CO129-478 - Public Offices & Others - 1922 — Page 246

:

The foregoing proposals will now be dealt with

II. seriatin.

(1)

agreed to,

243

8.

The

(2) The values shown in the schedule have been arrived at by my Chief Engineer in consultation with the Director of Public forks, and it is reco...ended that they be accepted as the har et value" referred in Colonial Office Circular of 30th De cember 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 co violent fluctuations due to political, comercial and other causes. Aiple evidence of this is forthcoming every day in the recorde of land sales by the Colonial Government. All that 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 independent valuation, which would be a long and expensive affair, with no was urance that the result would be more reliable than the fi ures greed to by the Chief Engineer and the Director of Public Works.

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

From the War Department point of view the disadvantage of a preliminary and final valuation ta that it precludes any poesibility of benefiting by a possible rise in values while the scheme is in progress. On the other hand it should be bome 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 var Department site.

Taking into account relationships between the War Department and the Colonial Goverment it is recomended that the view of the latter be accepted,

The Colonial Goverment state "The acceptance of the figures would not bind the far Department to the surrender of the land but such areas as it gives up would be desited against the Colony at the rates slovn",

(3)

The Colonial Government points out that the Military Lands Account has hitherto been regarded only as a record of transactions involving no cash pay.ients and suggests that it would be no re convoniant to open & special account in connection with this schale, No objection is seen to this proposal and is reco.ended for acceptance.

(4)

Agreed to.

(6)

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 overpaid under the Defence Contribution Ordnance,

Nothing