Wairarapa Daily Times. [ESTABLISHED 1878] SATURDAY, JANUARY 13, 1891. A TOWN HALL FOR MASTERTON.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XV, Issue 4621, 13 January 1894, Page 2

Wairarapa Daily Times. [ESTABLISHED 1878] SATURDAY, JANUARY 13, 1891. A TOWN HALL FOR MASTERTON.

The election of a member for the Town Lands Trust reminds many residents of an old and much dedebated qtption, that of the ereouon of a Town Hall, We advocate and always have favoured the constiuotion R of such a building, provided it be one of a oharacer whioh'would bept-r----manently creditable and useful to the town. Wg have too many iron and '-> wooden matchboxes in the place - already, and we strenuously oppose the addition of another. What is required is a brick building, and we do not see why we should not obtain, sooner or later, a suitable structure of this character. Wb do not know what the cost of a town ball built with '' trick would' be, but probably two thousand pounds would be a fair estimate. The question then arises as to whether such a sum could be raised, There is an admitted obligation on o the part of the Town Lands Trust to contribute, and probably this body would find £SOO toward* the cost, if the publio contributed an equal amouut, The other thousand might be boi rowed, as by letting offices in B front of such a building an ample provision coujd be "made for both interest aDd sinking fund, Qr, even , assuming that a sum of three thousand pounds were necessary, the Town Lands Trust could, without undue risk, issue debentures for all the ■ money required and provide for them put of the ordinary receipts of the building, A towp hall, built op the i lines we have suggested, would be a credit to the town, and if we oanuot afford to engage in an enterprise on this scale yet, it would be far better to wait a year or twp v th'an \ 0 put up a gigantic packing case of wood and iron, Of this class of building we have already two samples in the Drill Hall and the Theatre Uoyal, and there is perhaps not a man in the place that does not recognise that their use is very limited, and their ugliness undeniable.' They ere buildings in wbioh people freeze in • cold weather- and swelter in hot. Ab sheds they. are. a. convenience, butib «' growing %n like|fasterton we don't want the town ball of the future to be either a shed or a lean -to. Mr Oaselberg had an eye to the future D of the town when' he constructed the immense store of )U Waiiarapa Farmers' Co.opefa|lye 'Association with '" brick. The Bank of Australasia and the Maeterton Jjnilding Ijooiety also recognised that the material, out of which buildings of a permanent char- . actor should be constructed, ought to be brick, We hope no one will take a step bapkwarijs by advocating wood ), and iron fpr any new pubjip building. Even from a poqpd, shilling and penpe ppint of view it is edono'mipa} to build with brick, as thore is an enormqus , saying in.fire .insurance premiums when this material is used. Of course jtwill be many year; before brick bpi}ding's pome'in'td general use ; but ; for any sfriipture of a's'iipsiior character it is imperative that the better and; more permanent material should • beresorled to,