To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he can state the number of murders that have taken place in the Metropolitan Police district from 1st January, 1903, until the present date; and in how many cases the perpetrator has not been discovered. (Answered by Mr. Secretary Gladstone.) The following figures, supplied by the Commissioner of Metropolitan Police, give the information desired. Cases of infanticide (murder of children under the age of one year) are not included:—

To ask the Postmaster-General, whether the increased pay recommended by the Parliamentary Committee to auxiliary rural postmen in Ireland has yet been paid to them; if not, when will it; and whether it will be retrospective from the date of the recommendation. (Answered by Mr. Sydney Buxton.) Instructions to pay the higher rates have been given at a number of offices in Ireland, and the work of checking the claims from the remaining offices is proceeding as rapidly as possible. It will be completed very shortly. The higher rates of pay take effect from 1st January, 1908.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade whether the rules governing the registration of merchandise imported into or exported from the German Customs Union, printed on page 57 of the Report of the Departmental Committee on Trade Records, is a correct translation of the rules existing, respectively, prior and subsequent to 1st March, 1906; and whether, especially, Sections 3 and 4 do not exclusively relate to rules prior to 1906. (Answered by Mr. Churchill.) As stated in the Report, only extracts from the rules in force prior to and since 1st March, 1906, have been translated. I understand that the translation given is substantially correct. The rules under head B (in force from 1st March, 1906), including Sections 3 and 4, to which the honourable Member specially refers, form part of a decree of the Federal Council, dated 9th February, 1906, resolving to approve the rules and to put them in force from 1st March, 1906, in substitution for those then in force.

To ask the Secretary of State for War, if he can state the total amount involved in the contracts for general stores and other manufactured articles secured by foreign firms during the last two years; and if he will classify the goods in question and state what sum has been saved to the Exchequer by making those purchases abroad instead of in this country. (Answered by Mr. Secretary Haldane.)—Manufactured Articles ^* ordered from abroad (including those obtained through agents in this country).

To ask the Secretary for State for the Home Department whether any members of the present Government are having the privilege of special police being stationed outside the doors of their private residences; and, if so, will he specify the names of those Ministers enjoying this special privilege and state the reason why this privilege is conferred, and also the extra cost involved and who is defraying that cost. (Answered by Mr. Secretary Gladstone.) I am not aware what precise measures ate being taken. In any case in which any individual members of the public are liable to annoyance, the Commissioner of Police takes such steps as he considers to be required to prevent the annoyance and to maintain order. The matter is one of police administration with which I am not prepared to interfere. No extra cost is involved.

To ask the Secretary for Scotland how many new voters are estimated to be enfranchised for school board elections in Scotland under the new Education Act, and of what classes they will consist. (Answered by Mr. Sinclair.) The proposals of the Bill will admit to vote at school board elections all householders with rentals under £4 who are disqualified by the existing school board franchise and also persons other than householders who are entitled to vote at Parliamentary elections. It is not possible to give any estimate of the number of these classes respectively.

To ask the Secretary for Scotland whether his Department has formed any estimate of how many electors who have up till now voted in school board elections will be disfranchised under the Education (Scotland) Bill if it passes into law, on account of the fact that parish council registers will then be utilised; if so, will he say of whom these disfranchised voters will consist; and how many they are estimated to be. (Answered by Mr. Sinclair.) The only persons at present qualified to vote at school board elections who will not have a vote under the proposals of the Bill will be those not qualified to vote at Parliamentary and parish council elections on account of non-payment of rates. Certain other persons such as joint owners or occupiers whose names appear automatically on the school board roll as being on the valuation roll will, in future, require to make application to be placed upon the roll. It is not possible to make any satisfactory estimate of the number of these persons.

To ask the Under-Secretary of State for India whether he can give the House any information regarding the assassination of the Bengali detective Nundo Lal Bannerjee; whether this is the man who traced the anarchist who threw the bomb which killed Mrs. and Miss Kennedy; and whether the murderers have been apprehended. (Answered by Mr. Buchanan.) Nundo Lal Bannerjee was murdered in a dark and narrow lane at about 7 p.m. on 9th November. The murder was witnessed by a number of shopkeepers, who state that the murderers were two young Bengalees. A reward of Rs. 5,000 has been offered. No arrests have yet been made. The murdered man was the officer who traced Profulla Chaki, one of the perpetrators of the Muzzaffarpur outrage, to Mokaneh railway station, where Profulla shot himself to avoid arrest.

To ask the Chief-Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether the Estates Commissioners have received a memorial from the tenants on the Reynell Estate, County Meath, suggesting that the untenanted land on the estate should be purchased and distributed among the occupiers of uneconomic holdings and the descendants of evicted tenants on the estate; and if the prayer of the petition will be acceded to. (Answered by Mr. Birrell.) A communication on behalf of these tenants has been addressed to the Estates Commissioners asking them to acquire the untenanted land on the estate. The matter will be considered when the estate is being dealt with under the Irish Land Act, 1903.

