asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in view of the prohibitive character of the new Japanese tariff to come into force next year, and the possibility of negotiating satisfactory reductions of that tariff in the interests of British exporters, he will consider the desirability of including in his next Budget provision for the taxation of such luxuries as Japan now supplies to this country such as silks, objets d'art, etc.?

I understand that the probable effect of the proposed Japanese tariff on British trade is now being carefully examined by the Board of Trade in consultation with their Commercial Intelligence Committee, and pending the result of that examination I am unable to make any statement on the subject.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in appointing the Commissioners under the Development and Road Improvement Funds Act, he will consider as to appointing one of the Commissioners with a special knowledge of fisheries, in order to secure that the interests of the fishing industry shall receive full consideration in the administration of the Development Fund?

I will consider my hon. Friend's suggestion.

asked what is the actual cost of the new War Office?

One million two hundred and twenty-nine thousand one hundred and twenty-eight pounds.

asked what is the actual cost to date of the new Local Government buildings in Whitehall; and, if further expenditure be contemplated, will he state the nature and amount of the same?

The actual cost to date of the new Government buildings for the Educational Department and the Local Government Board in Whitehall is as follows:—

	£	s.	d.
Purchase of Site	556,015	15	1
Redemption of Land Tax	2,221	10	0
Erection of Buildings and Works connected therewith	656,790	7	10
	£1,215,027	12	11

The above figures do not include any further sums which may be due to the contractors in respect of the balance due to the builders on their contract. No further expenditure is contemplated. A claim of £106,112 has been put forward by the contractors and is now under consideration.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether any refunds have been made or claimed under the Old Age Pensions Act from persons deprived of their pensions; what is the gross amount so received; and into what fund is the money so received paid, giving the amount now standing to the credit of the said fund?

The total amount of refunds received up to 31st March, 1910, is £2,253 17s. 8d. The money has been paid to the credit of the account of the Vote for Old Age Pensions, and dealt with as explained upon the Appropriation Account of that Vote for 1908–9, and in the Comptroller and Auditor-General's Report thereon (House of Commons 14 of 1910).

asked the Chief Secretary if he will state, by counties, the number of evicted tenants in Ireland noted by the Estates Commissioners as suitable for holdings and not yet provided with holdings; the number for various reasons not so noted and not provided with holdings; and the total number of evicted tenants not yet provided with holdings?

The Estates Commissioners propose to give the information sought by the hon. Member in the Appendix to the Annual Report for the year to 31st March, 1910, which is at present in course of preparation.

asked the Chief Secretary if he will give for the year 1909–10 the number of pupils on the rolls of public elementary and primary schools in Ireland; the number of secondary and technical schools that receive Grants from Imperial funds, if any; the amounts of the Grants paid; and the cost of public education per head of the population for that year?

The average number of pupils on the rolls of national schools in Ireland for the year 1909 was 704,486. Three hundred and seventeen secondary schools received Grants in 1909 from the Commissioners of Intermediate Education amounting to £50,142, 286 secondary schools received Grants amounting to £27,472 from the Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction for the school year ended 31st July last, and eighty-seven technical schools received Grants amounting to £18,216 from the Department for the same period. The expenditure on public education in Ireland during the year 1909–10 by the several Departments concerned was as follows: Commissioners of National Education, £1,623,392; Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction, £151,063; Commissioners of Intermediate Education. £75,900; Reformatory and Industrial Schools, £109,541; Commissioners of Public Works (for national school buildings), £58,638, making a total of £2,018,534. The estimated population of Ireland at the middle of 1909 was 4,371,635, and on this basis the cost per head of the population would appear to be 9s. 2¾d.

asked the Attorney-General for Ireland whether his attention has been calld to the alteration of the dates of the examinations in arts of extern students by the National University; and whether, in view of the direction in the Act that the governing body of the university shall, so far as practicable, provide for any such students obtaining degrees on conditions not more onerous than those under which they could obtain corresponding degrees in the Royal University of Ire- land, he will say what steps, if any, have been taken to ascertain whether this proposed action is in accordance with the provisions of the Act?

