Known as the Early Journal Content, this set of works include research articles, news, letters, and other writings published in more than 200 of the oldest leading academic journals. The works date from the mid--seventeenth to the early twentieth centuries. We encourage people to read and share the Early Journal Content openly and to tell others that this resource exists. People may post this content online or redistribute in any way for non--commercial purposes. Read more about Early Journal

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... ntent at http://about.jstor.org/participate--jstor/individuals/early-journal--content. JSTOR is a digital library of academic journals, books, and primary source objects. JSTOR helps people discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content through a powerful research and teaching platform, and preserves this content for future generations. JSTOR is part of ITHAKA, a not--for--profit organization that also includes Ithaka S+R and Portico. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org. THE OEAYON. 201: opportunity of accommodating his design for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which it is contemplated first to erect. It matters not the least, so far as the public honor is concerned, whether this competition and the published conditions had the full sanction and approval of the Treasury, or whether they originated in the firm will of a high officer in his official capacity, with the reluctant consent of another department : the national faith was pledged by the unchallenged publication. In this case, as in that of the barrack com petition, our whole professional body, and all upright men. jealous of their country's honor, were and are aggrieved and wronged by the non fulfillment, in a frank and honorable manner, of the conditions upon which artists were induced to enter upon competitions involving the exercise of the highest talents, the employment of much time, and a very large expenditure, only to be deprived, of that implied return which could alone be an equivalent for such sacrifices. Your council cannot think that high-minded men?the representatives of national honor?can so far forget what is due to good faith as to neglect to fulfill the conditions promulgated upon public authority. Should this prove possible, it will be for the profession, by a unanimous concur rence, to decide never to respond to similar invitations. But there are other objectionable circumstances which have distin guished these competitions. In the first place, all the designs, in the case of the barrack compe tition, were required to become the property of the Government, whether they had been premiated or not. In the case of the Govern ment office competition, it was made a condition that the premiated designs should be retained. This was most arbitrary and unfair. Those who had got nothing in the one case, and little in the other, were required to sacrifice their drawings, which to them represented a money value, and the aggregate of the sums distributed in prizes did not certainly equal, in the case of the' barracks, one-twentieth of the amount which represented a fair estimate of the pecuniary worth of the designs. In the second place, the professional body was not adequately repre sented in the committee of selection. Amateurs and professional men connected with the peculiar technical destination of any class of build ing, but not architects, rarely possess a sufficient amount of knowledge to enable them to judge, even approximately, of the relative merits of designs. Experienced architects can so obviously bring to bear that profes sional knowledge of the matter which is absolutely indispensable to a correct judgment, and they are so much better qualified to estimate the ultimate appropriateness of any design to the purpose for which it is destined, that their verdict is the only safe one for the profession, the'.Government, or the nation to rely upon, whether as to fitness of treatment, economy of execution, or special merits of design. Objection has been taken to the high artistic qualities of the de signs sent in for the Government offices?a reproach which the com petitors should proudly endure, rather than submit to disclaim. If our Government be so ignorant of the character which should be main tained by public buildings, as to think that size, and a certain appear ance of importance and solidity-, are all that are required to satisfy the