to watch the proposed plans for public works-railway and otherwise -in London, and when occasion arose, to make representations of the case in proper quarters. It was agreed that the subject should be resumed at the next meeting after the Christmas recess, when measures would be taken for memorializing the government for the appointment of a commission on the subject of public improvements in the metropolis, and other large cities and towns of the kingdom.

The Meeting then adjourned until the 4th of January, 1864.

At the Ordinary General Meeting of the Institute, held on Monday evening, the 4th of January, 1864, at their rooms, 9, Conduitstreet, Hanover-square, W., the President, Professor Donaldson, in the chair; the decease of the late Mr. W. C. Mylne and of Mr. J. J. Scoles, Fellows, and of Signor Filippo Antolini, of Bologna, Italy, Hon. and Corresponding Member, were announced, and several new members were balloted for and elected. The President then called attention to the three sets of drawings which obtained the medals and prizes at the late distribution by the Royal Academy. The design for the hall and staircase of a royal palace, five drawings by Mr. R. Phene Spiers, Associate, which obtained the gold medal scholarship of £25, for two years, and prizes in books: a series of igured drawings of a portion of S. Stephen's, Walbrook, six drawings by the same gentleman, which obtained the silver medals and books: and a design for a town hall and market place, three drawings, by Mr. T. H. Watson, Associate, done in one month within the walls of the Academy, which obtained the travelling studentship of £100; and which were exhibited by special request, for the inspection of the members of the Institute, and will be left for some days at the rooms for the same purpose. An interesting discussion was afterwards held upon the subject of a paper, read at the last Ordinary Meeting, by William Tite, Esq., M.P., upon the improvements in Paris; it was opened by the President, who had returned for the purpose from that city, where he had been lately installed Associé Etranger of the Académie des Beaux-Arts. The President gave a general description of the new thoroughfares which have been constructed in Paris since the year 1849, up to the present time, with aid from the state. The total works contemplated of boulevards, streets, avenues, &c., he said, represented a length of twenty-two and a half miles, of which seventeen miles had been already executed. The learned President also gave a table of the principal thoroughfares, as executed, with the lengths and widths of the various boulevards and streets at present opened to the public. He then shewed the urgent necessity that existed, for a comprehensive scheme for improving the thoroughfares of London, and pointed out, that, with the numerous plans before the public for railways and other works in the metropolis, the present was an opportune time for the construction of a grand scheme of improvements, affecting the whole of London. He concluded by proposing, that it be referred to a committee of members of the Institute, to draw up a petition to be submitted to Parliament and to the government, suggesting that a

committee should be appointed to examine into the general subject of street communication, and embodying various recommendations made; the draft of such petition to be submitted to an early meeting of the members. Mr. Edward Hall gave some further interesting details relative to the public works in Paris.

Mr. J. P. Seddon and Mr. C. F. Hayward, Hon. Secretaries, Mr. Marrable, Fellow, (who explained the propositions which he had laid before the Metropolitan Board of Works, while he held the appointment as architect to that board), and the Rev. Richard Burgess, B.D., Hon. Member, having taken part in the discussion, more particularly with reference to the state of the thoroughfares of London, the motion of the President, for the appointment of a committee, was agreed to unanimously, and some of the leading members of the Institute were nominated to form the committee, after which the meeting adjourned till Monday, January 18th, 1864.

THE ARCHITECTURAL MUSEUM.

PRIZES FOR WOOD CARVING.

THE Committee, in awarding the prizes, report as follows:

"The committee of the Architectural Museum, after examining the misereres tendered for the wood-carving prizes of this year, which were offered for a composition of not more than two figures, or of one figure and one animal, the subject being a profession, trade, or occupation, treated in modern costume, assign the first prize of £20 to the one marked with a red seal (author, Mr. John Seymour, of Tower-lane, Taunton), the subject being a stonemason carving a vaulting rib of Ham-hill stone. This miserere appears to us commendable alike for the ease and anatomy of the figure, the accuracy with which modern costume has been reproduced in a graceful form, the truthfulness to fact of the tools, half worked block and stroke, and the flow with which the moulding of the seat ramifies into foliage. It is to be regretted that its author should have partially sand-papered the work, although he has obviously done so for effect and not to save work.

