§ MR. GRANTHAMasked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Whether the seal of the Duchy has now been affixed to any document for giving effect to the contemplated sale of the foreshore to the riparian owners; whether, by the exercise of his good offices, he has now succeeded in securing for the town of Southport that part of the foreshore which they consider it is essential 778 to the interest of the town they should possess; whether Lord Belper (a former Chancellor of the Duchy) did not state in his evidence before the Select Committee in "Bertolacci's" case, that by an almost invariable usage, and one which he thought it was very desirable to maintain, it had been customary in all cases of important grants and donations out of the Queen's revenues of the Duchy, or of granting important leases, or of any great question for the improvement of the landed property of the Duchy, for the Chancellor to reserve such questions for a meeting of the Council; to hold such meetings from time to time, and then to bring all those questions before the Council; and that it had also been his custom to be guided by the opinion of the Council; and, whether, inasmuch as the proposed sale embraces over 9,000 acres of land, for a sum of £15,000, to private persons, and thereby excludes the rights of the public, it is not of sufficient importance to induce him to seek the advice of the Council?
§ MR. DODSONSir, my answer to the first Question is—not yet. My answer to the second Question is also—not yet. But I hope what I am now doing will ultimately lead to an amicable settlement, especially if, as both parties have now accepted my good offices, the matter is allowed to be quietly worked out. With regard to the third Question, the usage referred to still prevails; but this Question does not fall within any of the categories mentioned by Lord Belper, the conclusion of whose statement, as to the entire authority resting with the Chancellor, the hon. and learned Member has not quoted. With regard to the last Question, all that is sold of the foreshore is the Duchy's interest, whatever that may be; and the rights of the public, so far from being excluded by the sale, are increased by it, inasmuch, as, by the transfer from the Crown, they become subject to the compulsory powers given to local authorities by the Public Health Act.