I beg to ask the Secretary to the Admiralty how many men have been discharged from the dockyard at Portsmouth since January, 1906, who have had more than twenty years service.

188 men with more than twenty years' service have left Portsmouth Dockyard since January, 1906, but none of these were discharged on reduction.

I beg to ask the Secretary to the Admiralty how many men have been discharged from the dockyards at Pembroke, Devonport, Portsmouth, and Chatham since January, 1906; and in how many eases were men discharged with more than ten years' service.

The number of men who have been discharged from the dockyards named between 1st January, 1906 and the 6th July, 1907, is as follows:—On reduction, 439; other causes, 2,798. During the same period 3,538 men have been entered. Of the 439 men discharged on reduction, 434 were discharged prior to the 30th June, 1906, and only five subsequently. 308 of the men who were discharged on reduction, and 484 of those who left from other causes, had over ten years' service.

I beg to ask the Secretary to the Admiralty whether he is aware that, by printed regulations issued prior to 1878, all men joining the Navy and Marines were promised that, subject to good character, the ordinary pensions of their rating which they might earn would receive an augmentation of 5d. per day at the age of 55, and a further augmentation subsequently; that men, having reached the age of 55, have had their applications for fulfilment of this undertaking refused on the grounds that the Admiralty have no funds at their disposal for this purpose; and what steps the Admiralty propose to take to remedy the alleged grievance.

The whole of the funds annually available for the pensions referred to in the Question is expended upon them. If my hon. friend requires further information as to these pensions, may I refer him to Command Paper 138 of Session 1892?

I beg to ask the Secretary to the Admiralty why seven submarines have been ordered from Messrs. Vickers since the present Government came into office, and none of any other firm; and whether any firm, excepting that of Messrs. Vickers, has been invited to tender for sub marines; and, if not, why not.

Messrs. Vickers were the firm who first took up submarine boat construction in this country, and they have gained much experience with these vessels. It is not known that any submarine boat suitable for His Majesty's service has been constructed in the country by any other firm; but if any shipbuilding firm should submit a design of a submarine vessel, such design would receive the full consideration of the Admiralty.

I beg to ask the Secretary to the Admiralty why the sanction of the Treasury was not first received before submarines were ordered from Messrs. Vickers without competitive tenders having been obtained or other firms invited to compete.

The hon. Member has already been informed by my right hon. friend the Secretary to the Admiralty, in reply to a previous Question on Monday last, that Treasury sanction was not required.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that the finding of the Public Accounts Committee was to a contrary effect'

Not on this subject.

I beg to ask the Secretary to the Admiralty what the approximate difference in cost is likely to be between the submarines commenced in the Government dockyards at Chatham and those ordered from Messrs. Vickers.

The work on the boats building at Chatham is not sufficiently far advanced to enable a reliable estimate to be given.

I beg to ask the Secretary to the Admiralty what was the last date when the Channel Fleet had its full complement of fourteen battleships assembled; and how many of the fourteen battleships are absent now.

The fourteen battle- ships of the Channel Fleet have not been assembled since the battle squadron was reconstituted in March last. Two battle-ships are now absent, viz., the "Triumph," which, is in dockyard hands at Chatham, and the "New Zealand," which is preparing to proceed from Devonport to Bantry for gun trials.

May I ask why the hon. Gentleman informed me in this House on 24th June that all the battleships were assembled?

I did not intend to convey that.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War if the military authorities at Aldershot desire smokeless blank cartridge for Artillery for use in training officers and men; and, if so, if he will supply this want.

The desirability of a smokeless blank ammunition for Artillery is admitted; but although several designs have been tried, no satisfactory explosive at a reasonable cost has been found. Experiments are, however, being continued.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War whether officers in the Army on the active list are not allowed to be candidates, while occupying this position, for Parliamentary constituencies, and are compelled by a War Office regulation, or the practice of the War Office, to retire from the House of Commons on appointment to military commands: whether Peers of the Realm on the active list, and as such executive servants of the public, are entitled by the practice of the War Office to combine military and Parliamentary duties, while Members of this House are disqualified, by the practice of the War Office, from retaining their seats when placed on the active list; whether he will explain the reason of the difference made in favour of Army officers who are Members of the House of Lords to the disadvantage of Army officers who are Members of the House of Commons; and whether he intends is take any, and, if so, what steps to rectify this class distinction.

