asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether a trained nurse, who belongs to no institution and who carries on her profession entirely on her own account, is liable when she is engaged in nursing to be treated as an employed person; and, if so, by whom are the contributions payable in respect of her under the National Insurance Act to be paid?

The Insurance Commissioners are advised that a trained nurse working on her own account is ordinarily employed under contract of service. Insurance contributions are, therefore, payable in respect of her so long as she is employed at a rate of remuneration (inclusive of the value of board and lodging) not exceeding £160 a year. The person by whom, or on whose behalf, she is engaged is to be regarded as the employer.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury if he will state how many approved sanatoria there are in Lincolnshire and where they are situated?

My right hon. Friend has asked me to reply to this question. I have approved temporarily of the use of beds at the Lincoln City Hospital for the treatment of cases of tuberculosis, and arrangements have been made for a temporary phthisis clinic at the office of the medical officer of health of the city. A suggestion is under consideration that the county and county borough councils in Lincolnshire should combine with a view to the provision of one sanatorium for the whole geographical county, but no permanent sanatorium has yet been provided.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether he is aware that the insurance cards of the workmen employed at the Caledonian Railway depot, Edinburgh, are kept at Glasgow; that the employé;s are subject to one day's notice to terminate their employment, and that sometimes a period of a week elapses before a discharged workman can obtain his insurance card; and whether, in view of the difficulty of a man obtaining employment without production of his card, he will make representations to the company concerned with a view to the cards being retained at the Edinburgh depot in order that a discharged workman may receive his card without delay?

The Scottish Commissioners have communicated with the railway company, and understand that the health insurance cards of their Edinburgh employés are, as stated, kept at Glasgow. Although the company are not aware of any case in which a period of a week has elapsed before a discharged workman has obtained his card, they recognise that certain inconvenience may be caused in the case of men liable to dismissal at any time. The Commission are still in communication with the company, who are considering whether some arrangements for the local stamping of cards in such cases are practicable.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury how many Excise officers applied for posts as health insurance inspectors in Scotland; how many were recommended as suitable by the head of the Customs and Excise Department; how many of the latter were given an interview and sat an examination; and were any of these examinations held after the posts were all filled?

Twenty-five officers of the Customs and Excise applied for posts on the outdoor staff of the Scottish Commission, seven of whom were recommended by their superior officers. Three of the latter were interviewed, and two were nominated to sit at the competitive examination. Only one of these actually took the examination, and he obtained an appointment. The answer to the last part of the question is in the negative.

asked how many health insurance inspectors were appointed for Scotland, how many applicants were there, and what positions had the successful applicants held previous to their appointment?

Thirty-one persons have so far been appointed to the outdoor staff of the Scottish Commission. I am circulating particulars of their positions before their employment by the Commission. In all 2,933 applications were received.

asked the Lord Advocate whether, on the strength of his stated opinion in the case of share fishermen, the Insurance Commissioners will exempt owners and part owners of nets from the provisions of the National Insurance Act in such cases as where their terms of agreement are identical with those of owners and part owners of boats?

I cannot undertake to say what course will be taken by the Scottish Insurance Commissioners in the cases referred to by the Noble Lord.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether his attention has been called to a meeting of Dublin medical practitioners held under the presidency of the President of the Royal College of Surgeons at which resolutions were adopted to the effect that every doctor practising in Dublin should be requested to sign a pledge not to accept service with any insurance or benefit society or any medical appointment unless the local medical committee were satisfied that the payment was an adequate remuneration, and that every city doctor who is a medical officer to any benefit society of whatever kind be required to make a demand on his society for such rate of remuneration as the local medical committee shall consider proper, and, if such be not granted, he must resign his office and no practitioner shall be allowed to take it, and that a black list be formed on which the names of practitioners who refuse to sign the pledge shall be placed, such list being published in the medical colleges, and it to be understood that everyone who appeals thereon shall be boycotted by means known to the medical profession; whether, seeing that this resolution is an infringement of the law as advocating intimidation, he will order a prosecution where it can be shown that, in consequence of pressure brought to bear on medical practitioners by the local medical committee appointed at the meeting referred to, such doctors who had undertaken work for friendly societies or insurance committees resigned their appointments; whether he will consult the Irish Law Officer as to whether licensing corporations in Ireland have power to remove from their registers the names of medical practitioners who refuse to recognise the authority assumed by the Dublin medical committee; and, if not, will he take steps to protect medical practitioners who are prepared to work for friendly societies or to undertake the administration of the National Insurance Act in Ireland?

