CO129-478 - Public Offices & Others - 1922 — Page 224

The foregoing proposals will now be dealt with

II.

Derlatin,

(1)

Agreed to.

221

The

(2) The values shown the schedule have been arrived at by my Chief Engineer in consultation the Director of Public Works, and it is recommended that they be accepted as the "market value" referred in Colonial Office Circular of 30th December 1894. It is inevitable that there should be a considerable element of uncertainty in such valuations. market value of land in this Colony is liable to violent fluctuations due to political, commercial and other causes. Ample evidence of this is forthcoming every day in the

All that records of land sales by the Colonial Government. can be said is that the figures are believed to represent fair average values. The alternative to accepting them as they stand would be an independant valuation, which would be a long and expensive affair, with no assurance that the result would be more reliable than the figures agreed to by the Chief Engineer and the Director of Public Works,

The view taken by the Colonial Government is that a great deal of preliminary work will be necessary before the various plots could be put up for auction and that, apeaking generally, such a procedure is impracticable on such a large scale.

Er on the War Department point of view the disadvan- tage of a preliminary and final valuation is that it precludes any possibility of benefiting by a possible rise in values while the scheme is in progress,

On the other hand

it should be borne in mind that the Colony will be losing interest on their purchase money while the land is being developed, and also expending capital on building on the new site to be given to War Department before they obtain possession of the old War Department site.

Taking into account relationships between the War Department and the Colonial Government it is recommended that the view of the latter be accepted.

The Colonial Government atate "The acceptance of the figures would not bind the War Department to the surrender of the land but such areas as it givos up would be debited against the Colony at the rates shown,

1

(3) The Colonial Government points out that the Military Lands Account has hitherto been regarded only as a record of transactions involving no cash payments and suggests that it would be more convenient to open a special account in oonnection with this scheme. No objection is seen to this proposal and is recommended for acceptance,

(4)

(6)

Agreed to.

The Colonial Government states that :-

Under date the 28th September 1921, the War Office informed the Colonial Office that the sum of £114,317-18-9 was owing to this Government on account of percentage over- paid under the Defence Contribution Ordnance.

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