asked if the treaty with Portugal of 29th April, 1858, which provided that at the end of twenty years slavery should be altogether abolished in the Portuguese dominions, is still in force, or if it has been cancelled or annulled by either the Berlin or Brussels Acts?

The instrument of 29th April, 1858, which provided for the abolition of slavery in the Portuguese dominions was not a treaty, but a Portuguese Royal Decree. It has not, so far as I am aware, been cancelled or revoked.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if, acting under the powers given in the treaty of 1858 between the Governments of Great Britain and Portugal, Her Majesty's ship "Swallow" captured in 1878 a Portuguese brig carrying slaves, or so-called indentured labourers from Angola, on the West Coast of Africa; and if this capture was upheld?

A Portuguese brig was boarded, in 1878, by a boat from Her Majesty's ship "Swallow," with a view to verifying the status of certain negro passengers who were being transported to San Thomé. The "Swallow" was acting under provisions of the Treaty of 1842, which, since the Brussels Act came into force, no longer apply to the West Coast of Africa. There was no attempt to capture the brig, and the investigation led to no further action in the matter.

Have not the British Government frequently declared quite apart from these treaties that vessels engaged in this trade are pirates?

Perhaps the hon. Gentleman will give me notice, as I shall have to look the matter up.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he had received representations from British traders with Japan as to the uncertainty introduced into their trade with that country by the power given to the Japanese Executive in the new Tariff Bill to alter the specific rates at six months' notice without consulting Parliament; and whether he would make any representations to the Japanese Government so as to remove this element of instability in British trade?

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs has asked me to answer this question. The hon. Member appears to be under a misconception. The Tariff Bill in the form in which it was introduced into the Japanese Legislature included an Article providing that in cases in which duties were to be levied ad valorem, such ad valorem rates might be converted into specific duties on the basis of the average values for a period of six months. In the measure as passed, however, this provision of the Bill was entirely omitted.

Has the right hon. Gentleman received any representations?

I must have notice of that question.

asked the President of the Board of Trade (1) from what chambers of commerce and other public bodies he has received representations in regard to the proposed Japanese tariff; whether these representations have been considered by the Commercial Intelligence Committee; and whether, for the information of the public, he can now lay these representations upon the Table of the House, with or without the Report of the Committee; and (2) whether the principal changes of the new Japanese tariff, which is to come into force on the 1st July, 1911, are the greatest in the case of goods such as cotton and woollen yarns and cloths, iron and steel goods, leather goods and paper, in which the imports of Great Britain generally predominate over those of foreign countries; and whether, under these circumstances, any steps are being taken by His Majesty's Government to secure for British traders at least as good treatment as that given to any other country?

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is now in a position to inform the House of the probable effect of the new Japanese tariff, on leading British industries; and whether he can now state the average rate of the new Japanese tariff on dutiable British products as compared with the average of the present duties, and an estimate of the amount of British goods which is likely to be excluded by this enormous increase in duties?

asked the right hon. Gentleman whether his attention has been drawn to the estimate that the proposed new Japanese duties on British goods represent an increase of 66 per cent. on present rates, whereas on goods from all countries the average increase of the new duties is only 50 per cent.; and whether, under these circumstances, he will take action to prevent a larger proportion of British goods than goods from other countries being excluded under this tariff?

The Board of Trade are fully alive to the detrimental effect likely to be produced on British trade with Japan by the new Japanese tariff in its present form. On this subject very careful inquiries have been made by the Board in consultation with their Advisory Committee on Commercial Intelligence. In the course of these inquiries a large number of chambers of commerce, trade associations and individual experts have been asked for information, and many representations have been received, which are still engaging the earnest attention of the Board of Trade and the Committee. As a result, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs is in communication with the Japanese Government on the whole subject, and in these circumstances it does not appear desirable for me to go into further details or to lay any Papers on the Table at present.

Has the right hon. Gentleman any reason to suppose the Foreign Office will be more successful in this case than in the case of the French tariff?

Will the right hon. Gentleman kindly explain why it is, if the consumer always pays the tax, the exporters of this country are so concerned about this tariff?

Is the most-favoured-nation clause likely to operate here?

My former answer practically covers these questions.

Would the right hon. Gentleman be good enough to state whether the facts enumerated in my question are correct, and will he take action?

I am not prepared to accept the figures given in the question. It is admitted that the tariff will raise the duty, and that is a point which is under the careful consideration of the Foreign Office and of the Board of Trade.

If it is admitted the new Japanese tariff will raise the duty on the average on goods imported from this country more than on goods imported from any other country, does not the right hon. Gentleman see the advisability of taking some action?

I do not admit the premises of the hon. Member's question, but I think my first answer really covers the point.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether he is aware that the Lahore municipal council in May last carried a resolution making education free in the primary municipal hoard schools; whether the local government has refused to sanction this resolution; and whether he can explain the grounds upon which this decision to refuse sanction was arrived at?

The Secretary of State has no information on the matter, but he is inquiring.

Is the Under-Secretary aware that the information was published in this country nearly a month ago?

The first time the Secretary for India's attention was drawn to it was when my hon. Friend put his question.

asked whether the inspector and acting superintendent of police, by name Babu Lall Mohan Guha and Maulvi Mazharul Huq, who were selected for distinction in the recent Birthday Honours List, are the same two officers whose conduct was commented upon by the High Court of Bengal last year; and, if so, whether they have been cleared from these reflections by the Report of the Commissioner appointed to investigate the charges made against them?

The answer to the first question is in the affirmative; as regards the second, I have already explained that it is impossible to make any statement on the subject pending the disposal of the suits that have been instituted raising substantially the same issues as were before the Commission. The Governor-General had to decide the matter on his own responsibility according to the practice in these matters, settled in correspondence between the Governor-General and the Secretary of State in 1860. On this occasion no fewer than 187 subordinate officials in various provinces were advanced. The Secretary of State refuses to suppose, and I trust my hon. Friend will agree, that the Governor-General meant to take part in any whitewashing of the police at the expense of the High Court. He must be assumed to have found nothing in the language of the High Court to cause him to interrupt the ordinary course of routine in conferring one of these minor titles upon men who, however they may emerge from the proceedings now pending, have hitherto served the Government with credit, and often at the risk of their lives.

asked whether the recommendation contained at the end of paragraph 25 of the Indian Police Commission Report, about disputes about land, water, crops, and cattle pounds in Bengal being settled by revenue officers and taken out of the hands of the police, has been given effect to?

The question referred to by the hon. Member is under the consideration of the Government of India in connection with the important changes in the law recommended by the Police Commission.

asked how many wireless telegraph stations there are at the present time in India, and where; and how many there are in the course of preparation and construction?

There are at present wireless telegraph stations at Bombay, Calcutta, the pilot vessel, Sandheads, Bengal, Port Blair, Table Island, Diamond Island, Morgui, and Victorian Point. As stated on 29th June, in reply to the hon. Member for Montgomery Boroughs, a scheme for the establishment of certain inland wireless telegraph stations has been sanctioned by the Secretary of State, to be constructed as funds become available. The Secretary of State is not aware that construction under this sanction has commenced.

