asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he has received any report of the recent piratical attack on the British steamship "Tai On," in which the officers lost 1,800 dollars in addition to the value of clothing and effects; and whether he intends to demand reparation from the Chinese Government, as has been done by the French Government in the case of a similar attack on the French steamship "Robert Lebaudy," which has occurred since the "Tai On" case?

As stated in answer to the hon. Member for East Nottingham on 5th May last, the circumstances of the attack on the "Tai On," as reported by the Governor of Hong Kong, do not appear to disclose any ground on which compensation could be demanded from the Chinese Government. I will inquire into the case of the "Robert Lebaudy," regarding which I have at present no information.

asked the Secretary for Foreign Affairs whether the instrument known as the Treaty of London is a definitive treaty, or only peace preliminaries requiring ratification by the Governments concerned; whether it has been ratified. by the Ottoman Government; and whether, in the absence of such ratification, the Powers of Europe have any right in international law to demand its observance by Turkey?

The instrument in question is a definitive treaty of peace, but it requires ratification by the Governments who are parties to it. I am not sure by which of them, if any, it has been ratified. As regards the attitude of the Powers towards the various belligerents, no specific provision of international law affects the question.

asked the Secretary for Foreign Affairs whether, in view of the break up of the Balkan League, the violation by Servia and Bulgaria of their treaty obligations, the atrocities committed by Bulgarian troops in territory conquered by them from the Turks, and the armed intervention of Roumania, there is any rule in international law to prevent the Turkish Government denouncing the Treaty of London and taking steps to restore her sovereignty in Adrianople and Eastern Thrace, especially having regard to the failure of Bulgaria to maintain effective occupation in that region?

I am not aware of a rule of international law that applies; the question appears to me to be one of ethics, political expediency, and self-interest.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say that there is any reason of political expediency for adopting a policy of coercion against Turkey?

That arises on the next question. My answer applies to the question the hon. Member has put, which does not relate to His Majesty's Government at all; it relates to the Turkish Government.

asked the Secretary for Foreign Affairs whether, at the outbreak of the Balkan War, His Majesty's Government and other European Powers intimated to the belligerents that no departure from the status quo ante bellurn would be permitted to result from the war; whether there was any reason except the unexpected success of the Bulgarian and Servian arms for the subsequent reversal of this declaration by the Powers; and whether, in view of the failure of the Allies to make good their conquest of Turkish territory, he will give an assurance that His Majesty's Government will refuse to join in any coercive policy against the Turks for the purpose of preventing them from recovering by force of arms any losses they have sustained in the war, or to consent to the employment of force for that purpose by any other Power or combination of Powers?

The answer to the first part of this question is in the affirmative, as stated in my reply to the hon. Member for North Somersetshire on the 31st October last. I suppose the best general answer to the second part of the question is that the Powers did not consider it desirable to intervene by force to make good their original view. But I must qualify this by observing that as regards the Ægean Islands and Albania the Powers did continue to reserve their decision, and in the case of Albania have intervened by force to make it respected. It must not, therefore, be assumed that they will take no action at all in other cases, though hardly any one case is an exact parallel to another. I cannot give any undertaking, such as the hon. Member desires in the last part of his question, which might entail the separation of His Majesty's Government from the rest of the Powers under circumstances that have not yet arisen and cannot be foreseen.

May I ask. whether, in view of the Powers having allowed the former Allies to indulge in a naked war of conquest, there is any reason to object to the reoccupation of former Turkish territory in accordance with the. principles of nationality, which the right hon. Gentleman formerly supported?

These questions are really based on the assumption that the action of the Powers is regulated by logic and international law. The action of the Powers seems to me to have been influenced in the case of each individual Power, first, by the view of what its own interests require, and, in the case of all the Powers, by a common desire to preserve the peace of Europe. I imagine that their action will continue to be regulated by those influences.

asked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether he is aware that the Estates Commissioners, after inspection by one of their officers, told Mr. Daniel Courtney, of Clahananode, Castlegregory, on the Ventry estate, that they regarded his case as one that should be dealt with by them; will he say what steps have the Commissioners since taken to carry out their promise; and what is the cause of the delay in dealing with this case?

The Estates Commissioners, on further consideration, decided that this was not a case in which they should take any action, and from this decision they are not prepared to-depart.

asked what is the cause of the delay in the issuing of vesting orders on the estate of W. B. Lauder, at Clanfaulough, and Glebe Clonmacnoise, King's. County; and whether the money will be advanced this year?

