asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether, in view of the interest taken in the National Insurance Bill, he will see his way to have the Debates of the various stages of the Bill in this House, together with questions and answers in reference thereto, published in one volume for the convenience of Members?

The Stationery Office have no longer command over the type of the OFFICIAL REPOKT of Debates for the early part of this Session, and the expense involved in reprinting would not, in my opinion, be justified by the circumstances of the case, especially in view of the fact that the volumes of Debates are fully indexed.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he can state if the officers, inspectors, and servants to be appointed under Clause 89 of the National Insurance Bill will be pensionable?

Some of these officers will be pensionable, others probably not, but I cannot at present give details.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will undertake that no discrimination is shown to particular Government offices in inviting applications for positions under the National Insurance Act; if he is aware that a circular on this question has been issued to certain Departments only; and will he say why all Civil servants were not given the opportunity of making applications?

My right hon. Friend has asked me to answer this question for him. The letter referred to was sent by the Secretary of the Board of Trade in the first instance to the heads of the larger Government Departments, but it has now been sent to them all.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury on what date was the appointment of a head valuer, Finance Act, to the General Valuation Office (Ireland) sanctioned by the Treasury; on what date was this appointment actually made; what was the cause of the delay in making this appointment; and on what occasions has either the head valuer or the Dublin district valuer exercised any supervision or control over the clerical staff?

The Treasury letter sanctioning the appointment of a head valuer for the Finance (1909–10) Act, 1910, valuation is dated the 18th January, 1911, but it should be explained that this sanction was given in connection with the estimates for 1911–12, and was not intended to take effect immediately. The valuer was actually transferred from the permanent valuation staff on the 1st November, 1911. He and the district valuers exercise general control over the Finance Act valuation staff.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury what is the number of days constituting the ordinary annual leave of the clerical superintendent of the land values branch of the General Valuation Office, Dublin; on how many days in addition to his vacation has this clerk been absent on sick leave; on how many days coincident with the superintendent clerk's absence was the district valuer absent; whether he is aware that the valuer's room communicates in no way with the rooms in which the clerks are employed, and that disciplinary control of them by him is at any time impossible, and has, in practice, never been exercised; whether there is any precedent in a public office for a temporary second division clerk, with a salary of less than £78 per year, being placed in control for even the briefest period of a staff of such dimensions as the temporary clerical staff now employed by the Commissioner of Valuation (Ireland); and what steps does he propose to take to terminate the present state of disorganisation in the office referred to?

The clerk who superintends the clerical work of the land values branch of the General Valuation Office is entitled to forty-eight days' annual leave. Since 1st April last he has been absent ten days on sick leave, but I cannot say on how many days his absence has coincided with that of the district valuer. The temporary clerical staff are engaged on simple copying work, and I do not think it necessary to change the present system of leaving a second division clerk in charge during such time as the superintending clerk may be absent. There is no disorganisation in the office.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether the Commissioners of Woods and Forests have the power to dedicate land to the Forest of Dean and elsewhere on Crown property by way of gift for public utility purposes; and, if so, whether they will consider the desirability of such dedication in the case of sites required for public elementary schools and hospitals, especially in districts where the rates are high and the local population poor?

Under Section 45 of the Crown Lands Act, 1829, the Treasury formerly had power to make free grants of Crown lands for sites for churches, chapels, burial grounds, parsonage houses, and schools, but that Section was repealed by Section 5 of the Crown Lands Act, 1894, and no such power now exists. The Commissioners of Woods, however, have power, with the consent of the Treasury, to make, out of the income of the Land Revenues of the Crown, donations of money for religious or educational purposes connected with land under their management; or for the purposes of any hospital, infirmary, or cemetery.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether, in view of the representations already made to him and in view of the fact that a deputation representing Excise officers has already been received, he is prepared to grant an interview to surveyors of Customs, with reference to the proposals affecting their position under the recommendations of the Customs and Excise Amalgamation Committee; and whether he will meanwhile direct that no action arising from such proposals be taken until the statement of their case, recently forwarded to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, has been considered?

