§ Mr. HAVELOCK WILSONasked the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been called to the amount of coal consumed on the steamer "Spondilus" during her voyage in December last, 1166W namely, 42 tons per day; whether he is aware that, as this vessel carried only 14 Asiatic firemen the amount of coal each man was required to work was three tons in each 24 hours in tropical climates; whether he is aware that Sir E. Reed's Committee on Manning recommended that only two and a-half tons per day should be worked by white firemen in tropical climates; whether the Board of Trade have issued any regulations as to the number of Asiatic firemen to be carried when Europeans are not employed; if so, in what proportion Asiatics are to be employed; and if no regulations have been issued will he have regulations framed dealing with this matter?
Mr. TENNANTI must refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to him on the 28th ult. as to the coal consumption and manning of the stokehold of this vessel. The Majority Report of the Manning Committee recommended that the trimming and firing of 2½ tons of coal per man per day should be the maximum work required of the stokehold staff when trading in tropical waters. No regulations have been issued as to the number of Asiatic firemen to be carried when Europeans are not employed, and there is no power to frame such regulations under the present law.