asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether his attention has been called to the remarks of His Honour Judge Craig, in the Recorder's Court, Belfast, on 17th November, with reference to the need for the establishment in that city of a court of conscience or a special court to deal with small debt claims; and, if so, whether he proposes to take any action in the matter?

My attention has been called to the remark of the learned Recorder of the City of Belfast in which he referred to the court of conscience in Dublin, and suggested the establishment of a similar court in Belfast. The court of conscience in Dublin is a very ancient court deriving its original jurisdiction from immemorial usage which has been recognised by Statute. There never has been any such court in Belfast, and I doubt the necessity for establishing one (even if it were legally possible) having regard to the Small Debts Act, 1859, which gives jurisdiction to Justices at Petty Sessions in causes for the recovery of debts under the value of £2.

asked the Chief Secretary whether he is aware that the members of the Clogheen District Council have been urging the Local Government Board to hold an inquiry into the scheme under the Labourers Acts lodged 4th July; and, if he can say whether it will be held at an early date?

The facts are as stated, but the Local Government Board are not in a position to say when an inquiry can be ordered. The Board consider that in dealing with new schemes they must have due regard to the extent to which the Labourers Acts have already been put into operation by the councils which are applying for authority to provide additional labourers cottages. Two hundred and seventeen cottages have already been authorised in this district, the total number of agricultural labourers and herdsmen in the district being 522.

asked the Chief Secretary whether he will advise the Local Government Board to adopt the system suggested for the guidance of pension officers of having a couple of expert commissioners appointed to inquire into a few test cases in each county, to form a practical basis of estimate of the cost of maintenance of persons applying for old age pensions, and substitute it for the present rule-of-thumb methods of calculation?

No useful object could be served by attempting to decide the means of claimants on the basis of test cases. No two cases are the same, and every appeal must be decided on its own merits. Where sufficient information is unobtainable by correspondence, it is always open to the Local Government Board to send an inspector to visit the applicant and make further inquiries, and this is done in hundreds of cases.

asked the Chief Secretary whether district inspectors of the Royal Irish Constabulary have been appointed county secretaries for a paper called the "Royal Irish Constabulary Magazine"; whether members of the Royal Irish Constabulary force who may refuse to contribute to the purchase of this journal will be marked men as far as promotion is concerned, in view of the fact that the district inspectors have the privilege of recommendation for promotion?

The Inspector-General informs me that in each county a district inspector has volunteered to act as honorary secretary in connection with this magazine. The reply to the second paragraph of the question is in the negative.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland if he can state whether the Estates Commissioners have as yet had an inspection made of the lands of Grange, being part of the Hornidge estate, near Streamstown, county Westmeath, which the landlord is anxious to sell to them for the purpose of division among the surrounding people?

The Estates Commissioners inform me that the Papers in this case have been referred to an inspector to make a preliminary inspection which will be done as soon as his other engagements permit.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War if he will say for how long it is proposed that officers who have obtained certificates will be attached to the Army Air Battalion for instruction in military aviation?

No fixed time can be stated at present.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that officers of the Air Battalion making cross-country flights are put to expense which, under existing arrangements, they have to meet out of their own pockets; whether officers who made cross-country flights early in the summer have not yet been reimbursed with their expenses; and whether he will take steps to prevent this branch of practical aviation work from being restricted to officers who possess large private means?

It is not known to what cross-country flights the question refers. It is not proposed to reimburse officers for flights made on their own initiative and independent of any official instructions.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War what is the annual cost of training each individual yeoman, including pay, outfit, and cost of mounting; and if he will state the strength of the Yeomanry and the total cost of training for the year 1911?

