RE-HOUSING OF PARLIAMENT.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 229, 20 June 1908, Page 6

RE-HOUSING OF PARLIAMENT.

COSTLY' BUILDING PROGRAMME. (BY TELEQItAPH.—SPECIAL COIUIESI'ONDEN'T). . • Christohurch, June 19. A correspondent, signing himself "Taxpayer," writes to the "Press" stating that its'recent article on the rehousing of Parliament is a timely one, but, if anything, it understated, the case. Under Sir Joseph Ward's extraordinary proposal, ho says, tnc immediate building expenditure in Wellington will run into a huge sum. Here are 6omo of the items: — ,

(].) Pulling down the present Government House. (2) Building a new Parliament House on v • " the sito thereof. (3) Erecting new departmental buildings on tho site of tho old Parliament. (4) Building new Government House on a ■ .new site. (5) Lease of and alterations to Government House at Palnierston North. (6) Altering and furnishing rooms for Governor and wife (during session) in Molesworth Street Ministerial residence. 1 (7) Transferring portion of tho presont : Government House furniture to Government House at Palmerston North. • (8) Ditto to Government House at Auckland, including ■ deteriorating through transit. (9) Expensive alterations to present Government House for'meeting of Parliament for two or three years. • (10) Fitting up rooms in old Parliament , Houso for committee and other work. (11) Bnilding covered viaduct between. . Government Houso and present Parliament Library. (12) Palatial public tnist office, now in course of orcction on Lambton Quay. ■ ■■ (13) Building new Post Office, probable cost'about £100,000. (14) Building now railway station, also an expensive structure. "I think," continuos the correspondent, "you are quite safo in saying that' this costly building programme, to say nothing of the,furnishing, will run into considorablv over half a million sterling! The worst of it is that so much of the expenditure is entirely unnecessary. Both tho presont Government House and the present Government Buildings are good for another, twenty years at least. It is all nonsense to say that the alterations made ■in Government House will make it unsuitable for its original'purpose. As a matter of fact, they will improve it, AYe were all in hopes that our optimistic Minister would not be weak-kneed, but'surely if over there was a .time for action it was immediately after tho old Parliamentary Buildings were destroyed by fire. Tho Govornmont should have, of its own initiative decided promptly to robuikl oh tho old site! Had they done so, many thousands of pounds now being needlessly expended would havo been saved to tho Dominion, and could havo beon profitably expended in roading tho back blocks. I havo reason to believe that, had Mr. Hall Jones been here instead of in London at the psychological moment, much of tho prosent extravagant and'needless expenditure would never havo been incurred." Tho writer adds that even "Wellington people are staggered at the proposals and' quite opposed to them.