§ MR. JOHNSTON (Belfast, S.)I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been called to the project of a ship canal, connecting the Forth and Clyde, as proposed by Mr. Charles John Wilson, of Hawick, at the meeting of the Associated Chambers of Commerce; whether he has seen the Report of Messrs. Crouch and Hogg, of Glasgow, on a direct route from Yoker to Grangemouth, through a rich mineral district; and whether the Board of Trade can give any facilities for testing the practicability of the scheme, its probable cost, the prospects of traffic, and the likelihood of its commercial success?
§ *THE PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF TRADE (Sir M. HICKS BEACH,) Bristol, W.I have seen the pamphlet to which the hon. Member refers, but I do not know what facilities could be afforded by the Government which are not at the disposal of those who are interested in such a scheme.