asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether under the agreement of 1910 between the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank, and German, French, and American groups, the signatory groups all received identical treatment?

The answer is in the affirmative.

asked whether any agreement or working arrangement exists between the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank and any other bank or financial house or group which in any way affects the British share of the proposed Chinese reorganisation loan or the advances already made?

I have repeatedly stated that the business in connection with the loan will be equally divided between the six groups who compose the six-Power consortium. I am unaware of any subsidiary agreement or arrangement between the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank and any other financial house.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he is aware that, according to the statement made by the American bankers of the six-Power group on the 24th September, the loans comprising the reorganisation loan to China were to be spread over a period of five years; whether, in view of the fact that the monopoly of Government support accorded to the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank will extend to the period of negotiation and issue of the reorganisation loan, he will state over what period it is now proposed that the loan should extend; and whether the settlement of this question was left to the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank and the other bankers of the group?

I have seen the statement referred to, which rests on the assumption that the amount of the loan now being negotiated between China and the six groups will amount to £60,000,000, which was the amount originally suggested by the Chinese Government. The amount of the loan will, as I have often stated, depend on the requirements of the Chinese Government, and the period over which the issue is spread—which must necessarily be dependent on the amount of the loan—is entirely a matter for arrangement between the Chinese Government and the groups.

asked whether the Hong Kong Government, by an agreement dated 6th October, 1905, advanced £1,100,000 at 4½ per cent., under the authorisation of His Majesty's Government, to the Viceroy of the Middle Yangtsze for the repurchase of the Hankow-Canton Railway concession from an American company, and what was the object of His Majesty's Government in authorising such an advance; whether, by a note of 9th September, 1905, to the British Consul-General at Hankow, the Viceroy gave His Majesty's Government an undertaking that British capital and materials should have the preference whenever China decided to construct the Hankow-Canton Railway; whether, in March, 1909, the contract was obtained for German capital and German materials by the Deutsch-Asiatische Bank, without any warning to His Majesty's Government, from the Chinese Imperial Government, in spite of the undertaking above referred to and in spite of the agreement between the Deutsch-Asiatische Bank itself and the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation of 2nd September, 1898, by which British preferential rights in the matter of railway concessions in the Yangtsze Valley and the provinces to the south of it were recognised?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. The object of His Majesty's Government in authorising the advance was to secure the connection with the Canton-Kowloon Railway. The answer to the second and third parts of the question is also in the affirmative. A compromise was, however, ultimately effected between the British and German groups by which the latter agreed to share the contract in return for concessions elsewhere. It is, however, a mistake to refer to an agreement in 1898 between the groups. A resolution in favour of an arrangement of the nature indicated was indeed passed at a conference of the groups on the date mentioned, but it was never ratified.

asked whether any answers have been received from the Peruvian Government indicating that facilities will be accorded to either or both of the special missions which are leaving for the Putumayo?

I hear the Peruvian Government have stated that they will give the Franciscan mission their decided support, and that all necessary Customs facilities at Iquitos will be granted as well as the Government launch for the mission's journey to the Putumayo.

Will the second expedition also have facilities?

Perhaps the hon. Gentleman will give mc notice of that question.

It is in the question.

asked whether the Foreign Secretary is aware that at Lares, in the province of Calca, in the vicinity of Cuzca, an active slave trade is in existence; if so, whether he will call the attention of the Peruvian Government to this violation of the Anglo-Peruvian antislavery treaty?

I have no information on this subject.

Will it not be possible for the right hon. Gentleman to ask the Consul for information?

If the hon. Gentleman has information which leads him to suppose that British subjects are involved I shall be glad if he will let me have it. Otherwise I have nothing on which to inquire.

asked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether he is aware that the tenants on the Mahony estate at Dooks, near Glenbeigh, have declined to consider purchase negotiations until the evicted tenants or their representatives have been reinstated; whether he is aware that three houses have been built on a portion of the holding from which Michael O'Sullivan was evicted; and whether he will institute inquiries with a view to ascertaining whether an amicable arrangement can be come to as regards these houses as I distinct from the rest of the evicted farm?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. The Congested Districts Board have, no information regarding the houses referred to in the second paragraph. The Board have informed the agent that if terms of purchase be arranged between the owner and the tenants, and the holdings needing rearrangement striped or consolidated, they will be prepared to consent to a direct sale through the Estates Commissioners. The Commissioners, however, will not make any advance to the representatives of Michael O'Sullivan for the purchase of any portion of the lands in question.

asked whether the Estates Commissioners have yet decided what action they will take in the matter of the purchase of the Colomb estate, near Cahirciveen; and whether, in view of the fact that the Congested Districts Board expressed its readiness in July last to enter into negotiations if the Commissioners will not do so, he can state how the matter now stands?

This estate is the subject of proceedings for sale direct by the owner to the tenants under the Land Purchase Acts. The question of declaring the lands to be an "estate" came before the Commissioners for hearing in Court on the 12th instant, when they made an order refusing to declare the lands to be an "estate" for the purposes of sale, but they put a stay on their order for six months to allow the owner to negotiate with the Congested Districts Board with a view to the purchase of the estate by the Board.

asked whether the tenantry on the Kilross estate, situate in Ballintogher West Electoral Division, union of Sligo, late landlords Hewetson and others, forwarded a memorial to the Estates Commissioners in April last praying that the Knocatubber grazing farm on that estate be purchased for the relief of congestion in the district, and that, as a result, an inspection of this farm was carried out; and, if so, whether, seeing that the present occupier of the farm is prepared to sell, the Chief Secretary will see that steps will be taken for the immediate purchase of this farm?

