asked the Secretary to the Treasury how many doctors are now upon the panel for Stafford district; what is the average number of persons upon their lists under the National Insurance Act; and how many persons under the Act remain as yet unallotted to any panel doctor?

There are five doctors on the panel for the Stafford district; the average number of persons on their lists is 1,378; and there are approximately 3,000 persons as yet unallotted.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether he is aware that a considerable number of insured persons in St. Andrews desire to make their own arrangements for the provision of medical benefit under Part I. of the National Insurance Act; if he is aware that the insurance committee have issued a circular letter refusing to allow any of these people to make their own arrangements; and can he say why they are deprived of the free choice of doctor, as promised them by the Chancellor of the Exchequer and provided by the Act?

The insured persons in this, as in other districts, have free choice among all the doctors who have accepted service under the Act. This is what was promised and is provided by the Act, Section 15 (2) (c) of which confers upon the insured person the right of selecting the practitioner by whom he wishes to be attended and treated from the appropriate list. Parliament definitely decided that the discretion in permitting insured persons to make their own arrangements should be vested in the local insurance committees, and individual applicants must therefore satisfy the committee that the grounds on which they ask for permission are sufficient.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his attention has been drawn to the fact that members of approved societies who were of the age of sixty-five or more on 15th July last, or who through permanent disablement at that date could not become insured persons under the National Insurance Act, will have to pay increased contributions for medical attendance and treatment, unless the State pays the increased cost brought about by the operation of the National Insurance Act, inasmuch as the cost of medical attendance and medicine for insured persons has apparently been agreed to at 9s. per member per annum, and doctors are refusing to accept the said persons, over sixty-five or disabled, at a lower rate than that paid for insured members; and, if so, can he see his way to arranging for the State to pay the difference in cost?

I am afraid I have nothing to add to the answers which have already been given to similar questions on this subject.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether he will consider the desirability of making the insurance books the same size as the insurance cards so that both can go into the same sized envelope; and whether he will arrange that the member's name should be placed in such a part of the book that by using a window envelope the trouble of addressing the envelope could be avoided?

The currency of the insurance books at present in use by societies expires on 12th October, 1913. The form of the book for use after that date has not yet been decided, and I shall be glad to consider the suggestions made by the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether he is aware that approved societies are having to make use of their private funds to meet administration expenses, and that some of the secretaries have received only one quarter's salary for three quarters' service owing to the payments on account of administration by the Commissioners being insufficient; and whether, as more money on these accounts cannot be obtained until the auditors have done their work, steps will be taken to expedite the audit?

Approved societies can elect either to give security, in which case the funds required for expenses of administration are within the maximum allowable for administration, issued to the society in advance or to finance themselves for extraneous sources in the first instance, in which case the amount expended (again within the maximum available) is refunded to them at monthly intervals without delay, subject to a reserve pending audit. Arrangements have been made by which the audit of societies which finance themselves is given priority, and I am not aware that any undue delay has taken place. If, however, the hon. Member has any particular case of difficulty or hardship in his mind, I should be glad if he would let me know.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury how many female insured persons there are in approved societies under the national health insurance scheme, and what proportion are in societies confined as to membership to the female sex?

The numbers of women contributors under the National Insurance Act in approved societies accepting both men and women, and in approved societies accepting women only, are 2,554,000 and 1,332,000, respectively.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury what is the number of Post Office depositors, as shown by the latest information of the Insurance Commissioners, for the whole of the United Kingdom; and how many insured persons are in the various approved societies classified as follows, namely: trade unions, friendly societies (old established), dividing, National Deposit, Holloway, Industrial Assurance, collecting, rural workers, and miscellaneous?

According to the latest returns the numbers of deposit contributors and of members of friendly societies in the United Kingdom are 489,757 and 13,109,520, respectively. The latter are not classified under the exact categories sug- gested in the question, but the following figures give the membership of the main types of societies:—

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether there is sufficient local accommodation at present for the tuberculous patients under the care of the Northamptonshire Insurance Committee; and, if not, whether he will state what steps, if any, have been, or are being, taken by local authorities in Northamptonshire to avail themselves of part of the sanatorium capital Grant.

