asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether inspectors under the National Insurance Act in several districts where there has been determined opposition to the Act have received instructions to tell the farmers that if they begin paying now, in the third quarter, and deduct the tax from the men's wages, the Commissioners will excuse them from paying up the arrears on contributions due from the period from 15th July to 15th January; and whether any relief from payment as regards contributions by farmers has been, or will be, extended to them?

As my right hon. Friend the Secretary to the Treasury stated in reply to a similar question by my hon. Friend the Member for Bedford on 20th January, the answer is in the negative.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the duties of Customs and Excise officers have been greatly increased under the National Insurance Act; whether those duties are in addition to the original duties of the officials in question as revenue and pension officers; whether such duties include answering inquiries and giving advice to the public, investigating claims for exemption from insurance, which depends upon questions of income and maintenance, reporting on claims for repayment in respect of stamps wrongly used, investigating and reporting on questions as to liability to insurance and as to the rate of contribution payable by employer and employed, and many delicate questions arising under this head owing to the complexity of the Act and Regulations, giving assistance to local secretaries of friendly societies in cases in which they have not properly appreciated the duties required of them, informing deposit contributors of the names of doctors on the panels, and giving them advice as to the obtaining of medical benefits; whether the sole further remuneration provided for the officials in question is an addition of £20 to the maximum per annum, that is to the salary to be reached in the case of many junior officers at the end of twenty years; and whether there is any intention on the part of the Treasury to increase the present remuneration, so as to avoid the hardship of existing work to be performed without proportionate remuneration accruing until after the lapse of many years?

It is the fact that the work of the Customs and Excise Department was temporarily increased last year in connection with the National Insurance Act, but the increase in volume has been adequately met by increasing the numbers of the staff, and I cannot admit that the quality of the work is not adequately met by the present scales of pay, or is above the capacity of the average officer.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the number of assessments to Undeveloped Land Duty in the county borough of Southport for the year 1912–13; what is the assessable site value; what is the amount of the allowances from assessable site value; what is the amount of the site value chargeable; and what is the amount of the duty assessed?

The answer to the first part of the question is 149; to the second, £135,438; to the third, £9,930; to the fourth, £125,508; and to the fifth, £261 9s. 6d.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether he will give a list of all the situations in the Civil Service which since January, 1906, have been added to the list of situations to which paragraph 7 of the Order in Council of the 10th January, 1910, applies?

Clause 7 of the Order in Council of 10th January, 1910, is chiefly applicable to individual cases and not to situations as such. The hon. Member will find a considerable amount of information on the use of the Clause in the Fifty-fifth and Fifty-sixth Reports of the Civil Service Commissioners (Cd. 5751 of 1911 and 6332 of 1912), particularly the former, page 11. No candidate can be certified under Clause 7 without the consent of the Treasury, and that consent is sought normally before the candidate is presented to the Civil Service Commissioners. In the case of a few situations the Treasury have informed the Civil Service Commissioners that candidates may be presented to them for certification, and their qualifications considered, without special reference to the Treasury. For some of these cases (certain situations, e.g., in the Branch Mints) appointment is made after open competition, but the competition is not conducted by the Civil Service Commissioners; in others (e.g., situations in the Mercantile Marine Services) candidates are required to pass an examination, but part of the examination is not conducted by the Civil Service Commissioners; in such cases Clause 7 is used for technical reasons. Situations which have been treated in this way for the first time since 1906 are the following:—

• 1906. Inland Revenue.—Senior Mechanician in the Stamping Department.
• 1907. National Education Office, Ireland.—Junior Inspector.
• 1909. Scottish Office.—Senior Assistant in the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh.
• 1910. Board of Agriculture and Fisheries.—Foreman at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
• 1910. Royal Mint.—Junior Clerk in the Ottawa Branch.
• 1913. Board of Education.—Assistant Inspector.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether, under Section 33 of the Friendly Societies Act of 1896, registered friendly societies are exempted from Stamp Duty on cheques and receipts; and whether approved sections of friendly societies are entitled to the same privilege?

Section 33 of the Friendly Societies Act, 1896, exempts from Stamp Duty, drafts, orders or receipts given by or to a registered friendly society in respect of money payable by virtue of its rules or of the Act. Where an approved society is not a friendly society, but a section of a friendly society, the exemption is not regarded as applicable. The question of extending the exemption to approved societies generally in respect of National Insurance Act business is under consideration.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury what were the total Grants of the Board of Education last year to the following universities; and what was the total income of the different universities and the salaries of the different principals or vice-chancellors, namely: Universities of Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, and St. Andrews?

