asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he is satisfied with the Reconstruction Examination as a form of entry into the senior branch of the Foreign Service; and, if so, whether he wishes in any way to modify the conditions of recruitment set out in the proposals for the reform of the Foreign Service made in the White Paper of 1943.

Yes, I am very satisfied with the results of the Reconstruction Examination and the practical experience which has been gained in the last two years has led me to decide that this form of examination should be given a further trial During this time the proposals contained in the White Paper will be held in suspense and an adapted form of the Reconstruction Examination will be the regular method of entry into the Senior Branch of the Foreign Service.I have, therefore, asked the Civil Service Commissioners to arrange that the future normal examination, which will be resumed next year, shall consist for the time being of a short qualifying written examination, a simple test of the candidate's ability to acquire foreign languages and an interview with the Final Selection Board presided over by the First Civil Service Commissioner. In addition, candidates who qualify in the written examination and in the language test will be required, before the final interview, to take the Civil Service Selection Board's Country House tests so long as these continue to be used for the Reconstruction competition which must for the present run parallel with the normal competition. Candidates will normally have to obtain a degree with at least Second Class Honours at an approved University. A candidate who has not yet taken his degree may be admitted provisionally to the examination, but will be disqualified if he fails to obtain a degree with at least Second Class Honours during the current academic year. A candidate who fails to obtain such a degree, or who has not attended a University, may qualify for the final tests by taking the more comprehensive written examination open to candidates for the Administrative Class of the Home Civil Service, and satisfying the Civil Service Commissioners that his work in this examination is up to Second Class Honours standard.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, in reference to each of the labour attachés in British embassies or legations, the trade union of which he is, or has been, a member; and what office he has held in that union and for how long.

I would refer my hon. Friend to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Sunderland (Mr. F. Willey), on 7th July in which I described the basis on which labour attachés are selected and the functions which they perform. As I said in that reply, all the existing attachés have been selected from permanent officials of the Government service who have firsthand knowledge of industrial conditions and social administration. While it is possible that certain of the attachés may have been members of trade unions before they entered the Government service several years ago, I have no definite information on this, and so far as I know none of them has held office in a trade union.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give details of quantities and prices of the commodities purchased with the £937,500,000 loan from the U.S.A. and the £300,000,000 loan from Canada, respectively; and what are the balances remaining at the latest available date.

I would refer the hon. Gentleman to what I said in this House on this and related matters on 7th August. I am not prepared to give details of quantities and prices of particular commodities.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the total costs and all expenditure, civil and military, incurred by His Majesty's Government in Palestine, Greece, Egypt, Austria and Germany, respectively, from June, 1946, to the latest date; and the total value of all loans, credits and gifts-in-kind to the same Governments over the same or approximate period.

pursuant to his reply [OFFICIAL REPORT, 5th August, 1947; Vol. 441, c. 1299/1300] supplied the following information:The following statement gives the total civil and military expenditure, both sterling and foreign currencies, incurred by His Majesty's Government in the countries shown from 1st July, 1946, to 30th June, 1947, and the total value of all loans, credits and gifts in kind over the same period.

asked the Minister of Agriculture what official advice is given as to steps to be taken to potato growers on whose crops Colorado beetle is found.

Growers who find or suspect the presence of Colorado beetle on any crop are asked only to send specimens immediately to the police or direct to the Ministry's Plant Pathology Laboratory at Harpenden, Herts. All subsequent action is taken by the Ministry through the organisation specially set up for the purpose.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether, in view of the desirability of providing opportunities for those engaged in farming in this country to obtain first-hand experience of current methods of husbandry in European countries, he has considered the possibilities of introducing a scheme of exchanges to this end; and with what results.

