BATTLE OF THE SITES.

Auckland Star, Volume L, Issue 186, 7 August 1919, Page 7

BATTLE OF THE SITES.

UNIVERSITY PROBLEM NOW SOLVED. PREMIER WIIX BACK BILL. TO USE METROPOLITAN GROUND. IF GOVERNMENT HOUSE IS. PRESERVED. THE HOMELESS COLLEGE. The long controversy over the selection of a permanent site for the Auckland University College should apparently be settled once and for all by the assuTance given yesterday by the Prime Minister to a deputation from the UniIversity College Council that he will be prepared to back a bill for the alienation of tlie Metropolitan Ground, provided the promoters will agree that the choosing of this site for the University College I will not endanger Government House. I The deputation consisted of the mcmi bers pf the University College Council, 1 with Mr. F. Mander, M.P., and the case for the acquisition of three and threc- | quarter acres of the Metropolitan | Ground and for Government financial I support in the erection of the new buildings' was put by the chairman of the ! Council, Mr. T. W. Leys, the Hon. J. A. Tole and Mr. Gerald ~Peacocke. Mr. Leys referred to the unfortunate position of the College, which was now quite homeless. The old buildings, which were never regarded as permanent, liad been taken in connection with city improvements, and at present the College was housed under a six months' tenancy in the old Grammar School buildings. The Council had found it necessary to erect a new science building on the site of the old Choral Hall, and towards this building , , the cost of which was £26,000, the Council has received £17,000 from the City Council as y>mpensation, and had a further. £10,003 which had accumulated over a long period of years. During the whole period of the history of the College the total amount received from the Government in respect of buildings had been £1.450. Mr. Massey: You could not agree upon the cite, so that was not altogether the fault of the Government. VOICE OF THE UNIVERSITIES. Mr. Leys replied that the site the Council still endorsed was the one originally selected by the Government when the college was founded, as shown in\ the instructions forwarded to Sir Francis Dillon Bell for the engagement of professors, and it had always been the choice of the College Council. There liad been considerable opposition from outside, but the feeling in regard to the site had changed consideraibly lately, and it was now recognised that the advice of the responsible body conducting the affairs of the College should be accepted. The Council had considered fairly every site that had been suggested- Three years ago Sir Robert Stout, the Chancellor of the University of New Zealand, was asked to supply an independent opinion of the suitability of the proposed site at Mount Eden, wliich was the only other one that ■had been offered, subject to conditions. Sir Robert, accompanied by Professor McMillan Brown and Dr. Hight, of Canterbury College, both emphatically condemned the site, and declared that its adoption would be destructive of the chief work of the College -' Sir Robert Stout was a strong advocate of the Metropolitan site. As indicating the opinion of the Professorial staff, Mr. Leys alluded to a memorial that had been submitted to the Prime Minister that morning, urging the Premier to facilitate the granting of the Metropolitan Ground, ac the securing of a site was immediately urgent. This was signed by members of the Professorial Board, representing nine great Universities, namely, Oxford, Cambridge, London, Dublin, Manchester, Liverpool. Sydney, Adelaide, and New Zealand. Mr. Leys spoke of the growing recognition of the principle of establishing the centres of higher education where they would reach the people, and went on to say that the selection oi the Metropolitan area would not interfere with Government House. Mr. Maeeey: Are you quite sure? 'Mr. Leys: Tes. Mr. Maseey said that was absolutely the first assurance he had had for many yeare that the project would not interfere with Government 'House. Mr. Leys said that if Mr. Massey would consult Sir Robert Stout on this question the Chancellor would give an assurance that his personal* examination of the ground on many occasions had satisfied him that the location of the College there would not detrimentally affect Government House. Reverting to the subject of, financial assistance, Mr. Leys 6aid that a few years ago Sir Joseph Ward had promised "£IOO,OOO, and the Council did not think that this was an excessive amount in comparison with the requirements of the College and the amounts epent on ether universities. Other university ! colleges in the South were applying at ! the present time for large grants for : extensions of their already commodious buildings. Nevertheless, the other centres of higher education recognised that Auckland was the lame dog Jof the New Zealand University, and ! would be only too glad to help it over j the stile. The remarks of the. cliUrman of the Council were supplemented by the Hon. J. A. Tole and Mr. G. L. Peacocke, the two oldest members of the Council, the further repreeentations laying stress urmn the fact that notwithstanding the alienation of the three and three-quarter acres required for the University, Government House would still be left with seven and a-half acres. THE PREMIER'S REPLY. "There is very little of what has been said with which I disagree," said Mr. Massey, in reply, "and 1 hope that we are about to reach a settlement of the difficulty that has existed for a long time past. There is no member of the deputation or citizen of Auckland who ia more anxious than myself to promote the cauee of education and to make higher education available for the son of the humblest resident of the Dominion." : Mr. Maseey went on to cay that lie had differed from the proposal in the past, and this had been for the reason that it had been thought that it i involved the removal of Government House, and he disagreed with the removal (if any monument to the pioneer- , ing days of the colony. He h.vd almost an affection for Government House, and when, after the fire, he looked at it, he was astounded at the soundness of the timbers. If not interfered with, they would stand for another century. He thought that the Governor should 'have an opportunity of residing in what was and would continue to be the biggest city in the Dominion.

EDUCATION AND THE PRIMARY INDUSTRIES. Mr. Massey proceeded Co indicate that he did not think there would be any serious difficulty in" regard to the proposal of the deputation. Auckland was going to be the largest city in New Zealand and the centre of the most important district. The day must come when there would be a residential University, and he had looked forward to it being somewhere in the Auckland district, and perhaps within reasonable distance of Auckland itself. He was not there to suggest how far out it should be, but, realising that the Dominion depended for its prosperity, upon its primary industries, it must be admitted that it would be a splendid thing to have a University specialising in scientific agriculture and horticulture. With this idea in mind, the Government would not have been lacking in generosity had the Orakei cite been accepted. In this connection the Premier alluded to the provision made in this respect at Vancouver and Toronto. Nevertheless, hel .acknowledged the importance of the night classes, and he would 'be one ot the last to suggest that these should be taken away from the centres of population. There were two Afficulties he had always, had in hie mina, but the assurance the deputation had given him regarding Government House had removed 'one of them from hie mind. He wae not going to raise any objection at present in regard to the other mutter, but he asked the Council to bear in mind the time when a residential University would be required. QUITE PREPARED TO HELP. "I am quite prepared to help you on the linee I have suggested. Any reasonable proposal you put forward will have my support and that of the Government. The long-standing difficulty which hae not been at all creditable to the people of Auckland —I am reflecting on no one present—will be removed, and you will have a building worthy of and suited to your great city." (Applause.) Mr. Leys intimated that the Council was not* contemplating promoting a private bill, but was hoping: that the Minister of Education would bring down a bill or introduce the scheme in connec-| tion with the Public Reserves Bill. Regarding the matter of a residential college for the teaching ot agriculture and allied subjects, Mr. Leys said that the Council had had that matter in mind, but the growing claims of the other parts of Auckland, particularly ot Hamilton, had to be remembered.