244 



THE CIVIL ENGIiNEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. 



[August, 



of norkini; and venlilalion adopted, and, uitli information respecting the 

 police regulatious, and an arcoiiut of ihc kind of liglits employed, would 

 at once afford a general view of tin- morle of nonduciing any particular 

 colliery, and of tlie adjustment of the workings to comliliuns 



It being considered that safety lam])S, pioperly used, du elfect much se- 

 curity in the working of coal, and that in so mauy cases explosions do 

 take place when tliey are nut eiuployed, it has often been su;;gested that 

 the Legislature should compel the general use of safety lamps in coal 

 nnnes. I'.ut, on the other hand, there are many collieries in which lire- 

 damp never appears, and it would juslly.be considered a hardship in such 

 cases to compel a precaution altogether unnecessary. 



We would suggest that it could not be considered unjust for the Legis- 

 lature to coinpi'i the use of safely lamps in all liery collieries ; and, in the 

 present stale of the law of property, it niinht even be prudent to assume 

 Ihat all collieries iu districts where' explosions have been frequent are fiery, 

 putting the onus probandi that they are not upon the owners of su'h col 

 lieries. If proved to the satisfaction of the inspectors that no reasonable 

 danger was to be apprehended in their collieries, license might be given 

 for them to work with naked candles, this license ceasing at short periods, 

 hot being renewable on ascertaining that the conditions of the mine had 

 not allered. 



Careful investigations into the causes of explosions in collieries, only 

 part of which arrest public attention by Iheir magnitude, appear to have 

 led to the very general conclusion ihat the coiidilion of our collieries is 

 most unequal. While iu some localities there is so little to imp'ove that 

 it liecomes subject of regret that such examples shouhl not more generally 

 be follov^■ed, in others it becomes a matter of surprise how the works can 

 be permitted to remain in so defective a state, seeing tliat the owners them- 

 selves sull'er much loss thereby. Under such a state of things, and con- 

 sidering the number of valuable lives annually lo-t by colliery explosions, 

 the continued risk to which so many are daily exposed, the national injury 

 sustained by the imprudent and careless mode of extracting coal in many 

 localities— one often felt oppressively also by the parties engaged in col- 

 liery speculations— and that the workings for coal must be adjusted to 

 local conditions, we are led to consider that these evils might be at least 

 mitigated by the careful and judicious inspection of convenient districts by 

 competent |>ersons, the necessary funds to be raised from such districts by 

 a very slight impost, not even exceeding one farthing on each ton of coal 

 raised in it; and we believe that the cause of humanity and the interests 

 of the coalowners would be alike benefited by a well-considered legisla- 

 tire measure of this kind. 



We Lave, &c.. 



H. T. De La BiiCHE. 

 Lyon Piaypair. 



THE HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT. 



The following are portions of Mr. Barry's evidence before the Committee 

 appointed to inquire into the progress of the Houses of Pailiaraent ; — 



"The committee had an impression, from evidence given by you on a 

 former occasion, that you would be willing to undertake to warm and ven- 

 tilate the new House of Lords upon a system of jour own? — I believe I 

 GO stated. 



If you were to adopt a system of your own, would it render it impossible 

 hereafter to revert to such a system as Dr. Reid has in a general way re- 

 commended or suggested ! — Is it meant that that question should apply to 

 the House of Lords exclusively, or to that and any other portions of the 

 building 7 



To the House of Lords exclusively ? — As the subject is altogether new 

 to me, I could not at the present moment answer satisfactorily ; but if your 

 lordships would give me fonr-and twenty hours to consider that point, I will 

 then be prei>ared to give you a definite answer to the question. 



Do you think that you could prepare the apartment for the Peers by the 

 commencement of the session of 1847, if it were ventilated and warmed 

 according to your own system, and without any interference with your 

 »y»teni from any other quarter? — Until I have determined what that sys- 

 tem shall be, it would be rather dilhcult for me to answer that question. 

 With respect to the fixing of the joiners' work, as unfortunately a very 

 large portion of the year, and the portion best adapted for fixing work of 

 that description, has been suffered to elapse, I should be sorry to pledge 

 myself that I would compleiely finish the House of Lords by the time men- 

 tioned, viz. the commencement of the next session ; but all I can say is, 

 lliat I will do every thing in my power to accomplish the object, and 1 

 trust that i should at least be able to bring the House into such a state as, 

 if not completely finished, it might be occupied by your lordships. 



The " session" is rather an indefinite word ; do you mean by the 1st of 



February? I understand the commencement of the session to mean the 



lit of February. 



Vou think 5 ou could get the House ready by the 1st of February ? — I 

 sltojuld not wish to pledge myself to have the House completely finished in 

 all respects by that time ; but I think I could finish it so completely that 

 it might be occupied by yoiir lordships. 



You mean that every convenience for the sitting of the House might be 

 supplied, aUhough the more ornameutal parta luight not be finished? — 

 £i«ctly. 



