CHARLES l's BIBLE
SIR,—In reply to the letter of Mr. Nevile Wallis in your issue of August 30 as to the attitude of the National Art-Collections Fund to historic relics, I would like to say that the Fund is always alert and ready •to respond sympathetically to any appeal from our public galleries and museums for help, not only in the acquisition of valuable paintings, draw- ings and works of art, but also for historic relics as, for instance, the last letter written by Mary Queen of Scots addressed to her brother-in-law, Henry III, King of France, on the night before her execution at Fotheringay, February 8, 1587, which was given by a body of subscribers through the Fund to the National Library of Scotland in 1918.
In connection with a work of art or an article of national historic interest for which the owner has received a definite offer from overseas and is will- ing to sell, the procedure is for the owner to apply for an export licence which is required for all articles of £1,000 and over. If the licence is refused by the examining committee, then the nation must buy at no less than the net price the owner has been definitely offered; otherwise the article must be allowed to be exported. This procedure, in my opinion, is fair to all concerned. If the article wanted by the nation is being sent overseas for sale without any definite offer having been received for it, then surely the fair way is for the purchase price for the nation to be negotiated by appropriate experts.
The National Art-Collections Fund is proud of its record since its foundation sixty years ago. There is hardly a museum or public gallery in this country, national, provincial or university, that has not benefited from its help. In spite of this we have today only 11,000 members. The Fund is appalled by the ever-increasing rise in the cost of our art treasures, and at the ever-increasing demand from overseas for them. If it is to continue making its contribution to our art heritage it must enlist many more members. Am I wrong in thinking that there is at least one in every five of our adult popula- tion interested in art and able to pay a very moder-
ate annual subscription? If we had a membership of, say, 100,000 or 200,000, how much more could we do, and how much better we could face the rising costs. Obviously if the nation is not prepared to pay for its art and historic treasures then to its disgrace it must allow them to be acquired by overseas buyers who appreciate them more than we do.
Am I not right in thinking that in acquiring our art and historic treasures of national importance for ourselves and our children's children we are not only enriching our education and our culture but also making a very material gain to the nation?
May I appeal for the support of any of your readers not already members of the Fund?
Forms of membership and full details of our activities will gladly be sent on application. Inquiries are welcomed.
ALEC MARTIN National Art-Collections Fi1nd, Hertford House, Manchester Square, WI
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