STATE PAPERS. 



449 



question which can be solved only 

 by conjecture and reasoning, in 

 the absence and deficiency of all 

 positive testimony. The Turkish 

 ministei's of that day are, in fact, 

 the only persons in tlie world ca- 

 pable (if they are still alive) of 

 deciding the doubt ; and it is 

 probable that even they, if it were 

 possible to consult them, might 

 be unable to foi'ni any very dis- 

 tinct discrimination as to the 

 character in consideration of 

 which they acceded to Lord El- 

 gin's request. Tlie occasion made 

 them, beyond all precedent, pro- 

 pitious to whatever was desired 

 in behalf of the English nation ; 

 they re.idily, therefore, complied 

 with all t at was asked by Lord 

 Elgin. He was an Englishman 

 of high rank ; he was also am- 

 bassador from our Court : they 

 granted the same permission to 

 no other individual : but then, as 

 Lord Elgin observes, no other 

 individual applied for it to the 

 same extent, nor had indeed the 

 same unlimited means for carry- 

 ing such an undertaking into exe- 

 cution. The esjU'ession of one 

 of the most intelligent and distin- 

 guished of the British travellers, 

 who visited Athens aljout the 

 same period, ap})ears to your 

 Committee to convey as correct a 

 judgment as can be formed upon 

 this question, which is incapable 

 of being saiistactorily separated, 

 and must be taken in the aggre- 

 gate. 



The Earl of Aberdeen, in an- 

 swer to an inquiry, whether the 

 authority and influence of a public 

 situation was in his opinion ne- 

 cessary for acconqjlishing the re- 

 moval of these Maibles, answered 

 that he did not think a private in- 



Vol. LVUI. 



dividual could have accomplished 

 the removal of the remains which 

 Lord Elgin obtained : and Doctor 

 Hunt, who had better opportuni- 

 ties of information upon tliis jjoint 

 than any other person who has 

 been examined, gave it as his 

 decided opinion, that " a British 

 subject not in the situation of 

 ambassador, could not have been 

 able to obtain from the Turkish 

 government a fermaun of such 

 extensive powers." 



It may not be unworthy of le- 

 mark, that the only other piece 

 of sculpture which was ever re- 

 moved from its place for the pur- 

 pose of export was taken by 

 JNIi'. Choiseul Gouffier, when he 

 WHS ambassador from France 

 to the Porte ; but w hether he did 

 it by express permission, or in 

 some less ostensible way, no 

 means of ascertaining are within 

 the reach of your committee. It 

 was undoubtedly at various times 

 an object with the French go- 

 vernment to obtain possession of 

 some of these valuable remains, 

 and it is probable, according to 

 the testimony of Lord Aberdeen 

 and others, that at no great dis- 

 tance of time they might have 

 been removed by that government 

 from their original site, if they 

 had not been taken away, and se- 

 cured for this country by Lord 

 Elgin. 



III. The third part is involved 

 in much less intricacy ; and al- 

 though in all matters of taste 

 there is room for great variety 

 and latitude of opinion, there will 

 be found upon this branch of the 

 subject much more uniformity 

 and agrecnienc than could have 

 been expected. The testimony of 

 several of the most eminent ai'tists 



2 G ia 



