asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether, in August and September, 1912, eight scouts, employed as flotilla cruisers, were paid off ostensibly to be fitted with a heavier armament; whether this work could have been completed in at most two weeks, but is still, after six months, not completed; and whether the paying-off of these vessels formed an excuse for utilising their crews to man vessels which had just been completed?

All possible speed has been used in rearming and retubing the Scouts. It is not understood how the hon. Gentleman could have been led to suppose that seventy-two 4-in. guns could be manufactured in a fortnight.

asked whether the accountant branch of the Navy is so short-handed in the higher ranks of both officers and men that neither assistant-paymasters nor senior writers have in several cases been able to obtain either foreign service or Christmas leave; and whether assistant-paymasters and clerks have during the last six months applied to leave the service in greater numbers than in any previous period?

In reply to the first part of the question, there is at present a temporary shortage in the numbers of assistant-paymasters and clerks available to meet requirements, which has resulted in the curtailment of foreign service leave in several cases; but I am not aware that this has led to the stoppage of Christmas leave, which is granted without reference to the Admiralty. There is no shortage of senior writers, but in exceptional cases leave may have had to be curtailed. This is a matter which would be regulated locally. The answer to the second part of the question is in the negative.

Will the right hon. Gentleman kindly get more assistant-paymasters and senior writers in order to snake up for that shortage?

asked if one of His Majesty's ships is on her way to Syracuse to take the Papal legate to Malta; and if this act of courtesy is strictly in accordance with precedent?

Permission has been given for His Majesty's ship "Hussar," the Commander-in-Chief's yacht, to convey the Papal legate from Syracuse to Malta on or about 21st April. Similar facilities were given in 1905.

May I ask if the same courtesy is extended to the heads of other religions?

This is according to precedent; and the precedent has not been established without full review of all the special circumstances of the case.

asked the Postmaster-General whether his attention has been drawn to the necessity for improving the telegraphic facilities for the locality of Rutland Square, Dublin; whether he is aware that the nearest telegraphic office is one-third of a mile away; that a postal and money office exists at Granby Row, a few yards from Rutland Square; and, seeing that representative opinion has been expressed to him by numerous public bodies and private residents in the neighbourhood in favour of the opening of a telegraph office at Granby Row, whether he will meet the public convenience by extending telegraphic facilities to the Granby Row post office?

I have been making inquiries concerning the provision of telegraph facilities at the Granby Row Post Office, Dublin, and I will acquaint the hon. Member with the result as soon as possible.

asked the Postmaster-General whether telephones cannot now be erected, under the scheme as brought out by himself for rural telephones by party-lines, on account of the funds being exhausted; and if this fund will be renewed and how many rural party-lines have been erected?

The amount already authorised by the Treasury for the experimental provision of rural party-line telephones has been expended or allocated to lines under construction, but I have requested and hope shortly to receive authority for further expenditure which will meet all public requirements until the scheme can be put on a settled basis after adequate experience of its working. About 900 subscribers are being served by lines of this class or are about to be served by lines now being constructed, and the proposals now under consideration will provide for about 500 more subscribers.

Can the hon. Gentleman tell us how many have absolutely been completed and how many new schemes have been refused?

I can only state that about 900 subscribers are either served or are about to be served by the lines under construction, and that about 500 more are about to be provided for.

asked what steps the Postmaster-General is taking to extend the telephone system to districts where it is not yet available; and whether it is the policy of the Post Office to refuse facilities unless sufficient local support is forthcoming to make the extension profitable to the Department?

Telephone district managers are responsible for inquiring and reporting as to the provision of telephone facilities at places not already served. Fifty-one new exchanges were opened in the year 1912. Extensions are made even if they are not remunerative at the outset, provided that they are not likely to involve a loss to the taxpayer for any considerable period.

Is not that the same argument as was put forward by the National Telephone Company? Would the difficulties be remedied by the nationalisation of the telephones?

I do not think we are following a very different policy to that followed by the National Telephone Company.

asked the Postmaster-General whether, in view of his refusal to lay the Report of the late chief engineer of the Post Office on the Continental system of telephony before Parliament, he will inform the House whether that authority reported on the automatic systems installed in Germany and elsewhere; and whether and in respect of which systems examined by him his Report was favourable?

The Reports in question so far as received contain only a few general observations on some of the automatic and semi-automatic exchanges installed by Messrs. Siemens and Halske on a system based on the American "Strowger" system. A favourable view is expressed of the mechanical and electrical efficiency of the apparatus. The present engineer-in-chief and other officers of the Post Office have visited a number of automatic exchanges in Holland and Germany which are all constructed on the system mentioned above, and have obtained detailed information as to their working.

