asked the Secretary to the Admiralty whether arrangements have yet been completed under which local war pensions committees can be authorised to make cash advances to the dependants of mercantile ratings serving in His Majesty's ships in the same manner as is already done for the dependants of naval ratings?

I explained to my hon. and gallant Friend last week the steps we have already token to meet the case of dependants of men of the mercantile marine engaged in our service. The outstanding question is that which he now puts to me. I explained to him that on representation to the Treasury upon this point, that Department thought that the Ministry of Pensions should be consulted, inasmuch as the advances which would be made would come from the funds at the disposal of that Ministry, through its local pensions committee. I have been in communication with my right hon. Friend the Pensions Minister, and hope to get a decision immediately, when I will communicate with my hon. and gallant Friend.

Can the right hon. Gentleman give any idea as to when a decision is likely to be arrived at?

No; it is not in my hands, but directly it is, I shall communicate with my hon. Friend and the hon. and gallant Member for whom he has asked the question on the Paper.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War if he can state when at is proposed to increase separation allowances?

I am not aware that any such intention has been formed.

asked the Pensions Minister whether his attention has been called to a resolution passed at a meeting of the guardians of the Wolstanton and Burslem Union, complaining that widows and orphans of soldiers and sailors are granted pensions which are much below the amounts paid as allotment and separation allowances, and requesting that they be paid at least the same amount after the death of the bread-winner as before, together with sickness and other grants that were payable previously, and also asking that the whole question of payments to soldiers' dependants and widows and orphans of soldiers should be reconsidered; and whether he will indicate his intentions respecting the same?

I am aware that many boards of guardians have submitted resolutions in the sense indicated in the question. The rates of pensions to the widows and orphans of sailors and soldiers have been engaging my earnest attention for some time, and I regret that a decision in the matter is being delayed by the consideration of the wider problem with which it is connected.

Which is the wider problem?

I suppose my hon. Friend is as good at answering conundrums as I am.

May we assume that my right hon. Friend has been telling the House something that he does not understand?

No, not necessarily. The question, as was indicated last week, is under the consideration of the Treasury, and I am haying a conference with my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer on Friday morning which I hope will be conclusive.

asked the Prime Minister whether he can state before the Third Reading of the Consolidated Fund Bill the proposed increases in pensions to widows and children, and the date of issue of the new Warrant; and whether any opportunity other than on the Third Reading of the Consolidated Fund Bill will be given to discuss the same?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the negative, but, as soon as a decision is taken, I shall, if there is a general desire for it, give an opportunity for its discussion. I am as anxious as the hon. Member that no unnecessary delay shall occur, but I would remind him that the proposals not only involve expenditure of a large amount, but raise social and economic considerations of the greatest complexity. It is necessary, therefore, that they should be subjected to the most careful examination, and this is being done as rapidly as possible.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that on every occasion a decision has been come to without any discussion in this House, and is he also aware that at the present moment the widow and dependants of a soldier are now receiving less than the separation allowance, and, therefore, before the decision is come to will the right hon. Gentleman definitely give us an opportunity of discussing the matter?

I do not think that would be a proper course, and I think it would be a very unusual course. I should like to say also to my hon. Friend and to the House that everyone has the greatest sympathy with the people affected, but it is the duty of the House to give some support to the Treasury when they make every effort to see that the taxpayers' interests are protected.

Are we to understand that an opportunity will be given to discuss the new Warrant before it is issued?

No; I did not promise to give an opportunity for discussion before it is issued, but I will consider that, though I can give no promise of an opportunity for discussion before the Government have made up their minds.

Has the alternative of a war bonus to cover the increased cost of food been considered?

It is just that kind of consideration which is causing the delay in the Treasury in coming to a decision, and I may say I am not so sanguine as my right hon. Friend (Mr. Hodge) that our meeting on Friday will be conclusive.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that this Warrant is the fourth Warrant? Every one has been changed because of opinion in this House, and would it not be better to allow the House to discuss it before the Treasury fix the amount?

I do not think that is historically accurate. The changes have been made to a large extent because of the changed conditions.

Nothing of the sort!

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether, in the case of married ordinary seamen or privates of the Royal Marines whose wives are receiving less separation allowances than those granted to wives of soldiers, the special grants committees are instructed to bring the amounts issued, without application from the women concerned, up to the amount issuable to wives of privates in the Army; and, if so, whether it would save unnecessary work on the part of these committees if the Admiralty separation branch issued allowances on this scale?

