asked the Secretary for War whether any complaints have been received by commanding officers against the deduction of insurance tax from the pay of soldiers?

No complaints from soldiers have been received in the War Office.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Bill to amend the Insurance Act will provide for free contracting out, for real choice of medical attendant, and for exclusion of married women outworkers?

The answer is in the negative. The first and third proposals of the hon. Member are open to the gravest objections; the second is already provided for in the present Act.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether there is any obligation on county health committees to make payments, in advance or otherwise, to medical aid associations, approved under the Act, on account of members of approved societies who desire to take their medical benefit through such associations; and, if so, whether such payments ought to be made on the same dates as those made to panel doctors?

An insurance committee may contribute towards the expenses of the treatment furnished by any Approved Institution to insured persons, who are members of the institution. Before making any contribution towards the expenses of the treatment furnished by any Approved Institution, the insurance committee will have to satisfy itself as to the cost of the treatment furnished by the institution, by inspection of the audited accounts, or such other evidence as may be considered necessary. Subject to this and to a guarantee that the rules of the institution will comply with the Medical Regulations and the conditions of the Parliamentary Grant, it will be open to the insurance committee to make payments on account of the sum to be ultimately contributed to the institution on any date that may be convenient.

asked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether he has yet received a reply from the Irish Education Committee to his request that they should admit the Press to their sittings; and will he place upon the Table of the House the minutes of all the meetings of this Committee when this question came up for discussion and decision before them?

The Committee adhere to the view at which they have arrived after long and careful consideration, that it is not desirable that the Press should be admitted to their inquiry. They have been able to obtain a great deal of evidence bearing on the teachers' claims and grievances which will very shortly be published, and I would ask the hon. Member not to criticise the action of the Committee until he has had an opportunity of examining its results. The Committee will make their report in due course, and I am not prepared to ask them to anticipate it by laying on the Table the minutes of their discussion on the particular point referred to in the question.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland how many acres of untenanted land have been acquired by the Estates Commissioners in county Cavan for evicted tenants, giving the average price paid per acre; do the Commissioners propose acquiring further lands in Cavan; and, if so, will he state the number of acres and the present position of the negotiations or proceedings?

In the distribution of untenanted land acquired by the Estates Commissioners in the county Cavan they have allotted some 485 acres to evicted tenants, and the average price thereof works out at about £14 an acre. These figures are exclusive of Cavan evicted tenants provided by the Commissioners with holdings on lands acquired in adjoining counties and of evicted tenants reinstated with the assistance of the Commissioners on estates in Cavan, which were sold by the owners direct to the purchasing tenants under the Irish Land Acts, 1903–9. Proceedings are at present pending for the sale to the Commissioners of some 530 acres of untenanted land in the county Cavan, but the Commissioners are not in a position at present to state how much of this land may be allotted to evicted tenants, as in its allotment, when acquired, the wants and circumstances of the occupiers of small holdings in the neighbourhood will have to be considered.

asked whether the application of Mr. Daniel Courtenay, Clahananode, Castlegregory, an evicted tenant on the Ventry estate, was inquired into; whether the Estates Commissioners promised him assistance; and when it is proposed to deal with his case?

The Estates Commissioners have further considered Courtenay's application, and are not prepared to take any action in the matter.

asked on what grounds the Local Government Board rejected the claim of John Bovenizer, of Kilfinane, county Limerick, to an old age pension; was the pension officer satisfied that the applicant was not seventy; whether the date of his father's marriage, according to the register, goes back more than seventy-five years and the old inhabitants of the town certified that John Bovenizer was the oldest child; and, in view of this case, will an inspector be sent down to look into the matter?

John Bovenizer's claim for an old age pension was rejected on the grounds that he was unable to furnish sufficiently definite proof of age. It appears that his parents were married in August, 1838, but the claimant alleged that he was the second child of the marriage and not the eldest, as stated in the question. It is a fact that the pension officer reported that Bovenizer looked about seventy years of age. As the Local Government Board have decided the claim in question, they cannot reopen consideration of the case, but it is open to the claimant to make a further claim if he considers he has any fresh evidence to bring forward in support of it.

asked the Chief Secretary if he is aware that a Bill known as the Belfast Corporation Bill has been before the Local Legislation Committee of this House since the beginning of this Session; will he say if the Local Government Board of Ireland, or any other Irish Board, has or is considering Reports dealing with this Bill; will he state the cause of delay in this and on every other occasion when Reports are required from Irish Boards for Private Bills; and is he aware of the different methods pursued by English Boards and the consequent impression made on English officials by what appears to be the absolute indifference of Irish Boards in dealing with Irish Bills?

