346 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



[NOTEMBER, 



and among many noble, but scarcely very historical persons, none appeared 

 more eligible ihan William de Mowbray, ancestor of the Duke of Norfolk, 

 the oldest peer, and that in the three ranks of duke, earl, and baron, in the 

 existing House of Lords. William de Mowbray is also ancestor, not only 

 of the various noble families which bear the surname of Howard, but of 

 that of Berkeley. 



Sucii, I apprehend, are the reasons which have induced the committee, 

 ns they have myself, to recommend the 18 names, of which you possess a 

 list, to be commemorated as having borue a share in obtaining the great 

 charter of John. 



I am, my dear Sir, very truly yours, 



HKMIV HALLAM. 



C. L. Eastlake, Esq. 



Memorandum respecting Places for Statues in the Palaces at \yestimnsler. 



The commissioners having at various times inspected the new Houses 

 of Parliament with a view to ascertain what situations would be adapted 

 for the reception of insulated statues, and having examined the principal 

 Jocaliiies ou the 25th of April last, for the same object, were then of 

 opinion — 



Thai, as the entrance to the Houses of Parliament by St. Stephen's 

 porch will contain statues of distinguished statesmen, warriors, and other 

 eminent suhj.'cts, the entrance b> the grand staircase, tlie landing-place, 

 guard-room, Victoria gallery, and lobby to the House of Peers, should con- 

 tain the statues of sovereigns. 



The statues of Egbert, Edgar, Canute, and Edward the Confessor might 

 be fitly placed on the first landing place. 



That the principal landing-place should contain the statues of the sove- 

 reigns from William the Conqueror to Edward IV. '1 hat the statues of 

 Edward V. to Richard HI. might he placed in the guard-room. 



That in the Victoria-hall the series should be continued, beginning with 

 Henry VII , and ending vriih Queen Anne. 



That the lobby to the House of Lords* should contain the statues of 

 the Sovereign of the House of Brunswick, beginning wiih George I., and 

 ending with her most gracious Majesty. 



In This proposed arrangement it appeared that one pedestal in the lobby 

 to the House of Lords would still remain unoccupied. A resolution was 

 referred to (recorded in the minutes ou the 21st of April, 1843), to the 

 effect that a statue of his Royal Highness Prince Albert would be appro- 

 priately placed in the Victoria gallery (of which the lobby in question ori- 

 ginally formed a part). Thus the situations for statues in the slate apart- 

 i-aents and the approaches to them woulil, in the event of Ihe above resolu- 

 tion being confirmed, he entirely occupied. 



According to the above proposed distribution, the number of statues on 

 the landing-places and in tlie guard room would be 22 ; in llie Victoria 

 gallery 12 (William 111. and Mary being both represented); in the lobby, 

 including the slatue of Her Majesty, seven. 



It was considered that the statues in Ihe robing-room might, according 

 to a resolution proposed by Mr. Gaily Knight with reference to another 

 locality, consist of allegorical figures. 



It was further proposed that the lower waiting hall should contain eight 

 statues of celebrated scientific ineu ; that the upper corresponding hall 

 should contain eight statues of celebrated poets, and that the panels in the 

 latter should be adorned with paintings. The lower hall has no panels 

 available for paintings. 



It was further remarked that, if required, statues could be placed in the 

 open air in many of the courts, and tliat some of the larger corridors or 

 passages on the ground floor would also admit of such decorations. 



The consideration of the place for the slatue of Alfred, and of precise 

 number and sitimtions of other statues in the central hall, was postponed 

 till that part of the building should be more advanced. 



Whitehall, April 20, 1845. 



Letter from the Right Hon. the Secretary of Slate for ihe Home Department. 



Whitehall, 9th May, 1845. 

 Sir, — I have received Her Majesty's commmds to notify to you that 

 Her Majesty has been graciously pleased to approve the repoi't of the 

 Commissioners of the Fine Arts dated the 25th of April, 1845. And Her 

 Majesty has directed the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury to submit 

 to Parliament an estimate for the sum of 2,000/. ou account, towards the 

 payment of the expense of statues of Hampden, Lord Falkland, and Lord 

 Clarendon. 



I have the honour to be. Sir, your obedient servant, 



J. U. G. GRAHAM. 

 C. L. Eastlake, Esq. 



Competition in Oil Painting. 



The competition in oil-painting which, by an announcement before issued, 

 was to take place in June, 1840, is postponed till June, 1847. All other 

 conditions, expressed in the announcement referred to, remain unaltered. 



1. Three premiums of 500/. each, three premiums of 300/. each, and 



* The names of various apartments have been altered and tinallv determinetl since the 

 date of this memorandum. The principal lanrtinpplace is called the Norman Porch ; Ihe 

 Victc.ria Gallery is called the Royal GaUery, the lobby to the House of Loriis is called tlie 

 Victoria Hall. 



three premiums of 200/. each, will be given to the artists who shall furnish 

 oil paintings which shall be deemed worthy of one or other of the said 

 premiums, by judges to be appointed to decide on the relative merit of the 

 works. 