I will confer with my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer, but I regret that I cannot undertake to grant an interview.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury if he can state why Ellen Connolly, an old age pensioner, of Cormonlea, Donagh, Linaskea, county Fermanagh, whose pension book was exhausted a few weeks ago, has not received a new pension book from the local pension officers, and has been unable in consequence to obtain the pension awarded to her and drawn by her previously without objection since the Old Age Pensions Act came into operation?

I am making inquiries, and will communicate with the hon. Member in due course.

asked upon what grounds the Manorhamilton subcommittee of the county Leitrim pension committee have disallowed the claim to an old age pension made by John Rooney, of Stranea, Glencar, county Sligo; and whether, by the operation of the amending Old Age Pensions Act, Rooney's disqualification arising out of his conviction in September, 1901, for a trivial offence is removed?

I will make inquiries and communicate with the hon. Member in due course.

asked whether any decision has been arrived at in the case of the appeal against the Caherdaniel sub- committee's decision, granting an old age pension to Patrick Sheehan, Doory East, Mastergeehy?

Patrick Sheehan's claim was disallowed on the 5th September last by the Local Government Board on the ground that the evidence submitted was not sufficient to show that he had attained the statutory age.

asked the Chief Secretary if he will state the number of first class teachers at present in the service of the Commissioners of National Education; the number of such teachers who have had their salaries reduced owing to the average at their schools falling below thirty-five, and whether a privileged assistant if first class is allowed her first class salary irrespective of average, while the principal teacher of the same school if first class has his salary reduced if the average falls below thirty-five.

The number of first class teachers at present in the service of the Commissioners of National Education is 2,015. The information asked for in the second paragraph of the question is not available. Privileged assistants are teachers who had been principals of national schools which, for educational reasons, were amalgamated with other national schools, and they receive salaries as privileged assistants not less than they were in receipt of as principals prior to the amalgamation of their schools.

asked what is the explanation of the discrepancy in the figures relating to the imports of flax into Belfast, which in the Irish Import and Export Returns are given as 33,975 tons (Cd. 5965, page 36) and in the Board of Trade Returns as 37,690 tons (Cd. 5852, page 123), in each case for the year 1910?

The figures quoted from the Board of Trade Returns include the imports of flag dressed or undressed and also of flax tow or codilla. The figures quoted from the Report of the Department of Agriculture do not include the imports of tow or codilla which are shown separately. The particulars published by the Board of Trade represent the direct imports into Belfast from abroad, while the figures in the Department's Report include cross-Channel as well as the direct imports from abroad.

asked the Chief Secretary whether he is aware that the Congested Districts Board for Ireland is financing two coopers, named Hugh M'Bride and Patrick Gallagher, who are carrying on the business of fish curers, under the name of M'Bride and Gallagher, at Downings Bay, county Donegal, and who, while receiving from the Board wages which are a charge on the business retain any profits which they may make, while the Board is responsible for any loss that they may sustain; and, if so, whether such action is within the powers of the Congested Districts Board of Ireland?

The hon. Member appears to be under a misapprehension. The Congested Districts Board have made experimental loans to Messrs. McBride and Gallagher, who are curing fish with the advice and guidance of the Board's fishery superintendent, instructors, and manager. The Board are empowered to make such experiments. Other persons have applied for similar loans, but have been refused, as the experiment with Messrs. McBride and Gallagher appears to be sufficient for present purposes.

asked the Chief Secretary whether he will state what the Catholic population of county Meath is; what the remaining population of all other sects combined is; and whether he will state the number of Catholic magistrates in the county, and the number of magistrates not belonging to that Church?

Full information on this subject is given on pages 17 and 29 of the Return, No. 306, presented to Parliament in October last, to which I would refer the hon. Member. There has been no alteration since the date of that Return.

asked the Vice-President of the Department of Agriculture (Ireland) whether he can state how many cattle were crushed and beaten to death at the loading bank of Tipperary after the fair on 11th December; whether several cattle from the same fair were also killed last season; whether the reason of this i- that the railway company fail to provide a sufficient staff to load the cattle and a sufficient or adequate entrance to the loading bank; whether he can state what steps the Department will take to remedy the state of things prevailing at this fair; and how many times the Great Southern and Western Railway Company have been reported by inspectors of the Department for neglecting the live stock trade at various stations?

