By a vote of 86 to 21, the London County
Council decided on Tuesday to expend £600,000 on acquiring a site for a new County Hall on the south side of the Thames, and to seek Parliamentary powers for compulsory purchase next year. The question of the kind of hall to be erected is to be decided later on. It may be noted that the amendment counselling delay, in view of the heavy financial commitments of the Council and the proposals for large additional expenditure now before them, met with some support from the Pro- gressives, and that Lord Welby voted with the minority on the main question. We are strongly in favour of seeing the County Council properly and worthily housed, and there can be no doubt that the present accommodation is scattered and inadequate, if not actually insanitary. But it cannot be denied, in view of the present plight of the ratepayer, that the proposal is inopportune, and it is sincerely to be hoped that there may be no unnecessary outlay on the building itself. The County Council needs, and should have, an efficient workshop ; it cannot afford a palace.
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