To ask Mr. Chancellor of Exchequer, whether he is aware that the amount of revenue received for taxes on food and drink, both Excise and Customs, during the last twenty years amounts approximately to £800,000,000; and whether he would consider the advisability of reducing the taxes on food by inaugurating a system of taxation, averaging 5 per cent., ad valorem, on imports, as introduced into India by a Liberal Government; if not, whether he would consider the question of a 5 per cent. tax on manufactured goods in place of the present taxes on cocoa and some other articles of general consumption.(Answered by Mr. Asquith.) I am aware that the revenue from taxes on food and drink has amounted during the last twenty years to approximately the amount mentioned by the hon. Member. By far the greater part of that revenue has been derived from taxes on alcohol in various forms. The hon. Member will not expect me to deal with specific proposals for altering taxation in anticipation of the Budget statement.

To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, whether John Padden, who was denounced as a grabber at a meeting at Barhane, near Belmullet, county Mayo, on 3rd October, 1905, arising out of which Mr. John O'Dowd, M.P., and Mr. Conor O'Kelly, M.P., with Mr. James Mills, J.P., were indicted for alleged conspiracy, is still the occupier of the farm formerly rented by an evicted tenant, named Augustus Loftus; and whether John Padden has claimed and received, or is now receiving, police protection.(Answered by Mr. Bryce.) John Padden is still in occupation of the farm in question. He has made no application for police protection, but the police are aware of the facts and are taking such steps as they think needed.

To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, whether his attention has been called to the amount of the rents charged to tenants of Colonel Smythe of Collinstown, Westmeath, which have only been paid in obedience to writs and out of moneys received from America and other extraneous sources; is he aware that the landlord wrote on the 23rd January last an offer, to remain open for a month, to sell at prices based upon those rents; that the proposed sale broke down owing to the landlord's refusal to consider the reinstatement of two evicted tenants whose former holdings are untenanted; and that on the 5th February, before the month for consideration had run half its course, Colonel Smythe had again served some of the tenants with writs for the hanging gale, there being no more due; and whether, seeing that such duress is extensively practised, and a danger to social peace and to the security of the State for the payment of annuities so contracted, His Majesty's Government propose to check or counteract in any way such conduct.(Answered by Mr. Bryce.) No originating application or request as to the sale of this estate has been lodged with the Estates Commissioners, and they have no knowledge of the statements of fact alleged in the Question. I have no means of making a satisfactory inquiry as to the facts, and, even supposing them to be as stated, His Majesty's Government would have no power to interfere.

To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether he is aware that under the Marine Works (Ireland) Act a sum of money was allotted for the improvement of the Clifden harbour, county Galway, and that such improvement has not yet been carried out, although the last two Chief Secretaries repeatedly promised that no delay should occur in prosecuting the work; and whether he will state when the proposed work will commence.(Answered by Mr. Bryce.) In March, 1903, the late Government announced to the Galway County Council its intention to allocate from funds provided under the Marine Works Act a sum of £4,000 on works at Kinvarra, Salt Hill, or Clifden, as might be arranged; but I am informed that no promise was made as to works at Clifden in particular. Of the amount mentioned, a sum of £1,100 was eventually allocated to Kinvarra. A difficulty arose in regard to Clifden by reason of the fact that the estimated necessary expenditure at that place amounts to some £9,000, that is to say, at, least three times the amount available. I have now received a resolution of the Clifden Board of Guardians urging the necessity of the works, and I will take a convenient opportunity of looking into the matter. I may remind the hon. Member that, in adition to Kinvarra, a sum of over £8,500 has been allocated for works under the Marine Acts at Cleggan, Roundstone, and Kilronan, in county Galway.

To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, whether he will grant the Return on to-day's Paper relating to the River Shannon Fisheries. Appended is the Return referred to:— Return of the amount of money received by the Shannon Navigation Commissioners and the Board of Works as rents or compensation for redundant waters supplied for mills or other purposes under the provisions of the Act 2nd and 3rd of Victoria, chapter 61; the amount of money received by the said Commissioners or the Board of Works in rents for mills, lands, fisheries, or other property, acquired under the said Act, from the year 1839 to the end of the year 1905; the quantity of property so acquired which has been leased or sold; the name of such places; the names of the lessees or purchasers of such places; the dates on which such leases were given and such purchases effected; the number of years for which such leases or purchases have been arranged in each ease.(Answered by Mr. McKenna.) I have already explained by letter to the hon. Member that I am unable to grant this Return.

To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, whether his attention has been called to the case of Mr. Robert McConkey, an official of the Irish Board of Works, who, after forty-six years service in various parts of Ireland, has been called upon to resign, without any charge, that he knows of, being brought against him, and who, after all those years of service, has been offered the sum of £41 as compensation; and whether he will inquire into this man's case, with a view to granting him a pension.(Answered by Mr. McKenna.) This officer was retired in the ordinary course, on the ground of age and infirmity. The appointment which he held (overseer of the Shannon Navigation) did not entitle him to a pension on retirement, and he was treated in accordance with the usual practice, under which gratuities have been awarded to officers holding like appointments in the past.

To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether his attention has been directed to the recent proceedings before the police magistrate in Dublin in the case of Mr. Peter Leech, a member of the licensed trade; whether he is aware that the charge against Mr. Leech was made by a police sergeant named McElroy, whose sworn testimony the magistrate refused to believe, and whose action in the case he stated that he would report to the Commissioner of Police before he had heard the evidence for the accused or the statement of his legal representative; and will he say whether such a report has been received, and what action is the Government going to take.(Answered by Mr. Bryce.) In this case the magistrate dismissed the complaint against Mr. Leech with a caution. In the course of the hearing the magistrate characterised the sergeant's evidence, relating to the production of a notebook, as contradictory and inaccurate, but did not say that he disbelieved the sergeant's evidence upon the main issue. The Chief Commissioner suitably admonished the sergeant for his carelessness, but was satisfied that he made no wilful misstatement.

To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether his attention has been called to the language used by Sub-Commissioner M'Elligott when valuing tenants' holdings in county Longford; and whether he will direct an inquiry into the fitness of this gentleman to give an impartial decision as between landlord and tenant in the fixing of fair rents in Ireland.(Answered by Mr. Bryce.) The Land Commission are not aware of any complaint as to language used by Mr. M'Elligot when valuing tenants' holdings. Any complaints on the subject should be brought to the knowledge of the Land Commission. As regards the question of impartiality, I may point out that the decisions of the Sub-Commission Court are subject to appeal.

To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether the Estates Commissioners contemplate taking any action in regard to those landlords in the West of Ireland and elsewhere who, under any condition or at any price, refuse to sell to their tenants under the Land Act of 1903.(Answered by Mr. Bryce.) The Estates Commissioners inform me that they have no knowledge, other than that which may be gained from the public Press, that there are any landlords in the West of Ireland or elsewhere, to whom the terms of the Question apply. If there be any such, the Commissioners have no power to interfere.