The resolutions actually passed at the meeting referred to are not quite accurately set out in the question. I am advised that the resolutions and pledge are not in themselves illegal, and that the licensing corporations in Dublin are not in any way controlled by either the resolutions or the pledge. The Government are not aware that any doctor has been removed from any register for refusing to recognise the views of the Dublin medical committee. If there should be anything which amounts to an infringement of the law the question of what action should be taken will be considered.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury what action is being taken to ensure that all the employers' contributions payable by shipowners in respect of Lascars and foreign seamen, who are not themselves insured persons under the National Insurance Act, are being properly and fully accounted for; and what steps are being taken when crews are being paid off to record the number of Lascars and foreigners for whom shipowners are required to pay contributions?

The necessary arrangements have been made to secure returns from shipowners concerned. Payment will be made in cash, and not by means of stamps and cards.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury if he is aware that the Seamen's National Insurance Society issued a pamphlet in July last, in which seamen are informed that it is only by joining the Seamen's National Insurance Society that seamen and fishermen can obtain the full benefit of ail the funds available for additional benefits, pensions, etc.; whether he is aware that the pamphlet is still being circulated bearing the names of the Rev. Charles P. Hopkins and Mr. Thomas Chambers, as members of the committee of management, although both of these gentlemen were withdrawn from the Seamen's National Insurance Society several months ago; and whether he proposes to take any action in the matter?

I am informed by the Secretary of the Seamen's National Insurance Society that a pamphlet containing the statement referred to in the question was issued by the society in July last. The pamphlet makes it clear that members of approved societies might, as deferred members of the seamen's society, participate in any pension fund established out of the money paid in respect of foreign seamen. Such deferred members would however, of course, have no rights in the general surplus of the society, and it is to this fact that the statement in the pamphlet refers. The gentlemen referred to in the question were present as members of the committee of management when the pamphlet was approved; they took part in settling its wording and approved its issue. One hundred thousand copies were printed and sent out before they tendered their resignations. I see no sufficient reason for withdrawing this large stock of the pamphlet, and printing another stock, in order to remove the names of two gentlemen who were jointly responsible for its issue.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Insurance Commissioners have intimated to the friendly societies who have become approved societies, and in particular the Ancient Order of Shepherds, that all cards of insurance must be returned before the 26th October, and that such cards upon which the full thirteen contributions have not been paid will be considered fully paid for the purpose of reckoning the benefits receivable by the persons mentioned thereon; and whether the deficiency will be made good by the Treasury?

All insured persons who are members of approved societies are required by the regulations of the Commissioners to send in their contribution cards for the first quarter to their societies by 26th October. This requirement has been brought to the notice of all approved societies and of all insured persons. With regard to the second and third paragraphs of the question, I presume that the hon. Member is referring to Section 10 (4) of the Act which provides that in calculating arrears of contributions (on which the rate of sickness benefit depends) no account shall be taken in the case of employed contributors of any arrears accruing during the first year of the Act. At the same time Section 8 (8) provides that such contributors are not entitled to sickness or maternity benefit until twenty-six full weekly contributions have been paid in respect of them. These are definite provisions of the Act, not regulations of the Insurance Commissioners, and were factors in the actuaries' calculations. The ground suggested by the hon. Member for anticipating a deficiency does not therefore exist.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether a person employed within the meaning of the National Insurance Act, Part I., whose wife is in receipt of an income from investments of the annual value of upwards of £26, is entitled to a certificate exempting from the liability to be insured?