Can the hon. Gentleman tell us when we may expect to have any of these stations constructed?

Construction will begin almost immediately now that the scheme has been sanctioned, but I cannot give the particular date of the finishing of any particular station.

asked the Under Secretary of State for India whether he will consider the advisability of now defining clearly the special consideration promised to candidates for the Indian Forest Service who possess a forestry diploma from a university other than Oxford, so that students at other universities may have some assurance that their studies will not be ultimately ineffective; and whether, in the event of a special examination in such cases, provision will be made for an independent examining body instead of one constructed on the present lines?

The general question of the selection and training of probationers for the Indian Forest Service is at present under discussion, and the Secretary of State will take care that the particular point to which the hon. Member refers is fully considered.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether, in view of the fact that the Territorial Army is still short of about 38,000 men, and that it has been stated on the highest authority that no larger number of men, if so many, can be obtained in the future, he proposes to continue to rely on the Territorial Force as a defence against the invasion and ruin of our country?

The reply is in the affirmative. At the present time any estimate of the future strength of the Territorial Force is, of course, a matter of speculation, but in this respect I think I have reason to be more hopeful than the authority mentioned.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he can state the total number of horses in Cavalry regiments, stationed in the United Kingdom, which have been cast as unfit for service

The figures for the year 1909–10 amounts to 732 for the seventeen regiments, including Household Cavalry, stationed in the United Kingdom.

Is any scheme in contemplation for the retaining of mares for breeding purposes?

That does not arise out of this question.

Can the right hon. Gentleman state what proportion the number he has just stated bears to the number of horses now borne on the establishment?

I should like notice of that question.

asked what was the total number of persons, not at the time of appointment in permanent Government employment, who had been appointed since January, 1906, to positions in his Department, other than military positions, with salaries exceeding £100 a year, and who did not previously to their appointment pass an examination by the Civil Service Commissioners; and what was the total annual amount of their salaries?

The total of such appointments in the War Office, Royal Army Clothing Department, and Ordnance Factories amounts to nineteen and the total annual salaries amount to £5,250.

asked the Postmaster-General, in view of the fact that the most numerous class of people who would use letter-cards if procurable for 1d. each are precluded from using them by the present price of 1½d. each, farthings not being generally current, whether he is now in a position to hold out any prospect of stamped letter-cards being for sale at 1d. each?

Letter-cards are at present sold at the rate of 9d. a packet of eight, the price of a single card being 1¼d. The question of the selling price of letter-cards is under consideration with other analogous questions, but I am not at present in a position to make any statement on the subject.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he is now in a position to state that all owners of blocks of offices, flats, and other high buildings fitted with lifts have given permission for such lifts to be used by postmen in the discharge of their duties?

The question of the use of lifts by postmen in blocks of offices, flats, and other high buildings has received constant attention in the Post Office for some years past. Permission is asked for the use of the lift to convey the postman to the highest point at which he has to deliver. He commences his duty there and subsequently walks down, delivering at the various flats or offices as he passes by. Such permission has, I am glad to say, invariably been given in the provinces, and has been conceded throughout London in all but a few instances. I am advised that the legal obligations of the Postmaster-General would be fulfilled if letters for persons residing in such buildings were tendered to the hall porter; and I now propose, in the case of the few buildings whose owners, after repeated requests, still withhold the desired facilities which are readily granted by the great majority of owners, and which are of much value to the postmen, to issue instructions that letters for the tenants need no longer be delivered from flat to flat, but should be tendered to the hall porter for distribution.

May not that inflict a great hardship on the tenants who live in those flats? The tenants themselves have no control whatever over the management of the lifts.

How will that act in the case where there is no hall porter?

I doubt whether there is any such case. Where there is a lift there is generally a person to work the lift. If there is not, then special arrangements will have to be made, and the landlord must make a distribution for his tenants.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Agriculture how much land has been acquired to supply the 9,557 applicants for 146,050 acres of land who were referred to in the Report of the Small Holdings Commissioners, dated 12th March, 1910, as being approved by the county or county borough councils, but not yet supplied with land?

It was pointed out in the Report to which my hon. Friend refers that for the reasons therein given the figures cited could not be regarded as representing the existing outstanding demand. I am glad to say, however, that since 31st December last Schemes and Orders for the acquisition of 13,099 acres have been submitted to the Board, and they continue to come in almost daily.

asked whether any action has been taken, or is about to be taken, by the Board under the Small Holdings Act, 1908, Section 20, which enables the Board to acquire land to demonstrate the feasibility of small holdings in any locality; and whether, in the opinion of the Board, there are any localities in which the Board intend to demonstrate such feasibility?

The Board do not think that any further action on their part is necessary to demonstrate the feasibility of small holdings. The success of the Small Holdings Act of 1907 has afforded sufficient evidence on the point.

asked whether the President of the Board of Agriculture will ask the Foreign and Colonial Offices to procure reports on the history and outbreaks of anthrax in Russia, India, and Egypt, and inquire whether there is anything exported from those countries to this country that might carry the disease?

Investigations as to the possibility of the introduction of anthrax into this country by means of materials imported from abroad has been carried on by the veterinary officers of the Board in their laboratory for the last three years. Some information as to the position in the particular countries named is already available, and steps are being taken to supplement it as far as possible. The Board do not think that they need ask for the assistance of either the Foreign or Colonial Offices in the matter.

Can the hon Baronet tell me whether there is any hay or straw imported from those countries?

The hon. Member had better give me notice of that question.

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether he will cause that any new Order regulating the boarding-out of Poor Law children within the union shall require that every child shall be under the regular and constant visitation of a woman or women?

In connection with any new Boarding-out within Unions Order I shall be happy to consider whether the provisions of the existing Order as regards the visitation of children require strengthening in any respect.

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether he is yet able to give a decision in regard to the appeals from the inmates of some almshouses in Faversham whose old age pensions have, by decision of the local committee, to be reduced from 3s. to 2s. weekly; and whether he is aware that these old people have received no pensions at all since 17th June?

I am in communication with the pension officer with regard to these cases, and I hope to be in a position to decide the appeals at an early date.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury if any consideration has been given to the idea of the Government undertaking itself the work of printing postage stamps and postal orders; and, if not, will the Treasury and the Post Office consider the matter, with a view of following in this respect the practice of every other great nation?

As regards postage stamps, the alternative of the Government itself undertaking the printing was before me at the time that tenders were invited, but I came to the conclusion that it was preferable to put the work out to contract. Consideration was also given to the question when the existing arrangements with regard to the supply of postal orders were made.

asked what would be the import duty at ½d., per ounce paid to the Government out of £100 worth of raw tobacco of the value of ½d. per ounce; and what would be the import duty at 1s. per pound paid to the Government out of £100 worth of cigars of the value of £6 5s. per pound?

The duty at ½d. per ounce on £100 worth of raw tobacco of the, duty free, value of ½d. per ounce would be £100. The duty at 1s. per pound on £100 worth of cigars of a, duty free, value of £6 5s. would be 16s.

