Mr. MAGQUISTENasked the Minister of Transport whether he is aware that the Crinan Canal, which has been the property of the Government for over 100 years, is only nine feet deep and in a dilapidated condition, and that it has, nevertheless, yielded a return up to the year before the War, much small traffic making use of it to avoid the passage round the Mull; whether he will take steps to have a modern sea-water canal with a single lock constructed in close proximity to the present canal to provide for this traffic as well as to give employment to a large number of unemployed; and is he aware that the expense was estimated in 1913 at not more than £800,000?
§ Mr. HERBERT MORRISONI am afraid that the cost of constructing a ship canal near the existing Crinan Canal now would considerably exceed the figure mentioned by the hon. Member, and that the advantages likely to be afforded by such a canal would not be sufficient to warrant the allocation of national funds for the purpose of carrying out such a scheme.