The Department of Agriculture have no information regarding the alleged casualties to live stock from fairs at Tipperary station, but will cause full inquiry to be made. The reports of the Department's transit inspectors cannot be classified in the manner indicated in the latter part of the question.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether his attention has been called to the following circumstances regarding Michael Kelly, of Lissycasey, West Clare: Michael Kelly's grandfather built a house on the estate of his landlord; Kelly's father lived in half of the house for many years and let the other half for police barracks, then subsequently let the whole house for police barracks and built another house in which Kelly now lives; the landlord gave Kelly's father notice to quit and himself undertook the housing of the police, building some new dwellings; and in 1883 the house in question was condemned by the police authorities, and Kelly regained possession of it in the year 1886 and held possession until he was evicted prior to the sale of the estate; and whether, in view of these facts, facilities may be given to Michael Kelly to secure equitable conditions in regard to the purchase of his holding?

From the particulars given in the question the Estates Commissioners and the Congested Districts Board are unable to identify the case referred to by the hon. Member.

asked whether Michael Reilly, of Reillystown, Moynalty, has applied for a holding on the Newtown estate: and whether his claim will be favourably considered?

The reply to the first paragraph is in the affirmative. The Estates Commissioners do not anticipate that they will be able to give him an allotment of these lands.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty if he can give the date when the order was issued to the dockyards that men of yard craft when in naval hospital would be checked 5s. 3d. per week instead of 10s. 6d. as formerly?

The order in question was issued on 3rd May, 1911. The lower rate, however, applies only to those men who have received injuries in the course of their employment, and are placed on the hurt list; 10s. 6d. a week is still abated in the case of men in a naval hospital on the sick list.

asked the Under-Secretary for War what sentence was passed upon Harold Spiers, who was charged with desertion from duty at Llanelly during the recent railway disturbances?

He was awarded fourteen days' detention for absence without leave.

asked the Under-Secretary for War whether officers in the Special Reserve who qualify for Army interpreter-ships in any foreign language receive a grant, as is the case in similar circumstances with officers of the Regular Army; is the qualifying examination the same in both cases; and, if there is no grant in the former case, what reason can be given?

Officers in the Special Reserve who qualify for Army interpreterships do not receive a grant. The qualifying examination is the same in both cases. The funds at present allotted are not sufficient to admit of any extension of the present scheme of grants.

asked if authority has been given by the Army Council to Army officers, accompanied by a policeman, to enter private stables and take particulars of the horses without giving any notice or intimation of such intention to the owner?

Instructions have been issued that an officer is on no account to eater stables without having first communicated with the owner. There is no necessity for the officer to be accompanied by a policeman, and no authority was issued by the Army Council to this effect.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether appeals have been made to the Board of Education by bodies of managers in the county of Anglesey in September last for a direction to the local education authority to maintain the non-provided schools of the county in accordance with the legal decision given in the Swansea case; and, if such appeals have been received, when the reply of the Board may be expected?

I am afraid I must ask for further notice of this and the three subsequent questions. I am fully aware of the importance of the points raised, but I have not had time yet to consider thorn, and cannot undertake to do so within the few hours given me to reply to these questions, which appear on the Paper to-day for answer to-night.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the chief constable of any town has no power to compel a person who makes an accusation of dog bite to permit medical examination into the bona fides of the allegation; whether he is aware that the owner of a dog may be put to all the trouble and expense of defending a Police Court prosecution which is certain to fail and yet will cost the defendant many pounds to defend, as well as loss of time; and whether he will take steps, by legislation or otherwise, to authorise chief constables of towns to order medical examination of persons making these accusations against owners of dogs?

