To ask the Secretary to the Treasury whether he is aware that a small body of men designated temporary clerks, who have been employed in certain departments of His Majesty's Civil Service for a period of fifteen or twenty years, have been given notice to retire; and whether, in view of the fact that these men will not receive pensions, and that their salaries have not been subject to any increment, he will state the amount of bonus which will be awarded to them for their long services. (Answered by Mr. Runciman.) I have no knowledge of any such notice having been given. Such notice would not require the concurrence, and would not education authority in the year ending the 31st day of July, 1906, in which the average attendance did not exceed sixty:— in the ordinary course be within the knowledge, of the Treasury. As regards the award, if any, to be made to such persons on retirement I am unable to make any statement in the absence of full particulars of the cases referred to.

To ask the Secretary to the Admiralty, with reference to Cd. 3628, the Punishments in the Royal Navy during 1906, what were the offences and sentences in each case of the twelve men sentenced to penal servitude, the places of offence and trial, and the ship each man belonged to, and the offences and sentences of each individual in the seven cases who suffered corporal punishment with birch, the date on which each birching took place, where it occurred, and the name of each individual's ship. (Answered by Mr. Lambert.) The particulars asked for are shown in the accompanying tables:—

To ask the Postmaster-General whether, seeing that Miss Howse, the president of the Association of Post Office Women Clerks, was recently superseded by three of her juniors, notwithstanding the fact that she has been in the Post Office service thirteen and a half years, and during nine or ten years has been employed on special duties, he will state what official reason was put forward by the lady superintendent for thus superseding this young lady.

To ask the Postmaster-General whether it was with his sanction that the lady superintendent of the Post Office Savings Bank recently conveyed to Miss Howse the information that, although her work was excellent, she was passed over for promotion because she was insolent and insubordinate; whether the only insolence and insubordination that this young lady was guilty of consisted in being president of the Association of Post Office Women Clerks, and in taking an active part in furthering the interests of that association; and seeing that this lady superintendent has acted in a similar manner towards her subordinates in several other instances, will he say what steps he intends to take in the matter. (Answered by Mr. Sydney Buxton.) Miss Howse has herself properly approached me on the subject of the recent promotions at the Savings Bank, and I am inquiring into her case and her allegations. Pending my decision it is highly improper that a Member of Parliament should have been approached in the matter. If I thought that the officer in question had herself instigated or been cognisant of the Question I should be unfavourably impressed with her judgment or her fitness for promotion.

To ask the Postmaster-General whether it is with his permission that the lady superintendent of the Savings Bank Department frequently exceeds her official duties by having covert threats of dismissal, and without preferring any charge, conveyed to her subordinates who may be suspected of matters which are personally disapproved of by her; if not, will he give instructions that methods of this description must be stopped, and that all charges made must be in writing with full opportunity of defence to the suspected person; and will he state the age, length of service, and date of retirement of this lady superintendent.

To ask the Postmaster-General whether, seeing that he has accorded full liberty to Post Office servants to combine in their own interests, he will explain whether it was with his permission that the lady superintendent of the Post Office Savings Bank conveyed to her subordinates the information that she disapproved of the Association of Post Office Women Clerks, that she disapproved of their holding meetings, that she disapproved of their giving evidence before the Select Committee on Post Office Servants, and that she would not allow them to hold meetings in the Savings Bank premises; whether he is aware that she sent her own particular friends to take private notes of the proceedings when meetings have been held by these women clerks outside the Post Office buildings, and that she afterwards sent for the speakers at such meetings and cautioned them; and whether he proposes to take any steps in the matter. (Answered by Mr. Sydney Buxton.) It is well known in the service that officers who may consider themselves aggrieved by the action of their superior officers can lay their alleged grievances before me. I much regret, therefore, that any officer in the service should have preferred publicly to promulgate anonymous and unsubstantiated statements such as those contained in the Questions.

To ask the Secretary to the Admiralty whether he is aware that the painting work in connection with the construction of H.M.S "Agamemnon," now being built by Messrs. Beardmore, of Dalmuir, is almost entirely being done with a machine and by unskilled labour; and whether this is in accordance with the terms of contract signed by the firm. (Answered by Mr. Lambert.) Nearly the whole of the painting work on the "Agamemnon' has been and is being carried out by skilled manual labour and only a very small proportion by machine. The skill of the labour employed upon the machine is judged by the results, which have been satisfactory. The use of the machine is not forbidden by the conditions of the contract, but no work performed in an unskilful way will be accepted.

To ask the Secretary to the Admiralty when it is proposed to report to this House the result of the mechanician experiment, and its total cost to date, so that Members may have an opportunity of discussing it. (Answered by Mr. Lambert.) An opportunity of discussing this question will arise on Vote A and Vote 1 of next year's Navy Estimates. I am advised that it is impossible to give an estimate of the total cost.

To ask the Secretary to the Admiralty if his attention has been called to the fact that the inculcation of the idea that chief stokers and engine-room artificers are their greatest enemies is made part of the educational training of mechanicians for His Majesty's Navy, and upon what grounds this is based; and whether, in the interest of good order and discipline, he will take steps for its discontinuance. (Answered by Mr. Lambert.) There is no foundation whatever for this allegation.

To ask the Secretary to the Admiralty if engine-room artificers have loyally carried out the duties imposed upon them in the training of mechanician candidates; and will he state the terms of the last report giving the results of their labours. (Answered by Mr. Lambert.) The answer to the first Question is in the affirmative. The Report stated that with one exception all the mechanicians passed satisfactorily.

To ask the Secretary to the Admiralty what are the terms of advancement from stoker in His Majesty's Navy to chief stoker and mechanician, respectively; are candidates for S. P. O. and C. S. ratings selected only from those who express their willingness to continue with the course of training for mechanician if required. (Answered by Mr. Lambert.) The regulations on this subject are numerous and detailed, and I have caused a copy to be sent to the hon. Member. The Answer to the second part of the Question is in the negative.

To ask the Secretary to the Admiralty how many men have joined His Majesty's Navy as stokers since 1st October, 1906; what was stated by them as their former occupations; have the age and height for entry been reduced since that date; what number of seamen and marines have changed their rating to that of stoker since that date; and what is the-number of stokers now short of the complement required irrespective of Royal Naval Reserve men. (Answered by Mr. Lambert.) The Answer to the first part of the Question is 2,805. It will be obvious from this that the second Question does not admit of a Parliamentary Answer. As to the third Question the Answer is in the negative. The figures asked for in the fourth Question are, approximately, seamen, 409; marines, 82. The Answer to the fifth Question is 500.

To ask the Secretary to the Admiralty to what extent it is proposed to substitute pensioners for active-service ratings in Home service billets, enumerating for what special duties they will be utilised and from what Vote their wages will be paid; and will their pension allowance be stopped whilst they are in receipt of full pay for employment in their former rating. (Answered by Mr. Lambert.) The extent to which the substitution of pensioners for active service ratings will be carried out depends upon the requirements of the service. Pensioners entered as civilians are employed on duties for which they are considered more suitable than active-service ratings, such as caretakers, attendants, etc., and to a limited extent on instructional duties. The charge will fall mainly on Vote 11 (Miscellaneous Effective Services). The Answer to the last Question is in the negative.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his attention has been called to the case of a man named Herbert Stanton, who, after upwards of thirteen years service was arrested on his honeymoon and charged before the Stamford borough magistrates with embezzling the sum of £14 19s. from his employers, and, after, being remanded three times without bail, has now been committed for trial at the Stamford quarter sessions, which will not be held till the end of October next, bail still being refused; and whether he will consider the desirableness of a representation to the magistrates upon the subject, or take such other steps as may be necessary to prevent a prisoner charged under such circumstances remaining in custody for a period of upwards of three months pending trial. (Answered by Mr Secretary Gladstone). I have made inquiry into this case. The question of allowing bail when a felony is charged is one for the discretion of the committing magistrates. I am informed that the charges against the defendant are more serious than is indicated in the Question, as they include two charges of embezzlement, two of falsification of accounts, and two of converting his employer's money to his own use; and that the sessions at which they are to be tried are fixed for 1st October, not for the end of that month. In any case I have no authority to interfere; if any injustice has been done, the remedy is an application to a Judge of the High Court to grant bail.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether Mr. Dallen, Mr. Hains, Mr. Athoney, Mr. King Lewis, and most of the other inspectors of the Egyptian Ministeries of Finance and the Interior were teachers brought from England and transferred to their present positions, although not possessed of engineering certificates. (Answered by Secretary Sir Edward Grey). I have no information on the subject, but I am not aware that the efficiency of these Gentlemen has been called in question.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether Messrs. Yorke, Darke, Prampolini, and others, are, or are about to be, appointed to high posts in the Egyptian Ministry of Public Works, though not possessed of polytechnic school certificates or diplomas; whether many other European officials of the same Ministry have been so appointed though lacking such certificates; and whether they have been promoted over Natives who possess such certificates. (Answered by Secretary Sir Edward Grey.) I have no information as to the points raised by the hon. Member, and I would observe that questions of this kind lie solely within the discretion of the Egyptian Government, who must be trusted to make the best appointments in their power.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs how many of the Egyptian Ministers and how many of their British Advisers are now on duty at Cairo; and whether, in view of the alleged political unrest in Egypt, he can state when the Ministers now absent and the Agent-General will return to their posts. (Answered by Secretary Sir Edward Grey.) I am not consulted as to the vacation of the Egyptian Ministers, nor do I propose to interfere in the matter. There is no reason, so far as I am aware, for interference with the annual leave of the British Advisers, and certainly none for the curtailment of that of the British Agent.