The Estates Commissioners received the memorial referred to. The farm is tenanted, and the tenant has entered into an agreement with the owner to purchase it in connection with the sale of the estate under the Land Purchase Acts. The Commissioners are prepared to consider the purchase of the farm provided the owner acquires the tenant's interest and offers the lands to them as untenanted lands for purposes of distribution. The powers of the Commissioners to acquire land under the Land Purchase Acts are limited to the acquisition of lands in fee.

asked whether the Estates Commissioners will include the occupiers of houses in the village of Mount Collins, in the county of Limerick, in the purchase of the Mahony estate there; and whether they intend to give them a portion of the untenanted lands purchased by them in the district?

The buildings in Mount Collins are included in the Mahony estate, which has been acquired by the Estates Commissioners, and the resale of the holdings to the occupiers, and the allotment of such untenanted land as may be acquired, will be duly considered by the Commissioners.

asked whether the Estates Commissioners have yet purchased the untenanted lands at Mount Henry, Coolcappa, in the county of Limerick, the property of Miss Delmege; and, if so, can the right lion. Gentleman say when they propose to apportion it among deserving applicants in the district?

The reply is in the negative. The question of the purchase of these lands was under consideration, but no agreement was come to.

asked whether the right hon. Gentleman is aware that a typewritten circular has been issued from the office of the Ennis Urban District Council, and signed by the town clerk of Ennis, in which traders and merchants are canvassed to pay for advertisements in a programme of an entertainment to be given for the benefit of the Christian Brothers in Ennis; that it is conveyed to these merchants and traders that if they pay for these advertisements they will get a preference in supplying material required by the council and paid for out of local rates; and whether he will call the attention of the Local Government Board to this use of patronage in the interest of a Roman Catholic institution in Ennis?

I have seen a copy of the circular referred to. The Local Government Board are making inquiries with regard to the action of the town clerk in the matter, but I have not yet received their Report. I have, however, received a telegram from the superior of the Christian Brothers at Ennis, stating that he entirely disapproves of the circular, which has now been withdrawn.

asked whether the Chief Secretary's attention has been called to a poster sent by post to Members of this House, and purporting to be published by one W. D. Wilson, of Crettingham, Norfolk, imputing that Enniskillen is a centre of the white slave traffic, and that fifty young girls had been exported from Mullaghmeen, the residence of Mr. J. West, Crocknacrieve, the residence of Mr. W. H. West, and Ballinamallard, the adjoining village, and that the Cooneyites, a Christian sect, of which Messrs. West are leading members, are actively carrying on the traffic; is he aware that Messrs. West recovered damages by action in London last year against this W. D. Wilson for a similar imputation; and has he inquired through the police whether there is any foundation whatever for the charges made by Mr.. Wilson, and with what result; and will he consult the Law Officers as to a prosecution of Mr. Wilson, if sane, for criminal libel?

I have seen a copy of the poster referred to. The police inform me that there is no truth in the statement that Enniskillen is a centre of the white slave traffic. I understand that Messrs. West instituted proceedings last year against Mr. Wilson, and that the case was settled by consent, Mr. Wilson making a public apology and paying £100 damages. I am advised that this is not a case in which the police should prosecute; the matter would appear to be one for civil action.

asked if, in view of the fact that the arrangement made for the trial of the Belfast not cases is that habitually followed in Ireland, the Chief Secretary will give particulars of all cases presenting corresponding features which occurred during the first half of the present year?

The question of the procedure in these cases is the subject of proceedings in the High Court of Justice in Ireland. The matter is, therefore, subjudice, and I cannot enter into it.

asked if the Department of Agriculture will instruct their engineer to take local feeling and experience into careful account before deciding on the final shape of the proposed harbour construction at Blackwater, county Wexford?

The reply to the hon. Member's question is in the affirmative.

asked the Chief Secretary if he will use his influence with the Irish Local Government Board to have the inquiry into the proposed garden city scheme for Corey, county Wexford, held as speedily as possible; if, on reconsideration of the fact that there is no opposition to the scheme, the Local Government Board is still of the opinion that an inquiry is necessary; and if, pending the inquiry, the Local Government Board will authorise the payment by over draft with the district council's treasurers for the site of the proposed scheme?

An inquiry cannot be dispensed with in this case, as the scheme of the district council involves the provision of house accommodation (seventy-six cottages) as well as the purchase of land, in respect of which a provisional agreement has already been entered into with the owner. The Local Government Board are not empowered to authorise pay-men for the land by an overdraft from the council's treasurer or otherwise in anticipation of the scheme being sanctioned. As regards the holding of the inquiry, the Board cannot give precedence to this case over schemes received from other districts where the necessity for additional cottages is much greater.

asked whether, under the rules of the Commissioners of National Education in Ireland, no credit is given to national school teachers for teaching English grammar, and, as a con- sequence, simple analysis (which carries credit to the teacher) is gradually replacing the subject of English grammar, and the pupils suffer in their scholastic attainments accordingly; and what action the Chief Secretary proposes to take?