A chief constable has no such power as is referred to in the first question; the answer to the second question is in the affirmative, but I would remind the Noble Lord that a Court of Summary Jurisdiction on dismissing an information may, if good cause is shown, order the prosecution to pay the costs of the defence. In regard to the third question, I do not see my way to propose such an alteration of the law as would give the police the power suggested.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether he is aware that, during the time Mr. Alfred Edward Griffiths was deputy- superintendent of telegraphs in India and whilst he was on duty at Jubbulpore, away from his own station, a Government cash chest, of which at the time he was practically not in charge, was robbed of 641 rupees; whether he is aware that, although he was proved blameless in the matter and innocent of complicity in the robbery, and although the money was made good so that the Government sustained no loss, Mr. Griffiths was summarily dismissed; whether he is aware that Mr. Griffiths was ruined after serving the State for twenty-nine years and his prospective pension lost for a crime of which he had been proved absolutely guiltless; and whether he can see his way to reinstate Mr. Griffiths in his former position?

The Secretary of State has received no information on this case. If, as alleged, Mr. Griffiths has been dismissed by the Government of India, it will be open to him to appeal to the Secretary of State against the orders of that Government, provided that his memorial is submitted in accordance with the memorial rules.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies N whether he is now aware that on 24th October Captain Alexander Henderson Chalmers, senior boarding officer in the master attendant's office, Singapore, was fined $50 by one of His British Majesty's magistrates at Singapore, namely, Mr. A. de Mella, for assaulting Mr. A. W. Gooneratne, a Ceylon man who is chief clerk at the Siamese Consulate, Singapore; and, if not, whether he will ascertain the facts before next Session of Parliament?

I have no information on the subject at present, but I will ask the Governor for a report.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will lay Papers on the Table of the House showing in respect to the leading European countries and to the United States of America how the Parliaments are kept in touch with foreign affairs, particularly giving information regarding the constitution and powers of committees, such as the Budget Committee of the German Reichstag, and the Foreign Affairs Committee of the American House of Representatives and the French Chamber of Deputies?

In pursuance of the Resolution passed in the House of Commons on 17th November last for an Address for a Return showing the methods adopted (through official Committees or otherwise) by Parliaments in European countries and the United States for dealing with International questions, I have already issued instructions to His Majesty's Diplomatic Representatives in those countries to furnish information on the subject, and when the replies have been received the Papers will be presented to the House. I will call the attention of His Majesty's Ambassadors in Berlin, Paris, and Washington to the points on which the hon. Member specially desires information.

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether he can state the cost of London's paupers, including expenditure out of loans, for the year ended March, 1911, and the total cost per head of each in-door pauper and of each out-door pauper in London for that year?

The total expenditure on relief of the poor and purposes connected therewith, including expenditure out of loans, in London during the year ended 31st March, 1911, amounted approximately to £3,917,000. The latest available figures showing the annual cost per head of each in-door and out-door pauper in London are those for the year ended March, 1910. These are as follows:—

	£	s.	d.
Cost per in-door pauper	34	8	4
Cost per out-door pauper	8	12	2¼

Expenditure out of loans is not included in these figures.

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether he can state the estimated figures of the male and female population in 1911 for England, Wales, Ireland, and Scotland, respectively, at the ages of twenty-five and twenty-one years?

It is not clear whether the figures desired are those of the estimated numbers of males and females who have reached the age of twenty-one years, but have not reached the age of twenty-two, and of those who have reached the age of twenty-five but have not reached the age of twenty-six, or of the total numbers who have reached the ages of twenty-one and twenty-five years respectively. Estimates of the numbers living at the single ages, twenty-one and twenty-five years, are shown for England and Wales as a whole in the first part of the following table; estimates of the numbers living at and above the ages of twenty-one years and at twenty-five years respectively are shown for England and for Wales separately in the lower part of the table. As the age constitution of the population at the recent Census is not yet known, it has been assumed that the age constitution of the population in 1901 still prevails. Previous to 1901 the age constitution of the population had been changing in the direction of greater mean age, and there is no evidence that this change has ceased. In view of this fact, and of the recent decline in the birth rate, it is quite possible that the results of the recent Census, when they become known, will differ materially from the estimates shown below. The table is confined to England and Wales. I am not in a position to give similar figures for Scotland and Ireland:—