To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, whether the Estates Commissioners have yet considered the applications for reinstatement of Margaret Fraser and Thomas Kent, evicted tenants on the estate of the Countess of Kingston, Michelstown, as promised when this estate has been inspected.(Answered by Mr. Bryce.) The Estate Commissioners will consider the applications of these evicted tenants when the estate is being inspected, which will probably be about the end of next month.

To ask Mr. Attorney-General for Ireland whether he is aware that the officials of some of the Chancery Courts in Dublin require the solicitors to advertise legal notices in connection with cases pending in these courts in the General Advertiser newspaper, Dublin; and whether, in view of the circulation of that newspaper compared with that of the other Dublin newspapers, he will explain why that particular newspaper is selected, and will he announce that in future the other Dublin newspapers shall be capable of selection by the solicitor having carriage of the case.(Answered by Mr. Cherry.) This is not a matter which in any way comes within my jurisdiction. The judges of the Chancery Division in Ireland have entire control of the advertising in their own courts, but I have made inquiries from their offices and I am informed that in the Lord Chancellor's Chambers and the Land Judge's Court the newspapers for advertisements are, as a rule, selected by the solicitors in the proceedings, and that advertisements are rarely published in the General Advertiser. The practice in the Chambers of the Master of the Rolls and Mr. Justice Barton is to require one advertisement in the General Advertiser, the reason for this rule being that it is considered desirable to have one newspaper in which parties may be sure of seeing all advertisements, and the General Advertiser is considered the most suitable for the purpose.

To ask the Secretary to the Treasury whether he is aware that a junior supervisor in the Excise Outdoor Department has been appointed over the heads of 100 of his colleagues without any reasons being assigned for this proceeding; will he say what special qualification this gentleman had which his seniors did not possess, and have any reasons been since given for making this appointment; and will he abolish such a cover for favouritism.(Answered by Mr. McKenna.) The appointment referred to in the hon. Member's Question was one for which very special qualifications were required. The Board selected the senior officer who appeared to them to possess those qualifications in the requisite degree.

. To ask the President of the Board of Trade, whether the delay in the issue of the list of alien immigrant arrivals from the Continent in January is due to any new form in which it is intended to publish the figures; and whether the Return will state the number of rejections, the reasons for such rejections, and the number of appeals to the Immigration Boards, and their results.(Answered by Mr. Lloyd-George.) The Act under which the information as to alien immigration from the Continent hitherto published was obtained has been repealed by the Aliens Act of last Session. Statistics are being compiled under the new Act with the view of giving in due course all the information possible with regard to the question of alien immigration in this country, but a stage has not yet been reached at which the periods for the publication of these statistics can usefully be settled.

To ask the President of the Local Government Board, whether his attention has been called to the application by the Acton Urban District Council for sanction to a loan for the erection of a dust destructor on a site next to a now large public elementary school; and whether the Board will decline to give their sanction to a loan for such a purpose, other suitable sites being obtainable.(Answered by Mr. John Burns.) have had before me the application referred to. In all the circumstances of the case I do not propose to sanction the loan, and I have so informed the urban district council.

TO ask the Postmaster-General, if he is aware that letters for Collinstown postal district, Westmeath, are brought in the morning from Streete Station to Castlepollard and kept there for nearly eight hours, with a loss of a business day to the persons addressed; that the post car could, at a merely nominal cost, go on to Collinstown and rest there instead of at Castlepollard; if he has seen a memorial presented to his predecessor last July praying this to be done; and if he will give that memorial favourable consideration now, or requires one more extensively signed.(Answered by Mr. Sydney Buxton.) A memorial on this subject was, as the hon. Member states, presented to my predecessor in July last, and the question was then fully examined. I find that the cost of the whole postal service in the district is already very high compared with the amount of correspondence, and I regret that I should not be justified in incurring further expenditure for the purpose of carrying out the improvement desired.

To ask the Secretary of State for India, what the length of the proposed Loishilman railway is to be; what is the intended terminus of the line, which apparently starts from near Jamrud; whether the line is for strategical or commercial purposes; on what gauge is it to be constructed; and what is the estimated total cost.(Answered by Mr. Secretary Morley.) The length of the proposed railway is 22½ miles; its terminus is a point on the Kabul river, known as "mile 300"; it is undertaken both for strategic and for commercial purposes; its gauge is 5 feet 6 inches; and the estimated total cost is 50 lakhs of rupees.

To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether any report has been received from the county Monaghan police authorities as to a disturbance which took place at Glasslough, county Monaghan; whether he is aware that a police sergeant named Bennett intercepted a Nationalist band and, on their declining to obey his command, an attack was made upon them by an Orange mob headed by two local postmen named Hearst; will he say by what right Bennett prevented the Nationalist band marching along the public road; and whether any official cognizance will be taken of the action of the Messrs. Hearst, who are engaged in the postal service.(Answered by Mr. Bryce.): I am informed that this incident is the subject of proceedings pending at petty sessions against the police sergeant and others, and, following the invariable practice, I must decline to make any statement in the matter while those proceedings are sub judice.

To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether his attention has been drawn to the fact that no morgue has been provided for the urban district of Rathmines and Rathgar, with the result that inquests in that district must frequently be held in public houses, while the dead bodies are kept in stables and outhouses; and whether he will, through the Local Government Board, urge on the District Council of Rathmines to provide such necessaries as a morgue before proceeding with any further schemes for extending the boundaries of their district.(Answered by Mr. Bryce.) The circumstances mentioned do not appear to have been brought to the notice of the Local Government Board; but the Board have ascertained that the Rathmines Urban District Council have decided to include in next year's estimate the necessary provision for the erection of a morgue.

To ask the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies in what respects the trial of Chinese labourers will in future differ from the past, in view of the fact that they will still be tried by the same official, and that the proceedings will still be conducted in the Chinese language; and whether an English interpreter will be present at all trials.(Answered by Mr. Churchill.) It is proposed to retain the present system of trial, which gives to the Chinese prisoner the advantage of being tried by a magistrate who understands his language, of being able himself to follow the proceedings, and of being independent of an interpreter. The proceedings will be public, and the presence of an English interpreter will, no doubt, be secure when required.

To ask the Secretary of State for War whether it is proposed at an early date to proceed with the new cavalry barracks at Norwich; and, if so, whether the barracks will be built upon the plans submitted by the Director of Barrack Construction and approval by the Army Council.(Answered by Mr. Secretary Haldane. I fully appreciate the patriotic offer of the citizens of Norwich, and am anxious to meet their wishes to retain a cavalry regiment, if this can be done without prejudicing the organisation of the Army in future. Barrack policy must be sub servient to and dependent on genera policy, which I am now carefully con sidering, and I cannot assent to the expenditure of nearly £200,000 on new barracks at Norwich until I am in a position to arrive at a decision on the question of military policy involved.

