asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland the present value and condition of what remains of the Irish Church Temporalities Fund?

I would refer the hon. Member to the statement on pages 9 and 10 of the Annual Report of the Irish Land Commission for the year 1910–11, which shows the position of the funds so far as then ascertained. The Report for the financial year recently concluded, which is in course of preparation, will show the estimated receipts and expenditure for the current financial year.

asked the Chief Secretary whether, having regard to the almost complete extermination of salmon and trout in Lough Erne, county Fermanagh, by netting on the lake and destruction of breeding fish in the spawning season on the spawning beds, he will take effective steps to prevent these abuses, and recall or modify the imposition of fishing licences for rod and line, which are vexatious to local anglers and useless as a means of preservation of fish, which in such extensive waters could never be exterminated by rod and line fishing?

The bed and soil of Lough Erne are the property of the Crown and under the management of the Commissioner of Woods. No one, except a limited number of persons possessing a right of common fishery under patents, has any right to fish there without the permission of the Commissioner of Woods. Permits to fish with rod and line for pike and other coarse fish are issued free of charge, and more than 100 permits have been given to Enniskillen anglers during the present season. The conditions attached to the permits are only directed against unsportsmanlike and illegal methods of fishing, and no complaint has been made in regard to them. The Commissioner of Woods is anxious to improve the fishing, which has been deteriorated by the destructive and illegal methods of fishing practised in some cases, and he would welcome any assistance or co-operation in putting down the abuses which exist.

asked why considering that is now a year and a half since the Ventry estate, county Kerry, was purchased by the Board, there is such delay in starting improvement works on the estate?

The improvement works have been proceeding on the estate during the past six or eight months, and more than one-third of the outlay which the Congested Districts Board propose to make on land improvement works has been expended. The Board have made provision in their Estimates to make advances to an amount over £30,000 to tenants for the building, or substantial reconstruction, of dwelling-houses, but up to the present only a small number of the tenants have availed of the terms offered to them to improve their dwellings or build new ones.

asked how much of the sum of £7,965,066, advances made for land purchase during the year ended 31st March, last, was paid in Land Stock, and how much of this sum was advanced for holdings purchased under the Acts of 1903 and 1909, respectively?

The sum referred to was made up as follows:— Sales under Irish Land Act 1903— All Cash £2,873,247 Half (2¾ %) Stock, Half Cash 2,813,192 All Stock (2¾ %) 1,212,769 Total £6,899,208 Sales under Irish Land Act 1909— Stock (3 %) 1,065,858 Gross total £7,965,066.

asked the Undersecretary of State for War if he is aware that the Chelsea Hospital authorities have allowed the use of a portion of the hospital grounds to the Royal Horticultural Society for a horticultural show; that the work of preparing the ground for this show has been let to Messrs. Piggott and Company; and that this firm are paying less wages than the trade union rate, and are employing labourers to work on Sundays at 5d. per hour when the regular day rate is 7d. per hour, and for Sunday work should be double time; and, in con- sequence of this, will he at once take the necessary steps to enforce the Fair Wages Clause?

I understand that the Commissioners of Chelsea Hospital have no actual control over the contract referred to, but inquiries shall be made as to the statements contained in the question.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War, in view of the Orders issued regarding uniform to be worn by officers of the National Reserve at the Review by His Majesty on 8th June, will Regulations be issued entitling officers of the National Reserve to attend levees and similar functions in National Reserve uniform—that is, plain clothes with badge?

There is no authorised National Reserve uniform, and nothing is known at the War Office of any Orders issued as regards uniform to be worn at the Review. Gentlemen attending levees are required to conform to the Orders of the Lord Chamberlain.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War what was the number of trained Regulars, Regular recruits, and Special Reservists, respectively, at the Black Watch depôt, Perth, on 1st May, giving the Church denomination to which they belong; and, in order to ensure accuracy of return, will he direct that every man shall be personally asked what is his denomination?

The information required is not available at the War Office, and a special Return would therefore be necessary. But I do not think it would be advisable to undertake this. A man is asked, on his enlistment, the religious denomination to which he belongs, and I consider that it would not be desirable to ask further questions on the subject of his Church denomination.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will say what proportion of the present annual value of the endowments of the Established Church in Wales existing before 1662 is derived from private benefactions?

I cannot add anything to the reply which I gave to the hon. Member on the 25th April.

asked whether any of the endowments of parishes in Shropshire or in other parts of England will be decreased after the passing of the Established Church (Wales) Bill?

