asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether any decision has yet been arrived at in reference to the practice of stopping the leave of the men of the Royal Navy automatically upon their being put in the commander's report; and, if so, will he please state the detailed particulars of such decision?

After full consideration, and after consulting Commanders-in-Chief of the home ports and of the fleets within easy reach, the Admiralty decided in March last that the leave of petty officers and men should not be stopped when they are placed in the report unless they are placed there for certain graver offences. These graver offences are specified in article 756, clause 4, of the King's Regulations as follows:— ( a ) Mutiny or highly insubordinate conduct; ( b ) Desertion or deserting post; ( c ) Indecent acts of an immoral character; ( d ) Theft or fraud; ( e ) Smuggling liquor into ship; ( f ) Quitting ship, boat, or working party without leave; ( g ) Drunkenness on duty; ( h ) Violent assault; ( i ) Aggravated cases of leave-breaking.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether the whole of the Exchequer contribution provided by The Purchase of Land (Ireland) Act, 1891, after making the deductions therefrom specified in The Labourers (Ireland) Act, 1906, has been put to the credit of the proper local authorities in the two financial years 1907–8, and 1908–9; if so, does the fact appear in the Local Taxation (Ireland) Accounts for those years; and, if not, why was the fund not fully distributed, and what has become of the portion of the fund not distributed?

The whole of the Exchequer contribution of £40,000, provided annually under the Purchase of Land (Ireland) Act, 1891, has in respect of each of the two years 1907–8 and 1908–9 been allocated as follows: £6,000 to the labourers' cottages fund; £3,188 8s. 11d. to county borough councils; £30,811 11s. 1d. to the Commissioners of Public Works in discharge of loans for Labourers Act purposes. The payments to the labourers' cottages fund and the county borough councils appear in the Local Taxation Accounts for 1907–8. The payment to the Board of Works in respect of that year does not appear in that Account, as payment was not made until April, 1908. It will appear in the Account for 1908–9, which has not yet been presented.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether the Estates Commissioners are taking any steps in the public interest to prevent the wholesale cutting down of trees by landlords whose estates are being sold in the county of Kerry?

The Estates Commissioners do not at present possess the powers necessary to enable them to deal effectively with the cutting down of trees, whether by landlords or tenants, on estates which are being sold under the Land Purchase Acts, but provisions for that purpose have been inserted in the Land Bill. As my right hon. Friend the Vice-President of the Department of Agriculture explained in reply to a question asked by the hon. Member for East Clare on the 5th instant, that Department has recently been placed in a position to purchase from the Commissioners certain woods which would otherwise have been cut down.

asked the Lord Advocate whether he proposes to take any action in dealing with the subject of farmed-out houses in Glasgow and Edinburgh, as put before him by a deputation in January last; and, if so, will he state it to the House?

The suggestions made by the deputation to the Secretary for Scotland imply legislation which is not for the present in contemplation by the Government.

asked the Lord Advocate whether his attention has been called to an opinion of the town clerk of Edinburgh given to his town council to the effect that no charge can legally be made to the public for entering any of the public parks belonging to a corporation; and, if so, will he take steps to see that nowhere in Scotland are the public made to pay for entering their own parks?

My attention has not been called to the opinion in question. The question of the legality of a charge must depends upon the statutory or other provisions governing any case, and, as my hon. Friend has already been informed in answer to previous questions, the Government will be prepared to consider any specific instance which is brought to their notice.

asked the Lord Advocate what steps the Government proposes to take with a new to meeting the objections raised by hon. Members from Ireland to the passage of the Trawling in Prohibited Areas (Prevention) Bill in its present form?

I propose to confer with my hon. Friend the Vice-President of the Department of Agriculture in Ireland and with the hon. Member from Ireland who sat in Committee on the Trawling in Prohibited Areas (Prevention) Bill as to the best steps which can be taken to secure the object which hon. Members from Ireland desire relative to the Bill.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury if he will state the number of persons, with the totals of their salaries, who have been appointed to the permanent staff of the Board of Works, Dublin, with pensionable rights, who did not enter by open competition?

