asked the Chief Secretary whether the Estates Commissioners have had under consideration, from time to time since 1903, applications from Mrs. Mary Ann Eccles, of Ashgrove, Castlefin, county Donegal, for reinstatement on the farm of 102 acres on the Hastings estate, county Donegal, from -which her late father, Joseph Mortland, had been evicted; whether her application has been finally refused; if so, whether the fact that she inherited a small farm of 12 acres through her mother weighed with the Commissioners in their decision; if so, why they gave Thomas Kieve a new farm of twenty-five acres on the Gamble estate when he was in possession of seventeen acres on the Gledstane estate, which he sub-let annually; and can he say on what grounds a difference was made in the case of these two evicted tenants?

I have nothing to add to my reply to the question on the same subject asked by the hon. Member for East Donegal on 13th April last.

asked the Chief Secretary whether he is aware that a portion of the village of Cappamore, county Limerick, is subject to being flooded in cases of heavy rainfalls by the stream flowing from the Lloyd estate at Portnard; and will he urge on the Estates Commissioners the necessity for making an inquiry into the matter before completing the sale of the estate, and insist that steps be taken by the owners of the estate to prevent further flooding in this district?

The village of Cappamore does not appear to be included in the Lloyd estate at present pending for sale before the Estates Commissioners, who have no knowledge of the flooding referred to. When the Lloyd estate is being dealt with in order of priority, the Commissioners will send an inspector to visit the lands and to report to them as to all the conditions and circumstances of the estate.

asked the Chief Secretary how many deaths from tuberculosis occurred in Ireland last year; what was the rate per thousand of the population; and will he give the corresponding figures for 1906, 1907, and 1908?

The following table shows the number of deaths from all forms of tuberculous disease registered in Ireland during each of the four years 1906–9, with the respective rates per 1,000 of the estimated population represented thereby: Year. Deaths from all forms of Tuberculous Disease Total Number. Rate per 1,000. 1906 11,756 2.7 1907 11,679 2.7 1908 11,293 2.6 1909 10,594 2.4

asked the Chief Secretary whether he is aware that the building of nine cottages has been sanctioned in the townlands of Lacabeg, Lacamore, Curralahan, and Ganavane, all situate in the Bilboa division of the Tipperary (No. 2) Rural District, but that no contractor can be found to put them up owing to the scarcity of quarries and the remoteness of the district; and, having regard to the fact that contractors have been advertised for since September, 1909, without any result, will he recommend the Local Government Board to sanction the building of those houses by direct labour, the former to be made by cement, and thus enable the poor people to be comfortably housed before the approach of winter?

Difficulty has been experienced in finding contractors willing to build the nine authorised cottages on reasonable terms, but the Local Government Board are not aware of the causes of the difficulty. The board are prepared, in the circumstances stated, to sanction the building of the cottages by direct labour, provided the council comply with the conditions which the board require to be observed in such cases.

asked the Chief Secretary why it is that Mary Kavanagh, of Donoman, Croom, Limerick, is not getting possession of the land recently held by James Cavanagh in connection with the distribution of the untenanted land on the Dickson estate at Bornalicke, in the rural district of Croom; was an understanding come to that James Cavanagh would surrender his old holding to Mary Kavanagh in lieu of his getting a portion of the untenanted land which he is now in possession of; why has the inspector, Mr. O'Byrne, refused to hand over this land to Mrs. Kavanagh as intended originally; will an inquiry be held into the matter to ascertain what has been done in this case; and, having regard to the fact that the local rural district council unanimously passed a Resolution calling on the Commissioners to give up this land immediately to Mary Kavanagh, will he say if the matter will be brought to a speedy solution by complying with the request of the council?