To ask the Secretary of State for India whether the Government of India has yet taken action upon the Report of the Assam Labour Commission; and whether any Papers on the subject can be laid in the Library. (Answered by Mr. Secretary Morley.) I understand that the Report is still under the consideration of the Government of India. A copy was placed in the Library of the House in February last.

To ask the Secretary of State for India whether he will consider the advisability of giving, in Official Publications and Answers, together with the actual figures relating to plague mortality, the figures per mille of the population of India, in order that comparision may not be made with a population approximating to that of the United Kingdom. (Answered by Mr. Secretary Morley.) I will bear in mind the hon. Member's suggestion in cases in which the additional information would be pertinent and correct, and might prevent misleading comparisons. When, as frequently happens, plague is practically confined to a province, a per mille ratio to the population of India would itself be misleading.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he is aware that the Great Central Railway Company, the owners of the docks at Grimsby, have given instructions that the railway company's own boats plying between Grimsby and various Continental ports are to have priority in berthing and loading facilities over vessels belonging to, or chartered by, English traders for conveying traffic from the port of Grimsby to the port of London; whether such preference of the railway company's own traffic has been shown as against coal intended to pass from Grimsby to His Majesty's dockyard at Woolwich; and whether, in the public interest, he is prepared to put a stop to the preferential treatment complained of. (Answered by Mr. Kearley.) The Board of Trade have been in communication with the railway company on the subject of my hon. friend's Question, and are informed that no instructions to the effect indicated have been given. The company state that in accordance with the course of business which has been uniformly followed at Grimsby, both before and since they acquired their dock property, casual steamers using the docks give place to vessels plying regularly to and from the port, but this description applies to the boats of several owners besides those of the company, and all are treated alike.

To ask the Postmaster-General whether, in view of the fact that it was represented to the Parliamentary Committee on post-office servants, by means of a printed chart as well as by departmental witnesses, that head postmasters have the right to look for promotion to the large postmasterships with salaries up to £775, including the postmasterships of Sheffield and Hull, he will explain why the vacant postmasterships at Sheffield and Hull have just been filled by the appointment of officers from the Secretary's Office, London, and the Surveying Department, respectively.

To ask the Postmaster-General whether, seeing that the officer appointed postmaster of Sheffield has been considered unfit for promotion in his own Department, and has been passed over on several occasions by the promotion of junior officers of his own class, and that the officer appointed postmaster of Hull was second in the list of assistant surveyors, first-class, and therefore likely to have been promoted within a short time, if deserving, to a surveyorship carrying a salary of £600 by £25 to £900, he will say whether there are any head postmasters amongst the 877 members of that class who are in every respect well qualified for, and entitled to, promotion to such offices as those at Sheffield and Hull.

To ask the Postmaster-General whether he is aware that dissatisfaction prevails throughout the ranks of the head postmasters in consequence of the manner in which their claims have been dealt with in the matter of promotions and of the fact that a much larger proportion of postmasterships carrying salaries of £400 and upwards have been filled by the promotion of officers other than postmasters since the present Postmaster- General has been in office than was formerly the case; whether it is proposed to compensate head postmasters for the decrease in their prospects of promotion caused by these appointments of officers from other branches by promoting head postmasters to better positions in the Surveying Department, the Secretary's Office, and other departments of the postal service; and what steps the Postmaster-General will take to allay the feeling existing amongst those public servants. (Answered by Mr. Sydney Buxton.) I will answer these three Questions together. It is not, and never has been, the case that promotion to the larger postmasterships is exclusively reserved for postmasters, nor was it so stated to the Select Committee. Postmasterships are staff appointments for which all officers of the post office are equally eligible and can make application, and postmasters have no exclusive claim to all or any particular proportion of them. There has been no change in practice in regard to the matter since I have been Postmaster-General. As regards the officers recently appointed postmasters of Sheffield and Hull they were, in my judgment, taking everything into account, the best qualified of the candidates who presented themselves. I need hardly say that before arriving at this conclusion I examined carefully the qualifications of all the postmasters who made application for these posts. The hon. Member may not be aware that the postmastership of Cardiff, which is of equal value with that of Sheffield, was filled at the same time by the promotion of a postmaster.

To ask the Secretary to the Treasury, in view of the fact that the new class of assistant clerks is the only considerable body of permanent Government officials on the major establishment to which the privilege of twenty-one days annual leave after five years service is not extended, whether he is aware that this concession is granted to some officials junior in rank to assistant clerks; and whether, consequently, he can see his way to allow assistant clerks to count the time served by them as temporary boy clerks or copyists to reckon towards the com pletion of the period of ten years established service which it is at present necessary for these clerks to serve before they become entitled to eighteen days annual leave. (Answered by Mr. Runciman.) I do not feel able to add anything to the reply which I gave to a somewhat similar Question put by the hon. Member for the Ludlow Division of Salop on the 9th ultimo.

To ask the President of the Board of Education whether, in view of Section 20 (5) of the Elementary Education Act, 1870, under which the Board of Education may authorise a school board to put in force the powers of the Land Clauses Acts, either absolutely or with such conditions and modifications as they may think fit, the Board is prepared on the request of a local education authority to insert in Provisional Orders Confirmation Bills provisions modifying the Land Clauses Acts with regard to such matters as payment of compensation in the case of insanitary property, exemption from Section 133 of the Land Clauses Consolidation Act, 1845, and the power to take part only of properties. (Answered by Mr. McKenna.) The Board of Education are prepared, on the request of a local education authority, to insert in Provisional Order Confirmation Bills, where the circumstances in the opinion of the Board justify such a course, those clauses which, having been frequently inserted in local Acts, are regarded in the practice of Parliament as model clauses.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, in view of the evidence given by Mr. J. G. Legge, late chief inspector of industrial schools, before the Departmental Committee on Vagrancy (Minutes of Evidence, page 160, Questions and Answers 4621, 4623, 4624, and 4628), and in view of the Report of that Committee, he will, in his legislation for next session affecting children, take steps to secure that when the parent or guardian of a child is dealt with as an habitual vagrant, there shall be a power to the Court to order the child to be sent to an industrial school. (Answered by Mr. Secretary Gladstone.) I am aware of the evidence and recommendations to which my hon. friend refers, and I can assure him that they shall receive my careful and sympathetic consideration when the Bill is being drafted.

To ask the President of the Local Government Board whether his attention has been drawn to the fact that at the inquiry recently held at Mile End by one of the inspectors of the Local Government Board objection was taken to the legality of certain surcharges that formed the subject of the inquiry, on the ground that the audit had not been properly adjourned, and that such adjournment had not been proved, as required by Section 7 of the Poor Law Audit Act, 1848; and whether, seeing that the ultimate enforcement of these surcharges involves the liberty of the subject, he will undertake that during the recess the opinion of the Law Officers of the Crown shall be taken as to the validity of the proceedings of the auditor, and in the event of that opinion being against the validity of the auditor's action he will take immediate steps to declare these surcharges void. (Answered by Mr. John Burns.) I understand that at the inquiry a question has been raised as to the legality of the surcharges on the ground that the audit at which they were made had not been properly adjourned. At present the inquiry is not completed, and the inspector's Report has not been made. Until I receive it, I cannot say what course it will be right for me to take with reference to the point raised.

To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether any steps have been taken for the reinstatement of evicted tenants on the Kildare estate of Lord Cloncurry; and whether the claim of James Hanlon, of Newpark, Donadea, to be reinstated in his former holding of the lands of Kilmurry, from which he was evicted in the year 1882, has been considered; and, if so, what is the result. (Answered by Mr. Birrell.) The Estates Commissioners inform me that they have received only one application for reinstatement on this estate, namely, the application of James Hanlon, which they have rejected. The Commissioners have ascertained that Hanlon merely held a grazing tenancy of the farm in which he sought reinstatement, and that he is at present the tenant of a farm of seventy acres on the estate.

