The Globe. TUESDAY, JUNE 8, 1875.

Globe, Volume IV, Issue 308, 8 June 1875, Page 2

The Globe. TUESDAY, JUNE 8, 1875.

The members of the Chamber of Commerce are very angry with the Provincial Government, and we do not wonder that such is the case. A. deputation of members of the Chamber waited on the Government with reference to the Public Buildings question. The President of the present Executive, after reading a letter from his Honor regretting his inability to attend on account of indisposition, retired, and left the deputation to the tender mercies of the Provincial Secretary, the Secretary for Public Works, and the Hon Geo. Buckley. None of these gentlemen would give the deputation any hopes that the commencement of the very necessary Public Buildings in Christchurch would be in any way forwarded by the present Provincial Government. The only thing they would promise was, that if

the General Government would build the required offices, the Provincial Government would find the requisite site for f hem. The members of the Executive tried to shift all the responsibility on to the shoulders of the General Government, and of course it is easy to prophecy what the reply from Wellington will be. The General Government will naturally say —" Tou " promised to find a certain quantity of " the money required for the erection " of these buildings, and in fact a fixed " sum of £14,500 was placed on your '* Provincial Estimates for that purpose; " but now you back out of your pro- " mise, and expect us to do all the work. " We are ready to fulfill our share of " the contract, if you, on your part, " are prepared to do the same, but you " cannot expect us to do more." It appears to us that this is the natural and reasonable answer of the Government at Wellington to the Canterbury Executive. Thus between the two stools, the Provincial and General Governments, the City of Christchurch falls to the ground, and we presume the upshot of the matter will be that we shall not get the buildings asked for at all.

That a set of Public Buildings comprising Post Office, Telegraph Office, and Custom House, in some central situation in the town, is becoming every day more and more of a necessity, no one will deny. The present " shanty" which is used as a Post Office is an eye-sore and a disgrace to the City of Christchurch. In no other town of equal importance in the colonies would such a building be doing duty as Post Office, and we have only to go as far as Lyttelton to see that it is quite possible for other towns, even in the Province, to have decent buildings provided for the reception and delivery of their mails. The Telegraph office, too, is small and not the most convenient in the world, and will certainly not afford the requisite accommodation at no distant period. With regard to the Custom House, we presume that the merchants who constitute the majority of the members of the Chamber of Commerce are the best judges as to whether the building now in use is central, or convenient enough. We believe that they are unanimous in wishing that it should be, if possible, under the same roof as the Telegraph and Post offices, and no doubt they have good reasons for their desire.

The very rigid economy noticeable in the acts of the present Executive present one curious feature. They seem to think that economy, like charity, should begin at home, and consequently we find that the needs of the City of Ohristchurch cannot be supplied. They will concede certain sums to necessary works, or want's, in country districts, but anything that requires to be done in the town itself they decline to help forward in any way. This looks like bidding for the votes of the country members in the Council, who may safely be relied on to follow the lead of any gentleman who has obtained a seat on the Government benchci and who will cut off the supplies to Christchurch as much as he can. These country members can of course give any Government they support a majority, and thus place is retained, and the Ministry point with pride to their economical expenditure of the revenue of the province. There is such a thing as carrying this economy too far, however, and so the present Executive will find, if they ignore altogether the just claims of the capital city of the province.