^/ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 1.1 itt|21 12! jj lis i2.2 u 111 u U£ 12.0 IL25 m 1.4 Ihbi I 1.6 FholDgraphic _Scimces Corparation ^/ k >>^^ .** ^ f#V^ ^ ^t> ^^ •1>^ ^ointed as the architect. He (Mr. Eraser) pledged his word of honor ^hat it was impossible that Mr. Waite sliould suppose, from anything that took place, tlr^t his own services would be re(][uired. He had no reason to believe or suspect such a thing. Had the Government selected one of its own friends in Toronto it would have been at once charged that they had a political end in view. (Cheers.) They had ch(»sen a gentleman with respect to whom that could not be said. They had taken the course that any business man would have taken and they expected that the country would sustain them in that course. Moreover, Mr. Waite 's plans were laid before the House in the session of 1886, before a contract of any kind was entered into or even tenders advertised for, and the following is reported in the Globe of 24th March, 1886, as the statement then made b) the Commissioner of Public Works to the House in respect of these plans : Hon. C. F. Fraser rose to make a statement regarding the new Parliament buildings. The House, he said, had consented to an expenditure of $750,000, and he had made the statement that the intention was to adopt one of two sels of plans which had been sent in to the Government After the House adjourned it wa^ conbidered that, having reference to the important nature of the under- taking, a critical and close examination of the plans submitted by the architects •hould be again had. The Kentlemeu whc had examined the plans sent in under the original competition were the Hon. Mr. Mackenzie and two architects— Mr Storm, of Toronto, and Mr. Waite, ot Uuffalo. The (Jovernmonk had decided that Ar. Waite should be selected to make this consultative examination for the Government and to advise the (lovernment how far the plans would be suitable. On account «»f illness and other causes considerable delays tof»k place and the result of Mr. Waite's enfjuiries was not known when he (the Commissioner) left for England last year, -^fter his return from England he and the other mem- bers of the Government had several consultations witli Mr. Waite, and the result of their consultations was that they became satisfied that none of the plans they submirted were suitable ; that there were such grave defects in heating, lighting and ventilation that it would be inadvisable to proceed with building oii the basis of either. The question arose, what was to be done ? The Goveru- ment had pledged itself to proceed with the buildings and they had come to the conclusion that their early construction was a iiecessitA . They decided to secure the services of an architect and to have A N'KW SKT OK I'LANS prepared. A careful deliberation as to who the architect should be resulted in the selection of Mr. Waite, of Buffalo. Mr. Waite had been twice enjployed as an expert in connection with the matter and it was thought that h'ifl ability and his position as an architect warranted the (lovernmeut in selecting him A letter of instructions sent to Mr. Waite and accepted by him embodied the ngree- nient cm which he was to prepare the plans. The cost of ihe buildings was not to exceed ^750,000 and within the bmits of that expenditure accommodation must be secured for the several departments, oflices and vaults, legislative chamber, committee rooms. Speaker's chamber, etc., as fully in all respects as set forth in the general instructions issued by the Department of Works in 1880, for the guidance of the architects. The architects remuneration was to be had at the usual rate of five per cent upon the contract cost, such cost not to include sums which the contractors may be entitled to as extras. No extras to be allowed except to the extent authorized by the Commissioner of Public Works, for the Government has the right to reject any plans, first, if deemed unsuitable, or second, if it is considered that they cannot be constructed within the limit of expenditure above stated. In the event of the rejection of the plans, the architect's remuneration is to be fixed by the Commissioner. The plans were to be ready for inspection on March 16th, and the plans and specifi- cations to be finished so as to admit of tenders being advertised for on May 1st. The architect of the Depi»rtment fully concurred in the opinions of Mr. Waite as to the two sets of plans, and his conclusions were endorsed by the Depart- ment. The new plans with all details and specifications would be ready in three or four weeks, and provided these plans were approved, it was the inten- tion of the Government immediately to advertise for tenders, and it was expected that in two or three months the contract would be let. and the work ready to proceed. Hon. A. Morris asked how long it was expected that the erection of the buildings would occupy. Hon. ' . F. Eraser said that