The hon. Member's question appears to be based upon some misapprehension. The Commissioners of National Education inform me that English grammar is specified in their code as one of the ordinary subjects to be taught in national schools—the analysis of simple sentences being a part of such teaching.

asked how many schoolmistresses in Irish national schools are under three or six months' notice from priest-managers that they are to be superseded by nuns; and what steps do the Commissioners propose to take to prevent the disemployment of teachers trained at the public expense in order that the education of Irish girls may pass into the hands of nuns; and is the Chief Secretary aware that independent educational experts, both Roman Catholic and Protestant, have condemned the educational training given by nuns?

The Commissioners of National Education are only aware of one case in which it is proposed that a school conducted by ordinary national teachers shall be placed in charge of nuns. The answer to the second paragraph of the question is in the negative.

asked whether the then resident Commissioner of National Education declared on oath, before the Powis Commission, that the Board permitted nuns to violate the rule which forbids secular and religious instruction to be carried on simultaneously, a rule which was framed to prevent proselytising, and do the Commissioners connive at the violation of this and other parts of the conscience Clause on the part of nuns; and will the Chief Secretary say whether the rule, which has been modified by inserting the words in the same apartment, has, as a change of a fundamental rule, received the sanction of the Lord Lieutenant?

No such declaration as is attributed to the late Sir Alexander MacDonnell, who WHS Resident Commissioner in 1868, when the Powis Commission was sitting, can be traced in the published evidence given before that Com- mission. The Commissioners of National Education do not connive at the violation of the rule referred to or any other of the conscience Clauses. The words "in the same apartment" that occur in Rule 31 of the present code first appeared in Part I., Section IV., Rule 7, of the Rules and Regulations of 1354, which, were submitted to and received the approval of the then Lord Lieutenant.

asked if the Chief Secretary will state in how many national schools in Ireland is Rule 16 of the Code of the National Board of Education departed from in permitting emblems and symbols of Roman Catholicism to be permanently exhibited in schoolrooms; and how many of these schools are attended by Protestants?

As I have already informed the hon. Member for North Londonderry, the Commissioners of National Education have on various occasions sanctioned the exhibition in national schools, during the hours of secular instruction, of pictures of scriptural subjects. Some time ago it was brought to their notice, however, that, acting on this sanction, the managers of a few schools had introduced statues of a religious character. The Commissioners decided not to take any action in these cases, but they resolved that the introduction of any further statues into any national school should be expressely forbidden. The schools in which pictures and statues are exhibited are comparatively few, and are mostly convent national schools attended solely by Roman Catholic children with one or two exceptions, and in these cases only a few Protestant children are on the rolls. If any violation of the rule is brought to the notice of the Commissioners the matter will be inquired into.

asked on what ground the Local Government Board upheld the decision of the pension officer in the appeal from the decision of the Ballingarry, county Limerick, sub-committee awarding Michael Hallinan, of Rylands, Rathkeale, a pension of 4s. per week; and whether, if it were on the ground of income, the Chief Secretary will state how the Local Government Board made out that applicant's income was over £31 10s. a year, having regard to the fact that he has only his board and lodging it his son-in-law's house, and had it years before the Old Age Pension Act was passed?

Michael Hallinan lives with his son-in-law on a farm of sixty-five acres, which carries about twenty-two cows. The son-in-law is a creamery manager, for which he receives £125 a year, and, taking all the circumstances into account, claimant's maintenance on the farm appeared to the Local Government Board to be clearly worth more than £.31 10s. a year.

asked what further steps have been taken to reinstate Mr. Malone, of Lough Dingle; and whether, seeing that his case was four years ago recognised as a deserving one, some effective steps will be taken immediately to deal with it?

The Estates Commissioners have, after further inquiry and consideration, decided to take no action in regard to Mr. Malone's application for reinstatement.

asked whether Matthew Reynolds, of 16, Russell Street, Tralee, has sent in a claim for reinstatement in the lands held by his father on the estate of Colonel Nash, at Ballycarty, Tralee; what steps have been taken to inquire into his case; and whether, seeing that the lands are untenanted, immediate action will be taken in the matter?

The application referred to was only received by the Estates Commissioners on 10th October, and, as it was not received within the period prescribed by the Evicted Tenants Act, 1907, it cannot be dealt with under that Act, and has not been inquired into by the Commissioners.

asked whether, in March, 1910, the Cork Rural District Council made application to the Local Government Board for sanction to a loan of £41,700 for the erection of 228 cottages authorised under the Labourers Acts; did the Local Government Board then sanction £38,820 for the purpose; have they now refused to sanction the balance of £3,000 required to pay the liabilities incurred by the council in connection with the scheme; whether the district council have kept well within their estimated expenditure; and, seeing that on two previous occasions the Local Government Board sanctioned the advance of balances of loans under similar circumstances, will the same course be now followed so as to avoid the extra cost to the ratepayers involved in borrowing in the open market?

Owing to the large number of pending improvement schemes to be financed out of the additional £1,000,000 provided by the Labourers Act of 1911, the Local Government Board are unable to sanction the payment of the balance required from the Land Commission in connection with the scheme referred to. The rural district council will not suffer any great hardship in having to borrow in the open market the additional £3,000 required, especially as they have admittedly been treated somewhat generously on the occasion of former schemes.

asked why the Report and Tables of the agricultural output of Ireland for the year 1908, prepared in connection with the Census of Production Act. 1900, have only now been circulated as a Departmental Paper; and will he state when the compilation was commenced and completed by the statistics and intelligence branch, and when his Department forwarded the separate Irish statistics to the Board of Trade?

