SIR ALGEENON BOBTHWICK (Kensington, S.)asked the First Commisssioner of Works, Whether the intrusion of fog into the atmosphere of the House of Commons cannot be completely prevented in future, and at a small expense; whether experiments formerly tried during the fogs of November, when the House was not sitting, were perfectly successful; and, whether he will direct that the air sup plied shall be filtered through fine sheets of cotton wool?
SIR HENRY TYLEE (Great Yarmouth)asked the First Commissioner of Works, whether he will cause filters, of appropriate material, to be applied to the entrance passages of the ventilating arrangements, so as to keep dark and yellow fog from entering the House?
§ THE FIRST COMMISSIONER (Mr. PLUNKET) (Dublin University)I am informed by Dr. Percy that during a November fog many years ago he made an experiment of filtering through cotton wool the air which is supplied to the House of Commons from the Commons Court, and that it was so far successful as to impress him with the hope that by this kind of filtration the interior of the House of Commons might be rendered fog-proof at but a trifling expense. Dr. Percy wishes me to state that this applied solely to the interior of this 1398 Chamber; and that, in order to extend it to the lobbies, corridors. &c., outside the House, a large expenditure would be needed, and difficulties so great would have to be encountered that he doubts whether, with the existing structure, such extension would be practicable. He adds that before applying this process of fog filtration to the interior of the House of Commons it would be necessary to make preliminary experiments; and I have asked him to make such experiments on the earliest convenient opportunity. When the hon. Member for Mid Cork (Dr. Tanner) raised this question on the Estimates the other day, I was not aware that such experiments had ever been made.