To ask the Secretary to the Admiralty whether the work of reconverting the "Renown" into a battleship has now been completed; what is the total cost of the alterations rendered necessary by the special service for which the ship was selected; and in what year's Estimates, and in what Vote was the cost referred to included.

To ask the Secretary to the Admiralty what new books, periodicals, and newspapers, were ordered for officers' and ships' libraries in 1906.

To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether he is aware that both landlords and tenants in Ireland have suffered loss by reason of the delay which is taking place in dealing with properties under The Land Purchase Act, 1903, landlords by reason of their having to pay in full all interest and charges on mortgages, while they receive no interest on the bonus, and tenants by reason of their having to pay interest until the completion of the sale; and whether he will, at an early date, make such alterations in the administrative machinery as to cause these applications to be dealt with with greater expedition.

To ask the Secretary for Scotland whether, in view of the fact that some 25,000 signatures have been attached to a petition in favour of the recommendation to mercy of the prisoner Gourlay, he will give the matter his most prompt and careful consideration.

To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland if the public trustee, appointed under the Land Purchase Act of 1903, can act as trustee in cases other than of sales under that Act.

To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland if the Department of Agriculture in Ireland have reported with regard to the case of Courtown Harbour; and, if so, can he state the nature of their Report.

To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland if the Board of Works and the Department of Agriculture in Ireland have yet arrived at an agreement with regard to the improvement of Arklow Harbour, in accordance with the arrangement come to last winter; and when will the work be begun.

To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether he can now give full particulars of the plan adopted by the Irish Government for dealing with urgent distress in districts affected by the potato blight last autumn, for the supply of sound potato seed in cases where, owing to the failure of last year's crop and to poverty, the people are unable to procure a supply of sound seed.

To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether his attention has been drawn to the plan of distributing potato seed through co-operative banks adopted by the Agricultural Department; whether the Irish Government approve of this scheme; and whether he can state the full details of the scheme.

To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether he can give a Return showing the number of co-operative banks in each Parliamentary division in Ireland, the situation of each bank, the amount of capital in each bank and how it has been supplied, the present condition of each bank, the expenses of management, the total amount of loans issued during last year, and the amount now outstanding.

To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether the estate of Henry Oliver Langley, at Longfordpass, Gortnahoe, county Tipperary, has been sold to the Estates Commissioners; and, if so, what steps, if any, have been taken to reinstate Michael Morriss and Edward Kealy, two evicted tenants on this estate.

To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether arrangements have been made by the Estates Commissioners to purchase the Scott and Cleaver estate, in the county Roscommon; how long is it since the offer was made; whether the estate has yet been inspected, and, if so, what was the result.

To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland how much of the £35,000 voted last year for school building grants has been actually issued; and, if it has not been all issued, how the fact can be accounted for that the amount voted by the House of Commons was not issued when the need for it was admittedly extreme.

To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether each individual application for a grant for building or repairing an Irish schoolhouse comes before the Treasury in London, and whether the Treasury adjudicate on each application; and, if so, whether it is proposed to continue this system.

To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether he is aware that Mr. Patrick Joyce, of Hazelbrook, near Westport, county Mayo, has given over to his brother 250 acres of a grazing farm called Mount Pleasant, also near Westport, and which he has been grazing as an eleven months tenant; is he aware that there are several small landholders in the vicinity who have been expecting an enlargement of their holdings by the distribution of this farm, consisting altogether of 600 acres, amongst them; had Mr. Patrick Joyce any authority to hand over any portion of this farm to his brother; and will he see that it is divided amongst the uneconomic landholders in the neighbourhood.

To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland if his attention has been called to the fact that the post of Irish interpreter for the Loughrea division of county Galway has been vacant since October last, owing to the fact that the salary of £10 offered is insufficient even to defray the necessary expenses of attendance at the quarter sessions in four towns, and that, under the Local Government Act, no allowance for expenses can be made by the sheriff or county council; and if he will take steps to remove this difficulty, which hampers the administration of justice for native Irish speakers of the district.

To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether he can state the total amount voted to the Department of Agriculture since its establishment, and the rate per head of the present population of Ireland.

To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether he can state the total cost in the last or preceding financial year of the Departments of the Lord-Lieutenant and the Chief Secretary for Ireland; also the total cost under each of the following heads: Judiciary, Police, Local Government Board, Education; and the rate per head of the population in each of the five Departments, together with the total cost of Civil Government in Ireland, with the rate per head of the population.

To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland if he is aware that instructions have been given to all petty sessions clerks in Ireland that courts are to be held on Christmas Days and Good Fridays when the day fixed for petty sessions falls on these holidays; whether it is proposed to hold a petty sessions court in Derrygonnelly, county Fermanagh, on Friday next; whether arrangements have been made for the attendance of justices on that day so as to avoid inconvenience to the public who have been invited to attend; and if he will give instructions that these holidays are to be observed in petty sessions courts as in all other courts in the Kingdom.

To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether the Congested Districts Board has received a petition from the fishermen of the district asking for the improvement of the pier at Magheragallon, county Donegal; and whether, in view of the importance of this place as a fishing centre, the Board will take steps to improve the harbour.

