Finance Act, 1909–10 (Retailers' Licences).
asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he is aware of the hardship which has been inflicted by the Finance Act of 1910 on the present holders of on-licences combined with off-licences by taking away one of the two licences; and will he make provisions in his next Finance Bill redressing the present injustice?
When the proposed legislation in respect to licences as now embodied in the Finance (1909–10) Act, 1910, was under consideration, attention was directed to the fact that, in some instances, the holder of an on-licence for the sale of one description of liquor was also the holder of an off-licence for the sale of another description of liquor. This system was regarded as clearly open to objection, and the Provision No. 2, applicable to retailers' licences in the First Schedule to the Finance Act, was accordingly inserted for the express purpose of abolishing it. I do not recollect that any objection was taken to the provision at any stage of the Bill, and it is probable that it only operates as a restriction in a very few cases. I shall be glad to consider any case which the hon. Member may wish to bring before me, but I cannot undertake to insert any provision in the next Finance Bill with a view to permitting a continuance of the system.
Chichester Estate, County Cavan.
asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland if he will state when the Chichester estate, county Cavan, was sold; when did John Smith, of Dromard, on this estate, sign his purchase agreement; when did Mr. Hartin agree to let this evicted tenant back to his holding; and, in view of the facts of this case, will he say what has been the cause or causes of delay?
The majority of the agreements for the purchase of the holdings on this estate were lodged with the Estates Commissioners on 31st August, 1906, but the agreement for purchase signed by John Smyth was not lodged until the 2nd instant. The Commissioners were informed on the same date that Michael Harten was willing to surrender his interest in the holding in question in consideration of the sum of £35. The payment of this sum has been sanctioned.
Workmen's Compensation Acts (Ireland).
asked the Chief Secretary if he will say whether there is any special scale of fees applicable to claims under the Workmen's Compensation Acts in Ireland; and will he consider the advisability of assimilating the law in this respect in England and Ireland?
A scale of fees to be taken in proceedings under the Workmen's Compensation Act in Ireland was made to come into operation on 3rd July, 1908, and is still in force. In the framing of that scale regard was had to the scale of fees made in respect of like proceedings in England and to the modifications necessary to meet the difference in the circumstances of the two countries.
Redemption Value Certificates (Ireland).
asked the Chief Secretary if he will request the Land Commission to so alter the form of the certificate of redemption value that it will disclose the amount of the annuity, the area of the holding, and the folio numbers?
Certificates of redemption value of land purchase annuities are calculated and issued under Treasury Rules. They are required mainly for the purpose of assessing Stamp Duties on Transfer Deeds, or in connection with Probate or Administration Duties. The calculation is made for financial purposes only, and it is not desirable to burden the Certificate with other particulars of the holding which are properly obtainable in the Registration of Title Office.
National Schools, Ireland (Heating and Cleaning).
asked the Chief Secretary whether any request has yet been addressed to the Treasury asking for a grant sufficient to cover one-half of the cost of heating and cleaning primary schools in Ireland on the condition that the other half is provided by the managers concerned; and whether further delay is calculated to continue the present hardship on many scholars during another winter?
I cannot at present add anything to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Ex- chequer to a question asked by the hon. Member on the 16th instant, but I hope soon to be in a position to do so.
British Armoured Ships (Mediterranean).
asked the First Lord of the Admiralty what is the tonnage of the armoured ships maintained by Great Britain in the Mediterranean each year from 1904 onwards to the present date?
supplied the following particulars:—
April, 1904, 13 battleships, 2 armoured cruisers.
Total tonnage, 212,900.
April, 1905, 8 battleships, 4 armoured cruisers.
Total tonnage, 165,700.
April, 1906, 8 battleships, 4 armoured cruisers.
Total tonnage, 164,550.
April, 1907, 6 battleships, 4 armoured cruisers.
Total tonnage, 133,600.
April, 1908, 6 battleships, 4 armoured cruisers.
Total tonnage, 129,500.
