Before this Bill goes through, I should like to state that the matter raised in this House last week with regard to the position of two of the employees of the company has been settled. The engineer is to receive £340 as compensation from the water company, while the collector is to continue in his post and become the servant of the urban district council. This being satisfactory to both parties, I think it light to put the House in possession of the terms of settlement.

asked whether there was any fresh news from China.

We have no news from Peking, nor have we any confirmation of the various reports which have reached us through native sources. We have received the following message from the Commander-in-Chief, viâ Chefoo:—

"Tientsin, July 7—Chinese continue sniping, often shelling the settlements. 'They are extending their lines along Lutaian Canal, to the north-eastwards, and appearing in greater force to the west of the city. Yesterday we bombarded city and immediate suburbs, which stopped Chinese gun tire for some time. French settlement and railway station most subjected to attack. To-day another bombardment will take place as yesterday. Am steadily getting more guns up. Ten thousand troops now here, more required, but both Russian and Japanese expected."

): Is the edict published in this morning's papers, purport- ing to be issued by the Chinese Government, authentic or not?

I have stated that I have no fresh news from Peking.

Is it not possible for the Government to obtain authentic information from the Chinese Minister at this Court?

When will the Financial Vote with regard to China be taken?

I am afraid that I cannot give any promise at present.

I beg to ask the First Lord of the Treasury whether Her Majesty's Government have arranged for a British officer of rank and experience to command the allied forces in China; and when General Sir A. Gaselee will arrive at Ta-ku.

Sir A. Gaselee, who is to command the forces sent to China, is an officer of experience and ability, and he will have the local rank of lieutenant-general. He is expected to arrive at Ta-ku about the 23rd of this month.

The right hon. Gentleman has not answered the last part of my question, as to who is to command the allied forces.

I have no answer to give to that question.

Has any decision been come to as to the command? It is very important.

I have told my hon. friend that I have no information to give him on the subject.

I beg to ask the First Lord of the Treasury if he can state whether an understanding or agreement has been come to between Great Britain and Japan in connection with the situation in China.

The communications which have passed between Her Majesty's Government and Japan relate only to the prompt despatch of troops, arid those communications will be laid on the Table with the Papers.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say who is going to pay the expenses of the Japanese troops?

Order, order! Notice of that question should be given.

I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether Sir Claude MacDonald called the attention of the Foreign Office to statements in the Chinese papers regarding an organised agitation to extirpate foreigners in China which was expected to break out this year; and whether he advised that adequate precautions should be taken to meet such an emergency.

Sir Claude MacDonald did not call the attention of the Foreign Office to any such statements in the Chinese papers, but he reported upon the existence of various inflammatory placards, to which he had drawn the attention of the Tsung-li-Yamen. The only precaution he advised previous to the outbreak was the despatch of a guard to the Legation and a man-of-war to Ta-ku. Both of those steps were taken.

I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for War whether he has any know lodge of the number of guns and the quantity of ammunition which has been since 1895 exported from this country to China by Kynoch's Ammunition Company and by the Birmingham Small Arms Company, Limited.

As I have already stated, there is no objection to a Return showing the total quantity of guns and ammunition of various kinds sent to China from firms in this country; but I do not think it is desirable to publish the figures for any particular firm. I may say, however, that neither of the firms named by the hon. Member manufactures guns.

On Monday † last the hon. Gentleman told us exactly how much ammunition was furnished by a German firm; on Thursday he declines to give the same information about a Birmingham firm.

Order, order!

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that the chairman of this firm is a gentleman called Arthur Chamberlain?

Has the importation of arms into China been stopped even now?

I must ask for notice of that. Whether we have the power to stop it involves an abstruse point of international law. As far as I know, we are not at war with China.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for India what provision is being made to recoup the India Exchequer for the initial expenditure on transport and similar purposes connected with the despatch of the Indian contingent to China.

An approximate estimate of the initial cost of the force that is being sent from India to China has been obtained from the Government of India, and forwarded to the War Office. When a Vote has been passed by the House, application for the amount will be made to the War Office.

I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for War whether his attention has been

† See page 945 of this volume.

