§ MR. HAVELOCK WILSONTo ask the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been called to the loss of the British steamer "St. Cuthbert," which vessel engaged a crew at the port of Antwerp on 16th January, 1908; whether he is aware that, out of a crew of forty-two hands, thirty-two were foreign seamen, the majority of whom could not speak or understand the English language; whether he will inquire of His Majesty's Consul under what circumstances this crew was engaged, seeing that the majority of the crew had an inadequate knowledge of English; whether he is aware that in consequence there was a considerable panic amongst the foreigners at the time of the loss of the ship; and whether he will state how many lives were lost on this vessel.
(Answered by Mr. Churchill.) My attention has been called to the loss of the s.s. "St. Cuthbert." The crew of the vessel (exclusive of the master and two apprentices) consisted of forty-four hands, of whom thirty-three were foreigners, but His Majesty's Consul at Antwerp reports that all the foreign seamen who were allowed to sign the articles of agreement passed the language test. Three who applied for employment were rejected. According to the Report of the Naval Court held at Boston to inquire into the loss of the vessel the majority of the foreign crew were panic-stricken, and behaved in an unseamanlike manner. 731 The lives of thirteen of the crew and one stowaway were lost with the ship.