ESTIMATED AGE AND SEX POPULATIONS AT CENSUS 1911.
(Based upon Unrevised Sex Populations as enumerated in 1911 combined with age proportions as in 1901.)
—	Males.	Females.
England and Wales—
Aged 21–22 years*	341,000	356,000
Aged 25–26 years*	318,000	343,000
England (including Monmouthshire)—
Aged 21 and upwards	8,931,000	10,036,000
Aged 25 and upwards	7,708,000	8,652,000
Wales (excluding Monmouthshire)—
Aged 21 and upwards	557,000	550,000
Aged 25 and upwards	482,000	475,000
* The figures at these ages cannot be given for England and Wales separately.

asked the President of the Local Government Board the dates of the two cases of small-pox recorded in Eastbourne within the last ten years; whether he will give the ages of the patients; what was their vaccinal condition; and was the disease supposed to have originated in the borough or was it rted?

The two cases occurred in 1902, one in the week ending 8th February and the other in the week ending 4th May, 1902. In the annual report of the medical officer of health the exact age of these patients is not given, but one is recorded as being in the age-period 15–25, and one in the age-period 25–65. I have no exact information as to the vaccinal condition of the cases. The disease was imported in both cases.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that prosecutions have recently been undertaken by the Board of Trade against some shopkeepers for selling goods with incorrect trade descriptions, which descriptions the shopkeepers or their assistants have been induced to apply at the request of the purchasers, who are invariably representatives of trade rivals of the manufacturer whose goods are on sale; and whether he will give instructions for prosecutions not to be initiated by the Board of Trade in cases where stealth is employed to induce a person to commit a wrong act?

The Board of Trade only undertake prosecutions under the Merchandise Marks Acts in cases where they are satisfied that the general interests of the country, or of a section of the community, or of a trade, are affected. I am not aware that any prosecutions have recently been undertaken by the Board of Trade under the circumstances mentioned by my hon. Friend, nor am I prepared to admit that shopkeepers or assistants, who, in compliance with the request of a purchaser, invoice goods under incorrect trade descriptions, are necessarily induced to do so by stealth. If the hon. Member desires to bring to my notice any instances of prosecutions undertaken by the Board of Trade in cases where stealth has been employed, I will further consider the matter.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what is the official definition of the words "tons burden" used in the Merchant Shipping (Certificates) Bill, Clause 1, Sub-section (1), paragraph (b); and whether the provisions of this Bill will apply to home-trade vessels, such as dredgers, tugs, etc., which are neither home-trade, passenger, nor cargo vessels?

The expression "tons burden" has been defined by a decision of the High Court to mean the "registered tonnage" of a "ship" as defined in the Merchant Shipping Act, 1894, or such tonnage as a ship would yield after measurement and deductions according to the prescribed rules. As at present drafted, the provisions of the Bill would apply to all home-trade ships of 200 tons burden and upwards, other than home-trade passenger ships. The point raised by the hon. Member shall receive consideration.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he has received any complaint regarding the suspension of the lift service at Earl's Court station of the Great Northern, Piccadilly, and Brompton Railway, on 28th July last; whether he is aware that the suspension of the service was caused through the liftman committing a brutal assault upon, and seriously injuring, a passenger; and whether any inquiry has been made into the matter?

No complaint has been received of any suspension of the lift service on the occasion in question. The incident referred to formed the subject of police-court proceedings, and, from a newspaper report of these proceedings, it would seem that the passenger was convicted of assault and the summons against a lift-man was dismissed.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he has yet received an assurance from the Great Southern and Western Railway Company that the recommendations of Colonel Von Donop will be carried out at Kilkenny railway station; and, if not, whether he will again urge on that company that the safety of the travelling public requires that the alterations advised by the Board of Trade inspector should be promptly executed?

No reply has yet been received from the company, but, as my hon. Friend was informed on Wednesday last, their attention has been recently called to the matter, and I will see that it is not lost sight of.

asked the Postmaster-General whether, seeing that The Telegraph Act, 1868, provides that all land, property, and undertakings purchased under the Act shall be assessable and rateable in respect to local, municipal, and parochial rates, assessments, and charges, at sums not exceeding the rateable value at the time of purchase, he will say whether the same principle will apply in the case of the telephone undertakings about to be acquired by the Post Office?