To ask the First Lord of the Treasury whether he will consider the advisability of introducing a measure to enable the payment of election expenses and a fair salary for attendance to Members of this House, payable from the Treasury; and whether he can state what is the existing practice and what are the payments in the British Colonies.(Answered by Sir Henry-Campbell Bannerman.) The matter is under the consideration of His Majesty's Government. The existing practice as to such payments in British Colonies is as follows:—Canada—(a) A session of more than thirty days. $2,500 for the session; (b) A session of thirty days or less. $20 for each day's attendance. 4–5 Edw. 7, c. 43, s. 2. Australia—£400 a year. (Imperial Act.) 63 and 64 Vic, c. 12, s. 48. New Zealand—£300 per annum. 4 Edw. 7, c. 24, s. 2. Tasmania—£100 per annum. 54 Vic, c. 20. West Australia—£200 per annum. 64 Vic, c. 32, s. 2. South Australia—£200 per annum. Acts No. 399 of 1887 and No. 476 of 1890. Queensland—£300 per annum. 60 Vic. c. 5, s. 4 (1). New South Wales—£300 per annum. 2 Edw. 7, c. 32, s. 28. Victoria—£300 per annum. Act No. 1,075 of 1890, s. 126. Cape of Good Hope—(a) Members resident within fifteen miles from House of Parliament: One guinea for each day of attendance; (b) More than fifteen miles: One guinea remuneration, and 15s. allowance for personal expenses for every day of absence from home on his Parliamentary duties. Act No. 16 of 1888, ss. 2, 4–5. Natal—£1 daily travelling allowance in the cases of Members who reside three miles or more from the place of assembly. Act No. 2 of 1888, s. 1. See also 19 of 1887 and 14 of 1893, s. 41. Newfoundland—The payments are voted annually. In The Public Service Act, 1905 (c. 23, p. 31) provision is made for $8,300, the salaries of thirty-six members. The Journal of the Assembly for 1902 gives the rates as $300 and $200. The $8,300 is probably made up as follows: eleven Members resident in our parts, at $300, $3,300; twenty-five Members resident in St. John's, at $200, $5,000.

I beg to ask the Secretary to the Admiralty whether the mine defences, formerly in charge of the War Department, for the defence of our mercantile ports, such as Liverpool, Hull, and other places, have been removed; and, if so, what system it is intended to adopt for the protection of these ports in their stead.

The Answer to the first part of my Lon. friend's Question is in the affirmative. As regards the latter part it is not desirable to make any statement.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if action is being taken by the British Government to check the slavery and atrocities alleged to be taking place in the Congo Free State and other African territories.

I can only repeat the Answer given last Wednesday; that Papers will shortly be laid with reference to the Congo State. Inquiry is being made as to when the Commission at Brussels is likely to report as to the best means of carrying out the reform recommended in Congo Administration.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for India whether he can inform the House of the present condition of the negotiations between the Government of India and the Government of China regarding the confirmation or modification of the agreement concluded in August, 1904, at Lhasa with the Tibetan authorities; and whether he is in a position to lay Papers on the subject before the House.

As was stated on Thursday last, negotiations are proceeding between His Majesty's Government and the Chinese Government in regard to the terms of a Convention for the adhesion of China to the Convention concluded with Tibet in 1904. No statement can be made and Papers cannot be presented during the progress of the negotiations.

I beg to ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he can state approximately what annual sum would be required to provide a pension of 5s. per week for every person in the United Kingdom over the age of sixty-five years.

The number of persons above sixty-five years of age enumerated in the 1901 Census was 2,018,716. To provide them with a pension of 5s. a week would, therefore, require over £26,225,000.

Will the right hon. Gentleman circulate for the information of Members what has been done in regard to this Question in the Australian Colonies and New Zealand?

I will consider that.

I beg to ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will introduce at an early date a Bill containing those clauses of the Revenue Bill of last session which were proposed in order to give effect to the recommendations of the Departmental Committee on the use of alcohol for industrial purposes.

The matter is under consideration, and I will make a statement at a later date.

I beg to ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has undertaken to include in the Estimates for 1906–7 a sum of £20,000 for the building fund of the University College of North Wales, to which fund £61,000 have been subscribed locally; if so, whether any conditions have been attached to the proposed grant; and whether he will make provision in the Estimates for similar grants to the Universities and University Colleges of England in the same proportion to the local subscriptions.

I have undertaken to ask Parliament to make a grant of £20,000 to the building fund of the College when the money is actually required for the scheme and subject to the condition that a similar sum has first been spent upon it from other sources. No part of this grant will have to be provided in the Estimates for 1906–7. Similar grants have already been made to the two other Welsh Colleges of like character. No such grants have in the past been made to University Colleges in England, and, as the annual grants to these institutions were largely increased—as I think most properly increased—by the right hon. Gentleman when he was Chancellor of the Exchequer, I am not, as at present advised, prepared to recommend a change of policy.

I do not in the least complain of the grant the right hon. Gentleman makes to Wales, Tout I shall call attention to the subject on the Estimates in order to secure an equivalent grant for English colleges.

I beg to ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in view of the fact that the Exchequer bonds to be paid off on 18th April next were drawn on 6th February, but that notice of the numbers of the bonds so drawn was not published for about a week thereafter, and in face of the obvious inconvenience of this course, he can see his way to arrange that the numbers when drawn shall be at once published.

In accordance with the Regulations published in the London Gazette of the 18th August last, the bonds were drawn in the presence of the Comptroller-General of the National Debt the Deputy-Governor of the Bank, and a representative of the Treasury. The list was sent to these gentlemen to be certified before being published in the Gazette. I agree that the drawn numbers should be published without any delay, and I will take steps to have this done in future, issuing a special Gazette if necessary for the purpose.

I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury, whether he is aware that joint stock banks in Great Britain are entitled to refuse to negotiate notes of the Bank of England; and whether, in view of frequent inconvenience to the public, he proposes to introduce legislation to deal with it.

I am aware that the joint stock banks are not under legal obligation to cash notes of the Bank of England, and I do not think it would be possible to impose such an obligation upon them. A Bank of England note is legal tender, but it would be impossible to require a joint stock bank to keep a cash reserve to change all the Bank of England notes that might be presented to it.

On behalf of the hon. Member for Leicester (Mr. RAMSEY MACDONALD) I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his attention has been drawn to the ease of Alexander Ouix, a Russian non-commissioned officer and social democrat, who was refused permission under The Aliens Act, 1905, to land at Harwich on the 12th instant, because he was not considered to have proved that he sought admission to this country solely to avoid prosecution on political grounds, although two companions gave evidence to his escape from Russia for these reasons; and whether, in view of this and similar cases, he will consider the amendment of the Act so that the right of political asylum may be maintained.

