§ Sir W. Smithersasked the Minister of Transport (1) whether, in view of the crowded accommodation, bad food and dirt, he will have inquiries made into the conditions prevailing on board the ss. "Tjisadane" which sailed from Southampton for Malaya on 2nd May, 1946;
(2) why, in view of the shortage of many necessities and amenities of life in 116W Malaya and of the importance of our export trade, the ss. "Tjisadane," which sailed from Southampton on 2nd May, 1946, and called at Port Said, Suez, Aden, Colombo, Penang, Singapore and Java, and carried no cargo.
§ Mr. BarnesThe ship to which the hon. Member refers is not a British ship and was not at the material time under charter to my Ministry. I am not, therefore, in a position to state how many persons were carried on the voyage in question nor to call for a report as to the conditions prevailing on this ship. As regards cargo, shipping has been provided to cover all the cargo available for export to Malaya up to the quantities which can be handled there.