But this compulsory alienation of certain shipping to certain docks, of course involved the withdrawal from the Legal Quays of the profits on the warehousing of goods left in the docks, and from the lightermen much of the valuable carrying trade represented by the shipping covered by the monopolies. It also affected a number of minor collateral interests. These were, of course, entitled to compensation, and they obtained it. The total amount of the claims received was little short of £4,000,000. As is generally the case under the circumstances, many of these claims were grossly exorbitant, and others had no foundation at all. The Government were, however, disposed to take a liberal view of the situation, and, as I have already told you, actually awarded out of the Consolidated Fund not less than £1,681,000, which, of course, included the sums paid for the purchase of the Legal Quays. But the Government not only made ample _money compensation_ for the rights which they invaded by granting the dock monopolies, they also made access to the vessels in the docks as free as if they had still discharged in the river; that is to say, the waters of the dock were to be accessible, free of charge, to anybody who wished to bring in lighters, for the purpose of taking goods or ballast to or from any vessels lying in them. The reason for this is obvious. Virtually the Government said to the Dock Companies: ‘As we have compelled ships to enter your docks, you must not tax certain lighterage to or from those ships.’ And this was perfectly reasonable and fair so long as such compulsion existed; that is to say, so long as the Dock Companies got a _quid pro quo_ for the free use of the dock waters by the goods secured to them by the monopolies. But so soon as ships became free to go where they pleased, and the docks were left to compete with the wharves on even terms, this restriction upon their obvious right to charge for the use of their property should have been removed also. It must always be borne in mind that the _basis_ of the arrangement in regard to the _free use of the dock waters_ was the _compulsory alienation_ of certain shipping to the docks, which had hitherto been _free to discharge in the river_; hence it is obvious that so soon as that freedom was restored to the shipping referred to, the _raison d’être_ of the restriction upon the docks ceased to exist. Mr. Lindsay, an impartial witness, from whose valuable work I have already ventured to quote, cannot help noticing this anomaly. He remarks: ‘These privileges, granted originally to stifle opposition, they (the lightermen) still retain to their gain, and that of the wharfingers, but to the loss of the Companies. Surely, when the monopoly of the Companies had expired—a monopoly to which, for the time, they were fully entitled, considering the service they had rendered to the Crown, in the protection of the revenue—these privileges to the barge-owners should also have been withdrawn.’