To ask the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he has now received information as to the condition of school buildings and teachers' dwellings in Jamaica, as affected by the recent earthquake; what steps the Government have taken to enable the schools to be reopened; and whether notices have been served upon teachers that their pay was to be stopped in cases where it had not been practicable to reopen the schools, and in other cases for school inspections to go on though the conditions relating to the schools owing to the earthquake made that unwise and in some cases impracticable.

To ask the Secretary to the Treasury if the Treasury have considered the memorials forwarded to them on behalf of certain clerks in the Valuation Office, Dublin, and in the office of the Registrar of Titles, Dublin.

:To ask the Secretary to the Treasury what collections of Irish historical manuscripts are now in course of publication by the Record and Historical Manuscripts Commissions, and when is it expected that they will be published, respectively.

To ask the Secretary to the Treasury whether he can state what amount towards the Imperial taxation was drawn from Ireland in the year the Financial Relations Commission was sitting; what was the population of Ireland at that period; what amount Ireland contributed last year towards Imperial taxation; and what was the estimated population of Ireland last year.

To ask the Secretary to the Admiralty, why the prizes to petty officers, seamen, and boys have been reduced from £8,880 in 1906–7 to £8,300 in 1907–8; and whether he can state why the table giving the distribution of this grant for proficiency in different weapons has been omitted from the new Navy Estimates.

To ask the Secretary to the Admiralty why the estimated cost of the Simon's Bay dockyard extension has been reduced by upwards of £300,000.

To ask the Secretary to the Admiralty what was the original estimate of the cost of seamen's barracks in connection with the "Britannia" Royal Naval College; and why it has been decided to omit them from the scheme of 1905.

To ask the Secretary to the Admiralty whether he can state the total amount contributed by Ireland in the last financial year to the upkeep of the Navy, and the total value of the Navy contracts placed in Ireland by the Admiralty Office during the same period.

:To ask the Secretary to the Admiralty, how many signatures are required to make an order of the Admiralty executive in reference to the removal of an officer from the command of his fleet, ship, or barracks, or whether this power can be exercised by the First Lord of the Admiralty without the concurrence of the Sea Lords forming the Board of Admiralty; and whether he can state in what respects the practice is a variation, and under what patent or Order in Council, from that pursued in April, 1795, when the decision of Lord Spencer to supersede Admiral Lord Hood in the command of the Mediterranean Fleet could not be carried into effect until he obtained the signatures of two of the Sea Lords.

To ask the Secretary to the Admiralty if he has any official information showing that the number of collisions and groundings of His Majesty's ships in the years 1905–6 were the result of the employment of officers being so restricted in consequence of the redistribution of the fleet; and if he will state the number of collisions and groundings in 1905–6, and in previous years.

To ask the Secretary to the Admiralty whether he is aware that the dockyard authorities at Portsmouth are supplying coals to the Russian ships there, although such coals can be obtained from private firms in the locality at current prices; and whether there are any, and, if so, what, instructions given to the Royal Dockyards in reference to the supply of coals under the circumstances before detailed.

To ask the Secretary for Scotland if he has now inquired into the Report that rewards have been offered, with the knowledge of the Scottish Office, to Moray Firth line fishermen for information which may lead to conviction of any trawlers within the prohibited waters of the North Sea, now enclosed by a by-law within Moray Firth; and will he say whether masters of trawlers have been convicted on mere suspicion of the evidence given by prejudiced men, whilst trawlers are now afraid to enter the Moray Firth for shelter in stress of weather, in accordance with the custom in the territorial waters of other maritime nations adjoining the North Sea.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the amount of spirits sold during the year ending 31st March, 1906, by grocers holding spirit licences in England and Wales, Scotland, and Ireland respectively.

†See (4) Debates, clxxi, 673.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Departmental Committee appointed to inquire into matters affecting the degree of baronet have presented their Report; and, if so, whether the Report will be laid before Parliament.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he can state what were the imports of tin-plates into Canada from the United States during the years 1903–6, inclusive.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade whether he has any official information showing that the tests for colour blindness, adopted by the Board of Trade, are efficient.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he can say whether he has received a copy of a resolution adopted at a meeting of the Town Tenants' Association of Abbeyfeale, protesting against the destruction of the trade and general interests of the town by the Great Southern and Western Railway Company through the insufficiency of loading and unloading accommodation at the railway premises there and the want of a proper staff of men; and if he can say what action he intends to take in the matter.

To ask the hon. Member for South Somerset, as representing the President of the Board of Agriculture, whether he can state the total amount voted by Parliament to the Board from 1900 inclusive, and the rate per head of the population of Great Britain.

To ask the President of the Local Government Board whether it is the intention of the Government to introduce a Bill dealing with the recommendations of the Royal Commission on Sewage Disposal.

To ask the Postmaster-General whether he has received any recommendation as to the payment for prolonged and extra duties of the postal and telegraph staff in the Houses of Parliament; and if he is prepared to make any arrangement to recompense these officials for their duties on the occasion of all-night sittings or extra hours.

To ask the Postmaster-General for how long a period Lord Farrar's Departmental Committee will continue to take evidence on employers' insurance through the Post Office Savings Banks in respect of workmen's compensation.