To ask the Chief-Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether he will state the extent of land now in the hands of the Congested Districts Board, and the number of tenants under the board; whether fair rents have recently been fixed on a number of holdings held by tenants direct from the board; whether he will state how many head of cattle and sheep the Congested Districts Board had for sale at the last great autumn fair of Ballinasloe in October last; on what lands they are grazed; and why these lands have not been divided up in farms for the landless or for the enlargement of uneconomic holdings. (Answered by Mr. Birrell.) The extent of tenanted and untenanted land now in the hands of the Congested Districts Board is 286,347 acres. The number of tenants on these lands is 7,590. Fair rents have been fixed in the case of 12 of these tenants during the past year. The board sold 256 cattle and 98 sheep at Ballinasloe fair; these had been grazed on the Longford, Oldtown, Oat-field, and Newcastle farms. The existing limitation upon the powers of the board as to the disposal of land has hitherto made it difficult to deal with these farms. The question of extending the board's powers in this regard will be dealt with in the forthcoming Bill.

To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether he is aware that the making of voluntary purchase agreements under the Irish Land Act, 1903, cannot proceed while the future conditions of land purchase are in doubt; and whether, having regard to the practical impossibility of passing into law a large and comprehensive Land Bill without months of delay, he intends to submit any proposals for avoiding the complete stoppage of land-purchase operations. (Answered by Mr. Birrell.) Purchase agreements are still being lodged at considerably above the average rate. For the proposals of the Government I must ask the hon. Member to await the introduction of the Irish Land Bill, which I hope will take place on Monday next.

To ask the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that the London County Council proposes to apply to Parliament in the session of 1909 for authority to reconstruct for electric traction the tramways from the Lord Howick public-house via Albion Road and George Street to Chapel Street, Woolwich; whether he will co-operate with the council in widening, where necessary, the portion of the route outside the royal dockyard by adding to the public way the narrow strip of the dockyard needed for such an improvement, in order that the necessary paving, etc., work may be put in hand at an early date with a view to providing suitable employment for a number of persons, and in order that the reconstruction of the tramway, if and when sanctioned by Parliament, may be undertaken without delay; and whether, if satisfactory arrangements be made with the council, the work will be put in hand by the Government without delay. (Answered by Mr. Secretary Haldane.) The War Department is prepared to grant the strip of land in question for the purposes of widening the road provided suitable terms can be arranged with the London County Council. It is not anticipated that there will be any difficulty in arriving at the terms. Every endeavour will be made to facilitate the progress of the work, but it must be remembered that, before the existing wall can be demolished, the new wall must at least in part be completed for the protection of the arsenal.

To ask the Secretary of State for War when it is expected that the Army Council will be in a position to give their decision with regard to the new sewerage scheme of the borough of Christchurch; and whether in view of the fact that a representative of the Royal Engineers inspected the plans so long ago as 21st September, he will undertake to expedite the matter, and so put an end to the inconvenience which the delay is causing. (Answered by Mr. Secretary Haldane.) The decision of the Army Council was communicated to the town clerk on the 12th instant.

To ask the Secretary of State for War if he will look into the case of Julius Bielefeld, of 48, Basscin Park Road, Hammersmith, who states that an invention, for which he was granted letters patent, has been used by the Government without payment of the royalties claimed by him, although the amount of such royalties was never objected to by the authorities; and, if so, what reward he will advise should be given to him. (Answered by Mr. Secretary Haldane.) Mr. Bielefeld has been paid the royalty granted for all nosebags obtained by the War Department that are covered by his patent. The nosebags now obtained by the Department are not covered by his patent, and no royalty therefore can be paid in regard to them.

To ask the Postmaster-General whether the scheme of reorganising the clerical force in provincial superintending engineers' offices is yet complete; whether it embodies a proposal to employ permanently assistant clerks (abstractors) in those offices: and, if so, will he indicate the probable date on which this proposal is to take effect. (Answered by Mr. Sydney Buxton.) A revision of the staff in provincial superintending engineers' offices is at present under consideration, and in the meantime I am, unable to furnish particulars of future arrangements or to say when they will come into operation.

To ask the Postmaster-General under what regulation Post Office clerks have now, for the first time, to bear the cost of the provision and washing of the towels in Post Office lavatories; and whether in view of the fact that the use of towels is rendered necessary by their employment, he will rescind the regulation in question. (Answered by Mr. Sydney Buxton.) I am not aware of any alteration of rule bearing on the subject. If the hon. Member will be good enough to let me have the name of the particular office that he has in mind, I will have inquiry made.

To ask the Secretary for Scotland what total sum would be received by the school board of Aberdeen providing it received the same sum for each pupil in average attendance as will be received respectively by the authorities in Dumfriesshire Forfarshire, Peeblesshire, and Perthshire respectively, under his second allocation of the balance of £436,500.

