asked the Secretary of State for War when the House will be informed what are the proposals for increasing the pay of officers of the Army, and when officers of the British regiments serving in India will receive an intimation on this subject?

A Committee has been appointed to consider matters of detail connected with the scheme, but I am not in a position to say when it will report. The scheme will come into operation on 1st January next.

asked the Secretary for War (1) whether his attention has been directed to a speech delivered at a Lord Mayor's banquet, given in the City Hall, Belfast, on the 7th instant, by General Count Gleichen, K.C.V.O., commanding the 15th Infantry Brigade, in which he said that a good many people were of opinion that this campaign of Lord Roberts' was being run with a view to what they called a reprehensible militarism, and that he contradicted there flatly; that there were gentlemen who, like Mr. Keir Hardie, Mr. Andrew Carnegie, and various peace presidents, who said that because they had a big Army they introduced militarism, and he concluded that people of that sort, however well-meaning they might be, could only be suffering from softening of the brain; whether such language contravenes the King's Regulations; whether it is in accordance with the rules of the permanent military and Civil services that a paid official should indulge in political invective of a partisan nature; what action is contemplated in the matter; and (2) whether his attention has been directed to the remarks by General Count Gleichen, in which he said he was delighted to see that the Government proposed to bring forward a Bill for the care of the feebleminded, and that he would commend to their first charge Mr. Keir Hardie and Mr. Carnegie, and that he was sorry, from a military point of view, that wars and rumours of wars had instead died down just now; and, having regard to the place, the time, and the circumstances of this speech and the position of the speaker, what steps he intends to take in this matter?

This officer has submitted a statement explaining that the published accounts of his remarks on the occasion referred to convey an erroneous impression of what he said. He has expressed regret for certain injudicious references. Appropriate action will be taken accordingly.

Can my hon. Friend say exactly what this officer did say. Is the hon. Gentleman aware that this speech was delivered by him in his official capacity as general commanding at Belfast at a formal ceremonial banquet, and were these expressions justified, especially having regard to the place in which they were uttered and the insults to these gentlemen?

I can only tell the hon. Member that whatever this officer did say he has expressed his regret for it, and further action will be taken.

If this gentleman had not been a German Count would he have been a British General.

asked the price per gallon paid by the War Office for petrol; and if the price paid is in excess of the price paid by the Admiralty and greatly in excess of the price paid by the London General Omnibus Company?

Prices at which Army contracts are placed are invariably treated as confidential and I cannot therefore give the hon. Gentleman the information he requires.

asked the Secretary for War whether, in the year 1911, the annual camp of the Second Wessex Howitzer Brigade, Royal Field Artillery (Territorial Force), took place at West Down, Salisbury Plain, without gun practice; whether, in 1912, the annual camp was at Okehampton and gun practice took place; whether this brigade is to train at Larkhill, Salisbury Plain, again without gun practice this year; and, if so, will he explain why this brigade is to be allowed only one opportunity of firing in three years?

Range accommodation is allotted first to all brigades which have not practised the previous year, and such accommodation as may be available, after these brigades have been provided for, is allotted to those brigades for whom application is made. No application was received for the 2nd Wessex Brigade to carry out practice, either in 1911 or 1913.

Will the hon. Gentleman answer the last paragraph of this question?

The brigade made no application.

Seeing that the Secretary for War at first denied that the brigade had only one opportunity of firing in three years, does he now admit it?

They had firing practice in camp in 1912, but in 1911 and 1913 they failed to send in the ordinary application.

If the hon. Gentleman will refer to the answer the right hon. Gentleman gave——

The hon. Member is not asking a question: he is arguing.

asked the Secretary for War if non-commissioned officers belonging to the Monmouthshire Territorial Force have, under the influence of the National Service League, been dissuading young men in the county of Monmouth from joining the above force; and, if so, whether he is in a position to give the names of such non-commissioned officers?

I am making inquiries into this matter.

asked whether no ammunition is being issued this year to the Royal Monmouthshire Special Reserve for the musketry training of their recruits; and, if so, what is the reason?