The compilation of the Report referred to, which is the first of the kind published in this country, was a matter of considerable difficulty. The necessary inquiries could not be set on foot until the spring of the year 1909; and as the work progressed many unexpected questions arose which required a good deal of time for their determination. Moreover, it was indispensable that careful scrutiny of the final estimates and figures should be made before issuing the Report. The information contained in the Report was supplied, in the rough, to the Board of Trade in November, 1911.

asked whether the cattle fair which is permitted to be held on the 20th instant at Naas will be held on the fair green, outside the restricted area; whether the place for holding the sheep fair, 100 yards from the fair green, is within the restricted area; and will the Department take steps to facilitate the holding of the cattle and sheep fair on the same day?

Facilities will be afforded for the holding of the fair for cattle and sheep on the date mentioned at the customary places.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies, whether it is contemplated to grant to any suitable applicant the privilege of being the sole manufacturer of palm oil throughout any 300 square miles of the Gold Coast Colony; whether these special privileges are to continue to be granted to all and sundry even after the industry has been proved and established; and whether the privileges will be put up to public tender and granted to the highest bidder.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer which I gave yesterday to the right hon. Gentleman, the Member for St. George's, Hanover Square.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he has received resolutions from temperance bodies throughout the United Kingdom strongly protesting against the new Excise law for Ceylon, whereby 1,000 new toddy licences are being forced upon the native population against the will and religious belief of the majority; and whether he will set up a Committee of Inquiry before permitting the law to take effect?

I have received many resolutions on the subject of the new Excise law, the effect of which is not correctly described in my hon. Friend's question. The answer to the second part of the question is that the licences have already been issued under the previously existing law and, therefore, would not be affected by a delay in bringing the new Ordinance into effect. I am not prepared to recommend the Governor to appoint a Committee of Inquiry, but I am watching the situation and hope to profit by experience when it is obtained.

asked the hon. Member for St. George's-in-the-East, as representing the First Commissioner of Works, what procedure is necessary before leave can be obtained for building on or making alterations in Regent's Park, including those parts in private enclosures; and what powers of protecting the amenities of the park are possessed by the Office of Works or other Departments represented in this House?

Those parts of the Regent's Park Crown estate which are let on lease are administered by the Commissioners of Woods, who, as ground landlords, can exercise control over all building operations. The public portions of the park are administered by the Commissioners of Works, without whose consent no building of any kind can be erected.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that only one Marconigram operator is carried by certain Peninsular and Oriental mail steamers; and whether, in view of the experience gained within recent years, the Board will issue Regulations that every ocean-going steamer fitted with the Marconigram instrument shall carry at least two operators?

I am informed by the Peninsular and Oriental Company that only one Marconi operator is carried on certain of their ships, and that it is difficult to find sufficient work for this operator, as there are few opportunities for communication cast of Suez. The Board of Trade have no power to issue Regulations as to the number of operators to be carried, but, as I have already stated to the House, a Bill requiring certain ships to be provided with wireless telegraphy apparatus has been prepared, and the question of operators will be dealt with in it.

asked the grounds on which the letters patent in respect of certain improvements in wireless telegraphy granted to Ettone Bellini were revoked; and whether any of such improvements have been or are proposed to be embodied in the Marconi system?

It is assumed that the patent referred to is No. 11339 of 1911. This patent was revoked by the Comptroller-General of Patents on the 28th September last in consequence of an offer made by the patentee to surrender the patent under the provisions of Section 26 (3) of the Patents and Designs Act, 1907. The reason given by the patentee for making this offer was as follows:—"That the invention is found to be wanting in novelty." I have no official information as to the last part of the question.

asked the average price as on 1st November for wheat of fair to good milling quality at Paris and Berlin, respectively; and the import duties, if any, per quarter at present levied on imports of wheat by the French and German authorities, respectively?

So far as the Board of Trade is aware there is no official price quoted in Paris or Berlin for wheat described as of "fair to good milling quality." The import duty per Imperial quarter charged on wheat is 12s. 2d. in France and 11s. 10d. in Germany.

asked the Prime Minister what period has elapsed between the passing by the House of Commons of Resolutions under which taxation is raised, and the giving of Royal Assent to the Act confirming the same, in each of the ten years up to and including 1912; and whether the legislation promised by the Chancellor of the Exchequer will make provision for the earlier passing of the Finance Act in future, or whether it is intended to give validity to Resolutions of the House of Commons without the concurrence of the House of Lords or the Crown?

With the permission of the hon. Member I will circulate a statement giving the information asked for in the first part of the question. Pending the introduction of the legislation referred to, I am not in a position to make any statement in regard to the latter part of the question.

May I ask whether the right hon. Gentleman will state his intentions with regard to the Upper House before any of this legislation is brought forward?

Either before or at the time.

asked the Prime Minister if his attention has been directed to the growth of the practice of legislation by reference, as instanced by the current case of the Criminal Law Amendment Act; and whether he can see his way to support an amendment of the Standing Orders in order to give effect to the suggestion made by the hon. Member for East Northamptonshire in the proposed new Standing Order, now on the Order Paper, which seeks to secure the explanation of a Bill and all its references upon its first introduction to the House?

The practice of legislation by reference is easy to deprecate, but, under modern conditions, difficult to check. I will consider my hon. Friend's suggestion, but at present I do not see my way to propose such a drastic amendment of the Standing Orders.

May I ask how he proposes to amend existing Standing Orders when he has done his best to destroy the whole basis on which Standing Orders and Rules of Procedure exist?

asked what is the specific information on the land question which can best be obtained by means of a secret inquiry, and not a Royal Commission?