It is not the fact that the local pensions committee are instructed to bring Navy separation allowances up to the Army level without application. The Regulations under which the local committees work prescribe that in special cases, where the wife or dependant of an ordinary seaman, able seaman, or stoker (second class), or relative rank is receiving by way of separation allowance and allotment a sum less than that payable to the wife or dependant of a private soldier, a supplementary separation allowance may be granted not exceeding the difference. I am communicating with the Pensions Minister respecting certain aspects of this matter.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether, in the case of a soldier's wife dying and leaving helpless young children, any allowance is made, or can be made, to a person willing to act as guardian until the father comes back home?

Where a soldier's wife has died, and a guardian enters the home with the soldier's approval and takes charge of his children, local war pensions committees have power under the Regulations of the special grants committee to grant an allowance if the separation allowance which then becomes payable at the higher rate appropriate to motherless children is less than the total amount previously paid to the wife.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether his attention has been called to the publication in Paris on 3rd March of a letter from the ex-Czar of Russia to the President of the French Republic; whether the British Government or the British Ambassador in Paris were consulted before its publication; and whether he has any further information to give on this subject?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative; to the last two parts in the negative.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether the Military Mission sent by the Allies with the object of getting into the Caucasus by Baku consisted of British officers; and what is the most recent news of this mission?

Nothing can usefully be said at present on this occasion.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether it is now, proposed to recruit labour for South Africa from Nyasaland or other parts of Central Africa north of 22 degrees south latitude?

The answer is in the negative.

Has this question been so deliberately considered that a conclusion has been arrived at, or can it still be called an open question?

I have already replied.

asked the Under secretary of State for War whether the War Office has given further consideration to the question of placing the maisons tolerées in France out of bounds for British soldiers, and has come to any decision?

I regret there is at present nothing further to add.

When is it likely that an answer will be given to the question?

I think perhaps in the course of next week.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether his attention has been called to the feeling which exists among chaplains to the forces over the new rates of pay recently issued, by which chaplains with the rank of captain only receive the minimum pay of a second-lieutenant; and what step she proposes to take to remedy the grievance?

No, Sir. I am not aware of any ground for the existence of a feeling of grievance. A chaplain ranking as captain did not receive the pay of a captain of Infantry before the recent changes, and there is nothing in those changes to give him a claim to do so.

asked the Undersecretary of State for War whether the Army Council has prohibited the sale of women's boots which measure more than 7 in. in height if of leather, or 8 in. in height if of other material; and, if so, whether the Order will be so far modified as to allow of the disposal of such boots when already manufactured and in stock prior to some date to be fixed, in order to prevent waste of goods and money; and whether he is aware that relaxation of the Order for June and July only will be of little use as such boots are chiefly worn in spring and winter?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative, except in so far as it concerns boots essential for industrial or occupational purposes. In order effectively to ensure that manufacture stops it is necessary also that the sale of such boots retail shall be regulated.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that these, boots are particularly comforting in the winter, and that there will be left on the hands of numbers of perfectly innocent tradesmen large stocks, unless he can see his way to the relaxation of the Order in the direction indicated?

My information does not coincide with that of the hon. Gentleman, as I have pointed out in the answer I have given.

asked the Undersecretary of State for War whether his Department can grant any concession in the way of service at home or otherwise to those members of the Territorial Force who desire such who mobilised in August, 1914, and who have been, during the whole currency of the War, engaged on active service, in view of the fact that these men had to leave their homes and businesses without convenient preparation, and that there are many men in khaki willing and desirous of serving on the various fronts who could take their place?

Endeavours are being made to allow such men a period of home service, but I regret that in the present situation as regards man-power the opportunities are limited.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether, in view of the services rendered by the ex-soldier clerks employed in the War Office since 1901, he will favourably consider recognising these men as pensionable after fifteen years' continuous service?

This question is at present under consideration.

asked the First Commissioner of Works for what purpose Arm-field's Hotel, South Place, E.C., has been taken over by the Government; what is the sum estimated to be spent on alterations of the building; is he aware that within a few hundred yards of this building a large hotel building has been empty for many months; and why this building was not taken over in preference to a going hotel business?

