asked the Secretary to the Treasury if he will state the acreage of the Crown lands under the control of the Office of Woods and Forests in each of the Highland Crofting counties, and the parishes in which such lands are respectively situated?

The approximate areas of Crown lands under the management of the Commissioners of Woods in Crofting counties are as follows:—

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether, in view of the high cost of living and the high house rents at Kew, and the rate of wages paid by employers of labour and public bodies in that district, the Treasury will refer the question of the wages of the permanent employés at the Royal Gardens, Kew, to the Fair Wages Advisory Commitee?

If the hon. Member will specify the class of employer to whom he refers I will further consider the question.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Agriculture, whether, in view of the fact that the gardeners at the Royal Gardens, Kew, are only paid a subsistence allowance, he will explain why those men are kept employed at manual labour, many of them in the tropical section, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. during the summer months?

The hours of duty prescribed for the gardeners at Kew are as follows:—Summer (seven months) from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., with intervals of three-quarters of an hour for breakfast and of one hour for dinner. Winter (five months) from 8 a.m. to dark, with an interval of one hour for dinner. The weekly average for the year is 52¾ hours. The question was fully considered quite recently, and it was decided that no reduction of the hours could be authorised.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether he can state the number of old age pensioners in Scotland, and the amount spent in Scotland on old age pensions in the last financial year?

The number of old age pensions payable on the last Friday in 1910 to pensioners in Scotland was 80,502, while 10,474 pensions became payable on 6th January, 1911, to pensioners in Scotland previously disqualified by receipt of poor relief. No later figures are yet available. The amount spent in Scot-laud on old age pensions during the last financial year (1909–10) was £952,000—see page 15 of the Revenue and Expenditure Return 1909–10. (Sessional Paper, No. 233, of 1910).

asked the Lord Advocate whether there are any, and, if so, what circumstances under which the Local Government Board in Scotland accept oral evidence to prove the age of applicants for old age pensions, there being no written or documentary evidence available or produced?

The answer is in the negative.

asked the Chief Secretary whether he is aware that the claim of Denis Long for an old age pension has been repeatedly passed by the Macroom (No. 1) district pension committee, and that it was last sanctioned on 21st December, 1910; whether he is aware that the applicant cannot obtain his baptismal certificate, as no parochial records of the period are in existence where he was born, and that a close search of the Census returns for 1841 and 1851 failed to give any trace of this man; and whether, seeing that the pension regulations provide that, in the absence of documentary proof of age through no fault of the applicant for a pension, pension committees may satisfy themselves on the question of age by the applicant furnishing proof from trustworthy persons in his locality that he has reached the statutory age, and that this was amply done in the case of Denis Long, the statements of four persons of credibility in the locality, certifying that to their knowledge he was over the prescribed age, being submitted to the pension committee and the affidavit of one other person being also tendered, he will explain why the pension officer reported that there was no proof of age, and why the Local Government Board over-rode the pension regulations and refused this claim?

Two claims from Denis Long have come before the Local Government Board on appeal by the pension officer on the ground that Long had not proved he had reached the statutory age, the second being that referred to in the question as having been decided on the 21st December last by the pension subcommittee. Long was unable to obtain a baptismal certificate, as stated; but his parents' family was traced in the Census Return of 1841, and his name did not appear therein, so that presumably he was not then born. There is no pension regulation making the specific provision mentioned in the question, but Regulation No. 26 empowers pension authorities to accept any evidence which they consider sufficient. In the case of Denis Long, however, the evidence submitted did not appear to the Board to afford sufficient grounds for holding that he had attained the statutory age, and they accordingly upheld the pension officer's appeals.

asked if there are any and, if so, what circumstances under which the Irish Local Government Board accept in the case of applications for old age pensions oral evidence as establishing proof of age, there being no written or documentary evidence produced or available?

The Local Government Board would accept any evidence, oral or documentary, provided it was sufficient and satisfactory. An inspector is sent when there is some ground for presuming from the facts submitted that local inquiry might lead to satisfactory evidence being obtained.

asked on what grounds John Bray, of Dromacomer, Bruree, county Limerick, was refused a pension; whether he is aware that the local committee passed the claim on two different occasions, and that statements have been made to the pension officers on behalf of the applicant by John Carroll, J. P., Patrick Hayes, county councillor, and several other old and respectable people, pointing out that he is over the age limit; and, in view of such evidence and statements, will the Local Government Board allow this poor man's claim to go through?

The facts are as stated. The Local Government Board upheld the appeal of the pension officer on each occasion on the ground that there was no satisfactory evidence of John Bray having reached the statutory age. It is not open to the Board to reconsider their decision.

asked whether there are any, and, if so, what circumstances, under which the Local Government Board accept in the case of claims for old age pensions oral evidence to prove the age of applicants, there being no written or documentary evidence available or produced?

In the absence of documentary evidence the Board are willing to give consideration to any other kind of evidence which may be adduced, but they cannot undertake to lay down any general rule on the subject.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury if he can say to what is attributable the increase of £54,054, as compared with the current financial year, in the total estimate of £793,650 for stationery and printing in the year 1911–12; and how such increase is distributed over the various Government departments?

Provision has been necessary as under:—

asked the Secretary to the Treasury what is the authority for the payment of the seven extra statutory gratuities, granted in 1909–10, sub-head C, which are mentioned at the top of page 379 of the Civil Service and Revenue Departments Appropriation Accounts, 1909–10?

The first six awards were made under the Treasury Minute of 30th March, 1892, which came under the consideration of the Public Accounts Committee in 1893 (see paragraph 52 of their Third Report). The seventh was a special grant made by the Treasury in the circumstances explained in the footnote, steps being taken, as in previous cases of the kind, to bring it specially to the notice of Parliament.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether he will reconsider his proposal to set up the headquarters of the surveyorship of taxes. Income Tax Department, which is to be removed from Cookstown, county Tyrone, at Belfast instead of at Ballymena; and whether, seeing that there is already established at Belfast at least one such department, he will favourably consider the claims of Ballymena, which, in many respects, geographically and otherwise, would be a better centre than Belfast, and where the headquarters of this department were previously established?

I regret I do not feel able to accede to this suggestion.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will take steps to insure that all appointments made in connection with any such new work as insurance against sickness, invalidity, unemployment, etc., shall be filled under a system of competitive examination and not by nomination, in order that Members of Parliament may be relieved from the applications of supporters and a feeling of confidence in the impartiality of the Government inspired?

I fear it would be quite impossible for my right hon. Friend to pledge himself at the present stage as to the course which he will adopt hereafter.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why the full amount of grant to the Scottish universities, which was announced as £42,000, and and of which a moiety was allowed in respect of a half-year during the financial year now current, does not appear in the Estimates for the year 1911–12?

The grant of £21,000 voted in 1910–11 was not a moiety of a year's grant at the rate of £42,000 a year, but a year's grant at half the ultimate rate promised, namely, £42,000. It was not intended that the full sum of £42,000 a year should be given immediately.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the scale of salaries to the principals of the Scottish universities which was suggested by Lord Elgin's committee of inquiry, and which was adopted by the university courts, has been questioned by the Treasury officials; and whether the Treasury assumes a right to interfere in regard to the details of university expenditure so long as the claim upon the Treasury is kept within the fixed limit already announced?