Yes. Discussions have been taking place with representatives of European countries which have signified their interest in the exchange of young people engaged in agriculture and horticulture, and a scheme is being introduced that will enable such persons to be placed for employment on approved commercial farms and holdings in European countries for periods of up to a year, while providing reciprocal facilities here for the participating countries. The conditions of employment of foreign student-employees admitted to this country under the scheme will be regulated by an order of the Agricultural Wages Board and it is an essential condition that they shall be placed only on farms and holdings where they are supernumerary to the normal labour force. Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland have already agreed in principle to take part in the scheme and it is hoped to extend the list. The National Farmers Union and the Horticultural Trades Association have accepted responsibility for making the actual exchanges so far as this country is concerned.I look to this scheme to provide a valuable interchange of experience and ideas between the farming industries of the several countries. We need to recognise, however, that in face of the present exceptional difficulties and in particular the problem of finding accommodation for foreign student-employees, the numbers that can be exchanged are not likely to be very large at first.My right hon. Friends the Minister of Labour and National Service and the Secretary of State for Scotland have been associated with me in the discussions that have taken place. While the scheme will apply for the time being primarily to England and Wales, the participation of Scottish applicants and the placing of foreign student-employees on Scottish farms is not of course excluded.

asked the Minister of Agriculture why his Department will not inform Mr. J. Jones, The Bryn Farm, Llangammarch Wells, Breconshire, of the reasons for the appointed Commissioner refusing to Mr. Jones compensation for loss of commonable rights in the matter of the acquisition by the War Department of the Mynydd Eppynt North Common, Breconshire.

The claim of Mr. J. Jones for a share of the commonable rights compensation money in respect of the taking by the War Office of part of Mynydd Eppynt North Common was considered by the Commissioner appointed by my predecessor. Evidence in support of this claim and all other similar claims, was submitted to and carefully examined by the Commissioner at meetings in the locality specially convened for the purpose, and where he considered on such evidence that a share of the money was properly payable to a claimant he awarded accordingly, but otherwise no payment was made. As the Commissioner's award is binding on all parties, I have no power to re-open the matter.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether it was at his direction that, when in the Metropolitan Police district, members of the League of Jewish ex-Servicemen demonstrated hostility against a meeting at which Fascism and anti-Semitism was being preached, they were arrested, but that when crowds demonstrated hostility at a meeting of the League the meeting was stopped by the police.

It is the duty of the police to endeavour to prevent a breach of the peace and the decision as to what steps are necessary for that purpose must vary with the circumstances of the case, and must be taken by the officers on the spot. I am not aware, and neither are the police, whether any of the persons arrested on 1st June, which appears to be the occasion referred to in the Question, were members of the Association of Jewish ex-Servicemen; they were arrested for offences against the Public Order Act, 1936. A meeting organised by the Association on 3rd August was closed by the chairman at the request of the police to prevent the speaker being manhandled by a substantial part of the audience and no objection was raised to the action of the police. Any suggestion that in carrying out this very difficult part of their duty the police are not acting impartially is unfounded.

asked the Secretary of State for Air if he has now been able to review the allowances made to members of the Royal Observer Corps to meet the expenses they incur in this form of national service; and with what result.

Yes. I have reviewed the allowances made to members of the Royal Observer Corps, and consider that no change could be justified at present.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he is aware that the Aberdeen Town Council has caused a notice of termination of tenancy, on 28th August, 1947, to be served on Mr. George A. Corsar, 20, Middlefield Terrace, Aberdeen; that Mr. Corsar has lived in that house for 15 years; that no circumstances have arisen to justify the action of the council; and if he will look into the matter with a view to cancellation of the notice of termination, or provision of equivalent alternative accommodation.

I have made inquiry in this case, and I understand that the action taken by Aberdeen Town Council was based on the consideration that Mr. Corsar had ceased to occupy part of the house, being now the sole occupant, and that accordingly accommodation was available which could be used by one of the many families in Aberdeen who are at. present inadequately housed. In terms of the Housing Acts, the general management, regulation and control of houses provided by a local authority are vested in the local authority and I have no power to intervene.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power whether he has seen a circular sent out by the Gas and Electricity Division of his Department with the suggestion that it may be displayed as a poster which contains these words, "You want Beer, We want Beer for You," and urges economy in gas and electricity for this reason; and whether he has approved the wording of this circular.

The circular in question, which I had not seen before, is one of several which have been sent out, to local gas and electricity economy committees, which either make, or pass on, informal suggestions of all kind for bringing to the attention of various sections of the community the need for such economy. The suggestions in this circular were not for posters at all, but simply for informal notices to be put up at the discretion of individual licensees. Informal circulars of this kind are settled departmentally and do not require individual approval by myself.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he is aware that shortage of rolling stock on the West African railways is preventing the shipment of groundnuts; and whether, before any further development of this type of product is encouraged, he will ensure that the transport arrangements are made such as to ensure the shipment of each year's harvest before the next crop is gathered in.

