asked the Secretary to the Treasury on what principle the various Insurance Commissioners selected the methods for the election of the representatives of insured persons on insurance committees; what the probable cost to the taxpayer of such elections will be; whether he is aware that votes totalling in the aggregate many millions were cast nominally on behalf of approved societies by individual officials; and whether he will explain how such a method will result in an accurate expression of the opinion of the insured persons?

I will send the hon. Member copies of the memoranda issued, from which he will see that all the Commissioners have adopted the same general principles for securing the equitable representation of approved societies on the insurance committees. The detailed differences in the method of conducting the election by societies whose membership in any particular area was not sufficient to entitle them to a direct appointment were due to the different conditions obtaining in each country. Owing to the method of election adopted by the Commissioners the cost to the taxpayer, being merely the cost of printing the necessary documents, was inappreciable. The Act confers the power of appointing members not on the individual members of a society but on the society as a whole.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury if the first assistant secretary to the Insurance Commissioners for Wales resigned his position owing to his inability to speak the Welsh language; and whether, in making appointments in the Irish-speaking districts of Ireland, he will see that only persons able to speak the Irish language will be appointed?

With regard to the first part of the question, I would refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave to the hon. Member for Plymouth on 26th November last. The answer to the latter part of the question is in the negative.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, for the sake of clearness and uniformity in the systems of payment by approved societies, he can definitely state, either by means of the Amending Bill to the National Insurance Act or otherwise, whether Sunday is to be counted as one of the three waiting days before benefits are paid for sickness?

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer which I gave yesterday to the hon. Member for Salisbury, to which I have nothing to add.

asked the Vice-President of the Department of Agriculture (Ireland) whether the Department have received a resolution from the Slievardagh Rural District Council asking the Department to send an expert to examine and report on the possibilities of the Slievardagh coal mines; and whether he can state what action the Department propose to take in reference to the resolution?

The Department have received the Resolution referred to. It is expected that the Department's mineral expert will be able to visit the locality at an early date.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether he is now in a position to state when the Congested Districts Board will construct the pier at Ballins-kelligs?

The Congested Districts Board have decided to proceed with the construction of the pier at Ballins-kelligs, and the matter is at present in the hands of their engineer.

asked the Chief Secretary whether inquiry has now been made into the question of providing a slip for the pier at Cooscroum, near Cahirciveen; and when it will be completed?

Owing to the very heavy expenditure already incurred in the construction of a pier at Cooscroum near Cahirciveen, the Congested Districts Board have decided not to construct a slip at that place.

asked the Chief Secretary if he will ascertain directly from the, head teacher, manager, or secretary of each intermediate school in Ireland, as soon as possible, by letter of inquiry or otherwise, whether that particular school desires to participate in the Grant of £40,000 per annum promised last year; and whether that school will be conducted during the forthcoming school year in such a way as to comply with the conditions upon which the Grant was promised?

I am considering the question whether the proposed Grant can be made available for any schools which fulfil the conditions laid down in my draft scheme, but I do not think that it would expedite matters if I were to embark on a correspondence with the 337 secondary schools in Ireland.

asked the Chief Secretary the average income of a male principal teacher, second class, in an Irish national school under the old regulations in force in 1901 in a school where the average attendance was over seventy and where about ninety pupils were presented for results and made an excellent examination?

The Commissioners of National Education inform me that the average income from State sources of a second-class male principal teacher in 1895 was £90 12s. 7d. No later figures are available. It would be impossible now to say what the average income of a teacher might have been under the system of payments in force prior to 1900 in such a case as is contemplated in the question. In 1901 the new system of payments was in operation.

asked the Chief Secretary in how many workhouses in Ireland are extern midwives employed; who defines their duties; do they keep report books; has the medical officer of the Mitchelstown workhouse complained frequently for the past two years of the manner of the maternity nursing in that institution, and asked the Local Government Board to define the midwives' duties; and have they been defined or have the instructions of the medical officer been carried out, or the Nursing Order of 1901 with regard to workhouse nursing been complied with?

