To ask the President of the Board of Education if his attention has been called to the demand for the compulsory introduction of the teaching of hygiene and temperance into the curriculum of elementary schools; and whether he intends, by legislation or administrative action, to carry through a scheme in reference thereto with as little delay as possible. (Answered by Mr. McKenna.) I have received numerous representations urging the necessity of extending the teaching of hygiene in elementary schools. The Code at present lays down that physical training should be included in the curriculum for scholars other than infants, and should be accompanied by instruction in the elementary rules of personal health in respect of food, drink, cleanliness, and fresh air, and the volume of "Suggestions for the Consideration of Teachers," which was issued by the Board a few years ago, included an outline scheme for the teaching of hygiene and temperance. I am considering how the numerous difficulties connected with the teaching of this subject can be surmounted, and I hope to derive considerable assistance in this from the International Congress upon School Hygiene which meets in London in August.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War whether the statements sent to his Department by commanding officers respecting the proposed training of soldiers for employment in civil life contain complaints against trade unions, and will be issued as a Parliamentary document; whether he can state the extent to which officers have attempted to carry out the suggestions made to them on this subject; and whether he can take steps to provide that ex-soldiers shall not be used for forms of civil employment at less than the recognised rates and conditions established by the various workmen's organisations. (Answered by Mr. Secretary Haldane.) In accordance with the promise given in another place on the 29th May a Paper will very shortly be laid upon the Table of the House containing a Report on the steps being taken to provide technical instruction to soldiers. These Papers will give the information asked for in the former part of the Question. As regards the latter part of the Question, the employment of soldiers after their return to civil life is subject to the ordinary conditions of labour over which the War Office has no control.

To ask the Secretary of State for War whether he proposes to make any, and if so, what, provisions in the case of members of the existing Volunteer forces with many years service, who, being unable to comply with the terms of enlistment in the proposed Territorial Army, or who may be ineligible for such enlistment under any new conditions about to be imposed, are thereby, and without any fault of their own, deprived of the opportunity hitherto held out to them of obtaining in the case of officers the long service decoration, and in the case of men a long service medal. (Answered by Mr. Secretary Haldane.) This matter is not being lost sight of, and, while I am not at present in a position to make any definite statement on the subject, I can assure the noble Lord that every consideration will be shown to the cases to which he refers.

To ask the Secretary of State for War why, in view of the fact that most of the tinned meat for the Navy is bought from Australia and New Zealand, it is found necessary to buy most of the tinned meat for the Army from the United States of America. (Answered by Mr. Secretary Haldane.) The contracts for the supply of tinned moat for the Army are placed after competition without regard to the country of origin. But in order to extend, if possible, the area of supply, an officer has been sent out by the War Office to Australia, New Zealand, and South America, to report as to the capacity of establishments in these countries entering into the field of competition to supply our needs.

To ask the Secretary of State for War whether any moneys voted for Volunteer purposes have been or will be paid over to public schools for the support of cadet corps or instruction of cadets in shooting. (Answered by Mr. Secretary Haldane.) No moneys voted for Volunteer purposes have been or will be paid over to public schools for the support of cadet corps or instruction of cadets in shooting.

To ask the Secretary to the Admiralty what was the increase on Naval expenditure in 1904 compared with that in 1894.

:To ask the Secretary to the Admiralty what has been the increase or decrease on Naval expenditure in the years 1905 and 1906 as compared with that in 1904. (Answered by Mr. Edmund Robertson.) The decrease in the net expenditure

To ask the hon. Member for South (Answered by Mr. Edmund Robertson.)The increase in the net expenditure on Naval Services in 1904–5 as compared with that in 1894–5 amounted to £21,985,594 as follows; —

To ask the Prime Minister whether it is intended in the forthcoming licensing legislation promised for next session to deal with the paramount claim of Ireland to a reform of her licensing laws; is he aware that the licensing laws of Ireland are less favourable to the promotion of temperance than those of England; that the number of licensed houses is excessive; and that there is no power, as there is in England, to reduce the number. (Answered by Sir H. Campbell-Bannerman.) His Majesty's Government have no intention of including Ireland in the licensing legislation promised for next session. I am aware of the differences between the licensing system of England and that of Ireland.

To ask the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies what arrangements have been made, in the absence of a garrison, for looking after the guns, barracks, and fortifications in the island of St. Helena. (Answered by Mr. Churchill.) An officer of the Royal Engineers with a small staff are being temporarily detained in St. Helena for the service in question until more permanent arrangements can be made.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what would be the extra cost of giving the metropolitan police twenty-one days' annual holiday leave instead of the ten days now allowed; and whether, if the grant of one day off duty in a week is at present impossible for financial reasons, he will consider the granting of a longer annual holiday this year. (Answered by Mr. Secretary Gladstone.) To increase the annual leave of the metropolitan police would throw a charge of more than £50,000 a year on the Metropolitan Police Fund besides increasing the charge for police employed at the cost of the Treasury. The income of the metropolitan police force is barely sufficient to meet the present expenditure, and it would be quite impossible to undertake an additional charge of £50,000 a year without exceeding the ninepenny rate limit.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his attention has been called to a speech delivered by the Rev. David Purvis at a meeting of the general assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, held in Belfast on 5th June, in which he stated that a buttonhole worker, whose eyesight was beginning to fail, earned only 5s. or 6s. a week; also that a smoother was paid at the rate of one penny per hour and that women earned only 6s. a week by finishing boys' ready-made clothes; and furthermore that the wages of women workers in the city ranged from 7s. to 10s per week of fifty-six or fifty-nine hours; whether the labour of women and girls is worse paid in Belfast than in any other city in the United Kingdom; and whether he will order a special inquiry into the subject, or will arrange for the Commission on Sweating, recently appointed to investigate it thoroughly on the spot. (Answered by Mr. Secretary Gladstone.) My attention has not been called to the speech referred to in the Question So far as home work is concerned, the question of the conditions of labour in those trades in which it is prevalent is as the hon. Member is aware, to be investigated by a Select Committee of this House, and I would suggest that he should bring any information he may have in his possession, which bears on the subject of the injury, to the notice of the Committee.

