William Rufus built Westminster - Hall. Richard the Second put a
new roof on it. The present reign has seen the repair of that roof. There can be few non-eccle- siastical buildings in the Western world which have such a long and -impressive history. The King, in reopening the famous hall on Tuesday, justly said that it " appeals in a special manner to the mind and imagination of the whole English-speaking race." For at Westminster the Constitution slowly grew and in the great hall, through the centuries, the courts gradually developed the Common Law which is the heritage alike of England, the Dominions and America. It has taken eight years to repair the ravages of the " death Watch " beetle in the timbers of Richard the Second's wonderful roof. But none will grudge the time and money spent in saving for posterity the -noble hall which enshrines the historic memories of the race, and the interior of which happens also to be one of the most beautiful things in the world: Great memories were never preserved in a more glorious casket.
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