§ Mr. O'GRADYasked the President of the Board of Trade, whether he can state the number of seamen who failed to join British foreign-going ships at ports in the United Kingdom during the years ended 31st December, 1909, and 31st December, 1910, respectively; and the number of continuous discharge books suspended during the same periods?
Mr. BUXTONDuring the year ending 31st December, 1909, 8,242 cases of failure to join British foreign-going ships occurred. The number of cases reported to the Board of Trade under the provisions of Section 65 (2) of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1906, was 1,169, and the number of continuous discharge books suspended under that section was 726. The corresponding figures for the year ending 31st December, 1910, were 10,343, 1,925, and 899.