To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether he is aware that the Naas (No. 2) Rural District Council made recently an improvement scheme under the Labourers' Acts, and under the same proposed to erect a cottage for a labourer named John Richardson, in the townland of Kilbride, the site being on a holding in the occupation of Mr. Fletcher Moore, who objected that the site was on demesne land, such objection being up held by Mr. John F. M'Cabe, Local Government Inspector; at the local inquiry into the scheme, did Mr. Moore, in his evidence, admit that this particular holding was distinct from his demesne, had been in the occupation of a tenant up to 1902, when the tenant was evicted, and since then has been on his hands; was the inspector correct in disallowing the site under the circumstances; and will the matter be reconsidered. (Answered by Mr. Birrell.) The tenant's interest in the land on which the site in question is marked was purchased fifteen years ago by Mr. Fletcher Moore, who added it to the demesne surrounding his mansion house. The inspector considers that the plot comes within the exemptions specified in Section 6 of the Labourers' Act of 1883. The decision in such cases is vested by the Act of last year in the inspector, and his decision was arrived at after considering the evidence given at the inquiry and visiting the lands in question.

To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland if he can ascertain whether Mrs. M'Geehin, late teacher of Castletown national school, Mountrath, received any salary for the two years previous to her enforced retirement from the service of the Commissioners of National Education, though she fully complied with the directions of the Commissioners; and, if not, whether he can suggest to the Commissioners the propriety of now paying the arrears of salary earned by her. (Answered by Mr. Birrell.) The Commissioners of National Education inform me that Mrs. M'Geehin received her salary and other emoluments in full up to the 30th June, 1904, when she ceased to be recognised as teacher of the Castle-town girls' national school. In October 1903, it was found necessary to make an adjustment in respect of an overpayment of salary made to Mrs. M'Geehin prior to 1st July, 1901. This overpayment was due to incorrect returns of pupils' attendances which Mrs. M'Geehin had furnished.

To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland if he can ascertain how many teachers in Circuit 21, Section A, who taught Irish for a fee during the year ended 30th June, 1907, got increments; and what annual reports are necessary in order to secure increments in such cases. (Answered by Mr. Birrell.) The Commissioners of National Education inform me that twenty-three teachers of national schools, other than convent schools, in Circuit 21, Section A, taught Irish for a fee during the year ended 30th June, 1907. One of these teachers has a salary in excess of the maximum of the scale provided for first-grade teachers, sixteen received triennial increments since 1st April, 1905, one case is under consideration for promotion in grade, two are not at present entitled by length of service to any increment, and three have failed to give service of sufficiently satisfactory character to warrant an award. In dealing with the claims of teachers for the triennial awards of increments the Commissioners consider the reports upon the schools which cover the whole, or practically the whole, of the triennial period.

I beg to ask the Secretary to the Admiralty what number of destroyers which took part in the recent manœuvres of the Home Fleet are now undergoing or awaiting repairs, or have been under repair, since the manœuvres.

Of the Home Fleet destroyers which took part in the recent manœuvres, two are undergoing large repairs due to a collision, nine are in hand for minor repairs, and one will shortly have her boilers re-tubed.

I beg to ask the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether any information can be given to the House as to the steps taken by the Government of the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope in consequence of the negotiations with the German Government as to the Damaraland and Bechuanaland frontiers.

There are no negotiations in progress with the German Government in regard to the Buchuanaland frontier, but certain questions have arisen as to the interpretation of Article 3 of the Anglo-German Convention of July, 1890, in so far as it relates to the Orange River. His Majesty's Government have made certain proposals for settling these questions, which are now under the consideration of the German Government, and in the interval no action is required on the part of the Cape Government.

asked if any military or semi-military steps had been taken as to the removal of certain tribes. There had, he said, been rumours to that effect

I cannot go beyond my Answer.

I beg to ask the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will make inquiry into the rate of mortality among the labourers employed on the Panama Isthmian Canal.

I understand that my right hon. friend the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs has called for an official report, but has not yet received it. I may mention, however, that very beneficial results have followed from the strict enforcement of sanitary laws and anti-mosquito regulations in the canal zone, and from the application of the new knowledge of tropical diseases to local conditions. In October, 1884, there were twenty-one deaths and eighty-four cases of yellow fever amongst 2,706 non-im munes, in a total of 19,243 men, employed in the construction of the canal. In October, 1905, among 4,000 non-immunes in a total of 22,000 employees, there was no death and only one case. This is an excellent instance of the inestimable value of the kind of research work which is being conducted by the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and other institutions of a similar kind.

If the information is not received till after the prorogation will the right hon. Gentleman have it circulated?

I will see if that can be done.

I beg to ask the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will ascertain what steps the local Governments have taken to assure themselves that the labourers engaged in the British West Indies working on the Panama Isthmian Canal thoroughly understand the terms of their engagement before leaving.

The respective Governments of the British West Indies are very careful to safeguard—as far as it is possible to do so—emigrants from those Colonies, and I do not think that any useful purpose would be served by making the suggested inquiry unless or until the hon. Gentleman is able to furnish me with some definite evidence that neglect has occurred.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say what steps the Government have taken to ensure that the coolies understand the terms of their contract.

We assume naturally that the officers responsible have done their duty, but if there are any facts to justify the suggestion that there has been neglect and that injury has resulted therefrom they will, if brought to the notice of the Secretary of State, be inquired into, but we think aprima facie case should first be made out.

was understood to ask if the regulations provided for inquiry being made of the coolies if they really understand the contracts. Would the regulations be laid on the Table?

asked for notice.

I beg to ask the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies if he has received a representation from the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce on the subject of the new Australian tariff; and, if so, whether he will inform the House of the nature of that representation.

A letter has been received from the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce, representing that hardship and loss will be inflicted on exporters by the immediate coming into operation of the new Australian Customs Tariff, and asking that a telegram might be sent to the Commonwealth Government requesting them to postpone the operation of the tariff for, say, three months. The effect of this letter has been telegraphed to the Commonwealth Government.

Will the reply when received be laid?

asked for notice.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether his attention has been drawn to the systematic robberies that are continually taking place on Italian State railways, from registered luggage belonging to British subjects whilst in charge of State officials; and whether His Majesty's Government will consider the advisability of making representations to the Italian Ambassador in this country with a view to the stoppage of these thefts, perpetrated by or with the connivance of the State officials.

Complaints of such robbories are constantly brought to the notice of His Majesty's Consuls, and in some cases to that of His Majesty's Embassy, who have fre quently made representations to the proper authorities through diplomatic and consular channels.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he is yet able to state approximately the amount of native and foreign capital invested in public companies in Egypt, the number of companies trading there without being registered, and the proportion they bear to the number registered.

From information supplied by the Egyptian Ministry of Finance, it would appear that the share and debenture capital of the companies whose business is entirely, or almost entirely, confined to Egypt, is estimated approximately at £90,000,000 sterling, of which the proportion contributed by Egyptian companies is about two-thirds, the remaining one-third representing the capital of foreign companies. These figures afford no indication of the proportion of native and foreign capital invested in these companies, the capital of Egyptian companies being largely held abroad, andvice versa. It is estimated, however, that the larger proportion of the total is in foreign hands. The capital is distributed among some 220 companies, about 45 per cent of which are Egyptian and the remainder foreign companies. There are also a certain number of banking and other foreign companies which have established branches in Egypt, but with respect to which it is not possible to ascertain the amount of capital invested in the country. Foreign companies are not registered in Egypt. I should that the above figures do not include the Suez Canal Company.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he is yet able to state whether any and what papers have been withheld by the Egyptian Government from the Legislative Council, as asked in Question 4 on 7th May.†

According to a Report received by His Majesty's Agent and Consul General at Cairo, neither the Egyptian Council of Ministers nor the Secretary of the Legislative Council, to whom inquiries have been addressed on the subject, are aware of any refusal on the part of the Egyptian Government to communicate Reports to the Legislative Assembly, nor are they able to ascertain what are the Reports referred to in the hon. Member's Question of 7th May†.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he is yet in a position to state the grounds of the appointment of Borton Bey as Postmaster-General of Egypt.

Borton Bey was appointed Assistant Postmaster-General in December, 1904, and was chosen for that post on account of his great experience as an administrator, having served since the beginning of 1899 in various important and responsible positions. Saba Pasha, the late Postmaster-General, succeeded Halton Pasha, an Englishman. Had Borton Bey now been passed over for the appointment, the next official in seniority would have been an Italian.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether his attention has been called to the fact that on analysis the ordinary salt sold in Egypt by the Egyptian Salt and Soda Company, Limited, is found to contain only 91·08 per cent. of salt, with 6·01 of sodium sulphate, 2·33 of sodium carbonate, and ·20 per cent. of sand, while the fine table salt sold by the same company contains only 89·93 per cent. of salt, with 6·96 of sodium sulphate, 2·65 of sodium carbonate, and ·26 per cent. of sand, the fine salt being thus the more impure of the two; and whether he will recommend the Egyptian Government to use what power it has in connection with the partial monopoly of the Egyptian Salt and Soda Company to secure that its products shall be freed from the adulterants or impurities above specified.

This matter must be left to the Egyptian Government. But the information which the hon. Member has sent me will be forwarded to Cairo.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the regulations as regards the price, quality, and supply of police clothing; and what contracts for this purpose have been placed in Wales last year.

