asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether an offer was made on 27th April to the Treasury by the Conciliation and Arbitration Board to hear the claim of the Federation of Women Civil servants for increased remuneration; whether any answer has yet been given to this offer; and, if not, whether this prolonged consideration is likely, at an early date, to mature into a decision favourable to the hearing of the application?

The necessity of consultation with the Departments concerned has caused some unavoidable delay in considering the claim of the Federation which has been received through the Conciliation and Arbitration Board, but I hope that a reply will be sent very shortly.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether the Treasury Committee on the Issues of Fresh Capital received an application, dated the 7th May last, from a well-known firm of solicitors in London on behalf of their clients for permission to register the Irish Coal and Lignite Company, Limited, for the purpose of developing coal and lignite deposits in the counties of Tyrone, Antrim, and other parts; seeing that the application stated that the company would be a private one and the capital would be subscribed in cash by the directors and their friends and owing to the urgency for producing fuel for the coming winter, will he state whether the necessary permission to register this company has been granted; and, if not, will he state why this matter should be further delayed?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative, and to the second part in the negative. As regards the third part of the question, the application has involved investigation by other Government Departments, and these investigations are not yet complete.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury if he will state the number of old age pensioners, male and female, and rates of pension on 31st March, 1918, the cost of old age pensions, the cost of administration, and the cost of additional allowances in the year 1917–18; the number of pensioners in receipt of the additional allowances; whether any pensioners are in receipt of additional allowances of less than an amount of 2s. 6d. a week, and, if so, why; will he give the number of such cases; the number of old age Pension claims refused in the year 1917–18, giving the number of eases on account of income, convictions, pauperism, and alien disqualification; the number of deaths of old age pensioners; and the number of claims to old ago pensions in the year 1917–18?

The answer to the several parts of this question is as follows:I. Number of old age pensioners and rates of pension payable on the last Friday in March., 1918:

5s.	…	…	881,881
4s.	…	…	19,698
3s.	…	…	22,840
2s.	…	…	11,767
1s.	…	…	6,888
Total	…	…	943,077

Separate figures cannot be given of the number of men and women in receipt of pensions at the various rates. Of the total of 943,077 pensioners, 336,581 were men and 606,496 women.II. Approximately £11,855,000.III. Approximately £500,000.IV. Approximately £5,204,300.V. Of the total of 943,077 pensioners, 933,572 were in receipt of the additional allowance as well as of the pension.VI. and VII. No pensioners have been in receipt of additional allowances at a less rate than 2s. 6d. a week since the new scheme of additional allowances came into force on the 10th August, 1917.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether he is aware that a meat or bacon coupon has to be given up for dripping; if he can see his way clear to remove such a restriction, as this commodity is largely used by poor persons in the place of butter and margarine; and if he will take action in the matter?

This point is under consideration, and I hope that it will be possible to give an early decision upon it.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food if he will amend the Paper Restrictions (Prohibition of Returns) Order, 1918, by fixing prices to the retailer for publications under this Order, such prices not to exceed two-thirds of the published price in order to ensure the public regularity as to receiving their papers and to safeguard retailers from a possible heavy loss; and if he will consider the appointment of a representative of the retail traders on his advisory staff?

My right hon. Friend has asked me to answer this question. The President of the Board of Trade regrets that he does not see his way to adopt these suggestions.

asked the Secretary to the Admiralty whether his attention has been drawn to the fact that in American papers recently arrived is published a full list of the merchant ships built in America in the month of April, 1918, prepared by the Statistical Department, executive and administrative division, together with exact particulars concerning the name and situation of the shipbuilding company, the size, the date of laying keel, the date of launching, and the date of completion of each vessel; and whether he is now prepared to publish corresponding particulars, with respect to all vessels built in the United Kingdom, at least monthly?

I have not yet been able to obtain copies of the papers referred to by my hon. Friend, and therefore have no knowledge, except that conveyed in his question, as to the amount of information given to the public in America. The Controller-General of Merchant Shipbuilding has, of course, the most detailed particulars respecting the progress of ship construction in the United Kingdom, but he is not prepared, as at present advised, to meet the suggestion of my hon. Friend. Of course, each month's total of completed new tonnage is published on the first Thursday after the 3rd of the succeeding month. The Controller-General concurs with the naval view that to give particulars such as are indicated in the question would be valuable to the enemy.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether an officer in the field granted acting rank is deprived of such rank if another officer is drafted into his unit; and, if so, whether he will consider the desirability of allowing all officers who have held acting rank on active service for three months to retain such rank whilst they are serving?

