HC Deb 27 June 1884 vol 289 cc1545-6
SIR HERBERT MAXWELL

asked the President of the Board of Trade, Why the evidence taken by the Commissioners to inspect and report on Port-patrick Harbour was not taken down in shorthand; whether the Report of the evidence and proceedings quoted from the local newspapers in the Commissioners' Report was taken from longhand notes; whether the Commissioners asked the correspondents of two local newspapers to take the evidence in shorthand, but considered the terms, which were at the usual rate, too high; what was the difference between the rate proposed and that which the Board of Trade are prepared to accept; and, whether Mr. Trevor, one of the Commissioners, expressed the decision of Her Majesty's Government when he remarked, soon after the commencement of the inquiry, in hearing of those present, and again at a subsequent period, that "the Government did not intend to spend any more money at Port-patrick?"

MR. CHAMBERLAIN

, in reply, said, that the Commissioners appointed by him did make some inquiries with respect to a shorthand writer in connection with the inquiry which they were carrying on; but by his instruction they abandoned the idea of having shorthand notes, and they did so without any reference to any special charge which would be made locally, but on the general ground that it was contrary to precedent in inquiries of this kind to put the country to the expense of a full verbatim report. But he might inform the hon. Baronet that there was a report in one of the local news papers which had been attached to the Papers put on the Table, which was sufficiently full, and a very fair, and a generally accurate account. As regarded the last paragraph of the Question, the hon. Member had been misinformed. Mr. Trevor told him that during the inquiry, and with special reference to the observations of one or more of the witnesses, he made a remark to the effect that he thought it might be taken for granted that, look- ing to the Act of Parliament of 1873, which released the Government from liabilities with respect to the harbour, Government would not spend any more money in the permanent maintenance of the harbour works; and all that he and his Colleague had to inquire into was whether any injury had been caused to certain specified interests by certain specified works. With that remark he (Mr. Chamberlain) entirely concurred.