An income of the annual value of £26 and upwards received by a wife for her separate use does not entitle her husband to claim an exemption certificate under the Act.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland when he proposes to put upon the Paper the Amendment to the Government of Ireland Bill relating to the control of the Irish Post Office in time of war; and whether, having regard to the transitory nature of the provisions of Clause 44, to the fact that under the timetable it is unlikely to be discussed, and to the importance of the subject matter of the Amendment, he will propose the same as a new Clause under circumstances which will ensure its being adequately debated?

The Amendments in question should, as a matter of form, come in as Amendments to Clause 44, and will be placed on the Paper shortly.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland, how many sales have taken place up to date under the Irish Land Act, 1909; what amount has been advanced under this Act; and will he say what has been the average time which elapsed between the filing of purchase agreements under this Act and the date when the advance was made, stating also the shortest and longest time involved in any such transactions under this Act?

The Estates Commissioners inform me that advances amounting to £1,831,277, repayable by 3½ per cent, annuities under the Irish Land Act, 1909, have been made in respect of 6,216 holdings, and proceedings are pending in respect of 18,900 holdings, the estimated purchase money being £4,100,000. It is not possible to give the information asked for in the concluding portion of the question, but it may be stated that estates agreed to be sold under the Act of 1909 are dealt with irrespective of estates agreed to be sold under the Act of 1903, and the purchase money is advanced as soon as the lands have been inspected and the Commissioners' requirements as to title, boundaries, and other matters are complied with.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether the Estates Commissioners have purchased a portion of the Goodall estate, in the parish of Kilbride, county Roscommon; if so, what is the extent of this portion and the extent of the portion unpurchased; and whether any steps are being taken to acquire the remainder, which is needed for the enlargement of uneconomic holdings on this and adjoining estates?

The portion of the Goodall estate which was the subject of proceedings for sale to the Estates Commissioners under Section 6 of the Irish Land Act, 1903, has since been purchased by the Congested Districts Board and comprises about 530 acres. The other portion of the property was sold as a direct sale under the same Act and has been vested in the purchasing tenants.

asked the Chief Secretary whether he is aware that the Gunning estate, county Roscommon, has now been in the hands of the Estates Commissioners for a considerable time, and that they are making no progress towards acquiring the grazing farm of Cloonmurly, which is adjacent to a number of uneconomic holdings on the same estate; whether, in the event of the Estates Commissioners failing to take over the farm, it is the intention of the Congested Districts Board to take it over without delay in order to relieve the poorer tenants on the same estate by having the grazing lands distributed amongst them; whether he is aware that the gentleman in possession of this grazing farm, Cloonmurly, is not living thereon, but is residing about three miles away, at Lisbride, on a very large estate already purchased from the Estates Commissioners; whether the said gentleman is-also in possession of another large estate, called Crows' Gap, which is now used as a grazing ranch; and will the Congested Districts Board take immediate action in the matter?

This estate is the subject of direct sale proceedings before the Estates Commissioners under the Irish Land Act, 1903, and is being dealt with in order of priority. The farm of Cloonmurly referred to is tenanted land, and subject to a judicial rent, and cannot, therefore, be acquired by the Commissioners as untenanted land for the purposes of division. The tenant of this farm has already obtained an advance of £3,000 for the purchase of a holding on another estate, and the Commissioners do not propose to make him any further advance to purchase the Cloonmurly farm.

also asked whether the demesne lands on the Massey estate, county Cork, now and for several years past let on the eleven-months' grazing system, have been offered by the Land Judge to the Estates Commissioners for sale; whether the other untenanted land, mountain areas, and turbary, are amongst the matters to be acquired by the Estates Commissioners; is an inspection being made of these, as well as of the tenants' holdings, so that they may be acquired for the improvement of the condition of the evicted tenants, small holders, and labourers in the locality; and when is it hoped to complete the inspection of the estate, and to make the offer to the Land Judge?

