A DELAYED SALE

Dominion, Volume 23, Issue 53, 26 November 1929, Page 10

A DELAYED SALE

EDUCATION BOARD’S BLOCK * It seems that a misunderstanding over interest on capital sums of money was tb£ sole reason why the Minister of Education did not ask Parliament, last session, to sanction the sale of the Education Board’s block of property in Mercer and Wakefield Streets to the City Council. The chairman of the board (Mr. T. Forsyth) waited on the Minister in connection with the transaction, but even though the board was not going to give possession for a year or eighteen months, the Minister would not hear of the unpaid balance being free interest, despite the fact that the council was prepared to pay down £20,000 in cash for the buildings. In the opinion of Mr. Forsyth it was the City Council that was being generous, as it was giving the board free quarters until the new wing was provided at the Technical College (a job likely to take from a year to eighteen months to complete). At the same time the council was providing (without interest) the cash to build the wing. From the standpoint of city and educational progress, it is regretted that the transaction was not consummated at the beginning of the month. The suggestion has been made that it might be possible to avoid the year’s delay by sanctioning the work by Order-in-Council, and it is considered inevitable that the sale will take place.