I am informed that the dates of examinations were adopted by the governing body of the university after much consideration, first by a special committee, then by the general board of studies, and finally by the senate itself. I see no reason at all to suppose that the requirements and directions of the Act were not in all respects complied with.

asked the Chief Secretary whether he can state what quantity of grazing or untenanted land was acquired by the Estates Commissioners in the county of Cork up to date; can he state how many tenants out of the 18,000 who have purchased their holdings received land out of the grazing lands to make their holdings economic; and what number of tenants are there in county Cork where annuities range between £15 and £8 and £8 and under?

The Estates Commissioners have purchased 5,877 acres of untenanted land in county Cork. They have no available statistics with regard to the other matters referred to in the question.

asked the Chief Secretary whether any farm has been offered to Mr. Griffin, planter, on the estate of Erasmus Smith, at Pallasgreen, county Limerick; and, as this man has expressed his willingness to leave this place, will steps be taken, if not already so done, to provide him with a place elsewhere and allow the old tenant, who has been living in a wretched hovel on the roadside for the past thirty years, into his old home?

I have nothing at present to add to my rely to the question on the same subject asked by the hon. Member on 2Sth February last.

asked the Chief Secretary if he will say whether his attention has been called to the growing practice in all the large English cities of traders attempting to sell as Irish eggs from other countries; is it intended to pre- vent the continuance of this form of fraud and have any steps recently been taken; and, if so, will he state with what result?

There is no doubt that sales of foreign eggs as Irish take place; but the Department of Agriculture cannot say that the practice is a growing one. They inform me that their inspection staff in Great Britain are most energetic in the work of endeavouring to detect frauds of this description, and will continue to take all practicable steps to prevent such sales. As a result of their action proceedings have been successfully instituted for offences under the Merchandise Marks Acts. In three of the cases the prosecutions were, at the request of the Department, undertaken by the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries. The most recent case of these was heard last week, and fines amounting to £20 were imposed, besides costs.

asked the Chief Secretary if he will say whether the contract for engineer in the latest Bawnboy labourers' cottage scheme has yet been given, and by whom; who is the gentleman appointed, and at what percent, did he tender; was there a slightly lower tender, and, if so, by whom; will he say why the higher tender was accepted, if such be the case; whether any consideration will be had for the interests of the ratepayers in this matter; and in there any good reason for passing over an exceedingly competent local engineer and architect, who has offered his services?

The officer appointed under Section 9 of the Labourers Act of 1906 to carry out an improvement scheme in the Bawnboy Rural District, as the Council had failed to make an adequate scheme, has appointed, after due advertisement for candidates, Mr. F. G. Townsend to act as engineer in connection with the scheme, at a remuneration of 5s. for marking each plot, and 2½ per cent, upon the cost of the work carried out in accordance with the contracts for the execution of the work. It appears that Mr. P. J. Brady tendered at a somewhat lower rate than Mr. Towns-end. In view of the responsibilities falling on the officer appointed to perform all the duties of the Council in the matter, it seems to me to be reasonable that he should be permitted to employ the person whom he considers to be the most suitable candidate, subject to compliance with the requirements of the Labourers Order of 1906 with respect to qualifications and remuneration. Mr. Townsend is considered by the chief architect to the Local Government Board to be a very careful and competent engineer, and the rate of his remuneration is less than the maximum authorised under the Labourers Order.

asked the Chief Secretary if he is aware that Mr. Joseph O'Doherty recently purchased the townland of Tulnaree, in the county of Donegal, for the sum of £650, a holding containing six acres two roods of land, at a price of £54 per acre; that the Innishover Rural District Council compulsorily acquired half an acre of Mr. O'Doherty's land and only, as the result of arbitration, paid £19 for it; whether the Local Government Board sanctioned the compulsory taking of portion of such a small holding as six and a half acres, and also the unfairness and inadequacy of the price; and if he will introduce amending legislation to prevent the recurrence of similar cases?

