asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether any regulations have been made with regard to employed persons who were between sixty-five and seventy years of age at the com- mencement of the National Insurance Act; and whether any tables have been issued with regard to the benefits to which they are entitled?

No regulations require to be made by the Insurance Commissioners. The benefits of such persons are under Section 49 of the Act to be determined by societies or (for deposit contributors) by the insurance committees for whose guidance tables have been prepared of which I am sending the Noble Lord a copy.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware that, in the event of the moneys standing to the credit of the Pleuro-Pneumonia Account being insufficient, as is usually the case, to pay the expenses of the Board of Agriculture in connection with contagious diseases of animals, the deficit is taken out of the Local Taxation Account set apart for distribution amongst local authorities and the amount available for the general purposes of their administration reduced accordingly; that the sum so deducted out of the Local Taxation Account to meet this deficit amounted in 1911–12 to no less than £66,000, or more than double that so deducted in the previous year; and that this charge upon the county ratepayers to meet the expenses of a Government Department is in addition to the expenses of the county council in connection with animal diseases occurring within their area which they have also to defray; and whether, seeing that the services rendered by the Board of Agriculture are essentially national in character he will, in his forthcoming financial proposals, make provision for removing from the ratepayers' shoulders this obviously inequitable burden?

I am unable to anticipate the Budget statement. The statements made in the first three parts of the question are substantially accurate so far as the position in England is concerned, but the matter referred to is, of course, part of the general question of the relations between local and Imperial taxation, which, as the hon. Member is aware, is still under consideration.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much Income Tax was received by the Government in the first seven days of April?

The Income Tax paid into the Exchequer from the 1st to the 7th April amounted to £1,923,000.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he is aware that the Bank of England, in paying the dividends due on Consols on 5th April, is deducting Income Tax at 1s. 2d. in the £, without taking any notice of the circular letter of the Treasury and without obtaining the consent of the recipients of the dividend?

Income Tax on the dividends referred to, which were due on 5th April last, was legally deductible under the authority of the Finance Bill, 1912. The circular letter, therefore, did not apply, and the consent of the recipients was unnecessary.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland if he can state to the House the circumstances under which John Dalton, convicted at the Winter Assizes in Limerick in December, 1911, of unlawful assembly and sentenced to a month's imprisonment with hard labour, received a free pardon; whether Dalton served the term and unlawful imposition of hard labour; and whether he is aware that a similar mistake was made in 1871, when the late Baron Dowse was a Law Officer of the Crown in Ireland and took steps to have the illegal judgment annulled before the sentence was carried out?

The circumstances in connection with the conviction of, and grant of a free pardon to, John Dalton are fully set out in the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister in answer to a question asked on the subject by the senior Member for Dublin University on 28th November last. Dalton, who was released six days before the expiration of his sentence, did not actually endure hard labour, as, on the recommendation of the medical officer of the gaol, that part of the sentence was not enforced. As regards the last part of the question, I understand that the action taken by the Crown, in the case to which the hon. Member refers, was with a view to having an erroneous sentence rectified and not to have it annulled. In that case, when application was made to the Courts, the parties were in prison undergoing their sentences, while in Dalton's case the Crown was not made aware of the informality in the sentence until after his discharge from prison.

asked the Chief Secretary what is the present amount of the Constabulary Force Fund, and what is the number of the persons who at present derive benefits from it; what is the present annual amount of the demands on the fund, what is proposed to be done with the capital of the fund, and why should not the fund so far as not required to meet the claims on it be returned to those who subscribe it; and is it proposed or intended to apply the fund when relieved, as it will within a few years be, of all claims on it to purposes different from those it was subscribed for?

The capital of the benefit branch of the Constabulary Force Fund on the 31st December, 1912, consisted of £154,000 Local Loans Stock, £221,512 Consols, and a cash balance of £2,539. On an average 160 families receive grants each year from the fund, and the total payments made in such grants is about £18,000 per annum. The capital of the fund will be required to meet future claims. It could not, at the present time, be stated whether any of the capital will remain over or not when the last claims on the fund have been paid off. It is expected that claims on the fund will continue to arise—in the ordinary course—for the next thirty years.

asked the Chief Secretary how much was contributed to the Irish Constabulary Force Fund by Sir A. Reed, who has been paid £171 out of the fund; by French, who has been paid £30; and by Reilly, who has recently died in King's County, after contributing to the fund for sixty-five years, whose orphan daughters have since been paid £6 17s. 4d. each; if he will explain the discrepancy between the amounts paid to the non-contributors and those paid to the precise class of persons for whose benefit the fund exists; and, if the amounts are governed by scale, will he say what it is; if not, will he say who settles the amounts?