The hotel in question was taken over for the Metropolitan Water Board, whose offices on the Embankment were, commandeered for the use of the Air Ministry. The estimated cost of alterations is £1,400. I am aware of the existence of an empty hotel, but the necessary alterations therein would have taken too long to effect, and would have involved the use of too much labour and material.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say how many hotels his Department has now commandeered?

I should like notice of that question.

asked the Pensions Minister whether he can state how many men have been discharged from the Army on account of tuberculosis who had contracted this disease before they were passed for service by the Army medical boards; and whether he is prepared to forward this information to the Minister of National Service?

I regret that neither the records kept by the Chelsea Commissioners before the formation of the Ministry nor those kept at the present time enable the information desired to be given.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the Ministry of National Service cancelled an Army Council Instruction dealing with the admission of these men into the Army, and will he say what effect that has upon his own Department?

I am obliged to the hon. Gentleman for the information he has conveyed to me.

Is the right hon. Gentleman not aware that these men are entitled, under the National Health Insurance Act, to tuberculosis treatment; and can he say how many soldiers discharged from camps are now receiving that treatment?

I think my hon. Friend must be conscious of the fact that he would have to put down a question if he desires information as to figures.

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether he is aware that the Military Service (Civil Liabilities) Department is sending a letter to officers who are in receipt of Grants from his Department stating that the increase in the officer's pay, together with the new allowance for children, will, in a large proportion of cases, render unnecessary the continuance of a Grant from the Department; and, if so, whether, in view of definite statements made in the House of Commons that this general increase in the rate of pay shall not affect the Grants which have been made, he will issue the necessary instruction that this and similar letters shall be withdrawn?

Grants, including grants for the maintenance of children, are made by the Military Service (Civil Liabilities) Department to officers who are unable by reason of their military service to meet certain financial obligations and are thereby exposed to serious hardship. The recent increase of pay and the new children's allowances for officers must obviously reduce or remove such hardship, and, as I informed the hon. Member for Nottingham South on the 14th February, the Department are bound in their periodic review of cases to take into consideration any alteration in an individual officer's financial circumstances. An undertaking has been given that Grants to non commissioned officers and men shall not be affected by the general increase of soldier's pay; but no statement to the effect suggested in the hon. and gallant Member's question has, so far as I am aware, been made in this House as regards the increase in officer's emoluments which are clearly on a different footing.

Are we to understand that what my right hon. Friend states is the official view that, in spite of the fact that non-commissioned officers' and men's Grants are not affected by recent increases, officers' Grants are affected, and, if so, why this difference?

My hon. Friend is a member of the Committee which decides these questions, and he must know that officer's pay stands on an entirely different footing from that of non-commissioned officers and men.

In spite of the fact that I am a member of the Committee, is my right hon. Friend not our taskmaster, and does he not decide whether we are enabled to do these things or not; and will he say what is the official position?

If my hon. Friend wants to know my position to the Committee, though I think he knows it already, he had better put down a question which will enable me to answer that question satisfactorily, and also as to my position as regards the Treasury.

asked the President of the Local Government Board if he is aware that certificates of death have been refused by registrars until the sugar card of the deceased had been produced; and will he take steps to stop such a practice?

(by Private, Notice) asked the President of the Local Government Board what steps he is taking in respect of registrars who refuse to issue death certificates until the sugar card has been surrendered; and whether he desires to modify his previous statement that there was no foundation for the suggestion that this was taking place.

I much regret that in giving the reply to the hon. Member's question on the 6th instant, I had not been informed that, owing to an erroneous interpretation of the Instructions issued by the Registrar-General, instances had occurred in which death certificates had been withheld by registrars owing to failure to produce the deceased's sugar card. I have been in communication with the Registrar-General, and a further Instruction has now been issued by him to all registrars, drawing special attention to the fact that they are under no circumstances to refuse to issue a death certificate for this reason, though they are enjoined, after registration, to ask for the surrender of the card, and if it is not forthcoming to report the fact to the Ministry of Food.

asked the Prime Minister whether, in view of the proposals for reconstruction after the War and the introduction of the Education and Ministry of Health Bills during the present Session, he will consider the desirability of all the administrative functions of the Board of Education, the Ministry of Health, the Board of Agriculture, the Local Government Board, and the Insurance Commissioners relating to Wales being grouped together in a Welsh office presided over by a Secretary for Wales who would be responsible for this Department to the House of Commons, and whose duties would correspond to those of the Secretary for Scotland; and whether he will consider the introduction of a Bill at an early date to give effect to these proposals?