The Govern meat does not propose to follow the precedent of 1868, but is prepared to pay contributions in lieu of rates on the buildings and plant to be acquired. This was the course adopted in 1896 when the telephone trunk lines of the company were acquired. No legislative powers are necessary. The exact basis upon which contributions are to be made is now under consideration.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware that sub-postmasters in the Edinburgh district have obtained relief from the duty of obliterating stamps on parcels from the 18th to the 30th December; whether similar relief has been refused the sub-postmasters at Dundee and at Sheffield; and whether, in view of the pressure at sub-offices during this period, and the fact that the duty referred to has been imposed upon sub-postmasters without any additional remuneration, similar relief can be granted to sub-postmasters generally?

Cases in which sub-postmasters apply for relief from the work of obliterating stamps on parcels during the Christmas season are considered on their merits and relief is given where this can be done without unduly increasing the pressure of work at other offices.

asked the Postmaster-General what is the number of women sorters employed in the minor establishment (women) on the Savings Bank department, and the total amount of wages paid for the year ending 31st March, 1910; the number of principal clerks supervising in the sorting branch, and the total amount of wages paid for the year ending 31st March, 1910; and the length of service of the eleven senior women sorters and their wages?

The number of women sorters in the Savings B department is 360, and the total amount of wages paid to them during the year ending 31st March, 1910, was approximately £21,000. The number of principal clerks supervising in the sorting branch is seven, and their salaries for the year in question were approximately £1,300. The wages of the eleven senior women sorters are 33s. a week; five of them have had twenty-six years' service, two twenty-seven years, and four twenty-eight years.

asked the Postmaster-General whether his attention has been called to the fact that the time table for the mail trains has been changed in West Clare, so that mails that were formerly due to arrive at Kilrush at eight o'clock in the morning are now timed to arrive at 8.50 o'clock and sometimes arrive at 9.30 o'clock, so that merchants in the town do not receive their letters till 10.15 o'clock; and whether, in view of the inconvenience to business men in the whole district west of Miltown Malbay, he will make arrangements whereby the mails will arrive in good time?

I am having inquiry made and I will communicate the result to the hon. Member.

asked the Postmaster-General whether any decision has been arrived at regarding the payment of wages to the eleven men employed at the electric light and power station at the General Post Office for the two days' holiday they were compelled to take at His Majesty's Coronation; and, if so, whether he will state the decision arrived at?

I am glad to inform the hon. Member that it has been decided to pay a full week's wage for Coronation week in these cases.

asked the Postmaster-General whether, having regard to the amount of telegraphic newswork dealt with at or about midnight in the Central Telegraph Office, and in view of the discomfort and inconvenience entailed upon the staff through detention on overtime after midnight, he will make inquiries with a view to increasing the present volunteer staff to the strength necessary to enable them to deal adequately with all late newswork?

As I informed the hon. Member on the 24th ultimo, suitable arrangements are made at the Central Telegraph Office to deal with the varying volume of telegraphic news-work expected from day to day; but I cannot keep excess staff on duty every day after midnight when work may be expected for them only occasionally.

asked the Postmaster-General whether, in the case of non-urgent telegrams en clair to Australia which may, if necessary, be delayed for twenty-four hours, and which pass in transmission over the lines of more than one company, the first sending company will be required to transmit free the date and time at which the sender handed the message to them; and, if not, how any subsequent company, handling the message, are to be aware of delay which may have already taken place?

Except in the case of the North Atlantic cables it is the general practice to transmit, free of charge, the time and date on which telegrams are handed in, and this will apply to non-urgent, half-rate telegrams. The North Atlantic cable companies do not transmit the particulars unless they are paid for, and if it is found in practice that this gives rise to inconvenience in the case of the half-rate telegrams, the matter will be further discussed with the companies.

asked the Post-master-General whether, in addition to the four members of the telegraph battalion of the Royal Engineers who are employed in the Cardiff Post Office under the agreement of 1878, there are also four sappers who are allowed to perform instrument duty without any post office pay; whether the duty they perform would otherwise be allocated to civilians; and whether any later agreement exists to justify their active participation in the telegraph work at that office?

