Page:Twentieth Century Impressions of Hongkong, Shanghai, and other Treaty Ports of China.djvu/171

TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF HONGKONG, SHANGHAI, ETC. 163 PLAN OF THE GENERAL POST OFFICE AND OTHER GOVERNMENT OFFICES.

THE NEW LAW COURTS.

In the new Law Courts, now nearing completion, Hongkong will possess a notable example of modern architecture, the style being that of the English school with details of Greek character. The principal elevation of the structure faces west, and is divided into fifteen bays with Ionic columns and square angle piers. The height to the first parapet is about 50 feet. The centre portion is surmounted by a pediment containing a semi-circular opening, round which are grouped the royal arms and the figures of Mercy and Truth, the whole being crowned by a statue of Justice, 9 feet high. The drum of the dome is of the circular Doric order, the intercolumnar spaces being pierced by windows. The dome is surmounted by a handsome granite lantern, terminating at a height of 130 feet from the ground in a bronze Tudor crown. The north, south, and east elevations are similar in character to the west, but without the pediment. The whole building is faced with granite quarried in the Colony.

The ground floor of the structure provides various offices for the officials of the Court, spacious apartments being set aside as land offices, and separate rooms reserved for the Registrar and Deputy Registrar, and also for the bailiffs. There is a prisoners' receiving room with cells, reached by a separate entrance, and stone staircases lead to the docks of the two principal Courts. Two large entrances for the general public are provided on the west side of the building, with broad staircases leading to the upper floors, and there are separate entrances for the officials and judges, with private staircase and electric lifts. The official portions of the building are thus kept quite distinct from those to which the general public have access.

The principal Court occupies the centre of the first floor, and is so situated that the surrounding corridors, small rooms, and library render it practically proof against the distraction of street sounds. It is a large and lofty apartment, lighted by means of four semi-circular windows, each 28 feet in diameter, placed high up, and four small circular windows. The Court is 71 feet 6 inches in length, and 40 feet in width, and ample space is provided for judge and jury, the members of the legal profession, the prisoners, the press, and the general public. There are four pairs of massive granite pillars ranged along the walls, supporting the dome, the height from the floor to the ceiling of the dome being 48 feet. At either end of the Court are smaller Courts, each 53 feet 6 inches by 42 feet — one designed for the use of the Puisne Judge, and the other as a Civil Court.

On the second floor are large offices for the Attorney-General and the Crown Solicitor, with their respective clerks.

A small basement contains appliances for the heating of the building by a hot-water system at low pressure, divided into sections so that only the parts of the building actually in use need be heated.

The foundation-stone, a fine block of Chinese granite, bears the following inscription, which epitomises all that remains to be said : — " This stone was laid on the 12th November, 1903, by His Excellency Sir Henry Arthur Blake, G.C.M.G., Governor of Hongkong ; William Chatham, M.Inst.C.E., Director of Public Works ; Aston Webb, R.A., E. Ingress Bell, F.R.I.B.A., architects ; Chan A. Tong, contractor. " Mr. H. G. Fisher, A.R.I. B.A., has supervised the work of construction.