As I have already explained to the House, the statistics at present available are not sufficient to enable me to give a reply to the first and second paragraphs of the question. Inoculation is offered to all men embarking from home for a country, such as South Africa or China, where enteric is prevalent; but such inoculation is purely voluntary.

I beg to ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps are being taken to secure payment of an indemnity for war expenses from the Transvaal mines.

I presume the hon. Member's question refers to the contribution towards the cost of the war which we hope to obtain from the Transvaal. I do not think it would be accurately described as an indemnity from the mines, but it would be quite premature at present to make a statement as to the precise manner in which such a contribution should be obtained.

Will the Government take steps, when the British authorities at Johannesburg allow the general resumption of mining operations, to see that such conditions are imposed upon them as to take security for the payment of a part of this money?

That is not our idea of the matter. Our idea is that the contribution to be provided by the Transvaal should be provided by the taxation of the country, which, of course, must necessarily fall to a large extent on the mines; but that is a different matter from what the hon. Member suggests.

Does the right hon. Gentleman remember that on 23rd October he promised that the mines would be expected to pay for the war?^✶

I did not say that.

Then what did you say?

I said exactly what I have stated to-day.

I beg to ask the First Lord of the Treasury whether he is aware that Professor Cunningham, who is to have a seat on the South African Commission to inquire into the charges brought against the administration of the Army Medical Department, has for many years acted as examiner in anatomy at the examinations of candidates for the Army Medical Department, for which service he received remuneration from the Army Medical service; and whether, under these circumstances, he will reconsider his decision to appoint this gentleman as a member of the inquiry into the Department with which he was formerly connected.

I think the hon. gentleman has asked this question under a misapprehension. He seems to think that because a gentleman is an examiner of medical candidates for the Army Medical Department he is associated in some way with the Department and is connected thereby with the administration of the War Office. That, Sir, is an entire misapprehension.

Who appointed him?

I cannot say; nor do I think that that question is at all material. I understand that those examiners are appointed for four years at a fixed salary, and have nothing to hope or fear from the War Office. They are not in the remotest way connected with the War Office administration, and the suggestion that a man who examines

^✶ Refer to The Parliamentary Debates [Fourth Series], Vol. lxxvii. p. 515.

Will the right hon. Gentleman be good enough to state whether these examiners are to be reappointed?

Who pays these examiners? Is it the War Office?

I think that these questions are very inopportune. I do not believe it is the practice, as a matter of fact, to reappoint them. I shall next expect a question as to whether Dr. Church, as he is not an examiner, may not be corruptly influenced by the hope of becoming one.

Is it not a fact that Professor Cunningham was appointed to this post by the head of the Army Medical Department, on which he is called upon to sit in judgment?

It is not so.

I want to know not whether Professor Cunningham has been appointed in his official and administrative capacity by the Secretary of State for War, but whether the Secretary of State for War did not appoint him ministerially on the advice of the head of the Army Medical Department, who is Dr. Jameson?

I believe that the Secretary of State for War did appoint him.

Do I understand that he will sit in judgment on Dr. Jameson, who has appointed him?

What is the salary paid to this gentleman?

Is it in the power of the War Office to remove or retain Professor Cunningham in his appointment?

I believe not.

I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for War if he can state the number of admissions for enteric at Bloemfontein, and the number of deaths from that disease for the six weeks ending 22nd June.

No complete Returns for the three weeks ending 22nd June have yet reached the War Office. For the three weeks ending 1st June the figures are as follows:—First week: 684 admissions, 120 deaths; second week: 269 admissions, 108 deaths; third week: 227 admissions, 93 deaths. If the hon. Member will add these figures to those which I gave him on the 3rd inst. for the previous weeks he will find that the total percentage of deaths is about nineteen.

I beg to ask the First Lord of the Treasury if the Government have come to any decision as to the question of affording assistance in the way of free or assisted passages from England to South Africa to the families of soldiers who desire to settle in South Africa; and whether, when the Government have come to a decision on this matter, they will communicate their intentions to the Emigrants' Information Office, 31, Broadway, Westminster, so that the information may be properly diffused.

As my hon. friend is probably aware, a statement has already been made in the House, and the matter has been referred to a Departmental Committee, That Committee has not yet reported. I have no doubt that the suggestion contained in the last part of the question is one that will not be lost sight of by the Colonial Office.

