asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why the Commissioners of Income Tax have called on holders of the preference stocks of the Grand Trunk Railway Company of Canada, who were paid dividends on 6th May, 1909, less 1s. in the pound for Income Tax, to pay a further 2d. in the pound, seeing that these dividends were struck in March, 1909, and were payable out of the profits of the company to 31st December, 1908?

Perhaps the hon. Member will permit me to refer him to my reply of 8th September, 1909, to the then hon. Member for Devonport, in which I explained fully the principles governing the deduction of Income Tax.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will state the names of the present recipients of perpetual pensions, together with the amount of the pension in each case?

The information asked for is as follows:—

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland what were the numbers of persons under special police protection in Ireland at the beginning of each month of the present year, January to June inclusive, distinguishing those under constant protection and those protected by patrols?

The number of persons, receiving special police protection at the beginning of each month of the present year was as follows:—

asked the number of persons in Ireland who were boycotted at the beginning of each month of the present year, January to June inclusive, under the headings, respectively, of wholly boycotted, partially boycotted, and minor boycotting?

The number of cases of boycotting and of persons boycotted at the beginning of each month of the present year was as follows:—

asked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland why the Commissioners of National Education (Ireland) have given notice that Drumany National School, county Fermanagh, is to be closed on 31st July, 1910; have they considered the decided objection of the parents of children attending the school to allow their children to be carried daily by van to a distant school and the cost of so doing; has not the attendance at the school been sufficient, and have not the parents of children attending it offered to bear any expense of improving the schoolhouse; have the Commissioners received and considered the representations of the rector of Kinawley against the proposal to deprive his parishioners of the only school practically available for their children?

The Commissioners of National Education have decided to withdraw Grants as from the 30th instant from the Drumany National School, in view of the low average of pupils, as the children can be conveyed by covered van to a neighbouring school under the same manager. The average attendance at Drumany School for each of the past five years was under twenty, and as it is almost impossible to retain a teacher of good attainments in a school of that size, in which the minimum salary only can be paid, the Commissioners are satisfied that the educational interests of the pupils will be better secured by the proposed arrangement. The increased attendance at the school to which they are to be conveyed will almost certainly be sufficient to warrant the recognition of two teachers, which will tend to more efficient instruction. The Commissioners have duly considered the representations made by the manager and the parents of the pupils, but they do not propose to alter their decision in the case.

asked whether the Congested Districts Board or the Estates Commissioners have taken any steps to acquire the large non-residential grass farm of Mount Pleasant, near Ballyglass, County Mayo, with a view to the removal of congestion and the enlargement of uneconomic holdings in the district?

The answer is in the negative. The lands of Mount Pleasant, on the Clanmorris Estate, to which the hon. Member presumably refers, were purchased under the Irish Land Acts, and were vested in the tenants in August, 1907. No further advance can be made for the purchase of these lands, which are already subject to a land purchase annuity.

asked on what grounds Michael Kemmitt, of Collooney, county Sligo, has been deprived of his old age pension by the Local Government Board, and what evidence against his claim was produced to the Board?

This man was granted a pension on the strength of certificates of belief that he was over seventy years of age. It was, however, subsequently ascertained from the Census Returns of 1851 that he was only seven years old in that year, and, on a question raised by the pension officer, it was determined by the Local Government Board that he was not entitled to a pension.

asked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether it is sufficient, for the purposes of giving possession of cottages and cottage sites under the Labourers (Ireland) Acts to the tenants of such cottages, to have the tenants attend in the office of the district council and sign the agreements therein, without possession being given on the spot by a person authorised by the council?

The Local Government Board are advised that there does not appear to be any legal objection to the course indicated in the question.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland if he will state the amount raised locally in Ireland for the purposes of the Poor Law administration in the years 1897 and 1909, respectively, and also the amount for the same years raised locally for maintenance of roads and other county and district works; and whether he can state approximately the amount allowed to occupiers and tenants by the landlords out of the amounts raised in the year 1897?