To ask Mr. Attorney-General if his attention has been directed to a statement to the effect that a new tax amounting to £3,000,000 will be placed upon householders under the new employers' liability provisions of the Workmen's Compensation Act; that such statement purported to be made upon the authority of a gentleman who has since stated that the sum he named was £150,000, and not £3,000,000; and whether he proposes to initiate legislation by which a newspaper can be punished for persisting in a mis-statement which misrepresents and disparages the legislation of Parliament.

To ask the President of the Board of Education whether he is aware that the Kent Education Committee are trying to enforce that only those should be accepted as pupil teachers who have had experience in secondary schools; that at the only school of this type in Chatham and Gillingham the fees are so high as to practically exclude the children of the artisan and labouring classes; and that the local education committee at Gillingham has passed a resolution expressing its disapproval of these charges; and whether he proposes to take any, and, if any, what, action in the matter.

To ask the Secretary of State for War whether, if incorporated in the proposed Territorial Army, the privilege now accorded specially to the Militia of wearing gold lace on their uniform will be retained by them; and, if so, whether this privilege is also to be given to the other units of the new force.

To ask the Secretary of State for War whether he can state the total amount of Ireland's contribution towards the Army in the last financial year; and the total value of the Army contracts placed in Ireland by the War Office during the same period.

To ask the Secretary of State for War whether his attention has been called to the disparity existing between the salaries of the surveyors and assistant surveyors of the staff for engineer services and those of professional civil servants holding similar appointments in other departments of the public service; and whether he intends to do anything to improve the position of the staff for engineer services.

To ask the Secretary of State for War if he can indicate the extent and nature of liabilities incurred by officers of Volunteer corps in respect of their regiments other than those connected with the cost of drill halls and ranges.

To ask the Prime Minister whether, in view of the distress among the fishermen of Plymouth and the neighbouring coast, he is able to state before the Easter Recess whether any determination has been come to as to the appointment of a Committee of investigation into the action of foreign trawlers, suggested a fortnight since by the Secretary to the Admiralty.

To ask the Prime Minister whether he can say when he proposes to introduce the Bill which would enable women to be elected to serve on local bodies.

To ask the Secretary to the Admiralty for what reason and on what items the estimated expenditure, under the statute of 1905, on coaling facilities and fuel storage has been reduced by £260,000.

The reductions are due to a careful revision of the items in the light of present naval requirements. The hon. Gentleman will understand it was impossible in 1905 to forecast with entire accuracy the needs of 1907.

I beg to ask the Secretary to the Admiralty if the one-third proportion of work done for the War Office being done in the Government workshops also applies to the Admiralty; and, if so, will he say what proportion and amount of Admiralty work is being placed in the Royal Arsenal for the ensuing year.

My hon. friend will be glad to know that consider- ably more than one-third of the guns required for the year will be allotted to the Royal Arsenal.

I beg to ask the Secretary to the Admiralty how many men are now employed at Rosyth; and what is the aggregate of their weekly wages.

I assume the hon. Member refers only to workmen. There are nine employed directly by the Admiralty, the aggregate wages being £11 10s. This does not include engineering staff and men employed by a contractor in sinking an experimental cylinder.

I beg to ask the Secretary to the Admiralty on what date the preliminary works at Rosyth, for which the estimated cost as revised was £165,000, were completed.

The preliminary works are not yet complete.

:I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War whether his attention has been called to a serious, and afterwards fatal, accident to the driver of a London and South Western Railway motor train near Bentley station on the 28th February, when the injured man was taken by train to Bordon camp, with a view to his receiving the assistance of the military doctor there; whether he is aware that the latter refused to attend to the man; whether there are any restrictions in the Army Regulations which prevent military doctors from attending to civilian casualties such as the one referred to; and, if so, will he take steps to have such restrictions forthwith removed.

I have made inquiries into this matter. It appears that the military medical officer concerned was not asked to attend to the man. There are no restrictions placed on military medical officers against rendering immediate assistance in civil cases, nor to the admission into military hospitals of cases requiring surgical attendance, the result of serious accidents in the immediate vicinity.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War, how many recruits purchased their discharge at a cost of £10 during each of the last five years.

The figures for recruits claiming their discharge under Section 81, Army Act, are as follows:—Twelve months to 31st December, 1902, 933†; nine months to 30th September, 1903, 590; twelve months to 30th September, 1904, 766; twelve months to 30th September, 1905, 830; twelve months to 30th September, 1906, 868.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War, whether, in reference to the Comptroller General's recent Report on the Ordnance Factories, he is aware that discontent exists in the Royal Arsenal in regard to price-fixing for piece-work; whether married mechanics are taking, or have taken, as little as 14s. per week of forty-eight hours; and whether in some cases rate-fixers have doubled the prices originally put upon the job.

It is not thought that any general discontent exists in regard to price-fixing for piece work in the Ordance Factories. There have no doubt been individual cases where men have complained that the prices fixed have been too narrow to allow of their securing their usual earnings, and where this is proved to be the case, correction, which may have been very material in some cases, has been made in favour of the workman. It is, however, now the practice not to reduce a rate when once fixed, and if it proves to be on the high side the workman gets the benefit. But when in certain cases, apart from sickness or short time, the rate has been found too low it has been altered with retrospective effect. In some cases rates have been as much as doubled. This was not, however, due to mistakes in fixing the original rates, but because certain

†Discharges by purchase suspended during South African War from October 1899 to May 1902.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War if he is aware that there are many men in the Royal Arsenal who, although attending the Arsenal each day, are frequently kept hours without work being given them; whether he is aware that, even when work is given, the weekly earnings are on the average much below time wages; and whether he can guarantee that men who are kept on the books shall have at least guaranteed to them their wages at day rates.

