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Water Resources Development and Management

Girish Chadha
Ashwin B. Pandya Editors

Water Governance
and Management
in India
Issues and Perspectives, Volume 2
Water Resources Development and Management

Series Editors
Asit K. Biswas, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
Cecilia Tortajada, Institute of Water Policy, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public
Policy, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

Editorial Board
Dogan Altinbilek, Ankara, Turkey
Francisco González-Gómez, Granada, Spain
Chennat Gopalakrishnan, Honolulu, USA
James Horne, Canberra, Australia
David J. Molden, Kathmandu, Nepal
Olli Varis, Helsinki, Finland
Hao Wang, Beijing, China
Indexed by Scopus
Each book of this multidisciplinary series covers a critical or emerging water issue.
Authors and contributors are leading experts of international repute. The readers
of the series will be professionals from different disciplines and development
sectors from different parts of the world. They will include civil engineers,
economists, geographers, geoscientists, sociologists, lawyers, environmental
scientists and biologists. The books will be of direct interest to universities,
research institutions, private and public sector institutions, international organisa-
tions and NGOs. In addition, all the books will be standard reference books for the
water and the associated resource sectors.

More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/7009

Girish Chadha Ashwin B. Pandya
•

Editors

Water Governance
and Management in India
Issues and Perspectives, Volume 2

123
Editors
Girish Chadha Ashwin B. Pandya
India Water Review International Commission
New Delhi, India on Irrigation & Drainage
New Delhi, India

ISSN 1614-810X ISSN 2198-316X (electronic)

Water Resources Development and Management
ISBN 978-981-16-1471-2 ISBN 978-981-16-1472-9 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-1472-9
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part
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recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission
or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar
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The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from
the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this
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authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained
herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard
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This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
The registered company address is: 152 Beach Road, #21-01/04 Gateway East, Singapore 189721,
Singapore
Introduction

The editors are happy to continue the dialogue that was started with the first volume
of the book. It has indeed been an enriching experience in expanding the coverage
on the issue of water governance and management in the second volume. The two
volumes together present a rainbow of aspects that influence water resources
development, governance and its management. We have been fortunate enough to
have yet another set of enlightened authors to do justice to the additional aspects
covered in the second volume.
The authors touch upon several administrative, planning, environmental and
financial aspects of water governance in the seven chapters, often highlighting
specific areas that require attention.
In the first chapter, Himanshu Kulkarni et al. take up the issue of community-
based groundwater management model, suggesting that participation of people
should remain the backbone in this pursuit.
India’s groundwater usage is the largest in the world. Nearly, all sectors, espe-
cially rural domestic water and water in agriculture, have large-scale dependencies
on groundwater resources. Groundwater exploitation, without due consideration to
the concept of aquifers as common pool resources, has led to the dual problem of
groundwater depletion and contamination, besides depletion in river flows.
Competition over groundwater resources has slowly emerged as a complex problem
across India’s diverse aquifer typology, sometimes leading to conflict. The rise in
the number of wells across the small land holdings in India has meant that
groundwater extraction occurs at high granularity, making it difficult for large-scale
data and information to capture the reality of problems of the ground.
The authors feel that the existing groundwater governance mechanisms, mainly
in the form of institutional frameworks including legislation, are not robust enough.
These mechanisms, they feel, limit the impacts of processes such as participatory
groundwater management. Given the enormity of the problem in India, and the size
of the country too, the authors argue that the one-size-fits-all approach of
groundwater management and governance would become irrelevant under the
country’s aquifer and socio-economic diversity.

v
vi Introduction

Rather than making governance the sole responsibility of governments, a care-

fully designed architecture of partnerships should be crafted, where all primary
stakeholders get deeply involved in the collective endeavour of participatory water
governance. In the country, participatory management of water resources has been
attempted, often with resounding success, in small measures.
Framing groundwater governance as the governance of aquifers is also important
so as to instil confidence and belief in managing groundwater resources as common
pool resources. In doing so, groundwater management must become inclusive
of the need to shift the focus of plans and practices from ‘sources’ of groundwater
to the ‘resource’. Creating a proactive policy environment that embraces commu-
nity participation in developing the understanding on groundwater and generating
knowledge on aquifers, communities and ecosystems is most important. Such an
environment will enable the agencies of governance such as Panchayati Raj
Institutions to take improved decisions and undertake actions that will lead to
sustainable, efficient and equitable usage of groundwater.
In the second chapter, Singh and Mahanta bring out the fact about 30% of
India’s population lives in cities and urban areas that are expected to double in
population by 2050. Currently, five of the world’s 20 largest cities under water
stress are in India, with Delhi being second on the list, they point out, adding that
with a growing economy and fast changing lifestyles, the pressure on already
strained water resources is escalating. Urban hubs are likely to witness severe water
shortages in the future, which could risk urban growth in India and reduce quality of
life for urban citizens.
The authors urge leaders to rethink their institutional approach to water man-
agement, building a strong case for adoption of a circular economy model, to begin
with, in wastewater.
The authors state that demand management concepts are very important in view
of increasing stress on available fresh water resources in India. They present several
strategies covering doorstep metering and revenue generation based on consump-
tion, rehabilitating conveyance infrastructure for better and assured delivery and
maintenance measures for maintaining the system like pressure leakage control,
mains replacement, retrofitting the plumbing, legislation promoting the sustainable
revenue models and also reuse/recycle policies. Being an upcoming sector key to
economic growth, the sustainable urban water management has strong implications
to growth of economic activities and improvement in quality of life across the
board.
In the third chapter, Bathla et al. analyse the relative efficiency of public
investment in irrigation across major states in India from 1981–1982 to 2015–2016.
There has been a sizeable increase in public expenditure on irrigation and
improvement in capital intensity in the last one decade even though there is
declining trend vis-à-vis earlier plan periods as a percentage of overall pie, the
authors note.
Also, an upturn in capital and revenue expenditure has not been commensurate
with an increase in irrigation intensity, reflecting considerable inefficiencies. On
average, public canals operated at about 59 per cent technical efficiency in recent
Introduction vii

