§ Mr. JOHN WARDasked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether his attention had been called to an accident to John McCafferty at 12.30 on the night of the 17th April, on the new dock works, Rosyth; and whether he could state the kind of conveyance used to carry the injured man to his lodgings, and the time which elapsed from the accident till the man was seen by the medical attendant?
§ Mr. McKENNAI am aware of the accident in question. The man was conveyed in a locomotive to within about half a mile of his lodgings, and, accompanied by two fellow-workmen, walked without difficulty the remaining distance. His injury being slight, he was attended to by the qualified officer in charge of the ambulance staff on the works, who did not consider it a case for the ambulance or immediate attention of doctor. He was seen next day by the doctor.
§ Mr. J. WARDDo I understand 13½ hours elapsed from the time of the accident to the time when he was medically attended?
§ Mr. McKENNAYes, I understand that would be the case, but, according to the information I have received, I do not think any great hardship was suffered.
§ Mr. J. WARDasked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether his attention had been called to an accident which caused the death of a young man named Ringsley at the new dock works, Rosyth, on 19th April; whether this workman had any previous knowledge of this class of work; and, if not, whether he proposes to take any action to secure that only competent men are engaged upon these works in the future?
§ Mr. McKENNAParticulars have been sent me of the fatal accident in question. The work upon which the man was engaged was that of signalman to quarry 1772 crane, which requires no special knowledge or skill, and is usually performed by a boy. I am unable to say whether he had any previous knowledge of the work upon which he was engaged, but investigation of the matter is complicated by the fact that there is reason to believe that he had found employment on the works under more than one assumed name.
§ Mr. J. WARDasked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he could give the names of the firms of contractors at Dunfermline who informed him that 5d. per hour was a fair wage for navvies working in the trenches at Rosyth, and the dates on which they gave his Department that information?
§ Mr. McKENNAThe answer I gave to my hon. Friend on the 6th April last was based upon investigations made by the local works officers at Rosyth, who do not give the names of particular contractors.
§ Mr. J. WARDIs it not a fact that no inquiry was ever made of any firm in the locality relating to this subject, and that the information the right hon. Gentleman gave me in answer to the previous question is only the answer he was instructed to make by the contractor himself who pays these wages?
§ Mr. McKENNANo, my hon. Friend is quite wrong in that assumption. The information came to us from a gentleman engaged in our service and not from the contractor; and from the report which I have read it appears he derived his information from the reports of builders and persons engaged in work at Dunfermline. There is no evidence at all that the information was given by the contractor.