asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, whether Article 34 of the Declaration of London was based on the second and ninth paragraphs of Article 18 of the German Admiralty Draft, as on page 5 of Bluebook Cd. 4555, 1909?

The text of the Declaration and the draft proposals of the German Government are set out in full in the Blue-book to which the Noble Lord refers. He is able to compare them for himself.

asked whether the translation, in French, of Article 18 of the German Draft of the Declaration of London, as published in Blue Book, Cd. 4555, 1909, page 5, is a literal translation of the German; and whether the German Draft was submitted by the German Admiralty to the British Foreign Office prior to the Conference of London, 1908.

If the Noble Lord will consult the Blue Book (Command No. 4554), he will find, on reference to page 13, that the Draft was communicated to the Foreign Office by the German Chargé d'Affaires on 21st August, 1908. The German text was accompanied by a French translation prepared by the German Government themselves, and it is this translation which was laid before the Conference.

asked whether Article 33 of the Declaration of London was based upon the first paragraph of Article 18 of the German Draft of the Declaration of London.

I do not know what the Noble Lord means by the German Draft of the Declaration of London. I have never heard of the existence of such a document.

asked the Prime Minister whether, in view of the differences of opinion which have been expressed on both sides of the House in regard to the Declaration of London he will arrange that the division as to its ratification will be conducted on nonparty lines?

I cannot give any pledge in regard to this at present.

Will the right hon. Gentleman undertake that the party whips shall not be put on for this Division?

I have nothing to add to the answer to the question.

asked whether under the Baghdad Railway Agreement of 1903, Article 35, the railway company was in a more advantageous position as regards net profits, when the gross receipts per kilometre were under £180, or when the gross receipts per kilometre were £440, or when they were above the last-named figure?

In order to determine the net profits of a railway, it is essential to ascertain not merely the gross receipts, but also the working expenses. There are at present no railways in Mesopotamia and, in the absence of any data as to the amount of working expenses in those regions, it is impossible to give a precise answer to the hon. and learned Member, or even to furnish him with an approximate estimate. As regards the amount of gross profits accruing to the Company in each of the contingencies named, I can only refer to Article 35 of the Concession of 1903, which, as already announced, will be laid as soon as possible.

Is it not the fact that above the £180 gross receipts per kilometre the Government takes the whole of the receipts, and can the hon. Gentleman assure us that in any arrangement the Government may make they will not depart from that arrangement?

I do not think the hon. Member need fear that we shall make an arrangement similar to the existing arrangement.

asked what is the estimated cash yield of the annuity of 11,000 francs per kilometre, as provided under Article 35 of the Baghdad Railway Agreement of 1903, when that annuity is capitalised; what has been the price of Ottoman State bonds hitherto issued to meet the cost of construction; and what is the estimated length in kilometres of the Baghdad Railway as projected, as far as the town of Baghdad?

The answer to the first question is approximately £8,500, though the exact amount may vary a little according to the precise price of issue of the respective loans brought out to meet the cost of construction of each successive section of 200 kilometres. The answer to the second question is that the Baghdad Railway Loan, first series (1903), was taken up at 86.4. I have no information as to the price of issue of the further loans, but will furnish it to the hon. and learned Member as soon as I can obtain it. The answer to the third question is approximately 1,440 kilometres, so far as the main line is concerned, but this distance may be modified by the precise ultimate alignment of the railway.

asked whether any facilities were afforded during office hours to any trader, or association of traders, to obtain orders from, and deliver goods to, members of the staff employed at the Foreign Office; and, if so, what was the name of such trader or association, and what were the terms and conditions upon which such facilities were granted?

No special facilities are given to any trader or association for obtaining orders.

asked the Postmaster-General (1) whether he was aware that, as no trains run to Cahirciveen on Sundays, the mails are taken by car from Killarney and reach Cahirciveen at 10.30 a.m.; and whether, in view of the fact that the weekday train service during March frequently made a difference of only one hour in a journey of 38 miles, he will state what steps would be taken to accelerate the daily delivery of mails; (2) whether he was aware that the scheduled time of arrival of the morning train at Cahirciveen has now been altered from 8.26 to 9.15 a.m.; has this been done in consequence of the unpunctuality with which the service had been lately conducted; could he state at what hour letters are now delivered in Waterville; and whether any time is given for the reply to urgent letters received by members of the cable station and others, in view of the fact that the mail car leaves early in the afternoon.

I will answer these two questions together. I am aware that the mails for Cahirciveen are conveyed on Sundays as indicated by the hon. Member, and that the scheduled time of arrival of the goods train on week-days, by which the mails are conveyed, has been altered to 9.15 a.m., the Great Southern and Western Railway Company having assured me that during the greater portion of the year it is not practicable to effect an earlier arrival. I much regret that I see no possibility of improving the service at present. The delivery at Waterville commences at 12.5 p.m., and the despatch for the out-going mail is made up at 2.30 p.m., so that there is an interval for replying to urgent letters on the date of receipt.

Can the right hon. Gentleman give me another instance in which where trains run late the hour is changed to suit the railway company and not to suit the convenience of the public?