As I have already informed the hon. Member, no grants of money were made to Sir A. Reed or Mr. French out of the benefit branch of the fund. Any payments made to them were made out of the reward branch, which is entirely distinct and is derived from fines and penalties, and has no relation whatever to the deductions made from the pay of these two officers while serving. The total amount contributed to the benefit branch of the fund by the late pensioner Patrick Reilly during his service and while on pension was £21 11s. 4d. He left no widow, but a gratuity of £13 14s. 8d. (£6 17s. 4d. each) was paid under a special rule to his two unmarried daughters, who were over the usual age limit. Had Reilly's wife survived him, she would have received £41 4s. In cases like Reilly's, where the contributors served in the force at a time when the rates of pay were small and the contributions likewise, the gratuities (which are largely based on the pay drawn) are also necessarily small. Payments from the reward branch, which has a separate income since 1891, are made to all members of the force who are considered entitled to them. Payments from the benefit branch of the fund to widows of deceased contributors are made according to a fixed scale, namely, 5 per cent. on the total amount of pay drawn during service, and ½ per cent. on the total amount of pension received by the deceased. This amount is increased by one-fourth for each child under eighteen years of age who is entitled to benefit. This scale does not apply in the case of contributors who were pensioned before 1874, when the scale was slightly lower.

asked the Chief Secretary what was the pay of a constable of the Royal Irish Constabulary of four, six, and twenty years' service before the passing of the Constabulary (Ireland) Act of 1908, and what is it at four, six, and twenty years' service under that Act; what pension was a constable entitled to at twenty-five and twenty-eight years' service before the passing of the Constabulary (Ireland) Act of 1908, and what pension is he entitled to at the same service under that Act; are the allowances which each man of the rank and file receives excluded when scaling their pensions; are all allowances included along with pay when scaling the pensions of officers and county inspectors; how many resignations have taken place amongst the rank and file of the Royal Irish Constabulary during October, November, and December, 1912, and during January, February, and March, 1913; have those resignations been caused by the failure of the Government to raise their pay to meet the increased cost of living; and what has been the average cost of training each of those men?

The annual pay of constables of between four and seven years' service before the passing of the Constabulary Act of 1908 was £57 4s., and under the Act of 1908 the pay is the same for that period of service. The pay of a constable of twenty years' service and over, before the Act of 1908, was £70 4s., and under the Act of 1908 the same rate of pay is granted to a constable of from fifteen to twenty-five years' service. The pension to a constable of twenty-five years' service before the passing of the Act of 1908 was equal to thirty-fiftieths of his annual pay, and to a constable of twenty-eight years' service thirty-three-fiftieths of his pay. Under the Act of 1908 the pension rates are the same, and the pension is calculated on the rates of pay existing before the passing of the Act of 1908. No allowances are included in the calculation of the pensions of the men. In the case of officers, two allowances (namely, lodging allowance and servant allowance) are by Statute included in calculating the pension. The number of resignations during the six months ended 31st March, 1913, is as follows:—

October, 1912	…	…	…	9
November, 1912	…	…	…	16
December, 1912	…	…	…	14
January, 1913	…	…	…	10
February, 1913	…	…	…	12
March, 1913	…	…	…	31
	Total	…	…	92

Of these, twenty-seven resigned to emigrate, thirty-one to better their condition, five on being reported for disciplinary offences, five on account of ill-health, nine to join other police forces, two on account of inadequacy of pay, and thirteen for various reasons. Recruits in training at the depôt are housed in the same buildings as the men of the reserve force, and no separate records are kept as to the cost of the training of recruits.

asked the Chief Secretary whether he has received representations on behalf of the subscribers to the Constabulary Trust Fund, resident in county Donegal, asking that the fund may be wound up; and whether he is prepared to give effect to the wishes expressed?

I have received the representations referred to. I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given to a similar question asked on this subject by the hon. Member for Mid-Armagh on the 7th instant.

asked the Chief Secretary whether the Congested Districts Board will consider the question of migrating some of the small uneconomic holders on the Blake estate, near Annaghdown, county Galway, purchased about eleven years ago under the Ashbourne Act, thus enabling the Board to enlarge the holdings on this estate?

