§ MR. W. H. JAMESasked the President of the Board of Trade, Whether his attention has been called to the circumstance that the crew of the "Schiller" (which was lost during a fog within half a mile of the Bishop's Rock Lighthouse) neither saw the light nor heard any fog signal, although it was stated that a good look-out was kept; whether his attention has been drawn to a gas burner, invented by Mr. Wigham, which has been tried practically at Lighthouses in Ireland, and which is stated in Professor Tyndall's report to the Board of Trade to be the most powerful burner in use; whether Professor Tyndall, in his report on fog-signals, (Paper 188, Session 1874) does not describe the steam siren as the most powerful fog signal which has hitherto been tried in England; and whether, in conjunction with the Trinity House, the Board of Trade proposes to take steps to adopt these improvements for the Lighthouses of Great Britain and the Colonies?
§ SIR CHARLES ADDERLEYSir, an inquiry has been ordered into the circumstances attending the loss of the Schiller. It was necessary to correspond with the German Government first, but 1128 it will commence at Greenwich to-morrow. With regard to the steam siren reported on by Professor Tyndall, and also to the use of gas in lighthouses, Papers have been laid on the Table this Session, on both subjects, more fully explaining than I could in an Answer to a Question, what steps have been taken by the lighthouse authorities and the Board of Trade in adopting these improvements. The gas Papers were presented in February last, and have been some time circulated. The fog-signal Papers will be out shortly. The light-house boards are quite alive to the importance of adopting the best improvements.