MR. LINDSAYsaid, he wished to ask the right hon. Gentleman the Vice President of the Board of Trade, in reference to the Local Dues on Shipping Bill, whether it was intended that the Board of Trade should have the power of applying taxes raised at one port for the benefit of another? Whether any taxes levied at any port, and paid to the Commissioners of Customs, would be applied to any purposes except to the payment of the debts, or to shipping purposes, at the port where levied? And whether, if applied to shipping purposes, it would be so applied by the Board of Trade, or by local harbour authorities?
§ MR. LOWEsaid, in answer to the first question of the hon. Member, that it had never been intended to confer any power on the Board of Trade by the Bill to apply taxes raised at one port for the benefit of another port. Neither had it been contemplated to apply the money raised at any port to any other purpose than the payment of debts or to shipping purposes at the port where they were levied, and if they were to be applied to shipping purposes they would be administered by the harbour authorities, and not by the Board of Trade. All that the Board of Trade required would be an estimate of the manner in which any particular sum was to be expended, in order to guard against any of those dues being applied to purely municipal purposes.