April, 1909. 6 battleships, 4 armoured cruisers.
Total tonnage, 121,100.
April, 1910, 6 battleships, 4 armoured cruisers.
Total tonnage, 123,200.
One battleship ("Illustrious") was withdrawn about June, 1904.
Four battleships ("Duncans") were withdrawn in February, 1905.
Two battleships ("London"and "Bulwark") were withdrawn in February, 1907.
British and German Battleships (New).
asked the First Lord of the Admiralty if orders have been placed for one or more of the German battleships of the 1910–11 programme; and whether he can give an approximate date for the ordering of the British ships of the same year's programme?
With regard to the first part of the question, I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the Noble and Gallant Lord the Member for Portsmouth on 13th June. No definite date has yet been fixed for ordering the British battleships of the 1910–11 programme.
Rearrangement of Assizes.
asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether it is proposed to group assizes, whereby certain county and other towns will be de prived of the advantages of the present system, and inconvenience and expense will be occasioned to persons compelled to travel to comparatively distant places; and, if so, whether opportunity will be given to assize towns which it is proposed to disestablish of representing their objections to the change before it is actually effected?
I would refer my lion. Friend to the answer given by the Solicitor-General to the hon. Member for the St. Albans Division of Hertfordshire on Wednesday last.
Prison Service (Clerical Staff).
asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether an officer of the prison service, who has applied to be examined with a view to appointment to the clerical staff and is informed that he is not qualified, has the right to know in what respects he is not so qualified?
The number of vacancies for clerical duties is very small, and the Prison Commissioners select the best of the candidates. In the case the hon. Member has in view the reason for not selecting the officer was that there were more suitable candidates on the list, and he is quite entitled to know this if he desires.
Winchester Prison.
asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether Assistant Warder W. J. Davies, lately serving at Winchester Prison, was declared unfit for further service on medical grounds or for other reasons; and whether an officer of the prison service is entitled to know the precise reasons for his dismissal?
The hon. Member is probably referring to Assistant-Warder J. X. Davis, whose provisional engagement was terminated in the usual way, after he had failed to pass a successful probation. The Governor of the Prison reported that he was not suitable for the service, as from his want of energy and lack of interest in his work, he was never likely to make a useful officer. Unsatisfactory reports were also received both from the training school and the prison where he served his probation as to his general conditions of health. The Commissioners, therefore, decided in the public interest to terminate his engagement. There is no rule which prevents a governor from acquainting an officer with the reasons for terminating his engagement, and this, I believe, is done in the ordinary course. It seems to me unfair to the officer to speak of him as dismissed from the service when after a period of probation he fails to secure a permanent engagement.
Accidents in Open Slate Quarries.
asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the percentage of accidents in the open slate quarries and slate mines respectively in North Wales during last year, distinguishing the accidents to those working inside and outside the quarries and mines?
The following table gives the information asked for:—
Number of Persons Employed, Accidents, and Accident rates per cent. of Persons Employed at Slate Mines and Slate Quarries in North "Wales respectively during the year 1909:—
— Slate Mines. Slate Quarries. Inside. Outside. Total. Inside. Outside. Total. Persons employed 1,202 1,914 3,116 3,101 4.712 7,813 Persons killed by accidents 3 1 4 7 1 8 Persons injured by non-fatal accidents disabling for more than seven days 99 112 211 643 327 970 Death rate per cent. of persons employed 0.25 0.05 0.13 0.23 0.02 0.10 Non-fatal accident rate per cent. of persons employed 8.24 5.85 6.77 20.74 6.94 12.42 Total accident rate (deaths and persons injured) per cent. of persons employed.. 8.49 5.90 8.90 20.96 6.96 12.52
Royal Accession Declaration.
asked the Prime Minister if he could state the exact date when he proposes to introduce his Bill dealing with the Royal Accession Declaration?
I am not in a position to name any exact date, but the Bill will shortly be introduced.
