The Sun.
London, England, 1851-01-16 00:00:00

INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENGINEERS.

(William Cubitt, E-q , President, in the Chair.)
On Tuesday last the viper read was " On the Con-
struction of the Building for the Exhibition of tlis
Works of Industry of All Nations, in 1851," by Mr.
AL D. Wyatt, Assoc. Inst. C.E.
The papsr, which was unavoidably of very consider-
able length, commenced by characterizing the fir,t
attempt to concentrate, within the compass of a few
acres, specimens of the productive industry of all
nations as a " great experiment," worthy of being
tried upon a scale commensurate with the energy of
the industrial resources of this country. The success
of this experiment must depend on a just apprehen-
sion of the results to be produced ; a well-digested
scheme for producing the results aimed at; and power
and dexterity to arrange the whole, so as to ensure
the accordance and vv)rking of all its parts in the
simplest and best manner. The subject then natu-.
rally divided itself into the consideration of the re-
quisites demanded—the design, and the actual con-
struction of the building.
The features of all the buildings in which previous
exhibitions had been hall, both abroad and at home,
were then carefully reviewed, and the points of dif-
ference between the present cosmopolitan exhibition
and all its predecessors, were distinctly enunciated,
and shown to have induced the invitation to the world
at large, to contribute their suggestions for the build-
ing, the results of which were shown to the public
in the Theatre of the Institution of Civil Engineers, in
the 240 plans there exhibited. None of these plans
being found to embrace the necessary n quisites, the
Royal Commissioners devixd a plan, for the execu
tion of which tenders were ikvited in June, 1850.

The reservation having been made, that bona fide
tenders fur any construction, offering greater advan-
tages than that proposed by the Commissioners, would
be considered, Mr. Paxton brought forward his pro-
position ; and it being contended, that certain advan-
tages in celerity of construction, facility of removal,
the adaptability of the material; to the required forms,
and the amount of cost, were inherent in the design
for the proposed structure, to 1e entirely composed of
wood, iron, and glass, the othei tenders were rejected,
and that of Messrs. Fox, Henderson, and Co., for Mr.
Paxton's design, was accepted.
Such was the origin of the present building, which
being adapted to the site selected for it, in Hyde-
park, by his Royal Highness Prince Albert, was shown
to consist of a nave 72 feet wile and 64 feet high,
with a series of side aisles, two of 48 feet and six of
24 feet wide, of the respective heights of 43 feet and
23 feet; the whole spreading to a width of 436 feet.
A transept, 408 feet long and 72 feet wide, inter-
sected the building at right angles in the centre ; tbis
transept was covered with a semi-circular roof,
springing at a height of 64 feet from the level of the
ground, and making the entire height 100 feet.
The details of the construction were very minutely
given, from the concrete filling of the holes in the
ground, under each support, through the base plate,
the columns, eight inches in diameter, the connecting
pieces, to which were attached the girders for the
galleries, the second and third sets of columns and
the roof trusses, the box gutters and the " Paxton"
gutters, which latter were intended to provide at the
same time for conveying away the rain from the roof,
and the condensed moisture from the inside. The
total area of the ground-floor was equal to 772,784
square feet, and that of the galleries to 217,100 square
feet.

Details were also given of the mode of conveying
the rain water, &c., into the adjoining sewers, through
the interior of the supporting-columns; of the venti-
lation by means of sets of louvres, of galvanized east
iron, placed between the columns of the side aisles,
and in the upper part of the roof; of the supply of
water for the extinction of fire, and for the supply of
the fountains; and of the experiments for testing the
girders and trusses, by the hydraulic press erectel in
the building, and by which the strength of the waole
was proved before they were used.
In examining the power and dexterity with which
the design had been realized by Messrs. Fox, lien-
derson, and Co., or, in other words, in the actual
construction of the building, it was necessary to bear
in mind that their tender was only verbally acopted
on the 26th of July, 1850, that possession of the site
was obtained on the 30th of July, that the first co-
lumn was fixed on the 26th of September, and st the
present time (only 146 working days since the com-
mencement) but little of the vast building remained
to be finished. To give an idea of the vast size of
this building, it was noticed, that the width of the
main avenue was within 10 feet double that of the
nave of St. Paul's Cathedral, whilst its length was
more than four times as great. The walls of St.
Paul's were 14 feet thick, those of the glass building
in Hyde-park were only 8 inches. St. Paul's occu-
pied 35 years in building, whilst the Hyde-park
building would be finished in less than half that num-
ber of weeks. The celerity of the construction was
very remarkable. As many as 308 girders had been
delivered on the ground in one week. Seven of the
great trusses of the nave were raised in one day.
Each man fixed about 200 superficial feet of glass per
day.

