§ MR. M'LAGANasked the President of the Board of Trade, Whether he has considered the favourable report on the experiments in Scotland with mineral oils for illuminating purposes in lighthouses, and if he is prepared to allow mineral oils to be substituted for colza oil in the lighthouses in that part of the kingdom?
MR. PEELreplied that the Northern Commissioners of Lights had reported favourably on the experiments with mineral oils for illuminating purposes in lighthouses. The advantages offered by such oils were very great, and there were many recommendations in their favour. At the same time, great caution was necessary in the introduction of any new light, and its adoption must in any case be gradual, because the existing machinery would require alteration, and the lighthousemen must, of course, be instructed in their new duties. The Board of Trade were giving special attention to this question, and had requested Professor Tyndall to conduct an investigation into the comparative merits of the different varieties of the mineral oils and their photogenic powers.