§ MR. HUSSEY VIVIANasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, Whether his attention has been drawn to a printed paper, dated "111, Victoria St., April 20th, 1873," signed "Samuel Plimsoll," which has been recently circulated among Members of this House, and which contains the following statement—
I had heard much of Cardiff and the adjacent ports. A large firm of shipowners told me five years ago that so bad was the system of overloading there (owing to the readiness of the bench to commit men to prison who refused service, and also to the general carelessness of life of seamen) that they had been obliged, very reluctantly, to take all their ships off the station, at great temporary loss, because they would not consent to make profit at the cost of drowning a crew now and then; and, loading their ships fairly, they were placed at too great a disadvantage. The managing partner of this firm 1683 told me that ships were constantly sailing from Cardiff certain to founder if they met with rough weather;whether he has any reason to believe that so grave a charge against the bench of magistrates at Cardiff has any sort of foundation in fact; and, whether it is his intention to institute any inquiry with reference to such charge, or otherwise to enable the bench of magistrates at Cardiff to vindicate their conduct in the matter?
MR. BRUCESir, I suppose, in common with every other Member of this House, I received the letter which contains the statement referred to; but that statement was so vague and general that I did not think it necessary to refer to the stipendiary magistrate at Cardiff, because I thought it would be putting him in a very unfair position if he were called upon to answer a charge which was not sufficiently specific. I may say, however, that the stipendiary magistrate at Cardiff who deals with these cases had for many years been Chairman of the Quarter Sessions of the county of Glamorgan, and stands deservedly high in public respect. I had therefore, primâ facie reason to suppose that he never had committed a sailor to prison without proper reason. I may also add that since this Question was put on the Paper, I have received a letter, not addressed to myself, but written by the stipendiary magistrate, in which he says that a careful inquiry has been made into 60 cases which have occurred during the last year, and in only two of these cases was any defence made of overloading or unseaworthiness, and in only one of these the defence was substantiated, and defendants were released. But I may say that the proper place to investigate these statements will be before the Royal Commission; and I have no doubt my hon. Friend the Member for Derby, who has printed them, has inquired into the trustworthiness of his authorities, and that, when the time comes, he will be prepared to give proof of them.