asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, if a house or houses are sold subsequently to the valuation instituted under the Finance (1909–10) Act, 1910, at a price that is greater than the value shown in that valuation, the profit, if due to an increase in the demand for houses in that particular locality, will the subject to Increment Duty; whether the vendor of the house, who is also vendor of the site upon which the house stands, will be compelled to pay Increment Duty, subject to the exceptions for houses below a certain rateable value; and whether the same liability to pay Increment Duty will attach in the event of property passing on the death of an owner and showing an increase in value when valued for Death Duties?

Whether an increase in the value of land which is built upon is due to an increase in the site value of the land or to some other cause is entirely a matter of valuation, and it is impossible for me to give a general answer to the hon. Member.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he can state under what Departmental Minute or other authority the District Commissioners make appointments of assessors and collectors of taxes; what control has the Exchequer over such Commissioners in relation to the engagement and dismissal of persons appointed as assessors and collectors of taxes; and by whom are the duties of their respective offices determined?

As regards the first part of the question, the District Commissioners appoint assessors under the provisions of Section 42 of the Taxes Management Act, 1880, and appoint collectors under the provisions of Section 73 of the same Act. The Exchequer has no control over the District Commissioners in the matter referred to, except that it is not lawful for the District Commissioners to appoint any person to be a collector unless he has given such security as the Board of Inland Revenue may require. With regard to the third part, the duties of both class of officers are defined by Statute, supplemented by instructions as to the performance of their Statutory duties, issued in the case of assessors by the District Commissioners (Taxes Management Act, 1880, Section 42 (2)) and in the case of collectors by the Board of Inland Revenue (Taxes Management Act, Section 13).

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether he is aware that the pension officer at Ballyhaunis, county Mayo, has withheld pension books from claimants whose pensions were allowed on the 4th ultimo to the second Friday after the meeting at which the pensions were granted, thereby depriving them of one week's pension; and whether, in view of Sub-section 2 of Section 5 of the Old Age Pensions Act, which defines that a pension is payable on the first Friday after the claim has been allowed, he will take steps to ensure that the claimants in question will be paid the week's pension which has been withheld from them?

The particulars given in the question do not enable me to identify with certainty the cases which the hon. Member has in mind. No such cases can be traced in the area of either of the two pension officers at Ballyhaunis; but if the hon. Member will supply me with more detailed particulars I will have further inquiry made.

asked what were the numbers of persons under special police protection, distinguishing those under constant protection and those

1906. 1907. 1908. 1909. Constant Protection Protection by Patrol. Total. Constant Protection Protection by Patrol. Total. Constant Protection Protection by Patrol. Total. Constant Protection Protection by Patrol. Total. Galway, E. R … … … 8 26 34 12 74 86 17 75 92 19 78 97 Galway, W. R. … … … 2 5 7 3 13 16 4 14 18 4 24 28 Clare … … … 5 33 38 3 57 60 5 77 82 5 66 71

Summary of persons wholly and partially boycotted on 31st December, in each of the years 1906, 1907, 1908 and 1909, in Counties Galway and Clare:— Year. Wholly Boycotted. Partially Boycotted. Total Number of Cases of Boycotting. Total Number of Persons Boycotted. Minor Boycotting and Attempts to Boycott. Number of cases. Number of Persons comprised in cases. Number of cases. Number of Persons comprised in cases. Number of cases. Number of persons Co. Galway, E. E. 1906 … … … … … … … … 9 14 1907 … … … … … … … … 38 121 1908 … … 1 2 3 7 4 9 30 92 1909 … … 1 2 2 4 3 6 25 91 Co. Galway, W. R. 1906 … … … … … … … … … … 1907 … … … … 1 4 1 4 7 25 1908 … … … … 1 6 1 6 12 46 1909 … … … … 2 9 2 9 13 61 Co. Clare. 1906 … … … … … … … … 5 18 1907 … … … … … … … … 13 36 1908 … … … … … … … … 15 57 1909 … … … … … … … … 8 21

protected by patrols; the number of persons boycotted, distinguishing between those wholly boycotted, partially boycotted, and minor boycotted; the number of indictable crimes, classified as agrarian and non-agrarian; the number of cases of firing at the person, killing or maiming cattle, firing into dwellings, intimidation by threatening letters or notices, and injuries to property, in the counties of Galway and Clare, in the years 1906, 1907, 1908, and 1909, respectively; the total number of arrests made; and the number of police in the two counties, respectively; and whether he could state the opinion of the police authorities as to the state of the two counties in respect of agrarian crime?

