§ Commander BELLAIRSasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will obtain comparative figures of the rapidity 818W with which the Great Eastern Railway steamers used to be cleared at Parkstone Quay before it was closed to general traffic, and the rate at which they are cleared at Tilbury; and whether inquiry will be made into the cause of slackness at the latter port?
Mr. RUNCIMANA comparison between the rates of clearance at two different ports under different circumstances would, I think, be illusory. I am informed by the Port and Transit Executive Committee that they have received no complaints of unreasonable delays at Tilbury, though the rate of loading and discharge is, no doubt, less rapid than before the War, owing to some falling-off in the quantity and quality of the labour available.