§ SIR W. J. COLLINS (St. Pancras, W.)To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the authorities of Guernsey and Jersey have yet passed into law the detailed suggestions prepared by the Board of Trade with a view to the assimilation of the shipping law of the Channel Islands to that of this country, in respect of certificates of competency, safety, and inquiries into shipping casualties.
(Answered by Mr. Secretary Gladstone.) It is proposed to hold a meeting with the insular authorities at the Board of Trade early next month to deal with points in the Board's memorandum on which discussion has been found to be desirable. There will be no avoidable delay, but the provisions of the Merchant Shipping Acts are long and complicated, and their application to the Channel Islands, and the provision of the necessary machinery, must occupy some time. In the meanwhile the Guernsey Bill, to which I referred in my Answer on the 19th March last, has received the approval of the King in Council.