asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what sum would be required to pay the increase in medical fees falling upon members of friendly societies, disabled and over sixty-five years of age, owing to the remuneration required by the medical profession being raised to 8s. 6d.?

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether he is aware that, in consequence of the additional Grant from the Treasury for the higher remuneration of the doctors under the National Insurance Act, 1911, members of friendly societies who were of the age of sixty-five or upwards, or who were subject to permanent disablement, at the date of the commencement of the Act will have to pay increased contributions for medical benefit; and whether it is intended to make a Grant from the Treasury of an equivalent amount per capita to cover the increased contributions of these old and disabled members?

I propose to take these two questions together. I am aware that, while some societies have been able to make satisfactory arrangements for the medical attendance of their uninsured members, in some districts the doctors are demanding higher rates of remuneration than the societies are prepared to give. As I have often stated, I cannot understand why the fact that doctors are receiving an additional grant in respect of insured members should make them demand not only the increase of about 50 per cent. (which societies are generally prepared to give) but an increase of nearly 100 per cent. in the rates they have hitherto been receiving for their uninsured patients.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether he can state approximately the distribution of the thirteen and a quarter million members of approved societies, showing how many have joined approved societies formed by trade unions and by industrial insurance companies, and by or of friendly societies and collecting societies, and how many have joined other approved societies?

The 13,021,000 members of approved societies shown in actual returns in respect of first quarter's cards are distributed among the various types of societies approximately as follows:—

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the opinion of the Law Officers has been or will be taken on the question whether the Regulations made by the Insurance Commissioners limiting medical attendance and treatment to treatment of a kind which can consistently with the best interests of the patient be properly undertaken by a practitioner of ordinary professional competence or skill, but denying medical attendance and treatment when the condition of the patient is such as to require services beyond the competence of an ordinary practitioner, are intra vires; and whether he is prepared to facilitate steps being taken by which this question may be authoritatively settled by a decision of the High Courts?

It would be contrary to practice to indicate upon what advice any Regulations have been framed in regard to any such point as that in the question. I see no reason for any such special action as is suggested in the latter part of the question.

asked the President of the Board of Trade for what reason G. R. Abbot, brass polisher, who applied for unemployed benefit at the Dundee Labour Exchange on 1st February, has not yet received payment?

I am having inquiries made into the matter, and will communicate the result to the hon. Member.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the staff of the Naval Stores Department come under the unemployed part of the National Insurance Act; if so, is he aware that the staff is entered from boys who have to pass an examination before entry and guaranteed employment until the men reach the age limit of sixty; that a man having reached the position of storehouse assistant may at any time, if qualified by passing the necessary examination, be appointed storehouse man, a position entitling him to be established, and, therefore, that men belonging to the Naval Stores Department who ultimately become storehouse man cannot possibly obtain any benefit from their contributions to the unemployed fund; and, if so, what action he proposes to take?

The employés of the Naval Stores Department, though in some cases partly engaged in work connected with an insured trade (that of shipbuilding), are mainly not so engaged, and are therefore excluded from the operation of Part II, of the Act.

asked whether the Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury will reconsider their decision as to the basis upon which they are prepared to pay contributions in lieu of rates upon the telephone mains and wires which they have taken over from the National Telephone Company, so that the assessment upon which the contributions are based may be made subject from time to time to such revision as the circumstances may render equitable?

The answer is in the negative.

asked the First Lord of the Treasury why the Government still refuse to make a contribution to the rates in respect of the mains and wires which have been laid or erected by the Post Office, seeing that the Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury have desired to make contributions in lieu of rates in respect of the mains and wires taken over by the Post Office from the National Telephone Company?

Ever since the transfer of the telegraphs to the State in 1870 no contribution has been paid in respect of telegraph wires laid by the Post Office, and a similar practice has been adopted with regard to telephones. In the case of wires and mains taken over from the National Telephone Company it was decided that contributions should be given because rates had already been paid upon them by the Company, and it was not desired to deprive the local authorities of revenue they had already actually received. It was accordingly agreed to make payments in respect of such wires and mains at the poundage from time to time prevailing on the assessments as they stood just before the transfer to the State.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland the number of married and of unmarried women teachers, respectively, under the Board of National Education in Ireland to whom the Carlisle and Blake premium has been granted since 1900?

