§ SIR THOMAS DEWAR (Tower Hamlets St George's)I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade whether the Tube Railways have been subjected to inspection by the Board of Trade within the last few months; and is he in a position 587 to state that all reasonable precautions have been taken calculated to reduce to a minimum all risk of disasters similar to those which occurred in the Paris tubes.
§ MR. GERALD BALFOURThe precautions which are or might be taken against the risk of fire were discussed last autumn between the officers of the Board of Trade and those of the several Tube Railways open for traffic or in course of construction. The Board's Chief Inspecting Officer of Railways and their Electrical Adviser subsequently drew up a list of recommendations on which the observations of the companies were invited. The replies are not yet complete, but although there may be differences of opinion on some matters of detail, I have every reason to believe that the views of the Department, so far as not already met, will in the main be given effect to. When finally settled, these recommendations will be imposed as requirements so far as the powers of the Board extend.