This is a goods train running along a single line of railway, and it has to call at a number of small stations on its way. The railway company assure me it is perfectly impossible to keep to the time of arrival previously scheduled, and it is therefore necessary to alter the scheduled time.

asked what are the references to the legal decisions as to premium bonds upon which the restriction as to transmission of notifications relating to premium bonds drawn is based by the Post Office authorities; and whether the decision or decisions upon which the Post Office relies will be referred to the Law Officers of the Crown, with a view to their advising whether the restriction could be lawfully removed, having regard to the loss and inconvenience suffered by so many British subjects who have invested in such bonds.

The decision is the judgment of Mr. Justice Swinfen Eady in the case of in re The International Securities Corporation (Limited) (24 T.L.R. 837). I see no ground upon which I can properly make a reference to the Law Officers of the Crown.

asked the Postmaster-General whether any facilities are afforded during office hours to any trader, or association of traders, to obtain orders from, and deliver goods to, members of the staff employed at the chief offices of the Post Office in London; and, if so, will he state the name of such trader or association, and the terms and conditions upon which such facilities are granted?

As a matter of convenience to the numerous members of the staff who are members of the Civil Service Supply Association, a Messenger of that Association calls daily to receive orders and deliver the articles ordered.

asked what action, if any, has been taken by the Development Commissioners towards acquiring land in Wales for the purpose of afforestation?

The Board of Agriculture and Fisheries have submitted a scheme for the development of forestry in England and Wales, which is under consideration by the Development Commissioners.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether the number of men admitted into the Civil Service without passing a competitive examination is increasing; whether he can furnish a Return showing the number of men who have been so admitted, the number and maximum value of the posts they occupy, and the reasons for this special admission; and whether there is any intention of ultimately abolishing the competitive examination?

There is no intention of abandoning competitive examination. I have under consideration the presentation of a Return which will, I hope, give the hon. Member the information desired.

May I remind the right hon. Gentleman that in the last Parliament I asked for a Return of this kind, which was refused? Is it not a fact that these Returns are only allowed to be furnished when they are asked by hon. Members on the other side of the House?

There was a Return ordered to-day on the Motion of the hon. Member for Taunton (Mr. W. Peel) in regard to the number of additional posts created in public departments since 1906. Surely that is proof that Returns are not granted in the partial way which the hon. Gentleman suggests. He has no right to make the suggestion.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether the intermediate examination was started with the view of inducing boys educated at the public schools to enter the Civil Service; whether, in spite of this second division clerks competed and obtained the majority of these posts; whether steps were taken to prevent second division clerks entering by reducing the service age; and what steps he proposes to take to secure that merit and diligence should be the only essential qualifications?

The examination is suitable for boys leaving public schools and the limits of age are from 18 to 19½. It was found, however, that under the original Regulations clerks already in the service could deduct from their actual age time passed in the public service up to a maximum of five years, so that a clerk could in some circumstances compete up to the age of 24½. The Regulation has been modified so that a clerk already in the service can deduct not more than one year. The operation of the new Regulation takes effect from 1st January, 1912.

asked the Primo Minister if he is prepared to appoint a commission or committee of non-official persons to inquire into the whole question of Civil Service appointments and of promotion in the Civil Service?

I have not received any representations on this subject, and before giving any answer I should have to be furnished in some details with the grounds upon which such an inquiry is suggested.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware of the very great growth of patronage in Government Departments, and will he institute an inquiry into that growth?

That is a separate question.

With a view to supplying the information which the right hon. Gentleman asks for, may I ask if he is prepared to set aside a day for discussion of the question?

I would rather have the information first.

asked whether in the valuation of the land of Ireland under Section (26) of The Finance (1909–10) Act, 1910, in the case of occupiers who have purchased their holdings under any Land Purchase Act, the total value will be based on the actual cash consideration given for such holding; whether the total value so ascertained will be assumed to be the market value for agricultural purposes only; and whether, in the event of the owner disposing of his holding at a figure in advance of the original purchase price, he will be liable for Increment Duty on the ground that the market value of the land for agricultural purposes only has been exceeded?

The price paid by an occupier for his holding would be an clement to be considered in estimating the total value of the holding; but the price paid and the total value would not necessarily be identical. The total value would generally, but not necessarily, be the market value for agricultural purposes only. If when the owner of an agricultural holding sells it, it can be shown that the assessable site value at the time of the sale exceeds the sum at which the value was fixed when the original valuation was made, and further, that the land has a higher value than its market value at the time for agricultural purposes only, then and only then would the owner be liable for Increment Duty. This duty is payable on assessable site value and not on total value.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether the collectors of Inland Revenue are instructed to collect payment of Mineral Rights Duty from the trustees of educational charities in all cases, when such duty diminishes the source of income or the amount placed to a capital fund?

So far as I am aware, the collection of Mineral Rights Duty is being carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Finance (1909–10) Act, 1910.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury if he can state since when the reports of Parliamentary proceedings upon Irish affairs have been available in separate bound volumes; whether he can state the grounds on which this practice was first adopted; and what additional annual cost is thereby entailed?

