§ [The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, having regard to the fact that small regional stamps have been issued in which emblems of local interest appear, they will consider the advisability of issuing small stamps showing attractive pictorial subjects of national interest such as are issued in the Commonwealth and other countries.]
§ LORD CHESHAMMy Lords, I have nothing to add to the information given in replies to the noble Viscount's many earlier Questions on this subject.
VISCOUNT ELIBANKMy Lords, I beg to thank the noble Lord for his Answer; but does he by any chance remember Goldsmith's maxim:
Hope, like the glimmering taper's light, Adorns and cheers the way!That is my maxim in regard to my pictorial stamps.
§ LORD CHESHAMMy Lords, I am, of course, aware of that. In view of the fact that this is the noble Viscount's tenth Question on the subject, I am also reminded of the maxim that if you say something loud enough and often enough, everyone begins to believe it. But I would beg the noble Viscount to remember that that can be applied in both directions.
§ EARL HOWEMy Lords, may I ask the noble Lord, Lord Chesham, whether he is aware that the noble Viscount opposite is not the only person in this House who is interested in this question, and that other countries have shown the way?
§ LORD WILMOT OF SELMESTONMy Lords, can the noble Lord say why the Government are so blind in this matter? There is a great demand for these stamps. It would be of immense help to a branch of the arts which is in danger of extinction through lack of patronage; and since the Government alone can be the patron, it would be well to think this matter out again, and perhaps the next time the noble Viscount puts down his Question, which I hope will not be too long hence, he may get a more sensible Answer.
§ LORD CHESHAMMy Lords, I will certainly bear in mind what the noble Lord has said. It seemed to me up till now that the interest in this matter had come from one particular quarter.
§ LORD WILMOT OF SELMESTONMy Lords, perhaps the noble Lord will inquire in other countries, particularly in France, where the stamps have reached a high artistic merit. They not only provide a helpful patronage of the arts but also render the Government a useful revenue from collectors all over the world.
§ LORD CHESHAMMy Lords, I do not think it would be appropriate for me to indulge all over again in the debate that we have had on more than one occasion in the past on this Question, but the noble Lord has no doubt noticed that the noble Viscount, Lord Elibank, has, perhaps not surprisingly, a Motion down already on the Paper.
VISCOUNT ELIBANKMy Lords, could I put this point to the noble Lord with reference to what he has said, to show that the interest is by no means confined to one quarter? If he will consult the stamp magazines he will find that the demand comes from many quarters throughout the country.
§ VISCOUNT STANSGATEMy Lords, could the noble Lord refresh our memories as to what the reasons are against this proposal?
§ EARL HOWEMy Lords, may I ask the noble Lord whether, if the Question is repeated when Parliament meets again, he will be prepared to consider it in the meantime?
§ LORD WILMOT OF SELMESTONWe cannot wait all that time.
§ LORD CHESHAMMy Lords, I think I can do no better than to end as I began, by saying that I have nothing to add.