Since 1900 these premiums have been granted to forty-eight women teachers who were married at the time of the award and to forty-three who were not then married.

asked the Chief Secretary how many constabulary sergeants and constables have been transferred from stations in county Down to other stations in the same or other counties during the last twelve months, and the number of times each sergeant or constable was so transferred in that time; whether one married constable with a delicate wife and family has been subjected to five transfers since 11th October last; and, having regard to the trouble, expense, and hardship inflicted, especially upon men with families, by frequently breaking up their homes, if he will say who is responsible for those frequent transfers and what justification is alleged for them?

The Inspector-General informs me that in county Down during the year ended 1st March last twenty-one sergeants and acting-sergeants and fifty-three constables were transferred once, one sergeant and seventeen constables twice, and one acting-sergeant and one constable three times. In the case of one constable who was transferred for disciplinary reasons it was found necessary to transfer him subsequently four times before suitable house accommodation could be obtained for his wife and family. Two of these transfers could have been avoided if the constable had not neglected to secure a suitable house which was vacant at the time. The Inspector-General considers that the various transfers made by the county inspector were necessary and in the interests of the public service.

asked the Chief Secretary the names and addresses of the persons who held a licence or certificate under the Licensing Acts, and who were reported by Mr. Commissioner Maxwell in the Castleisland election petition for allowing treating to take place upon their licensed premises; and if the Attorney-General for Ireland brought the report before the licensing justices, as provided by Sub-section (8) (b) of Section 38 of the Corrupt and Illegal Practices Act, 1883?

The report of Mr. Commissioner Maxwell in the Castleisland election petition was made on 8th September, 1908. Having regard to the lapse of time that has taken place, the enumeration of the names and addresses of the licensed traders referred to (and which can be found on reference to the Report of the Commission) does not appear to be necessary. There is no record of the report having been brought by the Attorney-General before the licensing justices.

asked the Chief Secretary on what date the Tralee Rural District Council acquired a half-acre plot on the Kilmurey estate, near Castleisland, county Kerry (townland of Tooreenagowan), under the Labourers Acts, and what the reason of the delay is in erecting the cottage, which was duly authorised; if he is aware that the Tralee Rural District Council declined to give Mr. P. Gun Mahony, who is a resident ratepayer and the owner of the property which was acquired for the erection of the cottage, any explanation of the delay in proceeding with the work of erecting the cottage; and if he is aware that the labourer for whom the plot of ground was acquired is obliged to live in a mud hovel owing to the neglect of the Tralee Rural District Council in erecting the cottage, which was duly authorised; and whether he will direct the attention of the Local Government Board for Ireland to the matter?

The plot in question appears to have been acquired by the rural district council in 1909 or 1910. The council advertised on several occasions for contractors to build these and other cottages in the district, but without success. They have now directed their engineer to build this cottage by direct labour. This information has been communicated by the Local Government Board to Mr. Mahony in connection with a complaint made by him as to the action of the rural district council. The Board have no information as to the nature of the dwelling occupied by the labourer for whom this cottage is intended.

asked the Chief Secretary what date the Tralee Rural District Council acquired a plot of ground on the Drummond estate (townland of Knockachur), near Castleisland, county Kerry, and the reason why the amount due for the purchase of the plot by the Tralee Rural District Council has not been paid; and if he will direct the attention of the Local Government Board for Ireland to this matter, and to the fact that the labourer for whom the cottage was required is obliged to live in a mud hovel owing to the neglect on the part of the Tralee Rural District Council to proceed with the building of the cottage, which was duly authorised?