There is no regulation against an officer becoming a candidate for a seat in the House of Commons, nor is it the practice of the War Office to intervene in this matter. If, however, he is elected, ho remains on the active list but is placed upon half-pay. An officer is required to vacate his seat on being appointed to a command, because it is considered that the work of a Member of this House would engross too much of an officer's time, and that consequently the interests, comforts and efficiency of the troops placed under his command would thereby suffer. These rules are not applicable to Members of the House of Lords, as they cannot divest themselves of their duties as such. Hence an officer who is a Member of the House of Commons occupies a somewhat more favourable position under these rules than one who is a Member of the House of Lords, in that while being retained on the active list he is relieved from the performance of all military duty and is thus enabled to devote his whole time and energy to his legislative duties.

said that that was very delightful for military men. He asked whether the Government were seriously considering the rectification of such a state of things, whereby a military man in command was excluded from the House, while a military man who was a Member of the other House had full right of discussion there, and possibly could move a vote of censure on the Ministry and then proceed to take his pay from the War Office.

We have not been troubled with the evil my hon. friend refers to.

I bog to ask the Under Secretary of State for the Colonies whether the Minute of the acting Prime Minister of Natal, sent to the Governor, and printed on page 13 of Cd. 3563, in which it is inferred or stated specifically that the Zulu prisoners in St. Helena will be under the supervision of a staff of warders armed with rifles, that they will be confined in rooms with iron bars fixed on the windows, three or four men being in one room, and that they are to receive no groceries except salt, is accepted by His Majesty's Government as being equal to the standard which they had in mind when they consented to the removal of these men from Natal; whether in. view of the different conditions of life, climatic and otherwise, between St. Helena and Natal, His Majesty's Government consider that the dietary scale set out on page 11 of this paper, showing that the food is to consist almost exclusively of mealie meal, is satisfactory; and whether His Majesty's Government propose to make any representations to the Natal authorities for a revision of the scale and for the addition of groceries other than salt.

I beg also to ask the Under-Secretary of State for Colonies whether the twenty-five Zulu prisoners recently deported from Natal to St. Helena are regarded as political prisoners; what are the conditions of their captivity; what are their rations; to what privations, other than the loss of freedom, are they subjected; are those who are chiefs accorded treatment commensurate with their superior rank of life; and how far does the Home Government regard itself responsible that they shall be treated in accordance with the traditions that prevail in this country.

I beg further to ask the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether his attention has been drawn to the fact that on arrival at St. Helena the Zulu prisoners were in an emaciated condition and looked half-starved, and some of them were hardly able to walk; whether amongst these is the chief Tilonko, from whom a petition is lying upon the Table of this House setting forth that he was illegally condemned under an indemnity Act wider in scope than has ever been assented to by the Sovereign, and which is alleged to have been unjustly put into operation; and whether he proposes to take any action on the matter.

It was necessary to deport these prisoners under the Colonial Prisoners Removal Act, and they therefore remain in the status of convicts, but it has always been the view of the Secretary of State that the fact of their deportation would justify their receiving, while in St. Helena, liberal treatment in regard to conditions of their imprisonment, especially in the matter of dietary. He will at once call for a Report from the Governor of St. Helena on this subject, and will authorise him to make such modifications in the scale of dietary and general conditions as are possible consistently with this provisions of the law.

I beg to ask the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he has any official news of the fighting in the New Hebrides; and whether he will furnish any details.

I have to refer the hon. and gallant Member to the Answer which I gave yesterday to the hon. Member for the North-Western Division of Lancashire.

I beg to ask the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he has any official information showing that vessels chartered under the French flag have recently left Sydney carrying arms, ammunition, and spirits for importation into the New Hebrides.

No, Sir; but I will inquire.

