The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1847-09-28 00:00:00

DOCK COMMITTEE.—ThuRsnay.

THE WAREHOUSE QUESTION'.
The CHAIRMAN said, the Parliamentary Committee
were now anxious to obtain the opinion of the general
Board as to the mode in which they should proceed in
their application to Parliament, respecting the construc-
tion of dock warehouses. Since last week, the committee
had had an interview with the solicitor, and hftd found
that this being a second-class bill, the general Board had
the option of two courses to take ; and now their advice
and assistance were required as to which of the two courses
it would be most advisable to pursue. The first was,
what was submitted to them last week, namely, a specific
plan to construct warehouses round the proposed Wap-
ping Dock, and to raise the transit sheds round the
Prince's Dock. The other course was not to give any
plans whatever which were not absolutely necessary, and,
in fact, plans were not necessary at all, unless the com-
mittee chose to give them. They might go to repeal the
former act ; they might take a general power to build
warehouses wherever they thought it best to erect them,
and they might also take powers raise a sum of money.
The latter course, being the more simple of the two, was
the one the Parliamentary Committee considered it most
advisable to adopt. It had always been understood that
warehouses would be erected round the proposed Wap-
ping Dock, and that the transit sheds at the Prince's
Dock would be converted into warehouses ; and probably
the plan hereafter would be to. extend the warehouses
round the east side of the Prince's Dock. For the carry-
ing out of the plans now, the Parliamentary Committee
thought it advisable to ask Parliament for powers to raise
a sum of X 200,000.
Mr. AIKIN said, that however desirable it might be to
obtain a general power, yet the committee ought to be
prepared with plans to a certain extent. The north,
south, east, and west of the Prince's Dock, presented all
the advantages that the Albert Dock did ; and he was
clearly of opinion that they ought to take powers, and to
prepare plans now for building warehouses round the
Prince's Dock, and for converting it into a close dock. If
they were to go to any expense at all, they certainly ought
to go to the expense of having warehouses there of -the
usual height and the proper depth. He thought Mr.
Hartley ought to be instructed to prepare plans for the
making of the Prince's Dock into a close dock ; it was
there accommodation could be afforded, and it was what
the public expected to be done. While he would seek for
the general power, he would, at the same time, be pre-
pared with plans for making the Prince's Dock a com-
plete warehouse dock all round.
Mr. SHAND said they could not proceed with the build-
ing of warehouses all round the Prince's Dock at once, or
they would destroy the use of the dock.
Mr. AIKIN wanted the powers to be taken, and the
plans to be prepared.
Mr. GLADSTONE observed that the warehouses might
be built only at one side of the dock at a time.
Mr. AIKIN complained of the smallness of the sum of
money about to be sought. Why linlilw it to 4290,000,
when they could get 500,000