THE CLOCK TOWER.

LAYING OF THE FOUNDATION STONE. About two hundred persons assembled ii 1 the triangle at Edwards, Bennett's corner the silo of the now clock tower, yesterday afternoon, when the Mayor, attended h] the- city councillors and others connectec with the movement, laid the foundatioi stone. Councillor Prudhoe, in presenlim the Mayor with the customary silvei trowel, said he..was pleased to sco that the old clock tower, which had stood for st many years in the Council yard, was aboiH to be put to a practical use, and erected ii a central position in the main thoroughfare, of the. city. He thought the committee to whose untiring endeavours thej were indebted for the fine monument thai was about to be erected in honour of tht QueenV record reign, deserved the hearties! thanks, not only from the Council ; but also. from, the entire community. Foi several years past the Mayors who had been in .oflice had one and all tried to get up a .movement with the same object ; but •until now they had invariably had tc abandon the.project for want of suflicient funds ancl enthusiasm. He therefore had much, pleasure in presenting Mr Cooper with a silver trowel, and hoped that when he laid the stone he would make a good job of it. (Laughter.) His Worship the Mayor, in returning thanks, said he received the presentation with great pleasure, and was proud of the fact that the memorial had come to be a tangible and practically accomplished work during his term of office. After referring to the efforts made in past years by the various Mayors to have the tower erected, he laid the stone in the usual way. The stone is laid on the' southern frontage, and the inscription reads as follows :— " This stone was laid Dec. 0, 1897. W. H. Cooper, Mayor; F.T. Haskins.Town Clerk ; Strouts and BaUantyne, Architects." A copy cf tiie^'Lyttelton Times and one of the Press of Dec. 9 were laid under the stcne. . After the ceremony tho Mayor, in reviewing the history of the tower, said that it had had a most wonderful and chequered career since it came to Christchurch. Originally imported by the Provincial Government of Canterbury in 1859. it reverted to the hands of the Government en the abolition of the provinces in 1576. Later on, in 187S or 1879, upon strong representations being made by the City Council, Sir George ' Gre y-presented it to the city of Christchurch," with whose money it was really originally purchased, and the clock for many years after did duty in the Provincial Council Chambers. The tower, however, had lain rotting in the Council yard ever since, used only by the sparrows as- a receptacle for their nests. Soma, months ago a few enthusiastic gentlemen — Messrs R. Malcolm, S. Manning, J. Coles, J." A. Frostick, G. H. Wright, G. Payling and R. C. Bishopbanded themselves together, with the result that in a very ' short space of time they had accumulated the sum of -GoOO towards erecting the clock, which had been sent Home to be thoroughly renovated and •o^setof chinles added to it. The Council would now coinp forward and subsidise themoney raised to the extent of -goOO at least. In conclusion, he called for three cheers for the committee whom he had before named. The cheers were heartily given, and three more cheers wero called for and given for the Mayo.T. Messrs Manning and Strouts also spoke briefly. On the. invitation of the Mayor, a number of gentlemen assembled in Coker's Hotel after the ceremony, aud the toasts of "The Mayor," " The Committee," "The Architect," " The Surveyor " and " The Press " were duly honoured.