HC Deb 25 May 1908 vol 189 c715
MR. B. S. STRAUS (Tower Hamlets, Mile End)

To ask the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware of the danger to horses and human beings owing to the defective state of the stud system which the London County Council Tramways Committee has put down on the section between Aldgate and Bow; whether he is aware that accidents of a serious character have already occurred; and will he say what action he proposes to take for the safety of the public.

(Answered by Mr. Churchill.) On the section in question, which is not yet completed, two accidents, one to a man and one to a horse, have been reported by the police as having occurred through contact with a defective stud while the track was being tested. Fortunately neither accident seems to have been of a serious character. Before the lines are brought into use for traffic an inspection will be held and the Board's officers will require to be satisfied that all proper precautions have been taken. I am informed by the County Council that in the meantime any necessary tests of the system will be carried out at night when the traffic is very light.