asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether the Lieutenant-Governor of the United Provinces had recently expressed his satisfaction with the excellent work done by the police of that province in detecting and bringing to justice gang robbers; whether the villagers of the Bara Banki district had expressed their gratitude to the Lieutenant-Governor at being delivered by the police from the terrorism exercised by such gang robbers; whether the local Government expressed its grateful acknowledgment to the retiring inspector-general of police for raising the standard of police work in accordance with the demands of public opinion; whether the rank and file of the police of the United Provinces and all but a few supervising officers are Natives of India; and, if so, whether, in view of the attacks made upon the Indian police, he would consider the propriety of giving wide publicity to the review of police work in the United Provinces in 1908 by the Lieutenant-Governor?

A Resolution dealing with the points raised in the first three questions has been published in the "United Provinces Gazette," and the hon. Member has no doubt seen it. Wide publicity has been given to it by notices in the press, both in this country and in India, and the Secretary of State does not consider that any further action on his part is called for.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether he had any official knowledge that the Executive Government of the Punjab had pub- lished an opinion totally disagreeing with the judgments of Mr. Justice Robertson and Mr. Justice Rattigan with regard to the conduct of the police in the Gulam Bano case; if so, whether he would state what inquiry, if any, was held by the Government, who conducted it, and who was examined; whether the opinion of the Government was submitted at any time before publication to the judges for their comments; and whether the judges had made any observations on it?

The Government of the Punjab have published a Resolution stating at length their reasons for holding the police free from blame in respect of the points on which the Chief Court suggested that an inquiry was desirable. The local Government arrived at this conclusion as the result of a consideration of the woman's own statements, and of all the other evidence available. So far as the Secretary of State is aware, the observations of the judges on the Resolution have neither been asked for nor offered.

May I ask if the judges will not be communicated with, and their feelings taken into consideration?

We have no reason to suppose that the judges are dissatisfied with the course which has been taken by the Indian Government.

Were the police under trial?

May I ask if the Government had exactly the same evidence before it as the Court, or had it any additional evidence?

Precisely the same.

Who conducted the inquiry, and were the witnesses cross-examined?

The Executive Government conducted the inquiry.

Were the police witnesses cross-examined?

Did not the Executive Government agree with the judge who had the witnesses before him, and so was able to observe their conduct under examination?

That is quite correct.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether the Government of the Punjab, in disagreeing with the judgment of the Chief Court of that pro- vince regarding the conduct of the police in the Ghulam Bano case, did not agree with the Sessions Judge and the two native assessors, who had the advantage, which was denied to the Chief Court, of seeing the witnesses and observing their demeanour under examination; and, if the answer be in the affirmative, whether there was any reason why the opinion of the Punjab Government should be referred to the judges of the Chief Court for comment or observation?

As I have stated before, the Chief Court in their judgment did not find that the allegations of torture against the police were proved, but that, on the evidence before them, there was a case for inquiry. The local Government accepted this view, and, after holding an inquiry, arrived at the same conclusion as to the facts as did the Sessions Judge and the Assessors. As I stated just now, there is no question, so far as the Secretary of State is aware, of asking for the comments of the judges on the opinion of the local Government.

Have the judges of the Appeal Court expressed any opinion on the action of the Executive Government since the publication of this report?

No, Sir; I did not expect that they would.

Did the Government overrule the decision of the judges?

No, Sir.

May I ask the Under-Secretary whether there is any reason to suppose that the native Indian assessors had any prejudice against the native Indian police?

Is not this action of the Executive a dangerous innovation, and destructive to the independence of the law courts?

No, Sir; it is quite the custom in India for the Executive Government to hold an inquiry of the sort if they consider it desirable.

Has the right hon. Gentleman any answer to the question I have put to him twice—whether the police witnessess were cross-examined at this secret inquiry?

I am not able to answer that. The Punjab Government has held an inquiry into the whole of the circumstances, and my hon. Friend can be perfectly assured that they acted with justice and fairness.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether, at the inquiry held by Mr. Commissioner Macpherson into the conduct of the police in consequence of the strictures passed upon their conduct by the High Court of Calcutta in the Midnapur conspiracy case, the public have been admitted and the witnesses have all been offered for cross-examination; and whether he was yet in a position to inform the House as to the conclusions come to by Mr. Macpherson?

The Secretary of State has not yet received either Mr. Macpherson's report of the results of his inquiry, or the detailed information as to the conduct of the inquiry which he would require in order to answer the first question.

Is it a fact that the superintendent, deputy-superintendent and chief constable have been most seriously implicated by this inquiry, and have been given long leave of absence?

