asked the Secretary of State for India whether he can give the House any information regarding the War Conference held at Delhi, and the offers made by Indian princes and ruling chiefs of aid to the British Government?

The Delhi Conference has been held in response to the Prime Minister's Message inviting the Government and the people of India to redouble their efforts in the common cause. The Viceroy's object in convening it was to invite the co-operation of all classes in sinking domestic discussions, in securing their active support of measures for developing the man-power and resources of the country, and in cheerfully bearing the burdens necessary to that end.

Could the right hon. Gentleman say whether the response made by the princes and ruling chiefs in India has been as much as was expected by the Secretary of State?

The Secretary of State has not yet received this information.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether all officers of battalions of the British Army serving in India receive Indian rates of pay; whether he can state what is the difference between the pay received by a lieutenant in an Infantry regiment serving in India and serving in France; whether he can say whether such officers of the British service serving in India and drawing pay from the Indian Army funds are eligible for the receipt of the children's allowance granted under a recent Royal Warrant; and, if not, whether it is proposed to extend the benefits of the Royal Warrant to the dependants of officers of the British Army serving in India?

The reply to the first question is in the affirmative, and to the second that the pay and allowances of a lieutenant of British Infantry amount approximately to £24 15s. per month, and in India to Rs. 300, plus Rs. 30 special allowance (if a New Army or Territorial officer), equivalent to £24 0s. 9d. at the rate of exchange hitherto current, and to £24 15s. at the new exchange rate of 1s. 6d. With regard to the third question, the Royal Warrant which granted children's allowance does not apply to officers drawing Indian pay. But a revision of the Indian rates of pay of subalterns, and the extension of officers in receipt of Indian pay of the grant of children's allowance is being considered by the Government of India.

Will the right hon. Gentleman make representations to hasten a decision in this matter in view of the fact that officers of the lowest rank—lieutenants—are receiving no higher pay while serving in India than while serving in France; and that, therefore, their wives and children are quite as much in need of these allowances as those officers in the British Army?

I will bear in mind what the hon. Gentleman says.

asked the Secretary to the Admiralty if boys at Osborne and Dartmouth receive during the term or the holidays rations in excess of those allowed to other boys of the same age; and, if so, what is the difference in the rations?

Perhaps my hon. Friend will put this question down again next week. The colleges are in vacation, and I have not been able to obtain the necessary information in time for reply to-day.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War if young men at Woolwich and Sandhurst receive during the term or the holidays rations in excess of those allowed to other young men of the same age; and, if so, what is the difference in the rations?

During the term the scale of rations for cadets of Woolwich and Sandhurst is the same as that for soldiers of similar age in graduated battalions. No arrangements for their feeding in the holidays are made by the military authorities.

Are they on the scale of the Home Defence Army?

They are on a special scale suitable for boys under training.

Does that apply to those at Training Cadet Schools?

I am not quite clear upon that point. Perhaps my hon. Friend will give me notice.

Is it not the case that the physical work required of these young men at Woolwich and Sandhurst is very much greater than for others?

I think it is a matter of common knowledge and universal acceptance that boys between seventeen and nineteen want a larger proportion of food than more mature adults.

asked whether any German prisoners are or have been during the last month allowed 1 lb. of butter per week?

The answer is in the negative.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War (1) what is the general rule with regard to staff- sergeants or other non-commissioned officers who are allowed to live outside camp with their wives and families in respect of rations; have they the same privilege as commissioned officers and are allowed to draw rations from the camp to be consumed at home, or must they choose between drawing their rations and consuming them in camp, or else accept 7s. per week in lieu of rations and buy their rations in the town on the usual scale allowed by food ticket to the ordinary civilian; is the general Regulation on the subject carried out at Grantham Camp; (2)whether non-commissioned officers living out of camp are not given the privilege of drawing their rations and consuming them out of camp, but have instead to accept 7s. per week in lieu of rations and live on the civilian scale allowed by food tickets; whether, as a result, such non-commissioned officers can only obtain 15 ozs. of meat per week as against a soldier's ration of 70 ozs.; is he aware that in consequence it is difficult for a man engaged in physical instruction or who may be sent abroad at short notice to keep fit; and will the War Office issue instructions that the same privileges be accorded to non-commissioned officers as are given to commissioned officers in this matter?

A soldier living with his family receives a consolidated money allowance to cover rations, lodgings, etc. When in receipt of this allowance, the soldier is not entitled to draw rations in kind. The question whether any alteration should be made in the existing Regulations or in the rate of the consolidated allowance is being considered.

Is this rate 7s. per week?