The holdings on this estate will be vested in the tenant purchasers as soon as the question of the allotment of the turbary on the estate has, been settled.

asked what steps, if any, have been taken by the Congested Districts Board to improve the slip at Bulbawn, Ballyfenither, county Kerry; whether, seeing the number of fishermen employed, and the necessity for improving the landing place in the interest of the safety of the fishermen, steps will be taken to have this work attended to as soon as possible?

The Congested Districts Board have referred the question of the improvement of this slip to their engineer for inquiry when next in the district, and they await his report in the matter.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland if he is aware that Michael Keane, Grange, Turloughmore, county Galway, with his family, were evicted in the year 1896 by his landlord, Vesey FitzGerald, out of his holding situated at Grange, Turloughmore; is he aware that Keane's son forwarded to the Estates Commissioners an application for reinstatement or an equivalent holding some time ago; and, seeing that a mere technical difficulty stands in the way of Keane's application, that is, the fact of not having applied before a certain date, whether provision will be made to deal with such cases in the coming Land Bill?

This application does not come within the provisions of the Evicted Tenants Act, 1907, not having been lodged within the period mentioned therein. It will be considered when the estate is being dealt with under the Land Purchase Acts, but the Estates Commissioners have no power to interfere with the present occupier.

asked how the actuary now examining the accounts of the Irish Constabulary Force Fund will deal with the period for which the accounts are said to be not available; and, if the missing accounts are recovered for his purposes, whether an independent actuary appointed by the contributors to that fund will be allowed to examine them?

The Inspector-General informs me that the account books in connection with the fund from 1866 to the present date have been traced and are now available. I see no necessity for the appointment of another actuary.

In view of the expressed desire of the pensioners, whose property this is, will the right hon. Gentleman allow an actuary appointed by them to examine the accounts?

No, I see no necessity for that.

asked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1) if he will produce or render accessible the report made by a county inspector of the Royal Irish Constabulary on Sergeant Sheridan's reports, and say why the latter was not put on trial; and whether the amount paid to Sheridan out of the Constabulary Force Fund will now be brought into account by the actuary; and (2) whether the accounts of the Irish Constabulary Force Fund show that payments for so-called meritorious services were made out of that fund to all the officers who employed and gave good records to Sheridan and Cullinan, while no such payment was made to any officer who exposed the criminal activity of these men; and whether the amount of all such payments will now be restored to that fund?

As I have already stated, I must decline to reopen in any way the case of Sergeant Sheridan. Cullinan was not a member of the police. No local officer of the police has the power to grant favourable records.

The right hon. Gentleman has not answered the question whether the money paid to these men will be restored to the fund.

No, Sir.

asked what is the total amount of grants, under whatever name, made out of the Irish Constabulary Force Fund to officers, with the amount contributed to the fund by all officers, and to men, with the amount contributed to the fund by all men, since 1878?

As I have already informed the hon. Member, the constabulary authorities are busy procuring information required for the actuarial investigation of the position of the fund, and I cannot impose upon them the duty of preparing the further return asked for in the question.

asked, having regard to the profit made by the Treasury by charging persons of all ranks in the Civil Service, including the Royal Irish Constabulary and Dublin Metropolitan police, on commuting their pensions, 5 per cent. on money which the Treasury obtains at 3½ per cent., whether it is intended to alter the law requiring this before the passing of the Government of Ireland Bill; and, if not, into which Treasury will this profit go after the passing of that Bill?

Under the Government of Ireland Bill the provisions of the Pensions Commutation Acts are applicable to compensation allowances payable under the Bill. Any profit due to the fact referred to would accrue to the Irish Government.

asked whether Cullinan, the hired informer who organised the attack on a farmer's house in county Clare, was in the pay and service of Head-Constable Whelehan when the latter lost his life in connection with that attack; how long afterwards Cullinan's services were retained; how much he was paid out of the Constabulary Force Fund; and whether payments to such men will be brought under the notice of the actuary now investigating the accounts of that fund?

The constabulary authorities have no information as to whether Cullinan was in the pay and service of the late Head-Constable Whelehan. Cullinan was a Crown witness in the case referred to, and it is not known what became of him after the trial. He never received any grant from the Constabulary Force Fund.

asked what facilities, if any, have been given to students in the faculty of commerce in the Cork University College to combine a practical commercial training with the theoretical instruction given in the college class rooms; to what extent have students availed themselves of these facilities; and whether it is proposed to extend these facilities?