I do not think that the hon. and gallant Member's proposal is practicable at the present time.

asked the Prime Minister when he expects to make a statement on the Irish Convention?

It is not possible for me at present to make any statement on this subject.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware of the amount of dissatisfaction in Ireland at the delay?

The hon. Member knows it is impossible for me to make a statement until the Convention has come to a decision. I do not control that.

asked the Prime Minister whether he is aware that there is a general desire for the discussion by this House of the projected reforms in the foreign services before any scheme is finally adopted; and whether he will give an assurance that a day will be given for the Foreign Office Vote between Easter and Whitsuntide?

It is proposed to take the Foreign Office Vote on the first Supply day after Easter in order that the topic referred to by the hon. Member may be discussed, unless it is the general desire of the House that some other Vote should be taken on that day.

Would the Prime Minister receive a deputation on this subject representing all parties in the House of Commons?

I cannot answer that without consulting the Prime Minister.

asked the Prime Minister whether the Government intend to proceed this Session with a Bill for the establishment of a Ministry of Health; and, if so, whether the Bill will be introduced at an early date?

I regret that I am not yet in a position to make any statement on this subject.

Has any progress been made with an agreed scheme as between the Government Departments concerned as to the Ministry of Health, to which the right hon. Gentleman referred in a reply some months ago?

Consultations have been taking place regularly. They are still going on, and those who are conducting them are sanguine enough to hope that there will be an agreement.

Is it not a very serious thing that all this infantile mortality should be going on, and cannot the Government give us any hope that a scheme of this kind will be brought forward at an early date?

Notice has been given of the introduction of a Bill especially dealing with that, but it does not affect in one way or other the larger question of the Ministry of Health.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much Income Tax and Super-Tax, respectively, due in January last, has not yet been collected; and how much of this has not been assessed or applied for?

The exact particulars asked for are not available, and could not be made so without specific inquiry in every tax surveyor's district throughout the United Kingdom. The Board of Inland Revenue, however, inform me that the progress of the assessment and collection during the current year is fully up to the average, and they anticipate that about 90 per cent, of the amount due on 1st January, 1918, will reach the Exchequer before the 31st instant.

Can my right hon. Friend give any estimate of the amount of money to be carried into the financial year on this account?

I cannot give it without notice.

asked the Minister of Reconstruction whether he is aware that numbers of Army officers are now being returned to civil life as being over age for active military duty; whether the Officers' Resettlement Committee, in conjunction with the Ministry of Labour, is prepared to deal with such cases; and, if so, whether steps will be taken to ensure that such officers who require employment shall be fully informed as to the steps they should take in order to avail themselves of this arrangement?

I have been asked to answer this question. My right hon. Friend the Minister of Labour is aware of the circumstances mentioned in the first part of the question. Arrangements are now being made on the lines proposed by the Officers' Resettlement Committee to assist ex-officers upon their return to civil life, and steps are being taken to bring these arrangements to the notice of the officers concerned.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether he is aware that the Treasury Sick-Leave Regulations operate harshly in the case of Civil servants discharged from the Army on account of sickness or wounds; and whether, seeing that these Regulations were not designed to meet the present abnormal conditions, he will consider, in the case of discharged soldiers, the possibility of suspending the Regulation which reduces a man to half-pay at the end of six months?

(Joint Financial Secretary to the Treasury): The primary responsibility for meeting the case of Civil servants, as of other soldiers, who are discharged from the forces on account of sickness or wounds, rests with the Pensions Ministry. Civil servants are, however, given their ordinary sick-pay privileges, provided that the amount of Civil pay issued does not exceed, with Army or Navy pension, the full pay of their posts. These privileges, therefore, represent a benefit beyond what the ordinary private employé would obtain, and I am not at present satisfied that there is any ground for increasing them.

