86. Captain BENNasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport whether the Ministry have decided to hold an inquiry into the form of traction to be adopted by the tramway committee of the Edinburgh Town Council, with special reference to Princes Street; and, if so, what is the scope of the inquiry and its estimated cost?
§ The PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY to the MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT (Mr. Neal)Yes, Sir. The inquiry will be conducted by Sir William Marwood and Colonel Pringle, who will endeavour to elicit such information as may be necessary to enable a correct decision to be arrived at, but they will discourage any discursive discussion upon general questions. The public expense involved cannot be large. I cannot control the expense which the corporation or others may determine to incur, but I deprecate and regard as unnecessary any substantial outlay.
§ Mr. W. GRAHAMWould the hon. Gentleman exclude from this inquiry the question of the amenity, which obviously is a matter for the Corporation of Edinburgh and not for any Committee?
§ Mr. NEALI think any truncated inquiry is generally unsatisfactory, but the two officers who will conduct the inquiry are experienced men and they will try to keep it within reasonable limits.