§ MR. H. MARKS (Kent, Thanet)I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade whether, in view of the judgment at the Board of Trade inquiry into the loss of the steamship "Ordovician," of Cardiff, and, in view of the fact that there have been three inquiries held at Cardiff within a month in connection with the wreck of vessels in which deck hands had been chiefly foreign seamen with no knowledge of English, he will consider the advisability of taking measures to prevent the employment on British vessels of alien seamen who are unable to speak or understand the English language.
§ THE PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF TRADE (MR. LLOYD-GEORGE,) Carnarvon BoroughsMy attention has been called to the cases referred to in the Question, and I am making full inquiry into the incidents referred to in the course of the proceedings. I hope to be able to make some pronouncement on this subject when I introduce the Bill to amend the Merchant Shipping Act, of which I have given notice.