Many men suspended on account of slackness of work attend at the Arsenal each day to ascertain if work can be found for them. If preferred the men can be discharged, but while suspended they cannot be paid at day rates nor can any guarantee of work be given, though every endeavour will be made to find work for such men as are kept on the books.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that to-night a great number of men will be turned out of the Arsenal until Monday week without pay?

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War whether Lord Esher is constantly or frequently in attendance at the War Office; and, if so, what functions he there performs.

I am at a loss to understand what the hon. Member means by the series of Questions he is addressing about Lord Esher. If he has a grievance against him it would be better that he should state it openly, when it may be possible for me to investigate Lord Esher's movements and doings to his satisfaction.

Arising out of that Answer, may I say that I have not the slightest personal feeling against Lord Esher, and that my Question was not inspired by any feeling of the kind? I ask whether Lord Esher is constantly or frequently in attendance at the War Office; and, if so, what functions Lord Esher performs there; can the right hon. Gentleman answer that Question?

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War what is the estimated cost of supplying 300,000 men of the territorial force with one suit of clothes (service dress) for each man enrolled, together with boots, head dress, overcoat, etc.

:The cost of service dress for infantry, including great coat, boots, helmet, cap and badge, and putties, amounts to an average annual sum of 10s. 5d. per man, or about £156,000 a year for 300,000 men. The additional cost of equipment is about 1s. per man.

Can the right hon. Gentleman state the total cost?

I should like notice of that.

:I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War whether it is intended that recruits for the special contingent shall be enlisted in Ireland concurrently with the enlistment of recruits for the Irish Militia; and, if not, whether any special provision will be made for strengthening the reserve of regiments having their depots in Ireland.

It is the intention that all recruits in Ireland, other than those for the Regular Army, shall be enlisted under the provisions of Part III. of the Territorial and Reserve Forces Bill. Enlistment for the third or training battalions, and for other battalions in Ireland will be carried on concurrently.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for India whether the Government of India proposes to pass a measure for checking the destruction of birds in that country, the administrative order in force prohibit- ing the export of birds' feathers being insufficient to meet the case, inasmuch as it is inoperative at ports in native states and foreign possessions, and is subject at any time to be revised or cancelled.

:I am not aware that legislation is contemplated. An Act, if passed, would equally be inoperative in native states and would of course be open to repeal.

:I beg to ask the Secretary of State for India whether his attention has been called to the testimony afforded by Mr. Morison, member of the Council of India, to the damage done to crops of Indian cultivators by wild animals, which are the natural prey of other larger beasts, for the indiscriminate destruction of which the Indian Government offers rewards; and whether, in the interests of the cultivators, he will invite the Government of India to revise its scale of rewards.

It is unfortunately true that the crops of Indian cultivators are damaged by wild animals; but, as I have said before, I am not prepared on that account to take the course suggested by the hon. Member.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for India whether he can state what sum should be added in respect of expenditure on strategic railways to that of £20,599,500, in order to ascertain the defence expenditure of India in the year 1906–7, and what is the corresponding Estimate to be added to the Estimate for military expenditure in the Budget for 1907–8; also what has been and is to be the charge for the extension of the line from Jamrud to the point on the Kabul River known as Mile 300.

According to the latest information in my possession, the expenditure on strategic railways was £220,000 in 1906–7, and the Estimate for 1907–8 is £133,000. The estimated cost of the Kabul River Railway up to Mile 300 is £337,000, of which £225,000 has already been spent.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for India whether he can state the composition of the force to be stationed at Abazai or its neighbourhood.

Abazai is a village with a small fort twenty-four miles north of Peshawar City. Its nominal garrison is a company of native infantry and fifty cavalry. The last returns show seventy-three infantry and fifty-one cavalry present.

Is there any immediate intention of putting a larger force there?

Not so far as I am aware at present.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for India what was the nett total cost of the survey executed in 1898–9 from the proposed crossing of the Myitnge River near Lashio, viâ Hsinwi and Möng La, to the Salwen River on the route of the Mandalay-Kunlon Ferry line.

I am unable to give the information asked for by the hon. Member; but I will make inquiries.

Can the hon. Gentleman say when he will be in possession of the information?

No, Sir.

I beg to ask the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies if he is aware that the sugar and cocoa planters of Trinidad applied for 2,314 immigrants for the year 1907–8, and that the Legislative Council granted only 1,800;that the number of such immigrants now number 13,000 out of a population of 330,000; that, as a result of the annual introduction of such a number of immigrants, wages have been reduced during recent years, particularly on the cocoa estates, where wages, some years ago, were sixty cents per day as against thirty-five cents per day at the present time, the result being that a number of the native population are unemployed and in poor circumstances; and, seeing that there is no lack of labour in the Colony at the present time and in view of all these circumstances, will he consider the desirability of putting a check on the importation of such immigrants.