To ask the Secretary for Scotland what sum on the average will be received by the local authorities in Aberdeen, Dumfriesshire, Forfarshire, Peeblesshire, and Perthshire, respectively, for each pupil in average attendance in board schools and other State-aided schools under his second scheme of allocation of the balance of £436,500; and what sum would they receive on the average if this balance were equally divided amongst the authorities with sole regard to the pupils in average attendance. (Answered by Mr. Sinclair.) I would refer the hon. Member to my Answer to similar Questions put to-day by the hon. Member for South Lanark.

To ask the Secretary for Scotland if he will say what was the area of the ground recently purchased by the Cathcart School Board at Holmlea Road, Cathcart Bridge, as a site for a public school; what was the date of the purchase, what was the price paid for it, and what was taken at the time of the purchase as its annual value for rating, or, if it formed part of a larger subject, by how much the annual value for rating of that larger subject has been reduced by reason of the severance of the purchased portion. (Answered by Mr. Sinclair.) I am informed that the area of the site in question is 6,886 square yards, and that the purchase was completed in April, 1908, the net price paid being £3,270 17s. The site formed part of a larger subject which was let at a rent of £2 9s. 10d. an acre, and I understand the rent has been reduced pro rata in consequence of the sale.

To ask the Secretary to the Treasury whether, seeing that many boy clerks will complete their terms of service during the next twelve months, and that during that period the examinations for Second Division clerkships are to be wholly suspended, and the examinations for assistant clerkships and assistants of Excise and Customs are being postponed, he will state how the Treasury propose to deal with boy clerks who will attain twenty years of age in the period during which those examinations are suspended or postponed. (Answered by Mr. Hobhouse.) It is not anticipated that there will be any postponement of the examinations for assistant clerkships during the next twelve months, or that examinations for the Second Division will be wholly suspended during that period. The postponement of the competitions for the Second Division and for assistantships of Excise and Customs will not shut out-boy clerks who reach the age of twenty during the next twelve months for the general regulations allow reductions of age to be made for boy clerk service.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade when the decisions of the International Copyright Conference are likely to be arrived at, and whether he will cause them to be communicated to the House; and whether any of the decisions can be put into effect until they have been submitted to and sanctioned by Parliament. (Answered by Mr. Churchill.) The final sitting of the Conference took place on Saturday last and His Majesty's Government are awaiting the Report of the British delegates. The Report will be published in due course. As regards the method of giving effect in this country to any alteration of the Convention, I must refer my hon. friend to the reply given to-day to the hon. Member for North Salford.

To ask the First Lord of the Admiralty whether, having regard to the fact that the Navy-Estimates 1908–9 show on page 160 that the half-pay of admirals of the fleet is £1,222 15s. annually, and that a note is appended stating stating that one of these officers is in receipt of half-pay at the rate of £2,000 a year, an Order in Council was issued to sanction this increase; if so, what is the date of the said Order and what are its precise terms; and, having regard to the sums shown on pages 258 and 148 of the Navy Estimates for 1908–9 as making up the total emoluments of the First Sea Lord to £3,865 a year, what precedent exists for increasing the Navy Estimates by £800 in the half-pay of the First Sea Lord; and whether that increase is to be retro-active and permanent in the case of Admirals of the Fleet. (Answered by Mr. McKenna.) The reply to the first part of the hon. Member's Question is in the affirmative, the Order in Council is dated 8th January, 1906. Its terms authorise the Admiralty, in the event of the office of First Sea Lord being held by an Admiral of the Fleet who has rendered exceptional and special service, to grant, subject to the concurrence of the Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, naval half-pay at the rate of £2,000 a year, instead of at the ordinary rate of the £1,222 15s., this special rate of half-pay to be continued on the officer in question ceasing to be a member of the Board of Admiralty, and after his retirement from the active list of His Majesty's Navy. The reply to the last part of the Question is in the negative, the authority given by the Order in Council being permissive.

To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether the Board of Works have interfered to prevent the Carnadoe Co-operative Creamery from draining their establishment into a drain forming the boundary between their premises and the lands of Mr. John Kelly, and, if so, upon what grounds; and whether any objection has been raised to the proposed drainage by Mr. Kelly or the Board of Works tenants in the vicinity. (Answered by Mr. Hobhouse.) I am informed that the Board of Works as Shannon Commissioners have declined to allow the outflow from this creamery to be drained into Carnadoe Water, which flows into the Shannon. The outflow from creameries has a very strong and offensive odour; and in a previous case where such outflow was allowed to run into a tributary of the Shannon it rendered the water unfit for domestic use.

To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether the Estates Commissioners have received an application from Samuel Keys to be reinstated in his farm at Tammakeerey, County Tyrone, on the estate of the Duke of Abercorn, from which he was evicted four years ago for non-payment of rent; whether he is aware that the planter, Miss Crumley, now in occupation of the farm is willing to give it up if paid compensation; and whether he will direct the Estates Commissioners to send down an inspector to inquire into Keys' case and have him reinstated or compensated for the loss of his farm. (Answered by Mr. Birrell.) The Estates Commissioners inform me that the application in question was received after the date specified in the Evicted Tenants Act, and cannot be dealt with under that Act. The Commissioners are not aware that the present occupier of the farm is willing to surrender it on receiving compensation. The application will be considered if and when the lands are being dealt with under the Irish Land Act, 1903.

