asked the Secretary of State for War whether his attention has been called to a statement made at the annual meeting of the Secret Commissions and Bribery Prevention League (Incorporated) to the effect that a question arising out of Army contracts was at the present time under consideration; whether any such allegations have been brought to the notice of the Army Council; and, if so, whether it is proposed to take any action?

My attention had been called to this statement. It is believed that the contracts mentioned are not Government contracts. The matter which appears to be the subject of the question is now under inquiry.

asked the amount paid for the transport of soldiers, officers, and men to the Peninsular and Oriental Steamship Company during the period when the Earl of Selborne was a Member of the Government?

There are no figures available at the War Office to enable me to answer this question.

Is there any reason why those figures should not be looked up?

I do not think we could get all the facts and figures. I will inquire whether they can be obtained, but I do not suppose there is enough material. It is a long time ago.

I shall repeat the question.

asked whether seven officers of the 4th Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders have resigned their commissions; if so, whether their action is due to the appointment of an officer on the retired list of the Highland Light Infantry to command; and if he will state whether the second in command possessed the necessary certificates of tactical fitness to qualify him to command?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. There is no information to show that the cause was that suggested in the second part. The answer to the third part is in the affirmative.

Is it not rather a serious position that these officers have resigned, and will the right hon. Gentleman make further inquiries?

Certainly. I have been making inquiries, and the reason cannot be entirely as suggested in the question. One of the officers concerned has been holding a Colonial appointment.

Is it not the fact that three of the officers were on the retired list?

I do not like to say off-hand. These appointments are made on the recommendation of the General Commanding-in-Chief, who is generally acquainted with all the circumstances.

asked (1) whether Regular officers receive their pay during instruction in flying; whether Special Reserve officers receive no pay during instruction; and (2) whether, as officers have to provide their own lodging and outfit for instruction in flying, he can say if anything is allowed towards these expenses if they are prevented by illness or accident from obtaining a certificate?

It is presumed that in this and the next question the hon. Gentleman refers to the period during which the officer is obtaining his preliminary knowledge of aviation for the purposes of the Aero Club certificate. The Regular officer does receive pay, just as he would during ordinary leave of absence. The Special Reserve officer does not receive pay, but at the end of the course receives the £75 Grant for having obtained the certificate at his own expense. As regards Question 22 the reply is in the negative.

Cannot the right hon. Gentleman see his way to remove this injustice from these Reserve officers who have to risk their necks and pay for the privilege as well.

I cannot admit the injustice, because both classes of officers run the same risk. We deliberately adopted the plan of giving an officer £75 on obtaining his certificate.

In view of the fact that the Special Reserve is part of the Regular Army, does it not seem rather hard on these officers?

No, Sir; they are under different conditions.

asked (1) how long it will take before information can be given to this House as to the actual effective strength of the National Reserve and the numbers of men in Class 1, Class 2, and Class 3, respectively; and (2) whether the number of 190,000, which has been estimated officially as the effective strength of the National Reserve, has increased since 1st January, 1913; and whether, as on the 17th of March last there were no statistics available to show the number of men who had been struck off the registers of the Veteran and National Reserves since their formation on 21st May, 1910, and 5th August, 1911, respectively, for any of the following causes, namely, found to belong to the Army Reserve or Special Reserve, for misconduct, physical unfitness, resignation, emigration, death, or other reasons, the figure 190,000 still bears an approximate relation to the real effective strength of the National Reserve or whether such effective strength is at present an unknown quantity?

A Return will be furnished at the first available opportunity, and I hope it will contain the information required.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether there is an ample supply of arms, ammunition, and equipment over and above that necessary for the full establishment of each and every unit of the Territorial Force with which to arm and equip the large numbers of men whom he expects to join the Territorial Army on mobilisation, namely, 190,000 units of the National Reserve, 105,000 ex-Territorial soldiers, and 140,000 rifle club members, with the 880 Territorial Reserve men, in all 435,000 men in round numbers?

I would refer the hon. Gentleman to a reply to a question on this subject put by the hon. Gentleman the Member for South Birmingham on the 17th March.

asked whether the appointment of brigade commander of the Territorial Force can now only be held by an officer of the rank of substantive colonel; and what is the amount of the consolidated (namely, inclusive) pay of officers holding such appointment?

