asked the Home. Secretary, with reference to the recent escape from a Surrey lunatic asylum of a man named Wickenden, officially stated to be suffering from chronic mania, who got away in the early morning by picking the locks of two doors, how the picking of the locks was effected, whether by tools or-otherwise; what was the nature of the locks picked; whether they were locks of a type commonly used in lunatic asylums; and if he will state why the information shows that no blame attaches to anyone in the matter?

I am making inquiries into this case, which are not yet completed. I will communicate the result to my hon. Friend.

asked the Home Secretary whether he is aware that on 18th May a horse had its foot cut off by a motor omnibus at the west end of Piccadilly; that by 10 a.m. a veterinary surgeon had been summoned; and that for some hours the animal was left in pain without being slaughtered or given an anæsthetic, because the police and veterinary surgeon professed themselves unable to do anything in the absence of the owner, who could riot be found; and whether he will issue a circular to the Metropolitan Police calling their attention to their powers and duties under the Injured Animals Act, 1907?

I am informed by the Commissioner of Police that there was, unfortunately, some delay in this case, but it had nothing to do with the absence of the owner. The accident occurred about ten o'clock in the morning, and a veterinary surgeon was summoned, and arrived in a few minutes. He had anæsthetics with him, but did not consider it advisable to use them. A telephone message was despatched for a slaughterer, but he did not arrive till 11.5, and a further half-hour was wasted because he had forgotten to bring the necessary instrument. The horse was killed at 11.35. Inquiry is being made with regard to the delay in securing the attendance of a slaughterer. But there is no need for me to supplement the full and detailed instructions the Metropolitan Police already have as to their duties under the Injured Animals Act.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he is aware that the established fitters at Portsmouth Dockyard have been awarded an increase from .34s. 6d. to 36s. per week, whereas no such corresponding increase has been accorded to the established fitters at Devonport; and whether he will take steps to make the rates in both dockyards consistent?

Since permission was given on the 4th ultimo for the pay of the established fitters employed in His Majesty's dockyards at the rate of 34s. 6d. a week to be increased to 36s., at the discretion of the local officers, the wages of about the same number at both Devonport and Portsmouth have been advanced, and the number remaining on the 34s. 6d. rate at Devonport is less than at Portsmouth. It is not proposed to take any steps to make compulsory the award of the higher rate, as 34s. 6d. corresponds to the recognised trade rate.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether, with a view to lessening the cost to the parents, he will cause inquiry to be made into the amount of competition for the supply of naval cadets' uniforms at Osborne and Dartmouth and the possibility of dispensing with the sea chest during the first two years at Osborne, having regard to the fact that so many cadets are withdrawn, with consequent waste of money on the sea chests; and whether considerable reduction in cost could be obtained by putting out the whole of the supply of uniforms to contract?

The question is receiving the consideration of the Board of Admiralty.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty if it had been found that for the purposes of British warships any steam coal is as suitable as best Welsh steam coal; and, if not, whether, in the near future, any coal ordered for similar purposes is likely to include a proportion of an inferior quality?

No coal has been found as suitable as the best Welsh steam coal for use in His Majesty's ships. No departure is contemplated from the usual practice.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty on what dates the 12 German destroyers of the 1907–8 programme were laid down, and on what dates they were completed?

supplied the following dates:—

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in considering the amount of income under £500 per annum which is to be relieved from Income Tax in respect of children under 16, the taxable income to govern such relief is to be taken before or after the deduction of life insurance premiums?

The Finance Bill contemplates that the amount of taxable income which governs the relief shall be taken before the deduction of life insurance premiums.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in view of the decision in Beaumont v. Bowers, 64 J.P., 552, or generally, payments made by officers and servants of municipal and commercial bodies, respectively, as contributions to superannuation funds established under express statute or otherwise, will be accepted as claims for allowance in respect of life assurance premiums or payments under contract for deferred annuities?

The practice of the Board of Inland Revenue has been to allow compulsory contributions to superannuation funds as deductions from Schedule E assessments, subject to certain conditions laid down by the Board. This practice is not dependent upon the decision in the case cited by my hon. Friend, which related to deductions under the Poor Law Officers' Superannuation Act, 1896. It, should also be said that this decision is at variance with the decisions in certain subsequent cases.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he can state the number of Excise districts and stations broken since the beginning of the year whether any further reductions are contemplated; and whether the local collectors are consulted as formerly in such matters?

Twenty-three districts and 115 stations have been discontinued; but six new districts and 91 stations have been formed. It is probable that further reductions will be made. Local collectors are always consulted so far as is necessary.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total amount of revenue, Excise and Customs, derived from food and drink during the last financial year?