The registrar of the college informs me that a number of business firms in Munster have generously offered facilities to the students in the faculty of commerce to obtain in their offices during the summer vacation a practical acquaintance with business methods. Six out of the nine students are availing themselves of the practical training offered them; but the other three for personal reasons are unable to do so. It is expected that these facilities will be extended, and that the number of students will increase.

asked if there is any rule of the Commissioners of National Education which requires a woman teacher in a school receiving Grants from the Board to resign her position on marriage; and, if not, by what authority the Roman Catholic bishop of Down and Connor requires the resignation of women teachers in such circumstances in schools under Catholic management in his diocese?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the negative. With regard to the second part, I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the question asked on this subject by the hon. and gallant Member for East Down on the 3rd instant.

asked the Chief Secretary whether he has received a resolution from the Cork District Committee of the Irish Land and Labour Association, pointing to the necessity of immediately providing the further loan to finance outstanding improvement schemes under the Labourers (Ireland) Acts; whether, as stated in this resolution, some of these schemes have been hung up for the last four years for want of money and thousands of families have been, as a consequence, obliged to live in unsanitary dwellings as well as deprived of the product of the acre allotments which would have helped them to maintain a more tolerable existence; and whether, in view of the hardship which the further postponement of this matter will entail upon the most necessitous of the Irish rural population, he will reconsider the advisability of introducing a non-contentious Labourers Bill before the close of this Session to provide the Grant of the additional million, stipulated for in the Land Purchase Bill, right away?

I have received several resolutions of the nature indicated in the question including one from the Cork District Committee of the Irish Land and Labour Association. As I have already informed the hon. Member, it would be impossible at this stage of the Session to effect any legislation on the subject by means of a separate Bill.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that in the case of Uganda and other loans it was clone by Estimate and afterwards legalised in the Appropriation Bill?

I am aware of that precedent.

asked whether all the labourers' cottages contracted for by the Enniskillen, county Fermanagh, Rural District Council in the year 1910 have yet been finished; and, if so, will the Local Government Board now authorise the district council to proceed with their second scheme as approved by the Board's inspector?

Of the seventy-one cottages in the council's scheme, thirty-seven have been completed, while the remaining thirty-four, although contracted for, are still unfinished. No "second scheme" has been received by the Local Government Board from this rural district council.

Will the Board not take steps to have these cottages, now three years in hand, finished?

We have to work through the Rural District Council. I will call their attention to it.

asked the Chief Secretary whether he can state the amount paid for the last three years to Patrick Fitzpatrick for commodities supplied by him as contractor to the Ballinasloe, county Galway, Asylum, and who is at present contractor for forty-two different commodities; whether he is aware that most, if not all, the paying orders were signed by Patrick Larkin, county councillor, who is a brother-in-law of Fitzpatrick's and a member of the asylum committee, and lodged to the credit of Larkin's own account; that it was shown some of the goods were purchased and delivered by Larkin; that some of the same were found by the Local Government Board inspector to be adulterated to the extent of 50 per cent.; and whether he will take steps to have this matter thoroughly investigated by a sworn inquiry, the interest of the ratepayers protected, and the guilty parties punished?

The inspectors of lunatics inform me that during the last three financial years Mr. Patrick Fitzpatrick was paid £2,923 for goods supplied to the Ballinasloe Asylum. The Local Government Board's auditor, in his report on the accounts of the asylum, called attention to the fact that some of the paying orders drawn in favour of Mr. Fitzpatrick had been lodged to the credit of his brother-in-law, Mr. P. Larkin, who is a member of the asylum committee. He also stated that Fitzpatrick supplied oil to the asylum which on analysis proved to be adulterated 50 per cent., and that the Committee had fined the contractor and relieved him of his contract. The committee have referred the auditor's report to their solicitor for advice as to the steps they should take in the matter, and in the meantime no action on my part is called for.

asked the Chief Secretary whether he has been informed of an attack made upon a small party of Boy Scouts at Dolphin's Barn, Dublin, on Thursday evening, the 24th instant; whether he is aware that a troop of the city of Dublin scouts are in camp at Kimmage, near Dolphin's Barn; that they are entertaining some English scouts from Manchester in return for hospitality shown to Irish scouts at the late rally of Boy Scouts in that city; whether he is aware that two of these English boys with some of their Irish comrades were attacked by a Nationalist mob at Dolphin's Barn on the evening mentioned and chased back to their camp; that the scouts' tents were torn down and property carried away; whether he is aware that the antipathy of the Nationalist mob of Dublin to the boy scouts arises from the fact that they carry the Union Jack and are affiliated to the British scouts; and whether any arrests have been made or any persons made amenable for this riot and destruction of property?

asked the Chief Secretary whether his attention has been called to an attack made last Thursday evening by a crowd of men, youths, and boys upon boy scouts at or near their camp at Kimmage, outside Dublin; whether the boys who were attacked included two boys of a party from Manchester on a visit to the camp; whether the crowd threw stones, hooted, jeered, and made use of abusive-epithets, in which the boys were called Foreigners and Saxons; whether, not content with terrorising the boys, the crowd knocked over the tents and carried away all the cooking utensils; and whether any arrests have been made?

