This message has led to mush correspondence in the Times,
which we cannot follow in its details. The only points that need concern us are that the American Centenary Committee have offered to London a statue of Lincoln, and that the British people will certainly receive with gratitude whatever statue Americans choose to give. The alternative to the Barnard statue seems to be a replica of the fine and well-known statue by St. Gaudens. We have scarcely any right to express an opinion. We are recipients, not donors. It is almost enough to say that we shall be proud to have in London any statue of that majestic statesman which Americans think does credit to his memory. But so far as the opinion of recipients may have any influence on the intentions of donors, we should like to say that the outcry raised by the Times correspondent does not by any means represent the considered judgment of Englishmen who have thought about the matter. Far from it. Few of us have had the advantage of seeing the Barnard statue, but we know that Mr. Barnard is a sculptor of great force and originality, and we remember that it is the familiar fate of great works of art to excite violent controversy among makers of contemporary opinion.
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