§ SIR WILLIAM WEDDERBURN (Banffshire)I beg to ask the Lord Advocate whether he will order an inquiry into the circumstances attending the drowning of two men at the Aberlour Elchies Ferry on the River Spey on 23rd December last?
MR. GRAHAM MURRAYThere has already been a full inquiry into the circumstances of the accident in question. The result was to show that the ferry boat was worked on a wire rope carried across the river, and supported on upright posts at each side. The ends of the wire rope were attached, by means of eyes, to iron bolts. The strain on the rope, owing to the river being in flood, caused one of these bolts to straighten out; the eye slipped off, the rope slackened, and then broke, and the boat was carried down the river. In consequence of the accident, the Crown authorities have been in communication with Mr. Grant, of Elchies, who is the owner of the ferry, and the County Councils of Banff and Elgin, who, along with the justices, are vested by statute with the supervision and regulation of ferries, with the view of securing the safety of the public.