asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has received any memorial or deputation from any county council or local authority asking for an allocation of one-half of the proceeds of land taxation under the Finance (1909–10) Act, 1910, now due as promised in relief of local ratings, or in respect of the allocation of the sum to be collected under the Finance Bill, 1910; whether he can inform the House of the total sum to be allocated in relief of local rates under the Finance (1909–10) Act, 1910; and what sum he estimates will be available for a like purpose under the Finance Bill, 1910?

My right hon. Friend has received numerous representations from local authorities on the subject. The payments to Local Taxation Accounts, etc., in 1909–10 amounted to £9,483,000, and a further sum, estimated at £245,000, would have become due in respect of that year on account of the local taxation moiety of the Land Value Duties under Section 91 of the Finance (1909–10) Act, 1910. For this latter sum it is proposed in the present Finance Bill to substitute a special Grant to make good the decrease in the yield of Local Taxation (Customs and Excise) Duties. This special Grant in respect of 1909–10 is estimated to amount to £328,000, so that local authorities will gain about £83,000 under the proposal. The total estimated amount available for payments to Local Taxation Accounts in respect of 1910–11 under the existing law is £9,585,000, and under the proposals made in the Finance Bill this is increased to £9,604,000. These figures do not include the provision for the Development and Road Improvement Funds (£580,000 in respect of 1909–10, and £1,560,000 in respect of 1910–11), which may be expected indirectly to have a considerable effect in relieving rates, nor the provision now made in pursuance of the Irish Land Act, 1909, upon Votes in respect of charges in connection with Irish Land Purchase which would otherwise have fallen upon local rates.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether Reversion Duty will be claimed in respect of leases which determined subsequent to 30th April, 1909, but before the passing of the Finance (1909–10) Act, 1910?

Reversion Duty will not be charged in respect of leases which had in fact been determined before the passing of the Finance (1909–10) Act, 1910.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether Government officials in India are called upon to pay Income Tax there on their salaries and are again called upon to pay Income Tax when they send home to this country the savings on these salaries; and, if so, will he in future legislation remit this tax on thrift?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. Savings on salaries remitted to the United Kingdom are not chargeable to English Income Tax; but if invested in this country the income derived therefrom would be liable.

asked what is the total number of licensed public-houses in Cork City, the duty paid last year, the duty paid this year, and the average increase per house; and whether he will state the difference in the method of assessment as applied to Cork between the Finance Act of 1910 and the Acts of previous years?

I regret that I cannot give the comparative statement asked for in the first part of the question. I am not quite sure whether I appreciate the purport of the second part of the question. The method of assessment of the annual value of public-houses was not altered by the Finance (1909–10) Act, 1910.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland if he will state, in the case of claimants for old age pensions who cannot obtain baptismal certificates or who cannot be traced in the Census Returns of 1841 or 1851, what other evidence of age will be required to satisfy the pension officer or the Local Government Board; and must people who are manifestly beyond the prescribed limit of age be penalised for all time if they cannot get the evidence above mentioned?

The Local Government Board consider very carefully any evidence whatsoever which claimants or pensioners may submit to them, and they place no restrictions whatever on applicants in this respect. In the absence of evidence from the Census or baptismal registers, marriage certificates of claimants or of the birth or baptism of their children often prove useful in establishing age. Family records, such as entries in old Bibles or records of dates of occupation or employment in adult work are frequently produced and satisfy the Board. As regards the concluding paragraph of the question, I would point out that the onus of proof of qualification for a pension rests upon the claimant.

asked the Chief Secretary if he will state the grounds on which the Local Government Board disallowed the pension of Patrick Burns, Gawlane, Donoughmore, county Cork; did the pension officer in his report to the Blarney Sub-committee, dated 10th December, 1908, recommend that this man should get 3s. per week; did the sub-committee decide that he was entitled to 5s.; and, seeing that Burns has only a few acres of reclaimed land, of which he is tenant, and the right to graze a few cows on a mountain, why has his claim not been admitted?

