41. Mr. De la Bèreasked the Prime Minister whether he will find time for a Debate on the Motion standing in the name of the hon. Member for Evesham, relating to the Merchant Navy?
§ [That this House records with deep gratitude the services rendered by the Merchant Navy in carrying men of the United Nations to North Africa in the latter months, of 1942; appreciates the essential services of our shipping; stresses the necessity for never again allowing the shipyards to remain idle as they were in the days prior to the outbreak of hostilities; is of the opinion that a plan to deal with conditions and prospects for British masters, officers and crews, should be incorporated in statute to ensure that the merchant seamen who have given such splendid service during this war shall not be permitted to become unemployed and distressed after the war, and emphasises the necessity for offering inducement for the best of our young men to come forward into the Merchant Service with a view to maintaining the efficiency and noble traditions of this service in the post-war period.]
§ The Prime Minister (Mr. Churchill)While sharing to the full the sentiments which animate my hon. Friend, I regret that at the moment it is not possible to find time for the discussion of the Motion standing in his name.
Mr. De la BèreWhile thanking the Prime Minister for his kind remarks, may I ask him to bear in mind the necessity at the end of the war for protecting in every possible way the men of the Merchant Navy, because they have done so much for the country during the war? Will he take care that they shall not be forgotten but shall be given all that is due to them in return for the deep debt of gratitude which the nation owes to them?