§ SIR Gr. BADEN-POWELL (Liverpool, Kirkdale)I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade whether he can state how many passengers have been carried in German steamers calling at Southampton since, say, the 8th of May; how many of those passengers were carried in excess of the numbers allowed by the British Passengers Act; what is the penalty for such excess under those Acts; has the Board of Trade enforced the Act in all the above cases; and if in any case the Act has not been put in force and the penalty imposed, what is the reason for such exemption?
§ MR. BRYCEThe total number of steerage passengers carried in German steamers calling at Southampton since the 8th of May was 1,917, and of these 531 were carried in excess of the numbers allowed by the British Passengers Acts. The penalty provided is a fine not exceeding £10, nor less than £5, for 910 each statute adult constituting such excess. The Board of Trade have not taken proceedings in any of the cases in question. They have accepted the explanations of the Companies concerned, that their agents abroad were ignorant of the law, but that instructions will be given to them to obey it carefully in future.