§ 31. Lieut.-Commander KENWORTHYasked the Minister of Transport what expenses the Crown is now liable for under the agreement to pay 75 per cent. of the legal charges incurred in promoting the Humber Bridge Bill; and whether he has formed any estimate as to the Crown liability in the event of the Bill being opposed in another place?
§ Mr. HERBERT MORRISONI presume my hon. and gallant Friend, by "legal expenses" means the total expenses, including witnesses, shorthand notes, etc., up to the date when the 1268 scheme received the approval of the Committee of the First House. It is not possible to give a definite figure, as this cannot be accurately ascertained, the costs being subject to taxation, but the nearest estimate of the total cost is £28,600, to which the Road Fund will contribute 75 per cent., namely, £21,450. It is not possible to estimate the expenses which may be incurred by the promoters in the event of the Bill being opposed in another place, as this is entirely dependent upon the extent of the opposition, which, until petitions are lodged, is unknown. It is not, however, anticipated that the Committee stage in the Upper House is likely to occupy anything like so much time as it did in the First House.
§ Lieut.-Commander KENWORTHYI am much obliged to the right hon. Gentleman, but is there any way by which he can inform the bodies who are opposing this, the railway companies, the canal companies, and so on, with all their shareholders and others, of the tremendous expense that is being run up?