Can the right hon. Gentleman give the result of the inquiries he promised to make two months ago?

was understood to say he had not yet received the reply.

asked if British subjects were not placed at a great disadvantage by the delay in the issue of the Proclamation, as they were prohibited carrying arms, ammunition, and spirits.

asked for notice.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he has discussed with Sir Ernest Satow the question of concessions in China; whether any settlement has been arrived at with the Chinese Government; and, if so, can he state the nature of it to the House.

The Answer to the first part of the hon. Member's Question is in the affirmative, but we have so far arrived at no general settlement with the Chinese Government regarding concessions in China. Negotiations are proceeding separately with a view to the settlement of each out standing case.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether, seeing that the total correspondence passing through the Egyptian Post Office in 1906 increased to 58,000,000 as against 50,770,000 in 1905, and that since the introduction of the penny postage the correspondence exchanged between Egypt and the United Kingdom and British Colonies has increased by 60 per cent., he will now endeavour to induce the Egyptian Government to place Egypt on an equal footing as to postal rates with the United Kingdom and the Colonies.

As the penny postage already exists I do not under stand to what difference the hon. Member's Question refers.

Is it not the case that the postage is about l¼d.?

Yes, it is the case there is a slight difference due to the rate of the exchange.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he can make any statement with regard to the British subjects kept in a state of servitude in the Galapagos Islands.

It has been found impracticable for His Majesty's Consul at Guayaquil to go in person to the Galapagos Islands, owing to the considerable time necessary for the journey He has been instructed, therefore, to send a trustworthy agent to the islands, with power to bring away all those who wish to leave. Some time must elapse, however, before the result of his mission is known, as no ship leaves for the islands till the beginning of August and the journey there and back takes about five weeks.

Have the instructions been sent by cable?

Yes, Sir.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether the increase recorded by Lord Cromer of over 100 per cent. in the European personnel in the Egyptian secondary schools and higher colleges in the years 1896–1906, and the decrease of 25 per cent. in the Egyptian personnel in the same department in the same period, are due to a falling-off in the number of Egyptians educated for such posts; and, if so, whether he can explain how such a falling-off in the educational provision made under the supervision of the Minister of Education by the British Adviser has taken place.

The demand for secondary and higher education, and the development of it, has been increasing more rapidly than the supply of Egyptian teachers; measures are in hand to remedy the deficiency as far as it is possible.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether it is intended to submit the questions in dispute in reference to the Newfoundland fisheries to arbitration; and what arrangements are to be made to cover the forthcoming fishing season.

I am unable to give any information at the present stage of the negotiations, but I hope to be able to make a general statement on the subject before the end of the session. It is now under discussion between the Governments concerned.

asked as to the bearing of the Clayton-Bulwer treaty on these negotiations.

said it was difficult to establish any analogy between the two cases.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he has received any in formation with regard to the assault on Mr. T. Hutchinson, a member of the staff of the Indo-European Telegraphs, who was beaten on the head in the Deribasovskaya, one of the busiest thoroughfares in Odessa; and, seeing that Mr. Hutchinson obtained no satisfaction from the local police, what action he proposes to take in the matter.

I have not yet received any report respecting this incident from His Majesty's Consul General at Odessa, and am therefore at present unable to reply to the second part of the hon. Member's Question, but I will make inquiries.

Will they be made by cable?

No; by despatch.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he is yet in a position to lay Papers before the House with regard to the conditions of labour in the islands of San Thomé and Principé.

There are no Papers on the subject referred to by the hon. Member for Hereford which could be usefully laid before the House. I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland and circulated with the Votes on Friday last.ߤ

I beg to ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether in the ease of persons now entitled to a remission of income-tax on earned incomes, but who have already filled up for this year a return to the Income-Tax Commissioners, a supplemental application form for the lower rate

ߤ See(4) Debates, clxxviii, 1906

will be supplied, or, if not, whether collectors of income-tax will be instructed to give any and what facilities to such taxpayers to make a demand for the lower rate.