The endowments of parishes situated wholly in England will in no way be affected by the Bill. In the case of parishes situated partly in Wales and partly in England, it will be the duty of the Welsh Commissioners as soon as possible after the passing of the Act to determine, with reference to the general wishes of parishioners whether the parish is to be treated as wholly within or without Wales or Monmouthshire. When their decision is made, the parish will, for the purposes of the Act, be treated accordingly. Any parishioner, however, may appeal against the order of the Commissioners to His Majesty in Council.

asked how much of the £173,000 per annum taken by the Government's Established Church (Wales) Bill out of the endowments of the Welsh Church will be given to the Welsh Museum?

The amount that will be given to the Welsh Museum under the Bill will be one-eighth of what will be left of the Welsh estates now in the possession of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners after paying the expenses of carrying the Act into execution, all of which (except those incurred by county councils in the administration of their schemes) will fall on this property. The value of these estates is £26,700 a year. The payment, therefore, to the museum can hardly reach £3,000 a year.

asked whether, after the passing of the Established Church (Wales) Bill, the income of any of the Welsh clergymen or curates will in the future be reduced to less than the coal miners' minimum wage of 5s. per day on account of the £173,000 per annum transferred from Welsh endowments to a museum and other secular objects?

It is impossible to form any estimate of the future income of either Welsh clergymen or curates, as so much of the income, both now and hereafter, depends on the generosity of the voluntary subscribers to the Church of England.

asked whether the Ecclesiastical Commissioners have agreed to hand over sums derived from English sources to the representative body established by the Established Church (Wales) Bill; whether such sums will be handed over as annual grants out of annual revenue or as a capital sum; and, if as a capital sum, whether the representative body will have full control of the money as regards investment and disposal?

The Ecclesiastical Commissioners have intimated to me their intention to hand over to the representative body all the property defined by Part I. of the Third Schedule of the Bill, as well as all the existing charges on the Common Fund. In so far as the property consists of capital grants, it will pass over to the representative body in the form of a capital sum, but the charges on the Common Fund will be transferred as a perpetual annuity. The representative body will, of course, have full control over the capital sum as regards investment, and full control over both as regards disposal, subject, of course, to life interests.

asked whether, under the provisions of the Established Church (Wales) Bill, it will be for a secular court to decide whether or not a clergyman of the Church in Wales is or is not teaching doctrine or using ritual in accordance with the formularies of the Church?

The answer is in the negative.

asked whether the doctrines, articles, rules, rites, and discipline laid down in the Book of Common Prayer will be binding upon the Church in Wales after the passing of the Established Church (Wales) Bill and upon all its members, lay and clerical; whether the representative body established by the Established Church (Wales) Bill will have power to alter the Book of Common Prayer with or without the assent of Parliament or Convocation; whether in the event of any alteration being made by the representative body the Church in Wales will still be in full communion with the Established Church; and whether the privileges entitling the clergy of the Church in Wales to promotion to benefices and ecclesiastical offices in England without re-ordination in the event of the Book of Common Prayer being altered by the representative body in Wales?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. The answer to the second part of the question is that the representative body will have power to alter the Book of Common Prayer without the consent of Parliament or Convocation if such a power be conferred on it by the constitution of the Church of Wales. The answer to the third part of the question will depend on the decision of the Established Church and the Welsh Church. The answer to the fourth part of the question is that it will depend on the nature of the alterations.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his attention has been given to the practice of a certain bench of magistrates who have agreed that none of them will on any occasion sign the form for conscientious objection to vaccination if applied to individually; whether, in consequence, every conscientious objector is obliged to apply to the bench at sittings of the Court, thus being obliged, in many cases, to travel long distances and to lose a day's wages; and whether he will inform clerks to justices that this practice is a breach of the spirit of the law, and is calculated to shake the confidence of the public in the administration of the law?

Yes, Sir; but I have no authority to give instructions to magistrates in this matter. I fully agree with my hon. Friend that poor persons should be enabled to make these declarations without unnecessary expense or trouble, and I cannot think that there are many magistrates who desire to refuse them facilities for this purpose.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is aware that the directors of the London General Omnibus Company, Limited, are compelling drivers to sign an agreement to have a uniform coat and cap and to have 1s. per week deducted from their wages until such uniform is paid for; whether he is aware that drivers are having 2d. per week and conductors 1d. per week deducted from their wages for the purpose of an accident fund; and if, in view of the provisions of the Truck Act, he intends taking action in the matter?