The Estates Commissioners have allotted a parcel of land in Barnalick to James Cavanagh on condition that he surrenders his present holding. The Commissioners' inspector recommends that the latter be given to Mary Kavanagh on payment of £50, which it is proposed to expend on the equipment of the Barnalick holding. The necessary steps are being taken to complete this arrangement, but it cannot be carried into effect for some time.

asked the Chief Secretary whether Timothy Kirby, of Morhane, Herbertstown, county Limerick, has signed an agreement for the purchase of his present holding; whether he has over and over again signified his willingness to surrender his present holding to the evicted tenant, Michael Power; on what grounds do the Estates Commissioners refuse to allow Power back to his old holding and supply the grabber with an equivalent elsewhere when the latter is perfectly willing to take it; and, in the interests of the peace of the district, will the Commissioners even now take steps to bring about an amicable arrangement by removing Kirby and placing Power in his father's home?

Kirby has not signed a purchase agreement. He has stated that he is willing to surrender his farm if he gets another, but the Estates Commissioners, in the exercise of their discretion, have decided not to provide him with one. They propose to allot Power a farm on certain untenanted lands which they are acquiring.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he will consider the question of allowing the cockle-fishers employed at the mouth of the Thames to carry on their industry within the Government fishing rights in the vicinity of the Maplin Sands whenever artillery practice is in abeyance; and, if so, "whether he will communicate with the commandant of the school of gunnery at Shoeburyness with a view to coming to some arrangement by which the fishermen may be made acquainted with the daily orders affecting the artillery practices, so that there may be no possibility of any of them being within the zone of fire when the ranges are required for the use of the artillery?

I am making inquiries into the points raised by the question, and will communicate the result to the hon. Member.

asked the Home Secretary whether he can see his way to delete the word pauper from notices of deaths in county asylums sent to relatives of deceased inmates?

asked the Home Secretary if he has received any requests from boards of guardians or others to remove the description pauper patients from notices of death of persons chargeable to unions who die in asylums; and if he can see his way to removing a description which is inaccurate and hurtful to the feelings of the relatives of the deceased?

asked the Home Secretary whether he will take steps to delete the word pauper from notices of death sent out from county asylums, and thereby remove a description which is not only unnecessary but hurtful to the feelings of the relatives of the deceased?

As stated in my reply to the hon. Member for the Reigate Division last Monday, I have communicated with the Commissioners in Lunacy, and I do not think there will be any serious difficulty in making the change desired. The alteration of the form of notice will require the approval of the Lord Chancellor, and I am asking the Commissioners to submit the matter for his approval.

asked the Prime Minister whether it is intended to continue the system of staffing the Labour Exchanges recently opened by the nomination of a committee of selection rather than by open competition, as in other branches of the Civil Service; and whether, owing to reorganisation in the Savings Bank Department, there are at present a large number of experienced and capable clerks available for these positions?

I have been asked by the Prime Minister to reply to this question. I do not think that the time has come when the Labour Exchanges can be advantageously staffed by open competition, but applications for employment by any capable clerks would be carefully considered when suitable vacancies occur.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what are the principal articles imported into Hayti from the United Kingdom which compete with similar articles imported from France, Germany, and the United States, and on which the latter countries enjoy a tariff preference over the United Kingdom?

No official statistics of Haytian imports are available at the Board of Trade, but His Majesty's Consul-General at Port-au-Prince will be instructed to furnish a Report on the subject.

asked the President of the Local Government Board if he has received any complaints with regard to the quality of water which has been supplied during the past year by the Metropolitan Water Board to the consumers of water in the borough of Wimbledon, and that such water contains an excessive amount of chalk or lime; and if he will have such water specially tested and reported upon?

No complaints have reached me in regard to this water. I am aware, however, that the water which is now supplied to certain parts of Wimbledon is obtained from wells, and that it is harder than the river water which was previously supplied. In view of the regular analyses of this water, which are made by Dr. Houston, for the Metropolitan Water Board, it does not appear to be necessary that any further analyses should be made.

asked the Postmaster-General if he is now able to state the index number in volume of work at Ipswich as indicated by the Returns taken in October, 1909?

The Returns have now been examined, and I hope to be able to announce the result in the course of a few days.