Will the right hon. Gentleman give an assurance that no steps will be taken until the House of Commons has had an opportunity of expressing its opinion?

No, Sir, I do not think I can give such an assurance.

I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for War whether, having in view the possibility of sickness and accident, and in order that the ministrations of religion may be accessible to such as may need them, the Secretary of State will be prepared to sanction the appointment, in Volunteer brigade camps where no Army chaplain or clergyman, acting as such is available, of a brigade chaplain, who shall be responsible for the care of the sick in hospital during the week and for all services that may be necessary on Sundays, the said chaplain to receive the daily pay of his rank at Army rates during the camp, together with the usual allowances, but no further remuneration for Sunday services; and whether he will be prepared to allow the brigadier to have the appointment of the chaplain without reference to seniority, and to empower him at his discretion to appoint for the denomination next in numerical strength to that of the chaplain, a second brigade chaplain, whose pay shall be the same as that of the chaplain.

The Secretary of State has approved the appointment by the officer commanding a Volunteer brigade camp where no Army chaplain or acting Army chaplain is stationed, of a brigade chaplain with pay for Sunday duty at £1 1s. a service up to £2 2s. a Sunday. The officer commanding may also appoint a second brigade chaplain for the next most numerous denomination, on similar terms. The duties of a Volunteer chaplain differ so greatly in amount and variety from those of an Army chaplain, especially on week-days, that there does not appear to be any reason for granting Volunteer chaplains continuous pay at Army rates. Their services are only required on Sunday. It is unlikely that the cases of serious sickness could be such as to necessitate special spiritual provision.

I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for War whether he is in a position now to state if the senior majors of embodied Militia who have been doing the same work as seconds in command of Line battalions are to receive the extra pay given to the seconds in command of Line battalions; and, if so, if this additional pay will be given as from the respective dates of embodiment.

Yes, Sir. The additional 1s. a day will be granted for the period of embodiment.

I beg to ask the First Lord of the Admiralty whether a war ship is now stationed at Zanzibar; if not, what steps have been taken to carry out the intention of the Government in regard to this matter.

The third class cruiser "Barrosa" was sent to Zanzibar in May last with orders to remain during the monsoon months, which last from May to the end of September. There is no intention of removing her at present.

I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether an Abyssinian expedition to Lake Rudolph, under the command of the Russian Leontief, reached Lake Rudolph in August last, and whether a boundary with Abyssinia, north of Lake Rudolph, has been arranged.

An expedition which started from Adis Ababa, under Monsieur Leontieff, in July last, is reported to have reached Lake Rudolph. The question of boundary with Abyssinia is still under discussion.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether the Pacific Cable Board have now definitely decided to commence the laying of their cable.

The various Governments interested have accepted the recommendations of the Pacific Cable Committee, and tenders for the establishment of the cable will be called for immediately.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for India if he would state to the House when the reduction in the Indian telegraph tariff, as promised by the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, will be announced; and, whether any difficulty has arisen in the negotiations to account for the delay.

I cannot as yet state when the proposed reduction in the telegraph rate to India will take place. The consent of various parties has to be obtained, and for this time is required; but I am not aware that any difficulty has arisen in the negotiations.

Arising out of that answer, will the noble Lord say if it is intended to wait until the assembly of the International Telegraphic Conference next year, when Great Britain will have the high privilege of meeting on equal terms the representatives of Venezuela and Patagonia?

I do not think that question arises.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for India whether he intends to introduce an Indian Loan Bill; and if so, for what amount; and will it be in whole or in part for the purposes of famine relief.

There is no intention of introducing an Indian Loan Bill.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is aware that the District Council of Walthamstow have been endeavouring for some time past to get a weekly court of petty sessions established at Walthamstow; and whether, having regard to the fact that the population of Walthamstow now amounts to 90,000, and is increasing, that the court house at Stratford is three miles from Walthamstow, and that the police and others interested suffer inconvenience by travelling this distance, which entails loss of time, he will advise the establishment of a weekly petty sessions court at Walthamstow; and, if not, would he be prepared to meet a deputation, in order that the question might be fully considered.

