asked the Minister of War Transport if he is aware that with the restoration of one requisitioned Dutch passenger ship to her original owners there will shortly be no direct link by passenger liner with the British West Indies, and, in view of the large and in creasing number of West Indian civilians awaiting passages home, what steps he is taking to deal with the situation.

There are direct services to Jamaica and Trinidad by ships that carry a limited number of passengers. The demands on passenger ships, mainly for the repatriation of troops, makes it impossible to increase passenger facilities to the West Indies at present.