THE PORT OF LONDON.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 850, 23 June 1910, Page 6

THE PORT OF LONDON.

*— RATES REVISED. . COMPLAINTS AS TO WOOL CHARGES. By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright London, June 21. The Port of London Rates Bill haa been read a second time in tho House of Commons. Mr. Buxton, President of the Board of Trade, stated that tie Board had accepted Lord St. Aldwyn's schedulo providing for an estimated maximum of £524,000 instead of the origina" amount proposed—£7so,ooo. Members representing fishing, coaling, and Midland constituencies strongly opposed tho Bill. Mr. F. W. Jowett, Labour member for Bradford West, stated that thocharge on wool would bear hardly on the woollen trade of the West Riding. Mr. A. Bonar Law, Unionist member for the Dulwich Division of Camberwell, gave his hearty support to th» Bill. Ho. said it was necessary to secure funds in ordeT to bring tie port* up to date. THE NEW AUTHORITY. BATING TO BE OTEE A WIDE AXES', The Porrt of London Authority was set up last year under the Act of 1908. It consists of 33 members appointed by the local bodies of London, the Government;, and the ■trading interests. It was empowered to improve tho Port of London, and was to be self-supportm", deriving its revenues from dues on shipping and goods. The authority last year drew up_ a schedule of maximum rates. This was* reported on fox tho Government by Lord St. Aldwyn, who in bis report showed a general disposition to conserve the rights of the new. authority on the assumption that it would use its discretion jndioionsly and avoid excessive charges on particular lines of imports. Lord St. Aldwyn considered, however, that the rotea wore in very many cases unnecessarily high. Large reductions were, therefore, made in the later schedule that was' settled at the public inquiry which he conducted. The grievance of certain London traders has been partly met by lowering the maximum port rafes on corn and other articles, and may be completely met by a reconsideration of tho dock charges on those articles which have .been admitted by the port authority to require revision. Throughout the inquiry, and in settling the schedulo of maximum Tates, Lord St. Aldwyn declined to grant statutory exemptions either to particular classes of goods or to individual articles, however low in value, because the wider the area of charge the less the total burden will press upon all, and the greater will be the power of the port authority to deal with special cases of hardship" that may arise. RUSSIA AND FINLAND. » !— • STATEMENT BY M. STOLYPIN. By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright. (itec. June 22, 9.25 p.m.) St. Petersburg, June 22. M. Stolypin, the Russian Premier, in a long speech before the Council of the Empire, justified the Government's Finland Bill as one concerning the genuine interests of the Empire.

Formerly, said M. Stolypin, the Sovereign's absolute will was alona operative in Finland, but when Diets : began to be convened, and discussed questions having a painful effect on Russian interests, the necessity for general Imperial legislation was felt to be imperative. .

M. Stolypin added that the Dumai would protect tho whole of the States' interests while respecting Finnish ain tonomy. BOTH SIDES OF THE CASE. ■Dr.- Dillon, in the May "Contenw porary," gives the two sides of tho casa about Russia in Finland. The Slav resumes rights he vindicates as his own| the Finn calls the world to witness that he is the victim of violence and injustice.' Kussia won Finland from Sweden in 1809, and Alexander I, generously treating the Films as friends, received them with open arms into the Russian Empire, and the Fimnfi were very glad to come, and remained for a century without discover' ing that they were the victims of absolutism. The Finns, to be sure, were left very much alone, and allowed even to coin their own money and us* their own stamps. They had universal suffrage foi Mieir local Diet, and boasted, not without reason, of their high culture and material prosperity. Now Kussia. asserts her right to legislate for the whole Empire, although she is prepared to religi ously respect Finland's local autonomy, even though Russians are cruelly persecuted in Finland. This is one view. Tho other is that the Finns rested in peaceful content until in tho eighties Russia began to wrest from them the privileges granted by Alexander I. Kussia is deliberately . abolishing Finnish autonomy en behalf of centralisation and Russinoa* tton. ■ Instead of summing up Dr. Dillon leaves the reader to judge. •