asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will say how many managers, assistant managers, and clerks have been appointed in connection with Labour Exchanges in Ireland; were inquiries made as to their antecedents; and, if so, how many are Irish, and have they been resident permanently in Ireland prior to 1910?

:Six managers, two deputy-managers, sixteen clerks, and seven messenger-clerks have been appointed to Labour Exchanges in Ireland. The usual inquiries were made as to the candidates before they received their appointments. I believe that all the above-mentioned officials are Irish, and all, with two exceptions, were resident in Ireland at the time of their appointments.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether any steps have been taken to reform the methods of testing for colour blindness adopted by the Board of Trade?

:The important question to which my hon. Friend refers is engaging my attention.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether the Corporation of Trinity House had petitioned His Majesty for a supplemental charter; if so, what was the object desired in seeking the supplemental charter; and whether he could lay a copy of it upon the Table of the House?

:The answer to the first part of the hon. Member's question is in the affirmative. A supplemental charter is necessary in order to enable a much-needed scheme to be established for the retirement of elder brethren from active duties on the ground of age or infirmity, and the provision of a fund for payment of pensions to such retired members. It would be contrary to precedent to lay the draft of the proposed supplemental charter upon the Table of the House, but a copy of the charter, if granted, will be laid in the ordinary course. Notice that such an application had been made was given in the "London Gazette" of 8th March, together with an intimation that petitions for or against such grant must be sent to the Privy Council Office on or before 22nd March.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he would explain, in regard to the Board of Trade statistics which gave the numbers of miners unemployed at 140,946 during the month of January, to what extent this state of unemployment was due to the operation of the Miners (Eight Hours) Act?

:The number quoted by the hon. Member represents the membership of miners' trade unions making returns of unemployment to the Board of Trade, and not the number unemployed.

asked the Home Secretary whether colliery managers have been notified of the new Explosives in Coal Mines Order of 21st February; if not, will colliery managers be notified?

:Notice of the new Order has been given in the "Gazette," and attention has also been called to it by notices in the trade papers and general Press. It is not the practice to distribute copies to the mines except when changes of importance are made in the body of the Order. In the present instance the only changes were the addition of two explosives to the list of permitted explosives, and the removal of several others at the request of the manufacturers. The Order is on sale, and can be obtained through the usual channels.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the percentage of members of the Metropolitan Police Force of all ranks between one and five years' service, five and ten years, ten and fifteen years, fifteen and twenty years, and over twenty years, respectively?

:The effective strength of the Metropolitan Police on 31st December last was 18,471, and the percentage of service was as follows:—

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he would reintroduce the Checkweighing in Various Industries Bill, which was introduced last Session as the result of a unanimous Report of a Departmental Committee?

:The Secretary of State will consider the question of reintroducing this Bill.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Agriculture whether any figures dealing with the hop acreages and yields for the quinquennium, 1853–9, were laid before the Select Committee on the Hop Industry; and, if so, will he give the figures for the five years in question, and state if the yield per acre then was greater or less than that of the quinquennium 1905–9?

:Mr. Graham Aldous, who gave evidence before the Select Committee, put in a table which had been given to him by a very large firm of hop merchants, giving an estimate of the acreage under hops and the average growth per acre in each year from 1807 to 1884. The table is printed as an appendix to the Report of the Committee, but we do not feel justified in making use of the figures for purposes of comparison with the Official Returns, which were first collected in 1885.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Agriculture whether the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries will arrange for the more adequate prevention of trawling within the three-mile limit on the English coast?

:By-laws for the prohibiting or regulation of trawling within the three mile limit are made, subject to our approval, by the local sea fishery committee, by whom they are enforced. Perhaps my hon. Friend will let me know the circumstances which led him to think that more adequate measures could be taken for the purpose to which he refers.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Agriculture, how many acres of land were applied for in the county of Suffolk under the Small Holdings and Allotments Act; how many applicants originally applied; how many acres of land had been obtained for small holdings in Suffolk; and how many applications had been satisfied?

The annexed tabular statement gives the information for which my hon. Friend asks. A column has been inserted showing the number of applicants approved by the county councils. I may add that land agents have recently been appointed in both divisions of the county, and we are hopeful that the result will be that additional land will be required to meet the unsatisfied demand in the near future.

asked in how many cases, and to what amount, money has been advanced by county councils under Section 19 of the Small Holdings Act, 1907, and the similar Section of the Act of 1892, to tenants purchasing their holdings?

During the years 1908 and 1909, £8,594 was advanced to eighteen tenants under Section 19 of the Small Holdings Act, 1907. Four hundred and sixty-two pounds was advanced to two tenants under the similar Section of the 1892 Act to 31st December, 1907, when the Act was repealed.

asked how many county councils have established or assisted in the establishment of credit banks under the Small Holdings Act, 1907?

