§ 29. Mr. PETOasked the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been called to the inquiry held in Liverpool on the 4th instant into the stranding of the "Veronese," in which the chief officer, Mr. E. V. Hugo, was exonerated from all blame and praised for his ccurageous conduct in rescuing emigrant passengers, and where, nevertheless, the representative of the Board of Trade objected to the granting of art order for his costs against the Board of Trade; and whether he will take steps to see that in future, where the result of wreck inquiries is to exonerate any officer or officers from blame, their costs shall be borne by the Board of Trade, and they shall receive reasonable compensation for their loss of time and employment?
Mr. BUXTONI have not yet received the Official Report of this inquiry, but I understand that the facts with regard to the chief officer of the "Veronese" are correctly stated in the question. It has not been the practice of the Board of Trade to agree to bear the costs incurred by parties to inquiries; but, if in any case it could be shown that the Board had without sufficient grounds made an officer a party, an application to the Court for the officer's costs would not be opposed. 1340 It is, however, the practice of the Board to pay subsistence allowance to a witness until he is no longer required by the Court of Inquiry, unless he is found in default, in which case such payments terminate at the commencement of the inquiry. In cases of exceptional hardship, the Board will consider the payment, as compensation, of subsistence allowances to a date beyond the termination of the inquiry.
§ Mr. PETOWill the right hon. Gentleman consider the propriety of making a general rule that where officers are exonerated from all blame, and have already incurred considerable loss through attending the inquiry, their costs should be defrayed out of public money?
Mr. BUXTONThat is a much larger question than one affecting the Board of Trade only; but I will look into it.