The plot in question was acquired under Provisional Order dated the 12th August, 1908. The Local Government Board understand from the clerk of the rural district council that paying orders for the amount of the purchase money awarded at the arbitration have been issued, presented for payment, and cashed by the council's treasurer. The question of the erection of the cottages in this district is receiving the attention of the Board.

asked the Chief Secretary what date Mr. Florence O'Sullivan, of Farranfore, county Kerry, applied to the Lord Chancellor of Ireland to be appointed a justice of the peace for the county of Kerry; on what date the Lord Chancellor finally decided not to appoint Mr. O'Sullivan; and if he will state on what date the Lord Chancellor of Ireland communicated his decision in the matter to Mr. O'Sullivan?

The Lord Chancellor has had no communication from Mr. Florence O'Sullivan regarding his appointment to the commission of the peace. There is no record of the precise date upon which the Lord Chancellor considered the matter and no further action has been taken with reference to it.

asked the Chief Secretary what steps the Congested Districts Board have taken in the matter of the purchase of the estate of William Wilson, situated at Knockletragh, county Donegal; and whether, having regard to the fact that many of the tenants are being sued for arrears at the coming Sessions, he will endeavour to expedite a settlement of this estate?

The Congested Districts Board have been in communication with the owner regarding this property, and they understand that he is willing to negotiate for a sale through them, and that the maps and documents necessary for a preliminary inspection to be made are being prepared for lodgment. On receipt of the information required the estate will be inspected, and a decision arrived at regarding purchase as soon as practicable.

asked whether the untenanted lands of Moyvane on the Fitzgerald estate, in North Kerry, have been acquired by the Estates Commissioners for distribution; is the electoral division of Leitrim in the immediate neighbourhood scheduled as a congested area; and, seeing that the uneconomic holders there cannot have their needs otherwise provided for them by the distribution of the untenanted lands in question amongst them, will the Estates Commissioners issue orders accordingly?

The Estates Commissioners have arranged to purchase some 370 acres of untenanted land on this property, including some eighty-six acres of the lands of Moyvane South, and they hope to be in a position to take over possession of the lands and distribute them towards the end of the present year. The entire county of Kerry is, under the Act of 1909, a congested districts county. The wants and circumstances of the occupiers of small holdings in the neighbourhood will be considered in the allotment of the lands.

asked whether the Local Government Board have received papers in respect of the claim of Mrs. Jane Dennehy, of Millstreet, county Cork, to an old age pension, proving her to be over the statutory age; and whether, in the circumstances, her claim will be immediately granted?

All the necessary documents have not been received in this case, but when they are received, Jane Dennehy's claim will be duly investigated by the Local Government Board.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether a Grant can now be made by the Admiralty for the purpose of paying all men who joined the Royal Navy and Royal Marine forces prior to 1878, who have reached the age of fifty-five years, their 5d. a day augmentation irrespective of physical condition or rate of naval pension; and whether the 5d. a day augmentation to ex-Reserve men under sixty-three years of age who were placed on the Greenwich Hospital Charitable Fund prior to April, 1910, can be now paid out of Naval Votes, and so enable the fund to discharge the debt to many old pensioners who have been waiting for their 5d. a day augmentation from eight to nine years?

The answer to both parts of the question is in the negative. In regard to the class of pensioners referred to in the second part of the question, I can add nothing to the reply which I gave the Noble Lord on 18th July last, except to say that an increasing proportion of the men awarded Greenwich Hospital age pensions prior to April, 1910, would by this time have received the pension from Greenwich Hospital Funds in ordinary course under present conditions.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he is aware that the average pension earned by chief officers of coastguard pensioned during the last two years is about £53 per annum, and that many of these officers have elected to be pensioned as petty officers in order to increase this amount; whether, in any other case, it is necessary that an officer, having completed his full period of service for retirement by age, has to take the retiring allowance of a lower rank to obtain an increase; and whether, as these officers forfeit about £12 pension per annum on promotion by transfer from the seamen's to the officers' scale, this could be avoided by securing to each officer the amount earned prior to promotion, and thus more easily restore the average of twenty years ago, which has been reduced through alterations in the conditions of service over which these officers had no control?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative except that the average pension on the chief officers' scale during the past two years has been £57. As regards the second part, similar cases occur occasionally among warrant officers, in which, owing to short service in warrant rank, the seamen's scale of pension is more to their advantage. There is no power under present regulations to assess a chief officer's pension in the manner suggested in the last part of the question, and, as stated in my reply to the Noble Lord on 12th February, it is not intended to make any alteration in the present scale.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty if, to obviate any possible confusion in debate as between "Dreadnought" and pre-"Dreadnought" vessels, he can, consistently with the public interest, give the actual names of the vessels in the various battle and cruiser squadrons described on page 7 of the Memorandum [Cd. 6668], with, so far as possible, similar information regarding German ships in full commission?

