THE NEW UNION BUILDINGS. 1 5/ 



like foliag-e sparingly scattered. The summits, some 300 feet 

 above the level of the southern boundary, are easily accessible. 



From the western side a few homesteads dot the slope to the 

 brook-like river that virtually marks the extent of the city proper ; 

 and eastward, between the boundary and Government House, a 

 ■distance of a mile, lie well-wooded suburban residences. Church 

 Street, pre-eminently the thoroughfare of Pretoria, at an altitude 

 well above the centre of the city (though distant therefrom little 

 more than a mile), constitutes the southward limit, and means a 

 foreground of about a quarter of a mile square. 



Entering the grounds at the S.W. angle, a tramline, with- 

 out encroaching on the foreground to any extent, reaches a road- 

 way parallel to the building, and some eighty feet away. From 

 this level, about 100 feet above Church Street, the ground floor 

 is attained by subways and easy flights of steps. But a higher 

 level road, to which motor-cars and other vehicles can travel, 

 conducts directly to the porches at the main entrances. 



Then a further road winds its way beyond the line of the 

 actual foreground to the northern central entrance at the princi- 

 pal floor line, designed primarily for the Governor-General-in- 

 Council and for Ministerial purposes. Executive accommoda- 

 tion mainly centres on that level ; and I understand it is the in- 

 tention to continue this highway to Bryntyrion, where Govern- 

 ment House is situated and official residences cluster. 



The compulsory axial line upon which I have already dwelt 

 strikes Church Street obliquely, and in the direction of the 

 city, which means that, while enhancing the view, the charm of 

 approach therefrom is sensibly increased. 



The sketch plan of the site has been prepared by the archi- 

 tect, and at the intersection of the axial line with Church Street 

 shews a central entrance, presumably for foot passengers only, 

 as no provision has been made in the lay-out of the street for 

 entrance otherwise. This opens on an area the full width of the 

 foreground of about a quarter of a mile, and extends about half- 

 way to the buildings — a length of about 200 yards — having at 

 this early summer-tide almost the appearance of a billiard table. 



Through this an avenue of noble proportions leads to a 

 circular piazza, whose dimensions rival many of those of Conti- 

 nental order. Beyond, a gradual terraced and stepped slope con- 

 ducts to the level of the tram road. On either side there are set 

 out subsidiary pathways and spaces on symmetrical lines. No 

 doubt the best available authorities will be consulted as to detail- 

 ing those grounds ; which may well be styled the Union Domain, 

 and the circular space the Piazza of King Edward the Peace- 

 maker. Let that piazza be graced with an heroic monument to 

 South African Unity (of the nature of that which so enriches 

 Turin) ; a few dashes of sculpture by the nation's best artists, 

 scattered about the grounds ; here and there cascaded masses of 

 water in splendid basins ; and broad masses of dwarf trees, with 

 expanses of green turf ; and the whole arranged with a signifi- 



