§ 2.36 p.m.
§ LORD AMULREEMy Lords, I beg to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ [The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government, whether they have any statement to make on the future of the statue of King James II.]
§ THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR COLONIAL AFFAIRS (THE EARL OF PERTH)My Lords, my right honourable friend the Minister of Works has given further consideration to this matter, in the light of the views expressed in your Lordships' House when the noble Lord asked a Question about it on March 25. In view of the strong desire of the Royal Fine Art Commission and of the Trustees of the National Gallery that the statue of James II by Grinling Gibbons should not now be removed from its site in front of the National Gallery, my right honourable friend has decided to retain this statute in its present position.
As your Lordships will recall, Her Majesty's Government had undertaken to find a suitable site in London for the statue of Sir Walter Raleigh by Mr. William McMillan. My right honourable friend has now decided that the statute should be placed in the garden which is to be laid out on the Whitehall frontage of the Government offices now nearing completion in Whitehall Gardens. This site has been accepted as a most suitable one by the donors of the statue, 440 a group of generous individuals and Companies who wished to commemorate the early links between the British Commonwealth and the United States of America. The Royal Fine Art Commission, who have been consulted by my right honourable friend on the new proposal, have written to express their gratitude to him for finding a solution to the problem which meets their views.
§ LORD AMULREEMy Lords, I should like to thank the noble Earl very much for his reply, which gives me great satisfaction, and I am sure will give great satisfaction to many other people in the country who, like myself, were rather worried about this proposed move.