Mr. O'Doherty appears to have paid in 1902 a sum of £650 for a licensed house, together with the occupier's interest in a holding of six acres and twenty perches, the price including auction fees, cost of conveyance and expenditure on renovating the premises. The necessity for a cottage in the case was clearly proved, and as Mr. O'Doherty has other large farms in the district, the Local Government Board, after careful consideration of all the facts, disallowed his petition against the portion of the inspector's order authorising the compulsory acquisition of the site. The arbitrator allowed £8 to the owner and £9 10s. to the occupier, Mr. O'Doherty, for their respective interests in the half acre of land to be compulsorily acquired. Mr. O'Doherty received due notice of the sittings of the arbitrator, but did not avail himself of the opportunity of tendering evidence as to the value of the plot. The Board have no authority whatever to interfere with the price which may be fixed by an arbitrator for land to be acquired under the Labourers Acts. It does not appear that any amending legislation is called for.

asked the Chief Secretary whether any time has been fixed within which the five publicans appointed in county Mayo to be justices of the peace are to transfer their licences, and has the Lord Chancellor any control over the choice of the transferees; may they transfer to wife, son, or daughter, and continue to reside on the licensed premises, and yet sit at petty sessions and hear cases of drunkenness and other cases, connected with public-houses; will he consider whether it would be better to allow them to remain licensed and so be disabled from hearing all cases connected with the sale of drink; is he aware that the total valuation of the five public-houses, of the five justices is less than £45 altogether, and that in the case of two of them is well under £10; whether the Lord Chancellor ascertained the valuation of their public-houses before appointing them to be justices; is it intended to appoint any more small publicans to be justices of the peace; and, if there be districts where the-only eligible persons are publicans, will he consider the advisability of appointing paid resident magistrates rather than form petty sessions benches of publicans in poor districts, where most of the crime is due to drink?

No precise date has been fixed for the transfer of the licences referred to; nor have the particulars of the transfers been arranged. The holding of a licence under the Intoxicating Liquor Acts is not in itself a disqualification for appointment to the magistracy, but is a disqualification for acting in cases under those Acts, and that disqualification remains so long as the person has any pecuniary interest in the proceeds of the licensed business, whether the licence be in his own name or in the name of any other person. The Lord Chancellor is not aware of the particulars of the valuation of the premises to which the licences are attached, but he is aware that the persona referred to carry on other business to a substantial extent and are possessed of farms or house property. In the appointment of magistrates his Lordship will in the future, as he has always done in the past, have regard to the necessities of each district and the circumstances of each particular case.

asked the Chief Secretary whether he is aware that John Carson, Lattoon, Kiltyclogher, county Leitrim, was granted an old age pension last year and that the pension officer, in May, 1909, brought his case before the pension committee on the allegation that Carson was not of the necessary Age; will he say, seeing that Carson proved his age satisfactorily and that the committee confirmed the pension, why the Local Government Board reduced it to 4s. a week without assigning any reason, though Carson is not possessed of any land or property whatever and is supported by a brother; and will he say if Carson was asked as to alleged means or given any opportunity by the Local Government Board to show that he was entitled to the full pension?

The Local Government Board reduced John Carson's pension from five shillings to four shillings a week, as they considered that his maintenance was worth more than £21 a year. They did not communicate with Carson as to his means, but were furnished by the pension officer with particulars relating to the farm on which Carson was maintained, including a list of the stock and crops.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he as aware that on His Majesty's ship "Gloucester," now being constructed at Messrs. Beardmore's works, Clydebank, painting work and cork dusting is being done by labourers at from 5d. to 7d. per hour, instead of being done by painters, as is customary, at 9d. per hour; and whether he will have the matter investigated with a view to having the Fair Wage Clause complied with?

further asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he is aware that on His Majesty's ship "Glasgow," and on some torpedo boats now being constructed by the Fairfield Shipbuilding Company, painting work and cork dusting, which is customarily done by painters at 9d. per hour, is being done by labourers at from 5d. to 7d. per hour; and whether he will have investigation made with a view to securing compliance with the Fair Wage Clause?