2. The paintings are to be sent in the course of the first week in June, 

 1847, for exhibition, to Westminster hall. 



3. The commissioners reserve to themselves the right of excluding from 

 public exhibition works which shall be deemed by them not to possess 

 sufficient merit to entitle them to such a privilege. 



4. The paintinTs, not to exceed two in number by each artists, are re- 

 quired to be prepared for the occasion. 



5. The subjecis are required to come under the general classes of reli- 

 gion, history, or poetry. 



6. The dimensions are left to the choice of the artists undcrthe following 

 conditions: — The figures are not to be less than two in number; the size 

 of the nearest figure or figures, in at least one of the specimens by each 

 artist, is to be not less than that of life ; but the size of Ihe figures is alto- 

 gether left to the choice of painters of marine subjects, battle-pieces, and 

 landscapes. 



7. The judges appointed to decide on the relative merit of the works 

 may, if they shall think fit, require any artist to whom a premium shall 

 have been awarded to execute, under such conditions as Ihey may think 

 necessary, an additional painting as a specimen of his ability, and in such 

 case the premium awarded to such artist will not be paid unless his second 

 painting shall be approved by the judges. 



8. The names of the artists are not required to be concealed. 



9. The paintings will remain the property of the respective artists. 



10. Paimings which may combine appropriate subjects, witli a high de- 

 gree of merit, shall be considered eligible to be purchased by the nation, in 

 order to be placed in one of the apartments of the Palace of Westminster. 



11. Religious, poetical, or allegorical subjecis, which by judicious adap- 

 tation or treatment may have reference to the history or constitution of th« 

 kingdom, may, as well as strictly historical subjects, be eligible to be so 

 purchased. 



12. The judges to be hereafter appointed to decide on the relative merit 

 of the works, with a view to the award of premiums, will consist partly of 

 ar.ists. 



13. The competition hereby invited is confined to British subjects, includ- 

 ing foreigners who may have resided 10 years or upwards iu the United 

 Kingdom. 



Various applications having been received from artists, candidates for 

 employment as fresco-painters, respecting the mode in which specimens 

 of fresco-painling may hereafter be submitted to the Commissioners on the 

 Fine Arts, without reference to public exhibition. Noiice is hereby given, 

 that such specimens may be sent to Westminster-hall for Ihe purpose afore- 

 said from the 1st of March to the 1st of May next inclusive. The subjects 

 and dimensions are left to the choice of the artists, but those arlists who 

 have not before exhibited cartoons in Westminster-hull are required to send 

 specimens of drawing together with their fresco-paintings. 



THE CONSTRUCTION OF GAS METERS, 



By Alexa>dbr Angus Cboll, Assoc. Inst C.E. 



The use of gas for the purposes of illumination, has now become so ge- 

 neral in Ibis country, and involves so much capital iu its produciion and 

 distribution, that any invention, by means of which gas can be more accu- 

 rately measured than heretofore, becomes of importance. It is well known, 

 that as much as from 30 to 40 per cent, of the whole quantity of gas pro- 

 duced, is sometimes unaccounted for, and this great aud positive loss has 

 generally been attributed to leakage. That there is a certain constant 

 amount of leakage through the pores of the metal, of which the mains and 

 pipes are composed, is undeniable. The fact of such leakage is proved by 

 the saturation of the ground in which the mains are imbedded, though it 

 would appear to have been somewhat hastily assumed, that such satura- 

 tion would furnish a complete explanation of the whole of the known toss. 

 The erroneous character of this opinion can be readily demonstrated by 

 expi-rinient. The most minute jet of gas can be detected by the smell ; for 

 instance, any escape of gas which can scarcely be discovered by its ignit- 

 ing upon the application of fire to the spot, is instanly perceived by tba 

 oliensive odour. In the author's own house a very small escape of gas 

 took place. This was so oliensive that its continuance would have ren- 

 dered the room uniuhabitable ; but when estimated by the meter it was 

 found to be only one per cent. Further, escapes of gas in the streeis hav« 

 been detected by the smell, which when traced were found to be incredibly 

 small when the nuisance they had occasioned was taken into consideration. 

 These fads show that it is impossible to account for even 5 per cent., in- 

 stead of upwards of 30 per cent., of the ascertained loss, which is the 

 utmost allowance to be made for loss from bad joints and porous metal in 

 the mains. 



The amount of gas daily distributed from the works of the Chartered 

 Gas Company alone may be taken at about 2,7o0 000 cubic (eet ; the loss 

 of 30 per cent, upon that quantity would occasion 810,000 cubic feet of 

 carburetltd hjdiogeu to be set free daily in a comparatively limited dia- 



