§ Colonel Burtonasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he can state the circumstances under which the steamship "Dunstaffnage" has been sold; also, whether he can give the names of the directors of the British company which sold the ship; and whether the ship was offered to the British Government prior to the transaction being completed?
41W
§ Mr. StanleyThe British register of the steamship "Dunstaffnage" was closed on 28th April on the sale of the ship to foreign buyers. The ship was owned by the Scottish Navigation Company, Limited, of Glasgow, the directors of the company being Mr. James Smith, Mr. William Fyfe, Mr. Nigel H. C. Macpherson, Mr. John C. Forgie and Mr. John M. Barras. The ship was not offered to the Board of Trade before the completion of the sale; but on the 18th of April, immediately after the issue of the circular mentioned in my reply to questions by the hon. Members for Jarrow (Miss Wilkinson) and Middleton and Prestwich (Sir N. Stewart Sandeman), on the 2nd of May, the managers notified my Department that the ship had been sold to foreign buyers a fortnight previously for delivery on completion of the voyage then current.