asked the Postmaster-General whether he will cause rural postmen to be provided with a stock of health insurance stamps, so as to supply farmers and other employers on their rounds with the least inconvenience?

There would be many objections to requiring rural postmen to carry a stock of health or unemployment insurance stamps, and on the facts at present before me I do not propose to make arrangements for the purpose.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, with a view to allaying misapprehension and to prevent misrepresentation, he can see his way to provisionally approve small friendly societies at once, subject to the requirements of the Insurance Commissioners being complied with before 16th October, 1912, in those cases in which the necessary applications have been made in the prescribed form, and only certain technical requirements are being made by the Insurance Commissioners?

Serious administrative difficulties might arise if a general practice was adopted of granting provisional approval to every class of societies which have not complied with the necessary steps for becoming approved societies. The Commissioners are bringing to the notice of all small societies a simplified form of model rules for State insurance business, and very full information is being supplied to enable them to make application in accordance with the requirements of the Act. Immediately these suggestions are followed the Commissioners will be able to grant approval without delay. A circular, of which a copy was sent to the hon. Member, was recently addressed to all small societies which were not likely to be approved by 15th July, with the object of allaying the misapprehension referred to in the question, and a notice to the same effect appeared in the Press. I may add that rural societies are being rapidly approved. In Lincolnshire, for instance, the Rural Workers' Insurance Society embraces forty-nine affiliated clubs, and there are two other associations with whom the Commissioners are in active correspondence. In Devonshire a federation comprises over fifty societies. In Bedfordshire and Sussex nearly 100 societies are in hand and will be at once approved on the formal adoption of their new rules.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether he is aware that up till now attendants in Lancashire county asylums have been entitled to full wages and board when ill, with a pension upon retirement; whether he will therefore instruct the Insurance Commissioners to exempt them from the operation of the National Insurance Act; and whether, in the event of the terms of their employment being altered in order to bring them within the scope of the Act, the Insurance Commissioners would refuse to countenance such a proceeding?

No formal application for exception of this class of persons has yet been received, and the Insurance Commissioners cannot, of course, give a certificate until this is sent. As regards the latter part of the question, the terms of employment, apart from any statutory rights employed persons may possess, are a matter of contract between employer and employed, and the Commissioners would have no right to intervene.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury what is the position of a man of sixty-seven years of age in February next who for many years has been a member of a club which is now about to be dissolved; whether he can state what benefits he would get if he is able to enter an approved society; and, if he is not accepted, whether the only alternative for him is to become a Post Office contributor?

Under Section 49, Sub-section (3), a man of sixty-seven who joins an approved society, is entitled to such benefits as the society may determine. An insured person unable to gain admission to any approved society would become a deposit contributor. Alternative tables of benefits have been issued by the Commissioners to guide societies in fixing the benefits to be offered to persons over sixty-five, and one or other of these tables has been adopted by the great majority of approved societies.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether he is aware that a wide-spread belief exists that a workman who applies as an individual for an insurance card, without having joined an approved society, becomes thereby obliged to be and remain a Post Office contributor; and whether he can give assurance that such belief is erroneous?

The issue of a card at a Post Office to an employed contributor does not constitute the recipient a deposit contributor. Exactly similar cards are issued by approved societies and from the Post Office, and the cards obtained from the Post Office can be paid in to any approved society. No employed contributor will become a deposit contributor until the middle of next October. The Postmaster-General has issued special instructions to Post Offices, and similar notices have been issued to the Press, and to the officers of Customs and Excise, on the matter, and I am glad of the opportunity of making also a public statement of the facts.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether, for every purpose in connection with the National Insurance Act, females must be visited by females only?

Section 14 (2) (c) requires that the rules of an approved society relating to the visiting of insured persons during illness by visitors appointed by the societies shall provide that women shall not be visited otherwise than by women.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many applications have been received for relief under Section 17 (3) (a) and (b) of the Finance Act, relating to open spaces, and how many have been allowed?