The establishment of a new petty sessional court is a matter for the discretion of the magistrates in quarter sessions, and with their discretion I have no authority to interfere. I do not, therefore, think that any useful purpose would be served by receiving a deputation.

I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury, as representing the Postmaster General, if he is aware that in consequence of the removal of the Inland section to Mount Pleasant, necessitating as it has done protracted deliveries, some of the men have been working two or three hours in excess of their proper time daily, and will he state whether they will receive pay for the overtime thus worked.

The Postmaster General would be glad if the hon. Member would state to what body of men his question refers. No deliveries are made from the Inland section at Mount Pleasant. The general practice is that whenever postmen are for some special reason detained at the office and thus prevented from starting on their deliveries at the usual hour they shall be paid for such detention, provided it is not less than half-an-hour and the full normal attendance for the week is given.

Is it not a fact that some of the men have been working as many as twenty hours a week overtime in order to meet the extra work entailed upon them by the removal from St. Martin's-le-Grand to Mount Pleasant? They want to know if they are to be paid for that overtime.

I understand that there are no deliveries at all from Mount Pleasant.

Then I will furnish the right hon. Gentleman with the names of men who have been doing the work.

I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury, as representing the Postmaster General, if he will lay upon the Table of the House a copy of the Treasury Minute or Minutes orginally issued regulating the grant and withdrawal of postmen's stripes.

There is no Treasury Minute on the subject. The award and forfeiture of good conduct stripes are now regulated on the recommendation of the Tweedmouth Committee.

I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury, as representing the Postmaster General, whether he is aware that, although the Treasury authorised the employment of cooks to prepare the meals of the male staff in the Eastern Central District Post Offices some months since, the arrangement has not been carried out because of the lack of accommodation and insanitary condition of the post offices; and whether the Postmaster General will take steps to carry out the necessary alterations that the staff may have the benefit of the improvements.

The Treasury authority has not been given nor sought for the employment of cooks to prepare meals for the male staff' in the Eastern Central District Post Offices; nor is it the case that the arrangement has not been carried out because of the lack of accommodation or insanitary condition of the offices. A committee has already inquired into the matter, and expects to be able to formulate a scheme shortly.

I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury what applications have been made during the current financial year by the Post Office to the Treasury for an increase of numbers, or pay, in connection with the Post Office staff; when they were made; and whether they were granted.

I have not been able, with so short notice, to ascertain the as to the whole of the Post Office staff everywhere, but as regards the Circulation Department of the General Post Office, in which, I think, my hon. friend and the House are most interested, I find that no request for increase of numbers or pay has been refused. So lately as last Monday, for instance, an application was received for extra staff in that department alone involving an extra expenditure of £20,000 a year, and was immediately granted. Funds have, I believe, never been so freely granted to this department as during the last five years.

I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade will he explain why the Board of Trade insist on all transfers of electric lighting orders to companies being in a standard form, and refuse to allow variations required by local conditions, also on what grounds they refuse to allow the insertion of agreed provisions for the reduction of the maximum price either for public or private lighting; and whether he will consider the desirability of relaxing these departmental rules.

The Board of Trade do not consider that deeds of transfer under electric lighting orders should contain any provisions other than those which are consequential on the substitution of a company for a local authority as undertakers. To go beyond this is to provide, under the colour of a mere deed of transfer, for matters which really require the approval of Parliament. Transferees are accordingly placed in exactly the same position with regard to price as they would have been had they obtained the order originally. The price for public supply is left to agreement, or, failing agreement, to arbitration. The price for private supply is not specifically fixed, but is left, as in the order, subject to a maximum, which may be revised periodically by the Board of Trade on the representation of the local authority. I see no reason for altering the existing practice of the Department.

I bog to ask the President of the Board of Trade whether the New Code of Railway Bye-laws, which was submitted to the Board upwards of two years ago, and remitted to the Railway Companies with certain modifications and suggestions, has again been submitted to the Board for confirmation; and, if not, will he state the general tenour of the replies given by the railway companies to the Board's repeated requests for the adoption of a satisfactory Code of Railway Bye-laws.