It was a condition of the increased grants that schemes for their allocation should be submitted by the universities for the approval of the Treasury; and, after considering the schemes, it was decided to restrict within certain limits the amounts allocated to the augmentation of the principals' salaries.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many copies of the revised and modified Form IV. it is now proposed to issue in Ireland; and whether the new form is for the future to be issued in Scotland and England in place of the Form IV. issued for them last year?

With reference to the first part of the question I must refer the hon. Member to my answer to the hon. Member for West Down last Wednesday. The reply to the second part is in the negative.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland if he will state, with reference to the draft regulations made by the Lord Lieutenant on 17th February, 1911, under Section 23 (8) of the Land Act, 1903, and Section 4 of the Land Act, 1909, what is the amount of net cash, in addition to the cash which will be required for the bonus and for the purposes of the Labourers Acts, intended to be provided by the Treasury during the coming financial year for the purposes of advances under the Irish Land Purchase Acts?

The amount will be governed mainly by the requirements of the Land Commission for purchase transactions. But it is not practicable at the present moment to form any reliable estimate.

asked the Chief Secretary whether the Congested Districts Board is prepared to entertain a proposal to sell the lands of Cargins, containing 300 acres of untenanted land, situated on the Drought estate, near Tulsk, county Roscommon; and, in the event of a purchose being effected, will the said lands of Cargins be divided among the small landholders of the district?

The Congested Districts Board are prepared to purchase the lands referred to, and, when they become the owners, they will, in the distribution of the lands give consideration, in the first instance, to the claims of the small landholders of the district.

asked the Chief Secretary whether he is aware that the tenants on the estate of Boland F. C. Thompson, Carramore, Closetoken, Loughrea, signed agreements to purchase their holdings so long ago as September, 1904; and can he indicate the probable time when the Commissioners expect to be in a position to complete the purchase?

The purchase agreements in this estate were lodged in January, 1905. The estate is a congested one, and the Estates Commissioners, with the consent of the owner, altered the proceedings from a sale direct to the tenants to a sale to the Commissioners, so that they might, if possible, be able to carry out a scheme of re-arrangement, and this is at present under consideration.

asked the Chief Secretary whether he is aware that the estate of Major Rodgers, situate at Seefin, Close-token, Loughrea, comprises a large grazing farm known as the Carraclough Farm; and whether, in view of the need of augmenting the size of some of the small holdings in the neighbourhood, he will represent to the Estates Commissioners the advisability of acquiring this grazing farm before sanction is given to the sale of the agricultural portion of the estate?

The Estates Commissioners understand that the owner is now in occupation of the lands referred to, and is willing to sell them for the purposes of distribution. The lands are situate in a congested districts county, and the Commissioners are in communication with the Congested Districts Board, who are making inquiries into the matter.

asked the Chief Secretary if his attention has been called to a meeting of the tenantry of the Eyre-Stack estate at Ballyconry, North Kerry, at which it was alleged that the landlord offered to sell the estate to the Congested Districts Board under the Act of 1903, so long ago as July, 1907, but that, notwithstanding three separate applications from the tenantry, the Congested Districts Board have taken no steps to acquire the estate; if so, why has the Congested Districts Board omitted to take action; and, in any purchases made by the Board, will priority be given to estate voluntarily offered for sale by the landlord in the order of time in which they were offered?

This estate was offered to the Congested Districts Board in 1907, but they were not in a position to negotiate for its purchase until they were provided with funds under the Irish Land Act, 1909, to carry out the necessary improvements. Since then the Board have entered into negotiations with the landlord; and they are at present awaiting his reply to their latest communication. As regards the present question of priority, I would refer the hon. Member to the Regulations made under Section 4 of the Irish Land Act, 1909.

asked the Chief Secretary, in view of the local need for distribution of the untenanted land on the estate of the Barnewell trustees, Pluxtown, county Meath, now awaiting purchase by the Estates Commissioners, if he can say if that land will be distributed before the opening of the approaching emigration season?

The Estates Commissioners inform me that the owner has instituted formal proceedings for the sale of these lands to the Estates Commissioners, and they will be dealt with in order of priority.

asked what action the Estates Commissioners take when they find a vendor and a group of non-agricultural proposed purchasers attempting to pass under the Land Act of 1903 a sale of a large grass ranch divided only on paper to evade the limitations and defeat the purposes of that Act; whether the Commissioners have brought under the notice of the Law Officers of the Crown the attempt of this character made with reference to the Rathregan ranch, on the Athlumney estate, near Dunshaughlin, county Meath; and when the Commissioners expect to be in a position to distribute that ranch among the uneconomic landholders and landless descendants of those formerly evicted from it?

The estate referred to was the subject of direct sale proceedings by the owner to the tenants under the Irish Land Act, 1903. Messrs. Wallis and Allen signed purchase agreements to purchase their holdings, but the Commissioners refused to make the advances applied for, and the purchase agreements were dismissed. The Commissioners did not bring these cases before the Law Officers, and as the lands are tenanted, the Commissioners have no power to acquire them as untenanted land for the purposes of distribution.

asked the Chief Secretary whether, in view of the intentions of Parliament in passing the Evicted Tenants Act, he will explain why the Estates Commissioners refused, unless the estate is offered for sale, to consider the claims of an unadvised evicted tenant, on the technical ground that it was not lodged on a certain date arbitrarily fixed; and, in view of the prospects of the Hussey estate, county Meath, never coming before the Estates Commissioners for sale, will they investigate the claim of Mrs. Kate Smyth as an evicted tenant, and, if entitled, provide a holding for her on some of the untenanted land in that county?

Section 1 (2) of the Evicted Tenants Act, 1907, limits the purposes of that Act to evicted tenants who made application to the Estates Commissioners before 1st May, 907. Mrs. Kate Smyth did not apply before that date, and the Commissioners have already informed the hon. Member that they are not prepared to have a special inquiry made in her case.

asked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether the tenants on the agricultural portion of the Dunsandle estate, at Thurles, have agreed to purchase their holdings; whether the Estates Commissioners will include the town in the purchase and sale of the estate in case the town tenants agree with the owners to purchase their holdings; and whether he can state when this estate will be considered in the order of priority?

The reply to the first paragraph is in the affirmative. No purchase agreements have been lodged for the sale of the town holdings on this estate. If purchase agreements are entered into between the owner and the tenants for the sale of the holdings in question under the Land Purchase Acts, and lodged with the Commissioners, the premises will be inspected in order of priority with a view to estimating the sums which the Estates Commissioners would be prepared to advance on the security of the sites. Having regard to the prior claims of other estates the Commisioners are not at present in a position to say when the turn of this estate will be reached.

asked whether the purchase money has been paid and the holdings vested in the tenants on the estate of the Earl of Clonmel, situated at Jessefield, Ballingarry, Graigin-Paudeen, Lisduff, county Tipperary; and whether, if the sale is completed, the tenants were informed that their farms were vested in them?

