§ MR. CHILDERSasked the President of the Board of Trade, What steps the Government have taken to carry out the recommendations of the Royal Commission on the Spontaneous Combustion of Coal at Sea?
§ SIR CHARLES ADDERLEYThere were two special recommendations made in the very valuable Report of the Royal Commission over which the right hon. Gentleman presided—(1) that in order to make known the descriptions of coal liable to combustion, the Inspectors of Mines should inquire into all cases occurring in cargoes taken from their districts; (2) that exporters should record in their specifications the denomination of the coals in their cargo. The Customs at once undertook to carry out the second, and have caused a form to be filled up accordingly at entry outwards. The Board of Trade consulted the Home Office on the first recommendation, but no general rule has been found necessary. At a recent inquiry into a case of combustion before the Wreck Commissioner, 399 Mr. Rothery, he stated that Inspectors were not wanted, but that he had himself found this Report very useful, and, no doubt, in some cases, Inspectors might be useful assessors.