HARBOURS OF REFUGE—PETITIONS. (Hansard, 29 June 1857)

§ LORD RAVENSWORTH

, pursuant to notice, rose to present petitions from shipowners, &c., of Blythe, Woodhorn, and Bothal, praying that a harbour of refuge might be constructed on the north-east coast for the protection of shipping; also to move for— Correspondence between Mr. W. A. Brooks, of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, with the Secretary of the Admiralty, of the 26th of December 1856 and the 20th of February 1857: And also, Estimate for the Formation of the whole of the Works requisite for the Completion of the Harbour now in course of Construction at Dover; and that a plan of the said Harbour, with Soundings, do accompany such Return, distinguishing that Portion of the Work first contracted for and completed, and also that Portion now contracted for and in course of Construction; and that longitudinal and transverse Sections of the Piers or Works be also furnished with the Plan: And also, Similar Estimates for the Completion of the Harbours now forming at Jersey and Alderney, together with Plans and Sections as above described for Dovor Harbour. The noble Lord, referring to the return of wrecks on the coast of Great Britain, recently laid before Parliament by the Board of Trade, pointed out that one-fourth of the whole had occurred within seventy miles of the rivers Tyne and Wear. 533 The petitioners prayed that a harbour of refuge might be constructed on the northeast coast, and he would appeal to the noble Duke near him (the Duke of Northumberland) who had been so energetic in everything that could tend to promote the welfare of the sailor, and the preservation of life from shipwreck, to confirm his statement that such a measure would obviate a large part of these casualties. He would remind their Lordships that, having on a former evening brought this subject before them, the answer which he received was by no means satisfactory. However, the Government had now taken the matter in hand, as would appear from the circumstance of the Vice President of the Board of Trade having moved for a Select Committee of the other House to investigate certain details concerning it. At the same time, when he referred to the terms of that Motion, he must say it appeared to him to be very incomplete, for it did not go into the consideration of the establishment of harbours of refuge throughout the kingdom, but simply to this—whether it was expedient to make any further grants for harbours of refuge. Now he ventured to express a hope that the Select Committee would enter into the investigation of the whole question. As for the correspondence between Mr. Brooks and the Admiralty, he must observe that although he had not the advantage of the slightest acquaintance with that gentleman, yet he understood him to be an engineer of considerable talents, and that he had brought a great deal of information to bear upon the subject of which he treated. No later than the year 1856, Mr. Brooks bad submitted a plan to the Admiralty for the construction of a harbour of refuge in the Bay of Redcar, and the correspondence which was now moved for showed in detail how great might be the loss to life and property occurring on the north-east coast upon even one single occasion of shipwreck. For instance, during the heavy gales of January last, no fewer than ninety-four ships bad been wrecked on the north-eastern coast, of which about twenty were seen to founder with their crews on board, and at least 200 mariners perished. After such statements, confirmed, and repeated, as they might be, by the official returns, surely the Government would see the vast importance of providing for the exigencies of trade and commerce, by constructing harbours of refuge on the north-eastern coast. The 534 noble Lord the President of the Board of Trade had upon a former occasion alluded to the largo sums of money that were being expended along the southern coast upon harbours of refuge. Now he (Lord Ravensworth) must be allowed to observe that there was a feeling almost that a spirit of favouritism had been evinced in this matter towards the southern coast; and it was on that account that he had been induced to ask for those returns with respect to the works going on at Dovor Harbour, as well as at Jersey and Alderney. He had been assured that the estimates with respect to those works had been of a most fallacious description, and that they were not calculated to cover a fraction of the ultimate expenditure. As for the works at Dovor, he believed that the situation for the new harbour had been a most ill-chosen one, and that the money it would cost might as well have been flung into the sea. The harbour had already cost the country £650,000, but perhaps the country was little aware that before the works could be completed they must cost £2,000,000. The Government might refuse him the information which he sought with respect to these works; but whether they did or did not, he had no doubt but that the Select Committee which was now about to meet would not separate without having all the details laid before them. He had taken the question up, because he was fully sensible of its importance, and when their Lordships recollected that the annual exports of this country came now to be cited at £120,000,000 sterling, and the imports at almost as much, to say nothing of our great coasting trade—and the trade which passed along the northeast coast, between the ports of the Hum-her, Scarborough, Whitby, Hartlepool, Durham, Newcastle, Berwick, Edinburgh, Dundee, and Aberdeen, was immense—he thought they would be inclined to think that he had not needlessly interfered in the matter.