asked the Chancellor whether it is his intention that at least one of the women members of the advisory committee to the Insurance Commissioners shall be a registered midwife?

The answer is in the affirmative.

asked whether fishermen employed under a contract of service, who are not paid a weekly wage, but receive as remuneration a share of the catch, will be compulsory contributors under the National Insurance Bill; if so, how, and at what period, will the contributions of the employer and employed be made; and, if the voyage results in a loss or no profit, how will the contribution of the employed be made, as there will be no wage from which it can be deducted?

My right hon. Friend is giving further consideration to this point.

asked to what extent the Treasury contribution, under the National Insurance Bill, is affected in the case of Irish contributors by the amended scale of contributions now proposed for Ireland?

The Treasury Grant is in no way affected or diminished.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he can state the difference, if any, to the original estimated cost of the National Insurance Bill, in consequence of Amendments made to it, up to the present time?

I am unable to give a revised estimate at the moment, but I will consult the actuaries. It would, I think, be more satisfactory to wait until the Bill has passed Committee, and deal with it as a whole in the form in which it emerges.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether any proposal in the Insurance Bill will be the means of relieving any employer from payment of compensation to his employés under the Workmen's Compensation Acts or the Employers' Liability Act; whether the Insurance Bill provides that a workman shall not receive both compensation under these Acts and sickness benefit at the same time; and whether any expression of opinion on the result of this provision has been made by the actuaries advising either friendly societies or trade unions?

The Insurance Bill does not relieve employers from any liability under the Workmen's Compensation Acts or the Employers' Liability Act; neither does it prohibit a workman from receiving both compensation from his employer and sickness benefit from his society, if he has contracted to pay for it. It does prohibit a workman from receiving benefit in return for his contribution under the Bill in cases of accident, where the amount of the compensation is more than the benefit. This prohibition was inserted in accordance with the advice of the eminent actuaries employed by the Government, and their advice has been endorsed by actuaries advising both trade unions and friendly societies and by very many other competent persons, and it is in accordance with the principle of equality upon which the Bill proceeds, for it would be unjust when all trades pay the same contribution to pay a greater amount in benefit to those trades in which accidents are most frequent.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his attention has been drawn to the burden of contribution in relation to profit that will, under the Insurance Bill, fall on laundry proprietors on account of the number of persons whom they employ in relation to the small profits they make; and whether he would consider the advisability of giving a rebate in Income Tax to all those employers whose annual contributions under the Bill exceed 50 per cent. of the amount assessed to them for Income Tax?

I do not quite understand the nature of the rebate that my hon. Friend means to suggest. My right hon. Friend has already stated that, although he cannot of course pronounce upon the interpretation of the Income Tax Acts, he knows no reason to suppose that the employers' contributions under the Bill will not be a deductable expense in arriving at his income for the purposes of Income Tax.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if it is the intention of the National Insurance Bill in its application to Ireland to secure that women shall be included amongst the Commissioners and on the advisory committees and on the local health committees?

Under an Amendment tabled by my right hon. Friend yesterday, women will be represented on local health Committees in Ireland. As regards the other points, my right hon. Friend would prefer to await the consideration in Committee of Clause 59 before making any definite statement.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether fishermen who receive a share of profits and no wage, and those who receive a wage as well as share profits, respectively, will be included within the compulsory provisions of the Insurance Bill?

Under the Bill as it stands, if a contract of service exists the fisherman will be compulsorily insured, but my right hon. Friend is giving further consideration to the case of share fishermen.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether employed contributors between the ages of sixty-five and seventy, who it is proposed shall have the assistance of their employers' contributions, 3d. weekly, and 2d. from the State (see White Paper, Cd. 5885, page 13), will be required themselves to contribute 4d. weekly?

Yes, Sir, under the Amendment tabled by my right hon. Friend on Monday the same contributions will be payable as in the case of other employed contributors.

asked whether a physician or surgeon in receipt of a salary on account of his services to a hospital of £50 a year, but whose professional income exceeds £1,000 a year, comes under the compulsory insurance Clauses of the National Insurance Bill?

The answer is in the negative.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in view of the fact that of the 36,000 copies of Form IV. issued in Ireland more than half have not been even partially filled up, he will say what steps have been taken to enforce the penalty of £50 for non-compliance with such demands for information within thirty days, laid down in the Finance Act, 1910?

No case has yet arisen in which it has been considered necessary to take steps to enforce the penalty referred to.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is now in a position to give the numbers and total salaries of the valuers and their staffs in the fourteen principal districts into which Great Britain has been divided for the assessment and collection of Land Value Duties, as on the 31st October; and whether he can give an estimate of the additional cost of stationery, postage, and rent of offices?