Are we to understand that in proportion to value in the extra taxation of the present Government the rich man only pays 1 per cent. on his cigars, while the poor man has to pay 100 per cent. on his tobacco?

I understand that the hon. Member has been explaining to his friends that the foreigner pays the duty in all cases.

I merely asked the right hon. Gentleman a plain question.

And I think I gave the hon. Member too plain an answer.

asked the Lord Advocate whether he is aware of the prevalence of trout netting by night poachers in the rivers and streams of the county of Roxburgh, whereby the waters are being seriously depleted of river trout; and whether he will institute some inquiry into the matter with a view to regulation by law of the sale of such fish?

As my hon. Friend is probably aware, there is great diversity of opinion among anglers as to the best means of dealing with the trout-netting difficulty. The question whether an inquiry would be likely to be of use will be carefully considered.

Has the hon. Gentleman received information of a great catch by a Jedburgh boat in the River Teviot with a net nine feet long?

I have no information of that.

asked the Lord Advocate if he is aware that there was a fatal accident from a shot fired at a shooting gallery at Brodick Fair on 21st June; and what steps he is taking to ensure the safety of the public from such danger in future?

I am aware of the accident referred to in the hon. Member's question. A public inquiry was recently held into the occurrence under the Fatal Accidents Inquiry Acts, when the jury returned a verdict, inter alia, finding that the rifles and ammunition used were unsuitable for shooting at a fair where crowds were collected in the immediate vicinity. I am considering what steps, if any, can be taken under the existing law to prevent such accidents in the future.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he contemplates acting on the Report of the Departmental Committee on the Procedure of Royal Commissions by issuing instructions or advice to future chairmen of such Royal Commissions to follow the recommendations of the Departmental Committee; and whether such action will hamper independent investigation and prevent most Minority Reports from being published?

The recommendations of the Committee are under consideration by the Treasury and other Departments concerned as well as by myself. The primary object of a Royal Commission is collective as distinguished from independent investigation, and I gather that the recommendations of the Committee aim not so much at the suppression of Minority Reports as at their limitation to reasonable length.

Will the House have an opportunity of stating what they think on the subject before the Home Office takes the matter into their hands and acts on the report of the Departmental Committee?

I shall not promise that. I do not gather that any immediate action will be taken by the Home Office in the matter.

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether British nationality can be presumed in the case of a man aged seventy-seven, who served in the British German Legion in the Crimea, and who can be proved to have settled in England immediately after the war, and to have been in the employ of the same firm for the last forty-five years in England; and whether the refusal of an old age pension on the sole ground of failure to prove British nationality will be re-considered?

I am advised that British nationality cannot legally be presumed in cases of the kind referred to. I may say that it is one of the statutory requirements of the Old Age Pensions Act that a person must satisfy the pension authorities that he has been a British subject for at least twenty years, and I am not empowered to dispense with any such requirement.

If the facts in this question are correct, the man who is an applicant for the pension has been resident in England, and has been in the same employ for forty-five years, which is in excess of the statutory period?

That does not constitute the individual in question a British subject.

asked if, after the Poor Law disqualification in the Old Age Pension Act has ceased to operate, the receipt of poor relief by a wife under seventy years of age will disqualify the husband over seventy, and in all other respects eligible for a pension, for the receipt of an old age pension on the ground that he is in receipt of poor relief through his wife, or vice versâ, if the positions of the husband and wife were reversed?

The expiry of the disqualification in respect of past receipt of poor relief on 31st December next will operate to remove the disqualification (where it at present exists) in the cases to which the hon. Member refers, if and when the actual receipt of the disqualifying relief ceases. Otherwise, in the absence of an amendment of the Old Age Pensions Act, there will be no change in the present position. The point is, however, one which will receive careful consideration when an opportunity arises for the introduction of a Bill to amend the Act.

In the case of the pension not amounting to 5s. a week and the Poor Law guardians making it up to that sum, will that be a disqualification?

That, I gather, is one of the points that will have to be considered.

Do we understand that next year, in the case of a man who had received Poor Law relief but otherwise was eligible for an old age pension he will be barred if his wife, she being under seventy years of age, continues to receive relief?

I think an amendment of the law may be required in that respect. If there is any doubt we will make it clear in the Act that there is no intention to disqualify in such a case.

asked what was the value of the exports of cotton yarns to Japan in the years 1889, 1899, and 1909; and whether the almost complete extinction of this trade with that country is due to the development of the cotton industry in Japan?

The declared value of the exports of cotton yarns from the United Kingdom to Japan was £1,042,000 in 1889, £580,000 in 1899, and £71,000 in 1909. No doubt this decline is largely due to the development of cotton spinning in Japan, the quantity of yarn spun in that country having increased from a weight of 28,000,000 lbs. in 1889 to 358,000,000 lbs. in 1908, the latest year for which the information is available.

asked the Attorney-General for Ireland whether it was by his direction, and, if not, by whose and on what authority the court official at the Westmeath Assizes in the present month took up the cards of jurors carefully from the top without having shaken them together, as required by the Juries (Ireland) Act, 1871; by whom were the cards which the Crown desired to have drawn selected and arranged on the top for that purpose; whose duty is it to report illegal practices having the effect of jury-packing; and when his attention is called to them why are the facts denied without investigation?

The Clerk of the Crown and Peace informs me that no such practices as are suggested in the question were resorted to on the occasion referred to. When the ballot cards were received from the sheriff they were thrown into the ballot box, which was thoroughly shaken up, and the only jury required was empannelled strictly according to law, no complaint having been made by any one concerned.

Does the hon. Gentleman admit or deny the allegations contained in the question?

Yes, a very definite denial.

Then I beg to ask the hon. Gentleman whether he is aware that he is telling the House an untruth?

The hon. Member is not entitled to make use of an expression of that kind. I must ask the hon. Member to withdraw it.

What is the Parliamentary word, If you please?

Does the hon. Member withdraw the expression or not?

What I mean to convey—

Does the hon. Member withdraw the expression or not? It is not a proper expression to use.

The hon. Gentleman has used untrue information.

The hon. Member has not withdrawn the expression. I ask him once again: Does he withdraw the expression?

He has used untrue information.

The hon. Member declines to withdraw the expression?

I think the hon. Member said he would withdraw.

Then I understand the hon. Gentleman withdraws the expression?

I withdraw the expression as regards the hon. Gentleman, and no further.

asked the Attorney-General for Ireland in what way a miscarriage of justice is possible or can be apprehended in the trial of certain criminal cases in Ireland in which the alleged offence is not denied; and in whose interest besides that of Crown lawyers did he instruct his representatives at the recent assizes to apply for adjournment, with a view to change of venue in those cases, without having asked the defendants whether they denied the charge or not?

I do not know to what special case the hon. Member refers. I am not aware that a plea admitting the offence is intended to be put in in any of the adjourned cases. The postponement was applied for solely to secure a fair trial.

Has the right hon. Gentleman since this question appeared on the Paper inquired whether or not the statements are correct?

