asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many societies or separate sections without branches have been approved, how many societies or separate sections with branches have been approved, and, in the latter cases, how many branches, under Section 23 of the National Insurance Act?

Two thousand five hundred and throe societies without branches and fifty-nine societies with branches have been approved. The number of branches is 20,846. No separate section is approved with branches for the purposes of the National Insurance Act.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many societies have been approved in accordance with Section 25 of the National Insurance Act?

Seventy societies have been approved under the provisions of Section 25 of the National Insurance Act. A considerable number of employers are proposing to guarantee the solvency of societies already approved under the ordinary provisions of the Act, and it is anticipated therefore that these numbers will be substantially increased.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury the total amount paid to officials in Ireland under the National Insurance Act for the six months ended 31st December, 1912; and what is the proposed annual expenditure for salaries payable under this Act in Ireland for the future?

The total amount paid in salaries to officials of the Irish Insurance Commission for the six months ended 31st December, 1912, was £12,205. The estimated expenditure on salaries for the year ending 31st March, 1914, will be shown in the Estimates for 1913–14, which will shortly be presented to Parliament.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he can give a list of the Orders made by

Title.	General Purport.	Date of Coming into Operation.
		Joint committee.	Insurance Commissioners.	Scottish Insurance Commissioners.	Irish Insurance Commissioners.	Welsh Insurance Commissioners.
National Health Insurance Preliminary Expenses Order 1812	Authorising Expenses of getting up and obtaining approval for Societies	—	25 April	25 April	24 April	29 April
National Health Insurance Advisory Committee Order 1912	Setting up Advisory Committee	19 Mar.	3 May	19 April	1 April	19 April
National Health Insurance Special Orders Acceleration Order 1912	Procedure for making Special Orders	5 July	—	—	—	—
National Health Insurance Sanatorium Benefits Order 1912	Providing for meeting cost of Sanatorium Benefit in first six months	—	3 Aug.	21 Aug.	22 Aug.	28 Aug.
National Health Insurance Payments to Societies and Committees Order 1912	Providing Funds for Approved Societies and Insurance Committee	—	3 Aug.	1 Oct.	20 Sept.	4 Oct.
National Health Insurance Initial Expenses Order 1912	Authorising Expenses of procuring members	—	2 Oct.	21 Oct.	23 Oct.	14 Nov.
National Health Insurance Payments to Insurance Committees Order 1912	Providing Funds for Insurance Committees	—	14 Oct.	4 Nov.	6 Nov.	4 Jan.
National Health Insurance Payments by Approved Societies to Insurance Committees Order 1912	Providing for payments by Societies to Committees for Administrative Expenses in first six months	—	14 Oct.	4 Nov.	6 Nov.	4 Jan.
National Health Insurance Deposit Contributors Administration Expenses Order 1912	Providing for payments by Deposit Contributors for Expenses of Administration in first six months	—	14 Oct.	4 Nov.	6 Nov.	—
National Health Insurance Further Payments to Approved Societies Order 1912	Providing Further Funds for Approved Societies	—	15 Nov.	7 Dec.	30 Nov.	4 Jan.
National Health Insurance Payments to Insurance Committees (No. 2) Order 1912	Amounts payable in respect of Sanatorium Benefit	—	—	11 Dec.	—	—

The following Orders under the provisions of Section 78 of the National Insurance Act have been made by the National Health Insurance Joint Committee and the several bodies of Commissioners, and came into operation on the dates specified:—

asked the Secretary to the Treasury how many of the practitioners whose names appear on the doctors' panel for the county of London are resident outside the county of London?

I am informed by the London Insurance Committee that twenty-two of the doctors whose names appear on the London panel reside outside the boundaries of the Administrative County of London.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether the London Insurance Committee supplied the information on which the statement, published by the Press on the 15th January, that 1,955 doctors have accepted service on the London panel, is based; will he say whether the actual number is 783; and, if not, what is the actual number?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the negative. The information supplied officially by the London Insurance Committee on 8th January shows 759 doctors. The list published by them on 13th January shows 780 doctors, and subsequent additions have now brought the number to over 900.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury if he will say how many doctors on the London panel in respect of the borough of Islington have resigned; and will he state the names of the practitioners who have resigned?

