asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many beds sanctioned by the Local Government Board are at present available in the county of Essex for patients needing sanatorium treatment; how such beds are distributed over the county; and how many of them are available for the dependants of insured persons?

Eight sanatoria and hospitals in the county of Essex, containing 159 beds, have been approved by the Local Government Board for the reception of persons entitled to sanatorium benefit under the National Insurance Act. I will circulate information as to the addresses of these institutions. They are available for either insured persons or their dependants.

asked the Postmaster- General whether he is aware that post offices in Scotland are frequently found without insurance stamps of some of the values; will he say who is responsible for this state of matters, is it the head office or the particular branch; and, if the latter, is there any method of censuring the head of the office, in view of the fact that the public suffer extra inconvenience in this way, the blame of which is put on the National Insurance Act?

Postmasters and sub-postmasters in charge of offices at which money order business it transacted are required to keep in stock health insurance stamps of thirteen denominations and unemployment insurance stamps of three denominations. At offices of the smallest class only those denominations which are in largest use are kept in stock, but any other denominations asked for can be obtained on a few days' notice. Notwithstanding the great demand in all parts of the country for insurance stamps of the numerous denominations issued, I have received very few complaints of difficulty in obtaining the stamps at post offices. If the hon. Member will inform me of any office at which such difficulty has been experienced, I will take steps to prevent its recurrence.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether, in view of the fact that an aeroplane flown by one pilot may be slightly damaged in landing so that it collapses when flown by another pilot, it is advisable that the officers of the Royal Flying Corps other than those at the Central Flying School should in turn fly one and the same machine; and whether he will consider the desirability of arranging that each officer shall have a machine allotted specially to him for the welfare of which he alone is responsible?

It is the general custom in the corps for an officer to fly the same machine, but it is not considered advisable to issue any hard and fast rule on the subject.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether the Report of the Committee on Accidents to Monoplanes is ready to be issued; whether it will be available for the use of all those interested in the construction of aeroplanes; and why, if it is not now ready, authorised or unauthorised copies of the Report have been placed in the possession of officers of the Royal Aircraft Factory and of officers of the Royal Flying Corps?

asked whether the Committee on Accidents to Monoplanes has recommended that certain constructional alterations be made in monoplanes already in the possession of the Royal Flying Corps; and whether the expense of carrying out these alterations is to be borne by the Royal Flying Corps, the Royal Aircraft Factory, or by the constructors of the machines?

The Report has been received, and is now being considered by the Army Council. I propose to lay the Report in due course. Copies of the Report are in the possession of members of the Committee.

asked how many officers of the Royal Flying Corps who are classed as trained military aviators have had no opportunities of practising during the past six weeks owing to the fact that the machines belonging to the Military Wing of the Royal Flying Corps have been in use for the purpose of training officers recently appointed to the Flying Corps; and whether a number of these recently appointed officers have been appointed without having passed their course at the Central Flying School in accordance with the intentions expressed in the past by the Secretary of State for War?

The answer to the first part of the question is none. With regard to the second part of the question no officers have been recently appointed to the Military Wing without having graduated at the Central Flying School, but a number of officers who have been selected for the Royal Flying Corps and are on probation are doing their course with the Military Wing instead of at the Central Flying School. These officers will go to the Central Flying School in order to graduate and will not be appointed finally until they have so graduated. This has been done in order to obtain the number of trained officers we require as expeditiously as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether, under the provisions of the Established Church (Wales) Bill, and after Disestablishment, the bishops for the time being of the four Welsh dioceses will, or will not, be members of the corporation of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners for England; and which is the provision of the Bill by which this question is determined?

There is no special provision in the Bill dealing with the matter referred to by the right hon. Gentleman, but on an expression of their views by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, the Government is prepared to consider such a provision.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the estimated value of the property comprised in paragraphs (a) and (b), respectively, of Sub-section (1) of Section 18 of the Established Church (Wales) Bill?

Paragraph (a) comprises the whole of the property alienated under the Bill other than the ancient episcopal and capitular estates now vested in the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, and amount roughly to about £131,000 per annum. Paragraph (6) comprises these ancient episcopal and capitular estates, the estimated value of which is about £26,700 per annum.

asked the President of the Board of Education when the Report of the Royal Commission on University Education in London may be expected?

I understand that the Royal Commission are approaching the end of their labours, but I am not in a position to state when their Report may be expected.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office, as representing the Secretary of State for India, if he will state how far the Treasury balances in the hands of the Secretary of State for India have been reduced since 1st October last; and whether he can give a list of the short-term loans called in and of the firms holding them between 1st October and 31st December, 1912, and a list of the short-term loans and deposits, and the names of their holders, held by approved borrowers on 1st January, 1913?

