§ MR. HAVELOCK WILSON (Middlesbrough)I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been directed to a case tried before the Borough Magistrates at the Falmouth Police Court on the 4th instant, when the captain of the sailing ship Hornby Castle was convicted for having, in August 1896, committed certain acts of gross cruelty upon a seaman named John Smith whilst serving on board the said ship, which acts covered and included placing the seaman in irons with his hands behind his back, striking and kicking the helpless seaman, unchaining a ferocious dog and setting it on to worry the seaman, and belabouring him with a loaded stick; and that the only penalty inflicted was a fine of £5; and whether it is his intention to order an official inquiry into this case with a view of dealing with the captain's certificate.
§ MR. RITCHIEMy attention has been called to the case to which the hon. Member refers. Full inquiries are being made, with a view to enable the Board of Trade to decide whether the certificate of the Master should be dealt with under the Merchant Shipping Act.