The movement of the 1946–47 groundnut crop, which was one of the largest on record, has been engaging my attention and that of the Nigerian Government for some time. Owing to the accumulation of war-time arrears of maintenance, to staff difficulties and to the delay in the delivery of new locomotives, it is estimated that there will be approximately 20 to 25 per cent. of that crop still unrailed at the commencement of the new season in November. Fourteen new locomotives have, however, recently arrived from Canada and it is hoped that twenty additional Vulcans, originally to be delivered this year but delayed in production owing to the fuel crisis, will be in operation in Nigeria early in 1948. By March, 1948, therefore, assuming that some of the present staffing difficulties can also be overcome, the railway should be operating at a rate capable of moving to port within a period of 12 months a larger crop of groundnuts than any yet produced. Adequate storage exists to provide for the carry-over of the 1946–47 crop and careful plans are being made to provide cover for the 1947–48 crop, pending its railing to port. It is not, of course, possible at this stage to estimate the size of the next crop but the indications are that the railway will be able to move it and, at the same time, to reduce progressively the carry-over of the present crop.I agree with the hon. Member that the aim should be to arrange the shipment of each crop before the next harvest is gathered. Efforts to improve transport arrangements will be energetically pursued until this goal is reached. Meanwhile I hope that adequate storage can be provided in the Kano area to prevent the loss of any substantial quantities of groundnuts which can be harvested within the next two seasons. The provision of adequate transport will certainly be a very prominent consideration in any plans for increased production and it was for that reason that the Mission which is now completing its examination of long-term plans for increased groundnut production in West Africa includes a transport expert.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he is now able to make a statement regarding procedure in capital cases in the Colonies.

