§ MR. MACIVERasked the President of the Board of Trade, Whether he is in a position to give the names of any first class vessels trading from the port of Liverpool, other than those periodically surveyed by the Shipwright Surveyors of the Board of Trade, or by those of one or other of the Registry Societies; and, whether in regard to vessels sailing under the Passengers' Acts, the Officers of the Board of Trade continue to follow the practice of the Emigration Commissioners in regard to load line?
§ SIR CHARLES ADDERLEYSir, the hon. Member can obtain the information as to vessels leaving Liverpool, not surveyed by Board of Trade or any registry surveyor, better than I can, or which of such vessels are first class. All I know is that passenger ships are surveyed by Board of Trade surveyors under the Act, and some others which present themselves for survey. The Board of Trade Emigration officers fix the freeboard in each case of ships carrying emigrants.
§ MR. MACIVERasked the President of the Board of Trade, Whether, notwithstanding the appointment of a Prosecuting Solicitor to the Board of Trade, the provisions of Clause 11 of the Merchant Shipping Act of 1871 (whereby sending unseaworthy vessels to sea is made a misdemeanour) remain, and are likely to remain, almost altogether inoperative; whether it commonly is not, owing to the drowning of witnesses, practically impossible to obtain evidence in such cases; and, whether it is not true that, in point of fact, no convictions whatever have been obtained, except as against the owners of a small coasting schooner (the "Nimrod") belonging to Belfast, which did not go to the bottom; 176 and as against the owners of a similar little vessel (the "Alcedo") belonging to Waterford; and, whether one or both of these convictions was not obtained solely upon evidence furnished by the vessel safely reaching port?
§ SIR CHARLES ADDERLEYSir, the Nimrod and Alcedo were both detained in port as unseaworthy, were both condemned, and the owners of both were convicted, fined, and imprisoned. I think that Section 11 of the Merchant Shipping Act of 1871 should be strengthened, and extended in its application, and there was a clause in the Government Bill for that purpose. But I think the indirect operation of that clause has been effective in the way of deterring people from sending unseaworthy ships to sea. It is true that the only convictions yet obtained under the very restricted terms of the 11 th section of the Act of 1871 are those of the owners of the Nimrod and Alcedo, and, of course, in cases where ships go to the bottom evidence can rarely be obtained; but the principle of the law is to convict offenders and not to anticipate offence by inspecting all. No one doubts that there are unseaworthy ships, and probably more than have been detected; but the Board of Trade has successfully hit many, and has very successfully avoided involving the innocent in its prosecutions.