§ MR. H. O. ARNOLD-FORSTER (Belfast, W.)I beg to ask the First Lord of the Treasury whether, in view of the 1126 recent improvements in engineering methods, and especially in the art of tunnel boring, he will appoint a Royal Commission or some properly qualified technical Committee to inquire, into the feasibility of constructing a tunnel between Ireland and Scotland; and whether, in the event of such body reporting favourably upon the project both from the engineering and from the financial point of view, he will recommend that the cost of making this important addition to the internal communications of the United Kingdom be defrayed wholly or in part front national resources?
§ THE FIRST LORD OF THE TREASURY (Mr. A. J. BALFOUR,) Manchester, E.In answer to my hon. Friend, I have to say that I am quite, prepared to consult with the President of the Board of Trade on the subject of the question, but I fear the financial aspects of any such engineering undertakings as my hon. Friend suggests are not of a very promising character.