The Customs and Excise revenue of the United Kingdom derived from food and drink during the financial year 1908–9 was as follows:

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware that under the Finance Bill, page 53, provisions applicable to retailers' off-licences, sub-section (3), the retailer may not sell wine in quantity of less than a reputed pint bottle, and that hitherto the holder of a wholesale licence has been able to sell as small a quantity as he liked in bottle, but he will now be required to take a retail licence for quantities of two gallons and less, and he will, therefore, be subject to the same restrictions; whether his attention has been drawn to the fact that, under this, the only person who will be able to sell a quarter-bottle of champagne is the publican; and, inasmuch as the bulk of the people who buy them, many of them invalids, are not those who would go to a public-house, can he see his way to alter the sub-section in question from one reputed pint to one reputed half-pint?

The restriction upon the sale of wine in the provision in the Bill to which my hon. Friend refers is such. as to prohibit a person holding an off-licence for the sale of wine by retail from selling wine in any quantity less than one reputed pint, but there will he no objection to the sale of wine in smaller bottles than a reputed pint if the total quantity sold is not less than the quantity which would be contained in a reputed pint bottle.

asked whether it is the intention of the Government that the Super-tax proposed in the Finance Bill to be levied on incomes over £5,000 shall be imposed on the incomes of educational corporations, such as universities and colleges?

The proposals in the Finance Bill in regard to Super-tax have reference only to individuals.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware that the provisions applicable to retailers' off-licences in the First Schedule of the Finance Bill, prohibiting the sale of spirits in any quantity less than one reputed quart bottle, will detrimentally affect the trade of the licensed grocers in Scotland and will materially change the character of their licences; and whether these provisions are to apply to the present holders of grocers' licences in Scotland?

As I stated in my reply to the hon. Member for the Newbury Division of Berkshire on the 10th instant, I am carefully considering the various suggestions which have been made to me in regard to grocers' licences, and I will not lose sight of the point raised by my hon. Friend.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what amount under the different heads he anticipates receiving from Scotland as the yield of the proposed new taxes?

The estimated contribution of Scotland to the various heads of new revenue with regard to which existing taxation provides a more or less adequate basis of comparison is:—

I am not in a position to give a detailed estimate under the heads of the Estate Duties, Super-tax, Motor Spirit and Motorcar Licences, but such material as I have for making a calculation indicates that the total Scottish contribution under these heads will probably be found to be somewhere between £300,000 and £350,000.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in reference to the recent decease of two millionaires in this country and in France, he will state, on the hypothesis of an estate in both countries valued at £5,000,000 and yielding an average income of 4 per cent., the amounts payable in Income Tax and Death Duties in this country and their equivalent in France, and the amount of Income Tax and Death Duties which would be payable under the present Budget?

An estate of £5,000,000, if passing to strangers in blood, would be liable, on a rough estimate, to Death Duties amounting to £1,120,000 under the existing English law, £1,165,000 under the Budget proposals, and £1,020,000 under the French law. If such an estate passed in the direct line, the Death Duties might be roughly estimated at £700,000 under the existing English law, £791,500 under the Budget proposals, and £246,000 under the French law. Supposing a person possessed of £5,000,000 to be in receipt of an income therefrom at the rate of 4 per cent., or £200,000 per annum, he would pay in Income Tax (at the present rate of 1s. in the £) £10,000. Under the Budget proposals he would pay £11,600 Income Tax, and about £4,900 Super-tax, in all £16,500. As regards the direct taxes now leviable in France, which correspond roughly with the Income Tax in this country, namely, the " Impät Foncier," the "Contribution Personelle-Mobilière," the Door and Window Tax, the "Patentes," the Dividend Tax, etc., it is not possible to say, without full details as to the sources from which the income is derived, how much would be payable under these heads on an income of £200,000. Under the French Income Tax proposals, as I am informed, an income of £200,000 would pay 4 per cent. to begin with, i.e., £8,000, together with a 5 per cent. Supertax, which would involve a further charge of £10,000, or £18,000 in all.

asked the Chief Secretary whether he can state definitely if the Franks Estate, in North Kerry, has been purchased by the Estates Commissioners, and, if so, when; whether the agent, Mr. William Haggard, of Tralee, was empowered or authorised under the conditions of sale to demand or collect any rent from the tenants, and, if so, how much rent; who is authorised by the Estates Commissioners to resell this estate to the tenants; why, seeing this estate has been inspected by Major Kenny, the tenants or their solicitor have not got official notice from the Estates Commissioners or one of their inspectors of the number of years' purchase the Estates Commissioners are prepared to accept from the tenants; and whether the estate will be resold to the tenants at Major Kenny's valuation?