To ask the Postmaster-General whether, seeing that many Post Office Savings Bank clerks were asked, some time before the present Government came into office, whether they would serve in Dublin in case the Irish work was transferred from London to Dublin, he will say how many of such clerks were so asked, and what was the reason for thus asking them. (Answered by Mr. Sydney Buxton.) The hon. Member would appear to be under a misapprehension in supposing that such an inquiry was addressed to any clerks in the Post Office Savings Bank.

To ask the Postmaster General whether, seeing that the percentages, or figures immediately leading thereto, of Irish deposits and withdrawals made through British deposit books, and vice versa, have been actually worked out in the Post Office Savings Bank for the year 1906, or for a certain quarter or quarters of 1906, he will now order the Controller of the Savings Bank to furnish these percentages for the last available year or quarter; and, if not, will he explain why. (Answered by Mr. Sydney Buxton.) The hon. Member is mistaken in sup posing that the percentages of Irish Savings Bank deposits and withdrawals made through British deposit books and vice versa, or any figures immediately leading to those percentages, have been worked out for the year 1906 or for any other period. As I have stated in reply to previous Questions addressed to me by the hon. Member, to ascertain these percentages would involve an expenditure of time and labour that does not seem warranted.

To ask the Postmaster General whether the revision of duties at the South Eastern District Office, which has been in course of preparation for the past twelve months, is approaching completion, and if an opportunity for making suggestions both with regard to the hours of attendance as well as the efficient handling of the work will be given to the staff before the revision is finally settled. (Answered by Mr. Sydney Buxton.) The revision proposals have been completed; but, as they will require to be carefully examined, some time may elapse before the revision is carried into effect. The proposals have been framed with due regard to the hours of attendance of the staff and to the efficient handling of the work; but I am, of course, prepared to receive any representation from the staff on these points which they may desire to make.

To ask the Postmaster General whether the sorting-office accommodation and the retiring rooms at the South-Eastern district office are inadequate for the efficient performance of postal duties as well as for the requirements of the staff; and, if so, when he intends to commence building new offices on the neighbouring premises, which were acquired by the Department two years ago, and are now unused except as a cloak room and standing place for cycles. (Answered by Mr. Sydney Buxton.) It is recognised that the accommodation at the South-Eastern District Office calls for improvement. More relief, however, is being obtained by the use of the adjoining premises than appears to be understood by the hon. Member, and I am considering whether still further use cannot be made of them with advantage. Plans for the permanent enlargement of the office have already been prepared, but they will require a good deal of consideration, and I can hardly say at present when building operations are likely to be begun.

To ask the Postmaster-General whether, in view of the fact that it has been officially stated that the class of senior telegraphists and overseers at the Central Telegraph Office is a supervising class, he will say if it was recently decided that only those seniors who had passed the technical examination necessary for promotion to the rank of assistant superintendent were to perform supervising duties; whether the men involved supervise others of the same rank who are older in the service; and whether he will state the reasons that have caused this change to be made pending the issue of the Report on Post Office wages. (Answered by Mr. Sydney Buxton.) Supervising duties are proper to the class of overseers and senior telegraphists in the Central Telegraph Office, and therefore no decision to the effect suggested in the first sentence of the Question has been or could be given. In regard to the second part of the Question, the object of the arrangements in question is to ascertain which are the officers best qualified for promotion, and no more interference takes place with the order of seniority than is necessary to determine this question. I see nothing in this matter that makes it necessary to await the Report of the Select Committee.

To ask the Postmaster-General why Great Britain, with its large West Indian trade, and its unequalled shipping facilities, should be compelled to send sample post parcels consigned to Cuba by parcels post, via Germany; and why samples, consigned by parcel post to Venezuela, Peru, and Ecuador, must go via France, or Germany, or Holland. (Answered by Mr. Sydney Buxton.) In consequence of the difficulties which have been experienced in negotiating agreements with the countries named, without which parcel posts cannot be established, as there would be no arrangements for the delivery of parcels sent from this country, it has been necessary to forward parcels to them by such other means as were available. But arrangements have lately been concluded for a direct parcel post between this country and Peru, and it is proposed to institute the new service on the 1st of next month. Negotiations are in progress for the establishment of similar services with Ecuador and Cuba, and it is hoped to arrange for a direct service to Venezuela.

To ask the Secretary to the Treasury whether he will furnish a statement showing the number of men employed by the Comptroller and Auditor-General on the local audit of each of the Irish accounts in the financial year 1906–7, the time thus occupied on each account, the total cost of travelling and subsistence allowance for each account, and the corresponding particulars of the proposed Estimate in 1907–8. (Answered by Mr. Runciman.) As regards the first part of the Question I beg to refer the hon. Member to the Answer given on 16th April last on this subject. † The total cost of travelling and subsistence in connection with the local audit of Irish accounts in 1906–7 amounted to about £815, and it is anticipated that about the same amount will be spent in 1907–8.

To ask the Secretary to the Treasury whether he will grant a statement showing the respective numbers of Irish and English accounts audited by the Comptroller and Auditor-General; the respective numbers of Irish and English accounts audited locally throughout the whole year both in London and at the out-stations, and the respective numbers of the men employed on these permanent local audits; the respective numbers of Irish and English accounts, for which duplicate records of payments and other items are kept at the headquarters of the Audit Office on the Victoria Embankment, the respective numbers of men employed on such accounts, and the respective approximate proportions of time devoted to keeping these duplicate records of payments and other items and to auditing these accounts. (Answered by Mr. Runciman.) The total number of accounts (the Army, Navy, Post Office, etc., each counting as one) audited by the Comptroller and Auditor-General is 197, of which forty-four are exclusively Irish. The relative magnitude may be measured by the fact that in the Estimates for 1907–8 the total voted accounts for all services (in-

† See (4) Debates, clxxii., 740.

eluding those common to Great Britain and Ireland) amount to £110,062,000, of which the purely Irish accounts amount to £4,459,000. The stations at which a permanent local audit is carried out and the number of staff employed are given in the Answer to a Question from the hon. Member of 26th February last† Duplicate records are not kept except in the case of the accounts of the Chancery Suitors Fund (England) in accordance with the directions of the Lord Chancellor and the Treasury.