years, although levels vary widely. The inefficiency is largely due to capital
expenditure, which needs to be utilized properly through faster completion of
projects, the authors argue. The magnitude of the capital needed for implementation
and management versus the inputs generated at the Centre and state level too have a
mismatch. Relative influence of Centre in project implementation is also governed
by the relative shares of capital being infused in the projects. Low-efficiency scores
may also suggest that public irrigation is not well placed, suggesting need for better
management. Public policy should focus more on outcomes rather than on outlays,
suggest the authors.
Khurana and Sen highlight the twin challenges of water quantity and quality in
the fourth chapter. Challenges of quality are yet to be addressed in a holistic way for
generating better and efficient utilization of the available resources. Improving
water quality is going to need a basket of options ranging from policy-level
interventions and implementation, real-time data that informs decision making,
preventive and mitigation technologies, enforcement and public awareness, par-
ticipation and oversight. The best way would be to prevent pollution from taking
place and using technologies that either do not pollute or are able to treat the
effluents, so that there is no toxic discharge. This cannot happen overnight, but an
implementable action plan could make this a reality. Agricultural pollution will
need to be addressed through minimizing chemical input use and the scaled-up
adoption of integrated pest management and organic farming. Financial instruments
will be needed for this.
The authors highlight the fact that the issue of water quality has now reached
dangerous levels and needs a completely new perspective to address it. Any effort
on this front requires serious commitment and a long-term vision and plan.
They posit that addressing industrial pollution will require shifting from
concentration-based standards to pollution load-based standards. The practice of
following of concentration-based standards in India is unable to keep an effective
check on the polluting industries. A common data grid of the water quality mon-
itoring sites of various agencies that monitor water quality like the Central Water
Commission, Central Ground Water Board, Central and State Pollution Control
Boards, Water Provisioning Department and Utilities need to be integrated so as to
provide a robust system of data and information to help water utilities, citizens and
government take measures for addressing pollution and define management actions.
Excellent examples are available for reuse of wastewater, but adoption by the
communities remains a challenge. Community awareness coupled with adequate
monitoring and supply re-allocation measures can help, the authors note.
In the fifth chapter, Kumar et al. make a strong case for providing space to
wetlands in water management plans, pointing out the merit of looking at wetlands
as nature-based solutions. The authors underline that wetlands, as ecosystems at the
interface of land and water, have a significant role in ensuring water & climate
security in India given their role in the water cycle and multiple hydrological
functions. The rapid loss of natural wetlands is as much a threat to water and
climate security as is an environmental crisis.
viii Introduction

Integration of wetlands in water management plans in also not about pitting grey
and green infrastructure, but achieving complementarities and synergies. While
making water infrastructure decisions, a beginning can be made by examining
whether green infrastructure solutions such as wetlands can deliver the desired
water resource outcome, and then filling the gap that may still exist by a grey-green
combination, the authors suggest.
A harmonized understanding of wetlands and their hydrological functions in a
landscape is the foundation step. The science-base on wetlands will need to grad-
uate from being dominated by describing ecosystem structures and processes to
providing quantitative assessments of hydrological functions, in usable forms and
terms suited to water sector policy-makers. Wetlands managers will also need to
have the capacity to describe water regime requirements of wetlands to perform
these functions while acknowledging that climate change may render historical
regime information insufficient to inform about the future course of actions. For
water managers, the role of wetlands will need to evolve beyond just an allocation
decision, to understanding water as it moves in a landscape, and the role wetlands
play in influencing this movement. A natural convergence point is to plan at a
catchment scale, wherein the landscape and water interactions can be assessed and
planned for meaningfully, the authors state.
In the sixth chapter, Pandya brings out the role that data plays in establishing
efficient planning and implementation as well as operational strategies for the water
sector in general. Generally, at the planning level, resource availability data is of
prime concern. However, for efficient management in real time, it is necessary to
harness the usage data at the same level of frequency and accuracy as the resource
data, he stresses.
Collection and processing of data also assumes prime importance for resource
allocation amongst competing political and administrative entities and is the key
parameter upon which the entire adjudication process relies. But, he feels that this
underlying importance is not well appreciated by the planning and economic
communities in general, and accordingly, the field remains rather neglected. The
neglect leads to gaps in the data and knowledge base. Multiple jurisdictions and
domains delineated by the federal structure of the Constitution and governance
of the country affect a unified data strategy. Lack of such strategy will lead to wrong
priorities in planning and deployment. The chapter describes data requirements,
provisions enabling collection and processing and status of availability. New
technologies and approaches available for handling constraints generated out of
multiple jurisdictions and conflict of interests are also highlighted.
Pandya also underlines the fact that transboundary water management is highly
reliant upon sound data availability, while warning that progress in equitable
development will get seriously hampered if sound data management policies are not
adopted across the board and data driven negotiations are not established.
In the last chapter, Srinivas and Prajapati are of the opinion that India’s federal
governance for long-term water security has not received its due attention. The
discourse about federal governance is generally dominated by that of fiscal feder-
alism. The limited work about federal water governance is restricted to interstate
Introduction ix

river water disputes and their resolution. Poor indicators of national water resources
governance do not inspire confidence about its long-term security.
The chapter posits that this is an outcome of the federal constituents—the states
and the Union Territories—assuming exclusive powers over water governance.
They pursue inward and territorialized strategies for water resources management.
This, at times, leads to non-optimal solutions and stresses on the internal relations
amongst the federal constituents. The Centre has to play an anchoring role and work
with states towards pursuing these goals.
The chapter takes a closer look at the historical changes in budgetary allocations
of the Centre and select states for water resources governance and highlights the
issues of consistency in funding and coordinating mechanisms required for
achieving an optimal solution. The structural and institutional elements of federal
water governance have not received adequate attention. The existing provisions are
not only under-nurtured, but also inadequate to pursue India’s development goals
and address the new and emerging challenges of water governance towards
long-term water security and sustainability goals.
The authors insist that it is imperative to build a 'new federal consensus' about
Centre-states’ roles in water governance. There is a need to engage in a political
process to elevate the debate of federal water governance to the goals of addressing
the ‘whole’ and emphasize partnership building between Centre-states for the
purpose. At the same time, the chapter calls for strengthening the Centre’s by
provision of additional set of political and institutional processes.
Through the chapters, the multi-dimensionality of water management and
development sector as also uni-dimensionality of the individual stakeholders per-
taining to one field comes through. This is where participative management with an
overarching outlook comes in. India’s Water Policy (2012) did recognize this issue
by declaring water a common pool resource.
As water availability and its management spans over a large set of sectors, each
requiring a special branch of knowledge, coordination between them is a chal-
lenging task. However, we all have to live in a collective society where the right of
existence has been made equal. While advocating the ideal regime for a specific
sector, one should not lose sight of other sectors that may also be competing for the
same ideal. Each sector may require making sacrifices to allow others also to have
the same opportunity.
The development process is always a transformative one. Development con-
sumes or deploys a set of resources and produces the outputs in form of products,
which are further traded or consumed for livelihood sustenance or economic
prosperity. The dialogue, therefore, happens between the static model of no change
from what is given by nature to a dynamic model where the interventions to meet
demands may make changes to the natural regimes.
In case of water, this has been happening since the dawn of human civilization.
Development so far has been on the basis of deployment of water as a resource to
produce food, fibre, energy, transportation, recreation and also as a medium to
x Introduction

