asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) whether it will be necessary to obtain the authority of the House of Commons for the acceptance of the liability for commercial bills and Russian Treasury Bills by the Treasury; if not, under what authority it has been done; and whether there is any precedent for the gift to private persons of many millions of public money; and (2) what is the total amount of commercial bills and Russian Treasury Bills which he has agreed that the Treasury should take over; what is the nature of the arrangement upon which the bills are taken over; and whether the Russian banks as well as the Russian Government remain liable for the bills?

The Exchequer Bonds which it is proposed to issue in exchange for the bills to be taken over by His Majesty's Government will be issued under the War Loan Acts in exchange for a cash payment from the Vote of Credit. As the payment from the Vote of Credit is within the terms of that Vote, no special Parliamentary authority is required for the transaction. The action which is being taken follows the precedent set at the beginning of the War in regard to assistance to holders and acceptors of pre-moratorium bills. The total amount of the commercial bills involved is £7,515,000, and of the Russian Treasury Bills £10,000,000.As regards the arrangements under which these bills are to be taken over, I beg to refer to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield, Ecclesall, on Thursday last, and to the official announcement by the Bank of England which appeared in the Press this morning. The liabilities of the Russian Government and of the Russian banks will remain unaffected.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland if he will state his proposals to safeguard the food supply of Ireland?

The measures taken by the Food Controller to maintain a proper supply of food apply, generally speaking; to Ireland in common with the other portions of the United Kingdom. Thus care is taken to ensure that Ireland gets her fair share of imported supplies. Where different conditions appear to require different treatment, as in the recent prohibition of exports of butter, the Food Controller acts after consulting the Irish Food Control Committee. Where agricultural questions are concerned he consults the Irish Department of Agriculture.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland if he will state the Government's proposals for the development of Irish coal mines; if he is aware that Dublin workers cannot purchase coal under 3s. 8d. per bag; and, seeing that the immediate development of the Irish coal mines would greatly reduce the price of coal and release shipping for other work, what steps he proposes to take?

The price of coal in Dublin varies, I am told, from 3s. 6d. to 3s. 9d. per bag. As regards the development of Irish coal fields, I would refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave yesterday to a question by the hon. Member for the St. Patrick's Division.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he is aware of the conditions which existed in October and November last on board a transport used on the Bombay route when the food was bad, the accommodation overcrowded, and there was no proper medical inspection; whether the men signed for their pay but did not receive it before they called at Cape Town; whether any inquiry has been instituted; and, if so, whether he is prepared to communicate the result to the House?

Careful inquiries have been made into the case which my hon. and gallant Friend has in mind. The report of the voyage does not bear out the allegations which have been made to him. There were no complaints of any kind, and there was no sickness.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether the present administration of labour units in France by means of a directorate group of headquarters is unnecessary, costly, and entails overlapping with other branches of the Army; whether he will consider the desirability of controlling labour units by attaching them to divisions or Army corps; and whether the maintenance of the roads in France is five times as much as that of roads in this country?

I am not quite clear to what my hon. and gallant Friend refers as the "directorate group of headquarters." The Labour Corps in France is administered by a Director of Labour, with the assistance of the necessary staff. The conditions at the front and in this country have so little in common that no useful comparison of cost can be made.

asked how many Staff appointments to the directorate of the Labour Corps in France have been given to officers without any technical knowledge of road engineering, and who have not had any previous war service at the front?

I am afraid that this information is not available.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether maimed and disabled men are kept at the various bases on military duties; whether men with one leg or one arm are being kept at the bases in Palestine and Ireland, for instance; and, if so, whether he will cause inquiry to be made and take steps to have such men, if they are really considered fit for military duties, brought nearer home, and, if they are unfit, discharged and pensioned?

Maimed and disabled soldiers are not put to any duty until pronounced fit for such duties as fall within the various categories. If my hon. Friend will give me details of any disabled man being improperly employed on duty for which he is not fit, I will have inquiries made.

asked the Home Secretary what number of the men imprisoned in local prisons as conscientious objectors under sentence by court-martial have been placed in fact under Rule 243a out of those who are qualified to come under Rule 243a?

