THE TOWN HALL.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 719, 12 September 1870, Page 4

THE TOWN HALL.

'- — — ♦ — ; — : The following appears in this morning's issue of our contemporaries :— Sib, — I am directed to band you for publiication (as promised in my note of tbe 7th instant), the Report of Messrs Richardson and Lean, and. also the Report of Messrs /Bray and Wright, on thei Town Hall. 'The very remarkable dissimilarity of these two Reports upon •■ the same building will ensure their being read with an unusual degree of public interest. Your obedient servant, C W. WILSON, Hon. Secretary Town Hall Directors. Christchurob,- Sept. 10, 1870. No. 1, Report on Town Hall by Messrs Richardson and Lean. Christchurch, sth September, 1870. The Chairman of the Town Hall Committee. Sin, — In compliance with the instructions received from the Secretary of the Town Hall Committee to make a professional examination of the 3.own Hall, with a view to report on its safety, in consequence of the complaint made to the City Surveyor by Mr Nashelski, 'fro beg to state that as already conveyed to •.you by ouc interim report of Thursday last, r we made a cursory examination that after..noon, and on Saturday we carefully went over * jind examined the Town* :I Hall, in company with Mr E. Gadd, the builder. No working* contract drawings or specifications being procurable, we had, in a certain measure, to be guided ;by the information given us by the builder, so far as regards the putting together , of the work; we have also from other Sources collected all the information we couldi as to the state of the building ' . 'when finished originally; and finally .we have taken careful measurements, showing the present state/of. the building, the whole with the .following results:-^-. '.. 7.7 lstly i* That there is, an entire absence of proper foundation-necessary to ensure anything approaching safety to a building of such dimensions aa, that trade; notice, little, if any, more than the eurface soil hjiving been taken ;«.way from. where tbc walls no w stand, and iOne course of the very roughest description of ..-rubble put into the trench, levelled ove'rrwith .■-.avvpry .-inferior description of mortar. Z'Z'.-' 2dly. That several settlements have .taken place in /the building; most of these are of some standing, but undoubtedly,, tbey all show to even- a. ■casual observer" t^at they have been affected-, by the recent 'shock of earthquake. 7 3rdly. We find that., thq, westernmost wall is considerably out of the perpendicular, inclining outwards, and -tha^tbe eastern wall has followed it, inclining inwards, both walls .xprt senting a very irregular form at present. - and taken, . with _ due. consideration .of the ! '.effect of these side walls cqn taining so many n openings; is most unsatisfactory ... 7 £4thly_aThe design of the front g*ble coraV prised so many openings and apertures, merely blinded with brickwork, that it was in effect but a series of columns, loaded with

the weight of a heavy pediment. Repeated settlements have caused several cracks in a structure originally weak. Those indicating the loosening of the unbonded brickwork in the blinded openings, are comparatively immaterial, but cracks on either aide of the front wall, extending from coping to plinth, are serious and in the known absence of foundation, this wall can no way be considered safe. sthly. There can he no doubt that tlie girders carrying the roof were never securely fixed, and that the stability of the walls was affected at the time the roof was put on. 6thly. The rubble used in the walls is very rough, and to a great extent without good beds, and the mortar throughout is of the most inferior kind. It is quite impossible to speculate even, upon the effect of another shock of earthquake such as that of last week, on this building, and it is well to hear in mind that we have experienced at least six shocks during the last eighteen months, the lightest of them of sufficient strength to perceptibly shake any building so ill constructed as tbis. We would further add that the vibration of the ground caused by the ordinary passing traffic, had made the effect of last We inesday's shock, more marked, between our examinations of Thursday and Saturday. We do not consider that there is any immediate danger, provided no shock of earthquake occurs, but we are decidedly of opinion that there would be danger in the event of any earthquakes. We have the honour to be, Sir, Your obedient servants, (Signed) Edward Kichardson. Alexander Lean. No. 2. Report on Town Hall by Messrs Bray and Wright. Christchurch, 10th September, 1870. Sir, —In compliance with your request that we should examine the Town Hall, and report as to its stability, we beg to inform you that we have examined the building most carefully, externally and internally, that we have tested the walls by plumb lines suspended from the roof at twelve different points inside, and by the theodolite at each angle o'itside, and have tested the level of tbe floor close to the walls all round the building. We have also examined the working drawings (seven) submitted to us by Mr Farr, and have taken the evidence of Mr Farr and others, and after due consideration have to report as follows: — Ist;. That the foundations and walls, both as to thickness and depth, are considerably in excess of the requirements of the London Metropolitan Building Act, and that the foundations were carried down to the clay, and as far as it was desirable to go without incurring the great and unnecessary expense of forming a foundation upon the underlying quicksand. 2nd. That we find a variation in the level of the floor of { of an inch only upon the N.W. side, and of I J inch on the S.E. side. 3rd. That the walls are of rubble stone, 2ft. 3in. thick, for a height of lljft. above the floor, and above that 2ft. thick for a height of 13£ ft. These walls were carried to their full height, ready for the roof, before the winter of 1864; but owing to the roof not being ready, were exposed to heavy rains, which softened the mortar and caused the walls to bulge — the eastern wall 1 Jin. inwards, and the western wall 3in. outwards. 4th. That at the S.E. angle there is a slight crack in the wall from the arch over the gallery door to the coping, and an iron tie-rod was let into the wall here to strengthen the bonds before tbe building was finished. sth. Atthe N.W. anglej next Nashelski's, a crack was observed shortly after the opening of * the building, and this was ascribed by iit Dobson to a slight settlement in the wall, but no tie-rods were inserted here, and the recent earthquake, and the more severe one of 1869, together with other minor shocks, have not opened it more than { of an inch at the top of the wall. 6th. The plumb lines and theodolite show the following irregularities in the walls : — N.E. Front — .'!' Outside. Inside. ' E. angle ... l£ outward ... 2£ outward Centre ... — ... £do N. angle ... l£ outward ... Plumb Western Wall— N. angle ... 1} do ... 2i outward Centre ... — ... 2^ do S. angle ... £ do ... | do S.W.-Wall— W. angle... 1 do ... — Centre ... — ... f inwards S. angle ... 1£ do ... — Easte'.n Wall— S. angle ... -IJ do ... J do Centre ... — ... $ do •' E. angle ... Plumb ... _ do We ascribe these deviations from plumb to imperfect workmahship, and original settlement during construction, rather than to earthquakes, and as these appear to have produced no material alteration in the building 1 , we consider that with the additions recommended below, it will be as secure as it was when first opened. ' ; 7th. The recesses between the windows in the front wall were not built up with the rest of the ' work -{being intended' for additional windows), but-wGre subsequently bricked up without any bond -with 'the stone work, and hence the cause Of moßtof the cracks visib'e in the. plaster intbißpartof the building, and which are of long stflnding,and do not affect the.BtabilityJofHhe wally '*•* • ' 1 Bth: That tho two "cracks in the front; ; wall which run from r > plinth' to coping, a height of about 25 feet (one of which iajust traceable throughout its length, and' the other increases from "one-sixteenthof an"inch at bottom to three-eighths of an inch at fop) are the only evidence of weakness in the'building, arid as ihese cracks have in a great measure destroyed^ the .natural bonds of the masonry, we , recommend that two iron tie rods of lj diameter he used to bind the side walls to- . gcther, one being placed inside the vr all upon

