asked the Secretary to the Treasury if an approved society keeps its management expenses below the standard of 3s. 8d. per member per year, whether it can use the amount thus saved for the benefit of its State sick fund?

The answer is in the affirmative. The maximum amount available for the expenses of the society itself is 3s. 5d., the remaining 3d. representing the sums payable to insurance committees for their expenses of administration. Any saving on this sum will go towards creating a surplus on valuation, which can be devoted to giving members of the society any of the additional benefits specified in the Fourth Schedule.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury if he is aware that clerks attached to the National Insurance Commission are working up to twenty-five hours' overtime per week, and that clerks serving in other Departments of the public service are regularly working overtime at the National Insurance Commission after performing a full day's duties in their own Departments; and if he will take steps to remedy this state of things?

During the pressure incidental to bringing into operation the National Insurance Act longer hours have been and are being worked at the Insurance Commission than will be necessary under normal conditions. The average of the hours of overtime, however, does not approach that mentioned by my hon. Friend, and the employment on overtime of volunteers from other public Departments, who are employed by their own desire—and are, of course, paid at overtime rates—has helped to relieve the pressure on the Commission's permanent establishment, which must necessarily be fixed by reference to the permanent requirements of the Department.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury (1) if his attention has been drawn to the case of H. J. S., a qualified dispenser under the Apothecaries Act, who has been conducting a drug store and dispensing behind a chemists' counter, and can show testimonials from five medical men for whom he acted as doctor's dispenser for many years, but who was precluded from dispensing under the Act as he did not occupy this position for the three years immediately prior to the passing of the Act, but was conducting a store pharmacy; will the Commissioners make regulations to remedy this hardship; (2) whether his attention has been called to the case of G. E., gold medallist in dispensing and pharmacy, who, after four years' apprenticeship to a chemist and druggist, paying a premium, has been occupied for twenty-five years as assistant, manager, dispenser, and in business on his own account, and was, amongst other experience, dispenser for over three years in the Welsh coalfields and manager to one of the leading firms of chemists; is he aware that G. E. has been precluded from going on the panel of chemists under the Act; will the Commissioners make regulations under Section 78 to remedy this hardship; (3) if his attention has been called to the case of T. H. G., who has been a dispenser for twenty-eight years in two situations, and also dispenser to various doctors and institutions, after serving an apprenticeship to a qualified pharmacist, and is now conducting a drug store; will he state whether this man is precluded from going on the panel of chemists under the National Insurance Act; if so, what regulation is it proposed to make to remedy this case of hardship; and (4) if his attention has been called to the case of C. R. W., a trained dispenser of twenty-five years' experience, who is debarred from dispensing medicines for insured persons as he was not a doctor's dispenser for three years immediately prior to the passing of the National Insurance Act, while men with similar but far more limited experience are regarded as qualified; and will the Commissioners make regulations to remove this hardship?

The conditions under which persons are allowed to arrange with insurance committees to supply medicines requiring dispensing, to dispense medicines for other persons or firms who are supplying them, and to supply drugs not requiring dispensing and appliances, respectively, are laid down in explicit terms in Section 15 of the National Insurance Act, and in the other Acts determining the conditions under which medicines are supplied, and the Commissioners have no power to alter them by Regulations.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury how many circulars were issued to medical practitioners containing a copy of the Chancellor of the Exchequer's letter of 18th December addressed to the secretaries of the Insurance Act Practitioners' Association?

My right hon. Friend addressed the letter in question to the secretaries of the National Insurance Practitioners' Association. I have no information as to any circulation which the recipients of the letter may have given to it.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury what steps he proposes to take to permit of insured persons making use of the services of their own doctor in the case where the doctor has conscientious objections to going on the panel?