I understand that the local accommodation is not sufficient for the treatment of all the tuberculous insured persons recommended by the Northamptonshire Insurance Committee. The committee are not, however, precluded from making arrangements for their admission to institutions in other areas, and I understand that the Northamptonshire County Council are now considering a scheme for the provision of additional accommodation locally.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether his attention has been called to the resolutions of the executive council of the Hearts of Oak Benefit Society in reference to a circular, which they had received from the National Insurance Commissioners in regard to the Commissioners' proposals for election of representatives of insured persons, protesting against Clause 2 of the circular, which allows an approved society to appoint and nominate persons, other than members of that society, who may also be non-resident in the area covered by the insurance committee to which such persons are elected, and against Clause 18, which leaves the selection of representatives of deposit contributors to the Commissioners, the local authority, and the medical profession; whether he is aware of the desire of the executive committee that (Clause 12) every approved society should be furnished with figures showing the total number of insured persons resident in the area of each insurance committee and the number of deposit contributors resident in that area; and whether he will state what action he proposes to take in view of the representations made by the executive council?

I have received a copy of the resolution referred to. The Commissioners see no reason to deprive societies of the option, which they need not exercise, and which, in the case of certain types of societies, may clearly be a valuable privilege, of nominating or appointing persons who are not members of the society or are resident just outside the boundary of a particular area. The society's objection to the method of appointment of the representatives of deposit contributors was that it was inconsistent with the rights conferred on these contributors by Section 59 of the Act, which contemplates that they are to appoint their own representatives in areas where they have formed an association. This right is fully secured by the Regulations. The Commissioners are forwarding to each approved society a statement showing the number of members of the society in each committee area, together with other figures which may be of use to them in connection with the election. The criticisms were based upon an early copy of a circular, which has since been discussed by the Advisory Committee and modified in accordance with suggestions made by them.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware that dissatisfaction exists amongst sub-postmasters and postmistresses in Ireland owing to the small remuneration which they receive for work done under the National Insurance Act; and when he proposes to increase the allowance which they now receive?

The present arrangement is provisional only. As was recently announced in this House, the whole matter is under consideration, and it is hoped that it will shortly be possible to arrive at a settlement.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury if it is competent for an insurance committee to exclude the Press from the general or full meetings of the committee, as apart from sub-committee meetings, having regard to the fact that part-public moneys are being administered?

The Insurance Commissioners have not issued any regulations on this subject, but they have suggested that insurance committees should apply to their meetings the provisions with regard to the admission of the Press to meetings of local authorities contained in the Local Authorities (Admission of the Press to Meetings) Act, 1908.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether he is aware that the representative of the Board of Customs and Excise stated, in the evidence taken before the Committee on the Customs Waterguard Service and the Customs Watchers, on 8th November, 1911, that records of all overtime receipts were kept by the Department, and that returns of overtime received from all sources could be prepared easily; and whether, in view of this statement, he can now have supplied the figures as to the average amount of overtime per man received by the London Customs watchers during the month of January, 1911, and during the month of January of the current year, respectively?

The evidence referred to does not bear the exact interpretation placed on it by the hon. Member. As the hon. Member was informed on the 16th ultimo, the figures he desires are not available, and could only be obtained with difficulty and a disproportionate expenditure of time and labour.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether he is now in a position to state when the Report of the Departmental Committee on Allowances (vide Report Cd. 6290) is likely to be issued?

I fear I cannot yet add anything to the answer I gave to the hon. Member on the 21st ultimo.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury the amount of profits assessable to Income Tax accruing from coal mines situate within the counties of York, Lancaster, Cheshire, Derbyshire, Notts, Stafford, Salop, Leicester, and Warwick, such counties forming the district commonly styled the federated area, for the five financial years commencing 1908–9 and ending 31st March, 1912–13?

The gross assessments made in each year are as follows:—

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether, in view of the desirability of stimulating public interest in the proceedings in Parliament and of enabling the electors to have full knowledge of those proceedings, he will make arrangements whereby copies of the Parliamentary Debates might be furnished daily to public libraries desirous of having them?

I am not aware of any general public demand for this concession, and I doubt whether the advantages to be gained would be worth the considerable expense involved if extensive use were made of the suggested facilities.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether the attendants of the Wallace Collection have to work six full days a week; and, if so, whether he will arrange that they should have one half-day holiday a week?

