The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-12-11 00:00:00

(Cries of "yes, yes.") They did not know, he main.
tamed, to what extent Mr. Brown would contribute to_
wards the object. There appeared to be a great deal of
doubt upon that head. He thought, the proper course
would be, when they had ascertained the amount of funds
available for the purpose, to refer the question back to
the committee, with instructions that the committee
should submit to the council a plan for the building,
which could be accomplished within the amount they
possessed; and, at the same tine, furbish an estimate
—which estimate should be surveyed by the surveyor.
There had been, from the commencement, some fatal
mistakes in the matter, and, although so eminent a man
as Mr. Earle sees on tile committee, still the mistakes
occurred. (Laughtef.)
Mr. Earle : I'll answer you, sir ; go on. (Laughter )
Mr. Hall said he believed, in the first instance,
that the advertisement which appeared, was by no
means in order. He believed it was not at all so explicit
as ►would be required to guide parties in making plans.
The next mistake he thought was, in awarding the prize
to a plan which could not be executed for less than two
or three times the amount the council were prepared to
spend. He urged that the subject should be now re-
ferred back to the committee, with the instructions lie
had suggested.
Mr. Earle said, Mr. Hall had chosen to call him emi-
nent. Now, he professed an entire ignorance of archi-
tecture, and he always wished to have an able head to
guide him in his decision. Fle opposed the committee
in everything they had done, from the first to the last.
Mr. Picton, who gave his opinions upon some of the
questions very willingly, and who very readily favoured
them with his opinion on the merits of Mr. Allom's plan,
was perfectly silent, declining any answer, when he
(Mr. Earle) ventuied to ask him to name some eminent
architect, it mattered not whom, capable of guiding the
committee in their opinion. But he thought all the lay
members, if he might call them so, of the committee,
separated from Mr. Picton as a professional gentleman,
had some idea of what interiors were; and he, for him-
self, thought Mr. Hornblower's interior infinitely supe-
rior. He believed there were professional gentlemen
who would back him up in that opinion. At the same
time, he should add that he disapproved of the facade,
and should not wish to see it executed. He had endea-
voured to procure all the information he could, from the
purest sources, in order that he might properly dis-
charge his duties towards the public ; and, while heihad no
ill feeling whatever towards Mr. Allow, he did not believe
him to be a first rate architect. When he expressed this opi•
nion of Mr. Allow as an architect, he was not detracting
from that gentleman's character at all, but that was
simply the opinion he had formed from what he had
endeavoured to collect respecting him. Mr. Allow had
addressed a letter to him, In which he urged that it would
be a degradation to him not to allow him to execute his ow❑
plan. He (Mr. Earle) did not view it in that light.
He did not wish that Mr. Cockerell's name should have
been mentioned. Mr. Brown objected to Mr. Cockerell
and Sir Charles Barry. To the latter gentleman Mr.
Brown objected, because he had made blunders in the
House of Commons. A great many of those blunders
might be the fault of the gentlemen of the House of
Commons themselves, who frequentiy interfered in
matters which they did not understand. But Sir Charles
Barry had built Lord Ellesmere's palace in London, and
the Reform Club, which were splendid specimens of his
talents. Mr. Cockerel' had built the Fitzwilliam
Museum in Cambridge, which was stated to be a noble
building, and lie was very recently appointed one of her
Majesty's commissioners for fixing the site of the
National Gallery. Surely this showed that confidence
was felt in Mr. Cockerell as a man of taste. (Hear,
hear.) He did not mean to express approval of the
pillars outside St. George's .Hall, but to stamp Mr.
Cockerell as an inefficient architect, because of these
pillars, was like giving a brick as a specimen of a house.
(Hear, hear.) He thought that the building the council
should have for a library and museum, should be such
as the picture gallery and museum at Munich, which
depended for its effect not so much upon ornamentation,
as upon simple beauty of outline. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. John Stewart suggested that the object of the
council and the committee would be better carried out if
they at once gave directions to their surveyor—(hear,
Lear)—to prepare plans with the assistance of those
before him, and when he had done that the council
could, without the least indelicacy, submit the plans for
the revision of any architect they pleased. (Hear, hear.)
He had voted for 'Con Amore's plan, though
reluctantly, but he had done so because the com-
mittee found themselves in a position of great
difficulty, and because the easiest way to get out
of it .was to pay the premiums and begin
de novo. (Hear, hear.) They were now in a
position to begin de noro, and the best thing they could do
would be, as he suggested, to instruct the surveyor to pre-
pare plans, and as to his estimates, there was not a man in
England on whose he would more rely.
Mr. John Aikin observed that Mr. Jeffery had stated
with much greater confidence than accuracy, that Mr.
Brown had offered to double his munificeit contribut'on
of £6,000 on condition that the plan of Con Amore was
adopted. He (Kr. Aikin) had reason to think that that was
not the intention of Mr. Brown, though it originally might
have been so. He had had the honour of a communi-
cation by note from Mr. Brown, and he had also
had an interview with him, and he did not I.:ern from Mr.
Brown that his intention was that stated by Mr. Jrffery.
Mr. Brown stated distinctly that he left himself entirely in
the hands of the corporation. (Hear, hear.) It was
impossible that any gentleman could have behaved with
more generosity from the first to the last, but there were
two points ou which Mr. Brown had strong opinions. It
was no breach of confidence to state that Mr. Brown did
not approve of the resolution recommended to them that
day by the library committee. But the question to which
he attached the most importance was, as regarded the
delay. (Hear, hear.) Mr. Brown was not wedded to any
particular plan, but his great wish was, to see a library
erected within a brief time, and to see those results flowing
from it which he believed were of more importance than
the difference of any two elevations submitted to them. The
resolution before them carried with it, in a most
remarkable degree, self-condemnation. There was
not one clause which did not furnish the most powerful
arguments against itself, and in favour of Mr. Steain's
amendment. Let him remind them that they were in no
way committed in honor to Mr. Allow. The first prize
was, no doubt, awarded to him, but it was distinctly stated
by the chairman of the committee, and by every member of
it, that they did not commit themselves thereby to Mr.
Allem. He had no claim whatever upon them now; but
if they employed him to design a new facade, they would
be committing themselves to him. (Hear, hear.) For that
reason they should keep clear of him. He thought it would
be best to go at once to the most superior man, whoever
he might be, and get the best plan they could.. (Hear).
Mr. A. C. Stewart : Why not take Mr. Allow ?
Mr. Aiken : Every clause of the resolution tells us why
—he does not command the confidence of the committee or
the council.
Mr, Hodson : Mr. Aiken has stated that Mr. Brown has
not pledged himself to give £12,000. Has he not done
so on condition that Con Amore's plan is carried out?
The Mayor said that, fram a conversation he had had
with Mr Brown, he could confirm all that Mr. Aiken had
stated. (Rear, hear.) Mr. Brown had, probably,
changed his views since the letter was
.wiitten,
because he had since stated that he did not
wish to hind the council either to one plan or the other,
and that his only object was to have the building erected
as soon as possible.
Mr. Jeffery called for Mr. Brown's letter, which was
read.

