asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland what was the number of indictable crimes, agrarian and non-agrarian respectively, in which firearms were used in Ireland in the years 1907, 1908, and 1909 respectively, and in each of the months, January to May inclusive, of the present year?

The following table gives the desired information:—

Offences in which firearms were used.
Period.	Agrarian.	Non-Agrarian.
Year 1907	61	56
Year 1908	132	75
Year 1909	78	49
January, 1910	6	5
February, 1910	9	7
March, 1910	6	4
April, 1910	16	2
May, 1910	3	11

asked the number of indictable crimes throughout Ireland, classified as agrarian and non-agrarian respectively, under each of the headings firing at the person and firing into dwellings, for each of the years 1905 to 1909 inclusive, and for each month of the present year, January to May, inclusive?

The following table gives the required information:—

Period.		Firing at the Person.		Firing into Dwellings.
		Agrarian.	Non-Agrarian.	Agrarian.	Non-Agrarian.
Year 1905	…	2	9	9	9
Year 1906	…	3	16	9	11
Year 1907	…	9	18	40	20
Year 1908	…	15	28	66	23
Year 1909	…	15	12	38	19
Jan., 1910	…	1	1	1	2
Feb., 1910	…	2	nil	3	1
Mar., 1910	…	nil	1	3	2
April, 1910	…	1	nil	8	nil
May, 1910	…	1	6	1	1

asked for what reason Anthony Quinn, of Cark, Newmills P.O., Letterkenny, county Donegal, has been refused a book of pension orders by the officer at Stranorlar, county Donegal, although granted a pension by the Stranorlar sub-committee; and whether there is any means by which an old person such as this applicant can satisfy the Local Government Board as to his age when his name cannot be traced in the Census of 1841 or of 1851?

Anthony Quinn's claim was disallowed by the Local Government Board as there was no evidence as to his age, save that it would appear that he had not been born when the Census Returns of 1841 were taken. His parents' family has been traced in those Returns, but his name does not occur in the list. A claimant whose case comes before the Local Government Board, and whose name cannot be found in the Census Returns is afforded full opportunity of furnishing evidence as to his age before a decision is reached. In the absence of a baptismal certificate, a marriage certificate, if the claimant has been married, or a certificate of the baptism of his eldest child, may prove to be of service in establishing age.

asked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland if the Estates Commissioners have recently endeavoured to take compulsorily any lands in the neighbourhood of Raphoe, county Donegal, for the purposes of the Evicted Tenants Act and have been defeated on such applications; whether certain untenanted lands adjoining the town of Raphoe have been inspected, almost two years ago, by one of their inspectors and the price practically agreed upon; whether these lands are still available; is the owner still willing to treat for the sale of the same on fair terms; and what has caused the delay in the negotiations?

The Estates Commissioners have acquired portion of the lands of Leaght, in the Barony of Raphoe South, under the provisions of the Evicted Tenants Act, 1907. They instituted proceedings under the same Act for the acquisition of portion of the lands of Carrick-brack and Maherahee, but the owner having filed objections, it was decided after full consideration that the lands could not be' acquired compulsorily. They also proposed to acquire compulsorily the lands of Ballyboe, but found that they were held under a fee farm grant and could not be so acquired. That difficulty having been removed by the Irish Land Act, 1909, the Commissioners have published in the "Dublin Gazette" a notice of their intention to acquire the lands, but objections have been filed by the owner and have not yet been determined.

asked the Chief Secretary whether, as the proceedings of the Commissioners of National Education are conducted within closed doors, and as no reference is made in any of their published reports to their sanction of pictures of sacred subjects or their permission of statues in the schoolroom during the hours of united instruction, he will ask the Commissioners to furnish a list of the names of such pictures and statues, together with the Minutes of the Board that relate to them, to be laid upon the Table of the House; and what steps he proposes to take to prevent the further violation of the fundamental principles and rules of the system of national education?

I would refer the hon. Member to my reply to the questions on the same subject asked by him on the 28th April last. The Commissioners of National Education do not consider that any public interest would be served by laying copies of their minutes on the subject on the Table of the House.

asked the Chief Secretary whether he is aware that Charles Nugent Humble purchased in 1895, under the Ashbourne Acts, six holdings on the estate of his brother, Sir John Nugent Humble, and obtained advances from the Irish Land Commission amounting to £2,823, and that he is now the registered owner of the holdings; whether Charles Nugent Humble has lodged applications for advances for the purchase of other holdings on the same estate under the Land Act of 1903; and what are the amounts of the advances applied for and the name of the lands in respect of which the advances are sought?

