To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland what was the number of persons receiving constant police protection by patrols throughout Ireland on the last day of each month from January to September, 1908. (Answered by Mr. Birrell.) The following list gives the numbers of persons receiving special police protection; (a) constant; and (b) by patrols, on the dates mentioned—

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what modifications, if any, have been made in the treatment of the ladies now undergoing terms of imprisonment for offences in connection with the women suffrage agitation as compared with the treatment to which ladies undergoing imprisonment for such offences on former occasions have been subjected; were these ladies, or any of them, as in the former cases, searched by female warders and divested of all clothing during that search; are they kept in solitude for twenty-three hours out of the twenty-four, and is the twenty-fourth hour of recreation allocated half to attendance in chapel and half to exercise in the prison yard; have they, or any of them, been compelled to wear prison garb, and has this prison dress in any cases been previously worn by the ordinary class of women convicts, the dress being in actual contact with the skin; are they permitted to send or to receive letters or to be visited, and are they supplied with books, and, if so, at what time are they permitted to read them; and whether, having regard to the intimation that consideration would be given to the question whether the prison conditions would be relaxed or modified in cases in which the offence did not fall within the category of ordinary crimes, he will now state what steps, if any, have been taken to lighten the severity of the prison regime in the case of these ladies. (Answered by Mr. Secretary Gladstone.) Certain changes have been made at Holloway for all female prisoners in the second division, and are now in operation. They are briefly as follows: (a) A chair with a back has been placed in each cell instead of the stool usually provided; (b) Warm water for washing is supplied to those who desire it, with the medical officer's permission; (c) Visits are now received in a special room and not in the usual visiting box; (d) Work is carried on in association; (e) Books are allowed to be changed more frequently. With regard to the suffragist prisoners in particular, the reply to the Question is as follows: They were all searched on reception, but were not divested of all clothing during that search. They are not kept in solitude for twenty-three hours out of the twenty-four. They go to chapel for about twenty-five minutes every week-day, and about two and three-quarter hours on Sunday. They are occupied about five hours daily at associated labour, and they take exercise for one full hour every day. They wear the prison dress of the second division, which is of a different colour from that worn by other prisoners. In every case the underclothing has been new, while the outer clothing, if not absolutely new, has been previously worn only by suffragist prisoners. They are allowed letters and visits in accordance with the rules for second division prisoners, namely, to receive one visit in each month, and to write and receive one letter in each month, but special letters and visits are permitted if any emergency arises. They have a liberal supply of books, and are allowed to read them at any time during the day, or evening up to eight o'clock, when they are not engaged in work.

To ask the Postmaster-General whether he is aware that the duties at the Lurgan office are principally late evening and right, and cover an attendance of fourteen and a half hours; whether the male staff do not average one month's early evening relief during the year; whether, in official evidence given before the Hobhouse Committee, it was stated that at the last revision it was arranged to withdraw women and employ men only; whether the female staff is practically equal with the male; and whether he will make inquiry into these duties with a view to improvement. (Answered by Mr. Sydney Buxton.) The inquiries which are being made in the matter are not yet completed, and I will communicate with the hon. Member as soon as I am in possession of the facts.

To ask the Vice-President of the Department of Agriculture (Ireland) whether the Government, intend to carry out the recommendations of the Departmental Committee in Ireland on Forestry. (Answered by Mr. T. W. Russell.) The Department are in communication with the Treasury on the subject, but are not yet in a position to make any definite announcement.

To ask the Under-Secretary of State for India whether the Government of Bombay has commuted the sentence of transportation passed on Bal Gangadhar Tilak from transportation to simple imprisonment, and has reduced the sentences pissed upon the persons convicted of participation in the recent riots in Bombay. (Answered by Mr. Buchanan.) The Answer is in the affirmative.

To ask the Under-Secretary of State for India whether he can inform the House what answer was returned by the High Court of Calcutta to the communication it received from the Government of India bringing under its notice the representation of the Behar Planters Association, arising out of the murder of Mr. Bloomfield, that Criminal Appellate Courts, whose judgments are final, should invariably be composed of Judges who are thoroughly experienced and are well versed in the Indian criminal law. (Answered by Mr. Buchanan.) The Secretary of State has no information as regards the correspondence referred to between the Government of India and the Calcutta High Court.

To ask the Under-Secretary of State for India whether the Secretary of State has now considered the Memorial addressed to him by Mr. C. W. Allan, an extra Deputy Conservator of Forests in the Burma provincial service; whether Mr. Allan, after passing through the college at Dehra Dun, joined the Indian Forest Service on 1st February, 1887, at a time when it was provided by Section 21 of the then Forest Department Code that, after five years approved service as Sub-assistant Conservator of Forests, he would be drafted into the upper controlling staff whether he is aware that in 1891 the Government issued a new Forest Department reorganisation scheme debarring all officers thenceforward appointed in India from promotion to the upper controlling staff; that, having done four years of admittedly approved service, the new scheme was by ex post facto ruling applied to Mr. Allan's case; whether he is aware that recently the Secretary of State for India has sanctioned the transfer of Mr. Shrish Chandra Chakrabatti from the provincial to the Imperial engineering service on the ground that, as he had actually entered the Sibpur Engineering College before the issue of the orders closing the Imperial service to students of Indian engineering colleges, he had an equitable right to an appointment in the Imperial service; will he state on what ground, in an analagous case, Mr. Allan has been refused similar treatment; and whether the Government of India will be directed to remedy the grievance from which Mr. Allan is suffering. (Answered by Mr. Buchanan.) The Secretary of State has considered Mr. Allan's Memorial and has decided not to interfere with the orders of the Government of India refusing to promote him to the Imperial Forest Service. The Government of India have found that the rules in force in 1887 did not guarantee to Mr. Allan that he would be drafted into the upper controlling staff after five years approved service, but merely made him eligible for selection for such promotion on the ground of special merit. In the reorganisation of 1891 it was held, after consideration, that Mr. Allan had no claim as of right to be promoted to the Imperial Service. He was therefore placed in the Provincial Service, and the Government of India, having regard to his training and abilities have declined to promote him to the Imperial Service. The case of Mr. Shrish Chandra Chakrabatti stands on quite a different footing and was governed by other rules.