Ammunition will be issued as usual, in accordance with the Regulations.

asked the Under-Secretary for India whether he is aware that the Bill to amend the Indian Companies Act, 1913, introduced into the Legislative Council of the Governor-General, closely concerns the interests of business firms partly or wholly domiciled in England; that certain of its provisions are, in the opinion of business men, likely to have injurious effects both in India and in this country, particularly those relating to the appointment of directors; whether the Report of the Select Committee has been before the Secretary of State in Council; and whether he will inform himself of the opinion held in England upon the Bill, and suggest to the Governor-General in Council that its passage into law may in the meanwhile, with advantage, be postponed?

The Bill to which the hon. Member refers has not yet been introduced into the Imperial Legislative Council, and will not be proceeded with until the winter. Meanwhile, its preliminary publication will give firms in this country whose interests may be affected ample opportunity of studying its provisions and of representing their views to the Government of India. The Select Committee in reporting the Bill which has become law as the Indian Companies Act recommended supplementary legislation of the kind now proposed.

Must representations on this subject be made to the Secretary of State in Council or must they be addressed to the Government of India directly? It makes a difference.

I think they had better be addressed to the Government of India, and if the hon. Member desires to bring before that Government any views he may have, I shall be only too glad to assist him by forwarding them.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) whether any claims for Increment Value Duty have been made since the decision of the House of Lords in the case of Commissioners of Inland Revenue v. Herbert and others; if so, from what datum line increment in such cases is being calculated, and on what value the statutory allowance of 10 per cent. is being made; and (2) whether, in view of the fact that minus site values have been held by the House of Lords to be legal and that no claim for Undeveloped Land Duty can arise in respect of such sites, which comprise in Scotland a considerable area of land, he will introduce legislation to put undeveloped land in England on the same footing as in Scotland?

Claims for Increment Value Duty have been made since the decision referred to. Increment value is being calculated from the datum line of the original assessable site value or substituted site value, as the case may be. The allowance of 10 per cent. is made, where the occasion is the first occasion for the collection of the duty, on the original assessable site value or the substituted site value. The whole question of minus site values is under consideration, and I fear my right hon. Friend is not yet in a position to add anything to the answer which he gave on the 7th ultimo to the questions of the hon. and learned Member for West St. Pancras and the hon. Member for Chelmsford.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say if, when the question has been finally resolved, persons who have been charged will have the money returned?

I cannot possibly make a statement as to that.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, having regard to the fact that the average yield of Increment Value Duty on 497,148 occasions was rather less than 1s. 3¼d. per occasion and to the fact that the expense on each occasion to the owner was at least £1 1s., apart from the cost to the State, he will introduce legislation to abolish this tax?

The hon. Member's statement of the average yield appears to be founded on the belief that valuations and assessments have been made in connection with every transaction in land that has taken place since the coming into force of the Finance (1909–10) Act, 1910. I cannot admit that it gives a correct indication of the productivity of the tax. I am not aware on what basis he calculates the expense to the owner, arid it is not proposed to introduce legislation to abolish the tax.

asked when it is proposed to carry out the promise to reintroduce shortly the Bill to amend the Superannuation Acts introduced last Session?

I should be glad to introduce a Bill to amend the Superannuation Acts in certain particulars, but I fear that, unless such a measure could be regarded as entirely non-controversial, I can see no chance of its passing into law this Session.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the Chancellor of the Exchequer, some time ago at Question Time, promised that the Bill would be introduced? I think it was on the 1st April.

I have no objection to introducing the Bill, but last year when I introduced it the whole time was spent in irrelevant attempts to put into the Bill what was not in the Bill. If the hon. and learned Gentleman and his Friends will take the Bill as it stands, we might be able to get it through.

asked the length of service and the average annual increment of salary since entry of the Secretary of Inland Revenue who has been promoted to the post formerly filled by the present Controller of the Stationery Office?

The length of service of the Secretary of Inland Revenue who has been promoted to the post formerly filled by the present Controller of the Stationery Office is sixteen years, and the average annual increment of salary since entry into the service, £65 12s. 6d.

asked the age, length of service, present salary, and average annual increment of salary since entry of the last appointed Assistant-Secretary of Inland Revenue?