convey the wastes. The thoughts provided by our authors also grapple with the
same duality of approaches.
All have recognized the adversity in form of temporal and spatial availability of
water resources through the country. The skew makes floods and droughts to exist
simultaneously in the country in different regions and sometimes within the same
region in different seasons or years. Given these complexities, strategies are,
therefore, needed towards sustainable development and management regime for
water security to be achieved.
The Indian water sector is almost exclusively dominated by the government at
the state level or at the Union level. The government is present at every stage of
water development, financing, implementation and distribution and finally even in
revenue generation through service charges. This necessitates a multiple role of an
enterprise with an economic goal out of resource management and a welfare entity,
which would like to provide a resource on an equitable basis without consideration
of economic status or capacities to pay. Governance in this context does not fully
have a techno-economic context but also includes a fair amount of political and
social bearings with ample dose of welfare thrown in. This makes the definition of
various practices for governance difficult.
Due to various socio-political contexts, the national-level view of water gover-
nance is subservient to the state or regional level ones even though the
Constitutional arrangement does not build this hierarchy. This leads to difficulties in
dealing with issues like large river rejuvenation, development of hydropower as an
eminent green source of energy and catering to the diverse needs of agriculture as
the views of the Centre and various states do not often converge. At the local level,
the issues of capacities dominate. For water management at the local bodies level,
the lack of capacities and also finances provide a big challenge. We have a strong
growth record of urbanization. However, the systems to manage the new areas
falling under urban context lag the actual developments. How to make the entire
process participative across the social and economic status boundaries is also still a
challenge.
The governance regime in the country is also heavily influenced by ideologies
and advocacy pressures. However, water being a physical resource governed by the
climate, topography, geology and material sciences, and its management is also
influenced by the same factors in all the fields.
In addition, water usage is also influenced by the economy and financial aspi-
rations of the end users. When we think in compartments based on our own area of
expertise or concern, some of the factors land up getting relegated to background or
neglected in the solutions being propagated. This requires adjustments. There is a
struggle between what we would like to have as an ideal versus what can be
achieved in the light of demands of other associated sectors. Therefore, the
approach is to find an optimal situation which is not ideal for any individual sector
but allows all of them to survive at the same time. The key lies in negotiations
between sectors on the basis of an information base, which is capable to indicate the
levels of comfort of various competing demands and where the expansion in any
one field of demands will make others uncomfortable.
Introduction xi

The more we look at it, the more we realize the importance of information about
availability and use of water for forming a holistic idea before we start promising
and distributing the resource. Importance of unbiased data on all these aspects
becomes an essential part of governance and management. States have a prime
focus on development and bringing improvements in their asset base for better
coverage. At times, this desire may not result into a balanced development covering
all political entities sharing the same resource. In such contexts, it is necessary to
know the actual state of affairs at the ground level. Data, therefore, has a large role
to play in quantifying the priorities and stresses that these may be undergoing. For
effective governance at every level, one has to look into data collection, processing
and analyses capabilities for a better future.
India is a diverse country as far as geostrategic context is concerned. Many river
basins also cross our national boundaries, and India finds itself in the roles of an
upper, middle and lower riparian country. This requires a fair amount of
hydro-diplomacy while dealing with the neighbours. At this level, the dialogue
becomes more complex as other areas of economy, socio-political setup and
strategic relationships also have to be heeded.
India has been somewhat fortunate in having good relations with some of its
immediate neighbours. For instance, with Bhutan, it has been able to devise a
‘win-win’ situation in terms of hydropower generation and mutual economic
prosperity. India also has to share disasters like cyclones and floods with some
neighbours. Mutual sharing of disaster warning and management exercises provides
with ample opportunities to build cooperation and collaboration.
Internally, the water governance regime is distributed between states with fed-
eralism playing an important part. The interstate basins too provide a great chal-
lenge in governance. The political boundaries versus basin boundaries and water
availability to various political units are a cause of great political and social turmoil
in many parts of the country. Capacities also vary between the co-basin states.
Commonly, the availability of resource and potential to use are quite often
located in different states and regions. Negotiations regarding financing the
developments and compensation towards sacrificing some of the lands required for
water projects have been important issues that need to be resolved. Water gover-
nance at Union level requires an in-depth assessment and quantification of the
problems at hand, while at state level, governance should comprise willingness to
negotiate in a sound and rational manner for an optimum solution rather than taking
an exclusivist approach generated out of a sense of sovereignty. The states with
lower capacities in financial and expertise terms may need to be helped for
matching up with their better placed counterparts. This remains true for develop-
ment initiatives as well as disasters like floods and droughts.
Issues pertaining to water management cannot always be made to fully fit into a
framework of legalities. There is a fair amount of give-and-take while keeping in
view the essential principles of science and technology. Resolving the differences is
an exercise in which the scientific solutions supported by the legal base are
important. Herein lies the role of governance, especially at the Union level, where
xii Introduction

the states can find a platform to settle their differences away from the pushes and
pulls of local exclusivist influences.
When it comes to financing, being a developing country, India has great
demands on its available resources, in which the water sector also has to compete.
The share of finances of the states under their own budgets is considerably higher
than the finances at the Union level. However, the Union has the responsibility to
ensure that the last-mile shortages in finances do not deprive beneficiaries of water
programmes from the intended benefits. Implementation of projects are affected by
a large number of factors, especially land availability and interaction with other
utilities as well as acceptance of proposed developmental plans by the beneficiaries
as well as displaced persons. A coordinated governance regime is required in which
better consultative processes on the investment plans of individual states are dis-
cussed and dovetailed into the national-level financial perspectives.
Together in both the volumes, we have covered governance issues at state and
Federal levels, utilization and deployment of water resources for various purposes
like hydropower, rejuvenation and drinking water supply, investments for devel-
opment of irrigation and water supply. We also covered issues arising out of
environment-related disasters like droughts and floods and issues of wetlands and
river rejuvenation, groundwater management. Water availability being stochastic in
nature, the role of data management in planning for water resources is also covered
in the volumes.
It is hoped that through the two volumes, a strong narrative on some of the
several issues related to water governance and management will emerge to foster
further dialogue, research and policy review. It is also expected that the two vol-
umes are able to deliver mature and diverse views on the many issues related to
water governance and management.
The editors would once again like to thank Dr. Loyola D’Silva and Prasanna
Kumar Nayaransamy of Springer for their support in bringing out this volume.

