asked the Postmaster-General whether his attention has been called to the fact that certain postmen working at the East Central Office have been on superior duties which have extended in some cases over the past four years; whether it is intended to grant a substitute allowance to them; and will he state if they are likely to receive their appointments at an early date?

I recently answered a memorial from the Central London Postmen's Association on the subject referred to. In all cases where allowances for the performance of the superior duties are payable under the regulations they have been, or will be, paid. Promotions will be made in due course to any vacancies which occur.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether he is aware that the Public Prosecutor refuses to give any assistance to men in poor circumstances who have brought out various inventions, when investigating cases of fraud, forgery, and persecution; and if he intends taking any action in the matter.

I am informed by the Director of Public Prosecutions that he does not know to what this question refers. If the hon. Member will be so good as to explain to me what he has in mind, I will cause further inquiry to be made.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury, with reference to his statement that it is the practice of the Treasury to count towards' pension so much of temporary service as is similar in character to the established service following, and in view of the fact that the cases of some Customs employés have been dealt with accordingly, if he will see that the cases of the clerks and assistant clerks in the Customs Department whose temporary service was similar in character to the established service following are also dealt with in accordance with this principle?

futher asked on what grounds Mr. Buxton, late an abstractor in the Statistical Department of the Customs, who was superannuated on 17th December, 1907, after 25 years' service, was not allowed to count his entire un-established service for pension, seeing that he was doing in his established capacity precisely the same class of work as he was doing in his unestablished capacity, of which class of work the secretary to the Board of Customs, in his Report to the Ridley Royal Commission, stated that there was no difference between the work performed by them and that done by the lower division of clerks?

I beg to refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my predecessor to the hon. Member for Woolwich on 26th March, 1906.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether he has come to any decision as to the suggested increase in the salaries of the Customs watchers in His Majesty's Customs; and, if so, whether he can make a statement on the subject?

I am afraid I can add nothing to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Sunderland on 20th May last.

asked the Under-Secretary for India whether native postal officials are allowed to engage in trade and to supply goods to their own departments; whether his attention has been drawn to the fact that, owing to the number of letters which are improperly opened or stolen in transit by native officials in the Indian postal service, British firms have been compelled to warn their correspondents, stating that they hoped that their letters had arrived safely and that they were under the necessity of thus advising their correspondents because their correspondence was systematically stolen by the postal department for the benefit of natives of the local bazaar who did a similar business to theirs, and that, if at any time this inquiry should remain unanswered by them, their correspondents might safely assume that it had been intercepted and was certain to be followed by an application for work from one or other of the Bhais; and whether he will say what steps it is proposed to take in order to remedy this grievance?

It will be necessary to inquire of the Government of India before a full reply can be given to the first part of the question. As regards the second part, statistics regarding complaints made by the public against the Post Office, and the proportion of groundless to well-founded complaints, are given in the Annual Report of the Post Office of India. A case in which it was alleged that letters were delivered to persons other than the addressees was recently brought to the notice of the Government. No proof of the allegations was forthcoming, but the suspected clerks were removed, and the complainants admit that they are now receiving their letters properly.

asked the First Commissioner of Works if he is aware that practically the whole of the workmen that were engaged fitting up and completing the work in connection with the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington, have been discharged, although there is a considerable amount of work uncompleted; and whether, in view of the amount of unemployment in the building trade in London, he can see his way to reengage the workmen with the object of completing the work?

The work for which my Department is responsible has been completed; it is of course impossible for me to re-engage workmen for whom there is no work. The fitting up of exhibits is a matter for the Board of Education.

asked the First Commissioner of Works what are the items comprised in the sum of £4,500 to be voted for renting buildings, etc., for Labour Exchanges during the remainder of the present financial year?

It would not be in the public interest to furnish the information asked for, as negotiations are still pending.

asked the First Commissioner of Works if he will state the number and status and the emoluments of the additional staff to be appointed, or already appointed, at a cost of £9,339 for providing buildings under the Labour Exchanges Bill during the next eight months?

The total estimated cost of staff is £7,839, made up as follows:—

asked the First Commissioner of Works if he will state in which towns premises are to be purchased under Sub-head 9a, Class I., of the Civil Service Supplementary Estimates, and the amount expended or to be expended in each town for the purposes of Labour Exchange buildings?

It would not be in the public interest to furnish the information asked for, as negotiations are still pending.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether he has yet received replies from the local education committee and the board of managers respecting the Sidley Infants' Schools, Bexhill-on-Sea; and whether he proposes to authorise an inquiry in this case?

