asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether he is aware that, contrary to the information given to him, Mr. J. F. Letham was not admitted to a sanatorium on the 17th July and has not yet been admitted; that he has been waiting 13 weeks and has been informed that cases are taken in rotation and he is some distance down the list; whether he will cause inquiry to be made as to the delay and immediate steps to be taken to admit Mr. Letham to a sanatorium; and whether in view of the fact that 175 insured persons are being kept waiting by the Lancashire Insurance Committee, steps will be taken to secure more beds?

I am informed by the Lancashire Insurance Committee that Mr. Letham will be admitted to a sanatorium as soon as possible; that the county council public health committee at their meeting on Thursday last passed resolutions asking the county council to apply to the Local Government Board for loans amounting to approximately £30,000 for the provision of additional sanatorium accommodation; that it is proposed to erect three sanatoria at High Carley, near Ulverston; Heath Charnock, near Chorley; and Orrell, near Wigan; that these institutions will contain about 178 beds, and plans are at the present time being considered by the Local Government Board; that in addition, the county public health committee are on the point of entering into an agreement with the Fylde, Preston and Garstang Joint Smallpox Hospital committee to take on lease for a period of twenty-one years the hospital erected at Elswick some years ago for small-pox purposes, and that this institution with the proposed addition will accommodate about 60 patients.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury how many of the fifteen assistant clerks in the Customs Statistical Office who are at present on their maximum salary, are eligible by long service and efficiency, which were the qualifications stated to be required on 25th October, 1909, for the grant of the £10 special increment?

There are twenty-five assistant clerks in the Statistical Office at their maximum salary. As I informed the hon. Member for Tottenham on the 5th ultimo, it is not proposed to make any further assignments of special increments in this office at present, and it is therefore unnecessary to consider the qualifications of the men eligible by service for them. As has been frequently pointed out, these increments are not given automatically to those who have qualified as regards length of service.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether in view of the fact that an assistant clerk may properly be granted a special increment though he does not possess the qualifications required for a supervisory post, he can state why an assistant clerk in the Statistical Office of the Customs and Excise who possessed the qualifications for, and was promoted to, a supervising post was not granted before his promotion the £10 special increment to which he was properly entitled?

I beg to refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Tottenham on 13th February last. As has frequently been pointed out the possession of qualifications for a supervising post does not necessarily qualify an assistant for a special increment.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury how many of the fifteen assistant clerks in the Statistical Office, Customs and Excise, stated to be eligible by long service for the £10 special increment, are in receipt of a £30 allowance for the performance of duties outside the ordinary duties of their grade; and whether the recommendation for a £30 allowance depends on greater efficiency than that required for a £10 special increment?

The answer to the first part of the question is eleven; in reply to the second I beg to refer the hon. Member to the concluding part of the reply I gave him on the 26th ultimo.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury, if he will state what is the cause of the delay made by the Road Board in recommending the Grant for the improvement of the Dublin-Garristown road which they some time since indicated their intention to propose, all the conditions being then fulfilled.

The final specification for the proposed work on the Dublin-Garristown Road was received by the Road Board on the 12th instant. Immediately afterwards the Board arranged to have the road inspected on their behalf. The inspection will take place on the 31st instant, and as soon as the Report on the inspection has been received, the application for a Grant will be dealt with.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland the total amounts contributed by the State in Ireland during the financial year 1912–13 to the cost of elementary, secondary, and higher education, respectively; and the aggregate amounts contributed by the localities under each head?