New Delhi, India Girish Chadha

February 2021 Ashwin B. Pandya
Contents

Catalysing Groundwater Governance Through People’s Participation

and Institutional Reform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Himanshu Kulkarni, Dhaval Joshi, Uma Aslekar and Siddharth Patil
Sustainable Urban Water Management Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Kulwant Singh and Sajib Mahanta
Estimating Efficiency of Public Investment in Irrigation
at the State Level in India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Seema Bathla, Elumalai Kannan, Gautam Kumar Das
and Roopali Aggarwal
Tackling Water Quality Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Indira Khurana and Romit Sen
Wetlands and Water Management: Finding a Common Ground . . . . . . 105
Ritesh Kumar, Harsh Ganapathi and Santosh Palmate
Data Usage for Development, Management of Water Resources . . . . . . 131
Ashwin B. Pandya
Whither India’s Federal Governance for Long-Term
Water Security? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Srinivas Chokkakula and Prakriti Prajapati

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187

xiii
Catalysing Groundwater Governance
Through People’s Participation
and Institutional Reform

Himanshu Kulkarni, Dhaval Joshi, Uma Aslekar and Siddharth Patil

Abstract India’s groundwater usage is the largest in the world. Nearly, all sectors,
especially rural domestic water and water in agriculture, have large-scale depen-
dencies on groundwater resources. Groundwater exploitation, without due consid-
eration to the concept of aquifers as common pool resources, has led to the dual
problem of groundwater depletion and contamination. Groundwater depletion has
also led to depletion in river flow. Competition over groundwater resources has slowly
emerged as a complex problem across India’s diverse aquifer typology, sometimes
leading to conflict. The rise in the number of wells across the small land holdings in
India has meant that groundwater extraction occurs at high granularity, making it
difficult for large-scale data and information to capture the reality of problems of the
ground. The social, economic and environmental consequences of groundwater
over-extraction in India is as much related to the variability in the transmission and
storage properties of different aquifers as it is about the diversity in the social context
of people who use groundwater resources. Community-based norms on managing
groundwater resources have been one of the emergent areas of responding to the crisis
of groundwater management in the field. Policy, on the other hand, has been toying
with conventional regulatory responses, mainly through groundwater legislation.
The gap between the policy and practice of groundwater management is quite wide
and requires a combination of groundwater management and governance.
Institutionalizing the integration of groundwater management and governance,
although seemingly challenging, has become crucial in addressing India’s ground-
water crises. Combining demystified science, people’s participation and institutional
reform to bring to the fore the concept of aquifers as common pool resources can form
a solid foundation for catalysing groundwater governance in India.

Keywords Aquifer typology People’s participation Community-based norms

Institutions

H. Kulkarni (&)
D. Joshi
U. Aslekar
S. Patil

Advanced Center for Water Resources Development and Management (ACWADAM)
Pune, India

© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021 1

G. Chadha and A. B. Pandya (eds.), Water Governance and Management in India,
Water Resources Development and Management,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-1472-9_1
Another Random Scribd Document
with Unrelated Content
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In fig. 2247. the upper sash is represented as open for ventilation;

