The Sun.
London, England, 1862-04-30 00:00:00

PUBLIC BUILDINGS.

Mr. B. COCHRANE moved that tm humble address
be presented to her Majesty praying that she would be
graciously pleased to issue a commission to inquire
into the state of the public buildings erected by par-
liamentary grants within the last twenty yourg, and. GIL°
of Fence(' rue cue public service; and to in-
quire whether, by adopting more comprehensive plans of
building, greater public : convenience, greater economy,
and unity of design, may not be attained. The hon. mem-
ber said he did not make any complaint against the
gentlemen who had filled the office of Chief Com-
missioner of Works for some years past, because he
believed they were all actuated only by a desire to
improve the metropolis and promote public con-
venience. His objection was to the existing system,
which he contended was not only injurious to the interests
of the metropolis, but the most expensive that could be
adopted. He illustrated the position by reference to the
Foreign Office, Inland Revenue Office, and Public Record
Office. In reference to the last, he said that the public re-
cords of the country were placed in a small and inconve-
nient room, and might at any time be destroyed by fire. He
adverted to the evidence before a comrnittecof the late Sir C.
Barry in favour of a concentration!of all the public buildings,
end he said that since 1828 the country had paid more than
double the value of the house property which they had
purchased. He alluded also to the opinion expressed by
Earl Russell and other authorities to the same effect, as a
proof of the expense that had been incurred. He mentioned
that no less than £82,000 a year had been paid for some
time for the hire of offices for transaction of the public busi-
ness. He did not object to a large expenditure on our pub
lie buildings if an adequate value were secured, and he
thought the best course that could be adopted would be for
the Government to obtain the opinion of competent judges
as to the amount that would be required for the
construction of the public offices on an ap-
propriate scale, which in reality would be an
economical proceeding in the end. Ho contrasted the in-
feriority of London in regard to public buildings with Paris
and other continental cities, and he called on the house
to adopt a comprehensive plan for the improvement of the
metropolis, in accordance with its importance and the fad
Mies of site which it afforded.

Mr. COWPER sympathised with the hon. member (NTT..
Cochrane) in his desire for the improvement of the metro-
polis. At the same time he thought that any such com-
mission as the hon. member proposed would supersede the
authority of the Executive on the subject to which that
commission would devote itself. He believed that would
be most injurious, as it would take from the Government
the responsibility which was at present imposed on
them, of securing economy in the construction of
public buildings. He could not understand what that com- I
mission would have to inquire into, because, in reality,
there was only one public building erected by Government
for same years. That was the Record Office, and as re-
garded other offices, they had merely been improved or
altered. Ho contended that the plans for the new publicoffices
which had been made were of a comprehensive character,and
originated from the inquiries which had been going on for
20 or 30 years. He said that when the public works which
had been decided on were being prcceeded with, it would
not be desirable to have a commission appointed, and he
strongly deprecated the adoption of any proposal that
would necessitate a large expenditure at the present time.
The right hon. gentleman then defended in detail the plans
which had been adopted by the executive, and he said that
the plan pursued in his office was to construct the new
buildings close to the old buildings. He contended that
the present Record-office was an admirable build-
ing, and was erected according to a design which
proposed the erection of a larger building, which could
be carried out as soon as the house was prepared to vote
the money requisite for the purpose. In the meantime the
public documents could be received by the Master of the
Rolls, or could be placed in the rooms in the Victoria
Tower which were intended for their temporary reception,
and numbered 64. With regard to the hire of houses
for the purposes of the public service, he reminded hon.
members that some offices such as the Seamens' Registry
and the Stationery Offices were necessarily limited to a
certain locality. He denied that there was any extravagance
or mismanagement on the part of the Government in regard
to public works, and defended the designs which he had
adopted for the new buildings proposed to be erected for the
public service, which, he maintained would be worthy of a
Igreat metropolis like this, both in reference to beauty and
utility.

Lord J, MANNERS regarded the motion not as neces.
sarily involving either economical considerations or the
reverse, but as simply a proposal for inquiry, for which he
held there were sufficient reasons,
Sir M. PETO also supported the motion..
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER warned
the house that concurrence in the motion might lead here-
after to serious inconvenience. The question was beyond
the scope of any commission to deal with, and he believed
that by appointing such a commission they would only
tempt its members to endeavour to attract favour and
strength by holding out magnificent prospects and contem-
plating an enormous public expenditure, and that their re-
commendations would only remain a dead letter. Obstaclo3
would also be interposed to many practical plans of great
importance which were now in progress, and upon which
the house would be shortly called upon to pronounce a
judgment.
Upon a division the motion was negatived by 116 to 49.