It is probable that few will question its grandeur and comprehensiveness. It would have made Westminster a palatial quarter of the town, grouping together the buildings, which the public service of a great country requires, in an unity, justified by their actual unity of purpose, and all but necessary to their full architectural effect. The great quadrangle of nine acres, with its sides formed by the Abbey, the Government Palace, the New Palace of Westminster, and the public buildings removed in order to clear the area, must have been its most striking feature. Hardly inferior in magnificence would have been the Park view of the Government Palace with the enclosed Parade, the large area cleared along the Thames Embankment, and the great line of public buildings extending from Great George Street to Trafalgar Square. Essential points in the scheme were the embankments on both sides of the river and the large spaces reserved, to be laid out in public gardens, and so to give breathing space and opportunity for seeing the great piles of building proposed. Taken altogether it would have produced a general effect hardly to be equalled in Europe. But it should also be noticed, that the plan was eminently practical. It sacrificed little, it indicated the main lines which public improvements must eventually take, and it was capable of being carried out gradually. The concentration of public offices is demanded by public convenience; the opening out the great buildings to be erected will be an architectural necessity. The Thames Embankment is now a reality, though Sir Charles would have little dreamt that its effect would have been allowed to be broken in upon by the Hungerford Railway Bridge, and the enormous mass of the Charing Cross Station. The enlargement of the National Gallery is now only a question of time. The opening of great lines of communication is hardly likely to be long deferred. In the whole scheme therefore there was nothing visionary, nothing impracticable. Its cost no doubt would have been great. But it would not have exceeded the cost, which will be ultimately incurred; and, if it had been carried out gradually, the burden on the public resources would have been almost imperceptible. In the present state of public feeling as to the value of Art in itself, and in its influence on the national character, there can be no doubt that great public improvements will be demanded. The example set in Paris can hardly be quite lost upon us. Unless unforeseen necessity should absorb the public resources, great sums of public money will certainly be expended. That which is to be ardently desired is that the authorities who direct the public expenditure should have before them some great and comprehensive scheme, which, while it leaves all details perfectly free, and so avoids monotonous uniformity, may indicate the general principles to be followed, and at least see that one improvement does not destroy or ruin another.