To ask the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies how much of the grant-in-aid of £85,000 from the Imperial Exchequer to Uganda Protectorate in 1907–8 was expended on preventive measures taken against the spread of trypanosomiasis and syphilis; and how much of the like grant of £25,000 to Nyasaland was expended in preventing the spread of the former disease towards the latter Protectorate. (Answered by Colonel Seely.) A sum of about £11,000 was provided in the Uganda Estimates for 1907–8 for the purpose of combating trypanosomiasis. An expert was sent out during the same year to report on the question of syphilis. His report has now been received and considered, and a sum of £2,000 has been inserted in the Estimates for the current year for the purpose of providing better and more systematic medical treatment for the natives who are suffering from the disease. With regard to Nyasaland, efforts were directed during 1907–8 to ascertaining the distribution of trypanosomiasis in the countries bordering on the Protectorate and of the various kinds of tse-tse fly within the Protectorate. This information appears to be an essential preliminary to any proper scheme of prevention.

To ask the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether the tax payable by natives in Protectorates should not be paid in kind in order to the development of local crops and products, rather than in money, to earn which they have to some extent to emigrate to more or less distant territories. (Answered by Colonel Seely.) In West African Protectorates there is but little direct taxation, and payment is accepted in kind wherever coin does not circulate freely. In Nyasaland and the other Protectorates north of the Zambesi, and also in the Bechuanaland Protectorate, the hut tax is payable in coin, but power is given, under varying conditions, to the collector to accept stock or produce in lieu. In South Africa the hut tax, which is the usual form of direct taxation, is collected in money, but it is a form of taxation which has been in force for many years and is well understood by the natives. The natives in the East Africa Protectorate and Uganda can pay their hut tax in kind or money, but now that the natives are getting more money payment in the latter is becoming more general.

To ask the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies why there has been a reduction in the railway rate on spirits in the Gold Coast, and what the reduction amounted to. (Answered by Colonel Seely.) There has been no alteration in the railway rate on spirits in the Gold Coast since May, 1907, when the special rate of 3s. 9d. a ton was abolished and spirits were placed in Class I. They are now carried at the highest rate charged on other Class I. articles, namely, 2s. 6d. per ton for the first 50 miles, 2s. 3d. per ton for the next 50, 2s. per ton for the next 50, and 1s. 9d. a ton for mileage beyond 150 miles.

To ask the hon. Member for South Somerset, as representing the President of the Board of Agriculture, if he can state the acreage of land actually acquired or in process of acquirement under the Small Holdings and Allotments Act by the county councils of England and Wales, severally. (Answered by Sir Edward Strachey.) Numerous negotiations for the acquisition of land are going on of which we are not fully informed, and it is not possible therefore to give accurate information under this head. But some 12,000 acres have actually been acquired, about 600 acres of which are in Wales and the remainder in England.

To ask the hon. Member for South Somerset as representing the President of the Board of Agriculture, what basis there was for issuing the Swine Fever (Regulation of Movement) Order, 1908, what was the object of the same, how many local authorities enforced it, and in how many instances cancelments of the original Order were issued. (Answered by Sir Edward Strachey.) The need for the uniformity and simplification of the conditions attaching to the movement of swine for slaughter has been for some time past strongly urged, especially by meat traders, and the object of the issue of the Order, to which, my hon. friend refers, was to give effect to those representations. The Order applies to the whole of Great Britain with the exception of three boroughs, which are subject to special Orders. The original Order was superseded and the new Order imposed in eleven districts.

To ask the Postmaster-General whether he will state the manner in which telephonists employed in provincial offices are recruited; whether local postmasters have the power of selection delegated to them; and whether, if this is the case, any steps are taken to eliminate preference being shown to individuals. (Answered by Mr. Sydney Bux'on.) Telephonists in provincial post offices are recruited from among candidates whose names have been recorded by the local postmasters; and, provided they are suitable and eligible under the regulations, they are selected, on the occurrence of vacancies, in the order in which they have made application. I have no reason to suppose that postmasters show improper preference.

To ask the President of the Board of Education whether his attention has been called to the fact that under the present regulations of the Board of Education the time occupied by children in travelling to and from the baths is not reckoned as part of the minimum time for school attendance, which must not be less than two hours for secular instruction to enable a grant to be paid, and that consequently the present regulations prevent many children from receiving instruction in the healthy and useful art of swimming; and whether he will consider the advisability of amending the regulations accordingly. (Answered by Mr. Runciman.) The Board have decided that a reasonable time spent by scholars in going to and from swimming-baths may be reckoned as part of the minimum time required for an attendance.

To ask the President of the Local Government Board whether he will consider the possibility of utilising some portion of the supply of unemployed labour now available upon the construction of motor roads throughout the country to accommodate the growing motor traffic. (Answered by Mr. John Burns.) Parliament has not at present authorised the construction of any roads for the exclusive use of motor traffic. In the absence of the legislation necessary to give such authority I am afraid it would not be practicable to adopt the suggestion in the Question.

To ask the President of the Local Government Board whether the salaries paid to the clerical staff of the Edmonton Urban District Council amounts to £6,000 a year, which is equal to an 8d. rate; and, if so, whether he can take steps to urge upon the Edmonton Urban District Council the desirability of keeping clerical and official expenses within reasonable limits.Answered by Mr. John Burns.) According to a statement furnished to me by the clerk to the district council, the salaries of the officials and clerical staff of the council during the last financial year amounted to £5,891; but this sum includes the salaries of such officers as the road foreman, farm bailiff, and the superintendents of the baths, cemetery, and fire brigade, and also the salaries of the medical officer of health and inspector of nuisances, half of which are repaid by the county council. It will be seen, therefore, that a considerable part of the amount mentioned above is not expended on the clerical staff.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he can state what was the cost of the special police protection afforded to the Palace of Westminster by reason of the suffragette demonstration directed against the House of Commons on Tuesday, 13th October last; and whether in the interests of the taxpayers, he will take any steps to recover any portion of this cost from the Women's Social and Political Union, which gave notice of and arranged the demonstration. (Answered by Mr. Secretary Gladstone.) I cannot say what was the total cost involved on the occasion in question. I know of no means of recovering any portion of this cost from the Women's Social and Political Union.

To ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he can now state the decision arrived at with reference to the payment of income-tax by foreign stall-holders at the Franco-British Exhibition. (Answered by Mr. Lloyd-George.) As the result of inquiries which have been instituted, it would appear that no profits assessable for income-tax purposes have been made by foreign stall-holders at the Franco-British Exhibition.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War whether it is proposed to acquire more land for military purposes in the neighbourhood of Salisbury Plain; and, if so, whether this House will have any opportunity to consider the matter before definite steps are taken.

It is proposed to acquire an additional area of land adjoining existing War Department property on Salisbury Plain for the purpose of an artillery range. I do not think I should be carrying out the wishes of the House when it passed the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act if I failed to take such steps as were essential for securing the efficiency of the Territorial Force. The immediate provision of an artillery range in the South of England is an absolute necessity, and I should not consider myself justified in agreeing to any delay with regard to it. The House will have an opportunity of discussing this purchase on next year's Estimates, but I do not think I should be doing what is right or what the public interest requires were I to suspend action until that time.

pressed for an answer whether the House would have an opportunity of discussing the question whether the land selected by the Government was the most suitable for the purpose, and whether land of a more suitable character could not be obtained without carrying out a wholesale system of evictions.

said that he had carefully inquired into all the circumstances, and he was satisfied that the mass of public opinion was entirely in favour of the action the department had taken. He could not suspend what was necessary action in behoof of the Territorial Forces.

asked whether the House was to understand that this proposal involving grave hardship was to be carried out without an opportunity being given to the House to discuss it.

said that it was a question of purchasing four houses and, 5,500 acres from willing sellers.

No.

said as far as he knew this was the case; at any rate, no notice had been given of any serious opposition. He was satisfied that in no other way could he provide for the efficiency of the Territorial Forces, and with the hope of progress being made before next summer. The War Office had taken the utmost pains to provide for those who wanted small holdings and compensation for those affected.

On what Vote is this expenditure to be charged?

said that the purchases would be made under powers contained in the Public Works Loans Act of last year.

Are we to understand that the Government proposes to carry this out without giving the House any opportunity of discussing it until the whole operation has been completed?

The House passed the Public Works Loans Act last summer for the very purpose of enabling the Territorial Associations to acquire ranges. It is under those powers that we are proceeding. We are taking every step in our power to prevent hardship. Everywhere the War Office goes for land it is met with this kind of objection and prices are raised. I must really be allowed some discretion. I am blamed at one moment for not going fast enough, and whenever I move I am pulled up.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that great distress exists among aged agricultural labourers, who have lost their avocation by reason of the purchase, and are at the present time in want?

The hon. Member appears to be a little mixed. The purchase has not yet been carried out.

Will the right hon. Gentleman make inquiries as to whether the negotiations carried out by him on behalf of the War Office have not already led to the dismissal of a great number of aged agricultural labourers; and if so, whether, when awarding compensation, he will see that compensation is paid to them?

If the hon. Member will look at the Paper he will see that he is getting a very long way from the Question.

May I ask a further Question.?

We have had eight supplementary Questions already.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War whether he can state the actual number of guns already issued for Territorial Artillery brigades compared with the number laid down.

The total number of guns and howitzers required to equip the Territorial Artillery Brigades, is 728, of which 263 have been issued.

When will the remainder be issued?

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War if he can state whether oats are issued in the same year as they are grown to horses in the Army; and, if so, at what particular date.

Oats can be issued in the same year as they are grown to horses in the Army, provided that they comply with the contract specification which governs the quality. No particular date for the issue of oats is specified.

Is it not the fact that oats are not really fit to use before 1st January?

That is a question for the Army Service Corps experts. They are better judges than I am.

Will the right hon. Gentleman urge the contractors not to issue damp oats as I am assured they are doing?

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War whether the Heriot Trust of Edinburgh has agreed to sell the Redford esate for the purpose of erecting a cavalry barracks; and, if so, will he press forward the work with all possible speed in order to give employment to the large number of men in the building trade who are at present out of employment in Edinburgh.

Before the right hon. Gentleman answers this Question, may I ask whether he will take into consideration the fact that this is a national matter, and not a local one, merely fulfilling an obligation long overdue to Scotland and therefore will he distribute the work regardless of any local jealousies?

In this case, as in the case of Salisbury Plain, I have received a storm of protests against the selection of the locality.

I do not protest at all.

I am glad to be able to inform my hon. friend that negotiations with the Heriot Trustees are proceeding satisfactorily. I can assure him that as soon as the purchase of the site is completed no time will be lost in setting to work; but as the hon. Member is aware, before building operations can be actually started plans have to be prepared, contracts have to be placed, and other similar arrangements have to be made. All this will take a certain amount of time, and I should not like to promise that the building can be begun before I am certain that these preparations have been thoroughly made, though preparation of the site, road-making, and such work may commence earlier.

I beg to ask the Under-Secretary of State for India whether the Anglo-Indian Association of Calcutta has represented to the Government of Bengal that the separation of judicial and executive functions seems likely not only to be unpopular amongst the great masses who have never demanded it, but also to be fraught with great harm; and, if so, whether this representation will be duly considered before the present experiment is extended.

The Secretary of State has no information as to the representation in question, but the Government of India will no doubt give it due consideration in formulating their proposals. No effect has yet been given to the experimental scheme to which I understand the hon. Member to refer.

I beg to ask the Under-Secretary of State for India whether he is aware that several Europeans and Eurasians have been taken into the provincial branch of the Punjab Education Department within the last year, and that they have been placed over the heads of a number of Indians in the matter of pay and seniority to the detriment of the prospects of the latter; did these Indian gentlemen protest against such treatment; and, if so, with what result.

No record of any such appointments can be found in the official lists received up to the present time. But if the hon. Member can quote specific cases, the Secretary of State will inquire.