"The Committee assign the second prize of £5 to the subject marked with a flower (author, Mr. J. M. Leach, of 1, Newmarket-road, Cambridge), representing a woman and child returning from gleaning, with sheaves on their heads. With much graceful treatment, and a comparative absence of sandpapering, this miserere is not equal to the stone-carver, either in anatomy or force. The figure of the woman and the child's bust are heavy, and the heavy flowing curls of the principal figure are untrue to actual peasant life.

"The Committee allot an extra prize of £1. 1s., or a book, at the choice of the competitor, to the carving marked 'Progress' (author, Mr. Alexander Kenmure, in the employ of Mr. Forsyth, of 8, Edward-street, Hampsteadroad, London), representing a smith shoeing a horse. This clever composition fails in its practical applicability to the desired object. For instance, if it were really to be fixed as a miserere in any church, the hammer and the bridle would soon be destroyed. Moreover, the pose of the horse is not consistent with fact, and the smith's expression fails in comparison with that of the mason in the first prize design. This work is not sand-papered.

"The joint Committee of the Architectural Museum and the Ecclesiological Society have chosen 'The Gleaners' as the subject of the colour prize of this year, considering that the dresses of the woman and child, besides the sheaves, afford a better field for coloration than the carver working a block of stone." A. J. B. BERESFORD HOPE, President. JOSEPH CLARKE, Hon. Secretary.

NORTHAMPTONSHIRE ARCHITECTURAL SOCIETY.

PROPOSED MEMORIAL TO THE REV. T. JAMES.

Ar a special meeting of the Committee of the Architectural Society of the Archdeaconry of Northampton, held at the Society's Rooms, on Saturday, November 21, 1863, to consider the subject of a memorial to the late Rev. Thomas James, it was moved by H. O. Nethercote, Esq., and seconded by the Rev. H. J. Barton, that the following resolution be adopted, and communicated by the Secretaries to the friends of the late Rev. T. James :

The Committee at this, their first meeting since the death of the Rev. T. James, desire to express their high sense of the value of his services, both to this Society and to the cause of church restoration beyond as well as within the limits of this Archdeaconry, and the regret they feel that he should not have been spared to continue his work among them. They do not think that the present is a fitting occasion to speak of the personal loss the members of the Committee have suffered in one so kind and friendly, so gentle and loving, but they trust they may say how deeply this their own loss makes them sympathize with those who were yet more closely bound to him by the ties of relationship."

The following resolutions were also adopted :

"1. That it is the opinion of this Committee that some permanent memorial be erected to the late Rev. T. James."

"2. That the restoration and enlargement of S. Sepulchre's church having for many years been a great object of Mr. James's thoughts and labours, and that church occupying a central position in the county, it would be a fitting place for such memorial; but that the final decision as to the place and character of the memorial be deferred till the wishes of the subscribers and of Mr. James's friends can be ascertained."

"3. That the following gentlemen be appointed a Committee to carry out the above resolutions, with power to add to their number; that they be requested to report progress to this Society; and that they convene at a fitting time a meeting of the subscribers to the memorial, to decide finally on its character and position: the High Sheriff, Rev. Lord Alwyne Compton, the Very Rev. the Dean of Peterborough, W. Mackworth Dolben, Esq., H. O. Nethercote, Esq., W. Smyth, Esq., the Secretaries, the Librarian, and Treasurer of the Architectural Society."

"4. That the above resolutions be communicated by the Secretaries

to the several Societies with which Mr. James was connected, with the request that they will appoint one or more additional members of the above Committee."

"5. That the Northampton Banking Company and the Northampton Union Bank be requested to receive subscriptions."

THE MOTETT CHOIR.

THE following paper has been issued by the Committee of the Motett Choir :

"At the opening of the twenty-second season of this association, it may not be amiss to state briefly, for general information, its past history and present requirements.

"A society was formed in 1841 for the purpose of reviving the study and practice of the ancient choral music of the Church, 'understanding by this term the sacred compositions of the best masters down to the middle of the seventeenth century."

