THE ELGIN MARBLES AND THE PARTHENON
[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sin,—I think Mr. Lawson misses the point of the argument when he says there is " no issue here of right and might " as a reason given by you for the return of the Elgin marbles to Greece.
He further states that there was no " unwilling surrender " forgetting, however, that Lord Elgin bought the marbles from the Turkish Pasha of Athens when the Turks, and not the Greeks, were masters of that city. Then, subject to might, the Greeks never " surrendered or forfeited " the marbles which were ruthlessly torn down from the Parthenon by unskilled workmen, involving the destruction, I believe, of a great deal of the sculpture.
Greece has only a moral right to her masterpieces ; and this has been the contention of the Spectator all along when the Editor advocated this right as against the might of possession.—I am, Sir, &c.,
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