STATE PAPERS. 



447 



^^'ith this view be engaged Sig- 

 nor Lxisieri, a painter of reputa- 

 tion, who V as then in tiie service 

 of the King of the Two Sicilies, 

 together with two architects, two 

 modellers, and a figure painter, 

 whom Mr. Ham-.lir.n (no\^■ Under 

 Secretar)' of State) engaged at 

 Rome, and dejspatohed with Lu- 

 sieri, in the summer of 1800, 

 from Constantinople to Athens. 



They were employetl there 

 about nine months, from August 

 1800 to May ISOl, without hav- 

 ing any sort of facility or accom- 

 modation afforded to them : nor 

 ■was tlie Acropolis accessible to 

 them, even for the purpose of 

 taking drawings, except by the 

 payment of a large fee, which 

 was exacted daily. 



The other five artists were 

 withdrawn from Athens in Janu- 

 1603, but Lusieri has continued 

 there ever since, excepting during 

 tlie short period of our hostilities 

 with tlie Ottoman Forte. 



During the jear 1800, Egypt 

 was in the power of the French : 

 and that sort of contempt and dis- 

 like which has always character- 

 iaed the Turkish goverimient and 

 people ia their behaviour towards 

 every denomination of Christians, 

 prevailed in full force. 



The success of the British arms 

 in Egypt, and the expected resti- 

 tution of that piovjnce to the 

 Porte, wrought a wondei'ful and 

 instantaneous change in tbe dis- 

 position of all ranks and descrip- 

 tions of people towards cur im- 

 tion. Uni^^ersal benevolence and 

 good-will apj)ea! ed to take place 

 of suspicion and aversion. No- 

 thing was refused which was ask- 

 ed ; and Lord Elgin availing him- 

 self of this favourable and unex- 



pected alteration, obtained, in the 

 summer of 1801, access to the 

 A.cropolis for general pui-poses, 

 with permission to draw, model, 

 and remo\c ; to which was added 

 a special licence to exca\ate in 

 a particular place. Lord Elgin 

 mentions in his evidence, tluit he 

 was obliged to send from Athens 

 to Constantinople for leave to re- 

 move a house ; at the same lime 

 remarking, that, in point of fact, 

 all permissions issuing from the 

 I'orte to any di,stant piovinces, 

 are little better than authorities 

 to make the best bargain tliat can 

 be made with the local magistra- 

 cies. The applications upon this 

 subject, passed in verbal conver- 

 sations ; but the warrants or fer- 

 mauns were granted in writing, 

 addressed to the chief authorities 

 resident at Athens, to whom they 

 were delivered, and in whose 

 hands they remained : so that 

 your Committee had no opportu- 

 nity of learning from Lord Elgin 

 himself their exact tenor, or of 

 ascertaining in what terms t'hey 

 noticed, or allov\ed, the displacing, 

 or carrying away of tliesc Marbles. 

 But Dr. Hunt, who accompajiied 

 Lord Elgin as chaplain to the em- 

 bassy, has preserved, and has now 

 in his possession, a translation of 

 ■the second fermaun, whicli ex- 

 tended the pow ers of the first ; 

 hut as he had it not witli him in 

 London, to pro-rluce before your 

 eoinmittee, be stated the sub- 

 stance, riccordir.g to bis recollec- 

 tion, «hichwas, " That in order 

 to show their particvdar respect 

 to the ambassador of Great Bri- 

 tain, tiie august ally of the Porte, 

 with whom they were now and 

 had long been in the strictest al- 

 liance, they gave to his Excel- 

 lency 



