§ 88. Mr. ATKEYasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that the present system of allocating traffic by the railway companies is causing loss and inconvenience to traders; that the firm of Messrs. R. F. and F. W. Brown, of Nottingham, are refused delivery of timber by the Great Northern Railway Company from Ruskington and An caster stations to Radford Station, causing an extra haulage by road from Nottingham Station of over 5 miles, thereby increasing the cost and halving the output; that Mr. A. Wright, timber and slate merchant, of Nottingham, is refused by the Midland Railway Company permission to load a wagon on his own siding for Mansfield because that town is allocated to the Great Central Railway Company, and is compelled to cart his goods across to that railway; that goods for Tlkeston and Hucknall must be carted 2213 from his own siding on the Midland Railway across to the Great Northern station because these places are allocated to that railway; and if he will instruct the Railway Executive Committee to terminate this state of affairs at once and allow traffic to take its rational route?
§ Mr. BRIDGEMANThe general arrangements for the allocation of railway traffic are made with the object of increasing the amount of traffic that can be dealt with, and I could not, in present circumstances, recommend that they should be withdrawn. I will, however, make inquiries into the particular cases mentioned and see whether anything can be done in regard to them.