306 Report of the Committee on Colour- Vision. 



EVIDENCE TAKEN BY THE COMMITTEE. 



Evidence of Mr. Hanbury, of the Metropolitan Railway. 



In the engine department, the men are examined as to 

 perception of colour before they can qualify for drivers, but 

 i think not for porters. If there is any doubt, we examine 

 those engaged in traffic matters again, but not unless. We 

 examine with the wool test, which I have here. We place 

 this (a horizontal bar, from which were suspended skeins of 

 wool about fifteen inches in length, and all bright colours) 

 on the table in front of the man to be examined, and also a few 

 skeins of wool, as an independent test. We ask the man 

 what he understands by a danger signal ; he says " red," 

 naturally ; then I ask him what colour represents a caution 

 signal ; he says " green." I say, can you find the colour repre- 

 senting the danger signal. He looks, and perhaps picks out red ; 

 if he hesitates at all in his first choice, we ask him if he is quite 

 sure it represents the danger signal. He perhaps says it does. 

 Then we ask as to the caution signal ; also test him with regard 

 to the skeins of wool, and request him to pair or match the colour 

 with a similar one on the frame ; and if there is any doubt, we 

 ask him as to brown or blue. Suppose he were to take this 

 (mauve), we should test him again. I have not found many such 

 cases on the Metropolitan Railway. Men sometimes mis-name 

 the colours. We do not ask him the names of colours, but ask 

 him to match them. We also ask him to pick out the " danger " 

 or " caution" signal colour, and we sometimes ask for the best 

 red. We allow the man examined to make a minute examination 

 between the colours. I cannot tell exactly how many men we 

 have personally examined in this way, but I started my exami- 

 nations in 1869, and have perhaps met with three cases of colour- 

 blindness. I cannot give an estimate as to the number examined. 

 The wool test is the first test which my Chief undertakes, but 

 when going on the footplate (on the engine) I examine them 

 again myself. Agricultural labourers as a rule answer the 

 questions as to the colour of the signals correctly. I never 

 heard of the engine drivers rejecting the firemen, nor the case 

 of a man going colour-blind subsequently. 



Question. — Do you have a certain proportion of men over- 

 running the danger signal in a way which cannot be accounted 

 for ? — I know of the case of a man at King's Cross passing the 

 danger signal — an aged man — but I found his colour-sight good. 

 The positions of the coloured wools on the bar are not shifted. 

 The firemen are only tested once or twice as to colour, and 

 afterwards if promoted to be drivers. We do not test with 

 lamps, nor as to alteration of colour by fogs. We test them 

 with regard to other colours than red and green if there is an 



