REPAIRS TO PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1056, 26 May 1892, Page 36

REPAIRS TO PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS.

A FEARFUL STATE OF ROTTENNESS For sum-; weeks past a corps of work® men has been engaged under the resident engineer (Mr Cock) and the Government overseer (Mr Messenger), in overhauling the Parliament Buildings and effecting a geneial renovation. Outside the buildings the foundations have been excavated and rotten timbers pulled out, to be replaced with new and sound material, while inside partitions have been torn down to improve the ventilation and to completely re-adjust the accommodation required by the public and the reporters. In order to obtain full details of what has been going on and the result of the changes that are being made, one of our reporters was

told off to seek audience of the Minister for Public Works and put him under cross-ex-amination. The Minister, though very accessible, is always busy, and one must be afoot betimes to pick him up. However, the scribe got on the Ministerial trail at last, and early in the evening run Mr Seddon to earth in the seclusion of his office. PRESS AND HANSARD GALLERIES. I see you have been making pretty extensive altera'ions and repairs, Mr Seddon, to the Parliamentary Buildings. Yes, that is so. I suppose you are going to apply ' the corkscrew cf the interviewer, and, therefore, I may as well yield willingly what information I possess with reference to the works in question. Pet us begin with the quarter occupied by the Hansard reporters. You know it has been subject of complaint that they have been located at the worst part of the press gallery for hearing, and I have taken steps to fit up for their use the opposite corner of the gallery, known as the Speaker’s gallery, so that they will in future sit opposite the Ministerial and just above the Opposition benches. The room immediately behind, hitherto assigned the Native Committee, will henceforth be that in which they will do their work of transcription. The old Hansard gallery will at the same time be added to the press gallery, so that a larger number of newspaper reporters may find accommodation there. In order to compensate the press reporters for the deprivation of a part of their room last session I intend to give them the use, during afternoon and night, of the old Hansard room, which, in the forenoons, will be utilised as a Committee room. ACCOMMODATION FOR TH3 PUBLIC. In order to make up to the public the space taken from them by this removal of the Speaker’s gallery, I have taken a portion of the strangers’ new gallery, next the staircase, and partitioned it off, and I have also had the balcony and staircase at the other end of the gallery removed so as to afford ampler sitting room in the strangers’ gallery. Of late years the accommodation afforded in the ladies’_ gallery has been lamentably deficient, and with a view of extending it, I have made provision to take in a corner space at each end, corresponding to the c irners at either extremity of the press gallery at the opposite side of the House. This will afford room for 40 additional seats. A further irnprovem’nt will be the raising of the back row of seats, so that the ladie3 occupying them may have an uninterrupted view over the heads of the ladies in front. The same arrangement has been applied to the back rows in the other galleries. In the Speaker’s ladies’ gallery I have removed the heavy cumbrous benches and replaced them with narrower benches, and thus made room for an extra row. These alterations I think will give general satisfaction, and at the same time only involve a small outlay, VENTILATION. As regards the ventilation, I have succeeded in effecting some improvement hv the removal of the two ante*rooms which stood at the end of the ladies’ gallery. ROTTEN FOUNDATIONS. Upon an examination being mida of th e foundations of the buildings, the piles underneath the Legislative Council Chamber were found to be crumbling to pieces, ar.d in iact the wonder is that the whole of the flooring has not collapsed long ago. The wall-piates, pile 3, cross-bearers and flooring joists were rotten to the core. Specimens of this decayed timber (totara) may be seen on the grounds. Little or no ventilation was possible under the building, owing, to the floor-plates being close to the surface, with the result that there was no outlet for the vitiated air, except through the ventilator into the Council Chamber itself. This accounts for the musty smell which pervaded that part of the buildings both in and out of session. The earth has been removed from beneath the flooring joists, and a brick foundation has been laid down outside, while new piles and flooring plates have been put in. We found that underneath the library.with its tons upon tons of books, and the reference library, that.-the same condition of affairs existed as beneath the Council Chamber. There, too, the whole of the rotten piles have been removed, the earth has been excavate! and brick foundations have been laid down, while new bearers have been inserted and ventilators fixed in position at intervals of two yards,. This will keep up a constant current of fresh air from one e"d of the building to the other. Near the spot where the old kitchen of Bellamy’s stood, and above which now stands part of the library, and especially its smoking room, the effluvium was found to be simply abominable. The.piles beneath the Speaker’s quarters were aLo proved to be rotten, and the bearers were very much in a like condition. These are now being attended to, and likewise the outside platform on the Sydney street side of the building. In fact the wonder is that with so much foot traffic over it this platform has not collapsed long ago and caused a serious accident, fcfere new bearers and planking have been laid down. Then, too, the fence in Hill btreet, against which crowds of people have been wont to lean to watch the annual display incidental to the formal opening'of Parliament, was discovered to be in a highly unsafe state, the rails, posts and stringers being in an advanced stage of decay, and I have therefore given orders for a new fence to he erected. In conclusion, I think I may take credit to myself for having placed the Parliament Buildings on a solid foundation, and with having taken steps to conserve the health of hon members by considerably improving the hitherto defective ventilation. PRECAUTIONS AGAINST FIRE. What about fire precautions, Mr Seddon ? Ah, yes. I have by no means overlooked that. It has been suggested that during the session some of the city firemen should be employed about the buildings as messengers, so that in the event of an outbreak of fire their services would be immediately available, and that they should engage in regular fire practice with the other messengers, in order that the entire staff of messengers may gain the necessary skill to effectively cope with any emergency. I submitted this scheme to the officers in charge, coupled with the reeommen Ution that effect may be given to it. 1 he works I have thus far described have been in progress for six weeks past, and are now c.ose to completion. GOVERNMENT HOUSE IMPROVEMENTS. Government Hous;, of course, has not been neglected. You have received a report on its drainage from Mr Cuthbert ? Yes, and also a report from Mr Bell, Defence Engineer. So far as concerns the relieving drains from Government House, Mi Cuthbert reports that they are all that can be desired. He has made some suggestions, however, as to a system of intermediate trapping. Mr Bell also considers. thi3 may be necessary where there is very little fall into the discharging drains. In the case of the Government House drains there is a very good fall, and he believes intermediate trapping wpuld only be a disadvantage! The latest