As regards British vessels, the names are shown on pages 269, 269b, and 269c, of the Navy List, arranged in the squadrons as described.The following is the list of German vessels:—High Sea Fleet.First (Battle) Squadron, 1st and 2nd Divisions—"Ostfriesland" (flag), "Thuringen," "Helgoland," "Oldenburg," "Posen" (2nd flag), "Rheinland," "Nassau," "Westfalen." Attached vessel: "Blitz."Second (Battle) Squadron, 3rd and 4th Divisions — "Preussen" (flag), "Pommern," "Hessen," "Lothringen," "Hannover" (2nd flag), "Schlesien," "Schles- wig-Holstein," "Deutschland." Attached vessel: "Pfeil."Future Third (Battle) Squadron, 5th Division—"Friedrich der Grosse" (fleet flagship), "Kaiser" (flag of 5th division), "Braunschweig," "Elsass." At disposal of the Commander-in-Chief: "Hela."Cruiser Squadron—"Moltke" (flag), "Goeben," "Von der Tann" (3rd flag), "Yorck," "Coln" (2nd flag), "Stralsund," "Stettin," "Kolberg," "Dresden," "Konigsberg" (temporarily in place of "Mainz"), "Breslau,"

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he will grant permission for the circular referring to the annual dinner of the Old Comrades' Association of the East Lancashire Regiment to be enclosed with the pension notice papers which are sent out from the depôt at Preston at the end of March, the same as in previous years; and whether he is aware that if this privilege is stopped it may mean the end of this association?

Nothing is known of this matter in the War Office. I should be obliged if the Noble Lord would furnish me with further details in order that the necessary inquiry may be made.

asked the Secretary of State for War what was the average age of the 944 children referred to on page 23 of the Report on the health of the Army for the year 1911 as having been re-vaccinated; why it was considered neces- sary to revaccinate so many children; if any explanation is available to account for such a high percentage of success in these revaccinations at 97.5; and why the percentage named was higher than the percentages in the case of recruits, soldiers, and women, respectively?

No information is available in the War Office concerning the various points raised in the question.

asked the Home Secretary whether he is aware that under the Shops Act stationers are compelled to close their shops at 1 p.m. on one day a week and prohibited from selling stationery, books, or fancy goods, but that the same prohibition against opening or selling does not apply to railway bookstalls, with the result that stationers are placed at an unfair disadvantage in their trade; whether he will take steps to see that railway bookstalls shall, like other shops, close at 1 p.m. on one day a week, or that, if allowed to open for the sale of newspapers and periodicals, the sale of stationery, books, and fancy goods shall be prohibited during one half-day a week; and whether, if legislation is necessary to effect this, he will take steps to introduce such legislation?

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer which I gave to a question by the hon. Member for South Galway on the same subject on the 14th of last month.

asked the Under-Secretary for India whether, in order that the promised Royal Commission on the Indian currency shall possess the impartiality and moral sanction which its importance demands, those ex-Indian officials who have been actively responsible for the various Indian currency experiments of the last twenty years will be regarded as ineligible to sit on the Commission?

His Majesty's Government do not consider it desirable to narrow the area of choice in the manner suggested in the question.

also asked whether the profit on each rupee now current in East Africa and Uganda is appropriated by the Government of India on the ground that the Government of India agrees, to the limit of its ability, to convert these rupees into gold on demand at fifteen to the sovereign; and whether the sums of gold which constitute the Indian gold standard reserve, and which are the profit or seignorage on the coining of rupees, are the property of the British Treasury, and not of the Government of India, seeing that the Indian gold standard is the creation of this Parliament, and that Great Britain, and not India, guarantees, to the limit of her ability, the convertibility of the rupee into gold?

