asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will state the names of the members of the committee of business men appointed to assist the Board of Trade, and the number of meetings of such committee held up to the present?

circulated the following lists:—COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—Sir F. Forbes Adam, C.I.E.; Mr. G. R. Askwith, C.B., K.C.; The Lord Avebury; Sir Alfred Bateman, K.C.M.G.; Sir Hugh Bell, Bart.; Mr. H. Birchenough, C.M.G.; Mr. F. Brittain; Mr. G. H. Cox; Mr. T. Craig-Brown; Mr. David George; Mr. C. A. Harris, C.B., C.M.G.; Sir T. W. Holderness, K.C.S.I.; Sir W. H. Holland, M.P.; Mr. H. W. Just, C.B., C.M.G.; Mr. Algernon Law, C.B.; Mr. W. H. Mitchell; Mr. E. Parkes, M.P.; Hon. W. Pember Reeves; Sir Albert Rollit; Sir H. Llewellyn Smith, K.C.B.; Sir Albert Spicer, Bart., M.P.; Mr. G. J. Stanley, C.M.G.; The Lord Strathcona and Mount Royal, G. C.M.G.; Mr. H. J. Tennant, M.P.; Mr. D. A. Thomas, M.P.; Mr. Robert Thompson.MERCHANT SHIPPING ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—Mr. Charles Barrie; Mr. Raymond Beck; Mr. Edmund Cathery; Mr. Samuel Cross; Sir William Theodore Doxford; Captain George Nelson Hampson; Mr. James Henson; Mr. Norman Hill; Mr. John Inglis, LL.D.; Mr. Michael Joyce, M.P.; Mr. Cuthbert Laws; Mr. Henry Radcliffe; Mr. William H. Raeburn; Mr. John A. Roxburgh; Sir Walter Runciman, Bart.; Mr. George Shearer; Mr. Thomas Spencer; Captain John Trenery; Mr. F. Shadforth Watts; and Mr. Joseph Havelock Wilson.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been called to a resolution of the Belfast Associated French Polishers demanding that the furniture and fitments of the new Labour Exchanges in Ireland should be manufactured, if possible, in Ireland, under fair wages and conditions; and whether he will take steps to see that this demand is acceded to.

The answer to the first part of the question is in the nega- tive. I am, however, informed by the Board of Works, Ireland, that practically the whole of the furniture and fitments for the new Labour Exchanges in Ireland have been made in Ireland, and the whole of it subject to the terms of the Fair Wages Resolution of the House of Commons.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether it would be possible to lay before the House the latest figures as to courts-martial in the Cavalry and Artillery, at home and abroad, without waiting for the appearance of the Table in the General Annual Report on the British Army?

The General Annual Report will go to press this week and will be in the hands of Members next week, and this will contain the required information.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he can state what progress has been made with the programme of building four large armoured ships of the latest type by the Austrian Government?

We have no official information that any large armoured vessels of the latest type have been laid down by the Austro-Hungarian Government.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty if he can state the speeds attained on trial by the "Albacore," "Bonetta," "Stour," and "Test," the four destroyers purchased to replace vessels lost?

The speeds attained on the official full-power trials of the vessels named were:—"Albacore," 26.75 knots; "Test," 25.625 knots; "Stour," 25.589 knots. The result obtained on the trial of the "Albacore" was accepted for the "Bonetta," the two vessels being alike.

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether it was originally laid down that claimants for old age pensions would be required to have their certificates stamped; and whether an order has lately been issued requiring a stamp to be affixed to them?

The certificates referred to are probably baptismal certificates. Such certificates are liable under the law to a Stamp Duty of Id. In the early stages of the old age pension work the Board of Inland Revenue expressed their willingness to dispense with formal certificates of baptism and to accept as evidence of age a written statement by the person in charge of the register that the entry had been found therein. In consequence, however, of certain serious frauds which have come to notice, the Board of Customs and Excise have been obliged to reconsider the position and to emphasise the formal character of these certificates and the responsibility of those who give them. They have accordingly directed pension officers not to accept a certificate of baptism as evidence unless it is given in proper form and bears a penny stamp as required by law.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he has been able to instruct the British Ambassador in Paris to represent to the French Government the injustice of their recent proposal to increase their tariff against agricultural implements manufactured in this country, and specially oppressive to those manufactured at Heybridge, in Essex; whether he has received any Report from our Ambassador; and, if so, can he state the result of His Excellency's representations?

A Memorandum on the French tariff proposals has been communicated by His Majesty's Ambassador at Paris to the French Government. The Memorandum included examples illustrative of the incidence of the present and proposed duties on various classes of agricultural machines and implements, amongst others on those described in the question. The Report of the Senate Commission on the French Tariff Bill is expected shortly. Until this has been received it is not possible to state what has been the result of the representations made.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether the Royal Commission on the Poor Laws and Relief of Distress has held any sitting for twelve months; whether it has long since presented all the Reports required of it; whether it is still in occupation of offices of considerable value, thereby involving other Commissions in expense in hiring accommodation; whether about twenty out of fifty volumes of its evidence, etc., have still to be published, although these volumes have been in type for more than a year; how many clerks and other officials connected with this Commission are still being paid from public funds, and under what supervision they are now working; and whether he can state when the offices will be vacated, when the remaining volumes of evidence, etc., will be published, and when the payments on behalf of this very costly Royal Commission will be brought to an end?

