5 and 6. Mr. GILBERTasked the President of the Board of Trade (1) whether, in view of proposed legislation in another country which will greatly affect British shipping, he will state if any preference is given to British-owned ships in any ports in the United Kingdom: whether all foreign ships enter these home ports on exactly the same conditions as British ships;
(2) whether any preference, as regards charges or dues, is given to British ships in any of the ports of any of the British dominions; and, if so, can he state what dominions give such a preference and whether it is given against the ships of any special nationality?
§ Mr. BALDWINThe general position is that in British ports all over the world foreign ships are at present on a footing of entire equality with British ships.