§ MR. J. CHAMBERLAIN (Birmingham, W.)I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade if his attention has been called to the illegal shipment of incompetent seamen as A.B.'s at the Port of Cardiff, as appears from the statement of R. Phillips and other's, reported in the South Wales Daily News of 25th February, and also by the statement taken from the said R. Phillips and others by the Superintendent of Mercantile Marine at Cardiff; if he is aware of the fact that the man referred to, although incompetent and inexperienced, were signed on as A.B.'s in the presence of an official of the Board of Trade; if he is aware that the men so signed on as A.B.'s were brought to the ship by a person who is not licensed to ship seamen in accordance with Sec. 147, sub-Sec. (1), of "The Merchant Shipping Act, 1854"; and if these statements are true, whether he can take any steps to prevent the recurrence of these irregularities and to secure compliance with the law?
§ *THE PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF TRADE (Sir M. HICKS BEACH,) Bristol, W.Yes, Sir; my attention has been called to the statements in the question, which are substantially accurate. I am, however, informed that prosecutions were instituted against those persons who supplied the seamen illegally, and that, in two cases, convictions were obtained.