the building operations would be so extensive that not less than three years, perhai>s four years, would be occupied. The floor plans for the new buildings, as also the floor plans of the former designs, were ready for inspection by the memberp. In addition to the plans beinj,' so laid before the House, the contract entered into with Mr. Yorke, on the 7th of October of the same year, con- ■Hi '., ^V <<■' ?. A ffh' i^ ij s ff-l o o. ; n p: o 5:1 ST ^1 I' n B' A tained an expresH stipulation that it was subject to its being ratitied by a vote of the Legislative Assembly. The stipulation in the contract can be found in the Sessional Papers of 1887 and is in these words : 'Mt it) horubyexprussly Agreed that tliia contract is made subject to the condition that tlie sanie Rhall be ratified by resolution of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario at its next ueHsicm ; provided always that should the same be not so ratiKed, any work done or materials furnished under the said contract, by the contract )r prior to said Bession shall, nevertheless, be paid for in accordance ivith the terms thereof. The Legislature was, in the session of 1887, asked to ratify the con- tract with Mr. Yorke. The total amount of work done under this con> tract by Mr. Yorke, up to the 3 1st December, 1886, was less than $7,000 and was entirely for work in connection with excavation for the proposed foundations and all of which would havo been equally serviceable for any plans in respect of the new buildings which the house might prefer. The following is the report contained in the Globe oi 15th April, 1887, of the speech made by the Commissioner of Public Works in making the motion to ratify the contract with Mr. Yorke : Hon. C. F. Fraser moved that this House doth ratify the clan« Now, the only report sent in by the experts whh u„e\.n certain pCswhicKd come .n ur.der the name o '' October," and the part of the expelt Weport refer inK to these plans spoke of them very highly and stated that it was a nmtter of regret that the authors of such plans had not take, into account the question of costs. Where the mfonnatum was obtained from on which this article in the «/o^e to which he referred was based he was m.able to say, but it appeared to him that the mfoiniation contained in that article was most probably contri buted by the competing firm itself win. i.-.r unnaturally wished to have stress laid up'm the good and significant points in the plans they had set before the Oovemment. The modified plans submitted by Messrs. Darlin^' & Curry were ALTOOET :> a lUKKKKKNI ifoin those sent in by them at the time of tio original competition The oric?- nal plans, accordmg to the estimates .f tbo exports appointed by the Oovern- ment to consider them, would have cv.Ht the I rovince i^2.500,0(!0. In the spring of 1881 they were in a position to asl. for tenders upon the two modified seta of plans prepared respectively by Messrs. Darling & Curry and Messrs. Gordon & Helliwell. The House could readily see thiit the time had not come when a critical examination of these plans by experts would be of service or advantage. The government had promised the House that unless the plans could be proceeded with at the figure of $500,000, or possibly a trifle over that amount, they \\<»uld not be gone (m with, therefore the first thing to be done wm to asc,ertuin if the tenders for the erection of the buildings on either of those jtlaiis would be within the figure nam»d. It was found that the cost of erection based on the lowest tender, would be considei-ably over half a million and the matter, therefore, had to be suspended. The hon. gentleman quoted from reports in the Globe the substance of the remarks he had made in the House to show that he had publicly announced and had endeavored to make it thoroughly understood that in consequence «)f the impossibility of erecting the Parliament buildings for $5 0,000 on the basis of either of the two plans he had named— the only ones before the Government- the matter of the erection would not be further proceeded with, and so far as the two conipeting firms were concerned, he held that the correspondence before the House showed that they had TUOKOUOHLV UNl»KRHTOOD THE MATTKR. The hon. gentleman then read letteis from the two firms named, asking the Department of Public Works to pay them the remuneration due according to the terms of the contract for the prepara'ion of the plans. He denied tliat this remuneration had not been settled because of a difliculty on the part of the Gov erment in dealing with the question- He himself had repled to the firms and had stated that the Parliament yet hoped that the matter of erecting the new Parliament buildings would be proceeded with, and that possibly one or other of the two sets of plans would be accepted by the Government, in which case, of course, the Department of Public Works would have to arrange the matter of compensation only with the firm