SHIFTING THE CAPITAL.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1361, 12 February 1912, Page 3

SHIFTING THE CAPITAL.

Sir—l rrliep that lenders arc to bo called lor the ,■■■-.■.'<•!!•.:: of :: neiv s.r.;: ; i> t-liice i;i i-!i'i.:k in .-in-o'.. \w>'i:d it iv-t be: v.eii to wait until '•>e'i'-i-- iu»n mv iictition re In? reiicva! ot the ca [ill.il to the >b-.<>a I'Jaiii, V\ai-r.-irnpa? In movin;; in '.ins malicr, wi: p v:i:-s n'ro. it wii nil: my mtcnlooii to ininvp Vv"{?ili'.i;-ri'>n m ar.y way; luiilioswould Wi-iii::,'.'.>» be injured, inr ii the tiubiic re,cr.!s inn in (linger V.i-1-liintcii would bo benefited by then- bernr: p.need in sau'ty. The records aie now in denier lrnm" three sourc-.s; (1) Fire. (:!) Hostile attack froai the sea. 1.3) Seismic disturbance. As to the first, the Parliament liuildings were lately burnt, ami a lire (ie-j,ir:'C'l al c o nt the stamp oluce, endangering tho Government Holdings. At any moment tho latter buildings may go (win;,' a wooden structure) and the records would be lobt. As to the second: The range of gim attack is now twenty miles, and at any moment a hostile cruiser may shell the place. (I'aimcrston is not beyond the range oi naval attack.) As lo the liu'i'd: Wellington is just as liable to heavy loss from seismic disturbance as Kan Francisco, Valparaiso, or Killsrst.au, each of which towns has been lately visited. This loss does not arise, from direct earthquake shock so much as the tidal disturbance and lire wrecking the buildings following the shock. The Moron Plain (practically free from buildings of any kind, and admirably suited for the capital site, being within two hours journey, easily, from Wellington, directly the Jtimuhlca railway is deviated via Wahmi-o-niat.i) is free from all the above dangers, excepting lire, which I proposed to guard against (in the rough plan submitted to Parliament) by separating the Departmental records under different roofs, in ferro-concrete structures. (The present plan of having them all under one roof is unthinkable, seeing that one match, properly applied, would lose us the whole.) I freely admit that there is no room in Wellington for the separate buildings required for (he Governor, Parliament, and the growing wants of tho Departments. Also that the town itself was never even remotely laid out for a capital city. Further, J hat as population increases, tho congest ton in its narrow streets nil I ba lamentable. There is not .1 spot in the town where even 20.000 citizens can assemble on any great public occasion. So that it behoves Wellington citizens themselves, now that Parliament and Government Buildings have to be, rebuilt, not to look at this great matter at all selfishly, but to provide New Zealand with a capital s'te, of some thirty to forty square miles in area, as near to itself as possible, whore oer public records will be in safety. India has just had to remove its capital from Calcutta to Delhi. Australia has had to do the same from Melbourne and Sydney to on inland sit". The United Stales and Canada both put the claims of their great cities on one side in a similar way. I think the citizens of Wellington will be just as broad-minded when the true wants of New Zealand hang in the balance. 'Wellington must be the chief commercial city of New Zealand. Its port gives it (hat advantage. Its wharves will go t.n extending, following Mr. Ferguson's plan of wharves. Its population will double, and there is plenty of roam for that population. So that any temporary 'loss occasioned by removing the capital (which I doubt) will be mora than made, up by bavin? the public records safely nw.iv from the sea. From what I know of the power of tho dairy industry to absorb and sumiort a great countrv imputation, I feel that irrcat numbers of immigrants will be welcomed for many years to come, with the cons»f|Ueut growth of (he cities. Wellington will grow and keep 011 growinc. All I ask its citizens is that no "doer in the manger" policy shall be followed. If for tho general good it is found necessary fa remove the 'capital let it go. Auckland. Christchurch., and Dunedin get on just as well without the political cap'tal as with it; nor do its merchants and traders suffer in any way in the volume of their yearly business.--T am. etc., COT.FM.W riHLTJPS. Ilolstoin Ledge, Carterton, January 15.