The lands of Jessefield, Graigin-Paudeen, and Lisduff are included in the estates of the Earl of Clonmel, which are at present pending before the Estates Commissioners for direct sale to the tenants under the Irish Land Act, 1903. These estates have not yet been reached in order of priority, and the holdings have not yet been vested in the tenants.

asked the Chief Secretary whether the attention of the Congested Districts Board has been drawn to the congested condition of the tenants on the property of Mr. John M'Coyne, Bangor Erris; whether he is aware that, although this landlord had formerly agreed with the tenants' representatives to sell, he now refuses to do so; whether he is aware of the conduct of this landlord in pressing for arrears of rent, which his tenants were unable to pay on account of floods and famine conditions prevailing on the estate; whether he is aware that the county court judge, to mark his sense of the treatment of these tenants, has granted a stay of execution against the tenants; whether, in the whole circumstances, the Congested Districts Board will at once take steps to compulsorily acquire this estate and divide it amongst the tenants, who have all along been willing to offer a reasonable price; and whether, in view of the impending purchase by the Board, any steps will be taken to secure a further stay of execution?

The attention of the Congested Districts Board has been drawn to this estate, but they were not aware that Mr. McCoyne had refused to sell. They are now in communication with him with the object of purchasing his property. The Board do not possess any power to intervene in proceedings for the recovery of rent.

asked what estates in Bangor Erris, county Mayo, have been offered for sale to the Congested Districts Board; and what steps the Board have taken to acquire estates in this barony that have not been offered for sale by utilising the compulsory powers of the Land Act of 1909?

The following estates in the Barony of Erris, county Mayo, have been offered for sale to the Congested Districts Board:—Henry Blake Knox, Mary McGloin, Elizabeth Eleanor Bingham, and E. C. Walshe. They are endeavouring to acquire by voluntary purchase a number of other estates in the Barony. The Board have not yet decided to proceed by way of compulsory purchase in the case of any estate in this Barony.

asked the Chief Secretary what was the total amount contributed by asylum officers in Ireland last year, under the provisions concerning pensions of the Asylums Officers Superannuation Act, 1909; and what was the total number of officers who so contributed?

The Asylum Officers Superannuation Act, 1909, did not come into operation until 1st April, 1910, and will not have been in force for a year until the 31st instant. If the Noble Lord will repeat his question after that date I shall be happy to obtain the information he requires.

asked the Chief Secretary whether any vacancies have occurred in Ireland in connection with the appointment of inspectors under the Board of National Education during the years 1908, 1909, and 1910, and, if so, how many; whether it has invariably been the practice to fill all such appointments from people who have never been engaged in primary schools; are the claims of national teachers taken into consideration at all; are there any vacancies existing at present; and, if so, will due consideration be given to the interests of national teachers who may be applicants for such posts?

The Commissioners of National Education inform me that during the years 1908, 1909, and 1910, ten vacancies for inspectors of national schools occurred. No such practice as that referred to in the question exists. The Commissioners desire to appoint as inspectors candidates who have had experience of primary schools if otherwise eligible. Two national teachers were recently appointed inspectors. Applications received from national teachers are considered along with those from other candidates, and they have privileges in regard to age limits which are not granted to other candidates. Two vacancies exist at present.

asked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether, in view of the continued opposition to the Labourers (Ireland) Bill, he will find some means of overcoming the difficulty which at present blocks the way?

I cannot understand why this Bill, which is supplemental only to an existing measure, should be so persistently blocked. As a Financial Resolution will be necessary before the Committee stage upstairs is proceeded with an opportunity must at once occur after the Second Reading when any statement that is desired can be made. In the meantime the progress of a most useful work is obstructed.

asked the Chief Secretary whether he is aware that the New Ross school attendance committee passed a resolution calling attention to the necessity of having national schools properly heated and disinfected daily, and that it is a hardship on children to be compelled to attend schools where the conditions are uncomfortable and unhealthy; and will the Commissioners of National Education see that some provision is made for better heating and sanitary arrangements?

I have seen the resolution referred to. I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the question on this subject of the hon. Member for East Down on 9th March.

asked (1) what is the cause of the delay on the part of the Estates Commissioners in dealing with the Mahony estate at Mount Collins, Abbeyfeale, in the county of Limerick, as a congested estate; and (2) whether he is aware that the Mahony estate, at Mount Collins, Abbeyfeale, consists of 1,000 acres of mountain and cut-away bog, with a Poor Law valuation of £270; that there are seventy-nine families on the estate, and that the population is 412; whether he will urge on the Estates Commissioners the immediate necessity of relieving the congestion on the estate and improving the holdings of the tenants; whether he can say if the Commissioners have taken any action to purchase the turbary which has been offered for sale; whether they will include the householders in the village in the sale and purchase for them land in the neighbourhood together with giving them turbary; if he is aware that a farm in the vicinity was offered for sale recently and the Commissioners took no action to purchase it; if so, what was the reason, seeing the great necessity there is for land to improve this congested estate; and can he state if the Commissioners will give a grant to the poorer tenants to improve their houses, as is given by the Congested Districts Board in scheduled areas?

The area of this estate is 1,037 acres, the Poor Law valuation £223, and the number of holdings is thirty-four. The Estate Commissioners are desirous of improving the estate by carrying out a scheme of re-arrangment by which every tenant will be given a holding in as few lots as possible instead of as at present in scattered divisions. The tenants have only recently consented to the proposed scheme, and the papers in the case are with an inspector with a view to having the matter dealt with as rapidly as possible. Inquiries are being made as to the turbary available in the neighbourhood. The entire estate has been purchased and the cases of the villagers will be considered. The Commissioners are not aware that a farm in the neighbourhood was offered for sale which could be purchased by them. The question of grants for improvements will be considered when the Commissioners are rearranging the estate.

asked the Chief Secretary how the Congested Districts Board defend their practice of retaining grass farms on their hands for years, using them as bases for cattle jobbing, and neither build houses nor allow houses to be built on the land, while young people have to emigrate from the neighbourhood for want of land; and if he will say why the Board have treated in this way and withheld from the people during the last seven years the Tubberory ranch of 500 acres on Major Frenche's late estate, county Roscommon?

The Congested Districts Board purchase untenanted land whenever an opportunity of doing so on reasonable terms occurs. They retain the land until they have purchased the small holdings of those who require new or enlarged holdings. Meanwhile it is necessary to utilise the land so as to pay the interest on the purchase money and the outgoings. The lands of Tubberory were vested in the Board in July, 1906. A relatively small amount of the land has been added to existing small holdings, and the arrangements for the remainder of the lands are at present under consideration.

asked what sums of money have been taken out of the Royal Irish Constabulary Canteen Fund for the last ten years, and for what purposes they were allocated?

asked the Chief Secretary in what foodstuffs reductions in prices were made at the canteen, Royal Irish Constabulary depot, Phoenix Park, since the representations for reduction of prices were made by the wives of the men to the Inspector-General; what was the amount of the reduction in each case; whether those reductions were in proportion to the fall in the price of the articles in the open market; and whether the price of some articles of food is as dear, if not dearer, at the canteen than at grocers' shops outside?