The annual cost per head of the Yeomanry averaged over all ranks is about £18 10s. The strength of the Yeomanry on the 1st October was 24,095. There are no records available to show the actual expenditure, but the estimated expenditure is approximately £445,000.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether a non-commissioned officer who receives a commission after ten years' service in the ranks is compelled to lose the Territorial efficiency medal which he would have received in two years' time had he remained in the ranks; whether ten years' rank service is only counted as five towards the twenty years' commission service which must be put in to qualify for the Territorial decoration; and, if so, whether the Secretary of State would consider the advisability of granting the medal to all officers who have served in the ranks on completion of twelve years' service, and of allowing the medal to be exchanged for the Territorial decoration when the necessary terms and conditions have been fulfilled?

The reply to the first and second parts of the question is in the affirmative. As regards the last part of the question, it is not considered desirable to grant the efficiency medal to officers.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War if he will state the number of lieutenants and second lieutenants in the Royal Garrison Artillery; how many of these officers have over ten years' service; whether he is aware that dissatisfaction exists amongst the subaltern officers of the regiment owing to me slowness of promotion; and what steps he is taking to accelerate promotion in the regiment?

There are 514 lieutenants and second lieutenants in the Royal Garrison Artillery and 176 lieutenants have over ten years' service. The question of promotion in this branch is now under consideration, but I am not at present able to make any statement on the subject.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he can state the proportion of successful inoculations in the case of revaccination of soldiers as compared with that of primary cases in the same class according to the latest statistics available; whether he can state the number per 1,000 of successful inoculations of revaccinated children according to the latest statistics of his Department; and whether any medical comment in the circumstances is available?

The figures of successful results for the year 1910 for the forces at home and abroad were as follows:—

		Soldiers.			Children.
Revaccination	…	87.4	…	…	73.4
Primary vaccination	…	90.2	…	…	86.6

These figures show an improvement of 12 per cent. in revaccination over the previous year in the case of soldiers, and of 1 per cent. in the case of children.

asked the Postmaster-General whether his attention has been called to the duplication of supervision of the male minor staff in the Returned Letter Office; and, if so, whether he will consider the advisability of abolishing this system, and instead make promotions to the higher supervisory appointments from men who have risen from the ranks, similar to the practice prevailing in the London postal service?

The organisation of the Returned Letter Office has recently been under consideration, and I hope soon to be in a position to revise the arrangements generally, and to place the supervision upon a satisfactory footing.

asked the Postmaster-General whether any officer from the National Telephone Company, upon transfer to the General Post Office, will be drafted into the grade of assistant clerks, in view of the fact that assistant clerks are servants of the Treasury; if so, whether the seniority of such clerks will date from the issue to them of Civil Service certificates as assistant clerks; and whether the position and prospects of assistant clerks at present employed in the engineering departments of the General Post Office will be adversely affected by such procedure?

If the hon. Member will be so good as to consult the Memorandum circulated in connection with Part II. of the Telephone Transfer Bill, he will observe that "transferred officers will as far as possible be placed in the same classes as Post Office servants doing similar work." Assistant clerks serving in the Post Office are Post Office servants, and transferred officers doing similar work will therefore be placed on the class of assistant clerks. It is also stated in the Memorandum that "service with the company will be regarded as of the same value as service on corresponding duties in the Post Office for the purpose of seniority, annual leave, and sick pay." It will be my earnest endeavour so to arrange the staff questions arising out of the telephone transfer as to cause the minimum of hardship to all concerned; but it is impossible for me to give an undertaking as to the prospects of individuals.

asked the hon. Member for Southampton, as representing the First Commissioner of Works, if he is aware that there are a number of professional men engaged in the Office of Works who are termed architectural assistants and who possess certificates of technical efficiency; that some of them are members of the Royal Institute of Architects, Surveyors' Institute, and allied societies; that these men have been employed for many years by the Board of Works but are still not established; and will he consider their claims to be placed on the established list?

The answer to the four parts of the hon. Member's question is in the affirmative. With regard, however, to the last section, the First Commissioner is not at all sure that there is any general desire on the part of those gentlemen, who might be considered eligible, to be placed on the established list, with the consequent sacrifice of income which would be demanded by the Regulations.