The Secretary of State is aware of the reduction in the number of Indian immigrants to be introduced into Trinidad during the coming season. The returns of June, 1906, give the number of indentured immigrants in the Colony as 9,924, and while about 3,000 have since been introduced, the indentures of some 2,400 introduced in 1902 have expired. The present number may therefore be assumed to be about 10,500. The Special Committee recently appointed by the Governor to consider the labour question in Trinidad reported that no general reduction in wages had taken place; any reduction that may recently have occurred on cocoa estates is doubtless due to the failure of the crop. The Secretary of State sees no reason at present for further limiting the importation of immigrants.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that large numbers of natives are leaving the Colony now in order to seek work elsewhere?

I am not acquainted with the fact.

I beg to ask the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether the cost per head of immigrants introduced into the Island of Trinidad is about £27 10s., towards which employers only contribute £5, the remaining £22 10s. being made up by one-third from general revenue, and two-thirds from an export tax on produce, or in other words an annual charge to the Colony of some £20,000; and, if so, whether he will recommend that the deficit anticipated in the Estimates of the Colony should be met by the saving of this annual expenditure in preference to the suggested increase in the local tariffs.

The cost of indentured immigration varies; in the last completed financial year it was about £24 per head. Employers pay an indenture fee of £5 per head and contribute to the Immigration Fund by the payment of export duties. From the Immigration Fund two-thirds of the total cost of immigration is paid; the other third, amounting to some £20,000, is paid from general revenue. As the Under-Secretary of State stated in his reply to the hon. Member on the 27th ultimo, the Secretary of State does not propose that this system should be changed.

I beg to ask the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether nearly 50 per cent. of those committed to prison in the Island of Trinidad were for breaches of civil contracts, and that such breaches are greatly due to the immigrants not being paid anything approaching the minimum wage of 5s. 2½d. per week promised; and, if so, what action he is prepared to take in the matter.

The number of persons committed to prison in Trinidad during the year 1905–6 for breaches of the Immigration Ordinance was about 35 per cent. of the total number of committals. This number includes persons committed for other breaches of the Ordinance besides breaches of indenture. The Governor of Trinidad recently made a careful investigation into the causes leading to this number of convictions, and came to the conclusion that the frequency of desertions was not due to the insufficiency of wages on estates, but rather to the facilities with which the indentured immigrants could obtain other employment or promises of employment both in the Colony and in the neighbouring country of Venezuela. The Secretary of State sees no reason for any further action in the matter.

I beg to ask the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies if he is yet in a position to give the names of the Commission appointed by the Trinidad Government to revise the local Customs tariff; whether a representative of the working class has been appointed a member of the Commission; and whether the proceedings of the Commission will be made public.

I regret that I am unable to give the hon. Member the information he desires, but the Secretary of State has telegraphed to the Governor on the subject.

Is it not strange that information which appeared in the Press weeks ago cannot be got for the Government yet?

I beg to ask the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies at what price, delivered at Kowloon, including insurance and freight, sleepers have been supplied for the British Government section of the Kowloon to Canton Railway; whether the sleepers, according to the contract, had to be hand-hewn or sawed; whether a Government certificate of inspection from the place of export accompanied the shipment: whether he is aware that the Hong-Kong agents of the firm supplying these sleepers are also the agents of the British Chinese Corporation, Limited; whether tenders for the supply of these sleepers were called for, and, if so, when and where they were advertised; and, more particularly, whether the Crown Agents gave any information to the Agents General of the Australian States that the tenders were being asked for these sleepers.

I understand that a contract has been given locally by the resident engineer for certain sleepers, but the matter was not referred to the Crown Agents or the Colonial Office, and the Secretary of State has at present no official information on the subject.

I beg to ask the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether, seeing that it is likely that the proposed flax industry in St. Helena will still leave many of the inhabitants unemployed, he will take any further steps to alleviate the distress of the inhabitants of that island, who have practically lost their livelihood by the action of the Government in removing the troops hitherto quartered there.

The Secretary of State is considering whether any further measures can be taken in the direction of assisted emigration.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether, during the negotiations which preceded the Treaty between Siam and France which has just been concluded, His Majesty's Government were consulted; whether that Treaty permits any extension of French influence or interests on the right bank of the Mekong towards the British political frontier; and whether the Treaty gives any preference to French merchandise passing into Siam over merchandise coming from the British Shan States.

I must ask the hon. Member to wait till the terms of the Treaty are made public before I can answer Questions about it.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will lay upon the Table a Return showing the specified limits put by law upon municipal borrowing in the different States of the United States.

I will consult with the Board of Trade as to whether such a Return would be of value, and will inquire whether it would easily be obtained.

was understood to ask what Department was responsible for this matter.

said it was usual to consult all Departments concerned before making a promise to grant a Return, as a promise might be made and it might be found subsequently very difficult to obtain the facts asked for.

Will the right hon. Gentleman simultaneously grant a Return showing the limits put upon such expenditure in other countries?

This supplementary Question shows the danger of making promises.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he has received any official information with regard to the alleged kidnapping of a British subject, Mr. Robert Abbot, from his father's garden, in the immediate vicinity of the British Consulate at Salonika on Thursday the 21st instant, and, if so, whether he intends to take any action in the matter.

