Current Topics.*

rate . I advise those who believe that " they manage all these things better in France" than ive do here , to visit the " Intake " of the Chaillot Water Works ; or , to ponder over the charge he will have to pay , even in a private lodging , for that necessity of an Englishman's life , the daily hip-bath . JNor is this all -. for they who knew much of Paris life in former times , must be painfully convinced that the embellishments of the town have resolved themselves into heavy charges on its inhabitants ; whilst the utility

of many of the costly works now in hand must seem more than questionable . House-rents have risen to fabulous heights in Paris : the poor are driven from their old haunts , and no refuge is provided for them ; whilst , unfortunately , the sanitary defects of the old houses are servilely reproduced in the new ones . But , however gainfully these defects may strike us on second and calmer thoughts , it cannot be denied thas there is something fairy-like in the rapidity and the brilliance of the change actually produced ; and we

naturally inquire by what financial agency it has been produced . My friend Mr . G . R . Burnell has made some inquiries into this matter , which I hope he will be able to communicate to you in the course of the session ; but , in the meantime , I may say that the impression I have derived from what lie has told me is , that the improvements of Paris have been effected upon principles of political economy , and by dint of an abuse of public credit , which would

never be tolerated in this country . "We hold that local improvements should be paid for by local contributions , and that building speculations should not be assisted by financial corporations , patronized , if not directly managed , by the Government . The opposite principles prevail amongst our neighbours ; and , sooner or later , it is to be feared , that they must produce , even if they are not now producing , sad confusion in the finances ofthe State . One matter of detail may be worth especial notice from us , viz ., the

conditions under which the municipality is now able to obtain land for the purpose of effecting any new works declared to be " d'utilite pulliqiie . " Until 1852 the municipality , under the old law of expropriation , could only take compulsorily the land absolutely required for the establishment of the streets ; and the proprietors of the land partially affected were entitled to retain the remainders of their property , with all the increased value conferred by the new frontages . At the very close of the dictatorial power assumed by the Emperor in 1851 , a decreo ' ' having force of law , " was issued however , by which municipal bodies charged with the execution of works of public utility were empowered to take an

additional width of land beyond the lines of the intended streets , sufficient to allow the construction of good houses . The effect of this law has been that the municipalities of France have lately been enabled to sell the frontages on the new leading thoroughfares they open at advantageous terms ; and thus , at the expense cf the . landed proprietors disturbed , materially to diminish the cost ofthe ¦ works . If the latter had been discussed by a really representative body , there could be no little reason to regard the advantages thus

given ivith jealously ; but , when the works to be executed are simply prescribed by the Central Government , it is to be feared that great abuses may arise from the interference with the rights of private property it may be made to cover . The success of the artesian well of Passy is a subject of great -interest to all who are called upon to deal with the supply of water , to detached mansions , or even to small towns ; and to us Englishmen it is the more interesting on account of the recent failures to

establish similar wells at Highgate , Harwich , as well as at Calais and at Ostend . The boring at Passy , after passing through the same beds as had previously been traversed at Grenelle , reached the water-bearing stratum at a depth of 1797 ft . Gin . from the surface , and the water rose to a height of 13 ft . from the ground . The lower diameter of the well is about 2 ft . 4 in . ; and the quantity of water it delivers has , after some oscillations , settled to about 3791000 gallons per twenty-four hoursAt presentthe sand

,, , , and clay brought up by the water are in such proportions that the water is not fit for use , —a fact wliich was also observed at Grenelle during the first year after the completion of the borin" : the water rises at about 82 ° Fahren . One effect of this well has -been to diminish notably the yield of the Grenelle well ; and it must , therefore , for some time to come remain an open question , as to whether or not the water-bearing stratum under Paris will be able permanently to maintain these two springs . The discussion of

the failure of the attempts to obtain water in a similar manner to ivhieh I have above referred , would extend to so great a length , that I must pass it over slightly at present ; but the great lesson ¦ to be learnt from it seems to me to be , that at the present day our acquaintance with the laws o £ geology is only sufficiently advanced to enable us to say with certainty what we shall not find beneath the surface , in districts which have not heen exposed to violent subterranean disturbances : they are utterly incapable of telling us what we shall find . At London , Harwich , Calais , and Ostend , the lowest member of the suberetaceous formations , from which the wells of Passy and Grenelle derive their supply , is entirely wanting