To ask the Secretary to the Treasury if he will state the sums, whether as current balances or otherwise, of £1,000 or more which have rested for one month or more in the Bank of England in connection

To ask the Secretary to the Treasury if his attention has been called to the fact that a considerable number of Land Tax Commissioners in the Brixton Division of Lambeth received no summons to attend the meetings of 8th and 9th April last; if he can reconcile this fact with the information previously supplied to him that summonses had been sent to all the Commissioners in the division; will he state by whom this information was supplied; and will he call the attention of the clerks to the Commissioners in the Brixton Division to the provisions of the Act of 1906, and request them to observe these provisions in the future. (Answered by Mr. Runciman.) The Answer to the first part of the Question is in the affirmative. I am informed

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he can state what was the quantity and value of Australian wool imported into the United Kingdom and subsequently that the clerk to the Commissioners for the Third East Brixton Division was under a misapprehension as to the duties imposed upon him by the Act of last session. The steps recommended by my hon. friend in the last part of the Question have now been taken. I regret the inaccuracy of my previous information. It was supplied by the clerk's assistant, who states that he misunderstood the inquiry put to him.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the average importation into the United Kingdom of refined and unrefined sugar, respectively, during the three years ending 1903 and 1900, respectively. (Answered by Mr. Kearley.) —

To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many commercial agents for the United Kingdom have been appointed to the various Colonies and British Possessions; and whether these appointments are made after consultation with, or with the approval of, the Colonial Governments interested. (Answered by Mr. Kearley.) Twenty-one commercial correspondents have been appointed in South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. Some of these are officers of the Colonial Governments and nominated by them on representations made to the Governments by the Colonial Office. Others have been appointed by the Board of Trade on the nomination of special Commissioners sent by them to these Colonies on the recommendation of the Advisory Committee on Commercial Intelligence. In all cases these Commissioners have been instructed to confer with the Colonial Governments concerned. I may add that, as a consequence of discussions at the recent Imperial Conference, the question of the best means of extending and improving the means of obtaining commercial information with respect to the self-governing Colonies for the benefit of traders in the United Kingdom is now under the consideration

To ask the President of the Board of Education whether he is yet in a position to make any statement with regard to the payment of grants in aid of the cost of the provision of hostels in connection with training colleges. (Answered by Mr. McKenna.) Building grants will be payable in respect of hostels provided by local authorities in connection with a recognised training college, which is either provided by some local education authority or is a department of a University or University college, or is free from denominational restrictions, in manner to be set out in the regulations.

To ask the President of the Board of Education whether any portion of the legal expense incurred by the West Riding County Council in their litigation in connection with the non-payment of teachers' salaries in non-provided schools has been paid from the Imperial Exchequer; and, if so, what has been the amount of the payment made. (Answered by Mr. McKenna.) The costs of the solicitors to the West Riding County Council in connection with the appeal to the House of Lords were taxed at £483 8s. and were paid from the Vote for Law Charges.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he can arrange that the questions in dispute in regard to the use of perchloride of mercury be referred to arbitration, and that the whole of the explosives, the property of Kynoch, Limited, be released. (Answered by Mr. Secretary Gladstone.) The Answer is in the negative, for reasons which I have already explained very fully in reply to numerous Questions on the subject. I will only add that the delay in bringing this matter to a conclusion is due to Messrs. Kynoch themselves.

To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether the estate of Colonel G. M. Donaldson, near Crassgar, county Down, bought in 1904 by the tenants within the zones of the Land Act of 1903, is yet cleared as to title, etc.; or if he can state what position the transaction is now in. (Answered by Mr. Birrell.) The purchase agreements in this case were lodged with the Estates Commissioners in May, 1905. The title has been lodged, and will be read as soon as the case reaches its turn to be dealt with in order of priority.

To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether the Estates Commissioners have received an application for a holding from Archibald M'Farland, who was evicted, for non-payment of rent, from a holding on the Castle Archdale estate, in the county Fermanagh; have the Commissioners inquired into the application or reported thereon; and have they acquired any lands in county Fermanagh suitable for provision of new holdings for evicted tenants.

To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether purchasers under the Land Act of 1903 are entitled to pay their annuities as to three-quarters in cash and one-quarter in Land Stock; whether regulations have been made to enable purchasers to buy Land Stock through the Post Office Savings Bank; and, if not, when it is intended to issue such regulations. (Answered by Mr. Birrell.) The provision referred to in the first part of the Question (s. 2, Act of 1891) applies to all tenant purchasers under the Land Acts. As to the remainder of the Question, I would refer to the Answer given by my hon. friend the Secretary to the Treasury, from which it appears that the Treasury are in communication with the Departments concerned in reference to the question of making regulations.

To ask the Secretary of State for War whether, when the new arrangements are completed whereby recruits for the Line will be sent direct to their battalions instead of being retained at the depot, these recruits will be included in the regimental establishment or will be supernumerary to it; and whether the rank and file establishment of 720 for battalions at Home will include the recruits now at the depots. (Answered by Mr. Secretary Haldane.) All recruits enlisted for Home battalions, whether drilling first of all at the depot or otherwise, are borne on the establishment of the battalion. It is not proposed to make any change in this respect.

I beg to ask the Secretary to the Admiralty whether he is aware that the roadway loading from Turnchapel to Lower Hooe, over which the Admiralty claim control, is in a bad condition and almost impassable in wet weather by reason of the mud; whether he is aware that this road is the sole means of access to the railway station enjoyed by the inhabitants of Turnchapel; and whether the Admiralty will put it in order, or whether they have an intention of giving to the inhabitants other means of access to the station.

The Admiralty have never admitted any right of way over that portion of the road which they control, and I understand that, though the most direct, it is not the only means of access to the station. Orders have been given for the repair of the Admiralty portion of the road, and negotiations on the subject generally will be opened with the local authority.

I beg to ask the Secretary to the Admiralty whether, under the present distribution of the Fleet, any warship of any description patrols the Persian Gulf.

Under present arrangements the Gunboats "Redbreast" and "Lapwing" and the special-service vessel "Sphinx" are told off for special service in Indian waters, and their principal duties are in the Persian Gulf. Visits to the Gulf are also made by other ships of the East Indies squadron from time to time. At present the "Sphinx" and "Lapwing" are in the Persian Gulf.