when shut, the parts of the opening-sash cover and overlap the fixed
parts in such a manner as to exclude wind and water; but when
ventilation is required, the arrangement of the parts which produce
this is such as to enable the housekeeper to admit air to any extent.
For this purpose the notched latch, e, is joined to a stud in the edge
of the sash; a simple iron pin or stud is also fixed in the wooden
frame at s, and the notches of the latch being made to fall upon this
stud at any required distance, the requisite degree of opening is
secured, and when the sash is again closed, the latch falls down
parallel with, and close to, the sash. To secure the sashes when
shut, the T bolt, f, in the middle of the meeting bars, has only to be
turned one-fourth round, and the moveable sash is held fast in close
contact with the other. The figures represent the window as finished
up with single dressings, viz., plain deal shutters, facings, and sole,
which, at a small expense, would give an air of neatness and comfort
to the apartment, and promote a corresponding taste in the other
parts of the cottage. Though the dimensions of the window here
stated may be conceived sufficient for lighting an apartment of
ordinary size, they can nevertheless be varied to suit every purpose.
This may be done either by employing two such windows as above
described, with a mullion of wood or stone between them, or the
single window may be enlarged by one or two squares in width, or in
height, or in both directions.” (Highland Soc. Trans., vol. xiii. p. 541.)
 SUPPLY OF WATER TO NEW YORK.
(From the Scotsman of Nov. 12, 1842.)
The New York papers of 15th October are filled with long accounts
of the opening of a stupendous aqueduct of thirty-two miles, for
conveying water to that city from the Croton River. The celebration of
this event took place on Friday, the 14th, under the direction of the
Common Council, and consisted of the largest procession of military
companies and civic associations that ever took place in New York. It
was between six and seven miles in length.
We omit the account which describes the time and order of the
procession, the personages and bodies composing it, the forms and
ceremonies gone through, the feastings, illuminations, and
rejoicings, and proceed with that part of the account which is more
directly to our purpose.
It appears that from 1829 up to the present time, New York was
supplied with water from a tank or reservoir erected in Thirteenth
street, and filled first by means of horse and afterwards by steam
power. The present work was commenced in 1835, after being
approved of by the people by a vote of 17,330 affirmatives to 3,960
negatives. It consists of:—
First, an artificial reservoir, called the Croton River Lake, 45 miles
from the Battery—the extreme part of the city; this lake is formed by
a hydraulic stone-masonry dam, with two waste weirs or aprons, for
the over fall of the water, one of 87 feet and one of 180 feet, these
being separated by a gate-house. The height of these waste weirs is
55 feet above the bed of the river, and 40 feet above the low water
level.
The dam backs the water 5 miles, and makes a lake of an area of
400 acres, and a capacity equal to 500 millions of gallons.
 The water enters a gate-house, where the quantity is regulated,
before it enters the aqueduct, which is a stone structure, lined and
arched with brick.
The face of the interior of the aqueduct is at the bottom an inverted
arch, width 6 ft. 9 in., height 8 feet 5½ inches, area 53⅓ square feet,
about large enough for an omnibus and four to pass through. The
line of the aqueduct being on a regular declivity of 13¼ inches to the
mile down to the Harlem River, a distance of 33 miles, it has a line of
tunnels of 6841 feet, being sixteen in number, sometimes through
earth and sometimes through solid rock; the deepest cut is 80 feet,
and the least 25 feet. In Westchester only, the aqueduct crosses 25
streams of water, which are from 25 to 13 feet below the top of the
aqueduct.
The grade line of aqueduct across the Harlem is 25 feet above tide
water, and the top of the water now passes over Harlem river in one
pipe of 36 inches, placed on the earthen dam made in the
construction of the high bridge.
The bridge itself is now about one-third completed, and will be
when finished one of the most stupendous works of the kind in the
world. Its cost is estimated at one million of dollars, and its elevation
is so great as not to impede the navigation of the stream. Some idea
of this vast undertaking may be formed from the fact, that the
excavation for one pier has been carried 34 feet below the surface of
the water, and then a rock foundation not having been reached, 240
poles, from 30 to 40 feet long, were driven in for the purpose.
Several piers having been already carried, by the aid of coffer-dams,
from four to fifteen feet above high-water mark.
The river is 620 feet wide at water line, but the slope of the river
banks adds an additional distance of 830 feet, making in all 1,480
feet.
The plan now in progress crosses the river with eight arches of 80
feet span, and on piers of 31 by 44 feet at the base, resting on the
bed of the river, and 7 arches on piers on the land from the edge of
the water up the two banks of the river.
 The spring of one of the arches is 95 feet above the lowest
foundation put down; the top of the parapet will be 149 feet from the
lowest foundation. It is intended that the water shall pass over this
bridge in pipes, to have it secure against the possibility of danger.
The interesting works at Clendinning Valley, being a bridge over a
valley of 1,900 feet in breadth, the greatest height of the aqueduct is
50 feet from the bottom of the valley; beautiful archways are
constructed for three streets, 34 feet for the carriage-way, and 10 on
each side for side-walks.
Next in interest is the reservoir at Eighty-sixth Street, which might
well be called the detaining or clarifying reservoir. It has two
divisions, together thirty-two acres—greatest depth of water twenty-
five feet, containing one hundred and fifty millions of gallons. Two
lines of thirty-six inch pipes connect this with the reservoir at
Fortieth-street, which has also two divisions, forming together an
area of four acres—depth of water when filled thirty-six feet. From
this point four and a-half miles to the Battery. Whole length of line
from the Battery to the artificial lake, fifty miles. There are in this
great work 55,000,000 of bricks and 700,000 cubic yards of stone-
masonry.
The water in the aqueduct is regulated at the entrance gate, so as
not to flow under any pressure—it has not been permitted to flow in
the division near the city at a greater depth than two feet, but the
works at the Croton dam required a few days back that more water
should pass through the first division (the distance between Sing
Sing and the Croton river), being eight miles, and it was found to
pass seventy-five millions New York gallons in twenty-four hours,
and that its velocity was over two miles per hour.
The Croton Lake now retains, beyond the daily river supply, in
reserve, five hundred millions of gallons; and a small expense would
add other immense artificial lakes to hold back an additional supply;
but the necessity of this is hardly conceivable. It is estimated that the
London supply, from all their companies, is but twenty-four millions of
gallons, and Paris four millions only.
 On the 8th of June last the superintendents went through the
aqueduct (32 miles in length) on foot, and the whole being found
complete, on the 22nd the water was admitted to the depth of
eighteen inches. “The Croton Maid,” a small boat prepared for the
purpose, and holding four persons, was then placed in the aqueduct,
and navigated its entire length by some of the same party. This novel
voyage was made sometimes at the depth of 75 feet below and then
again 80 feet above the natural surface of the earth, at the rate of a
mile in forty minutes, the velocity of the current. When four feet deep,
this will probably reach two miles per hour.
On the 27th, the water was admitted into the immense receiving
reservoir, in the presence of a large assemblage, including the
mayor, governor, military, firemen, &c. &c. A salute of thirty-eight
guns was fired, and the Croton Maid, soon making her appearance,
was hailed with great enthusiasm, as the evidence that a navigable
stream was now flowing into the city. The boat was then formally
presented to the Fire Department, and she now lies safely moored in
the distributing reservoir. To this basin the stream was admitted on
the 4th day of July, amidst general and imposing demonstrations of
public joy, the Temperance Societies taking a prominent part.
Since then, the water has continued to flow about two feet deep
through the aqueduct, delivering into the receiving reservoir twelve
millions of imperial gallons per day, and, as yet, only five or six
millions in the pipes; nor has any defect been found in any section of
the work.
Over twelve millions of dollars is the estimated cost of the entire
work when done. From ten to twelve dollars is the rate charged per
annum to families for the use of the water; its own force carries the
stream into the highest stories of the most elevated buildings.
“An eminent clergyman (says the New York Commercial
Advertiser), who has recently travelled in Europe and Asia,
pronounces the Croton aqueduct the greatest work of our age, and
says he has seen nothing to compare with it in all his travels. Its
conception and design are worthy to form an era in history, from the
utility, vastness, and simplicity of the undertaking. For centuries to
come, it will stand a noble monument of the enterprise, art, and
science of the present generation. No population of 300,000 ever
before executed such a plan—not undertaken to mark a field of
battle—nor like the vast walls of China, Rome, or of modern Paris, in
preparation for defence in war. On the contrary, the Croton aqueduct
regards the health, temperance, and happiness of myriads of the
present generation, and of ages to come. None without seeing it can
form an idea of its magnitude and importance.”
 Literature.
Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit. Edited by “Boz.” London: Chapman
and Hall.
Although it is a part of our plan, in the conduct of this Journal, to
give it that varied character which shall constitute it the universal
medium of instruction, information, and amusement for the class to
which it is addressed, and therefore it needs no apology from us for
introducing to our pages extracts from the writings of popular
authors, such as those of the inimitable Dickens, yet we are impelled
by a two-fold consideration to select from that source in this
particular instance. That vein of withering satire in which the author
has hitherto indulged in drawing out the character of Squeers, the
Yorkshire school-master, is now, it seems, to flow afresh, in the
delineation of Mr. Pecksniff, a Wiltshire architect. The broad dash of
caricature with which he invests the portrait, is a peculiarity of the
author that has no harm in it, since it is directed against a vicious
practice, which deserves the strongest reprobation, and of which, as
well as of the character of Pecksniff generally, it may be expected
that our readers in particular will take an anxious cognizance. The
very circumstance of the introduction of this worthy and his simple-
minded pupil Pinch into the novel of Martin Chuzzlewit (for novel we
suppose we must call it), will make us, and thousands of our class
his readers, and eager expectants of the monthly issue which is to
develope the workings of the miserable genius of Master Pecksniff.
With this preface, we proceed with our purpose of drawing attention
to the strong lights and shadows of the picture which arrests the eye
of the architectural observer.