The appointment is open to colonels and lieutenant-colonels. In practice colonels have been appointed to these posts. The normal rate for officers now appointed is £500 a year.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that under the recently proposed adjustment of officers' pay the sum which may he drawn by a lieutenant-colonel commanding a battalion for bare pay and command pay (exclusive of any allowance, e.g., for lodging, fuel, light, servants, etc.), will not in fact be greater than the consolidated pay of a substantive colonel holding the appointment of brigade commander of the Territorial Force; whether he will explain why the promotion of an officer on the active list to a command carries a lower salary than that payable to him previous to such promotion; and will he state what steps he proposes to take to remedy a state of things so inequitable and so prejudicial to those officers who have brigade commands in the Territorial Force?

I am not at present in a position to give any information upon points arising out of the new scehme for officers' pay. The point raised by the hon. Gentleman shall receive consideration.

asked the Secretary of Scotland whether an amending Education Act is contemplated for Scotland?

The only legislation which I contemplate for this Session in connection with the Education Acts is a Bill to give additional power to the school boards to provide for the medical treatment of children.

asked whether the second-class clerkships under the Prison Commissioners have been revived after being in abeyance for over twenty years; whether any existing store warders have been allowed to apply for such clerkships; and whether these positions are filled by nomination or otherwise?

In reply to the first part of the question, the Prison Commissioners propose to open the appointment of certain prison clerks to applicants from without as well as from within the prison service, in accordance with a practice formerly in force but recently in abeyance. They have advertised the posts, and existing store warders have been allowed to apply. The precise method of filling the posts is at present under consideration.

asked the President of the Board of Agriculture if he will state what are the duties of the Advisory Committee for the Imperial Institute, of which Sir Sydney Olivier, the permanent secretary of the Board, has recently been appointed a member; what amount of time is expended in the execution of such duties; and whether Sir Sydney Olivier has any duties or employment other than the above outside the work of his department?

The hon. Member will find complete information concerning the Advisory Committee of the Imperial Institute if he will refer to the Imperial Institute (Transfer) Act of 1902. Sir Sydney Olivier has been appointed in succession to Sir Thomas Elliott as the representative of the Board on the Committee, and the amount of time which it will be necessary for him to devote to this part of his departmental duties will depend upon various circumstances. So far as I am aware, Sir Sydney Olivier has no duties or employment outside the work of his department.

Was this appointment in accordance with the ordinary practice, and is there nothing special in regard to Sir Sydney Olivier?

It was made in the ordinary course.

asked when it is proposed to publish the Report of the Departmental Committee upon cheaper buildings for small holdings?

The Report will be published to-morrow.

asked whether, in view of the difficult and delicate position in which the new provincial advisory councils on agricultural education will be placed with regard to the co-ordination of agricultural education in their provinces in the event of the local education authorities in their provinces abstaining from giving them information as to the existing arrangements for the provision of agricultural education within their administrative areas, or their projected schemes for earning Development Fund Grants in respect of new and additional work in connection with farm institutes, and from seeking advice as to such schemes, the President of the Board of Agriculture will address an official communication to each of such authorities announcing the existence of an advisory council for their province, and asking them to give such council the fullest information possible as to their agricultural education work?

Each of the local authorities was consulted before being asked to nominate representatives on the advisory councils, and I have every reason to hope that they will readily furnish all information that may be necessary. However, to prevent the possibility of any such difficulty arising as is contemplated by the hon. Member, I will communicate with the local authorities as he suggests.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether the Colonial Office have ever committed themselves to the view that all land in Northern and Southern Rhodesia not already sold to settlers is the absolute property of the Chartered Company; and, if so, what steps, if any, have been taken to safeguard the rights of the natives to any portion of the soil?

No, Sir, the exact limits of the Company's rights have formed the subject of controversy in Rhodesia, and His Majesty's Government, when asked by the Legislative Council of Southern Rhodesia in 1908 to decide them, hold that, the question was not susceptible of a binding solution, except by the Courts of Law. In regard to the natives, however, the Southern Rhodesia Order in Council of 1898 clearly lays down in Article 81 that the Company must from time to time assign to the natives land sufficient for their occupation, whether as tribes or portions of tribes, and suitable for their agricultural and pastoral requirements, including in all cases a fair and equitable proportion of springs or permanent water. The same provision exists in the Northern Rhodesia Order in Council (Article 40).

May we take it that no change in Rhodesia will be detrimental to the natives' rights in the land?