The owner of this estate has instituted proceedings for its sale to the Estates Commissioners, who have had the lands inspected and have made an offer for purchase which the owner is, they understand, prepared to accept, provided he is given a bonus of 12 per cent. Clause 5 (2) (a) of the Irish Land Bill proposes to give a bonus of 12 per cent. in a case of this kind, but under the existing law the owner would only appear to be entitled to a 3 per cent. bonus. The offer of the Commissioners not having been accepted, the tenants continue liable for rent to the owner as heretofore.

asked the Chief Secretary whether James Somerville, of Cantytrendle, Ballinamallard, county Fermanagh, an evicted tenant, was, on being given a new holding, promised £50 to help restock the land, but has been only paid £40, though others restored at the same time have been paid the full amount of the grants promised them; and will he call the attention of the Estates Commissioners to the matter?

The Estates Commissioners inform me that the free grant sanctioned by them in this case for the purchase of stock was £40, not £50. The Commissioners consider that Somerville has been liberally treated, and has no grievance.

asked the Chief Secretary whether his attention had been directed to the fact that Mr. Daniel Hogan, J.P., chairman of the Castlebar Urban District Council, was recently fined £1 for an assault and ordered to be bound to the peace; whether within the past three years this justice of the peace was nine times convicted at the local petty sessions for various disorderly offences, whether the Irish Government has in any, and how many, instances refused to execute orders made by this justice when sitting alone in petty sessions; and whether the Lord Chancellor of Ireland considered the question of his fitness to be a justice at the time he became so or proposes to allow him to continue in the commission of the peace?

Mr. Daniel Hogan was elected to the office of chairman of the Castlebar Urban District Council early in the present year, and, in virtue of that office, became, under a provision of the Local Government Act, ipso facto, an ex-officio magistrate for the urban district of Castlebar. The Lord Chancellor's disciplinary control over magistrates extends only to matters occurring during the time the magistrate holds his office, and he has no power to prevent the chairman of a council who becomes an ex-officio magistrate under the Local Government Act from entering upon the duties of his office. Mr. Hogan was recently convicted and fined for an assault, and was ordered to find sureties of the peace, or, in default, to be imprisoned for one month. Having failed to pay the fine and obtain the required sureties, he was arrested and lodged in prison to undergo the alternative sentence. The matter was then brought under the notice of the Lord Chancellor, who forthwith superseded Mr. Hogan from further acting as a magistrate.

asked the Chief Secretary whether agreements for sale of the estate of George Reginald Crawford, in county Fermanagh (Record No. S.C. 3,682), were lodged so far back as 1905, but the lands have not yet been inspected; what is the cause of the delay; and will he call the attention of the Estates Commissioners to the fact that the rate of interest agreed to be paid by the tenants pending completion is £4 per cent., and delay is therefore more than ordinarily prejudicial to them?

The Estates Commissioners inform me that the agreements for the purchase of this estate were not lodged until March, 1906. The estate will be dealt with in its order of priority, but its turn has not yet come. Pending the making of the advances applied for, the Land Commission must collect the interest which the tenants in their purchase agreements contracted to pay.

asked the Chief Secretary if he can state how many labourers' cottages the Tralee Rural District Council propose to build; how many it is proposed to build within a given time; and whether it is necessary to engage three clerks of works to superintend their erection?

further asked the Chief Secretary if he is aware that the Tralee Rural District Council has appointed three persons to act as clerk of works to superintend the erection of labourers' cottages it is proposed to erect, that one of the persons appointed is a licensed victualler; and that he has no practical knowledge of the building trade, that one of the others appointed is the assistant clerk of the council; and whether, in the public interest, he will inquire into this matter with the view of preventing a waste of public funds?

I will answer these two questions together. The Tralee Rural District Council propose to build 382 cottages scattered over the 40 electoral divisions comprised in the rural district, which is 36 miles long by 32 miles wide, and in volving an expenditure of £65,700. The Local Government Board are not aware that it has been decided to build any definite number within a given time, but they presume that the council will proceed as expeditiously as possible with the execution of their scheme. Three persons have been appointed by the local authority to act as clerks of works in connection with the scheme. Representations regarding two of these persons, to the effect indicated in the question, have been received by the Board from a solicitor acting on behalf of the Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joiners. Each person appointed will have to satisfy the Board that he is eligible for employment as clerk of works under section 27 of the Labourers (Ireland) Act, 1906, and Rule 50 (b) of the Labourers (Ireland) Order, 1906. The local authority have fully considered the question, and on a notice of motion that the resolution appointing three clerks of works should be rescinded, and that only two should be appointed, the previous decision was confirmed.

asked the Chief Secretary whether he can say approximately what is the number of legal owners of land in Ireland and of leaseholders with an unexpired term of more than 50 years?

