§ SIR CHARLES RUSSELL(for Mr. FORSYTH) asked the First Commissioner of Works, Whether his attention has been called to the remarks of the sitting magistrate of the Marylebone Police Court, published in the "Daily Telegraph" of the 4th instant, in which blame is thrown on the Office of Works with respect to the ventilation of the Court?
§ MR. GERARD NOELI read with much regret the remarks made by the sitting magistrate at the Marylebone Police Court, reflecting, as they did, upon the Office of Works, more especially as all the complaints which have been made from that court have been invariably attended to, and it was only in October last we were led to infer that there was no fault to find with the ventilation. Having read the magistrate's statement in the papers on Tuesday, I went to the court, with the Secretary and the Surveyor of the Board of Works, on Wednesday to inspect it, and found the ventilators, which were constructed on the principle of the Tobin's pipes and equally effective, all hermeti- 973 cally sealed, and when the court got crowded and hot the windows were opened, thereby causing a down draught towards the fire-places in the court, which explained at once the misery and discomfort complained of by the solicitors and reporters. I requested that the ventilators might be opened on the following morning, and the Secretary attended with the Surveyor, and I was informed that the ventilation was all that could be desired. I cannot conclude without remarking that it was hardly fair or just on the part of the sitting magistrate, after the attention which has been invariably paid to his complaints, and after the neglect paid to the ventilation of the court by his own officials, to make the sweeping charges he did against the Department. I can only say that any complaint coming from the Marylebone Police Court or any other court shall always receive immediate attention.