Under an arrangement agreed upon by the War Office and the Post Office in 1908, twenty Royal Engineer Telegraphists in Field Telegraph Units are attached to provincial post offices during the winter for the purpose of receiving additional training in telegraphy. The four sappers at Cardiff to whom the hon. Member refers are included in this number. They are paid wholly by the military authorities, except on the few occasions when they are employed on overtime. The understanding as regards their employment on actual duties is that, while they may be employed as substitutes for the regular staff or in times of pressure, this practice should not be followed as a general rule or as a matter of course, but rather in order to give the men the necessary experience on actual working duties with a view to increasing the value of their training.

asked the Postmaster-General whether the authorised time for the completion of the first delivery of letters in London town districts is 8.45 a.m. if so, will he state on whose authority such a late delivery has been sanctioned; and if he will take steps to accelerate the delivery, so as to avoid the inconvenience caused to business men who have to leave their homes before 8.45 a.m.?

The authorised time for the completion of the first delivery in London is 8.45 a.m. in the town districts and 8.30 a.m. in the sub-districts. These hours have been recognised for many years, and an acceleration could only be effected by excluding from the first delivery important correspondence which now falls into it, or else by employing a large increase of auxiliary labour, which I am not prepared to justify.

asked the Postmaster-General whether the advertisements now appearing in the 2s. postage stamp books are canvassed for by Government officials or independent advertising agents and, if by the latter, what remuneration is paid for their services; what rates are charged to the public for the advertisements; what is the value of the orders already received; what is the estimated annual revenue; what extra cost, over and above the manufacture of the stamps, is involved in preparing the books; and is there any reason why this cost should be met by advertising revenue procured in competition with private enterprise, seeing that the cost of the material and manufacture of postage stamps has always been included in the departmental expenditure?

Before the issue of books of stamps at the face value of the stamps they contain was commenced in June last, I invited tenders from a large number of agents for the advertising rights in the books, and I accepted the tender of Sell's Advertising Agency. Under the contract the agency make the best terms they can with the advertisers; and the payment which has been made to the Post Office under the contract is just sufficient to cover the additional cost of preparing and issuing postage stamps in books instead of in sheets. The insertion of trade advertisements has admitted of the sale of the books at face value instead of at an additional charge of ½d. a book, and I can see no reason for discontinuing advertisements and either reverting to that charge or imposing a considerable annual loss upon the Exchequer.

asked the President of the Board of Agriculture whether he can arrange to ask for the area of sugar beet grown in Great Britain when he sends out his requests to farmers for returns of the crops on their holdings?

It has been the practice of the Board for many years to ask farmers to return the acreage of their holdings under sugar beet. The results have been shown in the reports on the Agricultural Statistics. The figures for the year 1910 will be found on page 17 of the report for that year [Cd. 5585].

asked the President of the Board of Agriculture if he can say what is the present amount of mortgages on the holdings of peasant proprietors in Denmark, or what is the latest information on the subject?

I have no information on the subject.

asked the Lord Advocate, with reference to the proposal to build a new parish church at Kirkintilloch, if plans have already been approved by the presbytery, despite the decision of the heritors to reopen the whole question from the beginning?

So far as I am aware, the hon. Member's information is correct, but I would beg to refer him also to my reply to the hon. Member for Dumbartonshire yesterday.

asked the Lord Advocate if he will enter into communication with the Scottish University Commissioners, with a view to the preparation of a Return of all bursaries and scholarships which may be held by entrant students while attending any of the Scottish Universities or any of the colleges forming part of the Scottish Universities, distinguishing betwixt those which are open only to entrant students and those which may be awarded either to an entrant student or to a student who is in the second, third, or fourth year of his University curriculum; and showing in the case of each such bursary or scholarship the name or names of the patron or patrons; the preferences or conditions, if any, by which the class of students eligible to hold the bursary or scholarship is limited; the total capital value of the funds mortified, accrued, or otherwise devoted to the endowment of the bursary or scholarship for each of the three academical years ended 30th September, 1909, 1910, and 1911; the annual amount which the bursary or scholarship has yielded to the bursar or scholar for each of the three years above mentioned; and the period of tenure of the bursary or scholarship?

