Mr. STANLEY WILSONasked the Secretary to the Treasury whether he can now say if it is the intention of the Government to carry out the recommendations contained in a Report recently made to the Board of Trade by Captain G. C. Frederick, R.N., and Sir William Matthews, K.C.M.G., and referred to the Treasury by that Department, with regard to the protection of the navigable channel of the Humber and the communications with the Spurn?
§ Mr. HOBHOUSEThe matter is still under consideration, and I am unable at present to make any statement as to the course which will be adopted by the Government.
§ Mr. HOBHOUSEThe question has been under consideration for some months. There are difficult negotiations going on, and I am afraid I cannot give the information for which the hon. Gentleman asks. The hon. Member knows I am considering the question, and I will do my best to get a decision arrived at as soon as possible.
Mr. STANLEY WILSONIs the hon. Gentleman aware that unless immediate action is taken by the Government there is probability of their having to spend very large sums of money in the near future to defend the navigable channel in the Humber?
§ Mr. HOBHOUSEThat question contains a good many propositions with which I am not entirely prepared to agree.