The last meeting of the Commission was held on 20th July, 1909. The existing staff of the Commission consists of a senior clerk and two assistant clerks, who perform their work under the supervision of the secretary and subject to the general control of the chairman. Of the eleven rooms originally occupied by the Commission at Scotland House only two and a store-room are now being used by the Commission's staff, the remaining eight rooms have been handed over to other Commissions. Since the issue of the English Report in February, 1909, the staff has issued the Commission's separate Report on Ireland, the Commission's separate Report on Scotland (November, 1909), and twenty-seven separate appendix volumes of evidence, Reports by special investigators, etc. In all during the year ended 4th March, 1910, the staff of the Commission has been responsible for editing and issuing twenty-nine separate volumes, containing over 10,300 folio pages of printed matter. There remains to be issued a consolidated index of the English Reports and evidence and twenty-three other volumes of evidence, special Reports, etc. Although a few of these volumes have been in type in an incomplete form for some time, the majority are in a very unfinished state, and require careful editing before publication. Among the volumes still to be issued are those relating to foreign poor relief systems and to the large mass of special statistics collected by the Commission. It is anticipated that the work of the Commission's staff will be completed in the autumn.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware that the services of a female rural letter-carrier in the Ballinalee sub-district were recently dispensed with unless the girl would consent to a reduction of her wages from 6s. 9d. per week to 3s. 6d.; whether it is the practice of his Department to make such reductions; whether the girl's place has since been filled; and, if so, at what wages?

The services of the female letter-carrier referred to have not been dispensed with. The wages of part-time officers are regulated by the number of hours for which they are employed, and in the instance in question the hours of employment were reduced in connection with certain rearrangements which were deemed necessary in the local postal service.

asked the Home Secretary what is the number of granite quarries in the United Kingdom since the beginning of 1906 which have been closed, and the maximum number of persons employed in or about those quarries?

The Returns for 1909 are not yet available, but the Returns for 1908, compared with those for 1905, show that there were eighty-one granite quarries (other than quarries only worked occasionally) which were at work in 1905 and not in 1908. These quarries employed 1,090 persons. Against them must be set thirty-six granite quarries, employing 665 persons, which were at work in 1908 and not in 1905.

asked whether the Treasury will grant a gratuity, under Section 2 (i) of The Superannuation Act, 1900, to the widow or children of the late James William Smith, a second class Admiralty clerk with over twenty-eight years' service, who died suddenly after the passing of the Superannuation Act, but before the rules under the Act came into force, and who had signified his intention of adopting the Act as soon as he was able to do so?

I regret to say that the Treasury have no power to make any grant in this case.

asked the Chief Secretary what amount was deducted in discharge of land purchase liabilities during the year 1909 and up to the date when the Birrell Act came into operation; under what headings the money was deducted; and whether he will give the amount deducted each year since 1903, and under the various headings up to 1909?

submitted the following statement, showing the net deductions in respect of land purchase liability made from the shares of counties in grants forming portion of the Guarantee Fund established under the Purchase of Land (Ireland) Act, 1891, and the Irish Land Act, 1903, in each year from 1908 inclusive:—

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland on what grounds the pension is being withheld from Matthew Egan, of Longford pension district, whose age has now been established to the satisfaction of the local pension committee; and will he cause the same to be paid to him now?

further asked why the pension granted to James Kenny, of Rhyne, has been stopped; is he aware that this man is merely a cottier tenant without any means, and that he is nearly seventy-four years of age, but unable to produce actual evidence thereof; and will his case be further considered?

I regret that I have been unable to find any record of the cases referred to by the hon. Member.

asked how much land the Congested Districts Board have acquired in the county of Leitrim for the purpose of enlarging uneconomic holdings; and when will such lands be divided?

The Congested Districts Board have only acquired 150 acres of un-tenanted land up to the present in county Leitrim, but they hope with their new powers and increased resources to make further purchases in the county as soon as practicable.

asked whether it is the practice of the Land Commission to recover from the rates of any particular county annuities not paid to the Land Commission by parties who have got mansions and land from the Estates Commissioners who, for exceptional reasons, are not able to pay the annuities put on them?

The hon. Member presumably refers to the cases in which a demesne and other lands in his occupation have been re-sold to the owner of an estate pursuant to Section 3 of the Irish Land Act, 1903. In such a case, if the half-year of the annuity payable in respect of the advance made to the owner happened to be unpaid after the appointed day, the arrear would be included in the amount certified by the National Debt Commis- sioners to the Treasury as chargeable to each county for the sums drawn from the Guarantee Fund in respect of purchasers' half-yearly payments in arrear, as provided by the Land Purchase Acts.

asked on what grounds the Local Government Board refused to grant an old age pension to Bridget M'Gourty, of Lisnagrath, Manorhamilton, notwithstanding the fact that she satisfied the local committee that she was over the statutory age, and produced a certificate to that effect from the Census of 1851, in which she was misnamed Ellen?

