asked the Postmaster-General particulars of the numbers of writing assistants, typists, and shorthand typists, respectively, in each department of the Post Office who have served in their present capacity for five years, six years, seven years, and so on year by year up to 15 years and over?

I regret that the particulars asked for are not available, but I am making certain inquiries and will write to the hon. Member.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware that the additional charge for the new hand-set pattern telephone has now been reduced in America by 50 per cent.; whether he is now in a position to benefit subscribers in this country by a similar reduction; and by how many quarterly payments at the present rate of 4s. per quarter the additional cost to the department, apart from the possibility of maintenance charge, will be adequately met?

I am aware that the Bell telephone system in America have reduced the charge for this type of instrument in some of their areas to the equivalent of 12s. per annum. As I have previously stated, the rental will be reduced if this be found practicable in the light of experience here. As regards the latter part of the question, I regret that I cannot furnish any information which would go far towards indicating the cost of the instrument, contract prices being regarded as confidential.

asked the Home Secretary whether he will consider the advisability of allowing police officers when off duty and not in uniform to enter licensed premises in their own districts?

There is no general prohibition of this kind, but in one or two forces a local regulation is in force with which I am not disposed to interfere.

asked the Home Secretary the number of shop windows which have been slashed in the Metropolitan Police area during the past 12 months; the total cost of the damage done; the number of arrests made; and the number of convictions obtained?

The number of cases reported to the Metropolitan Police was 2,123. The damage amounted to £1,380 15s. 6d. Eleven arrests have been made. Of these, six resulted in conviction, three persons were found to be mentally deficient, and two were discharged. In one other case the offender was a boy of 13 and the owner declined to prosecute.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty what steps are to be taken regarding the capital ships that are to become redundant under the provisions of the London Naval Treaty; and whether, if the breaking up of these ships is decided upon, some of the work involved can be given to His Majesty's Dockyard, Devonport?

I would refer the hon. Member to the detailed provisions of Part I, Article 2 (1) of the Treaty (Command Paper 3556). As the Treaty does not come into force until ratifications have been deposited on behalf of the United States of America and Japan, as well as on behalf of His Majesty the King, and as the ships to be scrapped do not have to be finally disposed of until either 24 or 30 months from that date, I am not yet in a position to say what detailed steps will be taken nor where the ships will be broken up.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty if he can now make a statement with regard to the suspended 1930 naval shipbuilding programme, and give particulars of the vessels with which it is intended to proceed?

The answer is in the negative.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether, seeing that the clocking system is now to be introduced in Devonport Dockyard, he will take steps to ensure that those dockyard employés who are to be displaced will be found alternative work?

Every effort will be made to ensure that alternative work is found for displaced employés.

asked the Secretary of State for India the present mileage of the Bengal and North-Western Railway and the date on which the contract with the present company terminates; and whether any decision has been arrived at by the Government of India in regard to the future ownership and management of this railway?

The total route mileage open on the Bengal and North-Western Railway (excluding the Tirhoot line) on 30th September, 1929, was 1,267. The contract with the company will terminate on 31st December, 1981, unless the Secretary of State exercises his option to purchase the railway on 31st December, 1932. On this latter point no decision has yet been taken.

asked the Minister of Health whether, in cases where on the result of a valuation of an approved society being made known the society is dissatisfied as to the ratio of disposable and non-disposable surpluses as certified by the valuer, he will bring in the necessary legislation to enable any question or dispute arising between the Minister and the society or branch in respect of the amount certified to be disposable for additional benefits to be determined in the same manner as laid down under Section 78 (5) of the National Health Insurance Act, 1924, for determining questions or disputes arising in connection with a deficiency on valuation?

The proportion of a valuation surplus which can safely be certified as disposable involves actuarial considerations and is essentially a matter for the professional judgment of the valuer. I am, therefore, not prepared to propose the alteration in the law suggested by my hon. Friend.

asked the Minister of Health how many cases of parrot disease have been reported to him during each of the past two months?

My Department has received information of 24 cases of illness which commenced during March and two during April, in which the patients had been associated with sick parrots. I am advised, however, that in the present state of knowledge of psittacosis it is not possible to say definitely how many of these persons were in fact suffering from that disease.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs with whom is now placed the contract for the Press advertising of the Empire Marketing Board; what are the terms of the contract and for what period; and whether the contract was open to tender before being placed with the present holders?