Certainly.

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether he can state, according to the Census of 1911, what proportion of the persons engaged in agricultural pursuits are agricultural labourers; how the number compares with those so returned in the three previous decennial Censuses; and what proportion of the total population on each occasion they were found to represent?

I have explained to the hon. Member in correspondence that the results of the Census are not yet complete and ready for publication. The volume containing the occupation statistics will be issued as soon as it is ready.

Can the right hon. Gentleman give any idea when the volume will be published?

A number of volumes have been already issued, and they have appeared much earlier than previous reports. As to this particular volume it is not likely to be ready until July or August.

asked (1) whether, with reference to the Portsmouth scheme for training and indenturing pauper boys, the right hon. Gentleman, before sanctioning the scheme, will take into account the fact that such State-regulated contract labour will compete injuriously with the labour of independent youths not under Poor Law control; and what precautions he proposes to take to prevent those indentured labourers being used as strike-breakers in trade disputes; (2) whether there is any limit to the age up to which the guardians are or may be able to keep paupers in this form of unfree labour and to appropriate their wages for their keep; and, if not, whether the Board contemplate eventually the organisation of the whole of the Poor Law unemployed into a body of efficient hired artisans, living in compounds under the control of the guardians or other central State Department; (3) whether the President of the Local Government Board's attention has been called to a scheme of the Portsmouth guardians, in which it is proposed to obtain the consent of the Local Government Board to keeping pauper boys under the guardians' control until the age of eighteen, and, with the view of preventing them from drifting into blind alley employment, to apprentice them after school age to some useful trade in the town, keeping them meantime in a specially provided home and appropriating the wages they earn to the cost of their board and lodging, in that home, but allowing them some fraction of their earnings as pocket money; and whether this scheme has yet come before the Board for approval; and (4) whether the Department will fix what proportion of their wages the labourers are to receive as pocket money; and whether the pauper boys themselves are to be in any way consulted as to giving their consent to becoming workers on the arranged terms?

I received yesterday a communication from the Portsmouth guardians giving the outlines of the scheme which I suppose is that to which my hon. Friend refers. Before deciding whether to consent to the proposal I shall obtain somewhat fuller particulars.

Will the right hon. Gentleman allow me to see that scheme?

If the hon. Member will put a question down I will do my best to provide him with information.

Is the phrase "indentured labourers" an accurate description?

No; I should say it was an illuminative title.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will state what evidence he is taking or proposes to take before coming to a decision as to what trades are to be included under the heading of Sugar Confectionery in the proposed extension of the Trade Boards Act; and whether he will give the principal employers in the various sections of the trade an opportunity of being heard?

Officers of my Department have visited a number of factories in various parts of the country, and a few clays ago I received a deputation of employers connected with the sugar confectionery trade. I shall be very glad to have the benefit of the advice and assistance of any persons in the trades which, as at present advised, I contemplate including in the proposed Provisional Order extending the application of the Trade Boards Act.

asked whether the Tonbridge and District Trades and Labour Council has applied for accommodation for the meetings of the said council at the local Labour Exchange and that the application has been refused; and whether the President of the Board of Trade can state the reasons for such refusal?

In accordance with the statutory Regulations made by the Board of Trade under the Labour Exchanges Act, applications for accommodation within the premises of a Labour Exchange may be granted only for such purposes and on such terms and conditions as the Advisory Trade Committee for the district may approve. The application of the Tonbridge and District Trades and Labour Council was referred to the Advisory Trade Committee for London and the South-Eastern Counties, who recommended that it should not be granted. In the circumstances, the Board of Trade have no power to grant the application.

asked if the tribunal set up to inquire into the Port of London Authority by-laws relating to watermen and lightermen has yet reported; and, if so, whether such Report will be laid upon the Table of the House; and whether the House will be afforded an opportunity of discussing the same before the findings are given effect to?

The Report of the three gentlemen appointed to inquire into the by-laws recently made by the Port of London Authority as to the licensing of lightermen and watermen was presented to Parliament on the 20th March last, and was circulated on the 25th March, together with correspondence between the Board of Trade and the Port Authority informing them of the decision to confirm the by-laws in accordance with the unanimous recommendation of the Committee.

May I ask whether the right hon. Gentleman has considered the protests of the lightermen against the by-law?