I find on inquiry from the London Insurance Committee that no doctor on the London panel whose name appears on the list for the borough of Islington has withdrawn.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury if he will say how many of the doctors whose names appear on the London panel have resigned?

Four doctors on the London panel have withdrawn, one of them because he is leaving London.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury if he is aware that there are, approximately, 200 medical practitioners resident in the borough of Islington, and can he say how many of the seventy-three doctors on the London panel for the borough are resident within the borough, and how many of them are also on panels for other Metropolitan boroughs or for the county of Middlesex?

I am informed by the London Insurance Committee that of the seventy-six doctors on the London panel who are prepared to attend insured persons in Islington, twenty-nine are actually resident in that borough, but some of the remainder have surgeries within the boundaries of the borough. With regard to the latter part of the question, I would refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him already to-day.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury if a member of an approved society is taken ill at such member's employer's house, and has medical attendance from a doctor at that place, in the event of the employer sending the member home, say to another county, and such member still requiring medical attendance, whether the member is entitled to have another doctor at the member's own home?

Yes, Sir, provided that the insured person notifies the insurance committee in whose area his own home is situated.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will undertake that the statement personally handed by him to the representatives of the Customs and Excise staff on 3rd May, 1912, shall be strictly adhered to by the Board of Customs and Excise in respect of the assurance that promotions from the officer grade by competitive examinations will not be commenced until forty-two upper section clerks have been promoted?

I do not think it necessary to give any undertaking that a definite statement made by me as to the course to be followed by a Department under my control will be duly carried out.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many farthing coins were minted and how many issued for circulation by the Mint during each of the years 1910, 1911, and 1912; and how many farthings are estimated to be kept in circulation?

The number of farthings coined and issued respectively during the three years named was as follows:—

	Number Coined.	Number Issued.
1910	2,598,400	4,753,920
1911	5,196,800	5,568,000
1912	7,669,760	7,036,800

As farthings coined in one year may not be issued until a subsequent year, there is no exact correspondence between the two sets of figures. With regard to the last part of the question, I am informed that since the introduction of bronze farthings in 1860 the number coined has amounted to 211,701,768. It is believed that, as no withdrawal of these coins has been made, practically the whole of them remain in circulation, the issue to the Colonies and Dependencies being negligible.

asked the Vice-President of the Department of Agriculture (Ireland) whether his Department have made inquiries into the statement that the disease of black-scab in potatoes exists in Scotland; and, if so, will his Department make an Order preventing the importation into Ireland of potatoes grown in infected districts?

The Department are aware that black-scab in potatoes exists in certain localities in Scotland. On 1st October, 1908, the Department made an Order which prohibits the landing in Ireland of potatoes diseased or suspected of being diseased brought from any place out of Ireland.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland the amounts, if any, of the additional £1,000,000 provided under the Labourers (Ireland) Act, 1911, which have been allocated to the several counties in Munster; how much has been actually distributed by way of loan out of this £1,000,000, and in what counties; whether the Cork Rural District Council have had no Local Government Board inquiry into any improvement scheme for the past four years, although there are 1,600 applicants for labourers' cottages whose present dwellings have been condemned by the medical officers of health as unfit for human habitation; is he aware that during the past ten years Cork county has lost 13,000 of its population owing to emigration, and that a considerable percentage of the exodus of the workers is due to bad and insufficient housing accommodation; when will the Local Government Board accede to the request of the Cork District Council to hold a local inquiry; what is the reason of the delay; and whether it is within the power of the Local Government Board to hang up at their discretion moneys which have been voted by Parliament for the housing of rural workers in Ireland?