The following is the list of loans repaid from 1st October to 31st December, 1912:—

Date.	Amount.	Name of Firm.
	£
Oct. 1	50.000	Baker, Buncombe and Co.
Oct. 1	50,000	J. and A. Scrimgeour
Oct. 3	50,000	Union Discount Company of London
Oct. 4	50.000.	National Bank of New Zealand
Oct. 4	50,000	Chartered Bank of India.etc.
Oct. 4	50,000	Union Discount Company of London

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India what amounts of commission, brokerage, or other payments were made from Indian revenues to any firm or firms for the flotation of Indian loans from 1895 to 1905, inclusive, and the details of payments to each firm?

The information is as follows:—

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India what increase there has been in the growth of cotton during each of the last three years in the Central Provinces and in the South of India?

The December estimate of the cotton crop of the Central Provinces, Madras, and Bombay is as follows:—

—	1909–10.		1910–11.		1011–12.		1912–13.
	Area (acres).	Yield (bales).	Area (acres).	Yield (bales).	Area (acres).	Yield (bales).	Area (acres).	Yield (bales).
Central Provinces and Berar	4,167,000	1,070,000	4,487,000	629,000	4,682,000	913,000	4,522,000	910,000
Madras	1,569,000	180,000	1,585,000	182,000	1,698,000	190,000	1,938,000	269,000
Bombay	5,791,000	1,426,000	6,527,000	1,317,000	4,303,000	540,000	5,621,000	1,341,000

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether, in view of the desirability of improving the conditions of the Consular service, he can give information showing, apart from the annual payments, salaries, etc., to Consular offices, the number, age, nationality, and remuneration received by the clerks employed in the principal Consulates and Consulates-General and the special duties assigned to these employes, whose remunerations are covered by office allowances, as well as the rent paid for and address of the respective Consular offices?

The clerical staffs of the Consulates in the general service are not in the direct employment of His Majesty's Government, but in that of the Consuls, who delegate to them such clerical duties as they see fit, and as they are legally competent to discharge. I am not in a position to give full particulars as to the Consular clerks in question. Consular officers are themselves in most cases the legal tenants of the Consular offices, and pay the rent out of the sum assigned as office allowance. Such office allowances are fixed with the sanction of the Treasury from time to time, according to the needs of the various posts. Consular officers are instructed to furnish the Foreign Office with the address of their offices, and these are available if required, but for postal purposes "British Consulate" is a sufficient address. Should the hon. Member have definite suggestions to make as to

asked the Prime Minister how long the post of Permanent Secretary to the Board of Agriculture has remained vacant, and the reason for the delay in appointing an occupant?

The Prime Minister has asked me to answer this question. Sir Thomas Elliott does not vacate the post of Permanent Secretary to the Board until the 3rd February, and Sir Sydney Olivier will take up his duties immediately. There has, therefore, been no delay at all.

asked the Postmaster-General why, for the purposes of underground telegraph schemes, he has suggested so short a period as fifteen years for the sinking fund?

Telegraph expenditure is, in fact, defrayed from money voted by Parliament and not from loan, and the figures quoted to the recent deputation on the subject of underground cables to Dundee and Aberdeen were intended only to illustrate, in the form usually adopted commercially, the effect of the proposed expenditure. The period of fifteen years was taken because that is the period of repayment fixed by the Treasury in the case of the money borrowed for the development of the telephone system.

asked the Postmaster-General if he will state the total gross telegraphic revenue attributable to the counties of Fife, Forfarshire, Elgin, Nairn, Banffshire, Kincardineshire, and Aberdeenshire on the basis of the figures with regard to the cities of Aberdeen and Dundee alone which he gave to a deputation recently?

I much regret that, owing to a mistake made by my officers at Edinburgh, the figures which were furnished to me and which I gave to a recent deputation with regard to the telegraph receipts at Aberdeen and Dundee were inaccurate. The £16,000 which I quoted is the gross telegraph revenue of the head offices only of those cities, whereas the correct figures are £19,800 for Aberdeen and £10,300 for Dundee. The corresponding figure for the whole of the seven counties named by the hon. Member is £61,300. But a large proportion of the traffic, especially between the outlying districts and those two cities, is local and the receipts cannot be set against the cost of underground cables on the main routes.

asked whether the period of detention at landing places in Great Britain for Irish animals is for the purpose of feeding; and, having regard to the fact that young lambs cannot be fed because their mothers' milk is not available, will he, before the shipping season commences, consider the practicability of exempting lambs under six months old from any period of detention whatever?

