BOARD OF WORKS. (Hansard, 4 February 1828)

Mr. Bankes
said, he had a motion to submit to the House, through which he hoped to be able to throw some light upon the conduct of the Board of Works. When the office of surveyor-general was first instituted, it was held by sir W. Chambers, but the surveyor-general not being in these times a professional man, he could not exercise that control over the expenditure of his office, which it was the intention of parliament to ensure. Very large sums were lavished upon works the most tasteless and the most inconveniently contrived, that it was possible to imagine, while there seemed to be no other control over the actions of the architect than his own whim or caprice. There were, in fact, three architects whose power in their respective governments was as absolute as that of any Roman praetor in his province. So jealous were these gentlemen of their authority, that for one architect to pass the brook or rivulet which separated his province from that of another, was an infringement upon the rights and an insult to the dignity, of his brother architect, whose province he thus invaded. The government, therefore, instead of having, as was intended, three architects, of whose united abilities they could avail themselves, were limited to one, who never consulted his supposed coadjutors, and who was perfectly absolute in his own district. The consequence was, that gentlemen saw many fine and expensive buildings, but not one, either well adapted to the purpose for which it was intended, or calculated to reflect credit upon the national taste. In order, if possible, to ascertain the reason of this failure, he begged leave to move for "an account of the Salary and Commission granted to each of the three Architects attached to the Office of Works, under Statute of 54 Geo. 3, c. 157, and of the amount of the same, since the appointment of each of them; and also, of any payments or allowances made to each of them during that period, in respect of any of the Royal Palaces, or other public Buildings."

§ Mr. Hume
said, that the late chancellor of the Exchequer, lord Goderich, had rendered himself responsible for the good taste of all public buildings in future. On him the blame ought to fall, and not upon the surveyor-general, or the architects.

Mr. Bankes
did not intend to cast the slightest blame upon the surveyor-general, who was a highly honourable man. The truth 109 was, that not being a professional man, he knew nothing of the business of the office, and left the whole to the architects. As to the pledge of the chancellor of the Exchequer upon the subject of taste, all he knew was, that it had not been redeemed, and he did not think it was a matter of which any chancellor of the Exchequer ought to take cognizance.