The practice of issuing Reports of Parliamentary Debates upon Irish affairs in separate bound volumes was first adopted, for the convenience of the Irish Office, in the Session of 1904. The cost is about £150 per annum, but this sum varies, of course, in accordance with the amount of attention given to Irish affairs during the Session of Parliament.

May I ask the right hon. Gentleman whether it is not a fact that the expense of these volumes lessens the expense in other directions, inasmuch as the general volumes are not used so much?

I think that is very probable, but the hon. Gentleman is probably well acquainted with the details of this question, being a member of the Publications Committee.

May I ask whether it is not a fact that during the whole of this Session there has not been a single day devoted to Irish affairs?

May I ask the right hon. Gentleman whether he will consider the advisability of issuing separate volumes for other parts of the United Kingdom?

I was in correspondence with the Secretary for Scotland on the subject, and was informed that there was no necessity, and, so far as he was aware, there was no desire on the part of Scottish Members to have separate volumes. Otherwise I should have been prepared to consider the matter.

Will the right hon. Gentleman consider a similar request if made on behalf of Wales?

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether he was aware that a farmer or market gardener may, by judicious management of his holding, increase the value of it; and whether, if this land is required for building purposes, increment tax will be charged upon the increased agricultural value?

Where land is sold for building purposes, Increment Value Duty would not be charged upon the increased agricultural value, inasmuch as, in normal circumstances, no part of the consideration for the sale would be attributable to that increased agricultural value.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether his attention had been drawn to the action of Mr. Morgan, tax assessor at Pontypridd, who refuses to accept properly filled up returns from working-men owners of cottages at Mountain Ash unless the title deeds to the cottage were produced before him at his office at Pontypridd; whether he had been informed that the title deeds could be seen at Mountain Ash, despite which he was threatening to distrain upon them unless they either comply with his demand or pay Income Tax in lieu of House Duty; and what action he proposes taking to protect the cottage owners in question from the expense and annoyance to which they are being subjected?

I wrote to the hon. Member on Thursday last, giving him a full explanation of all the circumstances alluded to in his question. As I stated in that letter, I do not think that the collector has exceeded his duty in the matter.

Can the right hon. Gentleman state on what dates Mr. Morgan visited Mountain Ash and where his office was situated? The facts stated in the right hon. Gentleman's reply are altogether inaccurate.

I have no reason to believe that they are inaccurate. If the hon. Gentleman wishes me to reply to the question I must ask him to put it on the Paper, and I will ascertain the desired information.

asked whether Section 4 of the Development and Road Improvement Funds Act, 1909, is being construed as meaning that no application for a grant out of the Development Fund by persons other than a Government Department can be favourably entertained by the Commissioners in the absence of a recommendation in its favour by the Government Department concerned; or whether it is open to the Commissioners to approve an application and make a grant in the face of an adverse report from such Department?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the negative; but in connection with the second part the hon. Member should bear in mind that the final decision as to whether an advance shall be made rests not with the Development Commissioners but with the Treasury.

May I ask whether that involves that all applications for grants out of the Development Fund are at the mercy of a Government Department?

All grants are at the mercy of Government Departments, subject to the control of the Treasury.

Is it not a fact that the Treasury makes the grant, and that it is subject only to the consent of some Government Department?

The Treasury exercise discretion whether or not a grant is deserved.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether he is aware that the Lancashire and Western, the Southern, the Eastern, the Northumberland, and the North-Eastern District. Fishery Committee, and the Wear Fishery Board have passed resolutions expressing disapproval of the advisory committee on fishery questions recently appointed by the Development Commissioners; and, if so, whether he proposes to take any, and what, steps to appoint a separate advisory committee which shall be representative of English and Welsh fishery interests?

asked whether protests against the constitution of the advisory committee for fishery purposes appointed by the Development Commissioners have been received by the Treasury from representatives of the following bodies, or any of them: Cumberland Sea Fisheries Committee, Lancashire and Western Sea Fisheries Joint Committee, Howey Fishery District Committee, Avon and Erme Fishery Board (Devon), Southern Sea Fisheries District Committee, North Eastern Sea Fisheries District Committee, Yorkshire Fishery Board, Board of Conservators for the Wear Fishery District, Kent and Essex District Fisheries Committee; and, if so, whether any action has been taken upon them?

I have nothing to add to the reply made to the hon. Member for St. Austell's on the 5th instant.

asked whether, under the provisions of the Development and. Road Improvement Act, reports of the Development Commissioners upon applications referred to them by Government departments have to be laid before any other Government department than the Treasury; whether the sanction of the Treasury is required before any grant can be made by the Development Commissioners; and whether the Treasury can veto any grant proposed by the Development Commissioners?

The answer to the first question is in the negative. The Development Commission do not make advances from the Development Fund: they recommend the Treasury to do so. The Treasury have power to withhold their assent to advances recommended by the Development Commission.

Am I to understand that the Development Commissioners are no more than an advisory body to the Treasury for the purposes of the Act?