The amounts contributed by the State during the year 1912–13 to the cost of elementary, secondary, and higher education in Ireland were as follows:—

Elementary Education.
	£
From the Vote for Public Education, Ireland	1,714,299
From the Ireland Development Grant	4,462
From the Vote for Public Works and Buildings, Ireland	47,076
From the Vote for the Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction	1,839
Total	£1,767,676
Secondary Education.
Payment from Local Taxation Account, Ireland, to the Intermediate Education Board	£ 46,566
Payments to Secondary Schools by the Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction	£ 27,714
	£ 74,280
Higher Education.
From the Vote for the Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction, Ireland	£ 18,485
Payments under Section 7 (2) of Irish Universities Act, 1908	£ 82,000
Payments under Section 7 (3) of Irish Universities Act, 1908	£ 29,281
Total	£ 129,766

The amount of contributions from local sources towards elementary education during the year 1912–13 cannot yet be stated. The amount so contributed in the year 1911 was £139,578. There were no local contributions towards secondary education. Contributions to the total value of £9,029 10s. were made by county councils for the maintenance of scholarships in the Queen's University, Belfast, and the University Colleges of Dublin, Cork, and Galway. The foregoing statement does not include expenditure or local contributions in respect of technical schools and classes under the control of the Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction.

asked the Chief Secretary the total number of acres sold under the Land Purchase Acts prior to 1903, the 1903 Act, and the 1909 Act; and the average price paid per acre in each case?

The acreage and average price per acre of lands sold and vested in the purchasers under the Irish Land Purchase Acts to 31st March last are as follows:—

	Area.		Average Price per Acre.
			£	s.	d.
Acts 1870–1896	2,508,937	…	9	9	0
Act of 1903	5,304,765	…	10	6	0
Act of 1909	421,217	…	7	5	0

asked the Chief Secretary when the Local Government Board found that the maternity nursing in Mitchelstown workhouse was unsatisfactory and that the medical officer frequently so reported within the past two years, why was no step taken by them to improve these defects in the interest of the sick poor; on what grounds did they couple the medical officer as deserving of the caution given to the midwife; and will he be relieved of the imputation of blame for a state of things which he has persistently protested against?

During the last three years the medical officer made several complaints to the Mitchelstown Board of Guardians in regard to alleged neglect of duty on the part of the midwife. The Local Government Board wrote to the guardians asking them to investigate these charges, and it would appear from the minutes of the board of guardians that in practically every case they considered the explanations furnished by the midwife satisfactory. At the same time the Local Government Board had to call the attention of the guardians to the disputes which were taking place between other officers of the workhouse, and although the guardians themselves tried to put an end to the friction that existed between the officers in question, it was necessary in the end for the board to hold a sworn inquiry into the causes of the quarrels that were continually taking place in the institution. The inspector who held the inquiry reported that there had been bad feeling between the medical officer and the midwife for several years past, and the board accordingly advised the guardians to caution these two officers to refrain from giving further cause of offence.

asked the Chief Secretary if he is aware that the Armagh old age pension sub-committee granted a pension of 5s. per week to Hugh Lennon, of Clady-beg, county Armagh; and if he can say why the said pension was disallowed on appeal by the pension officer of the district?

The pension committee granted a pension of 5s. a week to Hugh Lennon, as stated, but on appeal to the Local Government Board by the pension officer the Board decided that the claimant was not entitled to any pension on the grounds that he was unable to prove that he had reached the statutory age.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty what is the approximate area of land recently purchased by the Admiralty at Invergordon for oil storage and other purposes; and what was the price paid for it?

The Admiralty have at present taken 5½ acres, approximately, on a perpetual feu. The Feu Duty is £74 17s. per annum.

asked the Secretary for War whether he is aware that the wives and children, to the number of over 100, of the permanent staff of the R.M.I.J. had been paraded for re-vaccination if they had not been vaccinated within the previous seven years; whether any compulsion was exercised upon the persons concerned to submit themselves or their children to the operation; and, if so, why is it considered necessary to make the vaccination of soldiers' wives compulsory in this country, seeing that a similar requirement, which was formerly in force in India, has been rescinded?

I presume my hon. Friend refers to the Royal Marine Light Infantry. In that case, the question should be addressed to the Admiralty.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he has received an application from the Devonshire branch of the British Red Cross Society for a supply of Army forms relating to hospitals, cooking, rations, etc., whether those forms have been refused; and if so, will he say whether there is any reason why they should not be supplied to those detachments who are sufficiently keen to wish to familiarise themselves with those forms in order to render themselves more efficient should their services ever be called upon in time of war?