I beg to ask the Secretary to the Admiralty whether any battleship is included in the China squadron at the present time; and whether, if the Answer be in the negative, the American, French, and German Eastern fleets are in like manner composed exclusively of cruisers, destroyers, and smaller vessels.

There is no battleship in the China squadron at the present time; and, except the "Redoubtable," a third class battleship of the French Navy, launched in 1876, in commission at Saigon, and two armoured coast-defence ships of the United States Navy in reserve in the Philippines, the ships composing the French, American, and German squadrons in the Eastern seas are of the classes referred to in the Question.

I beg to ask the Secretary to the Admiralty how many men were discharged from the dockyard at Chatham during the year 1906, and how many have been discharged during the present year; and whether any representations have been received on this subject.

The net decrease in numbers in Chatham yard in 1906, taking into account reductions, natural wastage, adjustment of trades and other causes, was 398. Up to the 1st of June of the present year there has been a corresponding net increase of 251. Representations in regard to the work to be allotted to this yard have been made to me by a large and representative deputation introduced by my hon. friend the Member for Rochester, to whom I hope to be able to give an early Answer.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say how many men were discharged immediately after the South African War?

I cannot.

Can the right hon. Gentleman give the number of discharges in 1904 –5 under the late administration?

I have not the figures here.

I beg to ask the Secretary to the Admiralty if there is any ship-building going on at the present time at Chatham Dockyard, or any work being done there beyond repairs; and what are the intentions of the Admiralty with regard to the building of battleships and cruisers there in the future.

Ship building is going on at the present time at Chatham Dockyard as well as repairs, the armoured cruiser "Shannon" being in course of completion, while several submarines are under construction. The question of what work will be given to this yard will be considered in the preparation of the Estimates for the next financial year.

Is it proposed to deepen the channel to enable ships of greater draught to get to the dockyard?

asked for notice.

asked if the "Shannon" was the only armoured vessel under construction.

Yes, but then four submarines and a number of smaller craft.

I beg to ask the Secretary to the Admiralty if he can state the names of the three coastguard stations which have been closed this year, and the dates on which they were closed.

The three stations are: Downderry, closed 25th March, 1907; Cahore, closed 1st May, 1907; Catterline, closed 15th May, 1907. The necessary orders had in all cases been given some months earlier.

May I ask my right hon. friend whether these dates are not all subsequent to the pledge he gave me that no coastguard stations would be closed till the subject had been discussed in the House?

The pledge which I gave to the House was that no further orders would be issued till the House had an opportunity of considering the Question. The orders to close those stations were all given long before I gave that pledge.

Can my right hon. friend say how many orders there are now outstanding?

I will give my hon. and gallant friend an Answer if he will put his Question on the Paper.

Is the number large or small?

I should not like to give a definite number, but I do not think they are many. I will find out and give the hon. Member the number privately this afternoon.

Do any of these orders refer to Ireland?

They all refer to Ireland, I think.

I beg to ask the Secretary to the Admiralty whether he is in a position to give the House any information with regard to the reported accident on a submarine at Portsmouth this morning.

I regret to say there has been an accident, and I hold in my hand a telegram received this afternoon from the Commander-in-Chief at Portsmouth. The telegram is as follows: —"Regret to report slight explosion this morning on board submarine C 8, whereby Lieutenant Guy Hart was very dangerously injured, and has since died; Thomas O'Connor, E.R.A., and James R. Foster, stoker of the first class, slightly injured. Both of the latter are doing well. Inquiry will be held as soon as possible. Boat was charging batteries at the time."

On behalf of the hon. Member for Ross and Cromarty I beg to ask the Secretary to the Admiralty whether arrangements will be made for His Majesty's Fleet to visit not only Invergordon but Stornoway and Lochbroom this summer.

Arrangements for the summer cruises of the various squadrons have been completed, and they cannot be altered without inconvenience. The programmes include a visit to Invergordon, but do not include visits to Stornoway and Lochbroom.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War if any record has been kept of the names and addresses of those artisans recently discharged from Woolwich who have found work in Continental factories, so that in case of emergency their services may be promptly recovered for the nation.

No record has been kept of the nature mentioned. As far as can be ascertained very few men have gone to Continental factories.

On behalf of the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent, I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War how many soldiers were under sentence of courts-martial and detained in His Majesty's prisons on 31st December, 1906; and whether any of such detentions were by order of field courts-martial in the South African War.

Two hundred and thirty-nine soldiers were in prison on 31st December, 1906, under sentence of court-martial. Of those there were six imprisoned by order of field courts-martial in the South African War.

On behalf of the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent, I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War how many soldiers In the Regular Army were tried by courts-martial in 1906; how many trials ended in acquittal; how many men were convicted; and the average term of imprisonment inflicted.

The figures are as follows:—

Do these figures disclose a terrible state of criminality in the Army, or that the sentences of courts-martial are very terrible?

No, Sir; considering the enormous number of British soldiers under military law in all parts of the world I do not think they are excessive.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War if he is aware that a number of Royal Engineers are being employed on the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway as firemen for the purpose of training, at the minimum rate of pay on all classes of work performed by them, and that ordinary firemen are being displaced and promotion checked, and a burden placed on those drivers who have the responsibility of training them; and whether he will arrange with railway companies that such be placed on engines in addition to the ordinary firemen and not in place of them.

Eleven men have been sent for a short course of training as firemen on the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway, and are being paid by the company at the rate of 3s. 6d. a. day, that being the rate which it was understood would be paid to other stokers employed in the same work. I am not aware that ordinary firemen are thereby being displaced, or that their promotion is being checked, nor that any additional burden is placed upon the drivers in the matter of training the military fireman which is not usual and common to the training of all firemen on all railways. The arrangements as to the number of men on engines rest entirely with the company, and the War Department is not in a position to interfere in the matter.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for India what is the total sum collected up to date from the people of India for the erection of the Victoria Memorial Hall, in Calcutta; whether he has noticed the remarks made by the Maharaja of Darbhanga, during the Budget debate on 27th March last (page 178 of Blue-book), to the effect that a sum of nearly:£70,000 had already been spent on the foundations alone, that there had been a subsidence of the foundations which would endanger the superstructure proposed by Lord Curzon, that there is a growing public opinion in favour of abandoning the original design of a huge hall, and of using the balance of the sum subscribed in providing each province with memorials which, in the Maharaja's own words, shall be fountains of benevolence to the diseased and distressed amongst the poor of the people; whether, in view of this expression of opinion by a well-known representative of the people, he can see his way to postpone further prosecution of the original design pending a plebiscite of the subscribers as to the disposal of the funds in hand; and whether in the event of the Maharaja's proposal being accepted by the subscribers, he will take steps to give effect to it, if necessary, by legislation.

