do not now desire to acquire the portrait of Her Majesty the Queen referred to. I see no sufficient ground for a special grant for the purchase of the other two pictures named. Better portraits of these personages are already in the National Collection.