The information asked for by my hon. Friend is not available, no separate record having been kept of such applications. In a large number of cases where the exemption obviously applies it has been allowed without formal application.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, with reference to the adjustments of salary scales announced by him on 3rd May last to a deputation of Customs and Excise officials in consequence of the amalgamation of the Customs and Excise services, the Customs clerks of the first class are the only clerical grade in either the Customs or Excise branches who have not been granted the right of proceeding to the maximum salary of the next grade; whether the first-class principal Excise clerks who, as a class, had absolutely no prospects of proceeding beyond their existing scale had already been granted an increased maximum equivalent to that allowed the Customs clerks of the first class who had previously definite prospects of further advancement; whether he will state the reasons why the first-class clerks were omitted from all participation in the salary concessions announced on 3rd May last; and why, amongst all the various classes of clerks in both branches, they were thus singled out for the differential and inferior treatment of not being allowed to proceed to the maximum salary of the next grade?

I have nothing to add to my answer to the Noble Lord's question of the 24th ultimo on this subject.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury how many copies of Form IV. have been issued and returned up to 30th June, 1912, in respect of land in rural districts in Ireland?

The figures are 1,421 and 908 respectively.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury why the Excise officers who did the work of abstracting the particulars of the valuation of licensed premises in 1911 for the Metropolis have not yet been paid; and what is the reason for the unusual delay?

Authority has now been given for the special remuneration for this work, and payment will shortly be made.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland, whether the maps of that portion of the Dansandle estate called Rushiney, county Galway, have been lodged with the Congested Districts Board; and, if so, what steps, if any, have been taken to complete the sale of that portion of the estate?

The Congested Districts Board have received the maps and documents necessary for a preliminary inspection to be made of the lands referred to, and a decision will be arrived at regarding purchase as soon as practicable.

asked the Chief Secretary whether the sale of the Ussher estate, near Killimore, county Galway, has been completed; and, if not, could he say when it is likely to be completed, and is there any likelihood of the grass lands being soon apportioned to the town tenants of Killimore, in whose neighbourhood the lands are situate?

The reply to the first paragraph of the question is in the negative. The Estates Commissioners have communicated to the owner their estimate of the amount which they would be prepared to advance for the purchase of the lands if formal proceedings for sale to the Commissioners were instituted by the owner, but such proceedings have not yet been instituted.

asked the Secretary of State for War what way does the Government, apart from registration, encourage the officers and men of the National Reserve to keep themselves in a state of efficiency?

Under existing conditions county associations are empowered to form rifle clubs for National Reservists, and certain facilities are given to associations for obtaining a proportion of rifles free, of cost and ammunition at cost price.

asked the Secretary of State for War if his attention has been called to the conditions of labour of Messrs. London, of Motherwell, who are paying only 36s. per week of 70 instead of 52½ hours; is he aware that the firm in question is fulfilling a contract for bread to the Hamilton Barracks; and will he see that the Fair-Wage Contract is complied with?

The investigation of this complaint is not yet concluded. The case is not free from difficulty, but I hope that it will be possible to arrive at a conclusion shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether 120 recruits, and, if not, what number of recruits, were required this year to bring the 6th Battery of the 2nd London Brigade, Royal Field Artillery, Territorial Force, to its full strength of 145; and, if so many recruits were necessary, would this battery be considered fit to defend the country this year or next; and, further, does this condition of affairs exist in other batteries of the Territorial Force?

Since the 1st January this battery has recruited 104 men. The headquarters of the battery have recently been transferred from Woolwich to Eltham, and a number of men were transferred from this battery to the other batteries of the brigade remaining at Woolwich. This necessitated a large influx of recruits. This condition of affairs is quite peculiar to the battery in question.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that in meat contracts in Ireland it is prescribed that at least three days' supply per week must be foreign frozen meat; will he explain why a Government Department specially favour foreign produce as against the home article to the detriment of the country; and whether he is aware that owing to this regulation many contractors in Ireland sell locally a considerable amount of foreign meat which, but for the favour shown it by the Army, would never be sold at all in many Irish towns?

