1840.] 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



371 



TABLE No. III. 



Detail of water evaporated and strokes made by engine in the course of 23 

 experiments, during which the engine made 215,257 strolces. 



COMPETITION DESIGNS. 

 Mr. Sparke in reply to K. P. S. 



Sir — In yournumber of this present month appeared a letter signed 

 K. P. S., containing a charge against the persons who are engaged in 

 building a New Church in this town. I have to request that you will 

 give insertion in your forthcoming number to some observations in 

 reply to those charges. 



Your correspondent K. P. S. i-efers to a letter, dated Oct. 29, 1839, 

 addressed by the Subscribers to the New Church to six Architects, in- 

 viting them to send designs for the proposed building, upon certain 

 terms therein specified. 



This letter is designated by K. P. S. as "most offensive." But 

 surely it is impossible to conceive that the subscribers* intended an 



* K. P. S. criticizes the expression '• Subscribers,'" and says " the business 

 \\3.i of course unducted by a committee." He is as ill informed on this as 



offence to the gentlemen with whom they sought communication. The 

 letter indeed contained a clause, obliging the architect, whose design 

 should be selected to carry the work into execution for the specified 

 sum of £3,000, if required by the subscribers so to do. The sub- 

 scribers, however, learnt that this arrangement was contrary to the 

 practice of the profession, and therefore they at once altered the terms 

 of the proposition to meet the wishes of the architects, who [so far 

 as the subscribers are informed] were perfectly satisfied with the 

 terms as amended, to which they all assented. 



Let me now address myself to that point which has led the sub- 

 scribers to think it proper to take notice of this letter of K. P. S., 

 namely, the charge of bad faith towards the architects. 



The substance of this complaint is, that the subscribers selected a 



on other points connected with this church. The subscribers at large, and 

 not a committee transacted the business K. P. S. speaks of. The building 

 committee was not appointed till after the design was selected. 