The age of the last appointed Assistant-Secretary of Inland Revenue is thirty-three years; the length of service ten and a half years; the present salary £850, and the average annual increment of salary since entry into the service, £70.

asked whether it is proposed to issue the Report of the Departmental Committee on Imperial and Local Taxation before the end of the present Session; and, if not, what is the reason for the prolonged postponement of its publication?

I understand that no date can at present be named for the presentation of their Report.

asked if persons who are shareholders in railways and limited companies and whose dividends are paid with a deduction of 1s. 2d. in the £ in all cases, but who do not claim a return of Income Tax, although entitled to do so, come in any way into the calculation of the Income Tax Commissioners or into the estimates of the number of persons who pay the tax at the full rate; and if any estimate is made of the amount overpaid by such persons?

In estimating at 150,000 the number of persons who pay Income Tax at the full rate, the Commissioners of Inland Revenue took into account the fact that there are a certain number of taxpayers who, from the extent or nature of their incomes, are entitled to relief, but who fail to claim it. The figure does not include persons who through such failure suffer tax at the full rate on a portion only of their total incomes. There are no means of ascertaining the amount of tax overpaid by such persons.

Is not the 150,000 a pure estimate of the number who pay Income Tax at the full rate, and might it not be 200,000 or any other number?

It is an estimate—I hope it is pure. It is the best estimate the Inland Revenue have been able to give, quite apart from what the figures might be used for upon either side, of what they think the number to be.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether it has been brought to his notice that since the passage into law of the Railway Rates Act railway companies have reduced competition by pooling arrangements and have thus been enabled to present a formidable front to traders in their attempt to protect themselves from unfair treatment in the form of decreased facilities, decreased railway liability, and unsatisfied claims; and, if so, whether the Board of Trade is prepared to take any steps to see that the Railway Rates Act is not used oppressively against the trading community?

I am not aware that any new pooling arrangements have been concluded between railway companies since the date mentioned by my hon. Friend, whilst, as regards liability for damage, the Joint Claims Committee, which I presume my hon. Friend has in mind, was set up some ten years ago. The Railway and Canal Traffic Act, 1913, merely lays down certain conditions subject to which increased cost of labour shall be regarded as justifying an increase of rate. The Court of the Railway and Canal Commission decide any cases which may come before them under the Act, and I have no power to interfere with their discretion.

asked the Prime Minister whether he will give an assurance that, pending the presentation of the Report of the Royal Commission on the Civil Service, the Government will remove no further posts, situations or appointments in the Civil Service from the list of offices in respect of which a Civil service competitive examination is a necessary qualification to the list of those offices which are filled up on the nomination of a Minister of the Crown?

The Prime Minister has asked me to answer this question for him. So far as I know, no such step is in contemplation, but I cannot give any undertaking on the subject.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if his attention has been directed to the affairs of the Stamford, Spalding, and Boston Banking Company, Limited, which in 1911 was taken over by another bank and wound un; whether the consent of the shareholders to the amalgamation was secured without warning to them of any financial difficulties and subsequent to the payment, after providing for all bad and doubtful debts, of a 10 per cent. dividend for the previous year; whether he is aware that in the winding-up heavy losses have been revealed, involving grave distress to many persons in Lincolnshire and surrounding counties, and that the liquidator has declined a request from a committee of shareholders for the full and public examination of the directors and officials of the bank, so that the shareholders have received no adequate explanation up to date of the way in which the directors came to incur these losses; and whether he can secure that such an examination shall be held?

The Stamford, Spalding, and Boston Banking Company, Limited, is being wound up voluntarily, and the Board of Trade, therefore, have no information as to the company's business or as to the circumstances connected with the winding-up and the sale of the goodwill, except so far as appears from the accounts which the liquidator has filed. These accounts are open to inspection by all creditors and shareholders of the company. A public examination of the directors of a company can only be held in the case of a company being wound up by the Court and on an order being made by the Court for that purpose.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he can now state when the Report of the Departmental Committee appointed to inquire into the use of lead compounds will be issued?

