§ MR. J. D. WHITETo ask the President of the Board of Trade, how many portions of land have been acquired for lighthouse and similar purposes by the Northern Lights Commissioners since 1890, stating as regards each case the year of purchase: the locality, character, and approximate area of the purchased portion; the amount, if any, which was paid for it, and to whom such payment was made; and the annual valuation for rating of the purchased portion at the time of the purchase or, if that portion formed part of a larger rating unit, the amount by which the annual rating valuation of that unit was reduced in consequence of the exclusion of the purchased portion.
§ (Answered by Mr. Lloyd-George.) I am informed by the Commissioners of Northern Lighthouses that the number of portions of land acquired by them for lighthouse and similar purposes since 1890 is fifty-nine. The Commissioners' property is exempted from rates under Section 731 of The Merchant Shipping Act, 1894, and they have no information regarding the rating values of these 116 lands at the time of acquisition. The other particulars desired by my hon. friend are too voluminous to be given here, but I will send him the statement which has been furnished me by the Commissioners on the subject.