§ SIR J. LENGI beg, to ask the President of the Board of Trade if he can state the number and tonnage of vessels lost in the North Atlantic with all hands during the heavy gales of last winter; and whether, in view of the treat sacrifice of lives which occurred, he is pre- 521 pared to give effect to the proposals of orders granting to police constables in the Load Line Committee for reducing the winter North Atlantic freeboard, Fever Acts half the fine inflicted On a and thus increasing the risk to the lives defendant and whether such an order of seamen in future winters?
§ THE PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF TRADE (Mr. C. T. RITCHIE, Croydon)The number of British vessels lost in the North Atlantic with all hands during last winter was nine. Their net tonnage was 16,701, and the number of lives lost with them was 278. The proposals of the recent Load Line Committee have been given effect to, but I am advised that there is no reason whatever to think that any one of these missing steamers had an insufficient freeboard. In fact, four of the vessels in question were bound by the new regulations to have two inches more freeboard than was formerly required; of the remaining five, one was from a port to which the North Atlantic winter freeboard has never applied one had two inches more and one had five inches more clear side than the old roles required.