§ Mr. HAVELOCK WILSONasked the President of the Board of Trade when the last Report, ordered by section 78, subsection (2), of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1906, was presented to Parliament; whether that Report contained any record of the suspension of section 118 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1894, and the grounds upon which the section was so suspended; and, if no such Report has been presented, are the suspensions which have been in force for over 12 months regular and binding; and whether, in the event of no Reports having as yet appeared, the date on which such Reports will be presented to Parliament, in accordance with the terms of the Act of 1906, can be given?
Mr. TENNANTThe latest Report, for the year ended 31st May, 1908, of the cases in which the Board of Trade have exercised their powers under section 78 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1906, was presented to Parliament in July, 1908. In no case have the Board exempted a ship from the requirements of section 118 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1894, under section 78 of the Act of 1906.