asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether the Hoffman Manufacturing Company, Limited, Chelmsford, are sub-contractors to Messrs. Armstrong, Whitworth, and Company, Limited, and Vickers, Sons, and Maxims, Limited; if so, whether this brings this firm within the Fair-Wages Clause; whether he is aware that this firm are paying adult men as low a wage as 3½d. per hour; whether he is aware that this firm print on their note-heading in red ink the fact that they are contractors to the Admiralty and other Government Departments; and whether he can see his way clear to make inquiry into the wages paid by this firm in order to discover whether they are observing the Fair-Wages Clause in their contracts?

The Admiralty have no information as to whether the firm mentioned are holding sub-contracts for Admiralty work from the firms named. If they do, the Fair-Wages Clause applies, and the main contractor is responsible for the due observance of that Clause. As to the third part of the question, the Admiralty have no information. As to the fourth part, this appears to be the case. As regards the last part of the question, this must depend upon a specific complaint in respect of Admiralty work, and it will be necessary to furnish primâ, facie evidence that the actual rates paid for particular classes of labour are below those recognised by employers and trade societies in the district, or failing such agreed rates, are below those paid by good employers. As a strike is understood to exist at the works, it would not be practicable for an individual Department to conduct an investigation under the Fair-Wages Clause unless the Board of Trade were satisfied that such action would not be generally prejudicial.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that this firm, by its own admission, is a blackleg firm, and that prior to this strike taking place they were advertising for tool makers at about 25 per cent. less than the ordinary rate of wages, and that upon the paper inviting men to come for that rate of wages they advertised the fact, and gave it the special emphasis of red ink, that they are contractors to the Admiralty; and will he take some steps to see that the firm no longer advertises or is struck off the list?

I have no knowledge of the information given me by my hon. Friend, but I will take note of it.

Can the firms mentioned in the question sub-let their work to another contractor without the sanction of the Admiralty?

Yes, in some cases.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether the Hoffman Manufacturing Company, Limited, Chelmsford, are sub-contractors to Messrs. Armstrong, Whitworth, and Company, Limited, and Vickers, Sons, and Maxims, Limited; if so, whether this brings this firm within the Fair-Wages Clause; whether he is aware that this firm are paying adult men as low a wage as 3½d. per hour; whether he is aware that this firm print on their note-heading in red ink the fact that they are contractors, to the War Office and other Government Departments; and whether he will therefore make inquiry into the wages paid by this firm, in order to discover whether they are observing the Fair-Wages Clause in their contracts?

Under the terms of the Fair-Wages Clause a contractor is responsible for the observance of the Clause by a sub-contractor. It is not known at the War Office if the firm in question is, at the present moment, supplying the firms mentioned, or other contractors, with material required in connection with Army contracts. But, as I stated on the 14th instant, I do not think that the War Office can usefully intervene, or require a contractor to intervene, while the present dispute is in progress.

asked what is the number of Maltese holding canteen positions in Home waters?

Seventeen canteen tenancies in His Majesty's ships in Home waters are held by Maltese firms at the present time.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether any aeroplanes, hydro-aeroplanes, or other types of aerial craft, are attached to any of the fleets or squadrons in Home waters; and, if not, whether he will, in view of the fact that the speed of an aeroplane is approximately twice as great as that of a destroyer, take the necessary measures to ensure that our fleets are equipped with these craft for scouting purposes?

This question is being made the subject of investigation and experiment.

Is the hon. Member aware that the First Lord stated last March twelvemonths that he hoped in a few months aeroplanes will be attached to all the fleets?

I can only say we are making experiments. I am sure he would not desire us to take hasty action in this Important matter.

The First Lord then was incorrect last March?

asked whether the principal dockyards, arsenals, and naval bases in this country are within the nominal radius of action of the German airships of the Zeppelin type acting from the German coast; and whether our fleets, dockyards, and arsenals are provided with defensive equipment against aerial attack by means either of aircraft or of anti-aircraft guns?

The reply to the first part of the question is in the affirmative, provided that the conditions are favourable. With regard to the second part, defensive measures are being taken for dealing with aerial attack.

Will the hon. Member say what is being done?

I do not think that would be very wise.

asked if the Werry type of engine installed in a pinnace attached to His Majesty's Australian Ship "Australia" has completed its trials successfully; and, if so, whether the building of engines of similar or larger sizes is under consideration?

