§ 59. Mr. GLADSTONEasked the President of the Board of Trade what action he would be able to take if the crews of British foreign-going ships, registered in the United Kingdom, which normally carry fifty or more persons, were to be reduced to forty-nine all told in order to escape the obligation of being equipped with wireless telegraphy under the provisions of the Merchant Shipping (Convention) Bill?
§ Mr. BURNSThis is a purely hypothetical question, and the only answer I can give my hon. Friend is that the action, if any, to be taken in such an eventuality would depend upon the circumstances of the case. I may add that precisely the same possibility might arise whatever were the limit of numbers fixed.