asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the number of insured patients in sanatoria in England, Scotland, and Wales; whether he is aware that according to the last published list there are only 4,131 beds available; that only half are filled at present with insured patients; and how he proposes to deal with the 15,000 patients which, according to the advisory committees, now urgently require bed accommodation?

With regard to the first part of the question, I am presenting a Return giving the information desired. I do not know on what authority the hon. Member gives the figures referred to in the last three parts of the question, or to what advisory committees he refers. My right hon. Friend the President of the Local Government Board stated, in answer to a question on the 11th instant, that the number of available beds was 6,240, and the number is steadily increasing.

also asked whether the benefit of 10s. a week for the dependants of consumptives, under the National Insurance Act, has been granted to the dependants of any compulsorily insured person?

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer which I gave him on the 6th instant, to which I can add nothing at present.

asked the Chancellor whether he is aware of the action of relieving officers in admitting domestic servant girls to the infirmary or workhouse when the latter find they have no homes to go to, and cannot provide board, lodging, and all the extras on 7s. 6d. a week; and will he take steps to protect the ratepayers from being compelled to support these poor young women after contributing to the National Insurance Act?

I am not aware of any cases of the kind to which the hon. Member refers. I shall be glad if the hon.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury if he will state which of the Provisional Regulations issued by the Insurance Commissioners are still in force; which of them have now lapsed altogether; and which of them have been made substantive?

The following list of the Provisional Regulations that have been made by the Insurance Commissioners shows which are still in force and which have been made substantive. No Provisional Regulations have lapsed without being made substantive. The Rules Publication Act, 1893, under which Provisional Regulations are made, does not apply to Scotland.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the total amount of revenue derived from the new taxes on land under the Finance Act, 1909–10, during the years 1911 and 1912, and the estimated revenue for 1913; and the total amount expended in obtaining such revenue for 1911 and 1912?

The total net receipt of duties on land values is as follows:—

asked the Chief Secretary whether certain inspectors of national schools in the county Wicklow are trying to force certain teachers in that county out of the service before they are entitled to a pension; whether, seeing that a Commission is appointed to inquire into the justice and the suitability of the present system of inspection, the National Board will see that no teachers are unfairly dealt with before the Commission reports?

The Commissioners of National Education have communicated with the inspectors of national schools in the county Wicklow, and these officers assure them that there is no foundation for the allegations made regarding them.

asked the Chief Secretary whether it has come to the knowledge of the Commissioners of National Education in Ireland that the Right Reverend Monsignor O'Leary, P.P., Castleisland, county Kerry, has been using his position as manager of the Knockeenahone national schools in that parish to compel parents to send their children to schools other than those of their own selection; and whether it is allowable under the rules of the Board that boys under nine years of age may be taught in any girls' school?

The Commissioners of National Education inform me that the senior inspector in charge of Knockeenahone schools having inquired into this matter reports that he can find no evidence in support of the statement that Monsignor O'Leary, parish priest, has been using his position as manager to compel parents to send their children to schools other than those of their own selection. The rules of the Commissioners permit of boys being taught in girls' schools until the 30th June next following the completion of their eighth year of age.

asked the Chief Secretary whether, in the case of Mrs. Margaret Kerin, assistant teacher in the Knockeenahone school, county Kerry, the manager, the Right Reverend Monsignor O'Leary, has refused to sign the agreement form with her; whether he is bound by the rules of the Commissioners of National Education to sign it; whether he has also refused to sign her salary claim, although the Commissioners definitely ordered the reappointment of this teacher; and what steps will be taken in reference to both these matters?

The Commissioners of National Education inform me that they are not yet in a position to furnish a reply to this question pending the receipt of a communication which is awaited from the manager of this school.

asked the Chief Secretary whether he is aware that the Aughlish applicant school, Circuit 4a, Dromore, county Tyrone, has been open since the 15th July last with an average attendance of over twenty pupils on the roll under a duly qualified national school teacher; whether an application was made on the 27th August last to the Commissioners of National Education for a Grant in support of the school; whether a memorial signed by a large number of parents in the district praying for the recognition of the school by the Board was forwarded to the Commissioners on the 8th October last; and why the Board has not yet made provision for the maintenance of the school?

The Commissioners of National Education inform me that on the 28th August last an application was received from Mr. Patrick McLoughlin, rural district councillor, for aid to a school at Aughlish, Dromore, county Tyrone, which had been opened for pupils on the 15th July, 1912. The memorial referred to has been received in support of the application, and the matter will be considered by the Commissioners at their next meeting.

asked when payments will be made to Irish national teachers of the salaries withheld from them under the maternity rule?

