asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether he is aware that the public experience difficulty in finding the names and addresses of the local inspectors to whom complaints of failure to carry out the provisions of the National Insurance Act should be addressed; and whether he will arrange with the Postmaster-General that the names and addresses of such inspectors shall be prominently displayed in every post office in the United Kingdom, with an intimation to the effect that all complaints should be addressed to them?

I will see what arrangements can be made to meet the difficulty mentioned by my hon. Friend.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, on the analogy of the case of the naval shipwrights, who are considered, when subsequently serving in dockyards, to be serving in the same capacity, and consequently allowed to count towards civil superannuation their years of naval service, he will now grant the like permission to ex-Royal Engineers doing civil work in the service of the Post Office?

Naval shipwrights are not under the Superannuation Acts, but are pensionable in respect of their whole service in that capacity under Admiralty Orders in Council. My right hon. Friend has no power under the Superannuation Acts to extend this arrangement to the case of Royal Engineers serving under the Post Office.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether It has received a report of the action of a mob in the county Leitrim which assembled, on the 16th May, on the Killaturk grazing farm and cut down wire fences which had been erected by the Estates Commissioners; whether this outrage is the result of the Estates Commissioners having given a portion of the farm to a local lady; and whether the Estates Commissioners will replace the fence and insist on the right of the lady in question to hold her land?

The Estates Commissioners inform me that the owner, at their request, arranged to reinstate Mrs. O'Reilly in portion of the lands in question. The sale is not yet complete, and no fences have been erected by the Commissioners. Thomas Reilly has since applied for reinstatement in a portion of these lands as the son of an evicted tenant, and the whole question of the division of the lands will be further considered by the Commissioners, The police authorities inform me that on the night of the 17th May a crowd of people assembled on the farm referred to and pulled down a wire fence which had been erected by Mrs. O'Reilly on the lands proposed to be assigned to her. Eleven persons have been arrested, and are now on bail awaiting trial on a charge of unlawful assembly and malicious damage.

asked the Chief Secretary whether it is in accordance with the rules of the National Board for schoolhouses to be used for political purposes has the national school at Lahardane, county Mayo, been several times used by the Ancient Order of Hibernians recently, and in particular was it so used on the night of Sunday, 4th May, 1913, for a so-called concert, at which large quantities of whisky and porter were consumed, the furniture. and floor broken, and the schoolroom littered with broken glasses and bottles; was the drink supplied from an adjacent public house; and will he direct the attention of the police to the matter and suggest to the Board that the manager should be warned that schoolhouses are not provided for such purposes?

The Commissioners of National Education inform me that under their rules no political meetings can be held in schoolhouses, nor can any political business whatsoever be transacted in them. The Commissioners have no information as to the use alleged to have been made of this national school on the occasions referred to, but they have directed their local inspector to inquire into the matter and report the facts.

asked whether the new higher certificate alluded to by the Commissioners of National Education in their circular of April last, which may be awarded to teachers under certain conditions, has any money value attached to it, or does its possession in any way benefit the teachers?

The Commissioners of National Education inform me that national teachers of marked ability may be granted higher certificates on the grounds of efficiency and scholarship. These certificates have no monetary value attached to them, but would have weight when questions of promotion of teachers in grade or to junior inspectorships schools were under consideration.

asked the Chief Secretary whether the Congested Districts Board have yet made an offer of purchase for the Miller estate, Carraroe, county Galway; and if he will give the names of the estates in Connemara for which offers of purchase have been made by the Congested Districts Board and the names of these for which offers have been accepted or rejected?

The Congested Districts Board inform me that they have not made an offer for the purchase of the estate of Mrs. Miller, but they hope to do so very shortly. I will be happy to furnish the hon. Member with a list of the estates in Connemara for which offers to purchase have been accepted by the owners.

asked the Chief Secretary what is the cause of delay in issuing vesting orders to the tenants who have purchased their farms on the Coote estate, at Ballyclogh, Mallow, county Cork; and whether he is aware that these tenants are at present paying 4 per cent. interest in lieu of rent and have done so for several years?