So far as we are aware, no such steps have been taken as yet by any county council.

asked the Postmaster-General whether the branch post office at Leytonstone, which was promised more than a year ago, will shortly be opened; whether it is contemplated opening branch offices at East Ham, Brixton, Lewisham, and Acton; and whether he will ensure that, in making the staff arrangements at these offices, the general proportion of male to female counter clerks and telegraphists will be maintained?

I regret that there has been unanticipated delay in starting the building of the branch office at Leytonstone, and that it cannot be opened for some time. It has been decided to establish branch offices at East Ham, Lewisham, and Acton, and the question ofestablishing a branch office at Brixton is under consideration. The constitution of the staff to be employed at the new offices will depend on the nature of the duties to be performed.

asked the Postmaster-General if he will state why full-time assistants, who performed duties exactly similar to those of established officers, are allowed during illness only two-thirds of their small salaries, amounting in the maximum to 24s. per week for males and 22s. a week for females; whether, pending the finding of the Hobhouse Committee Report, he will allow such assistants their full salaries during illness; can he state when the case of the assistants re- ferred to will be completed, in accordance with the findings of the Hobhouse Committee's Report of 1908; and will any increases of pay that may be allowed be paid from the date of that Report?

The rates of pay of all unestablished officers of the Post Office when on sick leave are two-thirds their ordinary rates; full-time assistants come under this rule. The latter part of the hon. Member's question is not clear, but I would inform him that the recommendations of the Parliamentary Committee in regard to the pay of assistants have been carried out as from 1st January, 1908. The maximum pay is 30s. for men and 26s. for women, as shown on page 19 of the Parliamentary Paper, Post Office (Changes in Wages, etc.), issued in July, 1908.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he was aware of the inconvenience caused to inhabitants of the town of Stone by the closure of the sub-post office in the Stonefields district of that town; whether he was aware that repeated representations had been made without effect; and whether he would give instructions for its restitution without further delay?

I am having inquiry made, and will communicate with the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he had received information to the effect that for some months prior to the assassination of Boutros Ghali Pasha a violent campaign had been taking place in the vernacular Press stirring up religious hatred; and, if he had received information to this effect, what steps, if any, were taken under the Egyptian Press Law?

The vernacular Press has in recent years been hostile to the Administration. Action has been taken under the Press Law in two cases.

asked how many arrests were effected in connection with the murder of Boutros Ghali Pasha in Cairo; and how many of those arrested have been subsequently released?

We have not heard that anyone except the assassin himself has been arrested.

asked whether after the assassination of Boutros Ghali Pasha, President of the Egyptian Council of Ministers, the troops of the Army in occupation in Cairo were confined to barracks and standing under arms; and, if this was the case, what were the reason for this precaution?

We have no information such as that referred to by the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether it is necessary for a lieutenant of the Special Reserve, holding a certificate E 511 of the Chelsea School of Instruction to pass any further examination to qualify for the rank of captain?

A certificate on Army Form E 511 did not, of itself, qualify a lieutenant of the Militia for promotion to the rank of captain, and therefore it does not exempt the holder from the examination required by paragraph 256 of the Regulations for the Special Reserve of Officers.

asked whether an officer having a combined commissioned service of over fifteen years in the Volunteers, Militia, and Special Reserve, is entitled to the privileges described in paragraph 109, Special Reserve Regulations?

The reply is in the affirmative.

asked whether the Territorial Balloon Company is ready for immediate mobilisation; and, if so, to what division it will be attached upon mobilisation?

The Territorial Balloon Company is not yet equipped for mobilisation. The future organisation of the Regular Balloon Companies is at present under consideration, and the organisation of this company will depend on the decision arrived at. The Balloon Company forms part of army troops, and is not allotted to any division on mobilisation.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether he would inquire if the resolution passed unanimously at the meeting of the medical profession, held under the auspices of the Bombay Medical Union on 8th September, 1909, was sent to the proper authorities at Bombay to be forwarded to the Secretary of State; and whether he is aware of the belief among Indians that the main obstacle to a real reform of the medical service of their country is the desire to reserve the highly-salaried posts to people of this country?

