§ MR. H. HOBHOUSE (Somerset, E.)I beg to ask the First Commissioner of Works if he has noticed some remarks made by Sir Douglas Galton at a recent meeting of the Society of Arts with regard to the ventilation of the House of Commons, in which he says that they take great pains, and incur great expense, to purify their air. They then pass that air through a perforated floor, which Members take very good care to cover with manure and dirt from the streets brought in by their boots, and then they breathe this re-polluted air, and they complain of lassitude after they have been occupying the place for a certain number of hours; and whether the facts as stated are correct; and, if so, if the Authorities of the House can devise some means of saving the purified air from being re-polluted?
§ THE FIRST COMMISSIONER OF WORKS (Mr. SHAW LEFEVRE,) Bradford, CentralThe question raised by Sir Douglas Galton, which does not appear to have occurred to him when he was the professional adviser of the Office of Works, is not, I think, of much practical importance. When the distance of the House of Commons from the public streets, and the number of mats for the use of Members are taken into consideration, it may fairly be assumed that but little "manure and dirt" reaches the perforated floor covering of the Chamber. In any case, the floor covering is taken up and thoroughly cleaned, and steamed once a week, and the ventilating chamber immediately under the House is thoroughly dusted every day. It will, therefore, be seen that the chance of the air which passes through the perforated floor being polluted in its passage is but very small indeed. If hon. Members after long hours of sitting in this House suffer from lassitude, it is not, I think, due to the cause referred to by Sir Douglas Galton.