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    ]STo. 383, Jxji,t 25, 1857.] _ TJT B-' L...

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    THE NATIONAL GALLERY. The affirmation of...

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    The Sleepers Awakened. The Duchy Of Lanc...

    creating law , not quoting it , and laying down judgments which , we fully believe , the opinion of any competent constitutional lawyer would reverse . Lord Hatjkowb y chooses to sneer at ' Lord Coke , and all other sorts of antiquarian li \ w ; ' but upon such stands the constitution of England . Lord Haebowbt violated charters and acts of parliament , and chooses to despise them ; he claims , in the words of his Vice-Chancellor aud Attorney-General , ' autocratic power' in the Duchy , acts aloue and without his Council , debars the Auditor from the performance of his functions , dismisses him illegally , and when the statutes are referred to , jests at them as ' antiquarian . ' Upon public grounds Mr . BertoT ; ACCI was appointed . Upon public grounds lie came before the Committee for justice . His statement is met by assertions unsupported by evidence , and by a tangleinent of quibbles . Thus , General Fox says , " Mr . Bektoxacct stated that nay father appointed me ! Receiver- General , which is so far true that he did appoint me , " and then he weaves a complaint against ' the gist of that assertion . ' The Receiver-General adds that , when Mr . 1 Hawker was nominated Auditor , he had no 1 knowledge that this Mr . Hawker was his 1 own nephew . From Mr . Danvers—who I was frequently compelled to correct his own . ; £ statements—was extorted this testimony : I * ' TTnrlfir \ - \\ p-. liAn . rl ' T" ) iinhv of TiSinnnsfifitv 1

    Rents received from the i ^ ewcastle-under-Lyne Mines for ten years from Michaelmas , 1846 , to Michaelmas , 1856 , ' what alterations would be necessary to make the account correspond with the fact ?" " It would be sufficient to leave out the word received . " Now , is this not a justification of all that has been urged ? There was one important word in tlie account , and that was false . If it be added

    that , by the admission oi the officials , Mr . BjERTOiiACCi ' s suggestions were frequently of great value , we do not . see what is wanting to complete his case . He Avas appointed upon public grounds for public services ; he discovered mismanagement and endeavoured to remedy it ; he was obstructed ; he was deprived of his functional authority ; he was insulted ; he was illegally superseded ; he has proved that the accounts of the Duchy had been systematically tampered with , and that Lord GRANViiiiiE held au improper position , and what remains ? It remains to be showa that the Duchy of Lancaster has been converted into an engine- for party purposesbut that is not an auditor's affair .

    ]Sto. 383, Jxji,T 25, 1857.] _ Tjt B-' L...

    ] STo . 383 , Jxji , t 25 , 1857 . ] _ TJT B- ' L E A D E B . y

    The National Gallery. The Affirmation Of...

    THE NATIONAL GALLERY . The affirmation of the vote of 23 , 000 / . for the establishment and expenses of the National ( gallery , three weeks since , was a dereliction of duty on the part of the Commons . Lord Eloho deserves great credit for the manner in which he stood out to explain the absolute necessity of withholding a part of that vote . It comprises the expenses aud uttujr wj

    »* . u . ^ euruLiuy uuu a travelling agent , and the price of an . ill-selected picture . Now there can be no desire on the part of Lord Eloho , or of any who think with him , of stinting the reward for any public officer engaged in the formation aud custody of the National Gallery . But it was shown , unanswerably , that the present servants of the public do not fulfil their duties ; that , on the contrary , both high and low , they sacrifice the public interests to personal objects , For the Secretary , 7502 . a year is paid—a comparatively large sum . For the travelling ftjjent , a low salary , but Q 501 . under the nanie oi ' travelling expenses . And how do these

