§ Mr. H. McLARENasked the President of the Board of Trade whether the insurance of British merchant ships during the War was, generally speaking, carried out by the British Government; whether the payment of such losses carried with it the obligation to re-invest the money in 318W new ships; whether there was any time limit within which such re-investment should be made; and whether the Government will insist upon the carrying out of this rebuilding with the view of dealing with the unemployment question as regards shipbuilding?
§ Sir R. HORNEA large number of British merchant ships were insured against war perils under the Government insurance scheme, in which the whole or a proportion of the risk was borne by the Government. The payment of losses under this scheme did not carry with it any obligation to reinvest the money in new ships.