Six hundred and sixty prisoners are qualified for the privilege given under Rule 243a. Of these 612 are receiving them—the remaining forty-eight have refused them wholly or in part.

asked whether Army Council Instruction No. 1,564 entirely prohibits week-end railway travelling by soldiers or whether it is only intended to minimise the amount of military week-end leave; and whether in the Western Command it has been construed to mean the total prohibition of all week-end leave to officers and men?

Week-end railway travelling is prohibited for soldiers serving at home, except in special circum- stances. The Western Command are, therefore, correct in refusing week-end leave which entails railway travelling.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War if men on short leave from France who come into hospital at home forfeit the balance of their leave when discharged from hospital; and, if so, whether this will be remedied in future?

Time spent in hospital under these circumstances counts as a portion of the original leave, and no extension is given. It is not proposed to alter this practice. I sympathise with the individuals so placed, but it is to be remembered that any alteration would be at the expense of other soldiers with an equally good claim to leave.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether two cheques for £95 were forwarded by the military authorities in payment of an account of 9s. 5d. to a wheelwright in Essex; and, if so, what steps have been taken to prevent the recurrence of such transactions?

I have at present no reason to believe that the alleged incident took place, but am pursuing inquiries. The second part of the question therefore does not yet arise.

asked the Home Secretary if his attention has been called to the unfavourable treatment of licensed hackney carriage drivers using coal-gas cars as compared with taxi-cab drivers using petrol; is he aware that the limitation imposed on the purposes for which coal-gas cars can be used, which does not extend to taxi-cabs, renders it exceedingly difficult for drivers of hackney carriages to make a livelihood; and if he will, in view of present conditions, consider a modification of the restrictions complained of, both in the interests of the drivers and of the public convenience?

I have been asked by my right hon. Friend to answer this ques- tion. A motor vehicle driven by means of gas is subject to the same limitations as to purposes of use as a motor vehicle driven by means of petrol. A motor cab, whether using gas or petrol, which is licensed to ply for hire may be driven for any purpose, but its radius of operation is restricted within the limits of the licensing area and to any place 3 miles from the boundary thereof. A hackney carriage not licensed to ply for hire is not restricted as regards radius of operation, but its use is restricted to certain purposes specified in the Motor Spirit (Consolidation) and Gas Restriction Order, 1918. I regret that I cannot see my way to modify the Order as suggested.

asked the President of the Local Government Board if he can give the average cost of residence of paupers in normal times and at the present time, and the average cost of assistance in cash value given in each of the years 1914, 1915, 1916, and 1917?

The estimated average cost per head of the paupers of all classes, in England Wales, and of indoor and outdoor paupers separately, for the year ended on the 31st March, 1914, was as follows:

	£	s.	d.
Paupers of all classes	20	2	6¾
Indoor paupers	34	9	4¾
Outdoor paupers	7	17	8

These estimates were arrived at by dividing the expenditure in each class of relief by the mean number of paupers relieved on the 1st July, 1913, and the 1st January, 1914. No general statistics are available for making a comparison of the same items of cost in recent years.

asked the President of the Local Government Board how many paupers there are over seventy years of age; how many of them have become paupers since the beginning of the War; and if he can give, separately, the number of male and female paupers over seventy years of age in each of the years 1914, 1915, 1916, and 1917, and how many of them were in receipt of old age pensions before becoming paupers?