My attention has been called to this matter, which has been greatly exaggerated. I am informed by the police that some Boy Scouts from Manchester when passing through Dolphin's Barn on their way back to their camp, on the 24th instant, were followed by a number of idlers, who made jeering remarks and threw some stones, but no one was struck. The pole of one of the tents was pulled up, which caused the tent to fall, and a tent pole, one of the scout's kit bag, and a few pans were stolen. This was not the doing of a mob, but of a knot. of corner boys. The Union Jack was not referred to at all. The scouts could not identify any of their assailants, who went away over the fields before the police arrived. Some more scouts arrived from Manchester on the 27th instant, and there has been no further interference with the camp.

Am I right in saying that the camp has since been under police protection?

No, it has not been under police protection, but the police keep an eye upon it.

Are there two policemen stationed there permanently since?

I do not know whether they are permanently stationed there, but they are there.

What distinction does the right hon. Gentleman draw between a mob and a lot of corner boys?

I did not say a "lot." I said a "knot."

asked the Chief Secretary whether he is yet in a position to state that the whole or any portion of She £40,000 Grant promised for Irish intermediate education will be available this forthcoming school year?

asked the Chief Secretary what steps he proposes to take with regard to the Grant of £40,000 for secondary education in Ireland; and whether, seeing that inconvenience is caused to schools in making their arrangements for the coming year by delay in arriving at a definite decision in this matter, he will comply with the wish of the Irish people by making this Grant immediately available?

As no alternative plan for the distribution of the proposed Grant of £40,000 has been suggested to me from any quarter that fulfils the essential conditions of securing, first, the substantial improvement of the salaries and status of the assistant lay teachers in Irish secondary schools, and, secondly, the distribution of the proposed Grant fairly between the various classes of secondary schools in Ireland, I propose to put the Grant on a Supplementary Estimate and to introduce early next Session any Bill which may be necessary to bring the regulations for the distribution of the Grant contained in my first draft into operation. I shall always be ready to receive and consider any suggestions which may be made to me for alterations in the scheme which do not violate the above-named essential conditions. I hope that by this means the Grant may be made available for the coming school year.

When will the Supplementary Estimate be set down? Further, as the right hon. Gentleman is taking that course with regard to the £40,000, why does he not propose a Supplementary Estimate in the case of the labourers?

I shall do the best I can. The Supplementary Estimate I refer to will be next year, of course.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether his attention has been called to the statement that the attack upon Mr. Conway, the reporter of the "Dungannon Democrat," at the meeting at Castlecaulfield on the 12th July, took place while the Rev. R. T. Simpson was addressing the meeting; 'whether Mr. Conway was attacked while seated on the platform with the other pressmen; whether attempts were made to rush the platform; whether Mr. Conway left the platform and sought the protection of the police; whether the police present were few in number, and were unable to protect him; if he is aware that Mr. Conway was beaten with drumsticks, wooden mallets, and deacon poles carried in the Orange procession; whether he is aware that this all took place while the meeting was actually proceeding; whether he is aware that on his arrival at Dungannon Mr. Conway was medically attended by Surgeon Cordier Marmion, J.P., deputy coroner for county Tyrone; whether he is aware that that gentleman has publicly stated that if he had not applied restoratives Mr. Conway would have succumbed, that his life was in imminent danger for three or four days, that Mr. Conway is still suffering from a stiff knee and walks lame and with pain, and is still under medical treatment; whether, in view of this statement made by a qualified and well-known medical man, he can state on what grounds the police authorities have stated that, on examination by the doctor, Mr. Conway was found not to be seriously injured; and can he state what doctor, if any, gave such information to the police?

