A letter which Lord EMI° sent to the Times at
the end of last week, calling upon Ministers to appoint the Commission demanded by the House of Commons to determine the future site of the National Gallery, has been answered by the issue of the Com- mission; and at first it looks as if Lord Elcho's position had been "turned." But his championship of public rights seems only more needed than ever ; for, although the Commissioners who have been publicly designated are persons of ability and respectability, they are not all of such standing or stubborn in- dependence as would entirely command the public confidence. It looks rather like a formal reference to ratify a foregone conclu- sion—a sort of conge d'klire. If Lord Elcho persevere, he will not be without public support : in Lambeth, the economic Williams shows that a misuse or bad distribution of the public means and property will be jealously watched ; and the London constituencies, at least, will object to any removal of the National Gallery out of town, except upon authority higher than any yet adduced.
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