§ MR. T. LOUGH (Islington, W.)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has yet received any answer from the railway companies with regard to the new proposals submitted to him by the Association of Cabdrivers and Proprietors in the Metropolis, with a view to the settlement of the privilege question; and whether, in view of the probable large number of visitors to London during the ensuing-season, he will endeavour to arrange a conference between the parties, with a view to putting an end to the tension that exists in the business?
§ SIR MATTHEW WHITE RIDLEYI received last month certain fresh proposals for a solution of the present difficulty from the committee of a conference of cab proprietors and cab drivers, but after a careful examination of them, and some private information, I have been forced to the conclusion that they do not afford a probable basis for a settlement. If I can see any indications, as at present I must say I do not, that such a conference as the hon. Member suggests would be acceptable to both parties, I will gladly do anything that lies in my power to promote it.