§ MR. BROADHURSTasked the First Commissioner of Works, Whether there is any truth in the statement which appeared in the "Globe" newspaper on August 20th, to the effect that a statue of the builder of the New Law Courts is to be placed on a pedestal in that building; and, if so, whether there is any precedent for the erection of a statue in a national building to a contractor; and, if there is not, whether he will take steps to prevent such an erection?
§ LORD FREDERICK CAVENDISHThe paragraph in The Globe to which the hon. Member refers is fairly accurate. The principal carver amused himself by carving what he considered to be a likeness of the architect, represented on a corbel under a window. As the architect did not suppose that any one would recognize the likeness—which he failed 1182 to do himself—he made no objection to what was done; and as there was a similar corbel waiting to be carved close by, he suggested to the carver that he had better immortalize one of the builder's firm also. There is no "statue on a pedestal," or anything like one, and the carving of figures—or half figures, as in this case—as corbels, gargoyles, and so forth, is a very common feature in Gothic buildings. Finally, there is nothing in the figures to indicate that particular individuals are represented, beyond a roll of papers in the architect's hands, and a mallet in the hands of the builder; and, without the information given in The Globe, no one would know that the figures were intended by the carver to be portraits of anyone in particular.