I would refer the hon. Member to my reply to the similar question asked by the hon. Member for Mid-Tipperary on the 11th instant.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether he can state if the Treasury are making provision in the Estimates for 1913–14 for the payment of Irish national teachers' salaries monthly from 1st April next in accordance with a promise made by the Chief Secretary for Ireland almost twelve months ago?

The hon. Member, I presume, refers to the statement which I made in the Debate on Supply on 31st July last in reference to this matter. While I expressed a hope that at some time or other I would be able to induce the Treasury to place upon the Estimates a sum sufficient to provide for the change from quarterly to monthly payments I was careful to refrain from making any promise as to when such provision could be made. I have again been in communication with the Treasury on the subject, but they are unable to agree to provision being made in the Estimates for 1913–14 for the introduction of a monthly system of payment.

asked what action the Estates Commissioners intend to take on the Report of their inspector dealing with the Mahony congested estate at Mount Collins, county Limerick?

This matter is receiving attention, but the Estates Commissioners are not at present in a position to make any statement on the subject.

asked the number of estates dealt with in county Clare by the Congested Districts Board under the Act of 1909, showing the extent of land acquired and sub-divided amongst small holders, giving the names of the-estates and the amount paid for them or agreed to be paid for them; and whether the compulsory powers of the Board have been exercised in any cases?

The Congested Districts Board have purchased nineteen estates in county Clare under the Act of 1909, containing 14,016 acres tenanted and 7,054 acres untenanted land. Of the untenanted lands 741 acres on seven estates have been distributed, and two of the other estates are at present being dealt with. Final offers were issued in the case of five of these estates. Estates to the total value of £129,079 have been purchased in the county.

asked the Chief Secretary if any progress has recently been made by the Congested Districts Board towards the acquisition of the Knox (Rappa) estate, county Mayo, and how the negotiations in the matter now stand?

The terms on which the Congested Districts Board are prepared to purchase this estate have not so far been accepted by the vendor.

asked the Chief Secretary what steps have been taken by the Congested Districts Board towards acquiring the estate of Mr. Ughtred A. Knox, Mount Falcon, county Mayo; what conditions or reservations, if any, have been made by the owner in offering the estate, particularly as to reservations of untenanted lands; and if he is aware of the dissatisfaction existing amongst the tenantry on the estate on the subject of the reservation of these untenanted lands, the effect of which is to debar the possibility of the small tenancies being made into economic holdings?

The Congested Districts Board are not at present in a position to make any statement with regard to the negotiations for the purchase of this estate.

asked the Chief Secretary if he is aware that the tenants on the Dean estate, Brosna, county Kerry, have signed purchase agreements since 1908 and are still paying full interest; and if he will see that they get their vesting orders without further delay?

This estate has not yet been reached in order of priority, and, having regard to the claims of other estates on the register of direct sales (all cash), the Estates Commissioners are not at present in a position to say when it will be reached.

asked the Chief Secretary if he is aware that in the Drummond estate, Cordal, county Kerry, which has been purchased for the past five years, there are two evicted farms which the landlord has been grazing and trying recently to sell privately; and if he will see his way to have those farms restored to their owner, Mr. R. E. Walsh, of Cordal?

As the hon. Member has already been informed, the Estates Commissioners inquired into Walsh's application for reinstatement, and decided not to take any action in the matter. They are not prepared to alter their decision.

asked what reply, if any, the Congested Districts Board have received from the trustees of the Achill Mission estate, county Mayo, to the Board's request for a voluntary sale of the estate; and, having regard to the congested condition of the property, will the Board take steps to acquire it at an early date?

I have nothing to add to the replies given to previous questions asked by the hon. Member on this subject.

asked upon what grounds the Congested Districts Board have refused to give additional land to Michael Grady, junior, who is a tenant on an uneconomic holding on the Anketell-Jones I estate, at Knocklegan, Newport, county Mayo, which has been acquired by the Board?

The application of Michael Grady, junior, was carefully investigated and the Congested Districts Board decided not to entertain it as his holding on the Anketell-Jones Estate consists of only 1 rood 36 perches held at a rent of 4d. per annum which was given some years ago as an accommodation in connection with his holding on the Sir Roger Palmer Estate.

asked the Chief Secretary the cause of the delay on the part of the Congested Districts Board in acquiring the various estates in Castleconnor, county Sligo, including the Knockroe estate of Mr. Charles Boyd; and whether the Board can give any assurance to the tenants of this district that the Board will now take prompt action to deal with the congestion of this district.

