101

H.—7

taking Mr. Blair's statement for my text, to go thoroughly into the whole of the matters that ho has brought up. Ido not, however, know that there is anything else I can say in regard to this slip ; I think I have already explained everything in regard to that : and, as regards the construction of the drains, I have gone fully enough into it. I have said that the drain should be an open one aa far as practicable ; even if it were tunnelled it might be left open. The site of the building, as you know, admits of drains being formed most easily. As I have said, the southern portion is protected by this natural creek, which acts in the same manner towards that portion, so that this isolatingdrain would have protected the northern portion had it been placed there. The site of that drain I am still prepared to point out, as I did eight years ago, and I am also prepared to see it constructed, if necessary, so that the ground may be prevented from doing further injury. If you refer to my letter you will notice that I refer in it to Dr. Hector's report. That report will repay reading :it should be read through, and the public should read it also. I shall read you a few passages from that report, and I desire to call your particular attention to them : " Memorandum re the Seacliff Asylum site.—June 10th, 1880 —In compliance with instructions I visited the site of the new lunatic asylum at Seacliff on the 2nd instant, accompanied by Messrs. Lawson, Blair, and Hume, by whom the plans of the building and the position and extent of the foundations were fully explained to me on the ground." After describing the general structure of the locality and the site of the temporary building Sir James (then Dr.) Hector thus described the site of the new asylum : " The position of this site is analogous to that of temporary building, but the spur is wider and flatter, and formation appears to present a largo area at the surface and front of the building, thus giving material supporc in that direction. Mr. Cox, who thoroughly examined the reserve, and had a better opportunity of forming an opinion than I had, considers it the best site that could be got within the reserve ; but it has some serious defects, which should be thoroughly investigated and provided against before the building is proceeded with." You will observe that this was before the building was proceeded with. It was on account of the reasons there given by Dr. Hector that I was so urgent in asking that these drainage-works should be done in 1881. Confessedly Mr. Blair comes here now and proves that nothing was done till the building was completed. Dr. Hector goes on to say : " The south end of the main building will stand on formation A, as in the former case, but with a further complication of greensand, which occurs interstratified with the clay-marls and carries water, and will require special arrangements for drainage. The north end of the building and part of the foundations of the central portions already laid are on the unstable portion C, the movement of which, owing to the shape of the under-surface, will be towards the north-east, and, unless the foundations are carried through to the solid, or otherwise completely isolated from the general mass of formation C on the hill-side, there is the danger that, however strongly they may be laid, the northern end of the building will be insecure. There is to be a back portion of the building on a different level —about 10ft. above that of the front part—the foundation for which was only commenced, but to all appearances it will also be partly on the unstable formation C." Nothing could have been more prophetic. The danger that was apprehended by him was real, and the results are as truly described by him as if he had described the ground to-day. As I have stated in my report, on receiving this report of Dr. Hector's I determined to ascertain what was the nature of the foundations there, and I went down till I reached the bed-rock, as Mr. Blair knows, and then I erected that bold tower, and there it stands to-day without a move in it. The report goes on to make these recommendations : " The true nature of the subsoil formation should bo thoroughly ascertained by sinking a pit somewhere towards the north-east part of the central building now in progress. If it is found that the clay and boulder-formation is of moderate thickness the building should be underpinned round the north-east and north-west corner and on the north face, and the deep-trench excavation for this purpose would also facilitate the thorough drainage of the foundation." Ido not remember the exact depth of that shaft, but I think Mr. Brindley will bear me out in saying, speaking from memory, that it was about 40ft. down. The Chairman : Where do you mean ? Mr. Laivson : At the north-east angle. It was manifestly useless to think of constructing under-pinning-walls 40ft. down. I certainly did not think of it. Dr. Hector further says : " The object in this suggestion is to cut off the foundation from surrounding clay-formation, and i:olate it from the effect of any motion to which that formation is subject. . . . If it is possible now to alter the plans I think it would be desirable to avoid having the building on excavation-sites of different levels. If the complete excavation at the back would be too expensive, might not the south wing be carried out by an irregular addition in an easterly direction, down that part of the spur, which is more likely to afford secure foundation ? In fact, if the nature of the site had been known in time the building might better have been planned facing the north, with its length up and down the spur, building up the foundation on tc the solid in successive steps." I do not think it necessary to read any further. I submitted the whole thing to Mr. Blair and asked for instructions in the matter, which I have never got to this hour. Mr. O'Connor's report refers also to the steps, but more particularly to the state of the ground at the upper building. Ido not think it is necessary to go into that matter very fully, because you have the evidence clearly before you of what was looked for from the site, and we have the results before our eyes of what has happened. I maintain that the one is as easily pictured as the other. The views of Dr. Hector were clearly prophetic. And need I say that we have plenty of instances not far from our own doors of how the ground has moved. Along George Street and in Queen Street the bank has come down in one mass for I do not know how many yards, and they tried the very things that the Public Works Department has been trying at Soacliff. They put in these drains and filled them up with stones. What was the result? It made the thing worse. The cure was worse than the disease, because there was no isolation. I will tell you what happened. The Corporation, in their wisdom, in proceeding with the work, decided to cut Queen Street, thus isolating one portion of the hill from the other. Since that time there has been no slipping; the movement ceased, and there