§ MR. HOPWOOD (Lancashire, S.E., Middleton)I beg to ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether there is a probability of the Department deciding soon on the justice of the claims of the Customs' boatmen, already brought to notice; whether there are several hundred employed on the Thames to board vessels on arriving and remain on board until passengers or cargo are removed; whether this entails sometimes duty of 100 hours a week on day or night watch; whether, when a vessel is detained in quarantine owing to contagious disease, the Customs' officer is bound to remain on board; whether their stations at the docks are insanitary; and whether, inasmuch as their employment involves risk and hardship, he will consider the possibility of making an improvement in their remuneration?
§ SIR J. T. HIBBERTIn reply to the first and last paragraphs, I am in a position to inform my hon. Friend that the Treasury has arrived at a decision upon the Memorials of the boatmen, and will immediately communicate that decision to the Commissioners of Customs. One hundred and five boatmen are employed in boarding vessels in the Thames. Those having charge of vessels proceeding to the docks are usually relieved within four hours of being boarded, while officers in charge of vessels discharging in the river remain on board till the cargo is out, but in no case does this entail duty of 100 hours per week. If a vessel on arrival is found to be infected or suspected, the Customs' officers do not board the vessel; and if a vessel after being boarded is detained by the Port Sanitary Medical Officer of Health, any Customs' officer would be withdrawn unless the medical officer objected. The sanitary arrangements at the stations in the docks are believed to be in good condition, but complaints of defects always receive ready attention.