I have not yet received the information I have asked for from the firms with regard to these questions, and I should be glad if the hon. Member would defer them until after the Recess.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether every Terri- torial officer on joining his corps is entitled to an allowance of £20 towards the purchase or alteration of uniform; and whether a sum of £3 16s., paid by an officer on account of a slip-on waterproof and a pair of puttees, necessary articles of uniform, and items of an officer's complete outfit, purchased by the officer and accounted for on a proper receipt voucher, should be deducted from this officer's account, in spite of the fact that the inclusion of these two items would not cause the sum of £20 allowed to be exceeded?

If the hon. Member has reason to believe that an officer has not received what he is entitled to under the Regulations, and will furnish me with his name, I will make inquiries into the matter.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he will inquire as to whether the accommodation allotted to unmarried quartermaster-sergeants at the Brompton Barracks, Chatham, is in accordance with the Army Regulations; and, if not, whether he will direct that lodging allowances be made to those men whose accommodation is not in accordance with such Regulations?

I am making inquiries, and will let the hon. Member know the result in due course.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether his attention has been called to the fact that in the armourers' section of the Army Ordnance Corps there are about 320 staff sergeants and only thirty-nine quartermaster-sergeants and twenty sergeant-majors, and that a staff-sergeant has to wait eighteen years or upwards for his promotion; and whether he will consider the reorganisation of the section on the lines of the machinery artificer section or the Army Pay Corps, or take some steps to accelerate the promotion of staff-sergeants?

The reason why there are so many armourers serving as staff-sergeants and why they have to spend so long a time in that rank is that in the Army Ordnance Corps an armourer starts as a staff-sergeant, whereas in other services he would have to serve first in the rank of private, corporal, and sergeant. I am not prepared, as at present advised, to consider a reorganisation of the section on the lines suggested by the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for War if the Committee of the South African Garrison Institute has subscribed to any club outside South Africa the sum of £25,000 out of the profits of the institute, which are derived from private soldiers serving in South Africa; whether it is part of the regulations under which the institute is conducted that all profits should be spent for the good of the soldier in South Africa; and, if such moneys have been spent, will he state by whose authority this payment was made?

This sum has been subscribed for two purposes—one for the completion of the Union Jack Club and the other for the erection of a hostel for the wives and children of married soldiers arriving from South Africa and other foreign stations or when passing through London. Such expenditure is clearly for the benefit of soldiers who have served in South Africa and who have returned or will return from that station. I am not aware of any regulation restricting the expenditure of the fund to the confines of South Africa. The fund is administered by the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, South Africa, and a committee representative of the various units stationed there.

asked the Home Secretary when a decision will be arrived at with regard to the proposed change in the service of the London Dock Police; and whether he will receive a deputation on this matter, or give facilities for discussing it in the House?

The necessary inquiries are being made, but the matter is exceedingly complex and cannot be decided in a hurry. I can at present add nothing to the reply I gave my hon. Friend on 11th March.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether he will grant the Return standing on the Order Paper for Wednesday, 27th, in the name of the Member for Montgomery District?

The heading "description" in the Return to be presented on the Motion of my hon. Friend the Member for Merthyr Tydvil will be amplified in the manner suggested by my hon. Friend.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether it has been repeatedly affirmed that the judges of the mixed courts in Egypt are irremovable save for misconduct, and, if so, why this principle is not equally applied in regard to European judges in the native courts; whether he has any official information showing that placing judges of the Native courts (as in the case of Mr. John Selden Willmore, recently a judge in the Native Court of Appeal) on contract is prejudicial to the interests of justice, since any judge whose decisions give dissatisfaction to the Egyptian Government, or who is personally unpopular, is liable to have his services dispensed with at the termination of his contract; whether the Belgian judge who was appointed in the place of Judge Willmore was placed on contract; how many of the European judges in the Native courts other than English are serving and not serving on contract respectively; bow many of the English judges in the Native courts are serving and not serving on contract respectively; and, if he has not got the information, will he obtain it?