It is impossible for me to anticipate what pleas accused persons will enter to an indictment.

asked the First Commissioner of Works what was the total number of persons, not at the time of appointment in permanent Government employment, who had been appointed since January, 1906, to positions in his Department with salaries exceeding £100 a year, and who did not previously to their appointment pass an examination by the Civil Service Commissioners; and what was the total annual value of their salaries?

Five such appointments have been made, the total initial annual value of the salaries being £1,350.

asked the Prime Minister if the practice of filling appointments in the Civil Service by patronage is spreading; if since 1904 a system of employing hired clerks at the Admiralty has been adopted and is extending; that these appointments are filled by patronage, and such clerks have replaced open competition clerks, and, moreover, that established posts have been provided to which these hired clerks may be promoted; if he aware that at the Board of Education the principal administrative appointments are all filled by patronage, and that the number of such appointments is constantly increasing, to the detriment of the open competition men, if the clerical appointments in connection with the recently created Labour Exchanges have all been filled by patronage; why this departure from the spirit and intention of the Order in Council of 4th June, 1870, establishing the principle of open competition, is being made; and will he cause an inquiry to be instituted into the whole question of patronage appointments in the Civil Service?

As regards the hired clerks at the Admiralty and at the dockyards I understand that most of the vacancies are now filled either by open competition or by promotion from ranks recruited by open competition. The facts as to the Board of Education and Labour Exchange appointments are substantially as stated, but I am informed that these posts require special personal qualifications which cannot be tested satisfactorily by a written examination. His Majesty's Government attach great importance to the maintenance of the principle of open competition as a general rule, and I do not consider that any useful purpose would be served by an inquiry into patronage appointments generally. It is the established policy to restrict within the narrowest limits the number of exceptional cases in which the system of open competition is abandoned.

What special qualifications are required by the Board of Education?

; I cannot answer that without notice.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that great inconvenience is caused to Members of Parliament by appointments being filled by patronage, and that public competition relieves hon. Members of a good deal of persecution?

asked the Prime Minister whether any member of the Imperial Defence Committee has commanded the forces in India or acted as Sirdar; and whether he will consider the advisability of enlarging the Committee so as to include some officer of Indian, Colonial, or Egyptian experience?

None of the present members of the Committee of Imperial Defence have commanded the forces in India or acted as Sirdar; but some of them, in particular the Chief of the General Staff, have long and wide Indian experience. The constitution of the Committee is elastic and admits of distinguished officers being invited to attend meetings when expert opinion is required regarding matters of which they have special knowledge. Both Field-Marshal Sir George White, formerly Commander-in-Chief in India, and General Sir R. Wingate, the Sirdar, have so attended meetings.

Would it not be as well to utilise Lord Kitchener's abilities as soon as possible, in view of the recent statement in the Press that he has been invited by a foreign Power to reorganise its forces?

I do not see how that arises out of the question on the Paper. I strongly deprecate this putting forward of the names of particular officers.

asked the Prime Minister whether, in view of the conflict of opinion upon the Accession Declaration Bill he will consider the desirability of withdrawing the Bill and introducing a Bill to remove any religious test in the Accession Declaration?

The answer is in the negative.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if motor-car licences issued in January last or since that time have ceased to have effect; if, as a result, a large number of motor cars are being used without a licence; if he is aware that persons who desire to comply with the law and to take out their licences are unable to do so on account of the conduct of the authorities in not having supplied the postal authorities with the necessary forms for declaration; if he can estimate the loss to the Exchequer which will be occasioned by this failure to obtain licences; and if he will immediately issue the forms of declarations for licences to the postmasters, in order that they may be able to cope with the responsibilities imposed upon them by Statute?

Section 86 (8) of the Finance (1909–10) Act, 1910, provides that any licence to keep a motor car granted for the year 1910 before the passing of this Act shall, if the motor car is a motor car charged with duty under this Section, cease to have effect from 30th June, 1910. The preparation of the necessary new forms of declaration and licence has been unavoidably delayed owing to the congestion of work in the Departments concerned resulting from the delay in passing the Budget, but every effort is being made to have them available at an early date. I do not anticipate that there will be any appreciable loss of licence duty in consequence of the new duties coming into force before the necessary forms were available.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in accordance with the Parliamentary Paper recently issued and which estimates the preliminary cost of valuing 760,000 hereditaments in the metropolis at 6d. per hereditament, the cost of valuing 7,740,000 hereditaments in England and Wales at 5d., and the cost of valuing 1,250,000 hereditaments in Scotland at 3d., respectively, the assessors of taxes, on whom the duty of preliminary investigation will devolve, will be furnished on application free of charge with any necessary information by overseers, assessment committees, or other local officials, or whether such officials will be entitled to a fee for supplying this information; if so, whether the probable amount of the fee has been allowed for in the respective charges of 6d., 5d., and 3d.; whether any similar preliminary investigation will be required in the case of any Irish hereditament; and, if so, what will be the number of hereditaments and estimated cost?

In Great Britain the work to be performed by assessors of taxes and others who act as land valuation officers is practically confined (1) to copying into valuation books particulars already in the possession of the Commissioners of Inland Revenue, and (2) to the distribution and collection of the forms of return. These duties are not such as to entail upon the officers expense for obtaining extra information from local officials. In Ireland, where extensive information is already in the hands of Government Departments, the detailed arrangements are still under consideration. The approximate number of hereditaments in that country is 1,300,000.

asked if Form 4, in connection with the general valuation of land under Part I. of the Finance (1909–10) Act, 1910, will be issued to owners of land in Ireland, and, in the event of the answer being in the negative, by what means the necessary data for the compilation of an Irish Domesday Book will be arrived at; and the total number of rated hereditaments existing in Ireland in 1907–8 or any subsequent year?

I may refer the hon. Member to the latter portion of my reply to his previous question as to the number of hereditaments in Ireland.

asked to whom the preliminary work in connection wth the general valuation of land under Part I. of the Finance (1909–10) Act, 1910, will be entrusted in the cases where the assessors of taxes, owing to the inadequate remuneration offered or from other reasons, have declined to undertake the responsibility; by whom Form 4 will be issued to the owners of hereditaments throughout the country on the first day of next month, the method of service that will be adopted, letter or personal service, and, in the case of the first service proving ineffective, whether the owner will be again served by registered letter or otherwise before procedings are instituted against him for failing to make a return; and whether any estimate has been made of the total cost of serving Form 4 on the owners of 9,750,000 hereditaments?

Suitable persons, in many cases assessors for neighbouring parishes, who are able and willing to perform the work, have been appointed in the cases referred to in the first part of the hon. Member's question. As regards the second part, both the methods referred to will be adopted as circumstances require; and with regard to the third part, forms of reminder will be issued in all cases where no return has been made in response to the original application. No separate estimate of the cost of serving the forms referred to in the fourth part has been made, but such cost is included in the general estimate of £230,000 for the preliminary work in connection with the valuation.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in order to enable wholesale traders under Section 46 of The Finance (1909–10) Act, 1910, to come to some equitable and satisfactory arrangement with licensees who are tied or under any obligation to such traders in regard to the supply of liquors, and to avoid the expense, inconvenience, and delay which must result from sending many thousands of cases to the Commissioners of Customs and Excise for their determination of the proportion of the increase of the Licence Duty recoverable, and also to relieve the existing uncertainty and make it practicable for licensees to be parties to an agreement as contemplated in the Section, he will give the necessary instructions for the issue by the Commissioners without delay of rules or instructions which will clearly indicate upon what basis the Commissioners intend to act?