"The finest specimens of such music are (it is well known) to be found in the services and anthems of the great masters of the English cathedral school, and in the masses and motetts of the Italian school of Palestrina, his contemporaries, and immediate successors.

"From these motetts (of which, both in form and in general intention, our present anthems are the counterparts) the Society took its name. As the subjects of these compositions were usually some passage of Church canto fermo, or plain song, the study of this primary element of the music of the Church is necessarily involved in that of the canto figurato of their com

posers.

"The first efforts of the Society were devoted to the publication of specimens of this style of music, and partly to its practical illustration by a paid choir.

"From five to eight meetings were held each season for this latter purpose, till in 1845 they were discontinued, principally from want of funds.

"In 1846 a body of amateur singers volunteered, under the direction of the present honorary precentor, to carry on the private practice of the same class of music;-and this is the origin of the Motett Choir, as at present constituted.

"In 1852 the objects of the Motett Society were warmly espoused by the Ecclesiological Society, and a union of the two was formed, with the understanding that three public meetings should be held annually, at which the friends of the society might have the opportunity of hearing the music sung by the choir.

"These musical meetings gradually drew more and more attention, and the original design of the Motett Society was consequently more zealously prosecuted, and (with regard to its range of music) freely expanded. An increased outlay of time, attention, and funds necessarily followed. This seemed to the committee of the Ecclesiological Society to render it desirable that their musical operations should be carried on, as at first, by a separate society, exclusively devoted to these objects. The union was therefore amicably dissolved, and in August, 1862, a new committee was formed, consisting of the honorary precentor of the Motett Choir, and other gentlemen, who then undertook the responsibilities which had been formally resigned by the Ecclesiological Society.

"The successful result of the first season under this new arrangement, so far at least as the practice and public illustrations of the music, and the amount of interest excited by them, are concerned, has encouraged the committee to determine on continuing both the private and the public meetings during the ensuing season, on the same footing, and with no less expenditure than heretofore. At the same time it is to be regretted that the list of subscribers did not, during the past season, justify any attempt to enlarge the scale of their operations.

"It is to be hoped that sufficient numbers may this coming season be enrolled in the subscription list to remove all difficulty and discouragement; and that efforts found, in a variety of ways, to have conduced in no small degree to the present improvement and greater appreciation of Church music, may not be hampered nor brought to a close from want either of extensive sympathy or of liberal support.

"It is proposed to hold one of the meetings on or about the 23rd of December, 1863; another after Easter, and the third after Whitsuntide, 1864. "REV. THOMAS HELMORE, M.A., Hon. Precentor,

"6, Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, S.W.

"HENRY GEORGE COXHEAD, Esq., Hon. Sec. and Treasurer, "25, Torrington Square.

"November, 1863.

"N.B. For the information of persons wishing to take an active share in the Society's musical operations, it has been thought expedient to add the following

"CHOIR RULES.

"1. Meetings for practice are held at 9, Conduit Street, Regent Street, every Monday, not being a Red Letter day, at 7.30 P.M., except during the months of January, August, September, and October.

"2. Regularity of attendance at these meetings, being of vital importance to the efficiency of the choir, is expected of all its members. Continued neglect of this rule will exclude from the choir.

"3. An annual subscription of half-a-sovereign, payable in advance on the 22nd of November, is required of all the choir (unless they are admitted by the precentor as non-subscribing members), and also an entrance fee of halfa-sovereign.

Further information may be had on application to the precentor or secretary."

NEW CHURCHES.

S. Mary, Rainton, Durham.-A commendable and by no means unsuccessful attempt, by Mr. Robson, to produce a distinctively town church. The style adopted is a severe form of the earliest MiddlePointed; scarcely, indeed, to be recognized as such but for the tracery of the three-light east window. Height is the predominant element of the design. The nave is remarkably lofty; it has a clerestory, pierced with very tall trefoil-headed lancets, arranged in couplets. The tower is engaged at the west end of the north aisle. The belfry-stage, rising well above the nave-roof, is lighted by tall couplets, filled in with bold louvre boards. The lower stages are pierced with long and narrow