If the Congested Districts Board receive applications from any tenant-purchasers on the estate referred to to migrate to lands which could be provided for them without interfering with the relief of local congestion, the Board will give every consideration to their applications.

asked the Chief Secretary whether the Congested Districts Board will consider the desirability of negotiating with Mr. Murphy, who holds a farm under a judicial tenancy on the R. T. Lattey estate, mainly in the parish of Annaghdown, county Galway, with a view to his surrendering his interest in the farm to allow of its division amongst the small tenants?

It is presumed that the lands referred to are those in the occupation of Mrs. Margaret Murphy. If so, the question of negotiating with the tenant for the purchase of portion of the lands in her occupation is under the consideration of the Congested Districts Board.

asked the Chief Secretary if, in connection with the proposed Bill to deal with land purchase in Ireland, he will introduce provisions enabling Irish town tenants also to purchase their holdings?

It is not proposed to give further facilities for the purchase of their holdings by town tenants.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether the Graham estate, Ballinakill, Connemara, has been offered for sale to the Congested Districts Board; and, if so, will he state when the sale is likely to be completed?

The estate referred to has not been offered for sale to the Congested Districts Board, but they have taken steps to acquire it compulsorily, and the hearing of the case before the Estates Commissioners is fixed for the 22nd instant.

asked the Chief Secretary whether persons admitted to union hospitals in Ireland under the Medical Charities Acts are not disqualified in any way under Poor Relief Acts from Parliamentary and local government election rights; whether he is aware that, in a circular issued to the pension officers in Ireland (O. A. P., No. 70), one of the queries to be answered as referring to the claims of old age pensioners who are obliged to seek medical relief in hospitals (No. 6) relates to the average weekly cost of the institution per inmate, taking into account the maintenance, treatment, and relief, including medical relief, of inmates, the cost of repairs, of warming, cleansing, and lighting the institution, of the provision of furniture, and of the salaries, rations, and uniforms of officers; whether this question has been framed with the object of showing that old age pensioners who make contributions of 4s. or a lesser amount do not pay the full average cost and that thus they are not qualified to continue to receive the old age pensions; whether, under the Poor Relief Acts for the recovery of relief issued by way of loan, guardians of unions cannot charge more than the ordinary average cost, excluding medical relief cost, salaries of officers and rations, as well as the cost of repairs, etc.; whether the pensions of old age pensioners are inalienable; whether, through the operations of this and similar circulars, a number of old age pensioners have been deprived of the pensions; and, if so, whether he will give instructions to the Local Government Board to reconsider all cases in which they gave judgment against the pensioners on information based on these circulars when the pensioners at the time were inmates of the hospitals.

Persons maintained in Poor Law hospitals are in receipt of relief under the Poor Relief (Ireland) Acts, and not the Medical Charities Act, 1851, and do not come within the provisions of Section 5 of the Registration (Ireland) Act, 1885. The Local Government Board have not issued the circular referred to in the question. Under Section 6 of the Poor Relief (Ireland) Act, 1862, persons who claim on admission to workhouse fever hospitals or infirmaries to pay, and actually do pay the full average cost of maintenance therein as stated in the Act, are not subject to any disfranchisement, and therefore do not come within the proviso in Section 3 (1) (a) (iii) of the Old Age Pensions Act, 1908. Pensions are inalienable under Section 6 of the Old Age Pensions Act, 1908. Persons have been declared to be disqualified to receive pensions who do not fulfil the conditions laid down in Section 6 of the Poor Relief (Ireland) Act, 1862. The Local Government Board have no power to reconsider any decision given by them on appeals arising under the Old Age Pensions Act.

asked the Chief Secretary whether he will recommend the Local Government Board for Ireland to suggest to the Poor Law guardians of the various unions in Ireland a scheme by which the guardians could receive old age pensioners and treat them in a separate portion of the workhouse buildings as if in a home, the pensioners to pay the full cost of their support, less the cost of rent, and to be at liberty to enter and leave the home at will, a large number of the Poor Law unions at present being anxious to have such a scheme introduced?