Reports of Public Departments upon Private Bills are not required until the Bills have reached the Committee stage. The Belfast Corporation Bill, to which the hon. Member refers, was read a second time and committed on the 17th March last, and the Local Government Board's Report to Parliament was issued five days later, namely, on the 22nd March. The day fixed for the consideration of the Bill by the Local Legislation Committee was the 23rd of this month. There was no delay on the part of the Local Government Board in the present case, nor am I aware of any grounds whatever for the charge of neglect of duty in this particular which the hon. Member makes against Irish Departments generally.

asked the Chief Secretary if the claims for Grants-in-Aid of Denis M'Loughlin, Hugh M'Hugh, and James Dolan, evicted tenants on the Tottenham estate, couny Leitrim, have been considered; and, if not, will he say when this will be done?

The reply to the first paragraph of the question is in the affirmative. The Estates Commissioners have approved of grants being made to James Dolan and Anne McHugh (who holds in trust for Hugh McHugh) to assist them in working their holdings. There are two purchasing tenants on the estate named Denis McLoughlin, neither of whom would appear to be an evicted tenant. The Com- missioners have approved of small grants being made to these men to assist them in repairing the buildings on their holdings.

asked the Chief Secretary how many schools are there in Ireland with an average attendance of seventy and fifty, respectively; how many classed teachers are there in the service of the national board; what percentage of the whole body are at present recognised and paid as first-of-first and first-of-second, respectively; what percentage of the whole body would be in those two classes if all schools in Ireland with averages of seventy and fifty had teachers recognised as first-of-first and first-of-second; and, under the rules of the Board, how many years does it take a teacher entering the service since 1901 to reach first-of-first?

The Commissioners of National Education inform me that excluding convent and monastery national schools paid on a capitation basis, the respective numbers were 1,410 schools with an average attendance of at least seventy, and 3,411 schools with an average attendance of at least fifty pupils. On the 31st December, 1911, there were in the service of the Commissioners 13,033 teachers in the various grades. The percentage of the whole body of teachers who are at present recognised and paid in the first section of the first grade and second section of the first grade is 4.5 per cent. and 6.2 per cent. respectively. If all schools with an average attendance of at least seventy had teachers of the first section of the first grade, and all schools with averages of fifty but under seventy, had teachers of the second section of the first grade, the percentages would be 10.8 and 15.3 respectively. Promotions of teachers depend upon many considerations and qualifications. It would be very difficult to say how many years it would take a teacher entering the service since 1901 to reach the first section of the first grade.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether he expects his scheme for the distribution of £40,000 for the payment of secondary teachers in Ireland to be available for the year ended June, 1913; and whether, seeing that it was promised more than twelve months ago, and that it is the first Grant ever made by the Treasury towards secondary education in Ireland, he will say who has been responsible for the delay?

Until the conditions of the scheme have been finally settled and have been complied with, no Grant can be made. As I have already explained, the delay is due to the difficulty of arriving at a scheme which will effect the object in view of improving the position of the teachers without imposing undue restrictions on the headmasters.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he can give the number of prosecutions and convictions of firms in the first three months of 1912 and 1913, respectively, for breaches of the Factory and Workshops Act known as time-cribbing in the towns of Oldham, Bolton, Rochdale, Ashton-under-Lyne, and Blackburn, separately, together with the amount of fines and costs in each case.

The particulars desired by my hon. Friend are as follows:—

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether it is proposed to extend the torpedo factory at Greenock; if so, whether the extension will include the whole of Battery Park, and, if not, how much of it; whether the land has yet been acquired by his Department; and what were the price and acreage of the land so acquired?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative, but the proposed extension will not necessitate the acquisition of any additional land.

asked the Secretary of State for War what is the present complement of officers of the 1st North Midland Field Ambulance, and what should be the complement under full strength?