I think that does not arise on the question.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether he is aware that the quantity of opium consumed in the Assam districts of the province of Eastern Bengal and Assam rose from 1,299 maunds in 1904–5 to 1,417 maunds in 1906–7, or an increase of about 9 per cent. in three years; whether the revenue derived by the Government from the sale of opium in these districts in 1906–7 represented 62 per cent. of the total Excise revenue; whether he can give the corresponding figures (consumption and revenue) for the years 1907–8 and 1908–9; and whether he can state what steps the Government intended taking for the protection of the people of these districts from the spread of the opium habit?

The Secretary of State is aware that the consumption of opium in the Assam Valley districts has increased of recent years. The figures in maunds are: 1,825 in 1904–5, 1,330 in 1905–6, 1,431 in 1906–7, 1,560 in 1907–8. Later figures are not available. In 1906–7 71 per cent. of the gross Excise revenue in these districts was derived from opium, and in 1907–8 70 per cent. With a view to restrict consumption the number of shops has been reduced from 690 in 1904–5 to 445 in 1908–9, and the price of opium has been raised from 1st April, 1909.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that in the preceding six years, when I had the honour of administering the Province, there was practically no increase in consumption at all?

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether His Highness the Maharaja of Jeipur and His Highness the Rajah of Dewas have recently published a proclamation against the possession of seditious newspapers, and against any seditious practices directed against the Government of India, within their States?

The Secretary of State has seen newspaper reports of pronouncements on the subject of sedition which are said to have been made by the two Chiefs whom my hon. Friend mentions. He expects to receive in due course official copies. When they come, I will communicate with my hon. Friend.

asked whether, in view of the intention of the Government of India to deport agitators from their homes without charge or trial, he will say if advocates of the policy of Tariff Reform in India, known as Swadeshi, are considered by the Government to be agitators; and whether he will recommend the Government to issue some authoritative definition of the offence of agitation so that British subjects in India might protect themselves against the risk of deportation and imprisonment for an unlimited period?

I am not aware what the hon. Member means by intention, nor what knowledge he has of the frame of mind of the Government of India. As was stated in reply to a question on the 25th March, no British subject in India runs any risk of the nature indicated unless his conduct is such to satisfy the Governor-General in Council that it is necessary to detain him in order to secure the British Dominions from internal commotion. The Secretary of State is not prepared either himself to make, or to order the Government of India to make, any further statement by way of definition.

May I ask the hon. Gentleman whether he adheres to the declaration made by himself on the 5th of August in this House that it was the intention of His Majesty's Government to remove from their sphere of operations all agitators?

I did not say that I said it was the intention of this country to maintain order and if it was necessary that agitators would have to be dealt with according to law.

May I ask whether the pundits of the India Office or of any other place endorse the translation of Swadeshi as Tariff Reform?

Is it not a fact that the chief charge against these men deported was that they were in favour of what is called Tariff Reform?

asked the Under-Secretary whether he was aware that in the libel case of Rai v. the Daily Express, Ltd., tried in the Law Courts on 21st October, the fact that the Secretary of State for India had deported Mr. Lajpat Rai was used by the judge in summing up to the jury as a ground for mitigating the damages for the charges of sedition made against the plaintiff and not justified by the defendants; and whether, in view of the fact that the Secretary of State and the Government of India had declined to inform Mr. Lajpat Rai of the reasons for his deportation, so that it was impossible for him to meet the implication of guilt brought against him, the Secretary of State would make some amends to Mr. Lajpat Rai for the injustice done him by deportation without charge or trial?

The Secretary of State has seen in the newspapers a report of the proceedings in the libel case referred to. He finds no reason for taking any such action as is suggested in the question.

May I ask if there is to be any reparation on the part of the Government to those who have been so evily treated by the Government?

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that the judge in summing up the case to the jury said that this gentleman was deported by the orders of Lord Morley, and that Lord Morley could be trusted, and does not that fact show that Lajpat Rai should have an opportunity of knowing why he was deported?

I have repeatedly called attention to the policy of the Government in this matter, namely, that, rightly or wrongly, it has been decided not to inform him of the grounds of the deportation.

Is it the intention of the Government of India, when the fact of a man's deportation comes to be used against him in the Law Courts, not to make the cause of the deportation known to him?

asked when the rules and regulations regarding the conduct of the legislative councils under the India Councils Act, 1909, will be laid upon the Table of the House?

The Secretary of State hopes that the regulations will be made and published in India at an early date. As soon as may be after such publication they will, as provided by Section 7 of the Act, be laid before Parliament for information.

asked the Under-Secretary whether his attention had been called to the high death rate amongst the indentured labourers of Mauritius and the Federated Malay States; and whether it is intended to lay the whole subject before the Royal Commission now sitting under the chairmanship of Lord Sanderson?

