A.—sa

23

ÜBPORT OF PROCEEDING* OK TIIK CONKKHENOB

The CHAIRMAN : For British ships. The resolution is :— " That the Provision Scale laid down in the Imperial Act of 1906 he recognised by Australia and New Zealand for use on British ships not registered in those Colonies." Mr. BELCHER : 1 think it should be extended a little further. A vessel may trade for years on the Australian coast and be registered in Greenock or Liverpool. The CHAIRMAN : I pointed that out to Mr. Hughes. You have to ileal with thai question as a separate proposition —what class of vessel the Australian conditions apply to —you have to deal with that. The resolution was then put to the meeting and carried unanimously. The CHAIRMAN : Now, Mr. Norman Hill has a point to raise about provisions. This is a proposition : — " That provisions on British ships which have already been inspected and passed by Imperial officers be exempt from further inspection in Australia and New Zealand, except upon complaint." Mr. NORMAN HILL : It is our object to provision our ships so far as we can for a round voyage, and if we have subjected our provisions to the examination of the inspectors of our Government under the Act, and those provisions have all been passed as satisfactory, we submit there is no necessity for an examination in the Australian port or New Zealand port, and that it would be a hardship to have those provisions which have been passed as good and sufficient and in accordance with the standards that we have to comply with here, subjected to another examination by another Government inspector. Sir JOSEPH WARIJ : So long as the right is reserved, because conditions may alter. Siu WILLIAM LYNE: 1 don't think it should be on complaint. I think it ought to be in the hands of the Government officials. If they find a ship, it might be all right when they get there, but they have a right to know. Mr. COX : How would they know without complaint'' Sir WILLIAM LYNE ■ They would find out ? The CHAIRMAN : What is the Australian provision with regard to inspection' Supposing you inspect piovisions you have a right afterwards to go and inspect them a second time. Sir WILLIAM LYNE : Every time we like, if we find there is anything wrong. The CHAIRMAN : All we require is that it should lie the same. The shipowners could not object to that. Let us put it in that form. Sir WILLIAM LYNE : The same power as we have with our own vessels. Sir JOSEPH WARD : As it is, I think it is perfectly right. The CHAIRMAN : Do you proceed except upon complaint. Hon. DUGALD THOMSON : It is the same as the provision in your own Bill. Hon. W. M. HUGHES : Before you put that, I think some period should be stated. Some one was saying they did not know where they were going. A tramp starts out, it may go to New York, it may get to Australia two years after it starts. Of course, the words " upon complaint" seem to cover a great deal, yet what sailors put up with without complaint is amazing ! The CHAIRMAN : This does not mean except on complaint by sailors. Hon. W. M. HUGHES ; It means complaint on the part of those eating the provisions. The CHAIRMAN : It probably would be.

Hon. W. M. HUGHES : Just before we left home there was a case, I believe, on the " Dartford," which had some butter, which was alleged to have been excellent when put in at Liverpool, but it got very bad on the way out, and the magistrate rescinded the Articles because of it. The CHAIRMAN : Did the sailors complain? Hon. W. M. HUGHES: They did. But, as I say, sailors generally regard this sort of thing as being the natural order of things. The CHAIRMAN : I am not sure they do. Hon. W. M. HUGHES : 1 am inclined to think they do. What they put up with is something amazing. I do not see why you should object to have your provisions inspected. Water sometimes is very old, and a man might drink it and he might not know it. Why can't you have your provisions inspected ? Tub CHAIRMAN : We only want the same conditions with regard to British ships as you are inserting for the protection of Australian sailors. Hon. W. M. HUGHES : An Australian ship, at the outside, is not probably away six weeks. Hon. DUGAL!) THOMSON : She may be more. Hon. \V. M. HUGHES : Where does she go to? Hon. DUGALD THOMSON : Calcutta. Hon. W. M. HUGHES : To my knowledge there are only seven or eight ships of any size that go farther than Fiji. Suppose she is away three months —a British ship may be away two years. Mu. NORMAN HILL: We are only asking with regard to stores that have been passed. Sir WILLIAM LYNE : I object to restricting the power of Australia or Australian officers in cases ot this kind where it is a matter of life and death. Hon. W. M. HUGHES : I think at any rate a period should be put that provisions should be automatically inspected after a given period. Hon. DUGALD THOMSON : You can say inspected within a given period. Sib WILLIAM LYNE : But in addition to that, supposing a ship was leaving and taking provisions on in Australia, we surely have the right to see the whole of her provisions, those she has taken on. and those she had before. Hon. W. M. HUGHES : Supposing she had a lot of butter which had not yet been consumed; it may have become bad. The crew have not yet eaten it, but on tin voyage home they will have to, and then I think itinspection were made that would be discovered. The CHAIRMAN : You want to suggest that British ships should be subjected to an inspection to which you do not subject your own ships. Hon. W. M. HUGHES: We do subject ours. The CHAIRMAN i Mr. Hughes has already read the provisions—you do not inspect except upon complaint. Hon. W. M. HUGHES : I didn't read it. Hon. DUGALD THOMSON : I read it from the Government Bill. Sir WILLIAM LYNE : It is on the Bill, and in addition to that, I want to point out that it has just been suggested to me that you cannot quite conceive all the conditions in Australia by the conditions here. Our climate is much more trying, regarding provisions, than yours, and it is more necessary that we should examine those provisions oftener than you do, because if your vessel is trading up the coast or away to China or Japan, you are going through a hot climate and sometimes a very moist climate at certain seasons of the year. Hon. W. M. HUGHES: I should say six months would be a fair period. Hon. DUGALD THOMSON : Mr. Hughes proposes that a period should be fixed.