NEW PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3030, 10 April 1912, Page 34

NEW PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS.

(From Our Own Correspondent.) WELLINGTON, April 6. When he was requested to state what the. Government intended to. do in reference to the erection of the new Parliament Buildings, the Hon. W. H. S. Macdonald (Minister of Public Works) replied that he was quite willing to take the public into his conhdenee in the matter, but that lie was not yet in a position to do so fully. A -number of detail questions were still under consideration. In the first place Mr Macdonald remarked that the foundation and street improvement works now in progress had been put in hand by his predecessor. Plans of the basement of the new building had been completed in detail, and plans covering the broad features of the building itself had also been prepared, but might bo subjected to modification in minor matters of detail. The design adopted for the building follows closely the lines of the design sent in by the Government architect (Mr J. Campbell), who was placed first.in the competition. Mr Macdonald recalled the fact .that a sub-committee set up by Parliament during the session of 1911 had reviewed the designs sent in, and had selected those which it considered most suitable. The Minister also stated that he had gone into the whole question with his nredecessor (the Hon. P. M'Kenzie), and that the Government architect still had in hand the work which the late Minister of Public Works had sent him. Mr Macdonald added that he was quite satisfied that, whatever modifications it might bo considered necessary to make in the plans of the building, they would not affect any portion of the foundation and the street improvement work now being carried out. The present intention was to get the work of preparing the site and altering the grounds completed so that tree-planting could be commenced during the coming winter. One desirable feature of the new building would be that its basement would provide safe and ample storage for the voluminous public records which were now exposed to the risk of destruction by fire in the, wooden departmental building on Lambton quay. Mr Macdonald indicated that the plana of the new building and attendant proposals would he considered by the Cabinet when Ministers reassembled after the Easter holidays. The conditions under which tenders are to be invited for the construction of tin; building have not yet been determined.