MAJORITY REPORT. 
207 
14,040) that the collection of contributions in the case of foreign- 
going seamen should be made not by the stamping of cards but on 
a schedule system. Under such an arrangement the paying-off 
officer on cach vessel would be responsible for handing to the 
Superintendent of the Mercantile Marine a schedule giving full 
particulars of each seaman and the period of the voyage, and the 
contributions in respect of the seamen included in the schedule 
would be paid in cash to the Central Department, who would, in 
turn, be responsible for transferring credit to the appropriate 
Societies through a clearing-house established for the purpose. We 
examined Sir Walter Kinnear as to the practicability of this 
proposal, and quote from his reply :— 
““T have read carefully the evidence given by Sir Norman 
Hill to the Commission and I am inclined to think that the 
estimate of loss of contribution income for foreign-going 
seamen given by him is excessive, but there is no doubt that 
a substantial loss in fact occurs through failure of the con- 
tribution cards to reach the Societies. We think the system 
might be altered on the lines of the schedule system 
suggested by Sir Norman Hill ; indeed it has become a matter 
of more moment since the introduction of the Contributory 
Pensions Scheme of this year. . . . It is suggested that 
in place of the collection of contributions by cards 
the contributions of foreign-going seamen should be 
paid in a lump sum with a schedule on the ter- 
mination of each voyage. The dissection of the schedule 
and the credit to Societies would be made by some Central 
Clearing House of which Societies having a substantial 
seamen membership would defray the cost. I should like 
to bring under the notice of the Commission, the fact 
that this would be a fairly difficult machine to administer 
because these foreign-going seamen at present are distri- 
buted over about 1,600 to 1,700 different Societies and 
branches. Of course, the great bulk of them are in a very 
limited number of Societies, but that is one of the problems 
which we shall have to face in introducing this new system.’ 
(Q. 23,767-23,769.) 
546. We are convinced that such a system would undoubtedly 
eliminate to a large extent the present leakage of contributions 
and in addition would be much more convenient to the ship- 
owners. No new statutory powers would be necessary in order 
to put the system into operation. We are assured that such a 
scheme would prove workable, and that effective safeguards could 
be taken to ensure that contributions were credited to the proper 
Societies. 
: 547. We recommend accordingly that in 
going mercantile marine members the card 
contributions should be abandoned, and 
the case of foreign- 
system of collecting 
a schedule system