PARLIAMENT HOUSE.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1537, 5 September 1912, Page 4

PARLIAMENT HOUSE.

AND THE "POOR SETTLERS," A QUESTION AND SOME SPEECHES. Thoro was a question on the Order Paper of tho House of Representatives yesterday laving reforence to the erection of now Parliament Buildings. Mr. G. W. Russell (Avon) asked tho Minister for Public Works whether ho would stato what the Government's policy was on this matter. The Minister's reP'y wa « simply t)iat tho business was still under the consideration of the Government. Kir Joseph Ward (Awarua) quoted the rc JP° rt , of tho committee eet up to deal wall the scheme for the re-erection of J arliament Buildings. The report authorsing the present schemo was approved >y J.arliament, and since then, everytiling that had been done had been dona with the sanction of Parliament. Tho work when finished would be one of tho lincst ever done in this' country, nnd the i. arliament Buildings and grounds would bo among the finest ho had scon in any country in the world. He hoped tlmt ■Inter there would bo an opportunity of. tered-ot discussing this question of expenditure. He insisted that tho return recently furnished was misleading, in that it did not take account of the fact that, tho scheme was a comprehensive one In rebuild Parliament House.to build anew Government House, to transfer the in. mates of an asylum in Wellington to a more suitable location, to provide for the housing of certain public Departments, and for tine repairing of damage and loss caused by the lire. Jet tho cost was all being charged against the erection of new Parliament Buildings. Mr. A, S. Malcolm (Clutha) reminded the Houso that the report from which tho member for Awarua had quoted was dated four years ago, and there was no build-• ing in which Parliament could 6it erected yot. Ho very greatly regretted the expenditure arid loss of timo, and tho failure of tho Government in all that time to achieve definite results in tho matter of the housing of Parliament. Mr. C. k. Wilson (Tauuiarunui) commented thusly: "No wonder my poor settlers are up to their necks in mud." Mr. W. D. S. Macdonald (Bay of Plenty) said that tho report of engineera showed that the present Parliamentary Buildings could not last, for more than five years. It was full of dry rot. If it was correct, as hud been said by the member for Tauuiarunui, that expenditure on a. new Parliamentary Building would stop the construction of roads, tho country must be in a very parlous state.. Tho expenditure entailed would be at tho rate of =£50,000 or .£60,000 a year for a period of three years. The work now being done in the grounds would result in a very great improvement. ■ Mr. F. W. Lang (Manakau) said that the embarking upon this 6cheme had cost the country n great deal of money, and lie thought it by no-means creditable tn tho Government that Parliament should have been housed for four years in temporary premises. He urged that a new building ought to be erected at once, in which the House could sit, and the present chamber might then be used foi committee work. The Hon. E. M'Kenzie, Minister for Publio Works in the Ward Cabinet, followed up his .complain of unfairness regarding the return furnished recently, on tho motion of Mr. H. M. Campbell byi moving for a more complete return, supplying full details of the items of expenditure. The enumeration of the several heads, and tho directions as to how tho compilation should be made, made up nearly a thousand words of print.