I understand that the statements in the first part of the question with regard to the purchases made by Mr. Charles Nugent Humble in 1895 are correct. He has signed agreements under the Irish Land Act, 1903, for the purchase of four holdings which he holds as tenant on the estate of Sir John Nugent Humble. The names of the lands and the advances applied for are as follows: Ballinahassany North, £521; Deelish Mountain, £266; Ballynaskehamore, £1,471; Loughariska, £409. The estate will be dealt with in order of priority, but its turn has not yet come.

also asked the Chief Secretary whether he is aware that, on 22nd July, 1909, the Estates Commissioners held a public inquiry with reference to the objections of the owner, Mr. Charles Nugent Humble, to the taking compulsorily of certain lands under the Evicted Tenants Act of 1907 which Mrs. Johanna Coleman claimed as the evicted farm of her deceased husband; whether he is aware that the Estates Commissioners have recently given their decision to discontinue the proceedings for the compulsory acquisition of the lands; what were the objections of the owner which they considered were sustained by the evidence at the inquiry; whether he is aware that the various decisions given by the King's Bench Division and the Estates Commissioners prove that the intention of Parliament in passing the Evicted Tenants Act is being frustrated; and whether the Estates Commissioners can give any instance of land actually acquired by compulsion under that Act and not by an arrangement arrived at under threat of compulsion?

The facts as to the in quiry and as to the Estates Commissioners' decision are correctly stated in the question. The Commissioners do not consider it desirable to discuss their judicial decisions or the decisions of the High Court in reply to Parliamentary questions.

asked the number of national school teachers in Ireland who have been denied promotion on account of insufficient average, consequent on the operation of Rule 127b; the number of teachers whose grade salaries have been reduced owing to fall of average, due to the operation of the rule; and the number of boys under seven years of age in attendance at ordinary national schools during the year ended 31st March, 1910, for whom the ordinary Capitation Grant of 5s. per head has not been paid?

I am informed by the Commissioners of National Education that the promotion of teachers does not depend upon average attendance alone. Training, position in school, ability, and general attainments, length and character of service, and seniority are other determining factors. There have been no cases in which teachers' salaries have been reduced owing to fall in average attendance due to the operation of Rule 127b. The Commissioners have no statistics with regard to the concluding portion of the question.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Agriculture whether he will give a list of inclosures in the Skipton Parliamentary Division of the West Riding of Yorkshire under the Inclosure Acts, 1845 to 1899, giving in each instance the names of common, parish, acreage, and date of award?

The information for which my hon. Friend asks is as follows:—

Name of Common.	Parish.	Acreage.	Date of Award.
Addingham Moors	Addingham	735	12th June, 1873.
Bordley Intack	Burnsall	140	20th April, 1852.
Carlton	Carlton in Craven	1,135	9th Sept., 1873.
Clapham-cum-Newby	Clapham	116	21st Dec, 1849.
Dent Fells	Dent	15,200	27th Jan., 1859.
Dranghton Moor	Skipton	176	26th Aug., 1868.
Faweett Moor	Arncliffe	472	5th Jan., 1849.
Garsdale	Sedbergh	4,745	27th Jan., 1859.
Halstead and Crutchenber Fells (Easington)	Slaidburn	536	26th May, 1864.
Hasgill Fell	Slaidburn	385	2nd June, 1864.
Hebden Moor	Linton	2,738	25th June, 1857.
Hellifield Moor	Long Preston	250	12th Jan., 1849.
Highside Pasture	Kirkby Malhamdale	600	22nd June, 1854.
Horton Moor	Horton in Ribblesdale	1,190	4th Aug., 1847.
Kildwick East and West Commons and Parkinson Hill	Kildwiok	86	13th Nov., 1850.
Kirkgill Pasture (Buckden)	Arncliffe	800	7th Feb., 1850.
Malham Pastures, East and West	Kirkby Malhamdale	2,744	12th July, 1850.
Outershaw Stinted Pastures	Arncliffe	2,800	5th July, 1849.
Winterbum Moor	Gargrave	223	11th Mar., 1858.

asked whether the Colonial Office has received any protest from British merchants at Hong Kong against efforts which are being made by the provincial authorities at Canton to tax foreign raw opium without regard to treaty provisions in this behalf?

The Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce has referred the matter to His Majesty's Chargé d'Affaires

asked the Secretary for Foreign Affairs whether it is yet possible to give publicity to any information His Majesty's Government may possess, which has not hitherto been accessible to the public, upon the reported actions of the Peruvian Amazon Company?

His Majesty's Government do not, in present circumstances, propose to publish the correspondence.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether he can state the capital cost and the number of the new public elementary school-houses completed or in course of erection between the appointed day and 31st March, 1910, provided by the local education authorities of Lancashire and the West Riding, respectively?

I have received the following Statements in reply to inquiries addressed to the local education authorities of Lancashire and the West Riding, respectively:—

LANCASHIRE.
—	No. of Schools	School Places.	Amount of Loan.
			£
Schools built and opened between appointed day, 30th Sept., 1903, and 31st March, 1910	22	12,088	193,724
Schools in course of erection	10	3,650	61,270
Schools for which plans approved	12	4,498	65,725
Schools for which sites only obtained	5	3,480	8,963
Schools purchased (or leased) and improved	17	11,098	12,102
Totals	66	34,814	£341,784

The total amounts actually spent out of loans in respect of the schools enumerated above up to the 31st March, 1910, was:—

Erection and equipment of new schools	£204,526	9	10
Purchase and enlargement of schools	10,883	6	1
	£215,409	15	11

WEST RIDING.
		£	s.	d.
Number of Council Schools commenced by School Boards and completed by County Council	10
Cost		73,307	10	3
Number of Council Schools completed and opened in the West Biding, from the 1st April, 1904, to 31st March, 1910	53
Cost		242,028	12	10
Number of Council Schools completed and opened between 1st April, 1910, and 10th May, 1910	6
Cost		27,975	0	6
Number of Council Schools now in course of erection	20
Amount of accepted tenders		98,856	0	11

asked the President of the Board of Education, whether he can state the capital cost and number of the new public elementary schoolhouses completed or in course of erection, works sanctioned by the council but not yet in course of erection, and alterations and improvements to existing schools, and a similar return for education other than elementary, between the appointed day and the 31st March, 1910, provided by the local education authority of the county of Durham?