As I have already explained, cattle, sheep, swine, and goats imported from Ireland into Great Britain will in future be detained at the landing place for a period of twelve hours, during which they will be inspected, rested, fed, and watered. Arrangements will be made for the supply of suitable and sufficient food in all cases, and I cannot agree to the exemption of lambs from the operation of the Order; the necessity of inspection and feeding is quite as important in their case as in the case of other animals.

asked the President of the Board of Agriculture whether any arrangements have been made with the joint stock banks to make advances to rural credit banks; if so, what interest will be charged on advances; and what conditions will be imposed on rural credit banks obtaining such advances?

The Board of Agriculture and Fisheries have been in communication with the leading joint stock banks which have branches in the rural districts with regard to the assistance which the banks can offer, in accordance with ordinary banking principles, to registered co-operative credit societies, consisting mainly of small holders and allotment holders. The banks named below are willing that the manager of any of their country branches should have permission to assist in the formation of such a society, with liberty to give advice to its officers on matters of book-keeping, and to take part, when requested, in the audit of the annual return without remuneration. They will also favourably consider the acceptance by their managers of the post of unpaid treasurer. provided that it does not involve membership of the society. These banks are prepared to allow to such a society as good rates as possible for money in their hands. They will also be prepared to give favourable consideration to applications from such societies for advances, but will require in each case to be satisfied as to the security for the loan, and although they will require it to be made repayable on demand, they will in general practice be ready to lend for twelve months, and the loan will then be subject to repayment, renewal or reduction. If satisfied that the joint liability of the members of the society under its rules constitutes an adequate security for a proposed loan, the bank will require no further guarantee for its repayment. In considering the question of security, it should be borne in mind that, under the model rules for a society registered under the Friendly Societies Act, every member of the society is equally with every other member, jointly and severally liable for all debts incurred by the society. The rate of interest to be charged on approved advances to such societies will be a favourable fixed rate, subject to a year's notice of alteration. It will thus be seen that the committee of any registered agricultural co-operative credit society may apply with some confidence to the local branch manager of any of these banks for advice and help in matters of bookkeeping, accounts, and audit, and that if they wish to obtain an advance from the bank, and are able to satisfy the manager and directors that the security for repayment is sufficient, they may expect that their application for a loan will be granted on these favourable terms. A supplementary list of other banks which may agree to the above arrangements will be published at a future date.List of Banks.

asked the hon. Member for St. George's-in-the-East, as representing the First Commissioner of Works, if he is aware that Messrs. Thatcher and Sons, contractors, of Abingdon, who arc executing work at the Abingdon Post Office, are paying the joiners employed by them from 2s. to 6s. 6d. per week less than the recognised wage of the district; and whether he will take steps to compel this firm to comply with the Fair-Wages Resolution or, otherwise, remove them from the list of contractors invited to tender for Post Office work?

The case has been investigated, and it is found that the Fair-Wages Resolution has not been observed. The First Commissioner is considering the action to be taken in the matter.

asked the Secretary for Scotland whether he can state separately the number of head-masters or mistresses in the 252 centres of secondary education in Scotland who possess an honours degree, an ordinary degree, or no degree at all; and the number of head masters or mistresses in non-secondary schools who-have honours degrees, ordinary degrees, or no degrees?

The 252 centres of secondary education referred to in the question include schools which receive Grants under the regulations as to Grants to secondary schools, and higher grade schools which receive Grants under the code. As regards the first class of school, it is not possible without the expenditure of much time and labour to state precisely the number of graduates on the staff, but from the information available it appears that of the teachers on the staff of these schools (excluding teachers of drawing, music, physical exercises, manual work, and domestic subjects) at least 70 per cent. are graduates. The available information with regard to higher grade schools and non-secondary schools is given in the following table:—

	Number of Certificated Teachers who arc Graduates.		Number of Certificated Teachers who arc not Graduates.
	Male.	Female.	Male.	Female.
Higher Grade Schools	752	187	102	200
Primary Schools and Departments	1,189	670	3,146	12,623

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether the negotiations entered into some time ago with the Congested Districts Board for the purchase of the town of Ballymote, county Sligo, have yet been completed; and, if so, can he say when the sale will take place?

