§ 58. Sir J. D. REESasked how many telephone wires were broken during the snowstorm in Nottingham on Saturday, 11th January; how many were still unrepaired on Saturday, 18th January; how many were still unrepaired on Saturday, 25th January; and how many men were employed on the repairs?
§ Mr. HERBERT SAMUELOn Saturday the 11th January 1,200 subscribers' circuits in Nottingham City and more than 500 circuits in connection with neighbouring exchanges were broken, while main lines also suffered severe damage; and on Monday, the 13th January, many wires already strained during the snowstorm were broken by the frost which followed. The work of repairing the damage was begun on Sunday morning, when poles were removed from roads, roofs and other dangerous positions. Main lines, fire wires, public service wires and doctors' circuits were the next to receive attention, but a thick fog on Monday delayed the work. In Nottingham City 500 subscribers' circuits were still unrepaired on the 18th January and 170 on the 25th January, by which date nearly all the circuits connected with neighbouring exchanges had been put right. Altogether 130 men were engaged on the work of restoration in Nottingham and the neighbourhood, of whom the number employed in Nottingham City varied from thirty-eight on Sunday, the 13th January, to seventy-six on Saturday, the 25th January.
§ Sir J. D. REESMay I ask the right hon. Gentleman if he is aware that on the occasion of the last great storm sufficient labour was got in and the repairs to the telephone under private management promptly and satisfactorily executed?
§ Mr. HERBERT SAMUELNo, Sir.
§ Sir J. D. REESWill the right hon. Gentleman kindly satisfy himself of that, and would he say whether any consideration other than that of the speedy repair of the telephones influences him in dealing with this matter?
§ Mr. HERBERT SAMUELNo other consideration is taken into account. The hon. Member must remember that telegraph and telephone wires were broken down over a very large portion of the country, and that which occurred at Nottingham was only a sample of what 1790 occurred elsewhere. It was impossible to concentrate the staff at Nottingham.