The Estates Commissioners inform me that the untenanted land on this estate in respect of which the Land Judge has caused the Estates Commissioners to be furnished with particulars with a view to purchase under Section 7 of the Irish Land Act, 1903, consists for the most part of mountain and bog. An inspection of the lands has been directed. The Commissioners are not in a position at present to reply to the other matters referred to in the question.

asked the Chief Secretary why and by what authority the Congested Districts Board have relet to Mr. Houston Boswell, an absentee grazier, the large farm of Killary, county Mayo, on the estate which they purchased from the Earl of Lucan, while there are poor occupiers of uneconomic holdings in the neighbourhood who expected a distribution of this farm on the expiration of Mr. Houston Boswell's lease on 1st November proximo; has Mr. Houston Boswell another large farm on the estate of Lord Sligo in the same congested district; and will the Board take any steps to relieve congestion?

The Congested Districts Board agreed that on the termination of Mr. Houston Boswell's lease of Killary Farm, which is situated on the Board's estate, they would make him a temporary letting of the farm for eleven months for grazing purposes from 1st November, as they would not be ready to deal with the farm until they acquire the neighbouring tenanted land. The Board are aware that Mr. Houston Boswell has another farm on Lord Sligo's estate in the same district, but they have not yet acquired this estate.

asked the Chief Secretary whether he is aware that nothing has since been done by the Estates Commissioners towards the purchase and subdivision of the lands of Clonfin, North Longford, under Section 6 of the Land Purchase Act, 1903; and will he state when a definite order for the purchase of this property will be made, seeing that almost five years have elapsed since the agreements for purchase of the tenanted part of the property were entered into?

The Estates Commissioners hope to be able to deal with the tenanted lands which are the subject of direct sale proceedings at an early date in their order of priority on the register of direct sales, and the untenanted land which is the subject of proceedings for sale to the Commissioners will be dealt with as soon as practicable in order of priority.

asked the Chief Secretary whether he is aware that the tenanted and untenanted portions of the Castleheyno estate, situated near Collooney, county Sligo (M. F. Stack, landlord, and R. St. G. Robinson, Sligo, agent), were some time ago examined and valued by officials of the Congested Districts Board; whether the Cloonela grazing farm, occupied by Mr. Gilmor, Roscrib, Ballymote, county Sligo, and Armsbrack (B. Morrow, Sligo, landlord), all in the same locality, were valued at the same time; and, if so, whether steps will be taken to purchase these farms for the purpose of having the cottier holdings surrounding them enlarged?

The estates of Messrs. M. F. Stack, A. W. Gilmor, and B. Morrow have been inspected by the Congested Districts Board. An offer has been issued for the purchase of the estate of Mr. Stack, and an offer will shortly be made for the purchase of Mr. B. Morrow's estate. The Board hope to come to a decision regarding the estate of Mr. Gilmor at their next meeting.

asked the Chief Secretary whether he is aware that, whilst Nationalists and Liberals form seven-eighths of the population of county Sligo, the Unionists have a preponderating majority on the magisterial bench; and, if so, whether he will see that the gentlemen whose names have already been submitted to the Lord Chancellor for appointment will be appointed?

I am not aware of the various political views held by the people referred to. The Lord Chancellor informs me that he will duly consider the names submitted to him in connection with the county Sligo magistracy.

asked the Chief Secretary whether he is aware that Mr. Eugene M'Donough was recently elected Petty Sessions clerk for the district of Ballymote, county Sligo, by a large majority, and that, nevertheless, the election was afterwards set aside on the grounds that some of the magistrates were not qualified to vote although they had given several attendances during the past two years; whether he can say on whose authority this election was set aside; and whether, taking all the circumstances of this case into account, he will order a new election?

