asked the Secretary for War if he can give any estimate of the numbers which must be deducted from the 240,876 non-commissioned officers and men of the combative branch of the Territorial Army on 21st October, 1912, as men non-effective for the field?

No accurate figures are available.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether the two non-combatant branches of the Territorial Army, namely, the Royal Army Medical Corps and the Army Veterinary Corps, have been included in the Return of the strength of the officers, non-commissioned officers, and men of the Territorial Army given on the 21st October last; and, if so, the above two branches being non-combatant, whether, according to the figures of this Return, the correct numbers of the combatant branches of the Territorial Army on the 21st October were 8,036 officers and 240,876 non-commissioned officers and men?

The reply to both parts of the question is in the affirmative. The figures for the non-combatant branches were given in detail on the date mentioned.

also asked whether, if the numbers 8,036 officers and 240,876 non-commissioned officers and men of the total combative strength of the Territorial Army on the 21st of October last are correct, these numbers include the following:—Recruits, men who failed to qualify, men who were not trained in musketry, boys under nineteen years of age, men absent abroad, men who have been absent from camp during the year, men who have been absent for two or more trainings, men temporarily unfit for service; and men under engagement to serve abroad on mobilisation?

The figures quoted were a correct reply to the question put by the hon. Gentleman. I shall be glad to give him all details on the points mentioned in this question for which figures are available.

asked the Secretary for War the approximate num- ber of men liable to be called upon to join the active or reserve forces of their respective countries, cither on mobilisation or in the event of war, included in the total estimated number of Germans, Austrians, and Italians living in Great Britain at the present time; and if he can give the approximate numbers of men of these three nationalities liable for service within the boundaries of Greater London?

There are no statistics available at the War Office in regard to the required information.

asked the Secretary for War when he proposes to publish, for the information of Members, the report of the War Office Committee on Monoplanes?

I hope to be able to lay this report on the Table very shortly.

asked the Secretary for War if he will state the detailed cost of the inspection journeys of the Inspector-General of Overseas Forces for 1911, and, with regard to this officer's journey to Pekin, the number of British troops in garrison there; and, seeing that at the lowest computation the office of Inspector-General cost the country in 1912 the sum of over £9,000, a saving could be effected to go towards the better payment of the subaltern ranks of the Army?

The cost was as follows:

Mediterranean	£250
West Indies	£560
South Africa, Mauritius, and West Africa	£l,340

The British troops at Pekin and Tientsin in 1912 consisted of two British battalions, one Indian native battalion, and other details amounting in all to about 3,000. The present Inspector-General was appointed in August, 1910, and has rendered reports of exceptional value since his appointment.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether provision is being made in the plans for the new buildings of the Royal College of Art to connect it with the Victoria and Albert Museum, and so afford teachers and students the requisite facilities for pursuing their work and studies, as heretofore, in the museum?

I am not yet in a position to say whether the expense of underground connection between the new College of Art buildings and the Victoria and Albert Museum would be justified by the advantages which might be expected from it, but the matter will be considered.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether the exhibition of the National Competition Art Works can be held this year in the Victoria and Albert Museum instead of in the inconvenient and inadequate sheds which were used for that purpose last year?

I cannot yet say whether or not it will be possible to find space for the exhibition of the National Competition Works of Art this year in the Victoria and Albert Museum, but if space is available I shall be prepared to consider the proposal put forward by the hon. Member.

asked the President of the Board of Education what new scheme has been recently adopted in Berlin in connection with the continuation schools there?

In November of last year, taking advantage of the recent modification of the Gewerbeordnung, the Municipal Executive (Magistrat) submitted to the Berlin Town Council a new by-law enforcing attendance on all girls employed in industrial or commercial undertakings in Berlin. The limits of attendance are the same as for boys, with this additional proviso, that any girl who at the end of the term in which she reaches her seventeenth birthday has not satisfactorily completed the course may be required to attend until she attains her eighteenth birthday. The amount of attendance demanded is not to exceed on the average six hours a week, nor is it to be less than four. The classes must be held between the hours of 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., and the course of instruction must include domestic economy. This by-law was accepted by the town council on 28th November, 1912, and now awaits the formal sanction of the Oberprasident of the Province of Brandenburg. If sanctioned, the by-law would come into operation on 1st April, 1913. It is proposed to modify the boys' Statute so as to make it harmonise with the new conditions proposed for girls.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India how much silver bullion in fine ounces was coined at the Indian mints during the last calendar year into rupees or sub-divisions and into British dollars or sub-divisions, respectively; at whose instance these dollars are coined, and what per ounce is their issue price, or what is the seignorage; and if there is any publication available which gives the Indian mint statistics since 1893?

