In message
,
Tristán White wrote:
Oooh, earliest reference I've found in Hansard of "tube railways"
being mentioned as an expression together and then referred
subsequently as "tubes" is from 7 March 1901

However, this is referring to true tubes like the Northern Line, not the
subsurface lines.

in a speech given by the delightfully named "Chairman of Ways and
Means" which I guessed was some old title that no longer exists but I
subsequently found that indeed it still does exist and is in fact one
of the Speaker's three deputies,

From the Parliament web site:

"Ways and Means comes from a committee of the House of Commons which
used to sit to consider the 'ways and means' or taxation needed to raise
revenue for the Government. The Chairman of Ways and Means is a senior
member of the House of Commons who acts as one of the Speaker's three
deputies. In addition he or she always acts as Speaker during Committees
of the Whole House, and is in charge of Private Bill procedure. Today
the Chairman of Ways and Means still occupies the chair when the budget
statements are made or finance bills discussed."

[The Speaker is, in theory, the Monarch's representative and is
therefore forbidden to be involved in financial matters. So the Chairman
of Ways and Means deputises for him in these cases.]

--
Clive D.W. Feather | Home:
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