No, Sir; the revised bye-laws have not yet been submitted. When the Board of Trade receive them the Department will act on a suggestion which has been made that a conference should take place between the railway companies and those —notably the London County Council— who have criticised the proposed bye-laws. The hon. Member is, no doubt, aware that the Board of Trade cannot themselves propound bye-laws—they merely confirm such bye-laws proposed by the companies as, in their judgment, merit approval.

I beg to ask the Vice-President of the Committee of Council on Education if he is prepared to place upon the Table of the House a minute of the Board giving a right of appeal to teachers in cases of their alleged wrongful dismissal by managers of schools (both Board and Voluntary) which receive grants under the Day School Code.

I beg also to ask the Vice-President of the Committee of Council on Education whether he has considered the universally expressed desire of the school teachers that no sentence of dismissal passed upon them shall be valid without the approval of the Board of Education.

The matter is still under the consideration of the Board of Education, but I hope to be in a position to make a definite statement on the subject before the end of the session.

I beg to ask the First Lord of the Admiralty whether arrange- ments can be made for a training ship to visit Stornoway, Ullapool, and Invergordon during the summer.

The arrangements for the forthcoming cruise of the sea-going training ships will not admit of a visit to the places named. I may remind the hon. Gentleman that the "Calliope" was at Ullapool in June last.

I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury, as representing the Postmaster General, whether he is aware that the late postmaster of Glasgow, a few days prior to his retirement, secured the promotion of his private clerk from the second to the first class of assistant superintendents, thereby passing over the only officer senior to him, who possessed the necessary technical certificate; whether in making that promotion the usual method of local procedure was departed from; whether the officer so passed over was refused information when he asked the postmaster whether a superior appointment was under considertion, being thereby prevented from laying before the Secretary his claims to the appointment; and whether, in view of the fact that the officer in question has placed his present appointment in the hands of the Postmaster General, with the request that an inquiry may be granted him, and that the officers of the local branch of the Postal Telegraph Clerks' Association have intimated to the chief superintendent that the general body of the staff resent the indignity placed on the assistant superintendent so passed over, the Postmaster General will grant the inquiry demanded.

Shortly before the retirement of the late postmaster of Glasgow a promotion was made to fill a vacancy on the first class of assistant superintendents, but the officer promoted was not the postmaster's private clerk. An assistant superintendent of the second class was certified to be the best qualified for the vacant post, and he accordingly passed over the heads of four of his seniors. The proper course was taken by the postmaster in making the recommendation. It is not the practice to communicate to the staff the fact that the question of filling a superior appointment has arisen, nor is such a course necessary in order to ensure the proper weight being given to the claims of any officer. One officer only has appealed to the Postmaster General respecting the promotion, namely, the officer third on the list of second-class assistant superintendents. He was reported to be not capable of performing the duties of the higher post; and as his record is in many respects unsatisfactory, there does not appear to be any reason for making further inquiry.

I beg to ask the Lord Advocate whether he is aware that foreign trawlers, after making catches in the Moray Firth, do not ordinarily leave the Firth for periods sufficient to reach foreign ports; whether he will inquire into the allegation that they deliver their catches during the night to carrier boats which convey them to Aberdeen, and other Scottish ports; and whether he will take steps to stop this practice if it is found to exist.

I am. informed by the Fishery Board that they have no reason to suppose that such a practice is followed, nor do they think it could be carried out, except in very favourable weather, and in daylight. From information furnished to them by the commanders of their cruisers, it would appear that foreign trawlers do certainly remain away from the Moray Firth sufficiently long to convey their catches to English or foreign ports, as during the past eighteen months the majority were not seen in the Firth on more than four or five separate occasions, and at the present time there are only two foreign trawlers seen occasionally fishing in the Firth.

I beg to ask the Lord Advocate whether he has any funds at his disposal out of which he can make compensation to the salmon fishermen who have been prevented by the recent decision in the House of Lords from carrying on the drift net fishing in the River Forth, which has been practised from time immemorial.

If the hon. Member will refer to the Fishery Board's Annual Report for 1889, Part II., he will find that it is not correct to say that drift net fishing has been practised in the River Forth from time immemorial. I may add that the Secretary for Scotland has no funds at his disposal for any such purpose as is referred to in the question.