The Local Government Board inform me that they have disallowed four separate claims made by Burns on the ground that his means exceed the statutory limit. In arriving at their decisions the Board took into consideration the value of the stock and crops on his holding of eleven statute acres.

asked the Chief Secretary if he can state the grounds on which the Local Government Board decided that Hannah Regan, Kilblafer, Berrings, county Cork, was not entitled to an old age pension; whether he is aware that the Blarney sub-committee, after careful investigation, decided that she was entitled to the full pension; that the pension officer, in his report to the sub-committee, declared that in his opinion the claimant was entitled to 3s. per week; and that the said pension officer estimated her maintenance at 10s. per week, and will it be explained how he arrived at this calculation; and is he aware that Mrs. Regan is living with her son on a small farm of which he is the tenant, and of which the rent is not £10 a year?

The Local Government Board disallowed Mrs. Regan's claim because they considered that the value of her maintenance on her son's holding of forty acres of good land, together with the privileges and benefits she enjoyed was in excess of the statutory limit.

asked the Chief Secretary whether he is aware that the dissatisfaction of the people in the Collon district of the Ardee union, county Louth, with regard to the want of a resident dispensary doctor, shows no sign of abatement; and, if so, whether he will ask the Irish Local Government Board to now reconsider their decision upon the point, and to allow the old arrangement to be re-established?

The Local Government Board are satisfied that no substantial ground exists for complaints that the arrangements for medical relief in this dispensary district are inadequate. In these circumstances there appears to be no reason for reverting to the arrangement which was abandoned in 1904 after full deliberation.

asked whether the Congested Districts Board has purchased the Knox Lambert estate, Carrownorlare, Mill town, Tuam, county Galway; and whether the Board will provide holdings on the land for the two evicted tenants who at present occupy two small cabins on the property?

The Congested Districts Board are at present negotiating for the purchase of the Knox estate, including the leasehold interest of Colonel Lambert. The provision of holdings for evicted tenants is not a matter for the Congested Districts Board.

asked the Chief Secretary if he can state under what powers the urban council of Warrenpoint, county Down, is attempting to compel the boatmen of Omeath to pay for a licence to ply between Omeath and Warrenpoint; and whether the Local Government Board has any authority over the action of the Warrenpoint Urban Council in this matter?

The Local Government Board presume that the powers are those conferred by Section 94 of the Public Health Acts Amendment Act, 1907, which has been declared to be in force in the Urban District of Warrenpoint. The Local Government Board have no authority over the action of the Urban Council in this matter.

asked the Chief Secretary whether the Congested Districts Board are aware that no land has yet been sold to the tenants in the parish of Kilconly, Tuam, county Galway, under the Land Acts; and whether, in view of the fact that Mr. Fred H. Lewin, Castlegrove, Kilconly, Tuam, one of the largest landlords in the district, refuses even to negotiate with his tenants and states that he has no intention of selling his property, the Board will put into operation the compulsory powers they possess?

The Congested Districts Board have not sold any land in the parish referred to, and they cannot say whether any has been sold there otherwise under the Land Purchase Acts. A letter was recently addressed to Mr. Lewin, inquiring whether he was prepared to negotiate for the sale of his estate, but no reply has yet been received by the Board. The question of applying compulsory powers does not at present arise.

asked the Secretary of State for War how many Servian officers have been invited to attend the British Army manœuvres; and what steps have been taken to exclude any who took part in the murder and mutilation of King Alexander and Queen Draga?

One Servian officer has been invited to attend the manœuvres. I am not taking any steps against contingencies which are not likely to arise.

asked the Secretary for War whether he is aware that the band of the Hawarden Territorial Company was in attendance and played at a Conservative demonstration on 2nd July at Golftyn, Flintshire; whether this is in accordance with the Army Regulations; and, if not, whether attention will be drawn to the infraction of the Regulations?

