PARLIAMENT HOUSE.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 934, 29 September 1910, Page 4

PARLIAMENT HOUSE.

MOKE AIB AND LIGHT WANTED; According to . a reply given in the House of Representatives yesterday: by the Prima Minister, to Sir William Steward, the: proposals, of the Government with reierence to the whole question of future Parliamentary. buildings will, it- is hoped,, be ready tor .submission to Parliament this session. * '. Keferring to the matter,: Mr. Massey said - that ..in view ,of the present atmospheric . conditions, he was wondering what would be the position during the next couple of.months. As, far .as he. couldjudge' the session would last that long. It would be recalled that during the previous session the,; thermometer somotimes ; reached over ,80 in the . afternoons, and in : the: evening , the atmofri, phere became stifling. He. hesitated .to ask for further expenditure on. the build-, ings, but something required to be done. Only .the'-other day 31'r. Herdman had stated that the appropriations up to the present time in connection with the alterations to ' Parliament Buildings. due. to tho fire totalled ■ J227,000. Ho-did not wish to see the Government embark on a big building scheme until it'got some value for the which had been spent. Something should," however, be done to improve the lighting and the 'ventilation.■ : . . •'• ,-In reply, the Prime Minister said, the most economical arrangement • possible had been made. When the Government's scheme :was completed, members would be better boused than ever they had. been, and the work would be economical. The buildiiig now used would continue to be at the"disposal of members,-and the arrangement of the lobby would be: more .convenient than . now.