The answer to the first part of my hon. Friend's question is in the affirmative. Lord Sanderson's Committee is considering the subject in all its bearings.

asked the Under-Secretary if he could state the rate per thousand of mortality among Indian indentured labourers in Ceylon, Mauritius, the Straits Settlements, the Federated Malay States, British Guiana, Jamaica, the Fiji Islands, and Natal during the year 1908; and whether the attention of the Commission inquiring into the conditions of Indian indentured labour in the Colonies has been drawn to this question, with special reference to the death rate in the Federated Malay States and other places?

There are no indentured labourers in Ceylon. As to Mauritius, where the death rate on estates (presumably including indentured immigrants) is said to be 37.6 per 1,000, and the Straits Settlements special inquiry will be made, as I promised in my reply to a question relating to the Federated Malay States on the 4th of October. The rate of mortality of indentured labourers in the other colonies mentioned appears to be as follows:—

Am I to understand that this inquiry will include the condition of affairs in the Federated Malay States?

Oh, yes. The fact that the Federated Malay States cannot be described as a Colony would make no difference. Very careful consideration is being given to the whole matter by Lord Sanderson.

Is the Committee going to make any inquiry upon the spot, or are they making all their inquiries in London?

So far it is not the intention to make inquiries on the spot. There will be inquiries from various parts of the world. I think it would not be advisable to send them abroad, because it would so delay their report.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether His Majesty's Government has received any report from the British Ambassador at Madrid in relation to the trial by court-martial and subsequent execution of Señor Ferrer?

I have received a report of the public trial from the Consul-General at Barcelona.

Will the right hon. Gentleman give the House an opportunity to see that report?

No, Sir; it is quite unusual to publish a report about the internal affairs of other countries.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been called to the supposed suicide at sea on 27th July, 1909, of an Asiatic coal trimmer named Nanoo Ebraim, whilst serving on the steamer "Barotse," of North Shields; whether any inquiry has been held into the matter; whether the seaman was medically examined before joining; how long he had served on the vessel; whether he had had any previous sea service; what was the temperature of the engine room; whether he was on duty at the time; how many tons of coal the engine room hands were required to work each 24 hours; and whether any previous cases of suicide, supposed suicide, or disappearance have occurred on this vessel?

The Lascar coal trimmer referred to in the question disappeared from the "Barotse" four days after leaving Port Said on the voyage from Bombay to Algiers. Inquiry was held into the occurrence by the Consul-General at Antwerp and the Acting Superintendent of the Mercantile Marine Office at Poplar. It is usual for native crews to be medically examined before joining at Bombay, but no specific information has been received in this case. The man had been on board the "Barotse" twenty-four days, and had had previous sea service. He was on duty at the time of the occurrence. The temperature of the engine room was 113 degrees, of the stokehold 116, and of the bunkers 90. The coal consumption was 36 tons per day, and the number of firemen and trimmers was 16. No other case of suicide, supposed suicide or disappearance has occurred in this vessel during the last three years.

May I ask whether the Government, in view of the excessive number of suicides amongst Lascar seamen, especially firemen, will institute an inquiry by officials or others as to the cause?

There is another question on the Paper which, I think, touches that point.

Does not the right hon. Gentleman think that 113 degrees in the engine room and 116 in the stoke hole are really too high?

I cannot say. My opinion on the subject is not of very great value, but if the question is put down I will give the House and the hon. Member the best information I can get.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that actually a higher temperature than that mentioned is experienced on deck in the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea?

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he could state the number of seamen who failed to join British foreign-going ships in the United Kingdom, and the number of continuous discharge books suspended during the quarters ended 30th September, 1908, and 30th September, 1909, respectively, distinguishing the port of failure to join?

The number of seamen who failed to join British foreign-going ships in the United Kingdom during the quarter ended 30th September last was 2,426, as compared with 2,969 in the corresponding quarter of 1908. The number of continuous discharge books suspended under Section 65, Sub-section 2, of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1906, was 244 in the quarter ended 30th September last, and 59 in the corresponding quarter of 1908. The hon. Member will observe that the failures to join show the satisfactory decrease of 543 in the quarter since a year ago, a decrease of 18 per cent.

asked the President of the Board of Trade, whether he is aware that the number of accidents that occurred during 1908 in connection with the coupling and uncoupling of vehicles, considered as a percentage of the number of vehicles in use, is nearly twelve times more numerous in the case of carriages with tight couplings that in the case of wagons with slack couplings; and that, considering the comparatively few coupling operations which take place with carriages as compared with wagons, the actual number of accidents per coupling operation occurring with tight couplings on carriages is very much in excess of those taking place with the slack coupling on wagons; and whether, in view of the risk involved in the present method of tight-coupling carriages, he will take steps to have a suitable automatic coupler investigated, with a view to its being adopted on British coaching stock?

