§ Mr. Benjamin Smithasked the Minister of Shipping whether there is any official in his Department charged with the duty of surveying working conditions in the Mercantile Marine and whose knowledge of the subject is such as to command confidence in his ability to understand fully trade union representations?
§ Sir J. GilmourQuestions relating to working conditions in the Mercantile Marine are a large part of the work of a division of the headquarters staff of my Department and the officers of that division maintain a close personal contact with the representatives of the various organisations of officers and men in the Merchant Navy. Also at headquarters and at ports throughout the country we have officers, many of whom have spent a large part of their lives at sea, who in the course of their duties are constantly visiting ships and coming into contact with their seagoing personnel, and have valuable and extensive knowledge of working conditions afloat.