whose plans were rejected. Jt wr»uld there- fore be better to allow the question of remunerntiU, or that it was unfair for Messrs. Darling & Curry to say they had done their best in preparing them. He was not, he hoped, .so blind or so prejudiced as that, althou<>h they had said harsh things about himself and others connected with him ; and by the way, he thought that gentle- men who were so exceedingly anxious to protect their own reputation profes- sionally, ought scarcely to insinuate in their correspondence that the Government had scarcely a shred of honesty, manliness or courage left amongst its members. They were very careful of their own reputations, but when dealing with the reputation of other people they did not hesitate to charge them with acting in a manner which they characterisjed as downright dishonest. He would not allow these facts to interfere with a fair and impartial consideration of the question before them. He ventured to say that if instead of finding both sets of plans DEFECTIVE AND UNSUITABLE, Mr. Waite had found those of Gordon They had to face the fact that another set of plans would be necessary. Gentlemen opposite might contend that there should be a new competition. If they argued so, the answer was that the new competi- tion would have ended as the original competition did. The former competition had failed : they had not obtained a single set of designs under it ; they had had a second competition between two of the firms, and thstt had failed. They had also before them the fact that the City Council of Toronto had asked for plans for a new buihl.iig, AND THAT HAI* FAILKI). So the experience of the Government pointed to the fact that cumpetitiim was out of the question. There remained but one alternative — the selection of some architect competent to deal with the matter. It was suggested now that Mr. Waites' action with regard to these plans must have been intluenced by the fact that he expected to have his own services retained. Mr. Waite made his report in November ; subsequently the Government had interviews with him, and finally there was a report from the architect of the department. In all that there was not a single word from which Mr. Waite could have imagined that he would be ret lined. More than that, up to the time of these consultations, he couM »ay for himself, and he believed he could say for his colleagues, that they had not only the hope, but the conviction, that one or other of these sets of plauB would have been found suitable. Unwillingly, and against his own bias and prejudice, he was forced, and the Government was forced, to the conclu- 12 m (i 'I sion that it would not be possible to adopt these plans. How much time and trouble would he have saved himself could he have reached any other conclusion? They had no choice but to select some able, competent architect to prepare a new set of plans If Mr. Waite had thought at all of the possibility of his being appointed, would he not have reasoned thus, * This is a Government sub- ject to political influences, to political exigencies — they will select SOME POLITICAL FRIEND of their own to prepare these plans. But that was not what the Government conceived to be their duty.' Their duty was clear, straight and plain — to choose the best man for the work, to give hiiu his instructions and to let him go ahead. What other course would any gentleman oppo-ite, .-my business man having $750,(XX) of his own to expend, have pursued ? Mr. Waite had acquired a repu- tation before the Government hatt any dealings with him. He had designed the Mail building, and although it had been twice visited by fire, it was Mr. Waite who was chosen to superintend the renewal on both occasions. He had been chosen by the experienced business men at the head of the Canada Life to design their fine building in Hamilton, and had also designed another large insurance building in Tor.mhj. And now he had to announce for the first time that the Government had taken another measure of precaution. They had set upon foot confidential inquiries in places where Mr. Waite had already been employed in order that they might have the opinions of those he served as to his ability. After all that was done, Mr. Waite being out of tho country and having no relations with the Government, they came to the conclusion that, in the interests of the people, he should be engaged. The instructions of the Government to Mr. Waite were before the House. The House sli«islature had set apart for the entire building. What were they to do ? The Opposition might say that they should HAVE STAYED THEIR HANDS, although the buildings were necessary, although the country had been promised that the buildings would be erected. He would answer that in two ways. In the first place the contract made by the Government had been made subject to ratification by the House and in the second place he maintained that the Gov- ernment would have been justified in making such