1856-81 A FORMIDABLE ANTAGONIST 43 



ture on civil estimates," and laying stress on the 

 fact that the " estimates of the actual year showed 

 no surplus." 8 The influence of this advocacy of 

 economy is exemplified in the debate which en- 

 sued. 9 For repetitions of the nature and terms of 

 objections to the Report and Plan, as already 

 denounced by Mr. Gregory, Mr. Bernal Osborne, 

 and others, reference may be made to the volume 

 of " Hansard," cited below. An estimable hon. 

 member, whose words had always and deservedly 

 carried weight with the country party, lent his 

 influence to the same result. Mr. Henley, repre- 

 sentative of Oxfordshire, said : " All the House 

 knew was that a building was to be put up some- 

 where. He considered this a bad way of doing 

 business, particularly at a time when nobody could 

 be sanguine that the finances of the country were 

 in a flourishing state. Let the stone once be set 

 rolling, and then all gentlemen of science and 

 taste would have a kick at it, and it would be 

 knocked from one to the other, and none of them 

 probably would ever live to see an end of the 

 expense." 1 



' Permit me to give one more example of the 

 baneful influence of the opening speech on our 

 great instrument of scientific progress. Mr. 

 Henry Seymour, member for Poole, said : " If a 

 foreigner had been listening to the debates of that 



8 Hansard, 1862, p. 1927. 9 lb. 



1 lb. p. 1932. 



