MOTION FOR A RETURN. (Hansard, 9 April 1867)

§ LORD REDESDALE
said, he rose to 1332 call attention to the state and character of the new Buildings which were being erected for the Government Offices near Downing Street, and to move for a Return in connection therewith. Their Lordships must have been struck with the great size of the buildings which had been already erected, and the incomplete state in which they were left, and also with the fact that no further progress was apparently being made to cover the site still vacant with the buildings necessary for the other offices. They understood that the new Foreign and India Offices were to be the first erected; and he wished to know whether it was intended that those large buildings were to be occupied solely by those two Offices, or whether any other of the public Departments would be accommodated in them. They all knew that it was much more expensive to live in a large house than in a small one; and it was a question of great importance to consider what additional expenditure would attend the transfer of the staff and business of those Offices from the old quarters to the new. He should therefore like to know whether any estimate had been made of the difference of charge for the respective Offices in occupying the new buildings as compared with the charge for occupying the old ones. He was afraid that the great extra expense would not be fully compensated by great additional advantage to the public. The new buildings were also of great height, and he did not know how they were to be usefully occupied. He supposed that all the documents and papers would be sent to the higher stories, which would be extremely inconvenient; and that possibly some few of the attendants would live there. He wished likewise to ask whether it was intended to pull down the present Colonial Office before the new building was prepared for the reception of that Department. That, he conceived, would cause a most wanton expenditure. He understood that when the Foreign Office was removed, the Colonial Office would be moved into its place; but all these temporary changes from one building to another involved a large expense. He wished to know how much of the property in Parliament Street and King Street had been purchased for the extension of the new State Offices, whether any plan was in existence for the completion of those buildings, whether its execution was in the hands of the same architect as the rest, how it was to be carried out, and what offices were to be accommodated in 1333 the buildings there erected? He should also like to have an answer to a Question which he had asked when those buildings were first projected—namely, how the buildings in Downing Street were to be joined to the new buildings? He thought it would be extremely difficult to make a good junction between them, and that the result when the work was completed would be eminently unsatisfactory. What, again, was proposed to be done on the south side of Charles Street, and with that portion of the ground which was lying waste? If it was intended for public offices, he supposed it would be requisite to purchase ground for the frontage towards Parliament Street, and also for the frontage towards the Park. He thought there ought to be a far more matured scheme for the accommodation of all these different public Departments; and, as far as possible, none of the Departments should be removed until the new buildings intended for their use were ready for their reception. In that part of the town they had a large space now left in a disgraceful state as far as appearances went, and also in a most useless state as respected the public advantage. The subject was one which ought to be attended to, and that as speedily as possible.

THE DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM
said, the answer to that part of the noble Lord's Question with regard to the ground bought as sites for the Public Offices which was now lying idle was, that the House of Commons had not yet voted the money required for the buildings which were to occupy that ground, and therefore it was impossible to proceed with their erection. As to how much of the site fronting Parliament Street had been purchased, he might state that a considerable portion of the freeholds and leaseholds had been bought. There were four properties remaining, of which neither the freeholds nor the leases had been purchased. The present new buildings were to be entirely appropriated to the India Office and the Foreign Office. The new India Office had been built with funds supplied from the Indian revenue, and the amount paid to the Commissioners of Works for the portion of the land required for it was £86,000. Her Majesty's Government had no jurisdiction in respect to the interior arrangements of the India Office. The estimated 1334 cost of the portion of the building which was to be occupied by the Foreign Office was £250,000, and the cost of the site £89,000. The new Foreign Office would contain accommodation for the clerks employed in the Department, and for the papers belonging to the Office, which were formerly kept in the State Paper Office; and the necessary arrangements for printing and other matters connected with the Department were likely to occupy the greater part, or nearly all, of the available room. The rooms in the new building were not so numerous as those in the old one, though they were larger. Large rooms were required, and the upper portion of the building was to be devoted to the storing of papers. A new Colonial Office was to be built, and the subject of the accommodation was under the consideration of a Commission appointed by the Treasury to consider generally the question of the Public Offices. No one would deny the great importance of having the Public Offices together. To have one portion of the staff in one street, and another portion in another street, was most inconvenient; but until the House of Commons devoted sufficient funds to supply the requisite accommodation, the inconvenience and the expense must be borne. He had before him a letter from Mr. Gilbert Scott, stating that he did not think there was any reason to complain of the want of speed at which the works were proceeding. On the contrary, he stated that he had had to restrain the builders from proceeding too rapidly with some portions of the fine work. With regard to the ground fronting Charles Street, beyond the India Office, no plan had been agreed to with regard to its occupation.

§ LORD REDESDALE
said, he should like to know whether the House of Commons had been asked to vote the money necessary to carry on the required buildings. He believed that if an application were made for a moderate sum of money it would be cheerfully met. The question he had asked why the houses fronting Charles Street had been pulled down if no plan was ready had not been answered. The ground, which was once profitably occupied, had been cleared, and was now unprofitable, and could not be made the site of new official buildings without further purchases being made at both ends, to the Park and to Parliament Street.