§ MR. J. DEVLIN (Belfast, W.)I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that in the agreement made between the Belfast Harbour Commissioners and Messrs. Middleton, Scott, and Company, contractors for the new graving dock at Belfast, power is given to the contractors to sub-let the brickwork part of the contract; whether the practice of subletting public contracts has been condemned by resolution of the House of Commons, and is not allowed by the Irish Local Government Board, and, if so, why no similar control is exercised over the harbour trusts; and whether, if the facts are as stated, he will exercise his powers to prevent the practice in the case of these trusts.
§ MR. CHURCHILLI have no legal power to interfere with regard to contracts made by Harbour Boards. I am, however, informed by the Belfast Harbour Commissioners that the contract entered into by them with Messrs. Middleton, Scott, and Company, contains 1664 a clause providing that sub-contracts for supply of "materials or certain manufactured works" may be made with the approval of the Commissioners' engineer, but that any such sub-contract shall not relieve the contractors from any duties and liabilities under their contract, any acts or defaults on the part of the subcontractor being treated as the acts or defaults of the contractors. The late Engineer to the Harbour Board gave the necessary approval to the sub-letting of the brick work part of the contract in October, 1904, and the arrangement is still in force. It is the case that on the 13th February, 1891, the House of Commons passed a Resolution that in their opinion it was "the duty of the Government in all Government contracts to make provision against the evils recently disclosed before the Sweating Committee, to insert such conditions as may prevent the abuse arising from subletting, and to make every effort to secure the payment of such wages as are generally accepted as current in each trade for competent workmen," but this Resolution did not of course apply to bodies other than Government Departments. The Irish Local Government Board inform me that they have no specific regulation on the subject of sub-letting, each case being dealt with on its merits, and that they are not prepared to say that sub-letting is objectionable in every instance.