The Congested Districts Board have been in communication with Mr. Charles Boyd in reference to the purchase of his estate at Knockroe, but the maps and documents necessary to enable the Board to consider the question of making an offer have not yet been lodged. The Board are unable to identify the other estates in Castleconnor referred to unless the names of the owners of the properties are furnished.

asked the Chief Secretary whether memorials and requests have been received by the Congested Districts Board from the tenants and others in Magherow, county Sligo, praying the Board to acquire for the relief of congestion that portion of the estate of Sir J. Gore-Booth known as the Seven Cartrons; whether he is aware of the fact that this land is no part of the landlord's demesne and that it was formerly peopled by small farmers and their families, who were all evicted without compensation of any kind, and of the further fact that Magherow is one of the poorest and most congested parts of county Sligo; and whether, in view of the hardship of the case, the Board will take steps to acquire the Seven Cartrons and re-establish the people upon this portion of the Gore-Booth property?

The Congested Districts Board have received numerous memorials from the district referred to. With regard to the remainder of the question I would refer the hon. Member to the replies given to his previous question on this subject.

asked the Chief Secretary whether the Congested Districts Board have been approached by the tenants and residents of the parishes of Skreen and Dromard, county Sligo, and requested to acquire the following untenanted and waste lands, namely: Seaforth farm, situated in the townland of Carrowbreaken, parish of Skreen; Salpont farm, in the townland of Ballenbeg; Doonflynn farm, in the townland of Doonflynn; and also the non-residential farm of Mrs. Geddes, in the townland of Dunmoran, Skreen; whether the Board have entered into negotiations with the proprietors for the purchase of the above lands; and what progress has been made, and when he expects the Board or the Estates Commissioners will be in a position to divide these lands so as to relieve the congested condition of the parishes of Skreen and Dromard in which there are 194 tenants whose holdings are under £7 annual value?

The Congested Districts Board have been approached regarding the purchase of untenanted lands in the district named, but without further particulars they are unable to identify the Seaforth farm or the Salpont farm. The Board communicated with the owner of the Doonflynn farm and with Mrs. Geddes regarding her farm in the townland of Dunmoran, but so far these farms have not been offered for sale to the Board.

asked the Chief Secretary with regard to the administration of the Land Act of 1909, how many estates in West Clare were dealt with as compared with the previous year, and what are respectively the total values in money of the estates concerned; and whether he will promise that during the present year more expedition will be observed in dealing with these matters?

The hon. Member will find in Table XXXI. appended to the Annual Report of the Estates Commissioners for the year ended 31st March, 1911, and Table XXXV. to the Report for the year ended 31st March last, detailed particulars of the advances made by the Commissioners in these years under the Act of 1909 for the purchase of estates in county Clare. During the year ended 31st December, 1911, the Congested Districts Board purchased seven estates in the county for £37,394, and during the year to 31st December, 1912, six estates for £79,238. The purchase of estates in county Clare will, I have no doubt, be proceeded with as rapidly as circumstances will admit.

asked the Chief Secretary whether any progress has been made of late in dealing with the Kinlea property, West Clare, and the Reeves estate, West Clare; whether he is aware that these are comparatively small properties; that their settlement has been pending for years; that with business-like management the whole business on both could be disposed of in a week; that the nature of the operations of the Congested Districts Board has discouraged the tenants in West Clare; and whether in West Clare it is intended to proceed effectively this year in carrying out the provisions of the last Land Act?

The estate of W. V. Reeves, county Clare, was vested in the Congested Districts Board on 9th May last, and will be resold as soon as practicable. With regard to the Kinlea farm, I have nothing to add at present to the reply given to the question asked on this subject by the hon. Member on 16th January.

asked the Chief Secretary the names of those estates in Connemara which have been purchased by the Congested Districts Board since the passing of the Land Act of 1909; if he will give the names of the estates likely to be purchased within the next three or six months; and whether, in view of the rents now being paid for uneconomic holdings throughout Connemara and the discontent and impatience of the tenants, he will urge upon the Congested Districts Board the necessity for the early acquisition of estates in that district?

