HL Deb 14 December 1950 vol 169 cc1060-2

6.55 p.m.

LORD SHEPHERD

My Lords, in moving that the House do now adjourn, may I remind your Lordships that to-morrow we meet at eleven o'clock, and not at twelve o'clock, as previously-announced? I beg to move that the House do now adjourn.

Moved, That the House do now adjourn.—(Lord Shepherd.)

LORD MERTHYR

My Lords, before the House adjourns, may I have the leave of the House to make a personal statement? My attention has been drawn to a sentence in the speech I made last evening during the debate on yacht facilities in the Thames and other water- ways. In the course of that debate I am reported in column 970 of Hansard as saying: I have seen a letter written this year by the Port of London Authority to a well-known yachting organisation, saying in effect: 'Please do not encourage foreigners to come to London in 1951, because we have no facilities for them'. My Lords, I admit quite readily that those words were spoken without my having the letter in hand. They were uttered from memory, and it was taken from a very brief précis of a letter which I had seen. In order to shorten any discussion as to whether or not I misinterpreted the letter, and with your Lordships' per-mission, I think the only proper thing to do is to read the letter, which is not very long. It is dated October 17, 1950, and is from the Port of London Authority to The Cruising Association. It is as follows: Your letter of October 10 has been considered and I have to inform you that owing to the heavy demand in all the Port Authority's Docks for normal traffic it will not be possible to accept any yachts in connection with the Festival of Britain. There will be some accommodation for cabin cruisers in ranks alongside each other at St. Thomas' Hospital Barge Roads but only for short periods and providing their masts lower and they draw less than six feet. Longer yachts could anchor for short periods off Greenwich or Gravesend but you will realise that if the demand is large it may be necessary to divert them still further down river. If you could give me some idea as to the probable number of yachts that intend coming or wish to come to the Thames it would be most helpful if I knew the proportion of various sizes. In any correspondence you have with foreign yacht clubs I think it would be better if you sounded a distinct note of warning that the Thames is a highly commercialised river and that even with the best will in the world it is impossible to make it a really pleasant river for yachts, or in fact render many sites available for their exclusive use. My Lords, that is the letter. If in any way I have misinterpreted that letter I apologise to the Port of London Authority. As I said before, I gave a very brief précis, spoken from memory, without having the letter in my hand. If that was a wrong thing to do, I again apologise. I thought it only right to read the letter. I am sorry to have taken up so much time.

On Question, Motion agreed to.

House adjourned accordingly at five minutes before seven o'clock.