§ MR. DAVID A. THOMAS (Merthyr Tydvil)I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade, whether he is aware of the irregular nature of coal trimmers' employment, and that, when called upon to attend a Board of Trade inquiry into the loss of a vessel, the amount of expenses allowed by the Department is often not nearly sufficient to compensate the coal trimmer for the payment he has to make to a substitute while absent from his work; and, whether, under the circumstances, he is prepared to increase the amount now allowed to trimmers for expenses in attending such inquiries?
§ MR. AKERS-DOUGLASThe expenses allowed to coal trimmers as witnesses at Board of Trade inquiries compare favourably with those granted for attending before other Courts of Summary Jurisdiction. They are based on the principle of an allowance to cover reasonable expenses, and my right hon. Friend is advised that it is undesirable to introduce the question of loss of employment or payment of substitutes.