The figures for calendar years are not available. The amount of silver coined in 1911–12 at the Indian mints was as follows:—

—	Standard ounces.	Equivalent in fine ounces.
Whole rupees, new	nil.	nil.
Whole rupees, recoined.	9,107,934	8,424,839
½, ¼, ⅛ rupees, new	nil.	nil.
½, ¼, ⅛ rupees, recoined.	405,829	375,391
British dollars	31,596,753	29,226,997

The British dollars were coined at the requisition of banks. There is no "issue price," since the mint merely coin the silver tendered to them by banks, and issue the dollars to the banks, charging 2 per cent, for the work done. Some statistics of the Indian mints will be found in the Statistical Abstract of British India, 1009-10 (Cd. 6017). More detailed statistics, and extending over a longer period will be found in "Statistics of British India, Part IV. A (Finance and Revenue)" for 1909–10, purchasable from the agents for the sale of books published by the Indian authorities. A new edition for 1910–11 will shortly be obtainable. The yearly Reports of the Administration of the Mints at Calcutta and Bombay can be obtained through the same channel. The latest is the Report for 1911–12.

asked the Under-Secretary for India whether he is aware that, for reasons connected with caste and other structural conditions of Indian life, it is often necessary that police officers should perform their duties in districts and among peoples to which they do not actually belong; and, if so, whether the Secretary of State will abstain from taking any action which may limit the discretion of local authorities possessed of special knowledge in this behalf?

The Secretary of States does not propose to interfere with the discretion of the local authorities in India as regards the posting of their police officers.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, whether his attention has been called to the accounts widely published of massacres and wholesale violation of women perpetrated by Bulgarian and Servian bands; whether he will immediately lay upon the Table any Consular or other reliable reports which have reached him on this subject; and whether he can state what steps have been taken by the Ambassadors of the Great Powers to check these atrocities?

In regard to the first and second parts of the hon. Member's question, I would refer him to the replies which I have given to the hon. Member for Bury St. Edmunds on 21st January and also to-day. The hon. Member is aware of the action taken by His Majesty's Government in this matter. I am unable to say whether any other of the Great Powers has taken similar action.

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether statistics showing the number of pensioners of each sex resident in each administrative county and county borough are annually compiled and published, but are not so compiled and published for non-county boroughs; and, if so, whether he can see his way to place non-county boroughs in the same category as county boroughs in this respect, so that the pension committees of such areas may have the figures for comparison?

The question of Old Age Pension Statistics was very carefully considered by a committee in 1910, and it was then decided the classification should be compiled on the basis of the larger administrative areas, as it was felt that the results to be obtained from a multiplication of the units of classification would be quite disproportionate to the additional labour and expense involved. I fear I could not undertake to increase the number of classification areas.

asked the Secretary for Scotland why John Calder, of Findochty, Banffshire, who was granted leave to apply for an old age pension by the local pension committee on 6th December, 1912, has not yet received it, and when will he get it?

According to the Census Returns, John Calder was seven years old on 31st March, 1851, and the Local Government Board for Scotland had no alternative but to proceed on this evidence and sustain the pension officer's appeal against the decision of the committee allowing a pension. Assuming John Calder to have been born on 8th June, as he stated in his claim, he will not, according to the evidence of the Census, attain the age of seventy until 8th June next.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he can state, according to the Census of Production Act, the total value of goods manufactured in Great Britain in the engineering trade, and the total value of net imports and exports in this trade in 1907.

The total value at works of the products made and work done in the engineering trades (including ordnance, but exclusive of electrical engineering, marine engineering, and heating, ventilating, and sanitary engineering, and also of goods which, though made in engineering workshops—such as motor cars—are of kinds chiefly made in other trades), is estimated to have been between 82½ and 86½ million pounds sterling in the censual year. The exports of similar products in 1907 were valued at £31,021,000, free on board, and the net imports at £3,315,000 at port of landing. (See page 130 of Cd. 6320.)

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he can state, according to the Census of Production Act, the total value of goods manufactured in Great Britain in the boot and shoe trade; and the total value of net imports and exports in this trade in 1907?

The value at works of boots, shoes, slippers, and clogs of all kinds (excluding those made by firms engaged in making rubber goods) manufactured in the United Kingdom in the censual year, so far as returned to the Census of Production Office, amounted to £20,254,000. The exports of boots, shoes, and slippers, mainly of leather or rubber, were valued at £2,384,000, free on board, and the net imports (i.e., imports less re-exports) at £848,000 at port of landing. The exports and net imports of boots and shoes of other materials were included in 1907 with those of apparel, but in 1908 the exports were valued at £54,000, and the net imports at £51,000. In addition, repair work to the value of £1,930,000 was executed, and leggings and other goods to the value of £219,000 were manufactured at boot and shoe factories and workshops. As stated in the Final Report on the Census of Production, the figures given above "do not include the output of a large number of (a) workshops where the occupier works alone (as is generally the case with the village shoemaker); (b) workshops attached to retail shops, where a few men are engaged in repair work or on a few special bespoke orders; and (c) independent repairing shops, where a few men work together." (See pages 396 and 397 of Cd. 6320.)