To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether the Estates Commissioners will inform the hon. Member for Ossory when their inspector, Mr. Boothe, will again visit Ballacolla, Queen's County, on official duty in connection with the untenanted land on the Caldbeck estate. (Answered by Mr. Birrell.) The Estates Commissioners are not in a position at present to say when their inspector may visit the property.

I beg to ask the First Lord of the Admiralty what is to be the contract speed of the sixteen destroyers of this year's programme.

Twenty-seven knots.

Will the right hon. Gentleman tell us why the change has been made from thirty-three knots to twenty-seven knots?

No, Sir, not in answer to a Question.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that it has been stated to Parliament that a speed of thirty-three knots was to be secured, and that no correction of that has been published?

I do not think it has been definitely stated in that form.

Has it not been frequently stated that that speed would b3 maintained in future vessels?

I am not aware of any statement being made that the destroyers would necessarily have a speed of thirty-three knots.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that in another place on the 18th March, Lord Tweedmouth definitely stated that thirty-three knots would be the speed? That is reported in Hansard in a starred speech.

I believe some statement was made in another place, but I do not understand that the Admiralty committed itself to the view that the destroyers this year would necessarily have a speed of thirty-three knots.

May I ask whether Lord Tweedmouth, the First Lord of the Admiralty, speaking in another place on behalf of the Government, did not definitely -state that it would be a speed of thirty-three knots, and was not the House of Commons justified in accepting that as a statement made on behalf of the Admiralty?

My impression is that it was not a definite statement.

Did he not state that the speed would be thirty-three knots?

Hon. Members must give notice of these Questions; it is not fair to press them in this way.

I beg to ask the First Lord of the Admiralty if he will state on what terms the fortress, defence works, and docks of Esquimault were handed over to the Government of the Dominion of Canada; whether the Dominion Government agreed to maintain the armament and defences in a proper and efficient manner; and, if so, what steps the Admiralty have taken to satisfy themselves that this is being done.

It has been found that the transfer referred to by the noble Lord can only be effected by Act of Parliament, and the terms will be embodied in a Bill which it is hoped will be presented early next session.

Are we to understand that during the past two years the fortress has not been maintained by England?

It has been maintained by the Government of the Dominion of Canada. The transfer has not been made because we have been advised it can only be effected by Act of Parliament, and terms of the transfer will be embodied in the Bill.

pressed for an Answer to the latter part of the Question, as to the terms on which the Dominion of Canada had taken the fortress over.

The terms will be embodied in the Bill, and the proper time for a statement will be on the introduction of the Bill.

Is it not the case that the Government of the Dominion has spent a larger sum on these defences in the last two years than was spent in the previous ten years?

I must ask for notice of that Question.

I beg to ask the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he will ascertain from the contractors what is the earliest date by which they would undertake to complete the various contracts at Rosyth, provided they were permitted to set to work at once and to use the utmost diligence; and what extra expenditure, if any, would be involved by such acceleration of the work.

After full consideration of the best method of expediting the completion of the work, we came to the conclusion that the best course was to fix a reasonable time for the contract, and to offer a substantial bonus for earlier completion; and tenders have been invited on this basis. Work cannot be commenced until all tenders have been received and duly considered.

Can the right hon. Gentleman answer the portion of my Question in which I ask if he will ask the contractors what is the earliest date by which they would undertake to complete the various works, under the circumstances set forth in the Question.

There are no contractors. Tenders have been invited, but have not yet been received.

Of course there are no contractors; perhaps I have been misunderstood. Will you ask the contractors when they send in their tenders the Question I have put on the Paper?

No, Sir; the Admiralty conceives that the best course would be to fix the time for the completion and then to offer the contractors a substantial bonus for hastening the work.

I beg to ask the First Lord of the Admiralty whether between the date when the construction of a naval base at Rosyth was first accepted in principle and the present time, the imperial dockyard and Messrs. Krupp's shipbuilding works at Kiel have been completed, and the important works at Wilhelmshaven commenced and completed.

The works now owned by Messrs. Krupp and Kiel dockyard have been in existence for many years past—since 1865 and 1878 respectively. Wilhelmshaven dockyard was begun in 1901, and it is understood that it is not yet completed.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that he is entirely misinformed upon both these points? Is it not a fact that these works were already commenced in 1902–03 and have been finished quite recently? I saw them myself; I am speaking of the great Krupp dockyard at Kiel and the new Government dockyard there.

I think the information supplied to me which I have given in my answer is quite correct.

rose to put a further Question—

The right hon. Gentleman has given the best information he can and he cannot do more than that.

