§ Sir R. GOWERasked the President of the Board of Trade how many British ships were permitted to proceed to sea during the year 1933 without having a full complement of wireless operators on board or with only incomplete wireless staffs; and what were the circumstanstances in which they were respectively so permitted?
§ Lieut.-Colonel COLVILLERelaxations from compliance with the provisions of the Merchant Shipping (Wireless Telegraphy) Act, 1919, and the appropriate Statutory Rules were granted in 1933 to 30 British ships proceeding to sea from ports in the United Kingdom. In each case the relaxation was in respect of a single voyage only. In 21 of these cases the voyage was undertaken for the purpose of transferring the ship from a laying-up berth to a breaking-up yard; in six cases the voyage was made to enable laid-up ships to be inspected in a neighbouring dry dock; and in three cases the ships were proceeding from their final port of discharge in the United Kingdom to a laying-up berth.