The number of persons who have been appointed to the permanent staff of the Board, who did not enter by open competition and have pensionable rights, is 44 (exclusive of the Commissioners) and their present salaries amount to £12,834. Two of the Commissioners, Mr. Hanson and Mr. Stevenson, originally entered the public service by open competition, but all the members of the Board are appointed by Royal Warrant. Their collective salaries amount to £3,900. House of Commons Paper No. 8, of 1907, page 36, contains some further information on this point.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that quantities of paints, varnishes, and lacquers containing spirit having a flashpoint below 73 degrees Fahrenheit are imported into the United Kingdom from the United States of America and from the Continent without being labelled in accordance with the provisions of the Petroleum Acts, 1871 and 1879; whether such paints, varnishes, and lacquers are liable to Customs duty in respect of the amount of spirit they contain; and what steps it is possible for His Majesty's Customs to take in the event of the requirements of the law not being complied with?

I have no information regarding the first part of this question. The administration of the Petroleum Acts is vested in the various local authorities of the United Kingdom, and the Board of Customs and Excise have, therefore, no jurisdiction over the labelling of imported paints, varnishes, etc., as required by those Acts. In answer to the second part of the question, Customs duty is charged on the spirit contained in the articles. In answer to the third part of the question, the Board of Customs and Excise have, as I have already explained, no powers in the matter.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether Indian cotton goods, when exported to China or Japan, get a return of the 3½ per cent. Excise duty in the shape of a drawback?

The Cotton Duties Act, of 1896, makes provision for the repayment as drawback of the Excise duty when the cotton goods on which it has been paid are exported within 12 months of the date of payment from a Customs port in British India to a foreign port.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he can give the value of the joinery work exported from the United Kingdom during the years 1906, 1907, and 1908, stating whether the joiners' work in ships built for foreign owners is included under the head of exported joinery?

Exports of British made joinery work from the United Kingdom are not separately distinguished in the official records, but are included under one or other of the headings: "Wood manufactures, furniture, and cabinet ware" and "wood manufactures, other sorts." The value of the exports of goods comprised under these two headings in 1906, 1907, and 1908 were as follows:— Wood Manufactures— 1906. 1907. 1908. £ £ £ Furniture and Cabinet Ware … 760,334 801,603 661,265 Other sorts … 545,362 606,329 595,540

The value of joinery work in new ships built in the United Kingdom for foreign or Colonial owners is not included in the above totals, but in the value of the exported ships.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in connection with the question of national insurance against sickness and unemployment, he has consulted, or, if not, does he intend to consult, the officials of trade unions that pay friendly society benefits to their members?

I certainly hope that in connection with any scheme of national insurance against sickness and invalidity the Government will have the benefit of the assistance and advice of the trade unions. The hon. Member may rest assured that before the Government finally settle their scheme they will consult the organisations interested in benefit work. As regards insurance against unemployment, I must refer the hon. Member to my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether a person whose income from all sources does not exceed £2,000, and who has failed to prefer a claim for relief in respect of earned income before 30th September, 1908, not having been supplied with a form of claim for that purpose, can obtain the relief to which he is entitled by preferring a claim after that date; and, if not, whether he will consider the question of altering the law on this subject?

No one has any title to the relief allowed by section 19 of the Finance Act, 1907, except on the conditions stated in that section, and while every effort is made by the revenue officials to remind taxpayers of those conditions, no responsibility rests with them in any case in which the conditions are not fulfilled. I do not see my way to adopt the suggestion contained in the last part of the question.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether the intention of Circular 709 is that the numbers on registers and in average attendance in each class are to be taken in ascertaining the effects of the proposals of the circular in any particular school, or is it regarded as sufficient if the aggregate of the school is taken?

The staff scale set out in Article 12 (a) relates to the aggregate average attendance of the whole school. The proposed new rule that not more than 60 scholars shall be placed on the register of any class obviously refers to the individual class. In order to arrive at a proper estimate of the changes required to comply with the new conditions it is necessary to inquire closely into the distribution of the staff and the scholars among the individual classes, and in some cases to inquire further into the distribution of the staff and scholars as between one school and another in the same area. Apart from all other educational benefits which the circular contemplates, there is good reason to believe that the careful scrutiny of existing arrangements which it has or ought to have occasioned will in itself prove advantageous to local education authorities, both from an educational and an administrative point of view.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether a number of civilian medical practitioners are employed for military medical duties at salaries of £150 a year or more; and whether the services of military medical officers on the retired list are available for the performance of these duties?

One civilian medical practitioner is employed at a fixed salary of £150 a year. Others are employed at various small stations with remuneration at capitation rates, and the total fees in some instances and at some periods amount to £150 a year or more. In cases where a saving would be effected, and retired officers can be found who are willing to undertake the work, appointments are offered to these officers at a fixed salary under Article 449 of the Royal Warrant for Pay, etc. About 70 retired officers are so employed.