§ MR. HAVELOCK WILSON) (MiddlesbroughI beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade, (1) if his attention has been directed to the Board of Trade Inquiry into the cause of the collision between the steamships Netley Abbey and Alicia, which occurred off Cromer on the 20th December 1895, and was attended by the loss of five lives; (2) whether he is aware that evidence was given that the cause of the collision was due to the failure on the part of a Foreign able seaman, named John Petersen, to understand and execute the orders of the officer in charge; that when the officer gave Petersen orders to port helm, he, Petersen, upon two occasions, put the helm to starboard; that Peterson had been only three or four voyages to sea, and had never before sailed on a British steamship; and, notwithstanding these circumstances, the man Petersen possessed an able seaman's discharge, and was rated as such; (3) whether, having regard for the loss of life caused through the engagement of incompetent seamen on British vessels, it is his intention to bring in a Bill for the purpose of providing that able-bodied seamen shall be provided with certificates, proving that they have served at least four years' apprenticeship, either as apprentices or ordinary seamen; and that Foreign, seamen shall be called upon to pass a simple elementary examination before the superintendent of a mercantile marine office, to prove that he has sufficient knowledge of the English language to understand the orders given on board ship; and (4), whether, if he is unable to bring in such Bill, he will undertake to give his support to any Bill embodying such conditions and proposals?
§ MR. RITCHIEMy attention has been called to the circumstances of the case to which the hon. Member refers. I gather from the Report of the Court of Inquiry that, while the failure of the men at the wheel of the Netley Abbey—one of whom was an Englishman, and the other had an excellent knowledge of English—to comply with an order of the chief officer, materially contributed to the collision, both vessels were to blame, neither of them having complied with the Regulations for Preventing 1083 Collisions at Sea. In reply to the concluding paragraphs of the Question, I can only remind the hon. Member that the whole subject of the manning of British merchant ships is being considered by a Committee, presided over by Sir Edward Reed. Until the Report of that Committee has been received, I am not prepared to take any further steps in the matter.
§ MR. HAVELOCK WILSONI should like to ask the right hon. Gentleman, if it is not a fact that at the time of the collision there was only one man at the wheel, who was a Norwegian?
§ MR. RITCHIENo, Sir, it is not a fact. At the time there were two men at the wheel—one an Englishman, and the other a Norwegian with an excellent knowledge of English.
§ MR. HAVELOCK WILSONCan the right hon. Gentleman give us any information as to when the Manning Committee is likely to make its Report?
§ MR. RITCHIENo; but I made some inquiry before Parliament rose last year, and I understood that the Report was almost ready for presentation.
§ MR. HAVELOCK WILSONCan the right hon. Gentleman give us any explanation as to the delay in presenting the Report?
§ MR. SPEAKEROrder, order!