asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether in the scheme of State insurance he can provide medical assistance for old folks now in receipt of old age pensions at a nominal charge, and thereby confer a boon upon those whose limited means prevent them having the medical assistance they require?

:The hon. Member's suggestion would impose a serious charge on the Exchequer, and, moreover, it would not be consistent with the contributory character at a nominal charge.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has received any representations or deputations from the insurance companies with regard to the National Insurance Bill; if so, whether the same were on behalf of the whole of the insurance companies or any particular company; and, if the latter, whether he can give the names of the societies whom he has seen or received representations from?

I have received many representations and seen several deputations from industrial insurance companies. I do not think any useful object would be served by compiling particulars of the bodies with which I have been in communication in connection with the Bill.

asked the under-Secretary of State for War if he will state for each of the years 1880, 1885, 1890, 1895, 1900, 1905, and 1910 the aggregate of the weekly wages paid at Woolwich Arsenal, excluding boys' wages, the number of men employed, and their average earnings?

supplied the statement of numbers of men employed and wages paid in Ordnance factories, Woolwich, in the financial years 1880–1, 1885–6, 1890–1, 1895–6, 1900–1, 1905–6, and 1910–11.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that the British Red Cross Special Training Manual, which was promised in October, 1909, is not yet published, and will he say when it will be published; and whether he is aware that its non-publication is causing dissatisfaction amongst voluntary aid detachments which are formed, besides preventing others from forming?

This manual is not a War Office manual, but is being published under arrangements made by the British Red Cross Society. I understand that steps are being taken to expedite the publication.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether any protest has been received from the representatives of the first class examining officers of Customs, with reference to the suggestions contained in the evidence of the Chairman of the Board of Customs and Excise; and whether it is intended to include these officers in the supervising grade, seeing that they have already passed an examination for promotion, declared by the Board to be analagous to, that in force for promotion to supervisorships of Excise?

I assume that the hon. Member refers to the evidence given before the Committee on Customs and Excise Amalgamation of which I am chairman. That evidence has not yet been published and no protest of the nature referred to could therefore have been received. I am unable to make any statement on the subject of the latter part of the question in advance of the report of the committee.

asked the Home Secretary if he can state the number and names of the compensation authorities in England and Wales who, in 1910 and 1911, imposed less than the maximum charges for compensation levy set forth in Schedule 3, Part I., of the Licensing (Consolidation) Act, 1910, and the proportion of the maximum charge imposed in each case?

Twenty-two compensation authorities imposed charges on the licensed premises in their areas at less than the maximum rate in the year 1910, and sixty-one in the year 1911. Their names are set out below:—

asked the Prime Minister if his attention has been directed to the fact that German producers already possess the advantage of cheaper railway rates than are available here; that Germany is now entering upon a vigorous policy of railway electrification; and that electrification will give, in addition to still lower railway rates, cheap supplies of light, heat, and power for industrial and social purposes; and if, in view of the increasing handicap which British producers and traders will soon suffer in these respects, he can say whether the question of railway nationalisation is engaging the attention of His Majesty's Government?

I understand that railway rates are to some extent lower in Germany than in this country, but it difficult to make an effective comparison. Steps are, I believe, being taken to equip portions of the German railways for electrical traction, but a cheap supply of electrical power for other industries does not necessarily depend on the electrical equipment of railways. I am unable to promise legislation with a view to railway nationalisation.

asked the Prime Minister whether, in view of the desirability of the various distress committees giving timely consideration to schemes of work for next season, he can state whether it is the intention of the Government to include the Unemployed Workmen Act, 1905, in the Expiring Laws Continuance Bill this Session?

The answer is in the affirmative.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he will furnish the hon. Member for the Christchurch Division with a copy of the original letter of the Stores Department, General Post Office, Bedford Street, London, W.C., of the 10th August, 1910, to the C. O. Burns Company, New York, Rue St. Florentine, Paris, with regard to the contract for home safes?

It is contrary to practice to furnish copies of letters of this character. Any departure from this practice would give rise to difficulty.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Agri- culture if he is aware that quantities of Argentine chilled and frozen meat imported into this country are sold by retail butchers as home-fed meat; if he is also aware that in the Glasgow area, out of about one thousand butchers' shops, at least one-third do not sell 5 per cent. of home-fed meat, while, with the exception of about 100, all sell chilled and frozen foreign meat; and whether the Board have power to insist that such imported meat shall not be described as home-fed meat?

The Board are empowered to institute proceedings in the class of cases referred to in the Merchandise Marks (Prosecutions) Act, 1894, where a false trade description is applied to meat, but in practice offences are almost impossible to prove owing to the difficulty of establishing the actual country of origin to which a description has been applied. The Board are anxious, however, to obtain particulars of specific cases in which there is reason to suspect that the law has been broken, and I shall be glad if the hon. Member would supply me with any information which he may have received on the subject.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he is now in a position to state what arrangements, if any, have been made with reference to the renewal of the direct service between England and Jamaica; and whether the Government are prepared to continue to pay their portion of the subsidy?

I regret that I am not in a position to make any statement on the subject at present.