Do I understand that the Government are making experiments with other systems as well as those recommended by the authorities?

No. We are making full inquiries in connection with all systems.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he is fully maintaining all the provisions made by the late National Telephone Company for bringing to the notice of the public the advantages of telephonic communication?

I am fully maintaining the contract staffs of the various districts by whom this work was done under the National Telephone Company.

Is the Postmaster-General maintaining a staff of canvassers to bring the telephones to the notice of the public in the same way as the National Telephone Company did?

No, Sir. As a matter of fact canvassing has been temporarily discontinued in localities where, for the time being, we have a shortage of plant.

asked how many people have applied for connections at the special rate for farmers lines, how many of these have signed orders, and how many have actually been connected with the system; and whether the developments of this system has been retarded by Treasury restrictions?

It is not practicable to say precisely how many people have applied for rural party lines. About 900 agreements have been accepted, and by the end of last month about 450 subscribers were using the service. Proposals under consideration will provide for approximately 500 more subscribers. Some delay has arisen recently in dealing with applications for such lines owing to the necessity for applying to the Treasury for authority to exceed the experimental Grant of £10,000. I am in communication with the Treasury on the subject.

Can the hon. Gentleman state in what counties the party line system is in or will shortly be in operation?

I must ask for notice. But it is in operation in a number of counties.

asked what amount was estimated to be spent in telephone construction from March, 1912, to March, 1913; how much of this has already been expended; whether the balance will be sufficient to fully reach all requirements; and, if not, whether a Supplementary Estimate will be asked for?

It was estimated that £2,700,000 would be spent out of telephone capital on telephone construction during the year ending the 31st March, 1913. The amount actually spent cannot at present be stated, but it is clear that a considerable sum remains unexpended, mainly on account of the difficulty of obtaining an adequate number of skilled men to carry out the work. As the money required for this purpose is not provided by a Parliamentary Vote but by loan authorised under the Telegraph Acts, no question of a Supplementary Estimate could in any case arise. The expenditure in the year 1913–14 will be considerably greater than during the financial year, which ends to-day.

asked the Postmaster-General why the mail-car service between Ballina and Belmullet, county Mayo, which for upwards of sixty years has provided the only public facility for the conveyance of passengers over the forty miles covered by the service, is about to be withdrawn and a van service for the conveyance of mails only proposed to be substituted, thus completely isolating this large area, with its poor and scattered population; if he will state what steps Lave been taken by the Post Office to obtain from some other of the Irish Departments a subsidy or indemnity, and with what result; and will he now undertake to continue for a time the existing service, with a view to having arrangements made to keep up a service for the traffic of passengers between Ballina and Belmullet?

The present situation arises, first, from the diminution in the receipts earned in respect of passengers by the vehicles which convey the mails, with the result that the previous arrangement could not be continued without a very large increase in the subsidy paid; and, secondly, from the refusal of the Congested Districts Board and the Board of Agriculture to subsidise the conveyance of passengers. In these circumstances the Post Office, which has no funds at its disposal for the provision of passenger facilities, has had no option but to provide a service for the conveyance of mails only.

In consequence of the unsatisfactory nature of the reply I shall raise this question on the Adjournment.

asked the Vice-President of the Department of Agriculture (Ireland) whether his attention has been directed to the fact that a quantity of potatoes are ready for export from Arran Isles at the present moment, but the shipment freight is so high as to prevent the possibility of marketing them in Galway or Liverpool except at ruinous prices; and whether he will communicate with the different shipping companies concerned with a view of striking a rate which will enable those island fishermen to dispose of their surplus stock?

The Department's attention had not previously been drawn to this matter. Their inspector reports that although the bulk of the potatoes grown in the Arran Islands is employed for home use small quantities may be shipped at this season to the mainland for seed purposes. The consignments, however, are usually so small that it would be difficult to get a special rate for them.

Will the right hon. Gentleman take steps to see if any assistance can be given to these people?

The Arran Isles are under the Congested Districts Board's jurisdiction, and application should be made to that body.

But is not this a matter of sufficient importance to engage the attention of the right hon. Gentleman?

It is an arrangement made by Parliament that certain parts of Ireland should be transferred to the jurisdiction of the Congested Districts Board, but I shall be very glad to do anything I can.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is aware that in connection with Holloway Gaol there is a minister of religion, appointed by the Islington Free Church Council to visit Nonconformist prisoners of all Free Church denominations except Wesleyan Methodists, and who has in three years dealt with 365 cases and has had as many as forty cases on hand at one time, and has never received any remuneration from the Government for his services; is he aware that in connection with the same gaol there are two clergymen, one of whom is provided with a house and a salary of between £300 and £400 a year, the other receives £200 a year, and a Roman Catholic priest who receives £100 a year; and, if so, whether he proposes to take any action in the matter?

