§ MR. TIMOTHY DAVIES (Fulham)I beg to ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will cause inquiries to be made into the proposed foreign animals wharf and abattoir in the Island of Alderney and the reasons which prevent the Commissioners of Woods and Forests leasing the Crown lands required for the scheme to its promoters; whether he will state what sum it is estimated would accrue to the Imperial Treasury from rents and taxation and from harbour dues payable to the Woods and Forests Department for 240 the use of Alderney Harbour by the vessels which would be employed in the proposed trade; what is the present income from the same sources; what is the cost of keeping Alderney Harbour in serviceable condition and repair; and by which Department or Departments of the Government is the cost defrayed.
§ THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER (Mr. LLOYD-GEORGE,) Carnarvon BoroughsThe Commissioners of Woods declined to facilitate the scheme because, in the opinion of the Board of Agriculture, it involved a risk of the introduction of cattle disease into the Channel Islands and the United Kingdom. It is impossible to say what sum would accrue to the Imperial Treasury from rents and harbour dues payable to the Office of Woods for the use of Alderney Harbour by the vessels which would be employed in the proposed trade. The income of the Commissioners of Woods from harbour dues for the year ended 31st March, 1908, was £692. The cost of keeping in repair the piers in Alderney which are under the management of the Commissioners of Woods for the same year was £63. The breakwater protecting the harbour is under the charge of the Admiralty, and all expenditure on it is made by that Department.