authorities upon drainage appear to be of a similar opinion. However, both reports have been submitted to the Engineer-in-Chief, and works as to the necessity of which JMr Cuthbert and Mr Bell ’are in agreement are now under weigh. As soon as the ftngineer-in-Chief gives bis decision upon the other points the remaining work affected by them will be put in baud. On receipt of this decision I also intend to obtain the advice of the City Engineer. A request has been received from the Governor that Government House should be painted" and the rooms re-papered, I was. about to issue instructions to have this . 'attended to when Lady Glasgow signified her desire that the painting and papering might stand over until after her arrival, as she wishes to select the colours and papers. Of course, I have acceded to the request. The condition of the servants’ quarters, however, was such as to demand immediate attention, and I have given orders to have them thoroughly cleansed, painted, and papered. RATS— 1 TRAP AND DESTROY.’

One point only remains to be mentioned. Rats are always prolific where good living is to be had, and an army of rats appears to have had very comfortable quarters in and about the kitchen, the store house, stables, and the servants’ portion of the vice-regal residence. The prolonged absence of a Governor has reduced this extensive retinue of rodent retainers to very narrow straits, and they have been making numerous forays to replenish their larders. They have in fact forsaken their humbler quarters and invaded the official part of the building. There is nothing for them there but blue-books, and hard times are therefore pressing them sorely. However, their presence in force has been reported, to me, and though running the risk of being attacked for the semblance of a joke on such a grave subject I have minuted the report as follows : —* Bats are a nuisance to all Governments —trap and destroy.’ I hope by the time Lord and Lady Glasgow arrive the colony of rats .and their inevitable companions, Mr Kerr’s domestic * shammies ' —who have made dancing at Government House a rather lively exercise of late —will have been improved out of existence. Between rats and these other pets to which Mr Kerr had such an aversion the solitary orderly who has been in charge of Goveiment House must have enjoyed but fitful sleep, and I am half afraid he may send in a claim for compensation for broken rest.