As I stated a few days ago, it was considered that on certain points information could be more usefully and expeditiously collected by an unofficial body, than by a Royal Commission.

Does the Prime Minister approve of this secret inquiry?

I must refer to my previous answers.

They were very uncertain.

May I ask whether the right hon. Gentleman considers any inquiry is of any use unless you hear both sides?

No, Sir; certainly not.

asked the Prime Minister whether, in view of the fact that it has been found necessary to propose an alteration of the dates on which the various stages of the Government of Ireland Bill shall be concluded, he will state whether such rearrangement will lead to a curtailment of the Christmas Recess?

The proposals of the Government with regard to the Christmas Recess will be announced in due course.

Will it be in the course of the next few days?

asked the Prime Minister if he is yet in a position to state whether it is his intention to move a new Standing Order to ensure that hon. Members who fail to attend to their Parliamentary duties shall be fined the whole or a portion of their Parliamentary salaries; and if he will consider the possibility of so amending the Standing Orders that hon. Members voting in a Division shall be compelled to be present in the House itself during some part of the Debate?

Before the right hon. Gentleman answers the question, may I ask if he is aware that the Noble Lord was absent from three hundred Divisions?

Before the right hon. Gentleman replies, may I ask if he is aware that the sole cause of my absence was illness, and will the hon. Gentleman now apologise for his unkindly reference?

I have no doubt what the Noble Lord has said is perfectly correct. I think, as I said the other day, that we should gain a little more experience of the new system before considering the adoption of these or similar proposals. I rather doubt the practicability of the second of the Noble Lord's suggestions.

May I ask the right hon. Gentleman if he is aware that there are plenty of precedents for the procedure mentioned in the first part of the question in the procedure of foreign parliaments, and as to the second part, is he aware that on Clause 13 of the Government of Ireland Bill, while 200 Members voted in the Lobby in the Debate only forty-three Members were present in the House to hear an important speech by himself?

It has often been my misfortune to be present here when very few hon. Members were listening, and also to take part in a Division in which I did not hear any part of the Debate, and I believe that is the case with every hon. Member on both sides.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury if, with a view to the interests of other taxpayers, it will be possible to arrange for the salary to Members to be divided into two amounts, one a fixed amount to represent the value of services rendered and the other an amount free from Income Tax and to be supported by vouchers to represent reasonable travelling expenses?

As indicated in the replies given by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer to previous questions on this subject, I see no reason for modifying the practice which has been adopted for administrative convenience.

Could the right hon. Gentleman say why?

I would refer the hon. Gentleman to the replies of my right hon. Friend.

May I ask the right hon. Gentleman if there is any statutory authority for such division?

I think the subject has been very fully dealt with by my right hon. Friend. I have nothing to add.

asked the right hon. Member for the Epping Division, as Chair man of the Kitchen Committee, whether the expert called in by the Kitchen Committee is connected with a railway company; and whether he will consider the desirability of calling in some catering expert whose experience is not confined to this branch of catering?

The Sub-Committee appointed for the purpose consider that the expert they called in is well suited by his knowledge and training to assist them. His experience is not confined to railway catering.

Is the Gentleman referred to connected with a railway company?

Yes; he is connected with a railway company, but I can no more call him a railway expert than I could call the hon. Member himself a cheesemonger because he eats cheese.

Is it the case that the light hon. Gentleman is a director of the company from which this expert was appointed?

Yes, that is the case.

asked the right hon. Member for the Epping Division, as Chairman of the Kitchen Committee, what wages the waiters in the House receive; how many hours they are on duty; and what arrangements obtain for overtime?

The fifteen dining-room waiters employed regularly during the Session are paid as follows: Two at 22s. per week, twelve at 20s. per week, one at 18s. per week, with food and refreshments. There are other waiters in more responsible positions, who are paid higher wages. Their hours of employ- ment are from 9 a.m. to 9.30 on Monday and Wednesday, or from 9.30 a.m. to the rising of the House on Tuesday and Thursday. Half on late duty alternate nights. On Friday their duty is from 9 a.m. to the rising of the House. They are allowed two hours off duty in the afternoons. On Saturday they finish at I o'clock and are free until Monday 9 o'clock. They are also paid full wages during the Easter and Whitsun Recesses. If the House sits until 1.30 they are paid a half-day's wage, or a whole day's wage at 3.30. If occasion arises that other employment is offered them, as on Saturday last (Lord Mayor's Show), they are allowed to clean the plate on Friday and finish then. The evening waiters (approximately fifty) are engaged at 6 o'clock for dinner, and are paid 3s. 6d., or 6s. if engaged at 12 noon.

Is it the case that when the House rises before 1.30 or before 3.30 that these waiters get no overtime?

They are not paid overtime till 1.30 or 3.30.

Will the right hon. Gentleman consider the advisability of raising the wages of the waiters with a view to doing away with the system of tipping?

The feeling, I think, is very much against abolition.

Are not the class of waiters who receive 6s. from noon employed almost continuously, and therefore are in the nature of almost continuously employed persons, having much more to do than those who are on the staff, and can the right hon. Gentleman give them some consideration?

That is rather an intricate question for me to follow: some of the waiters, good men, are employed frequently, or every night during the Session.

Has anything further been done with regard to pensions for waiters as promised some time ago?

asked the Prime Minister whether he can give any indication as to when the Public Committee on Marconi's Wireless Telegraph Company, Limited, Agreement will report?