The canteen fund is established for the exclusive benefit and convenience of the force, and I do not feel called upon to answer Parliamentary questions regarding the administration of a fund which is the private property of the officers and men of the force, and not supported by public money. I have no control over and cannot regulate the prices fixed by the canteen committee. No injustice can be done to any one, as nobody is obliged to buy in the canteen.

asked the Chief Secretary whether he is aware that the Estates Commissioners, in restoring James Doyle, Sigginshaggard, evicted tenant, belonging to the Carew property, to his farm, promised to give him £50 to repair his dwelling-house and out-offices, and that they only gave him £10; and if he can say when the balance will be paid?

The Estates Commissioners inform me that a free grant of £50 for the purchase of stock was sanctioned in the case of James Doyle. At Doyle's request the sum of £10 was sent to him trough Mr. Roche, J.P., for the purchase of stock, and the balance of the free grant will be paid when Doyle applies for it.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that the extras paid to a private in the Infantry of the line, beyond his pay of 1s. per day, are not adequate to meet his kit expenses and maintain his mess on a scale equal to that laid down as necessary for health by the Commissioners of Prisons; and whether he will take these facts into account before recommending any increased pay to commissioned officers?

I have already explained to the hon. Member precisely what the Infantry private receives under different heads. I have now looked at the scales of diet for prisoners, to which the hon. Member refers, and I am unable to admit the correctness of his suggestion. The diet provided for the soldier is on a much higher scale than that of the prisoner.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether, in view of the low rate of pay received by officers of line battalions, especially in the junior ranks, he will make arrangements for the supply of the proposed new sash to be worn by the officers of the Line and Territorial Infantry battalions at the lowest cost price of production; and whether it is proposed to put officers shortly to the further expense of purchasing a new head-dress to take the place of that in present use?

The purchase of articles of uniform from the tailors and outfitters rests entirely with the officers themselves, and I do not propose in any way to interfere with such arrangements as they may think fit to make. As regards a head-dress, there is for the moment no question of officers being called upon to purchase a new one.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether the 7th Hussars are to be sent to India this year?

This regiment will go to India during the next trooping season, probably in the autumn.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War, whether the decisions the War Office has come to, arising out of the inquiry of the advisory committee, are identical with the advisory committee's recommendations; if not, will he state in what particulars they differ; and whether, in view of the fact that some of the information obtained by the committee was given in confidence and therefore cannot be published, the recommendations of the committee alone will be published?

The advisory committee were not asked to make recommendations as to the rates to be paid. The committee had the cases of certain classes of men in certain places and a statement of the duties performed by them placed before them, and they were asked to "advise the Army Council as to the rates of wages paid by private employers for labour of the same class employed under analogous conditions in the districts in question? The changes in rates which are now being made are, as the House has been already informed, in accordance with the advice given upon this matter.

asked the Under-Secretary for War whether, by a recent Army Order, 2s. 6d. per diem extra duty pay is to be given to Territorial adjutants who have been appointed since 12th July, 1910, but not to adjutants appointed before that date; and, if so, whether he will now consider the desirability of giving this extra duty pay to adjutants appointed before the date in question, many of whom still have three years or more to serve?

As I have already informed the House on several occasions, there is no intention of revoking the decision arrived at in regard to the adjutants appointed before the date in question.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether, before asking General Sir Ian Hamilton to give the country the benefit of his views on compulsory service he requested another distinguished officer who has served on the Army Council to write the book?

No, Sir.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether the difficulty in obtaining extended accommodation for ranges for the use of the Territorial Forces consists in the War Office not having been able to select suitable land for ranges, or in having selected it, not having the necessary funds available to purchase it with and to construct the ranges thereon; how many rifle ranges were available for use by the Territorial Forces, independently of those used by the Regular Forces, at the date when the Territorial Forces were first organised; in how many instances has land been acquired for rifle ranges for the use of the Territorial Forces, independently of those used by the Regular Forces, since the first organisation of the Territorial Forces; how many rifle ranges used by the Territorial Forces have been closed since the organisation of those forces, and how many of that number were closed owing to their proximity to golf links; and how many rifle ranges are there available for use by the Territorial Forces that are also used by the Regular Forces?

The difficulty in obtaining extended range accommodation for the Territorial Force is due to the fact that in thickly populated districts suitable sites cannot easily be obtained unless exorbitant prices are paid for their purchase. The number of ranges available for the Territorial Force, when the latter were first organised three years ago, was 883. In a large number of cases the range accommodation has been improved by the addition of target to existing ranges, but no actual purchase of land for new ranges has been made since the formation of the Territorial Force, though negotiations for the purchase of a number of sites are in progress at the present time. Fifty-two ranges have been closed in the past three years, five of them having been closed through the action of golf clubs. All rifle ranges are available for use either by Regulars or Territorials, and at the present time the Territorials use sixty-four ranges which are in charge of Regulars, and Regulars use sixteen ranges in charge of Territorials.

asked the Secretary of State for War how many of the 2,617 registered horses for the reserve of the cavalry division have received a cavalry training; where are the 537 other horses required to complete establishment to come from; are these now marked down, and are they trained for cavalry purposes?

I am afraid that the Noble Lord has misunderstood the replies given to the questions which he put on this subject on Monday last, one of which referred solely to riding horses, while the other referred to all horses, and that his corresponding deductions are incorrect. The 2,617 registered horses are fit for the cavalry ranks, but are not trained. I may, however, add, for his information, that it is not the practice on mobilisation only to use horses between the ages of six and fourteen.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that the custom of increasing the time rates of wages of men employed in the Royal Laboratory, Woolwich Arsenal, for ten, twenty, and thirty years, respectively, has been to some extent discontinued, particularly with regard to the men of thirty years' service; whether the reason for this is because of the raising of the general minimum to 23s. a week; and, if so, will he state what the connection is, in view of the fact that the increases referred to were given to men because they were specially capable?

Yes, Sir. The custom has been modified, but increases in the day work rates are still granted in the Royal Laboratory and in the other Ordnance factories, at the discretion of the chief superintendent, in consideration of length of service among other qualifications. The chief object of the slight modification of custom was to bring the practice of the Royal Laboratory into line with that in general use in the Ordnance factories.

asked the President of the Board of Education (1) on what date or dates he consulted the local education authorities as to the desirability an practicability of so altering the school attendance by-laws as to make it legal for a parent, in case of illness, to keep a child from school; and which were the local education authorities he consulted; (2) whether he consulted the local education authorities by means of a written communication directed to ascertain their views as to the desirability of modifying the school attendance by-laws in case of illness, or by what other means he consulted them, and what replies he received; (3) in what manner and on what date he consulted the local education authority for the county of Essex as to the desirability of modifying the school attendance by-laws in case of illness; and what reply he received, and on what date, and by whom such reply was signed, or, if not in writing, by whom such reply was given; and (4) whether he will consider the possibility of finding means which, without prejudicing the interests of the children, will satisfy the natural desire of a parent in case of illness to keep a child from school when the parent is not able to afford to pay for the services of a nurse, and the presence of the child at home is certified by the doctor to be necessary?