This estate is the subject of proceedings for sale direct by the owner to the tenants under the Irish Land Act, 1903, and the Estates Commissioners have no power to deal with it until it is reached in order of priority on the principal register of direct sales (all cash). In the purchase agreements signed by the tenants they contracted to pay interest in lieu of rent at the rate of per cent on the purchase money pending the vesting of the holdings.

asked the Chief Secretary whether any, and, if so, how many tenant purchasers on the Maria A. Gray estate, Kiltycloher, county Fermanagh, applied for grants of money for building and stocking; how many got grants; are any cases still under consideration by the Estates Commissioners; was any application made by or on behalf of Mrs. Rose Carroll, restored evicted tenant, for a grant; will the Commissioners consider her application; and if the grounds on which applications are refused are disclosed to applicants, so as to enable them to give further evidence in support of their claims?

Fifty applications appear to have been received, and, after inquiry, the Estates Commissioners have in three cases sanctioned grants amount- ing to £80. The question of making a grant for general improvements on the estate is at present under consideration. The Commissioners have decided not to make any grant in the case of Rose Carroll. The making of grants is a matter entirely within the discretion of the Commissioners, and it is not their practice to state the reasons which actuate them in the exercise of such discretion.

asked the Chief Secretary whether he has been able to secure the Grant necessary for the. building of a pier at Dingle; and whether the fishing industry, which is the only one in the district, is seriously injured owing to the want of proper facilities for boats to enter the harbour at all times?

A Grant for the improvement of Dingle Harbour accommodation has not yet been obtained, but the Congested Districts Board are in communication with the Development Commissioners on the subject.

asked how much of the money voted by Parliament for the medical and dental treatment and inspection of Irish school children was returned to the Treasury on the 31st March, 1913; how much was locally raised for that purpose; and what places have schemes for utilising the Grant?

The Commissioners of National Education inform me that £7,236 17s. 6d. was returned to the Exchequer out of the Vote for 1912–13 for the purposes of dental inspection in schools. For that purpose £276 12s. 6d. was locally raised. The following places have adopted schemes of dental inspection of children of national schools: Dublin; Belfast; Limerick; Cork; Antrim; Naas; Galway; Rathgar and Terenure, county Dublin; Howth, county Dublin; Bushmills, county Antrim; Grange, county Wexford; Milford, county Armagh; Whitehouse, county Antrim; Bagnor, county Down; Derry, loran and Oldtown, county Tyrone; Tyrrellspass, county Westmeath; Seagoe, county Armagh; Forkill-Jackson, county Armagh; Killegney, county Wexford; St. Catherine's, New Ross; Carlow; Kingstown, county Dublin; Drumragh and Gillygooly, county Tyrone Newtownbreda,, county Down; Sion Mills, county Tyrone; Loughcutra, county Galway.

asked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland how many members of the Board of National Education are necessary to constitute a quorum for signing the minutes; how many are necessary to constitute a quorum for any other business; What was the average attendance at Board meetings during the year ending 31st March, 1913; what Commissioners did not attend any meetings during that period; what Commissioners attended only one meeting; and what Commissioners attended more than one meeting but less than one-third of the total number of meetings held?

The Commissioners of National Education inform me that three members form a quorum at the Board meetings. The ordinary routine business is conducted by the Resident Commissioner and the higher administrative officers of the Board. The average attendance of Commissioners at meetings of the Board during the period stated was between thirteen and fourteen. The Commissioners do not think it desirable to give details as to the attendance of individual members of their body, as they consider no useful purpose would be served by furnishing this information.

asked the Chief Secretary whether he is aware that on the night of the 1st June a number of cattle were driven off a farm at Boxford, near Roscommon; whether this farm is at present in the hands of a Receiver appointed by the County Court judge and let out for grazing; and whether any arrests have been made?

I am informed that this was not a cattle drive. This farm is in the hands of a Receiver appointed by the County Court judge, who has let the grazing, and the owner, apparently under a misapprehension as to the legal position, removed the grazier's cattle, which were put back the next day. There was no disturbance, nor anything calling for the interference of the police.

asked the Chief Secretary whether he has been informed of a highway robbery committed on the manager of the Provincial Bank, Listowel, on the 1st June; whether the manager and an assistant were held up on the public road, near Abbeyfeale, by four masked and armed men and compelled to hand over all the money of the bank which the manager was conveying to a branch office; and whether this outrage was committed on the public road about ten o'clock in the morning?

The police inform me that about half-past ten on the morning of the 2nd instant the manager of the Provincial Bank at Listowel and his assistant, when driving to Abbeyfeale to open a branch office for the day, were stopped by armed men, who compelled them to hand over the cash in their possession. Six men have been arrested in connection with the case and are now on remand in custody.

asked the Secretary to the Admiralty the total number of warrant officers and men victualled in the Royal Naval Barracks at Portsmouth, Chatham, and Devonport on Friday, 6th June, 1913; and how many of them were not eligible through age to draw the rum ration on that day?

