§ SIR THOMAS SUTHERLAND (Greenock)I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade when it may be expected that the lighthouses which the Porte is said to have agreed to construct in the southern portion of the Red Sea will be commenced, and if any arrangement has been entered into or is pending for authorising the collection of dues in respect of such lights; and whether the annual surplus of the Egyptian lights revenue, amounting to £45,000, is considered available for this purpose, or if such surplus can only be applied to the reduction of dues on Egyptian lights in conformity with the Convention between Great Britain and Egypt; in the latter case when a reduction may be looked for.
§ * MR. BRODRICKAs regards the first paragraph of this question there is nothing at present to be added to the answer given to the question of the right hon. Member for the North-east Division of Manchester on the 27th of July ultimo. The sum available for the construction of the proposed lighthouses in the Red Sea is the accumulated amount, about £80,000 sterling, to which reference was made in reply to my hon. Friend's question of July 29th. I would, however, remind him that the dues were reduced by 30 per cent, on September 1st, 1897, and the revenue derived from them has fallen from £E110,000 in 1896 to £E87,000 in 1898. The engagement on the part of the Egyptian Government to reduce the Egyptian light dues by £E40,000, to which the hon. Member alludes, is contingent on the application of the customs tariff to all the Powers. This contingency has not yet arisen.