§ MR. BAXTERasked the President of the Board of Trade, If it is true that the majority of railway carriages fitted with brakes during the year 1878 were supplied with brakes which do not comply with the conditions stated by the Board in August 1877 to be essential to safety, and embodied in the recent Act of Parliament; and, if so, if he will adopt measures with a view of discouraging useless expenditure upon brakes which have been condemned, and of compelling the Railway Companies to take the necessary steps for the prevention of serious danger to the public?
§ MR. D. TAYLORasked the President of the Board of Trade, If all the Railway Companies have complied with the requirements of the Board of Trade as regards the use of continuous brakes as specified in their Circular of 30th August 1877; and, if not, if he has reason to believe the Railway Companies are taking active measures to carry them into effect?
MR. J. Q. TALBOTSir, perhaps the right hon. Gentleman the Member for Montrose and the hon. Member for Coleraine will allow me to give one Answer to their two Questions. All the information the Board of Trade has with regard to continuons brakes is contained in the Returns with regard to that matter 634 which have recently been laid before the House. From those Returns it appears that "The majority of railway carriages fitted with brakes during the year 1878 were supplied with brakes which do not comply with the conditions stated by the Board in August, 1877, to be essential to safety," and, consequently, that "all the Railway Companies have not complied with the requirements of the Board of Trade as regards the use of continuous brakes;" and, further, that the Board of Trade have no "reason to believe that the Railway Companies are taking active measures to carry those conditions into effect." It is, however, only fair to mention that one Company has entirely, and others have partially, adopted brakes which comply with the conditions laid down by the Board of Trade. I greatly regret not to be in a position to report a more satisfactory state of things. The matter is one of very serious importance, and we are now considering how it can best be met. When the House meets after the Christmas Recess further Returns on this subject will be laid before them, as required by the Continuous Brakes Act of last Session, and we will not fail to give to Parliament as early an intimation as we can of the course which we propose to adopt.
§ MR. BAXTERgave Notice that he should renew his Question as soon as the House met after the Christmas Recess.