    persons perform their duty ? The travelling agent , the officers of the National Gallery , and the Director , are chargeable witli two of the last purchases that have been made , not for something more ; we refer to the two pictures by Patji , Veronese , the 'Adoration of the Magi' purchased for 15771 ., and the picture from the Pisani Palace , purchased for 13 , 650 / . But how is that money laid out ? Here is the account : — The money given to Count Pisani was 12 , 360 / . ; banking commission to Mr . Valentine at £ per cent ., 70 ? . Commissions on the picture—1 , Signor Enrico Dubois , banker ( son-in-law of Pisani ) , 621 . 10 s . ; 2 , Carlo Dubois ( banker ) , 62 / . 10 s . ; 3 , Caterino Zen , Pisani ' s steward , 300 ? . ; 4 , Pietro Dezan , 2 nd idem , 271 ? . 10 s . ; 5 , Dr . Monterumici , lawyer , 271 ? . 10 s . ; 6 , Paolo Fabris , restorer , 200 / . ; 7 , Giuseppe Conurato , Pisani ' s valet , 12 ? . ; 8 , Caterina Rini , camereira ( chambermaid ) , 10 ? . ; 9 , Pietro Galperti , gondoliere , 61 . ; 10 , Angelim Comini , idem , 61 . ; 11 , Riccardo de Sandre , cook , 61 . ( laughter ); 12 , Pietro Dorigo , porter , 6 / . ; 13 , Angela Dorigo , porter ' s wife , 61 . "

    Sir Charles Eastlake confirmed the purchase of that picture . The travelling agent was Mr . Otto MttndIiER . Mr . Euskim 3 ays that one third more might have been ^ iven without exceeding the market price ; jut even if that were true , which is doubtful , ; here are many circumstances that render the purchase an entire breach of duty . If the ) icture were a fine one- — -and the highest mthorities say that it is not—it would still ) e objectionable . ~ We already had pictures by ? ATJTi Veuosthse : he is not a master of the

    highest ranlc ; his anatomy is not very striking , the expression is not remarkable , his power of telling a story is weak—in fact he seldom attempts a stoiy . He has some faculty for painting costume , he is a colorist of the second rank , and that is saying much . But while our National Gallery is so small , it was not very requisite that we should have further specimens of this painter . " We are exceedingly poor in specimens of much higher masters , —of Titian , for instance , and still more of Eaphaei . And while we have thousands of pounds to lay out , the object of any honest or intelligent public servant would be to secure those pictures in which we are poor , and thus to give us our money ' s worth . Mr . Wilson , Mr . La . t $ ouchere , and after him Lord Paj / MEeston , opposed the amendments suggested by Lord Eloho , which would have reduced the vote by about 65001 ., as a refusal so far to ratify that bad bargain . The officials gave no facts to combat those stated on the other side , they only gave authorities , and those authorities bad . Principally they IVAt * A "ItIva iranrr r \ nna / Mi a i \ -v \ rvn rvt * Ai-I on /•*!•» *\ a . CJ i n WUAOUUtJ

    » l v * w i / llV TUl ^ AlXlUUgUVU p OL 1 UIJ , & l £ ) KJ LL Charles Easti . ake . But the strongest point rested on the personal ground . Mr . Labouchere ' regretted these " personal attacks upon Sir Charles Eastj & ake . ' How Sir Charles is personally answerable , and he has before been condemned . It was he who made tlie purchase of that ' Holbein , ' which was no sooner oxposed on the walls of the Gallery than the merest tyros in painting at once pronounced it to be spurious , and it was withdrawn . While he was Keeper , the ' Youthful Saviour , by Guido , wap purchased , Guido being a painter of the third or

    rourtn ranlc ; ana tms picture—a design entirely without moaning—one of the very worst from his peuoil . Sir Charles connived at tho flaying of the pictures under the name of ' cleaning . ' Hia administration , in fact , occasioned such an outcry on tho part of the public , that he was compelled to resign . But he then became connected with a clique in itself very highly connected ; ho became professionally related , it may be said , to < Germany . J 3 r . "Waagbn" is an authority for 1 Sir Chaklbs Eastlake ; if Sir Charles is r attacked tho Doctor will come forward « nd ( attack hia assailants . Tho same system has } been , carried on in Berlin that we havo wit- i

