§ Major GLYNasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will reconsider the draft Orders regulating the proceedings of the Pilotage Committee in such a manner as to extend to shipowners' representatives similar facilities as are extended to pilots who are empowered to be represented by substitutes should the elected members be unable to attend meetings; and whether, if pilots, members of the Committee, are, by reason of their calling, prevented from attending, a similar argument applies with equal force to elected representatives of the shipowners who, for reasons of illness, business engagements, etc., may find it equally impossible to attend every meeting?
§ Sir W. MITCHELL-THOMSONThe reason why in such cases provision is made for pilot members to have substitutes is that they may occasionally be prevented by their statutory obligations from attending meetings of a Pilotage Committee. There are many precedents for this, but none for the extension of the principle to shipowners or other interests, and the Board, after careful consideration, think it undesirable to create one.