The numbers and total salaries of the Valuation Staff in England, Scotland, and Wales as on 31st October, 1911, were:—

—	Numbers	Salaries per annum.
		£
Valuers (permanent and temporary)	1,154	260,000
Technical Assistant (permanent and temporary)	18	2,880
Draughtsmen (temporary)	128	12,600
Clerks (temporary)	1,001	47,900
Total	2,301	323,380

It is not possible to give any close estimate of the cost of postage, but during the twelve months ended 30th September the cost did not amount to £22,000; this sum, which is above what will be the expenditure in future years and is estimated without deduction of Post Office profit, includes both the value of the postage stamps actually used and the postage value of the franked "official paid" envelopes supplied for land values purposes. The rent of valuers' offices on 31st October was approximately £13,500. The cost of stationery from 1st April to 31st October, 1911, was about £9,800.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the total cost incurred in connection with the issue of and collection of returns to two forms, recently declared by judgments of the High Court of Justice to have been unauthorised, commonly known as Forms IV. and VIII.?

No separate record has been kept of the cost incurred in connection with the particular forms, which have been the subject of judicial proceedings.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury (1) whether the figures in Table 153 of the Report of the Inland Revenue Commissioners for the year ended 31st March, 1911, showing the number of assessments under Schedule E of the Income Tax on the salaries, etc., of Government officials in England, Scotland, and Ireland, respectively, are compiled on uniform data; and what is included under the expression salaries, etc.; (2) If the Treasury will furnish the Return of which notice has been given on to-day's Paper relative to Officials in Irish Public Departments?

With the hon. Member's permission I will answer these two questions together. The figures in Table 153 of the Inland Revenue Report relate to assessments made in public or "quasi-public" departments by the Commissioners appointed to execute the Acts in relation to the offices, employments, or pensions proper to their respective Departments. The expression salaries, etc., includes salaries, annuities, pensions, stipends, fees, wages, and perquisities or profits, assessable under the rules for charging tax. The figures for the three countries are not strictly comparable, as the salaries, etc., of public officers, such as those in the Post Office, Customs and Excise, and Inland Revenue, though serving in Scotland or Ireland, are assessable in London. A further difference arises from the fact that the figures for Ireland include, inter alia, in addition to Government officials' salaries, the emoluments of a large number of clergymen of the Church of Ireland paid by the representative body of the church, to which nothing in the figures for England and Scotland corresponds. The hon. Member will find full details of the assessments under Schedule E in Ireland for the year 1908–9 in my predecessor's answer to a question by the hon. Member for Mid-Armagh on 22nd February last, which will give him, I think, all the information he desires. The figures for 1910–11 are not yet fully available, and I could not, therefore, grant him the Return which he asks for.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether he is aware that the taxi drivers in London have to wait about three months before they get paid back the rebate on motor petrol; and if he can see his way clear to have the rebate money paid when the taxi drivers present their bills showing the amount of spirit purchased?

I am informed that the facts are not as stated in the first paragraph of the question. As regards the majority of taxicab drivers in London, no inconvenience to the men can arise from the cause mentioned in the question, because arrangements for payment of the duty are made with the employers. Claims for repayment of duty cannot be immediately dealt with, as suggested in the second paragraph, owing to the necessity of verifying the fact that duty has been paid to the Crown, and also of rectifying errors that are frequently made in claiming rebate.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury, what was the amount of the duties on motor car licences collected by local authorities in Ireland in the past year under the provisions of the Finance Act, 1910; and what is the amount to be paid out to these authorities who are responsible for the collection of the duties?

The amount of duties on motor car licences collected in Ireland in the year ended 31st March, 1911, under the provisions of Section 89 (1) of the Finance (1909–10) Act, 1910, was £19,057 5s. 6d. £952 17s. 3d. has been issued from the Exchequer for payment to local authorities under Section 89 (2) of the same Act.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury what is the cause of the delay in bringing into operation in Ireland the additional facilities for presenting documents for adjudication for stamp duty as promised, and which long previously had been in force in Great Britain; and when the new arrangements will come into operation?

Special circumstances in connection with the necessary forms and staff have resulted in the bringing into operation of the system being somewhat longer delayed in Ireland than in Great Britain. The arrangements are now nearly complete.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury why the old age pension to which William Shears, of Basset, Eastleigh, No. 436, is entitled, as from the 6th April last, has not yet been paid to him?