Is it not the fact that the natives of India do not believe in our system of education and are very bad agents for carrying it out?

I do not see how that arises out of the Question, The provincial branch is a branch of the service set apart for natives.

I beg to ask the Under-Secretary of State for India whether the Secretary of State is aware that the number of Europeans in the Punjab municipalities' service has increased within the last ten years; that out of five appointments carrying salaries of over £15 per month in the municipality of Lahore not one is held by an Indian, and that out of twelve appointments with salaries of £8 a month only two are held by Indians; and whether this state of things has the approval of the Secretary of State for India.

Municipal Committees in the Punjab under the Punjab Municipalities Act of 1891 appoint their own servants, and the Secretary of State has no detailed information as to the numbers, rates of pay, or nationalities of such employees. The Lahore Municipal Committee is composed of twenty Indians and ten Europeans. On the committees of other municipalities the Indian element is still more predominant. The Secretary of State does not feel called upon to express an opinion on the mode in which the committees exercise their powers.

I beg to ask the Under-Secretary of State for India when the water rates were last raised on the Sirhind Canal in the Punjab; what the rates were before the enhancement and what they are now, and especially whether the rate for sugar cane was enhanced by 100 per cent.; and whether the area of sugar cane cultivation has since decreased on the land irrigated by that canal.

The present rates came into force in 1905. It is difficult to compare them in detail with the rates previously in force, as the schedule is a lengthy one, and the two sets of rates were not framed on the same system, but the general effect was an increase of about 20 per cent. on the yield of the old rates. The old rate for sugar cane was 7 rupees, 8 annas, or 10s. the acre; the present rate is 10 rupees, or 13s. 4d. the acre in one zone, and 12 rupees, or 16s. in the other zone; the percentage of increase being 33 in the one case and 60 in the other. There has been some decrease in the sugar cane area on this canal since 1901–2, but in the Punjab generally the area under this crop has of late years decreased. The cane crop on the Sirhind Canal is relatively small to the total irrigated area.

I beg to ask the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies if he is aware that the cost of introducing indentured coolies into Trinidad is about £27 per head; that towards such cost the employers requiring such labour only contribute about £5 per head, the remainder being made up by a contribution from general revenue of £9 and by an export tax on produce of £13; and, if so, whether he is prepared to take steps having for its object the placing of the entire charge for introducing such coolies on the employers who require such labour.

As my hon. friend was informed in reply to a similar Question on 27th March, 1907, the cost of importing indentured immigrants varies. In the last completed financial year it was between £27 and £28 per head. The sources from which this amount is made up are as stated in the Question. So far as we are aware the balance of opinion in the island seems to incline to a continuance of the present system, but the Secretary of State is prepared to address further inquiries on this subject to the Officer administering the Government.

I beg to ask the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether Papers can be presented showing the present attitude of the Government of Newfoundland towards the recently concluded modus vivendi in the fishery question with the United States.

There are no Papers which can conveniently be laid at present, but I am glad to inform my right hon. friend that the Government of Newfoundland have expressed much gratification at the conclusion of the modus vivendi, and the revocation of the Order in Council of 9th September, 1907, which the acceptance of the modus vivendi by that Government has rendered possible.

I beg to ask the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he has any information as to the intentions of the Dominion Government with regard to British Indians in British Columbia.

Proposals have been made for sending some of the East Indians now in British Columbia as free labourers to British Honduras, and it appears from Press telegrams that the Dominion Government are taking steps in this direction by sending two Indians to British Honduras to inquire into the practicability of the scheme.

said he was awaiting a Report on the scheme, and some little time would elapse before that could be received.

I beg to ask the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies what progress has been made with regard to the improvement of telegraphic communication to Demerara and Trinidad.

Considerable progress has been made in the negotiations since I replied to the hon. Member's last question on this subject in July last, in fact I may say that they have been practically completed. The question of a site in Trinidad has, however, still to be settled by the local Government, some difficulty having arisen through the possibility that the new service may interfere with the existing service to Tobago. The Secretary of State in writing to Trinidad has expressed the hope that every effort will be made to establish direct communication with British Guiana by means of wireless telegraphy at an early date.

Can the hon. Gentleman say what is the rate for cable communication to British Guiana?

said he would get the information for the hon. Member.

I beg to ask the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies what is the present position with regard to the All-Red Route proposals.

No Report has yet been made by the Committee on the All-Red Route. The Committee are considering an Interim Report, but will be unable to report finally until certain further information has been obtained from the self-governing Dominions.

Can the hon. Gentleman give any indication when the Report is likely to be received? Will it be before Christmas?

I am afraid I cannot say at present.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he can give the House any information concerning the recent conclusion with the United States of a modus vivendi with regard to the Newfoundland fishery; and whether Papers can be presented showing the form in which the question is submitted to the Hague Tribunal.

Full information with regard to the nature and effect of the modus vivendi was given in a statement communicated to the Press on 14th August last, to which I do not think that I can usefully add anything. With regard to the second portion of the Question, I would state that the terms of reference to arbitration of the fishery questions at issue are still under discussion, and it would, therefore, be premature to lay any Papers on the subject.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether any suggestion has been made for the reduction of the British officers attached to the Macedonian Gendarmerie; and, if so, whether he will take into consideration the importance of maintaining the whole staff of British officers whose services are still cordially welcomed by the Turkish Government.

The Turkish Government have been asked by the Powers whether they wish for the withdrawal of the foreign officers attached to the Macedonian Gendarmerie. No answer has yet been received. There is no intention of reducing any officers whose services the Turkish Government desire to retain.

May I ask what course it has been decided to take with regard to the financial position?

I see nothing about that in the Question on the Paper.

The hon. Member should give notice of it.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he has any information as to the dismissal of the English principal of the Tong-shan Engineering College without previous reference to the engineer-in-chief of the Northern Railways; and whether, seeing that the college is maintained from the earnings of a railway mortgaged to British bondholders, he will make inquiry as to the circumstances.