I have no information with regard to police forces other than the metropolitan police. The conditions of the metropolitan police clothing contract could not well be stated within the limits of a reply to a Question, but I shall be happy to show my hon. friend a copy of the form of contract if he desires it. No contract for metropolitan police clothing was placed in Wales last year.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is aware that girl telephone operators in Glasgow, employed by the National Telephone Company, are kept at night work for twelve hours for seven consecutive nights without any stated time for rest or meals; and whether he can take any action to effect an improved arrangement.

I have communicated with the company, who inform me that their night operators in Glasgow have one week night duty and one week day duty alternately. During the week of night duty their employment is as stated in the Question, but is understood that they have during every night two hours each free from duty, although, owing to the exigencies of the work, the precise time when this rest is to take place cannot be fixed. The company inform me further that for some time past the fubject of night operator's work has been under their consideration with a view, if possible, to modifying the existing conditions. The matter is one in which I have no authority whatever to interfere.

I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been called to the fact that the London, Tilbury, and Southend Railway Company have not yet fulfilled their undertaking to issue workmen's tickets between Grays and Purfleet by their 5.39 a.m. train; and whether he can state when such workmen's tickets will be issued. I beg also to ask the President of the Board of Trade whether he has taken any action with a view to inducing the London, Tilbury, and Southend Railway Company to afford to the workmen of Grays and Tilbury similar facilities by means of workmen's tickets and workmen's trains for getting to the docks in London as are afforded to the inhabitants of Barking and places nearer the metropolis and as the company afford to the inhabitants of London for getting to the docks at Tilbury; and, if so, whether there is any prospect that such facilities will soon be granted.

The Board of Trade have been in communication with the railway company as to the delay in issuing workmen's tickets between Grays and Purfleet, and I understand that this delay has been due to the receipt of the subsequent demand for workmen's tickets from Tilbury and Grays to London referred to in the second Question. If this further demand is not proceeded with the company are prepared to issue the tickets to Purfleet at once, but if it is to be pressed the company would prefer that the whole matter should form the subject of any inquiry that may be ordered.

I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade if his attention has been directed to the protests of British Chambers of Commerce on the subject of the new Australian traiff; and whether he is taking any steps to bring those protests to the attention of the Australian Government.

I can add nothing on this subject to the reply given by me yesterday to the hon. Member for the Tottenham Division.†

I beg to ask the President of Board of Trade if he is aware that, owing to the heavy frieght and other charges incurred in shipping goods to Australia, the natural protection enjoyed by the Australian manufacturer is usually 50 per cent. to 100 per cent.ad valorum upon the export price of the British manufacturer; and whether he will represent that fact to the Australian Government in connection with their imposition of a heavy tariff upon imports from the United Kingdom.

If and when the question of representations come to be considered, the point referred to by my hon. frieud will not be lost sight of.

I beg to ask the Postmaster-General if his attention has been called to the case of Charles Kelly, a linesman in the engineering department, who lost both legs by accident while in the employment of the Department at New Cross on 4th March, 1904; whether any compensation or other method of settlement of his claim for damages has been made; and if so, what is the nature of such settlement.

I have obtained from the railway company concerned a sum of £700 as compensation for the injuries received by Kelly. This sum was paid to Kelly on the 7th June last.

I beg to ask the Postmaster-General if he is aware that opposition is being aroused in the chambers of commerce and other trading associations throughout the country at the new measured rate introduced by the National Telephone Company; and whether he has taken any steps to ascertain the opinions of these bodies, or any of them, with reference to the introduction of the new rate.

As I have already explained, my consent was not necessary for the introduction of these rates by the National Telephone Company, and I have, therefore, not invited any expression of opinion from chambers of commerce and other trade associations.

I beg to ask the President of the Board of Education how many second division clerks have ever been promoted to be examiners in the Board of Education, and how many sub-inspectors have, during the last five years, been promoted to be inspectors, seeing that there is no absolute barrier to promotion by merit in those two cases; and what are the dates of such promotions.

Two second division clerks in the Board of Education have been promoted to be examiners on the 8th March, 1904, and the 23rd November, 1901. The former of them was promoted under the late Science and Art Department. Eleven of the persons appointed to inspectorships since 1st August, 1902 have been sub-inspectors. My hon. friend will, therefore, see that there is no barrier to promotion between the two classes.

Will the right hon. Gentleman give me a list of the dates?

I assume there will be no difficulty in doing so.

I beg to ask the President of the Board of Education if he can state separately the numbers of provided and non-provided schools for older children which are still recognised as supplying accommodation on the eight-square-feet basis; and whether the provided schools so recognised are exclusively schools which have been transferred under the Act of 1870 and which were originally voluntary schools.

No, Sir; as I have already stated, I cannot yet make an accurate statement as to the accommodation of the 21,000 public elementary schools on either basis, but I am having the information gradually collected, and I am taking such steps as I can, during that process, to expedite the writing down of the public elementary school accommodation to the ten and nine feet basis.

I beg to ask the President of the Board of Education what steps have been taken to see that the decision of the Board of Education in the matter of the Catholic school, at Mortomley, near Sheffield, was carried out by the local education authority, and whether the salaries due to the teachers had yet been handed over to the managers.

I have had a communication unofficially from the local education authority informing me that the salaries would be paid. I believe the delay has been on account of the holidays, and the closing of the office in consequence thereof.

both gave notice to repeat the Question.

I beg to ask Mr. Attorney-General if he has any information as to the recent poll of the Incorporated Law Society rejecting all the precautions suggested by a recent committee of inquiry appointed by the council for the better protection of trust funds and the prevention of the cases of misappropriation and malversation, of which so many startling examples have occurred.

I am informed that certain resolutions were carried by the Incorporated Law Society, having for their object the preservation of trust funds in the hands of their members. They were in the following terms:—

"That it is the duty of every solicitor to keep full and accurate accounts, which should be periodically balanced."

" That moneys received by a solicitor on behalf of his client should be kept separate from his own moneys, and that a convenient way of effecting this is by opening a clients' money account at a bank into which all moneys received by a solicitor to any part of which a client is, or under any circumstances may be, entitled should in the first instance be paid."

" That moneys of clients in the hands of, or under the control of a solicitor, should only be used on account and with the authority of a client to whom they respectively belong."

" That any increment in the nature of interest, income, or other profit accruing on clients' moneys should be credited to the clients whose moneys have produced such interest, income, or profit, and that any solicitor who, without the authority of his client, should retain for his own use any such interest, income or other profit is guilty of professional impropriety."

" That except under special and unavoidable circumstances it is no part of a solicitor's business to hold money belonging to a client for any lengthened period, and that it is contrary to right practice to do so."

" That in cases where a solicitor finds himself in possession of money of a substantial amount not his own, of which he cannot immediately, or within a short time discharge himself, it is his duty, if he does not keep a separate clients' account at a bank, and it is desirable even if he does keep such a separate account, to pay that money in to a deposit account separate, not only from his own money, but from all other money, and to earmark it, by endorsement on the deposit receipt or otherwise, as belonging to the particular client or matter."

"I think the hon. Member will recognise that these introduce novel and valuable precautions which will be observed by the members of the Society. The resolutions that were not carried were—"

" That every solicitor should either (a) have his accounts audited at least once a year by a chartered or incorporated accountant, or (b) Keep a separate bank account for all moneys received by him on behalf of his clients."

" That in the case of every solicitor whose accounts are audited by a chartered or incorporated accountant he should be required annually, on applying for his practising certificate, to forward to the Society a certificate from such accountant stating that the accounts had been properly kept and duly audited."

" That in the case of every solicitor whose accounts are not so audited he should be required annually, on applying for his practising certificate, to forward to the Society a Statutory Declaration as follows: (a) That he had kept a separate bank account for all moneys received by him on behalf of his clients, and that all such moneys had been paid into that account and had been used only for or on account of the clients to whom they respectively belong; (b) That all increment in the nature of interest, income, or other profit accruing on such moneys had been credited to the clients whose moneys respectively had produced such interest, income, or profit; and (c) That on the date of the declaration all such moneys had been duly dealt with or were in hand and available."

Further asked if the resolutions carried were not merely expressions of pious opinions while the only really operative resolutions were rejected,

replied that there was a good deal to be said in favour of those that were rejected but, it was held to be somewhat hard that solicitors should be called upon to make statutory declaration.

I beg to ask Mr. Attorney-General if he can inform the House where in London the office of the Public Trustee will be located; when the proposed table of fees for his services as trustee of a settlement, as custodian of shares to bearer and certificates of negotiable securities, or as executor of a will, will be issued; and how soon settlors and testators will be able to avail themselves of his services as a trustee or executor, who will never die, never leave the country, and never become incapacitated, and whose honesty and integrity will be guaranteed by the Consolidated Fund of the United Kingdom.