The following is a Return of the number of persons under police protection in counties Galway and Clare on 31st December in each of the years 1906, 1907, 1908 and 1909:—

Table showing the number of certain offences, with arrests therefore, in the Counties of Galway and Clare in the Years 1906, 1907, 1908, and 1909. Offences. Galway, East Riding. Galway, West Riding. Clare. 1906. 1907. 1908. 1909. 1906. 1907. 1908. 1909. 1906. 1907. 1908. 1909. Agrarian. Non-Agrarian. Agrarian. Non-Agrarian. Agrarian. Non-Agrarian. Agrarian. Non-Agrarian. Agrarian. Non-Agrarian. Agrarian. Non-Agrarian. Agrarian. Non-Agrarian. Agrarian. Non-Agrarian. Agrarian. Non-Agrarian. Agrarian. Non-Agrarian. Agrarian. Non-Agrarian. Agrarian. Non-Agrarian. Firing at the Person 1 1 2 … 1 … 2 … … … 1 … 2 2 4 1 1 1 6 3 12 4 5 … Killing and Maiming Cattle, etc. 1 2 2 1 1 1 2 3 2 2 2 … 1 4 1 3 2 4 1 7 6 3 5 4 Firing into Dwelling 1 4 19 4 17 6 8 2 4 … 9 6 19 2 12 3 1 … 6 5 22 6 13 4 Threatening Letters, etc. 17 13 48 3 22 4 9 3 2 5 19 6 27 … 22 5 16 4 42 16 71 22 47 13 Injury to Property 6 5 6 4 11 5 4 1 1 2 2 6 7 2 1 7 3 1 5 4 21 6 10 4 All Indictable Offences 33 52 98 42 65 56 34 37 12 32 42 49 69 37 45 52 29 40 73 76 176 90 109 73

ARRESTS. Offences. Galway, East Riding. Galway, West Riding. Clare. 1906. 1907. 1908. 1909. 1906. 1907. 1908. 1909. 1906. 1907. 1908. 1909. Firing at the Person 3 3 … 3 … … 3 3 1 4 7 … Killing and Maiming Cattle, etc. 1 … … … … … 1 … … … … … Firing into Dwelling 1 2 1 … 3 4 … 2 … 2 3 … Threatening Letters, etc. … 1 1 … … … … 2 … … … … Injury to Property … … 1 … … … … … … 3 … … All Indictable Offences 23 111 76 82 25 53 40 45 25 36 88 38

The forces authorised for the counties were as follows on 31st December of the respective years, namely:— Counties. 1906. 1907. 1908. 1909. Clare 367 423 473 493 Galway, E. R. 313 430 533 522 Galway, W.R. 303 331 428 420

These figures include the extra force authorised under 6 and 7 Wm., Cap. 13, Sec. 13.

Any communications which may pass between the Government and the police authorities on such matters as the state of particular parts of the country are of a strictly confidential nature.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether he will grant the Return relating to the Irish Land Commission and Estates Commissioners standing on to-day's Paper?

I am not prepared to grant the Return. The principal and subsidiary registers prepared in pursuance of the regulations of 15th February last are open to the public and give full information on the matters referred to in the hon. Member's notice.

asked the Chief Secretary whether the attention of the Local Government Board has been called to the overcrowded and insanitary condition of Torthill burying ground, Galway; in whom is the control of the burying ground vested; and whether he will call for a report from the medical officer of health as to the condition of the graveyard?

In accordance with the undertaking given in my reply to a question on the same subject asked by the hon. Member on 24th July, 1907, the Local Government Board communicated with the Galway Urban District Council, in whom the control of the burial ground is vested. The medical officer of health did not consider that sufficient space existed for the opening of new graves, and the council informed the Board that no new graves had been opened for some years past, and that only those whose grave spaces or vaults had been reserved could claim a right to interment in the cemetery. No complaint has been received since 1907.

asked whether the Congested Districts Board will take over by voluntary or compulsory purchase the Hughes estate, county Roscommon, containing 600 acres, and thereby provide economic holdings for about sixty poor tenants in the neighbourhood and enable the extra force of police in the district to-be withdrawn?

