§ MR. E. H. BAYLEYI beg to ask the First Commissioner of Works whether his attention has been called to the bad ventilation of the Ladies' Gallery, and to the fact that many ladies have fainted there; and is he aware that by making a suitable opening on the south side of the vestibule the Gallery can be supplied with fresh air?
§ THE FIRST COMMISSIONER OF WORKS (Mr. SHAW LEFEVRE,) Bradford, CentralNo complaints have been made to me, or to the ventilating staff, of bad ventilation of the Ladies' Gallery, nor have I been able to discover any foundation for the reports that ladies have fainted there, except that a single instance occurred on a very hot evening last summer, when the House was very full. There is, I am assured by the staff, an ample supply of air to the Gallery, and it is constantly being changed by the action of the exhausts in the ceiling. Owing to the position of the lavatories, it would be very undesirable to make an air-opening in the vestibule, as suggested by my hon. Friend.