It is proposed to supply supplemental forms to persons who have already made returns for the current year, and who may appear to be entitled to relief in respect of earned income. If anyone so entitled should not receive such supplemental form within the next month, he should apply to the surveyor of his district, who will see that the omission is repaired.

I beg to ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he can state why, as the Savings Banks Act of 1901 gave effect to the recommendation of the Select Committee of 1902 that publication of the balance sheets of the savings banks should be discontinued, effect has not been given to the recommendation of the same Committee that the rate of interest to depositors should be reduced, with the object of relieving the general taxpayer from the burden of making good the annual loss in the income accounts of the savings banks.

Before the late Chancellor of the Exchequer brought in his Bill for giving effect to the recommendations of the Select Committee, the question of reducing the rates of interest was discussed in Committee of Supply, on the l5th March, 1904.… The right hon. Gentleman then expressed his concurrence in the Committee's view that Parliament should not be called upon permanently to vote money for the purpose of paying to savings bank depositor's a higher rate of interest than could be earned on the investments. But he pointed out that financial conditions had changed since the date of the Committee's inquiry so as to justify the hope that, without any reduction of the rate of interest payable, the annual deficiency might be reduced and possibly be extinguished. I understand that his decision not to alter the rate of interest was generally approved. Owing partly

†See(4) Debates, cxxxi, 1153 ct seg.

to the increased earning power on new investments and partly to certain changes effected by the Act of 1904, the total deficiency on the income of the two savings banks funds, which in 1903 was £183,690, had been reduced in 1900 to £129,361. And the reduction would have been greater, but for the inclusion last year of a special non-recurrent charge of about,£21,000. I see no reason at present for departing from the policy of the last Government.

I beg to ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware that, in the year 1880, there was a deficiency estimated by Mr. Gladstone at £3,565,000 in the Trustee Savings Banks, the amount being arrived at by valuation of the securities held; that the deficiency was provided for by the creation of a terminable annuity to run for twenty-eight years, the term being afterwards extended to 1917; that the cost of making good this deficiency has been borne, and is now being borne by the taxpayers in general; and that the same method of valuation would reveal a new deficiency, quite apart from the old, in the Trustee Savings Banks, and a deficiency of over £10,000,000 in the Post Office Savings Bank; and whether, regard being had to the circumstances, he will consider the expediency of making provision for reducing and finally extinguishing these deficiencies (if they exist) by setting up terminable annuities, as was done in 1880 in the case of the Trustee Savings Banks.

I am aware that the Trustee Savings Banks deficiency annuity was created in 1881 to make good an estimated depletion of the assets of the Trustee Savings Banks Fund, which had been caused primarily by the practice, pursued in earlier years, of paying interest out of capital. The fund has not been allowed to incur any further deficiency from that cause, as since 1876 every deficit on the annual income account has been made good by the Votes of Parliament; nor has a similar deficiency ever been incurred by the Post Office Savings Banks Fund. I am not prepared to ask Parliament to take the same steps for making good any deficiency which might appear upon an arbitrary valuation of the securities as were considered necessary when there had been a real inroad upon the assets of the fund.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his attention has been called to a statement made by William Page to the stipendiary at the West Ham Police Court, on Tuesday, 25th June, when he was sentenced to three months for stealing a roll of oilcloth, that he had been going straight until a constable informed his employer that he was an ex-convict, the result being that he was dismissed from his work, which caused him to steal the oilcloth; and whether it is the duty of police constables to inform employers as to whether any of their employees have been sent to prison.

I am making inquiries into this case. I shall be glad if the hon. Member can furnish me with the name or number of the officer concerned, or the name of the employer, and then perhaps he will put down a further Question.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if his attention has been drawn to Table 8 in the Report of the Chief Inspector of Factories for 1906, wherein it is shown that the number of names of outworkers received are greatly in excess of the number of visits made by the medical officers of health in Sheffield, Belfast, Worcester, Ipswich, Gloucester shire, West Ham, Westminster and other j areas; and what steps he proposes to take to make this inspection efficient.