I understand that attendants of the Wallace Collection work six full days a week, but neither their hours, which terminate at about 4.15 p.m. in certain winter months, nor their work are very exacting. The second part of the question is one, in the first place, for the trustees of the Wallace Collection.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Super-tax figures furnished by him, if he will state for each of the years there named the amounts of income assessed before deduction of the £3,000 abatements; and if he will give for each of the years an analysis of the incomes assessed in the following categories: incomes over £5,000 and not over £7,500, over £7,500 and not over £10,000, over £10,000 and not over £12,500, over £12,500 and not over £15,000, over £15,000 and not over £20,000, over £20,000 and not over £30,000, over £30,000 and not over £50,000, and over £50,000?

The amounts of income assessed (before deduction of the £3,000 abatements); up to the 31st March, 1913, are as follows:—

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer when a decision may be expected as to the provision of a regular Saturday half-holiday for Civil servants; what representations, if any, have been received from associations of Civil servants on this matter; and whether he proposes to receive a deputation representative of any or all of these associations before arriving at a final decision?

I hope to be able to announce a decision upon the matter before the close of the Session. Representations have been received upon it from the association of second division clerks, and will be considered. I am not disposed to think that any further oral representations are likely to prove necessary.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether there are thirty unattached surveyors of Customs and Excise of Excise origin; whether they are all senior in the super- vising grade to any other unattached surveyors; whether they are qualified to be permanently appointed to the charge of vacant Excise districts; and whether it is intended to carry out the proposals of the chairman of the Board of Customs and Excise made to the Hobhouse Committee that unattached surveyors should be appointed to permanent surveyorships in the order of their seniority in the grade?

There are thirty unattached surveyors of Excise origin who, during the transitional stages of amalgamation, have been placed in the new surveyor grade at an earlier date than other unattached surveyors. No statement can be made as to their qualifications for permanent appointment to districts, or as to the order in which such appointments will be made, but the hon. Member will see from my answer to the very similar question asked by him on the 30th ultimo that such appointments are only made by the Board of Customs and Excise after full consideration of all the circumstances of each case.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, as a result of his conferences with the Minister for Education, he is now in a position to announce that an addition is to be made to the sum allocated to assist educational authorities to efficiently carry out their duties in necessitous school areas?

The Government are now giving their most careful attention to the question of Education Grants from the Exchequer to local authorities, but in the meantime they fear they do not see their way to authorise any extension of the Grant to necessitous school authorities.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will state the total yield from retail licences for on-consumption in London County and City for the year ended 31st March, 1913?

I regret that, for the reasons explained in the reply which I gave the right hon. Gentleman the Member for East Worcestershire on the 1st instant, the information asked for cannot be given.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether he is aware that it is now three years since negotiations for the compulsory acquisition of the Dobb estate, county Kildare, under the provisions of the Land Act, 1909, were commenced, and that the final offer has not yet been issued; can he say what is the cause of the delay in the proceedings; is he aware that this estate is a congested estate, and that there is an abundance of untenanted land in the neighbourhood of the estate which is capable of purchase and of being applied to the relief of congestion in the district; is he aware that much misery prevails amongst the poorer tenants on the estate from floods, and that their small crops and turf were totally ruined last year through that cause; and will he take steps to hasten the purchase of the estate and such untenanted lands as may be necessary for the proper settlement of the tenants thereof?

The owner has not instituted proceedings before the Estates Commissioners for the sale of this estate under the Land Purchase Acts, but at their request he supplied them with a map and particulars, and they have had a preliminary inspection made. The Commissioners have not yet decided as to whether or not they will make an offer to purchase in this case, but it will be considered by them, due regard being had to the circumstances and to the claims of other estates which are pending before them.

asked whether the untenanted land on the estate of Lord Massy, at Castleconnell, has yet been acquired by the Commissioners; and, if so, when will it be distributed?

The reply to the first portion of the question is in the negative. The Estates Commissioners hope to be in a position to issue their formal proposal to purchase these lands at an early date, but until their proposal has been accepted by the vendor and the lands acquired by them they cannot make any statement as to their distribution.

asked when the untenanted land on the estate of Sir Charles Barrington, at Coolnahilla, Murroe, county Limerick, will be distributed?

The owner has intimated his willingness to accept the Estates Commissioners' estimated price for these lands, and the Commissioners recently issued their formal proposal to purchase them. When this proposal has been accepted and they have acquired the lands, the Commissioners will proceed to allot them as rapidly as practicable.

asked whether the estate of Lord Massy, at Aherlow, county Tipperary, has yet been inspected with a view to having the vesting orders issued; and, if not, will care be taken to have the farms of William Hanly, of Ballygeana, Galbally, and three others who have not signed purchase agreements, valued, and not allow the sale to be carried through until they get their farms at a reasonable price, their land being much more highly rented than any others on the property?