The facts of the case are as follows:—The principal of the college was engaged in 1905. By the terms of his engagement, three months' notice was to be given by either side to terminate it. About a month ago the principal received notice under this clause. His Majesty's Minister at Peking has been asked to intervene on the principal's behalf on the ground that six months' notice is usual, and Sir John Jordan has appealed to the Director-General of Railways in regard to the case. The matter is still under consideration.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether his attention has been called to the number of dismissals of British employees from the Chinese Northern Railways; whether Article 6 of the Loan Contract of 10th October, 1908, expressly restricted the right of dismissal to cases of incompetency and misconduct; and what steps His Majesty's Government propose to take, in view of the British financial interests involved in the railways, to prevent the persistent violation of this article.

I am informed that two traffic inspectors on the railway have received notices of dismissal, and Mr. Kinder, the Engineer-in-Chief, has protested to the Director against the step; but no official information has reached His Majesty's Minister in China either from Mr. Kinder or from the British and Chinese Corporation as agents of the bondholders. Sir John Jordan is, however, inquiring into the matter, and as to the bearing of Article 6 of the Loan Contract of 10th October, 1898, on these cases. The article in question provides that the principal members of the railway staff may, in the event of their misconduct or incompetency, be dismissed after consultation with the Chief Engineer.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether, in the event of an agreement being reached between the Governments of Russia and Turkey for the passage of Russian warships from the Black Sea into the Mediterranean, His Majesty's Government will make it a condition of their assent to such an arrangement that our warships shall have similar rights of passage into the Black Sea; and whether, in the recent discussions that have taken place between His Majesty's Government and that of Russia, the Russian Government have been informed in this sense.

The question of the Straits is not included in any suggested programme for the Conference and it would in my opinion add to the difficulties of the situation if the discussion of subjects outside those with which we have immediately to deal wore insisted upon. The hon. Member may rest assured that in any discussion about the opening of the Straits His Majesty's Government will see that British interests are not injuriously affected.

Arising out of that answer, may I ask whether it is a fact that His Majesty's Government expressed the view that this is a matter which can be settled between Turkey and Russia; and that the Turkish Government demurred to that?

I do not desire to promote any discussion of the question of the Straits at this moment, when there are so many other things under discussion. I must decline to answer these questions piecemeal.

I beg to ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will state whether a man of over seventy years of age, having £800 stock in Consols producing an income of £20 a year, is eligible as an old-age pensioner for 5s. a week; and whether a man in receipt of a compassionate allowance of 13s. a week, which he has received for a year, is not eligible for any old-age pension whatever.

On the assumption that the claimant has no other means, the Answer to the first Question is in the affirmative. The Answer to the second would, under the provisions of Section 4 of the Old-Age Pensions Act, depend upon whether there was, or was not, a reasonable expectation that the claimant would continue to receive the allowance during the succeeding year.

Cannot the right hon. Gentleman see his way to put a man who has been working all his life on an equal footing with those who happen to possess £800 worth of Consols?

That is a very conjectural case, and one that is unlikely to happen.

May I have an Answer to my Question?

I beg to ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the receipt of sick pay by a member of a friendly society will be taken into account in considering the income of the person under the Old-Age Pensions Act.

The matter is one for the pension committee to determine in accordance with the provisions of Section 4 (1) (a) of the Act upon the facts of each case.

Will instructions be given to the pension committees on this point?

I must ask for notice of that.

Will the right hon. Gentleman consider the desirability of obtaining a decision at once on this very important matter?

Each case will be decided by the pension committee as it arises on the facts.

I beg to ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his attention has been called to the conflicting instructions issued by the Local Government Board and the Commissioners of Inland Revenue with reference to the areas of the subcommittees and the districts of pension officers under the Old-Age Pensions Act; and whether he proposes to take any steps to bring these instructions into agreement with one another.

I am not aware of any conflict. The administrative arrangements which have been adopted do not require that the areas served by pension officers should be co-terminous with those served by the pension committees, nor is it intended that this should invariably—or even usually—be the case.

I beg to ask Mr. Chancel of the Exchequer whether, having regard to the fact that under No. 35 of the Old-Age Pensions Regulations, 1908, a great deal of information will be required from boards of guardians and their officers as to whether relief has been given to applicants for old-age pensions, and also as to the mode of life of many such applicants, he will arrange that provision be made for payment for such information from the national Exchequer, as the Local Government Board have stated in a circular letter, addressed to boards of guardians, and dated 10th October, 1908, that it is understood that the pensions officers have no funds out of which such payments can be made.

I am not prepared to propose a grant from the Exchequer for this purpose. In view of the enormous saving which will ultimately accrue to local rates from the diminution in the charge for poor relief to be expected from the inauguration of the pension scheme, I think it will be generally conceded that the ratepayer may reasonably be asked to bear the slight expenses incidental to supplying the information required.

asked whether the effect of that arrangement would not be that while the pension officer was a representative of the Treasury he would receive payment from the ratepayers?

I do not think so.

I beg to ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer whether it is intended to issue instructions to the pension officers directing them in reporting on the means of a claimant for an old-age pension not to take into consideration the fact that he occupies a cottage at a rent less than the full rack rent; and, if not, will he explain why.

Pension officers have been instructed in calculating the means of a claimant to take into account, as provided in the Act, the yearly value of any benefit or privilege enjoyed by him. In regard to questions of rent such as that referred to by the noble Lord, the circumstances of the different cases are likely to be so widely divergent that it would not be practical to issue more specific instructions.

Have any specific instructions been given to the pension officers with regard to the valuation of rent?

I do not think there are any specific instructions bearing on that point.

I beg to ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Board of Inland Revenue has instructed the pension officers to take into account, in estimating the income of claimants, the value of free board, lodging, or clothing; whether the execution of this instruction will involve meticulous inquiries into the precise value of ordinary articles of food and clothing; and, if so, whether he proposes to direct the Board of Inland Revenue to issue a fresh set of secret instructions to pension officers to ignore food and clothing of less value than the equivalent of a capital sum of £30, so that poor people may not be deprived of their pensions by the meticulous inquiries of pension officers.