I do not understand to what kind of objection the hon. Member refers.

also asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether his attention has been called to posters, leaflets, and pamphlets issued and signed by medical practitioners in Scotland dealing with the administration of the National Insurance I Act, and advertising the terms on which they are willing to perform outside of the panel similar duties to those undertaken by doctors on the panel in respect of insured persons; and, if so, whether it is proposed that payment be made from State funds to those doctors?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. No contributions from insurance funds towards the cost of the medical treatment of persons who are attended by doctors not on the panel will be made except under the conditions stated in my answer to the hon. Member for St. Pancras on the 6th instant.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many women doctors have joined the insurance panels; and if insured women, who desire to be attended by a woman doctor where there is a resident woman doctor, but where no woman doctor is on the panel, can make their own arrangements with the woman doctor and receive the equivalent grant from the approved society?

I could not answer the first part of the hon. Member's question until an examination had been made of the panel lists of 196 different committees, and I do not feel that the labour would be justified at the present time seeing that additional doctors are joining the panels every day. With regard to the second part of the question, as I have previously stated, it would be the duty, in the first instance, of the insurance committees upon application to consider the circumstances of each particular case.

asked whether, in view of the fact that under Section 15 (2) (e) of the National Insurance Act there is an obligation on the Insurance committees to provide medical benefit for old members of friendly societies who do not become insured persons on the same terms of remuneration as those arranged for insured persons, he will say whether arrangements are being made by the insurance committees to provide medical benefit for old members of friendly societies who do not become insured persons; whether these members will be charged not more than 6s. for their medical benefit; and whether the additional 2s. 6d. will be granted in respect of them?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative, and to the second and third parts in the negative. The arrangements made give an option to societies, and are not obligatory upon them. I have no evidence to show that the fact that doctors on the panels are receiving a larger remuneration than hitherto in respect of insured person is necessitating an expenditure upon uninsured persons of a much higher fee than that for which they have been treated in the past.

asked the Postmaster-General whether his attention has been called to a circular issued by the Post Office authorities on 31st December, 1912, to medical officers of post offices to the effect that the conditions of their service hitherto in force would be superseded by the arrangements for medical benefit under the National Insurance Act; whether he is aware that a further circular was addressed to the same medical officers by the same authorities on 13th January, 1913, stating that the Insurance Commissioners were prepared to recognise the Post Office medical system as an institution in the sense defined by Section 15 (4) of the National Insurance Act, and indicating that the effect of this would be that, contrary to the statement of 31st December, the conditions of service of Post Office medical officers would continue as before, the only difference being that Post Office officials would, if they applied to exercise their right of free choice of doctor, be able to receive their medical benefit from another doctor, provided he was on the panel; will he say what was the object of sending these contradictory circulars; and whether the intention of applying for the recognition of the Post Office medical system as an institution was only conceived between the dates of the two circulars; and was the object of the first circular to force the Post Office medical officers to join the panels under the impression that the Post Office medical System, and with it the appointments thereto, was at an end?

In the Circular of the 31st December, Post Office medical officers were informed that the approval of the Insurance Commissioners was being sought for the Post Office medical system; and they were told that, if such approval were not forthcoming, insured post Office servants would be limited in their choice of medical attendants to doctors on the panels. In the circular of the 13th January medical officers were informed that the Insurance Commissioners were prepared to approve the Post Office medical system. I see no contradiction between the two circulars. The answer in the last two parts of the question is in the negative.

asked the Postmaster-General if the clerks employed at the Labour Exchange divisional office in Bow Street have been working late for weeks past, including Saturdays, and if they have now been informed that they would have to work on Sunda5rs as well?

