§ 58. Mr. PETOasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he has seen the appeal to the Board of Trade, signed by over 10,000 captains and officers of the merchant service and presented by the Imperial Merchant Service Guild, protesting against the methods of conducting the Board of Trade sight tests on the ground that they are neither practical nor just and inflict, hardships on British certificated captains and officers; whether an appeal is also made to him to abolish the present tests in favour of tests of a more practical nature; and whether, providing it is justified by the tests which lie has ordered to take place at Shoeburyness, he will then introduce practical tests in place of those existing?
§ The PRESIDENT of the BOARD of TRADE (Mr. Burns)I am aware of the appeal referred to, but I cannot admit that the allegations are well founded. I think that the last part of the question had better be postponed until after the demonstration at Shoeburyness.
§ 60. Mr. PETOasked whether, in respect to sight tests imposed upon pilots serving under the Mersey Pilotage Authority, the pin-head lights in their lantern tests are not used regularly through not being considered to be practical; whether, as regards the reading of printed letters of a certain size at a distance of sixteen feet, the two bottom lines of smaller print which are included in the Board of Trade test are left out of account by the Mersey Pilotage Authority as being an unnecessarily severe test in forth vision; and, if so, whether the views of such an authority will be taken into consideration with the object of modifying the severity of the present Board of Trade tests, and substituting tests more in accord with practical seafaring conditions?
§ Mr. BURNSI cannot say how far the statements in the question correctly represent the practice, pursued by the Mersey Pilotage Authority. In any case I do not think that the Board of Trade can properly be guided by that practice.
64 and 65. Major WHITEasked (1) whether the right hon. Gentleman is aware of the statement which has been signed by thirty-one of the leading ophthalmologists of this country to the effect that the Board of Trade sight tests as applied to candidates for masters' and mates' certificates are 194 not satisfactory for the reasons that the wool test for colour-blindness is not an efficient test, that any lantern used for testing colour-blindness should have means for regulating the luminosity of the lights shown, and that the types used in the form-vision tests should be printed on a smooth flat surface, preferably white porcelain, and not on a roll of canvas which has to be held down by the examiner; and, if so, whether any steps have been taken in making the tests more in consonance with the opinions of these experts; and (2) whether he is aware of the resolution adopted, with one dissentient only, by the ophthalmological section of the last conference of the British Medical Association at Brighton, to the effect that the sight tests of the Board of Trade are not satisfactory, and that an inquiry is urgently needed in the interests of the mercantile marine and the nation; whether he is aware of a similar resolution unanimously adopted a few weeks later by the ophthalmological section of the International Medical Congress; and wheher he has taken, or intends to take, any steps in respect to these resolutions?
§ Mr. BURNSIn reply to the two questions put by the hon. and gallant Member, which I will answer together, I would refer him to the answer given him on 6th August last. I may mention, however, that the sheets of letters used in the form-vision test are now backed with stiff cardboard, so as to prevent them from curling up at the edges or bottom.