MR. CATHCART WASONTo ask the Secretary to the Board of Trade, if his attention has been called to the disadvantages under which fishermen labour where no Board of Trade surveyor is available owing to the adoption of rules now in force for ascertaining tonnage of fishing boats; and, if so, will he state what steps he proposes to take in the matter.
(Answered by Mr. Gerald Balfour.) In consequence of complaints received as to the difficulty of applying the provisions of The Merchant Shipping Act, 1894, to Scottish fishing boats, the Board of Trade, having regard to all the circumstances, 392 propose to revert to the old method of measurement known as the Test Rule. Under this Rule the tonnage measurement of fishing boats can be determined by Coastguard, Customs, or Scottish Fishery Board officers, and consequently the attendance of a Board of Trade surveyor will not be necessary.