:The Secretary of State for India is not acquainted with the resolution referred to, but if, as stated, it has been sent to the proper authorities in Bombay for transmission to him it will doubtless reach him in due course. I am not aware of the existence among Indians of any such erroneous belief as that referred to in the concluding portion of the question. Answers given to similar questions in this Parliament and the last, and the Papers laid before Parliament, to which I would refer the hon. Member, afford ample evidence of the efforts that are being made to widen the field in regard to medical appointments.

asked whether the matron, the assistant matron, and the head nurse at the General Hospital, Madras, are paid by the Indian taxpayer; whether those posts are open to Indians; if so, how many Indians have hitherto been appointed to them; and whether, considering the importance of spreading a general knowledge of medical matters among Indian women, greater facilities would be given to such of them as desire to join the nursing staff and to rise to the highest posts at the General Hospital?

:The General Hospital, Madras, is appointed entirely from Indian revenue. As this is the principal State hospital in Madras, and receives many European and Eurasian patients, it seems advisable that the matron, assistant-matron, and head nurse should be Europeans or Eurasians trained in European hospitals. Such training is hardly available for Indians. The diffusion of a knowledge of medical matters among Indian women, the importance of which is fully recognised, is promoted by schools for the training of nurses attached to this and to other large hospitals in India.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether there are under the senior assistant professor at the Medical College, Madras, and the senior assis- tant surgeon, General Hospital, Madras, Indian civil doctors with university qualifications sufficient to enable them to be registered under the Medical Acts and to be recognised as medical practitioners in this country; whether the present holders of these posts are military assistant surgeons who had only four years' course of studies prior to qualification; whether he is aware that military assistant surgeons are not allowed, according to the Army Regulations, to use the knife, and are allowed to perform only the duties of dispensers and apothecaries as long as they are attached to military hospitals; and what is the number of natives of India who have so far filled these posts?

:There appear to be no Indian Civil doctors with the qualifications indicated, under the senior professor at the Medical College, Madras. As regards the status of the latter officers, I beg to refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my predecessor to the question by the hon. Member for Galway North on 21st October last. It is not possible to state what number of natives of India have filled these posts. I am not aware of any rule forbidding military assistant surgeons to perform operations.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether he can state what change, if any, he proposes to make in the classification of the age above which persons in Ireland will be classified, in the official Report of the Census, as illiterate or otherwise; and whether he can indicate if the present practice of taking the age at five years will be adhered to?

:The question of the minimum limit of age to be adopted in the table of illiteracy will be carefully considered by the Irish Government before the tables which are to accompany the Report on the Census of 1911 are approved. Some change will doubtless be made, but I cannot at present say what its effect will be.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether the Estates Commissioners have received an application from the representatives of the late Patrick Cruise to be reinstated in his former holding on the Hussey estate, situate at Kilmainham Wood, county Meath; and what action has been taken in the matter?

:The Commissioners have received applications from the son and also from the brother of Patrick Cruise. His former holding has been purchased under the Land Purchase Acts by the present occupier, and the Commissioners cannot interfere' in the matter. The Commissioners offered to allot another holding to the representatives of Cruise, but they refused to sign a joint agreement, and the Commissioners do not propose to take any further action in the case.

asked how many evicted tenants have been reinstated in the county of Waterford during the year 1909; and whether he would be good enough to give a list of their names?

:Twenty-nine tenants or representatives of tenants evicted from holdings in county Waterford were reinstated or provided with new holdings by the Estates Commissioners during the year 1909, and one by the landlord on the suggestion of the Commissioners. The hon. Member will find detailed particulars with regard to evicted tenants who have been reinstated in the Quarterly Returns presented to Parliament in pursuance of Section 3 of the Evicted Tenants Act.

asked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland how many cottages have been provided under the Labourers Acts in the rural districts of Dungarvan, Lismore, and Youghal (No. 2); how many cottages have been sanctioned for erection in these rural districts under the Labourers Act of 1906; how many allotments have been already provided in the same rural districts; and how many have been sanctioned since the passing of the Act of 1906?

:Up to 31st March, 1907, the numbers of cottages provided under the Labourers Acts in the Rural Districts mentioned were: Dungarvan 123, Lismore 166, Youghal (No. 2) 118. Under the Act of 1906 there have been sanctioned in these rural districts, respectively, 140, 75, and 43 cottages. Up to 31st March, 1907, no allotment, as distinct from an additional allotment in connection with a cottage, had been provided, whilst under the Act of 1906 two separate allotments have been sanctioned in Dungarvan Rural District and one in Youghal (No. 2) Rural District.

asked how many evicted tenants were on the Crook- enden and Casey estate, county Cavan, and how many have been restored or dealt with; how many grass farms are on this estate; and have they been inspected with a view to purchase?