The answer to both paragraphs of the question is in the affirmative.

asked the hon. Member for South Somerset, as representing the President of the Board of Agriculture, what is the number of applications for small holdings in the county of Surrey received up to date; how many applicants have been approved; the names of the applicants who have been provided with land; and what steps have been, taken to secure land for those for whom provision has not yet been made?

Two hundred and ninety-six applications in all have been made, of which 106 have been definitely approved and 68 are under investigation. The committee have up to the present acquired, or agreed to acquire, 120 acres for about 20 applicants, of whom one, Frank Rumbold, is actually in occupation of about 14 acres. Eleven others will, it is hoped, be settled on 65 acres at or after Michaelmas next, and the remainder so soon as the land can be obtained. I will send my hon. Friend a copy of a Report showing in detail the steps that are being taken to secure land for those approved applicants who are not yet provided.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware that there has been delay in the payment to the county Wexford pension clerks of their fees for the quarter ending 31st March; and can he state what is the cause of the delay?

The clerks of the county Wexford sub-committees claimed fees for 603 claims and questions, whereas it appeared from Returns received from the Board of Customs and Excise that only 553 claims and questions were dealt with. Payment of the accounts was delayed pending inquiries through the pension officers as to the precise number of claims and questions dealt with by each sub-committee. The accounts have now been paid.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he can state the number of persons employed inside and outside the granite quarries of Cornwall and Devon in each of the last five years.

The information is given in the following table:—

asked the Vice-President of the Department of Agriculture (Ireland) what was the original sum sat apart for the building and equipment of an agricultural college at Athenry, county Galway; when was the money allocated; what has been the cause of the delay; and if he can say when it is proposed to begin this work?

The Department from time to time have had under consideration the question of establishing an agricultural station at Athenry, and in 1907 a sum of £10,000 for a building for such a college, as distinct from the expenditure on the station, was provisionally set aside. Owing to several local difficulties seriously interfering with the work of the place the project of building a college at the station was indefinitely postponed, and the Department have resolved not to proceed with it.

asked he Chief Secretary for Ireland whether he is aware that Drumany School, in Kinawley parish, county Fermanagh, has been closed by the Commissioners, and that the closing of the school, combined with the closing last year of Aughacloy school and the impending closing of Stragowna School, has left a large area without any reasonably accessible school for Protestant children; have the Commissioners considered that many quite young children compelled to

The Commissioners of National Education have not closed theDrumany National School. The present principal is, however, retiring next month, and the manager has expressed his willingness to close the school if satisfactory arrangements can be made for the conveyance of the pupils to another national school. There is no immediate intention of closing Stragowna School, and the question has not been under consideration. As regards the Aughacloy School, grants were withdrawn from 30th June, 1906, on the retirement of the teacher then in charge, as it was no longer required, there being ample accommodation for the Protestant children of the locality in the Countess of Erne's National School, situated within one and a half miles of Aughacloy, and under Protestant management. The Commissioners would be glad if a central school could be provided in place of these small schools, but, owing to local opposition, they fear it is not feasible to do so at present.

asked the Chief Secretary if he will explain how it comes about that Mr. Edmund Hayes, formerly a non-judicial tenant on the Kingston estate, Mitchelstown, has not been allowed the reduction of £85 in the purchase price of his holding, the said reduction having been made on an inspection for value by Mr. Sydney Smith; if the tenant-purchaser will now be granted the reduction in question on the amount of the purchase money; and, if not, will he say why this will not be done?

The Estates Commissioners inform me that Edmond Hayes entered into agreements with the landlord to purchase his two holdings on the estate for the sums of £689 and £517 respectively under the Irish Land Act, 1903. The Commissioners, after a full consideration of their inspector's report and the circumstances of the case, made the respective advances applied for, and vested the holdings in the purchasing tenant.

asked the Chief Secretary whether, up to the 1st of July, 1908, only £59 odd was due from defaulters under the Land Purchase Acts in county Limerick; whether £800 odd was deducted from the grants to the Limerick County Council under the same heading; and, if so, will he say how this is accounted for?

The sum of £59 mentioned in the question appears to be taken from the appendix to the last Annual Report of the Land Commission giving particulars of every case in the county of Limerick in which land purchase annuities were one year and upwards in arrear on 1st July, 1908. The deductions in respect of land purchase liability from grants paid in county Limerick in 1908 amounted to £405 19s. 3d. There is no analogy between these figures. As regards the general question of deductions in respect of arrears of annuities, I would refer the hon. Member to the explanation which I gave in Debate on 24th June last.