The position is that the Port of London Authority made this by-law. I referred it to a Committee consisting of three. They went carefully into the matter, heard both sides and all persons interested at great length and quite fully, and came unanimously to the decision that the by-law should be confirmed. Under those circumstances, it appears to me that the by-law should be confirmed.

Does the right hon. Gentleman take the absolute responsibility of the final sanction of this by-law in spite of the opposition of the workmen concerned?

The Board of Trade is the confirming authority, and under the circumstances we think it well, after the Report of the Committee appointed to inquire into it, to sanction it. Of course I take full responsibility for so doing.

Is there any other case of any other class of the community losing a vested interest of this description without at least proper consideration being given to them?

Before the right hon. Gentleman answers, may I ask when the by-law will be finally confirmed and in operation?

I am not quite sure, perhaps the hon. Gentleman would give me notice. With regard to the question of consideration this is exactly what has occurred in regard to this matter. The fullest possible consideration was given by the Committee who went most carefully into it and heard evidence from all sides and all parties interested, and came unanimously to the conclusion that the Order should be confirmed, and I would also point out in this connection that it was anticipated by Parliament in the Port of London Authority Act that something of this character would be carried through at no distant date because this particular by-law was carried out under a particular Sub-section of that Act.

Is this the punishment you are meting out to the men because of the strike?

No.

May I ask whether the Lightermen's Association acquiesced in the reference of this by-law to this tribunal?

The position is that the Port of London Authority sent the by-law to the Board of Trade for confirmation. I was requested by, I think, the Lightermen's Association through their representatives, to inqure into it so that the matter might be fully considered and discussed by all the parties interested. That request I acceded to; and I should have done so on my own initiative. The matter was inquired into very fully by this Court, and they came to the conclusion to which I have referred.

rose…

Any other questions had better be put down.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if his Department has succeeded in arranging a conference or conferences between watermen and lightermen, employers and employed, engaged in the trade of the Port of London, with a view to the regulation and restriction of the hours of labour; and, if so, is he able to state the result thereof?

The hours of labour of lightermen and watchmen in the Port of London were settled by an agreement dated 11th August, 1911, between the master lightermen and the Lightermen's Union. Masters and mates of tugs, who were not covered by that agreement, were, I understand, given an increase of pay after the dispute in that year. I am informed that the Master Lightermen's Association were in communication with the Lightermen's Union in October last in regard to wages and conditions of employment in connection with tug work, but that, in the opinion of the employers, no fresh circumstances had arisen in connection with the employment of tug-hands to justify rearrangement of wages or conditions of employment. I understand that in the course of correspondence the master lightermen stated that they were prepared to meet officers of the Lightermen's Union, but could not hold out the hope of any alterations.

asked whether the officers at Cutler Street tobacco warehouse have made a complaint as to the accommodation recently supplied by the Port of London Authority and approved by the Board of Customs and Excise; and, having regard to the dissatisfaction caused by the present method of approval, especially with reference to this recent case, will the responsibility for furnishing and approving all such offices be transferred to His Majesty's Office of Works?

The complaint referred to in the first part of the question has been received and is now being inquired into. As regards the latter part of the question, I may refer the hon. Member to the answer given to his previous question by my right hon. Friend on the 10th February last.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been called to the fact that the North British Railway Company have recently classified twelve ticket-collecting stations on a lower scale than previously, and so enabled themselves to pay 22s. per week instead of the 25s. granted for the same duties by the arbiter in terms of the conciliation scheme; and whether, in view of the terms of the conciliation scheme, he can or will take any steps in the matter?

The Board of Trade have received an application from one of the Conciliation Boards for the North British Railway for the interpretation of the conciliation scheme in regard to the classification of stations in respect of the wages of ticket collectors. Both sides of the Board are desirous of being heard before a decision is given, and arrangements have been made for a hearing.

asked the Prime Minister whether the subject of a weekly half-holiday for Civil servants is still under consideration; and, if so, when an announcement on the subject may be expected?

The question is still under consideration. A decision will, I hope, be announced shortly.

asked the Prime Minister the number of days during the sittings of the High Courts of Justice on which judges of the High Court have been engaged on Royal Commissions or Government inquiries since the increase in the number of judges was made by the present Government; and if he can state any reason, other than their duties in connection with these inquiries, which prevented them discharging their judicial duties on these days?

