It appears that the Upper Ten Thousand do not like
visiting the Bethnal Green Museum when the people of Bethnal Green are there, and have been accustomed to obtain tickets from Mr. Cole, enabling them to inspect the pictures on Sunday. As the poor people would like to go to the Museum on Sunday, and are prevented by those who do go because that would be irreli- gious, some discontent was felt in Bethnal Green, and on Thursday Mr. Holms asked a question about the matter. Mr. Forster, who,
as Vice-President of Council, is responsible for Mr. Cole, at once replied that Lord Ripon had stopped a practice which had grown up quietly, but which was so entirely indefensible that Sir R. Wallace had declined a ticket to see his own pictures, on the .distinat ground that he could be no party to opening the Museum to "a privileged few "on Sunday. Mr. Cole should have remembered English ways, and made the exclusives pay for their -exclusiveness. A "five-shilling day" would have seemed to Bethnal Green quite natural and righi, and would have benefited -the Museum besides.
Previous page
