§ MR. WOOD (Glasgow, St. Rollox)To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he has received an answer from the London County Council to his inquiry whether the council is willing to assist the proposed Port of London authority by giving its guarantee to the new stock, as recommended by the Royal Commission on the Port of London and proposed in the Bill of the late Government.
(Answered by Mr. Lloyd-George.) Yes, Sir. But though I emphasised the importance of the Board of Trade knowing the attitude and intentions of the London County Council while preparing their Bill, I do not gather from the reply I received that the matter has been discussed by the Council. That reply informed me that the Rivers Committee were unable to recommend the Council to come to any decision until they knew the main lines on which the Government intend to deal with the matter, but that some of their members would be glad to confer with me on the whole subject. I shall of course gladly avail myself of
* No. 1 Dock was not completed until 12th March, 1906.† Includes "Assistance" in dock for eight months.496 this offer, and I am already in personal touch with the Chairman of the Council and of the Rivers Committee. I am, however, quite without any official information as to the views of the Council as a whole.