I am informed that Mr. Justice Darling has sat on seven occasions after four o'clock on the Royal Commission inquiring into delays in the King's Bench Division. On each occasion he has discharged his judicial duties until half-past three. Lord Parker, when a judge of the High Court, has at various times presided over the Committee of experts inquiring into the merits of different sytems of wireless telegraphy, but this did not interfere with the discharge of his judicial duties. No other judge of the High Court has been prevented from discharging his judicial duties by reason of being engaged on a Royal Commission or Government inquiry.

asked the Prime Minister when he intends to make provision out of public or local funds for the payment of returning officers' expenses in Parliamentary elections?

As I stated on 23rd January last, the Government cannot now indicate when they may be able to deal with this and other matters connected with electoral reform, and the Corrupt Practices Act, which, in their opinion, need review.

Is it the intention of the Government, when they do deal with it, to deal with the period in which the elections take place?

I cannot go into details.

asked the Prime Minister when it is proposed to bold the inquiry into the question of existing railway rates and their effect upon trade and industry, promised on behalf of the Government during the Debates on the Railways Bill of last Session; and whether he will see that legislative treatment of the question of owners' risk rates, the unfairness of which has already been admitted by several Departmental Committees, is not again post- poned by including it among the matters referred to any Committee of Inquiry.

I am not yet in a position to make any statement on the subject.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that in the meantime increases of as much as 50 per cent. are being made by some railways on the rates upon potatoes and other farm produce?

I have received a statement with regard to existing railway rates, and the matter is under consideration.

Is it the intention of the Government to take no steps during the present Session to remedy any of these grievances of the traders?

asked the Prime Minister if it is proposed to introduce the Government's Education Bill before Whitsuntide?

The answer is in the negative.

May I ask whether in that case he will see, bearing in mind the importance of the Bill, that sufficient time will be allowed before the Session closes to discuss the provisions of the Bill adequately in Committee?

I can give no such undertaking.

Will there not be plenty of time during the next two or three years to discuss this Bill?

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that in the conveyance of women fishworkers between ports on the mainland of Scotland and the Hebrides, and between ports on the mainland and the Islands of Orkney and Shetland, vessels carry as many as 600 passengers and over; that no proper arrangements are made for such a large number of passengers; that many of these passengers are compelled to make the journey on the open deck; that no proper arrangements are made for sanitary conveniences; and that the vessels are not equipped with sufficient lifeboats and life-belts for the number of passengers carried; and whether he will cause inquiries to be made during the ensuing season as to the equipment of the vessels and the arrangements made for the conveyance of the women and enforce any regulations the Board may have for the safety and convenience of passengers on such vessels?

Special arrangements have in past years been made for the conveyance of large numbers of fishworkers during the fishing season, and special passenger certificates have been issued by the Board of Trade for the purpose. Before these certificates could be issued the Board's officers had to be satisfied that the vessels were in all respects fit for the intended service. Before any such certificate is issued for this season, I am taking steps to have special inquiries made which will cover the various points to which my hon. Friend refers.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware this takes place in the summer months at a time when there are not many storms, and has he received any complaint whatever from any of those passengers on those boats whose living largely depends on time?

I understand there is a conference proceeding with my advisers and I will put these points to them.

asked the President of the Board of Trade (1) whether any, and, if so, what supervision is exercised by his Department over the Public Trustee; whether accounts are presented by this official and reports made, and, if so, to whom; and when the last report was made; and (2) whether any report has been made to him of the disposal of the funds for the relief of the sufferers by the "Titanic" disaster; whether a copy of this account can be seen, and, if so, where; and whether the Public Trustee has a balance in hand, and, if so, how much?

The Board of Trade have no powers in regard to the Public Trustee or cognisance of the accounts or reports rendered by him. No report as to the disposal of the "Titanic" fund has been made to the Board of Trade.

asked the Postmaster-General whether under the Government of Ireland Bill the Irish Parliament will be free to reduce postal facilities in Ireland and to place future postal servants upon a lower scale of pay than that now prevailing?

Under Clause 2 (8) of the Bill the Irish Government will have power to arrange at its discretion any internal postal service. Clauses 32 to 36 in the Bill, relating to Civil servants, apply to existing officers of the Post Office, and the Irish Government will be free to determine the conditions of service of future Post Office servants in Ireland.

asked the Postmaster-General (1) what is the increase in the cost of the Post Office in Ireland in the last fifteen years; to what causes it can be attributed; and what has been the increased cost under each of the principal heads; and (2) whether, having regard to the opinion expressed by the Committee on Irish Finance that the increased cost of the Irish Post Office certainly requires explanation, he will issue a Memorandum giving the particulars and the necessary explanation to enable Members to share the information given to the Committee on Irish Finance, and the better equip them for a thorough understanding of the financial relations between Great Britain and Ireland under the Government of Ireland Bill?