The office of the Public Trustee will, in the first instance, be opened in Clement's Inn, immediately adjoining the Strand, Lincoln's Inn, and the Royal Courts of Justice. The table of fees will be published this week; and the Public Trustee's services become available under the Act on 1st January next.

Will the rules also be published?

Yes, as a Parliamentary Paper.

I beg to ask the hon. Member for the Elland Division, as representing the Charity Commissioners, whether, with reference to the estate of the late Benjamin Weir, deceased, estimated at about £100,000, with an accumulated income of about £10,000, which was bequeathed by him for the purposes of a hospital for the benefit of the inhabitants of the parish of Streatham, the Charity Commissioners are preparing or contemplating a scheme for the application of the estate to purposes outside the parish of Streat ham, although that parish, which has an acreage more than four times as large as the City of London, and with a population of 101,628, and sixty miles of roads, yet has no hospital; whether a local public inquiry will be held, or any other opportunity given to the inhabitants to express their opinions on the subject, before any such scheme is carried into effect; and is he aware that a letter was received by the Charity Commissioners from the Streatham Ratepayers' Association dated 23rd May, 1907, of which receipt was acknowledged on the 25th idem, promising attention, but to which no further reply has been given.

The residuary esatat e estimated as stated by the hon. Member was left by the late Benjamin Weir by will for the maintenance of a hospital to be carried on, at a house belonging to the testator at Streatham, for the benefit of the inhabitants of the parish of Streatham and the neighbourhood. The house having been found to be unsuitable for the purpose, and the authorities of King Edward's Hospital Fund having informed the trustees of the Weir Charity that the sum at their disposal was quite insufficient to found a hospital, and having advised union with the Bolingbroke Hospital at Wandsworth Common th e, Trustees have submitted proposals to the Charity Commissioners for dealing with the Weir endowment. These proposals are for the application of the greater part of the endowment for the enlargement and maintenance of the Bolingbroke Hospital (at which beds are to be available for Streatham cases) after providing for the carrying on of the existing Weir Dispensary at Streatham and for the establishment and maintenance of a home at Streatham for nurses for the benefit of the neighbourhood and for setting apart a fund for the payment of fees for nursing and other treatment of Streatham patients. The Commissioners have expressed their willingness to publish a scheme in substantial accordance with the proposals of the Trustees. In the letter of 23rd May, 1907, from the Streatham Ratepayers' Association it was stated that a similar letter was being sent to the Trustees of the Weir Charity. The Chairman of the Association was informed at an interview at the office of the Commissioners on the 31st July last that the Commissioners favoured the proposal for amalgamation with the Bolingbroke Hospital. In a letter of the 15th August the views of the Association and of the Streatham Chamber of Commerce have been stated to the Commissioners, and when a scheme has been framed for publication full opportcnity will be given to all persons to express their opinion on the subject. In these circumstances there does not seem to be any occasion for a local public inquiry.

I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury whether assistant clerks in the Statistical Office of the Customs are compelled to remain on overtime duty till 8 p.m. for about six months every year; if so, will he endeavour to arrange for the reduction of this amount of overtime; what is the remuneration for such overtime; and would the overtime work afford an opportunity for the employment of some of the unemployed.

I am informed that the number of working days on which extra attendance by assistant clerks in the Statistical Office was required compulsorily during 1906, to secure the early publication of the monthly trade returns, was sixty-one, but that every effort is made to reduce the amount of such attendance. The overtime remuneration of assistant clerks is as follows:—

	Per hour
	s.	d
With salaries under £85 a year		9
With salaries of £85 and under £100		10
With salaries from £100 to £150	1	2

The necessity for compulsory overtime arises only for a few days at the beginning and end of each month, and it is impracticable to meet it by the employment of additional labour.

I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury whether any benefits which may result from the recent memorial of boy clerks in the Civil Service will be applicable to boys discharged since September last. I beg also to ask the Secretary to the Treasury whether temporary provision can be made for the employment of Civil Service boy clerks, aged twenty, pending a decision being arrived at by the Treasury on the memorial now before them. I beg further to ask the Secretary to the Treasury whether he will undertake that in future no appointments of boy clerks will be made in excess of the number which can be absorbed into the permanent establishment of the Civil Service.

If my hon. friend will allow me I will take the three Questions which he has put down on this subject together. It would not be practicable to give retrospective effect to any new measures which may be adopted in connection with the employment of boy clerks, nor would it be possible in any event to find employment for boys who had already left the service. Though I can give no undertaking of the kind which my hon. friend suggests, I may say that the administrative changes which I contemplate will probably have the effect of reducing to the extreme limit possible the number of boys discharged on grounds other than that of unfitness for permanent employment, and of securing that unavoidable discharges are effected at an earlier age than at present.

I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury whether the old writers received a half-yearly bonus in addition to their wages; whether, in cases where such writers have been discharged in the course of a half-year, the portion of the bonus which has accrued has been withheld from them; and, if so, what is the reason that it has been withheld.

No bonus accrued under the regulations regarding copyists except at half-yearly intervals. No part of any bonus which had accrued has been withheld, so far as I am aware. On the contrary, some copyists were allowed on the recommendation of Departments to be retained for short periods specifically in order to enable them to complete the six months qualifying them for an additional half-yearly bonus.

I beg to ask the hon. Member for South Somerset, as representing the President of the Board of Agriculture, the reason why the Agricultural Statistics and Report on the Agricultural Returns for the year 1906 have not yet been printed and presented to the House; and when they may be expected.

The Agricultural Statistics for 1906 are being issued in four parts. The first three parts have already been published and the fourth part, dealing with Foreign and Colonial Agriculture, will shortly be issued. Each part contains a Report on the Returns comprised therein.

I beg to ask the hon. Member for South Somerset, as representing the President of the Board of Agriculture, if he will state the total number of cattle returned in 1906 as entering the markets at the places in England scheduled under the Markets and Fairs Act, 1891, and the total number of fat and store cattle imported into Great Britain from Ireland in 1906; whether, since the year 1902, there has been a serious annual decline in the numbers returned in both cases; and to what cause is the decline attributed by the Board of Agriculture.

The number of cattle returned as entering the scheduled markets in 1902 was 1,010,115. The corresponding figure in 1906 was 857,598. The total number of cattle imported from Ireland was in 1902, 959,241, and in 1906, 775,374. The high figures of 1902 were in each case due to exceptional causes to which reference will be found in the Reports on the Agricultural Returns for 1902 and 1903, the principal one being a shortage in supplies from the United States. I may add that the imports of cattle from Ireland were somewhat larger in 1906 than in either 1904 or 1905.

I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury whether he is aware that the Return of Imports and Exports, recently issued by the Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction for Ireland contains the statement that the information given is neither complete nor exact, and applies to the year 1905; whether such tables are prepared for the United Kingdom by the Customs Department and issued monthly; and whether, seeing that the whole value of such figures depends on their accuracy and the promptness with which they are issued, he can undertake that in future correct tables of imports and exports shall be issued for Ireland by the Customs Department.

The Answer to the first part of the Question is in the affirmative. As to the second part of the Question, tables of the foreign trade of the United Kingdom are prepared by the Customs and issued monthly. The trade between Great Britain and Ireland is regarded as coasting trade, and the Customs do not prepare statistics of the quantities and values of goods carried coastwise. As to the final part of the Question, the Department will undertake that a full and complete statement of Irish imports and exports will be promptly and regularly issued, provided they are given the necessary powers to obtain adequate Returns. Legislation with this object in view is being considered.

Does the hon. Gentleman consider that a delay of eighteen months is reasonable?

No, and I think the Returns should be made monthly.

Will the hon. Gentleman undertake to introduce legislation next session to expedite the Returns?

I can give no undertaking, but I will do my best to get the necessary legislation to secure that the Returns are adequate and prompt.

I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether it is intended to hold an inquiry into the alleged outrage at Lord Ashtown's residence, having regard to the fact that the inquiry into the alleged outrage at Drumbo resulted in proof that the outrage was the work of the residents in the house.

An investigation of the most careful and searching character is being made, and until this has been completed it would be premature to consider the question of holding a formal inquiry under the Explosive Substances Act, 1883, or otherwise.

May I ask is it not a fact that on the night when this explosive was said to have been laid there the dogs about the place gavo no alarm, and also whether, although the ground about the spot was full of moisture and very soft, there were no footmarks around the place?

All considerations of that sort are forming the subject of the most careful and searching inquiry that is now being made.

In view of the admittedly suspicious circumstances surrounding this case, will the right hon. Gentleman order a special sworn inquiry, such as was held in the case mentioned in this Question, which, as the right hon. Gentleman is aware, resulted in showing that the alleged outrage was committed by persons in the house?

I think everyone will agree that until the preliminary inquiry, which is being carried out in the most searching manner, is concluded it would be premature.

Is it a fact that Lord Ashtown, since the outrage has been in London, and has been in communication with the authorities, and if so may we have anyex parte statement that he made to them for our own investigations?

