§ Mr. WARDLEasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he has received an application to arrange for the appointment of an arbitrator, in accordance with Clause 4 of the terms of settlement of the railway dispute signed at the offices of the Board of Trade on 19th August last, to deal with the case of the clerks who petitioned the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company on 30th September, 1910, to institute and publish a definite scale of salaries, based upon the standard rates now obtaining in the postal service; whether he is aware that no scale of any kind has yet been published to the staff by the company, in accordance with the practice of other railway companies, 1024 and the recommendation of the recent Royal Commission on Railway Labour Questions; and whether he is taking such steps as may be necessary to get the dispute dealt with by arbitration?
Mr. BUXTONAfter the Report of the Royal Commission had been issued, the Board of Trade were asked to appoint an arbitrator to deal with the case of the clerks in question, but in the circumstances it would not seem feasible to make such an appointment unless the railway company agreed to this course.