The irremovability of Judges in the mixed courts, and its extent, are dealt with in Article 9, Title 1, Chapter 1 of the "Réglement d'Organisation Judi-ciaire pour les Procés Mixtes en Egypte." The nature of the work in the mixed courts and native courts respectively is so different as to render any comparison difficult. I am aware of the objections which have been put forward in certain quarters to the system under which the judges of the native courts in Egypt have been appointed. This question is at present under the consideration of the Egyptian Government with a view to its revision. I will obtain information as to the terms of the appointment of the Belgian judge and on the other points raised in the latter part of the hon. Member's question.

also asked the same right hon. Gentleman whether he has received information of the increase of crime in Egypt during 1909; whether there were 911 reported cases of murder, 647 of attempted murder, sixty-seven of aggravated assault, and 546 of robbery; whether he can state, in regard to the murders, in how many cases the murderer was declared unknown; in how many cases the accused, in the case of murder, was released by the Parquet on the ground of insufficient evidence; in how many cases the accused in the murder was tried by the court of assize, convicted, and sentenced to capital punishment; and in how many cases the accused was acquitted by the court of assize; and whether he can give information, as follows, in regard to the cases of robbery, how many of these cases were cases of gang robbery or brigandage, and how many of those accused in robbery cases, and acquitted for want of evidence, have been administratively sentenced to banishment by the courts of assize and by the administrative courts, respectively?

The Report of the Judicial Adviser to the Ministry of Justice for the year 1909 shows that there has been an increase of 173 crimes over the figure for 1908, but that there was a very notable diminution in the statistics of crime for the latter months of 1909. The statistics of crime quoted by the hon. Member are correct. I have no figures to show the number of murder cases in which the murderer was declared unknown. The proportion of murder eases filed by the Parquet for want of evidence was 47.1 per cent. The figures asked for as regards the Court of Assize are:—607 tried, 463 convicted, 18 sentenced to capital punishment (presumably for murder), and 144 acquitted, respectively. I have not the information required as regards cases of robbery.

asked the Foreign Secretary whether he will cause inquiry to be made from the British Consuls in Japan as to whether, and, if so, how, the Consumption Tax in Japan is worked in a manner which discriminates prejudicially between British and other imported goods; and whether he is prepared to make representations to the Japanese Government to substitute, for the present ad valorem Consumption Tax one consisting of specific rates?

I must refer the hon. Member to the answer returned on the 25th instant on this subject. It was there stated that the matter was not being lost I sight of. The question is now under investigation.

asked the Prime Minister whether the Tithe Rating Act, which expires this year, is to be included in the Expiring Laws Continuance Bill?

The answer is in the affirmative.

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether his attention has been called to the fact that Mr. Myhill, of Rockland. St. Peters, Attleborough, Norfolk, made a declaration under the Vaccination Act, 1907, on 17th January last, filling in the form quite correctly; whether he is aware that the magistrate who witnessed the declaration omitted to fill in the name of the place where it was made, and that the vaccination officer refuses to accept the declaration, and threatens to prosecute Mr. Myhill; and whether he will interfere in the matter so as to prevent action being taken against Mr. Myhill?