a contract, even though it were not to be subject to such ratification. Finally the people of the country HAD RATIFIED THE ACTION of the Government. (Applause). The quet^ion had been put before the people and the answer of the people was the majority which stood behind the Govern- ment in this House. (Applause). The Opposition had made the question an issue. They told the people to defeat the Government because they had entered into an undertaking which would cost two million dollars. He had in his hand * campaign sheet headed " Facts for the electors. The Parliament Buildings. Canadian architects ignored. Contracts for walls alone $50,000 more than the whole building was to cost. Condemn the swindle." He observed that his friend from North (xrey winked. (Laughter.) The document proceeded -.—"The ■conduct of the Ontario Government in connection with the buildings now about to be erected in Toronto displays THE MOST BECKLESS CHAPTER in the history of any Government the Province has ever known." (Laughter.) The circular called upon the people " to condemn the swindle on the people of I 14 the Province which the Government is now perpetrating." These were brave words — (laughter) — especially whe it was remembered that nothing was being done that was not open to the public. Mr. Fraser continued to read from the circular atnid the laughter of thp House, and then pioiluced an article from the Owen Sound Timex, which, he said, wa^ word for word the same as the campaign sheet, except that the Times article contained a very strong denunciation of the entire Toronto press for concealing the amount i»f the Yorke contract. He would not say ibr a moment that the two articles were penned by the same hand . (Laughter.) No doubt their similarity was a coincidence amounting almost to a miracle. (Laughter.) But he thought he had TRACED HOME ONE CAMPAIGN Hheet fairly, and he did not know but he could trace home a few more. (Laughter). But enough for to-day — sufficient for the day is the evil thereof. Mr. Creighton — Is that an evil ? Mr. Fraskr— Such were the appeals which had been m^de, and the people had answered them by sending back the Government with a largely increased majority. Now. as to the cost of the buildings, they were not going to cost two millions, as had been stated. He held that the amount that would have to be paid for work done that was not named in the tender would not exceed the same figure that Messrs Darling & Curry had estimated as being additional to the amount they named for the erection of the buildings. That figure was $306,000, and he believed that $30<>,0()0, on the basis of the present plans would cover the same work, viz., all work not actually included in the contract, in spite of Messrs Gordon & Helliwell's Htiit< ment that it would cost as much as the actual cost of the buildiDgs. The hon. speaker said there waa little more that he could say at the present time, but he might have occasion tu say more during the course of the debate. He referred briefly to the TERMS OF THE (-'ONTRACT, showing that the public were carefully guarded against the {ilacing of any extras in the contractor's bill, and sa'd the Government would use every means in its power to prevent such extras creeping into the charge;), lieverting again to Messrs. Darling & Curry's claim for remuneration, Mr. Fraser urged that their claims foi $15,000 was exorbitant, and that the services of the best architect on the Continent could have been secured for that figure. These young men in fact, he said, were asking. FOR 81X months" work, as much pay as the Attorney-General received in three years for devoting hia whole time and attention to the afiairs of the Province. The other competing firm, Messrs. Gordon & Helliwell, moreover, had only asked for $5,000 for similar plans madb under similar conditions, and had been satisfied by receiving $3,700. He claimed that in resisting Messrs. Darling & Curry's claims he had been defending the best interests of thu Province. The House, in ratifying this contract, would also express its approval of the action of the department here presented in regard to this transaction. (Applaure.) Attempts are now being made by opponents of the Government to- belittle Mr. Waite's plans, and to make it appear that the plans of Darling & Ourry were greatly superior. But the Toronto Worlds on 3rd May, 1888, in an article urging that iron instead of timber should be used in the new building, said : We are convinced that the Province is making a great mistake in using wood in the new Parliament Buildings in the Park. A pile that promises to be the 15 finest in a|ipeai-ance of any on the continent, that appears to be built on the plan of getting one hundred cents worth of work on the dollar, that oui;ht to be a monument for centuries, is to be marred at its inception by the use of timber instead of '\Ton.