The exact sum subscribed to the Victoria Memorial Hall up to date is not known here. It was reported in 1903 to be about fifty lakhs of rupees (£333,333). The money is not held by Government, nor are the works on the Memorial being carried on by Government establishments. By an Act passed in 1903 the funds collected are vested in a body of trustees, who are charged with the erection, maintenance, and management of the Memorial. I have read the remarks of the Maharaja of Darbhanga referred to in the Question. They will doubtless receive the consideration of the trustees of the Memorial.

Can the right hon. Gentleman induce the Viceroy to give any indication that the Maharaja's representations shall receive attention?

No; I must leave this matter to the Viceroy.

I bog to ask the Secretary of State for India whether there is any source of information which directly connects Lala Lajpat Rai with allegations imputing the poisoning of wells and streams to the Government.

I am not aware of any such information, nor has the statement, so far as I know, been made that Lajpat Rai is connected with the allegations referred to.

For what crime has this gentleman been arrested and deported?

I cannot say.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for India whether he can specify any of the speeches of Lala Lajpat Rai which are greatly dominated by sedition and were published broadcast, even on the floor of this House.

The hon. Member's Question is based on an inaccurate report of what I said. As reported by the Morning Post, my words were:—

"I will not publish broadcast on the floor of this House language of the kind used by Ajit Singh, which can be reproduced afterwards with perfect impunity and scattered all over India. These malicious incitements to revolt I do not think I can be an instrument in disseminating."

This undoubtedly correctly represents the sense of what I said.

May I assume that the right hon. Gentleman did not state, as reported in The Times, that the speeches of Lala Lajpat Rai were greatly dominated by sedition, and were published broadcast, even on the floor of this House?

I wish the right hon. Gentleman to understand that these are the words that I used. I will not go beyond that.

asked whether the right hon. Gentleman could now give the House a full list of those arrested in this summary way, and state their places of detention and the manner in which they were being treated. Were they being treated as first-class misdemeanants?

I think the hon. Member will see that that long and intricate Question requires notice.

said he had asked the same Question some time ago.

I do not see how the Question arises out of the Question on the Paper, and I decline respectfully to answer it.

asked whether the right hon. Gentleman could say whether these gentlemen were treated in the ordinary way as political prisoners or not.

asked whether they were to understand that Lala Lajpat Rai had not uttered any seditious speeches, nor suggested that the Government poisoned wells.

I have stated my view of these transactions. I do not quarrel with these Questions, but they do not arise out of the Question on the Paper.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for India whether Ajit Singh, who is a very young man of only twenty-three years of age, and has repeatedly made seditious speeches in Lahore and elsewhere without interference, received any warning from the authorities before it was decided to arrest him under the provisions of Regulation 3 of 1818.

I am not aware whether Ajit Singh had received any warning. But every man of the age of twenty-three must know that he makes seditious speeches at his peril.

I beg to ask the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether, in view of MR. Deakin's statement, the Commonwealth was neither invited to submit proposals to the Conference, nor even informed of its nature or progress, or enabled to make an effective suggestion to its conclusions, or in fact was consulted in respect to it in any particular, it is proposed to review the New Hebrides Convention after consultation with the Governments of Australia and New Zealand.

The New Hebrides Convention was discussed with MR. Deakin and Sir J. Ward during the Colonial Conference. With regard to the conduct of the negotiations which led up to the Convention of the 20th October last, I have to refer the hon. and gallant Member to the Secretary of State's despatches of the 16th November and 7th March last.

May I ask if, in the face of MR. Deakin's words quoted in the Question, the right hon. Gentleman is prepared to qualify his statement that the Colonial Governments were fully consulted?

I do not think that is the exact expression I used. I should like an opportunity of looking them up, but so far as my recollection serves me I think there is no reason to modify what I said.

I beg to ask the Undersecretary of State for the Colonies whether he is aware that those members of the Legislative Council of Ceylon who represent nearly four millions of the inhabitants of the island are opposed to the present method of selling opium through shops licensed for that purpose, whilst the planting interest and the official members of the Council, who only represent 50,000 of the people, are in favour of the existing policy; and whether he will ask the representative of the Crown in Ceylon to take steps to suppress the sale of opium in that Colony.

The Secretary of State is in communication with the Governor of Ceylon as to the consumption of opium in that Colony and he is not in a position to make any statement at present. The subject matter of the hon. Member's Question shall be submitted to the Governor.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what force, naval, military, and police, is available at Shanghai for the defence of British merchants and of British trade.

On December 31st last the force available for the defence of the European community in the international settlement at Shanghai was as follows:—Volunteers, forty-four officers and 930 non-commissioned officers and men. Police, European, 130; Indian, 201; Chinese, 753. In addition foreign warships of small draught can ascend the river as far as Shanghai, and larger ships can get to within fifteen miles of Shanghai. It frequently happens that one or more foreign warships are lying in the river.

Is there any artillery there?

I cannot say.

On behalf of the hon. Member for Leicester, I bog to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether his negotiations with Russia relate to matters other than boundaries, and are concerned with general political relationships.

The direct object of the negotiations is to prevent conflict and difficulties between the two Powers in the part of Asia which affects the Indian frontier and the Russian frontiers in that region. If these negotiations result in an agreement, it will deal only with those questions. What the indirect result will be as regards general political relationships must depend upon how such an agreement works in practice, and what effect it has upon public opinion in both countries.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he is aware that Mr. Edward Eadie, who was assaulted by Chinese on 18th June, 1906, is still without the compensation which was asked from the Chinese Government for him as an act of grace; and whether the said Mr. Eadie, who is still sick and in need of medical treatment, should accept the offer he has had from the Taotai of Amoy of payment of his medical expenses, or whether he should wait a further interval for such compensation as may be paid by the Chinese Government.

