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accepted the responsibility as to the depth and thickness of the foundations, and followed up my instructions to the best of his ability as to erring on the safe side in that matter; but, according to his own statement, he was perfectly satisfied himself that they were deep enough and thick enough at all parts, including the very north wing now under chief review, and that they were all perfectly sufficient to carry all the weight they had to carry, if they were properly put in, as he said, and this, he also admits, it was his duty to see done. Ho conclusively proved that the superstructure of the brickwork on the concrete foundations at the north wing were in correct line with the rest of the building when it first began to ha erected, and that if they had shifted 16-Jin. towards the sea at the extreme north end of the ambulatory-wall, he must have detected it, which he did not. He also conclusively proved, along with others, that two cracks appeared on the concrete foundations before any brickwork was erected on the north wing at all, thus indicating movement in the strata as tho only probable cause of these cracks, this also being indicated by these cracks showing more on the eastern or inward side than on the western or outward side from where the pressure was descending upon it. Now, with regard to the large-sized drawings prepared by Mr. Brindley during the course of the work, during tho time—the many months that he was not fully occupied. He has admitted that, with the exception of one or two of these, which ho prepared for his own use, and to fill up his time, and they remained in his office; and we have only to look at them to see that the majority of these are highly-coloured drawings ; that they are pictures that is all, not detailed drawings. One or two of them may be classified under that name ; but only one or two —the majority of these highly-coloured and extensive drawings— were for the purpose of occupying his time during the eight months he was at tho building, when, as he said, there was nothing else to do, and not, as Mr. Blair has stated, that they were done during the course of the actual progress of the works, but before the works were begun. He has also proved what I stated myself: that once, and only once, as Architect of the building, did I ask him to make a drawing for me, and that that very once he refused. Does that look as if I had kept him in drawing for me, or that I had asked him to do such a thing ? I only asked him once, and that is in writing, and surely there would have been evidence, plenty of evidence of it, if I had asked him in other ways. But I deny it. I never asked Mr. Brindley at any time to prepare drawings for that building ; whatever, therefore, he prepared were entirely and wholly of his own volition ; and that Mr. Brindley, I am sure, is not prepared to deny —he is too much of a man of honour for that. What becomes then of his being kept from the works by preparing these drawings ? I have not produced hero any detailed drawings, but I could do it: proper detailed drawings, full-sized drawings, from which builders can make moulds and shape their actual work. That is what I call actual detailed drawings, not fancy pictures such as we have had displayed before us. These drawings'l have still in my office, but I have acted on a different plan from Mr. Blair : I have produced nothing. There is not a thing I have produced before you. I have chosen this course, and I was sure I was light, because I believed I could prove my case without bringing a single document before you. Not one have I brought before you except my letters, that is all; and lam certain and confident that the result of this inquiry will be to clear me wholly from tho foul aspersions that have been sought to be cast upon me and upon my professional reputation. The drawing that I asked Mr. Brindley to furnish me with was simply an outline-drawing of the whole building dotted or marked to show where the outlet-drains or drain-pipes were, so as to enable me to prepare a scheme of drainage. The whole and solo reason why my original plans were departed from was because the scheme itself was departed from. In the way it was first initiated by me it was intended to have the clear-water system of drainage entirely separated from the sew Tage drainage, and to save the rain-water in two large tanks in front of tho building. That was not carried out because another system of water-supply was adopted—that was having a high-level dam to supply the whole building. That was the reason my first plan was departed from, and not because it was impracticable and could not he worked from. That was tho sole reason, and yet it has been said it was because they were not fit to be worked from ; but that is the true reason of it, there can be no question about that. You can look at the plans yourself, and you will see there are two schemes there, one showing the clear water going to these two tanks and tho other showing the sewage taken away by itself. That is not done now; the whole thing is taken down one drain, hence the departure from my drawings. Mr. Ussher and Mr. Brindley can bear mo out in this. What lam contending for is that the plans clearly show that at the southern end of the building there was to be a large tank and at the northern end of the building another large tank, and that the rain-water was to be diverted from half the building into one and from half the building into the other, and now the clean and foul water is taken away at one point, I understand, and in tho same direction. I understand they were ultimately conveyed in the same drain. That is the difference, and the change was made simply because they changed their procedure, though they now wish to say the plan I prepared was unworkable. Is it fair, is it gentlemanly, to do such a thing as that, when they must have known the reason the plans were not used was that the scheme had been departed from ? All the details proper, that is to say, all the full-sized details, mouldings, and such like, work requiring that kind of thing from which workmen could make moulds, were therefore prepared by myself. This is evident, because there is not one of them in all the drawings Mr. Brindley has brought; for many as they are, and nicely coloured as they are, there is not one full-sized drawing amongst them. Mr. Brindley : I never had a full-sized drawing from you. Mr. Laivson : If you did not get them the Contractor did. I have them in the office, and copies must have been taken. The work will speak for itself, there is no fear of that. Every moulding in that building was from my own hand. Insignificant as it may seem to Mr. Blair, I look upon these full-sized details as the expression of the building, which give it life and vitality as a design, and the whole character of tho building can be altered, as the professional gentlemen before me can well understand, by the kind of full-sized details that are given. There is no question of that. The whole character and conduct of Mr. Brindley may be fairly judged from his own 22— H. 7.