PARLIAMENT HOUSE.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2066, 18 December 1907, Page 1

PARLIAMENT HOUSE.

QUESTION OF IIE-BUILDING. NEXT SESSION ON THE OLD SITE. TEMPORARY REPAIRS TO OLD BUILDING. (Special to Times.) WELLINGTON, Dec. 16. Sir Joseph' Ward informs mo that it has boon decided to effect temporary repairs to wlia.t remains of the present Parliament Buildings with a view to holding the session there as usual. There is an idea of building a permanent House of Parliament on the Government House site. It is only conditional upon soiling or leas-ing-the sit© on which the present Departmental buildings stand. The scheme would- involve til© demolition of Government House -and the present Departmental Buildings, or in other words tho erecting of three large buildings, viz. Parliament House, Government House and Departmental Buildings, at a cost of about a quarter of a -million -sterling. Moreover, .all three buildings would liavo to he gone on with -a.t the same time. It is considered-, doubtful if Parliament would ratify shell a big building scheme. No doubt it would bo a splendid thing for Wellington, but even Wellington- pe-oplo have no desire to benefit unduly when- railways and roads and bridgese are still wanted for the -back blocks settlers. THE MAYOR’S OPINIONS.

-On this point his Worship tho Mayor, the Hon. T. AY. -Hislop, may be taken as voicing the opinion of tho people. Mr His 1-op considers tho present site an ideal one. So far it had" not been shown that it would bo advantageous to make tile change suggested. The undamaged portion of the old Parliament Building was a permanent structure and he did not know to what other purpose it could lie put, unless it were presented to the city -as the nucleus of the proposed new (Public Library. He was not aware that the Parliament Buildings site was required for any other purpose, and as- far as -lie knew it had -never been suggested’ that the building would have been better located on tho proposed or -any other site. In the event of the proposal ■being adopted Government House, which was an old building, would have to bo demolished. He could not think of any other site for Government House w.ithih reasonable distance of tlie city. “In my opinion,” the Mayor continued, “it is proposed to spend far 'too much money in rebuilding Parliament House. Only the probable requirements of, {fay. the next thirty or forty years should be provided fo.r. The new building should be built in brick or other fire-resisting material and equipped with the latest fire prevention system. The old building -would havo been large enough for a great- many years. Nowadays the tendency is to Be too exacting. Seeing that- money is so badly needed to provide rotids etc., in the hack blocks, .it would. I consider, not be right to expend anything like as much money as has been suggested on thenew buildings.” REPAIRS NOT COSTLY. All things considered Sir J. AA’ard’s idea: that the present building should ■be repaired for -next- session is no doubt tile best one, and will meet with the general approval of members. Bellamy’s can be repaired at a moderate cost, and even the main lobby, if it is roofed .in and painted and decorated can be made available. Several of tlie- committee rooms can aliso -be made habitable. FUTURE PRECAUTIONS. The facts that the night watchman (who is ”3 years of age) did not give the alarm to the Fire- Brigade and that the Parliament House alarms are not connected with tho Fire Brigade station have been a good deal commented upon 'here, and it is urged that tlie late catastrophe should he a lesson to instal the May-Otway or some equally efficient automatic alarm in all the Government buildings and in the new Parliament House. Had such a system been in use no doubt the fire would have been suppressed. A departmental officer, who knows the facts, informs mo that some few years ago an offer was made to the Government upon exceptionally favorable terms to instill the May-Otway system, hut that it was refused l on the ground that the appliances already m tho building were sufficient to copo with any fire that might break out.

PItEiSS COMMENT.' Iho Dominion, in common with tlie Post, op i)oscs the Premier’s proposals in connection with the. change of site of Parliament 'Buildings, and- the -re-building of the Departmental Buildings and 'Government House as ‘'veil. .It .points out that the area of the present Parliamentary Buildings eito -is quite large enough for a structure an which there will be no discomfort to those of our remote descendants who may be engaged in the work of law-making. “There is /room,” .adds the Dominion, “foh ' a House twice as large as the one that -lias hecn destroyed. The Premier thinks that the cutting up of the Departmental 'Buildings site into building sections would yield' a rental sufficient to wipo off in 30 yea re the cost of tho new Parliamentary buddings, new public offices, and a new residence for the Governor.. His figures may or may not bo sound, but we distrust -all financial' calculations based upon the assumption that the Government will provide, or providing keep its fingers off, a sinking fund. Moreover, the huge public debt rid number of public necessities crying for financial attention combine to forbid indulgence in expensive luxuries, however attractive thej' may appear. In any event the arguments of the Premier, so far as they are indictments of existing inconveniences, -as indeed they all are, cannot be given any more weight than could be attached to them if Parliament 'House had not been destroyed. 'll ere the old buildings stilJ standing, would the Premier have proposed liis vast scheme of reorganisation? Assuredly he would not. Wo trust that Parliament, while, giving the matter careful' consideration from all points of view, will not assist the Government to seize the opportunity for a. wild financial plunge.” Reverting to the subject to-night, the Post says:—“Both the Government and Parliament will have ample time for making up their minds, between now and next session, and our only fear is that- the erection of temporary buildings on the old site may lend some help to the theory that the permanent structure should he erected somewhere else; but. the

Government House site will at any rate present stronger objections from this point of view, since it cannot lie utilised without a. much more extensive work of* demolition and removal.”