An election for a Petty-Sessions clerk for the district named was held on the 22nd August. Thirteen magistrates voted for Mr. M'Donough and seven voted for the other candidate. The votes of eight of the magistrates were not valid in consequence of their not being resident in the Petty Sessions district and not being qualified by attendance to vote. A fresh election was therefore ordered by the Lord Lieutenant.

asked the Chief Secretary when he proposes to introduce his Bill dealing with methods of examination under the Irish intermediate education system?

I hope to introduce the Bill before Christmas.

asked the Chief Secretary whether his promised Grant of £40,000 per annum for Irish secondary education will be available for the year 1912–13?

The promised Grant of £40,000 has not been included in the Estimates for the current year, and is not, therefore, at present available.

asked the Chief Secretary whether inquiries will be made of the Macroom Rural District Council as to the cause of the delay in building the 140 cottages in regard to which nothing has been done since they were sanctioned by the Local Government Board for specific labourers in July, 1908; have the labourers for whom these cottages were passed been living for the past five or six years or more in houses which have been condemned by the medical officers of health as unfit for human habitation; will he state the special steps taken by the district council to complete the scheme as soon as possible, or whether any such steps were taken; has any effort been made to have any cottages built by direct labour; and will anything now be done to provide these labourers speedily with sanitary abodes?

As I have already informed the hon. Member, the Macroom Rural District Council, notwithstanding repeated advertisements, have been unable to obtain contractors for the erection of all the cottages included in their scheme, and are obliged to proceed with such limited number as they may receive lenders for from time to time. No doubt a large proportion of the labourers referred to are still living in houses which have been certified as unfit, but, as already pointed out, ninety-three of the cottages were completed in January last, and the council are endeavouring to complete the scheme as quickly as possible. They have considered the question of building the cottages by direct labour, but without any definite result.

asked how much of the additional £1,000,000 granted by Parliament for the building of labourers' dwellings has been authorised by Provisional Order to be lent; and how is the sum allocated in the four provinces?

The total amount of loans sanctioned by the Local Government Board up to date out of the additional million is £99,255, of which amount Ulster received £60,520, Munster £31,765, Leinster £6,120, and Connaught £850.

asked whether it is the intention of the Local Government Board to hold an inquiry into the application of the Kanturk Rural District Council for a loan under the Labourers Acts, the petition for which was lodged on 11th November, 1911?

The Local Government Board do not at present intend to hold the desired inquiry. There are several rural districts from which petitions for Provisional Orders have been lodged where the necessity for additional labourers' cottages is much greater than in Kanturk, in which district 618 cottages had been provided and ten were in course of construction on 31st March last.

asked the Chief Secretary (1) whether two different inspectors were sent to inquire into the application for reinstatement by the late Mr. O'Sullivan, Mahony estate, Dooks, county Kerry; and, if so, will he state what the reports of these two separate inspectors were; (2) whether, seeing that the tenants on the Mahony estate, Dooks, county Kerry, have refused to purchase their holdings until the representatives of the late Michael O'Sullivan, evicted tenant, be reinstated in the holding from which he was evicted, and seeing further that all local men who know the facts of this case press this claim, he will ask the Estates Commissioners to send down an independent inspector to inquire into all the facts of this case?

The Estates Commissioners have fully inquired into the matter, and, after careful consideration, have decided not to take any action as regards the application of O'Sullivan's representatives for reinstatement. The farm has been for many years used for the purposes of grazing by a large number of small occupiers, of whom there are many in the vicinity, and portion of the land is let on lease. The reports of the inspectors are confidential documents, and cannot, therefore, be published.

asked whether the Congested Districts Board have considered or would consider the application of Patrick M'Goldrick, of Carrickanerrew, an evicted tenant on the White estate, county Leitrim, for an allotment of the land from which he was evicted, in order to make his farm an economic one?

The Congested Districts Beard inform me that M'Goldrick was a tenant on the White estate when they took it over, and that he still remains a tenant of the Board. Any application from M'Goldrick will be considered by the Board.

asked the Chief Secretary whether he is aware that the Congested Districts Board have instituted proceedings against Mary Hart, a tenant on the White estate, county Leitrim, to recover possession of her farm for the purpose of redistribution; and whether, having regard to the fact that she, before becoming tenant of the holding, was compelled to pay off all arrears of rent and has since paid rent up to date, she will now be compensated for her interest in the same or be given a farm of equivalent value?

