Oldalképek
PDF
ePub

EXHIBITION

A.D.

Selections.

had carefully examined the results of many of the great fires of GREAT London within the last few years, and had observed the general of 1851. insecurity of buildings, depending on either cast or wrought iron, 1849-1852. in cases of fire occurring." He added, "that the use of thin metal Part II. as a covering to wood liable to be exposed to heat was a fatal error, as the metal rapidly conducted the heat, and prevented the contact of water in any attempt to extinguish the combustion. Nothing was more common in London than to endeavour to meet the objection of exposing wood to fire by covering it with metal, and nothing was more certain to be productive of mischievous consequences." Mr. Piper, the builder, said, "It appeared to be understood that, for the class of buildings intended to contain combustible goods, the construction should be of fire-proof materials, but entirely omitting metal . . . . and he had never seen a sound brick wall nine inches in thickness burnt through."

The conditions of the building for the Exhibition, are, that it is to be temporary, that it must not be too costly, and that the chambers in it must be spacious.

But as these conditions appear to be incompatible with positive "fire-proofedness,” and as I have reason to believe that no species of building possible, under the circumstances, would sensibly affect the rate of insurance—an infallible gauge of security-I venture to submit that the security from fire should be obtained by vigilant watching, and efficient preparations to extinguish fire, if it should unfortunately happen, and that the materials and mode of construction ought therefore to be selected solely for their fitness and

economy.

The Record Office at Carlton Ride, having a very large chamber, is so insecure that it would not be insured at treble the ordinary rate of insurance, but, by the joint agency of the fire brigade, the police force, and tell-tale clocks, it has been most efficiently watched for years, and after a long experience of the system, I beg leave to recommend that principle of security to the notice of the Commissioners.

April 2, 1850.

HENRY COLE.

I have perused the foregoing Report and fully concur in it.

JAMES BRAIDWOOD,
Superintendent of the London Fire

Engine Establishment.

Effects of conditions of quired for

building re

the Exhibition, upon insurance.

Watching reinstead.

commended

To be done by fire police force, clocks.

brigade,

and tell-tale

GREAT
EXHIBITION

OF 1851.

A.D.

1849-1852. Part II. Selections.

Mr. Braidwood's advice.

Since the foregoing remarks were written, I have had the advantage of a lengthened conversation with Mr. Braidwood on the subject. He recommends that iron supports should be used, perhaps covered with cement, and that the walls be of lath and plaster. By this means "the building would be the most manageable in case of fire." For security, he would greatly prefer this mode of construction to iron, which would give very great difficulty in case of fire, and, in his opinion, be very dangerous. He suggests "that as many of the draughts between the outside and inside lath and plaster as possible, should be stopped;" that there should be provided the most “ easy access possible to and along the roof, so that in case of fire the glass may be broken," and the draught of air and fire led upwards. Fire mains should be laid on ; the pipes should be large, "certainly not less than nine inches diameter, along the building." Unless the water could be laid on at all times, cisterns ought to be provided. The summary of Mr. Braidwood's advice, is, that the security will consist in having efficient means to suppress a fire, if it should happen, instantly. His words were, "it must be extinguished in a few minutes, or there will be great trouble." HENRY COLE.

Royal
Charter.

EXTRACT FROM FIRST REPORT OF ROYAL
COMMISSIONERS FOR THE
EXHIBITION OF 1851.

AT

were

T the commencement of the Commissioners' proceedings, while they were incurring no expenses beyond those of the remuneration of their officers, and the necessary outlay on printing, advertising, and other comparatively small items, the subscriptions received from time to time were amply sufficient for their wants; and they did not experience any inconvenience from the want of a more definite legal position than that of a mere Commission of Inquiry. But when, in the month of July, 1850, the plan for a building estimated to cost £79,800 had been approved, and it became necessary that a contract should be made for its erection, questions naturally arose as to the power of the Commission to

EXHIBITION

A.D.

enter into and to enforce such a contract,-as to the person or GREAT persons by whom such contract should be signed, and the indivi- OF 1851. dual responsibility which, by so signing it, they would incur,—and as to the mode in which the money that would be required beyond Part II. the amount of the subscriptions received, was to be provided.

1849-1852.

