Mr. WEST RUSSELLasked the President of the Board of Trade the numbers of seamen of the British mercantile marine employed and unemployed, respectively, and the figures of alien seamen, employed and unemployed, respectively, 2079W serving or connected with the British mercantile marine?
§ Mr. W. R. SMITHOn 24th March, 1930, the number of wholly unemployed seamen—whether British or foreign—aged 18 years or over, on the registers of Employment Exchanges in Great Britain was 22,346. Statistics of the number who were alien seamen are not available. The latest year for which information is at present available regarding empoylment of seamen is 1928. On 31st March of that year the numbers of seamen employed in sea-going vessels, except yachts and fishing vessels, registered in the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands, were as follow:
British 132,377 Foreign 15,291 Lascars (British subjects and foreigners) 52,445 200,113 The number of persons engaged for the first crews of such vessels, which were not in service on 31st March, 1928, but were in service at some time during the year 1928 was
British 30,279 Foreign 3,627 Lascars (British subjects and foreigners) 4,110 38,016