On behalf of the hon. Member for Dept-ford, I beg to ask the First Lord of the Admiralty whether, in the placing of work in connection with the year's shipbuilding programme, he will consider the advisability of so allocating the contracts as to ensure that they shall be spread over as large an area as possible, thereby ensuring that the port of London, in common with other shipbuilding centres, may receive a share of such work and the stress of unemployment be reduced in as many districts as possible.

I cannot undertake that any particular district shall have a contract for shipbuilding allotted to it. In the allocation of these contracts, regard must be had to considerations of price and comparative excellence of work. Subject to this understanding, the contracts will be spread over as large an area as possible.

Do not the whole of the taxpayers of the country have to contribute towards both shipbuilding and repairing, and that being so, have we any right to shut out the thousands of starving men in the East End of London because their labour and material cost more than in the North?

That is a matter for argument.

I beg to ask the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he can state the total aggregate amounts voted during the last ton years, 1897 to 1907, for the Naval Estimates of France, Russia, Germany, and the United Kingdom, respectively.

I think my hon. friend will find all the information he requires in the Return, of which I have sent him a copy, moved for by my hon. friend the Member for Leicester.

But in view of the great public interest in naval expenditure outside this House cannot the right hon. Gentleman give the figures in the form of an Answer to a Question?

It would be difficult to read them out.

And when they are circulated will the right hon. Gentleman also circulate the appendix showing the large deductions made from the British figures and which are not included in the Russian and Gorman estimates?

I will consider that point.

I beg to ask the First Lord of the Admiralty whether the sixteen new destroyers now building or about to be built for the Navy will only have a speed of twenty-seven knots; and whether coal is to be used instead of oil.

Yes, Sir.

Why are not the destroyers being built for a higher speed?

Notice must be given of that Question.

I beg to ask the First Lord of the Admiralty whether, with a view to securing the earliest practicable financial benefit to the additional men to be employed this winter in the royal dockyards, he will consider the advisability of exempting these men from the ordinary rule whereby a week's wages is kept in hand by the cashier and paid on the termination of the period of employment; and whether special arrangements can be made to pay such men at least 75 per cent. of the wages earned during the first week of their employment.

In making arrangements for the entry of the men in question, full consideration was given to the fact that many of them might be in straightened circumstances. With the object therefore of relieving such distress at the earliest possible moment, special arrangements have been made to waive, in their case, the ordinary dockyard rule requiring a work's wages to be kept in hand, and instructions given that these men were to be paid 75 per cent. of the amount earned during the first week of their employment.

I beg to ask the Prime Minister whether, having regard to the strong opinion recently expressed by the late Prime Minister of the Commonwealth, Mr. Deakin, by the Prime Minister of New Zealand, and by representative men throughout Australasia in favour of the strengthening of the Australian squadron, and also having regard to to the alleged need for impressing the inhabitants of the various Pacific Islands with the greatness of English sea-power, he will consider the advisability of either permanently strengthening the present Australian squadron or else sending a strong fleet to visit Australian waters next year.

It is not known to what recent expression of opinion the noble Lord refers, but the attitude of Mr. Deakin and Sir J. Ward was clearly explained at the time of the Colonial Conference last year, and Mr. Deakin's statements at the time were applicable more to the establishment of a local naval defence force than to an increase in the strength of the Australian squadron. There is no intention to send a large fleet to visit Australian waters next year, though it is probable that some of His Majesty's ships may be detailed to visit the Pacific Islands.

Is it not a fact that the Commonwealth Government has formulated plans for the establishment of a local Navy, and have those plans met generally with the approval of the Admiralty at home?

If the hon. Member refers to Mr. Deakin's scheme, I have already stated in the House that the Admiralty have advised on that scheme, and have done their best to turn it into a practical working arrangement.

I beg to ask the Prime Minister, having regard to the declaration of the Government that the naval strength of this country must be maintained at 10 per cent. above the combined strength of the next two strongest Powers, will he consider the wisdom, while still retaining that relative position, of making overtures to other naval Powers with a view to the reciprocal and proportionate reduction of the competitive expenditure on naval defence which is imposing such burdens on the taxpayers of this and other countries.

The other naval Powers are well aware of the views which His Majesty's Government have more than once expressed as to the unnecessary burdens which are imposed on taxpayers by competitive expenditure in shipbuilding.

Is it not in the knowledge of my right hon. friend that a former Foreign Secretary, Lord Clarendon, with the full concurrence of the Prime Minister, Mr. Gladstone, did actually make overtures in this direction, and received substantial encouragemeat from some of the European Powers?

I cannot for the moment charge my memory with that historical fact, but His Majesty's Government have not been wanting.

Does the declaration of the right hon. gentleman regarding the two next strongest Powers include a Power bound actually to us by a treaty of alliance, such as Japan?

That does not arise out of the Question.