Certainly not. It would be with very considerable hesitation I think that the Treasury would dissent from the recommendations of the Commissioners unless circumstances necessitated it.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether he is aware that anxiety exists amongst Irish national teachers with regard to the question of an improvement in their pensions, owing to the fact that there is a decrease in the estimates for education in Ireland for the current year, whilst in the cases of England and Scotland there is a substantial increase; whether the Chancellor of the Exchequer gave considerable encouragement to a deputation of Irish National teachers which waited on him last summer; and what steps he now proposes to take in the matter?

As regards the first part of the question, I may point out that the pensions of National School teachers in Ireland are paid not from Votes of Parliament, but out of the Pension Fund. As regards the remainder of the question, I fear I can add nothing to the answer given to the hon. Member for West Clare on the 4th instant.

May I ask the right hon. Gentleman whether he can ascertain from the Chancellor of the Exchequer what he proposes to do in regard to improving the pensions for Irish National teachers?

I do not know that he intends to do anything.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether it was by his authority or with his knowledge that Mr. A. Grasemann, of the Inland Revenue, visited the accountant of the Great Eastern Railway and requested him not to pay the company's Income Tax due before 31st March until a week after that date; and, if not, under whose orders Mr. Grasemann so acted?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the negative. The officer referred to was acting under the instructions of the Board of Inland Revenue.

May I ask the right hon. Gentleman how he reconciles that answer with the reply he gave on the 3rd inst., when he stated that this action had been taken through the mistake of a subordinate officer?

Very easily. An officer acting under instructions may make a mistake.

May I further ask if the Chairman of the Board of Inland Revenue, whom the right hon. Gentleman describes as a subordinate officer, took the step he did with the knowledge of the Treasury, and if not, what object had he in view in sending round these emissaries to the railway companies?

The Noble Lord is under a misapprehension. The subordinate officer referred to was not the Chairman of the Board of Inland Revenue, but another officer acting under instructions of the Chairman of the Board. I have no knowledge, as I have stated in reply to another question, of the circumstances at all.

Will the right hon. Gentleman take steps to acquire knowledge?

The complaint is that sometimes I have too much knowledge.

Will the right hon. Gentleman now acknowledge official responsibility for the collectors of Income Tax?

I cannot acknowledge any responsibility which I have not got.

May I ask the right hon. Gentleman whether the subordinate officer, if he was acting under the instructions of the Chairman of the Board of Inland Revenue, was not freed from responsibility altogether, and that the whole responsibility rests on the Chairman of the Board?

Of course, in one sense the responsibility rests, and must rest, in the last resort on the Parliamentary representative, who in this case is myself, and the responsibility is one which I have never endeavoured to shirk. But responsibility for the acts of a subordinate to the extent that the head of the Department gave him instructions which were not carried out rests to a minor extent on the head of the Department. The ultimate responsibility rests on the subordinate, but if any one is to blame from the Parliamentary point of view for the action of the subordinate, that person is myself.

Will the right hon. Gentleman see that all sums received in the way indicated after 31st March will be restored to the Old Sinking Fund?

If I gave that order it would be very properly disobeyed, because I had no authority to give it.

asked the Prime Minister if it is the practice of the Comptroller and Auditor-General to see that the proper sums due are collected by the collectors of Income Tax and duly paid into the Treasury, and to see that the surplus of the sums so collected is paid to the National Debt Commissioners?

The Comptroller and Auditor-General makes a test audit under Section 33 of the Exchequer and Audit Departments Act, 1866, of the accounts of collectors of Income Tax, and it is his practice to call attention to any undue delay in collection or in the payment of the amounts collected to the Exchequer, which may fee disclosed by such audit. The issues from the Consolidated Fund to the National Debt Commissioners in respect of the Old Sinking Fund are governed by Sections 4 and 5 of the National Debt (Sinking Fund) Act, 1875, and the Comptroller and Auditor-General satisfies himself when the accounts of the Consolidated Fund are before him that the actual issues have corresponded with the amount shown to be payable by the account certified by him under the former section.

May I ask if the Comptroller had this brought to his notice before he commenced the collection of Income Tax before 31st March?

The Comptroller and Auditor-General is an officer of this House, and he is perfectly capable, and it would be his duty to take notice of all things connected with finance.

Have any directions been given by the Treasury to collectors as to the delay in the collection of Income Tax?

I have no knowledge of it at all. If they were given they were not given by the Treasury.

Who is responsible for pressing the collection of this tax in one part of the kingdom and delaying it in another?

asked whether it was owing to the blunder of a subordinate official that demand notes for Income Tax usually sent out in December, and followed by a reminder in January, were in many cases not posted this year until 29th March?

As is always the case in a year of revaluation of property, the issue of demand notes suffered some general, but unavoidable, delay last year. Notwithstanding this, however, the demand notes for 1910–11 were actually issued, with but few exceptions, by the end of January last.

Would the right hon. Gentleman answer my question? His answer refers to Schedule A, which is the Schedule under which property is assessed, whereas my question refers to Schedule D, Income Tax on profits and Super-tax.

