Sir Alfred Mond and Lord Rothermere have been foiled in
their desire t-, convert the British Museum into offices for the Air Board. Lord Curzon told the House of Lords on Wednesday, in reply to a vigorous protest by Lord Sudeley, that " it was no longer necessary to appropriate " the Museum. It never was necessary, as every one outside the Office of Works knows perfectly well. The unofficial truth is that intelligent public opinion was too strong for Sir Alfred Mond and Lord Rothermere, and that a new Act of Parliament would have been required to authorize the removal of the national treasures. We are not surprised that Lord Curzon, a man of learning and taste, should have vetoed this outrageous proposal. The aston- ishing thing is that it should ever have been made by two Ministers. In the old days of Cabinet rule, such a scheme would have been promptly suppressed by their colleagues, and the Government would have been spared the discredit.
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