I am informed by the Chairman that the Committee have now completed the taking of evidence, which has been very voluminous, and are engaged in considering it. He is unable to say definitely when the Report will be ready, but it will be presented at the earliest possible moment.

asked what is the number of new licences granted for the sale of liquor from the year 1905 to the latest available date?

During the period from 1905 to 1912, 404 new on-licences and 1,476 new off-licences have been granted. For further information in regard to these licences I would refer the hon. Member to the annual volumes of Licensing Statistics which contain these and all other available figures relating to licensing administration.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether a number of doctors are refusing to attend an insured person who is prevented from following his employment through an accident, and is thereby excluded from the benefits of the National Insurance Act; and what steps he proposes to take to deal with this refusal to provide medical aid for insured persons?

I am not aware of any such case. If the hon. Member will give me any particulars I will institute immediate inquiries.

asked if any panel doctor is resident at Princetown, Devon; and, if not, to what doctor must insured persons residing there apply in case of sickness?

There is no doctor resident in Princetown except the prison medical officer. As I pointed out in answer to a similar question from the hon. Member last week, the Act has made no difference in this respect. The nearest doctors from whom insured persons resident at Princetown can obtain medical attendance are, I understand, about six miles away.

Does the right hon. Gentleman realise that the medical man who served the Manchester Unity of Odd-fellows at Princetown has ceased to act in that capacity, and therefore there is no doctor within seven miles of Princetown and district, is it not a fact that the medical men of Tavistock are prepared to undertake the work if they get reasonable mileage facilities, and will he allow me to show him many complaints from residents in that district as to the utter inability to get any benefit under the Act?

I should be very glad to receive any communication from the hon. Gentleman. I only want to make the Act work as smoothly as possible. There are three doctors on the panel within six miles of Princetown, and they are going to get mileage, which they did not get before the Act came into force.

Will the right hon. Gentleman give me the names of the three doctors.

I have not got them with me, but I will gladly communicate them.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury if he has now been able to consider the Report of the Scottish Insurance Commissioners with reference to payment of travelling expenses of members of insurance committees in those counties where no possible levy would suffice?

The matter is stilt the subject of departmental correspondence between the Scottish Insurance Commission and the Treasury, and I am not yet in a position to make any statement.

Will the right hon. Gentleman be able to expedite the matter? It has been months and months under consideration.

It is a very difficult question involving something far more than the Highlands themselves. We are going to deal with the Highlands in a special manner.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury if he can now state when he will bring forward the proposal of the Treasury for the administration of the special Grant for the Highlands and Islands; and whether, in view of the pressure of work in the various Departments, he would take into consideration the advisability of appointing the Local Government Board of Scotland to administer the Grant in conjunction with the Insurance Commissioners?

As I stated yesterday in reply to the hon. and gallant Member for Midlothian, it is proposed that the Grant should be administered by a Joint Committee of the several Government Departments concerned, in accordance with the Report of the Departmental Committee. I am unable at present to state when the proposals for administering the Grant will be introduced.

Is it a fact that this Joint Board is being constituted to administer £40,000 a year, and how much of the £40,000 will be absorbed in administrative expenses?

I cannot answer that off-hand.

asked whether by Regulation 964, of 1912, a reserve value is to be credited in respect of an insured person who resigns his original approved society and joins another society within three months of his resigning his original society; if so, whether it is intended to provide two reserve values for the same man or whether the reserve value credited to the original society will be used for the second society; and, if the latter, how this is consistent with Circular A.S. 92?

The Regulations referred to do not deal with the crediting of reserve values, but only with the time within which an insured person may join a society without becoming a deposit contributor. The answer to the first part of the question is, therefore, in the negative. Two reserve values will not be provided in respect of a man who leaves a society without consent which the society proves to have been reasonably withheld. As I stated in answer to the hon. Member on Monday, if such a person should join another society within the time prescribed by the Regulations, that society would, owing to Section 31 of the Act, have to take him without the reserves represented by the transfer value, and it is to be presumed, therefore, that it is unlikely that he will gain admittance to another society.