The Congested Districts Board have concluded negotiations for the purchase of the greater part of Connemara including the Berridge estate comprising 145,527 acres. They have also purchased the Blake-Foster estate, and that of Colonel Hackett. Negotiations are in progress for the purchase of the estates of the representatives of Christopher St. George, O. B. and M. M. Miller, and G. E. O'Flahertie. Other estates in Connemara will be proceeded with as soon as the arrangements of the Board permit. The Board are most anxious for the early acquisition of all estates in Connemara.

asked the Chief Secretary whether he is aware of the dissatisfaction that exists in the neighbourhood of Nobber, county Meath, because untenanted land at Drumroe needed in the district for pasturage for the cows of labourers and occupiers of small holdings was given to an ex-policeman from Connaught, who, since he got possession, never lived on the lands nor performed the duties of an occupying tenant, but let them to another tenant; and whether the Estates Commissioners will take steps to regain possession of the holding in order that it may be used for local needs?

I would refer the hon. Member to my reply to his question on this subject on 13th January, to which I have nothing to add.

asked the Chief Secretary the names of the persons released since the 1st January, 1910, from prison in Ireland by order of His Excellency the Lord Lieu- tenant before the completion of their sentences; the offence for which each was convicted; the length of the period to which each was sentenced; the tribunal, whether magistrates, County Court, Assize Court, or other Court, which imposed the sentence in each case; and the length of time each prisoner had served when released?

I am not prepared to grant the Return which in the absence of full explanations of each case would be both unfair to the persons concerned and misleading.

asked the Chief Secretary what inquiries were made by the Congested Districts Board for Ireland before they sanctioned the appointment of Richard J. Walsh to be secretary and supervisor of the Castleisland parish committee for the year 1911–12; if, notwithstanding that the attention of the Congested Districts Board was directed on the 21st June, 1912, to the fact that this man had treated the judgments of the High Court of Justice in Ireland with contempt, that he had defied and assaulted the servants of the Crown in the execution of their duty, that he had declined to pay his rates, and that when the rate collector seized his corn for unpaid rates it was removed by force, and nothing recovered, that the sight of several of the police was seriously imperilled owing to the boiling tar and lime which was flung on them by Richard J. Walsh and his friends when violently resisting the officers of the Law, the Board invited him to act for the year 1912–13; and if he will state when the next meeting of the Congested Districts Board for Ireland will take place?

As I have already informed the hon. Member, the facts mentioned in the question were not before the Congested Districts Board when they sanctioned the appointment of Mr. Walsh as Secretary to the Castleisland parish committee for the year 1911–12. The Board have not invited Mr. Walsh to act in that capacity for the year 1912–13, but his name has been submitted to them, and they have not yet decided, pending inquiries, what action they will take in the matter. The next meeting of the Board will be held on the 11th March, 1913.

asked the Chief Secretary whether he is aware that the Local Government Board for Ireland have issued a circular prescribing terms of dietary for the workhouses in Ireland for the use of the inmates; will he say whether it is their intention to make it compulsory on boards of guardians to adopt the same as the dietary scale therein prescribed as the diet for the inmates of the workhouses; whether the guardians are opposed to changes in the present system or not; and, if so, will he state whether any demand was ever made by any local bodies for the interference by the Local Government Board, seeing that it is the ratepayers whom the guardians represent who pay the cost of the diet of the workhouse inmates?

A circular has recently been issued to all the boards of guardians in Ireland on the subject of dietaries in workhouses. In consequence of the great changes that have taken place in dietetics in recent times and in view of the many aplications from boards of guardians for approval to alterations in their dietary scales, the Local Government Board have found it necessary to revise the dietary Regulations which at present are in force in Irish workhouses. A similar revision was carried out in England in 1900, and in the unions in Ireland, in which the revised dietaries are in force (comprising one-third of the total workhouse population in the country) the guardians have fully approved of the changes, and have expressed themselves as being well satisfied with the results which have proved economical to the ratepayers as well as beneficial to the inmates. The Board have little doubt that the remaining unions will fall into line when the effect of the proposals is fully understood. The new system, so far from hampering the local authorities, will be a great convenience to them, as it will afford them a wider discretion in framing dietary scales, and will obviate to a considerable extent the monotony of the existing scales. The regulation of the dietaries in workhouses is a matter that the Board and their predecessors have always controlled.

asked the Chief Secretary the total amount of money advanced from Imperial sources, and the rate of interest and sinking fund for the housing and providing of land for agricultural labour in Ireland; the numbers of cottages with land attached that have been already provided under the Act of this House; and the deficiency for the financial year 1912–13 that has had to be met from local and Imperial sources to make good the uneconomic rents demanded from occupiers?

