RAILWAY TRAFFIC (CONSOLIDATION) BILL 243 



Mr. Holmes pointed out that all the questions brought forward 

 must come before the Railway Clearing House, so that he 

 was unable to deal with them. He offered to arrange a 

 meeting with the Clearing House on 25th October. This 

 interview took place, when all the companies were represented. 

 A long debate took place, with the result that some small 

 modifications were agreed upon, the principal one being that 

 ordinary slrong parchment address labels with the consignee's 

 name printed thereon would in future be accepted by the 

 companies in the case of milk cans. 



The Departmental Committee on 1st May presented its 

 report . 



On 30th May the Council adopted a report from its Com- 

 mittee giving a summary of Mr. Waghorn's evidence, and 

 especially approving one suggestion made by the Departmental 

 Committee, viz.: 



" That the whole question of the law and practice affecting 

 throughout charges made on traffic exported from or imported 

 into the country is one that requires investigation." 



The tenor of the Departmental report was in favour of the 

 substitution of a policy of combination for that of com- 

 petition, and of giving the companies freedom to enter into 

 agreements with one another. The report itself, however, 

 was very ambiguously worded, and the recommendations 

 were i; conditioned and limited " by the Committee's general 

 conclusions. 



The Bill to consolidate and amend the Railway Traffic 

 Acts was introduced in the House of Lords by Lord Barnard 

 on 30th May, but was not given any opportunity of pro- 

 ceeding further. 



A Sub-Committee, consisting of Mr. Harry Barnston, M.P. 

 (Chairman of the Railway Committee), Mr. Waghorn and the 

 Secretary, was appointed by the Council to confer with the 

 Railway Association in order to discuss with them any 

 modifications in this Bill which they might desire, and with 

 a view of arriving at some understanding, in the hope that 

 the Bill might be allowed to go forward as an agreed measure. 



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