The Sun.
London, England, 1866-11-06 00:00:00

Royal Institute of British Architects.

The first ordinary generally meeting of the session 1866.
67 took place last evening at the rooms of the institute
Conduit-street, Regent-street— Mr. Beresford-Hope, M.P.
the presldent, in the chair.
The CHAIRMAN announced, amongst other things, tha
the secretary had before him the longest list of new fellows
and associates to be proposed on this occasion that ho had
ever yet known onlone evening.
The names having been read,
The SECRETARY stated that the list of contributions was
also of a most liberal and satisfactAy nature. Amongst
them was a magnificent work on Indian architecture which
had been presented by Mr. Murray., and another copy of
the same publication by the Secretary of State for India.
Mr. GOODWIN said that the thanks of the institute were
eminently due to those Indian gentlemen through whose
subscriptions the work had been produced.
The CHAIRMAN then delivered his opening address,
which congratulated the members of the institute upon the
fact that her Majesty had graciously permitted them to
prefix the word "Royal" to the name of their association.
After expressing the deep regret which was generally felt
by lovers of art at the death of the beloved and honoured
president of the Royal Academy, and alluding to the cir-
cumstance that his place had been filled " by the election
of an academician who had shown himself a vigilant sen-
tinel of artistic independence at a crisis which had put his
courage to the proof," the address went on to descant at
some length upon the recent attitude of art politics in re-
gard to the Royal Academy and the National Gallery. The
result of the late Government's decision was to fix the
permanent home of the National Gallery in Trafalgar-
square, and, after the discussions of the past session, this
result remained unchanged ; but, fortunately, there
was only one opinion in or out of Parliament,
that neither in size, arrangement, nor external appearance
is the structure worthy of its destination, even after the ap-
propriation of the half now used by the Academy. In refer-
ence to the coming Palace of Justice, Mr, Hope observed
that last year he had occasion to express his anxiety that it
might be worthy of its destination and of the empire. This
year he could confidently say that the list of competitors
gave the material guarantee that the building would fulfil
the expectations of artistic patriotism, provided only that
the judges show themselves competent, and Parliament, in
years to come, was generous enough not to grudge the
necessarily large sums requisite to bring so grand a work
to its legitimate completion. In calling attention to the
prospects of British architecture and of the cognate arts at
the coming French Exhibition, the president stated that
the committee of this and other architectural societies had
been recognised by the British Commissioners as the body
to be relied upon for accomplishing the gallery of British
architectural drawings in the Fine Arts Department, and
also as organisers of a court of manufactured productions
referable to architecture and the cognate arts. Out of these
arrangements had grown a project, of which he was grate-
ful to say that they owed the suggestion to Mr. Cole, which
promised to be alike useful and full of interest. The tale of
designs which they should be able to exhibit at Paris would
be comparatively small, while the number they should de-
sire to send would be proportionately very numerous. In
face of this difficulty the South Kensington authorities had
undertaken to arrange for them a preliminary exhibition
in London, commencing at the beginning of December, in
the spacious range of galleries at South Kensington, which
were during last summer, and would again next season, be
occupied by the National Portrait Exhibition. After
dwelling for some little time upon the relations which had
hitherto existed between this institute and the Architec-
tural Museum (which, he observed, was founded in 1851,
to meet a necessity which was even then palpable and in-
creasing), Mr. Hope proceeded to notice the programme of
prizes which the ' council had proposed for the forth-
. coming year, and that amongst them Was one to be