I am not in a position to give any indication; the matter rests entirely with the Committee.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he can, as on 1st November, give the average selling price of the three contract grades (Nos. 1, 2, and 3 Northern) Manitoba wheat at the Port of London, and also the Manitoba feed at the same port and on the same date; whether the average price for wheat imported from Manitoba is obtained by averaging the prices ruling for contract grades and for feed; and whether, in the event of his answer being in the affirmative, he will state of what value an average price so obtained may be for purposes of comparison with prices ruling abroad which are for wheat of fair to good milling quality only?

The Board of Trade have not made any calculation of the average price for wheat imported from Manitoba, nor am I aware of the grounds of the assertion that the official price quotations of wheat in foreign countries are for wheat of "fair to good milling quality" only. I will have the prices asked for printed with the Votes.

asked (1) if the Customs Duty on British motor-cycles entering Portugal is £11 5s. per machine and on German motor-cycles £3 per machine; why there is this difference; and does the Board of Trade propose to take any steps in the matter; and (2) if the duty on British bicycles entering Portugal is 27 per cent, ad valorem, and on French bicycles entering Portugal only 10 per cent, ad valorem; if this country enjoys the benefit of the Most-Favoured-Nation Clause with Portugal; and, if so, why this preference is given to France?

I understand that French cycles other than motor-cycles are dutiable on importation into Portugal at the same rate as cycles manufactured in the United Kingdom or elsewhere. The duty levied on French motor-cycles is governed by the Franco-Portuguese modus vivendi of February, 1911, and amounts to £3 7s. 6d. each. The reduced rate of duty is applicable to German motor-cycles by virtue of the Most-Favoured-Nation Clause in the German-Portuguese Commercial Treaty. The United Kingdom has at present no Most-Favoured-Nation arrangement with Portugal, but negotiations for the conclusion of a commercial treaty between Portugal and the United Kingdom have been for some time in progress.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been called to the decision of Sheriff Gardner Millar, recalling the decision of Sheriff-substitute Lyell, with reference to a collision in the Holy Loch, on 25th September. 1911, that the small sailing yacht "Marguerite." did not exhibit any light, in breach of Article 11 of the Board of Trade Regulations for preventing collisions at sea, and that this contributed to the collision; whether his attention has been called to the evidence given at the previous proceedings to the effect that it was customary for small yachts lying at anchor in such positions not to exhibit lights; and whether he now proposes to take any steps to ensure the observance of the Board of Trade Regulations?

My attention has been called to the decision to which my hon. Friend refers, and to the evidence given in the previous proceedings. I understand that leave to appeal from the sheriff's decision has been given, and I should prefer to postpone consideration of the case until after the result of that appeal is known.

asked the Home Secretary what portion of the footway may be occupied by theatre queues, and also by crowds inspecting an attractive window display, without being considered by the police to cause an obstruction?

It is impossible to lay down a formula applicable to all cases. When it appears probable that the police will be compelled to intervene, those responsible are invariably warned before action is taken.

asked why police assistance is refused for the regulation of queues waiting to inspect attractive window displays, while it is granted for the regulation of queues waiting to enter theatres?

I pointed out in reply to a previous question of the hon. Member that theatre queues have a kind of prescriptive status. The Commissioner of Police informs me that the police have no experience of queues waiting to inspect shop windows.

Is it not a fact that a great many theatres are giving up the practice of queues altogether? Could not the right hon. Gentleman encourage that practice?

I should like notice of that question; I am not aware of the circumstances.

asked the Home Secretary if his attention has been called to two charges recently brought before the magistrate at Bow Street and Marlborough Street police courts for driving to the public danger, in one of which the accused, a taxi-cab driver, was severely punished for being intoxicated while in charge of a car, while in the other case, that of a young woman charged with a similar offence, a light penalty only was imposed; and if he will inquire into the matter and, if the facts justify such action, order the release of the man?

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply which was given to his question on Thursday and Tuesday last, and which was printed in the Parliamentary Debates.

May I ask whether it is correct for a Minister to circulate the answer to a question when before a quarter to four notice has been given at the Table of the withdrawal of the question owing to its not having been reached during Question Time?

The answer ought not to be circulated in such a case; but, as I have said before, it is not always easy for a Minister to know whether or not a question has been postponed. If he is made aware of the fact that a question is postponed he ought to withhold the answer and not hand it in at the Table. Precautions are taken as far as possible to carry out that rule, but sometimes, when a great number of questions are not reached, it is not easy to see that the rule is carried out.

May I say that no notice reached me that the question had been postponed.

May I inform the right hon. Gentleman that I gave the notification at the Table?

asked the Home Secretary if his attention has been called to a case before the Blackpool police court on 28th October, when Thomas Owtsin Thurston was convicted of driving a motor car at a dangerous speed, thereby causing the death of a woman, and was fined £10; is he aware that seven previous convictions were recorded against this man for offences under the Motor Acts; and if he will introduce legislation to provide a more severe punishment for such offences?

My attention was not called to this case until my hon. Friend's question appeared on the Paper. I am making inquiry, and will communicate with my hon. Friend as soon as I have had an opportunity of considering the case.

asked the Home Secretary whether, with a view to encouraging the production of miners' safety lamps, he will revise the regulations respecting the tests at Eskmeals in respect of furnishing explicit details of the apparatus and the tests to which the lamps are to be submitted; and whether he will consider the desirability of reducing the fee of £20 for each lamp tested so that manufacturers sending in a quantity of lamps for testing will not be restrained by the high fee?

