THE BRITISH MUSEUM.—QUESTION. (Hansard, 12 February 1866)

LORD HOUGHTON
rose to ask Her Majesty's Government, Whether they intend to introduce any measure respecting the administration of the British Museum and the disposition of its contents? He was induced to put the Question in consequence of two events which had lately occurred. One of these was the resignation of the Principal Librarian of the British Museum, who was really at the head of the whole of that establishment, and was the life and soul of its administration. That resignation, he believed, had taken place several months ago, and yet the vacancy had not been filled up. The other consideration by which he was influenced was the existence of a rumour that certain proposals had been made by the Government to the Trustees of the Museum for a change in their constitution, but which had not been accepted. With regard to the first of these points, he should say that the resignation of Mr. Panizzi must of itself lead to considerable changes in the constitution of the British Museum. When that gentleman was appointed to his office, several years ago, he (Lord Houghton) called attention to that appointment in the other House, and he did so because, notwithstanding the respect which he entertained for the character and abilities of Mr. 340 Panizzi, he thought that in the present dearth of honours and emoluments for literary men in this country such an office ought to have been conferred by Her Majesty's Government on some gentleman not of foreign extraction. He still adhered to that opinion, although he believed that the administration of that gentleman had been one of considerable efficiency. He was also aware that a great deal of heart-burning and discontent had prevailed among the officers of the establishment during the period of his administration, and that his resignation was not regretted by those gentlemen. The question of appointing his successor could not be much longer delayed, and he hoped that among the officers of the establishment some gentleman would be found for the office in whom the country would place confidence. He believed that the delay in filling up the vacancy had been caused by some distrust in the present administration and constitution of the British Museum. The question had not only been frequently discussed in the other House, but scarcely any question had been discussed with so much unfairness and injustice to individuals. In 1847, a Commission, on which he himself had the honour of being appointed, went into the subject at great length, but he could only regret that their labours had been futile, and that no action had been taken by the Government upon their recommendations. That Commission proposed that a Chairman, a person of distinction—should be appointed by the Crown, four members should be elected by the Trustees from among themselves, and two members should be paid by the Government, one of them being a man of high literary, and the other of high scientific attainments. He should add, however, that he believed those suggestions would at present require considerable modification in consequence of the great additions which had of late years been made to the establishment. He thought that a fair trial had been given to the present constitution of the British Museum; he also believed that there could not be a body of men more honourable or more desirous of doing good service to the literature and science of the country than the present Trustees; and if the constitution of the Museum was still unpopular, it was only natural to suppose that the time had come for effecting in it some alteration. The noble Lord concluded by asking Her Majesty's Government, Whether they intend to introduce any Measure respecting the 341 Administration of the British Museum and the Disposition of its Contents?

§ EARL RUSSELL
could only say, in answer to the noble Lord, that he had a short time since made certain suggestions to the Trustees of the British Museum, which he thought would conduce to the better conduct of the establishment; but the Trustees themselves did not think it desirable that those proposals should be adopted, and they had declined to carry them into effect. No regular official communication had passed upon the subject, and he would rather not enter further into the details of the question. As matters at present stood it was not the intention of the Government to introduce any measure of the kind to which his noble Friend had referred. With regard to the appointment of Mr. Panizzi, to which the noble Lord had referred, he believed that it was a wise appointment. He was a man of great ability and acquirements, and had conducted the affairs of the Museum, as far as they belonged to his department, under the direction of the Trustees, very much to his own credit and to the advantage of the public. He had been obliged to tender his resignation in consequence of the state of his health; that resignation had been accepted, and he (Earl Russell) believed that very little delay would now elapse in the appointment of his successor.

§ LORD TAUNTON
said, he scarcely thought it consistent with the famed hospitality of this country to object to a gentleman of ability on the ground that he was a foreigner. Although a Trustee of the British Museum, he was by no means wedded to its present system of management. Having regard to the enormous magnitude of the collections and the difficulty of arranging them, and the likelihood of that difficulty being increased by the scientific researches in contemplation, it might become necessary to consider whether the affairs of the British Museum might not be managed more efficiently than they were at present, and he had no doubt that some important alterations might be advantageously introduced. He might add that it was not the fault of the Trustees that sufficient space was not provided for their various collections, and that the difficulty in that case arose from the fact that the House of Commons refused to grant the necessary supplies for the purpose. Any changes to be made must be dealt with in a large spirit and must embrace the whole administration of the Museum.

§ EARL STANHOPE
said, he also desired to bear his testimony to the great merits and services of Mr. Panizzi. He thought it was impossible for any man to have applied himself to the duties of his office with more zeal, more ability, and more unremitting attention than that gentleman had done. He should add that he could not but think that in the selection of such an officer all that the Government had to do was to look out for the most competent person, and that the fact of a man being a foreigner ought to be no reason for not accepting his services.

LORD HOUGHTON
said, he did not call in question the merits of Mr. Panizzi, but he still thought that the appointment ought not to have been given to a foreigner. It had been said by a celebrated Frenchman that a Government that attempted to appoint a foreigner to the management of the Bibliothèque Impérial at Paris could not stand for a day.

§ EARL STANHOPE
inquired whether the noble Lord wished them to suppose that the management of the Bibliotheque Imperial was a perfect model of liberal administration?