asked the Postmaster-General whether he will state when the units of work on which the present classification of the Grimsby office is based were obtained; and whether he will explain why the Grimsby office is still so classified, seeing that it deals with 200,000 more telegrams per annum than any office in the class above it, and that the work, consisting mostly of figures, is heavy in volume and exacting in its character?

The units of work on which the present classification of the Grimsby head office is based were calculated on returns taken for the period ended 31st December, 1907. In the case of Grimsby the volume of work is represented by 762 units and the cost of living by the index number 96, the normal being 100. Grimsby, therefore, falls naturally into Class III., for which the range of units is from 240 to 800. The number of telegrams is, of course, taken into account in arriving at the number of units which represents the volume of work.

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether a woman of 71 years of age who has resided all her life in London is disqualified for receiving an old age pension because of her marriage with a German who died before he was able to become naturalised?

Under section 10 of the Naturalisation Act, 1870, a woman in the circumstances mentioned would be an alien, and consequently she would not satisfy one of the conditions prescribed by section 2 of the Old Age Pensions Act, 1908, for the receipt of an old age pension by any person, viz., that for at least 20 years up to the date of the receipt of any sum on account of a pension the person must have been a British subject.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty what is the number of battleships and cruisers officially assigned to the second division of the Home Fleet?

8 Battleships,

5 Armoured cruisers,

2 Protected cruisers; also

2 Protected cruisers (attached to destroyer flotillas),

2 Scouts.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty if he will state the names, tonnage, and complements of the cruisers On the Special Service List?

The names of the Special Service cruisers at present are:—"Ariadne," "Argonaut," "Diadem," "Spartiate," "Terrible," "Sappho," "Crescent," "Edgar," "Hawke," "Royal Arthur," "Europa," "Amphitrite," "Andromeda," "Gibraltar," "Niobe," "Sirius." The tonnage is as given in the Navy List. The complement varies between one-fifth and one-tenth of full complement.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether local surveyors and collectors of taxes can impose taxation under Inhabited House Duty, Income Tax, and Property Tax (Schedule A), without reference to their superiors, and irrespective of the rateable value fixed by local authorities?

The reply is in the negative.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether the entrance examination for the Staff College, Camberley, is held in London, and, when necessary, in India?

The examination is held in London for officers at home stations, and other stations abroad, as may be necessary.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether the entrance examination for the Staff College, Quetta, is held only in India; and, if so, whether he will consider the advisability of so altering the regulations as to permit of the examination being held in London and in India simultaneously?

The entrance examination is held only in India. The Staff College at Quetta is entirely under the control of the Government of India?

asked the President of the Board of Education what were the figures of school places in the council, Church of England, Roman Catholic, and other public elementary schools respectively of England and Wales during the school years 1907–8 and 1908–9; and what were the figures of children in average attendance in each of these classes of schools during the same years (in the same form as reply to question 24th November, 1908)?

The statistical year 1908–9 does not end until the 31st July next, and the figures for that year are, therefore, not yet available. The follow- ing are the figures for the years 1906–7 and 1907–8:—

asked the President of the Board of Education whether he contemplates any change in the regulations dealing with secondary schools; and, if so, when will they be issued?

These regulations will be issued to-morrow.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether the case of Henry Morris, a native of London, has come under his notice; whether he is aware that Henry Morris has been detained in the Chiriqui prison, Panama, for the last four months awaiting his trial on a charge of which he declares himself to be innocent; whether Henry Morris has still to remain in prison eight months before trial; whether he is aware that Morris has twice written to the British Minister and once to the British consul and no notice has been taken of his letters; and what does he propose to do in the matter?

The case has not been brought to the notice of His Majesty's Government, but His Majesty's Minister at Panama has now been instructed by telegram to furnish a report on the matter.