No; there is a consolidated allowance, which, speaking from memory, amounts to 20s. or 21s. a week.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether his attention has been drawn to the retail prices at which dates are selling; and whether he has considered the advisability of fixing the selling price?

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether any control price for the sale of dates has been fixed; whether there is any adequate supply in this country to enable dates to be supplied with any approach to uniformity throughout the country; and whether he is aware that the only dates obtainable in most shops cost between 2s. 6d. and 3s. per 1b.?

There are two distinct classes of dates sold in this country—Persian dates, of which a considerable quantity has been purchased by the Ministry of Food; and Tunis and Egyptian dates, of which small amounts have arrived on private account. The latter are in the nature of a luxury, generally packed in fancy boxes, and no maximum price has been fixed for them. The maximum retailprice of the Persian dates, which are now being distributed, is fixed by Order at 6d. a lb. The supply available is about one-third of a normal year's supply, and is being distributed with uniformity throughout the United Kingdom through the ordinary trade channels

Can the hon. Gentleman give us any idea when these dates will be likely to be distributed and be obtainable at the ordinary shops?

I understand that already at one or two places there are small queues of date-eaters waiting outside the shops.

asked what is the quantity of dates to be sold at 6d. per lb. which have been imported; and are they all being put on the market?

The total amount imported is 6,300 tons. Of this quantity 470 tons were distributed to the Admiralty and the Navy and Army Canteen Board, 100 tons arrived in an unsatisfactory condition, which did not allow of their being kept, and were, therefore, sold immediately; 330 tons are being held back as a reserve, and the remainder are being put on the market.

How soon does the hon. Gentleman expect the dates will be put on the market, as he says there are queues waiting for them?

The only reason for holding them back is that we are awaiting additional supplies, and desire to place them on the market at one time.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether, in view of the scarcity of cheese and the fact that it is a necessary diet for those engaged on heavy work, the Ministry would arrange for such persons only being entitled to buy cheese?

The question of the supply and distribution of cheese is at present under consideration, and I will see that my hon. and gallant Friend's suggestion is borne in mind.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food what precautions the Ministry are taking to see that only those engaged on heavy work are furnished with the special cards for heavy workers?

Under the provisional arrangement now in force, supplementary ration cards for heavy workers are issued only on an individual application, stating the nature of the work and verified by a certificate by the employer or other responsible person. The general subject of supplementary rations is under further consideration. I am in consultation with the representatives of organised labour, and hope to make an announcement shortly.

Can the hon. Gentleman say how many supplementary rations have been issued up to the present time?

No; I only know that many thousands of the forms have been correctly filled up and the applications made, but as to the exact number, I should require notice.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he is aware that the President of the Ceylon Reform League is Sir P. Arunachalam, a retired Ceylon Civil servant and a member of the Ceylon Executive Council; and whether this representative of Ceylon native opinion will be consulted in any proposal to appoint a new Governor of Ceylon?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative, and to the second part in the negative.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he has received from the Ceylon Reform League any protest against the proposed appointment of Sir Hugh Clifford as Governor of Ceylon; whether he is aware that the late Sir J. Anderson as Governor was regarded with great confidence and was popular with the whole native population, and that Sir Hugh Clifford is regarded as unsympathetic; and whether he will now announce that there is no intention of appointing Sir Hugh Clifford?

The hon. Member will now be aware, from public announcements, that His Majesty has approved the appointment of Sir William Manning as Governor of Ceylon in succession to Sir John Anderson.

May I ask whether the policy of Sir John Anderson will be continued, at the definite wish of the Government, by the new Governor?

That question does not arise out of the answer.

I will put it down.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies (1) whether he has considered the document disclosed before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council on 25th April, alleged to have been signed by Sir L. S. Jameson on 14th August, 1893; whether he is aware that this document purports to offer free farms of 3,000 morgen each to each member of the Victoria Force for Matabeleland; whether this document was issued at the time with the knowledge or sanction of the Colonial Office; on what date the Colonial Office was first made acquainted with the terms or tenor of these promises; (2) whether he is aware that in a case now being heard by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council it was disclosed that each member of the Victoria Force which took part in the Matabele Expedition in 1892 was offered fifteen reef and five alluvial claims; whether this offer was made with the knowledge or authority of the British Government; whether it has been at any time subsequently confirmed or admitted; whether it is the practice of the Colonial Office to offer such territorial considerations to persons taking part in expeditions under British command; (3) whether he has seen the report of disclosures made before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council last week, in which the loot taken in the Matabele Expedition of 1893 was apportioned as to one-half to the British South Africa Company and one-half to the officers and men of the Victoria Force; whether this arrangement, which meant depriving the natives of their means of peaceful livelihood, was made after consultation with the Colonial Office or any officials acting under the Colonial Office; if not, whether at any later date it was communicated to the Colonial Office; if so, what action was taken by the Colonial Office on hearing the terms of the proclamation of Sir L. S. Jameson, who offered these terms to the Chartered Company and its servants?

