§ MR. J. JOHNSON (Gateshead)I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been called to the suicide at sea of a coaltrimmer named Abudallee on the "Alcana," of Liverpool, on 4th September, 1908; whether any inquiry was held; whether Abudallee had previous sea service; 2136 whether he was medically examined before joining the ship; whether the Board of Trade surveyors have satisfactorily reported upon the ventilation, of the stokehold; if he can state the amount of coal the firemen and trimmers-were required to work in each twenty-four hours; and whether any previous cases of suicide or supposed suicide amongst stokehold hands have occurred on this vessel.
§ THE PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF TRADE (Mr. CHURCHILL,) DundeeYes, Sir; inquiry was held in the case of the "Alcana" by the Assistant Shipping Master at Calcutta. The man was shipped at Calcutta, and it was-his first voyage, but I am not aware whether he had been medically examined. As the vessel is trading abroad, the Board of Trade surveyors have not yet had an opportunity of reporting on the ventilation of the stokehold. The coal consumption was 30 tons per twenty-four hours; and the number of firemen and trimmers, fifteen. No previous cases of suicide or supposed suicide on board this vessel have been supported.
§ MR. BELLOC (Salford, S.)Can the right hon. Gentleman name the owners of the ship?
§ MR. CHURCHILLThe names can easily be obtained. I do not carry them in my head.
§ MR. J. WILLIAMS (Glamorganshire, W.)I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been called to the disappearance at sea of a trimmer named Romezalla Shoralla on the ss: "Clan Lindsay," of Glasgow, on 17th September, 1908; whether any inquiry was held; whether the seaman was medically examined before joining the ship, and whether he had any previous sea service; whether the Board of Trade surveyors have satisfactorily reported upon the ventilation of the stokehold; if he can state the amount of coal the firemen and trimmers were required to work in each twenty-four hours; and whether any previous cases of suicide, supposed suicide, 2137 or disappearances amongst stokehold hands have occurred on this ship.
§ MR. CHURCHILLYes, Sir; inquiry was held in the case of the "Clan Lindsay" by the Acting Consul-General at Port Said, the Superintendent of the Mercantile Marine Office at Glasgow, and the principal Board of Trade officer at Glasgow. The man joined the ship at Calcutta, and had been medically examined. It was his first voyage. The Board of Trade surveyors reported that the conditions under which the man worked, so far as the ship was concerned, had no bearing on his disappearance. The spaces were not below the average in the matter of ventilation. The consumption of coal was 35 tons per twenty-four hours; and the number of firemen and trimmers was fifteen. One previous case of suicide occurred on board the "Clan Lindsay," and was the subject of a Question by the hon. Member for the Ince division on 3rd March last.