§ Mr. JAMES THOMASasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware of the continuous long hours that are being worked at Bradford on the Great Northern Railway Company by locomotive men, extending in some cases to nearly fifteen hours per day; and, having regard to the strain such long hours impose upon the men holding such responsible positions, will he cause inquiries to be made?
Mr. ROBERTSONThe Board of Trade called for a Return of the hours worked by the men in question for a selected week, and it appeared that in a number of cases the periods of duty were excessive. The company explained that during the week in question the traffic was abnormal, but the Board were of opinion that the hours were longer than they should be, and they have urged the company to take steps to reduce the booked periods of duty where necessary and to guard against them being exceeded. If necessary, a further Return will be called for.