02 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. 



[February, 



occiirri'd to luc, tlie most obvious moile of putting you in possession of their 

 intentions, would liave been to scnil you a copy of the rcsohitions adopted 

 at the meeting at wliicli the tirst lU'emium was awarded you. And no better 

 mode occurs to mc now. 1 therefore beg to subjoin a cojiy of that resolu- 

 tion : — 



" It was unanimously resolved, that the premitun for the best plan he ad- 

 judged to Messrs. Wyatt and Brandon, and that the plan and design of 

 Mr. roster, of Bristol', be adopted by the committee for those of the new 

 churcli," &c. i^c. 



Whilst, therefore, the committee ailjndgcd your design to he the best 

 ncconthi;/ lo the ciiiverliscment, they thought it iireferahle to adopt one fm-- 

 nished by a Mr. Foster, of Uristol. I feel now, that this should have 

 formed i>art of my last letter, but at the moment I wrote, it seemeil to me 

 /hat mil silence voiild haee been inlcr/treleil hij i/ou as iiuliealive of Ike reso- 

 latiom of the ifieetiwj. 



I remain, Gentlemen, your very obedient Servant, 



T. Stacey, Hon. Sec. 



Why Mr. Stacey slioidd have imagined llial from " U» silaict," we 

 were to suppose the committee liail resolved \ipon this unusual 

 course, I am unable to guess. We, liowever, addressed him on tlie 

 2oth iis follows : — 



Su', — We have to acknowledge the favor of your letter of the 2 1th inst.> 

 and to state the fact of our having misconceived the purport of your former 

 letter. Wien you announced that the committee bad adjudged us the 

 "Jirst premium for the best plan and desirjn," it never for a moment oc- 

 curred to us that the committee would take the unusual, and as we cannot 

 help feeling the mijust course of emjiloying another architect. Either our 

 design was the best, in accordance iri//t your instructions, or Mr. Foster's 

 was. If his accommodated 2000 persons, and was most apjilicnlile to your 

 olijects, we think you did him an injustice in calling our's the liest. If, on 

 the contrary, our's was really tlie Ijest, why not have done us the justice to 

 believe that we were capable of altering that design, or producing another 

 quite appUcalite to yoiu' wants ? We cannot but think the resolution of the 

 committee must have passed in forgetfulness of general custom and of the 

 injurious elfect it nnst have in ODnipetition generally. Surely, no architect 

 of respcctaliility would lie fouud to expend time and money in designs 

 w bore " the premium " was the only reward, and certainly not in a case 

 wlicre the amount of such premium is insuHicicnt to cover the actual outlay 

 ill preparing tbo^e designs. It is only the snperintendanee of a building, 

 which offers credit and remuneration to the architect jiroportionate to the 

 thought and the anxiety expended on a meritorious design. * * * 

 We beg to assure the committee, that these remarks are not written in a 

 spirit of dictation, for to their decision we must, of course, bow; but it is 

 not the less our duty to call ,'ittention to that which unexplained, implies 

 either injustice on their side, or a stain on our professional character, for 

 whilst it ap|iears to the public that we have submitted " the best plan and 

 design " you have received, they learn that our future services are declined, 

 and an architect employed, whose desiyn was neither the jirst or second best. 

 We trust, therefore, that the committee will at least alter the wording of 

 their resolution. 



We have the honor to be. Sir, 



Your obedient Servants, 



Wyatt and Brandon. 



The following letter acknowledges the receipt of our's of the 25th, 

 and affords tlic satisfactory information that Mr. Foster is selected for 

 the higliist pnmiam the committee coidd give, namely, their employ- 

 ment, because his " plan and design were not in accordance with the 

 terms of the advertisement." Tins, certainly, is a curious specimen 

 of justice, and will, no doubt, tend to impress upon the minds of 

 future competitors, the advantages of strictly adhering to the in- 

 structions issued by committees. 



Cardiff, June 27th, 1839. 

 Cicntlemen, — I have had the honor to receive the favour of your letter of 

 the 2.'>th,.and will not fail to lay it before the committee at their next meet- 

 ing. But as it is not likely, from the progress of things, that I shall soon 

 have an oiiportunity of doing so, 1 beg to state at once, and from myself, 

 tliat the reason why Mr. Foster's plan and design were not awarded the first 

 premium was, that tliey were not in accordance with the terms of the ad- 

 vertisement, and therefore it was, that your's were assigned the premium. 