I would refer the hon. Member to Parliamentary Return No. 157 of the present Session, which gives the number of cottages built and in course of construction and the total amount of loans sanctioned and advanced respectively up to the 31st March last, the amount required to be raised annually in repayment of the loans, the poundage rate actually levied in 1911–1912 for the purposes of the Acts in each rural district, the amount of the Exchequer contribution in respect of cottages provided before 1st November, 1906, and the amount of rents received from the tenants of the cottages and plots during the year. As against the rents there must be set off the cost of repairs, insurance, rent collection and legal proceedings, as regards which particulars are given in Table C of Appendix to the Local Government Board's last Annual Report, pp. 174 to 185. Since the Act of 1906, however, 36 per cent. of the annual charge on the loans advanced by the Land Commission under the Act is borne by Government, the amount so borne in 1911–12 being £31,919. The general result for all Ireland worked out as follows:—

asked the Vice-President of the Department of Agriculture (Ireland), in reference to the statement made by the Development Commissioners, through the Secretary to the Treasury, that the information upon which they decided to refuse to endorse the recommendation of the Department in favour of a Grant for the improvement of Skerries Harbour was obtained from persons speaking on behalf of the Department, whether any such information was given on behalf of the Department; and, if so, by whom?

If as it would appear the word "information" in the question is intended to refer to statistics of the number of local fishermen and the value of fish landed at Skerries it is possible that this information may have been supplied through the Department. The transactions in regard to Skerries took place in the middle of the year 1911, and statistics received by the Department for the year ended 31st December, 1910, showed that only two third-class boats belonging to Skerries (with crews of two men each) fished from that port and that the value of the fish landed by them and others was estimated at £500. The Department's recommendation was made on the ground that Skerries afforded a favourable site for further development of the herring and other fisheries.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether the services of the chief electrical engineer have been lent to the Leeds Corporation; and, if so, why this gentleman's services can be spared, in view of the Admiralty statement that it was not desirable that they should undertake the erection of wireless stations as they cannot spare their staff?

The circumstances referred to had not been previously brought to my notice. I am informed that the services of the superintending electrical engineer have not been lent to the Leeds Corporation, but that he has accepted an invitation unofficially to give an opinion on certain points connected with their electrical undertaking on which the advice of an impartial expert was desired. The acceptance by a servant of the Crown of employment such as this, which does not interfere with the performance of his official duties, is not actually prohibited by the Regulations. The position of scientific experts in the service of the State presents special features, and I see no reason to interfere with the arrangements made in this particular case. At the same time I have given instructions that in future the consent of the head of the Department must be obtained by an officer before undertaking any service of this character.

asked the Home Secretary whether the recent Order issued by the Admiralty directing the police authorities at the home ports to hand over to Naval custody men belonging to His Majesty's ships was issued with his sanction; whether the step taken infringes the judiciary rights of borough magistrates and borough councils; and, if taken with his sanction, will he say under what Act of Parliament he is acting?

No Order has been issued, but the naval authorities have suggested to the police at naval ports that men belonging to His Majesty's ships arrested for such offences as drunkenness should be handed over to the naval authorities to be dealt with by them where there is no reason to the contrary. This proposal had my entire concurrence. It appears very undesirable that a man should be punished by the Civil Court and afterwards punished again under Naval Regulations for the same offence when such a course can be avoided. A similar practice has long been in force in the Metropolitan Police district, and I know of no law to forbid it.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that Mr. Alec D. Snow, of Wall Tyning, Bilton, near Bristol, holds himself out as a major in the British Army; whether Mr. Alec D. Snow is entitled to the rank of major; and, if so, why his name does not so appear in the Army List?

This question apparently refers to Captain and Honorary Major Alexander D. Snow, who is entitled to retain the rank of Major on retirement from the Reserve of Officers, and whose name appears on page 2,086 of the Quarterly Army List.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he is aware that W. Light, of 74, Elm Road, Portsmouth, Special Reserve, Company 9, fell down the stairs of the depot barracks, Dorchester, on the 12th April, 1912, and so seriously injured his shoulder that he was under hospital treatment for five weeks at Dorchester and was then sent to Alexandra Hospital, Cosham, for another eight weeks, and that now, when he works, his shoulder swells and becomes painful; and if inquiry will be made into this case and compensation given to W. Light?

