§ MR. WEIRI beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will state whether the Committee appointed in 1899 to inquire into applications from local authorities for Government assistance in constructing harbours have yet made their Report: has a grant been made to any authority in either of the crofting counties; if so, will he state the name of the authority, the amount of the grant, and the name of the harbour in respect of which it has been made; and, in view of the fact that the Treasury have ruled that applications for assistance cannot be referred to the Committee unless the local authority undertakes the permanent maintenance of the harbour, and provides from local or outside sources two-thirds of the whole cost, will he consider the expediency of having these rules relaxed in their application to the Highland crofting counties, having regard to the burden imposed on local authorities in those counties by the conditions at present imposed.
THE PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF TRADE (Mr. (GERALD BALFOUR, Leeds, Central)The Committee to which the hon. Member refers was not appointed to make any general inquiry and report, but to consider specific applications for monetary grants in aid to harbours, having regard to certain conditions and limitations. No grant has been made to an authority in any of the crofting counties. With regard to the last paragraph of the Question, I have been in communication with the Treasury, and understand they are not prepared to relax the rules in the manner suggested by the hon. Member.