§ MR. SEXTONI beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade whether he proposes to take any action on the subject of a resolution of a public meeting held on the 4th instant in the Court House, Tarbert, County Kerry, in connection with the recent loss of 17 lives by an accident in the River Shannon, in which the attention of the Board of Trade is directed to the way the traffic to and from the steamer plying to Tarbert Island is conducted, passengers having to embark and disembark in all weathers in an open boat at serious risk, in consequence of the Steamship Company declining to come alongside the pier, and expresses an earnest request that an immediate inquiry be held; and whether he will comply with this request?
§ MR. MUNDELLAI have not seen the resolution to which the hon. Member refers; but I have requested the owners of the steamers which ply between Limerick and Tralee to furnish me with an explanation of the conditions under which passengers were embarked. The reply of the Steamship Company was that although the steamer itself has been surveyed and certified by the Board 669 of Trade, the method of receiving and discharging passengers is entirely under the control of the Local Authority.
§ MR. SEXTONI wish to ask the right hon. Gentleman what is the Local Authority, and also whether the Board of Trade has any power to hold an inquiry to ascertain whether the system of embarking and disembarking passengers is dangerous to life?
§ MR. MUNDELLAThe Local Authority would be the authority of the ports to which the vessel traded.