HOUSING LOAN.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17571, 23 June 1925, Page 13

HOUSING LOAN.

WHAT THE PRIME MINISTER SAID. Last week the Mayor (Mr 7. K. Archer) interviewed the Prime Minister in Wellington, to advance the claims oi Christchurch for a housing loan ot £.30.000, or as large a portion of that amount as possible. The following re. port on the interview was presented by the Mayor to the City Council las. night: “ I was received very sympathetically hut the Prime. M inistcr pointed out tlx difficulties which wero in the woy. On* that applications from individuals and public bodies amounting to between fenr and live million pounds are alrcadv in the hands of the Government Wellington alone has applied for £IOO,OOO to be paid in two yearly iiwialmoms of £50,000 each. eminent is not now able to borrow money as cheaply as it has done pro viously and will probabiv be obliged to and a quarter per cent. “The Prime Minister a-he! v l.othor : istrative bod:’ with money in hand. 1! j promised to place the matter before h: . ! colleagues and do everything that possible- " While in Wellington T made exhaustive inquiries as to what is being done ' there and found that the Wellington City Council is taking up the matter in a very energetic fashion, it has official! v inquired into the exact state of affail a> • ■ the i ed ! i .usin 5 wit n the c:tv and come to the conclusion that at least 10.000 of the people arc living in overcrowded conditions. ■•The Minister has accepted an inti- ' tncion from the council personally > examine the conditions which prevail. ju.-A as some time ago the late Right Hon \V. P. Massey, at the instigation ot sor.al investigation concerning housing conditions in that city. “The action of the Wellington City Council suggests tiiat it i;- time for us to bestir ourselves and seriously tackie tliis urgent problem.” Councillor D. G. Sullivan expressed the hope that as the result of the see'a wav to give Christchurch some nior.cv. Ib suggested that an investigation should be carried out in Christchurch on the lines adopted in Wellington so that they could find out wl.at