I have caused special inquiry to be made into all the circumstances of this case. I am informed that the immigrant had only one companion, that they came by ship from Denmark, and that no statement to the effect suggested in the question was made to the immigration officer or the interpreter. In the written statements of particulars signed by the immigrants the occupation of both was given as "workers," and the last permanent place of abode of the immigrant whose name was given as Ouix was stated to be Copenhagen. Ouix did not appeal to the Board, but returned at once to Denmark. I am confident that the immigration officials are doing their utmost to administer the Act in accordance with the intentions of Parliament as regards political refugees.

Was this immigrant aware that he had a right of appeal?

That fact appears on the papers.

And is it not laid down in the regulations that both the immigrants and the masters of ships shall be informed that they have a right of appeal?

Yes.

In what language?

In the British language.

Oh! that accounts for it.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department under what circumstances was Major O. Davies, a half-pay Army officer, appointed the new Governor of Model Prison, Pentonville; what amount does he receive from the Army, and what is his salary as governor of this prison; and whether he will consider the desirability of appointing civilians to such posts.

Major Davies was appointed Governor of Pentonville Prison in the ordinary course of promotion, having been appointed to the Prison service in 1894, and having served with credit as Deputy Governor of Pentonville and Governor of four smaller prisons successively. He is on the retired list and draws an Army pension of £200, and his salary as Governor, which is reduced on account of his Army pension, is £624 16s. It is the practice already to "consider the desirability" of appointing civilians to the Prison service, and at present there are forty-one civilians in charge of prisons, and only twenty-nine naval or military officers.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his attention has been called to the Report of the Chief Inspector of Factories in which it is stated that 144,038 women and girls are working in laundries not regulated by the Factory Acts; and whether he proposes to take any steps to remedy their condition.

I have had before me the Report to which the hon. Member refers. I must point out, however, that it is not quite correct to say that 144,038 women and girls are working in "unregulated laundries." The heading in the census returns from which the figure in the question is obtained is "laundry and washing service" and out of the 122,463 women in England and Wales alone who are engaged in this service but are not under the Factory Act over 73,000 are returned as "working at home." The question of legislation for unregulated laundries, i.e., laundries where not more than two persons from outside are employed, will have my careful consideration.

asked if the right hon. Gentleman would give a Return showing the number of persons engaged in regulated and unregulated laundries.

asked for notice.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has yet issued the Early Closing Order applied for by the Lambeth Borough Council applying to the hairdressers' trade in the borough of Lambeth; if not, will he state when it is his intention to do so.

I have been in communication with the Borough Council in this matter and have communicated to the Town Clerk my provisional approval of a draft Order applying to the hairdressers' trade; but the Order as finally made has not yet been submitted to me for confirmation.

I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade if his attention has been called to a new Russian tariff about to be enforced increasing still further the duties against British goods, now averaging some 131 per cent. ad valorem; and if His Majesty's Government proposes to take any action in the matter.

Representations as to the probable effect of the new Russian tariff on British export trade have been addressed to the Russian Government.

Is it not the case that the new Russian tariff will fall not merely on British goods but on the goods of all foreign countries?

I believe that is so.

I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will state the number of persons employed in the flax industry in the United Kingdom for the year 1900 and subsequent years. The hon. Member had also the following Questions on the Paper:— To ask the President of the Board of Trade what has been the decrease per cent. in the number of flax-spinning factories and the number of spindles in the United Kingdom since the year 1870; what has been the increase per cent. of the importation of flax yarns into the United Kingdom from abroad during the same period; and what has been the loss of employment to British and Irish workpeople involved in these changes. To ask the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that in England the flax spinning industry has become nearly extinct, that in Scotland it has been reduced more than one-half during the past thirty years, and that in Ireland 200,000 spindles have been stopped since 1870; whether he has any official information showing that this decline is due to the high tariffs on British goods imposed by foreign countries; and whether he proposes to take any steps to arrest the further decay of this industry? To ask the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that in the United States the duty on plain linens imported is 35 per cent., while on manufactured and finished handkerchiefs the duty is 60 per cent., and if embroidered, 70 to 80 per cent.; whether he is aware that the effect of this discrimination has been to transfer works for hemstitching and finishing handkerchiefs from the North of Ireland to the United States; whether he is able to state the extent to which Irish labour has been displaced through the operation of these duties; and whether he has any remedy to suggest for this loss of an industry?

In 1901 there were 96,788 persons employed in flax factories in the United Kingdom. No figures are available for later years or for 1900. Since 1870 the number of flax spinning factories has fallen from 283 to 127 and the total spindles from 1,549,547 to 1,075,855. A Report issued by the Board of Trade in 1898 (Cd. 8794) indicates that Yorkshire was formerly an important seat of the flax industry, which has now been displaced largely owing to the growing demand or labour in better paid industries, such as woollen, worsted, and mining. In Scotland the number of spindles in the flax trade has declined by nearly one half since 1870, its place being taken by jute. The number of flax and jute spindles in Scotland has increased by 5 per cent. since 1870. In Ireland the decline of spindles in the flax trade since 1870 was only one quarter of that stated in the Question. Concurrently with the decline in flax spinning there has been in increase in the better paid trade of linen weaving, the number of power looms in the United Kingdom having increased since 1870 from 35,301 to 54,440. The change from spinning to weaving has been accompanied by a great increase in the imports of flax yarns (mainly coarse) which have risen in value from £54,000 in 1870 to £769,000 in 1905. The value of our exports, however (which consist of the finer yarns) amounted to £928,070 in 1905, and their level has been practically maintained for the last twenty years. There seems no reason to believe that the operation of foreign tariffs on yarns has been the principal cause of the changes which have taken place in this industry. The United States duties on linen manufactures are not correctly stated in the Question, but it is a fact that the difference between the American duties on plain linens and on finished and embroidered handkerchiefs has operated adversely to our export of the latter articles. Our total exports of linen manufactures have, however, been fully maintained during the past twenty years. No estimate of the effect on British and Irish labour of the importation of flax yarns or the operation of the American tariff on particular classes of manufactures would be of any value which did not take into account the broad changes which have taken place both in the industry as a whole and also in kindred trades.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that the cultivation of flax in the north of Ireland has decreased by 75 per cent. in about thirty years?

. I believe that is the case.

Is it not the fact that no Protectionist countries have succeeded in gaining any reduction in the American linen duties?

That is so, I believe.

I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade, if Foreign ships in British ports are exempt from any of the regulations in force as regards British ships for the safety of life; and, if so, whether His Majesty's Government proposes to take any steps to deprive Foreign vessels of this preference in British waters.

The question to which the hon. and gallant Member refers was dealt with by a Select Committee last Session; and a Bill is being prepared to carry into effect, among other matters, the recommendation of that Committee.

I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade if he can state the number of fatal and non-fatal accidents, respectively, which occurred to railwaymen engaged in coupling or uncoupling operations during the year 1905.

So far as can be stated at present, there were, during 1905, twelve fatal and 523 non-fatal accidents to railway servants while engaged in coupling or uncoupling operations. These figures may be subject to some slight alterations before the Returns are published, but are substantially correct.