The Memorandum which has been issued by the Home Office furnishes very explicit details of the nature of the test, and a description of the apparatus used in testing lamp glasses has been already circulated to manufacturers. They have also been given an opportunity of seeing the testing arrangements at Eskmeals. My Department is in close touch with the manufacturers, and is furnishing them with any information they may require as to the test. I am afraid I do not see my way to a modification of the fee for the test of a lamp, which has been fixed so as to cover as nearly as possible the expenses of testing. I have, however, been able to make concessions to meet the views of manufacturers in connection with the glass tests and the question of variations in the form of an approved lamp.

Would the right hon. Gentleman be willing to receive manufacturers who think that the explanations given are not explicit enough?

I shall be glad to consider the point, but I should like to hear first what is the nature of their complaint.

asked the Home Secretary if he is aware that certain roads in Paddington are being rapidly worn out by motor omnibuses, while the houses on each side of them are being shaken to pieces by the constant vibrations set up by these heavy vehicles, and that the ratepayers who are having their property damaged have to contribute to mend the roads, and thus pay part of the expenses of motor omnibus shareholders; and if, in view of the character of the question in this and other parts of the Metropolis, he will frame suitable legislation himself, and give this House the opportunity of accepting it, instead of appointing a Select Committee to inquire into facts already known?

I am aware that among the disadvantages which heavy motor traffic brings in its train are the wear and tear of the road surface and damage to house property adjoining its route. The reference to the Select Committee will not include these matters, but will deal with the more urgent question of accidents. I fear I can hold out no hope that this House is likely in the immediate future to find time to deal with so controversial a subject.

asked the Home Secretary whether it is his intention to make provision, in his promised Bill to amend the Truck Act, for the total abolition of the system of fining workpeople which now prevails in factories and workshops?

I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer which I gave to a similar question put to me by the Noble Lord the Member for South Nottingham on the 6th of this month.

asked whether a convict attempting to escape from Dartmoor prison a fortnight ago was shot down and seriously wounded by a warder; what is the condition of the man now; is he still alive; and what is the law which empowers a servant of the prison in these circumstances to fire at a prisoner in the open field?

On 31st of October an attempt to escape from custody was made by two convicts belonging to a party who were taking shelter from a storm. A civil guard pursued them, and after repeatedly calling on them to stop, and finding they were gaining on him, he fired at their legs. One of the two was slightly wounded, and attacked the guard with an iron bar which he carried with him in his attempt to escape, but was secured without further injury. The other received three pellets in the body, and was taken to hospital in an ambulance. He is reported to be making favourable progress towards recovery. Under the Common Law it is the duty of a prison officer to do whatever may be necessary to prevent the escape of a felon, and he may use firearms if the escape cannot otherwise be prevented. In this case an inquiry into the facts shows that the officer did no more than his duty as laid down in the Standing Orders for Convict Prisons

asked the Home Secretary whether his Department is carefully noting the increase in the number of corporal punishments ordered by the magistrates under the Vagrancy Act; whether there have now been at least seventeen such sentences during the present year against a total of seven during the previous three years, and that more than half of them have been passed by Mr. Lawrie, the Deputy-Chairman of the London Sessions; and whether any caution has been given by the Home Office?

Courts of Quartet Sessions are authorised by law to order corporal punishment for incorrigible rogues committed to the Sessions for sentence, and I have no authority to interfere with the exercise of their powers except in so far as good reason may be shown for recommending an exercise of the prerogative of mercy in any particular case. From the very small proportion of cases of incorrigible rogues in which corporal punishment is ordered, and from the proved facts of those cases which come under my notice, I am satisfied that the power in question is used with care and discrimination, and I see no reason for taking action in the direction suggested. The prisoner is in every case entitled to apply to the Court of Criminal Appeal, and the sentence is by law suspended to allow him time to do so.

asked the Home Secretary whether any statistics are available of the number of flogging punishments in English prisons; whether these punishments are ordered by one or two visiting justices after an inquiry held in private; whether they are formally submitted to, but rarely interfered with by him; and whether he will consider the advisability, in the public interest, of admitting the Press, as representing the public, to these inquiries?

A Return of corporal punishments awarded in prisons is given in Appendix No. 10 of the Annual Report of the Prison Commissioners which is presented to Parliament. Such punishments are awarded by the board of visitors for a convict prison or the visiting committee for a local prison, in accordance with Section 5 of the Prison Act, 1898, which requires that not less than three persons, two of whom shall be justices of the peace, should adjudicate, and that the evidence shall be given on oath. The inquiry, which is judicial, takes place in the prison, and the public are not admitted. All cases have by law to be submitted to the Secretary of State. Out of thirty cases ordered during the year ending 31st March, 1912, the Secretary of State reduced the punishment in six cases. I see no reason for any departure from the existing practice in this matter.

Is the prisoner represented in any way at the inquiry?

No.

Can the right hon. Gentleman explain why there are so many more cases of flogging than occurred under his predecessor at the Home Office?

The reverse is the fact. There have been fewer floggings than ever before.

Will the right hon. Gentleman consider whether it would be a safeguard to permit the Press to be present?

No; I should hardly think it would be desirable to revive public floggings.

The right hon. Gentleman has quite misunderstood me. I did not ask for public floggings, but for public inquiry before flogging was ordered.