The enforcement of the Truck Acts in regard to this employment does not fall within the jurisdiction of my Department, but I have made inquiry of the company and am informed that the facts are as stated in the question. As regards the first point, if uniform is required for the purpose of a man's employment, the matter would appear to fall under Section 3 of the Truck Act of 1896, and deductions in respect of the uniform supplied to the workman would be legal if made in accordance with the provisions of that Section. The Truck Committee expressly recommended a provision allowing the supply of uniform as part of wages. As regards the second point, the case appears to fall within the decision in Hewlett v. Allen, and, if so, no offence is involved.

asked the Home Secretary whether he is aware of the statement made by the coroner at the inquest upon the bodies of three workmen who were killed whilst engaged in the demolition of some buildings upon the premises of the Gas Light and Coke Company at King's Cross, to the effect that more inquiries arose from the demolition of old buildings than from the erection of new ones, and that it would be beneficial if there was some law whereby the proposed demolition of buildings should be notified to an officer of the local authority and carried out under his supervision; whether he is aware that the jury recommended that the local authority should appoint an inspector to represent them during the demolition of buildings; and if he intends taking any action in the matter?

I have seen a newspaper report of the inquest, but as the question only appeared on the Paper yesterday there has not been sufficient time for me to obtain a report from the coroner. The matter is one that could only be dealt with by fresh legislation. As my hon. Friend is aware, the Government already have a Bill in draft to deal with building accidents, and I will consider the present question in connection with it.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, in the case of a barber with no assistant, it is necessary for him to close his shop one afternoon during the week under the Shops Act?

Yes, Sir. The weekly half-holiday applies to all barbers, unless an exemption order under Section 4 (4) is made on the vote of a majority of the trade.

asked whether, under the Shops Act, a grocer, whose shop is a telegraph delivering office (and therefore open till 8 p.m. daily), is permitted to sell perishable goods every afternoon of the week, provided he sells them himself?

Yes, Sir. Shops in which is carried on the sale of articles of a perishable nature are exempt, so far as such sale is concerned, from the requirement as to closing for a weekly half-holiday.

asked the Home Secretary whether he has received a petition with respect to the case of William Henry Green, late of the Crown Inn, Totley, Derbyshire; whether he has caused inquiry to be made into the circumstances under which a licence was refused; and what is the result of such inquiry?

My attention was called to this matter some time ago, and though it is not one in which I had any power to intervene, I caused inquires to be made and formed the opinion that the action of the Derbyshire police, which was alleged to be the main cause of the refusal of the Worksop licensing bench to grant a licence in their district to the ex-licensee of the Crown Inn, had been perfectly proper.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his attention has been called to the conviction at Wigan on 19th April last of Thomas Livesley, John Forrest, Mark Roby, Richard Jackson, James Marsh, and Robert Rigby, for stealing old iron; whether he can state how many of these men had ever been convicted before; and to what punishment they were sentenced upon this occasion?

My attention has not previously been called to this case. The six men named pleaded guilty to stealing a quantity of iron which they had ripped out of the brick work of a dam, thereby doing much damage. They were each sentenced to one month's imprisonment. One of them had been five times previously convicted.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India if he can give the House any information regarding the situation in Thibet?

According to the latest information, from a trustworthy source, dated 28th April, fighting at Lhasa had been continuous, and 900 Tibetans and 300 Chinese had been killed. It was said that 10,000 Tibetan troops and 10,000 monk volunteers were surrounding 1,000 Chinese troops. The latter had occupied the house of the Dalai Lama's brother and arrested his wife and children. No. damage had been done to the Lhasa temple, the Sera monastery, or the Dalai Lama's palace; but some buildings in the south of the town had been burned. The Tashi Lama was said to be at Kamba Jong.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether, in view of the fact that the Phœnix Bridge Company of America has had its contract accepted for the Jumna Bridge on the Oudh State Railway in India, at a price 26 per cent. lower than any tender from Great Britain, he can say whether the American company were subsidised or assisted by the United States Steel Corporation?

I have no information.

asked the Undersecretary of State for India, whether he will state the regulations made by the Madras Education Department in regard to small-pox and vaccination for schools receiving Grants-in-Aid?

In the case of elementary schools, the amount of the Grant-in-Aid may be reduced by not more than 25 per cent. on account of certain specified defects, one of which is "the presence of pupils unprotected from small-pox." In the case of secondary schools, no teacher who is not protected from small-pox may, without express sanction, be permanently employed in an aided institution; and in schools for boys and native Christian girls no pupil who is not protected from smallpox by vaccination or otherwise may be admitted.

asked the Undersecretary of State for India whether, according to the Regulations of the British Army in India, soldiers' wives are compelled to be revaccinated as well as the troops; and, if not, under what authority do officers order their revaccination, as the Reports of the Army Medical Department show to be the case?

Up to the end of 1910 the wives of soldiers of the British Army in India were required to be vaccinated or revaccinated unless they showed marks of small-pox or successful vaccination or revaccination. In January, 1911, the Regulations were so amended as to forbid the vaccination or revaccination of the wives of soldiers of the British Army in India without their own consent. The Reports referred to in the question are presumably those of 1903 and 1906, when the older Regulations were in force.