Are any experiments being made with regard to automatic couplings and what progress has been made?

Yes; the matter is being gone into at the present moment.

I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade if he can state the number of fatal and non-fatal accidents, respectively, which occurred to railway-men due to using or carrying about shunting poles not actually engaged in coupling or uncoupling operations during the year 1905.

In addition to ten cases of accident to railway servants through the improper use of coupling poles as brakesticks, there appear to have been during the year 1905, twenty-one accidents, fortunately none of them fatal, due to the fact that a coupling pole was being used or carried, apart from accidents occurring in the actual operation of coupling or uncoupling.

I bog to ask the President of the Board of Trade whether he can state the number of foreign subjects who hold pilotage certificates enabling them to pilot their vessels in or out of British ports, and the nationality of the holders of such certificates; and whether foreigners to whom such certificates are granted are subjected to the condition imposed upon British subjects in the London pilotage district, viz., that they shall furnish proof that they are well affected towards His Majesty the King and His Government.

On the 31st March last, certificates enabling their holders to pilot in British compulsory pilotage waters the vessels of which they were masters or mates, were held by eighty-five foreign subjects, viz., two Belgians, three Danes, forty-one Dutchmen, thirteen Frenchmen, ten Germans, three Russians and thirteen Swedes. Of these eighty-five certificates, seventy-one had been issued by the Trinity House, who are the pilotage authority for the London district, and I am informed by them that the condition referred to by the hon. Member is not imposed upon either British or foreign candidates for such certificates. Of the other fourteen cases I have no definite information. I am informed that the condition referred to is in accordance with long-standing custom, imposed by the Trinity House upon all candidates for pilot's licences, which are quite distinct from the pilotage certificates granted to masters and mates.

I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been drawn to the fact that the fees prescribed in the new rules made by the Board of Trade for regulating the practice under the Trade Marks Act, 1905, which comes into operation on the 1st April, are greatly in excess of those charged under the old Act; whether he is aware that under such new rules for a fee of 5s. the Registrar of the Trade Marks Branch of the Patent Office is required to make an examination or search of the existing registered trade marks and arrive at a decision as to accepting or rejecting an application to register a new trade mark; yet, if he is asked to state how and why he thus arrived at such a decision, the fee payable is £2, or eight times the amount charged for doing the work involved for enabling the decision to be arrived at; and whether any revision of such scale of fees will be made prior to the 1st April.

The rules to which the hon. Member refers are draft rules, and are subject to alteration. The Board of Trade are in communication with the Chamber of Commerce, the Chartered Institute of Patent Agents, and other bodies with a view of obtaining the fullest information as to the opinions of those interested in the proposed rules, and they have arranged that a conference, to which the principal Chambers of Commerce, the Chartered Institute, and other bodies have been invited to send representatives, should shortly take place at the Board of Trade to discuss the rules and schedules of fees before they are finally issued. I must, however, remind the hon. Member that the question of the fees to be charged does not rest wholly with the Board of Trade, as the sanction of the Treasury is required by the Act.

I beg to ask the Postmaster-General whether he can state when the Bill is to be introduced which was promised by his predecessor in the last Government to give effect to the recommendations of the Telephone Transfer Committee anent the conditions under which the employees of the present Telephone Company are to be transferred to the service of the Post Office?

As the staff of the National Telephone Company will not be taken over by the Post Office until the 1st January, 1912, it is not intended to introduce the necessary Bill at present or until the conditions of the transfer of the Company's system, which will require statutory authority, can be more exactly foreseen than at present.

Is it intended to introduce any Bill embodying these conditions?

I take it it will be necessary to bring in a Bill before 1912 on which this question can be raised.

I beg to ask the Postmaster-General whether he will consider the advisability of directing that the present mid-day delivery of letters from Longford to Leitrim Crossroads be continued to Drumlish, only two miles further on, by bicycle if necessary.

A report on the subject has been called for, and on its receipt I shall be glad to consider the question of affording the improvement in the service to Drumlish desired by the hon. Member.

I beg to ask the Postmaster-General if he proposes to carry out forthwith the recommendations of the Bradford Commission.

No, Sir. The present Government have no responsibility nor obligation in regard to the Bradford Committee.

I beg to ask the Postmaster-General whether he proposes to include rural sub-postmasters (un-established) and rural postmen in the inquiry to be held into the pay and conditions of service of postal employees.

Yes, Sir.

I beg to ask the President of the Local Government Board whether the Report of the Redistribution Committee appointed by his predecessor last summer is of a confidential nature; and, if not, can he say whether the Committee reported in favour of forming the municipal borough of Merthyr Tydvil into a separate and single member constituency; and will the expenses incurred by the Committee come out of the public purse, and be included in the Supplementary Estimates.

The Committee were appointed to obtain information for the guidance of the late Government in framing a Scheme for the Redistribution of seats at Parliamentary Elections. The Report was confidential, and I am unable to give any information as to its contents. The expenses of the Committee have been defrayed out of the Vote for Temporary Commissions, and will be included in a Supplementary Estimate in respect of that Vote.

Then what does the British taxpayer get for his money?

That may transpire on the Supplementary Estimates.

Will the right hon. Gentleman consider the expediency of calling on those who ordered the inquiry and got the confidential Report to pay the cost?

I think under the circumstances it was reasonable and discreet that the document should be made confidential. Under similar circumstances I should ask that it be so regarded. It was in the public interest.

How do we know that?

I beg to ask the President of the Board of Education what action he proposes to take on the Report of the Departmental Committee on the Royal College of Science and the School of Mines; and whether any re-organisation of the University of London is contemplated, with a view to the association with it of the Royal College of Science and the School of Mines.

The Report of the Departmental Committed is receiving the careful consideration of the Board; they are awaiting a communication from the Senate of London University on the subject. I am afraid I cannot make any more definite statement for the present.

Can the right hon. Gentleman give an assurance that the Senate of the University of London will have ample opportunity of expressing their views before a definite decision is arrived at?

I am awaiting a communication from the Senate of that body, and it shall have all the attention it deserves.

I beg to ask the hon. Member for the Eye Division of Suffolk, as Church Estates Commissioner, whether his attention has been drawn to the circumstances attaching to a long lease of eighty-four acres of land recently granted by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners at Shepherd's Bush for the purpose of an exhibition, and to the absence from the lease of any covenant prohibiting the lessee from applying for a licence to sell beer, wine, or spirits thereon; whether he is aware that licences have been applied for to sell such liquors on forty-four places on the land; And whether he is in a position to give on behalf of the Commissioners, any explanation as to the omission from the lease of any such condition, and an assurance that in future all leases granted by them shall contain cither a restrictive or prohibitive covenant in connection with such applications.