The establishment of officers is ten, and the strength on 1st April was eight.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he is aware that Lieutenant Dawson, of the North Midland Field Ambulance, sustained a severe injury as the result of his horse bolting during manœuvres in Locko Park in July last and during the execution of his military duty; what pay has he received since the day of the accident; and what pay would be due to him had the Army Council granted the usual pay under paragraph 661a of the Regulations for the Territorial Force, 1912?

This accident did not occur during manœuvres but on theofficer's return home after taking part in the field exercises; he was permitted to return in advance of his unit owing to the exigencies of professional duty. In these circumstances the injury could not be regarded as having been sustained in and by the performance of military duty, and the Regulations do not therefore admit the issue of pay while disabled. Had the charge been admissible he might have received some sixty-two days pay at 14s. a day. Medical expenses, however, to the amount of £23 16s. 2d. have been paid under paragraph 663a of the Territorial Force Regulations.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether he can give the House any information regarding attempts to derail trains in India during the current month?

On the 2nd, 3rd and 6th April successive attempts were made unsuccessfully near Berhampore to derail trains on the Bengal-Nagpur railway by putting boulders on the line. On the 10th April a goods train on the East India railway was derailed near Kurja by the removal of a rail; no one was injured. On the 14th a mail train ran into boulders on the Eastern Bengal railway. No evidence has been obtained as to the identity or motives of the guilty persons. Such attempts I am informed are often attributable to quarrels in which gangmen are concerned.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he has any official information from the Persian Government to the effect that the troops have inflicted adequate punishment on the tribesmen responsible for the shooting of Captain Eckford?

The answer is in the negative.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether he is aware that British officers of the Indian Army serving under the Indian Foreign Department in Southern Persia are receiving allowances in addition to their pay, vary according to their rank, from 100 rupees per month for junior officers to 400 rupees per month for senior officers, but that officers of the Central India Horse who have been serving at Shiraz and Bushire have received no extra allowances of any kind to meet the heavy additional expenses they have incurred owing to the treble rates that they have to pay for transport, food, stores, and wages as compared with the ordinary rates in India; whether he is aware that the men of the Indian Cavalry who are attached to the Consular escorts get the whole of their pay without deductions, with free food and clothing for themselves and free food for their horses, but that the men of the Central India Horse, serving alongside, have to pay the whole of their usual deductions and pay for the food of their horses; and whether he will bring these matters to the notice of the Government of India with a view to improving the conditions of service for the officers and men of the Central India Horse?

The whole question of compensation to the officers and men of the Central India Horse in respect of the additional expenses incurred by them while serving in Persia is under consideration, and I will therefore gladly do as my hon. and gallant Friend suggests in the last part of the question.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether the Government has been asked to rule that all Government contractors and engineers must take a number of Indian students into their employment as apprentices without payment of premium; and, if so, whether the Government proposes to accede to demands of this description?

A suggestion to this effect has been made in a memorial addressed to the Secretary of State by Indian students of engineering in this country. The memorial is under consideration. The Committee appointed last year, with Sir Theodore Morison as chairman, to inquire as to the training of Indian technical students considered the matter, and their views are expressed in the Report, which will shortly be published.

asked the Under-Secretary for India whether Lord Sanderson's Commission recently reported that Indian indentured immigrants into British Colonies were well treated, well found, and well satisfied with the conditions under which they lived and laboured, while their labours were beneficial to the Colonies into which they immigrated; and, if so, for what reason and at what cost to the Indian taxpayer a new inquiry is being conducted by Messrs. M'Neill and Chimnian Lal?

If the hon. Member will refer to the Report of the Committee he will find that it definitely recommended a system of periodical visits of Indian officers to the Colonies which import Indian labour. The Committee found that such inquiries and reports benefited the Colonies and emigrants. It is not yet possible to estimate the exact cost of the inquiry by Mr. M'Neill and Chimnian Lal, but the Secretary of State is satisfied that the expenditure involved by acting on the Sanderson Committee's recommendation in this matter will be fully justified.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether the Government of India has yet decided to grant to the Indian police a pension after twenty-five years' service?