The Board have approached the owner of this estate, but have not yet heard from him.

asked the Chief Secretary whether he is aware that the Congested Districts Board have dismissed and evicted a man named Thomas Kearnly from the position of herd on the Willsgrove estate, which he had held for the last thirteen years, because of a technicality; and whether, in view of the treatment meted: out to this man by the Congested Districts Board, he will take steps to provide Kearnly with land elsewhere, or, in the alternative, have him reinstated in his old position?

Thomas Kearnly's father was herd on the lands of Willsgrove, when purchased by the Congested Districts Board, and was kept on in that position pending the division of the lands. When the division was about to be made he refused to give up the herd's house unless his son Thomas was given a holding. As the father already held a farm of over £40 valuation the Board would not agree to this, and it then became necessary to take possession of the herd's house by legal process. Thomas Kearnly was never in the employment of the Board as herd of Willsgrove, nor is it anticipated that the Board will have any occasion to employ him in that capacity.

asked the Chief Secretary whether the recent purchase from Mr. Cochrane, Bailieborough, under the afforestation scheme of the Department of Agriculture, of 404 acres at a cost of £3,293, is only a part of a considerable estate, including a mansion house, recently purchased by Mr. Cochrane;: whether the sum paid by the Department to Mr. Cochrane is almost equal to the sum he himself paid for the whole estate and whether he will explain how pur- chases made at such rates can ever become a profitable investment to the Department acting for the State?

The Estates Commissioners brought this estate under the notice of the Department as likely to prove suitable for forestry purposes, and the Department made an offer for the purchase of the 404 acres referred to in the question at the value put upon them by their Forestry Inspector. This offer was accepted by the Commissioners. The Department have no information as to the size of the estate of which the lands formed part, or as to the price at which it was bought by the late owner. They are satisfied that the lands are good value for the price which they paid.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he will state whether, in considering the promotion of the captains in the 2nd Battalion Royal Irish Fusiliers owing to the near retirement of the second in command, the fact will be borne in mind with a view to avoiding the introduction of a major from another regiment and thus preventing regimental promotion, that there is at present a captain who has been a brevet-major for eight years?

The points raised in the question involve matters which come within the purview of the Selection Board, and I am not prepared to give any undertaking which might prejudice their action in any way.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether, seeing that Captain F. Phillips was deputed by station order, Netley, dated 3rd January, 1901, to do the duty of assistant-adjutant-general, Netley, he was entitled upon retirement to a pension on the higher scale for having been called upon to exercise the duties of command?

Honorary Major Phillips, late Quartermaster, Royal Engineers, is in receipt of the highest rate of retired pay provided by the regulations for Quartermasters. The nature of his duty at Netley gives him no claim to an increase of his retired pay, but in recognition of his service he was granted the honorary rank of Major.

asked the Home Secretary if he can now state for England and Wales, for the years 1908 and 1909, respectively, the total number of convictions for drunkenness and offences connected with drunkenness, as given in the annual volume of Licensing Statistics?

The figures are 187,803 for 1908, and 169,518 for 1909.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether, in view of the fact that the Government of India have permitted within recent years members of the Civil Service, officers of the Indian Army, and others entitled to privilege leave, to combine that leave up to the limit allowed with ordinary leave, and also in view of the fact that a grant of this concession to the departmental officers and warrant officers of the Indian Army departments was one of the recommendations made by the Unattached List Committee held some three or four years ago, he will press the Government of India to give effect to this recommendation without further delay, seeing that this concession, while being a great boon to these departmental and warrant officers, would entail no increased expenditure on the revenues of India?

The recommendations referred to by the hon. Member are not before the Secretary of State, but he will consult the Government of India on the subject.

asked the Prime Minister whether it is intended that the British Empire shall make any contribution towards the construction or equipment of the Palace of Peace now being built at The Hague; and, if so, what form such contribution will assume?

His Majesty's Government have undertaken to contribute to the Palace of Peace at The Hague the-four large upper windows of stained glass of the Great Hall of Justice.

asked the President of the Board of Trade who are the present directors and other officials of the Southern Railway Company, from Clonmel to Thurles; where is the head office of the company; when and where was the last I meeting of the shareholders held; who is now working the railway and on what terms is it being worked; what sums are due to the Treasury and Board of Works and what annual interest do they receive, and what is the capital of the company; who are the present shareholders of the company and what dividend are they paid, and when was a statement of account submitted to them, and what are the present earnings of the company and what is done with same; what sums have the shareholders of the baronies of Middlethird and Slievardagh, county Tipperary, paid up to the present as a guarantee to preference shareholders, and when does that guarantee expire; and what claims have these baronies for a repayment of the sums so paid by them?