The Answer to the first Question is in the affirmative; that to the second in the negative; the third does not arise.

Do I understand the right hon. Gentleman to say that it is the duty of the pension officers to take into account the value of board and lodging, but that it is not their duty to make any inquiry as to the value?

That is certainly not what I said.

I think it is.

I beg to ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the general powers which a public department possesses to direct its own affairs would enable the Board of Inland Revenue to issue instructions to pension officers to report against the claim of any persons who were deemed by that Board to be unfit for pensions; and what means a pension committee has of compelling a pension officer to report in accordance with the terms of the Act instead of in obedience to the orders of the department.

I presume that it would be within the power of the Board of Inland Revenue to issue such instructions to pension officers, but I would remind my hon. friend that the Board would be responsible for any action taken by their officers in accordance with their instructions, for which I, in my turn, should be answerable to Parliament. The pension officer has, under Section 7 (1) (b) of the Act and No. 11 (2) of the Regulations, a statutory duty "to procure any further information which it is in his power to procure in reference to any matter to be considered by the committee" if the committee require him to do so, and it would not be open to him to plead official instructions as an excuse for the neglect of that duty.

asked whether the pension committee could dismiss the officer if he disobeyed the law.

said that statutory obligations were imposed upon him, and the officer was responsible to the Minister for refusing to carry out the law, while Parliament could call the Minister to account.

That is just what I should like to do.

How is the House to make the Minister responsible unless the instructions are laid upon the Table of the House?

The Question can be raised on the Minister's salary.

I beg to ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has caused any estimate to be made of the additional cost of old-age pensions due to the exclusion from calculation of the means of applicants of furniture up to £30, in accordance with the departmental instructions to pension officers, above what would have been the cost as sanctioned by Parliament under Section 4 of the Old-Age Pensions Act, which requires all furniture to be taken into account in calculating the means of applicants.

I have no statistics of the value of furniture possessed by claimants to old-age pensions, and the original estimates of the scheme were based on the assumption that any property of this character, of which account would be taken in calculating the means of an applicant, would be so small in amount as not to affect appreciably the cost of the scheme.

I beg to ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will issue instructions to pension officers to keep a record showing the number of persons who become eligible for old-age pensions by virtue of the exclusion from the calculation of their means of furniture under £30 in value who would not have been qualified if all furniture had been taken into account in accordance with Section 4 of the Old-Age Pensions Act, the number of persons who receive pensions at a higher rate, and the total additional cost.

No, Sir. The cost of making the detailed valuations, which would be necessary in the case of every claimant, for compiling such a record, would be considerable, and I should not feel justified in asking Parliament to vote money for the purpose.

Will not the pension officers be obliged to make that valuation in any event? If they are to carry out the instructions and disregard the first £30 worth of furniture, and reckon the balance, how can they do that without making a valuation?

I beg to ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware that unnecessary hardship is imposed on tradesmen by the enforcement of the production of a balance sheet for the purpose of assessing their incomes for income-tax; and whether he can see his way to limit the demands of the Commissioners in such cases to the production of a profit and loss account.

I may perhaps be allowed to refer the noble Lord to a very full reply which I gave on this point on 19th May last in answer to a Question by my hon. friend the Member for Ashton-under-Lyne. I do not think that I can usefully add anything to that reply, except to say that I have no power over district Commissioners.

Is it not the fact that the Commissioner and surveyors have no legal power to demand a balance sheet?

I think that the hon. Member had better refer to the full and elaborate answer previously gave entering into the whole of this question.

Cannot the right hon. Gentleman give me an answer now? It is a very simple question.

The Answer is that I have given the answer already. I cannot traverse the whole ground again.

I believe that the Commissioners are acting illegally.

Is the right hon. Gentleman not aware that the Commissioners have no power to ask for a balance sheet?

I cannot accept the interpretation of the Act given by my hon. friend. I think that they have the power.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if four Russian Jews, who were recently refused permission to land at Hull because they were undesirable emigrants, and who were deported under the Aliens Act, returned in another ship that did not carry twenty emigrants, and were then allowed to land; and, if so, whether steps will be taken under the Act to prevent the relanding of aliens who were found to be undesirable a short while previously.

It is the fact that recently four aliens, who had been refused leave to land at Hull, returned a few days later and landed from non-immigrant ships. The Aliens Act gives the immigration officers no power to prevent any alien passenger from landing from a nonimmigrant ship. I regret to say that I have reason to believe that the landing of undesirable aliens from non-immigrant ships at Hull is carried on systematically; and the matter is engaging my attention.

asked whether regulations could not be made which would prevent such an anomaly as a man described as an undesirable alien being refused one week and allowed to land the next.

Perhaps the hon. Gentleman will put that Question down.

asked when the right hon. Gentleman proposed to bring in a Bill to repeal the Aliens Act.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has received any Report from the Chief Commissioner of Police with respect to the demonstration in Hyde Park on Sunday, 27th September; and whether he will communicate the nature of that Report to the House.

I have not received any such Report.

Has the right hon. Gentleman any evidence in his D apartment justifying the recent declaration of the Secretary of State for the Colonies that the demonstration consisted of imported inebriates?

I am not aware that any such declaration was made. ["Oh."] I repeat I am not aware of any such declaration. I have answered the Question on the Paper.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will state the number of arrests for drunkenness in the Metropolitan area on Sunday, 27th September, and Sunday, 20th September, respectively.

The number of arrests for drunkenness in the Metropolitan Police District was as follows: On Sunday, 20th September, 144; on Sunday, 27th September, 165.

I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been drawn to the difficulties which passengers on the Metropolitan Railway whose journey necessitates changing at Baker Street Station between the hours of 8.30 a.m. and 9 a.m. have to experience in getting from one train to another; whether he is aware that the crowds of passengers have to pass through a narrow iron gate, which results in a scramble; whether he is aware that the trains at this time of the day provided to carry passengers to the City are few in number and of insufficient length, thereby causing overcrowding and inconvenience; and whether, in view of these facts, he proposes to take any, and, if so, what action.