The Werry type of engine installed in steam pinnace A2 attached to the "Australia" worked satisfactorily during its trials, but its performance was not equal to that of the types generally fitted in Service steam pinnaces. The building of Werry engines of similar or larger sizes is not under consideration.

asked whether the commissions of the new supplementary lieutenants are to be dated from their seniority as lieutenants, Royal Naval Reserve, or from the date that their names were actually inserted on the Navy List as lieutenants, Royal Navy?

The commissions of officers now being entered in the Royal Navy as supplementary lieutenants will be dated from the approximate date of their entry into the Royal Navy.

asked the Home Secretary what is the cause of the delay in submitting the Report of the Departmental Committee on Reformatories; and at what date the reception of evidence was completed?

I understand no evidence has been taken since July last, but since that date further inquiries have been made by the Committee by means of circulars and visits to schools. The Committee now hope to have their Report ready in a few weeks.

Can the right hon. Gentleman state whether there will be any opportunity for the discussion of the question of reformatories and cognate questions?

The hon. Member knows that that matter is not in my hands.

asked the Home Secretary whether his attention has been drawn to the case of John Quinn, a coloured man but a British subject, who has been prevented from hawking goods in the streets of London; and whether, in this matter of street hawking, the police have any right to make any distinction between white and coloured British subjects?

The Commissioner of Police reports that the man referred to conducts his business in the streets in such a manner as to cause serious obstruction, and he is not amenable to advice or caution. Such action as has been found necessary has been taken in the ordinary course of police duty, no distinction being drawn between one offender and another.

asked the Home Secretary whether he has received any communication setting forth facts connected with the St. David's Mining Development Company, Limited, the Voel Mines, Limited, and the Gwyn Mines, Limited; and whether the Director of Public Prosecutions will investigate these facts and take the opinion of the Law Officers of the Crown about them?

After the hon. Member had given notice of this question I received the communication to which apparently he refers. How many of the statements it contains can be described as facts I am unable to say; but I cannot help feeling much doubt as to the bona fides of representations first made ten years after the events to which they refer. I have no jurisdiction in the matter.

Will the right hon. Gentleman defer the criminal prosecution of Mr. Cecil Chesterton until he has thoroughly investigated the facts to which I refer in my question?

I think it would be obviously to the advantage of the good administration of justice if the hon. Gentleman would defer the question until the prosecution is finished.

asked whether in a district it has been decided that a mason's labourer working regularly in a mine does not come within the scope of the Coal Mines (Minimum Wages) Act; and whether, in view of the conflicting opinions on the matter and the fact that mason's labourers in other districts come under the Act, any guidance can be given on the point or any steps taken to secure uniformity of administration?

I have not seen the decision referred to, but, as my hon. Friend is no doubt aware, the definition of "workman" for the purposes of the Coal Mines (Minimum Wage) Act is contained in Section 5 (1) of the Act. The Board of Trade have no authority in regard to the matter, which would appear to be ultimately one for the decision of the Courts.

asked the Home Secretary the date upon which the Glamorgan County Council first memorialised him asking that their first aid certificates should be recognised by him for the purposes of the requirements of the Mines Act; and what are the reasons which have led to the delay in coming to a decision, particularly as these certificates are recognised by the Board of Trade and the War Office?

The Glamorgan County Council applied in April last year that the certificates which they were proposing to issue might be recognised for the purposes of the Rescue Order. It was explained to them that this would require an amendment of the Order, and they were asked to submit details of their scheme for consideration, but these were not received till the end of November. It has been necessary to examine carefully the whole question of the recognition of the certificates of bodies other than the principal ambulance associations, and this question is not yet ready for decision; but, in the meantime, the Board for Mining Examinations have decided, with a view to preventing any hardship, that a candidate for a certificate of competency who is desirous of sitting at the examination next month but has not yet obtained the first aid certificate required, shall be allowed four months after the examination in which to obtain it.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware that, notwithstanding his reply to a recent memorial that no obstacle would be placed in the way of assistant clerks serving in the Post Office engineering department seeking transfers to other Government Departments, assistant clerks who have arranged such transfers are being kept back, and the vacancies for which they applied are being filled by the Civil Service Commission with new entrants to the class; and will he say what action he proposes to take in the case of these clerks?

Requests from other Government Departments for the services of assistant clerks employed in the Post Office engineering department have been complied with whenever the circumstances permitted. For some time the Civil Service Commissioners were unable to comply with requisitions for assistant clerks, and on account of the extreme pressure of work existing in the engineering department no assistant clerks could be spared for transfer until successors were available. I am not aware, however, of any case in which the transfer of an assistant clerk has fallen through owing to this cause.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he has yet completed his inquiries regarding the demand for telephone facilities in the village of Wingham, Kent; and whether he can now say that such facilities will be provided without further delay?

