§ Sir R. Rankinasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport whether he can arrange for the demonstration of new devices for providing additional safety for the men of the Merchant Navy, already given on board H.M.S."Chrysanthemum" in the river Thames, also to be given at Liverpool?
§ Mr. Noel-BakerThis demonstration was arranged to give representatives of the national Press an opportunity to see at work several types of lifeboat stills for the conversion of seawater into drinking water; the opportunity was also taken to exhibit a number of the new or recently improved life-saving devices which I mentioned in the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Consett (Mr. David Adams) on 18th May. I have reason to believe that representatives of the Liverpool Press were also present at this demonstration. Two of the stills are installed at the lifeboat instruction school at Liverpool, where they can be inspected by shipowners and others, and where I shall be happy to arrange for my hon. Friend to see them, if he so desires. I hope my hon. Friend will agree that for these reasons, it is not at present necessary to arrange a further demonstration of the kind he proposes.