Selections.

"These considerations led to the Commissioners' soliciting and obtaining from Her Majesty a Royal Charter of Incorporation, dated 15th August, 1850, under which they at present exist as a corporate body. Having thus obtained a legal status, they found themselves in a position to enter into the necessary contract for the erection of the Building, and were also enabled to procure from the Bank of England an advance of such sums as they required, on the personal guarantee of certain individual members of Guarantee. the Commission, and other well-wishers to the undertaking. The sums so advanced from time to time by the Bank of England, amounting in the whole to £32,500, were repaid, with interest, on the 22nd of May last (1851), out of the receipts at the doors, after the Exhibition had been open for three weeks."

EXTRACT FROM THE "LONDON GAZETTE,”
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 1851.

THE

WINDSOR CASTLE, OCT. 28.

conferred.

HE Queen was this day pleased to confer the honour of Honours Knighthood upon Joseph Paxton, Esq., Fellow of the Linnæan Society, Horticultural Society, and the Society of Arts. The Queen was this day pleased to confer the honour of Knighthood upon Charles Fox, Esq., of New Street, Spring Gardens, in the County of Middlesex.

The Queen was this day pleased to confer the honour of Knighthood upon William Cubitt, Esq., Fellow of the Royal Society.

DOWNING STREET, OCT. 25.

The Queen has been graciously pleased to give orders for the appointment of William Reid, Esq., Lieutenant-Colonel in the

GREAT
EXHIBITION
OF 1851.

A.D.

1849-1852. Part II. Selections.

Corps of Royal Engineers, Companion of the Most Hon. Order of the Bath, formerly Governor and Commander-in-Chief in and over the Bermuda Islands, and in and over the Windward Islands, sometime Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Exhibition of Industry of all Nations, to be an Ordinary Member of the Civil Division of the Second Class or Knight Commander of the said Most Hon. Order.

Her Majesty has also been graciously pleased to give orders for the appointment of Sir Stafford Henry Northcote, Bart., sometime one of the Secretaries of the Commissioners of the Exhibition of Industry of all Nations, of Dr. Lyon Playfair, sometime one of the Special Commissioners of the Exhibition of Industry of all Nations for communicating with Local Committees, and one of the Members of one of the Committees of Sections of such Exhibition, and of Henry Cole, Esq., sometime one of the Members of the Executive Committee of the Exhibition of Industry of all Nations, to be Ordinary Members of the Civil Division of the Third Class or Companions of the said Most Hon. Order of the Bath.

I'

LECTURE XII.

SECOND SERIES.

DECEMBER 1, 1852.

ON THE INTERNATIONAL RESULTS OF THE
EXHIBITION OF 1851.

BY HENRY COLE, ESQ., C.B.

GREAT

EXHIBITION

of 1851.

A.D.

1849-1852.

Selections.

N looking at any result, great or small, we are generally disposed to attribute it to some solitary cause, instead of viewing it as the consequence of many, in fact innumerable, antecedentseach one forming a link in the chain. We look upon Guttenberg's Part 11. invention of moveable types as the cause of printing, overlooking the fact that the number of scribes in the sixteenth century was inadequate to supply the demand for written books. Manuscripts could not be produced in sufficient numbers to meet the wants of readers-readers created by increased knowledge; so mechanical repetition, or printing, came in aid of writing; and the earliest books were partly printed and partly written, and were sold as manuscripts. Guttenberg's and Schöffer's little bits of metal were merely the mechanical answer to a want, without which they would not have made them. In like manner, historians have attributed the Reformation in this country to Harry the Eighth's desire to exchange his wife-no doubt a link in the chain of causes, but a far less important one than the corruption of the clergy and the alienation of the sympathies and adhesion of the laity. The King might have quarrelled with the Pope, but he would not have seized the monasteries unless the people had been alienated from them. You will smile, perhaps, if I were to attempt to connect the Exhibition of the Works of Industry of all Nations with the invasions of Roman Cæsar, of Danish Hengist and Horsa, and Norman William. But a moment's reflection will show that there are some relations which may be really traced, between the holding of the first cosmopolitan Exhibition of Industry by the most cosmopolitan nation in the whole world, and the character

« ElőzőTovább »