A telegram has been received from His Majesty's Ambassador at Constantinople on the subject, and the necessary steps are being taken by the Grand Vizier and the local authorities at Salonika in concert with His Majesty's Consul-General.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether, in view of the fact that the Russian Consulates in Persia have been strengthened, he will consider the advisability of strengthening the British Consulates so as to bring them, at least, on a par with the Russian Consulates, seeing the moral effect that a prompt display of strength has with the Asiatic peoples.

His Majesty's Government see no reason to modify the opinion expressed in my Answer to the Question asked on the 22nd instant by the hon. Member for the Ripon Division of Yorkshire.†Recent changes are very small, and do not involve a moral effect.

†See (4) Debates,clxxi.,849.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he has received any official information as to the attack on the British Consulate by the rabble in Morocco, on or about Tuesday, the 19th instant, which was repelled only by the inmates using firearms; and what steps does he intend to take to prevent the recurrence of such an outrage.

I have not yet received particulars of the occurrences referred to. According to the latest information, all Europeans at Marakesh were safe and well on the 23rd, and I have no reason to believe that they are in any danger at present. His Majesty's Government will carefully watch events, and act as the circumstances seem to require.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether the Chinese Government adopted the suggestion of His Majesty's Minister at Peking to the effect that some compensation should, as an act of grace, be paid to Dr. Horne and Mr. Eadie, who were assaulted near Amoy in June, 1906.

The Chinese Government have been requested to pay compensation as an act of grace, and discussion as to the amount is understood to be now proceeding between His Majesty's Consul at Amoy and the local Chinese authorities.

I beg to ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Inland Revenue officials do not discriminate in their accounts between pot-still and patent-still whisky, the distilleries being in almost all cases distinct; and whether, in view of the importance to the wholesale spirit trade in this country that this information should be given to the public, he can state the quantities of pot-still and patent-still whiskies produced in England, Ireland, and Scotland, in the years 1886, 1897, and 1906 respectively; and, if it is impossible to furnish this information for the past, will he issue orders for the facts to be ascertained and circulated in future.

No discrimination is at present made between pot-still and patent-still spirit, and consequently no departmental records exist from which a Return of the kind named could be made for past years. If legislative authority were given, it would be possible for the Department to keep a record in future of the quantities of spirit distilled by pot-stills and patent-stills respectively. But such a record would afford no evidence of the relative quantities used for potable and other purposes respectively, still less of the relative quantities used for a particular spirit, such as whisky, and other potable spirits. For the total product of patent-stills is applied only partly to purposes of "drinking" spirits, and the distribution of such part, as is so applied, between the several classes of potable spirits, gin, whisky, compounds, etc., cannot be determined.

Can the right hon. Gentleman inform us which is the least injurious kind of whisky?

I have no information as to that.

I beg to ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will take into consideration the amount of revenue that would accrue to his Department each year by a 1 per cent tax upon the Stock Exchange transactions; and whether he will consider the justice of this proposal.

I will take care not to lose sight of the possibility of a readjustment of the Stamp Duties in all their aspects.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the salaries paid to the English inspectors of vivisection, Mr. Thane and Sir James Russell; whether out of 2,506 operation experiments made last year, only fifteen were witnessed by the senior inspector; whether the Home Office grants vivisection licences on the recommendation of the Research Association; and whether this association exists for the protection and promotion of vivisection.

The remuneration of the inspector under the Cruelty to Animals Act, 1876, is 500 guineas, and that of the assistant inspector 350 guineas. The number of operation experiments witnessed by Mr. Thane in 1905 was fifteen; the number was smaller than usual in consequence of the inspector being absent on sick leave for some weeks. Among the objects of the Association for the Advancement of Medicine by Research are the protection of the interests of licensees and the publication of literature on the importance of research. Applications for licences and new certificates are sent to the association for observations; but the Secretary of State forms his own opinion in each case, after considering the reports of his own expert advisers, and the responsibility rests with him.

Is not the salary of the Irish inspector £50 a year?

The hon. Gentleman must give notice of any Question involving figures.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his attention has been called to the fact that four retired military officers are at present holding the rank of superintendent in the Devonshire Constabulary, one of whom has just been appointed chief constable of the count; and, if so, whether he intends to take any steps to discourage such outside appointments.

I believe the hon. Member's statement is correct, though I have no official information in the matter. My approval is not required for the appointment of police superintendents; their selection is vested by law in the chief constables, who act in such matters under the general control of the Standing Joint Committee of the county. The matter is one entirely in their discretion, and I cannot undertake to interfere with them.

:I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is aware that holders of six-day licences, and also holders of licences with an early-closing condition attached, have to pay compensation charges under the Licensing Act of 1904 at the same rate as holders of seven-day and full-time licences; and will he take steps to grant to holders of six-day and early-closing licences remissions on compensation charges similar to those allowed on the excise licence.

I believe that the reading of the law stated in the first part of the Question is correct. If so the suggestion in the second part could not be carried out without legislation, and I can only say that I will note the point for consideration. This construction of the law has not been challenged since the Act came into operation, but it is open to any licence-holder affected, if he thinks the construction wrong, to take legal proceedings with a view to obtaining a decision.

I beg to ask the Home Secretary if his attention has been called to the case of Horace George Rayner, found guilty of murder at the Central Criminal Court, and whether he will take into consideration the unusual and peculiar circumstances and history of the case with a view to mitigation of the extreme penalty of the law.

