§ SIR EDWARD GOURLEY (Sunderland)I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been called to the disputes which have arisen between the North Eastern Railway Company and certain classes of their employees, and which is creating serious dislocation of the trade of the districts affected; and whether he intends to inquire into the nature of the disputes, with a view to friendly mediation on the part of the Board of Trade?
§ MR. RITCHIEI am happy to state that circumstances have occurred which encourage the hope that the dispute will be settled without any mediation on my part.