§ MR. BELL (Derby)I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been called to the circumstances resulting in the death of John Carrington, employed as a platelayer on the Great Northern Railway at Nottingham, on the 17th December last; is he aware that this man's hours prior to the accident, commencing at midnight on the 15th, were four hours duty, three hours rest, ten hours duty, seven hours rest, four hours duty, and three hours rest, and that he had been on his last turn eight and a half hours when the accident occurred. Can he say whether look-out Men were provided at the spot the man was working at the time of the accident, as was the case when he was working at the same place the previous week; and what representations have the Board of Trade made to the Company on the subject.
§ THE PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF TRADE (Mr. GERALD BALFOUR, Leeds, Central)I have communicated with the Company upon the subject of the hon. Members' Question, and they do not admit the accuracy of the facts stated therein. I think the best course to adopt will be to investigate the circumstances by means of an inquiry, and one shall be ordered.