I have communicated with the railway company in the matter to which my hon. friend calls attention, and have received a reply of which I am forwarding him a copy.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that people who travel by this route are astonished that the volume of traffic is so well handled in so exceedingly confined a space?

I will send the hon. Member also a copy of the Company's reply, which will give him an answer to his Question.

I beg to ask the President of the Local Government Board whether any further reports will be issued by the Royal Commission on the Treatment and Disposal of Sewage; and, if so, how many, and when does he expect to receive the final Report; and whether he proposes to introduce legislation for the regulation of trade effluents into public sewers before he receives the final Report of this Commission.

I understand that the Royal Commission propose to issue a Report in the course of the next three months on the disposal of distillery refuse, and that in their final Report they will deal with the disposal of other trade effluents when not mixed with sewage. The date of the issue of the final Report cannot at present be given, but I do not think it will be necessary to await it before proposing legislation on the subject referred to in the Question.

I beg to ask the President of the Local Government Board if he will state the number of cases in the coroners' returns of starvation cases, respectively, connected with Shore-ditch, Holborn, and the whole of London; whether he has taken any, and, if so, what steps to reduce the numbers in future; and whether he will suggest to the guardians of those unions that they should make it known to the poor that they are willing to give necessary relief, and especially medical relief, to the poor who need it, in accordance with 43 Eliz., c. 2, s. 1, and 4 & 5 Will. IV., c. 76, so that the poor may apply before they become totally destitute.

The latest return of the number of deaths upon which a coroner's jury returned a verdict of starvation or death, accelerated by privation, shows that in the year 1907 there were forty-six such cases in the whole of London, of which eight were connected with Shoreditch and seven with Holborn. There appears to be no reason to suppose that the poor are unaware of the facilities for obtaining medical or other relief. In many of the cases mentioned in the return relief was applied for and given, but the application was made at too late a stage. I will give consideration to the matter, but it is difficult to see what effective action can be taken in respect of persons who are unwilling to apply for relief, and whose cases are in no way brought under the notice of the guardians or their officers.

I beg to ask the Postmaster-General whether his attention has been called to a meeting of the Civil Service Socialist Society to be held on 20th October, to be presided over by Mr. S. F. Green, the prospective Socialist Parliamentary candidate for South Bristol, and to be addressed by Mr. H. M. Hyndman on the coming social revolution; whether the action of this political society has his approval; and whether he will allow the formation of other societies among Post Office servants having for their object the advancement of anti-Socialist principles.

The hon. Member's Question has called my attention to the meeting to which he refers. Were the society an organisation within the Post Office, I should consider that its action in apparently inviting the public to attend the meeting constituted a breach of the Regulations. As, however, I understand the society is open to the whole Civil Service, and draws its Members from various Departments, I am communicating with the Treasury on the subject. As regards the last part of the Question there already exists among Post Office servants a society having among its specific objects the advancement of anti-Socialistic principles, and I have more than once stated I have no objection to the formation of other societies within the Post Office provided they observe the conditions laid down as regards the character of their activities.

I beg to ask the Postmaster-General whether any employment has yet been found in the Post Office service for men recently discharged by the National Telephone Company, owing to the stoppage of construction work due to the Government taking over the business of the Company; and what provision he proposes to make for finding work for men who are discharged in districts where there is no Post Office telephone system.

As I stated yesterday, such discharges by the National Telephone Company as have recently taken place where they were not due to misconduct or incompetence, or to the termination of temporary employment or employment for certain special purposes, have been mainly caused by an exceptional falling off in orders obtained from the public consequent on the recent depression of business throughout the United Kingdom, and not by such a stoppage of the general construction work as is suggested in the Question. Employment has been found in the Post Office during the last six months for more than 100 of the men discharged, and I am anxious to do what I can in that direction; but the existing openings at my disposal are, of course, limited. As I have already stated, I desire to come to an arrangement with the Company whereby the general construction work of the telephone system can be steadily continued in the best way until the Company's undertaking is taken over by the Post Office.

Is not the right hon. Gentleman convinced by his own experience of the inexpediency of any attempt on the part of the State to resume the monopoly of traffic over which it has lost immediate control?

On the contrary.

Is not the present an opportune time for new construction inasmuch as work can be done at moderate rates? Is it not the fact also that agricultural districts would benefit largely by an extension of the telephone system?

That is too large a subject to be dealt with in an answer to a Question across the floor of the House. I should be glad, however, to discuss it on a suitable occasion.

I beg to ask the President of the Local Government Board whether, looking at the state of unemployment now existing, he can recommend that the roadway from Princes Gate over the Serpentine to Bayswater Road be doubled so as to avoid the inconvenience for residents in Kensington having to go round by Park Lane to Paddington when the existing road across the park is shut.

I regret that I am unable to adopt the suggestion of the hon. Member. The existing road is a very wide one, and to double it would be to create an eyesore. It is only closed once a year, and then at the time of year least calculated to cause inconvenience.

Will the right hon. Gentleman bear the suggestion in mind?

Certainly.

I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury whether any circular has been issued by the Treasury to say that if additional leave is given to Government employees who are in the Territorial Army they must refund their Army pay to the Government, and that if they want additional leave they may be called on to provide a substitute and also refund their Army pay; and whether such, or a similar, circular was issued after camp was over this year, leaving no choice to the men.

Circulars were issued on 30th March and 6th June last before the annual camps were held pointing out to Civil Servants that if they choose to spend their ordinary leave in camp they may draw both civil and military pay during the camp period; if they take special leave for the purpose, and no substitute is required to perform their work in their absence, a deduction will be made from their civil pay equivalent to the amount of their military pay, excluding allowances. The cost of a substitute when required falls on the civil servant whose duties he performs, and the latter is in this case allowed to retain both civil and military pay from which to meet the charge, but any excess over the total amount of the military and civil pay is borne by the State.

I beg to ask the Secretary for Scotland whether any change has yet taken place in the financial situation in the Lews; whether the local administration remains in a position of bankruptcy owing to nonpayment of the greater part of the rates; and what he proposes doing to prevent the complete breakdown of that administration.