THE PARTING OF MR. PECKSNIFF AND HIS

PUPIL.
 “Come, Mr. Pecksniff,” he said with a smile, “don’t let there be any
ill-blood between us, pray. I am sorry we have ever differed, and
extremely sorry I have ever given you offence. Bear me no ill-will at
parting, sir.”
“I bear,” answered Mr. Pecksniff, mildly, “no ill-will to any man on
earth.”
“I told you he didn’t,” said Pinch in an under-tone; “I knew he
didn’t! He always says he don’t.”
“Then you will shake hands, sir?” cried Westlock, advancing a step
or two, and bespeaking Mr. Pinch’s close attention by a glance.
“Umph!” said Mr. Pecksniff, in his most winning tone.
“You will shake hands, sir?”
“No, John,” said Mr. Pecksniff, with a calmness quite ethereal; “no,
I will not shake hands, John. I have forgiven you. I had already
forgiven you, even before you ceased to reproach and taunt me. I
have embraced you in the spirit, John, which is better than shaking
hands.”
“Pinch,” said the youth, turning towards him, with a hearty disgust
of his late master, “what did I tell you?”
Poor Pinch looked down uneasily at Mr. Pecksniff, whose eye was
fixed upon him as it had been from the first: and looking up at the
ceiling again, made no reply.
“As to your forgiveness, Mr. Pecksniff,” said the youth, “I’ll not
have it upon such terms. I won’t be forgiven.”
“Won’t you, John?” retorted Mr. Pecksniff with a smile. “You must.
You can’t help it. Forgiveness is a high quality; an exalted virtue far
above your control or influence, John. I will forgive you. You cannot
move me to remember any wrong you have ever done me, John.”
“Wrong!” said the other, with all the heat and impetuosity of his
age. “Here’s a pretty fellow! Wrong! Wrong I have done him! He’ll not
even remember the five hundred pounds he had with me under false
pretences; or the seventy pounds a-year for board and lodgings that
would have been dear at seventeen! Here’s a martyr!”
“Money, John,” said Mr. Pecksniff, “is the root of all evil. I grieve to
see that it is already bearing evil fruit in you. But I will not remember
its existence. I will not even remember the conduct of that misguided
person”—and here, although he spoke like one at peace with all the
world, he used an emphasis that plainly said ‘I have my eye upon the
rascal now’—“that misguided person who has brought you here to-
night, seeking to disturb (it is a happiness to say in vain) the heart’s
repose and peace of one who would have shed his dearest blood to
serve him.”
The voice of Mr. Pecksniff trembled as he spoke, and sobs were
heard from his daughters. Sounds floated on the air, moreover, as if
two spirit voices had exclaimed: one, “Beast!” the other, “Savage!”
“Forgiveness,” said Mr. Pecksniff, “entire and pure forgiveness is
not incompatible with a wounded heart; perchance when the heart is
wounded, it becomes a greater virtue. With my breast still wrung and
grieved to its inmost core by the ingratitude of that person, I am
proud and glad to say, that I forgive him. Nay! I beg,” cried Mr.
Pecksniff, raising his voice as Pinch appeared about to speak, “I beg
that individual not to offer a remark; he will truly oblige me by not
uttering one word: just now. I am not sure that I am equal to the trial.
In a very short space of time I shall have sufficient fortitude, I trust, to
converse with him as if these events had never happened. But not,”
said Mr. Pecksniff, turning round again towards the fire, and waving
his hand in the direction of the door, “not now.”
“Bah!” cried John Westlock, with the utmost disgust and disdain
the monosyllable is capable of expressing. “Ladies, good evening.
Come, Pinch, it’s not worth thinking of. I was right and you were
wrong. That’s a small matter; you’ll be wiser another time.”
So saying, he clapped that dejected companion on the shoulder,
turned upon his heel, and walked out into the passage, whither poor
Mr. Pinch, after lingering irresolutely in the parlour for a few seconds,
expressing in his countenance the deepest mental misery and
gloom, followed him. They then took up the box between them, and
sallied out to meet the mail.
That fleet conveyance passed, every night, the corner of a lane at
some distance; towards which point they bent their steps. For some
minutes they walked along in silence, until at length young Westlock
burst into a loud laugh, and at intervals into another and another. Still
there was no response from his companion.
“I’ll tell you what Pinch!” he said abruptly, after another lengthened
silence—“You haven’t half enough of the devil in you. Half enough!
You haven’t any.”
“Well!” said Pinch with a sigh, “I don’t know, I’m sure. It’s a
compliment to say so. If I haven’t, I suppose I’m all the better for it.”
“All the better!” repeated his companion tartly: “All the worse, you
mean to say.”
“And yet,” said Pinch, pursuing his own thoughts and not the last
remark on the part of his friend, “I must have a good deal of what
you call the devil in me, too, or how could I make Pecksniff so
uncomfortable? I wouldn’t have occasioned him so much distress—
don’t laugh, please—for a mine of money: and Heaven knows I could
find good use for it, too, John. How grieved he was!”
“He grieved!” returned the other.
“Why didn’t you observe that the tears were almost starting out of
his eyes!” cried Pinch. “Bless my soul, John, is it nothing to see a
man moved to that extent and know one’s self to be the cause! And
did you hear him say that he could have shed his blood for me?”
“Do you want any blood shed for you?” returned his friend, with
considerable irritation. “Does he shed any thing for you that you do
want? Does he shed employment for you, instruction for you, pocket-
money for you? Does he shed even legs of mutton for you in a
decent proportion to potatoes and garden stuff?”
“I am afraid,” said Pinch, sighing again, “that I’m a great eater: I
can’t disguise from myself that I’m a great eater. Now you know that,
John.”
 “You a great eater!” retorted his companion, with no less
indignation than before. “How do you know you are?”
There appeared to be forcible matter in this inquiry, for Mr. Pinch
only repeated in an under-tone that he had a strong misgiving on the
subject, and that he greatly feared he was.
“Besides, whether I am or no,” he added “that has little or nothing
to do with his thinking me ungrateful. John, there is scarcely a sin in
the world that is in my eyes such a crying one as ingratitude; and
when he taxes me with that, and believes me to be guilty of it, he
makes me miserable and wretched.”
“Do you think he don’t know that?” returned the other scornfully.
“But come, Pinch, before I say any more to you, just run over the
reasons you have for being grateful to him at all, will you? change
hands first, for the box is heavy. That’ll do. Now, go on.”
“In the first place,” said Pinch, “he took me as his pupil for much
less than he asked.”
“Well,” rejoined his friend, perfectly unmoved by this instance of
generosity. “What in the second place?”
“What in the second place!” cried Pinch, in a sort of desperation,
“why, every thing in the second place. My poor old grandmother died
happy to think she had put me with such an excellent man. I have
grown up in his house, I am in his confidence, I am his assistant, he
allows me a salary: when his business improves, my prospects are
to improve too. All this, and a great deal more, is in the second
place. And in the very prologue and preface to the first place, John,
you must consider this, which nobody knows better than I: that I was
born for much plainer and poorer things, that I am not a good hand
at his kind of business, and have no talent for it, or indeed for any
thing else but odds and ends that are of no use or service to
anybody.”
He said this with so much earnestness, and in a tone so full of
feeling, that his companion instinctively changed his manner as he
sat down on the box (they had by this time reached the finger-post at
the end of the lane); motioned him to sit down beside him; and laid
his hand upon his shoulder.
“I believe you are one of the best fellows in the world,” he said,
“Tom Pinch.”
“Not at all,” rejoined Tom. “If you only knew Pecksniff as well as I
do, you might say it of him, indeed, and say it truly.”
“I’ll say any thing of him you like,” returned the other, “and not
another word to his disparagement.”