The present contract for the Press advertising on account of the Empire Marketing Board is placed through His Majesty's Stationery Office with Messrs. Charles Barker and Sons, Limited, but a contract with a second advertising agency is at the moment under negotiation. The contract with Messrs. Charles Barker and Sons, Limited, expires on 30th September next. It has not been found desirable to submit the Board's Press advertising contracts to tender, and it would be contrary to settled practice to give information as to the terms of these contracts.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs the number and character of the committees appointed by the Dominion Office now operating; and the names of the men and women on them?

The Oversea Settlement Committee is the only Committee of the nature which, as I gather, the hon. Member has in mind. This Committee was appointed in 1919 to advise His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom in connection with oversea settlement within the British Empire and emigration to foreign countries. Following is the list of the members of the Committee:

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies the number and character of the committees appointed by the Colonial Office now operating, and the names of the men and women on them?

Information as to the constitution and personnel of the standing committees appointed by the Colonial Office will be found on pages XXV to XXXI of the Dominions Office and Colonial Office List, 1929. The following standing committees have been set up since that list was published:Advisory Council of Agriculture and Animal Health Colonial Development Advisory Committee.In addition to these standing Committees, the following

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies what progress has been made with the delimitation of the boundary between British and Italian Somaliland; approximately when the Commission will have completed its task; what has been the cost to British funds to date; and what additional expenditure is estimated?

It is understood that the demarcation of the boundary has now been completed down the 49th meridian of longitude as far as its intersection with the 9th parallel of latitude and thence to the intersection of 48 degrees East and 8 degrees North. It is anticipated that the Commission will be ready to leave Somaliland about the end of September next. The expenditure under the Colonial Services Vote up to 31st March, 1930, was, as nearly as can be stated at the moment, £16,500; the estimated expenditure from 1st April to the completion of the Commission's work is £11,500.

asked the Lord Privy Seal whether he is in a position to give the names of the advisory council to the Bankers' Industrial Development Company, Limited?

I understand that the appointment of the members of the council has not yet been completed, and I am not in a position to give the names.

asked the Minister of Labour when the discharge of the 100 temporary clerks from Kew was completed; whether any additional temporary staff have since been engaged; if so, how many; and what was the interval of time between the completion of the discharge of the one batch of temporaries and the beginning of the recruitment of the second?

The reduction in the number of temporary staff at the Claims and Record Office, Kew, which began on 20th January, 1930, was completed on 27th February. 83 temporary clerks have since been engaged, the first of these on 14th April.

asked the Minister of Labour the aggregate amount paid in travelling expenses to unemployed persons seeking work since the Unemployment Insurance (No. 2) Act, 1930, came into force; and the number of persons who have so benefited?

The Act only came into operation on 13th March, 1930, and statistics in respect of this matter for the period since that date are not yet available.

asked the Minister of Labour for the latest date for which the figures are available the number of persons on the live register of the Employment Exchanges and the number of unemployed persons, exclusive of dependants, who are in receipt of poor relief, indicating how many of these persons are included in both totals; and, for comparison, the corresponding totals for a year previously?

The only date for which these figures are at present avail able is 17th February, 1930. At that date there were 1,523,941 persons on the registers of Employment Exchanges in Great Britain. The number of heads of families who were in receipt of Poor Law relief in respect of unemployment was approximately 89,500. It is estimated on the basis of a 10 per cent. sample that of this number approximately 63,500 were on the registers of Employment Exchanges.

asked the Minister of Labour whether the Unemployment Insurance Scheme which it is proposed to apply to agricultural workers has yet been discussed and agreed upon by the workers and farmers concerned?

There have been certain discussions, and I hope to have further discussion at an early date.

asked the Minister of Labour the number of unemployed on the registers of the Willesden Employment Exchange to whom, since 13th March, instructions have been given to inquire about possible work; and in how many of these cases employment has resulted?

I regret that statistics giving the information desired by the hon. Member are not available.

asked the Minister of Labour the number of unemployed persons on the registers at the latest convenient date as a percentage of the insured population in Chorley and Leyland, respectively?

At 14th April, 1930, the numbers of persons on the Employment Exchange registers expressed as a percentage of the insured population were 26 per cent. at Chorley and 3.3 per cent. at Leyland.

asked the Minister of Labour the increase or decrease in the number of men unemployed in the Durham area last week as compared with the same week of last year?

At 14th April, 1930, the number of men, aged 18 years and upwards, on the registers of Employment Exchanges in the County of Durham was 69,065 as compared with 68,158 on 15th April, 1929, an increase of 907.

asked the Minister of Labour whether, instead of paying the full amount of unemployment benefit in cash, she will consider the desirability of issuing food tickets for a proportion of the amount where the recipient has a family dependent upon him?