I am afraid that either I misunderstood the object of one of his supplementary questions on 20th March, or he has misunderstood my answer. The Board's approval is required to all school attendance by-laws of local education authorities, and they are accordingly in consultation from time to time with local education authorities on all points arising out of their approval of such by-laws. If the particular modification suggested by the hon. Member is desired by any local education authority the authority is quite free to suggest it; but, as I have already indicated, I hardly think that many local education authorities would wish the practice of keeping children from school for the purpose indicated in the question to be facilitated. It would, in any case, be outside the province of the Board to take the initiative in the matter. All school attendance bylaws are required by statute to provide that a parent need not cause his child to attend school if there is a reasonable excuse for his not doing so, and it is for the Court to decide in any case of prosecution for failure to send a child to school whether the failure was due to any unavoidable cause.

asked the President of the Board of Education what was the extent of the practical teaching experience of each of the seventeen junior inspectors appointed by the Board during the year 1910?

One was transferred to the staff of the Board of Education from the Home Office. I have no record of his teaching experience, but he has been engaged for ten years in inspecting reformatory and industrial schools. Two had had teaching experience for periods of less than a year. The number of years of practical teaching experience of the remaining fourteen, omitting fractions of a year, was approximately, 2, 2, 2, 5, 6, 7, 7, 7, 8, 9, 9, 13, 25, and 33, respectively.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he will lay upon the Table a copy of the instructions given to the British naval delegates who attended the conference which formulated the Declaration of London?

Separate instructions were not given to the British naval delegates who took part in the International Naval Conference in London. The instructions of His Majesty's Government to the

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he will request the British naval delegates who attended the conference which formulated the Declaration of London, to draw up a report, showing their opinion as to the advantages or disadvantages likely to accrue to the British Navy in war time by the Declaration of London, if it is finally ratified?

As stated in the reply to the hon. Members previous question of Monday last, the representatives of the Admiralty at the International Naval Conference, while not called upon to give any separate assurance to His Majesty's Government, concurred in the provisions of the Declaration. It is not proposed to call for any separate report such as that suggested.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty the number of vessels laid down and struck off the lists in 1908, 1909, and the numbers for 1911, as far as can be anticipated, in the following classes:—Battleships, armoured cruisers, protected and unarmoured cruisers, and destroyers, and the totals laid down and the totals struck off the lists for each of these years?

The numbers of vessels laid down and struck off the lists in the financial years 1908–9, 1909–10, 1910–11, and, as far as can be anticipated, in 1911–12, are as follows, in the classes specified, viz.:—

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty if he will state the number of cases of illness at Osborne and Dartmouth during the present and past five terms, showing the relative number of cases among the boys of the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth terms; and will he obtain corresponding statements from three leading public schools?

The preparation of the statistics from the colleges would entail a great deal of labour and difficulty with which the clerical staff at my disposal would be unable to cope. The Admiralty would not consider themselves justified in inviting public schools to undertake a similar task, as the conditions do not correspond.

asked the Home Secretary whether in the appointment of labour adviser it was stipulated that he should assist in the State insurance schemes to be worked through the Labour Exchanges; and whether, in appointing a junior labour adviser, he will require the qualification of previous insurance experience?

No such stipulation has been made. The questions of invalidity and unemployment insurance do not fall within the jurisdiction of the Home Office. I am always glad that the officers of the Home Office should co-operate in the work of other Departments; but I cannot make their selection depend on qualifications required in other Departments, and not in the Home Office.

asked the Home Secretary what is the amount of the total capitalised charge at twenty-five years' purchase, to the Exchequer, for the thirty inspectors, with their establishment, under the new class of sub-inspectors of mines and quarries which he is appointing?

The best estimate that can be given, calculated in the manner suggested by the hon. Member, is about £280,000, excluding the charge for pension.

asked the Home Secretary how many aliens are now undergoing imprisonment in the various prisons in the United Kingdom, and if there is any record of the number of times they have been previously convicted?

The number of aliens undergoing imprisonment in English and Welsh prisons on the 23rd instant was 400; the number in Scottish prisons was 31; and the number in Irish prisons, 10. Of the 400 in English and Welsh prisons, 210 had been previously convicted, 49 once, and 161 twice or oftener, including 9 who were convicted more than 20 times. Of the 31 in Scottish prisons, 16 had been previously convicted, 8 once, and 8 twice or oftener. Of the 10 in Irish prisons, 5 had been previously convicted, 1 once, and 4 twice or oftener.

asked the Home Secretary, whether he is aware that in Germany there are permanent exhibitions of appliances for the prevention of accidents to workmen; and whether in view of the number of accidents which occur annually in this country to workers engaged in the manipulation of machinery, in the working of railways, and in seafaring, he is now in a position to provide that such an exhibition of safety appliances will be established in this country?

I am aware of the existence in Germany and other countries of museums of safety appliances. The question of establishing a similar museum in this country as far as industries within the jurisdiction of the Home Office are concerned has been under the consideration of the Department for some time, and careful inquiries have been made as to the organisation and equipment of foreign museums of the kind. I am now in a position to announce that, with the approval of the Treasury, it has been decided to establish such a museum in this country. It will exhibit for the information of employers and workpeople the newest and best appliances for securing safety and health in factories, mines, and other industries, and I hope it will be a valuable aid to the work of the factory and mines departments. The preliminary arrangements are being taken in hand, and the necessary provision has been made in the Estimates.

asked the Home Secretary whether he is aware that there are a number of balances of funds that were subscribed to assist the families of men who have been killed or injured by accidents in mines; and whether he will appoint a Commission to ascertain how many of those balances there are, what their value is, and the best way of dealing with them?

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer which I gave to a question on the same subject on the 16th of last month. Steps are being taken to obtain information as to any surplus funds that may exist, and the appoint-of a Committee seems unnecessary at the present stage.

asked the Home Secretary, with reference to his proposed Order under the Factory Act revising for two months before the Coronation the hours of labour of women and young persons in workshops in which wearing apparel is manufactured, if he will state upon the representations of how many and of what persons he drafted the Order?

The representations were made by the Drapers' Chamber of Trade acting on behalf of the trades concerned.

asked the Home Secretary whether he had consulted the employés or representatives of the employés before consenting to lay upon the Table of the House the Order varying the hours during which millinery and similar workshops may be open during the months of May and June; whether he will inform the House what advantage the employers alleged would result from a change of hours from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. to a period of from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.?

There was no time to consult the employés before issuing the draft Order, which has to be published for forty days before the Order can be made. But the draft Order has, in the usual way, been communicated to the Parliamentary Committee of the Trades Union Congress, and has been widely made known; and any representations the employés or their representatives may wish to make will be fully considered before the Order is made. The object of the publication of these orders in draft is to enable all persons concerned to make any representations they may desire. It is believed that it is most convenient for both employers and employed to work from eight to nine in the evening, rather than from eight to nine in the morning, and the Order allows this to be done.

asked the Home Secretary if any of the inspectors of mines in Lanarkshire are able to speak Russian or Polish, or any language spoken by the foreign miners employed in the collieries there; and if any of the foremen in the collieries are also able to communicate in their own language with these miners?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the negative. As regards the second part, I am informed that at some collieries, though not at the majority, there are officials who are able to communicate with the foreign miners in their own tongue; but, as I intimated in reply to a previous question of the hon. Member, in every place where these miners work there is always one of them who is able to speak sufficient English to understand the instructions given to him by the officials, and he interprets them to his fellows.

asked the Home Secretary whether a vacuum dust remover is being worked at the Whitwood Collieries, Normanton, Yorks; and whether he is having a report prepared as to the efficiency of this machine for the purpose of removing coal dust from mines, its cost, capacity, and general suitability?