I beg to ask the Prime Minister whether, in view of the fact that in order to maintain in His Majesty's Navy a preponderance of 10 per cent. over the combined strength in capital ships of the two next strongest Powers it is necessary that the construction of further capital ships should be entered upon without delay, he will state if it is the intention of the Government to lay down any capital ships beyond those already sanctioned before the conclusion of the present financial year.

In the opinion of the Admiralty no such necessity exists as the hon. Member suggests, and the Government have no intention of altering the programme already sanctioned for the current financial year.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War if he can state the total amount involved in the contracts for general stores and other manufactured articles secured by foreign firms during the last two years; and if he will classify the goods in question and state what sum has been saved to the Exchequer by making those purchases abroad instead of in this country.

The figures are too long to read out to the House, but I will have them printed with the Votes and Proceedings. I may point out that those for 1906–7 will be found in House of Commons Paper 327 of 1907. As regards the last part of the Question, it is not possible to state what the expenditure on the various items would have been if they had been obtained in some other way, most of them being foreign products or specialities.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War what arrangements are being made to provide proper accommodation during the winter for the officers of the Army Service Corps at the Curragh.

The Officers of the Army Service Corps are at present accommodated in huts at the Curragh, which are to be replaced by new buildings. As already stated, plans for these have been approved and the building will be proceeded with as soon as possible. Meanwhile the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Ireland, will take such steps as are necessary to ensure accommodation for these officers during the winter, in huts or in quarters, as is most suitable. Provision is made for the extra issue of fuel in Ireland, in unusually damp or cold weather.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War whether the barracks at Carlow, to which the 144th Battery Royal Field Artillery have been moved from Ballinrobe, are in a proper state of repair; and whether it is intended to keep this battery there during the winter.

The reply to both Questions is in the affirmative.

Was it not stated in the Army List last week that the battery was only temporarily stationed at Ballinrobe? My information is that the barracks are in a very unsatisfactory state. Will the right hon. Gentleman inquire further?

I have done so, and I have received a far more favourable account than the hon. Member appears to have done.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War how many one-room married quarters are at present in occupation in the barracks of the United Kingdom.

The total number of single-room married soldiers' quarters which are at present available for occupation is 1,406—a number which I very much regret. Of this a considerable number are occupied by families who have more than one quarter allotted to them.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War whether it is his intention to quarter a cavalry regiment in the 6th Division of the Irish command, in view of the fact that the command consists of two infantry brigades and divisional troops comprising three brigades of field artillery.

A cavalry regiment does not form part of a division in war, and there is no intention of allotting one to this or to any other division in peace.

was understood to ask if it was not usual to have a cavalry regiment with a division.

A cavalry regiment does not form part of a division.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War whether the Beresford Barracks at the Curragh are correctly described in the Army Medical Department Report for the year 1907, which has been presented to Parliament, as rapidly decaying and getting beyond repair, the rooms being draughty, cheerless, and very cold in winter.

I have nothing to add to the reply which I have already given to the hon. Member on this subject. The Quartermaster-General does not consider that the barracks are in so bad a condition as suggested in the Question.

Then will the right hon. Gentleman have the Report of 1907 corrected?

Are these old Crimean huts—rotten old things?

We are removing them as fast as we can.

But are they still actually occupied?

They have been very much changed since the Crimean War.

Would not places like this be declared by civil authorities to be unfit for human habitation?

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that at an inquiry recently held at Durrington, by the Wiltshire Small Holdings Committee, to consider applications for land from persons resident in Bulford, Durrington, Figheldean, and Netheravon, all parishes situate on the War Office estate, the amount of land offered by the War Office for this purpose was 120 acres, whereas the acreage applied for was 1,500, thirty acres out of the 120 moreover being unsuitable and unreasonably rented; and whether, seeing that the War Office is the sole owner of land in these parishes, he will cause a larger supply of more suitable land to be placed at the disposal of the landholding associations formed there under the Act of 1907 to assist suitable applicants to obtain small holdings.

After a conference with the Wiltshire County Council in the early part of the year at which the whole question was very fully discussed, it was decided that the 140 acres in question (not 120 as stated) were the only land which, consistently with military requirements, could be spared for small holdings. The War Department gave instructions that the rent should not be in excess of a fair agricultural rent and is willing to consider any representations on the particular case mentioned.

asked whether the right hon. Gentleman would realise that, as the War Office owned all the land in the valley, any grant of land for small holdings must come from them.

That is very well, but I absolutely must have land for manœuvres, and you can no more have small holdings in the middle of a military area than you can have them in the middle of London.

But is it not the fact that there is a good deal of unlet land which would be suitable for small holdings?

said the matter had been gone into with the utmost desire to find as much land as possible for small holdings. It had been gone into not only by generals, but by people who were as keen about small holdings as his hon. friend.

I beg to ask the Under-Secretary of State for India if the body of the murderer Kanai, who was hanged in Alipur gaol on the 10th instant, was allowed to be carried in a procession to the funeral pyre where it was burned with honour, and a funeral oration delivered amidst shouts of victory to Kanai; and, if so, if the Government will arrange that the bodies of those executed should be buried or burned within the precincts of the gaol as in England.