Yes, Sir. This table was included in the Chief Inspector's Report by my directions, with a view to the improvement of the present conditions. The steps that have been taken by me to improve the administration of the Home Work provisions of the Factory Act by the local authorities have been to issue a circular on the subject to the authorities and the medical officers calling their attention to the importance of a thorough administration of the Act, and secondly to propose that the matter shall be discussed at a conference with medical officers of health which it is intended to hold at the Home Office in the autumn.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if his attention has been drawn to the fact, as shown in the Annual Report of the Chief Inspector of Factories for 1906, that 634 medical officers of health still neglect to perform the statutory duties imposed on them by the Factory and Workshop Act to report to the Home Office regarding their ad ministration of that Act; and how long the Home Office proposes to allow this neglect to continue.

The great majority of the medical officers who have failed to send in reports, viz.: 477 out of 634, are in Ireland. Under the Irish Public Health Law, medical officers, other than the few superintending medical officers, are not required to make any report to the local authority, and I am advised that it is doubtful how far in consequence any obligation is placed upon them by Section 132 of the Factory Act. As I have already stated, a special circular was sent out last year by the Home Office calling the attention of local authorities and medical officers to their duties in regard to home work—and I propose to communicate specially this autumn with those local authorities from whom no reports are received for 1906. I may add that in many districts from which no report is sent, the Factory Act has little or no application and the omission is comparatively unimportant.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if his attention has been drawn to the figures in the Annual Report of the Chief Inspector of Factories, showing that in 1905, in the borough of Stepney, the medical officer reports only thirty-two inspections of outworkers out of 8,998 persons notified to be such in the two half-yearly Returns, and that the same medical officer reported no inspection in 1904; and why, in view of these facts, he has not authorised an independent inspection at the expense of this borough under Section 4 of the Factory and Workshop Act, 1901.

I am aware of the figures referred to and am communicating with the borough council on the subject. I am advised that it is doubtful whether the powers under Section 4 of the Factory Act cover a case such as this. But, in any event, for the Factory Department to assume in this and similar cases the duties in respect to home work which the Act imposes on local authorities would be to add greatly to the work of a Department already more than fully employed. The whole question of home work is now under the consideration of a Select Committee of this House, and pending their Report I cannot see my way to make the consider able change in the administration of these provisions which is suggested by the hon. Member.

Was not Section 4 specially drafted to meet such cases?

I imagine that is so; but there are difficulties arising out of dual administration.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his attention has been drawn to the fact, as shown in Table 8 of an Annual Report of the Chief Inspector of Factories for 1906, that in 2,194 cases, on the showing of medical officers of health, employers were.discovered to have sent in to the district council no list of outworkers as provided by Section 107 of the Act, and that of these no fewer than 753 remained un-remedied, a substantial increase being thus shown in the neglect in this respect over last year; whether his attention has also teen drawn to the increased number of defects remaining unremedied as regards work being given out to be done in unwholesome premises, and allowing wearing apparel to be made in premises infected by scarlet fever or small-pox; and whether he can inform the House what steps the Home Office is taking to reduce the number of these cases of negligence on the part of so many medical officers of health.

I am aware of the figures to which the hon. Member calls attention. Taking all the figures which relate to outworkers' lists together, the Returns for 1905 seem to me to point to an appreciable increase of activity on the part of the local authorities in regard to the collection of these lists. 2,500 more lists were received, and 18,000 more names of outworkers, and the fact that nearly 700 more failures were discovered than last year, shows, I think, that the officers of the local authority are following up these cases more care fully than before, and perhaps also compiling the Returns for the Homo Office more carefully. I may call the attention of the hon. Member to the fact that the number of prosecutions taken by local authorities for failure to send in the lists is more than double that of 1904. As regards action under Sections 108 to 110, I do not think any trustworthy inferences can be drawn from the figures referred to in the Question, for the reasons mentioned in the introduction to last year's Return. I have already stated, in Answer to a previous Question, the action taken by me with a view to improving the administration of the home work provisions of the Act by the local authorities.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if his attention has been called to an application made to the Corporation of Sunderland by the local hairdressers' association for a closing order, under The Shop Hours Act, 1904, the petition for the same having been signed by 104 of those interested out of a possible 118, and the subsequent ballot vote revealing sixty-seven for and twenty-five against, but, by adding twenty-nine who had not voted, the corporation refused to put in force the Act, as the two-thirds required had not been obtained; and, if so, whether he can make any promise as to introducing legislation having for its object the remedying of the defect indicated, namely, the adding of all those who do not vote to the minority.