The increase in the cost of the Post Office in Ireland in the fifteen years to 1911–1912 was £599,000. It is attributable mainly to the Jubilee Concessions of 1897, under which extended postal and telegraph facilities were afforded to the rural districts, and to improvements in the scales of pay and conditions of service of the staff made in accordance with the recommendations of successive Committees. The increased cost under each of the principal heads is as follows:—

asked what was the result of the scrutiny of accounts which was made with special reference to the Inquiry of the Committee on Irish Finance; and what are the details of the further adjustments which were made as the outcome of that scrutiny?

The result of the scrutiny of accounts made with special reference to the Inquiry of the Committee on Irish Finance is stated in paragraph 50 of the Committee's Report, namely, an increase in the revenue attributable to Ireland of about £50,000. The items making up this figure are for the most part similar in character to those shown in Appendix B, page 33, of the Report, but further adjustments in favour of Ireland were made to allow in round figures for the estimated excess of letters and telegrams delivered over those posted in Ireland.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he has received the further Grant for rural party lines which he informed this House on the 9th December, 1912, the Treasury had consented to give; and, if he has received it, whether it is now exhausted?

The Grant referred to by the hon. Member was duly made and has already been allocated for the provision of a number of new rural party telephone lines in different parts of the country. I am glad to say that I have now received authority to spend a further sum of £20,000 in providing lines of this class.

asked the Postmaster-General if his attention has been called to the case of a telephone subscriber residing in Ella Road, Crouch Hill, in the borough of Islington, who is denied the benefits of the inner London exchange tariff, whilst near neighbours who are not resident, as he is, within the Metropolitan area, but in the borough of Hornsey, are connected to a Metropolitan exchange, with the result that they can speak to the whole Metropolitan area for 1d., although they live outside it, while he is charged 2d.; and, in view of the disadvantage of this arrangement, will steps be taken to endeavour, as far as possible, to serve persons residing in the county of London from exchanges situated therein, so as to remove inequalities of the kind indicated?

I am aware of the circumstances of the case to which the hon. Member refers. The address of the subscriber in Ella Road referred to is within the area which is proper to and has, since 1907, been served by the Hornsey exchange, and he has no claim to be connected with any other exchange. The addresses of the two neighbours are also proper to that area, but their circuits, with a number of other circuits for other persons in the locality, were provided by the National Telephone Company to their North exchange in 1905, before the Hornsey exchange was opened. Steps are now being taken to adjust the anomaly which exists by transferring such circuits as far as practicable to their proper exchange.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware that auxiliary postman James M'Sweeney, of Carriginimma, county Cork, is the local parish secretary of the secret sectarian and political order known as the Board of Erin, A.O.H.; that this man is frequently guilty of neglect of duty in the delivery of letters by attending funerals of the members of his order during official hours, and that meetings of this secret society have been held in the Carriginimma post office belonging to his sister; and, seeing that M'Sweeney organised a political invasion from Macroom and Ballyvourney and other outside districts to the Carriginimma Catholic church on Sunday, 23rd March, which nearly led to a riot in the precincts of the church, will he say whether it is with his sanction that a Post Office official organises church parades of a political nature which are offensive and provocative to the majority of the people of the district?

The postmaster of the district has no knowledge of any incidents such as those mentioned by the hon. Member. Mr. James M'Sweeney is reported to be a satisfactory officer, and no complaint of any neglect of duty on his part or on that of the sub-postmistress of Carriginimma have been received.

Will the right hon. Gentleman reply to the questions on the Paper? He has not replied to a single one of them. He has merely given the state- ment of the postmaster. I want to know whether the statements in the question are facts?

I sent the hon. Member's question for local report, and I have given the hon. Member all the information in my possession. If he desires fuller information I will ask one of the surveying staff to make inquiries.

The question was put on the Paper a week ago. Did the right hon. Gentleman institute any inquiries locally, or did he simply ask the people whether the facts stated in the question were correct or otherwise?