Some members of the band of this company did play on the occasion in question, but in their private capacity in plain clothes, and with instruments which were their own property. They did not therefore form the Territorial band, and were not so announced in the programme. There was therefore no infraction of the Regulations.

asked whether Territorial bandsmen in uniform are contravening paragraph 225 of Territorial Regulations by taking part in suffragette demonstrations; and whether he can see his way to issue a special caution to members of Territorial Forces on the subject?

Yes, Sir. The presence of bands of the Territorial Force at such political demonstrations are prohibited, and commanding officers have recently been warned against infringing the provisions of the Regulations mentioned.

asked the Secretary for War if he has received any further information as to whether the Fair Wages conditions of Army contracts are carried out by the firm which supplies bread to the troops in the Drogheda military sub-district; and, if so, whether he can state the number of workers employed by the said contractors, distinguishing between adults and boys, with the wages paid in each class?

While tenders were under consideration a representation was received that the firm in question was objected to by the Drogheda branch of the Irish Bakers' Union. Instructions were given to the local military authorities that the attention of the firm should be specially drawn to the Fair Wages Clause in the contract, and that before acceptance they should be required to give an undertaking that the Clause would be fully observed by them. The undertaking was given, and as no complaint has been received since the contract was placed, it may, I think, be assumed that the firm is not infringing the Fair Wages Clause contained in the contract. I will, of course, make inquiry into any specific complaint if full information is furnished to me.

asked whether any badges have been issued to members of the Territorial Force who have volunteered for foreign service; and, if not, whether they will be issued; and, if so, when?

Imperial Service Badges have been supplied to those units who have asked for them. Instructions will shortly be sent out to units to make any necessary applications for badges, which will be issued as soon as the indents are received.

asked the Secretary for War whether his attention has recently been called to instances of bribery and corruption of War Office officials by contractors having business relations with the Department; whether he has seen an original letter from a member of a firm of such contractors threatening to resign if the dishonest practices of his firm were continued; whether an inquiry was instituted into the allegations contained in such letter; whether all available evidence was examined in the course of such inquiry; and whether he will state the result of the investigation?

The hon. Member has drawn my attention to the letter to which he refers in the question, and he has also, been good enough to place at my disposal certain information in his possession bearing on the contents of that letter and the alleged irregular practices. The material has been diligently sifted by a barrister chosen for the purpose by the Director of Public Prosecutions, and after the most careful examination of all the available evidence that gentleman has reported to me that the evidence is not sufficient to support even an adequately grounded suspicion against the persons involved in the allegations. Those to whom the hon. Member refers as War Office officials should be more properly described as persons in Army employment.

asked the Secretary for War whether he is aware that the Territorial medical units in Bristol are still unprovided with quarters, and that this circumstance has had the effect of causing several officers to resign; whether he is aware that the Gloucestershire County Association put forward a scheme on 4th February for the purchase of a satisfactory site for £1,025 and the erection of buildings for £1,800, since which time no answer other than that the matter was under consideration has been received from the War Office, though many letters have been written to them and a resolution has been passed by the association; and whether seeing that the association is compelled to pay interest at the rate of 4 per cent. on the agreed purchase money in order to keep the option on the land, he will cause immediate attention to be paid to this matter, and in future take steps to avoid the recurrence of delay and disregard to the requests of a county association?

I am aware of the circumstances of this case and of the regrettable delay that has occurred. I have found it necessary to attach certain conditions to the War Office approval of the association's plan, which I hope the association will see its way to accept.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the fact that one of the unauthorised experiments of oophorectomy, performed by Mr. Shattock on 12th October and 5th November respectively, under Certificate B, was prolonged until 11th October, 1909, actually brought this case to the knowledge of the Home Office within the statutory period of six months, within which prosecutions are required to be instituted?