I have been in communication with the vaccination officer in regard to this case, and have to day informed him that I do not see any sufficient reason for treating the declaration as invalid.

asked the Postmaster-General whether work is now proceeding on the erection of telephone poles in the narrow part of High Street, Bushey; whether such work is being carried out in spite of the unanimous opposition of the inhabitants of Bushey; whether protests against the work have been addressed to him through various representative channels; whether he is aware that the erection of these poles will in some cases diminish the width of the footway to about two feet nine inches, and so cause hindrance and inconvenience to the users of the footway; whether he is aware that the roadway at this point has dangers, in consequence of which the Local Government Board has imposed a ten-mile limit upon motor cars, and that the telephone poles will add to the dangers; whether he is aware that the erection of the poles is calculated to disfigure the appearance of the High Street, damage the popularity of Bushey as a place of residence and resort for artists, and consequently gravely injure its trade and business; whether he is aware that the consent of the road authority to the erection of the poles was obtained in consequence of the absence through illness of the late representative of Bushey on the Hertfordshire County Council from the deliberations of that body; whether he is aware that the residents of Bushey do not entertain any objection to the laying of the wires underground; and whether he will give effect to the unanimous desire of the inhabitants by ordering the discontinuance of the work?

An ærial line along the present route has been in existence for some years, and is being renewed on poles in positions fixed after consultation with the road authority. I have received protests against the work, but I have no reason to believe that it will have the effects referred to in the question. I am dealing further with the hon. Member's question in a letter replying to one he has sent me on the same subject.

asked the Postmaster-General whether a contract for the transit of the mails between Bantry and Castletown Berehaven is about to be entered into; and, if so, whether he will see that provision will be made for remedying the defects in the postal arrangements complained of by the rural district council of Castletown Berehaven?

A new contract is being cosidered, but I doubt whether it will be practicable to make any alteration in the Castletown Berehaven postal service at the present time. I will, however, give the matter my most careful consideration before arriving at a final decision.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Agriculture if he can give the chief veterinary's report on the death of calves on Mr. Sillitoe's farm at Chetwynd Aston?

The matter is still under investigation, and the chief veterinary officer is not as yet in a position to make a report respecting it.

asked the Lord Advocate whether he has received a resolution passed at a meeting of parents and ratepayers of Collieston, Aberdeenshire, protesting against the action of the school board in asking the Education Department to sanction a scheme whereby the ex-pupil teachers and scholars at present in Collieston school will be drafted to the Slains public school; and what action he proposes to take in the matter?

A resolution to the effect stated was received by the Department on 17th January, 1910, but after full consideration of all the circumstances the Department did not see their way to interfere with the discretion of the board in a matter which is within their province. The protesters were informed accordingly on 18th March, 1910.

asked the Lord Advocate if he will give, for the year 1909–10, the number of pupils on the rolls of public, elementary, and primary schools in Scotland; the number of secondary and technical schools that receive Grants from Imperial funds; the amount of the Grants paid; and the cost of public education per head of the population for that year?

The number of pupils on the rolls of primary schools for the year ended 31st August, 1909—the latest year for which figures are available—was 803,820. The number of secondary and technical schools that receive Grants from imperial funds is 246, and the amount of the Grants paid (for the year 1908–9) was £133,190. It is not clear what is meant by "cost of public education" in the last part of the question. If this refers to the total amount voted by Parliament for Grants in aid of public education, the sum per head of the estimated population for the year 1909–10 is 8s. 4.88d. The amount raised from local rates in the year 1908–9 represented a sum of 5s. 10d. per head of the estimated population.

asked the Lord Advocate whether he is aware that school children attending the Bragar public school, Island of Lewis, have recently been required by the headmaster to carry peats to school; and, seeing that this action on the part of the headmaster is in contravention of an order issued by the Scottish Office some years ago, will care be taken to prevent I the order being disregarded either at Bragar or other schools in the island?

In reply to inquiries the Department are informed by the School Board of Barvas that it is still the custom for children attending the Bragar schpol, as well as the other schools in the parish, to carry peats to school. The bringing of peats, however, is voluntary on the part of children and their parents, and is not due to any action on the part of the headmaster. In the circumstances the Department do not feel called upon to interfere in the matter.