“It’s for my sake then; not his, I am afraid,” said Pinch, shaking his
head gravely.
“For whose you please, Tom, so that it does please you. Oh! He’s
a famous fellow! He never scraped and clawed into his pouch all
your poor grandmother’s hard savings—she was a housekeeper,
wasn’t she, Tom?”
“Yes,” said Mr. Pinch, nursing one of his large knees, and nodding
his head: “a gentleman’s housekeeper.”
“He never scraped and clawed into his pouch all her hard savings;
dazzling her with prospects of your happiness and advancement,
which he knew (and no man better) never would be realized! He
never speculated and traded on her pride in you, and her having
educated you, and on her desire that you at least should live to be a
gentleman. Not he, Tom!”
“No,” said Tom, looking into his friend’s face, as if he were a little
doubtful of his meaning; “of course not.”
“So say I,” returned the youth, “of course he never did. He didn’t
take less than he had asked, because that less was all she had, and
more than he expected: not he, Tom! he doesn’t keep you as his
assistant because you are of any use to him; because your
wonderful faith in his pretensions is of inestimable service in all his
mean disputes; because your honesty reflects honesty on him;
because your wandering about this little place all your spare hours,
reading in ancient books and foreign tongues, gets noised abroad,
even as far as Salisbury, making of him, Pecksniff, the master, a man
of learning and of vast importance. He gets no credit from you, Tom,
not he.”
“Why, of course he don’t,” said Pinch, gazing at his friend with a
more troubled aspect than before. “Pecksniff get credit from me!
Well!”
“Don’t I say that it’s ridiculous,” rejoined the other, “even to think of
such a thing?”
“Why, its madness,” said Tom.
“Madness!” returned young Westlock. “Certainly, it’s madness.
Who but a madman would suppose he cares to hear it said on
Sundays, that the volunteer who plays the organ in the church, and
practises on summer evenings in the dark, is Mr. Pecksniff’s young
man, eh, Tom? Who but a madman would suppose that it is the
game of such a man as he, to have his name in everybody’s mouth,
connected with the thousand useless odds and ends you do (and
which, of course, he taught you), eh, Tom? Who but a madman
would suppose you advertise him hereabouts, much cheaper and
much better than a chalker on the walls could, eh, Tom? As well
might one suppose that he doesn’t on all occasions pour out his
whole heart and soul to you; that he doesn’t make you a very liberal
and indeed rather extravagant allowance; or, to be more wild and
monstrous still, if that be possible, as well might one suppose,” and
here, at every word, he struck him lightly on the breast, “that
Pecksniff traded in your nature, and that your nature was, to be timid
and distrustful of yourself, and trustful of all other men, but most of
all of him who least deserves it. There would be madness, Tom!”
Mr. Pinch had listened to all this with looks of bewilderment, which
seemed to be in part occasioned by the matter of his companion’s
speech, and in part by his rapid and vehement manner. Now that he
had come to a close, he drew a very long breath: and gazing
wistfully in his face as if he were unable to settle in his own mind
what expression it wore, and were desirous to draw from it as good a
clue to his real meaning as it was possible to obtain in the dark, was
about to answer, when the sound of the mail-guard’s horn came
cheerily upon their ears, putting an immediate end to the conference:
greatly as it seemed to the satisfaction of the younger man, who
jumped up briskly, and gave his hand to his companion.
“Both hands, Tom. I shall write to you from London, mind!”
“Yes,” said Pinch. “Yes. Do, please. Good bye. Good bye. I can
hardly believe you’re going. It seems now but yesterday that you
came. Good bye! my dear old fellow!”
John Westlock returned his parting words with no less heartiness
of manner, and sprung up to his seat upon the roof. Off went the mail
at a canter down the dark road: the lamps gleaming brightly, and the
horn awakening all the echoes, far and wide.
“Go your ways,” said Pinch, apostrophizing the coach; “I can
hardly persuade myself but you’re alive, and are some great monster
who visits this place at certain intervals, to bear my friends away into
the world. You’re more exulting and rampant than usual to-night, I
think: and you may well crow over your prize; for he is a fine lad, an
ingenuous lad, and has but one fault that I know of: he don’t mean it,
but he is most cruelly unjust to Pecksniff!”
 PROFESSOR COCKERELL’S
LECTURES ON ARCHITECTURE AT
THE ROYAL ACADEMY.
This gentleman, who succeeded the late lamented Mr. Wilkins in
the professor’s chair of the Royal Academy, is labouring with all the
generous energy for which he is distinguished, to lay the products of
a well-stored mind before the students, so as to excite them to an
emulation of the works and achievements of the great masters in
Architecture who have gone before. We have had the pleasure of
attending the course of lectures of this session, and were greatly
rejoiced to find, from the numbers and character of the auditory, that
the study of the art is being regarded with interest by many out of the
pale of the profession. It would have been a grateful duty to us to
have given a full report of these lectures for the benefit of our
readers, but we felt to be precluded from doing so, by a previous
announcement on the part of the Athenæum of the intention to do
so, and which has since been very effectively carried out. In justice
to that excellent periodical, we can, therefore, only refer to its pages
those of our readers who may be anxious to give that attentive
perusal of the lectures which they require and deserve, contenting
ourselves with the liberty of making such extracts as we think will suit
the purpose of our less ambitious readers, or to whet the appetite of
the others.
There is one thing, however, in which even the comprehensive
report of the Athenæum is necessarily defective. Such a display of
illustrative drawings, so laboriously compiled, as were exhibited by
the learned lecturer, it has never before been our good fortune to see
brought together; and without these, or some more adequate
representation of them than mere description, the spirit or essence of
the lecture is greatly weakened, and in some instances lost. Two
large sheets, or rather assemblage of sheets, were hung up,
shewing in comparative juxta-position most of the famous structures
of antiquity, the one in elevation, the other in section, and over these
the eye could wander and the mind could dwell with marvellings and
delight that no words can express. How small appear those finished
and exquisite gems of Grecian art, its temples, when compared with
the developed boldness of the works of the successors to the Greek
school, who have been charged with innovations and corruptions.
These great sheets present to us a map or chart reduced, as it were,
to a small scale, of the hitherto ascertained geography of building
art, and suggest an endless train of reflection and inquiry.
But there were others whose assemblage and lengthened
treatment would make up volumes, some embodying the ingenious
speculations of the professor, but, in the main, rigid and critical
delineations of the buildings of the ancients from measurement and
other laborious means of research.
These, however, it would be quite in vain for us to attempt to
enumerate, or to refer to in any more lengthened way of notice; we
therefore proceed to our extracts.
After quoting the regulations of the Royal Academy in reference to
the delivery of these lectures, and pointing out how much it is
desirable to add to their provisions in this respect, on the model of
the French Academy, the effects of which are visible in the
advantages which the architects of that country enjoy; and
contrasting the pains taken by the governments of the Continent in
the encouragement and cultivation of art, with the niggard policy
pursued in this country, he says—
“It is now more than a hundred years that Thomson, the best
informed upon the Arts of all our poets, indignantly remonstrated on
our national inferiority and neglect of this branch of intellectual
culture, and complained with grief, in his Ode to Liberty,—

