§ COMMANDER BETHELL (York, E.R., Holderness)I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade if steps have been taken to cause a careful inquiry to be made into the disastrous casualty that occurred to the steam trawler Dogger, of Hull, which vessel, while engaged in trawling off the coast of Holland on 24th April last, was run into and sunk, 1754 the crew of nine men being drowned, by the German barque Thekla, of Hamburg?
§ *MR. MUNDELLAThe Doggerbank is missing with all hands, and her owner alleges that the German barque Thekla caused the disaster. I am advised that as the Thekla is now on a voyage to Chili with all the witnesses of the alleged collision on board no evidence is for the time available, and any formal investigation in this country would be useless at present. But I am strongly of opinion that the fullest information as regards the cause of the loss of the Doggerbank should be obtained, and I have taken every means to obtain such information, and have communicated with the Foreign Office and asked that the matter may be brought under the notice of the German Government without delay.
§ COMMANDER BETHELLWill the Government take further steps to secure this information?
§ MR. MUNDELLAI have already communicated with the Foreign Office with that object.