The estimates are not yet complete, and I am unable at present to say if the provision of the facilities will be justified. I will communicate with the hon. Member as soon as I am in a position to give a decision.

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether, as the result of an inquiry by Mr. Collin, a Local Government Board inspector, on the 23rd May, 1912, into the housing conditions of Potterne, in Wilts, the Board has twice communicated with the Devizes Rural District Council, recommending, on the 5th July, the erection of twelve cottages, and again in September, warning the council that they are not justified in deferring action any longer though the erection of cottages might entail a burden on the rates; and whether, although seven months have elapsed since the Board issued this warning, no steps have been taken by the Devizes Rural District Council to erect any cottages for the labourers of Potterne?

I have received representations not only from the Devizes Rural District Council, but also from the Potterne Parish Council, in regard to this matter, in which the need for the provision of further cottages in the parish of Potterne is questioned, and various reasons are advanced in support of this view. In consequence, I have thought it desirable to have the matter further investigated on the spot, and one of my inspectors will visit the district for this purpose at an early date.

asked the figures of the various unions in Shropshire to show the present number of indoor and outdoor paupers over and under seventy years of age, respectively; and the corresponding figures for the same date in 1906 and the intervening years?

I will send to the hon. Member a table containing such figures as I am able to supply.

asked the hon. Member for the Stroud Division, as representing the Charity Commissioners, what were the original purposes of the Dobbinson Charity, Willington, in the county of Durham; and whether the proceeds of the charity are now being devoted to these original purposes; if not so devoted, what steps does he propose to take to restore the charity to its original character?

The Dobbinson Charity, Brancepeth, was founded by Anne Dobbinson's gift by will of 21st January, 1662, of £2 5s. a year to the poor of Willington, and other smaller annual sums to six other townships in the parish of Brancepeth. By a scheme made by the Durham County Court on 23rd March, 1857, amended in certain details by two subsequent schemes in 1880 and 1898, the whole income of the charity was made applicable for educational purposes in connection with elementary schools in the townships interested. The charity is now under the jurisdiction of the Board of Education.

asked the President of the Board of Agriculture what is the present interpretation of a farm institute towards the expenses of which Development Fund Grants are shortly to be made available to local authorities by the Board; and whether it necessarily involves the provision of buildings, either presently or ultimately?

A farm institute is intended to be an institution which, in addition to providing courses of instruction in agricultural subjects suitable for the district in which it is situated, shall also serve as a headquarters for one or more members of the staff of agricultural instructors employed in local peripatetic work. In cases in which buildings suitable for the purposes of an institute are not available it is contemplated that they must ultimately be provided either by single counties or by groups of counties.

Does the right hon. Gentleman realise that the recent circular on the subject to the local authorities does not make this absolutely clear?

It is very difficult to make it absolutely clear. Every individual case will be considered by the Board, and if the hon. Gentleman will bring any case to my notice it will be inquired into.

asked whether there are any further additions to be made to the Estimate of £630,000 for the expenses of the Land Valuation Office to arrive at the complete cost of its working, besides £20,000 for rent of district valuer's offices and £15,000 for printing; and, if so, what is the amount of them, and under what Votes do they come?

The total cost of the services rendered by other Departments in connection with the original valuation for the current year is approximately £50,000, made up as follows:—

May I ask the right hon. Gentleman whether on a future occasion it would not be possible to set down the estimate more clearly so that the whole cost will appear in a single estimate instead of being spread over a number of estimates?

If that was done in connection with this Vote, it would have to be done in connection with all other Votes, and I think that would be quite impossible.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has received a resolution from the education committee of Merthyr Tydvil protesting against the reduction of the necessitous areas Grant and claiming that three-fourths of the expenditure in excess of a rate of 1s. 6d. in the £ should be met by the Government, as originally promised, and not be subject to the limitations since imposed; whether he is aware that the notification of a further reduction in the necessitous school areas Grant was not known to the local education authority until after the estimates for the coming year were passed and will, if persisted in, mean an addition of 2d. to the education rate for the borough; and whether he will revert to the original policy of the Government to pay three-fourths of the expenditure in excess of a rate of 1s. 6d. in the £?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. The regulations for the necessitous Grants (Cd. 6224) provide in 1912–13, as in previous years, for a pro rata reduction in case the total Grants exceed the fixed sum voted by Parliament. Ample notice was thus given to the local authorities, but it is not possible to inform them of the precise reduction of their claims until the close of the year, when all the claims have been examined.