This estate is the subject of proceedings for sale direct by the owner to the tenants under the Irish Land Act, 1903, and has not yet been reached in order of priority on the principal register of direct sales. When it is being dealt with the cases of any tenants who have not signed agreements to purchase their holdings will be inquired into by the Estates Commissioners.

asked whether Mr. R. Vesey Stoney has lodged with the Congested Districts Board maps and papers relating to his property at Mulranny, county Mayo, with a view to a sale thereof through the Board?

The maps and documents in connection with this estate have been lodged with the Congested Districts Board, and they are at present in correspondence with the agent regarding the purchase of the property.

asked the Chief Secretary whether the Congested Districts Board has received any intimation from the Earl of Leitrim as to his intention to sell his Donegal estate to the tenants; have any maps been lodged with the Board on behalf of the landlord, and, if so, what is the surveyor's name who prepared the same; what are his qualifications for acting as a land surveyor, and on what date were those maps lodged; whether the Board received a memorial from the tenants, praying to become purchasers of their holdings; and what is the cause of the delay in inspecting this estate?

The Congested Districts Board have been informed that the Earl of Leitrim proposes to lodge with them the maps and documents necessary for a preliminary inspection of his county Donegal estate, but they have not so far been received. The Board have received numerous communications from the tenants and their representatives asking them to purchase the property.

asked the Chief Secretary what is the alleged nature and character of the holdings on the Lord Gough estate, Gort, county Galway, which prevent the Estates Commissioners from conferring at present the benefits of purchase on the town tenants; can he supply the number and names of the town occupiers whose buildings, from their alleged nature and character, embarrass the Estates Commissioners and prevent them from dealing simultaneously with the town and agricultural portions of the estate; and whether it is proposed to allow the agricultural portions of the estate to go through before dealing with the town holdings?

The houses in Gort, which are subject to rents payable to Lord Gough, are in many cases held under fee farm grants, and long leases, and in a number of cases sub-let to monthly, weekly, and other tenants, and do not, in the opinion of the Estates Commissioners, afford security for advances under the Land Purchase Acts. The Commissioners do not think it desirable to furnish the detailed information asked for in the question.

asked the Chief Secretary whether he will take some steps to have the small property of Lord Cork, situate at Kilmoiley, purchased for the benefit of the tenants, the present agent being Mr. Barrington, 58, South Mall, Cork?

Inquiries will be made by the Congested Districts Board as to whether the owner would be prepared to negotiate for a sale of the property mentioned through them.

asked the Chief Secretary (1) whether he is aware of the state of congestion which exists on the Wakely estate, Mountshannon, county Clare; is he aware that a gentleman named Bulger grabbed the only grazing farm on this estate some years ago and now proposes to purchase it in the joint names of his brother and himself through the Congested Districts Board; whether, before sanction is given to the purchase, an inquiry will be instituted as to the tenure under which Mr. Bulger holds his farm; (2) if he will call the attention of the Congested Districts Board to the fact that the uneconomic tenants on the Wakely estate, Mountshannon, are about to be deprived of the conacre and other accommodation which they formerly enjoyed on the Clounty grass farm on this estate through the sale by the Board of the Clounty farm to a gentleman named Bulger; seeing that the sale of this farm to Mr. Bulger would stereotype the acute congestion which exists in the district, whether he will make immediate representations to the Board in the matter; (3) if the attention of the Estates Commissioners has been directed to the state of congestion which exists on the Wakely estate, Mountshannon, county Clare; is he aware that a large grass farm known as the Clounty farm, on the estate, which formerly served as an accommodation farm for the congests of the districts, is about being sold to two brothers named Bulger; whether he is aware that special evidence was given before the Dudley Commission, proving that the purchase of this farm by the Commissioners was absolutely essential to enlarge the holdings of the small tenants as well as to secure for them a right of way to their homes; and whether, in view of the urgency and importance of the matter, he will call the attention of the Estates Commissioners to the entire circumstances?