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he can say, according to the Census of Production Act, the total value of goods manufactured in Great Britain in the cotton trade, and the total value of net imports and exports in this trade in 1907?

The total value at works of the output of cotton yarn, piece goods, and other manufactures (except lace, hosiery, gloves, rope, twine, and nets) is estimated to have been between 131 and 133 million pounds sterling in the censual year (taking the goods as bleached, dyed, or printed, but excluding the profits and charges of piece goods merchants). The total value of the exports of similar goods in 1907 was £105,043,000, free on board, and the total value of the net imports was £3,900,000 at port of landing. (See page 291 of Cd. 6320).

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he can state, according to the Census of Production Act, the total value of goods manufactured in Great Britain in the clothing, handkerchief, and millinery trades; and the total value of net imports and exports in this trade in 1907?

The total value at works of the output, so far as returned to the Census of Production Office, of the clothing, handkerchief, and millinery trades (exclusive of caps, fur goods, rubber goods, and other goods made in clothing factories and workshops, but of kinds chiefly made in other trades) is estimated to have been between £63,000,000 and £64,000,000 sterling in the censual year. As stated in the Final Report of the Census of Production, this sum does not include the value of the work done by a large number of persons working on their own account or with only a very few assistants. The following particulars of exports and imports are available, exports being valued free on board and imports at port of landing:—

	Exports.	Imports.
	£	£
Apparel	5,634,000*	2,726,000*
Embroidery and needlework	†	1,980,000
Haberdashery	1,396,000	†
* Including caps and canvas shoes.
† Not shown separately.

The exports and imports of other goods included in the total value of production shown above are not shown separately in the Annual Statement of Trade. (See pages 392 and 393 of Cd. 6320.)

asked the President of the Board of Trade what was the average price of wheat in France and in this country for each of the years 1906 to 1911, inclusive; and what was the average price of the four-pound loaf in the same years in each country?

The information asked for is given in the following table:—

Year.	Wheat, per 480 lbs.						Bread, per 4 lbs. (to nearest farthing).
	United Kingdom.				France.
	British Wheat "Gazette" Average Price.		Imported Wheat Average Declared Value.		Official Average Price.		London.	Paris.
	s.	d.	s.	d.	s.	a.	d.	d.
1906	28	3	30	2	39	3	5½	6½
1907	30	7	32	11	40	3	5½	6½
1908	32	0	36	0	39	1	5¾	6½
1909	36	11	39	8	40	7	6	6¾
1910	31	8	36	0	43	11	6	6¾
1911	31	8	34	0	44	9	5½	7

also asked the President of the Board of Trade the average price of the four-pound loaf in this country and in Germany for each of the years 1906 to 1911, inclusive?

The following table shows the official average retail price of household rye bread in Berlin and the mean retail price of household wheaten bread in London:—

Year.		Berlin (Rye bread, per 4 lbs.).	London (Wheaten bread, per 4 lbs.).
		d.	d.
1906	…	5½	5½
1907	…	6¾	5½
1908	…	6¾	5¾
1909	…	6½	6
1910	…	6	6
1911	…	6	5½

asked the Secretary for Scotland if he is aware that Mrs. Jane Nicholson, widow of Andrew Nicholson, Kirkcaldy, has denied that her husband was vaccinated with his own consent on the 23rd October, and stated that her husband, who was eighty-six years of age, was vaccinated at eleven o'clock at night, after he had gone to bed, by Dr. Currell, who overbore their objection to the operation; that at that time the deceased was quite cheerful and, considering his years, was in fair health; that three days after being vaccinated he became seriously ill, and had to be put to bed; that it was untrue that he had had an accident shortly after the vaccination; that she had no hesitation in saying that the vaccination had killed her husband; is he aware that the medical man who vaccinated Nicholson had not called on him for about six months before, and did not again call on him till three weeks after the operation; in view of these facts will he explain why the medical man in question is described as Nicholson's medical attendant; will he state the authority for the information given regarding this case; and will he reconsider this case, with a view of adding vaccination to the death register as a contributory cause of death?

My attention has been called to a letter in the Press signed by Mrs. Nicholson, which contains practically the same statements as those referred to in the first five paragraphs of my hon. Friend's question. I have made inquiry into these statements with the result that I can do no more than refer my hon. Friend to my reply to his former question on the same subject. The inquiry, both for the present and the former question, was made by one of the medical inspectors of the Local Government Board, who was fully satisfied as to the view of the facts indicated in my former reply. I am informed that Dr. Currell has been the medical attendant of the late Andrew Nicholson during the last three years or thereabouts and that he last attended him from 31st May till 27th June. It is the case that he did not call upon him for three weeks after the vaccination as during that period the medical officer of health was in almost daily attendance. Thereafter Dr. Currell was in attendance until Nicholson's death. Under the circumstances I see no reason for departing from the conclusion stated by me in my last reply, that there is no necessity to alter the certificate.