Mr. Hodson thought there could be nothing so convincing
to the minds of the council that some very extraordinary
negligence must have been wed to cause Mr. Brown to
alter his opinion, as he was mentioned to have done in the
remarks of Mr. Aikin and the mayor. recollected that
he himself had been induced to come to the conclusion that
Con Amore's p'an was the best by the very strong opinions
expressed to that. effect by Mr. Aikin, and he was, therefore,
somewhat surprised to find that Mr. Aikin had so much
changed his opinions in the matter. (" No, no," from Mr.
Aikin.) If he had not, why oppose the resolution now? ([Tear,
hear.) Mr. Hodson then commented on Mr. Steain's
speech, which he pronounced to be one long prepared, and
declared that from all the envirics he could make, Mr.
Allom stood ‘.A.1." in his profession.

Mr. Alderman S.lme said, that their conduct and
discussion on this matter was another illustration of the
truth of the saying of the great Swedish Chan-
cellor, that the world was governed with very
little wisdom. The history of the proceeding
in the committee as detailed by Mr. Picton, showed a
scene of confusion which was very much to be lamented.
(Hear. hear.) A resolution was proposed, on the one
hand, and an amendment on the other, and both were of
such a nature, that it was a difficult matter for gentlemen
to arrive, in respect to them, at a conclusion which would
be satisfactory to their minds. (Hear, hear.) Their pro-
ceedings, in fact, from beginning to end, were like a sup-
p'ementary act in the " Comedy of Errors." He would
piss by Mr. Hornblower's letter altogether, and he did so
with regret, because there were points in his ground plan
which he admired. He should warn the council against
being led away by estimates which were in themselves
delusive, and Mr. Picton, Mr. Stewart, or any other prac-
tical man would tell them, that it was impossible to make
a detailed estimate, when there was not a working draw-
ing prepared. He would, at the outset of his remarks,
lay it down as a principle, that the council in this matter
were free and independent of any architect whatever.
(Hear, hear.) He agreed that Con Amore s plan was the
best that was brought before them so far as elevation was
concerned, but they required something more than mere