Canada and West Indian Colonies (Reciprocity Agreement).
asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what British West Indian Colonies are not included in the Reciprocity Agreement between the Dominion of Canada and the West Indian Colonies, and the reasons for such exclusion?
The Colonies which were not represented at the conference which drew up the Agreement, and are therefore not included in it, were Jamaica, British Honduras, Grenada, and the Bahamas.
India Cash Balances (London).
asked the Undersecretary of State for India what is the cash balance held by the Secretary of State for India in London apart from the gold standard reserve, and what are the immediate requirements in respect of such balance; how much of the cash balance is lent on security and how much without security; how much to banks and how much to other approved borrowers, and at what rate; and can he give the names of the approved borrowers?
The cash balance held by the Secretary of State for India in London (apart from the gold standard reserve) on the evening of the 6th inst. was £17,568,485. The Estimates for 1912–13 provide for the discharge during the remainder of the financial year of debt (India Sterling Bills, India Bonds, and Indian Railway Debentures) amounting to £5,477,600, in addition to the usual expenditure (with the nature of which the hon. Member is, no doubt, familiar) on Revenue and Capital Account, and anticipate that, by the end of the financial year, the cash balance will have been reduced to £6,721,849. The balance of £17,568,485 on 6th May was held as follows:—
£6,915,000 deposited with seven banks without security.
£10,100,000 lent on security to approved borrowers.
£553,485 held on current account at the Bank of England.
The rates of interest varied from 2½ per cent, to 3½ per cent, per annum, according to the period of the deposit or loan. The Secretary of State does not consider it desirable to publish the names of the approved borrowers.
Merchant Shipmasters (Salaries).
asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he can obtain and furnish information as to the salaries paid to masters of steamships in the mercantile marine; and whether he is aware that there has been no increase in the past ten years in the pay of certificated officers, although, in common with other classes of the community, their expenses on shore have increased considerably in this period?
I have no official information as to the salaries paid to masters in the mercantile marine. The tables showing the progress of merchant shipping contain information with regard to the predominant rates of wages paid to certificated mates, which does not bear out the suggestion that no increase has taken place in the last ten years.
Emigrant Ships (Deck Hands).
asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will state the precise nature of the Board of Trade Regulations with regard to deck hands on emigrant steamships; whether there is any provision that the men engaged in this capacity should be able seamen; whether there has been any regulation issued subsequent to the scale which came into force on 1st June, 1902; and whether he will consider the advisability of amending the present Regulations in order to provide more effectively for the safety of the passengers and the safe navigation of the ships?
Under Section 305 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1894, an emigrant ship is required to be manned with an efficient crew for her intended voyage to the satisfaction of the emigration officer, and the Board of Trade have issued instructions to these officers for their guidance in carrying out the requirements of this Section. I am sending the hon. Member a copy of these instructions, which, however, he must understand have not the force of statutory rules, but are merely instructions for the guidance of emigration officers in the discharge of their duties. The question of the deck manning of emigrant ships is at present under consideration in connection with the provision of boats and rafts.
Foreign-Going Ships (Certificated Officers).
asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that the majority of foreign-going merchant vessels, both steam and sail, carry besides the master two officers only, and that the result of this is that such officers are labouring under what is known as the two-watch system, entailing daily duty, including watch-keeping and attention to the safe navigation of their vessels, of at least fifteen hours on each and every day of the week, with no opportunity of obtaining more than three consecutive hours of sleep at a time; and seeing that, apart from the mental and physical strain thus involved, this two-watch system is calculated to jeopardise safety at sea, whether he will consider the desirability of fixing some reasonable limitations of the hours of daily duty at present demanded of deck officers of the Mercantile Marine?
Some foreign-going ships carry only two certificated officers in addition to the master, but the matter is one which is receiving my careful consideration. The Board of Trade have no power under the Merchant Shipping Acts to regulate the hours of duty of deck officers on board merchant ships.
Female Assistant Clerks (Post Office).
asked the Postmaster-General how many appointments have been made in the new tentative grade of assistant women clerks to perform, at a lower salary, some of the duties hitherto fulfilled by second-class women clerks, since the statement in the House that he did not intend to effect any general replacement by appointments in the new grade pending the investigations of the Select Committee; can he say how many appointments had been made previously; and for how many more are early arrangements in contemplation?
No appointments have been made to the new class in replacement of women clerks since my statement in the House to which the hon. Member refers. The number of female assistant clerks appointed in place of women clerks was and is eighteen. Four were appointed in place of female sorters. But, as I explained on the 7th instant in reply to the Noble Lord the Member for South Nottingham, I have appointed as assistant clerks in the London telephone service a number of women who were formerly employed by the National Telephone Company on a similar status, but with lower remuneration, and I have added to the number in order to provide for the increased work. But none of these appointments in the London telephone service have led to the displacement of a single woman clerk. In all thirty appointments to the class have been made since the date of my statement, and eighty-nine, including those referred to in the first paragraph, had been previously made.
Small Holdings (Kent).
asked the President of the Board of Agriculture how many applications under the Small Holdings Act have been received by the Kent County Council; how many have been approved; how many applicants have been supplied with small holdings; and what is the cause of the delay in the case of those who have not been so supplied?
To the first, second and third parts of the question I have received the following replies from the county council:— 1. The number of applicants at the present time on the books of the county council is 115. 2. One hundred and six are approved applicants. 3. One hundred and fifty-one applicants have been supplied—111 by the county council direct and 40 through the intervention of the council.
With reference to the fourth part of the question, the county council inform me that the delay is attributable generally to the scarcity of suitable land, and in particular to the difficulty of satisfying applicants who require land in their immediate neighbourhood. The Board are in communication with the council on the subject.