I am advised that coupling accidents are comparatively more numerous in the case of screw coupled stock than in that of stock fitted with loose couplings, but the total number is not great, and not one of the four fatal accidents in 1908 would have occurred if the men engaged in coupling had refrained from going between the vehicles before they had come to rest. The 249 non-fatal accidents in connection with screw-coupled vehicles were mostly of a trivial nature. Apart from the question of the expense of fitting all passenger carriages and other vehicles running with passenger trains with automatic couplings there are other difficulties attendant on their introduction, and I am informed that it is hardly likely that the number of accidents of a serious character would be materially reduced by their adoption. In these circumstances, I do not think an investigation such as my hon. Friend suggests would lead to any practical result.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention had been drawn to an apparatus for the automatic coupling of railway vehicles known as the Jepson A.B.C. coupler, an English invention, manufactured in this country; whether he was aware that this coupler had been successfully tried for some years on the Eastern Bengal and other Indian railways and on the Sudan Government railways, and that it has been adopted as the standard coupler on the Cyprus Railway, the British Honduras Railway, and the Great Northern Central Railway of Colombia; and whether he would take steps to have the suitability of this coupler investigated, with a view to its adoption on English railways?

The Board of Trade are fully acquainted with this coupling, and I am aware that it has been tried on more than one railway outside the United Kingdom. As regards the investigation of automatic couplings, I would refer my hon. Friend to my answer to his previous question.

asked the right hon. Gentleman if his professional advisers find difficulty in deciding whether Asiatic seamen can better bear the heat of the stoke-hole in tropical waters than European sailors can; and whether he has any official information showing that if Asiatics were not available for this purpose the trade of our Eastern mercantile marine would suffer?

It is not possible to lay down any general rule as to the relative capacity of Asiatics and Europeans to withstand the heat of the stoke-hole in the tropics; but there is no doubt that very serious inconvenience would be caused to vessels in the Eastern trade if no Asiatic firemen were available. The whole subject to which my hon. Friend refers is engaging the attention of the Board of Trade and statistics are being prepared with a view to publication at an early date.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that all European sailors and firemen are anxious to do work in tropical or other waters in the Red Sea or in the Persian Gulf, and is my hon. Friend aware that there are places in England where if he put his nose in, it would melt like butter before the sun?

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he is yet in a position to report as to the steamship "Trowbridge," which left Port Said on 19th September for Barrow with seven sick men on board, the medical officer of Bombay permitting her to do so after examination?

The "Trowbridge" was allowed to leave Bombay after the health officer at the Port had certified that she was in a satisfactory sanitary condition and that no case of infectious disease existed amongst her crew. The master and a fireman had previously gone into hospital, but it does not appear that any of the men who fell sick on the voyage to Aden had reported themselves ill or unfit for duty before leaving Bombay. The health officer has, however, been asked to report on the case. I cannot say whether the illness on board the "Trowbridge" was caused by the water taken in at Karachi. The tanks were filled up at that port with water supplied by Dinshaw, and they were again filled up by the Bombay Port Trust. It is not stated in the report of the Medical Officer at Aden that the illness was caused by the water or that the water was tested. The tanks were favourably reported upon. The vessel had been trading on the coasts of South America, East and West Africa, and other malarious regions, and it may be that many of the crew were weakened by previous attacks, or had the germs of the disease within them. Six of the crew had previously been sent into hospital at Calcutta. The Board of Trade are, however, in communication with the Shipping Master at Karachi as to the arrangements for procuring water at that port.

Will the right hon. Gentleman supply the information in regard to further inquiries if he gets it?

Perhaps the hon. Member will put down another question at some future date.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, in view of recent disclosures in the Law Courts, he will consider the desirableness of introducing legislation requiring all persons and corporations carrying on the business of bankers to first make a substantial deposit with the Board of Trade, as in the case of insurance companies?

The considerations affecting banks, and those affecting insurance companies appear to me to be different in important respects, and I do not propose as at present advised to introduce legislation as suggested by my hon. Friend requiring all persons and corporations carrying on the business of bankers to first make a deposit with the Board of Trade.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that at the present time in the winding up department of the Board of Trade over which he presides there are two so-called banks which are being wound up one of which never had a penny piece in its coffers against the cheque books which it issued wholesale, and the other advertised itself upon its overdraft.

I am not aware of those cases.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been called to the protective character of the present tariff on imported chocolates; and whether, having regard to the evils of low wages and long hours which are said to be the result of a protective policy, he will institute an inquiry into the condition of labour of the British chocolate industry, with the object of obtaining official evidence as to the effect of Protection on industry?

