§ MR. CAUSTON (Southwark, W.)I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade whether he can inform the House how many boats and the number of people they would accommodate were carried by the steamer "Albert Edward" at the time of the recent collision on the passage from Boulogne to Folkestone; and how many passengers were on board the steamer at the time of the collision?
§ SIR MICHAEL HICKS BEACHI understand that, on the occasion to which the hon. Member refers, the "Albert Edward" carried four boats, capable of accommodating seventy-three persons, in addition to life belts and life buoys for four hundred and sixteen persons. Life-saving appliances were therefore supplied for four hundred and eighty-nine persons, whereas those on board consisted of three hundred and sixty passengers and a crew of twenty-three.