CO129-538-3 Development of Government sites and rebuilding of Government buildings 17-12-1931 - 22-10-1932 — Page 4

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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