QUESTION. (Hansard, 17 July 1863)

§ THE EARL OF SHREWSBURY

said, he rose to ask a Question of the noble Duke the First Lord of the Admiralty respecting the proposed dock at Malta; but, in order to make himself intelligible, he would state as nearly as he could the present condition of the works at that dock. He understood that an agreement had been made between the Imperial Government and the Government of Malta for the construction of a dock, and the understanding was that each was to pay a moiety of £125,000 or £126,000, which was the estimated cost. It was further agreed, that if in carrying out these works this estimate should be exceeded by 30 per cent, the Government of Malta should only defray one-third of the excess; and if the estimate were still further exceeded, the whole additional expenditure was to fall upon the Imperial Government. He understood that, according to the present plan, the dock would be in a most inconvenient position. It would be at a distance of two miles from the dockyard, and the opinion of naval officers was almost unanimous against the erection of the dock in such a spot, and at an expense which it was believed would largely exceed the estimate. The only naval opinion in favour of the new dock was that given by Sir Frederick Grey, who, he understood, had only seen it for a few hours; while unfavourable opinions had been given by Sir William Parker, Admiral Codrington, and the Admiral Superintendent of Malta. He regretted that the papers on this subject, which were ordered six weeks ago, had not yet been laid on the table. He wished to ask the noble Duke, Whether, in his opinion, the site of the new dock was superior to that of the French Creek, and whether, in face of the opinions against it, the Government intended to carry out the agreement with the Council of Malta?

§ THE DUKE OF SOMERSET

said, that a good deal of alarm appeared to be felt in the Council at Malta, and in the mercantile community there, lest, under pressure of certain Members of the House of Commons, the Government having entered into an engagement, should be about to violate it. The Government, however, would adhere strictly to their engagement. About the year 1857 great desire was felt by the Admiralty to increase the harbour accommodation at Malta; and in 1858 an en- 947 deavour was made to obtain from the local Government of Malta further accommodation in the harbour. The mercantile community refused to part with the French Creek; but Sir Gaspard le Marchant made further efforts to obtain it, and in 1859 the Council agreed to give up the French Creek to the English Government on certain conditions, which were mutually agreed to. The harbour was to be extended, and the upper portion deepened, and about 120 acres were to be given up to the mercantile shipping. When the necessary works were completed, the Admiralty were to be allowed to take possession of the French Creek. The agreement with the Maltese Government was made in May 1859. When he came into office in July 1859, the subject was mentioned to him by Sir John Pakington. He thereupon examined all the papers, and had the benefit of the advice of Sir Richard Dundas. The great advantage of getting possession of the French Creek was very apparent, and he communicated with Sir Gaspard le Marchant on the subject in the hope of obtaining possession of it at an earlier period. The feeling of the people of Malta was, however, very strong, and Her Majesty's Government adopted the Resolution as passed by the Council of Malta, with some modifications, whereby the Council agreed to pay a larger portion of the expenditure. The subject was brought before the House of Commons in the Session following. A plan was laid before the House, and a small Vote taken, so as to enable the House to pass an opinion on the scheme. The Vote was agreed to. That having been done, he considered himself bound to carry out the engagement with the Government of Malta. Part of the arrangement was to surround the works with a stone wall. It was necessary to excavate the stone, and it had been suggested that in doing so a small basin might be formed, which was likely to be of great use for gunboats and small vessels. The suggestion seemed to him to be a good one, and the basin when formed would be surrounded by wharfs, which would be of great advantage to the shipping generally. He could assure the noble Earl that he intended faithfully to carry out the engagement made with the Governor of Malta. No doubt the new dock was not so useful as the French Creek, and the Government would make a dock there also when they got possession of the French Creek. He should be sorry to commit 948 himself to the exact amount of the expenditure to be incurred, as in works carried on under water so much depended on the nature of the soil.