Is it not a fact that under Regulation 964 if a man who has resigned membership of a society joins another society within three months, he is entitled to claim reserve value?

I cannot recall to my memory at the moment what takes place in regard to that Regulation. May I ask the hon. Gentleman to give notice of the question?

May I remind the right hon. Gentleman that I have given notice on two occasions? Will he consider the matter finally and give me an answer?

Answers have been given to the questions which the hon. Gentleman has put on the Paper.

May I call the right hon. Gentleman's attention to the fact that the question on the Paper has not been answered? It is a point of importance.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why there has been nearly four months' delay in transferring a deposit contributor, No. 4286 C.W., from the Post Office to the Amalgamated Approved Society, with the consequence that, although he has paid thirty-two contributions and has been certified for sick benefit three weeks ago, he is unable to obtain any benefits; and, in view of the fact that he is in need, whether steps will be taken to expedite the transfer?

No claim for transfer has yet been received from the society in this case. I am making inquiry as to the claim for benefit made by the insured person referred to, and will inform the hon. Member of the result.

Will the right hon. Gentleman say that not only is respect of this case but of similar cases where a Post Office contributor has applied to become a member of a new society, there has not been, when he has claimed benefit, a delay of four months before the cash at his credit was transferred to the new society?

I am not aware of any delay of four months. So far as I know a transfer is completed with great rapidity.

Will the right hon. Gentleman inquire into this particular case where a delay of four months occurred?

That is exactly what I am doing.

Is it a fact that by signing a declaration that he has paid so many contributions, his approved society can pay?

I would like notice of that.

asked the Postmaster-General if there is no direct telegraphic communication between Gorey and Wexford, thirty-five miles apart in the same county, and that telegrams from Gorey to Wexford have first to be sent sixty miles to Dublin and then ninety-five miles back to Wexford, resulting in considerable loss of time and to errors in transmission; and if he will arrange for direct telegraphic communication between Gorey and Wexford as speedily as possible?

The number of telegrams (about eight a day) between Gorey and Wexford does not warrant the expense of providing direct communication, and Dublin is the best transmitting centre for such telegrams. I am not aware of any considerable loss of time or of errors resulting from such transmission, and I shall be glad if the hon. Member will be so good as to send me full particulars of any such cases.

asked the Postmaster-General whether on 5th June, Captain Bell, a resident at Bishopsbourne, near Canterbury, sent a telegram from Bishopsbourne Station, addressed to James Crowhurst, Veterinary, Canterbury, which, owing to what was described by the postmaster at Canterbury as an unfortunate oversight on the part of the messenger, was not delivered to the addressee, but to his brother, Mr. W. H. Crowhurst, although the messenger must have passed Mr. James Crowhurst's door before doing so; that Mr. James Crowhurst has practised as a veterinary surgeon in Canterbury for more than forty years and constantly receives letters and telegrams addressed as was the telegram in question; that the telegram was sent for the purpose of procuring his attendance on a Jersey cow belonging to Captain Bell valued at £20, which was suffering from milk fever, and which died in consequence of the delay in obtaining veterinary attendance caused by the non-delivery of the telegram; and whether he is prepared to compensate the owner of the cow for the loss occasioned by the negligence of the Post Office officials?

I am having inquiry made, and will inform the hon. Member of the result.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he will consider the possibility of arranging that the sender of a telegram should be able, by payment of an additional fee, to ensure delivery of his telegram on arrival, even in cases where it arrives at a village office after 8 p.m. or on a Sunday?

There is already an arrangement—set forth on page 94 of the Post Office Guide—under which the sender of a telegram can by payment of an additional fee secure the delivery of his telegram after the office of destination is closed provided the attention of the postmaster or other officer at such office can be obtained.

asked the Postmaster-General whether prior to the taking over by the Post Office of the National Telephone Company's business, telephone subscribers in St. Margarets, near Dover, were entitled for an inclusive charge of £8 per annum to an unlimited number of calls in an area which included the town of Dover, but that St. Margarets has now been made a separate area, so that calls to Dover are reckoned and charged as trunk calls; whether the total number of subscribers in the St. Margarets area is about forty; and whether, having regard to the fact that this new arrangement deprives subscribers in St. Margarets of the most valuable part of the rights they enjoyed under the National Telephone Company, he will revert to the old arrangement by which St. Margarets was included in the Doyer area?

