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Messrs James Burness & Sons - London

Dear Sirs,
Man power Bill. Replying to your special letter of yesterday.
We very fully appreciate your kind assistance in order to obtain exemption of senior members of our Staff.
In our own case all (five in number) our Staff have already joined up with the exception of the writer, who is 53. and Mr. Chambers, who is 44, beyond that we have one Lady typist and two juniors. You will quite appreciate that it is of the utmost importance for us to maintain the services of Mr. Robert Chambers, who besides keeping our books, also looks after chartering, insurance and cash, which latter is now of some consequence, as the steamers we manage on behalf of the French Government entail quite a number of small accounts which require careful checking.
We do not hold any exemptions, and in fact we only applied once for an exemption, which was refused. There can be little doubt that our firm has a considerable claim to be looked upon as shipowners and ship managers. We really do not know what can be done, unless upon the lines you mention.
The Chamber of Commerce has suggested an advisory Committee to assist the Military Tribunal as regards Quayside cases, but an exemption obtained through the French Government representatives would certainly be
of much more use than any Local Committee's advice to the Tribunal.
We will be very pleased to hear what progress you are able to make in the desired direction.
We are, Dear Sirs,
Yours truly.