asked the Secretary of State for India whether he can make any statement regarding the position of the Calcutta Hides Committee and the participation of persons of German origin in the trade in hides?

The matter is still the subject of consideration with the Government of India, and no statement can at present be made.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware of the very strong feeling against the participation of any firms of German origin which exists in the large and loyal British community in Calcutta?

Yes, Sir.

asked whether the Government of India contemplates the early establishment of a council of ruling chiefs with specified functions and clearly-defined powers?

As the hon. Member is aware, the whole question of Indian constitutional evolution is now under the consideration of the Secretary of State and the Government of India. It would be premature to make any statement regarding particular measures which may or may not be in contemplation.

asked the Secretary for India whether he is aware that many senior officers of the Indian Army invalided from the front or otherwise unemployed are still drawing less pay than the pensions to which they are already entitled; whether they are precluded from retiring during the War; and whether he will take steps to remedy this?

Such cases are possible. The officers concerned have in ordinary times the option of retiring on the pension due to their service or of remaining on the unemployed list and counting their service on it for increased pension. In almost every case they prefer to remain unemployed and earn the higher pension. During the War the officer is obliged by Regulation to remain on the active list, but the maximum pension is issued in lieu of unemployed pay as soon as it has been earned. I do not think, therefore, that the refusal to allow them to retire during the War involves any hardship.

Does the right hon. Gentleman mean that instead of their Army pay these gentlemen are now being paid their pensions to which they would otherwise be entitled?

No; I understand that they are qualified for increased pensions.

Meantime they are losing money by their work.

Will the right hon. Gentleman inquire into the hardship of these officers in having their unemployed pay cut regularly when they are employed as censors and in other posts under the Government?

Perhaps the hon. Member will give notice of that question.

asked what steps have been taken to settle the claims of officers for compensation for chargers slaughtered for food and kit lost or destroyed during the siege of Kut-ul-Amarah, in Mesopotamia?

Claims for chargers are disposed of at once after telegraphic communication with the Government of India. Under rule claims on account of kit are not payable until the articles lost are required for further service and have been replaced. Subject to this, all claims are settled by the India Office, any necessary inquiry of the Government of India being made by telegraph.

When officers in Mesopotamia have made their claims and could get no compensation, what procedure must they adopt?

I will inquire.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he can, consistent with the public safety and without betraying any information of value to the enemy, state who was in command of the East Coast defences against attack from the sea by enemy vessels on or about 15th January; how long this gentleman has been in command of this coast; and who is and has been for the past three months in command of the North-East Coast defences?

Since the beginning of the War it has been the practice of the Admiralty not to make public the names of naval officers holding important commands, whether afloat or on shore, and it is not considered desirable to make a departure from this practice. The officer referred to in the last part of the question has held his command for the last twenty-one months.

That being the case, can the right hon. Gentleman explain why he did not give me this answer before, instead of indulging in an unseemly outburst of simulated indignation?

This is not the moment for lecturing Ministers.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say why announcements have been made regarding the Dover Command and recent changes in that Command if it is not the policy of the Admiralty to make announcements?

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty the number of Voluntary Aid Detachment or other nurses who lost their lives on or about 31st December last, when the two large British ships were sunk by enemy action in the Eastern Mediterranean; (2) and the Prime Minister whether he is aware that a number of Voluntary Aid Detachment and/or other nurses lost their lives by enemy action on or about the 31st December last, when two large steamers were sunk in the Mediterranean with loss of life; whether he will arrange that the names of these and other nurses who have lost their lives under similar circumstances will be published in a special roll of honour, seeing they died on active service; and whether, with a view to alleviate the grief of parents and relatives, posthumous honours of a suitable class or order will be conferred upon these brave, patriotic, and self-sacrificing women and girls who have given their lives for their country?

I have been asked to reply to these questions. I very much regret to say that eight nurses lost their lives. The names of these ladies will appear shortly in the casualty lists. There has been some delay in checking the lists, but the next-of-kin have all been informed There is no order which can be conferred on them posthumously, but their nearest relatives will receive in due course the commemorative medallion which will be issued in respect of all who have fallen in the War.

While thanking the hon. Member, may I ask him whether it is possible for the War Office to write sympathetic letters to the relatives of these deceased nurses?

I think in all cases we endeavour to do so.

Will the next of kin of these nurses receive any pension or financial consideration from the State?

It. all depends. I think my hon. Friend should address his question to my right hon. Friend the Financial Secretary.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that nurses saved from these vessels have written letters home giving an account of what took place, and the Censor has declined to allow one word of the letters to be published?

The hon. Member must give notice of that question.

asked whether, although Mr. Karl Hestermann Merz, the new Director of Experiments on the Board of Invention and Research, was born in England, he is of pure German extraction; and whether in these times it would have been possible to find an Englishman to occupy this post?