Is my hon. Friend conversant with the fact that these men are in a special position and that the existing Regulations refer to normal conditions, and would he not, therefore, be prepared to consider these abnormal conditions?

asked the Minister of Munitions if he will state on what terms public moneys to the extent of £120,000 have been advanced to the Shropshire, Worcestershire, and Staffordshire Electric Power Company, and also the terms of the further proposed loan of a sum not exceeding £80,000; if he has compared those terms and conditions with those imposed upon local authorities for similar purposes at the present time; and if he will say how they compare?

Under an agreement dated the 1st April, 1917, the Minister agreed to advance £100,000 to the Shropshire, Worcestershire, and Staffordshire Electric Power Company on the security of £120,000 of that company's second debenture stock, forming part of an authorised issue of £200,000 second debenture stock. This loan bears interest at the rate of 1 per cent, above current bank rate with a minimum of 5 per cent, per annum, and is repayable by ten equal annual instalments, the first annual instalment to become due and payable on the 1st day of January, 1919. The whole of this loan has now been advanced.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether an Order of universal application, for the duration of the War, has been made whereby on account of the restricted train service return tickets are made available for the return journey by any route that suits the Convenience of the holder of the ticket irrespective of the fact that the route selected by the traveller for the return journey is owned by a different railway company to the company which originally issued the ticket, provided that both railway companies come under the jurisdiction of the Railway Executive Committee; and, if so, whether this Order overrides any local Orders or exceptions that an individual railway company may have made?

No such general Order has been made. The general practice now is that passengers holding ordinary tickets covering points directly served by two or more companies' routes arc allowed to travel, for the throughout journey only, by any of such recognised routes.

Arising out of that reply, may I ask the hon. Gentleman whether he is aware that season ticket holders are not allowed this convenience?

asked the hon. Member for Sheffield (Central Division) whether he can state the exact number of British prisoners of war that are now interned in Holland under the recent exchange scheme; and how many have also been returned to this country up till now under the same scheme?

Three hundred and thirty-three officer prisoners, 1,466 non-commissioned officers, and 107 naval ratings have been transferred to Holland, and 733 combatant prisoners of various ranks, and 64 medical personnel have been repatriated. Eighty-two civilian prisoners of war have been transferred to Holland up to the present time, and 378 have been repatriated. In addition to these figures, 119 civilians are expected to be repatriated in the course of a day or two

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether he will consider the possibility during the present Session of introducing legislation to amend Section 7 of 25 and 26 Vic, c. 83 (Irish Poor Law Further Amendment Act, 1862), by giving power to a board of guardians, on the recommendation of a medical officer, to send any poor person, whether an inmate of the workhouse or not, to an extern hospital for treatment?

As stated by my hon. Friend the Solicitor-General in a written answer to a question by the hon. Member for West Cavan in the OFFICIAL REPORT of Monday last, representations as to the necessity for such an amendment in the law have been received and are being considered.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Government intend to take any steps to extend the Courts Emergency Powers Acts to houses of all rentals and values in those districts free from air raids, where hardship is being inflicted upon the present tenants through the profiteering by increasing rents or attempts to force tenants to buy at excessive prices to keep their houses over the heads of their wives and families?

I have been asked to answer this question. I cannot give any undertaking that the limits of rental in the Increase of Rents and Mortgage Interest (War Restrictions) Act, 1915, will be widened.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office why a quartermaster with the rank of captain should only receive the same pay as a second-lieutenant; and whether ho will consider the injustice of this, especially with regard to temporary quartermasters appointed during the early stages of the War?

I would refer my hon. and gallant Friend to the reply which I gave on the 25th February to my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for East Belfast.

Will my right hon. Friend say why these officers do not receive the increased pay?

My hon. and gallant Friend knows perfectly well that quartermasters' pay does not depend on rank, but on the length of service as quartermaster.

asked whether officers who have been compulsorily retained in the Service without the retired pay to which they were entitled have been recently gazetted out and offered re-employment on the pay of their rank, but without their retired pay; and, if so, whether these officers will be placed on the same footing as the re-called officer and be permitted to draw their retired pay?

An officer retained in the Service is not entitled to retired pay. But I understand my hon. and gallant Friend to refer to cases in which officers retired during the War have been warned that, if voluntarily re-employed, they will not be entitled to claim full pay in addition to retired pay. This is in accordance with the Royal Warrant published as Army Order 235 of August last.

Then I understand that they will be allowed to draw their retired pay whatever extra is given?

The officers' retired pay is always safe. You cannot touch that.