I know nothing of this case except what is contained in the newspaper extracts with which my hon. friend has been good enough to supply me. I do not gather from them that the non-voters were added to the minority, nor is there any requirement in the law that they should be so added. What is required is that the town council should be satisfied that the occupiers of two- thirds of all the shops to be affected approve the order. This two-thirds majority is not shown prima facie as the result of the voting in the case in question. Whether the town council could take any further steps to satisfy themselves in the matter I am not in possession of sufficient information to judge.

I beg to ask the Prime Minister if he is aware that in Sunderland and district large numbers of old men are being paid off, due to the coming into operation of the Compensation Act; and, if so, can he state whether it is the intention of the Government to introduce any legislation having for its object the mitigation of the hardship and suffering likely to ensue on account of such dismissals.

I beg to answer this Question on behalf of my right hon. friend. I have no information other than that furnished by the hon. Member as to what has taken place at Sunderland. But I may remind him that on Report stage of the Workmen's Compensation Bill, I proposed the insertion of a clause which would have gone far to safeguard old men against the risk of losing their employment, and I pressed for its adoption on the ground that the Depart mental Committee, whose views I shared, considered that without such a safeguard there was real danger of old and infirm workmen being prejudicially affected by the new act. That clause was left to the free decision of the House in pursuance of a promise given in Committee, and it was, unfortunately, in my opinion, rejected by 211 votes to 133. I think the hon. Member voted in the majority against it.

I beg to ask the President of the Local Government Board whether he is aware that some of the funds placed by him at the disposal of the Brighton Distress Com- mittee are being used by them to provide cheap labour for a weaving firm in Haworth, Yorkshire; and whether he intends taking any action in the matter.

I understand that the Distress Committee, in exercise of powers conferred upon them by the Unemployed Workmen Act, 1905, have assisted the removal of two families to Haworth, for the purpose of enabling them to take advantage of an opportunity of obtaining permanent and remunerative employment in certain mills in that town. The whole of the cost of the removal has, however, been borne by the rate contribution account, and no part of it has been defrayed in the manner stated in the Question. The entire amount paid to the Committee out of the Parliamentary Grant has been expended in the provision of temporary work in Brighton.

I beg to ask the President of the Local Government Board whether the Local Government Board are prepared either directly or indirectly through their powers of remission of surcharges, to sanction a local authority becoming its own insurer under The Workmen's Compensation Act, 1906. by such authority instituting a fund and paying into it each year a sum of money to be applied to the payment of claims under this Act, instead of such authority insuring with an insurance company.

I am advised that under ordinary circumstances a local authority would not be empowered to form such a fund as that suggested. It would not be in accordance with the practice of the Local Government Board to sanction recurring illegal expenditure, either directly or by the remission of surcharges, nor do I think that they could properly do so.

I beg to ask the President of the Local Government Board if his attention has been called to the case of a boy who died in Croydon on the 29th April last as the result of vaccination; if he is aware that the case was investigated by Dr. Copeman, of the Local Government Board; that the child had sores on the head, face and arms, and lingered in agony for three months; will he say if he is still supplying public vaccinators with the same class of lymph; and if he will lay Dr. Copeman's Report upon the Table.

I am aware of the case referred to, though J do not know that the child lingered in agony for three months, nor had I been informed of his death. The ease was investigated by Dr. Copeman and several medical men. Twenty other cases were vaccinated with the same lymph as this child, and, so far as was ascertained, the case in question was the only one in which the child subsequently had sores. These sores appear to have been, in fact, "bromide rash," and to have been due, not to vaccination, but to doses of bromide of potassium administered by the mother on account of the fits from which the child suffered. It is estimated that 178 grains of the drug were given to him. Dr. Copeman's Report is a confidential document, and I could not undertake to lay it on the Table.

