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specimen in the Chateau at Blois, which presents the same sys tem of external balconies. Above the third story it develbpes into a tower, and finishes with a dome, for which there is ample authority in the Churches in Perigueux, Angouleme, &c. This feature would also harmonise with Eastern scenery and with the surrounding buildings far better than a spire. By two revolutions this staircase leads up to the central hall of the first floor ; right and left of which are the two museums, viz., that of reference for manufactures, and that of art for sta tues, pictures, &c. Their dimensions are 65 by 26 feet, but they could easily be enlarged by taking in the curator’s rooms at either end ; by these means two large rooms would be obtained each 91 feet long; in this case it would not be difficult to find places elsewhere for the superintendent and curator. The wings are occupied by the library and lecture room. The former demands no particular notice beyond the fact, that the southern aspect being a very unfavourable one in a sanatory point of view, that wall would be occupied with bookcases in stead of being pierced with windows. The library would also be available for those students who might wish to draw the more valuable objects in the museum, such as jewellery, illumi nated MSS., &c. As to the lecture room, besides its original destination, it would also make an excellent place wherein to hold exhibitions of drawings, sketches, &c. The plan of the second floor is equally simple as in the other stories. There is the centre hall; from it ;open on the right hand the lavatories for the students, and on the left a large store room to contain models, casts, and apparatus not in actual use. The rest of the plan consists of four large rooms on either side, three of them for students, and the fourth for the masters. This latter is so arranged that it communicates very easily with all the others. It was thought better to devote one large room to the use of two or three masters than to partition off little por tions of the class rooms, as the heat of the climate might render the latter arrangement by no means agreeable. The two class rooms in either wing communicate by folding doors, thus ren dering them practically one apartment 52 feet long. The third floor is appropriated to the use of the staff of pro fessors. The painter, sculptor, superintendent, and decorator have each a sitting room, bed room, bath room, and conve nience. The sitting rooms are sufficiently large to be used as studios, or in the case of the superintendent, for his more private work. The curator has the same space as the others, only differently divided, inasmuch as he possesses a sitting room down stairs. The water-closets arc cleansed from the back corridor, to which additional access is obtained by means of the angle staircases. A kitchen, with a dining and a sitting room, common to all the professors, complete this storey. I have followed Mr. Terry’s memoranda in supposing the masters to be unmarried; should the reverse be the case, the rooms arc sufficiently large to accommodate a couple. The native servants could be, disposed of in the roof, as the accom modation they require is on a far more limited scale than that demanded for the same purpose in Europe. The statues which ornament various portions of the building would represent:—Istly, the Virtues ; 2ndly, the various Arts and Sciences personified ; and 3rdly, those men who have most distinguished themselves in their pursuit of the said arts and sciences. As to the construction, the foundations arc to be formed of the common basalt rubble of the country ; the same material would be used for the main part of the walls ; these latter are to be faced with square ashlar of Coorla stone, in small blocks and straight courses of irregular height. In some instances the ashlar assumes a lozenge form, with a depression in the surface, as in the tympana ; sometimes these lozenges arc quite plain, as in the smithy. But, as I understand that this stone cannot be procured in large blocks, I have so arranged the lintels that they could be formed of several pieces, and, in fact, make straight arches. The stairs arc also supported on rubble arches, and the same construction is applied in the case of the domes. The latter, however, arc covered with small stone tiles, in a similar manner to the side turrets of Notre Dame, at Poitiers. Where large stones are absolutely re quired, as in the case of the statues, probably the best way of meeting the necessities of the case, would be to import Port land blocks from England. All the ceilings arc to be plastered or boarded, but in every case the joists should be filled up with a light concrete, so as to afford no refuge for insects or reptiles. It is proposed to execute the woodwork throughout the building in teak, which is the best and most durable wood procurable. The floors are roughly boarded, and covered in tiles set in 1J inch of Port land cement. The doors, in every instance, are made double; the outer ones are glazed and t in-own back in summer. The inner doors are to have either Venetian blinds, or turned fret work, such as may be seen at Cairo. In rainy weather, small moveable glazed frames are applied to the skylights over the doors. Such is, or rather was, my scheme for a School of Art at Bombay, I say was, because the last advices (not official) from India, tell me that there is a report abroad, that my scheme is to follow the fate of so many other schemes, viz., that it is to be put in the hands of the military engineers, who are to perpetrate a copy of the building we all so much admire at South Kensington. CIVIL AND MECHANICAL ENGINEERS’ SOCIETY. ANNUAL ADDRESS, SESSION 1867—68. By B. Houghton, Vice-President. The past year has been an eventful one in the history of the profes sion ; a year of stagnation and of languour, of unfulfilled expectations, and of blighted prospects. The immediate cause of this is well under stood. As an adventurous nation, we have gone ahead too fast; we have planned and devised works in advance of our capacity to avail ourselves of them and to defray their charge. Such a state of affairs, though hardly known amongst Engineers, is not unusual in other callings and in the various trades. That such a condition of affairs is the fault of the Engineer cannot be allowed. The Engineer becomes one of the numerous victims which an epoch of panic immolates. He at least is not the originator of the calamity. He is the servant of the community, as is the soldier, the barrister, or the surgeon. The real operators, the wire pullers of the period, are the capitalist and the financier. Owing to a run of extraordinary prosperity in the nation, caused by the vast progress of inventions; owing to the discovery of gold, coal, and iron, above what the most sanguine could have anticipated ; and owing to a widely extended system of education, these gentlemen found themselves of late possessed of the sinews of war to a practi cally unlimited extent. They devised a new and expansive machinery for the purpose of 'facilitating the progress of events, and the invest ment of their gains in the form of Financial Companies, Credit and Banking Societies, &c. They went ahead too fast, and the upshot is collapse. Looking at things as they are, from an engineering point of view, however we must not despond; capital as it accumulates, must somehow find an investment in the long run, and there is hardly any known [means open to it that can be utilized without the aid of the Engineer. As long as there is capital, so long there will be need for the Engineer. His present duty is clear, let him take advantage of this lull to educate himself up to the requisite stamp, let him have a care that when called on he shall be found more fertile in resource, more painstaking, and a more generally capable man. The subject of the education of the Engineer is one that has been fre quently discussed. It has been said that if engineering were placed on a level with the three learned professions, that is to say, that if the Universities and certain Colleges of Engineers were empowered to grant degrees qualify ing persons to act as Civil Engineers, the profession would thereby be relieved of a large portion of the incapacity which now holds on by it. The public would be more certain of having their works economically and permanently executed, and in short that it would become a better educated, more select, and honourable profession. Whether or not such would become the case,’ I am hardly prepared to say. I am in formed that in France such degrees are granted by the State Depart ment of Fonts et Chamsees, which lias produced a large number of famous Engineers, but, that there are also men of much ability, and who thoroughly enjoy the confidence of the investigating public in that country, who are not possessed of any kind of state degree. The comparison of the profession of engineering with other pro fessions may be productive of some advantage in discussing the subject of an engineering education; while making such, it must be borne in mind that there are many points of difference, for instance, the lawyer and the clergyman are essentially men of words—the cloister and the lecture-room are fit places wherein they may obtain titles and degrees to practice their professions. The Engineer is, on the other hand, a man of action, and of deeds rather than of words. His cloister is the graving dock, the tunnel, the ship’s interior, and the workshop. The canopy of heaven is the dome of his lecture room, the rugged upturned earth, the rockshelf, and the sea-bed its floor. What corporation or university is competent to