Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1895-12-07
LIGHTING PARLIAMENT.
How thc Commons and Lords Arc Fur-
risnrd with Illumination.

How tho Commons and Lords Arc Fur-
rishrd Win illumination.
Although gas, candles and oil
lam,, are used to light tho parlia.
ment buildings, says the WcStmir.
stor Budget, incandcscent lamps arc
in most general use. Tho system of
electric lighting is controlled from
the basement, and throNshout ,he
building the lamps themselves arc
everywhere arranged with great care
and forethought. In the dining
rooms, for instance, they arc placed
very high up, so that while tho sup.
ply Of light is ample there is no
glare over the tables. In the tea
rooms, besides the lights from the
ceiling, there are wall brackets over
tho tables and even movable table
lamps for those who caro- to use
them. And in the kitchen and tho
service room adjoining tho com
mons dining room all tho fittings
arc made of iron, rather than of
brass, so that they may suffer as lit
lilo as possible from tho steam.
With staff Of about 30 men the
superintendent is able to make all
sorts Of ingenious and pretty fit.
tings. And, as another specimen of
the economy which is everywhere
visible, it may DO mentioned that ho
has succeeded i'll making many pref
ty electroliers out of tho old gas fit
tings. Tho big eloctroliers.--notably
that in the central hall, which
weighs IS hundredWoight and bears
03 lamps-.and the smaller ones in
tho peers chamber, ST Stephen y
hall and elsewhere are made to he
raised and lowered for purposes of
cleaning or of replacing broken
lamps. This big clectrolior has, high
up in tho dome, Il crane, which
moves over it on tram lines, by
which it is raised and lowered, while
tho electric wires are carefully
drawn aside on another tramway so
that they may not DO damaged in
paving out whilo the clectrulicr is
being lowered. And iii tho roof above
the house of lords there are similar
arrangements, but with simply q
weight and couple of earthenware
pulleys in place of tho crano.
Tho commons chamber is not
lighted entirely by electricity.
Round the arohed doorway arc ten
incandoscont lamps, which are prin-
cipally required to show up the
carving and tho clock face, and un-
der tho sido galleries there is a lamp
placed behind each pillar, so that,
while it cannot itself be seen, it pre-.
vents the members who may he sit
ting there from being in deep shade
and so invisible to the speaker. The
principal lighting here, however,
comes through the painted glass
roof, behind which Ga powerful gas
lamps are used, gas being preferred
to electricity here both on account
of it's superior spreading powers and
because tho heat creates II draft,
/ and so assists ventilation. Under
tho glass il u very fine wire net
work, so that were breakago to &C.
cur there would be no danger of d
cabinet minister being decapitatod.
In the Hobbies and tho libraries
electric lighting is used, however,
In tho libraries and reading rooms
it is placed lower than IN most parts
Of the building, for obvious reasons.
And in all tho larger Clcctroliers the
lamps arc divided into three groups,
which light independently Of one
another. Thus, on Il dull day one set
of lamps would DO in use; if it were
foggy, there might be two sets, and
at night all three arc employed.