God help us all from this madness

sagat, leeds,

I agree with David from Grantham, and it is a bit like saying 'let them eat cake'.

Dee, Kent, UK

Put it to the test - sell them and if they achieve £300million then the Duke can give the 'spare' £200million to the Treasury, I'm sure they need the money more than the country needs the paintings, glorious as they are!

David Harrison, Grantham, UK

poor people will be delighted by the amount of money that thegovernment is ready to pay in this difficoult time!

and very surprised that you love paintings not made by drunken English painters.........

riccardo, brussels,

If the UK's leading galleries had not spent so much money paying for Tracey Emin's used knickers then maybe they would have been able to buy the Titians...

But of course, what do I know about art?

jorge, teruel, spain

Why do e need them!? Actually, buy them for £100m then sell them to the highest bidder! And buy some police officers!

Dean, Southampton, England

If these 2 paintings were important to the nation then they would have been displayed in every art gallery throughout the nation so that everyone could appreciate them. This may be a narrow view but these paintings are not going to impact on my quality of life so best to get rid of them.

louis, Liverpool, Uk

I am confused. Another website reports that the record auction sale price for a Titian painting is just over £7m. Who has decided that these two are worth £150m each?

Duncan, London,

Why not simply pass a law saying that no art works of over 50 years old may be sold outside of the country. Problem solved.

Jay, Maidstone, England

A good copy would be ok How is it lost to the nation?

bob holmes, axbridge , England

Let's all show how mean-minded, envious and philistine we are. Altogether now.....

Frank Upton, Solihull,

If the Government, who are happy to spend billions of pounds of our money on waging war in Iraq and Afghanistan, can't find £10 to £20 million towards the purchase of these great masterpieces, they will merely confirm themselves as the philistines we know them to be. These works must be saved!

James Paterson, Cheltenham, England

Could the duke not continue to "loan to the nation"?

One cannot expect people out of work or struggling to pay mortgage to understand why this purchase should be made.

The shame is, this government wastes and loses (literally) billions of public funds every year. Cancel some quangos.

Leigh Vernier, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

The nation can afford to squander billions and billions of pounds on wars, failed banks and pointless ID cards. £50m for a Titian masterpiece is nothing.

Ian, London, UK

How does it work? He owns the paintings and the national gallery stores them in ideal conditions, guards them and no doubt dusts them off. And then we have to pay him not to sell them to someone else. Find someone else who want s to own them and offer them the same storage and protection service.

David, wigan,

Sorry but in a recession the first thing to go are luxuries. If the "nation" doesn't buy these paintings, nobody will die. GBP100 million buys an awful lot of cancer drugs!

Jon, Cardiff,

To James of South Ham...I would suggest that these paintings are more important to the nation than Brown, Darling and the whole bunch of this govt. that appears to waste £100 million on 'advisers' and unusable computor hardware every year. At least Titian painted with talent and passion.

David, Romford Essex, UK

I'd rather the money be spent on something like this than some of the farcical projects that are currently suggested as a good idea.

Adam, Welwyn Garden City,

There are not being offered at a discount at all - this so-called 'selling them to the nation' is just a tax avoidance trick. Call the Duke of Sutherland's bluff and refuse to make an offer - also tax him on his earnings from selling them. Let the things go to whoever is foolish enought to buy them.

neil glass, Bournemouth, UK

Titian was not even British, he was Venetian.

Was there talk of Burnham succeeding Brown?

What judgement the man has!

Richard Boyce, Haywards Heath, UK

Are they having a laugh? Surely the governments money should be spent on more important things!!! There can be no justification on the government spending that amount of money when we are heading towards a recession! However, with this government I wouldn't put it past them.

Sally, Newcastle upon Tyne,

IMPORTANT??
To whom exactly?.....and at a time when the country has such woes.........and to a Sutherland family who's historical record of cruelty and evil is unsurpassed in Scots history.
A plague on both their houses !!

James Mackay, Inverness, Scotland

I hope these are saved for the people of Great Britain.

Even those people who don't appreciate art; the £10m-£20m being requested from the Government is not a lot of money for the Treasury. Much more of our taxes are wasted elsewhere (benfit fraud for example), and this is an undeniable bargain.

James, London, UK

This is simple. The 'Nation' cannot afford them. Let them go. Very, very few people will miss them when they've gone. Let them see them displayed elsewhere (if they're not held privately) People with the time to gaze at paintings all day are of little value to this nation in these times of recession

Simon Humber, Nottingham,

Rarely do people realise the economic benefits of owning great masterpieces. Just stop to consider, for example, how much hard cash the 'Mona Lisa' generates for Paris and for France. It is a magnet for tourism from all over the world. And this is only ONE reason why art is important for the nation.

Paul, Gwynedd,

Seriously? We're in the worst economic times in memory, and the government is considering spending this much money on some paintings. If this is granted it is an absolute disgrace.

Tom, Bermondsey, London,

Just say 'NO"..........

Mr Tim, san marcos, U S of A

How are these paintings 'important' to the nation ?

James, South Hams,

I've been travelling regularly to see these two glorious paintings in Edinburgh ever since I was a boy. I hope that they will be saved for the nation and remain in Edinburgh.

Tom Moncrieff, London, UK

Forgive me for sounding like an idealist, but why does he not donate them to his country and stamp his name in British history forever?

Is that not worth all the money in the world?

£300 million is too much when there is so much that needs to be done!

Alex, London,

where does privilege end and obligation to the nation (that granted a title to this family in the first place) begin? this duke sickens me with his pathetic gesture of 'generosity'. either give these paintings over or sell for what you claim they are worth and release some funds for the common weal

Barbara , London,