The question asks whether demand notes for Income Tax are usually sent out in December. There is nothing about Schedule D in the question, but if the hon. Baronet wished to refer specifically to Schedule D it should have been stated in the question.

Does not Income Tax include all sums levied as Income Tax, and can the answer which relates only to a minor portion of the money raised as Income Tax be said to be an answer to a question which relates to the whole Income Tax?

Income Tax naturally represents the whole of the money. If the hon. Baronet desired particular information with regard to Schedule D he would have got exactly the same answer as I have given in reply to the general question of Income Tax. There was no alteration in any way of the usual practice of sending out Income Tax demands at the usual time.

asked whether it is now the practice of the collectors of Income Tax to issue their notices and demands and to secure payment of the Income Tax at precisely the same time alike in England and Scotland; whether English payers of Income Tax were much more favourably treated in this respect than Scotch payers prior to 1903; and whether such similarity and simultaneity as now prevail are entirely due to the action of the Chancellor of the Exchequer and of the Treasury, and of the Inland Revenue Department in instructing the collectors of Income Tax in England to expedite their collection of that tax?

So far as possible the issue of notices, etc., by collectors of taxes is made at the same time in England and Scotland; but inasmuch as such issue is dependent on the delivery of their books, etc., to the collectors by the various bodies of District Commissioners, it is impossible to ensure simultaneous delivery in every division. There has been no alteration in the procedure in either England or Scotland since 1903; and no greater similarity or simultaneity now prevails than in former years.

Will the right hon. Gentleman answer the last part of the question?

I have answered it by saying that there has been no alteration in the procedure in England or Scotland since 1903. In 1903 the present Chancellor of the Exchequer was a private Member of this House.

Am I to understand that the similarity and simultaneity that now prevail are due to the action of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Treasury, and the Inland Revenue Department?

I cannot answer for the action of the Government of 1903. The hon. Baronet had better consult the Member for East Worcestershire.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether his attention has been drawn to the fact that the figures recently given by him of the allocation of £100,000 to the several counties of Ireland for works of road improvement make a total of only £79,000; whether he will explain how such a statement came to be made; and what is proposed to be done with the remainder of the money?

It was not suggested that the total sums already allocated as shown in my answer to the question put by the hon. Member on the 28th ultimo amounted to £100,000. Since the 28th March the Road Board have allocated £5,000 for contributions towards approved schemes of road improvement in County Donegal. They have under consideration the grants to be made out of the hitherto unallocated balance of the total of £100,000 promised.

I asked how the £100,000 has been distributed. An allocation of only £79,000 is shown, and it does not account for the balance?

Because the balance has not been distributed.

On what basis is this sum distributed? Is it a basis of population or assessment?

In accordance with the decision of the Road Board. Each scheme is dealt with on its merits, and neither the population nor any other single fact indicates by itself the reasons by which the Road Board arrives at the allocations.

As there is nobody here to answer for the Road Board would the right hon. Gentleman be good enough to make the inquiry which I have made, and let me have an answer?

There cannot be any other answer than that which I have given. It depends upon a whole variety of circumstances.

In view of the dissatisfaction existing as to the amount allocated, would the right hon. Gentleman endeavour to obtain some indication of the basis on which the Road Board have proceeded?

I will communicate with the chairman of the Board as to whether I can get some memorandum on that point.

asked if the returns sent in by the owners of land under the Finance Acts will disclose full particulars of the common lands within or adjoining the various estates, and also all public rights of way over the said estates?

Owners are requested to state in their returns on Form IV. whether the land included in the return is subject to any public rights of way or rights of common and to give full particulars in each case.

asked if the State Insurance Scheme will be founded on the German system; and whether he is aware that the German schemes are now found to be unsatisfactory and are severely criticised by the working men, who condemn the unexpectedly heavy cost of administration?

I have no statement to make at present with regard to the Government Insurance Scheme. I have no doubt that my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer has given careful attention to the criticisms favourable and otherwise of the German measure.

asked by whose authority the Civil Service Supply Association, Limited, are afforded special facilities for trading at Somerset House during business hours with the officials and clerks employed at Somerset House; and what are the terms and conditions upon which the Civil Service Supply Association, Limited, are given those advantages over other private traders?

I have nothing to add to my previous reply on the 4th inst.

Does not the right hon. Gentleman think that these officials might find it possible to do their shopping outside of business hours, and that the privilege of supplying so many customers on Government premises should not be given exclusively to one private trading concern?

I see no reason for departing from the practice already existing.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury if the Commissioners of National Education, Ireland, have been trying without success for seven years, as stated in their latest Report, to get the Treasury to give a grant for the purpose of establishing higher grade schools in Ireland; whether, during this same period, the grants from the Exchequer for secondary education in England, Scotland, and Wales have been more than doubled; and whether, seeing that Irish education is paralysed by this treatment, he will take immediate steps to vote a grant for higher education for Ireland?