It has been impossible to avoid a considerable amount of overtime work in the preliminary administration of unemployment insurance, and the very heavy work in connection with the first batch of claims to benefit has recently necessitated a certain amount of late attendance on Saturdays and, I regret to say, also on Sundays. I may explain that, while under normal conditions, the staff will only have to deal with claims for benefit as and when the applicants fall out of employment, the claims at the outset have necessarily included a very much larger number of persons who were unemployed before the date at which benefit began to be payable. This state of things is quite exceptional and temporary, and I can assure my hon. Friend that every effort is being and will be made to reduce overtime within the narrowest possible limits. I take this opportunity of expressing my appreciation of the zeal and devotion of the staff in trying circumstances.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury if he will state on what grounds the National Insurance Commissioners have decided to pay 7s. a week unemployed benefit in the engineering, shipbuilding, and construction of vehicles trades, but only 6s. a week for this benefit in the house-building and works of construction trades, the contributions in all of these trades being at the same rate?

My right hon. Friend has asked me to answer this question as unemployed insurance is administered by the Board of Trade and not by the Insurance Commissioners. There is no such differentiation as is referred to by the hon. Member, the rate of benefit being 7s. per week for adults in each of the insured trades.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether he will cause National Insurance Form, No. 125 (Scotland), to be laid upon the Table of the House?

Certainly, I hope to lay it on the Table of the House tomorrow.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether the Local Government Board will draw the attention of the corporation of Sligo to the condition of the roads in the borough, which causes cyclists and motorists to avoid an otherwise attractive town to the injury of the hotels and other businesses, and has already led to accidents to horses from the deep holes in the roads; have the roads been inspected by any of the Local Government Board inspectors, and have they reported to the Board; and, if not, will he suggest inspection at an early date?

The maintenance of the roads in the borough is a matter for the corporation, and the Local Government Board have no jurisdiction to intervene except on the complaint of the county council under Section 82 (2) of the Local Government (Ireland) Act, 1898. No inspections have been ordered by the Board, but they now propose to communicate with the corporation conveying for their information the statements made by the hon. Member.

asked the Chief Secretary what steps he proposes to take next Session with a view to assisting the building of technical schools in county Wexford?

Local authorities may secure the funds for building technical schools by loans on the security of rates raised for the purposes of technical instruction. The Department of Agriculture have no funds from which to make special Grants for this purpose.

asked the Secretary for War what was the total estimated acreage of, and the total price paid for, the lands purchased recently for Artillery range purposes on Salisbury Plain, in each of the parishes of Easterton, Market Lavington, Urchfont, and West Lavington, respectively, together with the aggregate totals?

The information is as follows:—

Parishes.	Area.			Price Paid.
	a.	r.	p.	£	s.	d.
Urchfont	551	0	9	11,121	15	7
Easterton	237	1	20	7,047	0	1
Market Lavington	937	1	20	25,845	19	9
West Lavington	1,025	0	1	20,106	12	1
Total	2,750	3	16	64,721	7	6

asked the Secretary to the Admiralty whether the contracts for the supply of fresh meat for the Navy require that the cattle shall be delivered alive at the various naval bases; and, if so, whether he will take steps to prevent the unnecessary cruelty which is inflicted on live stock consigned to naval stations in the course of their transit by rail by reason of their detention for many hours in trucks without food or water being supplied to them?

The contracts for four of the naval stations provide for live cattle. The contractors are responsible for proper care of the cattle in transit, and no complaint has reached the Department of any such suffering of animals as is suggested in the question. Inquiry will, however, be made of contractors concerned with a view to preventive measures, if such are found necessary. I may point out that the contractor in his own interest, apart from other considerations, would naurally take care to ensure animals arriving in good condition.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he is yet in a position to state why the ship's company of H.M.S. "Lapwing" have not received the prize money due to them for captures of arms in the Persian Gulf from 1909 to 1910?

I regret that at the present moment I am unable to add to the reply which I gave to the hon. Member for Devonport with reference to the case of the "Perseus" on 19th December, 1912.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether the schools of Berriew, Buttington, and Manafon, parts of which, respectively, are within the churchyards, will remain in the possession of the Church authorities under the Established Church (Wales) Bill; (2) whether Bettws old school, now a church room and Sunday school and approached through the churchyard, will retain the right of access under the Established Church (Wales) Bill; and (3) whether the church house and vestry (formerly the girls' school and vestry) at Llanfyllin, the school building and the playground at Meifod, and the school building and coal building at Llandrinio, all of which are wholly or partly erected on churchyards, will remain in the possession of the Church authorities under the Established Church (Wales) Bill?