May I be allowed to answer this Question? The facts relating to this letting were given to the hon. Member in answer to his Question on the same matter in May last in the following terms: "The Ecclesiastical Commissioners have agreed to let an area of about eighty-four acres of land at Hammersmith for a long term of years for the purpose of an exhibition similar to that at Earl's Court or at the Crystal Palace. As regards the lands used for exhibition purposes, the Commissioners do not think it practicable to prohibit any application by the lessee for licences for the sale thereon of wine, beer, and spirits in connection with the supply of refreshments. The recent application to the licensing justices to which the Question refers was made by the intending lessee, and the Commissioners had no knowledge that any application was about to be made or as to the number of places in which it would be asked that liquors might be sold." In addition, I am now able to say that the Ecclesiastical Commissioners have received notice that a fresh application will be made by the lessee to the licensing magistrates in the present month, and it is the Commissioners' intention to be then represented. The Commissioners are informed that the application will be for a licence in respect of eleven places only within the Exhibition and grounds. With regard to the last part of the Question, it is the policy of the Commissioners to limit the number of licences on their building estates in accordance with the real needs of the neighbourhoods, but within that limit they deal with any application of their lessees for permission to acquire a licence as they deem most reasonable having regard to all the circumstances.

I beg to ask the Secretary for Scotland if his attention has been drawn to complaints made to the Fishery Board for Scotland of the recent presence of certain trawling vessels within the prohibited area of the Firth of Forth oil the Anstruther and Cellardyke coasts; and if he can give an assurance that preventive measures will promptly be taken against any infraction of the bye-laws of the Fishery Board.

Instructions have been given that every effort should be made to put a stop to the illegal trawling complained of by the hon. Member.

I beg to ask the Secretary for Scotland if the Report of the Commissioners appointed by the Local Government Board to make inquiry into the incidence of local taxation in Harris, North and South Uist, and Barra, has been received; if it is to be published, and what the Government proposes to do to relieve those parishes of the excessive taxation they bear.

The Report referred to by the hon. Member is at present under consideration, and it has been thought expedient to extend the inquiry to the Lews, where the financial conditions are analagous. Until that inquiry is concluded the question of publication, as well as of the necessity for Government relief, cannot be decided.

I beg to ask the Secretary for Scotland whether his attention has been directed to a resolution adopted by the Edinburgh School Board disapproving of the Draft Resolutions recently issued by the Scottish Education Department for the training of teachers in Scotland in respect that the said Draft Resolutions propose to create a new method of training under non-representative authorities without full security that candidates will receive adequate practical training, and that the children of parents in humble circumstances will have obstacles placed in their way to the teaching profession; whether he can state when the Draft Resolutions are likely to be considered by the Department; and whether an opportunity will be given to the House, and in particular to the Scottish Members, for a full discussion of the subject before the Draft is definitely put into a Minute and laid upon the Table.

I am aware of the resolution adopted by the Edinburgh School Board. I am also aware that equally important educational authorities such as the School Boards of Glasgow and Govan have approved of the Draft Regulations. The Draft Regulations will be further considered by the Department when the reports of the Provincial Committees have been received. But representations received from other educational bodies will also be considered, and in order that full opportunity may be given to School Boards and others to make themselves acquainted with the scope of the proposals, the Draft Regulations have been put on sale. No announcement as to subsequent action can be made till the Regulations have been considered by the Department in the light of the reports of the Provincial Committees and of other representations received.

I beg to ask the Secretary for Scotland whether his attention has been called to the fact that on the Fishery Board for Scotland, recently re-appointed by him, only one representative out of seven belongs to the West of Scotland; whether he is aware that the fish trade of Glasgow and the fishermen of the West of Scotland are unanimous that they should have further representation on the Board; and whether, under such circumstances, he is prepared to increase the number on the Board so as to give Glasgow and the West of Scotland further representation there.

Strictly speaking, the representative element upon the Fishery Board consists of four members; excluding the Chairman, the legal member, and the scientific member, in regard to whose appointment local representative qualifications cannot be the governing consideration. It is the case that of those four members, only one belongs to the West of Scotland, and he belongs to the Clyde. Representations did reach me not only in favour of more than one candidate for membership of the Fishery Board as qualified to represent the Clyde, but also in favour of candidates qualified to represent other districts of Scotland, and I greatly regret that it was not possible for me in re-appointing the Fishery Board to meet their views. The number of members forming the Board is fixed by statute, and can only be altered by legislation. The wide distribution of the fishing population in Scotland makes it impossible that all the fishery districts shall be directly represented upon the Board.

I beg to ask Mr. Attorney-General for Ireland whether he is aware that in the case of the Granard, County Longford, estate, which has been sold under the Ashbourne Act to the tenants, four tenants have been deprived of turbary, to which on the face of their vesting orders they were entitled; and whether he will call the attention of the Estates Commissioners to these cases with a view to securing proper treatment for them.

The Granard estates were sold under the Land Purchase Acts of 1885 and 1891, not under the Act of 1903. Some of the tenants were given by their vesting orders a right to cut turf for consumption, but not for sale, on parts of certain bogs in the possession of the vendor In other cases, certain bogs were conveyed to trustees by trust deeds, to which the Land Commission were not parties, for the purpose of providing turbary for the tenant purchasers therein named, and these deeds conferred on the trustees very ample powers for making rules and regulations as to these turbary rights. I am not aware that any of the tenant purchasers have been deprived of any turbary rights to which they were entitled either under their vesting orders or these turbary deeds. In reply to the last paragraph of the hon. Member's question, I beg to say that I have called the attention of the Estates Commissioners to the matter, and I am informed by them that they have no power to intervene in the matter as suggested. Any tenant purchaser who is deprived of his rights can obtain redress by action either against the owner of the bog or the trustees under the turbary deeds.

I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, whether he is aware that during the five years 1900–4 the average acreage under flax in Ireland was only 48,000, and the estimated produce was returned at 10,533 tons, whereas in 1880–4 the average acreage was 121,000 and the estimated produce 21,688 tons; and what measures are being adopted by the Department of Agriculture to encourage the cultivation of flax, particularly in Ulster, where the conditions are the most suitable for the growth of this crop.

The figures are as stated, but it should be observed that they indicate an increased production per acre. In the period 1880–4 the average yield of flax per acre was 28¾ stones, while in the later period it was 34¾ stones. Since 1901 the Department, with the assistance of an Ulster Advisory Committee, have adopted a scheme for encouraging improved cultivation of flax. The means taken to achieve this end include experiments in the manuring and manipulation of flax, and with different varieties of seed; the offering of prizes for well scutched flax and for growing flax; assistance in the formation of co-operative flax growing and scutching societies; the dissemination of information as to the quality of Dutch and Russian flax seed available each year for sowing; instruction in improved methods of dealing with the crop; measures for bringing the Irish flax grower into direct contact with the methods of their competitors in Belgium; improvement of marketing facilities; and other measures.

asked if the right hon. Gentleman would consider the expediency of offering a small bonus to cultivators in the North of Ireland.

That Question raises large issues. Of course any suggestion made with a view of encouraging the cultivator will have careful consideration.