However much the Local Government Board might sympathise with the object which the hon. Member has in view, it would be impossible for them to suggest to local authorities how such a scheme as that indicated in the question could be formulated, having regard to the fact that under the Old Age Pensions Act, 1908, the receipt of Poor Law relief, other than that specially excepted in the provisos to Section 3 (1) (a) of the Act, ipso facto disqualifies a pensioner from receiving his pension.

asked the Chief Secretary whether he can lay upon the Table the depositions of the witnesses in the Castledawson case taken before the resident magistrate and presented by Mr. Lane, sessional Crown solicitor?

I do not see that any useful object would be served by laying the depositions on the Table of the House.

asked the Chief Secretary whether his attention has been drawn to the deficit in the capitation Grant towards the cost of maintenance of lunatics in Irish asylums during the past financial year; whether he is aware that in the case of the county of Donegal the deficit amounted to £1,011 7s. 10d.; and whether he can take any steps in the matter?

The deficit was as stated for the year 1911–12. With regard to the latter part of the question, I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given to a somewhat similar question asked by the hon. Member for Limerick on the 3rd instant.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether the War Office have yet sanctioned the plans submitted by the Suffolk County Association for the erection of a new Territorial drill hall at Stowmarket?

The provision of new Territorial headquarters at Stowmarket has been approved in principle and a site purchased.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether it is proposed to abolish the rank of second-lieutenant in the Territorial Force; and, if so, what are the circumstances that make such action expedient?

The question whether the abolition of this rank in the Regular Army will entail its abolition in the Territorial Force is under consideration.

asked the Secretary of State for War on what date the Army Order establishing an increased uniform Grant for officers of the Territorial Force is to come into force; and whether it is in any way to be retrospective?

The Grant at the increased rate is to date from 1st April, 1913. It will not be retrospective.

asked the Secretary of State for War what is the number of aeroplanes actually owned by the nation under War Office control, capable of a velocity of 50 miles per hour at a height of 3,000 feet?

The number is eighty-six.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that the combine of makers of Army and Territorial clothing that is in the process of formation is aiming at compelling manufacturers to enter into an agreement to charge an increased price for cloth to makers who are outside the ring and who desire to tender for contracts; and, if so, what steps he proposes to take?

My attention has been called to the matter referred to in my hon. Friend's question. As indicated by the Financial Secretary, in his reply to a similar question, there are various methods of coping with an organised attempt to raise prices to an undue level, taking all the circumstances into consideration; should such an attempt be made, steps will be taken accordingly.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether any communications have been received from the organisation at the Royal Small Arms Factory, Enfield, in reference to an advance of wages for the various classes of workmen to compensate them for the increase in the cost of living; and, if so, what is the result of such communication?

I have received such a communication, and it is now under consideration.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if his attention has been directed to the case of a lad named Walter Harold Franklin, who was sentenced at the Oxford City Police Court on Friday last to a fine of £10 and 6s. 6d. costs or six weeks' imprisonment, on a charge of hindering a tramwayman in the performance of his duty; whether he is aware that the evidence of the tramway conductor and of two police constables differed in material degree; that Franklin's request for an adjournment to enable him to produce witnesses for his defence was refused; and that time was not allowed in which to pay the fine; and whether, having regard to these facts, he will cause inquiry to be made into the case with a view to the remission of the sentence?

Yes, Sir, my attention was called to this case on Tuesday, and I am in communication with the justices. I will let my hon. Friend know the result of my inquiries.

asked the Home Secretary whether churches and other property transferred to the Church in Wales under the Established Church (Wales) Bill will be held subject to all existing public and private rights with respect thereto; and whether this includes the right of every parishioner to the services of the Church?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. If, by the second part of the question, the Noble Lord means the right to attend at the services of the Church, the answer is also in the affirmative. If, however, he means the right of certain definite ministrations of the Church and its ministers, perhaps he will refer to them in detail, as no general answer can be given.

asked the President of the Board of Agriculture whether he has received from a meeting of breeders of shorthorn and Aberdeen Angus cattle, held at Aberdeen on the 28th March last, a unanimous resolution to the effect that a station for testing cattle with tuberculin should be established in Scotland and that facilities for testing cattle should be granted there on the same terms as in the testing station established in England; and whether he intends to take action thereupon?

A copy of the resolution to which my hon. Friend refers has been sent to me and will receive careful consideration.

asked the President of the Board of Agriculture what has been and what is at present the toll levied on Irish cattle landed at Merklands Wharf (Glasgow); whether the charge is higher than at other ports; and whether the Department is using its influence to get it reduced?