The body of Kanai Lal Dutt was made over to the relatives in accordance with the procedure prescribed by the Bengal gaol code, but it was stipulated that the body must be cremated at the nearest burning ghat with no public demonstration. This stipulation was not observed, but the accounts of what occurred appear to be much exaggerated, and there was no funeral oration delivered. The gaol code has been amended, and in future, bodies of executed criminals will not be delivered to their relatives if there is reason to apprehend demonstrations at the funeral.

Do the new regulations apply to the whole of India, or only to Bengal?

There are different gaol codes for the different provinces of India, but this emendation will apply to them all.

Will it meet with public approval in India?

It is already in operation in Bombay.

I beg to ask the Under-Secretary of State for India whether he is aware that a vacancy recently occurred in the Punjab chief Court, owing to the retiral of an Indian native Judge who had occupied the position for fifteen years; that the vacancy has been filled by a European member of the Civil Service; that in the appointment of a temporary additional Judge at the same Court the native leader of the bar, who had formerly held a temporary judgeship and is believed to have been again recommended by the chief Judge of the civil Court, was passed over; and whether he can explain on what grounds these appointments are made.

I understand that the place of the Indian Judge, who has retired from the bench of the Punjab chief Court has been filled by the confirmation of a civilian Judge who has been officiating in the Court for three years past. But an additional appointment of a Judge in the Court which has recently been sanctioned has been conferred upon an Indian gentleman who is a barrister. These appointments are made by the Government of India, not by the Secretary of State.

But why not give the vacant post to a native?

It was a case of promotion all along the line.

I beg to ask the Under-Secretary of State for India whether the proposals made last year by the Government of India to the effect that the previous commissioned service, out of India, of officers of the Indian Army up to a period of five years should be allowed to reckon as service towards Indian pension have been sanctioned.

The proposal of the Government of India has been referred to the War Office, because it involves a charge on British revenues, as indicated in the Secretary of State's Answer to the hon. Member's Question of 2nd April last. The reply of the Army Council has not yet been received. The Secretary of State has, however, separately sanctioned certain concessions, including a new pension for thirty years service, with the object of relieving the hardship entailed on certain officers of the Indian Army by the rule which limits non-Indian service counting for pension to two years.

May we hope for an early settlement of the question?

I hope to soon get a reply from the Army Council.

I beg to ask the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he can give the number of Civil servants of British birth in the Transvaal and Orange River Colonies who, while being retained in the employment of the Colonial Governments, have had their status or rank reduced since the grant of self-government to these Colonies, in order that other persons of Boer or Hollander birth, having a less period of service and experience, should be promoted over them.

I must refer the hon. Member to Cd. 4,353, and to my reply to the hon. Member for Gravesend on the 12th instant.

Did those retrenched officials have their salaries reduced?

Full information is given in the Cd. paper.

I beg to ask the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether his attention has been drawn to the reduction of the educational facilities hitherto afforded Indian children born in Natal; whether the new regulations will have the effect of summarily dismissing pupils over the age of fourteen who have been attending the higher-grade Indian schools; and, if so, what steps he proposes to take.

The Secretary of State has no information as to the regulations mentioned by my hon. friend, but inquiry is being made as to them, and as to any reduction of educational facilities afforded to Indians born in Natal. The amount provided for Indian education on the Estimates for this year is approximately the same as in previous years.

I beg to ask the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies if it is proposed to circulate the Minute of the 30th September last of the Transvaal Government relating to work on the mines formerly done by Chinese now being performed by white labour.

Yes, Sir; it will be included in the next general Blue-book.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department by what authority the police have taken proceedings against several tradesmen in Station Road, Forest Gate, for placing stalls outside their premises, they having first obtained the quiescent approval of the West Ham Borough Council; and, as the road is suited for stalls and they would be a great advantage to the surrounding neighbourhood, will he give instructions for the summons, which is returnable for the 17th, to be withdrawn.

Seven persons have been summoned under the Highways Act for obstructing this narrow roadway with their stalls, two of them being tradesmen, and the remaining five costermongers from a distance. I am informed by the Commissioner of Police that stalls cannot stand in the Station Road without causing obstruction and annoyance; and it is not the case that the West Ham Borough Council have given any approval. The proceedings have been adjourned for a fortnight, in order that counsel may be instructed for the defence.

I beg to ask the Secretary for the Home Department whether, in view of the poverty caused by the increasing want of employment, he could see his way to making more strict the administration of the Aliens Act.

I am afraid the hon. Member's suggestion does not offer any effective remedy for the evils of unemployment in this country.

Is it not the fact that the importation of these aliens deprives our people of work and makes their conditions of life much harder?

That is am atter for argument.

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of the sixteen new inspectorships for factories, promised in May, have now been appointed; and how many of these are promotions from the ranks of assistants.