The Congested Districts Board have instituted legal proceedings to take up a plot of rough mountain land from Mary Hart for which she has paid the conacre rent up to 1911. She is not entitled to any compensation, but the question of giving her a gratuity will be considered by the Board.

asked the Chief Secretary whether he is aware that within the present year the Marquess of Sligo was engaged in a civil action in the Irish Courts against the Westport Urban Council; that after the commencement of this action the Irish Local Government Board wrote letters to the urban council, dealing with the cause of action, which were of a threatening character; that the solicitors to the Local Government Board acted as solicitors for the Marquess of Sligo in the action against the urban council; that the bacteriologist to the Local Government Board was a witness against the council in the action; and if, in view of the effect upon pust and efficient administration of so many of the officers of a great public Department entrusted with the control of local authorities ranging themselves in a civil action against a local authority, and particularly in a case where the plaintiff happens to be a near relative of the Vice-President, the chief executive officer of such Department, he will confine the Commissioners, solicitors, and other officials of the Local Government Board to their official duties, and thus prevent a recurrence of the state of things experienced in the case referred to?

I am aware that in November, 1911, an action was brought by the Marquess of Sligo against the West-port Urban District Council in connection with the discharge of sewage into the Carrowbeg River, and that judgment was given in favour of the plaintiff. The judge, in order to give time for the carrying out of the necessary works, suspended the operation of his Order for six months with a further stay if necessary. In August, 1912, nothing having been done by the district council, the Local Government Board —the Vice-President being absent on leave at the time—wrote reminding the district council that they were likely to incur further costs if they failed to comply with the Order of the Court. The firm of solicitors and the bacteriologist employed by the Board are not debarred from engaging in other professional business, and in the present instance the parts which they took in the proceedings did not in any way encroach upon their official duties. It is not proposed to require them to devote themselves exclusively to the public service.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he is aware that the medical officer of health for the county of Fife has reported that a state of congestion exists with regard to housing accommodation at Rosyth, and that consequently some of the men employed there have to travel four and five miles to work; whether he is aware that the Dunfermline Town Council have decided to put the Housing and Town Planning Act into operation; and whether, in view of the fact that the Admiralty have about 600 acres of land lying to the north of the naval base, the Department can co-operate with the Dunfermline Town Council in their efforts to take advantage of the Act referred to by feuing or leasing such land on reasonable terms or in any other way?

I have read the report in question. Reference is made in it to the fact that some workmen have to walk or cycle from three to four and a half miles to and from their lodgings and their work. To render further housing accommodation more easily accessible, the contractors have recently provided a service of trains between Rosyth, Inverkeithing, and Dunfermline. I am aware that the Dunfermline Town Council have under consideration the question of town planning their district, and we are co-operating with that body in order to facilitate their operations. These have not been so expeditious as might be desired, in consequence of the necessity of proceeding in the first instance with the scheme of main drainage. For this the Dunfermline local authority has obtained the necessary Parliamentary powers, and contracts for the first portions of the work are in progress, that for the first portion having been let in April last. The Admiralty have agreed to the inclusion of some 316 acres of their land in the town planning scheme, and on the 25th September last some preliminary information was furnished to the town council for guidance in its preparation. No definite arrangements have yet been made as to the terms of feuing or leasing the Admiralty land. As T stated in reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Pontefract on 9th October, though we are under no contract obligation in the matter of housing, yet, now that the number of men employed has become considerable, I should not feel myself debarred—although the matter is one primarily for the Scotch Local Government Board and the local authorities—from making friendly representations as occasion seems to demand to the contractor in the interests of the men. In pursuance of that view, I am now in communication with the contractors.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty when the storehouse, assistants employed at the Royal Naval Store Depot, West India Dock, will receive the arrears of pay due to them on Admiralty Letter EC 1160, dated 1st August, 1912?