No directors or other officials of the Southern Railway are known to be in existence. Since 1885 the line has been in the possession of the Commissioners of Public Works as mortgagees in possession. The business of the company is transacted at the office of the Commissioners of Public Works, 6, Upper Merrion Street, Dublin. The last meeting of the shareholders appears to have been held on 24th September, 1884, at 13, Little Queen Street, Westminster, London. The Great Southern and Western Railway Company of Ireland, as successors to the Waterford and Limerick Railway Company, work the line under a perpetual working agreement. The working company take 60 per cent, of the gross receipts. In addition the general expenses of the company have to be defrayed. At 31st March, 1910, the debt due to the Commissioners of Public Works stood as follows:— Principal £54,693 17 5 Interest 7,449 9 10 Total £62,143 7 3

The rate for interest on the loan is 4 per cent., £306,266. There are three classes of shareholders—(i.) Holders of "baronial guaranteed stock amounting to £62,900; (ii.) Holders of preference stock; (iii.) Holders of ordinary stock; and the various shares are held by a number of private individuals scattered over the United Kingdom. Lists can be supplied if necessary. Holders of baronial guaranteed stock receive a dividend at the rate of 5 per cent. per annum. No dividend has ever been paid to the holders of the preference and ordinary stocks. Accounts are furnished half-yearly to all shareholders whose addresses are known. The last statement in respect of the half-year ending 31st December, 1909, was issued in March, 1910. The gross receipts from the line for the last five years averaged £11,143, and the net receipts £2,804. The net receipts from the line are applied to meet the annual interest Charged due on the loan from the Commissioners of Public Works and to reduce the arrears. The amount paid to 31st December, 1909, by the guaranteeing area in dividends to the holders of Baronial Guaranteed Stock was £80,352 12s. 4d. The rate of interest is 5 per cent. The guarantee expires with the payment for the half-year ending 30th June, 1910. The amount paid by the guaranteeing area as dividends on the Baronial Guaranteed Stock is a Chargé on the line subject to the provisions of 41 and 42 Vic. c. 123, Sec. 18, Southern Railway Act, 1878.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he can state when the Report on the cost of living in the United States will be published; whether such Report will include a memorandum on the United States statistics of unemployment, similar to that published in the German Report; and whether prices, wages, and rents will be given for dates comparable with those originally published in the United Kingdom Report?

The preparation of the Report on Cost of Living in the United States is being proceeded with as rapidly as possible, and it is hoped that publication will take place in the autumn of this year. It was impossible to obtain, in the year 1909, full and accurate details of prices, wages, and rents in the United States for October, 1905 (the date of the United Kingdom Inquiry), but an endeavour will be made, with the aid of the Statistical Records, to make the necessary adjustments in order, so far as practicable, to obtain a fair comparison as between the United Kingdom and the United States. The question of American unemployment statistics will not be overlooked.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that discontent exists amongst the men employed on the Great Eastern, Great Western, Caledonian, North British, and other railway companies in consequence of the interpretation of awards issued by the arbitrators in the recent arbitrations on these respective companies, and the refusal of the companies to allow the central boards of the respective companies to meet to consider these awards; and whether he will take such steps as will be necessary to bring about meetings of these boards to consider these interpretations?

I am aware that on certain railways questions have arisen as to the interpretation of awards of arbitrators. In several cases these questions have, I understand, been settled by joint reference to the arbitrator who gave the award. While I have no authority to lay down the proper procedure in such cases, I must say that the above course seems to me a very reasonable one to adopt.

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether his attention has been called to the fact that the law which prohibits the bleaching of flour for home consumption in the United States does not apply to flour for exportation; and whether any steps have been taken to test and ensure the purity of the flour imported into the United Kingdom?

I am aware of the provisions of the United States law on this subject. As regards the latter part of the question, perhaps I may remind the hon. Member of the answer which was given a few days ago to the effect that I had already directed an investigation by one of the inspectors of the Foods Department in regard to flour.

asked the Postmaster-General if he will state the number of male sorters, postmen, and porters appointed in the London Postal Service during the past two years?

During the years ended 31st March, 1909 and 1910, the number of male sorters, postmen and porters appointed in London was:— Year ended 31st March Sorters. Postmen. Porters. 1909 335 449 103 1910 210 416 97