COMMITTEE. (Hansard, 22 June 1886)

THE EAEL OF WEMYSS
said, that he desired to enter his protest against a measure of this kind, which was intended to compel the skippers of small fishing boats to submit to the same Board of Trade examination that the commanders of large vessels were required to pass. This was an attempt on the part of the Board of Trade to get everybody into their net.

§ THE MARQUESS OF SALISBURY
said, he had received a telegram from the Secretary of the Insurance Societies of Lowestoft, who were interested in the fishing trade, which stated that in their opinion this Bill, if passed into law, would ruin the fishing interest. He had not had time to inform himself of the case upon which that objection rested; but he thought it most unfortunate that legislation respecting an important industry should be hurried through with so much speed that the persons most concerned were not aware of the legislation which it was sought to impose upon them. They at least believed that they were to be ruined by it.

§ LORD SUDELEY
(for the Board of Trade) explained that the main object of the Bill was to extend to skippers of fishing boats the provisions of the Act of 1883. The complaints by the Lowestoft fishing interest were made under a misapprehension of the objects of this measure. Under Clause 10 it was proposed to extend inquiries to boat accidents similar to those which could be held upon accidents in ships. It was often found that very serious accidents occurred to boats under oars, especially in conveying fish to trawlers; but, unfortunately, owing to the construction of the Act of 1883, no inquiries could be held in such cases. Under Clause 11 owners of fishing boats were able to make rules and regulations, but they could not be carried out without the sanction of the Board of Trade; and it was quite clear that the fishing trade at Lowestoft were not aware that in the other House Sir Edward Birkbeck introduced a clause ordering all Rules to be laid on the Table of both Houses for a month before they could become law, thus removing their objection. The examination proposed under the Bill was of the simplest character, and would be held locally; and he believed the Bill had the approval of the fishing interest at all the large ports.

§ THE MARQUESS OF SALISBURY
said, that so far as he could see the examination of the skippers of these boats would be as great as that of captains of merchant vessels, and that did not seem to be a very common-sense arrangement. As nobody on the Ministerial Bench, not even the First Lord of the Admiralty, appeared to have the slightest notion of what the Bill was intended to effect, it was hardly decent to proceed with the measure.

THE SECRETARY OF STATE for INDIA (The Earl of KIMBERLEY)
confessed that he had no information on the subject upon which the Bill dealt, and considered it would be better to withdraw it.