In meat contracts in Ireland it is prescribed that at least three days supply per week must be frozen meat, except in small stations where frozen meat is difficult to obtain. The present form of tender was drawn up to secure for the soldier at the smallest possible expense to the public meat of undeniable quality. As regards the last part of the question, no information is available at the War Office.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether his attention has been called to the resolution recently passed by the London County Council to the effect that the University of London should continue to confer degrees on all British subjects in all faculties other than medicine on the results of examinations alone; and whether, in view of the hostility to external examinations exhibited by members of the Royal Commission on University Education in London, he will represent to that body, on behalf of his Board, the need there is for continuing the external examinations which have made the reputation of London University?

I understand that such a resolution as the hon. Member mentions, was recently passed by the London County Council. The Government clearly cannot make representations to the Royal Commission appointed on their recommendation to advise the Crown upon various questions connected with the University of London. I should add that I must not be taken to accept the statement of the attitude of the Commissioners contained in the second part of the question.

asked the President of the Board of Education (1) if he is aware that the total cost of preparing the lists and registers in Islington amounted last year to £1,680, of which sum the London County Council, pursuant to the provisions of the Registration of Electors Act, 1891, paid one-half; is it intended that the whole cost, together with any increase of expenditure necessitated by the provisions of the Franchise and Registration Bill, should it become law, is to be met thereafter by the general rate of the borough; and (2) if consideration has been given to the burden which would be cast on the poorer and more populous Metropolitan boroughs by the proposed repeal, under the Franchise and Registration Bill of the Register of Electors Act, 1891, Section 2 of which provides that in a parish situated in a Parliamentary but not in a municipal borough (as in the case of the Metropolitan boroughs) one-half of the expenses under the Registration Acts shall be defrayed out of the county fund; and will the Government be prepared to introduce a modification to meet this situation?

I am not yet able to give the cost of preparing the lists and registers in Islington last year, but I am informed that the sum mentioned by the hon. Member is likely to be approximately correct. Under the provisions of the Bill the whole cost of preparing the lists and registers would be met out of the general rate of the borough. I must ask the hon. Member to be good enough to wait for any further statement of the Government's intentions until the points are raised on the Committee stage of the Bill.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the present charge levied upon aliens who become naturalised subjects; what is the actual cost to the State, of granting a certificate of naturalisation; whether he has recently had under consideration the desirability of reducing the present charge; and if he is prepared to make any representation to the Treasury?

The fee payable on the grant of a certificate of naturalisation is £5, as it has been for a great number of years. It is impossible to say exactly what is the cost to the State of all the proceedings which are involved in the grant of a certificate; but the costs absorb much the greater portion of the fees. I have recently considered representations that the fee of £5 should be reduced, but I have come to the conclusion that in view of the heavy cost I should not be justified in departing from the decision against reduction which has been previously arrived at by my predecessors.

asked the Home Secretary what are the present conditions which have to be fulfilled before a certificate of naturalisation is issued; what number of such certificates were issued in 1911; and what number were refused?

In order that his case may be considered, an applicant for naturalisation must satisfy the Secretary of State that he has resided in the United Kingdom or served under the Crown for five years, and intends either to reside in the United Kingdom or to serve under the Crown. It then rests with the Secretary of State—in the words of the Act—"to give or withhold a certificate as he thinks most conducive to the public good." Every case is considered on its merits. In the year 1911, 1,537 aliens were naturalised or readmitted to British nationality, and 242 applications were refused.

asked the Home Secretary if collections are allowed to be made in Hyde Park in connection with meetings held there; and, if so, whether he will consider the advisability of abolishing all such collections in the interest of good order and of the proper enjoyment of the park?

The collection of money in Hyde Park without permission of the Commissioners of Works is a breach of the statutory rules for the good government of the Park.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his attention has been called to the nuisance caused to residents in Brecknock Road, Tufnell Park, by the London General Omnibus Company having recently established a service of motor omnibuses along that street; and whether he can do anything to prevent that company from making use thereof to the detriment of the property situated therein?

I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer which I gave to a question on this subject by the hon. Member for North Islington on the 8th instant.

asked the Home Secretary whether he has received the Report of Mr. Chester Jones upon the affair which took place in Rotherhithe on the night of 11th June; and, if so, what he proposes to do in the matter?