The daily average number of Nonconformist prisoners, other than Wesleyans, in Holloway is in ordinary times about six, but last year, owing to the presence of suffragist prisoners, the average increased to twelve. The other clergy alluded to in the question have the spiritual care of far larger congregations; but if any application for payment is made by the Free Church Council or by the minister it shall be carefully considered.

Will the right hon. Gentleman consider the desirability of extending further this equitable system of concurrent endowment?

I have nothing to add to the answer I have given.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware there are certain people going about saying that no State Church clergyman is paid by the State?

Order, order.

asked the right hon. Gentleman whether the Irish railway companies are prepared to accept a distinguishing mark and the name and station of destination on packages of butter and eggs in lieu of the proposed full name and address of the consignee, as the British railway companies have already expressed their willingness to do; and, if not, whether he will immediately urge them to do so in the interest of this Irish industry?

asked the right hon. Gentleman if his attention has been called to the fact that chambers of commerce in Ireland have protested against the new Regulations of British and Irish railway companies requiring that all goods consigned by rail, with certain exceptions, shall in future be fully addressed; if the Irish railway companies are prepared to accept a distinguishing mark and the name of the station of destination as sufficient; if these regulations apply to foreign imports as well as to home produce; and if he will take action to induce the railway companies to withdraw these Regulations, which are opposed to the interests of Irish traders and exporters?

I have communicated with the Irish Railway Clearing House on the points raised, and will inform the hon. Members of the result in due course.

Will the right hon. Gentleman give a promise to use his influence to get the railway companies to reconsider the question, and is he aware that the Regulations, which I understand will come into force to-morrow, will enable the railway companies to greatly increase the charges on Irish produce and compel shippers to give the names of their customers to their competitors?

I must wait until I hear from the railway companies before I reply to that question.

Will the right hon. Gentleman, pending the decision of the railway companies, withhold the right of the railway companies to insist upon these Regulations being carried out?

I have no such power as that.

asked the right hon Gentleman whether the shippers of Irish produce have the strongest objection to placing the name of the station or the destination on the address cards of packages, as it would expose their trade almost the same as if the address were put in full; and whether, in view of this fact, he will urge that the new rules laid down by the British and Irish railway companies be so altered as to leave unaffected the custom in regard to this matter which has existed for the last forty years?

As I have already stated, I am in communication with the Irish Railway Clearing House on the subject. I presume that the traders affected have made representations to the companies on their own behalf.

Will the right hon. Gentleman press the railway companies to withhold or delay enforcing these regulations for, say, a month or two, to give the public an opportunity of expressing their opinion upon the matter?

I will consider that. I am afraid I have no power to do so. I may make representations. Perhaps the hon. Gentleman will communicate with me?

asked the right hon. Gentleman what provision has now been made for ensuring the safety of passengers in the event of another "Titanic" disaster; if it is possible to provide boat accommodation for all passengers and officers and crew, with a reasonable prospect that such boats can be lowered into the water; and, if not, if he will consider the desirability of prohibiting the cumbering of the deck with large lounge chairs, and provide suitable seats which could be formed at short notice into commodious rafts?

The new rules for lifesaving appliances, which are now in operation, require all foreign-going passenger steamers to carry boats sufficient to accommodate the total number of persons on board, and they also require efficient means to be provided for lowering all the boats into the water.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that in many cases, even if sufficient boats are carried, it is absolutely impossible to lower them, and will he not do away with this stupid system of covering the decks with boats?

Under the new rules they will have to see that the boats can be properly and efficiently lowered.

asked the right hon. Gentleman whether potato merchants in the counties of Perth, Fife, and Forfar have a grievance against the Caledonian Railway Company in the matter of the shortage of waggons for the conveyance of potatoes; whether he is aware that, unless a reasonable supply of waggons is furnished without delay, such merchants will suffer considerable financial loss within the next few weeks; and whether the recent representations made to the company have produced any effect?

My attention has been called to this matter, and I have communicated with the railway company, but have not yet received a definite reply. I will inform my hon. Friend as soon as I do so.

How long ago is it since this communication was sent?

I could not say without notice.

Will the right hon. Gentleman urge the railway company to make an immediate reply, as it is a question of very great importance to those concerned?

