THE GLOBE. SATURDAY, JULY 19, 1879.

Globe, Volume XXI, Issue 1689, 19 July 1879, Page 2

THE GLOBE. SATURDAY, JULY 19, 1879.

The priblic of Christchurch are greatly to be pitied at the prosont juncture; at least it may fairly bo said of every man possessed of a grain of taste that his joints are dissolved with a doadly fear. A Town Hall is to be erected, and the choice of design lies with the City Council. This body met on Thursday, aad passed a resolution that " the Council, as a whole, act as a select committee with respect to tho designs." It was further decided that outside assistance should bo invited, and that to effect this, a few gentlemen should bo chosen to give their ideas on the question, but that tho final decision should rest with the Council alone. No wondor that a universal tremor has seized upon the citizens. Of course, all may turn out well, but on tho other hand, there is a chance that the eyes of citizens may, for all time, bo tortured by one of those extraordinary oroctions, tho true horror of which work slowly into the brain as did the water in the " water torture," of the Inquisition. In Christchurch, unfortunately, such erections are only too numerous. The Supreme Court-'honse, the new Scotch Church, tho extinguisher on the top of the now Government Buildings, sights such as those constitute an abomiHatiou such as tho Prophet Jeremiah in his most dismal moments never imagined. Porhap3 no man is capable of doing more pormanent injury to his generation than an architect. A murderer can bo hung and there is an end of him, and ho usually has but ouo victim, or, at the most, but two or three. A thief or a forger can bo removed from the busy haunts of men and bo forced to make himself generally useful by picking oakum. An objectionablo Premier can bo removed by an adverso vote—at least it is popularly supposed so. But an architect who erects an abortion cannot be touched by any known law, human or divine; he does not " coaso from troubling" whon ho shuffles off this mortal coil, and nothing but some great physical convulsion, such as earthquake, flood, or firo, can remove tho evil ho has done. Generations yet unborn when the monstrous thing of stono and brick was planned will have to suffer: as was tho case with the " Dweller on tho Threshold," even whon men's attention is not distinctly turned to it, it will force itsolf on tho imagination. Nor docs tho mischief rest here. Tho fact of being surrounded by buildings such as wo have alluded to, must, of course, in lapse of time vitiate tho tasto of tho inhabitants of any community. Tho residents of Pekin no doubt think their pagodas built on the most true principles of art, and would scorn the puro Gothic as an invention of barbarians. On all grounds, therefore, the people of Christchurch naturally feel nervous at the prosont crisis. For the City Council, although, no doubt, a very estimablo body of mon viewed in a civic light, have not tho entire confidence of tho ratepayers when viowed with roforenco to their artistic capacities. No doubt thoy aro quite on tho spot in a

discussion on Municipal by-laws, but, if thoy had to perform the functions of the " hanging committee" of the Royal Academy, they might find themselves somewhat at soa. But still they have determined to take the whole onus of the choice of the design on their own shoulders, for although assisted by certain gentlemen from the eutside, the latter have no practical voice in the matter. The Council may indeed say that the responsibility of choice will be laid by the ratepayers on them individually, and that, thoreforo, they should have the solo power in the matter, in order that, if any mistake in choice results, the blame may be brought homo to the proper per s is. Such a Jinn of argument is not in the least consoling to the public at large. The latter will soon have forgotten who were City Councillors in the Y«ar of Grace, 1879, but if a faulty design is chosen, tho hideous structure will remain as a perpetual eyesore. Wo could have wished that Councillors had been a little more modest in their estimate of their own artistic tasto. They might have given tho gontlomon from outside an equal voice with themselves without loss of any portion of their own dignity as Councillors. With regard to these same gentlemen from outside, tho manner in which they wore chosen appears somewhat peculiar. There are, certainly, some gontlomon of acknowledged taste among them. Messrs. Gould and Harman, for instance, have always taken great interest in artistic matters. But four or fivo ex-Mayors are among that body, and it looks somowhat as if an exMayor had boon considered a competent critic on architectural matters from tho very fact of his ex-Mayorship. Still the affair may turn out well after all, more particularly as it is rumored that two of tho designs are so incomparably superior to the others that tho least alive to artistic niceties would bo awake to tho fact. Should a satisfactory choice bo made, however, it will bo more by good luck than good management. Wo have treated the matter from its artistic point of view solely. With regard to tho conveniences proposed in the several designs for carrying on municipal work, on this subject we hold tho present Council quite competent to judge. We do not doubt the business capacities but tho artistic capacitios of tho present Council.