I have no means of obtaining this information.

asked the Chief Secretary whether he is aware that the tenants on the estate of C. D. O'Rorke, Clonberne Park, Moylough, county Galway, signed agreements last year for the purchase of their holdings at terms agreed to by the Estates Commissioners; and, if so, why these tenants have still to pay their old unreduced rents to the landlord instead of the interest at 3½ per cent. on the purchase money?

This estate is pending for sale in the Land Judge's Court, and the Estates Commissioners have made an offer for its purchase under section 7 of the Irish Land Act, 1903. The agreements referred. to in the question were undertakings signed by the tenants agreeing to purchase their holdings from the Commissioners in the event of the latter acquiring the property. Until the statutory conditions have been complied with and the lands are vested in the Land Commission, the Commissioners have no power to collect interest in lieu of rent from the tenants.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether officers in the Territorial Army have purchased khaki greatcoats, as being a necessary part of their uniform, on the understanding that the grant from the Army Council under Regulation 408 would cover this expense; if so, whether the Army Council have refused to refund to the officers the cost of these great-coats; whether the men have been supplied with khaki great-coats; whether he will explain why officers should be clothed in a great-coat of different pattern and colour; and whether he can see his way to supply officers as well as men with great-coats?

Officers provide their own clothing, as in the Regular Forces. It is not proposed to alter this arrangement. They receive an initial grant in aid on appointment, and in the case of transfers from the Volunteers a special grant to meet any necessary replacements where serviceable articles had to be discarded. When officers are in possession of other pattern great-coats on transfer it is not considered necessary that they should be discarded and replaced at once by khaki great-coats.

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether he will state what was the information before the Board which satisfied him that he could not properly sanction proceedings under Part III. of The Rivers Pollution Prevention Act, 1876, to be taken against the town council of Batley, the town council of Dewsbury, and the Thornhill Urban District Council; and whether he will state in what respect he considers that the West Riding Rivers Board have failed to make out even a primâ facie case for local inquiry in each of these three particular instances?

It would not be in accordance with the usual practice of the Local Government Board to state their reasons for giving or withholding their consent in cases arising under the Rivers Pollution Prevention Acts, and I do not feel that an exception could properly be made as regards the proceedings referred to in the question.

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether, as required by section 57 (3) of the Local Government Act, 1888, in consequence of a petition having been received by him from the urban district council of Skiption for the disallowance of the Order, he has yet directed a local inquiry to be held upon the question whether the Order made by the county council of the West Riding of Yorkshire for the constitution of the urban district of Earby is to be confirmed or not; if so, when will he make his award; and, if not so, when will he direct the necessary local inquiry to be held?

I have directed a local inquiry in this case, and I hope it will be held in the week beginning the 27th inst.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware that so far back as June, 1907, a revision of the indoor post office staff at Enniskillen was stated by the Post Office authorities to be about to be submitted to the Treasury immediately; was it so submitted; and, if so, has it been since under consideration, or why has nothing been since done. as to the promised revision?

Authority for the revision referred to was obtained in July, 1907, and the revision was duly carried out, but, as the hon. Member has already been informed, further changes are now under consideration.

asked the Post-master-General if he will consider the possibility of improving the postal service of the village of Bepton, near Midhurst, the inhabitants of which often do not receive letters from London until two days after they are posted?

I am having inquiry made on the subject, and I will communicate the result to the Noble Earl.

asked the Postmaster-General if he could state the rates of remuneration paid to sub-postmasters for old age pensions work, namely, for assisting in the filling up of claim forms and the payment of pension orders; and what would be the sum received as payment by a sub-postmaster paying 2,000 pension orders a year?

The question of the rate of payment to be made to sub-postmasters for old age pension work is under consideration. It is necessary before deciding to have experience of the work involved. In the meantime, provisional payments are being made for this work.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he is prepared to permit the usual practice of allowing officers to choose their periods of annual leave, according to their position on the seniority list, to be followed in connection with the tracing staff of the Accountant-General's Department when arranging their leave for next year?