I have no reason to believe that any change has taken place in the financial situation in the Lews. The Local Government Board are in communication with the parish councils, and any representations will be considered as soon as they are received.

If the rates continue unpaid how is it proposed to carry on the local administration?

My Answer covers that Question.

I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether any steps are to be taken during the present session to improve the pay and position of the Royal Irish Constabulary.

I am anxious to proceed with the Constabulary (Ireland) Bill as soon as possible, and will take advantage of the first opportunity that may arise. The hon. and learned Member is probably aware that the financial Resolution, which is a necessary preliminary to the introduction of the Bill, is at present before the House, and that the Committee on the subject has been deferred until Monday next.

Will the Bill include provision for the improvement of the position of the officers as well as of the men?

I would sooner not answer that Question, as it would involve entering into particulars.

I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether he is aware that on Wednesday, 30th September last, an attack was made on the residence of a widow, named Mrs. Great-head, situate at Loughgeorge, about eight miles from Galway Town, shots being fired through the windows; whether he can state if the direction of the shots indicated an intention to do bodily harm or merely to intimidate; whether he is aware that Mrs. Greathead has been persecuted for a long time because she will not give up the farm which is her only support; how many arrests, if any, have been made; and what sentences, if any, have been passed on the perpetrators of the outrage.

At eight o'clock on the evening of 30th September several gun-shots were fired through the windows of two rooms in Mrs. Greathead's house, one room being on the ground floor, and one on the first floor. The rooms were lighted up and the windows were unshuttered. Two members of the family were in each room but no one was hit. Many flattened grains of shot were found inside the windows. An empty cartridge case was found at forty yards distance from the house, and several gun-wads were found between that spot and the house. The shots therefore do not appear to have been fired at short range. It is the fact that Mrs. Greathead has been subjected to annoyance because she declines to give up a portion of her farm. All necessary protection is being afforded to her. The police have not yet succeeded in obtaining sufficient evidence to justify any arrests in the case.

I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether any arrests have been made in connection with the attack made on Michael Casey, a farmer living at Rinneen, near Ruan, about seven miles from Ennis, county Clare, in August last, when he was twice shot in the back of the head; whether he is aware that twenty-eight pellets were found in his head, shoulders, and back; whether it is the second time he has been the victim of firing outrages; what sentences have been passed in the case; to what reasons the police authorities attribute the outrages, and what steps they have taken to afford him protection in the future; and has Michael Casey quite recovered.

Michael Casey was fired at and injured in the manner described in the Question on 11th September last. He was also fired at on 14th July, 1907, but was not hit. No arrests have been made. As the offender has not been traced, I am unable to state the motive for the offence. The police are affording full protection to Casey, who has quite recovered from his injury.

I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether any arrests have been made in connection with the attack made on three labouring men in the employment of Miss Godley, Kilrar, near Farrigallen, by Carrick-on-Shannon, in August last, when they were fired at when engaged in, reaping oats, and one of their number, John Clay, was wounded by a bullet piercing his thigh; what sentences have been passed in the case; to what reasons the police authorities attribute the outrage, what steps they have taken to afford these men adequate protection in the future; and has John Clay quite recovered.

On 9th September last John Clay and two other labourers were reaping for Miss Godley when a shot was fired in an adjoining wood and Clay was injured in the leg. No arrests have been made. Tho police are not aware of any possible motive for firing at Clay, as both he and his employer are popular in the locality. In the opinion of the police authorities there is no necessity for affording protection to the men. Clay is progressing favourably, but has not yet quite recovered.

What steps have been taken to discover who carry firearms in this district?

I do not know that any special steps have been taken.

Is it not the fact that since the Act has been repealed in twelve months outrages from firearms have increased by more than a third?

It is the fact.

We warned the right hon. Gentleman.

asked whether the increase was not directly due to the action of the Government in repealing the Arms Act.

No, Sir. During the most disturbed times in Ireland firearms were to be had and outrages were more frequent than now.

I beg to ask the Prime Minister if it is proposed during the autumn session to introduce a Bill dealing with the revision of Ministerial salaries.

The Answer is in the negative.

Has the proposal to revise these salaries been abandoned?

I beg to ask the Prime Minister whether he will state the nature of the pledges that he has given to make Home Rule one of the living issues at the next general election, and whether he will give the House an opportunity of discussing his proposals.

The pledges which I have given on the subject on behalf of the Government are to be found in the debate this session on the Motion of the hon. Member for Waterford, and in answer to some later Questions. The whole matter was then fully discussed, and I see no reason for reopening it at this moment.

asked whether the statement of Mr. Redmond at the Boston Conference that the right hon. Gentleman had given both public and private pledges that Home Rule would be one of the living issues at the next general election was correct.

I have given no private pledges. My pledges have been public, and are to be found recorded in Hansard.

I beg to ask the Prime Minister whether he can see his way to give facilities for the passing of the Eight Hours Bill for bakers, in consequence of so many of them working eighty, ninety, and in some cases 100 hours per week.

I am afraid that this is not a Bill which comes under the category of strictly non-controversial measures, and I cannot therefore hold out hopes that the Government will be able to afford facilities.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the bakers protest against this suggested interference, and that at least one hon. Member has been strictly informed by his constituency to block this Bill on all occasions?

I am afraid this is not a Bill for which the Government can hold out any hopes.

I wish to ask the Prime Minister the Question—of which I have given him private notice—whether he is prepared to put the House in possession of the terms of the Amendment by which it is proposed to carry out the suggestion that for a short term of years succeeding the fourteen years the surrender of the monopoly value shall not be necessarily a condition of the renewal of an old licence.

Without pledging myself in this stage to any precise form of words the suggestion which I made would, I think, be given effect to by adding the following proviso to subsection 1, Clause 3: "Provided that until the expiration of seven years after the termination of the reduction period there shall be no power to attach as a condition to the regrant of an old licence any condition for securing to the public the monopoly value of the licence." A definition of "old licence" will have to be inserted defining the term to mean, as regards on-licences, existing licences within the meaning of the Act of 1904, i.e., licences existing before the passing of that Act, and as respects off-licences, licences existing before the passing of the Bill.