the lower cornice, and the other about 10 feet above it. 9th. Should a panic occur to an audience in the Town Hall either from an earthquake or any other cause, we fear there would be great danger to life from a rush to the only available door, and ye recommend that the door into the Old Town Hall be reopened, and another door 6 feet wide be placed in the wall behind the platform, opening outwards. Your obedient servants. W. B. Brat Edward G. Wright.

Silkworms. — The following is from the Chamber oj Agriculture Journal : — At Yateley, near Farnborough, Captain Mason has three acres of ground planted with white mulberry trees, the leaves of w&jch form the pasturage for a multitudinou&Jtock of silkworms ; and from his successful experience during the three years 1867, 1868, and 1869, he considers that a net profit of £10 per acre, after all expenses are paid, might be realised upon a plantation of 100 acres. The growth of mulberry treeß of both white and black varieties, is attended with Tery little little risk in the mild and moist south- western counties of England, and, indeed, in any situation where the trees are not liable to be cut off by early spring frosts. And where an unfailing supply of mulberry leaves is forthcoming during the feeding season, there is nothing to preclude the prosperous condition of any number of worms, for modern intention has succeeded in housing silkworms so that, by very simple but beautiful arrangements, precisely the right degrees of temperature and humidity, along with the requisite amount of ventilation, unaffected by atmospheric influences, are preserved throughout the critical months of May, June, and July. Invention, again, has introduced not only a new method of reeling cocoons by the aid of mechanism, but alsoa novel system of feeding the worms; and thus the cost of manual labour has been greatly diminished. It is reckoned that the moths from I Ib of cocoons will produce 1 oz of eggs, and that 1 oz of eggs will produce worms yielding 80 lbs of cocoons. The Marquis op Bute. — The Times of a recent date says : — Lothair is not about to return to the Church of England. One excellent reason i 3 that he never belonged to it. A second reason is just as valid : he prefers to remain in the Church of Rome, "to which," as Monsignor Catesby writes to the Times, " he submitted after long and deep consideration." We are prepared for this announcement by Lothair'a accomplished biographer. " Oh, as for that," said Lothair, " my opinions are already formed on every subject — that is to say, erery subject of importance ; and what is more, tbey will never change." Perhaps we have already had enough, and even something more than enough, of " Lothair," of congratulations on his conversion, laments over his perversion, and of speculations as to his reversion. Cannot the poor rich young man be left to " make his own boul " in the way that, seems hest to himself ? Perhaps we are to explain the zeal which is exhibited on his behalf by reference to the text which tells us how hard it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of Heaven, and by the desire which ghostly personages of either Church entertain to diminish tbe difficulty of this process. In the meantime, Monsignor Cape], to drop Mr Disraeli's pseudonyms, answers for the Marquis of Bute's steadfastness in the faith he has adopted, since the Marquis, who is on his travels in Spain, cannot promptly respond for himself. May we, in this connection, throw out a hint for the consideration of Marshal Prim ? If he has not yet found a King, there is one made to his hand in the great English milor who ib now travelling,' through the Peninsula. Lord Bute's wealth would enable bim to dispense with a civil list. Should be also decline the four-times refused throne, there is a monarch retired from business who might be willing to Berve. He is not older than Espartero, and would probably be more useful than the Duke of of Vittoria in developing the material resources of Spain, and especially in promoting its communications by road and rail. ''King" Hudson is, we believe, to be heard of at the Carlton Club.