4
for building purposes will no doubt provoke criticism
on aesthetic grounds, but with its present formidable
building programme Hong Kong could hardly afford to
add the Government House Grounds to the Botanical
Gardens. Moreover as the Retrenchment Commission
pointed out (paragraph 4 enclosure 2) this part
of the City is already adequately supplied with
open spaces.
8. I think we can agree to authorise the
Governor to proceed with negotiations for the
inception of that part of the Scheme which deals
with the disposal of the City Hall and Beaconsfield
Arcade sites and with the rebuilding of Government
House. I think we can also agree to the acquisition
of Inland Lots 564 and 580 as proposed.
? Refly accordingly
Felgueron
20.1.32
This is a large scheme of which the big
item in the first four years is the building of
a new Government House costing two million dollars
and the big item in the subsequent three years
is the building of new Goverment offices costing
three million dollars. The obvious objection is
that such a scheme should not be initiated at
present, but this scheme is peculiar in that it
is expected to finance itself and show a handsome
surplus. Moreover, it is to be financed at the
start by the sale of the City Hall site, although
the City Hall does not belong to Government and
the Government does not propose to replace it.
Eventually