I am making inquiries into the nature of the instances cited by the hon. Member in this and his two other questions, and will communicate the results to him later.

asked the Home Secretary whether churchyards given during the last century and additions so made will remain in the possession of the Church under the Established Church (Wales) Bill?

Any such churchyards and additions to churchyards, if in the nature of private benefactions, will remain in the possession of the Church under the Established Church (Wales) Bill.

asked the Home Secretary if he will define the divisions into which Great Britain and Ireland are divided for purposes of inspection under the Factory Acts, the population of each district, the number of factories and the number of workpeople employed thereat in each such district, and the number, status, and salaries of the inspectors allotted to each district, respectively; and whether inspectors acting in Wales and Monmouthshire are invariably required to be thoroughly conversant with the Welsh language?

The following are the particulars asked for by my hon. Friend:—

Division.	Census Population, 1901.	Works, 1911.		Persons Employed in Factories and Workshops, 1907.	Staff.
					Inspectors.				Assistants.
		Factories.	Workshops.		Superintending £600—£750.	Class 1A. £300—£350.	Class 1B. £300—£450.	Class £200-£300.	Higher Scale. £150—£200.	Ordinary Scale. £110—£150.
South-Eastern Division	11,120,421	25,491	46,166	995,976	1	4	5	13	3	12
South-Western Division	7,796,708	15,645	25,747	483,679	1	3	5	7	5	2
Midland Division	5,484,775	19,871	24,544	837,500	1	3	8	5	2	7
North-Eastern Division	5,378,503	19,439	17,084	861,182	1	3	6	7	4	3
North-Western Division	5,623,385	18,584	20,014	1,175,898	1	4	7	9	5	2
Northern Division	6,054,929	15,368	19,409	822,874	1	3	6	6	5	1

The particulars of the areas covered by the different divisions would occupy too great space to be given in answer to a question. My hon. Friend will find them set out in full in the Annual Report of the Chief Inspector of Factories, of which I will send him a copy. Five out of the seven officers at present stationed in Wales are conversant with the Welsh language. In the selection of candidates for nomination consideration is given to Welsh, and also in filling vacancies, in accordance with the provisions of Section 118, Sub-section (2), of the Act; but my hon. Friend will understand that no inspectors are appointed to the staff solely for service in Wales, and that there must be interchange on promotion with other parts of the country. If this were not so, the prospects of Welsh-speaking inspectors might be prejudiced.

asked the Home secretary whether his attention has been called to the case of Mrs. Lavinia Everley, deceased, who on the 28th December, 1911, wandered from her home at chiswick, and was on the same day taken up by the police in Gaol, Inn Road, sent to Hollo-way Gaol, and thence to the city Road workhouse, and ultimately placed as a lunatic in Long Grove Asylum; whether the police authorities were informed on the 28th December, 1911, that this lady was missing from her home; whether when she was discovered it was apparent that she was feeble in itntellect; whetherany and what attempt was made by the police who found her to ascertain where she had come from; how it happened that the information given to the police of the loss of this lady in Chiswick did not come to the notice of the police who found her in Gray's Inn Road; and whether he is satisfied that the system of disseminating information amongst the force is adequate to prevent the recurrence of such an event as that referred to?

