asked the Secretary to the Treasury what has been the amount of public expenditure up to the present date on account of the Royal Commission on Tuberculosis?

The expenditure to date amounts to £75,832; less receipts for sale of Blue Books, £275; net expenditure, £75,557.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the result of his inquiries as to the appeal made by Mr. D. O'Carroll, pensions officer at Castlecomer, to the old age pensioners of his district for subscriptions to the funds of the Irish Parliamentary party, on the ground that it was to them they were indebted for the Old Age Pensions Act; and whether steps will be taken to compel this gentleman to refund the subscriptions extorted by his appeal?

Mr. O'Carroll is not a pension officer, but is clerk to the local pension committee. He is appointed as such by the committee, and is not a Civil servant.

asked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland if his attention had been drawn to the fact that it has been publicly boasted by a Member of this House that the Estates Commissioners, in allocating the untenanted lands of Athlacca, county Limerick, acted upon the principle that no man who had borne the standard of the senior Member for the city of Cork should get a perch of land; what observations the Estates Commissioners have to make upon this statement; and will any correspondence between the hon. Member who made it and the Estates Commissioners, or any individual member of that body, on the subject of the Athlacca or other untenanted lands be communicated to the House?

The attention of my right hon. Friend has not been called to the statement referred to. The Estates Commissioners have no knowledge of the matters alluded to in the question, and the allegations referred to, if made, are absolutely unfounded.

asked the Chief Secretary if it is intended to appoint Mr. Williamson, B.L., who was Liberal candidate for North Armagh in 1886 and for East Down in 1910, revising barrister for the city of Cork?

No arrangements have been as yet under consideration in respect of the appointment of assistant revising barristers for the present year.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland if the Registered Accountants Bill now before Parliament will affect the interests of Irish county officials who now audit the accounts of various local bodies and companies; and, if so, if he will take the necessary steps to have the interests of these officials safeguarded under this Bill?

As my right hon. Friend has already stated, in reply to the hon. Member's question of 8th May, the Bill would not appear to have the effect of prejudicing the interests of Irish county officials as such.

asked why possession of the house on the holding at Castlecaldwell, county Fermanagh, given by the Estates Commissioners to Rebecca Armstrong, an evicted tenant, is withheld; and will the Estates Commissioners get possession from a contractor named Couthers, who retains possession, and give over the house to Mrs. Armstrong and, if valid, discharge the claim of Cauthers for the building of the house out of the money grant made to Mrs. Armstrong by the Commissioners, as the delay in getting possession is a serious loss to Mrs. Armstrong?

The Estates Commissioners are informed that possession of this house was obtained by their representative on 3rd July and the key forwarded to the tenant on 5th July.

asked the hon. Member for Southampton, as representing the First Commissioner of Works, whether he is aware that sixteen painters working at the Horse Guards branch of the Office of Works have not yet received their pay in compensation for loss of time owing to the Coronation, although the other men employed on the same work were duly compensated; and whether he will direct the necessary compensation to be paid in compliance with the Prime Minister's promise?

The men in the direct employ of the Office of Works at the Horse Guards, and those men on the contractors' list who were engaged on day-work for the Department, have been paid for the days in question, according to my answer to the hon. Member for Deptford on the 19th of June.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he can give particulars of the total value of the exports to and of the imports from Morocco in the case of the three countries, Great Britain, France, and Germany, in each of the last three years?

submitted the following statement showing the particulars asked for by the hon. Member as far as they are available:—

asked the Postmaster-General whether he has been able to reconsider his decision as to charging porterage on telegrams delivered from a neighbouring post office, under the new system of weekly half-holidays, to persons who live within the free delivery radius on other days?

I have decided that the charges for additional porterage for the delivery of telegrams from a more distant office when the usual delivery office is closed for a weekly half-holiday should cease forthwith, and I hope this change will lead local authorities to acquiesce more readily in the grant of half-holidays to sub-postmasters in rural districts.

asked the Postmaster-General if he will state by whose authority a number of sorters in the London postal service, whose incomes of less than £160 are not liable to Income Tax, have had deductions made from their wages for the payment of that tax; further, is he aware that no action has been taken by the postal authorities in response to the protests of the men concerned?

Sorters in the London postal service in receipt of incomes of less than £160 per annum, in common with all other civil servants, may be assessed by the Departmental Assessors of Income Tax under Schedule E of the Income Tax Acts, either because they have failed to make the statutory return of their income or because their earnings in respect of extra duty bring their official emoluments over the limit of £160. In all cases of protest action is taken by the assessors of Income Tax, and replies are furnished as soon as the cases have been investigated.

asked the Postmaster-General if he is aware that on Wednesday, 28th June, owing to the action of the local controller, a lady telegraphist at Dublin broke down and had to leave the instrument room in a hysterical state; is he aware that the lady so treated was discharging a most difficult duty in charge of a concentrator switch; and will he say what steps he proposes to take to prevent such conduct of controlling officers towards subordinates?

The hon. Member has been misinformed. The condition of the lady telegraphist to whom he refers was due to domestic trouble, and the only action taken by the Controller was to arrange for her to be assisted in her duty. There is no basis whatever for the charge which is made in the question.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Agriculture whether the veterinary experts of the Board are able to suggest any, and, if so, what, means of either preventing or curing the internal parasitic disease of sheep and lambs caused by the strongyle worm known as haemonchus contortus?

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him to a similar question on Wednesday last.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the provisions of the Shops Bill in any way affect the operation of the Welsh Sunday Closing Act?

I am advised that the operation of the Welsh Sunday Closing Act will in no way be affected by the Shops Bill; and I would refer my hon. Friend to the provision at the end of Clause 4 of the Bill that nothing in that section shall be construed as authorising any shop to be kept open at any time at which under any other enactment for the time being in force it is required to be closed.