The information asked for by my hon. Friend would have to be obtained from the Naval Barracks, and it would give those establishments a considerable amount of clerical labour to work out the particulars. It was estimated in 1911 that, roughly, something over 12 per cent. of the men then entitled to draw the rum ration elected to receive the allowance in lieu; and it is contemplated, when the changes in system to be introduced on 1st July have been in force six months, to obtain statistics from the Fleet of the proportion of men who then take the allowance and not the ration in kind.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether the mounted Territorials at the Royal Review on 5th July will have to pay for hire of their horses, in some cases as much as 10s. 6d. each for the afternoon; and, if so, will he explain why the men should pay this charge out of their own pockets?

The Royal Review the London Division is to be held in Hyde Park. The Park regulations render it impossible for troops to be present mounted.

asked the Secretary for War whether the, usual allowance of ammunition for gun practice of Artillery units in the Territorial Force is 200 rounds per battery, and if this provision is made in the present year in respect of every Artillery battery?

The allowance of ammunition for Horse, Field, and Mountain batteries is 200 rounds. As all batteries do not attend a practice camp every year, the total number of rounds allowed for all batteries is pooled and distributed among batteries attending practice camps.

asked the Secretary of State for the, Home Department if he is aware that, in the boroughs of East and West Ham, where the borough boundaries run through the middle of Green Street, a precisely similar early closing Order is being differently administered, one borough exempting the sale by butchers of cooked meats after the closing hours named in the Order, and the other borough refusing such exemption; is he aware that, whilst the master butchers, both in East and West Ham, are most anxious to co-operate with the local authorities to secure earlier closing, they are now, owing to the unsatisfactory administration of the existing Order, moving to obtain a revocation of the same; and whether he proposes to lake any action in the matter?

I am informed that the local authority in East Ham recently took proceedings under their Order against a tradesman in respect of the sale of cooked meats, but the magistrate dismissed the case on the ground that the sale did not come within the Order. If the decision is accepted by the local authority without carrying the question to a higher Court, the practice in the borough will become the same as in West Ham, where the similar Order is not applied to the sale of cooked meats.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if Mrs. Pankhurst's licence has expired; and, if so, whether it is proposed to rearrest her?

The answer to the first question is in the affirmative. Mrs. Pankhurst is now liable to rearrest, but the rearrest may have to be deferred for a time on account of her state of health.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if his attention has been directed to an accident at the Blackhill Colliery, Summerston, near Glasgow, whereby two men were hurt; and, if not, will he have special inquiry made into the allegations that certain spaces for the men were at the time full up, so that they could not keep clear of the hutches drawn up by the hutchway?

This accident has been investigated, and it appears from the report which I have received that it was not due to any obstruction of the manholes, which were, in fact, available for use, but to an inadvertence on the part of two men who stepped on to the track of the ascending tubs after giving the signal to restart the haulage, forgetting that the ascending tubs were, just below them.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is aware that the stipendiary magistrate at East Ham on 29th April, in a case wherein a Mr. Charles William Evans, cheesemonger, was summoned for contravening a butchers' early closing Order, ruled that salt pork did not come within the scope of the Order and dismissed the summons, with the result that during the hours butchers' shops in East Ham are compulsorily closed by Order cheesemongers and others may with impunity retail salt pork, which is essentially a butcher's commodity; and whether he can do anything to prevent this and ensure the smooth working of the Shops Act, 1912?

My attention had not previously been called to this case. It is provided by the Order in question that it shall apply to all shops in which the business of a butcher is carried on. If it is decided by the Courts that this does not cover the sale of a particular class of article, the Home Office has no power to interfere: but it is, of course, open to local authority in framing an Order to define precisely the nature of the business it is intended to cover.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies, how many district residents, assistant residents, and district doctors are married in the following comparatively unhealthy stations in British Central Africa: Port Herald, Chiromo, Limonde, Fort Johnston, Kotakota, Chinteche, and Karongo; and how many district residents, assistant residents, and district doctors are unmarried in the following comparatively healthy stations: Zomba, Chirazulu, Blantyre, Neno, Nehen, Dedza, Lilongar, Dowa, and Mzimba?