My attention had not previously been called to this case, but I find, on inquiry, that Mrs. Everley left her home at Chiswick on the evening of 28tb December, 1911, and was reported by her husband to the Chiswick police the same night as missing. The adjacent police stations were at once informed by telegram, and the following morning (the 29th) particulars were communicated to all police stations in the Metropolis. On the afternoon of the 29th (not the 28th) a woman, whose photograph has been identified by Mr. Everley as that of his wife, was brought to Gray's Inn Road Police Station on a charge of begging. She did not answer in any respect to the particulars of the description of Mrs. Everley given to the police, and she refused to give any account of herself beyond saying that her name was Amelia Francis, that she was a charwoman, without home or friends, and had tramped from the Midlands. The officer who dealt with the case noticed no signs of mental impairment. I am satisfied that all possible steps were taken by the police in the matter, and that the fact that Mrs. Everley was not identified with the woman arrested in Gray's Inn Road was due, not to any defect in the arrangements for disseminating information, but to the great discrepancy between the description of Mrs. Everley given to the police and the appearance of the woman arrested.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether he is aware that the Stock Exchange speculation in 1893, based on the Anglo-Indian rupee legislation of that year, ended in a financial panic with a depreciation of securities on the London Stock Exchange of £72,000,000, and that a bear operation in 1894 between New York and London in the exchanges caused the Indian Government to lose over £1,000,000 sterling in their exchange estimates; and whether he will, with the Board of Trade, initiate legislation in order to protect India and Britain in the future from these bull and bear gambling operations in silver and in the exchange?

I am unable to verify the statements made in the first and second parts of the question. As regards the third part, I would refer the hon. Member to the answers that I gave on 10th December and 7th January.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India if he will give the extract from the minutes of the Finance Committee of the India Council referring to the offer of Messrs. Samuel Montagu and Company to Sir Felix Schuster to purchase silver on behalf of the Government, and a copy of the resolution passed authorising the future purchases to be made through this firm?

submitted the following minutes:—Recommendation of Finance Committee, dated 21st February, 1912:The Finance Committee recommend that their Chairman, or in his absence, Mr. Currie, be authorised to arrange for the purchase of not more than £1,000,000 of silver, if he thinks fit, through such agency and in such manner as he thinks advisable. The Committee would draw attention to the importance of secrecy.Approved Council,27th February, 1912.Recommendation of Finance Committee, dated 1st May, 1912:The Finance Committee recommend that their chairman or in his absence, Mr. Currie, be authorised to arrange for the purchase of not more than £1,000,000 additional silver, if he thinks fit, through such agency and in such manner as he thinks advisable.Approved Council,7th May, 1912.Recommendation of Finance Committee, dated 24th July, 1912:It is proposed to ask Messrs. Samuel Montagu and Company to buy another £500,000 and to authorise the Chairman of the Finance Committee to order a further £500,000 when this order is completed.Approved Council,30th July, 1912.Recommendation of Finance Committee, dated 21st August, 1912:Finance Committee recommend that sanction be given for the purchase in London of a fourth £1,000,000 and that the Chairman be authorised to carry out the purchase as in the previous instances.Approved Council,28th August, 1912.Resolution of Council, 11th September, 1912:With reference to Council Minute of 28th August last, authorising the purchase in London of a fourth million of silver, it is submitted that sanction be given to the purchase of a further £1,000,000 and that, as in the previous instances, the Chairman of the Finance Committee be authorised to carry out the purchase.

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether he is aware that, in the supplements to the reports of the medical officer for the thirteen years, 1900–12, it is disclosed that sixty-three calves which had been used for the purpose of propagating vaccine lymph were found, at the autopsy by the veterinary sergeon, to exhibit evidence of tubercular lesions; were any of these carcases disposed of for human food; and, if not, in what manner were they destroyed?

