§ Mr. LEWIS HASLAMasked the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been drawn to the employment of Chinese seamen on British merchant ships, and what are the powers of the Board of Trade in regard to the matter; and whether he can state the number of Chinese seamen and stokers engaged in Great Britain for British merchant ships during each of the years 1908–10, and the corresponding figures for British seamen?
Mr. BUXTONI have given considerable attention to the question of the employment of Chinese seamen on British ships. There are no legal restrictions on the employment of Chinese or other foreign seamen on British ships beyond the requirement of a knowledge of the English language, which applies to foreign seamen engaged only at ports in the United Kingdom or on the Continent of Europe within home trade limits. The powers of the Board are confined to securing that no foreign seaman is engaged ' before a superintendent of a mercantile marine office or a Consular officer within the above limits unless he satisfies the officer that he possesses a sufficient know- ledge of the English language to understand the necessary orders which may be given to him in the course of the perform-
850Wance of his duties. The total number of Chinese and British seamen engaged at ports in the United Kingdom on British foreign going ships are for the years in question as follows:—
— Chinese. British. 1908 … … 4,695 417,681 1909 … … 5,797 415,690 1910 … … 5,954 437,534 These figures are, or course, in excess of the actual number of individual seamen in the service as they include repeated engagements of the same men.