§ 37. Mr. SUGDENasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Shipping Controller if he will give the tonnage available for canal traffic in Great Britain, and if and how much such traffic has increased since the Armistice was signed, and by what amount pressure on railways for the carriage of merchandise has been relieved?
The PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY to the MINISTRY Of TRANSPORT (Lieut.-Colonel; Sir Rhys Williams)I have been asked to answer this question. "A" Return, prepared by the Canal Control Committee at the end of August last, shows that at that date there were 7,254 narrow boats and 3,835 wide boats available for service, while 617 of the former and 459 of the latter were out of commission awaiting repairs widen were much in arrears owing to the difficulty of obtaining skilled labour during the War. With an average carrying capacity of 28 tons for the' narrow and 40 tons for the wide boats, the tonnage available at 796 the end of August was 356,512 tons. The total tonnage carried over the canals in Great Britain under the control of the Committee for the ten months preceding the Armistice was 15,875,478 tons, or an average of 1,587,548 tons per month. For the month of November, 1918, 1,408,068 tons of traffic were conveyed. For the ten months succeeding November, 1918, the total tonnage conveyed was 14,529,524 tons, or an average of 1,452,952 tons per month, which represents a decrease at the rate of 135,000 tons per month.
§ Mr. SUGDENIn view of the very serious condition of the railways, what steps does the hon. Gentleman propose to take to increase the shipping on our canals, instead of decreasing it, as the reply suggests?
§ Mr. SUGDENWhat are the steps being taken to remedy the situation?
Sir R. WILLIAMSI am not prepared to answer that question. If my hon. Friend will give me notice, I will deal with it.