§ MR. LEAI beg to ask the Secretary of State for India, with reference to MR. Brodrick's reply of the 13th June, 1904,§to the hon. Member for the Strand Division of Westminster, upon what dates was the report of the acting chief engineer for construction, Burma Railways [No. 3605/45/8–1], of the 22nd August, 1900, representing that unsound work was being put into the G ôkteik Bridge, received by the board of directors in London and considered by them; what was the date upon which an inquiry was held into the representations as to bad work, and who were the Burma Railways Company's engineers present thereat, and who was the Government inspector, and is he aware that the acting chief engineer was superseded, by order of the acting agent of the Burma Railways in Rangoon, on the 29th August, 1900, owing to the attitude he (the acting chief engineer) had taken upon the question of the work on the G ôkteik viaduct.
§ THE UNDER-SECRETARY OF STATE FOR INDIA (MR. CHARLES HOBHOUSE, Bristol, E.)I regret that I have not the information for which the
‡ See(4) Debates clxxviii, 1340-41.§See(4) Debates, cxxxv., 1475.1577 hon. Member asks. In reply to a previous Question on the 21st February, the Secretary of State stated that he had no ground for apprehending that there was any cause for anxiety as to the stability of the G Ôkteik Bridge, and this statement has been confirmed by a report subsequently received from the Burma Railways Company. The allegations that have been made as to unsound work in the construction of the bridge have been investigated and have not been confirmed. The bridge is periodically inspected, and the Secretary of State does not propose to make any further inquiry on the subject.