I have not yet received Mr. Chester Jones' Report. I understand that he concluded the hearing of evidence on Wednesday last and had begun to write his Report, but I fear the Report may be somewhat delayed by his illness.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs who personally, in connection with the British Embassy at Washington, represents the Government of this country in connection with discussions in relation to the treaty or treaties between the United Kingdom and the United States upon the subject of the Panama Canal; and whether the representations of this Government in that con- nection were not made, as is customary, personally to the Secretary of State for the United States at Washington, but were communicated from a distant seaside resort in the State of Maine?

His Majesty's Embassy in the United States is, as usual during the absence of the Ambassador, in charge of the Councillor of Embassy, as His Majesty's Chargé d'Affaires. The Embassy, in accordance with the usual custom, removed from Washington to summer quarters at Kineo, Maine, on 15th June last. Important representations are usually made in writing by the Embassy to the State Department. His Majesty's representative in a foreign country is the proper channel of communication, and the procedure followed in this case has been in accord with diplomatic custom.

asked the Prime Minister whether any communications had been made to the Senate of the University of London by the Government or by the Royal Commission on University Education in London in regard to the scheme for acquiring the Bedford estate site prior to Lord Haldane informing the University that the promised funds were no longer available for that purpose; with whom the responsibility for the delay that had prejudicially affected the appointment of the trustees and the acquisition of the site rested; and whether he would lay the correspondence with the university upon the Table?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the negative; neither the Government nor the Royal Commission have taken any steps in connection with the scheme for acquiring the Bedford estate site. I cannot answer the second part of the question, which should be addressed to the parties concerned. There is no correspondence on the matter in the possession of the Government.

asked the cost per word for telegraphic messages from the United Kingdom to some of the more important West India isles, and the cost per word between some of the more important isles?

The rates for ordinary telegrams from the United Kingdom to some of the principle West India Islands are as follows:—

	s.	d.		s.	d.
Antigua	4	4	Martinique.	5	1
Barbados	4	9	St. Lucia	4	6
Cuba 1	8 & 1	10	St. Thomas	5	0
Jamaica	3	0	Trinidad	5	1

A complete table of the rates will be found on pages 876 and 877 of the current edition of the Post Office Guide. I am informed that the local rates between some of the more important islands are as follows:—

Jamaica—Cuba	1s. 4½d. a word.
Jamaica—Antigua	2s. 5½d. a word.
Antigua—Martinique	10d. a word plus
	5d. a telegram.
Martinique—St. Lucia	3d. a word plus
	5d. a telegram.
St. Lucia—St. Vincent	4d. a word.
St. Vincent—Grenada.	5d. a word
Grenada—Trinidad	6d. a word.

asked the Postmaster-General the number, excluding officers transferred from the National Telephone Company, of second-class clerks employed in the offices of superintending engineers in London and the provinces, the average age of these officers when promoted to second-class clerkships, the rank or ranks from which the promoted officers were drawn, and the number of promotions of second-class clerks that have been made to the first class of clerks during the past ten years?

The number of second-class clerks employed in the Superintending Engineers' Offices in London and the provinces is fifty-seven. The average age of these officers on promotion was thirty-five. In each case their rank immediately prior to promotion was that of third class (or junior) clerk, Superintending Engineers' Offices. During the past ten years, eleven second-class clerks have been promoted to first-class clerkships.

asked the Postmaster-General, if the classification of the late National Telephone Company's staff is yet complete so far as the Engineering Department of the Post Office is concerned; if so, will he state how many officers have been actually classified as Civil Service assistant clerks; how many, if any, of this number are under the age of seventeen years; and whether any will receive special privileges or a scale of pay different to that applicable to the class of assistant clerks?

The classification of the staff taken over from the National Telephone Company is not quite complete, but it can be stated that the total number of officers graded as assistant clerks is 295, of whom 138 are in the Engineering Department. Included in the latter number are eleven officers who were on the 1st January last under seventeen years of age, four of whom have since attained that age. Seventeen is the minimum age for appointment as assistant clerk, and the officers under that age will rank as unestablished officers until they attain it. In the meantime they cannot be paid the minimum of the scale of pay for assistant clerks (£45), and they will receive the privileges of unestablished full-time officers of the Post Office service.

asked the Postmaster-General if he is aware that several temporary draughtsmen employed in the Engineering Department of the Post Office were established in 1909 as Civil Service assistant clerks; and, if so, will he state whether, in view of the fact that certain of these officers are still engaged upon draughtsmen's duties, those duties are proper to the class of Civil Service assistant clerks?