I will remind them of it.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he is aware of the desire expressed in the West Indies for the establishment of a university of tropical agriculture for the purpose of teaching and research; and if he will give the proposal his most favourable consideration?

I am aware that the question of providing facilities for training and for research work in tropical agriculture is attracting attention in the West Indies and elsewhere, and I need hardly state that any practical scheme that may secure adequate support will be assured of my sympathetic consideration. I do not, however, think that anything in the nature of a university would come within the scope of that description.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether certain foreign countries and great municipalities abroad issue either daily or weekly a newspaper which contains all official announcements and advertisements for all posts under Government or municipalities, and items of news of a reliable and unsensational nature, and that such newspapers produce profits, being sought alike by public servants and the public for reliable intelligence; and whether, with the object of obtaining such benefits for our country and of gaining a new source of revenue, he will consider the possibility of establishing an official journal of this nature in Great Britain?

The existing machinery for advertising Government posts in this country appears to be adequate, and my right hon. Friend is not prepared to take the steps suggested in the question.

Is the revenue adequate, and will the right hon. Gentleman consider whether more revenue could not be obtained in this way?

I will make further inquiries.

asked the right hon. Gentleman whether he is now collecting the Undeveloped Land Duty for this year, together with three years' arrears, even in cases where the valuation is not yet completed; and, if so, whether, having regard to the fact that no one could know whether they were liable for the duty or not until a valuation had been made, he could make some arrangement to mitigate the hardship on taxpayers of having to pay four years' taxes at once owing to circumstances over which they at least could have no control?

Undeveloped Land Duty is being collected as stated in the question where provisional valuations have been served, though they have not yet become finally settled, the procedure adopted by the Commissioners of Inland Revenue being warranted by the provisions of Section 27 (6) of the Finance (1909–10) Act, 1910. With regard to the second part of the question, any individual case of hardship that may arise will be dealt with by the Commissioners on its merits.

Will the right hon. Gentleman consider the advisability of taking a bond from those by whom this duty is payable, instead of taking money from them, which is so difficult to recover afterwards in the event of the valuation being fixed lower?

I will certainly call the attention of my right hon. Friend to the suggestion made by the hon. and gallant Gentleman.

asked the right hon. Gentleman whether, in view of the difficulties in recruiting for the Territorial Army and by way of setting an example to other employers, he would be prepared to sanction full pay being given to clerks and others employed in the Civil Service while attending camps and drills without any loss of leave?

As at present advised, my right hon. Friend is not prepared to increase the existing facilities, which are now of several years' standing, and are, in his opinion, sufficiently liberal.

Does the right hon. Gentleman consider it reasonable that persons in the public service should suffer pecuniarily because they join the Territorials?

The hon. and learned Member must not forget that they are allowed full pay for one week.

For one week only, even if they go to camp for fifteen days.

When the right hon. Gentleman says the terms are sufficiently liberal, does he judge by results?

Oh, yes, Sir.

Will the right hon. Gentleman give full pay for two weeks?

I will represent to my right hon. Friend the views put forward by the hon. and gallant Gentleman.

asked the right hon. Gentleman what are the figures on which he bases his statement that the Legacy Duty paid on gifts to voluntary hospitals has averaged, approximately, £100,600 during the years 1907 to 1910; on what grounds he defends the admitted differentiation in favour of Irish hospitals; and whether he has made any calculation of the extra financial burdens already falling, or likely to fall, on the voluntary hospitals of Great Britain through the National Insurance Act?

The approximate estimate of £100,000 for Legacy Duty paid on gifts to hospitals and kindred institutions is based upon the opinion of my right hon. Friend's expert advisers, and is supported by the statistics of legacies published annually in "Burdett's Hospitals and Charities." The exemption of Irish hospitals dates from 1807 when Parliament in the Irish Stamp Act of that year conferred an exemption from Legacy Duty upon legacies by the wills of Irish testators in favour of Irish charities. The exemption has been confirmed by Parliament on several occasions since although it may be that if the matter were now being considered for the first time the exemption would not be granted. The answer to the last part of the question is in the negative.

asked the Prime Minister if he will say what steps he proposes to take to carry out the recommendations of the Report of the Royal Commission on Divorce?

The Prime Minister has asked me to answer this question. I can only say that the important and far-reaching questions raised in the Report of the Royal Commission are under the consideration of the Government.

Would not this be a suitable Session in which a matter such as this could be discussed?

I will consider the suggestion of the hon. Member.

Does the right hon. Gentleman think that any measure embodying these recommendations is likely to be non-contentious?

No, Sir, I do not, unfortunately.