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the question asked by my hon. Friend the Member for the Darwen Division of Lancashire on 20th June.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, referring to Section 90, Subsection (3), of the Finance Act, 1909–10, what sum has been certified by the. Commissioners to be the cost of collecting the Motor Spirit Duty for the year 1909–10, as well as the net proceeds of the duty?

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave to the hon. Member for Hammersmith on Thursday last. The cost has not yet been certified by the Commissioners.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has received a complaint from a number of taxpayers at Dornoch, Sutherland, stating that the surveyor of taxes had increased the valuation of their houses without having seen such houses and without having made reasonable investigation, and that the surveyor had informed the complainers that the Income Tax Commissioners for the county had fixed the valuations complained of; whether the appeal against the surveyor's valuation is to the Commissioners who had apparently fixed the valuations; if so, is that regular; and whether he will grant an inquiry into these allegations?

also asked whether, assuming the surveyor's statement to be correct that the Commissioners had fixed the valuations in question, it is regular and proper that they should do so, seeing that any appeal against the valuations falls to be taken to the Commissioners?

As regards the first part of the question, a complaint was received in May last from three taxpayers at Dornoch. With regard to the second and third parts, the question is one for the decision of the responsible District Commissioners of Taxes, to whom an appeal against the valuation lies, and I have no power to interfere in the matter.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if the Lancashire and Western Sea Fisheries Joint Committee are handicapped, through lack of funds, in their efforts to improve, by scientific research and otherwise, the sea fisheries within their jurisdiction; and if he will make a Grant under the terms of the Development and Road Improvement Funds Act, 1909, in order to assist the committee in this work?

An application has been received from the Lancashire and Western Sea Fisheries Joint Committee for a Grant under the terms of the Development and Road Improvement Funds Act, 1909; and this application has been forwarded, in accordance with the terms of that Act, to the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries for transmission to the Development Commissioners. No report has been yet received from the Commissioners.

asked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland for what purpose the Irish Constabulary some months ago inquired and took notes of untenanted land let on the eleven months' system; whether a Return of that land will be presented to Parliament; and, seeing that such use of land in the neighbourhood of congested and landless people is a natural cause of turmoil, whether he will, in the interest of law and order, have it compulsorily acquired and distributed before the end of the present year?

I have no knowledge of the inquiries referred to, which may have been made by the police with a view to prevent cattle-driving or for similar police purposes.

further asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland how many occupants of uneconomic holdings and how many landless men applied for portions of the untenanted land on the Pakenham estate, Westmeath; what defence is there of the conduct of Mr. Campbell in getting graziers to select applicants and bring them to meet him at a newspaper office in Mullingar, where he prepared his scheme giving Anne Shaw, an occupant of forty-eight acres, Poor Law valuation £38 5s., a new holding of twenty-one and a half acres, and her only son Matthew Shaw, residing with her, a new holding of nineteen and a half acres, while giving none to eligible applicants on the boundary in need and entitled by Statute, but not recommended by graziers; whether it will be annulled and the holdings given to applicants selected in accordance with the intentions of Parliament; and, seeing the importance of an impartial distribution of land in a country devoid of manufacturing industries, whether he will take steps to have it carried out in future free from the influence of ranchers?

The Estates Commissioners received a very large number of applications for parcels of land on this estate, including many from persons ineligible under the Act of 1903. All applications received from persons resident within two and a half miles of the estate were inquired into, and the Commissioners allocated the lands in the exercise of their discretion. Parcels were allotted under Section 2, Sub-sections (1) and (2), of the Irish Land Act, 1903, to Mrs. Shaw and her son, the former being a tenant on the estate. The Commissioners are not aware of any justification for the allegations made against the inspector by the hon. Member.

How does the right hon. Gentleman account for land supposed by Act of Parliament to go to be distributed among people in need of it going to persons who, on the face of it, are not in need of it?

It is very difficult to say exactly who is in need of land. Matters of this sort have of necessity to be left to the discretion of the Commissioners acting upon the advice of their inspectors. I have made inquiries, and I find that this particular inspector has generally given great satisfaction.

Does not the Act of Parliament say that the people who are in need of land are those who have none? Does the right hon. Gentleman consider a rancher's newspaper office is the proper place to prepare a scheme for the distribution of land?

It depends on what the scheme is.

asked whether the Estates Commissioners make themselves acquainted with the terms upon which a landlord agrees to sell and his tenants to buy, and afterwards enforce those terms by withholding the price until the terms have been carried out; whether they are aware of the rights of pasture on the Tubberquill untenanted farm, secured by the terms of sale to small tenants on the Levinge estate, Knockdrin, Westmeath; and whether they will require either those rights to be continued or that farm to be distributed among those most in need of it?

The Estates Commissioners exercise their jurisdiction in accordance with the provisions of the Irish Land Acts and the rules and regulations made thereunder. Any claims made by the purchasing tenants on the estate referred to will be inquired into when the Commissioners are dealing with the estate.

Can the Chief Secretary say when will that be?

No.

asked why tenants on an estate in course of sale are not, as parties having rights, informed of the main stages of the transaction in time to enable them to protect their interests, and the sale of one portion of an estate is completed rendering it impossible afterwards to relieve congestion on another portion; whether the congested sub-tenants on a portion of the Pollard-Urquahart estate, Westmeath, apparently not offered for sale, who have appointed a representative to communicate on their behalf with the Estates Commissioners, will be informed in time of the date of inspection and allowed to state their circumstances to the inspector on the ground; and whether the Commissioners, before declaring the property an estate, will hear the claim of those sub-tenants to be included in the sale, and to have their holdings enlarged from the adjoining non-residential land and from Cammagh bog on the same estate?

The Estates Commissioners inform me that the first paragraph of the hon. Member's question appears to be based upon a misapprehension. When the estate referred to in the latter part of the question is being inspected the Commissioners will cause inquiries to be made as to the other matters referred to by the hon. Member.

asked whether the Estates Commissioners have received an application for reinstatement from John Clancy, an evicted tenant on the Massey estate, at Derryhirk, county Leitrim; and, if so, whether they intend taking steps to reinstate him or provide him with a suitable farm elsewhere?

The application referred to has been received by the Estates Commissioners who will consider it when dealing with the estate.

asked the Chief Secretary whether he is aware that an application was made to the Congested Districts Board for a Grant-in-Aid of the making of a new road from the townland of Aughnahoo to the townland of Curraghy, in the county of Leitrim, which, if made, would have the effect of opening up the congested district between the towns of Drumshambo, Ballinamore, Keshcarrigan, Leitrim, and Carrick-on-Shannon, and thus accommodating at least 400 families residing in these backward districts, some of whom are compelled to carry on their backs all their marketable farm produce and necessary household goods for a distance of one mile to and from the county road; whether he is aware that the Drumshambo (No. 1) Rural District Council passed this road in January last on condition that the Congested Districts Board would contribute one-half the cost of making it; and, as the road would be beneficial and reproductive and as county Leitrim has not yet received any Grant from the new Congested Districts Board, whether he would, in the interest of the poor people struggling to eke out an existence in these districts and for the public convenience, recommend this application to the favourable consideration of the Congested Districts Board?