The Estates Commissioners inform me that Henry and Denis Bulger appear to have been made tenants in 1905 by the owner of the property of certain lands on this estate which had formerly been in his hands, and in 1907 they signed purchase agreements under the Irish Land Act, 1903, to purchase these lands from him. The owner at the request of the Commissioners has expressed his willingness to sell the estate, portion of which is congested, to them, including some sixty-six acres of land in his own occupation for purposes of distribution, and the property will be dealt with by the Commissioners in order of priority. The estate has not been offered for sale to the Congested Districts Board, and they have no information regarding the matters referred to in the questions.

asked the Chief Secretary whether he is aware that the Dungarvan board of guardians propose to make a special contract to board and lodge, in a portion of the building constituting the workhouse, for 4s. per week over seventy old men and women who are entitled to old age pensions; whether the Local Government Board will sanction the action of the guardians on condition that the quarters assigned to the old age pensioners are not to be considered as a portion of the workhouse and that the board and maintenance are not to be considered as given to the pensioners as inmates but as a matter of contract between these old persons and the guardians; whether he will see that no question is raised as to the right of these persons to receive pensions by reason of the fact that they reside in a portion of the workhouse building; and whether this system has already been adopted by other boards of guardians in Ireland with the sanction of the Local Government Board?

The Dungarvan board of guardians had under consideration a proposal of the nature indicated in the question, but, as I have already pointed out, under the Old Age Pensions Act, 1908, maintenance in a workhouse or 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. The reply to the last paragraph of the question is in the negative.

asked when will the two Returns ordered by the House on 14th February, 1913, at the request of the hon. Member for North Kerry, in connection with Labourers' Cottages (Ireland) be circulated for the use of Members?

The preparation of the Returns in question is being carried on as rapidly as possible, and they will be presented about the middle of June.

asked the Chief Secretary if he can explain the delay in paying the salary to the female assistant in the Brosna boys' school, county Kerry?

The Commissioners of National Education inform me that the delay in paying the salary to this teacher is owing to necessary inquiries as to her health, age, and antecedents.

asked the Chief Secretary whether in the case of Mrs. Margaret Kerin, of Knockeenahone girls' school, whose appointment as junior assistant mistress was made by the manager of the school, it was within the power of the Commissioners of National Education to sanction her appointment as full assistant when the school attendance warranted it; did they actually so sanction her appointment by an order made on the 26th November, 1912; is he aware that this order was properly and competently made and that Mrs. Kerin has been discharging her duties as assistant mistress under it since 1st October last; whether she has been guilty of any neglect of duty or breach of the rules or regulations of the Commissioners which would disqualify her as a teacher or justify the manager in dispensing with her services; whether the manager, Monsignor O'Leary, has assigned or can assign any reason personal to her for refusing to sign her salary claim for the quarter ended 31st December, 1912, which was duly presented to him; whether the Board intend to exercise their powers under their Rules 49 (a), 46 (a), 56, and 86 (a); and what has been the result of the special inquiries of the senior inspector of the Board into this case?

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given to his question on this subject on the 29th April, to which I have nothing to add at present.

asked the Chief Secretary whether the vesting orders have been issued in the estate of Lord Cork in and around Charleville, in the county of Cork; if so, was anything done in the case of Robert Emmett, of Ballinagort, Charleville, and others whose land is flooded frequently by the fact that the river banks are not kept up; and, in view of the fact that this man Emmett was a short time ago asked by the agent on the property to come to an agreement on this matter, whether anything was done by the Commissioners to keep back money to fix up the river banks; and, if not, why was not a second inspection carried out according to promise?

The Estates Commissioners inform me that the purchase money of this estate has been advanced and the holdings vested in the purchasing tenants. The question of the liability of the lands to flooding was considered by the Commissioners when they were dealing with the estate, and they sanctioned such advances as they considered secured on the lands. No portion of the purchase money was retained for the purposes indicated in the concluding portion of the question, nor are they aware of any promise such as that referred to in the final paragraph.

asked the Chief Secretary whether an inquiry has been made into the case of Michael Dee, of Ballyline, Ballylongford, an evicted tenant on the Blacker Douglas estate; and, if so, what grant has been made to the applicant?

The reply to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. Dee does not come within the class of evicted tenants referred to in the Evicted Tenants Act, but in any event the Estates Commissioners would not make him a grant.

asked the Chief Secretary whether the Estates Commissioners have made inquiries into the cases of Patrick Hunt and P. O'Connor, evicted tenants on the Palmer estate, at Banemore, North Kerry, with a view to reinstatement and a free grant in these deserving cases to enable them to work the land and make a new start in life?

