§ 56. Sir ELLIS HUME-WILLIAMSasked the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether his attention has been called to the great inconvenience caused to passengers from France to England by the present practice of driving them through pens both at Calais and at Dover in order that an official may put a stamp on the passports which he has not time to examine; and whether he will consider the propriety of returning to the practice which obtained during the War of having passports examined on board ship?
§ The SECRETARY of STATE for the HOME DEPARTMENT (Mr. Shortt)I have been asked to answer this question. I cannot answer as to the treatment of passengers embarking at Calais, as the British Government is not responsible. As regards the treatment at Dover, I am not sure that I understand the point of the complaint. An immigration officer 1793 travels in the boat from Calais to Dover for the purpose of examining alien passengers, and completes the great majority of cases, stamping the passports on board; the remainder are dealt with on arrival at Dover. The passports of British passengers are not stamped, and I do not think any alteration in this respect is necessary.
§ Sir E. HUME-WILLIAMSIs it not a fact that the officer who travels on board confines himself entirely to visaing the passports of aliens, and are not English people who are travelling from Calais to Dover subjected to the indignity and inconvenience of being placed in a long queue and then passed into a pen, and that the officer has not even time to read the passports?
§ Mr. SHORTTI really gave the answer to the whole of that supplementary question.
§ Mr. G. TERRELLWill my right hon. Friend appoint some responsible officer to see whether the procedure in regard to passports might not be considerably simplified, and is he aware that there is a, great deal of delay and inconvenience caused to passengers at Dover and other English ports?
Mr. MACLEANIs the inconvenience that these people are suffering owing to the passports any greater than in the case of the unemployed of this country, who have to stand much longer in long queues?