The Press. THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 1874.

Press, Volume XXII, Issue 2646, 29 January 1874, Page 2

The Press. THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 1874.

A Disqussioir took place in the Cbuncil the other night on the question of the buildings for. the new public offices'-".to be erected for the Colonial Government in Ghristchurch. There appears to be a certain amount of com"plication in the business,and, from what we are able to gather, it will yet be some considerable time before the works for this purpose can be proceeded with. Objections have, at variousi times, been taken to the proppsaLitself in, the Council, chiefly on the ground that Cathedral square is not the proper site for the buildings. It has been argued that it; is inexpedient to close up what is called one of , the itings of the city; that when the new offices and the Cathedral itself are completed there will be no fresh air to be ob> tamed in that part of the town. The argument does not seem to us have any very great weight. And in any case, the question of the site has been definitely settled, first by a resolution of the Provincial Council, and secondly by nn Act passed during the last session of the Assembly, which devotes the western side of the square to the proposed buildings. There is more force, probably, in the objection that the cost should be borne by the Colonial, and not by the Provincial Government. The original vote of the Council, of £6000, last j ear, whether advisable or not, was a legitimate expenditure.. But, since that time the General Assembly have set aside from the colonial revenue a sum of money for the erection of public offices in the various cities and towns, and, under this vote, the cost would not now, as heretofore, be charged against the province. We cannot help thinking that Canterbury has ■ allowed itself to be somewhat overreached in this matter. Possibly the knowledge that our Treasury was full may have induced our provincial authorities to be more generous than they otherwise might have been. It is very doubtful whether our neighbours in Otago would have done likewise, and, from past experience we may affirm with tolerable certainty that Wellington would not have done so. If we remember rightly, the Colonial Government, when they wished to erect a Telegraph office on the newly reclaimed land in Wellington, were not allowed, by the astute Superintendent of that Province, to do so without paying, and paying pretty handsomely, for the privilege. But, right or wrong, this question also, like that of the site, has been settled, and the province has been committed to an expenditure for the proposed buildings which it might possibly have avoided. Leaving therefore these two matters, as connected with what novelists call" the inexorable past," we may shortly consider what our expenditure is to be, and when the work is likely to be commenced. The first vote of the Council was of £6000, to which the General Assembly added the subjl of £9000. In the interval between the passing of these votaa and the late session of the Council It «&• found that probably mucfe more money would be required, and, consequently, the province htm been iwksd %q eout?ib.ute a further shsj of

a fettal in cash of £14,640. Bu£3§™Hie tetwK be added the value of 'thi'lanS in Cathedral Square given .as -f&e BitjsT. Now, last year the Council>oteX wishing to purchase the Cathedral'site, £10,000, and the piece on the western eide of the square is certainly not lees valuable. Without into consideration the rise in Value of property we may at least set down the site giren at the last mentioned sum; we find, therefore, that, of about £33,000 required for the proposed building, the Province is contributing £24,540, or two-thirds of the amount. This is a large sum, and we think the City Christchurch may be fairly satisSed. "We think, too, that as the Colonial Government affirmed the necessity of providing these buildings, and, in fact, would have had to erect them some time or other, they have also good reason to be content with the liberality "with which the Province has met their wishes. Whether this liberality has been prudent, or the reverse, it is not now our business to enquire. The complication to which we referred above occurs in connection with the second question : When will the work be proceeded with? It seems that, as Boon as the votes for the required sums were passed, the Colonial Architect was directed to prepare the j necessary plans for the proposed buildings. These, by the way, include a Post Office, Telegraph Office, Custom House, Deeds Begietration Office, Eeeident Magistrate's Court, <fee. The plans, on two alternative designs, were, after some time, completed, and copies forwarded to Canterbury for the information of the Provincial authorities. It was in order to carry out these designs that the additional vote we have before mentioned, of £8540, was required, and it was necessary to obtain the sanction of the Provincial Council for this amount. But when the plans were produced for the satisfaction of the Council, there was an almost universal expression of disapproval of them ; and the Council, very properly, as we think, refused to grant the sum asked for unless the buildings to be erected were of euch a class as would be creditable to the city and to the province. The Government, after some discussion, agreed to withdraw the objectionable plans,and the vote was passed. A day or two afterwards they brought down a resolution, which was carried, that competitive designs should be called for from the leading architects in the country, and that the choice of the best should be left to three Commissioners, one to be named by the Colonial Government, one by the Provincial Government, and these two to name the third. There seems to be a certain amount of doubt whether the Colonial Government will consent to throw over their own officer in this way; yet, as the, province is to contribute two-thirds of the money required, it would appear to be only fair that it should have some voice in the selection of designs for the work. So, as we understand, the matter stands at present. There must of necessity, according to this arrangement, be some delay before these public buildings can be commenced. But, if the present plans are, as the Council seemed unanimously to think, not worthy of the object in view, any delay is better than accepting them. Whatever doubta there may have been ~as to the propriety of provincial expenditure for this purpose, now that the question is settled as to that point we ought to have such buildings erected as the province shall not be ashamed of.