The Estates Commissioners have inquired into these cases. Hunt's former holding is in the owner's hands, and the Commissioners have asked him to sell it to Hunt at a price estimated by them. Connor has been reinstated by the owner, and the Commissioners have informed the owner of the amount which they are prepared to advance under the Land Purchase Act to enable Connor to purchase the holding. If the owner agrees to sell at the Commissioners' estimated prices they will sanction suitable grants in each case.

asked the Chief Secretary if he will invite the Congested Districts Board to send their inspector to Tarbert, North Kerry, to inquire into the necessity which exists for the erection of a boat-slip on which the local fishermen can launch and land their boats during the fishing season?

The Congested Districts Board are instructing their local inspector to visit Tarbert at an early date and report on the landing facilities for fishermen there.

asked the Chief Secretary if he is aware that Mr. John J. Therry, of Springvale, Kildorrery, county Cork, a justice of the peace, on the 11th March, entered on the lands of Miss Eliza Coughlan, of Springvale, Kildorrery, a judicial tenant on the estate of Stephen Grehan, Banteer, county Cork, over which he is agent, and commenced to fell an ash tree adjacent to her dwelling-house with a hatchet; that a workman of his, named James Kelleher, was close at hand at the time with a hand saw and cross-cut saw to assist him in cutting it down; whether he is aware that, when Miss Coughlan went to remonstrate with him, and while trying to make him desist, he attempted to strike her with the hatchet; if, after a struggle between them, Miss Coughlan, having wrested the hatchet and took it into her house, Mr. Therry went before Mr. Dixon, resident magistrate at Kildorrery, and made an information charging her with stealing and taking by force his hatchet; and that Miss Coughlan was arrested and brought under escort to Kildorrery police barracks; will he say how long this lady was detained in custody; what authority Mr. Therry had to enter upon lands which Miss Coughlan holds as a judicial tenant; is he aware that Mr. Therry again, on the 17th March, entered upon her lands, accompanied by a policeman; will he say upon whose authority the policeman acted; is he aware that a charge of assault, arising out of this transaction, was made against Miss Coughlan by Mr. Therry, at Kildorrery, on the 9th April, but was dismissed; and if he will bring this conduct under the notice of the Lord Chancellor, with a view to Mr. Therry's fitness to hold the commission of the peace being considered?

I am informed that legal proceedings are about to be instituted by Miss Coughlan against Mr. Therry in respect of the matters mentioned in the question, and, pending their determination, the Lord Chancellor does not consider that it would be desirable for him to take any action in the matter.

asked the Secretary of State for War if the recent appointment of an officer to command a Canadian Cavalry Brigade was made by the Canadian Government as a result of consultation with the War Office; if so, what were the special qualifications of the officer appointed compared with those of others of longer service in the Army; and if he will state the steps taken to ensure that the name recommended should be that of an officer whose experience best qualified him for the position?

No official communication on this subject has been received at the War Office.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he can give the numbers of officers and of non-commissioned officers and men of the Territorial Force on the 1st May last?

The Returns are not yet complete.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether he has received a resolution passed by the Mountain Ash education authority, to the effect that the members do not feel justified in incurring any fresh capital expenditure for building or enlarging schools within their area until they receive a definite assurance from the Government that three-fourths of their expenditure in excess of 1s. 6d. in the £ shall be met from the National Exchequer; whether other necessitous school areas have passed or are considering a similar resolution; and whether, in view of the seriousness of the situation which is thus being created, he will insist upon the Treasury coming to an immediate decision on the question of a further Grant being made this year to the necessitous areas?

I have received resolutions from several local authorities, including Mountain Ash, upon the subject of the special Grant; but the words quoted by the hon. Member occur in the resolution received, not from Mountain Ash, but from Aberdare. I cannot say whether any other authorities are considering a similar resolution. With regard to the last part of the question, I am unable to add anything to the answer given to the hon. Member by me on 21st April.

asked the President of the Board of Education how many candidates will sit in each of the following examinations this year: Drawing, modelling, painting, and pictorial design; what is likely to be the cost per head to the Board in each of the following examinations: Drawing, painting, modelling, pictorial design, and industrial design; how many manufacturing industries are represented by members of the standing committee of advice for art; how many headmasters of small schools of art are members of the standing committee of advice for art; and how many masters of schools in localities having manufacturing industries are members of the standing committee of advice for art?