A very warm and rather an acrimonious discussion is now being waged amongst the chemists and experimental observers on the laws of metallurgy with respect to the differences between iron and steel ; and the names of Sinks , Mushet , Bessemer , Freiny , and Caron , add weight aud authority to the various opinions propounded on this very obscure subject ; Nbn nostrum inter eos tanias componere lites ,- " and Messrs . Fremy and Caron ma } ' well bo left to settle the precise amount o f influence exercised by the nitrogen ,

cyanogen , and carbon , present during the cementation of steel upon the resulting product . The influence these researches may exercise upon the building arts may , however , be very great ; and the production of steel by the new methods suggested by an improvement in the theory of the production of steel may possibly place within our reach a material possessed of far more valuable elastic properties than either cast or wrought iron . We must therefore follow with interestthe steps of this inquiryand hold ourselves readto adopt

, , y any improvement it may place at our command . I would make the same remark with respect to the recent applications of electricity to the ordinary purposes of life ; and I would urge the members of our Institution to avail themselves , whenever it is possible , of the great domestic conveniences that wonderful agent is able to supply . We in England are behind our French neighbours in this respect . In domestic matters the most important lesson to be derived from the events of the last twelve months is , perhaps , the one

connected with the terrible fires in the riverside warehouses . In a city so essentially commercial as London , it must always be desirable to interfere as little as possible with the arrangements or the operations of trade ; and we must always bear in mind the fact that every interference of this kind resolves itself ultimately into a tax upon the articles affected . But the terrible effects of a fire when it once bursts out in large stores of merchandise of certain descritions are suchand are likelto reach so many personsthat

p , y , ifc would almost seem necessai-y to impose some rigorous limitations to the quantity of these goods , or some stringent regulations as to the construction and management of the warehouses wherein they are stored ; if these warehouses are to remain in the centre of the town . All systems of so-called fireproof construction are useless to resist the effects of the heat evolved dnrins- the

combustion ot large masses of certain kinds ot goods , and it even seems that the very precautions taken to insure the non- combustionof walls , floors , and ceilings , only adds to the intensity of fires in such cases by turning the buildings , as it were into species of closed retorts able to produce a destructive distillation . The only efficient protections against the spread of large warehouse fires seem to me to me to consist first , in limiting the size of the warehouses themselves ; and , second , in isolating them effectually if the goods they

are to hold should be susceptible of easy combustion . Whatever sacrifices these precautions may entail , they ought to be borne for the sake of the public in general . It may be as well here to mention that in the course ofthe spring ( 9 th April last ) the theatre of Barcelona was burnt to the ground ; so that warehouses are far from being the only structures exposed to this terrible scourge . There is reason to congratulate the country at large as well as the lovers of our national arehseologyon the zeal ivith which the

, good . work of preserving and restoring our cathedrals has been lately carried on . In the metropolis , the Temple Church is again undergoing repairs , under the direction of our excellent member Professor Sydney Smirke , and Westminster Abbey is in the eminently judicious care of our friend Mr . G . G . Scott . In the provinces the cathedrals of Ely , Lichfield , Ripon , Chichester , the churches of Waltham Cross , Islip , Taunton , and numerous other

relics of former times are being restored , and though in the case of Chichester a lamentable accident has occurred , I hope that the efforts to insure the re-edification of the spire will be successful , In more modern constructions , I think we may congratulate ourselves as a body on the improvement which is manifestly taking place in public taste , and on the skill with which the members of our profession have availed themselves ofthe opportunities afforded them of displaying their knowledge and talent . Art questions are

now fortunately discussed on all sides , and a truer , sounder tone of criticism prevails amongst us as a nation than at any former period ; and from the fact of our enjoying true liberty of thought and action , I suspect that I may add , than can prevail amongst the despotically administered nations of the Continent . It is our especial duty , as architects , to avail ourselves to the utmost of these advantages , and to devote our best energies to the advancement of our noble art . This can only be done by earnest

conscientious study , by devotion to our pursuit , and by an enlightened investigation of the various physical and moral laws it brings into play . Architecture is , as I have said before , an art as well as a science . Excellence in it cannot be obtained without labour , or without the sacrifice of ease ; ive must resolve if we ivould attain in its ranks to that " Fame , " the last infirmity of noble minds , " to scorn delights and live laborious days ; " but the " fair guerdon " we hope to find , will amply repay us ; for art is its own rewcrd ,