Yes, a vacuum cleaner is in use at Whitwood Colliery. The Chief Inspector proposes to give particulars with regard to it in his annual report, but I may say that he informs me that, while it is doing admirably in the roadways near the pit bottom of this colliery, it can be used only where there is a smooth surface to work on, and that it would be useless for keeping the ordinary roadways free from dust.

asked the Home Secretary if he has now made inquiries into the alleged breaches of the Factory Act at the establishment of Messrs. Ben Evans and Company, of Swansea; and if the result of his inquiries has led him to take any action in the matter?

Inquiries have been made by the factory inspector of the district. Definite particulars of alleged cases of illegal employment have been supplied to him by a number of the workers, who have signed declarations, in pursuance of Section 119 of the Act, of the truth of their statements; and in view of these the chief inspector, with my approval, is giving directions for legal proceedings to be taken against the firm.

asked the Home Secretary whether the actual effect of the proposed order altering the legal hours of work of dressmakers from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. to 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. for two months prior to the Coronation, would be to lengthen the hours and increase the labour time of the workers concerned; and, if this is not the effect of the alteration, will he explain why the order has been drafted?

The order will not extend the legal hours of work in any way. Its only effect is that dressmakers who now ordinarily work an hour a day less than the legal hours but who propose, during May and June, to work full time, will be able to work from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., instead of from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. It is understood that this arrangement is generally preferred by the workers.

asked the Home Secretary if his attention has been called to the proposed importation of foreign printers into London by the Master Printers' Association for the purpose of breaking up the strike at present prevailing in the printing trade; if he will bring in a short Bill for the purpose of prohibiting the importation of foreign workpeople into this country for the purpose of taking the place of men or women on strike; and, pending such legislation, will he instruct the immigration officers to be very careful in seeing that in all cases imported workmen comply with all the requirements of the law in respect to alien immigration?

I have no information on the matter indicated in the first paragraph of the question, and, as the hon. Member is doubtless aware, a Bill to restrict such importation was rejected by the House of Lords in 1906. The immigration officers will enforce the Act in the regular manner.

asked the Home Secretary, whether the promised full inquiry into the conflicting police evidence in the Clapham murder case will be open to the Press and to the public; whether the police officers concerned will be entitled to be represented at the inquiry; and whether the police witnesses will be guaranteed immunity from any retributive consequences of their evidence?

The inquiry will be open to the Press, and, so far as the limited accommodation will allow, to the public. The police officers concerned will be represented by counsel. As I have already stated, there is no ground whatever for the suggestion that police witnesses stand in fear of giving truthful evidence.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he is aware that blackmail is levied on the employés by some of those in authority of the Egyptian State Railways; that the method adopted is the secretly forcing of employés to pay so much out of their wages each month under pain of being dismissed; and whether he will have inquiries made with a view to prevent such a practice?

If the hon. Member has evidence of the prevalence of the practice I will send it for inquiry.

asked the Secretary for the Colonies whether he can furnish information of the number of death sentences and executions in British Crown Colonies and Protectorates during the years 1909 and 1910, in the same form as, and in continuation of, the Return for 1909, which was issued on 19th July, 1909?

I will cause a Return to be prepared as soon as the complete figures for 1910 are available.

asked whether any communication was made by the Government of Canada to His Majesty's Government, between the month of May, 1910, and the 7th of January, 1911, as to what was to constitute the subject of negotiation between the Canadian Government and the United States Government, looking to the establishment of reciprocal tariff arrangements between them; if so, whether His Majesty's Government will lay upon the Table all correspondence and despatches in relation thereto; whether His Majesty's Government was aware that reciprocal arrangements in respect of manufactured articles were to form the subject of negotiation; if so, when they became aware of that fact; what proposals were made by the American Commissioners to the representatives of the Dominion Government at the conferences held in Ottawa in the month of November, 1910; whether the result of these conferences was communicated to His Majesty's Government; and, if so, when?

The only communication of details of the proposed reciprocity agreement were those received through the Foreign Office, from Mr. Bryce, which has already been laid.

asked whether the West Indies will be represented at the Imperial Conference; and, if so, by whom?

No, Sir; the Imperial Conference is a conference solely of the Prime Ministers of the Self-governing Dominions.

asked whether the Dutch (South African) Reformed Churches Union Bill contains a clause whereby coloured persons are specifically excluded from the United Church; and, if so, whether the signature of the Crown is to be given to this provision?

The Bill contains the following clause:—"No coloured person, being a member of the Dutch reformed Church of the Colony or Province of the Cape of Good Hope, shall be entitled, by reason of such membership or of the passing of this Actor of the Union brought about thereby, to claim membership of the United Church in the event of his finding himself, or of his being or becoming resident, in any of the adjacent Provinces and so long as he shall remain without the boundaries of the Province of the Cape of Good Hope; but his status as regards such membership in the adjacent Provinces shall be the same as, and be regulated and determined by, the status of coloured persons as regards such membership in such of the other Provinces within the Union as he shall find himself or be or become resident in." I am not aware whether the Bill has been actually passed and assented to, but I am not proposing to instruct the Governor-General specially to reserve the Bill.

asked whether any intimation has been received of the desire on the part of the Canadian Government to raise the question at or during the Imperial Conference, of their continued adherence to most-favoured-nation agreements to which they are present a party?

No, Sir.

asked whether indentured coolies to the island of Fiji cannot obtain a pass back to India until they have completed ten years' service?

Indentured coolies in Fiji are not entitled to free passages to India until they have completed ten years' residence in the Colony—five years as indentured labourers and five years as free labourers.

asked what are the numbers, respectively, of plantations worked with and without coolie labour in the island of Jamaica?

I do not think that it would be possible to give the figures asked for by my hon. Friend owing to the difficulty of defining a plantation; but he will doubtless remember that very full information on the subject was given to him in November last as the result of a question put by him in this House at an earlier date.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India what is the rate of pay of the medical officers in the superior grades of the medical service of British India and the native States respectively; whether the work of the latter officials has given entire satisfaction to their Governments and to the people of these States; whether the system of filling the higher grades of the service in British India is more costly than in the native States; on what grounds the more expensive system is maintained; whether he proposes to give effect to the recommendations of the Indian National Congress on this subject; and, if not, for what reasons?

