§ MR. WILLOX (Liverpool, Everton)I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been called to the extensive dredging operations carried on by a private individual for his own benefit in the bed and on the banks of the River Clwyd, near Rhyl, which is a tidal river, whereby gravel is carried away in ships at the rate of 1,000 to 2,000 tons per week, and in consequence of which the foreshore has subsided to such an extent that the lands adjoining and the town of Rhyl are deprived of their natural barrier and protection, and the neighbourhood is in imminent danger of being flooded; and whether the Board of Trade are in a position, and are prepared, to take the necessary steps to put a stop to these dredging operations?
§ THE PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF TRADE (Mr. MUNDELLA, Sheffield,1811 Brightside) I have received a complaint of the dredging operations referred to by the hon. Member, and am in communication with the person complained of, and with the Rhyl Improvement Commissioners. A portion of the foreshore of the River Clwyd is not now under the management of the Board of Trade.