CAPTAIN CRAIGI beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade whether he can state the name of the firm to which has been entrusted the construction of the new modern whistling buoy for Strangford Bar; on what date did the work begin; is a duplicate being made at the same time; what will the total cost be; and whether it will be defrayed out of light dues collected by the Board of Trade from vessels bound inwards passing that point.
§ MR. CHURCHILLI am informed by the Commissioners of Irish Lights that this whistling buoy will not be constructed by a single firm, but that different parts will be made by about a 1069 dozen different firms, the apparatus being completed at the Commissioners' workshops. They state that the preparation of drawings and specifications was commenced on 12th August last, the date when they received the formal sanction of the Board of Trade to the adoption of the Willson type of buoy. A duplicate buoy will be provided at the same time, and the total cost is estimated at £1,000 for each buoy. This will be met out of the General Lighthouse Fund, and not by a special light due in respect of the buoy.