I beg to ask the Lord Advocate whether any part, and if so, how much of the £5,000 voted last year from Imperial funds as required to maintain the Scotch fee grant at 12s. per scholar was required for that purpose, and whether the same or any part thereof has been surrendered; and if he can explain how it comes about that in 1897 he estimated that a sum of £26,000 annually out of Imperial funds would be necessary to keep the fee grant up to 12s. per scholar, whilst this year no sum whatever is borne on the Imperial Estimates for that purpose.

Of the £ 5,000 voted last year to maintain the Scotch fee grant at 12s. per scholar, £2,763 was required for that purpose. The remainder (£ 2,237) will be surrendered at the close of the year 1900-1. The explanation of the fact referred to in the last paragraph of the question is that the amount receivable by the Department for 1899-1900 from the local taxation account was so much in excess of that anticipated, that no further sum will be required from the Vote to maintain the 12s. rate. Also, the average attendance has not increased so rapidly as was expected.

I beg to ask the Lord Advocate if he can explain how it comes about that for the year ending 31st March, 1898, when the average attendance on which the Fee Grant was paid under Section 1 of the Education and Local Taxation (Scotland) Act, 1892, was 614,616, the amount paid to counties, etc., in relief of rates was £145,625; that for the year ending 31st March, 1899, when the average attendance was 621,405, the amount paid was £161,912; and that for the year ending 31st March, 1900, when the average attendance had risen to 626,341, the amount paid was £149,073; and whether, to the extent of upwards of £20,000, there has been an over payment to the counties, etc., to the detriment of the Fee Grant Fund, which under the Act of 1892 is entitled to the residue.

Under the Education and Local Taxation Account (Scotland) Act, 1892, Section 2, the grant to counties and burghs in relief of rates (which now includes the amount previously deducted under the Diseases of Animals Act, 1894) is the difference between the total—namely, £165,000—of grants fixed under Section 2 and the amount of the fee grant. An increase of the fee grant therefore causes a corresponding increase of the grant to counties and burghs, and consequently a corresponding decrease of the residue payable as an addition to the fee grant under Sub-section 6 of Section 2. The estimate for the fee grant is framed with reference to the estimated number of scholars, but does not necessarily correspond exactly with the actual average attendance. In the estimate for 1898-99 it included a sum of £21,000 for arrears of fee grant in previous years. If this £21,000 had not been included in the Vote the grant to counties and burghs would have been less, and the residue available as an addition to the fee grant would have been increased by the same amount. There has accordingly been no over-payment under the terms of the Act to counties and burghs to the detriment of the fee grant fund, as the whole payments are automatically adjusted over a period of year's.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether any members of any English police force are kept on duty in Dublin for the purpose of arresting absconding criminals or recovering stolen property; and, if so, from what source are they paid.

The answer is in the negative.

I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether he can say how many absconding criminals have been arrested, and what amount of stolen property has been recovered, by the member of the Royal Irish Constabulary stationed at Holyhead since he went on duty there.

Ten absconding criminals have been arrested at Holyhead by the member of the Constabulary since he went on duty there in March, 1895, and stolen property of the value of £500 has been recovered by him.

I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury, as representing the Postmaster General, with reference to the postal districts of Ballyroney and Katesbridge, county Down, whether he is aware that letters from England and Scotland do not reach these districts under two or three days, and letters from Bembridge, only nine miles distant from Ballyroney railway station, take nearly two days in transit, and that letters there from have to be sent through Rathfriland post office, and reach there too late for the cross-channel mails on same evening; and whether he will reconsider the desirability of making new arrangements by train for the accommodation of these two districts.

AS there is no second post in the day to or from Ballyroney and Katesbridge, letters sent from England and Scotland by night mail do not reach those places until the second day after posting, and letters from those places are not received in England and Scotland in time for delivery on the following morning. Returns are being taken with the view of ascertaining whether there is enough correspondence to warrant the establishment of a second post to and from Ballyroney and Katesbridge. The existing night mail service to Ballyroney and Katesbridge is performed by foot postman from Rathfriland, which in turn receives its mails by car from Newry. There are no trains by which Ballyroney and Katesbridge could be served in the morning. At present the mails reach Ballyroney at 7.5 a.m. and Katesbridge at 8.5 a.m., and are despatched from Ballyroney at 5.55 p.m. and from Katesbridge at 5 p.m. Letters posted at Banbridge (which is presumably meant, not Bembridge) in time for the mail leaving that town at 9.30 p.m. are delivered in Ballyroney and Katesbridge on the following morning.