I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, whether his attention has been called to the reduction in the amount of the school grants paid to teachers under the intermediate education system, Ireland, for the year 1905; is he aware that the grants paid for each pass in junior grade fell from £8 3s. 6d. per pupil to £5 14s., in middle grade from £16 7s. to £11 8s., and in senior from £24 10s. 6d. to £17 2s., and showed proportionate reductions in each grade for passes with honour; and whether, in view of the promised increase in the Exchequer grants in aid of secondary education in England, steps will be taken for securing the interests of teachers connected with secondary education in Ireland.

The facts are as stated in the first part of the Question. The reduction in the amount of the grants was due mainly to the increase in the numbers of students in the pass and honours lists, and in a less degree to a decrease in the amount received by the Intermediate Education Board from the Local Taxation Account. The matter referred to in the last part of the Question will not escape my attention, and I may add that the entire system upon which grants for Intermediate Education are made in Ireland appears to me to require serious consideration.

I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether the attention of the Department of Agriculture (Ireland) has been again called to the damage done to the mackerel fisheries of the south and south-west coasts of Ireland by fleets of boats engaged in fishing for herrings during such season as involves the capture of quantities of immature mackerel; and, in view of the inquiry of 1892, and the report of the fishery inspectors in 1893, which recommended, for the protection of the mackerel fishery, that a close season for herrings should be established from Poer Head to Mizen Head from 1st April to 16th May in each year, will the Department take steps to preserve a great Irish industry from extinction.

The Department held an inquiry into this matter at Kinsale in October last, and, as a result, a bye law intended to be of an experimental character was prepared, providing a close time for the taking of herrings in the district of Kinsale. The bye-law has not been proceeded with, because amongst other reasons, the question of extending the sphere of its operations eastward, towards Queenstown and Bally-cotton, has been raised; and the Department intend to hold inquiries at those places during the month of May next, whereupon a decision upon the whole case will be arrived at.

I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether the Estates Commissioners have any further communication to make in regard to the evicted tenants J. Fitzpatrick and Mrs. Mary Cronin, on the estate of Mr. N. N. Leader, Rosnalee, Dromagh, county Cork; and whether, as the originating application, which included these tenants with the sanction of the landlord, was served in July, 1905, immediate steps will be taken to reinstate them in readiness for spring agricultural work; and further, if Mr. Leader, who has a quantity of untenanted land in his possession, expresses his willingness to sell the same, or a portion thereof, to the Commissioners at a reasonable price, will that body inquire into the question of purchase at an early opportunity with a view to resale of the lands to other evicted tenants of the neighbourhood, to deserving labourers and others entitled under the Land Act of 1903.

In the Originating Application in respect of the sale of this estate, which was lodged in June, 1905, the former holding of J. Fitzpatrick is set out as untenanted land which the vendor contemplates selling as parcels; and the former holding of Mary Cronin is set out as part of the vendor's demesne, and other land which he proposes to sell to, and repurchase from, the Commissioners. The Commissioners hope soon to be able to make inquiries into the case of these and other evicted tenants in the county Cork.

I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether he has received from the Kerry County Council a resolution protesting against the unfairness and partiality of many of the present body of Land Commissioners, and asking that competent and impartial men be appointed; and, if so, will he say what steps he proposes to take in the matter.

I have received the resolution referred to, but there is no evidence before me to show that, alleged, many of the present body are open to the charge of unfairness and partiality. When appointments come to be made or renewed, the fitness of al candidates will be carefully considered.

I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether he has received from the Kerry County Council a resolution appealing to the Government to so amend the Land Act as to give power to the Congested Districts Board to purchase compulsory estates within the congested districts; and, if so, what steps he proposes to take in the matter.

I have seen a resolution to the effect stated, which was passed by the Kerry County Council in January, 1905. I am not at present prepared to make any statement on the subject of the resolution.

I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether, in view of the fact that no evicted tenant has yet been reinstated in South Cork, steps will immediately be taken to induce the Estates Commissioners to send down an inspector to that constituency to make inquiries and report on the best means for reinstating the evicted tenants in their former holdings.

Inquiries as to all the evicted tenants in county Cork are being prosecuted by the Commissioners as rapidly as possible. The Commissioners understand that some sixteen evicted tenants have recently been reinstated and that negotiations for reinstatement are proceeding in other cases.

I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, whether the Estates Commissioners will refuse to sanction an advance for the purchase of Ballykinley farm, county Cork (forming the estate of Mr. Palms Spread Morgan, a lunatic), by Captain Jonathan Morgan, remainder man and heir in succession, and will take such steps as may be in their power to bring about the reinstatement of the former tenant, Mr. James J. Greene, evicted in 1889, and who now seeks to become the purchaser of his old holding under the provisions of The Land Purchase (Ireland) Act, 1903.

An agreement for the purchase of the holding in question by Captain Jonathan Morgan, described as holding under a Court lease, dated December, 1904, was lodged with the Estates Commissioners on the 30th January, 1906. The Commissioners will inquire fully into the circumstances before sanctioning the advance.

I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland if he will state the reason for the refusal of the Local Government Board to sanction a reduction of the rents of labourers' cottages in Mitchelstown union from 1s. to 9d. per week, having regard to the fact that this reduction was passed unanimously by the rural district council, and that the rents of labourers' cottages in the adjacent union of Fermoy are only 7½d. per week; and whether, in view of the necessities of the labourers in the district, he Local Government Board will re-consider the matter and sanction the reduction.

The sanction of the Local Government Board is not necessary in this matter. The Mitchelstown No. 1 Rural District Council recently asked the Board to sanction the proposed reduction of the rents from 1s. to 9d. a week, but the Board replied that the council must act on their own responsibility and be prepared to satisfy the auditor as to the propriety of their action. If the council have not carried the proposal into effect, it is probable that they fear they cannot, as trustees of the ratepayers, justify the reduction of the rents hitherto charged, seeing that the cottages already entail a heavy burden on the ratepayers.

I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland (1) whether he is aware that Mr. Matthew J. Byrne was recently employed as temporary horticulturist by the County of Waterford Committee of Agriculture and Technical Instruction, but that the Department refused to sanction his further employment; (2) whether, seeing that the curator of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin, reported to the Department that he was perfectly satisfied with Mr. Byrne's technical knowledge of the practical details of gardening and horticultural matters about March, 1905, he will explain why Mr. Byrne was subsequently tested again; (3) whether he is aware that Mr. Byrne's experience has been acquired, not only in the Colonies and the United States, but at the Athy Model Farm and Royal Albert Institute, Glasnevin; (4) that the County Waterford Committee, in December, 1905, gave him a testimonial for his energy and attention to his duties during the six months he had been employed by them, and up to the time at which the Department declined to sanction his permanent appointment; (5) whether he is aware that Mr. Byrne was declared to have failed to pass the second test on the ground that he was unaware of the scientific names of three weeds, one of them being ordinary Scotch grass; (6) and will he say whether Sir Horace Plunkett was aware, when this decision was given, that Mr. Byrne had been connected with the National Registration Association in South Dublin, in which he was an elector.