Does the right hon. Gentleman consider a death rate of 5 per cent. in vaccination cases trifling.

The percentage was not asked for. I must have notice.

The right hon. Gentle man has spoken of one in twenty as if it were a trifling matter.

I beg to ask the President of the Board of Education if he can now state when the new Code and the new Regulations dealing with secondary schools will be circulated among Members.

The Secondary School Regulations were circulated on the 2nd July and the Code on the 5th July.

I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury if a Departmental Committee has been appointed to inquire into the alleged grievances of the clerks to surveyors of taxes; if not, whether it is intended to appoint such a Committee, or what steps it is proposed to take to investigate the case made by these clerks.

No such Committee has been appointed, but the Chancellor of the Exchequer received a deputation from the officers referred to some time ago, and their representations are now under his consideration.

I beg to ask Mr. Attorney-General for Ireland whether his attention has been drawn to the prosecutions arising from the trade dispute in Belfast, when local magistrates interested in the dispute have appeared upon the bench and given sentence; whether his attention has been drawn to the case of Edward O'Reilly, charged before a resident magistrate and a local justice with riotous behaviour and fined the maximum penalty of 40s., supplemented, however, by a proviso that he should give bail himself in £4 and find two sureties in £20 each to keep the peace, and in default of finding such bail that he should be imprisoned for three calendar months; whether it is customary that justices, in addition to imposing the maximum penalty provided by statute, should impose a further punishment by having recourse to their powers under their commission; and whether, in view of the whole circum stances of the case, he will take steps to secure a revision of the sentences passed by local justices in connection with cases that have arisen out of the Belfast dispute.

Before the right hon. Gentleman answers the Question, may I ask if he is aware that one of those sentenced connected with the strike has a record of eighty-three previous convictions, seventeen of which were assaults on the police, and that another had against him eighty-two convictions?

I do not see how this arises out of the Question, which refers to one particular individual.

The Question asks whether the sentences passed by local justices in connection with cases that have arisen out of the Belfast dispute may not be revised.

According to the information I have received, the local magistrates in Belfast have taken very little part in cases connected with the labour dispute. The Belfast police courts are invariably presided over by a resident magistrate, and in no case have local magistrates sitting alone dealt with prosecutions arising out of the strike. I am informed that the facts connected with the case of Edward O'Reilly are as stated in the Question, and that neither of the magistrates who acted in that case has the slightest interest in the labour dispute. I have no power to secure a revision of sentences passed by magistrates, but the Lord-Lieutenant has power to mitigate punishment in such cases, and I have no doubt that any petition presented to His Excellency would receive full consideration. I understand, however, that an appeal has been lodged in the particular case in question, and the matter is there fore sub judice.

asked whether it was not a fact that magistrates who had interest either direct or indirect in the subject matter of the dispute were disqualified from sitting and adjudicating.

That point does not arise. The Attorney-General has said that the magistrates had no interest either direct or indirect in the dispute.

said that remark had escaped his notice.

I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland if he has yet taken any steps towards releasing the two Protestant boys, William and Samuel Welsh, from the Nazareth Roman Catholic Industrial School, Belfast, who are detained there against the expressed wish of their father, who is willing and able to maintain them.

The children referred to were committed to the Nazareth Lodge Industrial School on 4th August, 1906. It was proved in evidence that the children's mother had died shortly before, and that the father had left the children with his own mother saying that she could do what she liked with them as he was going to work his passage to Canada. The grandmother was unable to support the children, and they had been subsisting on charity. Certificates of baptism of the children as Roman Catholics were produced and attached to the records of the Court, and it was stated that the father himself was of that religion. I have received from a solicitor an application for the release of the children, but up to the present no evidence has been adduced that the father is now a Protestant or that, in fact, he desires the release of the children. If such evidence should be forthcoming, I will give the case full consideration.