In view of the fact that the number of areas has been increased, and that the Grant is consequently proportionately smaller, may I ask whether the right hon. Gentleman cannot see his way to put an extra £80,000 in the Budget to meet the claims of all the areas?

The whole subject is at present under consideration.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many hereditaments are referred to in the objections and appeals against Undeveloped Land Duty already received by the Commissioners of Inland Revenue?

I am not, I regret, in a position to furnish the information desired. I would refer the hon. Member to the answer given on the 9th April to the hon. Member for the Horncastle Division.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in cases where tenant right has been included in the total value of land which is liable to Undeveloped Land Duty under the Finance Act, he will give instructions that no duty shall be charged unless a full deduction has been allowed in respect of this tenant right from the total value before arriving at the site value upon which the duty is assessed?

The hon. Member is doubtless aware that Undeveloped Land Duty assessed in respect of agricultural land is chargeable on the difference between the site value and the agricultural value, and that if in any case tenant right falls to be included in the former it would also be included in the latter value. Thus tenant right is automatically excluded from the net sum upon which duty would be chargeable, and the issue of any such instructions as are suggested by the hon. Member are unnecessary.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware that a claim for £3 18s. was made for Increment Duty on Mr. F. F. Schweitzer, a man belonging to the working classes, who had purchased a leasehold house in 1908 for £270, and who had sold it two years later at a loss of £10; that Schweitzer's solicitors had a correspondence on the subject with the Board of Inland Revenue, the district valuer, and others, and resisted the claim; that on the solicitors insisting that no Increment Duty was payable, and on giving notice of appeal, the claim was completely withdrawn; and that the solicitors demanded payment of their costs in the matter, and the Board without comment paid these costs in full; and will he say under which Act of Parliament or authority were these costs paid, and out of which fund were they provided?

The facts are substantially as stated by the hon. Member. The claim was withdrawn on its being ascertained that a substituted site value had been allowed by the valuer under the provisions of Section 2 (3) of the Finance (1909–10) Act, 1910, the effect of the substitution being to cancel the liability to duty. The Commissioners of Inland Revenue considered that the case was one in which the costs incurred by Mr. Schweitzer might properly be paid by them, and the payment was accordingly made out of the sums voted by Parliament for Law Costs and Expenses of Appeals, which are included in the Inland Revenue Estimates under Sub-head D. D.

asked whether it is the practice and duty of the Commissioners of Inland Revenue to set out to those who are assessed for purposes of Increment Value Duty any exemptions to which they are entitled, or whether the onus of setting out and claiming any such exemptions is held to rest on the owner of the hereditament?

It is the practice of the Commissioners of Inland Revenue to draw the attention of persons who are primâ facie liable to pay Increment Value Duty to the exemptions and allowances which may be claimed, at the time when these persons are informed of the site value proposed to be adopted on the occasion giving rise to the claim for duty. Exemptions and allowances which are obviously due are granted without claim.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Law Officers of the Crown have yet had time to look into the transactions in real estate of Mr. Lindsell, the Willesden road-sweeper, who purchased a house in Kensal Rise and sold the same at a loss of over £50: and whether he will state if the claim for £4 15s. 1d. Increment Value Duty, in respect of which legal proceedings have been threatened by the Commissioner of Inland Revenue against Mr. Lindsell, will be proceeded with?

The transactions referred to by the hon. Member are being further investigated, and I am unable at present to make any statement in the matter.

asked when it is proposed to publish the Report of the Land Inquiry Committee?

I can add nothing to the reply which was given yesterday by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister in answer to the hon. Member for Enfield.

Is it a fact that the Report is actually drawn up and about to be issued in two volumes?

The hon. Member seems to know more about it than I do.

Will the right hon. Gentleman contradict the statement to that effect that appeared in several newspapers?

asked what amount of Income Tax was paid into the Exchequer during the first seven days in April in each of the last five years?

The figures are as follows:—

asked why the Super-tax which was due during the last financial year was not collected during that year, and particularly why the collectors during the month of March made no efforts to get this tax paid?

About £3,600,000 was received in Super-tax in the last financial year, which is approximately £900,000 in excess of the estimated yield for a full year. All possible progress was made in overtaking the arrears consequent upon the late passing of the Finance (1909–10) Act, 1910, by which the tax was originally imposed. There was no relaxation in the month of March in the efforts of the Special Commissioners to get the Super-tax paid.