‘That finer arts (save what the Muse has sung,

In daring flight above all modern wing),
Neglected droop their head.’
 “Foreigners have attributed this disregard of the rulers of an
ingenious and a great people to various causes—to physical
insensibility, to the sordid nature of our commercial habits, or the
adverse propensity of the Protestant religion,—to which objections
the history of the ancient dynasties of this country (never inferior in
the fine arts), the abundant enthusiasm of individual artists of our
own times, and the public sympathy, are direct contradictions.
Finally, they have fixed the reproach on the government, by pointing
at the Schools of Design established by parliament; for they say,
truly, that so soon as the inferiority of our design in manufactures
drove us from the foreign markets, we took the alarm, and
immediately formed schools of design, à l’instar of those on the
continent; not from a generous love of art, but, confessedly, from the
well-grounded fear of loss in trade. The members of this academy
hailed the measure with joy, as the harbinger of a better sense of
what is due to our intellectual position in Europe, and they have
willingly given their gratuitous attention to its conduct. But the
instruction of youth must be accompanied with the higher prospect of
employment and honour in national works; and we are happy in the
reflection that the decoration of the parliamentary palace at
Westminster, and the interest taken by an illustrious personage in
that great object, hold out to us the hopes of equality at least in these
noble studies with the improving countries of the continent, and the
opening of a new career for genius and industry.”...
“Academies were established as depositories of learning and
practice in the fine arts, and the means of their preservation and
transmission through the vicissitudes of the times. The enlightened
and commercial Colbert had seen how in Greece and ancient Rome,
and in modern Rome, under his own countryman, the Constable
Bourbon, a public calamity might disperse and ruin them for half a
century, without some fixed and corporate body and abode. He
never dreamt that, in the absence of the fostering patronage and
employment of government, the Academy could do more than fulfil
these negative objects. The Royal Academy had done much more
than this—it had sustained the credit of the country in fine art, and
had reared talents which were now part and parcel of English history.
Through good and evil report it had nourished the flame; and it was
consolatory to find that they had transmitted it to better times,
through long and adverse circumstances; for now they had the
happiness to see two Professors in the Universities of London, the
British Institute of Architects, large public patronage in Art-Unions,
&c., and a growing interest in the Universities of Oxford and
Cambridge towards fine art generally.”
The professor next contended for the necessity of an intimate and
active union of architecture with the sister arts of painting and
sculpture, shewing how in Egypt, where these were less regarded
than subsequently in Greece, a deficiency existed in the justness of
proportions, and a seeming neglect of order and regularity.
Of his first course of two years back, he remarked, that as the
history of art was the only safe foundation of study, so he had
chosen that as the commencement of the discharge of his duties as
a lecturer. “The second course (that of last year) had treated chiefly
the literature of art.” Books and the authorities that lived in them,
such as Vitruvius, the old Italian and French authors, and, above all,
the admirable Alberto, were not to be discredited, as is too much the
fashion now-a-days.
“As well,” said he, “might the lawyer or the divine dispense with
books, as the architect. In the very dawn of literature the architect
required to be learned. In the Memorabilia of Xenophon, Socrates
inquires, ‘But what employment do you intend to excel in, O
Euthedemus, that you collect so many books? is it architecture? for
this art, too, you will find no little knowledge necessary.’
“A familiar example of the great utility of these researches had
been given in the quotation from Philibert de l’Orme (lib. ii. c. xi.), of
the specification for concrete, written in the latter part of the sixteenth
century, and corresponding precisely with the recent so-called
discovery of this method of securing foundations. During the last
century our architects had discontinued the ancient practice, having
adopted the most fallacious fashion of wood-sleepers, to the ruin of
many fine buildings. It was, then, the ignorance of this invaluable and
most instructive and amusing author, Philibert de l’Orme, which had
led to so fatal an error....
 “In the present course the Professor purposed the consideration of
the more difficult, but no less important, injunction of the Academic
regulations, ‘that these lectures should be calculated to form the
taste of the students, to instruct them in the laws and principles of
composition, and fit them for a critical examination of structures.’”
(TO BE CONTINUED.)