The position as regards area facilities of subscribers on St. Margarets Telephone Exchange is exactly the same now as for a considerable period before the transfer of the National Telephone Company's business to the Post Office. It has not been possible to trace the exact date when the change to which the hon. Member refers took place, but it was apparently some time in November, 1908. Calls between St. Margarets and Dover are charged as junction calls, not trunk calls. The total number of subscribers to this exchange on 31st March, 1913, was forty-three. I do not propose at the moment to make any alteration in existing arrangements.

asked the Postmaster-General if his attention has been called to complaints of delays at the public counter of the Wakefield post office, and to the inadequacy of the staff provided there; whether several representations by the staff have been made urging the provision of relief, afterwards officially admitted to be necessary; and whether he has stated that he sees no objection to the action of the postmaster in censuring and threatening members of his staff in connection with the delays complained of?

I am aware of the case to which the hon. Member refers. There had been complaints in the local Press that the public were not receiving proper attention at the post office counter at Wakefield; and the postmaster, after inquiry in the matter, was satisfied that the complaints were the result of want of thought or judgment on the part of the counter staff. He, therefore, issued a notice in which he informed the members of the staff that if they failed to apply for assistance at the counter, when necessary, they would be held responsible for the failure of duty; and he appealed to them to make a personal effort to prevent further delay. It is essential that the public should receive proper attention at the post office counter.

Is it not a fact that the staff at this particular office have over and over again applied for assistance upon the ground that they were overworked and have worked constant overtime?

No, I have no information to that effect, but I will make inquiries.

asked how many applications for Grants from the Road Board were made in 1912–13; and how many were refused?

I understand that the number of applications received from highway authorities in the United Kingdom during the financial year ending 31st March, 1913, was 432; of these forty-three have been refused.

Is there any return showing the amount of Grants made to the various applicants?

I am not sure whether the Grants were not given in the reports last year, and whether, as far as this year is concerned, I have not given them in answer to questions. I will find out.

Will the next report contain the Grants received as well as those which are entertained?

I have no control over the Road Board or its reports. I will communicate the hon. Gentleman's wish to them.

asked how many officials are employed by the Road Board; and how many have been appointed by competitive examination?

The officials employed by the Road Board are a secretary, two consulting engineers, five technical staff, two accountants, nine clerks, a messenger, and a boy. For many of these posts competitive examination would hardly be suitable or usual. Two of the clerical staff, who are two second division clerks, were appointed by competitive examination.

When were they appointed?

I cannot say without notice.

Was the competitive examination after consultation with the Civil Service Commissioners?

I should also like notice of that question.

Does the right hon. Gentleman not think this work of issuing loans to county councils could be as efficiently and more economically carried on under the Treasury Department?

That is a matter of opinion.

asked how many members there are of the Road Board, how many are paid, and how many are unpaid?

The Road Board consists of a chairman (paid) and four members (unpaid). There is at present one vacancy caused by the death of the late Sir Charles Rose.

asked how many times did the Road Board meet in the year 1912–13, and what have been the respective attendances of the different members

I am informed that there were three formal meetings of the Road Board during the financial year ending the 31st March, 1913. One meeting was attended by all the members of the Board and two meeting by four members. In addition, there were thirty-four formal conferences with representatives of highway authorities, of which all were attended by the chairman, twelve by one, and eight by two members, in addition to the chairman.

Will the right hon. Gentleman inquire whether it is worth while having all these members of the Road Board if they only attend once a year?

I cannot find any suggestion in my answer that any of the members only attend once a year.

asked whether individuals who claim to be citizens of Great Britain and the United States of America are liable to Income Tax assessment; whether there is any information at the Treasury of cases in this respect where Income Tax assessment is avoided by individuals adopting a practice of living for a less period than six months in each year in Great Britain; and, if so, will action be taken to compel such individuals to fulfil their obligations as British citizens?

