§ 79. Mr. COOPERasked the President of the Board of Trade if he will state when the lifeboats of the "Kenilworth Castle" were last examined by the Board's surveyor previous to the accident to one of the boats on 25th July; whether the last report of the Board's surveyor previous to the accident, showed that the hooks to which the boat-falls were secured were examined and found in order; and can he state the reason for the hook-connection of the after-fall of boat No. 6 giving way with only five men in the boat?
§ The PRESIDENT of the BOARD of TRADE (Mr. Buxton)A Board of Trade surveyor examined the boats of the "Kenilworth Castle "on 22nd June last; the boat in question was lowered into the water with thirteen men in her, and everything then appeared to be in all respects satisfactory. On 25th July the boat was being lowered at sea for boat drill with five men in her, when the after-rod con- 2298 necting the hook with the keel of the boat fractured, with the result that the third mate lost his life. An examination of the fractured rod showed that the accident was due to a latent defect in the metal. Since the accident all the boats on this ship have been carefully tested, and have all been raised with a weight of iron in them corresponding to their full complement.