I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury, as representing the Postmaster General, whether the attention of the Postmaster General has been called to the condition of matters in the Dublin sorting office, where, owing to the small numbers employed, there is pressure of work, and between 6,000 and 7,000 letters, etc., the correspondence of the merchants and citizens of Dublin, are mis-sent each month; whether he is aware that, owing to the present postal arrangements, the English parcel mail via Holyhead, reaching North Wall about 6.45 a.m., does not arrive in the parcel sorting depot until 9 or 9.30 o'clock, thus occasioning delay in delivery; that sorting clerks working under pressure and against time, in consequence of insufficient evening staff in the letter sorting department, notwithstanding, are punished with extra work if they mis-send thirty-one letters per month; and that a similar course is not followed with regard to all offenders, an official found guilty of supplying wrong records against a postman (the postman thereby being deprived of his increment and a stripe) only losing a contemplated promotion; and whether he will cause an inquiry to be made into the alleged grievances.

The Postmaster General has ascertained that there is nothing unsatisfactory in the condition of the Dublin sorting office. Extra staff is provided whenever it can be foreseen that pressure of duty may require it, and arrangements are contemplated for making a small permanent addition to the numbers employed in the evening. It is not the case that anything like 6,000 or 7,000 letters a month are mis-sent. In administering punishment every case is considered on its merits, and suitable allowance is made if the conditions under which the work is done are abnormal. The Postmaster General is aware of the want of punctuality in the receipt of the morning parcel mail viâ North Wall, and he is at the present time in communication with the railway company on the subject.

I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury, as representing the Postmaster General, whether he is aware that inconvenience is caused in and around Cahirdaniel, county Kerry, owing to the want of telegraphic communications; and that a guarantee has been given in connection with the proposed telegraph office; and whether, in view of the fact that the fishing industry, which is of importance to that district, will be in operation during next month, immediate steps will be taken by the Post Office authorities to give the required telegraphic communications to Cahirdaniel.

The Postmaster General is sorry that any inconvenience should arise from the lack of telegraphic communication with Cahirdaniel. He has given instructions for the extension of the telegraph to be put in hand; but the engineering staff is working under considerable pressure, and he fears he cannot promise that the work shall be completed at once.

I beg to ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware that the income tax authorities claim from the Callan Rural District Council and the Slievedaragh Rural District Council payment of income tax on the rents receivable from labourers' cottages erected under the Labourers (Ireland) Acts; and whether, as the outlay on these cottages is a loss, or at least an unprofitable investment for the time being, and that a number of years must elapse before the invested capital is recovered and any profit can accrue, he will see that the demand for income tax will not be pressed.

I understand that the Inland Revenue Department is quite prepared to admit that if, in the cases referred to, the interest paid to the Board of Works on money borrowed to build cottages exceeds the rents payable to the rural district council, the assessment to income tax may properly be limited to the ground rents payable by the council to the landlords, on whom the charge will fall. But before the Depart- ment can authorise this reduction of the assessments, they must have all the facts properly laid before the Surveyor of Taxes, and up to now the clerk to the rural district councils has failed to supply the necessary information. If he will remedy this omission, the matter can, I hope, be satisfactorily arranged.

I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether he is aware that no tenders for the maintenance of five roads in the Mallow Rural District (including the streets of Mallow) have been accepted by the District Council or the County Council of Cork; in view of the fact that no moneys can be spent on the maintenance of these roads until a proposal is formulated by the district council at a quarterly meeting to be held on the 19th inst., and approved of by the county council at the quarterly meeting of that body in October next, will he state whether these roads can be handed over to the charge of the county surveyor, under Article 24 of the Procedure of Councils Order, 1899, to be maintained in the interval pending the formulation and approval of a proposal.

I understand that the failure in this case arose from the fact that a sufficient number of members to constitute a quorum was not present at the adjourned meeting of the county council on the 17th May. The Local Government Board do not consider that under the circumstances the county council can hand over the works in question to the county surveyor, as suggested.

