§ SIR R. PENROSE-FITZGERALD (Cambridge)I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will be good enough to state whether communication between the East Goodwin light-vessel and the main land by wireless telegraphy, for life-saving purposes, is in working order; and, if not, whether he will explain the grounds of delay; and whether he is aware that the system in question is in constant use for life-saving and commercial purposes between the Borkum light-vessel, twenty miles from the receiving station on the main land.
§ MR. RITCHIEThe wireless telegraphy communication between the East Goodwin light-vessel and the mainland was established for experimental purposes, only, and has now been discontinued. I am not aware of the exact nature of the system in use on the Borkum light-vessel. The question of using a system of wireless telegraphy for purposes of communication with lighthouses and light-vessels is before an Inter-Departmental Committee, who have very difficult questions, of patent rights to consider.