The total amount actually sanctioned out of the additional million is £209,327, of which £33,295 has been in respect of rural districts in Munster, £5,815 being for Cork Rural District. The amounts of the loans allocated to the several counties is as follows: Antrim, £33,830; Armagh, £16,660; Donegal, £18,530; Down, £64,212; Londonderry, £9,180; Tyrone, £11,900; Cork, £5,815; Kerry, £9,750; Limerick, £17,730; Carlow, £1,700; Dublin, £6,120; Wexford, £2,000; Wicklow, £7,990; Galway, £1,360; Mayo, £2,550. Inquiries have been held in Cork Rural District during the last four years into four schemes proposing to provide in the aggregate 534 cottages. As regards the allegation that there are 1,600 applicants for cottages whose present dwellings have been condemned by the medical officers of health, the Local Government Board inform me that the number of cottages included in the pending schemes of this council is only 653, and of these only 254 are based on the grounds of the unfitness of the existing houses. The Board have no information as to the causes which may have contributed to the reduction of the population of the county Cork during the last ten years, but they have no reason to think, as suggested by the hon. Member, that a considerable percentage of the reduction is due to bad and insufficient housing accommodation. The rural district council have been fully informed of the causes of the delay in ordering a local inquiry into the schemes submitted. The distribution of the money is not being suspended; it is being applied in those districts where there is a greater need for additional housing accommodation than in Cork Rural District.

asked the Chief Secretary in how many rural council districts in Munster have inquiries under the Labourers Acts been held within the year ended Slat December last; how many rural districts have applied for inquiries and been refused in the same province during the same period; and how many cottages have been authorised to be built in Munster as a result of inquiries held during the year 1912?

Three inquiries have been held in Munster during the year ended 31st December last into schemes formulated by rural district councils, namely, Castletown, Roscrea No. 1, and Kilmallock. The latter scheme involved additional half acres only and not cottages, the proposal being to borrow the money in the open market. During the same period schemes from ten rural districts in Munster were lodged with the Board, of which one (Castletown) was inquired into. As regards the alleged refusal to hold inquiries, the rural district councils have been frequently informed, and are fully aware, that the cases are being dealt with, not in order of priority of lodgment, but having regard to the comparative needs of the different districts in the matter of housing accommodation for the labouring class. During the year in question forty cottages have been authorised to be built in Munster as a result of inquiries held in that period. On 31st March, 1912, there were in Munster 16,122 cottages built, 1,638 in course of construction, and 1,827 others authorised and yet to be built, making a total of 19,587 cottages as compared with 16,938 in Leinster, 7,727 in Ulster, and 2,616 in Connaught.

asked the Chief Secretary whether he is aware that the Department of Agriculture, in calculating the wages of Irish agricultural labourers, has computed that the maintenance of labourers boarded by their employers is, on the average, worth 6s. per week, although pension officers under the Old Age Pensions Act have repeatedly calculated the maintenance of claimants, who have agreements with members of their family to maintain them, at 10s., 11s., and even 12s. per week; whether these calculations have been upheld by the Local Government Board, and, if so, upon what grounds; and, seeing that numerous applicants for old age pensions have had their claims rejected because their means, consisting merely of an agreed maintenance, are alleged to exceed the statutory limit, will some definite standard of assessment of the value of such maintenance be set up to protect the interests of the deserving aged people?

The facts appear to be generally as stated in the first part of the question. The case of a labourer boarded and lodged by his employer is quite different from that of a member of the family, as the latter enjoys many privileges denied to the former, and particularly so where the claimant has been the occupier of the farm and has assigned it to some member of his family. No definite standard of assessment of the value of such maintenance can be set up, as each case must be dealt with on its merits, and the principle of the Local Government Board is that the maintenance ought to bear some relation or proportion to the value of the farm on which the claimant is supported and which he has transferred.

asked the Chief Secretary whether two men named Connor, tenants of the Foley estate, Clabane, Tralee, are about to be arrested for being unable to pay the costs of an action against them by the landlord, who is at present acting as bailiff of the estate; whether the order for their attachment was granted by the Court on the affidavit of Mr. Norwood, which contained a number of statements that were wholly untrue; whether these alleged facts were supplied by Mr. Foley, the landlord; whether the Messrs. Connor furnished an affidavit showing their condition in life and their inability to pay, one of them being in receipt of an old age pension; and whether, under these circumstances, the Law Officers of the Crown will be asked to intervene to prevent injustice being done to those men?

