§ MR. BRUNNER (Lancashire, Leigh)I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been called to the fact that railway companies have recently removed goods to the dangerous class which have for years been carried at Class 2 rates; and whether he will introduce legislation to amend 8 and 9 Vic, c. 20, s. 105, to give a right of appeal from such a decision to the Board of Trade or the Railway Commissioners.
§ THE PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF TRADE (Mr. LLOYD-GEORGE,) Carnarvon BoroughsI do not know what goods my hon. friend has in his mind, but the only recent complaint that has come to the notice of the Board of Trade referred to varnishes, which were transferred in 1905 to the dangerous goods class without, however, as I understand, raising the rates at which they were carried. The section of the Act of 1845 to which attention is drawn relieves railway companies from the obligation to carry goods which, in their opinion, are dangerous, but I do not gather from the Question that it is alleged that the companies have refused to carry the goods alluded to. Under the Railway Rates Provisional Order Confirmation Acts of 1891–2, the rates at which dangerous goods are carried must be reasonable, and I see no reason why these rates could not be challenged if desired before the Railway and Canal Commission.