Irish Mails from America (Queenstown and Fishguard).
asked the Postmaster-General whether his attention has been directed to the fact that the Cunard liner "Mauretania," with Irish, British, and Continental mails, passed Queenstown at noon on Monday 6th June, arriving at Fishguard at 5 p.m., and that consequently the Belfast mails, after waiting at Fishguard for over nine hours, were delivered late on Tuesday, 7th June, whereas, if the
"Mauretania" had stopped at Queens-town, the Irish mails would have been delivered early on Tuesday morning, and thus a saving of almost a whole business day would have been effected to the merchants of Belfast, whose trade with the United States is very large; whether he is aware that all Ireland, North and South, Unionist and Nationalist, is united in protest against the action of this Government-subsidised company in refusing to call at Queenstown on the home journey; and what steps, if any, he proposes to take in the matter?
The facts are as stated. I am informed, however, that on the recent occasion to which the hon. Member refers the mails for Ireland amounted to about six per cent. on the whole, and those for Belfast to less than one per cent. This question, as the hon. Member is no doubt aware, has received
my very careful attention. The position has not altered since I received a representative deputation from Ireland on 31st March last, and the considerations to which I then referred still hold good. In any case, as the Cunard Company hold no contract with me for the homeward journey, I am not in a position to require that these steamships shall call at Queenstown.
Old Age Pensioners (Charitable Institutions).
asked the President of the Local Government Board, if he will state on what basis does the Local Government Board assess the means of old age pensioners residing in charitable institutions?
The Local Government Board are concerned only with the decision of appeals made to them under the Old Age Pensions Act, 1908. In cases in which the claimant for an old age pension is residing in a charitable institution, their practice would be to regard the value of the free board and lodging afforded to him in the institution as a benefit or privilege to be taken into consideration in accordance with Section 4 (1) ( d ) of the Act in determining his annual means.
County Asylums (Notices of Death).
asked the President of the Local Government Board if he would take steps for the deletion of the description pauper patients from the notices of death sent out from the asylums in connection with pauper patients chargeable to an union who die in county asylums, as such description is unnecessary and hurtful to the feelings of the relatives.
My right hon. Friend (Mr. Burns) has asked me to answer this question. I am in communication with the Commissioners in Lunacy on the subject.
Foreign Tariff Advantages (Haiti).
asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will give particulars of the tariff preferences referred to on page 6 of Consular Report No. 4447, which are accorded by Haiti to France, Germany, and the United States, in which the United Kingdom does not share; and the dates when the commercial conventions between Haiti and these countries came into operation?
The following statement gives particulars of the tariff advantages enjoyed in Haiti by the products of France, Germany, and the United States:— (1)France.—In virtue of the existing Franco-Haitian Commercial Convention, which came into force on 1st February, 1907, goods of French origin of certain classes enjoy on importation into Haiti, a reduction of 33⅓ per cent. of the aggregate Customs duties and surtaxes, wharfage, weighing and visa dues. The Convention stipulates in addition that French wines imported into Haiti in cask shall pay only one-fifth, and champagne and "sparkling" wines only one-third of the ordinary duties. The list of articles which enjoy this preference is too lengthy to print in answer to a question, but I am sending a copy to the hon. Member. (2) Germany. —Under the existing Commercial Convention between Ger many and Haiti, which came into force on 1st September, 1908, the under mentioned articles of German origin enjoy, on importation into Haiti, a reduction of 25 per cent. of the aggregate Customs duties and surtaxes, wharfage, weighing, and visa dues: Stockings and socks of all kinds, matches, tinplate wares and wares of enamelled iron, cement, cordage, chinaware, string and twine. In addition the Convention stipulates that German beer shall pay only one-third of the ordinary duty. (3)United States of America.—The products of this country which enjoy pre ferential Customs treatment in Haiti do so in virtue of a Haitian law, dated 29th August, 1908, which extends to American cordage and beer the same tariff advantages as are accorded to similar articles of German origin.