The application in question has been received by the Congested Districts Board. I understand that the Carrick-on-Shannon Rural District Council have sanctioned the construction of this road conditional upon the receipt of a sufficient contribution from the Congested Districts Board. The Board will consider the application when dealing with estates situated in the neighbourhood.

asked whether His Majesty's Government contemplate the appointment of a Vice-regal Commission to inquire into the appointment of justices of the peace in Ireland?

As stated in my reply to the question of the hon. and gallant Member for South County Dublin on the 19th instant, I have not had time to consider the matter fully, and I do not propose to take any action at present.

Will the right hon. Gentleman take the matter into consideration, and inquire into it.

Certainly.

asked in how many cases of agrarian crime since January, 1906, have proceedings been taken before petty sesions; in how many cases have informations been refused; and in how many cases where informations have been refused has the Attorney-General sent up a Bill to the assizes on his own initiative?

The Inspector-General informs me that between January, 1906, and 30th June last proceedings were taken at petty sessions in 156 cases of indictable agrarian offences. In twenty-nine cases informations were refused, and in Seven of these bills were sent to the assizes.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Agriculture whether he can see his way to reduce the size of the scheduled area in the North Riding of Yorkshire, owing to the fact that all the affected animals have been slaughtered?

I regret to say that it is not possible to reduce the area as desired by the Noble Lord in view of the fact that since I came into the House a telegram has been received at the Board reporting a further outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease to-day. One stirk is affected in a field adjoining North Close Farm, where the first outbreak occurred.

Will the right hon. Gentleman, having regard to the very serious inconvenience caused to farmers and residents in the neighbourhool by the recent prohibition, endeavour to diminish the area as soon as possible, if he considers it safe in the interests of the neighbouring farmers to do so?

I think the Noble Lord will see that, in view of the fresh outbreak, that is impossible.

In view of the danger to the herds of this country, arising out of this fresh outbreak, can he tell us how far the outbreak goes outside the limit of the four infected farms?

The hon. Member is wrong in saying that there are four infected farms. There is only one infected farm, and there is a field adjoining this farm. The area is the usual fifteen miles, which has been found in other cases always effective.

Did I not understand the hon. Gentleman to say the other day that there were other farms, because two of the animals from this first farm had been sent to those farms.

That is so. I said that two beasts had gone off this farm, but when examined they were found perfectly healthy, and had been slaughtered, and there has been no other outbreak on that farm.

asked the Undersecretary for India whether he is aware that the "Gujarati," a bi-lingual weekly paper published in Bombay, has had to find security in 2,000 rupees under the Press Act; what convictions have been obtained against this paper or its publisher, proprietor, or editor; what warning had been sent to them; and what were the reasons which led to the security being demanded?

Security was demanded from and was furnished by the printer and publisher of the "Gujarati" on account of an article which infringed Section 4 (1) of the Act. No warning was given. The Government of India's Orders regarding the desirability of giving warning were not issued until a later date.

Can the Under-Secretary say what were the terms of the article in regard to which this gentleman was asked to find security for 2,000 rupees.

I should not like to quote the article off-hand. The hon. Member is aware of the nature of the article, which comes under Section 4 (1) of the Press Act. I will consider the matter of laying it on the Table.

asked the Under-Secretary for India whether he is aware that the "Phœnix," an old-established paper published in Karachi, has had to deposit 1,000 rupees as security under the Press Act; what convictions have been obtained against this paper or its publisher, proprietor, or editor; what warning had been sent to them; and what were the reasons which led to the security being demanded; whether the "Sind Gazette," an old-established Anglo-Indian paper published in Karachi, has had to deposit 1,000 rupees as security under the Press Act; what convictions have been obtained against this paper or its publisher, proprietors, or editor; what warning had been sent to them; and what were the reasons which led to the security being demanded; and whether the "Karachi Argus," an English weekly paper, published at Karachi, has received an intimation that security is required to be deposited under the Press Act; what convictions have been obtained against this paper, its publisher, proprietor, or editor; what warning had been sent to them; and what were the reasons which led to the security being demanded?

Security was taken from the "Sind Gazette," the "Karachi Argus," and the "Phœnix "when declarations were made by their printers and publishers under the Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867, the object of the magistrate being to secure equal treatment to all classes of newspapers. His Order was, however, inconsistent with the instructions issued on the subject by the Government of India and the Government of Bombay, which did not reach him till after it had been passed. On receiving, intimation of the Order, the Bombay Government telegraphed instructions to the magistrate to reconsider it. This was done, and the security deposits were refunded.

I beg to ask leave to introduce a Bill to amend and consolidate the Law relating to Copyright.

I shall not, of course, in the short time at my disposal, attempt to argue the various points which arise out of the Bill which I venture now to introduce. I am anxious that it should be placed before the House and the country, as well as our self-governing Dominions, in order that they and the public may have an opportunity of considering the matter before the further stages of the measure are reached. I do not think there is any objection found to the principle of the Bill, which I therefore assume. I also assume the advantages of International uniformity in regard to this matter.

There are three strong reasons for the introduction of the Bill. This country is a party to the Berne Convention of some twenty or thirty years ago which deals with the copyright question. The fundamental principle on which that Convention was founded was that each State should extend to the citizens of other States, and to works first published in those States, the benefit of its own copyright legislation. A few years ago there was a further Conference and Convention at Berlin which carried the matter further. The object of that Conference and Convention was to bring the domestic laws of the countries concerned into harmony with one another so as to obtain international uniformity of treatment. The ratification of that Convention necessarily involves certain changes in our law in regard to copyright, and therefore it is necessary to introduce a Bill for that purpose in order to bring the existing law into conformity with the Convention of Berlin. So far as we are concerned, it requires a larger change in our law than in any other country, for the simple reason that most other countries have brought their Copyright Law up to date, while we have had no copyright reform for very many years past. The second reason for asking leave to introduce this Bill is that our Copyright Law very urgently requires amendment, simplification, and codification to place it on a better and simpler basis. It consists of some twenty Acts of Parliament, dating back as far as 1735, and the different works and different authors have been treated in different ways, apparently without any reason or any particular ground for the differences which exist. The result is that the Royal Commission of 1878, which inquired carefully into the matter, condemned our present system of copyright emphatically, and stated that it ought to be codified and simplified. But we have so far taken no action in regard to reform. On the contrary, we have since then added to the Statute Book certain other Acts of Parliament which have made confusion worse confounded.