This suggestion has been considered several times in the past. In my view, it would not be desirable to adopt it.

asked the Minister of Labour the total amount of interest paid from the Unemployment Fund to the Exchequer from the commencement of borrowing in 1921 to March, 1930; and what she estimates will be the amount from March, 1930, to March, 1931?

The total amount of interest paid from the Unemployment Fund to the Exchequer from the commencement of borrowing in 1921 to 31st March, 1930, is approximately £7,658,680. It is estimated that the amount paid during the year to March, 1931, may be in the neighbourhood of £2,250,000.

asked the Secretary of State for War what is the result of the trials of national mark flour by the Army bakeries?

I understand that the hon. and gallant Member is referring to the use of national mark flour for purposes other than bread making at stations where there are Army bakeries. The hon. and gallant Member will appreciate that it has not been in use very long, but there is no reason to believe that the experience of this flour has been other than satisfactory.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether, with the present price of wheat, any extra cost to the Army would ensue if the proposal to include up to 25 per cent. of all English flour in bread for the Forces were put into operation: and, if so, what that cost would be?

I am satisfied that the use of 25 per cent. all-English flour in the bread consumed by the Forces would lead to increased cost, but I am not in a position to form an estimate of the extra expenditure involved.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Air what was the total amount of oats and oatmeal purchased and consumed by his Department in each of the last five years; what proportion of these amounts was homegrown and home-milled; and what was the average price paid in each year?

asked the Secretary of State for War what was the total amount of oats and oatmeal purchased and consumed by his Department in each of the last five years; what proportion of these amounts was home-grown and home-milled; and what was the average price paid in each year?

As regards oats, I am not in a position to give actual quantities purchased and consumed. The following table gives the estimated quantities, excluding the requirements of small camps. The amount involved in the case of the latter is inconsiderable.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether his attention has been called to the ultimate economies effected by the use of British-bred beef in the catering of public institutions; and whether he will cause experiments to be made in Army messes with a view to obtaining comparative results between British and imported beef?

As the hon. and gallant Member is aware, frozen meat is purchased for the Army, and it is difficult to see how fresh beef could be supplied at a less cost to Army funds. But if the hon. and gallant Member will send me full particulars of the cases he has in mind, I will have them examined. May I point out that the beef used is Dominion beef and that it is not foreign but an Empire product.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he can furnish an estimate of the capital value of land in the United Kingdom and the annual income derived therefrom?

Pending the completion of the valuation foreshadowed in my Budget Statement, I am not prepared to give any estimate of the capital value of land in Great Britain. The annual value of property for purposes of Schedule A will be found in the 72nd Report of the Commissioners of Inland Revenue (Table 50); but I am unable to distinguish between the annual values of buildings and the sites on which they stand.

asked the Minister of Agriculture the number of cases of underpayment of wages arising out of the Agricultural Wages (Regulation) Act, 1924, dealt with by the Ministry; the total sum recovered as arrears of wages; the sum recovered as arrears of wages following prosecution; the sum recovered without prosecution; the total number of prosecutions; and the amount of fines and costs imposed as a result of successful prosecution?

Up to 22nd April, 1930, the Ministry had dealt with 4,872 cases, under the Agricultural Wages (Regulation) Act, 1924, of employers who had paid less than the minimum rates of wages. The total sum recovered in arrears of wages has been £54,186, of which £10,031 was obtained as a result of prosecutions and £44,155 without prosecution. The number of employers prosecuted for failing to pay the minimum rates was 483, and in the cases where conviction resulted the Courts imposed £1,341 in fines and £621 in costs.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether, in view of the number of cases of agricultural workers dismissed from their employment after the acceptance of compromise settlements in cases of underpayment of wages investigated by the Ministry under the Agricultural Wages (Regulation) Act, 1924, he will state what is the nature of the steps hitherto taken to prevent such dismissals; and whether, in view of the fear of dismissal preventing workers from reporting and in view of the immunity of the employer from penalty in such compromise settlements, he will consider the advisability of obtaining in all cases where prosecution is not decided upon an undertaking that the employé will not be dismissed in consequence of the Ministry's action?

My right hon. Friend is aware that, in a certain number of cases, agricultural workers have been dismissed from their employment after the farm has been inspected in order to ascertain whether the wages being paid are in accordance with the prescribed rates. Action of this sort receives no support from the leaders of agriculture, and while he greatly deplores the action of employers in dismissing workers in consequence of an inspection by the Ministry, my right hon. Friend has no power to prevent such dismissals, nor is he in a position to require an undertaking from the employer such as is suggested by my hon. Friend.