It is not possible to state with accuracy the amount raised locally in 1897 for Poor Law administration in Ireland as it now exists. Boards of guardians were then charged with important administrative duties which have been transferred to county and district councils by the Local Government (Ireland) Act, 1898. Of the total expenditure of boards of guardians from Revenue, the approximate amount raised locally was £1,103,228 in 1897 and £817,751 in 1909. The amounts raised locally to meet the expenditure on roads, streets, and bridges are not ascertainable, but the sums so expended from Revenue in 1897 and 1909 were respectively £1,050,435 and £1,079,736. In aid of this expenditure the grant made to road authorities under the Probate Duties (Scotland and Ireland) Act, 1888, amounted in the former year to £101,507 and in the latter year to £105,790. In addition to this Grant, certain proportions of the Agricultural Grant for county-at-large and district charges are applied towards the expenditure on roads and bridges in rural districts, but the amounts so applied can- not be determined by the Local Government Board. Further sums amounting to £367 were received from the Government in aid of roads in 1909. The entire cost of the other works referred to in the question appears to have been defrayed locally save for contributions from other sources amounting to £647 in 1909. The Local Government Board have no information with regard to the matter referred to in the concluding portion of the question.

asked the Chief Secretary whether he is aware of the demand by all classes and sections of people in Ireland for reform of the Poor Laws on the lines laid down in the Report of the Vice-Regal Commission; whether a Bill has been prepared by the Irish Government, or the headings of such a Bill; and whether, having regard to the feelings of the Irish people on the necessity for such a Bill becoming law, and the probability of its receiving general support from all the representatives of the Irish people in both Houses of Parliament, he will take steps to have the said Bill introduced during the present Session of Parliament?

I would refer the hon. Member to my reply to a question on the subject asked by the hon. Member for East Down on 23rd February last, to which I have nothing at present to add.

asked the Chief Secretary whether provision is made in all the public services under the Government in Ireland for promotion from the lower to the higher positions according to merit and efficiency on the part of the officials; whether he can state whether such a provision obtains in the Poor Law service so far as regards the promotion of efficient Poor Law officers to vacancies on the staffs of Local Government Board inspectors and auditors; and whether, if there is not such a provision, he will consider, in the interests of the better working of the Poor' Laws in Ireland, the propriety of providing a percentage of the vacancies to be filled from the ranks of the Poor Law service?

Provision is made for promotion within the public service from the lower to the higher ranks according to merit and efficiency; but no special provision is made for promotion of persons from outside services when vacancies exist on I the staff of Local Government Board auditors and inspectors. It is the practice in filling such appointments to select candidates who appear to be the best qualified in every respect to fulfil the duties of the office, and it would not be desirable to fetter the discretion of the Department by any such restriction as that proposed.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether the officer commanding the 2nd battalion Inniskilling Fusiliers was asked to arrange for the attendance of some representatives of the 1st battalion, which fought at Waterloo, at the Military Pageant and made arrangements accordingly, but was afterwards informed that the battalion was not intended to be represented; and will he take steps to secure that the old 27th, which bore such a distinguished part in Wellington's campaigns, shall not be excluded, as their proposed exclusion has caused dissatisfaction in Fermanagh and Tyrone?