The disclosures referred to in the hon. Member's three questions have long been matters of discussion, and the facts and their bearing on the position of the natives were raised in the House of Commons at the time. They have only attracted attention now in consequence of the proceedings before the Privy Council, and I must decline further discussion of them while the case is still before the tribunal.

In view of the possible misuse of these revelations by the enemy in neutral countries, can the Government make some statement on the subject?

No; I do not think that would be at all desirable.

Why not?

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether an official memorandum has recently been sent to temporary medical officers in France whose yearly contracts are about to expire, stating that they will require to renew their agreements unless their release is asked for by some public body or by a medical practitioner requiring their services at home; and. if so, having regard to the terms of the Military Service Act, will he say why this action has been taken?

I am not aware of any memorandum of the nature suggested by my hon. Friend. A letter from the Ministry of National Service has been sent to all such officers requesting them to continue their services in the Royal Army Medical Corps on the expiration of their contracts. The letter also states that the privilege which has hitherto been accorded of laying before the Central Professional Committees any difficulties which individuals may have in continuing their services, will not be affected.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he is now in a position to make any statement with regard to the arrangements made by the Army Council with regard to the status of Volunteer officers who are called up under the new Military Service Act; and will they be transferred as officers in the Army, or will they be placed in some cadet corps for instruction, or will they have to join up as privates?

Volunteer officers and ex-Volunteer officers between the ages of thirty-five and forty-five will be sent to cadet battalions, in so far as there are vacancies. These vacancies arc, however, very few in number. Generally, therefore, the arrangement will be that they will have the opportunity of joining the Inns of Court or Artists' Officers Training Corps, where there will be special platoons appropriate to their age and class. This applies only to Volunteer officers and ex-Volunteer officers who held their commissions before the passing of the Act.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether medical men who are called up to serve as officers in the Royal Army Medical Corps are required to pay their own railway fares from their homes to London; and whether he is prepared to remedy the hardship thus caused to doctors resident in Scotland or at a distance from London?

Royal Army Medical Corps officers do not necessarily join for duty in London on first appointment, but proceed from their homes to their stations direct. Free travelling for this journey is not admissible.

asked the Minister of National Service whether a soldier invalided out of the Army before the War who had served overseas is specifically excluded from being called up under the Schedule of the new Military Service Act?

Any disabled man who has served in the field or at sea in any previous war is excepted from liability to military service by Clause 4 (a) of the First Schedule to the Military Service (No. 2) Act, 1918. If my hon. and gallant Friend has any particular man in mind I will gladly advise him as to his position.

asked the Minister of National Service whether a man who had served for nineteen weeks with the Colours and was discharged on 6th October, 1917, as unfit for war service, and is now an insurance clerk, has to find work of national importance; and, if so, within what time from the 6th October, 1917, has he to find this class of work?

Employment as an insurance clerk is not considered to be work of national importance. A disabled man who is not already on work of national importance is bound to use his best endeavours to obtain such work if he wishes to avail himself of the provisions of the Act. Full particulars of the time within which he should obtain such work and the procedure to be followed are set out in National Service Instruction 29 of 1918, which has been published and widely circulated.

Cannot the hon. Gentleman give the House some further information? How long is a man given after he has been discharged?

Oh, he is officially given a month, but in practice, in genuine cases, we use the greatest elasticity in extending that period.

asked the Minister of National Service if he is aware that in the past military doctors have not paid the slightest attention to the opinions of civilian doctors, and that, in consequence, many men utterly unfit have been called up for service at a useless cost to the country; and if, under the more serious conditions now prevailing, he will see that the opinions of civilian doctors are reasonably considered?

I presume that the statement refers to the practice of the old Recruiting Boards. Under the present arrangements for the medical examination of recruits, every effort is made not only to obtain evidence of each man's medical history, but to weigh this evidence carefully before deciding on a man's grading.

asked whether medical grade No. 2 now includes the old category B 2 as well as categories B 1 and C 1?

The answer is in the negative. The classification by grades introduced last autumn superseded the former classification by categories. There is no precise parallel between the grades and categories. Men in category B 2 are administratively regarded as in Grade 3 until they are re-examined and graded by a National Service medical board. Thereafter they are liable to the conditions affecting the grade in which they are placed.

