§ MR. WEBB (Waterford, W.)I beg-to ask the President of the Board of Trade whether the attention of the Department has been directed to the circumstances attendant on the loss of the barque Port Yarroch (2,175 tons) with 20 hands in Brandon Bay on 28th ultimo, and also to portions of the log of Mr. Baines, senior apprentice, which appeared in The Times of the 14th instant; will any inquiry be held; if the vessel left Cardiff on her outward voyage short handed and with a falsely rated crew can anyone now be made amenable; was it the duty of the British Consul at Santa Rosalia to report as to the crew with which she sailed on her homeward voyage; and when the crew of a vessel are put on short allowance of provisions have they any claim against the owners for the value of the short allowance, and in case of illness, such as scurvy, arising from improper victualling, have they any claim for damages?
§ MR. MUNDELLAThe attention of the Board of Trade has been called to the circumstances of the case to which my hon. Friend refers, and I have ordered a formal inquiry to be held. Until this inquiry is completed I think it is only right that I should defer answering the supplemental questions of my hon. Friend.