§ MAJOR JAMESON (Clare, W.)To ask the Secretary to the Board of Trade whether he will state if the Trinity House view their lights afloat after dark or only during daylight; and, with reference to the statement of the Commissioners of Northern Lights to the Mercantile Marine Committee that the tender "Signal," constructed entirely under the Board of Trade, had turned out an unsatisfactory and in some respects a dangerous vessel for taking a boat alongside on a bad day, will he state under what circumstances this vessel came to be constructed, what she cost, who built her, what she was for, how long she was used, what became of her, and whether steps will be taken to 680 obtain the assistance of Lloyds or other skilled unofficial assistance in designing vessels to prevent a repetition of such an occurrence.
(Answered by Mr. Bonar Law.) I am informed by the Trinity House that occasional night inspections are made of all the light-stations under their charge, and that, in addition to this, it is the invariable practice for Committees of the Elder Brethren, when afloat, to view after dark the lights in their immediate vicinity. I am informed by the Commissioners of Northern Lighthouses that the "Signal" was built in 1883 by Messrs. Caird & Co., of Greenock, at a cost of £15,223. That she was engaged on general lighthouse work on the West Coast of Scotland, making the relief at rock stations, attending to the buoyage of the district, charging buoys and beacons with gas, removing wrecks, etc., and that she was in constant use until September, 1895, when she was wrecked on the Mull of Kintyre during a dense fog. The Commissioners state that they will be prepared, with the approval of the Board of Trade, to obtain such skilled assistance in designing any vessels they may require in the future as the particular circumstances of the case may render expedient. There is nothing in the Report of the Court which investigated the loss of the "Signal" to suggest that it was in any way due to defective designs, and I am afraid that the utmost skill in designing would not render a vessel immune from running on a rock during a dense fog.