Extern mid wives are employed in forty-five workhouses in Ireland. These women are required to act under the directions of the medical officer of the workhouse, and after much careful consideration the Local Government Board came to the conclusion that it was better that they should be under the general instruction of the medical officers than that an attempt should be made to expressly define their duties by general regulations. Complaints have been received from the medical officer of the Mitchelstown workhouse, as stated, but the Board see no reason why the arrangements which have been found to work satisfactorily elsewhere could not likewise be observed in this institution. As regards the last part of the question, the nursing arrangements in this hospital have not been satisfactory according to the evidence at a sworn inquiry recently held by the Board, and they are in communication with the guardians on the subject.

asked the Chief Secretary what steps, if any, have been taken to secure the reinstatement of Denis T. Sheehan, who was evicted from his holding at Teeromoyle, on the O'Connell estate, near Cahirciveen?

The Estates Commissioners decided not to take any action in the matter of Sheehan's application for reinstatement and they will not provide him with a holding elsewhere.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he can take steps to provide that naval officers retiring on pension before the age of forty should be allowed to commute part of their pension, in view of the fact that the possession of a capital sum is of greater value than a pension in starting in a new career, that the regulation prohibiting the commutation of pensions was framed at a time when retirement before the age of forty was discouraged rather than encouraged, and that the alteration of the regulation would be of considerable value to many retired officers whilst not increasing the charge to the public?

It is not proposed to make any alteration in the existing rule.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether the firms of Messrs. Vickers, Sons, and Maxim, Erith; Messrs. Callender and Company, Erith; Messrs. Stones, Deptford; the Metal Munitions Company, Birmingham; and the Elswick Ordnance Company, Newcastle, are now on the list of Admiralty contractors and at present engaged in the manufacture of metal cases for that Department?

The answer is in the affirmative to both parts of the question.

asked the President of the Board of Education if he will state the amounts in 1911–12 of Annual Grant, Fee Grant, and the Small Population Grant?

The amount of Annual Grant paid in the financial year 1911–12 was £6,020,528 10s. 10d. This sum includes. £97,774 3s. 1d. Small Population Grant. The Fee Grant amounted to £2,696,027 12s. 8d.

asked (1) the total numbers of the establishment of the London Mounted Brigade, their total present strength, and the numbers actually on parade dismounted in Hyde Park on 5th July; and (2) the total numbers of the establishment of the 1st and 2nd London Territorial Divisions, their total present strength, and the total numbers actually on parade in Hyde Park on 5th July?

asked the actual total number of officers and of other ranks, of the dismounted units who were on parade at the Territorial Review on 5th July, also the total establishment of those units, and their total strength according to the last available Returns?

The numbers present on parade at the Royal review on 5th July were:—

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the General Regulations under the Coal Mines Act of 1911 will be issued as finally adjusted; and whether a full opportunity has been afforded to the miners' representatives of stating their views before the Referee?

The regulations have now been made by me in accordance with the recommendations of the referee. Copies are being printed, and should be available in the course of a few days. I understand a number of representatives, both of the general body of miners and of particular sections, such as the engine winders and firemen, were present at the inquiry and were given a full hearing by the referee.

asked the Home Secretary whether he can state the number of examinations which have been held by the new Board for mining examinations, set up under Section 8 of the Coal Mines Act of 1911; the number of candidates who have come forward on each occasion; and the number of first-class and second-class certificates of competency which have been awarded?

Two examinations have been held by the new Board for Mining Examinations (November, 1912, and May, 1913). The number of candidates who presented themselves at the November (1912) examination was 332 (103 First Class, and 229 Second Class); and the number of certificates of competency awarded was 36 First Class and 69 Second Class. The number of candidates who were authorised to attend the May (1913) examination was

also asked the Home Secretary if he has taken any further steps to gather information as to the system of working minerals on the Continent by hydraulic stowage or by other methods calculated to prevent the subsidence of the surface of the ground; if he will publish any Reports received by him on this subject; and if he will consider as to whether such methods of working minerals might be adopted with advantage in this country?

My hon. Friend will find references to this subject in the last two Annual Reports of the Chief Inspector of Mines, on pages 86 and 87 of the Report for 1910, and pages 79 and 80 of the Report for 1911. The method of hydraulic stowage of wastes and its applicability to English mines are now, being investigated by the Departmental Committee on Spontaneous Combustion in Coal Mines from the point of view of safety of working where the coal is liable to heat; but the subject of surface subsidence and the adoption of this or other methods of working as a means of preventing it are not matters in regard to which I have any power to take action.

asked the Home Secretary whether he proposes to take any steps to carry out the recommendations contained in the Report of the Committee on bathing and washing accommodation for miners; and whether such accommodation has yet been provided in any part of the United Kingdom under the provisions of the Coal Mines Act of 1911?