In the event of the next meeting having to be adjourned, which would then necessitate the matter going over till October, will the right hon. Gentleman make an order similar to that he issued last February?

I must ask for notice of that question.

May I ask whether, in view of the fact that this difficulty would not have arisen if the councils had possessed the power to employ direct labour on the roads, the right hon. Gentle- man will consider the desirability of conferring such power on them?

I replied to a question of the hon. Member on this subject on the 9th instant.^✶

I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland if he can state the cause of delay in completing the sale of the Weir estate in the county of Fermanagh; is he aware that Mrs. Alice Brown signed an agreement for purchase of her farm on this estate in April, 1896, and that, although she has several times made application to the Land Commission, and also to the solicitors for the vendors, she can get no satisfactory reply as to when the sale will be completed; and seeing that Mrs. Brown was in a position, before signing the agreement, to enter the Land Court and have a fair rent fixed, and is now paying £12 a year as interest on the purchase money without any part of the principal being paid off till the sale is completed, will he cause inquiry to be made in this case.

The estate referred to appears to consist of three holdings. The contract for the sale to Mrs. Brown of her holding was lodged in February, 1897. The advance was conditionally sanctioned in May, 1897, but the abstract of the vendor's title was not lodged until March, 1898, and in July of the same year the title was ruled defective. The defect in the title was not remedied until January last. It will be ruled and the sale completed in the usual course.

I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, as President of the Local Government Board, if he has received a resolution from the Board of Management of the Glin (county Limerick) district school, calling attention to the urgent necessity for a means of communication by steamboat to Glin, in order to secure a proper attendance of the members who are required to come from the different unions, and to give facility

^* See page 966 of this volume.

The reply to the first paragraph is in the affirmative. The Commissioners of Public Works are already in communication with the board of management of the district school on the subject, and it is hoped that arrangements may be made to effect the object in view.

I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether he is aware that a feeling exists in many portions of Ireland owing to the fact that the teaching of Irish is not a compulsory subject in national schools; and whether, seeing that the Kerry County Council unanimously passed a resolution asking that Irish should be made the general medium of instruction, representations will be made to the National Board with a view of giving effect to this resolution, so as to make the teaching of Irish a compulsory subject within the regular school hours.

I have received a good many resolutions from public bodies in Ireland on this subject. The matter is one for the consideration of the Commissioners of National Education, and not one for the intervention of the Executive.

Will the right hon. Gentleman answer the last paragraph of my question?

I have received no representations on the subject.

Have the National Commissioners under the new rules altered the conditions as to the teaching of the Irish language in Irish elementary schools?

The hon. Gentleman had better await the issue of the rules.

Is there any "Commissioner of National Education'' this House?

The Commissioners have no direct representative in this House.

When will the rules be issued?

I am informed it will not be possible to issue them tomorrow, but a few copies will be available in the Vote Office for Irish Members.

May I ask the right hon. Gentleman what his prospects are with regard to the Estimates on Friday.

I had announced that after the Home Office Vote the Local Government Board Vote would be taken. I find that is now impossible, because my right hon. friend in charge of these Estimates is unable to be present. The Board of Trade Vote will therefore stand second. The Navy Estimates will be taken on Tuesday.

Will that be an allotted day?

Yes. The reason for taking them on Tuesday next week is owing to the very great interest i which is evinced in the subject of water-tube boilers. My right hon. friend the First Lord of the Admiralty has not been able to furnish the Memorandum for the use of hon. Members so early as he expected, but he thinks that no long delay in discussing the question should take place.

When shall we have the Memorandum?

I cannot say in the absence of my right hon. friend.

What will be the business for Monday?

On Monday I will make a statement about Ministerial business, and I shall then ask the House to suspend the Twelve o'clock rule for the remainder of the session. [An HON. Member: After wasting time on a garden party.] The Tithe Bill will be the first Order on Monday.

As to the notice of motion standing on the Paper with reference to the Money-lending Bill, may I suggest that proceeding with that motion should be deferred until after the right hon. Gentleman's statement on Monday.

I do not know that there is any reason for that. I understand that the Bill, now that the schedule has been dropped, meets with universal acceptance on both sides of the House. [Cries of "No, no!"] That is the impression I gather.