MR. GIBSON BOWLESI beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade why no Board of Trade inquiry has been held into the circumstances attending the loss, last summer, of the sailing vessel Thracian, which, while being towed in ballast, capsized near the Isle of Man, and was totally lost with all hands, in consequence of being under-loaded; and whether, in view of the frequent loss of vessels which blow ashore or blow over when lightly laden, he proposes to introduce any measure to prohibit or deal with the dangerous underloading of ships?
§ MR. MUNDELLAAn official inquiry was ordered in the case of the Thracian, but it was subsequently abandoned, because, in the absence of the vessel and of all hands, it was impossible to obtain complete and satisfactory evidence. The particulars furnished by the builders tended to show that the vessel had sufficient stability as laden. The information in the possession of the Board does not warrant them in believing that vessels are frequently lost from being underladen.