The Registrar of the Land Judge's Court informs me that on 21st June last two men named O'Connor were by Order of the Court restrained from trespassing on a vacant farm on the Foley estate and ordered to pay three guineas costs. The costs not having been paid an order for their attachment was granted on 13th December on the affidavit of Mr. Norwood that they were well able to pay. Both the O'Connor's made affidavits stating their circumstances and their inability to pay, one of them being in receipt of an old age pension. The Law Officers cannot interfere in the matter which is entirely for the Court to deal with.

asked the Chief Secretary whether he is aware that since 1890 sums of money amounting to £25,000 have been taken from the funds of the Training College, Marlborough Street, Dublin, for the purpose of providing new buildings, all of which are State property, and that in consequence of this the college fund is at present unable to bear a proper pension scheme for the professors and full-time staff or to provide adequate compensation in case of disturbance; and whether, under these circumstances, and considering the likely effect of the Government of Ireland Bill, if it becomes law, on the position of these officers in the future, the Government will consider the question of restoring to the college fund a sufficient part of those moneys to enable suitable provision to be made for the professors and full-time staff of the college in case of disturbance?

The Commissioners of National Education inform me that since 1890 sums amounting in the aggregate to at least £25,000 have been expended out of the Marlborough Street Training College Fund for the purpose of providing and equipping new buildings, and that in consequence the college fund is not in a position to support a satisfactory pension scheme. The Government are in no way responsible for the withdrawal of these moneys from the college fund, which is under the direction of the Commissioners themselves, and I cannot hold out any hope that the Government will restore to the fund any portion of the moneys so withdrawn.

asked the Chief Secretary whether he is aware that the Irish Land Commission have notified Cornelius B. O'Connor, Coolageela, Kanturk, a tenant on the Denis estate, that his holding had been vested in him, although O'Connor protests that he will not pay the future annuities as he considers the purchase money still excessive, he having been compelled to purchase under threat of eviction for non-payment of rent and arrears; whether he is aware that the sum named in the purchase agreement as purchase money was £1,164, which sum was later reduced by a Land Commission valuer to £1,040; and whether, under the circumstances, he will consider the advisability of withholding the issue of the vesting order until further inquiries are made?

This estate was the subject of proceedings for sale before the Estates Commissioners direct by the owners to the tenants under the Irish Land Act, 1903. Cornelius O'Connor signed an agreement to purchase his holding for the sum of £1,164, but as O'Connor was not a judicial tenant the case did not come within the zonal provisions of the Act of 1903, and the holding was inspected as regards security. The Commissioners notified the owners that they were only prepared to advance £1,040 in respect of I this holding, for which sum in their opinion the holding is security, and the owners agreed to accept this amount. The advance of £1,040 was made and the holding vested in O'Connor, subject to the repayment of that sum by a land purchase

TABLE showing the number of persons who took the Certificate Examination and the number who passed for the years 1911 and 1912.
—			Number who took the Certificate Examination.			Number who Passed.
			Men.	Women.	Total.	Men.	Women.	Total.
1911	…	…	1,061	3,270	4,331	381	975	1,356
1912	…	…	1,022	3,054	4,076	*—	—	—
* The results of the Examination held in December, 1912, sire not yet available.

TABLE showing the number of Students in Training Colleges who entered for their Final Examination in 1911 and 1912, and the number who passed their Examination and became qualified for recognition as Certificated Teachers, having satisfactorily completed their period of training.
—			Entered for Examination.			Passed.
			Men.	Women.	Total.	Men.	Women.	Total.
1911	…	…	1,884	3,727	5,611	1,644	3,565	5,209
1912	…	…	1,861	3,768	5,629	1,633	3,605	5,238

asked the Secretary of State for War what is the number of sergeants, corporals, and men married on the strength of the Royal Army Medical Corps, Royal Engineers, Army Ordnance Department, Army Pay Department, and the Army Service Corps, respectively; and what proportions these numbers bear to the total married men of the same ranks in the same corps?

