§ Mr. STEWARTasked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether salvage was refused to those who salved the "Ernaston," on, the ground that the crew had been ordered off the ship by the commander of a German submarine, and therefore that the ship was abandoned owing to direct enemy action and constituted thereby an ordinary risk of war; whether this contention was not proved at the Court of Inquiry held at South Shields, and that it is generally believed that the ship struck a mine and was abandoned by her crew of their own will; whether a ship so abandoned becomes an ordinary merchant vessel salvage; was the "Ernaston" flying the White Ensign and immune from salvage as one of His Majesty's ships; if so, is it customary to reward the salving of one of His Majesty's ships under exceptionally difficult circumstances by awarding some decoration or promotion; and will their Lordships grant this case some further reconsideration?
§ Dr. MACNAMARAPermission to claim salvage in this case was withheld, not for the reason suggested, but because the "Ernaston" was a Fleet collier. The decision would have been precisely the same if the "Ernaston" had been mined. The "Ernaston" was not flying the White Ensign, but, as a ship in Government service, was immune from arrest. During the War decorations and promotions for salvage services have rarely been awarded, and the Admiralty are loth to reconsider exceptionally this particular claim for salvage award so as to give it preferential treatment over the other cases of salvage of Government vessels.