The postmaster reported to his superior officer, who reported to me, that he had no such information whatever.

Does the right hon. Gentlemen know whether he can reply upon the information received from members of this order? Is he not aware that the National President of this society stated in this House that the members are bound by a solemn obligation not to reveal the secrets of the order?

I will repeat the question on Thursday.

If the hon. Member will allow a little longer interval I will ask one of the officers of the Surveying Department to make inquiries.

Will the right hon. Gentleman reply to my question? It is of an extremely important character. This is a secret society with 100,000 members.

I am not aware of that.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he can state the average number of 6d. postal orders now being sold weekly; and whether he can say how many of this number represents the average business demand?

There are no figures available to show how many sixpenny postal orders are being sold weekly; but the average number paid weekly during the last two months was 343,000 The average number paid weekly during two months in the middle of last year, in which I believe few or no newspaper competitions were carried on, was 116,000.

asked the Postmaster-General whether the Post Office has any arrangement with weekly and other newspapers for delivering letters addressed to their various competitions; if so, with which papers; and whether he can state the largest number of letters delivered to such and the smallest, giving the weekly total in each case?

It is the practice to make special arrangements for the delivery of letters when the number to be delivered is unusually large, and such arrangements are made with the publishers of newspapers as with others. To give the figures asked for would involve considerable labour and cost in the preparation of special Returns.

Have these separate weekly newspapers definite arrangements with the Post Office by which the business in connection with these competitions is conducted for them by the Post Office?

No special arrangements are made; they are exactly the same as with other people having a large postal business.

asked the Postmaster-General whether his Department has considered the advisability of approaching the Swiss Government with a view to their co-operation in making illegal competitions advertised in this country by newspaper proprietors and others which could not be conducted in the United Kingdom?

The question of competitions carried on abroad which would be illegal in this country is under my consideration, but I am not at present in a position to make a statement.

In view of the sweepstakes being advertised in the current periodical journals in this country, with guarantees by responsible persons, does not the right hon. Gentleman think that something ought to be done before the sweepstakes take place?

I am afraid that it would require legislation, and I am not sure that it would be possible to pass legislation before the sweepstakes take place.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the Dutch Government have driven these people out of Holland? Surely we can drive them out of Switzerland?

We did not drive them out of Holland. The Dutch Government have driven them out of Holland, and the British Government have driven them out of England, and also out of Scotland.

asked the Postmaster General whether, in view of the representations made to him and of the opening of the fishing season, arrangements will be made for a temporary telegraph office at Valentia Harbour, in continuation of the service supplied last year?

The answer is in the affirmative.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether, in view of the fact that no precedent has been produced for the reduction in the rate of overtime of certain officers of Customs and Excise (late junior examining officers of Customs), he will now be prepared to restore the 2s. rate, of which those officers were deprived by the operation of Customs General Order 54/1912?

I fear I can add nothing to the answer to the hon. Member's question of 16th December last on this subject.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether Miss Emerson, who is serving a sentence of two months' imprisonment in Holloway for breaking a window, is an American citizen and is being forcibly fed; and, if so, what report do the doctors give of the present state of her health?

The answer to the first two questions is in the affirmative. The doctors report that the condition of her health is quite satisfactory.

Is she being forcibly fed?

I have said that the answer to the first two questions is in the affirmative. The second question is whether she is being forcibly fed; therefore she is being forcibly fed.

There are two forms of forcible feeding. Is she being forcibly fed and resisting, or is she being forcibly fed without resisting?

I am afraid I cannot differentiate.

asked the Home Secretary if he will say what proportion the pension now being received by Police-constable Norman Macdonald, 394 L Division, who has been incapacitated from active service on account of injuries received when on duty, bears to the rate of pay which he was receiving before his injury?

Macdonald's pension of £51 2s. 9d. represents twenty-eight-fiftieths of his retiring pay. He is partially incapacitated from earning a livelihood and the pension granted is the maximum provided for such a case under the Police Act, 1890.

Will the hon. Gentleman undertake to inquire into this case and have it reviewed again, having regard to the fact that this man is doomed practically to destitution, owing to serious incapacities incurred in the performance of his duties?

If the hon. Member will put any facts before us to justify a reconsideration of the matter, we shall be glad to consider them.

asked the Home Secretary whether his attention has been drawn to the fact that it is illegal to enter football competitions from Scotland and apparently legal from other portions of the United Kingdom; and whether he proposes to introduce legislation to assimilate the Law of England to that of Scotland?