All calves which are used for the production of lymph are slaughtered and then examined by our veterinary surgeon, and the lymph from any animals not certified to be healthy is destroyed. The carcases of the animals are also subject to veterinary inspection by the officers of the Corporation of the City of London, and dealt with in accordance with their strict regulations. Any carcases which are certified as unfit for human consumption are destroyed.

asked the President of the Board of Trade who is responsible for securing compliance with the law in respect of limited liability companies as regards the presentation of balance sheets and the making of other prescribed Returns; and if he will submit a statement giving particulars of defaulting companies in this respect during the last five years and the action taken by or on behalf of the Government thereon?

supplied the following particulars as to defaults by companies in filing Returns during the past five years:—

Year.		Number of defaults in respect of Returns with regard to which the companies concerned were circularised by the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies.	Number of companies struck off the Register on the ground that they were not carrying on business or in operation.	Number of summonses issued by the Board of Trade in respect of defaults in filing Returns.
1908	…	5,800	662	34
1909	…	5,188	892	23
1910	…	8,204	905	61
1911	…	6,990	1,777	68
1912	…	8,485	1,549	22

also asked what was the total amount of wheat and flour in millions of hundredweights exported from India, Canada, and Australia in the year 1911; and what was the estimated consumption of wheat and flour in millions of hundredweights in the United Kingdom in the same year?

The total amounts of wheat and wheat flour (in grain equivalent) exported during the calendar year 1911 from the countries named were: From British India (by sea), 29.4 million hundredweights; from Canada, 41.1 million hundredweights; from Australia, 33.9 million hundredweights. The total estimated quantity of home-grown and imported wheat and wheat flour (in grain equivalent) retained in the United Kingdom for home consumption during the same year was 143.5 million hundredweights.

next asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will state how many hundredweights of wheat and flour were produced in the United Kingdom, imported from the British Empire, and imported from foreign countries, respectively, in the year 1911; and what was the percentage of the total consumption in the United Kingdom in each case?

The following statement gives the information desired by the hon. Member:—

—	Total Supply in 1911.	Of which—Retained for Home Consumption.
		Quantity.	Proportion to Total Consumption
	Million Cwts.	Million Cwts.	Per Cent.
British Wheat	34.5*	32.0†	22.3
Foreign Wheat	57.6‡	57.3§	39.9
Colonial Wheat	54.4‡	54.2§	37.8
	146.5	143.5	100.0
* Estimated quantity produced in 1911.
† Production of wheat, less exports of wheat and wheat flour (in grain equivalent) of United Kingdom production.
‡ Total imports in 1911.
§ Net imports (i.e., total imports less re-exports) retained in the United Kingdom.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how many million hundredweights of meat were imported into the United Kingdom in 1911; of this, what was the actual amount of meat imported from the British Empire; and what percentage did this form of the whole importation?

The total quantity of meat (including the estimated meat equivalent of animals for food) imported into the United Kingdom from all sources during the year 1911 was 22.9 million cwts. The quantity imported from the British Empire was 6.2 million cwts., or 27 per cent, of the total imports.

asked the Postmaster-General the distance and cost of the extension of the underground cable from Warrington to Hull and Newcastle, respectively; what is the distance from Carlisle to Newcastle; whether, as far as Newcastle is concerned, it would have been more economical to extend a branch line there from Carlisle; and what is the distance from the nearest spot in the present underground cable for an extension to Dundee and Aberdeen, respectively?

An extension to Newcastle by the shorter route from Carlisle suggested by the hon. Member would not have been justified as it would only have served Newcastle. The longer route of the extension from Warrington was necessary in order to serve, not only Newcastle, but also Manchester, Halifax, Bradford, Leeds, Stockton, and Durham, and it is also possible to serve Hull, Middlesbrough, Sunderland, and North and South Shields by short extensions on this route. The distance from Dundee to Falkirk, the nearest point on an existing underground route, is sixty-five miles, and the length of a line from Falkirk to Aberdeen would be 132 miles.

asked the Postmaster-General whether his attention has been called to the fact that men are being transferred to the factory at Birmingham from the factory at Mount Pleasant, London, with a substantial reduction of wages; and whether, in consequence of the admitted hardships of such transfers and the men's objections to them, he will suspend any contemplated transfers of the character mentioned until the Select Committee on Postal Servants, to whom the question has been referred, has reported?

