§ MR. WAITasked the President of the Board of Trade, If his attention has been directed to the stranding in the River Avon, on the 1st instant, of the screw steamer "Kron Prinz;" and, whether it is the intention of his department to institute an inquiry into the causes of such disaster?
§ SIR CHARLES ADDERLEYThe casualty to the Kron Prinz happened in the River Avon, while the ship was in tow. She went up with too little water, struck the bottom, and keeled over as the tide ebbed. There is, therefore, no intention to hold an official inquiry into the loss of or casualty to this ship, as no question of seaworthiness arises, and the matter is purely one for the harbour authorities and the shipowner. It being a foreign ship, moreover, the Board of Trade would have no power to deal with the master, officers, or owners, even if they were to order an inquiry in such a case.