CHANNEL FERRY RAILWAY AND QUAY BILL [H.L.] (Hansard, 21 May 1906)

§ THE FIRST LORD OF THE ADMIRALTY (Lord TWEEDMOUTH)

My Lords,. I wish to enter a caveat with regard to this Bill. Last year a Bill was brought forward by the same promoters which proposed to carry out certain works in Dover Harbour in connection with their scheme. That Bill did not proceed, because objection was taken to it. The Bill this year does not propose any works at all, but merely to get powers to make agreements and to raise money for certain works. What these works are is undefined. Indeed, the Bill as a whole is extremely vague. The Admiralty do not desire to put any difficulties in the way of the legitimate improvement of the channel traffic between this country and France. At the same time, 855 they have to reserve to themselves the most complete powers over Dover Harbour, which was constructed at vast public cost for the benefit of the British Navy. Consequently this Bill has been considerably altered during its passage through the House, and a clause has been inserted which reserves entirely the naval harbour and prevents any works being done within that at all; and, so far as the commercial harbour is concerned, it requires the consent of the Admiralty, of the Board of Trade, and of the Dover Harbour Board to any works that may be proposed before they are brought before Parliament. I think that with those provisos there can be no harm in the Bill becoming law. I only say these few words in order to make it quite clear that this is no mere brutum fulmen, but that the Admiralty do mean to keep a most careful watch on what is being done under the Bill.

LORD WEARDALE

My Lords, as I happen to be interested in this proposal, perhaps I may be pardoned if I make a few remarks with regard to it. The promoters of this scheme, which is by no means a novel one, have approached its solution on several occasions from many standpoints, but have invariably found themselves in difficulties with one authority or another. During the last session of Parliament a very large sum of money was spent in depositing plans, in obtaining expert evidence, and in all the different developments necessary for the promotion of a Bill in Parliament, but at the last moment the Board of Admiralty of the day put their veto on the Bill and it did not proceed. Taught by that experience, the promoters of this Bill have, as the noble Lord has explained, proceeded in a somewhat different manner. The Bill simply enables them to enter into agreements with various constituted authorities in order to carry out this scheme; and when the Board of Admiralty signified their desire to have some further guarantees than were presented in the original Bill, the promoters at once intimated that they were ready to accept any clause the Board of Admiralty suggested which gave them complete control of any works that might be carried out in connection with this scheme. They accepted, without the slightest amendment, the proposals sent 856 to them by the Board of Admiralty. I am glad that now an agreement has been arrived at, and I hope your Lordships will assent to the Third Reading of the Bill.