§ Sir C. MacAndrewasked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he has yet received a report from his expert who visited the Sannox measured mile on the island of Arran at the beginning of June; and, if so, what steps are going to be taken to alter the positions of the beacons?
Mr. CooperA report has been received on the observations made at Sannox Pier during recent runs by His Majesty's ships on an experimental track placed as far North of the existing track as was considered practicable. This report show that the use of the experimental course would only very slightly improve the conditions at Sannox Pier; and after the most careful consideration, it has been decided that the considerable expenditure which would be involved in moving the trial course to the experimental position cannot therefore be justified.
Arrangements will, however, be made to avoid, as far as possible, runs on the measured mile between 2–3 hours before high water and high water. With this precaution, in addition to the existing instructions that wherever possible the Northern half only of the two miles course is to be used, and that notice of trials is to be given to the Arran Barytes Company, I am satisfied that all practicable steps will have been taken to reduce local inconvenience to a minimum.