(1) The Answer to the first inquiry is in the affirmative. (2) Mr. Byrne was examined a second time, because the Department had promised the Waterford County Committee to make a second test, and because they were not satisfied that he possessed the necessary qualifications. The examiner in the first test had expressed a qualified opinion as to Mr. Byrne's technical knowledge. (3) The Department do not doubt the statement as to Mr. Byrne's previous experience. (4) The Waterford County Committee, at Mr. Byrne's request, gave him a testimonial as to his attention to work, but it is not recorded that the testimonial contained any reference to his fitness. (5) It is not the case that Mr. Byrne was rejected because of his ignorance of the scientific name of weeds. His experience of Irish horticulture had been gained forty years ago before he went abroad. (6) The Answer to the last inquiry is in the negative.

I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether it is the intention of the Government to transfer the control of the Royal Irish Constabulary to the county councils.

No, Sir.

Has the matter been under the consideration of the Government?

My Answer is in the negative.

Better give the police over to the control of the Orange lodges.

I beg to ask the Postmaster-General whether the post office at Ballacolla, Queen's County, is situated on licensed premises; and, if so, is such in accordance with the Post Office Regulations; and what steps he proposes taking in the matter.

The sub-postmaster of Ballacolla, who was appointed in 1887, holds a licence, but the part of the premises used for the post office has a separate entrance, and is completely cut off from the public house. I am informed that the work is carried on in a satisfactory manner. There is a general rule that post offices are not to be situated on licensed premises, but it is sometimes necessary to make exceptions to this rule, and in the circumstances described I do not propose to take any steps in the matter.

Have any inquiries been made with a view to securing more suitable premises?

I have not made any with regard to this particular case.

I beg to ask the First Lord of the Treasury whether his attention has been called to the fact that 493 Members balloted on Wednesday last; and whether as only a small percentage of Bills introduced by unofficial Members can, under present circumstances, receive even a Second Reading discussion, he will bring forward proposals for amending the Rules of Procedure?

At the same time may I ask the First Lord of the Treasury whether the Government intends to deal this session with an alteration of the Rules of Procedure of the House; and, if so, in what form such alterations will be submitted?

My right hon. friend had intended to give notice to-day that he would move on an early date for the appointment of a Select Committee to inquire into the Rules of Procedure, but unfortunately he is confined to the house by a cold.

I beg to ask the First Lord of the Treasury whether he will favourably consider the introduction of a Bill this session to give effect to the Report of the Royal Commission, who for the past three years have investigated the question of traffic of the Metropolis; such Bill to provide for the creation of a Traffic Board and other administrative machinery recommended by the Commission?

His Majesty's Government has not as yet had time to consider the recommendation contained in this very voluminous Report, and it is quite impossible to give any undertaking as to the introduction of legislation during the present session.

I beg to ask the First Lord of the Treasury if any clause will be inserted in the Constitution of the Transvaal Colony to prevent the responsible Government from sending accredited representatives direct to Foreign Powers?

No, Sir, there is no need for such a clause. British diplomatic representatives in foreign countries are accredited by His Majesty and not by any Colonial Government.

I beg to ask the Secretary for Foreign Affairs whether he has any announcement to make with regard to the future arrangements for answering Questions dealing with foreign affairs.

Perhaps the House will allow me to make my statement a little general, with regard both to answering Questions and to debate. It does require some adjustment and some indulgence on the part of the House to enable me to combine with attendance in the House the work of the Foreign Office. But I have never felt that it was in the interests of the House itself not to give some latitude of that kind, because I think it is in the interests of the House that it should not accept the doctrine that it is impossible for the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to be a Member of the House of Commons. I hope that what I now ask the House to accept will leave to it at least as much freedom of effective discussion as it has been the practice for the House to have in recent years. First of all, I would ask the House to bear in mind that both the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and the Prime Minister are now in the House of Commons. That, of course, strengthens the House in regard to debate, and as regards debates on Foreign Office questions I shall, of course, so arrange the work of the Office that I shall be always in the House when any foreign question is under discussion. I think it is possible to do that, because debates on foreign affairs are not of excessive frequency, and when they do take place they do not last for more than a day or two days without intermission. With regard to Questions, I do not think it is possible, at any rate without strain and inconvenience, for me to be present in the House on four days every week; and what I would ask the House to accept is an arrangement by which I shall be present on two days in the week. I shall be present in the House, for instance, next Thursday, which, in addition to this day, will be two days this week, and in subsequent weeks I shall be present on Tuesdays and Thursdays. On Mondays and Wednesdays I would ask the House to accept Answers from the Parliamentary Secretary to the Local Government Board, if it is more convenient to Members to put Questions on foreign affairs on those days. As to supplementary Questions, the late Government asked the House to accept at one time a total restriction, and latterly a very considerable restriction, on such Questions. I assume that they did that because inconvenience had arisen owing to the giving of supplementary Answers. I am quite willing to revert to the original practice of not restricting supplementary Questions so far as I am myself concerned; but the House must bear in mind that a certain risk attaches to supplementary Answers, which are received abroad without full understanding of the circumstances under which they are given, and are scrutinised as considered statements with a deliberate intention behind them. I must therefore ask the House for an equal discretion, so far as I am concerned, as to answering these Questions. I hope the House will accept that arrangement, and will see that under it the liberty of the House will not be in any way interfered with in regard to Foreign Office questions.

May I express our thanks for the courtesy with which the right hon. Gentleman has endeavoured to meet the wishes of the House? The arrangement he now proposes is, I think, the best that could be arrived at under the circumstances. I will only venture to express the hope that the rule as to supplementary Questions not being addressed to the Secretary to the Local Government Board in the absence of the Secretary of State may not be too rigidly adhered to. Something which fell from the Prime Minister the other clay seemed to imply that I quarrelled with the arrangement which enabled the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to continue to sit in this House. That was very far from my intention. What I had in my mind was the arrangement by which, when last a Foreign Secretary sat in this House his Under-Secretary sat here also. No one would regret more than myself the withdrawal of the right hon. Gentleman from this House, and I hope he will long continue to take part in our debates.

I rise to ask a Question about the conduct of the business of the House. In the absence of the Prime Minister, I wish to ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the intentions of the Government with regard to the debate on the Address. The Prime Minister has

It is certainly the intention of the Government to ask the House to come to a conclusion on the Address to-night. The Government, having carefully considered the character of the various Amendments down on the Paper, and the amount of time which might fairly be devoted to each one, have come to the conclusion that every topic will have an opportunity of being adequately discussed, and it is certainly their intention to ask the House to conclude the debate to-night. Under no other conditions can the necessary financial business be completed by March 31st.

After that statement, we shall oppose both Government Resolutions.