§ 15. Mr. A. V. ALEXANDERasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he can state the amount of foreign tonnage now employed in British coastwise trade; whether he has received any representations on this question from the British shipowners; and whether he proposes to take any action in the matter?
§ Sir P. CUNLIFFE-LISTERIn 1924 the net tonnage of foreign ships arriving and departing with cargo in the coasting trade was in round figures 200,000, the 1099 corresponding figure for British ships being 20,000,000. One firm of shipowners has made representations to me in favour of excluding foreign ships from the coasting trade. As at present advised, I do not propose to take any action in the matter.
Lieut.-Colonel LAMBERT WARDIs it not a fact that most, if not all, foreign countries either differentiate against British tonnage or exclude it altogether from their coastal trade?
§ Sir P. CUNLIFFE-LISTERI would not like to give a positive and detailed answer in reply to a supplementary question, but it always has been the considered practice of Britain, concurred in and advised by British shipowners, to pursue the practice that we are pursuing.