According to my latest information, at the stations mentioned as unhealthy there are eight married and seven unmarried administrative and medical officers. At the stations mentioned as healthy there are ten unmarried and nine married officers of these classes. At two other healthy stations, Mlanje and Ngara, the two administrative officers and the medical officers are all married, but I am not prepared without, reserve to accept the hon. Member's classification of stations as healthy and unhealthy.

asked the President of the Board of Agriculture whether he has now considered the Report on the evidence taken at Glasgow in reference to alleged excessive charges for lairage of Irish cattle, at Merklands; and what action he proposes to take in reference thereto?

After full inquiry the Board have sanctioned the following charges for Irish animals at Merklands Wharf, Glasgow:—

—	Wharf and Lairage Dues.				Slaughter.
	(a) Up to midnight of the day after that on which the animals are landed		(b) For each 24 hours after or any part thereof
	s.	d.	s.	d.	s.	d.
Cattle	1	6	0	6	1	1
Calves (under 12 months)	1	0	0	2	0	8
Sheep	0	3	0	1	0	3
Swine	0	6	0	2	0	6

asked the President of the Board of Agriculture how many cattle in England, Wales, and Scotland, respectively, were found during the month of May as the result, of notification under the Tuberculosis Order of 1913 to be suffering from tuberculosis of the udder, emaciation from tuberculosis, or giving tuberculous milk; whether in England such notifications were confined to Yorkshire, Lancashire, Derbyshire, Cumberland, Somersetshire, and Wiltshire only; whether there are any counties in which no notifications of the disease have been received by the local authorities; and, if so, what is the reason?

The number of cattle notified to the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries under the Tuberculosis Order of 1913, during the month of May, as suffering from tuberculosis of the udder, tuberculosis with emaciation, or giving tuberculous milk, is as follows:—

In England	504
In Wales	13
In Scotland	51

The answer to the second part of the question is in the negative. No notification of tuberculosis was received by the Board during the month of May, 1913, from the following counties:—

ENGLAND.
Bedford	London
Cambridge	Monmouth
Isle of Wight	Soke of Peterborough
Hereford	*Oxford
*Huntingdon	Rutland
Leicester	Isles of Scilly
WALES.
Brecon	Merioneth
Cardigan	Montgomery
*Carnarvon	Pembroke
*Flint	Radnor
Glamorgan
SCOTLAND.
Aberdeen	Kinross
Argyll	Linlithgow
Ayr	Midlothian
Banff	Nairn
Bute	Orkney
Caithness	Peebles
Dumbarton	Perth
Dumfries	*Roxburgh
Fife	Shetland
Haddington	Stirling
Inverness	Sutherland
Kincardine	Wigtown
* In these cases notices have been received in June.

I am making inquiries with a view to ascertain whether in the counties named above, or any of them, there has been unreasonable delay in enforcing the Order.

asked the President of the Board of Agriculture (1) whether he claims to have the authority to prevent the landing of healthy cattle from a healthy district in Ireland; and, if so, will he quote the Sub-section of what Section and of what Act empowers him to do so; (2) whether his Department has the power to control the movements of certified healthy animals in an area far removed from an infected district; if so, under what Section or Sub-section of what Section of what Act does he claim to derive the power; and if it was ever exercised, and, if so, how often in Great Britain?

With regard to the powers of the Board to regulate the movement of animals, I would refer to the answers given by the Prime Minister to similar questions addressed to him by the hon. Member on Monday last. So far as I am aware, no occasion has yet arisen for the Board to make an Order affecting any part of Great Britain similar to the Orders made last year temporarily prohibiting the landing of Irish animals in Great Britain.

also asked the President of the Board of Agriculture whether he will state the Regulations under which cattle from Ireland were allowed into this country in each year in which there was an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Ireland since the passing of the Contagious Diseases (Animals) Act, 1878, and the number imported and not slaughtered at the port of debarkation in the respective years up to the beginning of last year?

Prior to last year I understand that there had been no outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Ireland since 1884. I do not know what Regulations governed the movement of Irish cattle into great Britain in 1884 and in earlier years, when foot-and-mouth disease existed in Ireland, but I would point out that the methods used in those days for the suppression and prevention of the diseases were very different from those adopted recently, which were unanimously approved by the Departmental Committee last year, and that no useful comparison can therefore be made. I will circulate with the Votes a table showing the number of Irish cattle imported into Great Britain in each year from 1879 to 1911 inclusive, but I have no information as to the number which were slaughtered at the ports of debarkation.Number of Cattle Imported into Great Britain from Ireland, 1879 to 1911.

