§ Mr. MILDMAYasked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether in cases where such action involved the need or distress of a surviving wife and family, he would consider the possibility of altering the practice whereby under a recent order the clothes, effects, and cash of any member of the Coastguard are, upon his decease, impounded by the station officer pending the result of correspondence with the Admiralty as to the disposal of the same?
§ Mr. McKENNAThe practice referred to is in pursuance of legal opinion that the effects of men dying at Coastguard stations should be disposed of under the provisions of the Navy and Marines (Property of Deceased) Act, 1865, which necessitate an official inquiry into the claims of persons describing themselves as legal representatives or nearest of kin. Consideration is, however, being given to the matter with a view to arranging the procedure so as to avoid inconvenience to relatives of deceased Coastguard men.