As desired by my right hon. Friend, I will communicate with the Scottish University Commissioners on the subject.

asked the hon. Member for Southampton, as representing the First Commissioner of Works, whether his attention has been drawn to the address delivered by Mr. Stokes, the President of the Royal Institute of British Architects, on 6th November; whether he will state the percentage which the cost of the architectural staff of His Majesty's Office of Works for salaries alone forms of the whole outlay; whether he will state what buildings have been entrusted to independent architects, not in the Office of Works, during the last sixteen years; and whether, in the interests of economy, he is prepared to consider the desirability of abolishing the architectural staff of the Office of Works and entrusting the work to independent architects?

The reply to the first paragraph is in the affirmative. In reply to the second paragraph the percentage which the cost of the architectural staff of His Majesty's Office of Works for salaries alone forms of the whole outlay is 3.34, and not 6¼ as stated. In reply to the third paragraph the following buildings have been entrusted to outside architects:—

1. Government Offices, Whitehall, Southern Building.

2. New War Office.

3. New Admiralty, Block III.

4. New Admiralty, Block IV.

5. Victoria and Albert Museum Extension.

6. Royal College of Science, Imperial Institute Road.

7. British Museum Extension.

In reply to the last paragraph the answer is in the negative, although the First Commissioner will be prepared to consider any exceptional conditions which might render it desirable in the future, as in the past, to entrust certain specific works to architects outside his Department.

asked the hon. Member for Southampton, as representing the First Commissioner of Works, whether his attention has been called to a recent address delivered by Mr. Stokes, the President of the Royal Institute of British Architects, in which he has expressed his dissatisfaction with the work done by the architectural staff of His Majesty's Office of Works; whether he will state the classes and the total number of architects employed in his Department; and what number of them are fellows, associates, or licentiates of the Royal Institute of British Architects?

The answer to the first part is in the affirmative. There are two principal architects employed, both of whom are Fellows of the Institute. In the next class, architects and surveyors, there are ten employed, of whom six are associates and one a Licentiate of the Institute. The next class consists of nineteen assistant architects and surveyors, of whom five are Associates of the Institute. There are twenty-seven assistant architects and surveyors of the second class, of whom thirteen are Associates of the Institute. Since 1907 twenty-three architects and surveyors have been appointed, of whom thirteen are Associates of the Royal Institute of British Architects.

asked the hon. Member for Southampton, as representing the First Commissioner of Works, whether, having regard to the fact that Members of this House are now receiving salaries of £400 a year, and that indicators announcing, in the rooms set apart for their own use, the names of speakers taking part in debates are among the conveniences with which they are provided at the cost of the nation, he will further consider whether the capital expenditure of £80 and the annual expenditure of £25, being the amounts estimated by himself, ought to be provided for the installation of similar indicators in the strangers' galleries?

The First Commissioner has nothing to add to his former answer on this subject.

asked the hon. Member for the Stroud Division, as representing the Charity Commissioners, whether he is aware that more than two years ago the Bury St. Edmunds Feoffment Trustees and the trustees of other charities submitted an amalgamation scheme to the Charity Commissioners, but have not yet received their decision; and whether, in view of the inconvenience caused by the delay, he can state how soon an answer may be expected?

The Bury St. Edmunds Guildhall Feoffment Trustees, on 1st December, 1909, made application for a scheme for the amalgamation of certain Bury charities for the maintenance of some ninety-six almshouses under their management. There has never been any doubt as to the Commissioners making such a scheme, which was proposed largely on their suggestion and as the result of a visit from one of their Assistant-Commissioners. The scheme, how-! ever has been delayed, pending the settlement of the question of the expediency of closing a certain number of the almshouses, the state of which was such as to require a larger outlay on repairs than the charities could properly afford; and, also, that the effect of the Old Age Pensions Act might be ascertained in regard to the removal of the difficulty that many of the almspeople were, contrary to a well established rule of law, in receipt of poor-law relief and therefore not properly eligible. The Assistant-Commissioner is going to Bury shortly, and will discuss the matter fully with the trustees.