The number of candidates for the drawing examination for this year is 249, for the painting examination 19, for the modelling examination 4, for the pictorial design examination 9. I may remind the hon. Member that this is the first year of the new system of examinations, and that these numbers cannot be taken as representing the normal number of candidates who will enter for the examinations when the system is in full working order. The examiners receive an inclusive payment which covers not only the work of these examinations but also a considerable amount of work in connection with the national competition. Further, any figures which could be given as to the amount of the Board's contributions towards local expenses and other examination material would at this stage be necessarily hypothetical. It is, therefore, not possible at present to state the approximate cost per head of these examinations. There are eight members of the Standing Committee of Advice for Education in Art who have special knowledge of certain manufacturing industries. No headmasters of small schools of art are members of the Standing Committee, but the four headmasters who are members of the committee were selected on account of their wide experience and their representative character; I have no reason to suppose that they do not represent adequately the interests of all schools of art, large and small alike. The schools to which these headmasters belong are situated in London, Bradford, and Newcastle-on-Tyne.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is aware that dissatisfaction exists among the staff of Holloway prison consequent on the manner in which the sum of £300, granted by the Home Office for extra work entailed upon the staff by the forcible feeding of Women Suffrage prisoners and other causes during the last two years, has been distributed; whether certain officers who had never assisted in the forcible feeding of suffragist prisoners received £5 each, officers who had assisted two, three, and four times received £2, £3, and £4, respectively, while another who was present many times was allowed nothing; whether officers who were excused from assisting at the forcible feeding process, and whose special duty was to sit in the exercise yard for five hours, daily, received awards, while others who did much extra work and had great strain imposed upon them obtained no recompense; whether a clerk appointed to the prison after the rush of work was rewarded, whereas officers who in certain cases were on duty twenty-nine hours continuously were not; whether resignations have taken place in consequence of the discontent caused by this treatment, and, if so, whether he will say how many have been sent in since the distribution of the Grant; and whether he will cause inquiry to be made into the matter with a view to removing any just cause of discontent which may be found to exist?

I think the hon. Member has been misled in this matter. I have no reason to think there is any dissatisfaction, and certainly the inequalities in distribution suggested in the hon. Member's question do not exist. There has been no resignation.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether he is aware that, in fixing the pension of Umesh Chand, lately superintendent of the vernacular office at Ferozepore, eleven years of Government service were disallowed, although similar service had been admitted in other cases; that the record of this man's age and his character roll were dealt with in a manner contrary to the Government regulations; and that after his retirement he was refused permission to practice in the Courts as a vakil or mukhtar, although certified by a number of deputy-commissioners and others to be fully qualified to do so; and, if not, whether he will cause inquiry to be made into the facts of the case?

I have no information, but will inquire into the facts of the case.

asked the President of the Board of Agriculture if his attention has been drawn to the decrease in the price of meat owing to unrestricted supplies of beef arriving in this country, consequent upon the breakdown of the restrictions upon the quantities allowed to be shipped to English ports by the combination known as the Beef Trust; and whether he will consider the propriety of removing the restriction upon the importation of live cattle for slaughter in order that prices may be still further lowered in the interest of the consumer?

The present restrictions upon the importation of live cattle into the United Kingdom from foreign countries are maintained in the interests not only of agriculturists but of the whole community. The danger of diminishing the supply and increasing the cost of milk and home-grown beef through the introduction of disease from abroad is the paramount consideration, and I am satisfied from the information in my posession that the course suggested by my hon. Friend could not safely be adopted.

asked the President of the Board of Agriculture whether he is aware that the Dublin Corporation have passed unanimously a resolution protesting against the continuance of the twelve hours' detention of live stock on the British side of the Channel; and whether he will consider the expediency of modifying the Order at once?

I fear that I cannot add anything to the answers I have already given to previous questions. The reduction of the period below twelve hours has been under consideration for some time, but further experience is necessary before I can make any further announcement.

asked the Secretary for Scotland how many stallions, bulls, boars, and rams are owned and subsidised, respectively, by the Board; and what is the cost per annum for each class of animal?

According to the latest available figures, the number of the sires referred to in the question is as follows: Stallions, owned 17, subsidised, 90; bulls, owned 245, subsidised, 107; boars, owned none, subsidised, 31; rams, owned 474, subsidised 77. The estimated annual cost of the subsidised sires is as follows: Stallions, £1,500; bulls, £1,575; boars, £155; rams, £112. As none of the live stock schemes inaugurated by the Board have yet been completed, only the estimated annual cost of the subsidised sires can be given, and no figures are yet available as to the annual cost of sires owned by the Board.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he has yet received Lord Kitchener's Report on the eviction riots near Luxor; and what is the purport of that Report?