The fact that the Cocoa Duties were protective in character was admitted by the present Prime Minister in his Budget statement on 18th April, 1907. I have not seen it maintained that the evils to which the Noble Lord alludes are necessarily found in every industry which can be shown to benefit by a protective scale of duties, and I do not propose to institute the inquiry he suggests.

Can the right hon. Gentleman state what revenue is derived from this source of taxation?

Yes, I can, with the greatest accuracy, if the usual notice is given.

Is it not a fact that the cocoa manufacturers themselves say that this is not a protective duty, and only places them on an equality with their foreign competitors?

I have answered the question on the Paper, and I have given very frankly the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that Messrs. Cadbury have boasted for years that their workpeople work under the very best conditions of labour?

I have heard that frequently asserted, and I believe it is perfectly true.

asked the Attorney-General whether his attention has been called to the case of Alderman Wells, of Manchester, who, being largely indebted to his trade creditors, has been found to be a lunatic; whether the whole of Wells' assets, amounting to £1,800, are now in the possession of the Masters in Lunacy, who have informed his creditors that the assets will be used for the support of Wells until exhausted, and that the creditors will get nothing unless he dies before they are so exhausted; and whether Mrs. Wells, who is reported to possess considerable private means, is being called on to contribute towards her husband's support?

In the case referred to in this question the Master in Lunacy has followed the long-established practice, founded on legal decisions, of devoting the property of the lunatic, which is not so large as the sum mentioned in the question, in the first instance to the lunatic's maintenance, no doubt to the disadvantage of the creditors. I have inquired as to the suggestion that Mrs. Wells has property, but I find that to be a mistake. She has no means whatever.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether, in view of the fact that in connection with the formulation of new educational endowment schemes Sir Robert Finlay is retained by the National Society, he will say if Sir Robert Finlay is consulted by the Board of Education before any draft scheme is issued to the public; and, if so, whether this course was adopted in the case of the proposed new schemes for Gisburn and Giggleswick, situated in the West Riding?

The Board have no means of knowing whether Sir Robert Finlay is or is not retained by the National Society in the connection suggested or in any other connection. The answer to both parts of the question is in the negative.

also asked the right hon. Gentleman whether he has received any suggestions from the West Riding education authority and others with regard to the proposed new scheme for the Halstead and Stanley Foundations, at Gisburn, to the effect that the present vicar and owner of Gisburn Park be trustees for life, but that the future vicars of Gisburn and the owners of Gisburn Park shall not be ex officio trustees of the foundation, and that upon the death or prior resignation of the present vicar an additional representative trustee be appointed by the West Riding County Council and upon the death or prior resignation of the present owner of Gisburn Park an additional representative trustee be appointed by the Gisburn parish council; if so, whether he can see his way to embody these suggestions in the new scheme; and, if not, will he say why he cannot do so?

The answer to the first paragraph of my hon. Friend's question is in the affirmative. The answer to the second paragraph is in the negative. It is impossible to compress within the limits of an oral reply to a question the considerations, legal and historical, upon which the Board's decision is based. These considerations have been communicated at length by letter to the local education authority and to my hon. Friend himself. I have nothing to add to the information thus conveyed.

May I ask the right hon. Gentleman whether for the future, in drafting new schemes for educational endowments he will adopt the principle of committing these trusts to some public body like the parish, district or county council, instead of perpetuating as ex officio trustees the State clerics and their confederates the largest local landowners?

I cannot give an answer to a general question of that nature in respect of every trust which comes within the province of the Board of Education.

asked the President of the Board of Education how many years' service were rendered as a certificated head teacher by Mr. John Bill; at what age his retirement from St. George's School, Shrewsbury, took place; and what is the total amount of the superannuation allowance and annuity which he receives?

Teachers superannuation allowances and annuities are awarded under the Elementary School Teachers (Superannuation) Act, 1898, and the rules and tables made thereunder. Complete information as to the Act, the Rules, and the Tables can be obtained from an official publication of the Board, copies of which are to be found in the library of the House. Copies can also, of course, be purchased in the usual way. As full information is given therein, and as many examples of the effect of the Act in practice have been given by way of answer to questions, it does not appear to be desirable to occupy the time of the House with statements of the details of the superannuation allowances and annuities of every individual teacher.

Is it not a fact that teachers who joined the service on the understanding that pensions, as drawn up in the code of 1846, would be adhered to, have suffered very much in consequence of the altered and revised code of 1862, and can nothing be done to remedy that injustice?