In order to perform this work it was necessary to
devise and employ various contrivances for economis-
ing labour; such as the sash-bar machine, the gutter
machine, the morticing machine, the painting ma-
chine, the glazing machine, besides many others of
an equally ingenious nature—all of which were de-
scribed ; and, when listening to the details, it was
universally felt that England possessed mechanical
and physical energies far exceeding those which gave
form and being to the most celebrated monuments of
antiquity.
In the course of the paper, Mr. Digby Wyatt (the
author), to whom, from the commencement, bad
been entrusted the active superintendence of the con-
struction of the building, paid a well-merited tribute
of praise to Mr. C. H. Wild and Mr. Owen Jones,
who had been associated with him ; to Mr. Barry and
Mr. Brunel, who, as members of the Building Com-
mittee, had made very valuable suggestions ; as well
n.s to Messrs. Fox and Henderson, and to Mr. B;oun-
ger, Mr. J. Cochrane, and others, for their exer-
tions in the execution of the construction, and he
concluded by reminding the members that the weight
of responsibility, the arduous duty of supervision, the
honour of acting as the master mind, to weigh the
requisites, to determine the design, and to govern
the construction of this great apparatus, had been re-
served for Mr. Cubitt, the President of the Institution
of Civil Engineers.
It was announced that the discussion of the paper
would take place at the meeting of next Tuesday,
January 21st.

COMMITTEE FOR THE RELIEF OF THE
CHRISTIANS WHO SUFFERED IN THE
EVENTS OF THE 16TH AND 17TH OCTO
BER, 1850.

Aleppo, Dec. 7, 1850.
TO JOSEPH ESQ., LONDON.
The newspapers will, no doubt, have acquainted you
with the terrible occurrences of which our city has
been the theatre, and we will not, therefore, enter into
details of the horrible scenes which have taken place.
It will be sufficient to mention that 500 Christian
homes, mostly opulent, were sacked and pillaged, wo-
men and girls brutally assaulted, men assassinated,
and numbers wounded ; five churches were pillaged
and three of them burned, priests killed, and the ~-y-rian
rian patriarch seriously wounded. In a word, that all
the barbarities imagination can paint were practised
upon the Christians at Aleppo.
It is easy to imagine that in consequence of such a
catastrophe, the numbers of people formerly in a state
of affluence are now in complete destitution, and that
the working classes are plunged into the deepest
misery, which calls loudly for aid on all charitable
persons. But the efforts and sacrifices of this small
European colony and of the natives who escaped this
horde of barbarians, are insufficient to relieve so
many sufferers, and a committee composed of the six
persons, whose names are undersigned, has been
formed in order to appeal to the generosity of all
philanthropists, whose alms could not be directed into
a more deserving channel.
Convinced that you will kindly assist in relieving
our Christian population, we make this appeal to your
generosity, in the hope that you will also induce your
numerous friends to co-operate in this good work.
We trust, Sir, that you will extend your assistance to
us, and need not assure you of our sincere gratitude
and the sentiments of high esteem which we entertain
'or you.
',Signed) ALES CALDER. LOINS I\IOLENARI.
Wm. RIDDELL. VINCENZO MARCOPOLI.
TILLEAGE. E. PORTAL'S.
I hereby certify that the above are the true signa-
,uresof the persons whose names are written above.
Aleppo, Dec. 11, 1850.
(Signed) W. W. WERRY, Consul.

We learn that the Roman Catholics of Glasgo.
and neighbourhood propose to start in that city a weekly
journal, to be called the Thistle, for the defence and advocacy
of their principles. Glasgow Herald.
PORT WINE FOR ENGLAND.—The Oporto Ship-
ping List for 1850 states the total quantity of port wine
exported to Great Britain in the year to have been 25,400
pipes; total qtnantity exported to ports out. of Great Britain,
1-2,E7 pipes; total exporL, 37,487 pipes. The chief exporters
were, Messrs. Sancleman avl Co., 4,360 ; Messrs. Quarles,
Harris, and Sons, :3,046 ; Directors of the Company, 9,335 ;
Messrs. Martinez, Gassiott, and Co., 2,063; Messrs. Hunt,
Roope, Teague, and Co, 1,865; Messrs. Cockburn, Smithes,
and Messrs.lltessi.s. Cur.ofatnadnd
JC,,..3 Graham ii
C0.,1,177;728
; Messrs. Bruno,
Silva, and Co., 1,327; Messrs. Ofiluy, ,Forresttr, We:,ber,
acid Co.,and Co., 1,017.
The rest of the shippers are under 1,000 pipes. These ten
establishments shipped 20,158 ;
p-pes, being more than half
the total export.
[ADVERTISEMENT.] —CONSUMPTION, BRONCHITIS,
&c.—Just published, price 2d., by Dr. CRONIN, M.D., a Report of
some of the most formidable forms of Disease of the Throat, Lungs,
Heart, and Stomach.--" The success of Dr. Cronin's treatment in
the cure of those affections which have hitherto generally baffled
every attempt at cure, although the first talent had been applied to,
and the most consummate skill had been exerted for that purpose, is
most satisfactorily shown in this reporr."—Prefacc.—Wertheim and
Co., Paternoster-row ; klugaes, St. Martin-le-Grand ; and at the
anther's residence, 14, Leice§ter-PlAcv, Leivoteriquare.