I am fully aware of the arrangement referred to. The classification of these officers was decided in 1908 after inquiry into their duties by a special Committee, who were of opinion that the simple work required of them was not such as to warrant there being ranked as draughtsmen. I do not propose to disturb the arrangement.

asked the Postmaster-General whether, in view of the fact that as a general rule an officer of the Engineering Department of the Post Office usually profits on promotion, he will state the necessity for offering two officers on the class of Civil Service assistant clerks in that department appointments to the grade of third-class clerks, Superintending Engineers' Offices, provinces, at a comparative loss, notwithstanding the fact that they had actually been certified as having fulfilled the requirements of Clause 45 of the Order in Council, dated 4th January, 1910, for advancement to clerkships of the second division of the Civil Service; and will he state the reason of his decision to withhold further prospect of advancement from the officers concerned because they were unable to accept the appointments referred to?

As stated in my reply to the hon. Member for Blackburn on the 24th ultimo, the promotion of those exceptionally qualified assistant clerks who earn promotion in the Post Office is effected, in the ordinary course, within the department in which they are serving, and in which their experience is of use As second division clerks are not normally employed in the Engineering Department of the Post Office, the officers in question could not be promoted to that rank. The hon. Member will doubtless understand that no assistant clerk can claim promotion as a right.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware that immediately prior to and apparently because of the investigations of the Departmental Committee appointed to inquire into the clerical establishment of Superintending Engineers' Offices, certain Civil Service assistant clerks serving in sectional engineers' offices of the Metropolitan south district who had the custody of official cash in those offices with the responsibility of paying the wages and salaries of all the workmen and engineering officers attached to the sections concerned, respectively, and of all work incidental thereto, were suddenly removed from such duty, notwithstanding that it had been carried out by them without complaint for several years; that these assistant clerks were aggrieved in consequence of such removal; if so, will he state the cause or combination of causes leading to the withdrawal; and whether he will remunerate the officers in question at substitution rates in accordance with paragraphs 98 and 99 of the Hobhouse Committee's Report?

The Committee on superintending engineers clerical establishments, to which the hon. Member refers, made no recommendations regarding the custody of official cash. As a result of that Committee various duties were rearranged; but such rearrangements, which are by no means uncommon, do not involve any question of substitution pay.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he expects soon to be able to reply definitely to the communication addressed to him on 24th May, 1911, by the Society of Post Office Engineers on the questions of the line of promotion beyond the class of executive engineers and the age limit for staff engineership?

I am in communication with the Civil Service Commissioners on certain questions which relate to this matter, and regret that I cannot yet give a definite reply to the memorial in question. I hope, however, to be in a position to do so shortly.

asked the Postmaster-General why the Irish mails, ready for delivery in Holyhead at 12.20 p.m., are not sent out for delivery until 2.45 p.m.; and will he take steps to accelerate delivery so that, if necessary, the letters may be replied to by the mail leaving Holyhead for Kingstown at 2.30 p.m.?

I am having inquiry made in the matter and will communicate with the hon. Member.

asked the Vice-President of the Department of Agriculture (Ireland) whether the report that heads taken from cattle suffering from foot-and-mouth disease, as alleged, were recently sent from Waterford to Liverpool, is true?

No, Sir. The question is now the subject of special investigation.

asked the Vice-President of the Department of Agriculture (Ireland) whether he is aware of the consignments of hay lying at Waterford awaiting shipment to this country from Queen's County, where no foot-and-mouth disease has existed for the past twenty-nine years; and whether he will represent to the Agricultural Board in this country the advisability of withdrawing the prohibition against the importation of hay from districts in Ireland which are and have been free from cattle disease for nearly thirty years?

