§ Mr. CHADWICKasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Shipping if his attention has been called to a public speech made in Liverpool on the 3rd instant by Captain Young, the professional member of the Marine Department, Board of Trade, on the occasion of the annual shipmasters' dinner, at which this officer was one of the two principal guests; whether any merchant ships built by the Government during the War or since have been built with the stem receding from the vertical less than 15 degrees: and, if so, whether the professional and technical advisers of the Marine Department of the Board of Trade were consulted in regard to the design of such ships?
Colonel WILSONMy attention has been called to this speech. All the Standard ships were built with straight stems, and the designs were settled after consultation with leading shipbuilders and naval architects. The Board of Trade would not necessarily be consulted on matters other than those directly concerning that Department, but the Board of Trade rules were in all cases complied with.