I would like to have notice of that question.

asked the President of the Board of Education if he is aware that, acting under the Education (Administrative Provisions) Act, 1907, Dr. Mark Sharman, school medical officer of the Hertfordshire County Council, examined a boy named William Bradley at the Rickmansworth School, and then sent a note, dated 29th September, 1909, to Mrs. Bradley, stating that the boy was unvaccinated, and adding that it was most important that it should be done; if it is in accordance with the rules of the Board of Education that the medical examination of children is to be used for the advocacy of cow-poxing; and, if not, what steps he proposes to take in the matter?

My information on this case is confined to that which my hon. Friend has supplied to me privately. The Board have made no rules to the effect suggested. From the first annual report of the school medical officer on the medical inspection of elementary school children in Hertfordshire the Board learned that, on the cards recording the findings of medical inspection, notes as to the date and extent of vaccination were made. They, therefore, advised the local education authority that "care must be exercised…so that the work of medical inspection may not be prejudiced in the minds of parents who have a conscientious objection to vaccination," and that "the inquiry should not be used as the basis of action under the Vaccination Acts." On 28th September the Board received a letter from the local education authority containing the following statement: "The county council have never contemplated nor do they contemplate that particulars obtained at the medical inspection should be used as the basis of action under the Vaccination Acts." Dr. Sharman, who is not the school medical officer of the county, but one of 16 assistants, appears to have written his note on the following day. I think it may safely be assumed that instructions in accordance with the authority's letter will have been issued subsequently.

Will the right hon. Gentleman kindly pursue the matter and see those instructions are acted upon?

I have no doubt that, having received this letter from the local education committee, they will act on them.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether the firm of Messrs. Ransomes and Rapier, Ipswich, are contractors to the Admiralty; if so, whether he is aware that the rivetters and platers in their employ are paid 22s. per week, the district rate being 32s. per week; and whether be will take action to have the Fair Wage Clause complied with?

I am in correspondence with this firm upon the subject, and would be glad if the hon. Gentleman would kindly renew his question.

asked whether a sailor when on leave gets 8½d. per day subsistence money; whether a soldier gets 1s. 0½d. per day subsistence money; and, if so, why does the British sailor get less than the soldier?

Seamen and marines receive a leave allowance of 8½d. a day. I understand that it is not the case that a soldier receives a subsistence allowance of 1s. 0½d. a day; he receives messing allowance of 3d. a day, and an allowance in lieu of rations, 6d. a day.

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether his attention has been drawn to a resolution passed at a meeting of the Ashton-under-Lyne Trades and Labour Council, on 15th September last, protesting against excessive flogging at the Ashton-under-Lyne workhouse; whether he is aware that it is alleged that one boy was flogged on the bare back, in the presence of two doctors, with the result that the boy's back was badly cut and bruised; whether he has yet caused inquiry to be made into the circumstances of this or other recent cases of alleged flogging at Ashton-under-Lyne workhouse; and, if so, whether he can state the result of such inquiry?

I received a copy of the resolution referred to, and I communicated with the guardians on the subject. I found that complaint had been made to the workhouse committee as to the punishment inflicted on two boys, one of whom received six and the other four strokes from a birch rod for absconding from the workhouse. The committee were unable to see the boy referred to in the question, as he had left the union; but they examined the other boy, and failed to find any evidence of severe punishment. It had been given in the presence of the master and of the medical officer. The matter was not brought to my notice until 14th September last, although it occurred on 24th July. In all the circumstances, it did not appear to me that advantage was likely to arise from any attempt further to investigate the matter.

Are we to understand from the answer of the right hon. Gentleman that guardians can indiscriminately flog boys under their control?

Guardians cannot indiscriminately punish boys under their control, but they stand in almost parental relationship to some of these children. There are some children who, in the judgment of the guardians, want correcting. I know I did when I was a boy.

Do I understand the right hon. Gentleman will take steps to see such things do not take place in the future?

May I ask whether the right hon. Gentleman does not think the same remark applies now as when he was a young boy?

I certainly think it applies to the hon. Member.

May I ask whether the Local Government Board is going to encourage or discourage the cutting and bruising of boys as stated in the printed question, simply because they leave the workhouse?

The general statement made by the hon. Member does not in any sense apply to the statement in the question or to my reply to it.

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether his attention has been drawn to the case of Edwin Roberts, aged 75 years, of Newton Heath, Manchester, whose claim for an old age pension has been disallowed on the ground that he had received Poor Law relief in February 1908; whether he is aware that the applicant, learning that a son who had been partly maintaining him intended to go to Canada, went, on the instruction of his friends, to the relieving officer for advice as to what he should do; that the officer took down particulars of the case, told Roberts to call again, and gave him 2s.; and that, when Roberts went again, the officer told him that he would be unable to do anything until the son had landed in Canada, and gave him another 2s.; and whether, in view of the fact that this is the only relief that Roberts has had, and that he simply went to the relieving officer for advice, he will have the application reconsidered?

