26 JANUARY 1940, Page 3

" I do not think anybody would deny that if

all of us were unselfish and behaved with real care there would be very few road accidents." This contribution to modern thought fell from Captain Euan Wallace during the debate on the black-cut. The Minister of Transport is invariably genial and no Minister reads a departmental brief in a more light-hearted manner. But there are occasions when the House of Commons declines to be satisfied with an exhibition of these qualities, and Wednesday's discussion was one of them. Everyone except Sir William Brass welcomed the twenty-mile speed limit in built-up areas, but this was hardly regarded as a sufficient answer to the problem of wartime casualties on the roads. It was left for Sir John Anderson, in winding up the debate, to put forward the real defence of the black-out and to show the importance of extinguishing lights which produce a recognisable pattern on tilt.; ground. Sir John gave no countenance to Colonel Wedgwood's optimistic view that, judging by Finnish ex- perience, air-raids on Britain would not produce any very great loss of life.

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