4. Sir GILBERT PARKERasked whether an assurance has been given to the French Government that, with the consent of Parliament, alien pilotage shall be permitted in British waters as indicated by Clause 19 of the Pilotage Bill now before Parliament?
§ The PRESIDENT of the BOARD of TRADE (Mr. Buxton, for Sir E. Grey)My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has asked me to answer this question. The French Government were informed by His Majesty's Government of their intention to propose to Parliament the provisions of Clause 19 (2) of the Pilotage Bill, and the French Government have intimated that the enactment of those provisions would be accepted by them as a solution of the difficult question which has formed the subject of discussions between the two Governments for a considerable time past. I cannot at all accept the description of the Clause suggested in the question, its only intention being to introduce certain very strictly limited exceptions to the operation of Section 73 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1906.