Inquiry will be made into this case and the result will be communicated to the hon. Gentleman in due course.

asked the Secretary of State for War how many rifle ranges are now available for the use of the Regular and Territorial Forces in England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales, respectively; has any land been purchased or acquired for rifle ranges since the 21st of November, 1911; if so, in what localities and at what price; have any rifle ranges been closed since the 21st November, 1911; and, if so, in what localities and for what reasons?

The information required will take some days to prepare, and I will furnish it to the hon. Gentleman in due course.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his attention has been called to the case of the late Police-constable John James Waldock Turner, of the D Division of the Metropolitan Police Force, police-constable No. 117, who died after twenty-four hours' illness in hospital on 29th December, at the age of thirty-eight, having served eighteen years in the force; whether he is aware that Turner left a widowed mother and an imbecile sister who had been dependent on him; whether an application has been made for assistance for the widowed mother from the police funds in respect of the deductions made from Turner's pay during the period of his service; whether such an application has been refused; and whether there are no means by which this case can be assisted?

The facts are as stated. I have no power to make grants to the relatives of deceased constables other than the widows and children. The provisions of the Police Act, 1890, extend to widows and children only.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India if he is aware that the Blake Boiler, Wagon, and Engineering Company, Limited, Alliance Works, Darlington, do not comply with the Fair-Wages Resolution of this House, and that all efforts to prevail upon them to pay their crane drivers the district rate of wages have failed; and will he make representations respecting the same, and, failing compliance on the part of the firm, have them removed from the list of contractors?

The firm referred to does not hold any contract from the India Office at the present time. Inquiry wilt be made regarding the question raised by the hon. Member before any contract is placed with them. I shall be very glad to receive from the hon. Member any particulars on which his question is based.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India if his attention has been called to the fact that the Government of Bengal have recommended the appointment to the provincial directorship of public instruction of an officer outside the Indian education service; whether such an appointment would be in contravention of the orders of the Secretary of State contained in the dispatches Nos. 6 and 105, dated respectively the 10th of May and the 13th of July, 1906, and of the terms of service laid down in the India Office list; whether he is aware that the promulgation of the orders referred to was due to the dissatisfaction caused by an appointment to the Bengal directorship some seven years ago; and whether, in these circumstances, he proposes to inform the Government of Bengal that their recommendation cannot be accepted?

The question of the appointment of a Director of Public Instruction in Bengal in succession to the present occupant of the office is under consideration, and the Secretary of State is not able at present to make any statement on the subject. Whatever decision may be arrived at, it will be made with due advertence to the standing orders mentioned by my hon. Friend.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether it is the intention of the British Government to convene an international conference at The Hague or elsewhere to deal with African affairs generally and to discuss the recognition of Congo annexation by Belgium?

The answer is in the negative.

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether, as the result of investigations conducted by his Department, it has been found possible to prevent the prevalence of house flies in dwelling-houses, shops, and hospitals, by feeding them on a fungus which proves fatal to them but is innocuous to children and animals; and, if so, whether and where such fungus can be procured?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the negative, and the second question does not therefore arise.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he can give, separately, the amounts of wheat and wheat-flour imported into the United Kingdom in 1911?

The imports of wheat in 1911 amounted to 98,068,000 cwts. and the imports of wheat-meal and flour to 10,065,000 cwts.

asked the President of the Board of Trade the amount of wheat imported from India in 1912, and the average wages paid to agricultural labourers in that country?

The quantity of wheat imported into the United Kingdom from India in 1912 was 5,926,008 quarters, including a small quantity of wheat flour. I regret I am unable to state any trustworthy figures showing the average wages paid to agricultural labourers in that country.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if anything has been done by the Board of Trade to prevent the excessive overcrowding that is taking place day by day on the District Railway between Upton Park Station and Aldgate East?

I have received no complaints in this matter since I communicated at some length with my hon. Friend in March of last year, but I will ascertain whether the railway companies have been able to take any further steps in the matter, and will let him know the result.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how many workmen's tickets were issued at East Ham, Upton Park, and Plaistow stations on the District Railway from Sunday the 2nd February up till and including Saturday, the 8th February?