The Local Government Board upheld the appeal of the pension officer in this case as they were not satisfied from the evidence submitted that Bridget McGourty had attained the statutory age. There was no proof adduced that the person named Ellen in the Census extract was the cliamant Bridget, and the only other evidence she produced was a marriage certificate, which showed that she was married in 1864.

also asked the Chief Secretary whether he was aware that the Estates Commissioners had received an application from Francis Bird, of Derrygonnelly, county Fermanagh, for reinstatement in the farm from which he was evicted on the estate of George Lane Fox, county Leitrim; and whether, in the event of the Commissioners refusing to reinstate him, they would provide him with a suitable farm elsewhere?

The Estates Commissioners have considered the application of Francis Bird for reinstatement to a holding in the townland of Annaghboy on the estate mentioned in the question, which is now in the occupation of another tenant, and they have decided not to take any action in the matter. It is not their intention to provide him with a farm elsewhere. He is the proprietor of another farm which was purchased under the Land Purchase Acts.

asked when the Census (Ireland) Bill will be introduced?

The Bill will, I hope, be introduced in a day or two.

asked the Chief Secretary if he will state, with reference to the Provisional Regulations, dated 15th February, 1910, and made by His Excellency under Section 23 (8) of the Irish Land Act, 1903, and Section 4 of the Irish Land Act, 1909, what is the estimated or probable amount of the necessary funds for the purposes of the Labourers Acts which must be provided out of the money which may become available for the purposes of advances during the financial year commencing 1st April, 1910; whether the money required for the Bonus or Land Purchase Aid Fund will be also deducted from the money that may become available for the purposes of advances, and, if so, what will be its estimated or probable amount in the year named above; what is the total amount of the pending purchase agreements on each of the three principal registers mentioned in the above Provisional Regulations; and will there be any, and, if so, what limitation on the amount of Two and Three-quarters per Cent. Stock which will be issued during any one year to vendors who may agree to accept payment wholly or partly in such stock?

The Local Government Board estimate the amount of the necessary funds for the purposes of the Labourers Acts, to be provided as stated in the question, as approximately £1,250,000. It may be assumed that as heretofore the Treasury, when informing the Land Commission of the issue of stock for the purposes of land purchase, will at the same time inform them how much of the cash realised has been set apart for purposes of bonus. In the case of pending purchase agreements, it may be assumed that, subject to the provisions of the Irish Land Acts of 1903 and 1909, the bonus will be at the rate of 12 per cent. on the amount of the advances which may be made. The figures entered on the three principal registers respectively are: Direct sales, £47,016,938; sales to the Estate Commissioners under Sections 6, 7, and 8 of Act of 1903, £4,098,873; sales to the Congested Districts Board, £229,804. The figures vary each week as payments are made. The amount of Two and Three-quarter per cent. Stock which may be issued during a year in respect of advances made half in stock and half in cash will, of course, be determined by the amount of cash available for this class of cases. The amount of Two and Three-quarter per cent. Stock which may be issued during a year for advances to vendors who may agree to take the whole in stock is only limited by the amount of such cases which the Land Commission can administratively dispose of in addition to the other classes of cases.

asked the Chief Secretary whether the Estates Commissioners have received an application from John Tully, an evicted tenant, for reinstatement in his former holding on the Headfort estate, county Meath, or for an equivalent holding; and what action has been taken in his case?

No application for reinstatement has been received by the Estates Commissioners from the John Tully referred to in the question.

asked the Chief Secretary with reference to the Provisional Regulations, dated 16th February, 1910, and made by His Excellency under Section 23 (8) of The Irish Land Act, 1903, and Section 4 of The Irish Land Act, 1909, whether sales which are to be financed as future purchase agreements will be dealt with and completed before all the sales which are to be financed as pending purchase agreements have been dealt with and completed; if so, by what means will it be provided that the carrying through of sales under pending purchase agreements will not thereby be defrayed; whether, having regard to the necessity of allowing reasonable time to vendors under pending purchase agreements to obtain information and advice as to whether it would be advisable for them to apply to have their cases transferred to the subsidiary registers for payment in part stock or all stock, the Lord Lieutenant will be moved to take the necessary steps to provide that the date for making such applications shall be extended, in respect of the first set of subsidiary registers, from 1st April, 1910, to 1st May, 1910; and what sum of money is intended to be made available for the purposes of advances during the financial year commencing 1st April, 1910?

Pending sales will be dealt with in each year, so far as the funds made available for the year will go. It is proposed also that future agreements shall be dealt with at the same time to whatever extent may be possible, but this will not affect or delay the process of dealing with pending sales so far as funds are available for them. The date for making application could not be extended from 1st April to 1st May without causing great confusion, and such a change does not seem to be necessary. It is not possible at present to state the amount of money available for advances in 1910–11.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland what has been the number of students attending the agricultural colleges at Clonakilty, Athenry, and Ballyhaise, respectively, during the sessions of 1907, 1908, and 1909, and what fees have been paid by the students attending each college during the sessions named?

The particulars asked for are as follows:—