PORT ADMINISTRATION ,

Port and Dock Board of twenty-eight. There is a port
on the Bristol Channel (Newport, Mon.) which has a
membership of forty-seven, and the River Wear Com-
mission for the Port of Sunderland a membership of
fifty-two, but these are exceptionally, and, in the view
of the author, excessively high numbers. As a general
rule, the elective element consists of representatives of the
principal shipping and trading associations of the port,
in some cases chosen by the associations themselves, but
elected on a general poll. In the case of the Port of
London Authority, of the thirty members, seventeen are
chosen by the general suffrage of payers of rates,
wharfingers and owners of river craft, and one by the
wharfingers separately. Of the twenty-eight members
of the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board, twenty-four
are elected by payers of port dues; while, at Glasgow,
eighteen are similarly elected. The nominated element
in the case of London includes representatives of the
Admiralty, the Board of Trade, London County
Council, the City Corporation, and Trinity House,
which latter is, as previously indicated, the recognized
institution for controlling the lighting and buoying of the
coast and river entrance channels. At Liverpool, there are
four representatives of the Ministry of Transport; at
Glasgow, the main municipality is represented by twelve
members, the other local county councils and municipal
bodies by six members. On the whole, however, it may be
said that the balance of voting power is definitely and in-
tentionally in the hands of the trading and shipping
representatives. The advantage of having the direction
in their hands arises from the fact that their special
knowledge and experience enable them to devise and
promote schemes of port development which are best
adapted for the requirements of commerce in the district.
In the selection of their representatives, the various trades,
either by means of organizations or otherwise, generally
arrange to secure the appointment for each branch of

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