§ Mr. SUGDENasked the President of the Board of Trade what steps he proposes to take to remedy at once the non-collection by goods transit departments of railways of the empty skips and cases in the cotton-manufacturing towns of Lancashire; and when he hopes to improve the process of collection of manufactured cotton yarns in the same localities?
§ Sir A. GEDDESRailway companies are, under present conditions, experiencing great difficulty in dealing expeditiously with all the traffic being offered to them for conveyance, and considerable delay in the collection and dispatch of empty packages has been, and I am afraid still is, unavoidable. The Railway Executive Committee are giving special attention to the whole subject, and I am calling their attention to the specific matters to which my hon. Friend refers. In the meantime arrangements are being made to place a large number of Government lorries at the disposal of the Railway Executive, to enable them to improve their cartage services.