§ Sir A. LISTERasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Munitions whether he is aware that a special train is still being run to and from the city of Gloucester and the site of the late Quedgley filling factory, a distance of only three miles, notwithstanding that this factory has been closed for many months and that the small number of men now employed are mainly engaged in leisurely destroying explosives, and that some of these men do not use this special train; and whether he will have inquiries made with a view of stopping what is considered locally to be a needless extravagance?
Mr. J. HOPEI cannot agree that the provision of this special train is unjustified, inasmuch as it carries 100 men daily each way at the ordinary workmen's railway fares, so that no charge falls on the Ministry. I should add that the destruction of explosives is a process which cannot be hastily or incautiously carried out.