I have received the following statement in reply to an inquiry addressed to the Local Education Authority of the county of Durham:—

Capital Expenditure sanctioned for Elementary School Buildings from the "Appointed Day" (1st April, 1904) to the 31st March, 1910.
—	No. of Schools	Total cost.
		£	s.	d.
(1) Works Completed	60	416,887	19	8
(2) Works in Course of Erection	25	180,865	7	1
(3) Works sanctioned by the Council but not yet in course of erection. (All this work will be commenced as soon as plans have been prepared and passed by the Board)	28	163,483	0	0
(4) Alterations and Improvements to Existing Schools	—	59,226	5	7
Grand Total	113	820,462	12	4

Capital Expenditure sanctioned for Buildings to he used for Education other titan Elementary from the "Appointed Day" (1st April, 1904) to 31st March, 1910.
	£	s.	d.
(1) Works Completed	Nil.
(2) Works in Course of Erection	139,149	6	8
(3) Works authorised by the Council but not yet commenced (including Training College)	53,850	0	0

asked the President of the Local Government Board if he will state the number of children who, at the date of the last Return, were being maintained in workhouses and workhouse infirmaries respectively, differentiating between those over and those under three years of age?

The latest Returns, namely, those for 1st January, 1910, show that the number of children in separate Poor Law infirmaries in England and Wales was 7,128, whilst the number in workhouse wards (including infirm wards) was 17,047. The Returns do not show how many of these children were over three years of age and how many were under that age, but they show that of the total number of children in all Poor Law establishments 8,914 were under the age of three. The majority of these would necessarily be in workhouses and workhouse infirmaries, and could not well be separated from their mothers.

asked the President of the Local Government Board if he will state the number of children at present maintained in Poor Law district and separate schools, village communities, and scattered and other children's homes respectively?

The number of children maintained outside the workhouse on 1st January, 1910 (the date of the last Returns), in the undermentioned classes of Poor Law schools and homes was as follows:—

In district schools	…	3,883
In separate schools	…	7,604
In grouped cottage homes	…	11,640
In scattered homes	…	7,366
and in other homes	…	2,099

asked the President of the Local Government Board what was the number of Poor Law children who were at the date of the last Return boarded-out beyond and within the union, respectively.

The number of Poor Law children who were at the date of the last Returns (that is, 1st January, 1910) boarded out beyond the union was 1,923, the number boarded out within the union was 6,890.

asked the President of the Local Government Board if he will state the total number of Poor Law children now receiving indoor relief?

The total number of children in receipt of indoor relief on 1st January, 1910 (the date of the last Returns), was 70,316.

asked the Prime Minister whether his attention has been called to the charge delivered by Mr. Justice Scrutton to the grand jury at the Radnorshire Assizes at Presteign on 10th June, 1910; and whether, in view of the expense that would be laid upon the shoulders of litigants if these Asizes were removed elsewhere, he will endeavour to secure the passage into law of the Supreme Court of Judicature Bill at an early date?

The Government are anxious, in the interests of the due administration of justice, that the Bill referred to should pass into law as soon as possible.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, in view of the fact that there is now no expert in sugar refining among the British representatives upon the International Sugar Commission, he will take steps to have such an expert appointed, or, if that be at present impracticable, to arrange for the British Refining Association to have timely notice of any question affecting their interests which is to be brought before the Commission?

His Majesty's Government consider that there is no occasion for the appointment of an expert delegate in present circumstances. Where it seems desirable, however, steps shall be taken to consult the British Sugar Refiners on any question which is likely to affect their interests.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, in view of the considerable proportion of cases in which appeals against the decision of the Board of Trade's sight tests with Hohngrew's wools resulted in reversal of the previous decision, it is proposed to institute a new system of sight tests to supersede that recommended by the Royal Society in 1892?

The important question to which my hon. Friend refers is engaging my careful attention, and I hope shortly to make an announcement with regard to it.

asked the Postmaster-General if he can give the number of commission sub-postmasters who are receiving salaries of less than £50 per annum, the number receiving from £50 to £100, and the number receiving over £100, giving the London offices separately from the provincial offices?

The numbers are as follows:—

		London.	United Kingdom (excluding London).
Those who receive—
Less than £50 per annum	…	45	14,612
£50 to £100	…	233	4,477
Over £100	…	654	2,258

I should state, however, that these are not salaries, but are the total emoluments calculated on the scale recommended by the recent Parliamentary Committee