§ Mr. GRANTasked the President of the Board of Education (1) whether he will now give instructions for the removal of the boarding recently erected over a considerable part of the permanent decorations of the north-western staircase in the Victoria and Albert Museum, which thereby destroy the unity of that decoration; (2) if he will give instructions for the drawings, etc., which are at present hung upon the northwestern staircase of the Victoria and Albert Museum to be removed to a more suitable exhibiting place in one or other of the better lighted rooms, now increasingly occupied by minor examples and purely experimental sketches; and (3) if he will explain why the two stained glass windows which existed on the northwestern staircase at the Victoria and Albert Museum have been removed, thereby destroying the unity of the scheme of decoration; and whether he can see his way to nullify such an act of vandalism by ordering the windows to be replaced.
§ Mr. J. A. PEASEThe stained glass windows were removed primarily because they were dilapidated and required repair, which they are still undergoing. The question whether the balance of advantage really lies on the side of restoring the stained windows and removing the recently erected boarding is largely a question of taste. I am not prepared to give instructions for the removal of the drawings now exhibited on the staircase pending a decision as to the general treatment of the staircase, on which I propose to take advice.
§ Mr. GRANTasked the President of the Board of Education if he will give instructions for making good the dilapidation of a small part of the ceiling in the lecture theatre gallery in the Victoria and Albert Museum, as well as for the walls of that gallery to be cleared of the accumulations of many years' dirt, so that they may be repainted in a tint corresponding with that used when the scheme of decorating this gallery was originally carried out?
§ Mr. PEASEThe making good and repainting of the ceiling and recolouring of the walls of the gallery has been in contemplation for some time, but the expense as well as the merits have to be considered.