§ MR. BRYNMOR JONES (Gloucester, Stroud)I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that the Thames and Severn Canal is still so much out of repair as to be unfit for navigation; and whether any, and, if 980 any, what steps have been taken by the Board of Trade, in accordance with the assurances given by the ex-President of the Board of Trade on 10th January, 1894, to compel the Thames and Severn Canal Company or the Great Western Railway Company to render the canal fit for navigation?
* THE PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF TRADE (Mr. BEYCE,) Aberdeen, S.Yes, Sir; the Board of Trade are aware that the greater portion of the canal remains in a condition which renders it practically unfit for navigation. The Board have for months been in active communication with the Canal Company and they hoped that the negotiations which have been in progress between the proprietors of the canal and an association of representatives of neighbouring allied navigations would ere this have been brought to a satisfactory issue. I understand that in June a proposal was made by the proprietors to the allied navigations to hand over the canal to them on certain terms, and, from a letter written by the secretary to the association on the 3rd of this month I gather that the allied navigations are employing an engineer to make a report and that they propose finally to consider the proprietors proposals at a meeting in September. The Board of Trade will do everything in their power to facilitate an arrangement, but it is, to say the least, extremely doubtful whether the Board have any compulsory powers in the matter.
§ MR. BARTLEY (Islington, N.)Is it not a fact that the Great Western Railway Company are practically the owners of the canal; have they not bought up the greater part of the shares without the sanction of Parliament; and have they not let the canal get into a very disreputable condition?
§ * MR. BRYCEI understand that the Great Western Railway have what is called a controlling influence; but what the number of proprietors who remain independently of the Railway Company is at present I am unable to say.
§ MR. BYRNMOR JONESHas not the Board of Trade the power to declare the canal derelict?
§ * MR. BRYCEI doubt that. There seems to be great doubt whether Section 17 of the Act of 1873 applies to this case, because it can hardly be said that 981 the Great Western Railway are proprietors of the canal.