Year.	Number.	Year.	Number.
1879	641,370	1896	681,560
1880	721,391	1897	746,012
1881	571,557	1898	803,362
1882	782,274	1899	772,272
1883	556,867	1900	745,519
1884	715,843	1901	642,638
1885	640,470	1902	959,241
1886	717,389	1903	897,645
1887	669,253	1904	772,363
1888	738,716	1905	749,131
1889	669,843	1906	775,374
1890	631,698	1907	841,973
1891	630,802	1908	861,670
1892	624,457	1909	837,426
1893	688,669	1910	867,930
1894	826,954	1911	694,828
1895	791,607

asked the President of the Board of Trade when the Report of the Industrial Council will be published in respect of the reference of 14th June, 1912, on the subject of industrial agreements?

I understand that the Industrial Council are now considering their Report, and it is expected that they will be in a position to present it in July.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether the Industrial Council have considered Sir George Askwith's Report on the Canadian Industrial Disputes Investigation Act; and, if so, will he publish their conclusions in regard to that Report?

Sir George Askwith's Report on the Canadian Industrial Disputes Investigation Act has not been specifically referred to the Industrial Council for their opinion, and I am not able to say how far, if at all, the Council will, in their Report upon their present inquiry into industrial agreements, make observations upon the subjects dealt with by Sir George Askwith in his Canadian Report.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware that the hours of public business at the head post office and principal branch office in the city and county borough of Gloucester have been shortened without any prior communication with the local authority; whether the same course has been taken in regard to any other county borough; whether it is the usual custom of his Department to ascertain, by direct preliminary inquiry of local representative authorities, the, necessities and convenience of the general public in all such cases of proposed variation in postal and telegraphic facilities; and whether he will direct that the opinions of the Gloucester City (County Borough) Council, the Gloucester Incorporated Chamber of Commerce, the Gloucester Traders' Association, and the Gloucester Trades and Labour Council be ascertained, with a view to the reconsideration of the recent decision?

Due notice of the, change was given to the public, but it is not the practice in such cases to communicate with the local authorities. Such changes are usually made a subject of objection by local bodies, and in this, as in other cases, my decision was not taken until I had inspected special returns in detail of the work done between 9 a.m. and 10 p.m., and satisfied myself that neither in volume nor in kind was it such as to necessitate attendance at the counter up to the later hour. Similar curtailments have been made in many other cases. I regret that I cannot undertake to reconsider the matter, and I have already sent replies to that effect to those of the bodies enumerated which made representations on the subject.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he has received a memorial from a number of residents in the district served by Trentagh S.O. (under Letterkenny, county Donegal), complaining of recent changes in the arrangement for bringing mails to and from the above post office; and, if so, whether he will give effect to the wishes of the memorialists?

I have received the memorial referred to by the hon. Member, but I regret that I can find no justification for altering the present arrangements, under which the work is done by a full-time postman borne on the permanent establishment instead of by part-time auxiliary postmen.

asked the Postmaster-General the number of assistant clerks at present employed in each of the Post Office Departments; the number of promotions of assistant clerks to the second division during the last seven years; and the Departments in which the promoted men had served as assistant clerks?

The authorised establishment of assistant clerks in the various Departments of the Post Office is as follows:—

Secretary's Office	81
Accountant-General's Department	31
Engineering Department—
Engineer-in-Chief's Office	78
Superintending Engineers' Offices	265
London Postal Service	17
London Telephone Service	165
Savings Bank Department	265
Stores Department	209
Dublin—Secretary's Office	6
Edinburgh—Secretary's Office	2

In the last seven years the promotions to the second division have been as follows:—

Secretary's Office	8
Savings Bank Department	43
Secretary's Office, Dublin	1
Secretary's Office, Edinburgh	1

Assistant clerks serving in the other Departments (except the Accountant General's Department, where they have been introduced only quite recently) are considered for promotion to the class next above them in their own offices, which is not the second division.

asked the hon. Member for St. George's-in-the-East, as representing the First Commissioner of Works, if he will give instructions that the surface of the roads in Richmond Park shall be improved, so that the inconvenience at present suffered by cyclists may be minimised?

There are no funds this year for the improvement of the roads in Richmond Park, the renewal of which would be a very costly matter. The suggestion will be considered in connection with the Estimates for next financial year.