The numbers of paupers over seventy years of age in England and Wales at the under-mentioned dates (including casuals, but excluding lunatics in asylums, etc.) were as follow:

—	Men.	Women.	Total.
On 1st Jan., 1914	31,547	25,501	57,048
On 1st Jan., 1915	31,080	24,573	55,653
On 1st Jan., 1916	29,925	24,614	54,539
On 30th Dec., 1916	27,966	23,909	51,935

The returns obtained by the Department from the several Poor Law Unions as to aged pauperism do not include the further particulars asked for in the question.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether a private car owner possessing a licence to purchase a certain monthly amount of petrol is allowed to have in stock that amount plus the remains of the previous month's supply, when the immediate use of the last-made supply is not necessary owing to the car being laid by for repair or for any other satisfactory reason, or whether such car owner would in such an event be liable to penalties for hoarding?

The possession by a private car owner of motor spirit obtained under the authority of a motor spirit licence would not render him liable to penalties for hoarding, provided lie complies with the provisions of the Petroleum Acts, 1871–1881, as regards storage.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether the shares of Siemens Brothers and Company, Ltd., which were vested in the Public Trustee under the Trading With the Enemy Act, have been sold, and if a company has been formed for the purpose of purchasing such shares; and what stipulations have been made to ensure the management of the business being kept in the -hands of British-born subjects and to ensure the business being continued in its entirety as an industry of national importance?

The shares in Siemens Brothers and Company, Limited, vested in the Public Trustee have been sold to British born subjects. No company has been formed for the purpose of purchasing the shares. One of the conditions of the sale is that the articles of association should be altered in such a manner as to ensure that the control of the company will in future be vested in British subjects and the Public Trustee received assurances as to the continuance of the business.

asked the Secretary for Scotland whether men in the Scottish police force have to serve eight years longer to earn their pension than members of the police force in England; whether men who have served their time in Scotland, over sixty years of age in most cases, are now doing compulsory service; and, if so, what recognition they are receiving?

In reply to the first part of my hon. Friend's question, it is the case that normally under the Police (Scotland) Act, 1890, a constable in Scotland has to serve thirty-four years to earn his maximum pension, while in most of the English forces I understand that the maximum pension is earned by twenty-six years' service. The reason for this difference between the two countries are explained in the Report of the Select Committee on the Police Superannuation (Scotland) Bill, 1901 (House of Commons Paper 356 of 1901), and were mainly of a financial nature. With regard to the second and third parts of the question—by Section 2 of the Police (Emergency Provisions) Act, 1915, the right of constables in Scotland, as in England, to retire on pension without a medical certificate, except with the consent of their chief constable, is suspended during the continuance of the War. The men who continue to serve in virtue of this enactment receive the full pay of their rank together with any war bonuses granted by the police authorities. I have no reason to doubt that these constables are readily giving their services in the existing national emergency.

asked the Postmaster-General how many officers of the supervising classes in the Dublin postal district are over sixty years of age; what are the special circumstances in the Dublin postal district, as apart from the Dublin telegraph office, which necessitate the retention of the men in the former office while they have been pensioned in the latter; if he is aware of the effect of this retention on the prospects of all classes on the Dublin sorting establishment; that boys who have been called in as learners are performing sorting clerks' and telegraphists' duties but cannot obtain appointments as the result of the retention of these men, and that boys who have secured the percentage of marks for appointments to the class of sorting clerk kind telegraphist are, owing to the dearth of vacancies on that class, turned into the assistant postmen's class; and whether he will take the necessary steps to retire officers over sixty years of age whose places can conveniently be filled, and fill the resultant vacancies as well as those already existing on the higher classes, and thus effect a financial saving, prevent stagnation of promotion, and open up appointments for boys who have passed Civil Service examinations entitling them to such posts?

The number of supervising officers in the Dublin Postal District who are over sixty years of age is four. In the present emergency all officers whose health, conduct, and efficiency continue to be satisfactory are being asked to remain in the service after the age of sixty, and the postal and telegraph staffs are treated alike. The learners at Dublin are being placed on the establishment after two years' service, and the boy messengers who have taken part in the general examination have obtained an adequate share of indoor appointments. I am not prepared to insist on the retirement of officers over sixty merely for the purpose of stimulating the flow of promotion or to fill supervising posts which are not justified by the present volume of work.