The Board of Education do not make Grants to Scottish Universities. The total Grants to universities in 1912–13 were £82,000 from Vote 7, Class IV., besides £30,000 from the Local Taxation (Scotland) Account. The total income of the several universities for the year 1910–11, the last year for which published accounts have been laid before Parliament was:—

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether any steps have been taken to provide a boat slip at Cooscroum; whether he is aware that the present pier has been built where the fishermen used to haul up their boats, that in rough weather the sea washes over the present pier, that there is no room for a horse and cart to turn on the pier, and that horses have in consequence to be backed for several hundred feet; and whether steps will now be taken to provide an adequate slip so that the boats can be hauled up?

The Congested Districts Board recently decided that they would not take any steps towards providing a boat slip at Cooscroum, a large sum of money having already been spent in building a pier at that place.

asked the Chief Secretary whether application has been made by the sub-tenants on the Landes estate, Kilcavan and Garrymore, Queen's County, to purchase their holdings; that the request has been conceded except in two instances, namely, that of Mrs. Margaret Mara and Richard Meagles, and that a sum of £9 and £5, respectively, has been demanded from them by the immediate lessors under whom these sub-tenants hold; and will the Commissioners see, before sanctioning the sale, that those two sub-tenants are not deprived of the right to purchase their holdings?

This estate is the subject of proceedings for sale direct by the owner to the tenants, and has not yet been reached in order of priority on the principal register of direct sales. The cases of the sub-tenants on the estate, including those referred to by the hon. Member, will be considered by the Commissioners when dealing with the estate.

asked the Chief Secretary when the sale of the Digby estate, Geashill, King's County, will be completed; is he aware that application has been made by a number of small holders in the neighbourhood for a distribution of the untenanted lands of Ballydownan and Cappyroe, which were on the landlord's hands at the time the agreements were signed; and whether he can say what course the Estates Commissioners are prepared to adopt in this matter?

This estate is the subject of proceedings for sale direct by the owner to the tenants, and will be dealt with in order of priority on the principal register of direct sales, but, having regard to the claims of other estates, the Estates Commissioners cannot at present say when it will be reached. The reply to the second paragraph of the question is in the affirmative, but the Commissioners cannot say what action, if any, they may take in the matter until they are dealing with the estate.

asked the Chief Secretary whether application has been made to the Estates Commissioners by Frederick Abraham and Stephen Cavanagh for an advance to purchase their holdings at Ballydownan, on the estate of Lord Rigby, Geashill, King's County; whether a similar application has been Made by James Bagnal for a farm at Cappyroe on the same estate; can he say what the amount of the advance asked for in each case is; whether those lands were untenanted and on the landlord's hands at the date upon which the agreements were signed by the majority of the tenants on the estate, and application was made to have those farms divided up amongst the small holders on the estate; and can he say whether the Commissioners are prepared to sanction those advances?

The reply to the first and second paragraphs of the question is in the negative. The Estates Commissioners have received applications for allotments of the lands referred to, but these lands are not apparently included in the estate proposed to be sold, and until the estate is reached in order of priority, the Commissioners will not be in a position to make any statement as to what action, if any, they may take in the matter.

asked the Chief Secretary what progress had been made with land purchase in County Donegal up to the latest date at which precise information is available, distinguishing by name those estates or portions of estates in regard to which transactions have been completed from those in which negotiations are still pending, and also showing which estates have been the subject of direct sale to the tenants and which have been, or are about to be, acquired by the Congested Districts Board?

It would not be possible without a considerable expenditure of time to give the information asked for by the hon. Member. A Return in continuation of No. 6130 of 1912 is being prepared and will shortly be presented to Parliament showing the amount of land sold or pending for sale in each county in Ireland, and also the amount not yet sold. I would ask the hon. Member to await the publication of this Return.

asked the Chief Secretary, with reference to the sale of the Graigue, Shanballymore estate, county Cork, whether the Estates Commissioners can give the date upon which Charles O'Neill signed a purchase agreement; when he first became a tenant; whether, on the date at which a Mr. Reynolds, in the office of the agent of the estate, attended at Graigue with the agreements for signature, the tenant's solicitor was shown an agreement respecting this evicted holding which contained the name of a person named Fiddler as occupier; whether a tenancy was subsequently made in the name of Charles O'Neill; and, if so, whether by deed or lease, and have the Estates Commissioners had the same before them?