And has the Chief Secretary seen the statement in thePall Mall Gazette welcoming this as a timely outrage, which would justify the House of Lords in their treatment of the Evicted Tenants Bill. And is he aware that the Pigott letters were also produced on the occasion of important legislation for Ireland?

Pending the inquiry, it would be most irrational for me, whose opportunities for information are not at all complete, to express any opinion. The most searching investigation is being made, and after that the Government will consider the necessity or desirability of holding a special inquiry either under the Explosive Substances Act or otherwise.

Is it a fact that Lord Ashtown has been in London, making anex parte statement to the authorities, and, if so, may we see that statement for our own investigation?

I do not know where he is. I do not know that he has made a statementex parte or otherwise to the authorities. I do not think he has.

May I ask the Chief Secretary whether there is any ground for the allegation contained in the concluding part of the Question?

I must decline to give any opinion. I know nothing about It. I cannot say.

Does the right hon. Gentleman know that Lord Ashtown makes a business of circulating information that he can pick out of the papers all through Great Britain with the view of defaming the people of Ireland, and that he has an agency through which he supplies hon. Unionist Members from Ulster with the material for Questions, which are slanders on Ireland?

Order, order!

Will the right hon. Gentleman be careful in investigating this matter to try and find out if it is not possible, as is believed in the district, that Lord Ashtown himself did this in order to give a fillip to his infamous business of defaming Ireland. [No Answer was returned.]

asked whether the evidence at the inquiry would be available for hon. Members.

said the hon. Gentleman must wait.

Will you give us the opportunity of cross-examining Lord Ashtown? [No Answer was returned.]

I beg to ask the Postmaster-General whether, in view of the temporary character of Select Committees of inquiry as to wages and conditions of service of employees in the public service, and their failure to give satisfaction to those workers concerned or to establish any definite and orderly system of revision of wages from time to time, the Government will take into consideration the establishment of a permanent Commission or Board whose duty it would be to regulate wages in all Departments of State, in keeping with changing conditions, cost of living, the general standard of wages in private employment, and the particular nature of the employment.

My right hon. friend has asked me to answer this Question, as it deals with a matter affecting other Departments. I can only refer the hon. Member to the Answer which I gave on 31st July to a similar Question put to me by the hon. Member for Shoreditch.† I have nothing further to add to that at present.

I beg to ask the Prime Minister whether the salary of £2,500 a year paid to the Master of the Horse is for services rendered, and, if so, what those services are; and, if the services are not of an important nature,

†See (4)Debates, clxxix., 974.

will he give favourable consideration to the proposal to abolish this office, so that by the economy effected the salaries of more useful officials of the State, about to be appointed, may be provided without additional burdens to the taxpayer.

A salary of £2,000 was attached to this post on the recommendation of the Select Committee which at the commencement of the present reign drew up the proposals for the Civil List which Parliament has approved. The Civil List settlement is in the nature of a statutory arrangement, and the total amount cannot be varied; and therefore no such result as my hon. friend desires can be effected by any adjustment of detail.

asked whether the right hon. Gentleman intended to introduce legislation in the interests of economy to reduce this sum of £2,000 for a sinecure office.

said that there would be no economy effected. This was an arrangement entered into by Parliament, and it was binding on it.

What are the qualifications for this post, and is it still vacant?

I do not think that concerns either my hon. friend or me, or anyone else in this House. ["Why?"] It rests with the King to apportion this money according as he finds it desirable and necessary.

Are we to understand that in the event of being abolished the post the £2,000 would go to His Majesty personally?

said that probably His Majesty would find some other means of disposing of it within the limits of the Civil List. That was an end of it as far as Parliament was concerned.

What are the duties of this official?

I have already said we have nothing to do with that. The duties are assigned to the office by His Majesty, and I know enough of them to be aware that the office is no sinecure.

I beg to ask the Prime Minister whether he can see his way to introduce in the ensuing session any measure for the redistribution of seats in Parliament and rectifying the constantly increasing disparities in the representation of the people, seeing that under existing conditions one half of the Members of the House of Commons are returned by 5,137,117 electors and the other half by 2,309,519 electors, and that one half of the electors of the United Kingdom return 445 Members and the other half return 225 Members.

No Sir, I cannot make any more promises for next session—nor can I accept responsibility for the hon. Member's figures.

Did not a Plural Voting Bill pass this House, and was it not sent to the Chamber of Hereditary Revisers, and we heard no more about it? [No Answer was returned.]

I beg to ask the Prime Minister, in view of some firms which have contracts with the Government declining to treat with the accredited representatives of workmen and making non-membership of trade unions a condition of employment, whether the Committee appointed to consider the working of the Fair Wages Resolution of the House will be asked to deal also with the need for amending the terms of the Resolution; and whether the necessity of representation on the Committee of workmen's organisations has been considered.

The Committee has been instructed to report whether any changes are desirable in the administration of the Fair Wages Resolution in order to enable its objects to be more effectually attained. It is not intended to amend the terms of the Resolution or enlarge its scope. In these circumstances it did not appear necessary to invite representatives of workmen's organisations to be members of the Committee. They will, of course, have every opportunity of placing their views before the Committee.

asked whether, seeing that the Committee would have to deal with the complaints of workmen, it was not better it should have on it accredited representatives of workmen's organisations.

replied that it was a purely inter-departmental Committee, and there was no place on it for outsiders of any kind.

asked as to the business for the next two or three days.

said that the Government proposed to take the first four orders on the Paper that day and To-morrow the Factory and Workshops Bill and the Miners Bill.

asked what day would be given for the discussion of the Public Accounts Committee.

asked when the Cabs Bill would be taken.

said that there had been a little see-saw between the Cabs Bill and the Factories and Workshops Bill, but at present the latter was in the more commanding position. As to the Public Accounts Committee, an opportunity for discussion would be afforded on Friday, but it did not follow that the opportunity would be a whole day.

Has the right hon. Gentleman any information to give the House as to the letter addressed by the Senior Member for the City of London to the Chancellor of the Norwood Conservative Club approving Free Trade

I have not inquired into that matter.

asked the Prime Minister whether he could take some steps in the arrangement of public business to prevent the House from having to sit to the early hours of the morning day after day. Hon. Members were becoming quite worn out. He had attended the House regularly; and he hoped the right hon. Gentleman would bear in mind the great stress on Members who did not want to sit up continually to forsaken hours when they could not possibly attend properly to business.

The general desire is not to sit longer into the remainder of the year than we can possibly avoid; and, therefore, it is necessary to sit late at night. But I think that some nights we sit unnecessarily long owing to the unnecessary amount of repeated discussion. I think I can see as far through a millstone as most people; but I have not been able to discover what motive or advantage their can be in these prolonged discussions, and I am afraid that they are the real cause.

May I point out to the right hon. Gentleman that he is never here to see what goes on?

I thank the hon. Member for his courteous and kindly reference to myself. But, unfortunately, when he comes to my time of life, and has my amount of work to do, he will discover that there is such a power as the family doctor; and he is my master at present.

I, like the right hon. Gentleman, though perhaps with less excuse with regard to the family doctor, have not suffered from these late sittings; and I do not put this question in an invidious spirit. But does the right hon. Gentleman think it judicious to attack hon. Gentlemen on this side of the House for unnecessary debate unless he has been himself present?

One can only proceed by way of sample. In this case, I took a sample by staying up last night until half-past one; and what I saw between 11 o'clock and that hour was quite enough to explain everything to me.

asked the right hon. Gentleman whether he was aware that the House was asked to deal with the Appropriation Bill, the Criminal Appeal Bill, the Limited Partnerships Bill, and the Companies, Bill; and whether, as far as could be judged from private information, there was a single Member of the Liberal Party who thought it possible to get through all that business last night.

I understand that it was not only possible but agreed.

pointed out that the Companies Bill was not taken in the end.

Because other matters took so long.

said that there was no agreement about business. Did the right hon. Gentleman think that an important Bill like the Companies Bill ought to be taken at half-past five in the morning, when the great majority of Ministers were away, and when the learned Attorney-General, who had spoken already on the Transvaal Loan Bill, the Appropriation Bill, the Criminal Appeal Bill, and the Limited Partnerships Bill, could not be in a state to advise the House?

said that the Companies Bill ought to have come on at half-past twelve. Other Bills were placed before it, but they were practically non-controversial. The Appropriation Bill had never been debated at such length on the Third Reading. Therefore the Government were not asking the House to do an unnecessary amount of business. The Government had a large number Bills to which they attached importance, and if these Bills were to be passed, they must ask the House to sit late.

If these Bills were so important how was it that the Government could not keep more than seventy-five of their men here?

said that hon. Members interested in the Companies Bill had not acquiesced in any arrangement that two hours would be sufficient for its discussion.

said the business was posted in the inner lobby at five o'clock in the evening, after conversation with one of the right hon. Member's colleagues. It was admitted that several of the orders named would be regarded as uncontroversial, although nothing definite was arranged about the time that might be taken over the Companies Bill.