The third reason was the Imperial reason, namely, that any attempt to deal with this Copyright Law necessarily raises somewhat delicate constitutional questions between ourselves and the self-governing Dominions. Indeed, it is not too much to say that the difficulty of the Colonial question has been largely the stumbling-block which has caused the delay in reforming our domestic Copyright Law. The first step, therefore, after the Berlin Convention, was to summon a conference of representatives of the self-governing Dominions, of Canada, Australia, of the Cape, New Zealand, and Newfoundland, who, together with representatives of the Foreign Office, the India Office, the Colonial Office, and the Board of Trade, under my presidency as President of the Board of Trade, have been sitting to consider this question. I am glad to say I may congratulate my colleagues on that Conference and the House of Commons on arriving at a unanimous conclusion as to the best method of treating the question from an Imperial point of view. I do not propose to discuss these points now—they are somewhat intricate—but I propose to circulate to-day a Paper which will show the proceedings of that Conference and the conclusions to which they came, and which will put the House in possession of the matter. In addition to that, the Imperial Conference considered carefully various points in connection with the Berlin Convention and various suggestions for the reform of our Copyright Law; and they were very materially helped in their deliberations by the Report of a strong Departmental Committee which sat last year under the chairmanship of Lord Gorell. That Committee went very carefully into the whole question from the point of view of the Convention, and recommended the acceptance of the Convention subject to a few alterations and with as few reservations as possible.

I will sum up the effect of the alterations involved by the ratification of the Convention and by the proposals contained in the Bill. In the first place, there is the abolition of what are called formalities—registration and the like; indeed, the Convention, as a whole, is based on that principle. These formalities are anomalous and vexatious, and the Gorell Committee condemned them as anomalous, uncertain, productive of great disadvantage and annoyance to authors, while of little or no advantage to the public. Most other nations have already abolished these formalities, and unless we do so also our authors will be placed at a considerable disadvantage as compared with foreign authors. Secondly, there will be uniformity of treatment of various works coming under the operations of Copyright Law. At present the period and conditions vary greatly, and books, music, sculpture, painting, plays, and artistic works, for no apparent reason except that they are dealt with under different Acts, receive varying treatment. Thirdly, certain species of works will receive improved treatment, such as translations, lectures—I think at present a lecturer has to go before two magistrates before he can protect his lecture—original adaptations and arrangements, works of artistic craftsmanship, including architectural works of art. On the other hand, the right to dramatise a novel, and, if I may coin a word, to novelise a drama, and the public performance of musical works will be reserved. Then, further, musical works are to be protected against unauthorised reproduction, without payment, by mechanical means. On the other hand, the record itself will receive protection. The Bill introduces amendments and extensions, and consolidates about twenty enactments, and brings copyright entirely under statutory law.

In addition to that the Convention dealt with the question of the basis on which copyright should be placed, and the length of the period to be allowed. Here, as regards books and some other matters, the period of copyright is life and seven years, or forty-two years, which ever is the longer. The shortest period of copyright is, therefore, forty-two years. Nearly every other country bases its Copyright Law on the period of life, in addition to a certain number of years, and practically, as regards the present position, all authorities are agreed that that is the best basis. It is an advantage that the whole of the works of an author should fall out of copyright at the same time; and it is, from the public point of view as well as that of the author, an advantage that earlier editions, which do not really represent the matured views of the author, should not fall out of copyright before the later edition.

Then, as regards the question of the period, there are some countries in which the copyrights are perpetual. Taking European nations—Union and non-Union countries—in Spain it is life and eighty years, and in Italy it is forty years. In Germany, Switzerland, and Austria it is life and thirty years, which can be put off against them. But much the largest group has life and fifty years as the basis of their Copyright Law. France, Belgium, Denmark, Hungary, Norway, Sweden, Portugal, and Russia all have life and fifty years as the basis of their Copyright Laws. The proposal of the Convention is life and fifty years, and it is quite clear from the figures I have given that that is the only possible basis on which anything in the nature of International agreement can be come to with reference to the period of copyright. The Convention is not compulsory, but it proposes the adoption of such a period as that. Under these circumstances, and with a view to obtaining, as far as we can, International uniformity, the period proposed in the Bill is that adopted by the Berlin Convention. That period may seem somewhat long, but I think the more it is considered the more it will be seen that there is a great deal to be said for it, and I shall be prepared to defend it on its merits. The extended period will only apply, of course, to a very small fraction of the works involved. It will not add a day to any of the works which under ordinary circumstances would not survive forty-two years. But those that do survive are the works of authors—using "authors" in the larger sense—who are deserving of encouragement and consideration, and who are entitled to this addition to the period of copyright. In regard to the question of cheapness, the evidence given before the Gorell Committee was to this effect, that copyright really had little or no influence on the question of price; and that in these days of cheap editions, as a matter of fact many copyright books were actually produced at a cheaper rate than non-copyright works. But in order that the public may be protected from any possible abuse, the Bill will provide that after the death of the author, if the work is withheld from the public, or too high a price is charged for copies or for the right to perform, so that the reasonable requirements of the public are not satisfied, a licence may be granted to an applicant to publish or perform the work. Therefore, in view of the opinions of the authorities I have quoted and also the recommendations of the International Convention, I desire the support of the House to the proposals in the Bill in reference to the period of copyright.

There is one point which I wish to mention. Under the Convention it is proposed to give non-Union countries equal rights with Union countries in connection with the privileges of the Convention. The Imperial Conference over which I presided considered that that was not a politic position to take up. They did not think that non-Union countries should be allowed the privileges of the Convention without exacting reciprocal obligations from them. But, on the other hand, by Order in Council, the embodiments of the Convention can be extended to any foreign country, and they will be extended, as a matter of fact, to the Union countries; and also to other foreign countries such as the United States if they, on their part, give us reciprocal treatment.

In introducing the Bill in the very few remarks I have had the opportunity of making, I have indicated the lines on which it is based—the International grounds which alone would justify it, the Imperial grounds which would fully justify it, and the domestic grounds, which I think would give it complete justification. I think, taking all these together, there is an overwhelming case for dealing with the Copyright Laws. It will be found, I think, that the proposals in the Bill can be adopted with advantage to authors—using authors in the largest sense of the term, who are a not undeserving class—and without injury to the reading public and others concerned.

Bill ordered to be brought in by Mr. Sydney Buxton, the Solicitor-General, Colonel Seely, and Mr. Tennant. Presented accordingly, and read the first time; to be read a second time to-morrow.

I beg to move "That Mr. Speaker do now leave the Chair (for Committee on East India Accounts.)"

This Motion would not sound to a stranger to our proceedings a highly controversial one, but the discussion which will arise upon it is rather inaccurately known as the Debate on the Indian Budget, and it gives the House an opportunity, somewhat markedly inadequate, for a review of the whole circumstances of Indian government and conditions. In the very large draft which I shall have to make upon the patience of hon. Members I trust they will make all allowance for certain obvious disadvantages under which I labour. My Noble Friend, Lord Morley, has now been Secretary of State for five years. It was only during the first two of them that he was able to make his own annual statement in the House, and for the last two years and on this occasion the House has to listen to what I believe it will agree is a story of conspicuously successful administration from different spokesmen, each one of whom—and I hope I shall not be guilty of any disrespect to my predecessors when I say it—has felt the almost insuperable difficulty of adequately representing not only a great administrator, but so gifted and individual a personality as Lord Morley of Blackburn. Concerning my own predecessor (Master of Elibank) I can only say that I regret, and never more than at this moment, the fact that he has been translated from the India Office, with those gifts of lucidly expounding any case he has to defend and gone to another sphere of action.