 I have the honor to be. Gentlemen, 



Your very obedient SeiTant, • 



T. Stacuy. 



(.)ne or two other letters passed, in continuation of this subject ; 

 that from Mr. Stacey, assuring us that the committee had not the 

 least intention of "offering any mark of disrespect, or want of due 

 lonsideration to the design of Messrs. Wyatt and Brandon, the merit 

 of which they highly appreciate." On the 3uth July we addressed 

 Mr. ^jtacey■ 



Sir, — W'c have to acknowledge the receipt of yoiu- favor of the 29th inst., 

 communicating the content!) of a resolution passed by the Cardiff Church 



Gonnnittce. We regret the necessity of again troubling you upon this sub- 

 ject, but we must, for the last time, repeat our sense of the injustice done 

 us ; which, however unintentional on tlie part of the committee, is not the 

 less apparent. It is only on the understanding that all the designs sub- 

 mitted shall be tested by the terms and conditions inijiosed by the adver- 

 tisement, an<l that those designs which do not comply with such instructions 

 shall he rejected, that architects compete. Unless all the competitors start 

 from the same point, it is impossible that the race can be a fair one. Mr. 

 Foster's plans, it seems, were sufficiently informal to disentitle him to the 

 ]ircmium of 20/., and yet these informalities are made to disajipear, and he 

 is awarded the frst premium, the snperintendanee of the hiiildinij. And the 

 only premium, which in this case, was wortliy struggling for. Surely this is 

 not fair play ! It was only on the faith, that the architect who received the 

 first premium, would he employed to carry into execution any work the com- 

 mittee might erect, that you received jilaiis at all. It is (miless specially 

 excepted, as in the case of the comjietition for the K<iyal Exchange now 

 going on,) the basis of all understanding between committees and com- 

 jietitors — once destroy this, and you put an end to competition. In the 

 case of the Koyal Exchange, the premiums ofl'ered arc 300/., 200/. and 100/., 

 with tlus clause, "That if the architect who receives the first pieniinm 

 should not be entrusted ivitli the budding, be shall receive an addiliunal sum 

 of .500/. if his designs are carried into execution. The committee having 

 power to retain the drawings for which the prcnnum is awarded." Now 

 liere there is no understantUng, and the fact of their considering it necessary 

 to make these conditions, implies that without them architects should not 

 be inviteil to compete. Under the circmnstances of the case, we have no 

 desire to retain the premium thus awarded us, and are prepared to return it, 

 upon being informed to whouj it should be paid. 



We have also to request you will give directions for our drawings being 

 returned; under any circumstances, they are not the ]iropcrty of the com- 

 mittee, and as they are goinij; to liuild on Mr. Foster's [ilan, our design can 

 be of no service to theni, unless for the jiurpose of adopting any arrange- 

 ment or featme of merit they m.ay be thought to possess ; a ]noceediug 

 which we are unable to suppose a committee of gentlemen would sanction. 

 We have the honor to be. Sir, 



Your obedient Servants, 



Wyatt and Brandon. 



To this lette/, on the 28th November, we received the following 

 reply :— 



Canlitf X'icarage, 27th November, 1839. 



Gentlemen, — I beg to forward yon the following copy of a resolution of 

 the committee appointed for the erection of a new church at Cardilf, passed 

 on Monday the 2.5th instant. 



The secretary having laid before the meeting a letter from Messrs. AAyatt 

 and Brandon, commenting again on the adjudication of the premium for 

 the best jilan, it was resolved : — 



" That the secretary be directed to return Messrs. \\'yatt and Brandon 

 their plans as they desire, and to infonn them that the amount of the first 

 premium awarded them, which they decline to retain, may he. paid into the 

 London and Westminster Bank, to the credit of the treasurer of the Catditt' 

 New Church Budding Fund." 



In pursuance of the foregoing resolutions, I forward your plans by this 

 days' mail, carriage paid. I desire you should understand tliat the com- 

 mittee meeting of the 25th, was the first that has been held since the 

 receipt of yom letter of the 30th July, otherwise it would have been replied 

 to earlier. 



I have the honor to be, Gentlemen, 



Your most obedient Senant, 



T. Stacey, Hon. Sec. 



Here closes the correspondence. We have received our designs, 

 and the premium has been returned. Mr. B. Ferry, to whom the 

 secotid iiremium was awarded, viewing the matter in the same light 

 that we did, remonstrated by letter, against this act of the committee, 

 and informs me, that the replies he received as to the grounds on 

 which Mr. Foster is employed, were "equally inisatisfactory" with 

 our own. It is always difficult in cases where one's own interests or 

 feelings are concerned, to take an impartial and correct view. And 

 possibly this case, which to any eye presents an incumistent, if not an 

 unjust appearance, may have occurred before, and may not be 

 thought to call for the remonstrances we deemed it right to make. 

 Its consideration, however, can do no harm to those who may here- 

 after engage in competitions, and if, by the course adopted we have 

 tended in however slight a degree to assert the indepentlence and 

 correct feeling of our profession, the end we had in view will be fully 

 realized. 



I am, Sir, 



Your obedient Servant, 



Thomas Henry Wvatt. 

 7-5, Grcal Russell Street ,January 1840. 