No statistics of these numbers are at present available at the War Office.

asked the President of the Board of Education how many persons entered for the certificate examination during each of the years 1911 and 1912; and how many of them passed in each year?

The right hon. Member will be aware that the majority of teachers become certificated by completing satisfactorily a course of training in a training college. I am, therefore, giving figures relating to these persons as well, as the figures asked for in the question.

asked the Secretary to the Admiralty whether the amended scale of pensions to chief officers of Customs will be retrospective; and, if so, from what date?

I fear I cannot identify the amended scale of pensions to which the hon. Member refers. The pensions of Customs officers are governed by the Superannuation Acts and there has been no recent change in the scale.

asked the President of the Local Government Board what was the estimated acreage, the gross estimated rental, and the rateable value (agricultural land and buildings) at the time of purchase of the lands purchased recently for Artillery range purposes on Salisbury Plain, in each of the parishes of Easterton, Market Lavington, Urchfont, and West Lavington, respectively, together with the aggregate totals?

The following particulars, which relate to lands, the whole or parts of which were recently acquired by the War Office, have been supplied to me by the Clerk to the Devizes Assessment Committee:—

Parishes.				Estimated Extent.			Gross Estimated Rental.			Rateable Value Agricultural Land.			Rateable Value Buildings.
				a.	r.	p.	£	s.	d.	£	s.	d.	£	s.	d.
Easterton	…	…	…	782	2	3	238	10	0	172	0	0	42	4	0
Market Lavington	…	…	…	1,182	2	20	609	15	0	493	0	0	62	5	0
Urchfont	…	…	…	551	1	26	136	0	0	133	0	0	—
West Lavington	…	…	…	1,766	1	14	594	10	0	431	0	0	104	0	0
				4,282	3	23	1,578	15	0	1,229	0	0	208	14	0

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether his attention has been called to the recommendations of the Royal Commission on Sewage Disposal in favour of alterations in the law so as to make further provision for the treatment of trade effluents, for the better definition of the respective duties of the local authority and of the manufacturer, and for the payment of an extra contribution towards the cost of treatment by the manufacturer in special cases; and whether he proposes

I am aware of the recommendations of the Royal Commission, but I cannot at present say when I shall be in a position to introduce legislation on the subject.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is aware that the stretch of common land lying between Dorking and Guildford has, during the last few years, increasingly become the haunt of gipsies, who set at defiance all educational and sanitary laws and terrify the poorer inhabitants of the district; and whether he can introduce legislation to deal with such cases?

I have received representations from inhabitants of the locality to this effect. The chief constable of Surrey informs me that he has made special inquiry as to intimidation by gipsies, and could obtain no evidence of the existence of any such intimidation. I do not think that I can hold out any hope of legislation on the subject at present; but I may point out that it is open to rural district councils to make schemes under the Commons Act, 1899, which would empower them to make by-laws dealing with the nuisances alleged.

asked the President of the Board of Agriculture what leases of land in Regent's Park have been granted by the Crown; what are the dates upon which the leases were granted; and what are the dates upon which they will expire?

I have been informed by Mr. George Leveson-Gower, the Commissioner in whose charge the properties lie, that the particulars of the leases of premises within the Outer Circle Road,