The arrears have now been paid.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty, whether the parents of Walter Charles Rivers, lost with submarine B2, dispatched a wire of inquiry on learning of the disaster at Whitehall; whether notice was immediately taken of it; whether in the eventual reply it was stated that the Admiralty does not reply to telegraphic inquiries unless the reply is prepaid; and, if so, whether he will explain why the Admiralty adopt this way of writing to bereaved parents subsequent to the loss of their son in his country's serviced?

A telegram of inquiry was received at the Admiralty at 3.23 on the afternoon of the 4th instant, and a letter in reply was dispatched the same day. It is not the fact the Admiralty stated that it did not reply to telegraphic inquiries unless the reply is prepaid. I regret that the rule in regard to telegrams was not relaxed in this case, and I have given directions which will, it is hoped, prevent the recurrence of such incidents.

asked how many of the vessels of the Home Fleet, larger than torpedo craft, are able to pass under the Forth Bridge at all states of the tide without lowering the aerials of their wireless outfit?

I am quite prepared to give the hon. Member this information in confidence, but I see no need for the publication of technical details of this character.

asked whether the structure of the Forth Bridge provides any interference in wireless communications between Rosyth and the sea to the east of Rosyth; and whether the erection of a subsidiary or repeating station on Inch-keith is under consideration?

I am advised that it would not be in the public interest to furnish the information asked for.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he is aware that the rents of a number of cottages at Bexhill, being the property of the Admiralty and occupied by coastguards, have been considerably increased at short notice; and whether, in view of the fact that these coastguards have all planted their gardens and made due provision for the winter's supply of vegetables, and that loss and hardship must be inflicted by having to move to cheaper quarters, he will allow these coastguards to continue their present tenancies at the former rents?

The hon. Member appears to be under a misapprehension, as the coastguard men at Bexhill are provided with free quarters.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is now able to state the decision of the Law Officers of the Crown on the question submitted to them on 5th August, which related to the grounds on which the Home Office refuses its consent to the decision of the standing joint committee of the Durham County Council to pay Police-constable J. Welsh, after ten years and eleven months' service in the force, a pension according to Scale B of the Police Act, 1890?

No, Sir. I have not yet received the Law Officers' opinion, but I understand it will be ready in a few days.

asked the Homo Secretary if his approval has been given to the proposal of the London County Council to build a new Quarter Session House for the county of London on the site of the Newington Sessions House at a cost of about £100,000; has he taken into consideration the desirability of a central position if all the business is to be transacted in one building; that the great majority of cases tried at the London Sessions are committed from the north side of the Thames, and by far the greater number of witnesses and others, including members of the bar and the police, when business calls them to the Sessions will have to travel a considerable distance and cross the river in order to reach the Court; that a Departmental Committee reported that the Newington site was distinctly inferior to the central district as regards convenience; and that the London County Council Committee, on whose report the Newington site was adopted, did not pursue inquiries with respect to alternative sites; and has he considered the undesirability of expending a large sum of public money on a site which has been regarded with disfavour by justices and the public alike?

This is a matter for the local authority to decide. No doubt there is much to be said on both sides of the question, and the considerations urged by the hon. Member must, with others, have been fully taken into account by the London County Council before they came to a decision.

asked the Home Secretary the number of persons compulsorily detained in inebriates institutions in 1910 and 1911, and how many in each year were classified as being feeble-minded or otherwise mentally defective?

The number of persons detained on 1st January, 1910, was 917; on 1st January, 1911, 807. Of these, 78 and 67 could at once be definitely classified as so defective as to require permanent control. A large number of others were defective in a minor degree.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether, in view of the fact that in Barnoldswick there are 1,549 school places, an average attendance of 1,395, and 1,717 names on the registers, and that he has consented to the proposal of the West Riding local education authority to provide additional accommodation for 300, he can now state that, when the new Roman Catholic elementary school is completed, the 95 Roman Catholic children will then be withdrawn from the present public elementary schools in that area, without reducing the present cost of maintenance of any of those schools; and whether this new Roman Catholic school will thus increase the burden upon the rates and taxes to the extent of £400 per annum?