The persons referred to in common with all other persons are liable to assessment if resident in the United Kingdom, in accordance with the provisions of the Income Tax Acts. Persons, however, who are in the United Kingdom for a temporary purpose only, and who are not resident here for a period equal in the whole to six months in any one year are exempted from tax in respect of any profits or gains remitted to them from abroad. I have no knowledge of persons who habitually curtail their residence in the United Kingdom to less than six months in order to obtain the benefit of this exemption which could not be withdrawn without legislative sanction.

Will the right hon. Gentleman answer the first part of the question; whether it is possible for a man to be a citizen of the United States and a citizen also in Great Britain at the same time?

That is a question for the Foreign Office.

asked the Vice-President of the Department of Agriculture (Ireland) what was the amount of the deposits and cash balances in Irish joint stock banks in the years 1893 and 1912, respectively; and what was the amount of the deposits in Post Office and trustee savings banks in Ireland in each of these years?

The deposits and cash balances in Irish joint stock banks were £35,852,000 on 31st December, 1893, and £57,651,000 on 31st December, 1912, and in the Post Office Savings Banks £4,343,000 and £12,824,000, respectively. The deposits in the trustee savings banks were £1,876,000 on 31st December, 1893, and £2,606,000 on 31st December, 1912.

Do not these figures indicate a wonderful growth of prosperity in Ireland under the Union?

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland when the final proceedings for the acquirement and subdivision of the untenanted lands of Clonfin, North Longford, will be undertaken; whether any steps have been taken since his last reply on this subject; and, if not, will he say why?

As the hon. Member has already been informed, the Estates Commissioners have had this property inspected. Their formal proposal to purchase the property has been drafted, and when it has been settled and approved it will be issued to the owners. Meanwhile the Commissioners cannot take any further steps in the matter.

asked the Chief Secretary whether he is aware that from 1909 to the present time, out of a sum of £7,411 17s. 2d. due to county Longford in respect of capitation Grants for inmates in Mullingar district asylum, only £4,921 18s. 4d. has been paid, leaving a deficit of £2,489 18s. 10d. for three years, which involves an extra rate of 4d. in the £ on the county; whether, seeing that a capitation Grant of 4s. per head is statutorily due to asylums in Ireland, he will say what power exists to change that legal obligation; and will he ask the Treasury to make good this deficit to the county Longford?

The hon. Member appears to be under a misapprehension. Prior to the year 1910-11 no abatement was made from sums payable to the county of Longford in respect of the maintenance of insane poor in Mullingar Asylum. The total amount due to the county for that service for the financial years 1910–11, 1911–12 and 1912–13 was £6,919 lls. 4d., of which £6,065 11s. 6d. has been paid. As I have already informed the hon. Member, the abatement was made under the provisions of Section 58 (5) of the Local Government (Ireland) Act, 1898, the income of the local taxation account being insufficient to meet the sums payable thereout. The answer to the final paragraph of the question is in the negative.

asked what steps have been taken to make roads and fences for the tenants on the Lillington estate, Berrinagh, county Longford; and whether, in view of the condition of this estate, steps will now be taken to have proper accommodation in the way of roads and fences made for the benefit of the tenants of this congested area?

The Estates Commissioners have already expended over £250 on roads and drainage on this estate, and the question of further expenditure is under consideration.

asked the Chief secretary for Ireland the reasons why Ellen Farrelly, Fihora, county Longford, was refused an old age pension after the same had been passed for her by the local sub-committee; and whether he will direct the Local Government Board to send an independent inspector to inquire into this woman's circumstances?

Ellen Farrelly's claim has not been refused. An appeal has been lodged with the Local Government Board by the pension officer against the decision of the sub-committee on the ground that the claimant's means are in excess of the statutory limit. The case is at present under consideration by the Board, and when all the available particulars are placed before them they will be in a position to determine whether it will be necessary to send an inspector to investigate the claimant's circumstances before a decision is arrived at.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he is aware that Mr. F. Moore bought from the builder two houses in Copnor Road, Portsmouth, in 1907, for £390 each, and raised a, mortgage of £300 on each; that in 1909 the builder offered to buy back the houses at £370 apiece, the houses being built in a main road and the price of land increasing in value; and that since that date the local district land valuer has placed a value of £330 each on these houses; and if he can suggest any means by which Mr. Moore can obtain another valuation approximating more nearly to the value of the property and which will be accepted by the Government?

