asked the First Lord of the Admiralty what was the total capital cost of construction and of armament equipment; what is the annual cost in maintenance and ammunition; and what is the annual cost of maintenance and pay of officers and men, including prospective non-effective charges of the "Chatham," "Dublin," "Southampton," and "Melbourne"?

The capital cost of construction and armament equipment of the "Chatham," "Dublin," and "Southampton," is approximately as follows:—

"Chatham"	…	£389,000
"Dublin"	…	377,000
"Southampton"	…	376,000

The annual cost of maintenance and ammunition for each of these ships is estimated at £23,000; and the annual cost of maintenance and pay of officers and men (including the annual liability for prospective non-effective charges) at £40,000. The "Melbourne" is a ship of the same class as the "Chatham" and to some extent the expense of building and equipment and maintenance would be on the lines of that ship. Final figures as regards first cost, however, are not yet available, and the cost of maintenance will be affected by the different conditions obtaining in the Australian Navy.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty what was the total capital cost and what is the annual cost of maintenance and pay of the floating docks at Portsmouth, Harwich, Dover, and Sheerness, and in the Medway?

Separate docks have not been constructed for both Dover and Sheerness, the dock now at Sheerness being ultimately intended for Dover. The total capital cost of the floating dock at Portsmouth was £268,745. Final figures as to the cost of the remaining three docks are not yet available, but the following estimates may be taken as approximately accurate: Harwich, £28,801; Dover (dock temporarily at Sheerness), £24,242; Medway, £278,116. All of these docks are new, and pending further experience it is not possible to say what will be the annual cost of maintenance.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty what has hitherto been the total capital cost of the naval works under construction at Rosyth; and how much more capital it is anticipated will be required before their completion?

The total capital expenditure sanctioned in respect of naval works at Rosyth amounts to £5,173,000. This sum includes the cost of machinery and expenditure defrayed from loans under the Naval Works Acts. The expenditure to the end of the financial year 1912–13 is estimated at £1,593,000.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he is aware that non-continuous naval shipwrights are debarred from entering into the new conditions of service, and that in certain cases after working under the new scheme for three months these men have been ordered to revert to the former rating and repay the extra money received; and whether he can see his way to remedy what appears to be a hardship to a class of men who are recognised experts in the various departments of their work?

The new system and rates of pay apply to continuous service shipwrights only. No case has been reported in which a non-continuous shipwright has been inadvertently placed on the new scale. But if overpayments have been made in error, they would have to be recovered in the usual way. Non-continuous service shipwright ratings, of whom there are twenty-eight now serving, are entered under a temporary engagement for local purposes, and it is not considered that they have a claim to be placed on the same footing as continuous service men, who have different conditions of service.

asked the President of the Board of Agriculture if he has received a copy of the grievances that the labourers at the Royal Gardens, Kew, have regarding their position under the National Insurance Act; and, if so, what steps he proposes to take to remedy them.

The Board are in communication with the Treasury on the subject.

asked the Secretary for Scotland whether he is aware that, in connection with the preparation of the register of small holdings, schedules are being issued to tenants who do not come within the provisions of the Small Landholders Act; and whether any obligation rests upon such tenants to fill up the schedule?

Section 33 (1) of the Act of 1911 provides that the register shall include small holdings, whether held by landholders or statutory small tenants or not, throughout Scotland. The term "small holding" is defined in Section 33 (2) of the Act. The answer to the last part of the question is in the negative.

asked the President of the Local Government Board when the Departmental Committee belonging to the question of indoor relief was appointed; how many sittings it has held and when it is likely to issue a Report; and whether he will see that before any fresh Order dealing with indoor relief is issued this House will have an opportunity of discussing the matter?

The Committee for the Consolidation, with amendments, of the Poor Law Orders, was appointed in January, 1911, and has held nearly forty meetings. They are now engaged in preparing a Report. As I have already stated, I will give careful consideration to my hon. Friend's suggestion when the proposals of the Committee are before me.

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether his attention has been called to 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), describing visits to the vaccine institutes at Hong Kong, Tokio, and the depôt at Hendon; whether he sanctions for use as the best stock lymph that which is derivable by the cultivation of smallpox virus through four to five calves and continued without admixture; whether small-pox virus is now in use at the Hendon depôt for the purpose of propagating lymph supplies or setting up any fresh strain of lymph required; and whether bull calves are preferred at Hendon be- cause the lymph collected from the surface of the scrotum is of greater activity than other lymph?

I am aware of the Memorandum referred to. As regards the source of lymph used at the Government lymph establishment, the usual method of renewing lymph is by vaccinating calves with vaccine lymph obtained from children, but in some instances the lymph has been obtained from abroad, and in such cases it would usually not be practicable to give its original sources. I may, however, state that in no case is lymph used at the establishment unless it has been passed through a series of calves. The answer to the last two parts of the question is in the negative.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, according to the Summary Table on page 21 of the Final Report on the First Census of Production (Cd. 6320), materials which cost £1,028,346,000 possessed, after being manufactured, a selling value of £1,765,366,000; and whether he will lay upon the Table of the House a supplementary Table showing the apportionment of the enhanced value, being a sum of £737,020,000, between the items of rates and taxes, interest on capital, wear and tear of machinery, rents, fuel, salaries, and wages, respectively?

As the hon. Member has stated, the value of all goods included in the Returns of Output made for the First Census of Production amounted to about £1,765,000,000. This sum includes a large value of partly manufactured goods which were sold to be further worked up, and are also included as materials in the total of £1,028,000,000 returned as the value of materials used. The sum of about £25,000,000, returned as paid for work given out to other firms, is doubly represented in the £1,765,000,000, so that the net output, the allocation of which the hon. Member desires, was £712,000,000, not £737,000,000. The particulars which, under the provisions of the Census of Production Act, may be required to be furnished do not include the information which would enable the allocation of the net output among the various heads of wages, salaries, rates and taxes, rents, depreciation, interest, profits, etc., to be made. I may add that expenditure on fuel was included in the Returns among cost of materials.