The negotiations for the purchase of Sir Jocelyn Gore-Booth's estate, including the town of Ballymote, have not yet been completed, and I am. therefore not in a position to say when the sale will take place.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury if he will state for each of the last seven completed financial years the amount of deductions made from each of the normal Annual Grants to local authorities in Ireland under each head in connection with the Land Purchase Acts; the amount of deduction from the refund under Section 58 (4) of the Local Government (Ireland) Act, 1898, in respect of railway and harbour charges; from the Asylum Capitation Grant; from the Grant-in-Aid of medical and educational expenditure; from the Grant-in-Aid of sanitary officers' salaries; the total for each of those years; the total for the whole period which has had to be made good by increase of local rates; and the earliest date at which those local authorities can be informed of the amount of deductions to be made from Grants to them in the current financial year?

The appended statements contain information with respect to abatements, deductions or stoppages from

STATEMENT showing, in respect of Land Purchase liability, the net amounts deducted from or added to Grants payable to local bodies in Ireland, during each of the last seven completed financial years—
Year.			Net amount deducted from or added to. (Additions in italics.)						Total.
			Death Duty Grant.			Agricultural Grant.
			£	s.	d.	£	s.	d.	£	s.	d.
1906	…	…	—			—			—
1907	…	…	65,677	12	4	7,541	0	1	*73,218	12	5
1908	…	…	13,039	19	2	—			13,039	19	2
1909	…	…	54.352	7	4	1,849	17	2	56,202	4	6
1910	…	…	4,882	16	3	—			4,882	15	3
1911	…	…	10,758	13	1	—			10,758	13	1
1912	…	…	535	17	5	—			535	17	5
Totals	…		144,864	9	4	9,390	17	3	153,755	6	7
			4,882	16	3	—			4,882	15	3
Total net deductions	…	…	£139,481	14	1	£9,390	17	3	£148,872	11	4
* This sum includes £15,288 5s. 7d., in respect of the preceding year when no deductions were made, as the necessary certificates of the Land Commission and National Debt Commissioners were not furnished to the Board.

In addition to the amounts given in the above statement, the following sums were deducted from the Grants named therein in respect of Police Charges, pursuant to Section 80 (2) of the Local Government (Ireland) Act, 1898,

Year.			Death Duty Grant.			Agricultural Grant.			Total.
			£	s.	d.	£	s.	d.	£	s.	d.
1906	…	…	11,674	16	1	158	16	9	11,833	12	10
1907	…	…	17,334	7	10	317	13	6	17,652	1	4
1908	…	…	14,361	6	9	158	16	9	14,520	3	6
1909	…	…	18,155	18	1	3,638	4	4	21,788	2	5
1910	…	…	26,096	17	11	6,143	8	7	31,240	6	6
1911	…	…	17,184	17	3	1,646	0	11	18,780	18	2
1912	…	…	14,471	17	6	1,762	7	6	16,234	5	0
Total	…	…	£119,230	1	5	£12,819	8	4	£132,049	9	9

asked the Chief Secretary whether he is aware that the tenantry on the estate of Mr. Charles Phibbs, J.P., of Doobeg, Ballymote, county Sligo, some time ago waited on that gentleman with a request that he would sell them their holdings under the provisions of the Act of 1909, which request was refused by Mr. Phibbs; and, if so, whether, seeing that all the surrounding estates have been sold, pressure will be brought to bear on this gentleman with the view of inducing him to sell to his tenants?

The Congested Districts Board have no knowledge of the interview referred to. As I have already informed the hon. Member, Mr. Phibbs stated to the Board that he had no land for sale outside his demesne, but further inquiries are being made.

asked whether the Estates Commissioners have handed over, or propose to hand over, to the Congested Districts Board the Earl of Cork's estate in the barony of Corcaguiny, county Kerry; if not, when do the Estates Commissioners intend sending their inspectors to inspect and value the estate; and when is it proposed to give the tenants the reduction arranged at the time of purchase?

This estate is the subject of proceedings before the Estates Commissioners for sale direct by the owner to the tenants under the Irish Land Act, 1903. It is on the principal register of direct sales (all cash), and the Commissioners cannot at present say when it will be reached in order of priority to be dealt with.

asked the number of acres of land voluntarily and compulsorily acquired under the Land Acts in the county of Cork during the quarter ended 31st December last?

Four thousand and twenty-five acres were acquired in county Cork by the Estates Commissioners in the period named. They were acquired under the voluntary provisions of the Land Purchase Acts.

asked how many evicted tenants were reinstated in county Cork during the three months ended 31st December, 1912; and how many evicted tenants are still unprovided for in county Cork?

In the period referred to, five county Cork evicted tenants were reinstated in their former holdings or provided with other holdings by the Estates Commissioners. The number of tenants or the representatives of tenants evicted from holdings in that county who have been provisionally noted for consideration in the allotment of land acquired by the Commissioners, and who have not yet been provided with holdings, is thirty-seven.