—TJie World, 3rd May, 1888. And again, on 11th August, 1888, in an articln descriptive of the character and progress of these buildings, the Toronto World contained the following : — How THE WORK IS PROORE.SSING AT THE (iUANIt StRKTIRE IN THE PaRK. In close proximiny to Toronto's University and its subsidiary institutions, the new Legislative Building is being upreared. This massive and imposing struc- ture, stretching east and west 550 feet and extending 250 feet to the rear of the front tower, is now advanced to such a stage that some idea of its beauty and symmetry can be formed. The style of architecture is Romanesque. It is eminently simple and striking in detail. Mr. R. A. Waite, Architect, of Buffalo, prepared the plans iind designs for the building. The front elevation contains the main entrance which consists of a tripple arch- way. In the centre s([uare tower rises, surmounted by four domed turrets, one at each corner of the quadrangle. The south-west front is richly ornamented by exquisite yet massive dressed stone work. The west elevation will contain two entrances, one of which, the Speaker's, is open to the north side, along which hnical colums of different design are arranged. The eastern elevation is similar, though somewhat less gorgeous. — The World, 11th August, 1888. And the Toronto Empire, on 27th September, 1889, in an article headed ** The Big Pile slowly rises," when no eUction was pending, and when not tempted to publish other than the truth, said as follows : — THE BIG PILE SLOWLY RISES. Magnitude of the Work. The average onlooker who, standing by, watches stone after stone hoisted into position has no conception at all of the magnitude of the work in hand. The building covers no less than four acres of ground, and the massive stone walls, lined with brick, are, in some parts, six feet in thickness. The building is evi- dently being put up to stand, no matter what the ultimate cost might be. The main entrance, the entrance to the legislative chamber from the south, will be something handsome in its massiveness. The smoothly cut stone steps will not be built in all probability until after the whole building is roofed, because- the required blocks cannot be got. This main entrance is in a line looking down Queen street avenue, and when completed the Effect will be Something Fine. In its present incomplete state, however, it would be useless to attempt a des- cription of the great building. A feature of the structure, however, will be the amount of stone carving exhibited on all sides. The carving on the front of the building to the south will be of the most elaborate character, while grotesque, but artistic figures will stand on each side of each of the departmental entrances. There are many panels on the walls which will carry figures and scroll work carved in the solid stone. The building will, no doubt, when completed \e the finest structure in Toronto, but, of course, it is impossible at this stage to giva any idea of the cost. i ; 16 The Toronto Telegram, which is an independent Conservative journal, speaks of the Government's dealings with the new Parliament buildings in these words : — " Hon. C. F. Fraser is fortided against eflfective attacks upon his dealings with the question of erecting new Parliament buildings. The Government sup- ported an outlay that is barely sufticient to satisfy the requirement and keep up the dignity of the Province. The Minister of Public Works is seeing that the Province gets value fur ever^' cent it spends. The country is not being cheated and when the Opposition cannot boldly impute wrong to the Hon. Mr. Fraser it is unfair to declaim against an expenditure that was wholly unavoidable. As to the architect, the Government acted upon its judgment of what was right. Political interest would have dictated the choice of a native Canadian to originate and execute designs for the new les^islative building. The Government puts aside every consideration but that of fitness, and did not allow the unpopularity of its course to deter it from doing what was right. " And again in a subsequent issue as follows : — Of all the small-sized issues ever imported into Ontario politics the com- plaint about the Ontario Government's dealings with the Parliament build- ings is the smallest. There is absolutely nothing in it. From bL*<.^'inning to end the Government has acted in the best interests of the country. It would have been easy for it to employ a Canadian architect and excuse his mistakes by appeals to a spurious patriotism. The Government could gain no political glory by its action. It served the province in this particular at the expense of party interest, and time will declare praise, not censure, to be the just portion of the men charged with responsibility of the erection of the new legislative block. And finally, though the expenditure to the close of 1889 in respect of these buildings has been about half a million of dollars, not one dollar of actual " extras " has been incurred or made with respect to the work already done.