I am aware of this case. As the claimant, in fact, received poor relief since 1st January, 1908, he was disqualified under the Act, and, in the circumstances, I have no power to award him an old age pension.

asked the President of the Local Government Board if he will state what applications he has received this year for sanction to set up distress committees, and which applications were granted?

I presume my hon. Friend refers to the number of applications received since last season for the establishment of a distress committee. The answer is, One. This was a renewal last July of a previous application from Leigh in Lancashire. The statistics supplied in this case did not, in my opinion, warrant the establishment of a distress committee at that time.

also asked how many distress committees under the Unemployed Workmen Act have submitted schemes for providing work during the coming winter, and how many have been sanctioned, and the estimated cost.

Eight distress committees are in communication with the Local Government Board in reference to schemes of work to be carried out in the coming winter. In one case (West Ham) I have authorised the appropriation of an unexpended balance of £1,173 from last year's grant towards the work. Estimates of the cost have not yet been supplied in all cases, but, so far as they have been received, they amount to about £21,000. The Central (Unemployed) Body have submitted estimates for works amounting to £12,775, and grants to the extent of £7,670 have already been made. This is exclusive of expenditure upon the Hollesley Bay colony and on women's workrooms.

May I ask whether Wolverhampton has made application? Is it one of the eight?

Not to my knowledge.

asked the Prime Minister whether the Order issued last autumn relaxing certain of the regulations for administering the Unemployed Workmen Act will continue in operation during the coming winter?

Yes, Sir; the answer is in the affirmative.

asked the Prime Minister, in view of the amount of unemployment, and especially having regard to the prolonged period during which many people have suffered in consequence, whether he will state what steps the Government propose to take for meeting the difficulty during the coming winter?

The Government have passed through Parliament the Bill for the Labour Exchanges Act and are engaged in bringing it into operation. Further, the Unemployed Workmen Act has been included in the Expiring Laws Continuance Bill with a view to its being continued in force for another year, and the Government have obtained from Parliament a Vote of £200,000 towards the expenses incurred by the local bodies under it in providing useful work. The Local Government Board are ready to consider any suitable schemes of work proposed by these bodies where there is, or is likely to be, exceptional distress. They have been in communication with some of them, and in particular with the Central (Unemployed) Body for London, to whom some payments have already been made. The Government will carefully watch the course of events in regard to all these matters.

Are we to understand therefore that the whole of the grant this year and the operations under this Act will be reduced by £100,000 from £300,000 last year?

No, Sir; the present proposal is £200,000; but, as the hon. Member will remember, I said the Government will carefully watch the course of events.

In the event of the £200,000 being used up, will there be a chance of making a supplementary grant?

Yes, I have said so. We shall carefully watch the course of events.

asked the hon. Member for South Somerset, as representing the President of the Board of Agriculture, what percentage of the holdings in the North Riding of Yorkshire are under 50 acres?

The proportion of agricultural holdings over one acre and not exceeding 50 acres in the North Riding as returned to the Board this year was 60.9 per cent.

asked how long the special Commissioner, appointed under the Small Holdings Act, 1907, has been in the North Riding of Yorkshire; whether the county council has been entirely superseded by him as far as its functions under the said Act are concerned; and how many small holdings have been created by him since his appointment?

The Special Commissioner commenced his inquiries on 6th August last, his duty being to ascertain, in conformity with Section 3 (1) of the Act, the extent to which there is a demand for small holdings in the county and the extent to which it is reasonably practical to satisfy the demand. The council have not been in any way superseded by him. He is not empowered to create small holdings.

asked the Postmaster-General if he has power to prohibit the acceptance for transference of telegrams, such as those made public in Trafalgar-square on the 17th instant, containing offensive reference to the Sovereign of a friendly Power; and, if so, will he say what steps he proposes to take to prevent the transference of such telegrams in future?

I have not seen a report of the contents of the telegrams to which reference is made. Perhaps I may be allowed to point out that the question of the acceptance or refusal of a particular telegram is a very difficult and delicate one, and one which has to be decided by a subordinate officer on the spur of the moment. By regulation under the Telegraph Acts it is provided that "No telegram shall be transmitted or tendered for transmission which contains anything obscene or libellous or of a grossly offensive character." This regulation is usually interpreted to apply in the main to telegrams sent by one individual to another individual as such, and even then discrimination is not easy.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware that since he informed the House on 20th July that the mail cart drivers of Belfast worked about 60 hours per week for 21s. 6d., no alteration has taken place in the wages or hours of labour as then com- plained of, and that men are still working 73, 80, and 93 hours; whether he is also aware that the men affected were requested on Saturday last to sign a form agreeing to the hours appointed for the carrying out of the various works, and expressing satisfaction with the hours allotted to each duty; and will he say whether this request had his sanction, or was it made under the cognisance of the Belfast postal authorities or on the personal responsibility of the contractors; and, if not, can he say by whom; and what action does he intend to take in the matter?