I am making inquiry in this case and will inform the hon. Member of the result in due course.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether he will have further inquiry made into the claims for an old age pension made by Bridget Sullivan, Coomavoher, Mastergeehy, county Kerry; and can he state to what townland were her parents traced in the Census of 1841?

The Local Government Board cannot re-open the case of Bridget Sullivan, as they have already determined her claim. They cannot state in what townland her parents were traced in the Census Return, as the documents have been returned to the pension officer.

asked what is the reason an old age pension is not paid to Patrick Kelly, Colmanswell, county Limerick, seeing that his application was passed by the local sub-pension committee?

The pension officer appealed against the pension sub-committee's decision, and his appeal was upheld by the Local Government Board on the ground that there was no satisfactory evidence that Patrick Kelly had reached the statutory age.

asked the reason for the decision of the Local Government Board in disallowing the pension of 5s. per week granted by the Athlone sub-committee of the county Roscommon to Catherine D'Arcy, of Ballyglass, Dysart; whether, if the Board was satisfied as to the evidence of her age, it is aware that this woman has no means whatever except what she derives from eight acres of very inferior land, the Poor Law valuation of which is £7 5s.; and whether he can state how the Local Government Board can make out that she is in receipt of an income which would disqualify her for the pension?

Catherine D'Arcy's claim was disallowed on the ground that she was under the statutory age, and her means were not estimated by the Local Government Board. She was recorded as nine years old in the Census Return of 1851, and no satisfactory evidence was produced to rebut this. The Board, however, are prepared to hold, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, that she will attain the age of seventy on the 1st February, 1912.

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether his attention has been drawn to the case of George Rombach, of Aberaman, Aberdare, who has resided in Wales for sixty years, who served in the local Volunteer corps after taking the oath of allegiance to the late Queen Victoria, who has three sons now serving in the British Army, and who has been refused an old age pension because he has not taken out his papers of naturalisation; and whether, under the circumstances, he could direct that the pension be paid or make such provision as will enable the applicant to obtain his papers of naturalisation, for which in his present circumstances he is unable to pay?

My attention has been drawn to this case. I am not empowered to dispense with any of the statutory conditions for receipt of an old age pension, and as regards the suggestion that the applicant might be enabled to become naturalised now, I may point out that the condition as to nationality is that a person must have been a British subject for at least twenty years before he can receive a pension.

asked what has become of the formal proposal for purchase of the Aylmer estate, in county Kildare; has it been accepted or rejected; and how does the matter now stand?

The vendor has accepted the Estates Commissioners' proposal, subject to certain conditions which are under consideration.

asked whether the Estates Commissioners have noted the name of Bernard Dunne, evicted from the Radcliffe estate at Dromiskin, parish of Moynalty, county Meath, as a person to be provided for in the event of their acquiring untenanted land in the district; and whether, having regard to the fact that the estate of Colonel Fitzhenry Smythe is partly in the same parish, his claim will now be satisfied?

The holding formerly occupied by Dunne is now in the possession of a tenant who has purchased it under the Land Purchase Acts. Dunne has himself purchased a holding of ten acres under the Land Purchase Acts, and if the Commissioners acquire any untenanted land in its immediate neighbourhood they will consider whether he should get a parcel of it.

asked whether the estate of R. F. Thompson, Record No. EC 1265, county Galway, was sold to the tenants so long ago as 1904; was the estate vested in the Land Commission in the year 1910; has the landlord been paid the purchase money; and will he explain how it is that the tenants are still called upon to pay interest on the purchase money?

This estate, which is a congested one with a number of intermixed holdings, was originally the subject of direct sale proceedings, and purchase agreements were lodged in January, 1905. The Estates Commissioners refused to sanction the direct sale, and asked the vendor to sell the estate to them under Section 6 of the Irish Land Act, 1903, so as to enable them to re-arrange the holdings. The vendor consented, and the estate was vested in the Commissioners in February last, and the purchase money paid into the Bank of Ireland. The tenants have refused to agree to the Commissioners' scheme for the re-arrangement of the lands, and until they agree the resale of them to the tenants cannot be completed.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether he is aware that there are about fifty principal teachers of national schools in Ireland who have received paper promotion but have not received the additions to their salaries provided for their new grade; whether, under the rules of the Commissioners of National Education, thirty-six years' service is required to reach the highest grade; and, if so, what reason there is for the non-payment of the increased salaries?

