Lords Sitting of 21 February 1898

Preamble
THE LORD CHANCELLOR THE LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the Woolsack at a quarter past Four of the Clock.
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE.

  MESSAGE FROM THE QUEEN.
  THE LORD STEWARD OF THE HOUSEHOLD (The Earl of PEMBROKE and MONTGOMERY): I am commanded to convey to the House the following message from the Queen—
  "It is with great satisfaction that I have read the loyal and dutiful expression of your thanks for the Speech with which I have opened the present Session of Parliament."

  THE NIGER TERRITORY.
  THE EARL OF KIMBERLEY: My Lords, seeing the noble Lord, Lord Selborne, in his place, I wish to ask him whether he can give any information to the House with regard to the report which has been circulated as to what is said to be taking place in West Africa?
  THE UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIES (The Earl of SELBORNE): I do not think the noble Lord the Leader of the Opposition will expect me to go at this moment into any details on this very important subject, but I can give the House such information as Her Majesty's Government possesses. Mr. Chamberlain has heard from Lieutenant-Colonel
  1186
  Pilcher (the Senior Special Service Officer now on the Niger) to this effect—
  "Information received that four French-European officers and 100 men have arrived at Argungu."
  Argungu is within the territories of the Royal Niger Company on the East Bank of the Niger. Her Majesty's Government cannot believe that, pending the negotiations which are going on, the French Government can have authorised the invasion of a territory to which our rights have been recognised by a Convention between Great Britain and France.

  WESTMINSTER HALL.
  *EARL STANHOPE: My Lords, I rise to ask Her Majesty's Government whether, in view of the decay or depreciation of the stone on the south side of the new wall of Westminster Hall, they will take early steps to repair or to silicate the same? In approaching your Lordships' House you must have noticed that in Westminster Hall, on the southwest side, the new stone with which it has been faced has turned quite a white colour, which, I think, is due to desquamation. The stone is peeling off, and decay is rapidly going on. We know that the Houses of Parliament are depreciating owing to the effects of the London climate, but it is very discouraging to find that the stone inside is also perishing. I know that my Friend the First Commissioner of Works, has had his attention directed to this matter. Indeed, I believe that former First Commissioners of Works have given attention to the matter, and silicate has been used without effect. I have been informed by a competent architect that the scaling of such stone as this can be prevented, and the stone preserved, by its being treated with a silicate. I should like, if I may be permitted to do so, to suggest to my noble Friend that a Departmental Committee, consisting of two architects, should visit this wall, and see what steps can be taken to prevent further decay. I can assure your Lordships that it is not an alarmist view that I am taking with

  1187
  regard to the decay of this stone. Anyone who passes by will notice that the stone in some places has perished quite half-an-inch in depth. Some years ago, the frescoes, in the middle lobby of your Lordships' House, on either side, were perishing; they were losing their colour and decaying, and a small Committee met together and were able to give advice, which was the means of preserving those frescoes, and, indeed, almost reviving their brilliancy. Being now preserved by glass no decay is taking place with regard to those frescoes. I do hope that further steps will be taken, although so much has been tried already, to prevent the decay of this stone. With that view I have brought the matter before the House.
  THE EARL OF PEMBROKE: The wall on the west side of the interior of Westminster Hall has, since it was refaced by the late Mr. Pearson, been the subject of much consideration and concern to the Office of Works, owing to the decay which set in on certain portions almost immediately after its completion. The stone used in the refacing is of two kinds—Ketton and Anstone, and it is almost entirely in the former stone that the decay has taken place. Every effort has been made to discover the cause of the decay, even to a minute analysis of the composition of both the stones and the mortar used in the walls, but without any light being thrown on the subject. An indurating process recommended by Mr. Pearson, which was applied in 1896, has not been successful. The failure is the more remarkable because the same stone used on the exterior shows no signs of decay. The matter is receiving every attention, and steps will be taken to apply any process which may give reasonable promise of success. With reference to what the noble Lord said as to the appointment of a Departmental Committee, I may say that I will represent the matter to my right hon. Friend the First Commissioner of Works, and I have no doubt he will be glad to do all he can in the matter, but it appears to be a chemical, rather than an architectural question.

  MARINE INSURANCE BILL.
  LORD HERSCHELL: My Lords, I beg to move the Second Reading of the Marine Insurance Bill. In doing so, I have only to say that it is in the same form as the Bill introduced last year, with the exception that the Amendments agreed to last year have been inserted.
  Bill read accordingly.

PRIVATE BUSINESS.
Bills Read a second time: Bacup Corporation Water Bill, Bakewell Gas Bill, Belfast Corporation (Hospitals) Bill, Belfast Harbour Bill, Blackpool Improvement Bill, Blackpool Palatine Promenade Pier Bill, Brighton Underground Railway Bill, Buckie (Cluny) Harbour Bill, Bury Corporation Bill, Carlisle Corporation Water Bill, Dover Harbour Bill, Dundee Corporation Tramways Bill, Edinburgh and District Water Bill, Edinburgh and Leith Corporation Gas Bill, Felixstowe and Walton Water Bill, Filey Water and Gas Bill, Folkestone Corporation Water (Transfer) Bill, Great Orme Tramway and Tramroad Bill, Hamilton Water Bill, Heywood Corporation Water Bill, Inner Temple Buildings (King's Bench Walk) Bill, Kettering Water Bill, Market Harborough Gas Bill, Mersey Docks and Harbour Board (New Works) Bill, Mersey Docks and Harbour Board (Various Powers) Bill, Mid-Lothian and Peebles District Board of Lunacy (Water) Bill, Morley Corporation Gas Bill, Newcastle-upon-Tyne Corporation Bill, Newhaven Harbour and Ouse Lower Navigation Bill, Newtown Water Bill, Norton and Halton Roads Bill, Portsmouth Corporation Tramways Bill, Rochdale Corporation Water Bill, Saint Matthew, Bethnal Green Bill, Seaham Harbour Bill, Tyne Improvement Bill, Tyne Improvement Commissioners (Constitution) Bill, Tynemouth Corporation Water Bill, Wath-upon-Dearne Urban District Council Bill, Windsor and Ascot Railway Bill, Wolverhampton and Essington Mineral Railway Bill, and Yeovil Corporation Bill.

BILL TO MAKE FURTHER PROVISIONS RESPECTING A UNIVERSITY OF LONDON.
Presented by the Duke of Devonshire, and read first time.
House adjourned at a quarter to Five till to-morrow at a quarter past Four of the clock.