The Chinese authorities have agreed, as an act of grace, to pay a sum of 11,000 dollars in compensation for the injuries inflicted upon MR. Eadie and his companion, Dr. Home. Of this sum it is proposed that Dr. Home, who was much more seriously injured, should receive 10,000 dollars. Mr. Eadie will therefore receive a sum of 1,000 dollars.

I bog to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether, if this country, while declining to enforce a penal clause against bounty-fed sugar, still adheres to the Brussels Convention, it will still be necessary for all sugar imported into this country to be accompanied by a certificate of origin; and whether it is proposed to ask this House to continue to provide part of the expenses of the Permanent Commission sitting in Brussels.

In the event of the other contracting States agreeing to exempt this country by supplementary protocol from the obligation to enforce the penal clause of the Sugar Convention, the question how far it would still be necessary or expedient to require imported sugar to be accompanied by a certificate of origin would receive careful consideration. So long as this country continued to take part in the modified Convention, it would naturally contribute its share of the expenses of the Permanent Commission, which are not considerable.

I bog to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether His Majesty's Government proposes to ask Parliament to repeal the Sugar Convention Act, 1903, and, failing such repeal, whether it will not be competent for His Majesty's present or future advisers at any time during the continuance of the Brussels Convention to prohibit by Order in Council the importation into this country of sugar which the Permanent Commission sitting in Brussels declares to be bounty-fed.

It is premature at present to consider the question of amending or repealing the Sugar Convention Act, and I therefore cannot deal with the legal point raised in the last part of the Question, which depends upon it.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he is aware that the production of cane sugar in the West Indies and other parts of the world is appreciably increasing, and that our exports of confectionery in 1906 wore approximately 25 percent. higher than those of 1904 and 1905; and whether, under these circumstances, His Majesty's Government propose to risk the break up of the Sugar Convention and a reversal to the system of bounties and cartels.

I am aware that the total production of cane sugar has considerably increased in recent years (although this can scarcely be said of the production of the British West Indies taken as a whole) and that our exports of confectionery have also increased approximately as stated. As regards the last part of the Question, I have nothing to add to the statement I made to the House on the 6th instant† The risk involved in the course taken by His Majesty's Government is a matter of opinion.

Is the right hon. Gentleman also aware that the manufacture of sugar in our Colonies leads to a large demand for the manufacture of machinery in this country for the industry in beet producing countries?

† See (4) Debates, clxxv., 838.

The hon. Member must give notice of the Question.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he has information of any change of attitude to the Brussels Convention on the part of those foreign States who are favourable to it as it now stands consequent upon the modifications of the terms of the British adherence thereto; and whether in the interests of the sugar-refining industry and its allied and dependent trades, which wore adversely affected by the foreign bounty system and which are suffering by the prevailing uncertainty whether there will be a return to it, he will give the House, at the earliest moment, any information of which ho is or may become possessed of any impending change of position on the part of any of the signatory Powers.

The Answer to the first part of the Question is in the negative. I will boar in mind the hon. Member's suggestion, and shall be glad to give definite information when there is any, but I would remind him that no change will in any case take place before September, 1908."

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will state the circumstances under which certain members of a Camel Corps, which left Bir Natron Government post some six weeks ago, lost their way and perished in the desert; what were the numbers and composition of the corps; how many men are known to have lost their lives and how many are missing; and what steps were taken by the responsible authorities to succour and rescue them, and to notify the Egyptian public of their fate.

The latest information in my possession respecting this matter is that No. 2 Company Camel Corps, under Bimbashi Whittingham, left for Bir Natron during February, one section being intended to be stationed there and another at a post then not yet selected. It was anticipated that their presence there would serve as a deterrent to any future raiding and counter-raiding. I will make inquiries as to the points raised by the hon. Member.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he is now in a position to communicate to the House the terms of the recent treaty between France and Siam.

I hope to lay the text of the Treaty at an early date.

I beg to ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his attention has been called to the funds among the bankers of England representing unclaimed moneys; what is the approximate amount of such funds; and whether, as such moneys cannot be legally claimed by the bankers, he will consider the advisability of appropriating them on behalf of the State, and, after allowing a sufficient sum to meet any possible liabilities to possible claimants, to set aside the available balances for old-age pensions.

I have no statistics of the amount of unclaimed moneys in the hands of bankers or of other persons or institutions other than Government Departments. The question of appropriating such funds for public purposes has often been considered, but such investigation as has been possible has tended to show that the total amount in question is probably much smaller than is popularly supposed; and, in view of this fact and of the practical difficulties connected with the necessity which would arise for indemnifying those at present responsible to possible claimants against future claims, it has not been thought desirable to attempt to deal with the matter by legislation.

I beg to ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the approximate amount of the sums in the hands of the Government arising from unclaimed dividends and other unclaimed moneys in the Bank of England; and whether he will consider the possibility of appropriating all or part of such unclaimed money for the purpose of old-age pensions.

The total nominal value of stock and cash in the hands of the National Debt Commissioners to the credit of the unclaimed stock and dividends account on the 31st March last was £1,841,986. This amount is not, in my opinion, in excess of a reasonable reserve against the liabilities to claimants.

I beg to ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he can state the amount of the unclaimed money now held in the Court of Chancery; and whether he has considered the advisability of utilising such unclaimed moneys for the purpose of adding to the sum provided in the Budget for providing pensions for the aged poor.

The aggregate amount of dormant or unclaimed funds in Court (including the Court of Chancery) is stated in the last triennial list published as a supplement to the London Gazette of 1st March, 1905, to have been on that date less than £1,000,000, distributed over more than 3,300 separate accounts; and I do not think any appreciable contribution could be obtained from this source for the purpose which the hon. Member has in view.

I beg to ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has received from the Royal Patriotic Fund Corporation any application for a Treasury grant of money in aid of the funds of the said corporation; and what answer has been returned.

An application was received in March last, and the reply of the Treasury was to the effect that, after considering the question in consultation with the War Office, they did not feel able to depart from a previous decision that they would not be justified in asking Parliament to provide by Vote any sum to supplement the present available resources of the fund.