Yes. On 3rd April 1 promised a further statement regarding procedure in capital cases in the Colonies.The administration of justice in criminal matters in the Colonies follows broadly the system in this country, and there is for most Colonies a Court of Appeal corresponding to the Court of Criminal Appeal here. Every convicted person has the right to petition the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council for special leave to appeal from a decision of a Colonial court, and this right is frequently exercised in capital cases.In the Apedwa case the initial cause of delay was the fact that the first petition to the Privy Council was not lodged by the accused's advisers until eight months after the date of the dismissal of the appeal by the West African Court of Appeal. The second main cause of delay was the course which the advisers of the convicted men took (a course which is without precedent in the experience of the Colonial Office) of trying to upset the convictions by taking the various proceedings of which I told the House in my statement of the 5th March. These proceedings led to three further petitions to the Privy Council all of which have been dismissed; and the Judicial Committee have themselves expressed their "grave concern and disapproval" regarding the course followed.I have been in consultation with the Lord Chancellor and the Law Officers on the question of the steps that can be taken to aroid, for the future, such delays as occurred in the Gold Coast case. To secure the lodging of a petition without delay, rules have been made within the last two or three years by Colonial Governors fixing a time within which the various steps must be taken, "both in the Colony and here, leading up to the lodging of the petition. These rules are not made under Statute, but they are simply executive rules depending on the power of the Governor to postpone the carrying out of the sentence. (When the Gold Coast case began these executive rules had not yet been made there and this caused the delay in the first instance.) The procedure is that the accused have three weeks in which to furnish proof to the Governor that they have sent the necessary instructions to solicitors in this country. I then fix a date, usually one month after arrival of the papers in this country, within which the accused's advisers must lodge the petition with the Judicial Committee. When once the petition is lodged the Judicial Committee hears it without delay.These rules will be strictly adhered to and if a petition is not lodged in time the sentence will proceed—unless of course the case is one in which the Governor thinks that the prerogative of mercy should be exercised.If a Governor comes to the conclusion that any proceedings taken by accused persons either in the Colony or by way of petition here are without real substance he will not allow these proceedings to cause the postponement of sentence. I have considered whether any further steps, whether by amendment of the law or otherwise, should be taken to avoid delays, but as procedure by way of petition to the Privy Council depends on the right of the subject to petition the King and the prerogative right to admit these petitions, any legislation on the subject would be inadvisable. Moreover, the rules and practice I have indicated should be quite sufficient to prevent any repetition of the happenings in the Gold Coast case. I may add that this procedure corresponds to that which has been in force regarding appeals from India for some years, and has been found satisfactory.I turn now to the prerogative of mercy. As I explained in my statement of 5th March, His Majesty by Letters Patent or Order in Council expressly delegates his prerogative of mercy in criminal cases to Colonial Governors, and this includes both the power to pardon an offender either absolutely or conditionally and the lesser power to respite (i.e. postpone) sentence. Further, the Royal Instructions give a Governor the most precise instructions as to the exercise of the power of pardon in capital cases; he must call for a written report from the Trial Judge; he must consider the case in Executive Council, to which he may summon the Judge, and may require him to produce his notes of the trial; but it is the Governor himself who is to decide whether a pardon or reprieve is or is not to be granted. These provisions are common form in Colonial constitutions. It is absolutely clear, therefore, that the effect of these instruments is to give power of pardon to the Governor. In the Gold Coast case the Governor in fact commuted the sentences on two of the prisoners at an early stage, and at the last he commuted the sentences on two others for reasons which he explained in a statement made to the Legislative Council on 28th March, a copy of which I have placed in the Library of the House.I come now to the position of the Secretary of State. I am advised, as I previously informed the House, that the delegation by His Majesty to Colonial Governors of the power of pardon does not entirely empty the. King of his own prerogative of mercy. That is, I understand, the legal position. If a petition is presented to His Majesty praying for mercy, it is my duty to advise him what, if any, action should be taken upon it. The normal practice of the Secretary of State for the Colonies is not himself to intervene in an individual case and not to advise His Majesty to intervene. There would be most unfortunate results if the Secretary of State followed any other course. First, it would be necessary for him to consider fully the facts of each case and all the considerations which bore upon it. That is a matter of great difficulty in London remote from the scene of the crime. It is unlikely that, if it were once understood that the Secretary of State is ready to intervene, numerous petitions would be sent to him or to His Majesty, and their consideration by him would be physically impossible. In capital cases, their mere consideration would cause just that delay which it is necessary to avoid.But further, and more important, for the Secretary of State to intervene would conflict with the plain intention of the constitutional instruments I have referred to, which set up a better machinery for deciding these matters than anything the Secretary of State could do here; and would be contrary to the common sense of the situation, since the Governor, knowing all the circumstances, is in a better position to judge whether the prerogative of mercy should be exercised in any particular case. To this must be added the further consideration that the best safeguard for a careful decision in so grave a matter is the undivided responsibility of the person who makes it. I do not, however, say that, if some exceptional case were brought to the Secretary of State's notice in which there were an indication that a miscarriage of justice had occurred, he would shut his eyes to it. The Secretary of State would communicate with the Governor as the case required. The Governor would make any further investigations which might be necessary, and would obviously not proceed with the carrying out of a sentence if there were any real doubt about the case. It is inconceivable that, in order to prevent a miscarriage of justice in such a case, I should have to advise His Majesty to intervene, and in practice, therefore, it is highly improbable that intervention by His Majesty on the advice of the Secretary of State would ever take place. I am convinced that to follow any other course would seriously impair the administration of justice in the Colonies.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will issue in the OFFICIAL REPORT a statement of the principal languages, other than English, understood in the Colonies, and Trust Territories, showing the estimated number of persons understanding each language, the languages in which the B.B.C. broadcasts and the estimated number of persons respectively within and outside the Colonies, etc., who listen to such broadcasts.

pursuant to his reply [OFFICIAL REPORT, 7th May, 1947; Vol. 437; c. 401], supplied the following information:

• Sinhalese, understood by approximately four million;
• Chinese (of various dialects) understood by approximately four million;
• Tamil, understood by approximately three million;
• Malay, understood by approximately three million;
• Arabic, understood by approximately two million.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Civil Aviation when the technical investigations carried out at the, Yeadon Aerodrome were completed; when the examination of the report will have been completed; and when he will be able to make a statement with regard to the future of this airport.

These investigations were completed on 16th July, 1947. The examination of the report is in hand but I cannot yet say when it will be completed, nor, in consequence, when I shall be in a position to make a statement about the future of the airport.