Charles Neill's agreement to purchase his holding on the Purcell estate, county Cork, is dated 29th September, 1910. The holding is stated to have been held by him or his predecessor in title since 1901 under a tenancy from year to year by agreement dated 12th April, 1902. The Estates Commissioners have no information regarding what took place between Mr. Reynolds and the tenant's solicitor or of the date on which Neill acquired the tenant's interest. Holdings purchased under the Land Purchase Acts are vested subject to rights and equities affecting the tenant's interests at the date of vesting, and it is not the practice of the Commissioners to investigate the titles of the purchasing tenants.

asked the Chief Secretary if it is the intention of the Estates Commissioners to distribute amongst uneconomic land holders the untenanted portion of the Persse estate, Killashulan, county Kilkenny, recently redeemed by them from the Encumbered Estates Court; is he aware that a numerously signed memorial was presented by the class of tenants above referred to residing in the neighbourhood of the estate, praying for the distribution of the untenanted portion of the estate when being made available; and will he use his influence with the Estates Commissioners with a view of having the estate divided as above indicated?

The Estates Commissioners have not acquired any untenanted land on this estate. The property was not sold to them, but was sold by the owner direct to the tenants under the Land Purchase Acts, and the holdings have been vested in the purchasing tenants in accordance with the purchase agreements signed by them. The Commissioners received several applications on behalf of the small tenants in the locality for the division of certain lands on the property amongst

asked the Chief Secretary if he will give particulars of the deductions from the Local Taxation Account for the county Kilkenny for the years ending 1909, 1910, 1911, 1912, and 1913 (March), showing the amounts deducted from each of the local authorities and the reasons for the deductions in each case; and whether any refund of the deductions has ever been made; and, if so, to what local authority?

submitted the following statement for each of the under-mentioned years ended 31st March, showing the deductions, or abatements, made from the Local Taxation (Ireland) Account in respect of (I.) expenditure incurred for medical and educational purposes in unions; (II.) the salaries paid to sanitary officers in rural and urban districts in county Kilkenny, pursuant to Section 58 (2) (a) (b), respectively, of the Local Government (Ireland) Act, 1898, as amended by Section 6 (1) of the Local Government (Ireland) Act, 1902; and (III.) the cost of maintenance of pauper lunatics.Note.—These abatements were made owing to the insufficiency of the amount paid under Section 58 of the Act of 1898 to the Local Taxation Account in each of the years in which an abatement was made to meet the sums payable thereout in the same period under the Section, as amended by the Act of 1902.

asked the Chief Secretary what amounts have been contributed to the Kerry County Council out of the Local Taxation Account in respect of the Tralee and Dingle Railway each year from 1900 to 1913; and what was the annual deficit for each of those years in respect of which these contributions were made?

The following statement shows the amounts paid out of the Local Taxation (Ireland) Account to the county council of Kerry in respect of the Tralee and Dingle Railway in each financial year from 1900–1 to 1912–13:—

asked the Chief Secretary why it is that a number of national school teachers in Ireland, about 150, have been promoted to a class which entitles them to increased salary, but they have, in fact, not received the increase and are in the position of enjoying promotion on paper only?

I would refer the hon. and learned Member to my reply to the similar question addressed to me on this subject by the hon. Member for North Westmeath on 31st March.

asked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland if he will state when he expects the rules and programme of the Intermediate Education Board for Ireland for the coming year to be laid upon the Table?

The Intermediate Education Board inform me that the rules and programme for the coming year are still under consideration, and they are, therefore, not at present in a position to say when they will be laid on the Table.

asked when the Annual Report of the Board of National Education, due in August last, will be published; and what is the reason for the delay in publishing it?

The Report has been returned to the Commissioners of National Education in order that a section of it, which had already been published in the Press by the authority of the Commissioners, might be deleted. The Commissioners have not yet submitted the amended Report to His Excellency.

asked who are the fourteen witnesses before the Committee on Irish Finance who have consented to the publication of their evidence; and when their evidence will be published?

The list is not yet finally settled, but it really is not necessary to give any list of names for the hon. Member's curiosity will be gratified very shortly by the publication of the evidence.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty the date of the tender for the R.F.A. oil tank steamer "Burma"; the amount of the tender; the date when it was accepted; the date of the contract; the date of the commencement of building; the date of completion of the contract; the total ultimate cost of the vessel beyond the contract price; and who superintended the building of the "Burma" and from what date?

The date of the final tender was 1st February, 1910, and the amount was £40,107 10s. It was accepted on 23rd May, 1910, and the contract date was 10th October, 1910. The vessel was completed on the 30th June, 1911, the total cost being £43,854. She was built under Lloyd's survey.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether his attention has been called to the fact that, by an order of the dress committee of the War Office, the Volunteer officer's decoration is to be worn after such medals as the Native Indian long-service medal and the police medal; and whether the Territorial decoration is to rank after the efficiency medal and after the medal for good shooting in the Navy?