Premises.	Date of Lease.	Date of Expiration of Cease.	Present Annual Rent & Premium (if any) paid on grant of Lease.	Observations.
South Villa and Bedford College	Agreement for lease, 24th May, 1911	10th October, 2010	*£950	The actual lease has not yet been executed. 1a. 2r. 3p. included in the previous letting are about to be added to the public part of the Park.
The Holme	11th June, 1912	5th April, 1973	*£590	la. 23p. included in the previous letting has been added to the public part of the Park.
St. Dunstans	13th February, 1912	5th April, 1974	*£540 and premium of £5,950	1r. 14p. included in the previous letting is to be added to the public part of the Park as from 5th April, 1914.
St. John's Lodge	14th December, 1824	5th July, 1916	*£1,270 and premium of £14,290	Terms have been submitted to the Treasury for the surrender of the existing leases and grant of a new lease of these premises (except 3r. 23p. of land which is to be added to the public part of the Park) at this rent and premium for 60¾ years from 5th July, 1912.
Baptist College	31st March, 1838 l7th August, 1883	5th April, 1932	£213 8s. 9d.	—
St. Katharine's Lodge	25th July,	10th October, 1929	£650	Negotiations are proceeding with the lessee for the surrender of the present lease and the grant of a new lease of the house and land (less 1a. 1r. 5p. which it is proposed shall be added to the public paw of the Park) for a term expiring 5th April, 1973
Two enclosures of land in the south-west portion of the Park adjoining the Outer Circle Road	29th June, 1885	5th July, 1922	£1	The land is let for the use of the householders in the neighbourhood.
The Royal Botanic Society's Gardens	17th July, 1901	5th April, 1932	£450	—
The Toxophilite Society's premises	29th October, 1889	Yearly tenancy	£200	—
Part of the Zoological Gardens	No formal agreement	Yearly tenancy	£305 10s. 0d	The Zoological Gardens include land outside the Outer Circle Road under the charge of the Commissioners of Woods and other lands under the charge of the Commissioners of Works.
* These rents were all fixed after allowing for value of old leases, at lower rents, surrendered.

asked the President of the Local Government Board the number of municipal dairies or milk depots in England; the date they I were instituted; whether any municipal dairies or milk depots have been closed, and the reasons; whether any of them were successful financially; if not, whether he will state what loss they sustained; whether he is aware that the suggestion of making a warranty or invoice not available as a defence to any proceedings in the Sale of Food and Drugs Act, 1895 and 1907, will press very hardly on the vendors of milk; whether any dairy trade experts were consulted before the institution of milk depots; whether he is aware that, if municipal dairies or milk depots are created there can be no competition; and if he proposes to take steps to secure that the absence of competition shall not be to the detriment of ratepayers and the consumers?

My information shows that there are now in England eight municipal milk depots for infants. I am not aware of the existence of any municipal dairies as distinct from such depots. Of the existing milk depots, one was established in 1899, two in 1901, one in 1902, one in 1903, two in 1904, and one in 1906. Four milk depots, one of which was established to provide sterilised milk during an out-break of infantile disease, have been closed. In one of these cases the closure was contrary to the advice of the medical officer of health, and was made upon the ground that milk modified as required could be obtained in the ordinary way without the intervention of the local authority. This depot was not a financial success. In one of the existing depots, established in 1906, a profit was made for the first time in 1911, and amounted to £41. I have no further information as to the financial position of milk depots, nor as to the advice taken by local authorities before establishing them. The withdrawal of the right to plead a warranty in defence in prosecutions in regard to milk under the Sale of Food and Drugs Acts will not deprive the vendor of the power to protect himself which he possesses under the general law. As regards the last part of the question, I may refer to the power to make Regulations which it is proposed to confer by Clause 18 of the Milk and Dairies Bill.

asked the President of the Board of Agriculture whether there is any official seed-testing station in the United Kingdom or nearer to it than Zurich?

There is a seed-testing station at Dublin maintained by the Irish Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether the Interdepartmental Committee on Fisheries have yet considered the desirability of making an interim Report as to herring trawling and the destruction of immature fish; and, if not, will they do so, as the matter is urgent?

It is not possible to yet issue for the Interdepartmental Fisheries Committee an interim Report as to herring trawling, as the evidence is not yet complete. There is considerable difference of opinion as 1o whether it is desirable to deal with trawling for herring apart from trawling generally, and while I recognise that the matter is urgent, it is still more necessary that the inquiry should be full, and any recommendations of the Committee of a most careful and considered character.