Since the announcement which I made on the 27th February last in answer to a Question by my hon. friend the Member for Berwickshire, eight additional inspectors have been appointed, besides four to fill vacancies which have arisen. Of these twelve appointments, two were promotions from the Assistant class. The eight remaining posts will be filled in the course of this winter.

I beg to ask the Prime Minister whether he is aware that Patrick Ford, who was declared by three of His Majesty's Judges to be a known advocate of crime and the use of dynamite, and O'Meagher Condon, who was sentenced to death for the murder of an English policeman, intend visiting this country; whether their licences permit them to do so; and, if not, what action the Executive propose to take in the matter.

I beg to answer this question on behalf of my right hon. friend. I am not aware of the intentions of these persons. Neither of them is the holder of a licence.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that a public invitation has been given by the hon. and learned Gentleman the Member for Waterford to these persons to come over to this country to preach Home Rule, and will they be allowed to land?

reply was inaudible.

May I ask whether these two men are not well-known criminals?

I rise to a point of order. One of the persons mentioned in this Question is an official of the United States Government and is it to be permitted that an epithet such as that is to be applied to a high official in the service of the United States and one who has been so for twenty years?

There are two statements with reference to these gentlemen in this Question, and I did not understand that they are contradicted.

Certainly they are contradicted.

I did not understand that they were.

Most undoubtedly.

If it is not true that one of these gentlemen was declared by His Majesty's Judges to have been an advocate of crime and that one was sentenced to death, of course these statements ought not to have appeared on the Paper.

Arising out of that I hold myself responsible for what has appeared in this Question, and I shall be very glad to give the hon. and learned Member sufficient proof to satisfy him that the facts are as stated.

Perhaps I had better, under the circumstances, say that Mr. Ford, so far as I know, has not been convicted of a criminal offence in this country, and as regards Mr. O'Meagher Condon, he received a pardon under the Great Seal as far back as 1878.

I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade what, if any, amendments to the British copyright law are being proposed to the International Conference now sitting at Berne; and will any amendments which may be agreed to by the British delegates be submitted for discussion to the House of Commons, or will the Government make use of an Order in Council for their ratification.

Some of the proposed amendments to the Berne Convention would involve an alteration of British law and could not of course be adopted by His Majesty's Government until the necessary legislation had been passed. An Order in Council under the International Copyright Acts can only give foreign works the benefit of the existing law and cannot alter that law.

Do I understand that some of these provisions will have to be the subject of legislation?

Any alteration of the law must be by legislation.

I bog to ask the President of the Local Government Board whether he can state what is the total present number of central bodies and distress committees appointed under the Unemployed Relief Act of 1905.

The present numbers are as follows:—In London, one central body, and twenty-nine distress committees. Outside London, eighty-eight distress committees.

I beg to ask the President of the Local Government Board whether he can state what is the number of borough or district councils, with a population of less than 50,000, who have applied for the appointment of a distress committee; and what is the number of cases in which the Local Government Board have given their consent to such applications.

Since the passing of the Unemployed (Workmen) Act, 1905, seventy-nine applications have been received for the establishment of distress committees in boroughs or urban districts with a population of less than 50,000. Orders setting up distress committees have been issued in fifteen of these cases, and in two more they have been promised and will be issued immediately.

asked when the right hon. Gentleman proposed to circulate the list of committees which he promised should be circulated with the Parliamentary Papers.

I hope to circulate it and similar information in a few days.

I beg to ask the President of the Local Government Board whether he can state what is the number of central bodies, county councils or borough councils, which have collected information respecting the condition of labour within their area, in accordance with the Unemployed Relief Act, 1905; and whether the information thus collected could be made available to Members of the House by means of a Return. I beg also to ask the President of the Local Government Board whether he can state what is the number of central bodies, county boroughs, or county councils who have established and taken over, or are assisting, labour exchanges and unemployment registries, in accordance with the Unemployed Relief Act, 1905.

The latest complete Returns that I have received of the proceedings of distress committees in England and Wales, and of the Central (Unemployed) Body for Loudon under the Unemployed Workmen Act, 1905, relate to the year ended March last. The Parliamentary Paper in which they are summarised is No. 173 of session 1908. In that Paper my hon. friend will find an account of the action taken as regards labour exchanges and unemployment registries, and descriptions of the conditions of labour during the year furnished by the local authorities of many towns.

I beg to ask the President of the Local Government Board, in the case of a married couple living together, the man being of a pensionable age and otherwise qualified for a full pension, and the woman being below the pensionable age, whether any, and, if so, what, part of the earnings of the woman gained by such means as taking in lodgers or washing would be reckoned as part of the mail's income for the purpose of deciding the amount payable to him as pension under the Old-Age Pensions Act, 1908.

The means of the husband would be calculated on the amount received or enjoyed by him individually, except that, under the proviso to Section 4 (2) of the Act, his means cannot be taken as less than half the joint means of himself and his wife. It is only in this way that the earnings of the wife would have to be considered at all.