§ Mr. WATTasked the President of the Board of Trade whether the foghorns on the estuary of the Clyde are so arranged that those furthest out to sea give the fewest blasts per minute, whereas those in 1081W the very narrow waters give the greatest number of blasts, that at the Cloch Lighthouse giving eight blasts per minute; whether the usual practice is that the wider the waters the more frequent should be the blasts; if so, will he say who was responsible for this system being adopted on the Clyde; and will he bring pressure to bear to have the system altered?
Mr. BUXTONI have communicated with the Commissioners of Northern Lighthouses, who state that the answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative, and that so far as they are aware, it is not the usual practice for the blasts of fog signals to be more frequent in wide than in narrow waters. They state that the intervals of sounds should be as short as possible, but in the case of the powerful signals required in wide waters, it is impracticable to sound at very short intervals, owing to the great quantity of air required for each blast. In the Commissioners' opinion, the narrower the waters the more frequent should be the blasts. The fog signals at Cumbrae, Toward Point, and the Cloch were established by the Clyde Lighthouses Trustees, with the sanction of the Commissioners of Northern Lighthouses. The fog signals at Holy Island, Pladda, Sanda, and Ailsa Craig were established by the Commissioners of Northern Lighthouses.