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply which I gave yesterday to the hon. Member for Ross and Cromarty.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that this is another injustice to Scotland?

The matter was under consideration yesterday, and it is still under consideration to-day.

asked whether the minutes of an insurance committee are open to the inspection of an insured person in the same way that those of municipal bodies are open to the inspection of ratepayers?

Insurance committees are not required to allow the inspection of their minutes by insured persons, but I believe their meetings are usually open to the public and their proceedings reported in the local Press.

In cases where the Press are not allowed to be present, are the minutes open to inspection?

I am not aware of any given case.

Does the hon. Gentleman say that all meetings are open to the Press?

No.

Does he know of some which are not open to the Press?

Some are not open to the Press, and committees are not required to allow inspection of the minutes.

Are the minutes not read and confirmed in public?

In the cases where the public are admitted to the meetings, of course they hear the minutes read.

asked whether the President of the Local Government Board's attention has been called to the case of a workman named Michael Henigan, an inmate under the National Insurance Act of the Aysgarth sanatorium, in the North Riding, who was sent to the institution from a lodging-house in Guisborough without proper clothing, with the result that he was kept in bed and did not therefore receive full advantage of the treatment; whether he is aware that, when the insurance committee applied to the Guisborough guardians, they were unable to provide clothing, as advised by the medical superintendent of the sanatorium, on the ground that Henigan was not a pauper, and that even if he had been he had no settlement in Guisborough; whether he is aware that the guardians of the Aysgarth union on 24th March absolutely declined to receive Henigan into the workhouse hospital, and that they have intimated in a letter to the North Riding insurance committee that they cannot accept him or any other tuberculous patient who happens to be sent to Aysgarth sanatorium, and whose settlement cannot be traced; does he support the attitude of these boards in their refusal; and can he state, in view of the hardship likely to be caused to insured persons in such circumstances, whether it would be possible for guardians to admit such cases?

The question raises several points of difficulty with which it is impossible to deal in the course of an answer. The creation of insurance committees has no doubt produced some new Poor Law problems, but I am in hopes that, as a result of consultations and by co-operation between the authorities concerned, the difficulties may be overcome. I am in communication with the guardians and the Insurance Commissioners on the subject.

asked whether it is in the power of the London Committee to make any provision for the removal to a sanatorium of a consumptive patient in Islington who has been ill for four years, and an absolute invalid for the past six months, to whose case his attention has been called, the patient being one of a family of orphans with no private means and entirely dependent on a brother and sister insured under the National Insurance Act, whose own health is imperilled by the strain of nursing their sister in addition to long hours of work in business, while they are also exposed to some risk of infection?

I understand that the patient referred to in the hon. Member's question is not an insured person, and as sanatorium benefit has not been extended in London to the dependants of insured persons, I regret that she is not eligible for sanatorium treatment under the Insurance Act.

Will these matters have consideration in an amending Bill?

I will pass on the question to the Department concerned.

Did not the London County Council unanimously pass a resolution some time ago to take over the care of tuberculous persons? Has anything been done since the resolution was passed?

I am not aware of it.

asked whether the administration of the National Insurance Act costs upwards of 26 per cent. of the total estimate of the sum required for health insurance; and, if so, whether any precedent, other than the Land Taxes of the 1909 Budget, can be found for such a charge upon the taxpayer for administration in proportion to the amount of benefit received?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the negative. The figure of 27 per cent. which my right hon. Friend the Secretary to the Treasury named in his answer on 26th March related, as desired in the question to which he was replying, to voted expenditure only, and omitted the main portion of the expenditure on benefits. The last part of the question does not therefore arise.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether a number of employés under the Edinburgh and Leith Corporation Gas Commissioners, who do the work of lighting and extinguishing common stair gas, and who are paid 10s. per week of seven days, were, when the National Insurance Act was brought into operation, declared by the Insurance Commissioners to be under the Act; that the sum of 4d. per week was accordingly deducted from their wages; that recently the Commissioners issued statutory rules and orders showing that those stair lighters who only gave part-time service were exempted from payment; and that they now refuse to refund the contributions paid in respect of those men under their own instructions; and whether steps can be taken to order repayment of such contributions?

I would refer the hon. Baronet to the answer I gave yesterday to my hon. Friend the Member for South Edinburgh.