I do not think it is necessary for me to say much about the foreign affairs of India. The North-West Frontier has been in a peaceful and undisturbed condition during the year that has just closed. There have been a few small raids which are the ordinary features of frontier life. The Amir of Afghanistan has appointed Afghan representatives to the Joint Commission which has been constituted to consider, with a view to settlement, various boundary disputes and claims of many years' standing. The Commission met for the first time last month, and the attitude of the Afghan representative was such that I do not think it is too sanguine to expect that the Commission will soon be able to arrive at a satisfactory settlement. On the North-East Frontier the chief events of the year have been the conclusion of a new treaty with Bhutan and the flight of the Dalai Lama from Thibet. With regard to the treaty with Bhutan the effect is to give Great Britain control over the foreign relations of the State. It may be taken as an indication of the firm determination of His Majesty's Government in no circumstances to allow foreign interference in the frontier States of Nepaul, Sikkim, and Bhutan—a determination which I am glad to be able to say is fully shared by the rulers of those States themselves. The flight of the Dalai Lama from Lhassa was apparently due to the despatch to that city of Chinese troops. Hon. Members will find a complete account of all the events in the Blue Book on Thibetan affairs which has just been presented to the House. His Majesty's Government have found nothing in them to necessitate a departure from their policy and the policy of their predecessors of non-interference in the internal affairs of Thibet or, with the domestic relations between Thibet and China, but they have made it clear to China that they will require a strict conformity with the provisions of the Anglo-Thibetan Convention of 1904 and with the Anglo-Chinese Convention of 1906, and they have no reason to doubt the good faith of the assurances which have been received from the Chinese Government. The avowed purpose of the despatch of troops to Lhassa was to maintain order in that city and at the trade marts.

Coming to internal affairs, I am not in the position of my predecessor, who had to describe India in March, 1909, as still under the effects of famine and distress. The autumn rains of.1909 were eminently satisfactory, and the autumn harvest has been followed by an equally fine spring harvest. Almost all the crops have been exceptionally productive. The cotton crop gathered in the winter months of 1909 was one of the best on record. The estimated yield is 4,500,000 bales, being an increase of 22 per cent. on the yield of the previous year. The rice crop has been equally good. In the province of Bengal, where rice is the staple article of food, the yield is put at 78 per cent. better than that of the previous year, and 47 per cent. better than the average for the previous five years.

4.0 P.M.

The wheat crop of 1910 now coming into the market is one of the best of recent years. In 1908 the yield was 6,000,000 tons. In 1909 it was 7,600,000 tons. This year the final estimate is no less than 9,500,000 tons. The agricultural prosperity of India may thus be said to be completely reestablished, and it immediately begins to have an effect on the increase of exports and of imports, and a diminution of prices of the commoner food grains. The export trade has increased from £100,000,000 sterling in 1908–9 to £123,000,000 sterling in 1909–10. Should wheat and seeds continue to be exported through the autumn and winter months to the extent anticipated, the export trade of 1910–11 will be on a very large scale indeed. Of course, the import trade has been slower to move because there was a great accumulation of stocks, and the slump of 1908 was so severe that recovery cannot be expected very quickly. In 1909–10 the imports fell from £86,000,000 to £82,000,000, but in the closing months of the year there was a considerable upward movement. The third sign of improvement, the fall in general food prices, is in some degree the most important to large portions of the population of India, particularly those who dwell in towns, and is a most gratifying sign of improvement, when we recollect that the common food grains are 20 per cent. cheaper now than they were a year ago. But, of course, it must not be forgotten that the agriculturists of India have benefited very largely by the increase in the prices of what they have sold, while the land revenue and other taxes have remained stationary. Twenty years ago it took 40 lb. of wheat to pay the land revenue on an acre of land in the Punjaub; now it takes only 29 lb., and meanwhile the average sale price of a cultivated acre of land has risen from 38 to 98 rupees, and it is a much higher figure in the canal irrigated colonies This picture that we have been able to sketch of a practically wholly agricultural community is a very satisfying one, but I have something rather less optimistic to say upon two subjects which have always to be mentioned in Debates on Indian affairs—they are the plague and the malaria. Last year my predecessor was able to say that plague was decreasing, that it had shown diminishing virulence in 1908 and 1909. Experts thought that the worst had been seen of this disease in 1906, which had shown the biggest rate of disappearance of its virulence. The mortality in that year dropped from 1,000,000 to 375,000. In 1907 it rose again to 1,300,000. In 1908 it decreased to 156,000, and in 1909 the mortality was only 175,000. But this year it has flared up once more, and to the end of June the mortality was 374,000. As in former years, the death-rate has been most severely felt in the United Provinces and the Punjaub.

It is a local disease in the sense that it seems always to recur in particular provinces and in particular districts of particular provinces. But, on the other hand, scientific evidence all seems to show that it is unconnected with any peculiarities of local circumstances, such as soil and drainage, and it is wholly unconnected with the comparative wealth or poverty of the inhabitants. The extermination of rats and fleas, the prevention of their importation from an infected district to a district not infected seems to be now agreed as the essential way of tackling the disease. Inoculation and the temporary evacuation of infected premises are used as subsidiary measures. Although the statistics are not hopeful, it is satisfactory to think that the population of India are getting more and more to realise the necessity for co-operating in the administration of remedial measures and in carrying on the continual war which the Government of India have undertaken against the ravages of the plague. But I may point out that in British India, with a population of 226,000,000, the death-rate annually is 8,000,000, so that in most years the contribution which the plague makes to the death-rate is a very small one. Malaria is far more important to the population of India at large. It is very difficult to gauge accurately the ravages of this disease, because the death returns under the heading "Fevers" in India are not very scientific; but, of course, in years when malaria is active the death-rate under that heading "Fevers" in British India reveals the fact. In 1908, when malaria was very severe in Upper India, the death-rate from fever rose from 4,500,000 to 5,424,000, or an increase of 900,000, which may roughly be set down to the ravages of this disease. The causes which bring about epidemics are obscure. They seem to be connected with excessive rainfall that floods the country and increases the facilities for the breeding of the infecting mosquito. In October, 1909, a Committee was convened by the Viceroy at Simla, and the results of this Conference are such that when they are adopted we may hope for a very profitable and satisfactory effect. In the towns site improvement may be made that will have the effect of limiting the breeding places of the mosquito. In the country I fear that we must still have resort to prophylactic measures such as the distribution of quinine. This has always been provided by means of plantation as widely and cheaply as possible, and the supply is now being largely increased and cheapened and more effectively distributed, while at the same time, by Grants in Aid of various municipal bodies for drainage and improvement of sites, remedies are being attempted in the towns where the malarial mosquito abounds and breeds.