§ MR. MCCARTANI beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that the county Down Grand Jury practically accepted the terms and conditions subject to which the Treasury promised a grant of £5,000 towards the urgently needed reconstruction of Newcastle Pier and Harbour works; whether any, and, if so, what difficulties have been placed in the way by the Board of Trade; and whether, considering the present dangerous state of the harbour, and the desirability of having the proposed harbour works erected without further delay, he will, in the interest of the fishermen and the local public, suggest to the Board of Trade to render facilities for enabling the Grand Jury to make some progress with the work?
§ MR. HANBURYMy right hon. Friend has asked me to answer this question, as the Board of Trade have nothing whatever to do with the Newcastle Harbour works. No doubt the hon. Member is confusing the Board of Trade with the Irish Board of Works. It is not the fact that the Grand Jury practically accepted the terms and conditions upon which the Treasury offered a grant in this case, and no difficulties have been placed in the way by the Board of Works. The fact is that the Grand Jury rejected the Board of Works scheme for reconstructing the old harbour, and put forward a scheme of their own for constructing an entirely new work. Apart from financial considerations, the difficulty is that this scheme for a new work could not legally be carried out by means of money borrowed from the Government and that the work, if executed, could not legally be maintained by the Grand Jury. The requirements of the law affecting the matter have been clearly explained to the Grand Jury, and the Board of Works have suggested to the County Surveyor modifications of the Grand Jury's scheme with a view to meeting these difficulties. The matter now rests, not with the Board of Works, but with a Committee of the Grand Jury which, I understand, has been appointed to deal with the question.