Arranged with whom?

With the hon. Member for Sevenoaks.

May I say I was shown a list of the Bills, and I asked how long it was proposed to sit, and the Government Whip, with a smile on his face, said he had no control over that. I suggested to him that in the interests of the amicable arrangement of the Business of the House, he would do well to modify the list.

moved a clause the object of which was, he said, to give local authorities in Scotland the opportunity of deciding whether or not they would adopt this very expensive Bill. The measure required that every local authority in Scotland should institute a new method of valuing land. It would impose considerable expense on the local authorities, and they ought to have the option of saying whether they would incur that expense or not. They were the best judges if they would get an adequate return for their outlay. In New Zealand, which had always been quoted as a model for this legislation. such option had been given the local authorities. He knew he might be told that in New Zealand there was also a national tax on land values, but perhaps. hon. Gentlemen were not aware that in New Zealand the national tax on Land Values was a substitute for the income tax. Was that what the advocates of land values taxation desired, that people who paid the land values tax should not pay the income-tax? There was, however, a further reason for giving the local authorities option in this matter. This Bill had never been before the country at all. It was introduced very late in the session and passed through the House on the Second Reading stage after one day's debate, going from thence up to the Grand Committee. He thought he might fairly ask the House to take warning by what happened last year in regard to a similar measure. On the Second Reading debate of last year's Bill he had the honour of moving the rejection of the Bill. His Motion was defeated by a majority of 258; but what happened? The Bill was referred to a carefully packed Select Committee, practically all the members of which were in favour of the measure. After having deliberated upon it, however, and examined witnesses, that Committee reported "that the Bill be not proceeded with." Such an instance as that afforded good proof of how easy it was for the House to vote for a Bill without knowing the meaning of it. A new situation had been created by the statement of the Government that they would not tax feu duties. When the local authorities demanded this Bill their whole object was to secure the taxation of feu duties. He quite admitted that there was some doubt as to whether the Government would remain firm in their resolve, and because of this uncertainty he put a question to the Prime Minister. He regretted that the right hon. Gentleman, did not give him a very clear answer. With reference to this question he had received a leter from the Parliamentary agent to the Manchester Unity of Odd-fellows, dated 15th August. It began—

"Dear sir,—I must thank you for your Question, No. 62, in the notices given last Monday with respect to the taxation of land values. Though tho Hearts of Oak Society put the subject forward this year the Manchester Unity of Oddfellows with its 800,000 adult members and £12,000,000 capital amongst its 4,000 branches is largely interested. Many of its lodges have invested in ground rents at prices which will produce less than 4 per cent. Their object was absolute security of income from which claims, as they mature in the old age of the members, could be properly met. As the leases are long no unearned increment will accrue to present members.…"

In other words the object of this great Friendly Society was to provide for old age pensions out of the land values they had purchased with their savings. The letter continued—

"I therefore await with much interest the Parliamentary news in to-morrow's newspapers to ascertain the view the Prime Minister takes."

He was sorry to say that the view the Prime Minister took was not very clearly expressed, but he still had confidence that the Government was resolved not to tax feu duties or to go back on existing contracts. He remembered warning the Liberal Party years ago against the danger of rushing into this morass. He told them they would find themselves in the position of ving to break existing contracts, or else finding that there was no money in the scheme. The burghs wanted money, they did not want a Bill which would give them no money, but would instead involve a great deal of extra expense. Greenock, which had originally supported the Bill, had now petitioned against it. A new situation had also been created by the reply of the Lord Advocate to a deputation of county councils which waited upon him a little time back in reference to this question. The right hon. Gentleman said—

"When the statute passes it will be found that county proprietors, equally with town proprietors, will be escaping taxation for improvements which they have made upon their land, and that any assessment which may be laid upon the land value is already paid on the composite value."

Instead of getting a new revenue they were going to wipe out the old one. Where then were the local authorities to get the money to carry on their work? They could only get it from poor people who were compelled to live in the centres of the towns. They would have to pay at the rate of 30s. to £2 in the £1 upon the value of the land upon which they were living. Shopkeepers would be rated on a similar similar scale upon the sites of their business premises. When this was made clear to the people of Scotland their answer as to whether they wished for the Bill or not would be very definite indeed. The Bill would benefit the rich man living in the suburbs in his large house; he would be relieved of all rates except upon the site of his house and garden, which would be put at a low value. It was the poor people and the business men in the towns who would have to bear the burden. Nor was that all. The professed object of taxing agricultural land upon its supposed value for building purposes was to force it into the market. But the whole case for especially taxing agricultural land which had an urban value, but was only rated at its agricultural value, had been given away by the Government in Clause 33 of the Small Holdings Bill—that perfect and delicate piece of mechanism, which according to the Prime Minister must not be touched. The agricultural land referred to in that clause already had an urban value though it was not fully developed. Who was to pay the special tax? Not the county council, because they had no beneficial interest in it; not, certainly, the holder who was growing cabbages on the land, and not the landlord who had not yet resumed possession of it. There was, in fact, nobody who could pay the tax. In other words the Small Holdings Bill rendered it impossible to carry out the purpose of the Land Values Bill. The object of the present Bill was to get to know whether they were going to get any money when they put this tax on. That information could be got just as well without imposing this burden upon the whole of Scotland. The Latin proverb said, "Make your experiments upon something cheap." He did not think that Scotland was cheap enough for such an experiment to be tried on her. He suggested that the experiment should be tried in the constituencies of the Lord Advocate and the Secretary for Scotland—one urban and one rural. At any rate let the burghs and counties be consulted. That would afford alocus penitentiœ to those who had been agitating for a tax on land values. Let them get at the facts and this agitation would be killed. There were four Members for the City of Edinburgh—three of whom were in favour of the Bill, and the fourth on the other side. The majority of three to one said that they believed the people of Edinburgh were in favour of the Bill. Let them give the people of Edinburgh a chance of saying so. They preached the doctrine of "trust the people"; let them practise it. He begged to move.

seconded the Motion of the hon. Member for Preston, who, he said, had expounded the questions raised by this Bill in a manner which he would not do, owing to their great difficulty and complexity. But he would remind the House that the Bill was made applicable to both urban and rural areas. In the Select Committee the question was never raised of including the counties, and no evidence was led in support of it. He was bound to say that the quotation by the hon. Member for Preston, of Clause 33 of the English Small Holdings Bill, was most damaging. It had not occurred to anyone on the Committee on this Bill upstairs. It had put the Government in an extremely difficult position, although he had no doubt his right hon. and learned friend would wriggle out of it as he usually did. An Amendment having the same object in view, but put in a different form, as the proposed new clause of the hon. Member for Preston, was proposed in Committee upstairs; but during the course of the discussions they were told by the Lord Advocate that there was a national purpose underlying this Bill, which would be entirely defeated were local option adopted. Before the House divided on this new clause they should know what that national object was. He had no doubt that in the view of the Solicitor-General it involved the taxation of existing feu duties, although they had been assured by the Prime Minister and the Lord Advocate that it did not. At any rate, it seemed that the view of the Solicitor-General was not to be accepted. If that were so, they were entitled to know what the national purpose was. He thought that this particular Bill was not thoroughly understood by the people of Scotland; it was not even understood by those who pressed for such legislation in connection with the Glasgow Bill of last year. He was quite certain that if local option were granted, it would be utilised in the way of rejecting the Bill altogether. He knew how the incidence of taxation would be changed if this system of rating were adopted in many of the small burghs in Scotland. He was quite certain that the rich manufacturer would ride off with a light weight of taxation, and the poor cottager would have to pay almost all the taxes. [MINISTERIAL cries of dissent.] He insisted that it could not be denied that that would be the effect of the Bill. Take the town of Ayr, which he represented. Suppose there a house which had cost £30,000 or £40,000 to erect, standing in its own grounds two acres in extent. And next to it, suppose a market garden, also two acres in extent. Would it be believed that the market gardener who had difficulty in making a living would have to pay the same taxation the rich man? That would be an atrocious cruelty. He thought the people should be asked whether they were willing to adopt a measure for the taxation of land values, before it was put in force in their localities. New clause—

"Within three months after the passing of this Act the clerk of every council of a county or burgh shall convene, with not less than one month's notice, a special meeting of the council to consider the desirability of adopt-this Act in that county or burgh, and if the decision of that meeting is against such adoption this Act shall have no force within that county or burgh."