No illegal operation took place within six months of the time when the matter came to the knowledge of the Home Office, and I am advised that no prosecution could have been instituted on the ground that one of the animals which had been operated on survived in apparent good health to a date within the six months.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether the code of international law contained in the provisions of the Declaration of London, should be ratified, will be the code upon which the proceedings in British prize courts and the Supreme Prize Court, as well as those of the International Prize Court of Appeal, are to be based; and whether, if this is so, further legislation beyond that contained in the Naval Prize Bill, 1910, will be necessary in order to give effect to the change in the laws and customs which have hitherto governed the decisions of prize courts in this country?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. With regard to the latter part, His Majesty's Government are advised that no legislation is necessary for the purpose mentioned by the hon. Member.

asked whether notice has been given of the denunciation of the Anglo-Japanese Treaty of 1894; and, if so, what steps are being taken to arrange a new treaty in view of the proposed new tariff of Japan under which British goods, and especially the products of Lancashire and Yorkshire, will be severely affected?

The Japanese Government have denounced the Treaty of 1894. As regards the second part of the question, I must refer the hon. Member to the reply returned to the hon. Member for Devizes on the 26th instant. [OFFICIAL REPORT. 26th July, 1910, col. 1917–1918.]

asked whether notice has been received from the Japanese Government for the denunciation of the Treaty of 1894 as from 1st July, 1911; whether, after that date, we shall be entitled to most-favoured-nation treatment in Japan for British goods; and, if not, whether immediate steps will be taken to negotiate a new Treaty with Japan?

I have nothing to add to the reply returned to the question put by the hon. Member for Maidstone. I would, however, point out that the Treaty of 1894 terminates on 17th July, 1911, and not on 1st July, as stated in the question.

asked the Secretary for Foreign Affairs whether his attention has been called to the official translation of the speech of Count Komura, in which he stated that, Great Britain pursuing what is called a Free Trade policy, there is no room for a Convention with this country; and whether, in these circumstances, His Majesty's Government have in view any basis of negotiation with Japan which will safeguard British trade from the consequences of the new tariff?

My attention has been called to the speech made by the Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs. As regards the second part of the question, I have nothing to add to what I have already told the hon. Member to-day.

asked the President of the Local Government Board if he will state whether any compulsory deduction can be made from the pay of men in either the Army or Navy towards the maintenance of any relatives who may happen to be in the workhouse?

Section 145 of the Army Act, 1881, authorises certain deductions from the pay of a non-commissioned officer who is not below the rank of sergeant, and from the pay of any other soldier, in respect of the maintenance of a wife or child. I am not aware of any similar provision with regard to men serving in the Navy.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he has now received a copy of the tariff agreement between France and the United States concluded in March last; and, if so, will he cause the same to be circulated as a Parliamentary Paper?

I understand that there has been no signed Customs agreement between France and the United States. The French Lgeislature have by a Law of 29th March, 1910, accorded to certain United States products the benefit of the minimum tariff and to certain other products the continued application of the rates of the general tariff in force prior to 1st April last. The list of articles covered by this law is too long to print in extenso , but I shall be happy to let the Noble Lord have a copy if he so desires. All other products and manufactures of the United States are dutiable on importation into France at the rates of the new French general tariff. The United States Government issued a Proclamation on 19th March, 1910, by virtue of which all French products and manufactures on importation into the United States are dutiable at the minimum rates laid down by the new United States Tariff Act. All United Kingdom goods are dutiable at the minimum rates both of the French and of the United States tariffs.

asked the Postmaster-General whether two females who are relieving the male staff for holidays at the Tunstall post office are compelled to perform a duty commencing at 5 a.m.; and whether, seeing that it was stated on 4th November, 1909, that it had been decided to employ male officers on these duties, he will now order that the decision of his predecessor shall be enforced?

I will make inquiries and communicate with the hon. Member.

asked the First Commissioner of Works when the promised demolition of Mr. Brock's studio on Primrose Hill will be effected and its site restored to the use of the public?

I am not yet able to fix a definite date.