In a sense it is not private. The visitors represent the public in a certain sense, and two of them must be justices of the peace.

asked the Home Secretary what discretion is allowed to the governors of reformatory schools to inflict the punishment of flogging; is there any judicial trial before such punishment is inflicted; are there any regulations as to who should administer or who should witness the punishment; and is there any limitation as to the kind of instrument used or the number of strokes permitted?

A superintendent of a reformatory school for boys has a discretion in inflicting corporal punishment within the limits of rules for the management and discipline of the school made by the managers and subject to the Secretary of State's approval. The Model Rules of the Department, which were drawn up some years ago, prescribe that chastisement may be inflicted only by the superintendent, or in his presence by an officer specially authorised by him, or by the chief educational officer who is required to report to the superintendent at once. The Model Rules allow of eighteen strokes with the birch or eight strokes with the cane as a maximum, but I issued a circular some months ago to managers stating that pending the Report of the Departmental Committee on Reformatory Schools, corporal punishment should be used as rarely as possible, and that the number of strokes should never exceed twelve.

asked the Home Secretary whether he will rearrange the existing districts for the administration of the Factory Acts with a view of constituting Wales and Monmouthshire as a separate district?

As I informed the hon. Member for the Denbigh District on the 31st of October, for the purpose of administration of the Factory Acts, Wales and Monmouthshire are divided into three districts, with headquarters and a full staff, at Cardiff, Swansea, and Wrexham, respectively. At one time the whole of South Wales and Monmouth were combined in one district, but it was found to be too large for administrative purposes, and it was again divided into two districts.

asked the right hon. Member for Morpeth, as Chairman of the Committee on Public Petitions, whether he is aware that certain petitions against the Established Church (Wales) Bill are being signed in the parish churches of England and Wales at or after the times of public worship, and that invitations to sign such petitions are being made by the clergy during divine service; and whether the Report of the Committee on Public Petitions can be utilised for information on this matter so as to show how far parish churches are being used for political agitation?

The Select Committee on Public Petitions have no official cognisance of the matter to which my hon. Friend refers; nor can they report on such matters under their Order of Reference.

Arising out of that question and reply, may I ask whether the Committee can take into consideration whether some means cannot be arranged by which hon. Members wishing a respite from politics on Sundays can obtain it in the parish churches?

I fear not, Sir; I do not think they are Sabbatarians.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury on what dates prior or during the month of July he saw the representatives of the master printers of the London district; and on what occasions and on what dates these master printers had the opportunity of putting their case fully before the Government?

I did not receive any request from the master printers for an interview at any time before my decision was known at the end of last month. Had I done so, I would have been as willing to hear them as I was to hear the representatives of the men. I had, however, before me figures supplied during the winter to the Stationery Office by the secretary of the Masters' Association, which were at variance with those supplied by the men's representatives, and it was in the face of these conflicting statements that I asked the Board of Trade to make an impartial inquiry independently of either party. The Board of Trade results were arrived at by figures supplied by masters and not by men, and my decision with regard to Government contractors was based upon the facts thus independently ascertained and not on the representations of either side; nor would it have been affected, so far as these facts were concerned, by representations from either side.

Is it not the fact that the right hon. Gentleman took care to receive the newspaper proprietors?

No; I explained very fully in the Debate on the Adjournment what actually happened. Perhaps the hon. Member will refer to that.

asked (1) whether the notice dated the 16tli October, 1912, and issued by the Board of Inland Revenue is applicable to illustrations of postage and postage-paid stamps of foreign countries, and to illustrations of postage and postage-paid stamps issued by the British Government but no longer valid; and (2) under what Statute the Board of Inland Revenue have issued regulations in regard to illustrations of postage and postage-paid stamps, in so far as such illustrations reproduce foreign stamps and British stamps no longer valid, respectively?

The notice of regulations referred to in the hon. Member's two questions is applicable to postage and postage paid stamps of foreign countries. It is issued in substitution for a notice of the 1st June, 1906, and in accordance with the provisions of Section 65 of the Post Office Act, 1908, and covers illustrations of British stamps no longer valid. Current and obsolete stamps are reproduced indiscriminately for philatelic purposes, and it is not practicable or desirable to distinguish between them.

put a supplementary question which the Official Reporters could not hear.

Perhaps the hon. Gentleman will be good enough to put that down. I could only imperfectly hear it.

I desire in a few words, Mr. Speaker, to give something in the nature of a personal explanation of an incident which occurred after the Adjournment of the House last night. You, Sir, had left the Chair, and the Mace had been removed, but a considerable number of Members remained in the House. Political feeling was very high, and taunts were exchanged between Members upon both sides of the House. Under the influence of a momentary loss of self-control, I regret to say that I discharged a missile which struck the First Lord of the Admiralty. As soon as the heat of the moment had passed, I fully realised my action was entirely reprehensible, and returned to the House at a later hour, and, with the assistance of the President of the Local Government Board, I endeavoured to find the First Lord, in order that I might express to him my regret, and ask his pardon. I was unsuccessful in finding him, and I am anxious to take this, the first opportunity, of saying how extremely I regret having lost my temper, and of tendering to the right hon. Gentleman and to the House a full and unreserved apology.

I thank the hon. Gentleman for what he has said. I can assure him I have not, nor had I at any time, any personal feeling in the matter, and if I had any personal feeling, the observations ho has thought proper to address to the House would have effectually removed it.