There was no profit on rupees coined before the introduction of the present Indian currency system in 1893. A profit has been realised on rupees coined since that year other than those coined from old rupees. The Government of India coined them in the ordinary course to meet its own requirements, and therefore transferred the profit automatically to its gold standard reserve. The gold standard reserve is not the property of the British Treasury, nor does Great Britain undertake any responsibility in connection with the rupee.

asked the Under-Secretary for India whether he is aware that, in a memorandum on the manufacture of glycerinated calf lymph, by Captain W. A. Justice, of the Indian Medical Service, in Progress of Sanitary Measures in India [Cd. 6538], he expresses the opinion that the best stock lymph is derivable by the cultivation of small-pox virus through four to five calves and continued without admixture; whether he has sanctioned the use of small-pox virus in India for the purpose of propagating vaccine lymph; and, if not, whether he will take steps to prohibit its use, seeing it is calculated to perpetuate small-pox?

The Secretary of State has seen the memorandum referred to. The opinion there expressed as to the superior efficiency of lymph derived from the cultivation of small-pox virus is the personal opinion of the writer and, so far as the Secretary of State is aware, does not represent the present practive in India. He will cause inquiry to be made.

asked the President of the Board of Agriculture why it is that five applicants of the Merrow Land Club, who were approved four years ago, are still without land; and, if land cannot be acquired voluntarily, if compulsory powers will be taken to satisfy their demands?

The five men in question applied for land which in the opinion of the Board was unsuitable for small holdings. They were offered suitable land, but refused it.

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether, in rural parishes containing no schools or public buildings, the parish meeting may be held on private premises?

The Board have taken the view that a parish meeting may lawfully be held on private premises.

asked the Secretary for Scotland whether there have been any, and, if so, how many, accidents caused in Scotland during the years 1911 and 1912, respectively, by the bursting of defective small arms, distinguishing the fatal from the non-fatal, and stating, as regards each case, the date on which it occurred, the nature and age of the defective small arm which burst, and whether the defect was an original defect or a defect caused by age and wear?

I am aware of only one accident caused by the bursting of a defective small arm during the years in question. This accident, which was non-fatal, occurred on 17th November, 1911, and was due to the bursting at the breech of a double-barrelled muzzle-loading gun, the age of which is not stated. The accident was due to age and wear.

asked the hon. Member for St. George's-in-the-East, as representing the First Commissioner of Works, whether he will consider the advisability of extending the upholstering of the seats in St. Stephen's Hall and the corridor connecting the Outer Lobby with the Inner Lobby of the House of Commons for the convenience and comfort of visitors?

The First Commissioner proposes to have the leather cushions on the seats moved forward a few inches and a leather pad placed on the wall to act as a back-rest. He hopes this will make the seats more comfortable.

asked the Lord Advocate whether any and, if so, how many persons were convicted of misappropriating trust property in Scotland during the year 1912, distinguishing between testamentary and other trusts and classifying the convictions according to the capacities in which the convicted persons had control of the trust property?

The information asked for is contained in the subjoined table, which, however, does not include cases of embezzlement of money collected for employers nor petty cases of misappropriation disposed of in the summary Courts, as to which I am unable to give information:—

asked whether any, and, if so, how many, persons against whom warrants of apprehension were issued on charges of misappropriating trust moneys in Scotland during the year 1912 have absconded and have not been brought to justice, distinguishing between testamentary and other trusts, and classifying the charges according to the capacities in which the absconding persons had control of the trust property?

The information desired is contained in the subjoined table:—

asked the Secretary for Scotland the number of cases in which proceedings have already been taken in Scotland under the provisions of the Criminal Law Amendment. Act passed last Session, giving in each case where a conviction was obtained, the nature of the charge and the penalty imposed?