MR. DAWSONsaid, he rose to ask the President of the Board of Trade, Whether, in consequence of the numerous marine disasters that have taken place at the entrance of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, any plans for the erection of powerful Fog Signals in the vicinity of Cape Race, Newfoundland, have yet been approved of by the Board of Trade; and whether any expectation may be held out that such precautionary Beacons may be in early operation?
§ MR. MILNER GIBSON, in reply, said, the Government were quite alive to the importance of a good Fog Signal at Cape Race. The Trinity Corporation had for some time past been very desirous of ascertaining whether any improvement could be 322 adopted in the system of Signals, and that with that view they had been making numerous experiments. The results, however, of those experiments, according to the Report on the subject which he had read, did not appear to be very encouraging., It seemed that no Fog Signal had yet been invented, except the gun signal, which could cause sound to be heard at such a distance from land as to be of much use to steamships. If his hon. Friend wished for further information on the matter, he would be happy to lay the necessary Papers to furnish him with that information on the table of the House.