I have nothing to add to the replies already given to similar questions.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India, whether the cost of the entire education, board and residence, of students for the military assistant surgeon's grade is defrayed by the Government; whether the qualification such students get after four years' training is registerable under the Medical Act of 1858; what is the number of such students undergoing training annually; what is the charge on the revenues of India; whether is aware that there are Indian doctors with registerable univeristy qualifications who would accept these posts; on what grounds is the present system of recruiting the military assistant surgeon's grade still continued, involving as it does the expense of the education of the candidates; and what steps he proposes to take to remedy the system?

Students for the military assistant surgeon's grade are trained for four years at the expense of Government. The qualifications which they obtain are not as a rule registerable in the United Kingdom. The number of such students and the cost of their training cannot be stated without reference to India. No change of the system of recruiting the Indian Subordinate Military Medical Service is under contemplation.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether he has any official knowledge of two cases recently tried in the Punjaub, one before Major Buck, the district magistrate at Lahore, and the other before the sessions judge at Birbhum, in which several policemen have been convicted of torturing prisoners to death; whether he can state what was the nature of the alleged torture; whether the accused policemen were charged with murder; and what was the punishment inflicted?

The Secretary of State has no official information regarding these cases, but I understand that in the first case the sentences varied from four to five years' rigorous imprisonment, and in the second case the judge, disagreeing with the assessors who were in favour of acquittal, passed sentence ranging from two to five years' rigorous imprisonment. I cannot say what was the precise nature of the offence or the charge in either case.

asked the Under-Secretary for India whether he has any information as to the prospects of the proposed hew factory law being passed; whether the proposals of the Indian Government as to a legal reduction of working hours in factories are being surrendered by an agreement between the Government and the Indian mill owners; and, if so, will the Secretary of State, in view of the unorganised condition of the Indian factory workers, make representations to the Government of India upon the subject?

The Bill was passed into law last week. It retains the original provisions whereby the employment of male adults in textile factories is limited to twelve hours and that of children to-six hours. There was at no time any compact or agreement between the Government of India and the Indian mill-owners. Proposals were made in the Legislative Council by representatives of the Calcutta mills for securing equivalent limitation of hours in another way. These on examination were not considered satisfactory by the Government and were not accepted.

asked what are the legal hours of labour in factories and workshops in India at present; and what are the reductions in hours proposed by the Indian Government in their Bill now before the Indian Council?

Under the present law the employment of women is limited to eleven hours, and of children to seven hours. There is no legal limitation as regards male adults. The Act passed last week fixes a 12-hours working day for male adults, 11 hours for women, and 6 hours for children when employed in textile factories. As regards factories other than textile factories the provisions of the present law as regards legal hours of employment have been substantially retained. The limits between which women and children may be employed have been narrowed from 5 a.m. and 8 p.m. to 5.30 a.m. and 7 p.m. They have, moreover, been made applicable to women working under a shift system, but not to women in cotton ginning and cotton pressing factories, which only work for a few months in the year.

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether his attention has been called to an outbreak of diphtheria at Madley, Herefordshire; whether he is aware that the medical officer of health has taken swabs from sixty or more children; that unless bacteriologically examined the disease cannot be traced; and that the Dore District Council refused to vote a sum of £8 for this purpose; and will he take any steps to substitute the district council by an official sanitary authority for the Dore area?

My attention has been drawn to a newspaper report of this matter, and I am in communication with the local authority in regard to it. I am advised that bacteriological examinations are a great aid in diagnosing cases of diphtheria.

asked the President of the Local Government Board if he will state for each year on and from 1904 to the end of 1910 the number of Irish pigs that have been seized in Birmingham for tubercular disease?

I am informed by the Corporation that no record is kept of the nationality of the pigs slaughtered in Birmingham.

asked the President of the Board of Trade—(1) whether he is aware that since the gambling operations in options and futures of cotton, wheat, sugar, etc., have been introduced from America, many local industries have been killed; that old-established English merchants have given up importing owing to its present basis being a bear sale of futures sold as a hedge against foreign imports; and whether he is aware that the spinning industry, owing to a system of Gall options, has been reduced to a gambling basis; and what action he proposes to take in the matter; and (2) whether he will appoint a Departmental Committee to ascertain if the stagnation of work, misery, and losses to owners of property in 1911 can be traced, directly or indirectly, to the increase of international gambling operations on the Liverpool Exchanges, as well as to the many months of short time throughout Lancashire during 1909–10 owing to corners in American and Egyptian cotton and to general depression caused thereby in other branches of trade in that part?

I recognise that the gambling operation in "futures" of various descriptions has its injurious side. But I have considered the question, and I do not, as at present advised, think the inquiry suggested would serve any useful purpose.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if his attention had been drawn to the number of shipwrecks which have occurred recently within the Pentland Firth; whether he has any information that such disasters were possibly the result of the insufficient lighting of Duncansby Head; and, if so, whether he will consider the possibility of the better lighting of the Firth at this point?

I am aware that several shipping casualties have occurred recently in or near the Pentland Firth, but the courts of inquiry which have investigated them have not, I think, attributed them to the insufficient lighting of Duncansby Head, or made any recommendation for its improvement. I have been in communication with the Commissioners of Northern Lighthouses regarding my hon. Friend's question, and they inform me that no application for a light on Duncansby Head has ever been made to them, but that they have had in view the question of ultimately establishing a light and fog signal on the Head when more urgent demands on the funds at their disposal have been satisfied.

asked the number of emigrants from Scotland during each year for the last five 5years; and if he can state approximately the extent of the emigration per week at the present time?

The number of passengers sailing from and landing at ports in Scotland, for or from countries out of Europe, was as follows in each of the last five years:—

asked the President of the Board of Trade how many and what are the headings in the Official Import list of articles of food and drink at present imported free of duty which would be taxed if a duty were placed on all imports of foreign food?

