§ MR. CRAWFORDsaid, he would beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade, If it has been proposed or is intended to carry the Metropolitan District Railway along the whole or any part of the Thames Embankment between Westminster and Blackfriars Bridges, in an open cutting instead of a tunnel or covered way underground?
§ MR. MILNER GIBSONSir, by the Metropolitan District Railway Act a large portion of the railway between Westminster and Blackfriars Bridges is required to be constructed through a tunnel. According to Mr. Fowler, the engineer of the line, out of the whole length—one mile and a quarter—only about one-eighth of a mile can be made in open cutting. The Board of Trade are not aware of any proposal having been made since the passing of that Act to obtain authority for the company to alter its provisions regarding this portion of railway.