The charges now being levied at Merklands Wharf are 2s. 6d. per head of cattle for twenty-four hours' accommodation, and 6d. per head for any subsequent period not exceeding twenty-four hours. These charges, which are higher than at any other landing place, have been only provisionally sanctioned by the Board under Article 6 of the Animals (Landing from Ireland) Order. The Board are in communication with the Glasgow Corporation with a view to a reduction.

asked the President of the Board of Agriculture whether harbour authorities in Scotland make the same charge for lairage of store cattle as for fat cattle; and, if so, whether he will endeavour to arrange a lesser charge for the former in future?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. The distinction between fat cattle and store cattle is in many cases a matter of opinion, and it would be impracticable to differentiate between the two classes in fixing the charges for lairage accommodation.

asked the President of the Board of Agriculture whether his attention has been called to the difficulties placed by the Anglesey local authority in the way of allowing live stock, even after undergoing the twelve hours' quarantine, to cross the roadway to the railway fields; and whether, in view of the injury done to cattle by placing them on concrete floors after long standing on steamers and railway wagons, he will, especially in view of the opening of the lamb season, take immediate steps to put an end to this grievance?

The Board wrote recently to the Anglesey local authority on the subject of the regulations made by them with regard to the movement of Irish stock within their area, and I am informed that the question of revoking the regulations will be considered within the next few days. If my hon. Friend will send me particulars, with dates, of the cases of injury to cattle, to which he refers in the latter part of the question, I will certainly investigate them at once and take steps to prevent any cause for similar complaints occurring in future.

asked the President of the Board of Agriculture whether any statement made by railway officials that the recent increase of 55 per cent. in the charges for the carriage of two cows and two calves over the Great Western and other railways is due to an Order or regulation issued by his Department is well-founded; and, if so what is the exact purport of such Order or regulation, and why has it been issued?

It is possible that the increased charge may be due to the provisions of Article 13 of the Animals (Transit and General) Order of 1912, which requires the separation of mixed consignments, but I have no official information, and I propose to make inquiries of the railway companies on the subject.

asked the President of the Board of Agriculture if he has given his sanction to the grouping of the counties of Gloucester, Worcester, and Warwick for the purposes of swine-fever administration; and, if so, as from what date?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. The Order giving effect to the change will come into operation on the 16th April.

asked the Secretary for Scotland what steps, if any, he proposes to take to carry out the recommendations contained in the Report on the medical inspection of school children in Scotland by Dr. Leslie Mackenzie, particularly as to the increase of cloak-room accommodation, methods of cleaning, and sanitary accommodation, the present condition of which are described therein as being responsible for disease and infection?

As regards cloak-room and sanitary accommodation, adequate provision has been made for many years in the case of all new schools erected according to plans approved by the Scotch Education Department. The Department have also in a Memorandum, issued in 1907, stated precisely what in their view ought to be done as regards the cleansing and disinfecting of schools. There are, however, a considerable number of older schools in which the cloakroom and sanitary accommodation is unsatisfactory, and it appears from the Reports of His Majesty's inspectors that many school boards are dilatory and negligent as regards the periodical cleansing of schools. I propose, therefore, to issue instructions that whenever serious defects as regards any of these matters have been observed by the school medical officer, they shall be reported forthwith to His Majesty's inspector for the district, who will after such further inquiry as he may think necessary, take steps under Article 32 of the Code to require managers to provide the necessary accommodation, or to secure the proper cleansing of the schools under penalty of reduction of Grant.

asked the Secretary for Scotland, in view of the effect of trawling on spawning beds, if he can see his way to recommend the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to call a meeting of the signatories to the North Sea Convention and other Powers interested for the purpose of considering the expediency of arranging for the periodic closing of all inshore waters so that spawning beds may remain undisturbed for a sufficient time to prevent risk of a diminution of fish supplies?

The inshore waters in Scotland are already closed to trawling, by Statute and by by-laws of the Fishery Board. The effect of trawling on the fish supply is at present being investigated by the International Council for the Exploration of the North Sea, which includes representatives of the signatories referred to, and the question is in this way already fully before the interested Powers.

asked the Secretary for Scotland what number of applications for small holdings or for extensions of existing holdings, respectively, have been made to the Board of Agriculture for Scotland under the Small Holders (Scotland) Act, 1911, since the 1st day of April, 1912; and what are the counties in Scotland in respect of which such applications, respectively, have been made?