An application was received from the county of Devon for these forms but was refused on the ground that it was considered unnecessary that voluntary aid detachments should occupy their time in preparing Army forms and books which they would not be required to fill in in time of war. The subject, however, is again under consideration.

asked the Secretary of State for War what were the terms of the Order issued on Thursday, 8th May, with reference to the use of monoplanes?

The Order referred to gave permission for the use of those monoplanes which fully complied with the recommendations made in the Monoplane Committee's Report.

asked the Home Secretary if his attention has been directed to the alleged ill-treatment of pit ponies in the Maunders Main Colliery; and will he say if there has been any relaxation in the matter of periodical inspection and if reports of inspectors disclose a recrudescence of ill-treatment?

There is no colliery of this name on the Home Office list. If the reference is to Manvers Main Colliery, in Yorkshire, certain allegations of ill-treatment of animals at the mine were inquired into early last year and it was found that the conditions, though there was no evidence of actual cruelty, left a good deal to be desired. The animals at the mine have since that date been kept under observation by the inspectors, and the state of matters according to recent reports is now satisfactory.

asked the Home Secretary the number of fatal accidents that have occurred in factories and workshops in each of the years 1892 to 1912?

The particulars are is follows:—

Year.	Number of Fatal Accidents in Factories and Workshops.	Number of Factories and Workshops.	Number Employed in Factories and Workshops.
1892	426	—	—
1893	422	160,234	—
1894	448	—	—
1895	455	183,424	4,103,485
1896	525	—	—
1897	516	201,100	4,483,800
1898	577	—	—
1899	681	—	—
1900	831	—	—
1901	782	—	—
1902	850	—	—
1903	748	—	—
1904	727	242,807	4,750,070
1905	775	—	—
1906	799	—	—
1907	850	249,983	5,012,008
1908	767	—	—
1909	700	—	—
1910	822	—	—
1911	907	—	—
1912	945	272,972	—

asked the Home Secretary if he can say what was the number of factories and workshops visited by inspectors of the Home Office during the year 1912; and what is approximately the total number of factories and workshops that come within the provisions of the Acts?

Ninety thousand factories and 145,000 workshops approximately were visited in 1912. The total number on the registers at the end of the year was approximately 117,000 factories and 180,000 workshops.

asked the President of the Board of Agriculture whether he will consider the expediency of reducing the period of detention on live stock imported from Ireland and allow the animals to be removed after inspection and a reasonable time for rest and feeding?

I fear that I can add nothing to the answer which I gave to a similar question addressed to me by my hon. Friend on the 15th July.

asked the Secretary for Scotland whether, in view of the fact that the borough by-laws as amended under the Act of 1911 enact in effect that the only place where a teetotaler who is a bonâ fide traveller can get refreshment on Sundays is a public-house, he will so alter these by-laws as to permit bonâ fide temperance hotels to cater for such travellers?

The statement in the question as to the effect of the Act appears to be due to some misapprehension. All depends on the form of the bylaw that has been proposed by the local authority and confirmed. The Act of 1911 gives power to, but does not compel, the local authority to enact complete Sunday closing. Where by-laws have been confirmed I have no power to alter them, but the local authority can propose amending by-laws if they deem it expedient.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will invite Lord Kitchener to say what evidence was supplied him to support the charge that Adamovitch was a well-known revolutionary (Cd. 6874); whether the Consul - General was informed that Adamovitch has been tried and acquitted upon a charge of having incited a revolutionary strike of seamen at Odessa; whether the only formality observed in the case was the verbal application of the Russian Consul to the Governor of Alexandria for the arrest of Adamovitch; and whether this is the mode of procedure customary in such cases?

The answer to the first question is that it was not necessary for a foreign Consul, in dealing with one of his own nationals, to supply any evidence. The answer to the second question is, so far as I know, in the negative, but on this and the third question I have no information except what is supplied in the White Paper. The answer to the last question is that the mode of procedure adopted in this case was not contrary to custom under the Capitulations.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will state what were the values of woollen manufactures, domestic produce, exported from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and the United States, respectively, in each of the years 1903 and 1912 (in continuation of Table 28 contained in the Return, Cd. 4954, of 1909)?