I beg to ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer whether income tax is at present charged on monetary prizes gained for literary work or otherwise; and whether the same rule will apply under the new Finance Bill if it becomes law.

The question is one of assessment, which has to be determined by the Commissioners of Income Tax with respect to the circumstances of particular cases, but a monetary prize in the form of a single payment would not, as a rule, be chargeable, unless the circumstances were such as to render it part of the profits of the profession or vocation of the winner. The rules in this matter will not be affected by the Finance Bill, except when a chargeable receipt may fall within the definition of earned income.

How is it prizes of a similar nature have boon taxed?

That is a matter for the Income Tax Commissioners. Each case is decided on its merits.

I beg to ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the £44,288 given in Return No. 155, just issued, is the total sum employed by the Treasury for the purchase of 2½ per cent. Consolidated Stock in the past financial year; and, if so, why a larger proportion of the sum available for the cancellation of the National Debt was not devoted to the purchase of this class of stock.

The sum of £44,288 given in the Return was the total sum applied out of the old and new Sinking Fund moneys to the cancellation of Consols in the last financial year. In the circumstances of the time, it was considered preferable to apply these funds mainly to the extinction of Unfunded Debt. Accordingly, Treasury Bills to the amount of £3,500,000 were paid off, and Exchequer Bonds to the amount of over £4,400,000 were bought and cancelled, in addition to the £1,000,000 of Exchequer Bonds drawn and redeemed under the scheme inaugurated by the right hon. Member for East Worcestershire. There were, however, other funds available for the reduction of Funded Debt during the year besides the old and new Sinking Funds, namely, the receipts in respect of Life Annuities, Redemption of Land Tax, the China Indemnity, and other miscellaneous items. Consols were cancelled with these receipts to the amount of £1,819,258, making the total reduction in the amount of Consols outstanding £1,871,165.

I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury whether a meeting of the Land Tax Commissioners for South Carnarvonshire, Pwllheli District, has been called; if so, why none of the recently appointed Commissioners received notice of the meeting; and, if the meeting did take place under the circumstances related, whether it is proposed to call another meeting to do the work entrusted to the Commissioners as a body.

I understand that the clerk to the Commissioners was unaware of his duties under the Act. A notification of them, which was sent to him as to all other clerks to Land Tax Commissioners, apparently failed to reach him, but this regrettable accident has now been rectified, and I have little doubt that the provisions of the Act will be complied with in future The last part of the Question is a matter for the decision of the Land Tax Commissioners themselves.

I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury if he can state on what grounds the service of the Secretary of the Board of Customs has been extended beyond the usual period.

The officer in question has been entrusted with the execution of a particular duty which is approaching completion, and it has been found that the transfer of the work to another officer who is necessarily less familiar with it would be attended with inconvenience.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he can now state how many firms, and give their names, other than Messrs. Kynoch were found to be using a percentage of mercury in the manufacture of explosives; if he can state on what date these manufacturers ceased to manufacture these explosives; if he can state the number of pounds, if any, of such explosive these manufacturers had in their possession on such date; if he can state whether, in the public interest or in the interest of public safety, he has seized these explosives, or, if not, has he allowed them to go into use in the ordinary way.

One other firm—the National Explosives Company, not Messrs. Eley, as I was erroneously reported to have said the other day—is known to have used mercuric chloride in their explosives. I believe they ceased to do so towards the end of last year. I have no knowledge of the quantity of explosive which was then in their possession. At the present time a large quantity of explosive containing mercury, belonging to this firm, is under seizure.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if the magazine at Cardiff belonging to Messrs. Kynoch, licensed for 30,0001bs. of explosives, held 23,000lbs. when seized; if of this 23,0001bs. only very little contains the ingredient complained of; whether under the terms of the seizure the magazine is and has been since the date of the seizure devoted to the use of the Secretary of State, and cannot be utilised by Messrs. Kynoch for storage purposes; and whether, in view of the dislocation of trade caused by the Home Office action, he can see his way to allow the explosives in this magazine, other than the particular explosives complained of, to be put into use in the ordinary way.

23,000lbs. of explosive were seized in the magazine mentioned. Mercuric chloride was found by His Majesty's Inspectors in several samples taken from this magazine, but they are unable to say in what proportion of the whole the ingredient is present, as necessarily only samples were examined. Messrs. Kynoch are not prohibited from using the magazine up to the limit of quantity allowed by the licence; and there remains therefore a surplus of licensed capacity at their disposal. The inconvenience, if any, to Messrs. Kynoch's trade is not due to the action of my Department, inasmuch as the case in connection with this magazine would have been disposed of several months ago but for the postponements which Messrs. Kynoch have themselves obtained. In these circumstances, the whole of the explosive must, I fear, remain under seizure until the matter is settled.

asked the right hon. Gentleman whether he would consider the advisability either of taking Messrs. Kynoch's assurances as regarded the explosives which were in this magazine or of having the matter tested so that the explosive which did not contain the unauthorised ingredient could be used.

I do not know what Messrs. Kynoch's assurances are.

Has the right hon. Gentleman not read the letter forwarded to his Department as far back as 13th May by Messrs. Kynoch's solicitors?

The correspondence is becoming voluminous, but I do not quite see how Messrs. Kynoch's assurances that this explosive, or part of it, may be safe bears on the point of the action taken by my Department, which is that samples taken from this particular magazine showed that a large part of the explosive in the magazine contained mercury, and, in my judgment, it is clearly impossible to allow that explosive to be taken from that magazine.

asked the right hon. Gentleman whether he could say when this matter would be settled one way or the other.

I should be very glad to settle it at once, but Messrs. Kynoch have resorted to the law, and I am not in a position to settle it.

asked whether it was not a fact that, in the letter to which he had referred, Messrs. Kynoch stated that there was a certain amount of the explosive in this magazine containing the ingredient which the Home Office complained of, but that there was also in the magazine a very large amount of explosive which, they assured the Home Office, had not been treated in the same way, and whether they asked the Home Office to allow them to use that portion and not to lock up the explosive which was manufactured in accordance with the licence of the Home Office.

I think the hon. Member is correct, but the whole case is still under the consideration of the Court, and by the judgment of the Court, as far as it has gone, all this cordite is liable to seizure. The question cannot be determined until the legal proceedings are concluded.