    nessed in London ,.-arid a somewhat similar circumstance is related in a pamphlet called ' The Picture Baptism of Dr . Waagen ' pubhsU-edat . Leipb'ig in 1832 , read by Mr . ConiNGKAM in the recent debate : — " The State having purchased that enormous quantity of Mr . Solly ' s pictures , there was a great mystery about them . It was considered a rare favour to have a look at them ; perhaps they feared public opinion , and wished to make everything fine and shiny by restoration and varnish , in order to deceive the public . Berlin painters consequently were not just wished for to do this work of restoration ; the workmen were sent for from abroad , and especially by Dr . Waagen , who had made proper acquaintances at Munich while he lived there . If any offer was made to a Berlin artist , the pay was so paltry that the man could not but refuse . Now , restoration began to be carried on on a grand scale , a quantity of pictures were transformed into the style of famous painters and their pupils , and enormous sums—for which real old original pictures might have been boughtwere thus spent . In Mr . Solly ' s collection were a great nany which could not be exhibited without undergoing retry important restorations . For this nurnose there

    arrived , first , a Mr . Horack from Saxony , who had been a tailor , but then felt inspired to restore old pictures . With pompous words , he praised his own skill , and assured them that he was able to take off pictures from wormeaten wood and draw them over new wood or anvas . He , moreover , pretended to possess a water to wash With and clean pictures without washing them away . This master tailor , after having spoiled a number of pictures entrusted to him by private persons , was engaged "by the committee of the Museum , and received a large picture from the Solly collection to take it oft ' , from the wood . Horack asked for an advance , and obtained the money . Somewhat later he asked for another advance , and obtained it . Now he went On working a ¦ fiaw W € * TTa I / tit may ' tKon It a onii f" n rt Viig aKn ^ a o »¦»/¦ " ? /^ tenn t ± \ CilUU

    » % * » u . t * r < J AUUgVt J ' ifJJL ^ U M-J U X - * - * l . » J MWUV C % UU . UldUU ¦ peared from Berlin . The committee finding the door locked , and obtaining no answer to their rappings ordered the door to be opened , and satisfied themselves that their artist had bolted with the money , but left them the corpse of the picture to bury . An eternal silence , of course , is kept about the fate of this picture . Meanwhile Dr . Waagen had carried out his plan . For a high annual . salary , the restorators , his old connexions , were appointed—namely , Mr . Schlesinger , Mr . Koester , and Mr . Xler . Now , the high synedrium was complete , a Restoration-atelier was arranged , and all the pictures of the State entrusted to it to be sentenced to life or death . "

    Like Waagien like Eastxake . Sir Charles , who frequents good society , is , says Lord Palmerston , ' an amiable , accomplished , and distinguished man . ' Jjord Palmers ton cannot abide this kind of fuss , which compels public servants to account . Mr . Coningham having brought forward these facts as a public duty , the noble Premier presumes that it is simply the indulgence of a personal feeling . He hopes that ' now they have had their swing on the favourite topic , ' the business of the evening will proceed . In fact , the object is to have a I - *•« 11 £ \ r *\ r i" * . / % »¦*•* o 4 * 4 * n-n i * t n of l a 1 r \ if TNT r \ 4 * 4 r \\ «•» # -

    VIUUV * . ¥ ± J , \ S J . AJft . tlUVWs . J , TT UlbU Ak ? AJLJ , JLVm JL . 1 KSW VXli ^ U the public servants understand anything about pictures , or know how to choose the best ; but as a gentleman must have a collection , so the nation must have a collection , estimated by its high prices . As there is the National Gallery , there must be offices for it ; a charming opportunity for putting in ' an amiable , accomplished , and distinguished man , ' who has the personal acquaintance of noblemen in authority ; or for giving Travelling Commissions to Jfavourite Germans . And as large sums must bo paid for—pictures which are estimated by their price—there is a still more charming opportunity of handing over the distribution oi gold , with little ad-1

    denda in the name of * travellingexpenses , ' to tho favourite Germans and their friende . Questions of this kind nro necessarily matter of fact , If a committee of iive members of the House of Commons had been appointed to oxamine the accounts and to compare twenty characteristic pictures , all in this country , all , perhaps , i" London , they could havo formed a distinct judgment , and they would havo ratifiocl the amendment , cutting lown tho vote . But the House of Commons , vill not take the trouble , to look into facts : t takes thp pxplanj > t ; pne on . trust " .

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), July 25, 1857, page 13, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_25071857/page/13/