CHAPTER IX.

ON THE COMMERCIAL, PROFESSIONAL, AND UNIVERSAL AD-VANTAGES OF THE NEW OR METALLURGIC ARCHITECTURE.

The foregoing observations and extracts, may perhaps,suffice to furnish to those hitherto unobservant of the factsand circumstances, referred to, a tolerably correct idea ofthe nature of the past and present practices of Modern Ar-chitecture ; and of the extent to which the slavish adherenceto ancient precedent, has latterly been suffered to restrainor to subdue those higher powers of invention, in whichall art first originated, and by which alone, any real ad-vancement of the same can be effected.

It is hoped, that sufficient proof has already been fur-nished, that the reproach so long endured by this country,and by modern ages, in respect to the non-progression ofArchitecture, may now be practically removed; and fromthe superior character of the beauty—and the various superiorutilities—capable of being attained, by the practical appli-