Sanction has been given for the 2nd battalion of this regiment to take part in the Army Pageant. The 1st battalion is quartered at Tientsin, from which remote station it is not considered expedient to bring men to take part in a pageant.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that Charles A. Bryant, of 21, Molesworth Street, Lewisham, enlisted in the Royal Artillery on 3rd January, 1887, at Woolwich, No. 59,025, and was posted to the 3rd Battery, 1st Brigade, London Division, of the Royal Artillery, and on 4th August, 1894, was transferred to the Army Reserve, having served in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Bermuda, and Jamaica; that Charles A. Bryant re-enlisted on 20th August, 1896, in the Queen's Royal Lancers, No. 3,964, without disclosing the fact of his previous enlistment, and saw service in India and South Africa, and was discharged on 19th August, 1908, having attained the rank of sergeant, and gained the Queen's South African medal, and clasps for Belmont, Paardeburg, Modder River, Johannesburg, Diamond Hill, Wittenburg, and Kimberley, and the King's South African medals and clasps; that his discharge stated that his character was exemplary, no offences during the last eleven years, very steady, and trustworthy; that Sergeant Bryant is now in distressed circumstances; and whether he will inquire into the case with a view, having regard to Bryant's exemplary service, to granting him the pension to which he would have been entitled had he disclosed his previous service, or to take such steps as the circumstances of the case admit?

The Commissioners of Chelsea Hospital are investigating this man's claim to pension, and the result will be communicated direct to the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that Charles Gardiner, of 43, Chatham Hill, Chatham, aged twenty, who enlisted in the 2nd Northumberland Fusiliers on 24th August, 1908, No. 2,413, whilst doing physical exercise in the gymnasium slipped and fell, breaking the tendons of his right hand, and thereby permanently losing the use of two of his fingers; that Charles Gardiner was discharged on 29th November, 1909, as medically unfit; and that he was, and is, permanently incapacitated from doing any manual work; and whether he will inquire into the case with a view to granting Gardiner a disability pension or such other assistance as the circumstances of the case require or admit of?

This man's injury was not received on duty, but when boxing in the gymnasium, and he had only fifteen months' service. In these circumstances the Commissioners of Chelsea Hospital decided that he had no claim to pension.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that Mr. T. Bromwich, of 46, Gordon Road, Chatham, aged thirty-four, late corporal in the East. Yorkshire Regiment, No. 4,575, was discharged as medically unfit on 24th January, 1899, after seven years and forty-five days' service, as being incapable of work from rheumatism contracted in India; that he is still incapable of work from the same cause; and that a pension of 10d. a day awarded to him expired in the year 1907; and if he will inquire into the case and see whether a small pension or allowance can, in the circumstances, be made?

This man was not discharged for rheumatism, but in consequence of "flat foot," which was not con- sidered to be due to service. The Commissioners of Chelsea Hospital consider that his case has been met by the grant of a temporary pension.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether the increased rates of pay granted to the executive grades of the Indian Telegraph Department from 19th December, 1909, the date of the receipt in India of the Secretary of State's despatch, No. T. 24 dated 3rd December, 1909, were withheld from the administrative grades until 1st April, 1910; what was the cause of this differentiation; and whether the Secretary of State will reconsider the matter and instruct that the increased rates of pay be granted also to the administrative grades from 19th December, 1909?

The facts are as stated in the question. Their explanation lies in the fact that, whereas it was possible to introduce the new scales of pay of the executive grades immediately on receipt of the Secretary of State's sanction, the revision of the pay of the administrative grades was dependent on a reorganisation of the Department which could not be effected at once. The Secretary of State sees no reason to interfere in the matter.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether, in consideration of the alterations that have been made in the conditions of service of officers of the Indian Army since 1886 tending to the earlier cessation of employment, consequent on the reduction of the tenure of commands and the number of Departmental appointments tenable after fifty-two years of age, whereby the prospects of officers who elected to remain under 1875 furlough rules have been injuriously affected, the Secretary of State will consider their cases and allow those serving under the provisions of G. G. O. 473 of 1883 when residing in Europe, on ceasing to be employed, the same allowance as granted to officers who have served under I 1886 furlough rules till they complete thirty-eight years' service?

The Secretary of State in Council has considered the case of the officers who remained under the Furlough Regulations of 1875, but is not prepared to make any further concession regarding the rate of unemployed pay admissible to them while serving on for higher pension or colonel's allowance. They have already received a substantial concession in the increase of their unemployed pay under the above circumstances from £372 10s. to £500 a year.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether all things connected with the Trinidad Board of Agriculture, its accounts, its doings, and its projects are kept secret; and, if so, whether, seeing that the Department has now been in existence some two years, this state of things is intended to be permanent?