A draft of regulations to carry out the recommendations of the Committee was issued, in pursuance of the procedure prescribed by the Second Schedule to the Act on the 9th May last. Some proposals for amendment of the regulations have been lodged by the Mining Association, but I hope these will be disposed of, and the regulations finally made, at an early date. Until the regulations have been made the requirement in the Act does not take effect.

asked the Under-Secretary for India when His Majesty's Government and the Government of India expect to arrive at a decision upon the question of the disposal of the stocks of Indian opium accumulated at Chinese ports, and held up there by the provincial authorities contrary to the terms of the treaty on the faith of adherence to which on the part of the British and British-Indian Governments the exporters acted; and whether the Secretary of State will inform himself regarding the burning of villages and wholesale and individual shootings of peasants alleged, without contradiction, to be taking place in the province of Yunnan, in presumed pursuance of the policy lately agreed upon between His Majesty's Government and the present administration in China?

The present position as regards the opium stocks is that they are being absorbed gradually by the Chinese market in accordance with the Agreement; and I cannot say whether, or when, any acceptable alternative proposals will be made by the Chinese Government. In regard to the second part of the question the alleged incidents have no connection with the importation of Indian opium, and I propose to take no action in the matter.

asked the President of the Board of Agriculture whether, in view of the fact that there is no foot-and-mouth disease in Ireland and that live stock is rigidly inspected on both sides of the Channel, he will consider the advisability of allowing live stock to travel to markets or for immediate slaughter after inspection with a further reduced period of detention?

After careful consideration of all the circumstances, I am satisfied that it would not be expedient to reduce further the period of detention at the landing-places in Great Britain prescribed by the Board's Order. The advantage of the detention, both as enabling the Board to prevent the spread of contagious disease, and ensuring that the animals receive sufficient food and rest after their voyage from Ireland, has been abundantly proved by experience.

asked the Secretary for Foreign Affairs when he will lay upon the Table of the House the promised Papers on the proposed alterations in the Constitution of Egypt?

I am sorry that the translation of the new laws will take longer than I anticipated. I propose, therefore, to avoid undue delay by having the text laid without translation, but with a dispatch explaining and summarising them. The Paper will, I hope, be issued on Monday next.

asked the Secretary for Scotland what date the Departmental Committee on State Loans to Fishermen will be able to present their Report on this matter?

I am informed that the Report is nearly complete and that the Committee is to meet again in a few days.

asked the Secretary for Scotland whether he can give the House any information as to the loss of the "Vivid," which was stranded near Colonsay on Tuesday last?

The Royal Technical College of Glasgow Cadet Ship "Vivid" stranded on a reef to the South of Colonsay in the early morning of Tuesday, 8th July. The Fishery Cruiser "Minna," which was cruising towards Colonsay rendered every assistance possible, and took her crew on board. She endeavoured to tow the "Vivid" into shallow water, but was unable to save her, and she sank in six fathoms of water.

asked the Secretary for Scotland whether the Board of Agriculture will issue a short statement explaining how loans to crofters and others for the stocking of holdings and otherwise can be made; and what are the provisions for co-operation and communal credit which will afford sufficient security to encourage the advance of capital and to remove the possibility of eventual loss to the taxpayer?

The Board of Agriculture for Scotland have been advised that they have no power to make loans for the stocking of holdings; the method of making loans for other purposes is explained in revised leaflets Nos. 1 and 2 issued by the Board of which I am sending copies to my hon. Friend. The subject referred to in the second part of the question is now under the consideration of the Board.

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether he is aware that in 1912 his Board received from the Rural District Council of Chippenham a request to be permitted to determine the appointment of their inspector of nuisances, Mr. Edmund Balchin; whether the Board asked for reasons for acceding to the application, and whether those reasons were supplied; whether he is aware that Mr. Balchin has now received notice from the council terminating his engagement on the 31st August next, and that the medical officer of health for Chippenham stated in his annual report sent to the Board that he wished to thank Mr. Balchin for the assistance he had rendered and the energy he had shown in discharging the various duties of his office; if so, whether in view of the satisfaction expressed by the medical officer of health and the absence of any statement of reason from the rural district council, he is satisfied that no reason, ether than the advantage of the public health service, is actuating the local sanitary authority; and, if not so satisfied, whether he proposes to hold a public inquiry into the matter and into the sanitary conditions of, and administration in, the Rural District of Chippenham?