In view of the falling off of the work at the Mount Pleasant factory, some of the unestab-lished staff there have been invited to fill vacancies at the stores depot at Birmingham. The only alternative will be to discharge London men as the work diminishes and take on fresh men at Birmingham, as there is no prospect of other Post Office work in London on which they could be usefully employed. The provincial scales of wages in the Post Office are less than the London scales, on account mainly of the difference in the cost of living, and the lower payment which is offered at Birmingham does not represent any loss of real wages. Removal expenses are paid in such cases.

asked the Postmaster-General the result of his inquiries into the wages paid to the mail van drivers, Belfast, and as to how those wages compare with those paid to drivers by the cartage contractors and others in the same city?

I regret that I am still not in a position to announce a decision, but the inquiry is now almost completed, and I hope to make a definite communication to the contractor in the course of the next few days.

asked the Postmaster-General whether Staff Quartermaster-Sergeant Stickney's history in the Army showed that he had a recurrence of various diseases; if he is aware that Mr. Stickney's medical history shows that from his enlistment in July, 1894, to September, 1899, he had no illness; that late in 1899 he contracted enteric fever at Pietermaritzburg, was sent to Netley as a convalescent, and in 1900 was sent back to Natal, where in 1901 he was debilitated by hard work and living on preserved Army rations; that from 1902 to January, 1912, a period of ten years, he had no illness or disease, except a touch of pleurisy caused by a chill at Aldershot in 1906; if he was committed to an asylum on 15th January, 1912, for having weird notions about vaccination, that is, because he claimed exemption from vaccination for his child; if the officer who certified Stickney as unfit for Army service committed suicide a few days after; and will he have a personal examination of Stickney by the Post Office doctor?

Mr. Stickney's Army medical history up to January, 1912, was substantially as stated by the hon. Member. On the 16th of that month, however, he was admitted to hospital at Pretoria suffering from extensive varicose veins, and was subsequently invalided as permanently unfit. After arrival in this country he entered Netley Hospital and remained there until his discharge from the Army on the recommendation of a medical board. The thrombosis and varicose veins from which he suffers render him unsuitable for the position of postman. I have no knowledge of the vaccination question and the alleged suicide of an Army medical officer.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware that, as a result of reducing the status of the supervising officer at the Salford branch post office, there is now no provision made for supervising the staff for five hours each day, and whether this change has been made from motives of economy?

The amount of supervision provided at the Salford branch post office was in no way affected by the alteration referred to by the hon. Member. The alteration was made because the number of officers to be supervised was not sufficient to justify the higher post.

asked the Postmaster-General whether his intentions regarding the status of the Stretford Road branch post office, Manchester, are yet decided; and if he will state the weekly remuneration to be paid to the officers there employed?

I have decided not to make any alteration for the present in the status of the Stretford Road post office; the remuneration of the officers employed there will consequently remain unchanged.

asked the President of the Board of Agriculture whether the leave of the Board of Agriculture was necessary in order to allow of the proposed new buildings of Bedford College being erected in Regent's Park; and whether he has, in fact, given such consent?

The leave of the Board of Agriculture was not necessary, and has not in fact been given.

asked the President of the Board of Agriculture whether it is the intention of his Department to promote the establishment of co-operative credit societies in the agricultural districts of England; if so, to what extent will they be supported or subsidised by the State; and whether he has been in communication with the Vice-President of the Irish Department of Agriculture as to the advisability of extending the benefits of these credit societies to Ireland?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative, but it is not proposed to support or subsidise credit societies from £tate funds otherwise than by making a Grant to the Agricultural Organisation Society towards the cost of organisation and inspection. The answer to the last part of the question is in the negative.

asked the President of the Board of Agriculture whether he will consider the advisability of reappointing the Departmental Committee of inquiry on foot-and-mouth distemper with a view to obtaining the latest expert information respecting the recent outbreaks?

There has been nothing in the recent outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease which would justify the reappointment at present of the Departmental Committee to which the hon. Member refers.