I made inquiries into this matter. It appears that there is a difference of opinion as to the method of computing the hours of work; and I am not yet in a position, without further inquiry, to decide what alterations are necessary. I am informing the contractor, however, that I am not satisfied with the hours of work of certain of his men; and I will expedite the conclusion as far as possible. As regards the latter part of the question, the arrangement to which my hon. Friend refers was not adopted at the request or with the cognisance, of any officer of my Department. I need hardly say that any statement of the kind submitted by a mail cart contractor, and obtained in the way described would not influence my decision in regard to the proper hours of employment of mail cart drivers.

asked the Prime Minister when the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Agriculture will be appointed?

I cannot make any statement at present. There will be no unnecessary delay.

asked the Lord Advocate what amount of money has been spent by the Congested Districts Board and the Crofter Commission in the Outer Hebrides and Skye during the last four or five years; and whether the people selected to be settled on the land have succeeded in making a living and paying their rent, and how much money has been lost in the experiments?

The Crofter Commission have no funds at their disposal for expenditure, as sug- gested by the hon. Member. The annual Report of the Congested Districts Board shows the total expenditure of that Board on land schemes and otherwise up to 31st March, 1908, with accounts of receipts and payments of the Board since its foundation, to which I beg to refer the hon. Member, and from which he can draw his own conclusions.

May I ask if the Lord Advocate can tell us how much has been lost by the experiment?

No, Sir.

asked the Lord Advocate whether, in view of the fact that Mr Donald Macdonald, after having occupied a farm in Vatersay Island for more than 20 years, has been deprived of his only water supply and of the best pasturage for his cattle by outside raiders from Barra and Mingulay, although he paid a full rent, he can have a definite assurance from the Government that if he takes a farm offered to him in South Uist he will be protected by the Government from similar treatment in the future?

I would venture to refer the hon. Gentleman to the papers already laid before Parliament for a full statement of the facts which he has endeavoured to summarise here. The answer to the question which he puts is in the negative.

Can the Lord Advocate vouch for the figures?

Will the hon. and learned Gentleman answer the last part of the question?

I have answered that in the negative.

Will you give a guarantee?

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps are usually taken by the Treasury to recover the cost of game and other licences from persons who admit their liability, but have neglected to take them out at the proper time; if a fine is, in certain circumstances, charged in addition; and for how many years past can the duty be recovered?

The Treasury does not intervene in this matter. The authorities charged with the administration and collection of these licence duties are in England and Wales the county councils, and in Scotland and Ireland the Board of Customs and Excise. Persons who neglect to take out licences at the proper time incur penalties, and may be proceeded against for recovery of the same, where sufficient evidence is available. It is, however, open to the authorities at their discretion to give to a person who has omitted to discharge his liability at the proper time the option of paying any arrears that may be due with or without the addition of a fine as an alternative to proceedings in court for recovery of the prescribed penalty. The time within which legal proceedings in a Court of Summary jurisdiction can be taken is six months from the date of offence.

Will the right hon. Gentleman draw the attention of the authorities to the case quoted by the Chancellor of the Exchequer affecting himself?

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Customs authorities, while collecting the duty on imported tobacco at the higher rate contained in the Budget proposals, refuse to allow the extra tax of 8d. per pound of drawback on stalks and unworkable materials on the ground that it is not due until the Finance Bill has become law?

The facts are as stated.

Was the new charge for the duty and the drawback too?

Both the drawback and the payment are governed by the resolution of the House of Commons.

Why is not the drawback mentioned?

Because we preferred to follow precedent.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Inland Revenue is charging Legacy Duty at the increased scale imposed by the Finance Bill to persons other than a widow or lineal descendant, while the Legacy Duty imposed by the Finance Bill on certain legacies to a widow or lineal descendant is not being charged; and, if so, why the new duty is being claimed in the one case and not in the other?

The Inland Revenue is charging Legacy Duty at the increased rates, in accordance with the House of Commons Resolution, on legacies to persons other than a widow or lineal descendant, and is also charging Legacy Duty in accordance with the Resolution on legacies to widows and lineal descendants in all cases in which, when an account is tendered, it has been ascertained that a legacy, outside the exceptions in the Finance Bill, has been satisfied.