I understand that the total value of each house, to which the valuer proposes to adhere after considering the various representations received from the owner's agents, is £340. If Mr. Moore is of opinion that this does not represent the true value of the property at the 30th April, 1909, it is open to him to give notice of further objection and also for the purposes of Increment Value Duty to claim a substituted site value based on his original purchase. I have no knowledge of any offer to repurchase the houses at the figure named.

May I ask if this has to be done at Mr. Moore's own expense?

I do not think there is any way by which the Government can pay his expenses in the matter.

Is the right hon. Gentleman not aware that there is a general complaint of systematic undervaluation of this class of property.

I have heard it stated by the hon. Gentleman, but when we have got a debate on the subject he has never been able to substantiate the statement.

asked the Attorney-General, in view of the fact that 272 undefended cases are waiting to be disposed of in the Divorce Court, about 150 of these being from last session, many of them for some months previously, and that dissatisfaction is caused hereby, he will say whether any and, if any, what arrangements are being made to enable these old undefended cases to be taken at once in order that more immediate justice may be done to the plaintiffs, who are presumably innocent of any transgression against any law?

The Probate and Admiralty work, as well as the Divorce work, in the Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division is heavy. All classes of cases are being disposed of in regular order with all possible dispatch. Moreover, the President of the Division announced about a fortnight ago that he proposes to sit for some hours after the ordinary day's work is over, on three days in the week, for the express purpose of hearing undefended divorce suits.

Can the hon. Gentleman tell me whether it is not a fact that during the first week of the sittings these undefended cases are taken, and that the judges usually pass about fifty; and, further, whether this was not done this session?

I am afraid I cannot say.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he has consulted the Committee which he appointed recently to consider the question of the load line for ships on the point as to whether there is any serious objection to the meetings being open to the Press?

Yes, Sir, my right hon. Friend has consulted the Committee. This matter was fully dealt with in the answer which he gave on the 28th May to my hon. and gallant Friend the senior Member for Southampton, and I am sending my hon. Friend a copy of that answer.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, in view of the decision to raise canal rates to traders of the Midlands on 1st July, he has been advised that such increase is justified?

My right hon. Friend is not prepared to offer any opinion on the point, and has no jurisdiction in the matter.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he proposes to take any steps to carry out the recommendations of the Royal Commission on Canals and Inland Waterways?

I must refer the hon. Member to the answer which my right hon. Friend gave on the 9th instant to the hon. Member for the Stretford Division, of which I am sending him a copy.

asked the Prime Minister whether he intends to take any effective steps to fulfil his pledge that a Committee on Procedure should be appointed during the present Session?

The Motion is now on the Paper, and if it is not got before we will take it first Order on Friday.

I beg to ask the Under-Secretary of State for India a question of which I have given him private notice, namely, whether, having regard to the circumstances attending the retrial, conviction, and execution for murder in Oudh of natives previously acquitted, and the refusal to forward the appeal of the convicts to the Government of India for the revision or commutation of the sentence, the Under-Secretary will be prepared to say, on the Motion for the Adjournment of the House to-night, if it is the intention of the Secretary of State to advise that the penal code of India be modified so as to secure that the plea of previous acquittal on the same charge may be made available in the case of natives as it is in the case of Europeans, and that the procedure in trial for murder in India will be assimilated in the case of natives to that of Europeans?

I have assumed that my hon. and learned Friend intends by the question with customary consideration to indicate to me part of his argument in the Debate he proposes to raise to-night, and part of the reply he wishes me to make. I note the terms of the question, and I hope he will not press me to try and argue a very grave and difficult matter in an answer to a question.

Will the hon. Gentleman take care that I am not counted out?