The establishment of higher grade schools under the Commissioners of National Education has been postponed to more urgent educational demands.

asked the President of the Local Government Board if he has evidence that the immense shipments of Chinese pork now being made to this country all come from the Yangtse Kiang River Valley, as reported by the Consul at Shanghai was the case with the early and small shipments; if he has evidence that there is no plague or pestilence prevailing in or near any of the districts from which the pork now comes; and if he has received any recent reports from the Consul on the subject?

According to the information which I have received, the pigs are obtained from that part of the Yangtse Valley, from which most of the pigs have hitherto been derived. No plague has been reported from this part of China during the present epidemic. The most recent Consular report is, I think, that which was presented in August last.

Having regard to the fact that this pork comes from China, where the plague is raging, can the right hon. Gentleman get a further report from the Consul showing the district where this pork comes from?

I am willing to consider the question of the hon. Member, but I am in a position to say that we are hopeful of being able to send one of the Local Government Board doctors, who is at present in China, to the place where the pigs are bred.

Is there not foot-and-mouth disease in this district?

Not to my knowledge. It is only fair to state that there is no plague within 800 miles of the place where the pigs come from.

asked whether Mr. Thomas Miller, the vaccination officer for the Croydon Union, has stamped on the bottom of forms he has issued the statement that there are many deaths from small-pox in London; whether this was done with the cognisance and approval of the Local Government Board; and, if not, what steps will be taken to remind this officer of his duty?

I find that the vaccination officer has stamped some forms with the words "Small-pox in London: many deaths." This was not done with the cognisance or approval of the Local Government Board. I am informing the officer that his procedure was improper, and that the prescribed forms must not be tampered with in future.

Is it not the fact that nearly 50 per cent. of unvaccinated cases of small-pox in London proved fatal?

asked whether Dr. White, the medical officer of health for the district, had officially estimated that there are now 3,500 unvaccinated children in the Newport Pagnell and Potterspury unions out of a total population of 43,000, and that there is only accommodation for forty cases in the event of an outbreak of smallpox in the district; whether he is aware that Dr. Benson, the medical officer of health for a neighbouring district, has officially reported that many parents who are not really opposed to vaccination per se obtain exemption certificates, and that this creates a probable danger; and whether he proposes to take any steps to remedy the state of affairs which is disclosed?

I am aware of the statements made by the two doctors mentioned but do not consider it necessary to take action in the matter at the present time.

asked whether the President of the Local Government Board is aware that an inquest was held at Hanley, on 23rd March, on a child named Pearson, who had died from cardiac failure, following the administration of an anæsthetic for an operation rendered necessary through the effects of vaccination; whether the lymph with which the vaccination was performed was supplied by the Government; has any investigation into the case been conducted by a medical representative of the Local Government Board; and, if so, is a copy of his report available for inspection by Members of Parliament?

I had already instructed one of my inspectors to investigate this case. As soon as I receive his report I will communicate with my hon. Friend.

asked whether the right hon. Gentleman's attention has been called to the fact that the chief Radical registration agent for South Oxfordshire, Mr. A. E. Cornish, has been appointed, and is acting, as a Census enumerator for the borough of Henley-on-Thames, and may thus be afforded the opportunity to acquire, at the public expense, valuable official information which may be used for party purposes in connection with the registration of Parliamentary voters; and whether, under the circumstances, he will take steps to prohibit the use of information so acquired, at Henley or elsewhere, for any other purposes than those authorised by the Census Act?

Under Section 12 (3) of the Census Act, 1910, it is provided that, if any person employed in taking the Census communicates, without lawful authority, any information acquired in the course of his employment he shall be guilty of a breach of official trust within the meaning of the Official Secrets Act, 1889. The attention of enumerators was specially drawn to this provision in the instructions which were issued to them before the taking of the Census.

May I ask whether the right hon. Gentleman thinks he is a proper person not to be exposed to these temptations?

If the hon. Member applies that all round I agree with him.

asked whether the President of the Local Government Board's attention had been called to the case of Harry Clark, of Viaduct Farm, Lexden, Essex, aged seventy-three, whose application for an old age pension has been refused on the alleged ground of his failure to work according to his ability; and whether, as Clark says he has worked on the farm during the last six years whenever there was work for him to do, he will have further inquiry made into the case?

The Local Government Board received an appeal in the case referred to. The pension officer reported to the Pension Committee that the claimant had failed to work according to his ability, opportunity, and need, for the maintenance of himself and those legally dependent on him, and the Pension Committee disallowed the claim on that ground. On investigation of the case the Board were unable to find any evidence which would justify them in reversing the decision of the Pension Committee, and they accordingly decided that the claimant was disentitled to a pension. On the information before me, I could not undertake to suggest a reopening of the case.

asked whether the right hon. Gentleman has received any further information from the Whiston Rural District Council with regard to the drainage of Bold; and if so, whether he can state when the drainage operations in question will be actually commenced?

I have received no further information since the letter of the 21st ultimo, of which the Noble Lord has already had a copy. I am not in a position to say when operations will be commenced.

Will the right hon. Gentleman make inquiry?