The rules governing the order in which orders, decorations and medals are to be worn are laid down in regulations of which I will send the hon. Gentleman particulars.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether the Volunteer officer's decoration was made an order of chivalry by King Edward VII., and ranks after the Order of St. John of Jerusalem in England; and whether the Territorial decoration is also an order of chivalry, and intended to rank as such?

Neither the Volunteer officer's decoration nor the Territorial decoration are orders.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether, under Army Orders of 1st April, 1911, colour-sergeants appointed to the Territorial Force after 31st August, 1910, draw 3s. 6d. per diem pay of rank, while those colour-sergeants appointed to the Territorial Force before that day only receive 3s. per diem; and whether he will grant to all colour-sergeants serving with the Territorial Forces 3s. 6d. per diem, so that a few senior colour-sergeants shall not receive less pay than their juniors of the same rank while performing the same duties?

The reply to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. With regard to the second part I would refer the hon. and gallant Gentleman to the reply to a similar question put by the hon. and learned Gentleman the Member for West Edinburgh on 16th November, 1911.

asked the Secretary of State for War how many aeroplanes his Department possesses which are capable of flying to the Danish or Norwegian coast and returning without alighting?

None.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he is aware that in France a prize of £16,000 is being offered for an apparatus for securing the stability of aeroplanes; and if it is intended to stimulate invention in this country by similar means?

The reply to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. As regards the second part of the question a committee is now considering the subject.

asked the Secretary of State for War if the information in the possession of the Operations Directorate of the General Staff is to the effect that there are only 150 aeroplanes in the possession of the German Army; if he is aware that the total number of civil and military aeroplanes in Germany capable of rendering military service is between 600 and 700; and if he can now say that, taking the whole mobilised strength of the two nations, we have four times as many military aeroplanes in proportion as Germany?

The statement alluded to referred to figures published by the "Morning Post" and excluded any estimate of aeroplanes privately owned in either country. The German Government has not published any official figures of their present numbers, and I am not therefore in a position to add anything to the statement mentioned.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether his Department have any contract with the Hoffman Manufacturing Company, Limited, Chelmsford; and, if so, whether he will make inquiries into the wages and conditions of labour, in order to ascertain whether this firm are observing the Fair Wages Clause in their contract?

It is understood that a dispute is in progress at this firm's works on a general question, and without any special reference to an Army contract. In these circumstances it is not considered that the intervention of the War Department would lead to any useful result. The firm holds two small local orders of the value of a few shillings.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he will give the names and periods of tenure of office of the commanders-in-chief or inspectors-general, as the case may be, of the British Army between the years 1900 to 1913, both inclusive?

The information is as follows:—Commanders-in-Chief.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether any troops at present quartered at Enniskillen are to be moved to Belturbet, and for what purpose are the barracks at Belturbet being improved; is the headquarters of the 4th battalion Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers to be moved from Enniskillen to Belturbet or elsewhere; and is it proposed to make any use of the barracks at Bally-shannon?

The answer is in the negative.

asked what steps, if any, have been taken since October, 1912, to give to naturalised subjects of the Crown in the Dominion of Canada the same rights and privileges as those enjoyed by persons naturalised in the United Kingdom?

The proposed alteration in the status of persons naturalised in Canada cannot be effected without legislation both here and in the self-governing Dominions. The draft of the necessary legislation was returned by the Canadian Government in December with suggestions which involved alterations in the Bill, which was then recast. It is now before the Dominion Government awaiting their further reply.

asked whether the Census records (England and Wales) of 1861 and 1871 are available for proving the age of claimants for old age pensions; and, if so, where searches and copies of entries may be made; and what are the charges to the general public for certified extracts from the schedules?

The answer is in the negative.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether there is any diminution of the number of officers or of able seamen belonging to the Royal Naval Reserve in recent years; and if he can say what is the number of officers and able seamen now belonging to the Royal Naval Reserve?

The number of officers and seamen of the Royal Naval Reserve has been reduced gradually in recent years to the standard considered adequate for requirements. The present number of officers of the military branch is 1,250, and of leading seamen, seamen, and provisional seamen 10,500. There is no rating of able seaman in the Royal Naval Reserve.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he has received any complaints with respect to the number of hours worked by men on steam tugs in the Port of London; and whether he will cause inquiry to be made into the matter?

