A Case of Extravagance?
SIR,—As a British taxpayer, at present resident in South Africa—and one who buys British whenever possible, to help the British export trade—I write to express astonishment and disapproval, after reading an announcement in the Rand Daily Mail that the British government is to pay the highest price ever paid for a house in Pretoria, namely £30,000, in order to demolish it and build in its place a new residence for the British Ambassador by 1970.
In view of the economic crisis in which Britain finds herself once again, and which should surely call for reduced expenditure on luxuries, one might well ask why such a purchase has been authorised.
I note that the new British Embassy will be next door to the American Embassy. If this is an example of 'keeping up with the Joneses,' it is hardly com- mendable for a country heavily in debt.
Johannesburg, South Africa
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