HOARDINGS AND TIMBER.

Press, Volume LVI, Issue 16946, 22 September 1920, Page 8

HOARDINGS AND TIMBER.

| 4 ! DEPUTY-MAY OK SPEAKS OUT. The statement by the Board of Trade, Wellington, relative to tho issue of permits to a local advertising agency to j erect hoardings in the city, and which appeared in "Tho Press" yesterday, drew a spirited reply from the DeputyMayor, Cr. J. W. Beanland. "In spite of what the Board of Trade people say," declared Cr. Beanland to a "Press" representative, <'I still maintain that timber' suitable for building houses is being used in the advertising hoardings in Ghristchurcli, and timber we want badly. ' There is no question about it. The Board of Trade say that the permits apply to tho use of Australian hardwood and New Zealand beech. "Wh.afc are- the facts? To-day, any sort of beech is being used in place of rimu for house building purposes, and hardwoods are always in demand for tflie same purposes, for - the reason that there is very little of that sort of timber coming from Australia. Then there is the matter of the sheet-iron used in covering the hoardings. There is a tre* i mendous shortage of rfheet-iron, yet one ! hoarding uses up a sufficient quantity to j provide the necessary material for several dwellings. This sheet-iron is, of course, not used for roofing purposes, I but for making up spouting, guttering, i etc. The matter of labour is also i ignored by the Board of Trade: labour that is badly wanted for building houses, not nutting up hoardings. We know very woll tho powers of tho City Council in the matter of <Jhe issue of permits, but we object to people coming in with official permits in an endeavour to override the Council. Thev are not j going to get permits for hoardings from [ this Council unless we are'legally forced; to grant them. Moreover, lam bringing forward at the next meeting of the Council a proposal that tho Council s ?? Id ™ hoardings in tihe citv altogether. They am a disfigurement-, and should never be allowed.''