The Department will make representations in the direction suggested as soon as the situation in Ireland as regards foot-and-mouth disease admits of their doing so.

asked the Vice-President of the Department of Agriculture (Ireland), what the effect of the Diseases of Animals Act is in reference to the removal of dead swine in Ireland; is he aware that several of the dead pork markets in the North of Ireland have been seriously prejudiced by the action of the Royal Irish Constabulary in certain districts interfering with the owners of swine and preventing the removal of the carcasses to market; whether he will furnish a copy of the instructions issued by his Department to the Royal Irish Constabulary; and will he at once take steps to have the police instructed as to their rights and duties in such cases?

Under the Diseases of Animals Act the Department have power to prohibit or regulate all movement of carcasses of swine or other animals. They only think it necessary, however, in present circumstances that the police, as a measure of precaution, should exercise, a discretion in regard to carcasses of animals authorised for slaughter which are in transit within or from the scheduled area, exclusive of infected places, so as to be able to report with a view to veterinary inspection in cases where they consider they have reasonable grounds for suspecting existence of disease. This procedure need not involve any serious inconvenience where no such grounds exist; and it is the least inconvenient course which could be adopted. The Department have confidence in the discretion as well as zeal of the police in this matter, who have throughout been giving them the most valuable assistance in dealing with the difficult situation which has arisen in connection with Foot-and-Mouth Disease.

asked the Secretary for Scotland why a medal for service on the occasion of the laying of the foundation-stone of the Glasgow Technical College has been withheld from Mr. George Ross, who was then a member of the Dumbartonshire force, and was one of a contingent sent to Glasgow on the occasion?

I am informed that Mr. George Ross had retired from the Dumbartonshire Police Force, and that his address was not recorded at the time when the distribution of the medals was made in 1904, and that the medal destined for him was therefore retained. If he will make application to the Chief Constable of Glasgow, giving his address, the medal will be duly forwarded.

asked the Lord Advocate whether the Sheriff-Substitute of Inverness-shire, at Fort William, who recently retired was able to speak and understand Gaelic; whether it has been found essential in the administration of justice in that neighbourhood that the Sheriff should have a; knowledge of that language; and whether the new appointee is a fluent speaker in that tongue?

A knowledge of Gaelic has not in practice been found essential in the administration of justice at Fort William; but as a matter of fact both the late and the present Sheriff-Substitute have such knowledge.

asked the Lord Advocate whether officers and servants, other than teachers, who are in the service of central institutions, provincial committees for the training of teachers, and county secondary education committees, are eligible for pensions when incapacitated by age or infirmity in the same way as similar officers and servants of the School Board; and, if not, will he introduce legislation dealing with this disqualification?

Expenditure by the authorities of central institutions, by provincial committees, and by county secondary education committees for the purpose of making a reasonable provision for pensions for officers in their employment other than teachers may be reckoned as part of the approved expenditure of such institutions and bodies for the purposes of Sections 16 and 17 of the Education (Scotland) Act, 1908.

asked the Lord Advocate how many persons were convicted of misappropriating trust property in Scotland during each of the eleven years, 1901 to 1911, inclusive, distinguishing between testamentary and other trusts, and classifying the convictions during each year according to the capacities in which the convicted persons had control of the trust property?

The information is contained in the subjoined table: —

Year.			Testamentary Trusts.		Other Trusts.						Total
			Law agent.	Banker.	Law Agent.	Banker.	Secretary or Treasurer of Friendly or other Society.	Collector of Rates.	Factor or Agent.	Cashier or Manager.
1901	…	…	—	1	—	—	4	—	—	2	7
1902	…	…	—	—	—	—	5	—	—	1	6
1903	…	…	—	—	2	—	5	—	—	6	13
1904	…	…	2	—	1	—	4	—	2	2	11
1905	…	…	—	—	—	—	5	—	—	2	7
1906	…	…	—	—	—	—	2	—	—	2	4
1907	…	…	—	—	—	1	5	—	1	3	10
1908	…	…	2	—	2	1	1	1	2	7	16
1909	…	…	1	—	1	—	1	—	—	5	8
1910	…	…	—	—	—	—	4	1	—	5	10
1911	…	…	1	—	2	—	5	1	—	1	10
Total		…	6	1	8	2	41	3	5	36	102