I am asking the railway company if they can furnish this information, and I will communicate with my hon. Friend on receipt of their reply.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if his attention has been called to the Board of Trade inquiry into the loss of the coasting steamer "Zelia"; if he is aware that the Court found that the cause of the loss of the vessel and loss of life was that the vessel left Garston laden in excess of her winter load-line; and if he intends restoring the old load-line that was existing before 1906?

I have received the Report of the Court of Inquiry in the case of the "Zelia," and find that one of the causes of the loss was that the vessel was laden in excess of her winter load-line as fixed by the present regulations. I am, as I have already informed the House, appointing a Committee to consider the question of the load-line tables, but the question whether those tables should be revised or not is not necessarily affected by cases in which the loading limit fixed by those tables has been exceeded.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he can say what is the cause of delay in giving Athy telephonic communication with Dublin and Carlow; and when the necessary work will be undertaken by the Post Office Department?

The delay has been due to great pressure of work in the engineering department, but the work is now in hand, and I hope that the service will be ready in June.

asked the President of the Board of Agriculture whether he has received a reply from the Treasury to the application of the employés at Kew Gardens for an increase of wage; whether the reply is favourable; and, if so, whether, in view of the fact that the employés at Hampton Court and Richmond Park had their wages increased as from 1st April, 1912, the increase will be paid to the employés at Kew as from that date?

The following increases of pay to employés at Kew Gardens have been sanctioned by the Treasury: (a) To museum porters, an increase of 2s. per week; (b) to labourers, constables, corporal constables, corporal porters, gangers, carters, head carter, packer, forewoman, and three women attendants, an increase of per week. In each case the increase dates from 1st April next.

asked the President of the Board of Agriculture whether he is now in a position to state definitely what answer has been given by the Office of Woods and Forests to the application of the inhabitants of Alness for the right to fish, on payment of a reasonable rent, on some pools of the Crown fishings of the River Alness; whether there was any power in the lease given by the Crown to the late Mr. Stuart-Munro to sub-let, either personally or through his trustees, these fishings; and whether these fishings have actually been sub-let?

My colleague has informed the hon. Member that it is not in his power during the currency of the Crown lease, which does not expire until the year 1928, to grant the inhabitants of Alness the right to fish on some pools of the Crown fishings of the River Alness. The lease of salmon fishings given by the Crown to the late Mr. Stuart C. Munro forbids sub-letting except with the consent of the Commissioner of Woods. A consent was given last season to a subletting, which has now expired. The fishings are not now sub-let, and it is not proposed to give the Crown's consent to another sub-letting. The only lever that my colleague has possessed in this case is the power to refuse such consent. There is nothing in the Crown lease to prevent the lessee from giving leave to others to fish. I may explain that my colleague has been endeavouring since July last to arrange with the late Mr. Munro's trustees for permission to fish being given to the villagers. The trustees offered in October last to arrange, for the present, to grant permits to applicants from the village of Alness to fish on Wednesdays during the fishing season to about the end of July in each year, the permits to apply not only to the Crown waters, which are about half a mile long, but to about three miles of the trustees's private water. The trustees stated that this would be reviving the former practice of the late owner, which had been suspended for two years. The offer of the trustees was immediately declined by Mr. D. M. Ross, who says he represents the villagers, and who demanded a lease of the Crown waters direct to a proposed angling club, the club to allow Mr. Munro's trustees to fish in them for three days a week in return for permission to fish for the same number of days in the waters of the trustees. My colleague has endeavoured to persuade the trustees to enlarge their offer of October, but they state that they do not see their way to doing so. I may add that the threats made by certain persons to take the law into their own hands are not likely to help the negotiations.

asked the President of the Board of Agriculture whether his attention has been called to the experiments of Mr. T. Thorne Baker, who claims to have succeeded in destroying American gooseberry mildew by applying to it, on the infected twigs, a sulphide solution which is afterwards decomposed by the application of a high-frequency electric discharge; whether the success of these experiments is admitted by the Board; and, if so, whether the process is one which can with advantage be adopted by local authorities in stamping out this fungoid pest?

The Board have no information about Mr. Baker's experiments beyond the statements which have appeared in certain newspapers, and those statements do not suggest that there is any good reason for departing from the present method of dealing with American gooseberry mildew.

asked the President of the Board of Agriculture whether he realises that there is a large and increasing number of inferior swine in the country, whose inferiority is due to the use for breeding purposes of an inferior boar and results in poor value being obtained, especially by poor cottagers, for purchased feeding stuffs; and whether he is taking any steps to provide, out of the Board's Grant from the Development Fund, boars of good quality as well as stallions and bulls?