The name of the Director of Experiments and Research is Mr. Charles Hesterman Merz, and not as stated. Mr. Merz and both his parents are natural-born British subjects, born in England. His father's father was born in South Germany, and settled in England about 1830. His mother's parents were natural-born British subjects. His selection for this important post at the Admiralty, for which he is pre-eminently suitable and qualified, has met with general approval, and the Board of Admiralty considers itself extremely fortunate to have secured his services, at very considerable personal sacrifice.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty why it is necessary to have as many as nine certificated engineers, six possessing chief engineers' Board of Trade certificates, in addition to other uncertificated engineers, on board vessels under Admiralty requisition, seeing that on the same ship when running for owners' account only seven engineers in all were employed?

As regards the first part of my hon. and learned Friend's question, I cannot say whether the facts are as stated, unless he will give me the name of the vessel or vessels he has in mind. Generally, I may say that it has been found necessary to increase the number of engineers in many vessels owing to the closing up of water-tight doors, thus isolating machinery compartments. In consequence of this, for the proper supervision of the working of the machinery and boilers, additional engineers have been found necessary. But the whole question of the proportion of certificated to uncertificated engineers to be borne in these vessels has for some time been under consideration, and it has been arranged that an engineer-commander and a marine engineer of experience shall advise the Director of Transports and Shipping on this and other matters.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty for how many months a certain steamship was laid up in the Clyde, and why she was laid up; whether hire money has been or will be paid for the whole period she was laid up; if so, what the hire money amounts to; and, if hire was not paid for the whole period the ship was lying idle, for what period hire money has been or is being paid, and the amount of same?

I have been asked to reply to this question. The ship referred to has been held available since February last for use in case of emergency, and for this purpose an agreement was come to with the owners by which she is maintained in this condition for payment of a very small sum barely sufficient to cover the necessary care and upkeep. The terms, indeed, are considered very favourable to the Government.

Is it the case that the number of men constantly aboard that vessel is 500?

No. The upkeep is only that which is necessary to keep her fit and ready for the very important use which has been found for her.

asked whether three further large steamers were torpedoed by enemy submarines at about the same place as those mentioned last week by the Member for West Toxteth; and how many steamers have been torpedoed at that place or vicinity during the months of December and January?

It is not in the public interest to give the information asked for in this question.

Seeing that they are torpedoed in the same waters, is it not about time that the Admiralty should give a different route?

I should be very glad it toy hon. Friend would give us the advantage of his views, and come and discuss these questions with us.

My view is to change the route.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he has any information regarding a certain steamship since she left Lamlash on or about 7th November last; and, if not, whether it must now be concluded that this steamer has been lost with all on board?

This vessel appears to have been in a convoy which was scattered by bad weather on the 76–8th November. Apart from this, nothing definite is known except that several dead bodies, supposed to be members of the crew, are reported to have been washed up at Islay.

Has not the right hon. Gentleman or his Department had any letters from wives and relatives of those on board this vessel, and is it not possible for him or his Department to give a definite answer to these anxious inquiries? Is the right hon. Gentleman surprised to learn that I have had many most pitiful letters addressed to me?

This is the first I have heard of it.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he can, consistently with the public interests, explain why a letter from the captain of a certain steamer, posted at Portsmouth on 21st January to his owner, R. P. Houston, 16, Leadenhall Street, London, was censored and not delivered until 25th January?

If my hon. Friend will be so good as to forward the envelope in which this letter was contained, I will be glad to have inquiries made, but without tie envelope it is impossible to say where or by whom the letter was censored.

Is it necessary to censor letters addressed to him?

I am not responsible for the censorship. That question should be addressed to the Under-Secretary of State for War; but if I get the envelope I will inquire.

Is it the practice to censor letters passing between correspondents in this country?

That is not a question which should be addressed to me. I am not the responsible authority. The question should be addressed to the Under-Secretary for War.

Is correspondence from one place to another in this Island censored?

That question should be addressed to the War Office.

The Parliamentary Secretary has no responsibility in this matter.

asked what were the British casualties in the recent action near die Dardanelles; and why slow-moving monitors were left in positions that enabled them to be sunk by fast warships like the "Goeben" and "Breslau"?

The casualties which occurred on the occasion in question were as follow: Six officers and 127 men were killed and 27 men were wounded. The monitors were stationed in this position as being the most suitable vessels to support the patrols, and prevent enemy mine-sweeping. The probability of attack from submarines precluded heavy ships from being kept in close proximity to the Dardanelles, as there are no suitable protected harbours. The minefields, although they did not prevent the exit of the Turkish ships, have fulfilled their function in that one ship was sunk and the other damaged when returning.

asked the Secretary to the Admiralty whether his Department, in placing contracts for vessels, still insists that a captain's gig of considerable value is ordered for every vessel; whether in war-time these gigs cannot be taken on board and storage ashore for them at some expense and trouble has to be found; and will he see that contracts made by his Department are made on a war and not a peace basis, so as to conserve the finances of the State?