Is it not the fact that the whole case before the Court at the present time is whether or not Messrs. Kynoch used in the manufacture of certain cordite an unauthorised ingredient; and what I wish to ask the right hon. Gentleman is whether, while the appeal of Messrs. Kynoch as regards the unauthorised cordite is pending, they are to be made to suffer by having the cordite which does not contain any unauthorised ingredient also seized by the Home Office?

I do not think the hon. Member has stated the case quite accurately. Messrs. Kynoch admit, as I understand, that there was a certain amount of mercuric chloride in this explosive. Their point now is that the amount of mercury is so small as to be innocuous. Our contention is that any mercury put into this explosive is against the law and renders the explosive dangerous.

asked whether the 23,000lbs. which the Government were now impounding was safe while it was there.

As the hon. Member is aware, magazines are only authorised under certain conditions, and, though it is not very pleasant to have an explosion in a magazine, if it does occur it is reasonably safe, and the prescribed distance practically secures safety to life and limb.

asked whether, in view of the fact that the complaint only referred to a certain portion of the explosive in this magazine, the Home Office had authority to remove that portion of the explosive, and thereby free the magazines for the general business of the company.

said he could not add anything to the Answer he had given to the supplementary Question of the right hon. Gentleman the Member for Dublin University.

rose to put a further Question.

Order, order. Notice must be given of any further Questions.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has taken, or will take, into consideration the propriety of appointing some women medical referees under the Workmen's Compensation Act which comes into force on the 1st July, especially in cases or districts where women are largely employed.

I am not aware that any necessity for such appointments has been found to exist under the Act of 1897, which applied to a large number of women employed in factories, but I shall be glad to take the matter into consideration.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has now prepared the detailed statement and estimate to which he referred on the 26th November last, showing the effect of granting one day's rest in seven to the Metropolitan Police; and, if so, will he lay it upon the Table.

I think it will be most convenient if I give these details in the form of a printed answer, and this I shall be happy to do if my hon. friend will put down an unstarred question for one day next week.

On behalf of the hon. Member for the Walton Division of Liverpool, I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Edalji Committee were informed that notes of the trial had been taken by the deputy chairman, and that the Home Office had thought it worth while to require such notes for inspection; whether such notes contain the most authentic and reliable account of the proceedings which is in existence; and whether in fact they were found useful by the Home Office.

Sir Arthur Wilson and his colleagues were aware that the deputy chairman's notes has been sent to the Home Office and that they had been returned to him. The notes were of course authentic and reliable: but they were abbreviated and somewhat fragmentary, and though most useful to anyone who had heard the evidence for the purpose of refreshing his memory, were not in my opinion of great use to anyone who had to master the facts of the case for the first time.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what principle compensation has been given in previous instances to persons to whom a free pardon has not been given, whereas in the case of Edalji a free pardon has been given, but compensation has been withheld.

Each case has been considered on its merits. In a few instances small sums have been given by my predecessors by way of compassionate grant where the circumstances of the case did not appear to justify the grant of a free pardon. Such cases have, however, been wholly exceptional and do not establish any principle on which a claim for compensation could be based.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is aware that the husband of Monita Czeplowski, a woman who was rejected last March by the Grimsby Immigration Board on the ground, amongst Others, that her husband could not be found, is residing at New Ortiston, Scotland, is anxious to have his wife restored to him, and able to support her; and whether he can undertake that if Monita Czeplowski, while not suffering from any dangerous infectious disease, again attempts to rejoin her husband she shall not be denied admittance under the Aliens Act.

I have no information to the effect of the first part of the Question, and in no case could I give any such undertaking as that which is suggested in the latter part. The admission or rejection of alien immigrants does not rest with me but with the immigration authorities at the ports. I may remind my hon. and gallant friend that the woman was found in March to be suffering from trachoma in an advanced and dangerous stage, and I am unable to agree with the view which he then expressed that aliens suffering from dangerous and contagious diseases ought to be admitted to this country.

If I furnish the right hon. Gentleman with evidence as to the whereabouts of the man and showing that the woman is not suffering from a dangerous infectious disease, will the right hon. Gentleman give an assurance she shall be enabled to join her husband?

The hon. and gallant Member is, I think, as well acquainted with the Aliens Act as I am, and he must know that the decision rests not with me, but with the Immigration Board.

I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade if he can give any information which will show approximately the number of persons employed in stripping tobacco leaves in manufactories in the United Kingdom in March, 1906, and in March, 1907. I beg also to ask the President of the Board of Trade what are the respective values and quantities of stripped and unstripped tobacco leaves imported into the United Kingdom during the year ending 31st March, 1906, and for the year ending 31st March, 1907.

The Board of Trade are unable to give the information asked for in the hon. Member's first

I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade whether, in view of the fact that the International Mercantile Marine Company, which has its head office at Hoboken, New Jersey, U. S A., owns or controls the following steamship lines, the White Star, Red Star, American, Leyland, Atlantic Transport, and Dominion, he will explain why the Board of Trade Shipping Returns include the White Star among the British ships without any note or explanation.

As explained to the hon. Member in an Answer which my right hon. friend gave to a Question by him on the 27th May, all vessels registered as British are classed as such in the compilation of the official Shipping Returns. This is the general practice of all maritime countries. The vessels of the White Star Line are registered British vessels. Possibly the hon. Member would profit by a careful perusal of the agreement embodied in the Parliamentary Paper Cd. 1704.

asked if it were not the fact that the International Mercantile Marine and the White Star Line were entirely controlled by British subjects living in this country.

I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade if he has any information relative to the cost of production of sugar in Germany, France, and other Continental countries; and, if so, will he lay such information before the House.

The Board of Trade are not able to give any official figures on this subject. The cost of production of sugar or any other commodity in different countries varies according to methods and sale of production, and other considerations.

I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade whether any representations have been received by His Majesty's Government in favour of the continuance of the Sugar Convention from chambers of commerce in different parts of the Empire; and, if so, from what chambers of commerce?

No representations in favour of the continuance of the Sugar Convention have been received by the Board of Trade from any chamber of commerce in the United Kingdom, but I am informed by the Colonial Office that such representations have reached them from various chambers of commerce in the Colonies, a list of which they can give if desired.