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether he is prepared to bring in, during the present Session, a Bill to give effect to the recommendations contained in the Report of the Royal Commission of the Care and Control of the Feeble-Minded, issued in July, 1908?

The President of the Local Government Board has asked me to reply to this question. As already stated, I hope to bring in a Bill very shortly dealing with this subject.

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether he is aware that the master of the St. Pancras workhouse, over a year ago, converted a store on the workhouse premises into a stable for the accommodation of his pony and trap; that the cost of this conversion is about £100, which sum has fallen upon the ratepayers; whether the workhouse ambulance has for some considerable time been kept at Kentish Town, on the ground that there was no accommodation for it on the workhouse premises; whether the inmates of the workhouse have been employed to attend to the horse and vehicle; whether the only authorisation the master received at the time was that of four guardians, given to him privately, and one of whom supplies forage for the pony; whether the guardians have now passed a resolution authorising the master to continue to keep the pony and trap on the workhouse premises; and whether he intends to take any steps in regard to the matter?

I am informed that in October, 1911, the Master of the St. Pancras Workhouse, who was suffering from an affection of the knee which made it difficult for him to get about, obtained a pony and trap after previously mentioning his intention to four members of the visiting committee, who were inspecting the establishment. The pony and trap is, I understand, kept in a small portion of the old coach-house at the workhouse, the greater portion of which has for the last nine or ten years been used as a store. The total cost of the slight alterations required was, it is stated, only a few pounds, and the master provided the manger, etc., at his own expense. Some service is rendered by one of the inmates in looking after the pony and trap. I am informed that it is not a fact that one of the four guardians to whom the matter was mentioned by the master has at any time supplied forage for the pony. The guardians, having considered the matter, have unanimously recommended that the master be allowed to keep the pony as hitherto at his own expense. I do not think any action on my part is necessary.

asked the number of loose leaf binders supplied to His Majesty's Stationery Office since the passing of the new Fair-Wage Clause in March, 1909, the total amount for the work mentioned, the date of tender forms and number of item, the name of the contractor and where the work was executed, the date of publishing the name and address of the successful contractor on the Stationery Office frame and "Board of Trade Gazette"?

The approximate number of loose leaf binders supplied by His Majesty's Stationary Office to the public service since March, 1906, is 6,350, costing about £5,850. Being proprietary articles they do not form the subject of any contract, but are bought of the respective makers, according to the particular requirements of the Department for whom they are supplied. No tender forms are therefore issued.

asked the Postmaster-General if he will state why the alterations in the conditions of pay to telegraph linesmen in Surrey have been made which defers the payment of their weekly wages due on the Monday until the following Friday?

I beg to refer the hon. Member to my answers to questions by the hon. Members for West-houghton and Barrow-in-Furness on the 17th ultimo and 1st instant respectively. The county of Surrey is not separately treated.

asked the Secretary for Scotland whether the factor on the estates of the Congested Districts Board has recently been appointed a Sub-Commissioner for small holdings under the Land Act; if so, at what salary; whether he was permitted to engage in private practice as a solicitor in his former position; whether he is allowed the same privilege in his new appointment; and whether in future such posts will be given only on condition that private practice is abandoned?

The answer to the first part of my hon. Friend's question is in the affirmative; the answer to the second part is that the salary is £700 a year; the answer to the third part is in the affirmative; the answer to the fourth part is in the negative; and in answer to the fifth part I may say that the Sub-Commissioners are, and I have no doubt will continue to be, whole-time officers.

asked the Secretary for Scotland if he has received a memorial from the inhabitants of the Western Hebrides, in Inverness-shire, drawing attention to the unsatisfactory condition of the steamer service; and if he is able to say whether anything can be done to improve the present condition of affairs?

I have received a number of representations of the character referred to by my hon. Friend. I am in communication with the Postmaster-General, but am not yet in a position to make any statement on the subject.

asked the Attorney-General if his attention has been called to the appeal by John Home to the Court of Criminal Appeal for a reduction of his sentence, which appeal was heard on 16th January, 1912, and to the fact that the Court was at first inclined to accede to the appeal, whereupon the counsel for the Grown, in order to influence the Court against the prisoner, read from documents not put in as evidence, the signature of which was not proved; whether, in view of the use of evidence of this kind and of the rules governing evidence, he will say if an appeal was made to him to allow this case to go to the House of Lords in order to determine the legality of the action of the counsel for the Crown and the Court in allowing such evidence to be put in; if so, whether the appeal was refused; and, if so, for what reason was it refused?

It must not be assumed that I accept the statements of facts contained in the question. An application was made to me for a certificate under the Criminal Appeal Act, 1907, which I refused, as the decision of the Court of Criminal Appeal did not, in my judgment, involve any point of law of exceptional public importance.