I have seen in the Press references to a meeting held in connection with the hours of labour of men engaged upon tugs, but no specific complaints upon the matter appear to have reached the Board of Trade.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been drawn to the fact that, whereas the total number of able seamen defined as such in the official statistics is 21,951 only, 5,579 of these are aliens; and whether he can say what would be the number of British able seamen left in the merchant service in case of a war when the British able seamen belonging to the Royal Naval Reserve would be called out for naval service?

The figures quoted by the hon. Member which appear to be taken from the Census of seamen return for April, 1911, include only the number of seamen rated as A.B., employed on the given day (3rd April, 1911), for which the Census was taken. These figures do not show the number of such seamen available and normally following the sea service. As the total number of Royal Naval Reserve men employed in the seamen ratings in British foreign-going ships is only about 1,500, the depletion of the merchant service as regards A.B.'s. would not be considerable in the circumstances assumed in the question.

asked the Postmaster-General if he will give separately for London and the provinces the net increase of telephone stations for the last five years expressed as a percentage on the total number of stations connected at the beginning of each year?

The net increase in telephone stations during the five years ended 31st December, 1912, was as follows:—

asked the Postmaster-General if his attention has been called to complaints of the inhabitants of Earl's Colne as to the defective post office accommodation; whether he is aware that the present post office is no better than it was 20 years ago, whilst the work passing through it has increased enormously in the interval, including the telephone; and whether better accommodation will be provided?

The accommodation at the Earl's Colne sub-post-office was considerably improved in 1901 when the office was moved to the present site, and the reports before me show that the premises afford ample accommodation for the business conducted.

asked the hon. Member for St. George's-in-the-East, as representing the First Commissioner of Works, whether Messrs. Pickford, Limited, are contractors to any Government Department; whether he is aware that no qualified veterinary surgeon is regularly employed by this firm to attend the horses; whether he is aware that men are employed by this firm to attend the horses; at 9 a.m. without pay, and that in case of refusal to do this unpaid work are subject to have another night's pay stopped, and that not more than one man is employed to water, clean, and feed fourteen horses between 4 a.m. and 8 a.m.; whether he is aware that men are employed from 4 a.m. till 12 noon, with an interval of forty minutes, and then again from 6 p.m. till 9 p.m. at the rate of payment of 3s. 4d. a day; and whether these conditions of employment are in accord with the requirements of the Department in respect of the Fair-Wages Clause?

The Office of Works has no contract with Messrs. Pick-ford. The First Commissioner has no information as to whether this firm is employed by other Government Departments.

asked the hon. Member for St. George's-in-the-East, as representing the First Commissioner of Works, whether any orders for the manufacture of postmen's trimmings, messengers' badges, and other work are being executed by Messrs. Hess and Company, Limited, of 44, Bethnal Green Road, trading as Hicmott and Company; whether he is aware that workers for this firm are employed from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, excepting for the dinner and tea intervals, at wages in some cases of less than £1 a week; whether he is aware that this firm employs girls aged sixteen at 5s. a week for 52½ hours' work; whether these conditions are in accord with the Fair-Wages Clause; and whether he is aware that, in order to avoid the payment to girls of a minimum of 3d. an hour after one year's experience on Government work, this firm arranges that no girl is kept on Government work for more than twelve months?

The firm hold contracts for the supply of caps, shakos, and badges for the Post Office, but they have not yet begun to make the badges. I have caused full inquiry to be made, and can find nothing to show that the conditions are in breach of the Fair-Wages Clause. The hours of work are fifty-two and a half per week. The men are being paid the recognised standard rates, and most of the women and girls earn considerably more than the minimum of 3d. an hour prescribed under the contract. Three young girls only are paid wages as low as five shillings a week, and these girls are learners. Since wages not less than the minimum rate are, in fact, being paid there can be no ground for the statement that, in order to avoid payment of the minimum wage, the firm arrange that no girl is kept on Government work for more than twelve months.

asked whether any limitation to the number of the firms contracting for orders to the Stationery Office is permitted; whether any extension of orders has been entrusted to any firm without their being open to tender; whether there is any house doing work in London, except Messrs. Willmontt, who work under the fifty hours per week limitation which has secured any orders; and what precautions are taken to avoid the letting out of work to firms which employ cheap women labour, and semi-skilled and underpaid binders?

The only limitation in regard to firms contracting is that they shall be competent as regards establishment, etc., to carry out orders entrusted to them, and that they shall observe the Fair-Wages Resolution of the House, which provides for the payment of the standard rate of wages in the trade. In certain special circumstances, for instance extreme urgency, orders must necessarily be given without specified competition, but in such instances the prices are based upon previous competition. Only those houses in the printing and binding trades in London which work fifty hours a week or under on Stationery Office work are regarded as fulfilling the Fair-Wages Clause.