An officer granted acting rank is only given such rank during the temporary absence from duty of the substantive holder of that rank. The suggestion in the last part of the question is not considered desirable, as it would result in creating more officers in the higher ranks than are required.

asked the Minister of National Service whether he is aware of the dissatisfaction caused by the National Service representatives constantly appealing against exemptions granted by local tribunals to one-man business cases; and whether he will issue instructions that such exemptions are not to be appealed whenever the exemption has been granted unanimously?

I am not aware that there is any general dissatisfaction of the kind suggested. The fullest and most careful instructions have been given to tribunals by the Local Government Board in conjunction with the Ministry of National Service with the object of mitigating the hardships inevitably suffered by proprietors of one-man businesses in time of war, but I am not prepared to restrict the discretion of the National Service representatives in exercising a right of appeal, which is equally exercisable by the man applying for exemption.

asked the Home Secretary whether his attention has been drawn to the practice of stipendiary and other magistrates in refusing to admit to bail persons of alleged Russian and Polish nationalities charged as absentees, but disputing liability to serve on legal and constitutional grounds and while their cases are in course of being dealt with; and whether, seeing that, apart from their nationality, these men have in many cases held positions of some commercial importance and can give bail, he will direct that they shall not be treated as criminals in the absence of sworn evidence that they are likely to abscond?

My attention has not been drawn to any reluctance on the part of magistrates to allow bail to Russians or Poles charged as absentees from the Army. The Home Secretary has no authority to issue directions to magistrates on the subject, and he has no reason to suppose that any general circular is desirable on behalf of this particular class of defendant.

asked the Home Secretary whether he is aware that Russians who are in custody as absentees under the Military Service Acts, even when under remand, their cases not being disposed of, are treated as ordinary criminals under remand, and that they are not permitted to have cigarettes even for medicinal purposes, while the rules permit these to be given to Germans; why this preferential treatment has been accorded to enemy subjects who have out-raged every canon of human law, and refused to the subjects of a former. Allied country; and who is responsible for these administrative blunders?

I can assure my hon. Friend that there is no such preferential treatment as is suggested. The same rules apply to all prisoners who are under remand, whether they are British subjects or aliens, and whether in custody as absentees from the Army or under any other charge. It is not possible to compare the treatment of such prisoners with prisoners of war, because the latter are not amenable to the rules relating to the treatment of ordinary prisoners under the criminal law. The treatment of prisoners of war is regulated by the provisions of The Hague Convention.

asked the Minister of Munitions whether between 300 and 400 men at the Royal Gunpowder Factory, Waltham Abbey, have received notice of discharge as from the 29th June; if so, whether he will state the reason for discharging so large a number of men; whether he can also state how many of these men would in the natural order of things be called up; how many are above the age at which men are now required for the Army; and what steps he proposes to take to secure employment for all those who are thrown out of work?

About 400 men employed at the Royal Gunpowder Factory have received notice of discharge on account of a reduction in the output required from the Factory. Forty-three of the men have been, or will be, called up immediately for military service. About 100 are over the age of fifty-one. The Ministry of Munitions are endeavouring to arrange with the Employment Department of the Ministry of Labour for suitable work to be offered to those of the discharged men who require assistance in obtaining employment.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he has received a resolution from the Hanwell Urban District Council urging the Government to withdraw their proposal regarding the increase of season-ticket rates; and whether he can hold out any hope of this?

My right hon. Friend has received the resolution referred to, but I regret that for reasons already explained, I can hold out no hope of the withdrawal of the recent increase in season-ticket rates.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he is aware that on some of the sections of the Great Eastern Railway the company have increased the amount of the season tickets independent of the 10 and 20 per cent. advance; and if he will take action in the matter?

I do not know what increase the hon. Gentleman has in mind, but I will look into the matter if he will be good enough to give me particulars which will enable me to investigate it.

asked the Post-master-General whether he is aware that sailors serving on His Majesty's ships both in home waters and abroad are charged 1d. per ounce on letters sent by them; and whether, considering that soldiers serving abroad are rightly allowed to send their letters post free, he will take steps to grant free postage on letters sent by sailors afloat in order that both branches of the Service may receive similar treatment?

It has been decided that sailors serving on His Majesty's ships other than ships permanently stationed in a port shall be allowed to send letters up to 4 oz. in weight without charge, provided they are included in the ship's mail.

asked the First Commissioner of Works what becomes of the wood taken from the roof and that supporting the roof of Westminster Hall?

Practically the whole of the original oak taken from the roof of Westminster Hall is in a state of complete decay, and is stored for inspection. Certain representative pieces, showing the extraordinary nature of the decay, have been presented to museums.