— (Mr. Harold Cox.) Brought up, and read a first time. Motion made, and Question proposed, "That the clause be read a second time."

said he regretted that he could not, on behalf of the Government, accept the new clause. The bulk of the argument delivered by the hon. Gentlemen who had moved and seconded the Amendment had been not in connection with a valuation Bill pure and simple, but with reference to the incidence of taxation and rating. What had the taxation of feu duties to do with a Bill for the ascertainment of land values in Scotland and for that alone? What did the observation of the hon. Member for Preston mean as to there being no money in it, or about people who would have to pay 30s. or 40s. a year on their land values? What did the observation mean as to who was to benefit by the Bill? And what did the observation mean as to the relations between the county council and the small landholder? What had all that to do with the Bill?

said that his argument was a perfectly simple one, viz., that these local authorities should not be put to the expense of getting information when there was no money to be got out of it.

said he understood that the concluding portion of his hon. friend's speech was to the effect, "By all means get at the facts." This was a Bill the object of which was to get at the facts. The hon. Member had said that they could get at the facts by taking two constituencies, one an urban and the other a rural constituency, and working out from them all that was required in regard to land values of Scotland. The hon. Member did him the honour to refer to his constituency, the Hawick Burghs. Assuming that in his constituency there was very little unoccupied land the capital valuation of the land would make very little difference indeed from the present valuation. But what they wanted to know was the capital value of the land in a large portion of Scotland where there were burghs with a large agricultural area some portions of which were being held up for building. What was the use of attempting to deduce from a single instance the whole value of Scotland for the purpose of a Bill to obtain nation al statistics? A single instance would not do. They must have the whole of Scotland valued in order to enable a second stage to be reached, whether there was to be taxation or whether there was to be rating. His hon. friend seemed to argue that this which was only a valuation Bill was a rating Bill which rashly provided for something which could be done without any inquiry at all. Surely his hon. friend's study of the literature of this subject must have convinced him that all the best authorities were agreed that any rating or taxation Bill must be preceded by necessary preliminary inquiries in the shape of the ascertainment of the land values, so as to enable the country as a whole, and if thought wise, localities individually, to judge whether the basis of individual rating or taxation ought to be altered. Of course that would be by a new Bill; but this Bill was confined to ascertaining land values. There was a provision in the Bill that until Parliament should otherwise determine no rate or tax should be put on in consequence of the information obtained under this Bill. He could imagine that nobody would refuse a Bill which made it optional to adopt it. When his hon. friend said that it all hung round the ultimate question of rating he would remind him that on questions of rating a great many points of admitted complexity would have to be considered. They must first get at the facts as a whole, on a national scale, upon exactly the same scale as the existing valuation. On those grounds, and feeling that the Amendment would render the Bill inoperative, he could not accept it. So far as their desire to obtain national statistics was concerned, the Government were following the best skilled advice which was contained in the Minority Report of the Select Committee.

asked if the proposal in the Bill had not reference to the abatement of existing rates.

said that his object was to show the necessity of preliminary inquiry. It was in the mind of everybody that they should have national statistics as to the land values on the same scale as the existing Valuation Acts in Scotland, which made no distinction between valuation for rating or taxation purposes.

said that this was a branch of the question which was quite different from the subject of whether they ought to give options as to rating to rural districts apart from this Bill. He had an Amendment on the Paper relevant to that point, and in the observations he had to make on this Amendment he would not refer to the comparison between agricultural districts and urban districts, which was at the basis of the right hon. and learned Gentleman's argument. The right hon. Gentleman said that this was a Bill for the ascertainment of national statistics, and he had two observations to make upon that. He gathered from the right hon. Gentleman that he wished the House to discuss this Bill on the Report stage, without reference to the schemes of local taxation, which he and his friends, not always speaking with one voice, desired to see subsequently adopted on the basis of this measure. It was, however, impossible for them to discuss the Bill in that abstract manner. The Lord Advocate wished them to regard the Bill simply as a matter of obtaining information without regard to the uses to which that information might be put, but one must remember the various uses to which the Government had announced that they proposed to put the information. The Solicitor-General for Scotland had announced that in his view the duties should be subjected to taxation. The Lord Advocate had not, he thought, got so far as that.

I said expressly and from the first that existing contracts as to feu duties must be respected.

continuing, said the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer, frightened and alarmed by the utterances of their rasher colleagues, had gone out of their way to explain that they did not propose to break existing contracts in connection with the taxation of feu duties and other contract values. That destroyed the whole value of this measure in the eves of those who wished to have it passed, and who were in effect its authors. The Propagandist Institution, which had been started at Glasgow, had no other object in view than the taxation of feu values and other contract values which the Solicitor-General for Scotland wanted, but which the Government now discovered would be very imprudent.

said he had always held that view, and stated the same thing.

said he believed that the right hon. Gentleman had always held that view, and if his words were susceptible of any other interpretation he withdrew them. But if the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer had always held that view, they might have communicated it to their hon. and learned colleague, and it would have saved a great deal of confusion in Scotland. It would have been better if one of the right hon. Gentleman's colleagues had not gone about Scotland preaching an economic doctrine which the Prime Minister, the Lord Advocate, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer repudiated. When the rioht hon. Gentleman said he held that view, however, he would like to ask whether he had always advertised it.

Yes, always.

Well, I do not know if that is so.

said he had supported the Bills on this subject which had been brought forward in the last two or three Parliaments and every one of them contained an exception in favour of existing contracts.

said he had not the least quarrel with the right hon. Gentleman, but it was sufficient for his purpose that one member of the Government held that these values should be taxed and that he had not only held that opinion but had preached it before the general election and after the general election.

said he had not done so since the general election.

said he would not dispute that point with the Solicitor-General for Scotland as it was sufficient for his purpose to point out that one member of the Government held that these values should be taxed while the Chancellor of the Exchequer thought it would be immoral to tax them. The original authors of this Bill, the people whose agitation had brought about this proposal, had always desired to put on the very form of taxation which the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer thought was a breach of the whole idea of public honesty and private property. Was not that a reason for giving localities in Scotland an opportunity of rejecting a Bill which would not carry out the objects which they had in view in promoting this agitation? The right hon. Gentleman had said that these statistics were to be obtained for a national object. Then why were they not to be obtained at the cost of the nation? He was told that a sober estimate of the cost of this valuation in Scotland was £2,000,000. The Government talked glibly about obtaining information for the nation at the cost of individuals, but they had not given the House any estimate of the cost. Twelve thousand separate valuations would have to be made in Scotland, including the burghs and counties, and they were asking proprietors of hereditaments to make valuations of great difficulty, involving in many cases expert advice. These individuals ought to be given an opportunity of objecting, not so much against the principle of the Bill, as against the cost of the Bill's being thrown upon them. The agitation with which this Bill was intimately connected had already done a great deal of harm. The Government had to choose between carrying out a policy which might benefit a good many ratepayers in the towns, but at the cost of public faith and morality and the interests of the best of the working class, and a policy which would be enormously expensive so far as the collection of information was concerned, but would be extraordinarily barren of pecuniary results so far as the ratepayers of the towns were concerned. When the towns and country districts realised that carrying out this Bill would be a very expensive operation and they would get nothing out of it, he thought the Bill would lose the little popularity it now possessed and the factitious support now accorded to it. An opportunity ought to be given to the Scottish ratepayer to relieve himself from the mesh which the Government were involving him in. They understood that subsequently a Rating Bill would be based on this measure, and he thought that burghs and counties should be given an opportunity of adopting it; if they did so the measure would be a success. It would not be an elaborate experiment from which large conclusions could be drawn. It would not be an experiment extending over a large part of Scotland. Why should not the Government allow the small section of Scotland which rated their Bill at its true value to escape from the unnecessary burden of perfectly useless taxation which it was proposed to throw upon them? In the interests of the ratepayers, of those who had to make this valuation, in the interests of the burghs, in the interests of the general requirements of the community, he earnestly suggested that local option in this particular might well be adopted by the Government. They might allow each locality to decide for itself whether it thought it worth while to adopt a very costly investigation for the very barren results promised by the Lord Advocate and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, or in the hopes that the more productive policy of the Solicitor-General as he understood it would be carried out. Let that section of opinion which had forced this Bill forward decide whether the policy was worth while, and if they thought not let the Government allow them to leave it to their friends in the neighbouring burghs to go through the perfectly useless procedure which the Bill attempted to impose on every burgh and county of Scotland.

said he had listened with great interest to many speeches delivered by the right hon. Gentleman opposite, but this was the first time he had heard him address the House in favour of the principle of local option. Like many new converts, the right hon. Gentleman had applied that principle in exactly the wrong way. The earlier part of his speech, in which he sought to establish a difference of opinion between Members sitting on the Treasury Bench with regard to the taxation of feu duties, was, except in one particular aspect, wholly irrelevant. But as the right hon. Gentleman had raised that point, he desired to say in a sentence, speaking for himself, and he believed for the vast majority of those who sat on the Ministerial side in this Parliament and on the Opposition side of the last Parliament, that they had repeatedly had before them measures dealing with this matter, and in every case, so far as he knew, there was a clause in the Bill which excluded its application to existing contracts, and nobody had ever welcomed a measure of this kind except on that assumption. In his view that was an elementary condition of any reform.

asked whether it was not the fact that the right hon. Gentleman voted for a Bill last year which contained no such clause.