In view of the rapid rate at which it may be expected that the expansion of Barnoldswick will continue, I do not anticipate that the withdrawal of the Roman Catholic children from the existing schools when the new Roman Catholic school is ready will lead to any reduction in the average attendance at the existing schools below the figure for which they are at present recognised, or to any consequent reduction in the cost of their maintenance. The question is, however, purely hypothetical and the answer depends upon a variety of considerations, such as the ages of the children at the time of the transfer and the size of the class-rooms in the existing schools. With reference to the second part of the question, it is not possible to say what Grants will be earned by the new school or what will be the cost of maintenance. One witness at the inquiry estimated the Grants the school would earn at £243, and the cost of maintenance at £342 a year. Another witness estimated the cost of maintenance at £460, but I may point out that an additional burden on the rates and taxes is inevitable in any case owing to the influx of children and the necessity for further accommodation.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether he will give the names of the new denominational elementary schools, the distinctive denomination to which each belongs, the number of school places each is calculated to accommodate, and the local education authority in which each is situated, to which he has given his consent since 24th October, 1911?

The following table shows the number of proposals to provide voluntary schools to which my consent has been given since 24th October, 1911:—

Local Education Authority.	School.	Denomination.	Accommodation.
Glossop	Whitfield	Church of England	210
Leicester C.C.	Owston	Church of England	30
Warwick C.C.	Polesworth Infants	Church of England	192
Worcester C.C.	Birlingham (at present certified efficient)	Church of England	50
Northants C.C.	Thorpe Malsor (at present certified efficient)	Church of England	36
Norfolk C.C.	East Dereham	Church of England	144
Harts	Burghclere	Church of England	60
London	Paddington, Woodchester Street	Church of England	250
Northumberland	Whitley and Monkseaton	Roman Catholic	200
Stretford	Trafford Park	Roman Catholic	150
Hartlepool	Hart Road	Roman Catholic	200
Liverpool	Silvester Street	Roman Catholic	500
Yorks, West Riding	Barnoldswick	Roman Catholic	200
South Shields	St. Bede's	Roman Catholic	500
London	Kensington, Notting Hill, Pottery Lane	Roman Catholic	250
Westmorland	Waitby and Smardale	Undenominational	25
Cheshire	Mottram-in-Longdendale	Undenominational	195

An appeal was received from ratepayers against the proposed Church of England school at Whitfield, an appeal from ratepayers and from the managers of provided schools was made against the proposal to

asked the Under-Secretary for India whether the Government of India has sanctioned the raising of a regiment of 500 men from the East Indian domiciled community?

The answer is in the negative.

asked the President of the Local Government Board what response he has had, if any, to the circular issued last month to district councils regarding building by-laws; whether any district councils are taking steps to amend unsuitable by-laws; and whether ho possesses any powers to compel local authorities to amend their bylaws in cases where they are so framed as to make the building of cottages unnecessarily difficult and expensive?

I have not yet received, as a result of the recent circular, any defi-nite proposals for amendment of by-laws, but a large number of local authorities have made application for copies of the Board's model series of by-laws, and these authorities are no doubt considering the

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether he is aware that a burial company has recently acquired a portion of land in Montagu Road, Edmonton, N.; whether he is aware that the sanitary officer has reported adversely on the ground of danger to the general sanitation of the district; and whether he will, before sanctioning the removal of present restrictions on the use of land, consent to receive a deputation?

I am aware of the circumstances in this case. The land in question forms part of an area which was approved as a burial ground by the Secretary of State in 1884 to be used for the burial of persons of the Jewish faith. It is now proposed to use part of the land for general burial purposes, and I have not seen sufficient reason for refusing to remove the restriction under which Jews only could be buried in that part.