:The Estates Commissioners have received seven applications from persons seeking reinstatement as evicted tenants on this estate. Five of these do not come within the provisions of Section 2 (1) (d) of the Irish Land Act, 1903, or Section 2 (a) of the Evicted Tenants Act, and the remaining two have been noted for consideration in the allotment of untenanted land. The Commissioners are in negotiation with a view to acquiring certain lands on the estate for distribution, but at this stage of the negotiations they do not consider it desirable to give further particulars.

asked what is the present position of the tenants on the Crookenden and Casey estate, county Cavan; when did they sign their purchase agreements; when will their holdings be vested in them; and how many estates have to be dealt with before this estate will be reached?

:The Estates Commissioners inform me that the owners proposed, in the first instance, to sell this estate direct to the tenants under the Irish Land Act, 1903, and purchase agreements signed by a number of the tenants were lodged on dates varying from May, 1904 to July, 1907. Subsequently the proceedings for sale were changed to a sale to the Commissioners under Section 6 of the Act, and the Commissioners purchased the property. The estate is a congested one, and a scheme of rearrangement is in course of preparation. Meanwhile the lands cannot be vested in the tenants. No question of priority arises as the estate has been vested in the Commissioners and the purchase money paid.

asked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether the estate of the Earl of Westmeath, in the townland of Crannagh, Tynagh, county Galway, has been purchased by the Estates Commissioners; is he aware that a large number of uneconomic holdings are to be found in the district of Ballyglass, Tynagh; and can he say which of the Boards, the Estates Commissioners or the Congested Districts Board, will deal with the tenants on this particular section of the estate, and when?

:The estate in question has not been purchased by the Estates Commissioners, but proceedings are pending for its sale to them. The property lies in a congested districts county, and the question whether its purchase is to be completed by the Commissioners or by the Congested Districts Board is at present under consideration.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether he will state the number of detailed, as distinct from ordinary, inspections that have been held since 1903, and up to the present date, of each of such of the larger schools of art as those at Liverpool, Manchester, New-castle-on-Tyne, Birmingham, Sheffield, Bradford, Leicester, Plymouth, Bristol, the London County Council Central School of Arts and Crafts, the New Cross School of Art, and the Brighton School of Art; the time given to each inspection; the number of inspectors engaged in each; how soon after each inspection has the report been communicated by the Board to the local managers of each school respectively; and the number of additional times between the detailed inspections that each of the schools has been visited by an inspector from the Board?

:Detailed inspections are held only for schools recognised under Article 51 (a) of the Regulations for Technical Schools, Schools of Art, etc. In accordance with the terms of this Article the fixed annual grant payable to such schools is subject to a triennial reassessment based upon the character, efficiency, and volume of the work of each school as ascertained by a detailed inspection. The detailed inspection for the purposes of this reassessment covers three processes:—(1)The inspection of the school and its operations. (2) The scrutiny of locally-selected art works executed by the students during the school year and sent to the Board of Education for examination at South Kensington. (3) A consideration of returns from each school made after the end of the school year. The results of these three processes are then considered together, with a view to the re-assessment of the grant, and the Report is usually issued to the managers of the school at the same time as the announcement of the rate of grant, or shortly after the three processes included under the detailed inspection are completed. Any points arising out of the inspection of the school and its operations which require early attention by the managers are dealt with either orally in the locality, when this inspection is being held, or by the early transmission of an Interim Report specially prepared for this purpose. The information asked for in the remainder of the question is of so detailed a character that it could only be given with accuracy in a long tabulated schedule. I think, therefore, that the hon. Member's purpose would best be served if I cause a complete list to be sent to him, instead of having it printed at length in the Votes. Such a list is now being compiled, and will be sent to him as soon as it is completed.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury if he will state how many are in receipt of old age pensions in the Scilly Islands; and what was the amount paid in pensions in 1909?

:I regret I cannot make any exception to the general rule now in force against supplying information of this kind for particular areas.

asked why in the case of those old age pensioners whose pensions were stopped during the recent inquiry into the working of the Act in Ireland, but who have since become qualified and have again been granted pensions, the pension officers are securing a refund of the amount paid prior to discontinuation of pensions by withholding payment of the newly granted pensions until the amount so withheld shall equal the amount received by the pensioners while not qualified?

:In the cases in question there is a debt due to the Crown under Section 9 (2) of the Old Age Pensions Act, 1908, and the amount, where not refunded in cash, has to be recovered by withholding payment of any pension subsequently granted until the account is adjusted.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he can state the names and mileage of the light railways in Ireland to which the Government have contributed towards the cost of construction, and the amount so contributed to each railway; whether any baronial or other guarantee was given by ratepayers in respect of any, and, if so, which, of these railways, and the amount and for what period the guarantee was given; and what was the rate an the pound which the ratepayers were called upon to contribute

submitted the following particulars:—