The Board of Agriculture, established by Ordinance No. 35 of 1908, is intended to advise the Department of Agriculture of the Colony. The Department publishes an annual report of its proceedings. The Secretary of State has no information as to the publicity of the Board's deliberations, but he doubts whether it would as a rule be advisable that those deliberations should take place in public. The accounts of the Board are submitted to and audited by the Auditor-General of the Colony.

asked the Under-Secretary for the Colonies whether he has received any complaints regarding the local government of Trinidad to the effect that they have made every effort to keep secret the facts concerning the petroleum oil industry so far as local persons are concerned, whilst giving private information to outsiders; and whether, considering the present duty of kerosene oil was imposed partly for Revenue purposes, the duty is to be continued now that it will be protective in character, leading to the same difficulty and injustice to the oil trade as already exists in the match industry?

The Secretary of State has received no complaints of the nature indicated. The contingency contemplated in the second part of the question would not occur unless and until local refineries were established.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will in- form the House what steps are being taken with reference to the question of the ill-treatment of Indians in the Putumayo Valley; whether His Majesty's Government are prepared to take immediate action, either alone or in conjunction with the United States, to prevent the continuance of such ill-treatment; whether the directors of the company, which is responsible for the infliction of these atrocities, are British subjects; and if it is intended to inflict any punishment upon them for their conduct?

With regard to the first and second parts of this question, I would refer the hon. Member to the answer I returned on the 13th instant to the hon. Member for Dumbarton. As the Putumayo is not in British territory, and no treaty rights are involved, I cannot promise to do more than I have stated in previous answers.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he can state or give the reference to any Parliamentary Paper stating the amount of Income Tax, Death Duties, and other duties or taxes, to which property possessed by, or money standing in a bank in the name of, a British subject would be liable in the following countries, namely, France, Holland, Belgium, the United States of North America, Canada, Australia, and South Africa?

With regard to the foreign countries mentioned, I have no information on the subject more recent than that which is contained in the Papers which were laid before Parliament in 1904, Miscellaneous No. 1, and in 1905, Miscellaneous No. 2. As regards that part of the question which refers to British Dominions beyond the sea, I understand that the latest information available is contained in the Papers 196 and 282 published by the House of Commons in 1905.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how many Labour Exchanges will be established in Ireland, and where and when?

Six Labour Exchanges are now open. I fear I cannot as yet state how many will be ultimately opened, nor the exact localities.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether Dr. Edridge Green was employed as expert adviser to the Board in regard to sight tests; and, if so, when he ceased to act in that capacity and on what grounds; whether he is satisfied with the method of testing for colour blindness at present employed by the Board; on whose advice it was adopted; and whether the adoption of an alternative system is under consideration?

Dr. Edridge Green was appointed a member of the International Code of Signals Committee in May, 1889, when the question of colour-blindness was referred to it. In view of the report of the Royal Society's Committee on colour vision, issued in April, 1892, the subject was withdrawn from the consideration of the Signals Committee, of which Dr. Edridge Green then ceased to be a member. The present system of tests is based on the report of the Royal Society's committee.

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether the description contained in notices of death of persons dying in county asylums as paupers is required by Statute; and, if not, whether he will cause representations to be made with a view to the deletion of this description from such notices?

I have been asked by my right hon. Friend to answer this question. I am in communication with the Commissioners in Lunacy on this matter.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he has decided to reduce the post offices of Wetherby and Tadcaster to the rank of salaried sub-offices; and, if so, when the change will come into operation?

The question of converting the head offices at both Tadcaster and Wetherby into salaried sub-offices for administrative purposes is still under consideration. It is not possible at present to say when the alteration, if decided on, will be carried into effect.