§ MR. BIGGARasked the First Commissioner of Works, Is it a fact, as is commonly reported among the architectural profession, that two of the selected designs for the new War Office and Admiralty are the production of persons employed by the War Office Department; if it is true that the selection of the premiated designs in the first competition was left to the clerks in the Office of Works to weed out, the judges themselves not having examined the others; and, whether these selected designs will be submitted to public inspection before any definite engagement is made?
§ MR. SHAW LEFEVREOne of the nine selected designs for the War Office and Admiralty appears to be the work of two gentlemen, one of whom is an architectural draftsman employed at the War Office, and the other, his coadjutor, a well known architect. There is no foundation whatever for the statement that the selection of the nine designs, or the weeding out of the others, was left to the clerks of the Office of Works, and was not done by the judges themselves. The selected designs will be submitted to public inspection before any Vote is asked for the construction of the successful design.