Of course, in all these grave cases, circumstances such as those to which the hon. Member has alluded are taken into very serious consideration.

I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade whether he can now make a further pronouncement to the House as to the action he proposes taking to remove the disabilities placed, on British trade and agriculture by the freight rules and rates of British railway companies.

I have already informed my hon. friend of the inquiries which I am causing to be made both at home and abroad with regard to the questions in which he is interested. These inquiries must necessarily take some time. I am therefore not yet in a position to make any announcement as to the action the Government propose to take on the subject of railway rates and rules. I should welcome any information which my hon. friend or anyone else interested in the question may be in a position to supply.

Have any inquiries yet been instituted?

I hope to be able to begin them very soon if I can get assistance from the Treasury.

I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade whether, in view of the number of bankruptcies reported to have taken place among aliens resident in this country, he will obtain from the Registrar General information as to the gross loss to creditors arising from such bankruptcies during the last five years; how many aliens have been made bankrupt in that time, and how many of these cases occurred in London; what is the average payment to creditors of native and alien bankrupts respectively; how many alien bankrupts have been found not to have kept books in the same period; what is the average proportion of assets to debts as between native and alien bankrupts; how many bankrupts have been Russian subjects; and how many have stated that, prior to their insolvency, they made their business over to their wives or other relatives.

As I have already informed the hon. Member, no separate statistics for alien bankrupts have been kept by the Board of Trade, and I am unable therefore to furnish the information desired.

asked whether the right hon. Gentleman was aware that Mr. Registrar Link later only yesterday, in referring to the number of alien bankrupts appearing before him, said he could hardly believe he was presiding over a British Court. Was the right hon. Gentleman aware also that the facts and figures referred to in the Question were laid before the Royal Commission on Alien Immigration two or three years ago by the Registrar General, and could he not now have them brought up to date?

said that of course his Department had nothing to do with the Registrar-General, but his attention had been called to the statement of the Registrar. He thought he might himself undertake to say that they should be brought to the notice of the Departmental Committee on the subject.

asked whether he might bring before this Committee any facts in his possession.

said he would be glad if the hon. and gallant Member could see his way to give evidence.

:I beg to ask the President of the Local Government Board whether in the matter of men applying for work upon the Washburn Valley afforestation scheme under the Leeds Distress Committee, he has official information showing that 293 were offered employment, 139 accepted, 102 commenced work, and 56 threw it up soon after; what is the present number of men at work; whether, in view of the conditions of life in the country, he will ascertain whether 11s. is not too much to deduct from the men's wages of £1 per week for board and lodging; and whether, seeing that this experiment in afforestation is subsidised by the Local Government Board, he will give instructions that the men will be allowed the same privilege as those at Hollesley Bay of returning at stated periods to their homes free of railway fares.

:The Answer as regards the figures referred to in the first part of the Question is in the affirmative. The number of the registered unemployed men who are at present engaged on the work is fifty. I have made inquiry as to the sum charged for board and lodging, and I find that the distress committee are satisfied as to its reasonableness. The payment for board is, however, an optional one, as it is competent for the men, instead of making it, to provide and cook their own food, but I understand that none of them have adopted this alternative. I could not undertake to interfere as to the arrangements made for the men to visit their homes. I am informed that originally it was arranged that the men should return home only once a month, and that at the same time they should go in search of permanent employment, spending at least one day for that purpose. The majority, however, preferred to visit their homes at the end of each week.

:I beg to ask the President of the Local Government Board if Dr. Fletcher is paid for reporting on cases of illness following vaccination; if formerly similar reports were published; and on what ground of public policy such reports are kept secret notwithstanding the wish of the parents for publicity.

Dr. Fletcher is one of the medical inspectors of the Local Government Board, and is paid an annual salary for the discharge of his duties, which, like those of the other medical inspectors, include the occasional investigation of cases of illness alleged to be due to vaccination. Some of the reports of the inspectors were communicated to the Royal Commission on Vaccination, and the facts contained in certain of these reports were published by them; but since the final Report of the Commission, no further reports of the kind in question have been published. The reports of necessity often deal with the acts of family history of individuals, and must, I think, be treated as confidential.

:If there is no desire on the part of the families concerned to keep the reports private why should they not be published?

I have no evidence that that is the view taken by the families affected.

I say they do desire to have the reports published.

I beg to ask the President of the Local Government Board whether he is aware that Mable Ellen Wenham, of 14, St. Nicholas Lane, Sussex, born 5th June, 1906, was vaccinated in September, 1906, by Dr. Burbidge, public vaccinator, and died on the 19th March, 1907; that fourteen days after vaccination sores broke out under the ear and elsewhere; that the child was treated firstly by Dr. Vallance and secondly by the dispensary doctor, then taken to a hospital at Brighton, and finally sent home incurable; and that the child was perfectly healthy before vaccination; and if, in consequence of the number of deaths following vaccination, he will stop the issue of vaccine matter until some stuff, free from danger, has been invented.

My attention has been called to the case referred to and I am making some inquiry with regard to it. I could not undertake to stop the issue of glycerinated calf lymph, and I may remind my hon. friend that it is not necessarily the case that because a death follows vaccination it is therefore due to it.

Is it not the fact that the medical officers of the Local Government Board are now making investigations with a view to finding a less injurious stuff than that now used? Why not wait until they have discovered it before issuing any more of this lymph to the public?

