§ MR.WOOTTON ISAACSON (Tower Hamlets, Stepney)I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been drawn to the case of Henry Spindler, fisherman, residing at Thorpe, Aldeburgh, in the County of Suffolk, and his son, Charles Spindler, of the same place, who, while trawling in a punt named the Bella just below the Sizewell Bank Buoy, between 10 and 11 o'clock a.m., were run down by a steam trawler, the Vigilant, of Hull; whether he is aware that the son, Charles Spindler, as soon as they had landed, in formed the Customs House official at Aldeburgh of what had happened; that application was at once made to the owners of the Vigilant at Hull, but no reply has yet been received; that on 29th September last the Yarmouth fishing boat Warrior, No. 127, belonging to Mr. D. Nicholls, while fishing in the North Sea on Tuesday night, had her nets parted by a trawler, who bore down 351 upon her and sheered off again directly, without disclosing her name or where she hailed from; and that a fleet of 57 nets were sunk, representing a loss to the owner of over £100; and whether he will take steps to prevent such occurrences, which are constantly happening in Suffolk, and which has led to previous disaster and loss of life?
§ MR. MUNDELLAI have made inquiries respecting the cases referred to by the hon. Member, and I am informed that the Bella was not run down, but that a slight collision occurred between her and the Vigilant. I am not prepared to say which vessel was to blame, but I am assured that the damage done could be repaired at the cost of a few shillings. With regard to the Warrior, it appears that on the 25th of September an unknown smack parted her nets and did considerable damage. I am informed, however, that most of the nets have been since recovered, and that the loss will, therefore, not be so serious as was anticipated. The Warrior was not supplied with rockets to enable her to signal to the gunboats cruising for the protection of the fishing fleet; and unless the name of the vessel that did the damage can be ascertained, I fear it is not possible for the Board of Trade to help in the matter. Every possible step is taken to prevent such occurrences, and the exertions of the Board of Trade and of the Admiralty cruisers have greatly reduced the number of complaints, but I fear it is impossible to prevent them altogether.
§ MR. WOOTTON ISAACSONSeeing that these poor men have suffered great loss by the damage inflicted by other vessels, cannot the Board of Trade put them in the way of recovering the loss without going to law?
§ MR. MUNDELLAWe must first know what vessel caused the damage. In this case we do not; and I cannot, therefore, do as the hon. Member suggests.
§ MR. WOOTTON ISAACSONThe right hon. Gentleman has stated that the damage in the case of the Bella only amounted to a few shillings, but I have papers which give quite a different view of that.