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for East Leicestershire on the 7th February.

asked the Secretary for Scotland whether he has considered the proposal that the funds of the Trustee Savings Banks and the Post Office Savings Banks should be used for the purpose of financing agricultural credit societies in Scotland?

I have communicated my hon. Friend's proposal to the Treasury, and am informed that there are serious financial objections to it.

asked the Lord Advocate whether he can inform the House when the promised Bill dealing with sheriff clerks depute in Scotland will be introduced?

I am not at present in a position to state when the Bill to which my hon. Friend refers will be introduced.

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether he is aware that the policy adopted by certain boards of guardians, and sanctioned by the Local Government Board, of paying vaccination officers fixed salaries instead of by fees will tend to create sinecures for these officials as the result of the marked increase in the number of declarations of conscientious objection to vaccination; and whether he will consider the desirability of preventing such sinecures being created?

The remuneration of vaccination officers by salary instead of by fees has been sanctioned in a few cases, but I do not at present anticipate that it will have the result suggested in the question.

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether he has received a resolution from the North Meols parish council praying that steps should be taken to substitute some method of secret voting at the triennial election of parish councillors for the existing regulations; and if he proposes to take any action in the matter?

I have received the resolution referred to. As stated in reply to previous questions, the amendment of the existing regulations for the election of parish councillors is a matter which I have under consideration.

asked the President of the Board of Trade, whether his attention has been directed to the annual reports issued by the Imperial Statistical Office of Germany since 1909 on the business returns of German joint stock companies (Die Geschäftsergebnisse der deutschen Aktiengesellschaften); and whether he has considered the advisability of an inquiry into the value of such reports and the possibility of providing useful and trustworthy information, in this or other ways, as to the rate of profit of industrial concerns in this country?

I will have the matter carefully looked into.

also asked the President of the Board of Trade what progress has been made with the inquiry into the cost of living; whether this inquiry is intended to result in the regular periodical production of an index number of working-class expenditure; and whether he has considered the desirability of producing such an index number at quarterly intervals for each of the great industrial districts of the United Kingdom?

This inquiry is making satisfactory progress, and I hope it may be found possible as one of its results to publish an index number of retail prices at more frequent intervals than at present. I do not think it would be feasible to collect particulars as to house rent at quarterly intervals, but I am considering whether a quarterly index number of retail prices of articles of working-class consumption could be published without undue labour.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he can state the reason why no representative of the officers and men of the mercantile marine has been appointed to the Advisory Committee which will assist the British representatives at the International Conference on the Load-line; and whether, in view of the fact that the safety of British sailors is dependent largely on the load-line, he will see his way to appoint an additional person who will represent their interests?

As I have already stated, the questions and calculations involved in the determination of the freeboard of vessels are of a highly technical character, and the Load-line Committee has been so constituted as best to deal with these questions. It appeared to mo that it would be inconsistent with the character of the proposed investigation to form a Committee representative of particular interests. It will, of course, be open to the interests concerned to furnish evidence to the Committee.

asked the Postmaster-General why the expenditure on the Marconi Select Committee chargeable to the Post Office Vote cannot be separated from other items of expenditure?

The work done be the Post Office in connection with the Marconi Select Committee has been done by the ordinary staff in conjunction with their ordinary duties, and no record has been made of the time involved. In these circumstances the cost cannot be estimated with any approach to accuracy.

asked the Postmaster-General whether the telegraphic wires to the North and West of England and Scotland are all underground; if so, how long have these telegraph wires been so carried, and how many cases of breakdown have occurred during the period referred to; and are any telegraphic wires to Ireland carried underground, and, if so, which, and will he state the number of cases of breakdown which have occurred, respectively, to the systems known as underground and overland?

The hon. Member is under a misapprehension in supposing that all the wires to the North and West of England and Scotland are underground, and it is hardly possible therefore to make the suggested comparison.

asked the Attorney-General what is the number of the wills of living persons which were deposited for safe custody at Somerset House under Section 91 of the Court of Probate Act, 1857, during the year 1912?

The number of wills so deposited during the year 1912 was sixteen.