I have no such information as the hon. Member professes to have.

I beg to ask the President of the Local Government Board whether he can say if the £200,000 voted for provision of work for the unemployed has all been expended; if not, can he state the amount spent; and whether all the distress committees have been granted the sum they applied for and proved to his satisfaction they could utilise to advantage for the purpose the money was intended.

As regards England and Wales, the sum of £85,395 has actually been paid to the Central (Unemployed) Body and the distress committees; but some further payments, the precise amount of which I cannot at present state, will be made before the end of the week. I have made payments out of the grant in all cases in which the distress committee showed that there was exceptional need for assistance in meeting the cost of providing or contributing to the provision of temporary work, and a scheme of work was proposed of which I could approve. I should add that I agreed that a sum of £21,050 out of the grant should be allocated to Scotland and Ireland.

Can the right hon. Gentleman give any information as to the allocation of the amount set apart for Ireland?

I have no precise information, but I believe the Chief Secretary has been doing his best to see that the amount allocated has been wisely spent.

I beg to ask the President of the Local Government Board if he will state how many children in the Lambeth Poor Law school at Norwood have been, and are at present, affected by the recent outbreak at that school of diphtheria, scarlet fever, and whooping cough, respectively; and if any cases have as yet been fatal.

My hon. friend is, I think, under a misapprehension in this matter. I understand that, with the exception of six mild cases of whooping cough, five of whom are convalescent, there has been no recent outbreak of the diseases mentioned in the Question at the school, nor has there been any death from them. At present, there is not a single case of diphtheria or scarlet fever in the school.

I beg to ask the President of the Local Government Board, in consideration of the fact that Poor Law guardians may make arrange- ments for the maintenance of Poor Law children in such institutions as Dr. Barnardo's Homes; and, seeing that the boarding out of children with foster parents is satisfactorily and more economically carried out by the managers of such institutions, will he consider the advisability of empowering, under regulations, Poor Law guardians to arrange for the boarding-out of Poor Law children under the auspices of such institutions.

I note the suggestion of my hon. friend. I may state, however, that it has previously been brought under the notice of the Local Government Board, but there are difficulties in its adoption, and they have not seen their way to giving effect to it.

Considering that the expenditure of public money may be reduced by one half by these means, will the right hon. Gentleman further consider the matter?

Boarding-out is now tried, but the institutions in which the children are placed have to be certified.

:I beg to ask the Postmaster-General whether the terms of the agreement made with Canada regarding the postage on newspapers and periodicals has been settled; and whether he can now state to the House of Commons the outlines of the arrangement which has been arrived at by the two countries.

:No arrangement has yet been made; but I cannot make any further statement in regard to this matter at present.

Will it be in a short time?

I cannot say at present.

Will the matter come before the Colonial Conference?

I should say not. It is a question between the Government and Canada solely.

Will it be discussed with the representative of the Canadian Government on his visit to this country for the Conference?

I am unable to say.

:I beg to ask the Postmaster-General whether he has taken or whether he is about to take the necessary steps to enable the general public to acquire insurance policies affecting life, fire, accident, and other forms of insurance, upon the security of his particular Department.

I have appointed a Departmental Committee to consider "whether it is practicable, and if practicable, whether it is desirable, for the Post Office to provide facilities for the insurance of employers in respect of their liabilities under the Workmen's Compensation Acts, either generally or subject to limitations; and further to consider whether it is desirable that steps should be taken to encourage the use of the present life insurance system of the Post Office; and, if so, what steps." Lord Farrar is chairman of the Committee and the hon. Member for North Ayrshire is a member, and the Post Office, the Savings Bank, the Treasury, and the National Debt Commissioners are represented.

I beg to ask the President of the Board of Education whether the elementary schools recently erected in Merionethshire for children whose parents objected to the manner in which the denominational schools in the neighbourhood were conducted, and known as revolt schools, were erected with his concurrence and approval; and, if so, whether any of the sum provided in the Estimates for building elementary schools will be spent on the Merionethshire schools.

So far as I am aware the schools referred to in the Question were not provided as public elementary schools, and in any case were provided previously to my appointment as President of the Board of Education. With regard to the last paragraph, I cannot add anything to my Answer to the hon. Member for the Oswestry Division on the 11th March†.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that these schools are recognised by the Department for the purposes of the grant?

I must ask for notice of that Question.

I beg to ask President of the Board of Education whether the decision at which he has arrived, namely, that where managers of non-provided schools have in the exercise of their duty engaged teachers on such terms as they think satisfactory and the education authority has hold aloof, the education authority has deprived itself of any solid ground of criticism, applies in cases where the managers have gone so far as to raise salaries in denominational schools to a level with those paid in provided schools in the same district; and to what extent this decision will interfere with the policy of discrimination between provided and non-provided schools adopted by the great majority of Welsh education authorities, and with their refusal to contribute from rates towards the maintenance of schools not under their full control.

:The statements in my hon. friend's Question are not my decision but mistaken inferences which he has drawn from a decision I gave in the Swansea case. I cannot express any opinion as to what conclusions may be drawn from an erroneous hypothesis.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the words I have used in the first part of the Question are those used by the Attorney-General?

I am not aware of that.

†See (4) Debates, clxx., 1261–2.