asked the First Lord of the Treasury, If there is any truth in the Report that the South Kensington Museum and other allied institutions are about to be transferred to the management of the Trustees of the British Museum?

in reply, said, that the question of the present arrangements of the South Kensington Museum was under the consideration of the Government. They connected themselves to a certain extent with the British Museum on account of the necessity for modifying the arrangements of the British Museum, consequent upon the transfer of the Natural History Collection to South Kensington. Beyond that he could not at present go, except to say that the matter was still under process of inquiry.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty, How much land belonging to Greenwich Hospital has already been sold; what is the quantity of land now advertised for sale; and what is the quantity still remaining unsold; what security there is that the money obtained by these sales will be retained as capital and not devoted to income; and, whether he will undertake that no more of the land belonging to Greenwich Hospital shall be sold until the House has had an opportunity of expressing its opinion as to the policy of selling land which is held in trust for public uses? He wished to add the further question, Whether it is true that nearly 6,000 acres were going to be sold, and in eleven lots?

in reply, said, that two estates containing 1,940 acres, and realizing upwards of £200,000, were sold by public auction in August, 1872 —one estate realizing £92,164, and the other £116,000. With regard to the quantity of land now advertised for sale—the Tyneside estate in Northumberland, containing about 5,768 acres, was advertised for sale by public auction at Newcastle-on-Tyne on the 5th of August next. The Admiralty had also under consideration the sale of the remainder of the Langley Barony, &c., estate, containing 8,581 acres; but it was uncertain whether that would be sold before the spring. As to the quantity still remaining unsold, there were 27,865 acres in Northumberland and Cumberland, besides ground-rents and house property in Greenwich and the Isle of Dogs, producing a gross rental of £4, 400 a-year. With respect to the security that the money would be retained as capital and not devoted to income, the 31st clause of the Greenwich Hospital Act, 1865, provided that the purchase-money paid in respect of lands sold should be carried to the Greenwich Hospital capital account. There was the further security of the detailed audit, by the Exchequer and Audit Department, of the capital and income accounts of Greenwich Hospital, in order to see that the provisions of the Greenwich Hospital Acts were duly complied with. Lastly, there was the additional security of the presentation of these accounts to Parliament annually, and their review by the Public Accounts Committee. He would undertake that there should be no more sales until spring; but, without knowing what course his hon. Friend might take, he would not pledge himself not to proceed to exercise the powers entrusted to him by Parliament. It was good policy on the part of the House to direct the sales of this land, because the Admiralty had plenty of public business to attend to, without having the management of large estates superadded to their other duties.

said, it would be his duty to move a Resolution expressing the opinion of the House on these sales, and if it decided that they should go on, he should endeavour to obtain an opinion on the part of the House that the land should be sold in small lots.

said, he accidentally omitted a part of his answer to the hon. Gentleman. He could not toll the precise number of lots in which the lands would be sold by auction. When he said that no more sales would take place before the spring, he did not mean that the lands advertised for sale would be withdrawn.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland, Whether, considering the eminently satisfactory condition of the borough of Dundalk and the county of Louth, as evidenced by the calendar of prisoners, and the charges of every going judge of assize during the years 1869, 1870, 1871, and 1872, and the present year, both as regards offences against the person and against property, and the statements of—1. Mr. Justice Lawson, at Spring Assize 1871—

"That both the county of Louth and the borough of Dundalk, he might with truth say challenged comparison for peace and order with any portion of Her Majesty's dominions;"

2. Mr. Baron Hughes, Spring Assize 1872, speaking of calendar and report of county inspector of constabulary laid before him—

"They are the most favourable I have ever read since I occupied a seat on the bench, and are highly creditable to every class in your county, but above all to the people in general;"

and, 3. Mr. Justice Lawson, at the Assizes held on the 8th instant—

"That the calendar, a perfect blank, and the constabulary returns laid before him, show a gratifying state of things, and places Louth in the first rank of a model county,"

he is prepared to remove the Proclamation of that borough and county under the Peace Preservation Acts?

in reply, said, he was happy to state that not only the borough of Dundalk, but that other counties besides the county of Louth, were in an eminently satisfactory condition, and the Government would take into consideration, at the earliest possible moment, the propriety of removing the Proclamation referred to under the Peace Preservation Acts. The decision of the Government, however, could only be arrived at in view of the condition of the surrounding district. The county of Louth, for example, bordered on the county of Meath, which was not in so satisfactory a state, and it would be undesirable to place in the hands of persons arms which would be accessible to the members of the Riband Societies of the county of Meath. Dundalk was a considerable port, and after what had occurred not long since in Cork, it was not desirable to give unlimited facilities for the importation of arms into Ireland. While he could not, however, promise the hon. Member that the restriction should be removed, he could assure him that the subject should receive the earliest consideration of the Government.