I would refer the hon. Member to my reply to the question on this subject asked by the hon. Member for Mid-Armagh on 26th October. Teachers who have given highly efficient service can reach the highest grade in a much shorter time than that stated in the question.

asked whether the Chief Secretary is aware that the principal teacher of Abbeyside boys' national school, county Waterford, was on 1st April, 1910, promoted to the highest grade for efficient service; whether he is aware that rule 105 (a) of the Commissioners of National Education provides that teachers promoted to a higher grade shall receive the pay of the grade; whether he is aware that this teacher has not yet received his grade salary and that the arrears to 30th September last amount to £18; and whether he will call the attention of the Commissioners to the matter, with a view to the immediate payment of these arrears?

This teacher was promoted to the first division of the first grade from the 1st April, 1910, but he cannot at present receive the salary of this grade owing to the limiting numbers in the grade.

asked the number of places available during the past two years for girl candidates for the position of teachers under the National Board; the number of candidates who obtained first, second, and third division marks, and the number of each division called respectively; whether any, and, if so, how many, and for what reason were, first division candidates passed over, the amount per head paid to the training colleges for students, who are the heads of such colleges, and to whom are they responsible for the discharge of their duties; have these training colleges preparatory schools; the number of girls attending each; the amount charged per term; and if these girls get any preference?

The Commissioners of National Education inform me that the numbers of places available during the past two years for women candidates for the position of teacher under the National Board were, in 1909, 377; and, in 1910, 389. The numbers of women candidates for entrance to training colleges who passed the King's scholarships' examinations of 1910 and 1911 were, in 1910, first division, 503; second division, 715; and third division, 263; and, in 1911, first division, 156; second division, 658; and third division, 441. The numbers of the above candidates who were called were, in 1910, first division, 282; second division, 57; and third division, 4; and, in 1911, first division, 105; second division, 137; and third division, 3. Two hundred and twenty-one first division candates seem not to have been called in 1910, and 51 in 1911. The selection rests entirely, in the case of the colleges under local management, in the hands of the authorities of those colleges, and the Commissioners have no official information as to the reason for the non-selection of candidates. In the case of Marlborough Street Training College, which is under the Commissioners' own management, candidates who pass the King's Scholarship examination are chosen in order of merit. The amount of the grant to a training college for each woman student is £35 per annum. In addition, a bonus of £14 is paid for each woman who has completed two years' course of training, and has subsequently given two continuous years' satisfactory service as teacher. The principals of the training colleges are responsible to the managers of these colleges respectively. Each college has practising primary schools in connection, but the Commissioners have no statistics available that would enable them to answer this part of the question.

asked whether the traders of Navan have reason to complain of the transit facilities afforded by the controlling power of the canal between Drogheda and Navan; if the Chief Secretary will have an inquiry instituted as to whether any statutory conditions attached to the control have been fulfilled; and whether he will state the proper authority to which complaints should be made by aggrieved traders?

I have not heard of any complaints in this matter. An inquiry is unnecessary, inasmuch as aggrieved traders have a remedy under the Railway and Canal Traffic Act, 1888, by complaining to the Railway and Canal Commission.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether, in view of the official intimation, made on 1st November, 1911, that the engineer commanders were promised pay of 24s. a day on promotion by Admiralty circular letter of December, 1902, he will state the number of engineer officers who have been promoted to engineer commanders since that date; the number who have received 24s. a day according to promise; and the number who have received only 18s. a day?

As regards the first part of the Noble Lord's question, my reply to him of the 1st November must be taken as a whole. I referred him to the replies given on the 9th March, the 8th and 18th May last, and also to the detailed memorandum on the matter sent in reply to the memorial to the Board which the Noble Lord and other dockyard Members signed on June 27th last. From these it is clear that the promise given in December, 1902, had reference only to those engineer lieutenants who were advanced to the rank of engineer commander under the regulations then in force, viz., to those advanced after eight years on the senior list. It did not apply to officers whose promotion was accelerated by regulations issued after that date, and it was clearly stated at the time that this accelerated promotion would not carry with it any benefit as regards full pay. The number of officers who have been promoted to the rank of engineer commander since the scheme came into operation, viz., 1st April, 1903, is 280. Of this number seventeen officers were paid at the rate of 24s. a day from the date of promotion, the remainder receiving either 20s. or 18s. a day.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether there have been many cases of blood-poisoning at Osborne College; and, if so, whether these cases have occurred through the foulness of the River Medina owing to the sewers running into it near the Kingston workshops?

There have been only two cases among Cadets at Osborne College which could be described as "blood-poisoning" since the college was opened in 1903. There is no evidence to connect either with the condition of the River Medina.