Will the right hon. Gentleman further inquire into the facts?

I have learned that the father wanders about without a shirt. From that I draw no inference.

I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether any communication has been sent to those evicted tenants whose applications for reinstatement have been refused by the Estates Commissioners; and, if so, what is the nature of the communication.

It is the practice of the Estates Commissioners to inform an evicted tenant that his application has been rejected when such is the fact. The Commissioners do not use any set form of communication in these cases; the nature of the communication depends upon the circumstances of the case.

I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether he has any information respecting a conflict between the Irish Constabulary and a party of moon lighters at Ruan, near Ennis, on Sunday night; whether any shots were exchanged; and whether any arrests were made.

On Sunday afternoon last between five and six o'clock two policemen were escorting a man who is under police protection when several shots were fired from a wood through which the road passes. The police fired two shots in return, and at once entered the wood in the direction from which the shots appeared to come, but failed to discover the offenders. No one was injured.

I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland when it is proposed to proceed with the Navigation Works (Ireland) Bill.

This Bill will be proceeded with at the earliest opportunity, but I am not in a position to name a date.

I beg to ask the Prime Minister will His Majesty's Government agree to have printed and distributed the articles of impeachment on which this House impeached the Earl of Oxford in 1715 for recommending the creation of twelve Peers, and also the Reports. made from time to time to this House during his consequent two years imprisonment in the Tower.

This is an historical inquiry the facts of which can be discovered by any one who has the time to explore the records of the times in which impeachments and executions were freely resorted to. My hon. friend is not quite accurate in saying that the Earl of Oxford was impeached for recommending the creation of Peers. He was impeached on many other counts more serious than this. The creation of Peers was the sixteenth count in the indictment. I presume that my hon. friend does not desire to revive that method of controlling the Government of the country, and I think we had better leave the documents to the historian and the archaeologist.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that The Times was not published in 1715 and that the Earl of Oxford was impeached on a charge of misdemeanour, which was not proceeded with, and that the sentence of two years imprisonment was for having recommended corruptly and improperly to the other House the making of new Peers?

I have not bestowed so much time on the matter as my hon. friend apparently has, but I have examined cursorily the documents, and I do not find that there is any imputation of corrupt creation of Peers. The impeachment turns on at least fifteen other counts as well as this, and it is not, therefore, exactly a case in point.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware of the precedent in which the Duke of Buckingham was impeached for selling a Peerage for £10,000 to a gentleman named Lord Roberts? A most interesting case.

One archaeologist after another comes before me with interesting cases, but I do not think they will affect my estimate of the circumstances of the present day.

I beg to ask the Prime Minister whether he will, in the public interest, afford the House some opportunity of discussing the Report of the Radiotelegraphic Committee, in view of its importance to the defence and commerce of the Empire.

I do not think I can alter the decision I have announced to the House on this subject.

asked whether the public interest would not be serve by giving the opportunity for discussion.

It is a matter of opinion. The Committee was not appointed on the motion of the Government; it was appointed to please my hon. friend, and he has had his Committee.

asked if it was the intention of the Government to deal with a matter of such grave financial importance without affording the House the opportunity of discussion.

We proceed upon our own discretion and responsibility in the matter, and we are supported by the Report of the Committee.

asked if the right hon. Gentleman was aware of the fact that the Committee, with the exception of his own official supporters, demanded a rediscussion, in view of facts made public for the first time.

reminded the Prime Minister of the evidence accumulated, and asked if there was any intention to advise a revision of the Convention.

We propose to ratify the Convention upon our responsibility and taking our view of the situation.

I beg to ask the Prime Minister whether, in view of the variety and complexity of the subjects to be debated on the Foreign Office Vote, a short sitting may be allocated for discussing the recent departure in the policy with regard to the Sugar Convention, announced by the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.

No, Sir, I see no advantage in a discussion at this stage. The proposals of His Majesty's Government respecting the Sugar Convention are known and are being considered by other Governments who are parties to the Convention. Till the result of this consideration is known at is not possible for the Government to make any further statement.