The supply of a boat for the personal use of the captain is most desirable for obvious reasons, but the captain's gig is not a personal boat only, being part of the life-saving equipment of the ship. The question of the number of boats to be carried on board under war conditions has, I can assure my hon. and learned Friend, been very carefully considered.

Does the Department place its contracts as on a war basis, and not as under a peace system?

Certainly.

asked the Secretary to the Admiralty whether he is aware that his Department are not observing Agreement A 1 of the 11th June, 1917, arrived at under the auspices of the Conciliation and Arbitration Board for Government employés, to the extent that at Woolwich and Deptford women clerks are not being paid the overtime rate specified in paragraph 6, and in respect to the men the bonus awarded is not being counted for overtime as specified in paragraph 1 (a); and whether he will give instructions that the agreement shall be carried out in its entirety by the Admiralty as is done by the War Office and the Ministry of Munitions?

So far as I am aware, the agreement, which required (a) that bonus should be allowed to count for overtime; and (b) that the bonus authorised for members of the permanent staff should be granted to the temporary staff, has been applied to the clerical staff employed by the Admiralty at Woolwich and Deptford; but I am making further inquiry into the matter, and I would suggest that my right hon. Friend put down a further question on the subject about a week hence.

asked (1) whether the territorial acquisitions assigned to Italy by Article 5 of the quartipartite treaty of 26th April. 1915, were submitted before the treaty was made to the Serbian or Montenegrin Governments, or to Dr. Trumbic, or any other person on behalf of the Yugo-Slav nationality; if so, whether any of these consented to the provisions of Article 5; (2) whether the territorial acquisitions assigned to Italy by Articles 5. and 6 of the quartipartite treaty made in London on 26th April, 1915, are now regarded, or were ever regarded, as war aims of the Allies without the attainment of which the War must be indefinitely continued?

I do not propose to discuss in public the terms of the secret treaty to which the hon. Gentleman refers.

Will the right hon. Gentleman say whether there is such a secret treaty or there is not?

I do not think that I will even go that length.

asked whether the negotiations which preceded the signing of the quartipartite treaty made in London on the 26th April, 1916, were carried on in Rome or in London; and, if in Rome, who were the persons who represented the British Government in these negotiations?

The negotiations were conducted in London.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he can state the acreage of the territory in Europe claimed by France and Italy which was in the possession of the Central Powers at the outbreak of hostilites?

I would refer the hon. Member to my reply to his Questions Nos. 22 and 23 on 23rd January.

In view of the fact that the right hon. Gentleman says that he has no information, how can I get the information as to the area when I do not know what territory is being claimed?

The questions which the hon. Gentleman asks are quite obviously outside the affairs for which T am responsible. I think that he can find out for himself. At all events, I have no means of finding out which he has not.

If the right hon. Gentleman does not know the area which is claimed, he could, perhaps, tell us what the territory is, and then we could find out the area. This reply is another piece of Foreign Office trickery.

asked whether the representatives of the Allied Governments at Stockholm have addressed their Governments upon the subject of the proposed International Socialist Conference there; and whether those Ministers advised that passports should be given?

The advice given by diplomatic representatives to their Governments is necessarily confidential, like that of members of the Civil Service.

asked who, had succeeded Borton Pasha as Postmaster-General of Cairo?

Goldstein Bey has been appointed Acting Postmaster - General during the absence on sick leave of Borton Pasha, who is expected to return to his post within a month from this date.

Of what nationality is Goldstein Bey?

I understand that he is a Jew, born in Egypt, that his family are Jews born in Egypt, and that he is now under Russian protection.

Is lie a Bolo or a. Bolshevik?

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether his attention has been drawn to the fact that the official Controller of Vegetable Oils is announced to speak in support of the programme of the Empire Resources Development Committee, at Cannon Street Hotel, on the 30th instant; and whether, in view of the apprehensions created in Canada, India, and West Africa, he is prepared to take any action which will remove the impression that the policy of this Committee must find favour with the Government, otherwise members of the Government would not be found upon that Committee and advocating in public the aims and objects as set forth in its literature?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the negative. As regards the remainder of. the question, I have nothing to add to the previous answers on the subject, except that I understand that my hon. Friend referred to ceased to be Controller of Oils and Fats some months ago.

Does the right hon. Gentleman consider it desirable that a member of the Government should be associated with this Committee? In view of the fact that already members of the Government have had to disclaim sympathy with the policy announced on various occasions that large areas should be taken over from Canada and developed by us, is it not desirable that a similar course should be taken as that adopted by the right hon. Gentleman himself in resigning from the Committee?

I have told my hon. Friend that my hon. Friend in question has ceased to be a representative of the Government, and therefore it does not seem to me that any question arises which I can contemplate at all.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War if he has now issued instructions for the handing over of the amount of the credit balance of the Frongoch canteen fund to the honorary secretary of the Irish National Relief Fund (London); and, if not, will he see that this matter is dealt with without further delay?

Instructions have been issued to hand over the balance to the Chief Secretary for Ireland for disposal.