Road Transport Activities
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IN PARLIAMENT
By Our Special Parliamentary Correspondent
SEARCH FOR OIL IN GREAT BRITAIN.
AN portant announcement was made by Mr. Runcinian, President of the Board of Trade, in the House of Commons last week, when asked by Sir A. Baillie whether the Government had considered steps to stimulate the search for oil in Great Britain.
Mr. Runciman replied: " Yes, sir. The Government has recently had this question under consideration. Since the programme of drilling, financed by the Exchequer, which was carried out during the period 1918-1922, there has been no large-scale effort to find oil in this country. Recently, however, the Government has received indications of renewed interest in the search for oil in Great Britain, and decided that, in these circumstances, it was desirable to review the whole situation. " This has been done, and the Government has decided to introduce legislation, the principal object of which is to remove some of the main difficulties which it is claimed have stood in the way of a search on an extensive scale, and to secure the orderly development of any oil which might be discovered.
STATE OWNERSHIP OF PETROLEUM.
" rE Bill will provide that the ownership of all petroleum which may exist in this country, but which is at present unknown, shall be vested in the State. The rights of owners of the surface to be recompensed for disturbances to property and loss of amenity will be safeguarded. Persons who wish to search and bore for oil will be required to obtain a licence, payment being made to the Exchequer on any oil produced.
"Those who secure a licence will make their own arrangements with owners of land for the necessary facilities ; but where such facilities cannot be obtained by agreement, provision will be made on lines similar to those contained in the Mines (Working Facilities) Acts for securing the grant of the facilities considered by the court to be necessary on terms to be determined by the court.
"The Petroleum (Production) Act, 1918, will be repealed, and, pending the consideration by Parliament of the new Bill, no further licences will be issued under that Act. The Bill will be introduced at once in another place."
BILL BEFORE THE LORDS.
"THE Bill, which was on the same day presented in the House of Lords, is described as a "Bill to vest in the Crown the property in petroleum and natural gas within Great Britain and to make provision with respect to the searching and boring for and getting of petroleum and natural gas, and for purposes connected with the matters aforesaid." The text has been published, and it is largely composed of machinery clauses, the Board of Trade being empowered to make regulations regarding licences and so on. In determining the amount of any compensation in respect of the grant of any right an additional allowance of not less than 10 per cent. is to be made on account of the acquisition being compulsory.
The first clause exempts from the vesting of property in petroleum in the Crown, such petroleum as may lawfully be gotten under a licence in force under the Petroleum (Production) Act, 1918. Three such licences are mentioned in the schedule as having been granted respectively to the Duke of Devonshire on March 26, 1923, for an area near Hardstoft, Derbyshire ; to H. K. Hiller on December 16, 1930, for an area near Heathfield, Sussex ; and to the N.M.D. Syndicate, Ltd., on July 20, 1931, for an area near Three Bridges, Sussex,
HOME-PRODUCED MOTOR SPIRIT.
THE Minister for Mines states that it is estimated that about 43,000,000 gallons of motor spirit were produced in 1933 in Great Britain from indigenous materials. This represents about 3-1 per cent, of the estimated consumption of motor spirit in that yeas.
INCREASE OP ACCIDENTS IN 'LONDON.
THE Home Secretary stated that he regretted to say that the total of accidents in the Metropolitan Police District in January and February this year was higher than in the corresponding months in previou: years. Figures for this year for the rest of the country were not available, and it must not be assumed that t h e MetrOpolitan figures were typical of the country as a whole. He furnished the ac1930 companying corn1931 parison for the Metropolitan 1932
1934 1933
Police District:—
CONTROL OF PEDESTRIAN TRAFFIC.
Uj jPON a suggestion that in the forth14.../coming Bill the Government should consider making it compulsory for pedestrians to obey traffic signals, whether by light or patrol officer, in the same way as other traffic, Mr. Stanley said that better regulation of pedestrian traffic was a subject which the House would have an opportunity of discussing upon proposals which he
would shortly introduce. "
THAMES PASSENGER SERVICES.
THE Minister of Transport, referring to the possible use of the River Thames for passenger-transport services, said he had been advised by the London and Home Counties Traffic Advisory Committee that it considered that this question raised so many issues that it was desirable to hold a public inquiry in the matter, and that it had appointed the following of its members to hold such inquiry and submit a report :—Sir Henry Jackson, M.P., Mr. J. W. Barton, Mr. H. E. Clay, Mr. Bertram Galer and Sir John Pakeman,
WEAK BRIDGES.
CAPT. STRICKLAND again raised the question of weak bridges, and asked the Minister of Transport what steps would be taken to remedy the position in the case of a main-road bridge scheduled as unsafe for heavy traffic, and which neither the bridge authority nor the highway authority was prepared to repair ; and whether in default of compulsion by him he would give an assurance that road traffic would not be prevented from the use of that route for an indefinite period of time.
Mr. Stanley said if the hon. member would let him have particulars of the case he had in mind he would look into the matter. Capt. Strickland said the Minister had asked him to put down the question in this form when last he raised the matter. What steps was he taking to prevent traffic from being held up by the inaction of road authorities? Mr. Stanley said the question was purely hypothetical. He thought he had better wait for the question to arise.