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Proceedings of Societies. 



was examined as a witness, from having devoted much attention 

 to those subjects, and having shown excellent examples of his skill, 

 first in his own lecture-room, and, later, in the great temporary 

 edifice, erected 15th September 1834, in the High School ground, 

 for the Edinburgh dinner to Lord Grey, at which 2768 persons 

 w^ere present, and 240 ladies in the gallery, and each individual 

 speaker was distinctly heard.* 



The result of his examination was, that Dr Eeid was employed 

 to direct the ventilation and acoustics of the temporary House of 

 Commons in 1836. It is not pretended that his plans gave uni- 

 versal satisfaction to the 700 members, each of whom had a dif- 

 ferent notion, and of course a peculiar constitution of body to be 

 suited. But, after ten years' experience, in 1846, a fair committee 

 of the House reported as to " the great improvement effected," and 

 " concurred in the general opinion in its favour." 



In 1840 arrangements were made for Dr Eeid settling in London, 

 and, while taking charge of ventilating the temporary House of 

 Commons, superintending also the ventilation of the new build- 

 ing then in progress. This brought Dr Eeid necessarily into close 

 contact with the architect of the new palace, Mr Barry, and unfor- 

 tunately they did not agree. The difference got worse and worse, 

 till in 1845 they were no longer on speaking terms, and every de- 

 tail of such extensive operations had to be settled by correspond- 

 ence, — a state of things which cuuld not be allowed to last. The 

 quarrel broke out in some strong expressions of Dr Eeid, — a prose- 

 cution for libel by Mr Barry, — a pretty general attack on Dr Eeid 

 by the public press, and a Eeply by him to " The Times" news- 

 paper [1845-47]. 



In 1852 a negotiation was entered into, by which the Grovern- 

 ment proposed to secure Dr Eeid's services permanently, and to 

 throw the ventilation of the whole buildings of the Houses under 

 his charge, — one part of wdiich, the House of Lords, had hitherto 

 been managed by Mr Barry on a different system, — but " these 

 negotiations were abruptly broken off." In fact, Dr Eeid was 

 turned off, after sixteen years successful service, and, as his brother 

 tells us, " a small sum was given to him as some compensation for 

 the loss which he had sustained. His friends who knew his whole 

 career, and the proceedings connected with his removal to London, 

 to take the charge of ventilating the Houses of Parliament, w^ere of 

 opinion that the sum awarded was totally inadequate to compensate 

 for the sacrifices he had made." 



Dr Eeid went to New York in 1855. He delivered lectures in 

 the Smithsonian Institution there, and at Boston. In the begin- 

 ning of this year (1863), he received the appointment of Inspector 

 of Military Hospitals, but soon after, while engaged in an official 

 journey, he died suddenly at Washington, on 5th April 1863. 



Dr Eeid's system of ventilating great buildings, where crowds 

 habitually assembled, consisted in forcing in a current of air by 



* Tlie Pavilion was 113 feet in length by 101 feet in breadth. 