I am aware of the facts mentioned in the first part of the question. Swine are included in the scheme for the improvement of live stock which the Board are considering in consultation with the Development Commissioners.

asked the President of the Board of Agriculture what is the nature of the arrangements which he has entered into with the Ornithological Union for investigating the destructive habits of birds deemed to be injurious to agricultural and horticultural crops; and why certain birds, and those not the most destructive, have been selected for primary investigation?

The scientific investigations to which the hon. Member refers are being carried out at Manchester University and the South-Eastern Agricultural College, Wye, in accordance with an arrangement made between the Board and the Economic Ornithological Committee of the British Association for the advancement of science. There would be little or nothing to be gained by investigating the habits of birds already known to be the most destructive, and the rook, the starling, and the chaffinch have been first selected in consequence of their abundance and the diversity of opinion which exists with regard to them.

asked the Lord Advocate if his attention has been called to cases in which the Land Court, in fixing an equitable rent, had made large reductions in rent because the buildings were much requiring repair; and whether he has made inquiry to find out if the landlords in question had, on an average, during the five years before, spent on maintenance, repairs, insurance, and management of each of the holdings one-eighth of the rental paid by the tenants; if he has not done so will he have such inquiry made; whether, under the Income Tax provisions, one-eighth part of the rent paid by agricultural tenants is deducted from the sum in calculating the landlord's income and the landlord relieved of tax accordingly; and if the landlord is entitled to exemption and, at the same time, to appropriate the money to his own use?

My attention has not been specially called to the cases referred to. In any event I could not undertake to make the inquiry suggested. Any question as to deductions from Income Tax should be addressed to the Treasury.

asked the Secretary for Scotland whether he is aware that, under the Minute of the Scottish Education Department dated 20th June, 1912, and approved 11th October, 1912, governing the allocation of the Education (Scotland) Fund, the school board of Perth will suffer a financial loss; whether he is further aware that the budget of the school board for the current year was framed on the basis of the Grant received last year, and that an unforeseen diminution in this source of revenue will place the board in a position of embarrassment; and whether, in these circumstances, he will advise that the contemplated reduction will not take place during the current year?

I am aware that under the Minute referred to the school board of Perth, in common with most other school boards in Scotland, will receive less money from the Education (Scotland) Fund than it did in the previous year, for the simple reason that there is less money to distribute The diminution in the balance of the Education (Scotland) Fund, owing to the coming into operation of the superannuation scheme, was perfectly well known beforehand, and affects most other school boards in the country as well as the school board of Perth. I see no reason whatever to depart at this date from the terms of the Minute, the general principles of which have been discussed over and over again, and which has lain for the prescribed period on the Table of both Houses of Parliament.

asked the Secretary for Scotland whether his attention has been called to the fact that the burgh of Clydebank framed by-laws under the Burgh Police Amendment Act of 1911, regulating the hours for closing ice-cream shops on Sundays and that the sheriff, on these by-laws being submitted to him for confirmation, made certain alterations in them; and whether there is any precedent for the course the sheriff has taken in making alterations in the by-laws, instead of either confirming or rejecting them in the form in which they were passed by the local authority?

I am aware of the fact stated in the question. The power conferred upon the sheriff by Statute is to allow or disallow, as he may think fit, by-laws submitted to him for confirmation; but where a sheriff is not prepared to confirm by-laws in the form submitted to him, it is obviously convenient that he should suggest any modifications in their terms which would remove his objections, and this course is frequently followed by sheriffs in dealing with the confirmation of by-laws. When such modifications are suggested it is, of course, for the authority tendering the by-laws to consider whether they will proceed with the by-laws as amended or not. I think local authorities would have just ground of complaint if the confirming authorities were to take so rigid a view of their duties as to disallow by-laws where objections could be met by amendments without indicating the nature of such amendments.

asked the Secretary for Scotland whether, seeing that the effect of several Acts of Parliament has been to reduce the fees paid to registrars by parish councils in Scotland, he is prepared to take any steps to remedy the apparent hardship?

The statutory fees payable to registrars by parish councils are prescribed by the Registration (Scotland) Acts, 1854–60, and the Vaccination (Scotland) Acts, 1863–1907. They are regulated in amount by the number of births, deaths, and marriages registered, but the prescribed rates have not been reduced by any subsequent enactment, and the assumption contained in the question would therefore appear to be erroneous.