I have made several inquiries. I wish I had further power to compel local authorities of this description to hurry up their operations in connection with sanitary matters.

Will the right hon. Gentleman make use of the powers he already has?

I have done so in your case, but yours was a very bad one.

asked if he is aware that eighty-six children died in the borough of Popular suffering from measles during the four weeks ending 1st April; that the parish of Bromley alone accounted for forty-five of these deaths, while in Hampstead only three children died of this disease; that the general death rate of Hampstead and Bromley is. 7.9 per 1,000 living and 25.5 per 1,000 living, respectively; if he is aware that in the parish of Bromley a number of wage earners are casual labourers and permanently under-employed; and if, under these circumstances, he proposes to take any steps to prevent further sickness and death in this and other similar districts, either through the Central (Unemployed) Body or any other way?

The figures given as to the deaths from measles in the boroughs of Poplar and Hampstead during the four weeks ending 1st April are, I understand, correct. The number of deaths in the parish of Bromley was, I am informed, forty-one. In this parish the mortality from measles was low in 1910, and a considerable increase in the mortality was according to experience to be anticipated this year. The figures given by the hon. Member as the annual death rates are, I understand, based on the returns for one month. It is, of course, misleading to attempt to measure the vital conditions of a district by statistics relating to a few weeks during an epidemic period. I am quite aware that the death rates of localities vary in consequence of many causes, one of the most important being the social condition of the inhabitants, and also that the social condition is dependent, amongst other things, upon the amount of employment available. The matter dealt with in the close of the hon. Member's question is engaging the attention of the Government.

Have any steps been taken to make measles a notifiable disease?

Yes; steps have been taken during the last month. Frequent conferences have been held between the Local Government Board, the Board of Education and County Council and Borough Council Medical Officers, and the steps taken are, in the judgment of all concerned, better than if measles were made compulsorily notifiable.

asked whether, in view of the opinions of Doctors Hamill and Montier-Williams in their recently issued reports to the Board as to the deleterious effects upon the health of the community of the presence of gypsum or calcium sulphate in baking powders used to give lightness to bread and cakes, and of the use of nitrous oxide in the bleaching of flour, the President of the Local Government Board will forthwith introduce legislation rendering such processes illegal?

asked whether the right hon. Gentleman has considered the reports of Dr. J. M. Hamill and Dr. G. W. Monier-Williams, with regard to the bleaching of flour and its adulteration by the introduction of deleterious substances; and whether, having regard to the wide-spead adoption of these practices and the consequent loss and risk to the consumers, he will state what action he proposes to take to check methods of treating flour which have been shown to be disadvantageous to the public?

asked the President of the Local Government Board what steps, if any, he proposes to take in order to secure that flour in its most nutritive form shall be supplied to the public, in accordance with the recommendations contained in the reports recently issued by his Department;

The matter is receiving my attention, but my inspectors' reports have only been issued within the last few days, and I think some little time must be allowed for their consideration.

Will the right hon. Gentleman direct the attention of the Board of Trade and the Board of Agriculture to the powers which they possess under the Bread Act of 1836, and also the Merchandise Marks Act, and urge upon them the necessity of using those powers

I will send to the Departments referred to the two reports, and communicate to them the view of the hon. Member.

May I point out that the Board of Trade and the Board of Agriculture have power under the Bread Act of 1836 to deal with the matter at once?

I will communicate that fact to the Departments.

Will the right hon. Gentleman consider the advisability of appointing a Departmental Committee with a view to applying the existing laws, and to outlining new legislation?

In view of the very considerable alarm caused by the publication of those reports, will the right hon. Gentleman take action as soon as possible in this matter?

I think the alarm has been exaggerated, but as we happen to have in preparation a third report on the nutritive value of various kinds of flour, I think we must wait.

asked the Prime Minister if he can now give to the House the names of the financial experts and other well qualified persons, including in the number representatives of different sections of Irish opinion, whom the Cabinet have taken into consultation in connection with the financial relations between Great Britain and Ireland; will those gentlemen sit with the Committee of the Cabinet or as a separate departmental committee; will they take evidence and make a formal Report; if so, will the nature of the evidence be made public, and for what period of time is it estimated that their investigation will last; will they proceed on the basis of the Report of the Childers Royal Commission of 1894; and, if not, upon what other basis. May I point out that the first part of this question has already been anticipated, but I would like to ask the Prime Minister whether he regards the list of names which has been published, and in which so far as I know there is not a single Irish layman, as a fulfilment of his promise to include representative Irishmen of different sections of Irish opinion?

Yes, Sir, I do.

May I ask the right hon. Gentleman whether, as there is a Roman Catholic Bishop on this Committee, he will add some member in whom the minority in Ireland have some confidence.

May I ask the right hon. Gentleman whether he will kindly reply to the last part of my question, which is whether the Government have thrown to the winds the Report of the Childers Commission which was appointed by a Liberal Government themselves, or whether, if the Committee is not to proceed upon that basis, upon what basis are they going to proceed?

As regards the point which is raised, I would refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Chief Secretary on 6th April to the hon. Member for North Westmeath.

