§ 21. Mr. Straussasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether she proposes to introduce legislation to annul the provisions in wills making gifts to the nation of works of art now exhibited in galleries and museums conditional on their being made available to the public gratuitously.
§ Mr. van StraubenzeeNo, Sir.
§ Mr. StraussIs the hon. Gentleman aware that Turner left his magnificent collection of pictures to the nation on the understanding that they should be freely accessible to the public, that many other gifts of work in our national collections were made on the same conditions, and that, whatever the legal position may be, it is surely a moral breach of trust to override the request contained in these generous bequests?
§ Mr. van StraubenzeeI have said in the course of previous exchanges that, in so far as enabling legislation was necessary, it would be introduced. But there is no intention of introducing legislation of the kind mentioned in the Question.
§ Mr. FauldsDoes the hon. Gentleman not understand that he is breaking faith with the past in that the donors of many 1666 magnificent gifts to our national collections expected stipulations in their wills to be observed and that he should now admit that he is pursuing a dishonourable course in this matter?
§ Mr. van StraubenzeeFor reasons that we all regret, the hon. Gentleman has not been able to be with us for some time. If he had been able to listen to some of our exchanges, he would realise that the construction, for example, of the expression "freely available" is not necessarily that which is sometimes placed upon it.