§ MR. CHANNINGI beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade whether the result of communications with the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company has been that the Company has undertaken to reduce the hours of their signal boxes from 12 to 10; whether he is aware that several signal boxes on the main line between Brighouse and Normanton, at which the hours are reduced to 10, were previously closed on Sundays, but that now since the change of hours the signalmen at these boxes are compelled to relieve other boxes which are always open on Sundays, and to work a spell of 12 hours at such boxes; whether there are still a large number of busy boxes which have not been dealt with by the Company; and whether he will take further steps to make the Company comply with the spirit as well as the letter of the Railway Hours Act, and complete the scheme of reduction of hours at the signal boxes not as yet dealt with?
§ MR. BRYCEYes, Sir; in consequence of the action of the Board of Trade the Railway Company have undertaken to reduce all the 12-hour boxes on the Brighouse and Normauton section of 478 their line to 10 hours, and two 10-hour cabins have been brought down to eight hours. If representations in terms of the Act as to the insufficiency of rest on Sunday are made to the Board of Trade the Board will certainly take action upon them. There are busy boxes on other sections of this railway in regard to which complaints have been received, and the Board are using the powers of the Act of 1893 in the manner which it contemplates.