Has any further advance been made in the arrangements of Dr. Reid 

 since you were last examined before this committee ! — Not that 1 am 

 aware of. 



Have you the slightest hope, from what has already transpired, and from 

 what you are aide to collect, that the work would be at all advanced by 

 this lime next year, unless some new anangements were made with regard 

 to the ventilation ? — I must say that I have no hope whatever. 



All the fittings are prepared ?— They are, with the exception of portions 

 of the throne, and they would be prepared during the time that the rest of 

 the fittings were being fixed. 



Ill making any arrangement for the ventilation, you do not conceive it 

 will be necessary to destroy any piirt of that which has already been pre. 

 pared in connection with the arrangements suggested by Dr. Reid ? — I du 

 not think it would be necessary to destroy any part; it would be necessary, 

 probably, to modify some of the arrangements, in order to make them avail- 

 able to my own system, if I may so call it. 



In the arrangement that you would contemplate for warming, you would 

 not have to alter the ceiling, or any thing thai has been done there? — Not 

 at all. 



Is the putting up of the ceiling a very expensive work ? — The putting 

 up of the fittings is a very expensive and rather tedious work; the work is 

 of an unusual description, and will require the greatest possible care ia 

 fixing. 



Are you in such a slate that you could proceed immediately towards the 

 completion of the House if jou received the necessary authority .' — Yes ; I 

 am quite prepared to do so. 



Will you describe the state of forwardness of the building adjoining the 

 House, including the lobbies ? — The Victoria Hall, which is the apaninent 

 immediately ailjoining the throne end of the House, is covered in, and the 

 ceiling is nearly fixed. I think it possible to make that room available as 

 well as the House, althou;;h the fittings which are to he placed in it might 

 not be completed. The public lobby is also roofed in, and the ceiling is 

 completed, and if it were necessary, that portion of the building also might, 

 I think, be got ready for use. The finishings of the corridors adjoining the 

 House ou each side are entirely prepared, and I think, if the time is sufli- 

 cient for fixing the work, which is very minute and elaboraie, there is no 

 reason why the corridors should not also be made available for occupation 

 with the House. 



What is the state of the royal gallery ? — The roof of the royal gallery is 

 on, and a commencement is made w ith the fixing <if the ceiling 



What is the state of the Queen's robing room? — The roof is over the 

 Queen's robing room, and the brick arches forming the ceiling are turned, 

 but none of the fittings are comn.enced. 



In what state is the staircase from the royal entrance ? — That is in a very 

 forward state. All the stonework is completed, or nearly so, with the ex- 

 ception of the steps. 



Have you sufficiently digested your plan for the ventilation to be able to 

 state in what manner you propose to introduce the air into the House and 

 the lobbies? — No, I have no!, because my attention has not been directed 

 to that part of the subject. 



But you have slated that you would be prepared to undertake the venti- 

 lation and warming of the new Houses, and to complete the arrangements 

 before the meeting of next session? — Yes. 



Without tying you down to a day, you can have no objection to the com- 

 mittee reporting that jou propose to ventilate and warm the apartments 

 upon your own responsibility? — None whatever. 



And that that is not the portion of the work from which you contemplate 

 any delay in preparing the House for next session ? — Not at all. 



IfDr. Reid's plan was abandoned, as it respects the House of Lords, 

 will the central tower still be necessary? — IfDr. Reid's system, or any 

 part of it, is adhered to in other parts of the buildins, it will certainly be 

 necessary, according to the arrangements made, to have the central tower. 



But not otherwise.' — Not absolutely necessary, except for Dr. Reid's 

 purposes. 



With respect to the central tower being abandoned for the purposes of 

 ventilation, might not that tower be made available for other public pur- 

 poses? — I think it might. 



Do not you think that even in theevent of abandoning Dr. Reid's schema 

 it would be a great loss to the design if the central tower were given up ? — 

 I think it would be very desirable to retain the central tower ; but I do 

 not mean by that to say that it v^ould be desirable to relain the same height 

 or form of tower as would be required by Dr. Reid for bis ventilating pur- 

 poses. I think the central tower would be a great ornament to the build- 

 ing; but I am not of opinion that it is necessary to carry it to the height 

 that Dr. Reid requires In order to obtain the effect that I should desire. 



The central tower, sucli as contemplated by Dr. Reid. would be of a 

 lower height than the Victoria tower? — lam hardly prepared to answer 

 that question, because I am not avvare that Dr. Reid has yet made up his 

 mind as to the height of it. When I have spoken to him ou the subject, be 

 has said, "I should like to have it as high as possible; the higher the bet- 

 ter: higher than Saint Paul's, " and so forth. 



What IS the proposed height of the Victoria tower ? — About 342 feet. 



The following are the answers of Mr. Philip Hardwicke, IMr. George 

 Stephenson, and Professor Graham, to questions submitted to them by the 

 Chief Commissioner of Woods in regard to the warming and ventilation 

 of the New Hoases of Parliament. 



