STATE OF THE PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS.

Evening Post, Volume XXIV, Issue 42, 8 September 1882, Page 3

STATE OF THE PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS.

Mr. Seymour George brought up in the House of Representatives yesterday afternoon the report of the Joint Homo Com* **"*«*, recommending that the sum of 43000 be ,**ced en the Supplementary Eatimatei for the purpose of the general improvement and ventilation of Parliament buildings daring the receia. He moved that it lie on the table. The Colonial Treasurer promised to put a ram on the fcstimates for the'pur* pose indicated, and the matter ooald there* fore be disou'sed when the item was under consideration. Captain Morris suggested that either the old portion of the buildings should be pulled down and new ones pnt up or Parliament ought to olear out of the place altogether. He reoommended the Governmoat to ptaae a sum of on the fisti* mates, pointing ont that if,, after reflection, this was found too mnoh it oonld be reduced, whereas if only .48000 were pnt dowathe amount ooald not be increased. Mr. Pyke was of opinion that tho old portion of the bnildingi was utterly unfit to be repaired, and required to bo pulled down. Its rottenness, he added, was tho causa of the ill-health that had been so prevalent not only among members, but also among those ooonpsnts of the galleries whose profession required them to attend regularly. He suggested especially that a sum should be plaoed on the .Estimates to bnild a briok or stone library where tho volumes and general raoords of the oolony would be kept, safe from tho risk of fire. Mr. J. O. Brown maintained that the late expenditure on the buildings in the way of repairs had been Waitef ally made, and he aooused the Government of being responsible for it. Mr. Kelly considered that the whole matter was- in a muddle. He said hundreds of pounds were spent' on the buildings year after year without any responsibility on the part ot the Govern* ment, who ought properly to be responsible for it. It was very desirable, he held, that the ventilation of the premises should bo improved. So long as the various passages-— so many rabbit warrens— existed all over the place,, it would be impossible to improve the ventilation. Theoheaper way would be toget rid of the old portion with a view of creating spacious halls in its plaoe, by whioh means the ventilation would be improved. The Government ought to consider the matter during tho recess, and the Home should give them the power to deal with it. Mr. Macandrew quite agreed that the responsibility should be thrown upon the Government, but at the same time considered that if the sittings were commenoed at 10 o'olook in the morning, so as to do away with the neoessity of late sittings, the present buildings would suitior some time yet. Mr. Sutton hoped the House would empower the Government to pnll down the buildings during the recess, and build them over again. If this were done, he said, members would enjoy mnoh better health next session. Mr. Barron thought the opinion of the Government ought to be given on the question of removing the seat of Government. There were many. more desirable plaoes in. New Zealand than Wellington. In a conversation he had had with the member for Roslyn, that gentleman had suggested the appointment of a Commission to enquire into the feasibleness of procuring a square mile of land for a seat of Government, about six miles from the sea ooaat, out of the reach of enemy's vessels— say at Christohuroh. The present buildings were becoming more unhealthy every year. It' the seat of Government were removed to Christohuroh. the Press would give suoh reports of Parliunentary prooeedjnga as to do away with a great deal of the expense at present incurred in the publioation of Hansard. The Native Minister said that before the seat of Government was removed from Auckland to Wellington, a valuable papor waa written— he would not say by whom— pointing out that Wangnnui was tbo proper site, for thereason the enemy's vessels could not get at it. From that aspoot, it was no doubt a very great advantage, but tho Commissioners appointed to select a site were unfortunately nnablo to appreciate that view of the subjwt, and made Wellington the seat of Government. Mr. Montgomery expressed his oonviotion that it would not do to oontinne tinkering with this matter. The places that were called conveniences at the rear ought to be removed: they were scandalous. The passages about the House were not big enough. In wet woather members were not able to take exercise in the open air, and it waa unfair to compel hon. members — the plok of the country— to congregate/ in these narrow passages He suggested that the sum of 410,000 should be plaoed on the Estimates, with a view of allowing the Hoßse to decide the question. The. Colonial Treasurer observed there was no doubt hon. members hod suffered very considerable inconvenience for many years, and in some oases their health had doubtless been permanently affected. The Government would therefore have comiderable plessure in plaoing the amount named or a little more fer the purpose indioated. His only regret was that the Honse Committee had not taken a wider view of the matter. Mr, Wynn Williams was prepared to make « proposal whioh he thought would be found acceptable by the Government, the Honse, and the oountry. He looked forw»rd t to the time when the seat of Government would be removed from Wellington to the Wairaa plains — Blenheim. Meanwhile on the other side of the road there was a very substantial building known as Government House, and this ought to be utilised for a boarding establishment for members. (Laughter, and a voio^r^What are yon going to do with tbff Gonnor ?") For a penpatetio Governor thfc |"arU*ment Buildings were quite sumolenf fo¥ him whenever he ohoie to oome. (Laughter.) Until the bnildings tumbled down, the Governor could enjoy himself is these building* very comfortably. The oolony might some day be in the position of having its own Governor— one that would be a sensible man, quite oontent to occupy a private house— in whioh case there would be no necessity to have a Government Honse at •11. Mr. Sheehan remarked that, with regard to Wanganui, it was quite true that the enemy's 1 vessels ooald not get at it. In the case of the Wairan Plains, they would not try to get there. (Laughter.) For bis part, he thought that, with the exception of tho library, the present bnildings would be quite suffioieut for some yeara to oome. Mr. Beetham supported the proposal to place a sum on the Estimates for the general improvement of the buildings. Mr. Hurst urged members to oease the present disousaion, seeing that another opportunity of debiting tho matter would present itself when the item appeared on the Estimates. Mr. J.W. Thomson believed that if Bellamy's were done away with it would not be neoessary to spend mnoh money on the buildings for a year or two at any rate. Among the other speakers was Mr. Georgo, who referred to •> rumour to the effeot that the whole foundations of the bnildings were rottan. Tho motion ma than carried on the voioea.