The information which my hon. Friend desires will be given in the Report of the Board of Agriculture, which is in course of being printed and will be issued very soon.

asked the Prime Minister what opportunity will be given to discuss the allocation of funds available under the Development Grant?

As I stated on the 26th of last month, an opportunity for discussing this matter will arise when the Treasury Vote is taken.

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether, in view of the fact that the principle of State or public compensation has been recognised in the Milk and Dairies Bill and the Tuberculosis Order of 1913 as essential in securing non-tuberculous milk, with the view of applying the same principle to secure non-tuberculous meat, he will introduce, in conjunction with the President of the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries, a Bill dealing with bovine tuberculosis in living and dead subjects?

The two cases are not, in my opinion, analogous, and I am afraid I cannot undertake to promise legislation on the lines suggested.

asked the Postmaster-General if his attention has been called to the recent case of a woman sorter employed at the Post Office Savings Bank Department, West Kensington, being retired from the service through ill-health, suffering from consumption; whether a statement had been submitted from this officer's medical adviser to the effect that in all probability the disease was contracted through the handling of depositors' books, as such books were not sterilised before they were dealt with by the officer; and whether, in view of the possibility of consumption being spread amongst the staff in this way, he will consider the advisability of having all depositors' books sterilised before being dealt with?

I am aware of the case and of the statement in question. I am advised by the Chief Medical Officer to the Post Office, who has investigated the case, that it is highly improbable that the tuberculosis was contracted in the manner suggested; and that there is no sufficient ground for recommending the sterilisation of deposit books on their receipt in the Savings Bank.

asked the Postmaster-General what has been the estimated expenditure on construction, reconstruc- tion, and maintenance, respectively, since 1st January, 1912?

The estimated expenditure upon telephones for the year ended 31st December, 1912, is:—

	£
Construction	1,397,240
Reconstruction	481,745
Maintenance	1,265,845
	£3,144,830

asked the Postmaster General what progress has been made in the redefinition of the boundaries of exchange areas which he stated on 20th May, 1912, was in contemplation?

The question is closely connected with that of the revision of rates, which is now being dealt with. I am not yet in a position to make any definite statement on the subject.

asked the Postmaster-General whether any limit is specified to the weight of parcels which rural postmen riding bicycles are expected to carry; and whether he has any information in his possession showing that the limit is frequently and systematically exceeded, and that such postmen are often compelled to carry more than double the limit of weight specified?

The maximum weight which postmen in rural districts may be required to carry on a bicycle is 50 lbs. If the hon. Member will furnish me with particulars of any case in which this limit is frequently exceeded, I will have inquiry made.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware that the space provided in the new section of the C Division of the Central Telegraph Office is so restricted as to render it difficult for persons to pass between the instrument rows without risk of injury to themselves and interference with the working of other operators; that at a number of circuits only two or three inches of desk space is provided upon which to sign and time messages; and that in one corner artificial light has to be resorted to daily; and whether, in view of the recommendations from the Cramp Committee and of the fact that the instrument desks from which the apparatus now installed in this section was removed still remain vacant, he will ask for a report from the chief medical officer?

A series of important changes is in progress at the Central Telegraph Office, which will at an early date be of great benefit to the service. As the hon. Member will understand, it is impossible in such a complicated matter to foresee every development, and, as a matter of fact, difficulties have occurred with regard to the removal of the power board and the installation of a new system of lighting. At the same time, the inconvenience which has been occasioned is of a minor character. I am assured that it is not the case that "the space provided in the new section of the C Division is so restricted as to render it difficult for persons to pass between the instrument rows without risk of injury to themselves and interference with the working of other operators." Also, I am assured, that it is not the case "that at a number of circuits only two or three inches of desk space is provided upon which to sign and time messages." Suitable space has been provided by fixing one portion of the apparatus some inches further back on a few of the tables where this seemed necessary. It is not possible in a building of the dimensions of the Central Telegraph Office to obtain direct daylight everywhere, but it is out of the question to throw all corners out of use when resort to an electric lamp amply suffices to render them available. It does not appear necessary, in the circumstances, to refer the question to the chief medical officer. The original design will be carried out as soon as the old power board is removed and the new system of lighting is installed.