§ Mr. BRACEasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he could state the number of seamen who failed to join British foreign-going ships in the United Kingdom, and the number of continuous discharge books suspended during the quarters ended 31st December, 1908, and 31st December, 1909, respectively?
Mr. BUXTONThe number of seamen who failed to join British foreign-going ships in the United Kingdom in the final quarter of 1909 was 1,884; the number of discharge books suspended was 216. The corresponding figures for the final quarter of the previous year were 2,180 failures, and 56 suspensions.