It is not proposed to depart from the usual practice of allowing the tracing staff to sign for their annual leave in order of seniority on their respective lists.

asked the Postmaster-General whether the duties at the proposed salaried sub-office at Upper Baker Street will be of precisely similar character to those performed at branch offices in the North-Western district; whether the assistants will be directly employed by his Department; and whether their wages will correspond with those paid to the counter clerks and telegraphists at these branch offices?

The duties at the proposed salaried sub-office at Upper Baker-street will not differ entirely from those performed at branch offices in the North-Western district. The staff will be in the direct employ of the Post Office. The wages of any assistants employed will be fixed in accordance with the scale authorised for indoor post office assistants in London, which is based on the recommendations of the Select Committee. Such assistants are eligible for appointment as counter clerks and telegraphists after five years' service.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is now in a position to state the names of the gentlemen who will constitute the Departmental Committee of Inquiry as to Railway Amalgamation, and when that Committee will commence its sittings?

The names of the gentlemen constituting the Committee were stated in reply to a question this afternoon. It is hoped that the Committee will enter upon their inquiry as soon as may be practicable.

asked the hon. Member for South Somerset, as representing the President of the Board of Agriculture, whether the Board is aware that the Cambridgeshire County Council is at present unable to supply the wants of applicants for small holdings residing in the parish of Steeple Morden; whether he is aware that the Cambridgeshire County Council for this reason objected to the proposed acquisition of land in that parish by the Hertfordshire County Council; why no local inquiry was held; why the President of the Board of Agriculture refused to receive a deputation from the Cambridgeshire County Council; and whether, as a general practice, the Board sanctions the acquisition of land for small holdings by a county council outside the county without inquiry as to whether the county council within whose borders the land is situate require the land for similar purposes?

The reply to the first two questions is in the affirmative. No local inquiry was necessary, as the land was acquired by agreement, and inasmuch as the Small Holdings and Allotments Acts specifically authorises the acquisition of land by a County Council outside their area, the Board saw no good reason to withhold their approval of the scheme. It was open to the Cambridge County Council to acquire the land in question, but they took no steps to do so until the Hertfordshire County Council had made a contract for the purchase of the property. The President did not think that any useful purpose would be served by receiving the proposed deputation, and he so informed my hon. Friend on the 2nd inst.

asked the hon. Member for South Somerset whether he can say approximately what is the number of legal owners of land and of leaseholders with an unexpired term of more than 50 years in England and Wales?

We have no information which would enable us to reply to the hon. Member's question.

asked the Lord Advocate whether he can say approximately what is the number of legal owners of land in Scotland and of leaseholders with an unexpired term of more than 50 years?

I regret I am unable to give the figures desired by the hon. Member.

asked the hon. Member for South Somerset what amounts have been expended out of public moneys during the past three years on the improvement of cattle breeding in Scotland; and whether, in view of the sums spent in Ireland on that object, he can see his way to increase the grant to Scotland?

My hon. Friend has asked me to reply. There is no specific grant from the Board of Agriculture for this purpose in Scotland, but a sum of £4,274 19s. 5d. has been allocated during the last three years out of the funds of the Congested Districts (Scotland) Board, with the view of improving cattle-breeding in congested districts.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether it is the intention of the revenue authorities to appeal to the House of Lords from the decision of the Court of Appeal in the case of Rex v. Commissioners for special purposes of Income Tax, ex parte the University College of North Wales?

The answer is in the negative.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury what estimated amount will he received by Scotland out of the £8,750,000 raised for old age pensions?

£062,500.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether he is aware that the pay of civil engineers in the Public Works Department has been increased since February of last year, while no increase has been granted to the Royal Engineers in the Department; and whether he will consider the advisability of increasing the pay of the Royal Engineers in a similar degree?

The question of the pay to be drawn in future by Royal Engineer officers serving in the Indian Public Works Department is under the consideration of the Government of India. The Secretary of State is awaiting a despatch on the subject.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether he could give the House any information regarding the recent anarchist outrage in Bengal?

The information received by the Secretary of State as to the outrage to which the hon. Member is understood to refer is to the following effect. One Gobesh, who is a witness for the prosecution in certain cases of stabbing and attempted dacoity, in which members of a political association are thought to be implicated, is being kept under police protection at Dacca. On 2nd June his house in the Faridpur district was fired on, and on the following night his brother was murdered by four men, who after shooting him outside the house overtook him and stabbed him in the courtyard, and finally forced the door of the room where he took refuge, and dragged him out, shooting and stabbing him. The deceased's mother and sister-in-law were present, and attempted resistance. The murderers escaped, but it is hoped that it will be possible to identify them.