Would it be possible to give the standard conditions adopted now?

Practically they have been published now, and I believe they are on sale.

asked whether the Order M.N.S. Form R. 49 cancels the partial exemption granted to employés of water companies over thirty-one years of age in Memorandum R. 165 issued on 5th December last; and whether, in view of the fact that the staffs of skilled men employed by the provincial water companies have been reduced to the minimum necessary for the maintenance of the supply of water in their areas, it is intended to withdraw any more of these men?

The Memorandum referred to in the first part of the question is still in operation, and is not affected by the Decertification Order of 9th April. As regards the latter part, I can only refer my hon. Friend to my reply to his question on the same subject on 25th April.

asked the Secretary for Scotland whether the circular to tribunals regarding one-man businesses has yet been issued in Scotland whereby owners of such businesses will be put on the same footing as they are in England and Wales or whether his Department has still got this matter under consideration?

The circular to which my hon. and learned Friend refers was issued at the beginning of February. It places the owners of one-man businesses in Scotland upon the same footing as similar men in England and Wales.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware that, in addition to the Excise Duty of 50s. per standard barrel of beer, a further surcharge of 25s. per standard barrel has been imposed by the Ministry of Food on munition ale, thus increasing the duty on munition ale to 75s. per standard barrel; what is the amount received from this surcharge on munition ale for the month of April and how has this money been disposed of; and whether Government Departments controlling commodities have the power to surcharge such commodities up to any extent they please without Parliamentary authority or control?

The maximum barrelage which a brewer for sale is authorised to brew under the Intoxicating Liquor (Output and Delivery) Order, 1917, may be increased, within prescribed limits, by such further amount, if any, as in his case may be authorised by licence of the Food Controller if he complies with tin conditions subject to which such licence is granted. In view of the fact that licences to brew additional beer for munition workers must necessarily be confined to brewers in munition areas, it was decided that these licences should be granted only to brewers who were willing to pay to the Food Controller for the credit of the Exchequer a fee of 25s. per standard barrel in excess of the duty. The payments for the month of April will slightly exceed £80,000. I may add that all the areas are now covered by brewers who are willing to accept this condition.

Under what constitutional authority is this surcharge made?

I shall require notice of that question. It is quite a new point to me.

Has this surcharge been made during any part of the financial year ending 31st March, and if so, how much?

That question also I shall require notice of.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware that, although it is the general practice to allow clerks to be assessed for the purposes of Income Tax on their average earnings for three years, surveyors of taxes in some places refuse to allow this, especially in cases where a clerk has changed his employment; and whether he will issue Instructions for a uniform procedure of assessing clerks on their average income, as is done in the case of professional men?

I am not aware of the eases to which the hon. Member refers, but if he will give me particulars I will look into the matter.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will favourably consider the insertion in the Finance Bill of a provision rendering professional incomes, where increased emoluments have been earned during the War, liable to the operation of the Excess Profits Tax?

This is a matter which has been very carefully considered, but, having regard to the existing reliefs and allowances in the Excess Profits Duty, the extension of that duty to professions would produce but a small yield, while diverting the energies of surveyors of taxes from other and more profitable Revenue work.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will favourably consider the insertion in the Finance Bill of a provision exempting the income of members of the legal and other learned professions who have given up their practice in order to undertake military or naval duties from the operation of the rule of the three years' average?

Provision already exists to meet the cases contemplated by my hon. Friend. In this connection I would invite his attention to Sections 11 and 12 of the Finance Act, 1917.

asked the President of the Local Government Board when he expects to be able to issue the necessary Order in Council with reference to the appointment or nomination by sailors and soldiers of proxies under the Representation of the People Act, 1918?

An Order in Council on this subject is in course of preparation, but I am not in a position at the moment to say at what date it may be possible to issue it.

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether he is aware that registration officers in the London area are delivering the new registration forms at houses without making proper inquiry as to the persons residing there and are simply leaving the forms to be filled up by the occupiers and posted to the registration officers; whether he is aware that a large proportion of these forms are not being returned; and whether, with a view of saving labour and time and obtaining efficient registers, he will instruct registration officers to make a proper house-to-house canvass and fill up the forms forthwith by their canvassers on the information obtained?

The view which I hold, and which I have represented in a circular issued to registration officers, is that a house-to-house inquiry will be necessary in practically every registration area. If, later on, the hon. Member becomes aware of cases in which no such inquiry is proposed to be made, and will furnish me with particulars, I will communicate with the registration officer who is responsible for the preparation of the lists. I hope, however, the hon. Member will recognise the extraordinary difficulties under which registration officers are working at the present time.