STONE FOR THE NEW SAVINGS BANK.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XVIII, Issue 6163, 18 August 1881, Page 3

STONE FOR THE NEW SAVINGS BANK.

TO TUB EDITOR. Sib,—My attention having been drawn to a letter in yesterday's Herald, with the imposing heading, "The Seloction of Stone for New Savings Bank," I, as agent for the Raglan Stone Company, at first felt disinclined to interfere with this mainly personal squib, but I feel that I would be doing myaeu, aa well as the trade and province, an injury by allowing such false statements to be made without refuting the same. Knowing that "J. P." has had no colonial experience, and is therefore unacquainted with the quality of the different native stones, there is no difficulty in fixing on the author of his ideas. Indeed, the letter all through bears the stamp of a want of knowing the subjects treated. His remarks re interestedness by landowners are quite wrong, which I can easily prove. Secondly, he says that anyone knowiug ever bo little of Raglan stone, shows ever so little to be his defined knowledge of that stone, which can be worked to any design, and is neither costly nor brittle. The cracks he refers to show how far his knowledge of practical masonry goes—meaning the beds or divisions of the strata, which do not even exist in the present quarry ; and solid blocks can be obtained in sizes not obtainable from Hobart. The comparison of this high-class carboniferous limestone with the unsightly scoria from Mount Eden, and which is much more difficult to work, is too ignorant for comment in further remarks on clean and creditable fronts (nominally the Bank of New Zealand). The trustees of the Savings Bank do not require to go so far to ascertain the cost of keeping them so. Raglan stone only costs one price, and requires no cleaning or painting, being nonabsorbing, and therefore non-adhesive of dirt. The knowing one might have introduced the Mangapai and Muddy Creek substitutes, with testimonials.—l am, &c, James H. Buciianah , . Victoria-street, August 17.