BRITISH MUSEUM BILL. (Hansard, 15 July 1930)

§ LORD HANWORTH

My Lords, I beg to move the Second Reading of this Bill. 485 The purpose of the Bill is plainly marked upon its face and in its title. It is one "to relieve the principal librarian of the British Museum of the care of the Natural History Departments of the Museum and from liability to enter into a bond for the due discharge of the duties of his office." It will be remembered that the British Museum at Bloomsbury was incorporated under an Act of the year 1753, an Act which enabled the purchase to be effected of the museum or collection of Sir Hans Sloane. That Act is the Act under which, in the main, the British Museum still acts and has its powers. At that time all the collections were housed at Bloomsbury, but in the early 'eighties of the last century a new Museum was built for the purpose of housing the collection of the natural history specimens, though at the same time that remains, as I hope it always will remain, an integral part of the British Museum.

That Museum has developed very largely, and one of the recommendations of the Royal Commission on Museums in their Report was that, in order to give further powers to that branch of the British Museum, steps should be taken to give the director of that part of the British Museum the right of access to the Treasury, and for that purpose that the should be made an accounting officer to the Treasury. The scheme is one which the Trustees of the British Museum desire to carry into effect. It is, however, impossible to carry it into effect unless and until the terms of the original Act of incorporation, the Act of 1153, are amended, for by Section 16 of that Act it is not possible for the chief officer at Bloomsbury, who is called the principal librarian, to delegate any of his duties at all to anyone else. If, therefore, freedom was to be given to the principal director at the South Kensington Museum it would be necessary first of all to enable the principal librarian at Bloomsbury to be discharged of the responsibility that he at present holds in respect of the Natural History Museum. Clause 1 therefore is drawn for the purpose of enabling that alteration to be made in Section 16 of the Act of 1753.

That is really the substance of the Bill. At the same time in Clause 2 opportunity has been taken of getting rid of 486 an old-time provision of the Act of 1753. It may startle some of your Lordships to learn that by the terms of that Act the principal librarian at Bloomsbury is bound to give a bond of not less than £1,000 for the due performance of his duties and the safe custody of the specimens entrusted to his care. By regulations made subsequently to that Act the bond that is required from the principal librarian is not less than £10,000. We have, therefore, the curious position that a man of such eminence and distinction as Sir Frederic Kenyon, trusted by everyone to carry out his duties, is also under the necessity of providing a bond of £10,000 for the due performance of them. It is proposed in Clause 2 to get rid of that liability and to prevent its falling upon the accounting officer and principal director at South Kensington.

That is the whole Bill. I ought to explain to your Lordships how it comes that I introduce it. It ought to have been, and would have been, introduced by the Archbishop of Canterbury, had he been free at the present time to undertake the duty. It would have been introduced by the Lord Chancellor if he had been less engaged. It would have been introduced by my noble friend Lord Crawford, if ho had been in a position to undertake the duty. It ought to have been introduced also by the Lord President of the Council, who is a Trustee. But all these great persons were very busy, and in those circumstances I was, at their instance, asked to introduce the Bill. The Bill presses, for, as you will have seen, unfortunately Sir Frederic Kenyon intends to resign his position, and therefore changes will have to be made at Bloomsbury, and it is convenient that the liability under which his successor remains under the, Statute should be removed before that successor is appointed. I have already communicated with the Prime Minister, and he has undertaken, if it is possible, to take what part he can in furthering this Bill through another place, should it be passed by your Lordships' House. In these circumstances I beg to move that the Bill be read a second time.

THE EARL OF CRAWFORD

My Lords, I wish to make an observation on one 487 point only, and that is the urgency of this Bill. As my noble and learned friend has said, Sir Frederic Kenyon will retire at the end of this year. It is really important that his successor should not be subjected to the two obligations under which the existing Statute would place him. There are three Trustees of the British Museum present in the House, the noble and gallant Lord, the Secretary of State for Air, my noble and learned friend Lord Parmoor, and the noble and learned Lord on the Woolsack. I beg members of the Government present really to do their utmost to get this Bill through the House of Commons.

It is preposterous that a man of the standing and character of Sir Frederic Kenyon, one of the most distinguished living public servants, a man who has served the State with distinction and with fidelity for well over forty years, should be subjected to what in the Act of 1753 is called a "penal bond," as though it were assumed that he might be trying to make away with the Elgin Marbles for his own benefit. He is now subject to a bond of £10,000. It is intolerable that a public servant of his standing or of the standing of his successor should be subjected to so gross a humiliation. Apart from that it is really very important in the interests of the efficiency of both Museums that the director and principal librarian at Bloomsbury should he relieved from responsibility as accounting officer for the Natural History Museum. It will be better for the efficiency of the South Kensington branch, and equally it will he a relief for the head official at the Bloomsbury branch if this amendment can be made; and I do implore the Government to use their good offices with their colleagues in another place to en 488 sure that the Bill passes before the Prorogation.