7

H.-44

In order to encourage the importation of cement the Government for some time remitted the duty on this material. This remission of duty applied from the 28th August, 1920, and included all cement actually shipped on or before the Ist April, 1921. The amount imported during this period was 11,947 tons, of a dutiable value of £7,621 Is. Id. Duty was refunded on 10,315 tons', the amount refunded being £6,648 19s. BUILDING-RESTRICTIONS. Towards the middle of 1920 the position with respect to all classes of building-supplies became so acute that on the Board's recommendation the Government decided to issue regulations the object of which was to ensure that supplies of cement, bricks, and timber should be available only for works that were at that time considered essential. The order of essentiality adopted by the Board in this connection was the same as that used in the distribution of cement (see p. 13). As the primary object of these regulations was to stimulate the erection of dwellings, the Board delegated to local authorities its powers with respect to all applications for permits to build dwellinghouses. The co-operation of these local bodies was of enormous assistance to the Department, and by means of their operations 4,151 applications for permits for dwellings and farm-buildings were dealt with. For the purpose, of assisting the Board in dealing with applications for permits for works other than dwellings, advisory committees were set up—at the request of the architects, builders, and building employees—in Invercargill, Dunedin, Christchurch, Wellington, and Auckland. These committees ac,ted merely in an advisory capacity, and all applications were dealt with by the Board itself. The work of these committees was of material assistance, and the thanks of the Government are due to the members for the services gratuitously given in this connection. The work of regulating the use of building-materials by compelling the sellers to deal only with holders of permits was conducted, in the most economical way possible. No attempt was made to carry out the scheme in every detail; to do so would have necessitated the establishment of a large central office and the employment of a small army of inspectors, entailing enormous cost to the State The controlling organizations in England, for example, were particularly elaborate. The Board considered, however, that quite a satisfactory effect could be obtained by the temporary organization of a few advisory committees and by utilizing the services of the various Inspectors of Factories. The arrangements made by the Board involved the total cost of about £700. Many letters received by the Department from various interests concerned, including the public, expressed appreciation of the Board's impartial work in connection with the building regulations and the control of essential materials. From the date of gazetting (24th Juno, 1920) to the suspension of the regulations (19th March) the Board dealt with more than three thousand applications for permits for buildings other than dwellinghouses or farm-buildings. This does not represent the total cases considered, as the Board received many inquiries from persons who wished to ascertain whether an application was likely to be granted ; when the reply indicated that a permit would not be available till the supply of essential materials warranted it the application was not lodged. In some instances permits were granted on condition that imported materials were used. The subjoined return shows the amounts of material and labour involved in building-construction under permits issued by the Board of Trade from the Ist July, 1920, to the 31st March, 1921 :—

District. Timber. Cement. ( Bricks. Men. Auckland City Hamilton Rotorua Auckland Province New Plymouth Hawera Taranaki Province Wellington City Palmerston North Wanganui Wellington Province .. Napier Gisborne Hawke's Bay Christchurch Timaru Canterbury Province .. Dunedin Feet. 10,040,559 2,456,622 136,437 8,310,677 215,800 399,518 1,309,048 7,788,843 145,623 2,181,566 3,498,700 1,166,997 2,195,776 2,892,405 2,399,949 613,147 1,404,400 3,173,661 117,500 1,079,983 670,733 1,461,785 1,569,124 78,625 65,544 Bags. 203,832 33,767 613 73,292 25,272 5,809 22,287 152,774 2,570 14,771 49,356 7,686 87,080 41,378 141,513 11,111 26,906 41,505 1,219 46,395 7,557 22,225 10,423 1,096 2,048 Number. 7,154,635 995,764 17,200 2,861,401 80,500 117,950 220,400 6,269,860 432,500 1,474,050 1,893,800 612,445 1,086,580 1,525,225 4,962,100 824,650 916,560 2,412,200 350 510,500 544,650 355,000 576,625 67,540 64,800 3,890 1,497 57 3,395 274 357 836 2,893 120 1,306 1,715 711 867 1,456 1,785 677 986 1,382 Oamaru Otago Province Invercargill Southland Nelson District Westland Marlborough 55 665 304 955 669 56 72 Totals 55,373,058 1,032,485 35,977,285 26,980