May I ask whether the House is to receive no further information as to the proceedings of this Star Chamber Tribunal?

May I ask the right hon. Gentleman if it is the fixed intention of the Government that the minority in Ireland are to have no representation on this Committee?

There is no minority in Ireland.

asked the Prime Minister if he would consider the advisability of a Select Committee of this House being appointed to inquire into the origin of E Memorandum No. 21, Board of Education, and the appointment of His Majesty's inspectors and junior inspectors of schools?

I am not aware of any sufficient ground for the appointment of such a committee as my hon. Friend suggests.

asked the Prime Minister whether he was aware that the Principals of the Universities of Birmingham, Bristol, Liverpool, and Manchester receive salaries of £2,000 a year; by what authority it has been made a condition of the increased grant to the Scottish Universities that the scale of salaries recommended by Lord Elgin's Committee should be reduced in the case of the Universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow to £1,600 a year and in the case of Aberdeen and St. Andrews to £1,200 a year; and whether this proposal to interfere with the management by the University authorities of their finances has the sanction of the Government?

rose to reply—

On a point of Order, this is an appeal from the Treasury to the Prime Minister, who is Lord Rector of one of the Universities concerned, and I appeal to him for an answer.

That is the reason why I should not answer it.

I have no official information as to the salaries of the Principals of the English Universities referred to. I beg to refer the hon. Member to my reply of the 27th March to his question on the subject of the additional grant to Scottish Universities. No condition was made that the salaries should be reduced; and the action of the Treasury was confined to deciding how much of the new grant should be allocated to an augmentation of the salaries.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that no such rights of interference is assumed by the Treasury with regard to any English University, or by the Education Department in the fixing of the salary of a single teacher in an elementary school, and if the Treasury, in spite of that, are determined to fix the salaries of the Principals of these ancient Scottish Universities?

They did not fix the salaries. They have given an extra grant this year of £31,000, and said that so much of that extra grant shall be given to Principals in augmentation of existing salaries.

Is it not the case that the Treasury have set aside the decision of Lord Elgin's Committee appointed by themselves with regard to these salaries and did interfere with regard to the salaries of officers of those Universities?

They have interfered to the extent of giving a further sum in augmentation of the salaries.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the Principals of Welsh Universities would regard those salaries as wealth beyond the dreams of avarice?

asked the Prime Minister if he is aware that, according to the latest Board of Trade report on the subject of work and wages, it is not the custom for workpeople employed in the great staple industries to be paid wages for public or other holidays; is he also aware that the fixing of Thursday and Friday, 22nd and 23rd June, as public holidays will in many cases mean that the 24th will also be taken as a holiday, thus entailing the loss of three days' wages; and whether, under these circumstances, he will consider what steps can be taken by legislation, or otherwise, to mitigate the hardship such loss of wages will inflict on many thousands of poor families?

I can add nothing to the answer that I gave to the hon. Member in reply to a similar question on 8th March.

Seeing the amount of suffering involved in these enforced holidays, will the right hon. Gentleman give the House an opportunity of discussing the matter before the Coronation?

I have expressed the hope and belief that employers would take all these matters into consideration.

Is the right hon. Gentleman not aware that official reports in the Library state emphatically that it is not the custom of employers to take these matters into consideration at all, and that the workers will have to lose three days' pay; and whether he thinks that is a very excellent method by which to promote loyalty to the Crown in this country?

asked the Prime Minister whether, having regard to Viscount Haldane's eminence as a lawyer and the fact of his having been for many years a leader at the bar, he will say if any means exist of making use of his services to assist the Lords of Appeal, although he has not held judicial office; and, if so, whether action will be taken in that direction?

This matter is under consideration, and I have every reason to hope that a means will be found for taking advantage of the service which my Noble Friend is willing to offer in dealing with judicial matters.

May I ask if that will involve the resignation on the part of the learned and Noble Viscount of his post in the Government?

No.

Will the Noble Viscount be able to take part in Debates on controversial matters in the House of Lords?

Yes.

asked the Prime Minister whether, in view of the action of the Corporation of Dublin in refusing to present a loyal address to the Crown on the occasion of the Royal visit to Dublin, he will advise His Majesty to hold the intended levies and court in the City of Belfast?

Before the right hon. Gentleman replies, may I ask whether he is aware that, before the marriage of the Queen of Spain, a clergyman, speaking in a Belfast Orange Hall, said if the marriage took place he would "make the Throne rock"?

That has nothing to do with the question on the Paper.

It has to do with it in this respect, that the suggestion in the question is—

The question of what some clergyman said before a marriage took place has nothing to do with the question on the Paper.

May I respectfully point out—

The hon. Member may point out to me as long as he likes, but nothing he can say will convince me that his question has any relevance to the question on the Paper.

In view of the fact that this question suggests that exceptional loyalty is to be found in the City of Belfast, am I not entitled to ask whether a speech has been delivered there in which a clergyman threatens to make the Throne rock?

That has nothing to do with the question on the Paper.

The answer is in the negative.