§ 39. Mr. ROBINSONasked the President of the Board of Trade how many German and Austrian steamers and sailing ships are now lying unused in British ports; who pays the dock dues and watching expenses of these vessels; and whether they can all be made use of in view of the shortage of tonnage existing?
§ The PRESIDENT of the BOARD of TRADE (Mr. Runciman)All the German and Austrian steamers and sailing ships which were detained in British ports, with the exception of a few sailing ships which cannot be usefully employed at present, are either in use already or will be in use very shortly. Any expenses properly chargeable against the ships before the date of employment would, I understand, be payable by the Admiralty Marshal or other proper officer of the Crown.
§ Mr. ROBINSONWill my right hon. Friend consider carefully whether these sailing ships cannot be made use of? There are certain vessels between 1,800 and 5,000 tons lying in the same port at the present time which might be used.
§ Mr. RUNCIMANYes, Sir, if it were possible to make use of them we should certainly do so, but it is not only a question of making use of the vessels themselves, but of providing crews for them. There is at the present moment a great shortage of sailors, and I am advised that we would not be able to man any more vessels at our ports. If the supply of sailors were to alter, we could, of course, reconsider the matter.
§ Mr. ROBINSONWill not my right hon. Friend, under the exceptional circumstances, consider the advisability of obtaining Scandinavian sailors?
§ Mr. RUNCIMANWe can consider that, but in British ships we have been rather deprecating the use of alien crews.