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

Country from which Exported.	In 1903.	In 1912.
	Million £s.	Million £s.
United Kingdom	15.9	26.1
France	8.7	7.7
Germany	12.0	12.5
United States—
Excluding woollen wearing apparel*	0.09	0.3
Including woollen wearing apparel*	0.36	0.7
* See Note to succeeding question.

also asked the President of the Board of Trade what were the values of woollen manufactures (other than yarns) of domestic production exported from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and the United States to the principal protected countries, to the United Kingdom, and to all other countries, in each of the years 1903 and 1912, or the latest available year (in continuation of Table 33 contained in the Return, Cd. 4954, of 1909)?

The following statement, gives the information desired by my hon. Friend:—

(1) From UNITED KINGDOM.
Destination.	In 1903.	In 1912.
	1,000 £s.	1,000 £s.
To Principal Protected Foreign Countries	5,900	8,500
To all other Countries	10,000	17,600
Total Exports	15,900	26,100

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he has received from the officials of the Great Eastern Railway Company any explanation of their failure to make arrangements for the supply of food to those excursionists who, as a result of the accident, at Colchester on the 12th of July, were detained on their return journey throughout the whole of the Saturday night, many of whom did not reach the London terminus until eleven o'clock on the Sunday morning; and, if so, will he state the nature of such explanation?

The following is the letter referred to in my oral answer to this question:—"Great Eastern Railway,General Manager's Office,Liverpool Street Station,London, E.C., 28th July, 1913.Sir,—I am in receipt of your letter. R. 7776 of the 24th inst., in reference to the accident that took place at Colchester on the 12th instant. As regards the information given to intending passengers. I beg to enclose herewith copies of the statements made by the booking office clerks at the main line booking offices at Liverpool Street. In relation to the information given to people waiting the arrival of friends at the different points on the line, persons inquiring at various stations for expected friends were duly furnished by the station masters and staff with information from time to time during the afternoon and evening, and efforts were made to ascertain detailed particulars for the information of inquirers and intending passengers. With regard to passengers in the wrecked train, only one was detained at the hospital at Colchester and his wife was with him. With the exception of one or two persons who motored home, the whole of the remaining passengers joined a special train which was made up as quickly as possible after the accident, and left Colchester at 4.35 p.m., arriving at Liverpool Street at 5.55 p.m. This early arrival in London under the circumstances enabled the other passengers who were traveling by the Cromer express to reach Liverpool Street or their homes without serious delay, and thus enabled them to allay the anxiety of their friends. It was well known that the 1.0 p.m. ex Cromer was the only train which had met with any accident, and that any subsequent delay was only the result of the block which had occurred. It was hoped that the line would have been cleared in much less time than it actually took to remove the wreckage, otherwise more trains would have been diverted

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he can state what through rates on live stock from Dublin to Burnley were previous to the Detention Order or before the amalgamation of the railways; what is the increased charge at present under the new tariff; and whether an arrangement can be made to have live stock from Ireland booked through instead of having several bookings or whether the railway companies are prevented by the Detention Order from having through booking?

I have asked the railway companies concerned for information as to the rates between Dublin and Burnley, and will communicate with my hon. Friend on receipt of their replies. I understand that some through rates for Irish live stock were not withdrawn when the Detention Orders came into force, while others which were withdrawn have since been reintroduced.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he has had any complaints from Glasgow of the Post Office returning letters to senders in distant parts of the world for no other reason than that the addresses have removed to another street in that city, and the fact being well known to his Department; and will he issue a regulation forbidding this in future, in view of the fact that such action by his Department sometimes injures trade?

The answer to the first part of the hon. Member's question is in the negative; and to the second part that "there is a rule providing that a postal packet addressed to a person at a former address shall not be treated as undelivered if the new address is known to the postman."

further asked the President of the Local Government Board whether he will, in conjunction with the President of the Board of Agriculture, consider the advisability of extending to native meat traders compensation for the confiscation of animals bought bonâ fide in open market at full price but subsequently condemned as tuberculous?

I am afraid I can add nothing to the answer I gave to the question of the hon. Member on the 10th April last.