The following is a complete list of the headings in the Official Import list, under which articles of food and drink not at present dutiable are now entered:—(1) Aerated and mineral waters.Animals living: (2) Oxen and bulls, (3) cows, (4) calves, (5) sheep and lambs, (6) swine, (7) butter (except milk blended), (8) butter (milk blended), (9) cheese (except margarine cheese), (10) other vegetable matter applicable to the uses of chicory or of coffee, (11) cider and perry, not containing added sugar or spirit.Corn and grain, etc.: (12) wheat, (13) barley, (14) oats, (15) rye, (16) buckwheat, (17) peas (not fresh), other than split peas, (18) peas (not fresh) split, (19) beans (not fresh), other than haricot beans, (20) beans (not fresh), haricot, (21) lentils, (22) maize, (23) rice (other than whole and cleaned rice), (24) rice, whole and cleaned, (25) rice, mixtures of whole and broken (cleaned), (26) wheat meal and flour, (27) shredded wheat, (28) barley meal and flour, (29) barley, pearled, (30) oatmeal, (31) groats, (32) rolled oats, including Quaker Oats, (33) rye meal and flour, (34) buckwheat meal and flour, (35) rice flour (including rice ground or granulated), (36) maize meal and milled products of maize (other than offals), (37) flour and meal, unenumerated, (38) malt.Offals, which are feeding-stuffs and contain not more than 50 per cent. of starch, namely:—(39) Bran and pollard, (40) rice meal and dust, (41) sharps and middlings, (42) unenumerated offals, (43) arrowroot, (44) cassava powder and tapioca, (45) macaroni, (46) mandioca or tapioca flour, (47) sago and sago meal and flour, (48) semolina, (49) other farinaceous preparations (except starch, dextrine, farina, and potato flour), (50) eggs.Fish (including turtle); fresh fish (not of British taking):—(51) Herrings, (52) unenumerated.Shell fish:—(53) oysters, for food, (54) unenumerated.Cured or salted fish:—Canned, (55) sardines, (56) salmon, (57) lobsters, (58) unenumerated, (59) not canned—all sorts.Fruit, not liable to duty:—(60) apples, raw, (61) apricots and poaches, raw, (62) bananas, raw, (63) cherries, raw, (64) currants, raw, (65) gooseberries, raw, (66) grapes, raw, (67) lemons, limes and citrons.Nuts:—(68) almonds, (69) other nuts, used as fruit, (70) oranges, (71) pears, raw, (72) plums, raw, (73) strawberries, raw, (74) unenumerated, raw.Dried:—(75) dates, (76) unenumerated.Fruit:—preserved without sugar (other than fruit liable to duty as such):—(77) canned and bottled, (78) other than canned or bottled.Fruit juice made from fruit not liable to duty as such, unfermented, not containing added spirit or added sweetening matter:—(79) grape juice or must, (80) lime and lemon juice, (81) unenumerated, (82) honey, (83) hops, (84) isinglass, (85) lard, (86) lard imitation, (87) licorice, not containing added sugar or other sweetening matter, (88) margarine, that is to say, any article mixed with butter or not, which resembles butter and is not milk-blended butter, (89) margarine cheese.Meat (except poultry and game):—(90) bacon.Beef, fresh and refrigerated:—(91) fresh, (92) chilled, (93) frozen, (94) beef, salted, (95) hams.Mutton, fresh and refrigerated:—(96) fresh, (97) chilled, (98) frozen.Pork, fresh and refrigerated:—(99) fresh, (100) chilled, (101) frozen, (102) pork, salted (other than bacon and hams).Rabbits (dead), fresh and refrigerated:—(103) fresh, (104) chilled, (105) frozen.Unenumerated, fresh and refrigerated:—(108) fresh, (107) chilled, (108) frozen, (109) unenumerated, salted.Preserved, otherwise than by salting (including tinned and canned):—(110) beef, (111) mutton, (112) other sorts.Milk:—(113) fresh (in cans or churns), (114) cream, (115) condensed, not sweetened, (116) milk powder, not sweetened; preserved, other kinds, not sweetened; (117) (including impoverished, humanised, peptonised, and sterilised milk).Oil:—(118) coconut, refined, (119) olive, refined, (120) palm, refined, (121) seed, refined, (122) oleo-margarine or oleo oil and refined tallow, (123) pickles and vegetables preserved in salt or vinegar.Poultry and game (alive or dead):—(124) poultry, (125) game, (126) salt, rock and white, except table salt, (127) sauces or condiments, unenumerated, not sweetened (including table salt).Spices, not containing sweetening matter:—(128) cinnamon, (129) ginger, (130) pepper, (131) unenumerated, (132) vegetables, dried, (133) vegetables, preserved by canning, with no sweetening matter.Vegetables, raw:—(134) onions, (135) potatoes, (136) tomatoes, (137) unenumerated, (138) vinegar and acetic acid for table use, (139) yeast.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Agriculture what precautions are taken for the protection of the inshore fishermen of the Northumberland coast against injuries to gear caused by steam trawlers fishing within the three miles limit?

Trawling within the three mile limit on this coast is prohibited by bye-law, the enforcement of which rests with the local Fisheries Committee. The coast guards report to the Committee any infringement of the bye-laws which may come under their notice. Injuries to gear are dealt with under the Sea Fisheries Act, 1883, which is administered by the Board of Trade.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Agriculture whether the same measures have been taken to trace the cause of the recent outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Surrey as were adopted in 1908 in the case of the Edinburgh outbreak; what are those measures; whether they are still in progress; and what are the prospects of their success?

As in all similar cases, including that of Edinburgh, the fullest inquiries were at once set on foot with a view to discover the possible origin of the outbreak. Special attention is being directed to the possibility of infection by means of any articles of foreign origin recently brought to the infected place. The inquiries are still proceeding. It is not possible as yet to say whether any definite result will be obtained.

asked the Attorney-General whether he is aware that Mr. Henry Twist, an official of the Lancashire and Cheshire Miners' Federation, has recently threatened Richard Gaskell, Joseph Hamer, Thomas Watmough, and Richard Hart, miners working at the collieries of Messrs. Cross and Tetley, Bamfurlong, with loss of their livelihood unless they resign their membership of their own trade union and join the Lancashire and Cheshire Miners' Federation; and whether he will instruct the Director of Public Prosecutions to take action in the matter?

The answer to both questions is in the negative.

asked the Lord Advocate if he can say at what distance from the land was the trawler "Sarah," of North Shields, when the captain was arrested for illegal trawling on the 26th ultimo?

I am informed that the trawler "Sarah" was about five miles from the nearest land on the occasion of the arrest referred to by my hon. Friend.

asked the Lord Advocate whether the Barvas School Board, island of Lewis, have yet carried out the sanitary improvements in connection with the Bragar public school which the district sanitary inspector for Ross and Cromarty reported to be necessary?

I am informed that the improvements in connection with the Bragar public school, suggested by the district sanitary inspector, were carried out last September, new offices being erected and other improvements being carried out.

asked the Lord Advocate whether he can state the total number of occupiers of farms in Scotland whose holdings are rented at £1 or under, the total rented between £1 and £4, and the total rented between £4 and £10?

The latest figures available are those given in the House of Commons Returns of Occupiers (whether owners or tenants) of Farms in Scotland, No. 127 of 1907 (Part I., Counties, page 8), which gives the total number of occupiers in Scotland whose holdings are rented at £1 and under as 3,863, between £1 and £4 as 19,479, and between £4 and £10 as 17,500.

asked the Lord Advocate whether he can state approximately the number of holdings in the districts within the jurisdiction of the Congested Districts Board, the average rental, and the number of holdings enlarged or new holdings created since the establishment of the Board?

A list of the parishes and parts of parishes, more than sixty in number, in the crofting counties of Scotland, which have been determined by the Congested Districts Board to be congested districts within the meaning of the Act, is set out in Appendix II. of the last (12th) Report of the Congested Districts Board. Particulars of holdings in each of these parishes, as well as in each of the other parishes in Scotland, are set out in the House of Commons Return of Occupiers of Farms (Scotland), No. 127 I. (Part II., Parishes) of 1907. As, however, this Return does not distinguish between owners and tenants, and, though it classifies holdings according to their gross rentals on the valuation roll, includes large properties as well as small holdings, any working out of averages through the whole would probably not secure the information desired by the hon. Member. So far as the work of the Congested Districts Board is concerned there have been, since the establishment of the Board, enlargements of holdings in the case of 1,062 crofters, and 611 new holdings have been created; and there have also been other enlargements made and new holdings created independently of the Board.