The facts are generally as stated in the question, but it was not until to-day that I received a statement of the reasons of the rural district council for dismissing the officer. They now state that the reasons for their action are general incompetence, accompanied by language and behaviour quite unbecoming to one occupy- ing an official position. The sanction of the Local Government Board is not required to the dismissal of this officer from office, but I am making some further inquiries into the matter.

asked the President of the Local Government Board, whether his Board have decided that the Willesden Board of Guardians must put out to contract the work of painting and redecorating the exterior wood-work of the workhouse and infirmary buildings; if so, whether he will state the grounds upon which the decision was come to; whether he is aware that for the guardians to carry out the work by direct labour the estimated cost does not exceed £300, whereas among the original tenders received from contractors the lowest was £558; whether he is also aware that this, the lowest, tender was accepted and the work was commenced, but it was so bad that the guardians stopped the contract; and whether it is the practice of the Board to encourage contract work irrespective of economical or other reasons?

The decision of the Local Government Board was given on the general ground that the circumstances of the case did not appear to justify a departure from the ordinary practice. I may say that I do not find that the guardians had any ground for supposing that the work which they required could be done for any such figure as £300.

asked the President of the Board of Trade the value of the total imports into, and exports from, the Port of London, coastwise and foreign and Colonial, in the year ended 31st March, 1913, or in the latest year for which figures are available?

The total value of the imports into the Port of London from foreign countries and British possessions for the year ended 31st December, 1912, the latest period for which figures are available, was £239,344,000, and the total value of the exports from the Port (including re-exports) in the same year was £144,284,000. The value of goods carried coastwise into and from the Port is not known.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that the increased rates on goods traffic which the railway companies put into operation on the 1st of the present month are not shown in the rate books kept by those companies for public inspection; and, if so, whether, in view of the fact that the increased rates are a matter of public interest, the Board of Trade will call upon the railway companies to comply at once with their obligation to show in such books the rates for the time being charged on goods traffic?

I understand that in some, if not all, cases the alteration of the actual figures in the rate books is being done gradually, and that meanwhile reference has to be made to a printed scale inserted in front of the rate book, showing what the increases are on rates of various amounts. To alter all the figures immediately would probably be difficult, as the books have to be kept available for public inspection, but I will call the attention of the railway companies to the desirability of completing the alteration as soon as possible.

asked the President of the Board of Trade, having regard to the fact that the whole trade of the country is affected by the increased rates on goods traffic put into operation by the railway companies on the 1st instant, whether the Board of Trade will exercise the power conferred upon them by Section 6 of the Regulation of Railways Act, 1873, and thereunder appoint some person to apply to the Court of the Railway and Canal Commission to determine whether the notices given by the railway companies of their intention to increase their rates on goods traffic on the 1st instant are or are not valid?

If any trader or responsible association of traders or local authority is of opinion that there is a doubt of the validity of the notices to which the hon. Member refers, it is open to such person or body to take proceedings to obtain a legal decision in the matter.

asked the Postmaster-General why female clerks and others in his Department, with a salary of less than £l per week, are called upon to pay 1d. for a receipt stamp on signing for their salary at the end of the month; and whether he can see his way to abolish this practice?

Under the provisions of the Stamp Act, 1891, a 1d. stamp has to be affixed to a "receipt given for, or upon the payment of money amounting to £2 or upwards." As the monthly instalments of salary of the officers in question exceed this amount, I have no power to refrain from requiring them to affix the stamp to the receipt form.

asked the Postmaster-General whether, having regard to the recommendations of the Hobhouse Committee that night duty attendances given by established officers of the Post Office should be shorter than those given during the day, and to the fact that the maximum pay of the night male telephone operators' class is higher than the maximum pay of the women telephonists' class, he will state the reasons for withholding extra duty payment from the women telephonists in Aberdeen who recently performed the duties proper to the night male operators, involving increased hours of attendance without the additional remuneration?

I cannot add much to the full explanation of this case which I gave to the hon. Member on the 27th ultimo. The ratio established by the Hobhouse Committee between day and night periods of duty does not appear to me to be applicable to a case like this, in view of the different conditions under which night operating is performed, nor does the comparison between the maxima of unestablished male night operators and established female operators appear to be relevant.