I will have an abstract of the Report made and given in the form of an answer to an unstarred question if my hon. Friend so desires.

asked the President of the Local Government Board the cost of the Poor Law administration in Shropshire and in the Oswestry Union in the years 1906, 1907, and in the last year for which complete records are available?

The expenditure of the guardians of the unions comprised in the union county of Salop on the relief of the poor and purposes connected therewith during the years ended March 1906, 1907, and 1912, amounted to £82,759, £81,967, and £80,675, respectively. The expenditure of the guardians of the Oswestry Union during the same years amounted to £10,314, £10,476, and £10,249, respectively.

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether he is aware that, in consequence of having removed from the house at which Form Q, under the Vaccination Act, 1907, was delivered, Mr. J. Jennings, of 22, Duckett Road, Hornsey, did not receive such form until three days after his child had become four months old; that he at once made a declaration of conscientious objection to the vaccination of his child and sent the paper immediately to the vaccination officer; and whether, under these circumstances, he can see his way to inform the vaccination officer that this is not a case in which he should take further proceedings?

I have made inquiries into the circumstances of this case, and have informed the vaccination officer that, in my opinion, he should not take further proceedings.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he can now give the value of the produce and manufactures of the United Kingdom consigned to the United States, France, Germany, Holland, and Belgium, respectively, in 1912; the percentage of wholly or mainly manufactured goods in each case; and the same information as regards goods exported to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, in the year 1912?

The following statement gives the information desired by the hon. Member:—

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he can give the number of lads of eighteen years of age who emigrated in 1911 and 1912?

As was stated by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade, on Thursday last, in reply to a question by the hon. Member for South Wilts, the particulars available with reference to emigration previous to 1st April, 1912, include an age classification which distinguishes persons over and under twelve years of age, but affords no further particulars of age. The number of male British subjects, shown as leaving during the nine months April to December, 1912, to reside permanently out of Europe, who were between twelve and eighteen years of age, was 8,939.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been drawn to the complaints of the clerks employed by the Port of London Authority in the landed-wood department of the Surrey Commercial Docks, who maintain that the Authority are not carrying out the statutory obligations imposed by Parliament in Section 6 (1) of the Port of London Act, 1908; and whether he will cause some inquiry to be made into this matter?

No complaint from the clerks referred to has been received by the Board of Trade, and the matter does not seem to be one in which the Board of Trade would have any jurisdiction. Section 60 of the Port of London Act, 1908, which deals with questions concerned with the transfer of the officers and servants of the dock authorities to the Port Authority provides for an appeal to the Treasury in certain circumstances.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether there is to be an increase of 4 per cent. in the charges for goods traffic on all British railways as from the 1st July next; and, if so, whether the 4 per cent. is an average increase and will be levied on all goods without discrimination?

The railway companies have issued a preliminary notice of their intention to increase the rates for the carriage of merchandise traffic, other than coal and coke, as from the date mentioned by the hon. Member, but their actual proposals have not yet been notified to the Board of Trade.

asked the Prime Minister the amount of subsistence allowance granted to the members of the Royal Commission (lately returned from India) while in India; and whether such allowance is paid by the British or the Indian Governments?

The members of the Royal Commission who had been appointed in this country received, when out of England, an allowance of £100 a month for personal expenses. The cost is borne by Indian revenues.

asked the Postmaster-General whether it is intended to erect telephone poles along Selborne Road, Southgate, North; whether he has re- ceived any petition from the inhabitants of the road in question against the erection of such poles; whether they were informed that a certain number of new subscribers was necessary in order that their wishes with regard to an underground service should be met; whether an adequate number of new subscribers was obtained; and whether, in view of the fact that underground wires are already laid at the end of Selborne Road, he is prepared to meet the desire of the occupants of Selborne Road in the matter?

A year ago protests from the residents in Selborne Road were received and since then the question has been thoroughly considered. The residents were informed by the Southgate Council that underground work might be provided if six subscribers in the road were forthcoming, as under a general scheme laid by the Post Office before the Middlesex Councils Association an offer was made to provide underground work if six subscribers per half-mile of route were forthcoming, provided that the councils on their part would agree to certain conditions. The scheme was, however, rejected by the association and consequently the offer of underground work no longer held good. I regret that I am unable to meet the wishes of the residents in view of the heavy capital cost of underground work, about £200 as compared with £20, the cost of an overhead line.