I have done my best to ascertain the real facts of this case. My attention has been called to a newspaper account to the effect stated in the question, and I have also had the advantage of reading a letter from the Rev. R. T. Simpson on the subject. The Member for South Tyrone was the first speaker at the meeting. He left immediately afterwards for another meeting some miles away. Mr. Simpson was the fourth and last speaker. He states that after he had spoken for a time he heard to the left of the platform someone saying, "Come down out of that! You have no right to be there!" Looking in the direction of the sound, he saw a man sitting on the rail of the platform. Thinking it was he that the crowd were calling on to come down, as he was obstructing their view, Mr. Simpson requested him to do as they wished, and continued his speech. The words heard by Mr. Simpson appear to have been addressed to Mr. Conway, and the crowd proceeded to try to pull him off the platform. Conway got off the platform, and eight policemen, seeing him leave it, went to his assistance. They and a number of people in the crowd did their best to protect him, but were only partially successful. He was knocked down and kicked and struck with drumsticks, but the police did not see any blows struck with poles or maets. All this happened on the road outside the field in which the meeting was being held and while the meeting was still going on. The police inform me that the head constable was informed by Dr. Marmion on the date of the occurrence that Mr. Conway was suffering from shock, but was not seriously injured. On the following day Mr. Conway himself told the head constable that he was not seriously injured. It was on these interviews that the police based their report as to his injuries.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the report to which he refers was published in a local Unionist organ, and that it gives facts which have not been disputed by anyone who was present on the scene?

Yes, Sir, I think that in all probability—in fact, I am quite sure—the account in the newspapers, whether Unionist or any other, was substantially correct. The real point of the question, as I understand it, was as to how far my information from the police that Mr. Conway was not seriously injured—I am afraid he was undoubtedly injured—was well founded. It was founded on information given to the head constable by Dr. Marmion, and also upon information given next day by Mr. Conway, who, although he had been shockingly badly treated, happily was not seriously injured.

Am I right in concluding from the reply that the meeting had not concluded notwithstanding the fact that the hon. Member for South Tyrone (Mr. Horner) had not made his usual glorious, pious, and immortal oration?

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the reports in the Nationalist papers bear out the statement, which was presumably supplied by Mr. Conway himself, of the fact we all deplore—[An HON. MEMBER: "First time you have said it."] I have always said so—that this assault took place on the public road and not as stated at the meeting.

Is it not a fact that Mr. Conway was pulled off the platform three times in succession?

Really my life is too short to go into all these matters. I know three things—firstly, that everybody deplores the incident; secondly, that the meeting was not over; and, thirdly, that the gentleman was interfered with on the platform.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he can state the most recent occasion previous to the present on which Imperial troops were sent to the Witwatersrand in connection with a labour dispute?

The only other occasion on which troops were sent to the Rand for the preservation of order was in 1907.

I should like to ask the right hon. Gentleman if the hon. Member for Hanley (Mr. Outhwaite) did not take a prominent part in that strike in Johannesburg?

asked the Secretary to the Treasury at what decision the Government has arrived in respect of the fixed remuneration allowed to sub-postmasters for the work they perform under the National Insurance Act?

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether he is yet in a position to give any definite information as to what the remuneration of the postmasters and sub-postmasters will be under the National Insurance Act; and, if he can give no information at the moment, whether he will soon be in a position to do so, in view of the fact that the officers concerned have been performing their duties under the Act now for a period exceeding twelve months without knowing what their remuneration is to be?

asked the Postmaster-General in view of the fact that insurance stamps have now been sold by the Post Office officials for over twelve months, if his inquiries are sufficiently advanced to enable him to supersede the present provisional rates and remuneration to sub-postmasters with a permanent and more satisfactory arrangement; and if he is unable at the present time to propose a permanent basis of remuneration for the additional work entailed, when does he expect to be in a position to deal with the matter?

asked the Postmaster-General when he will be able to communicate to the National Federation of Sub-Postmasters his proposed scale of remuneration for additional work under the National Insurance Act, as promised to their executive on 13th March; and whether he will be able to state his final decision on the subject to the House before the end of the Session?

In reply to these questions, I would refer to the answer given by the Postmaster-General on Monday last, of which I am sending the hon. Members a copy.

asked (1) what was the amount of mileage grant to which the Highlands of Perthshire would have been entitled had they been retained in the Highlands and Islands (Medical Service) Bill; and what increased amount will they now be given, seeing that they have been deprived of the benefits of this Bill; and (2) whether the portion of the mileage grant due to Perthshire will be deducted from the the Highlands and Islands Grant where it originally figured, or whether it will be treated as an additional burden on the £16,000 already allocated to other districts in Scotland?

The amount assigned to the part of Perthshire covered by the Special Grant-in-Aid of £10,000 is £800. In addition, this area will participate in the balance of the Grant which has not already been distributed. This scheme of distribution applies only to the present year, and in future years any mileage grant to the area in question will be made out of the mileage fund available for Great Britain generally apart from the Highlands and Islands of Scotland?

May I ask the hon. Gentleman to reply to the last part of the second question?

While the old arrangement continues this part of Perthshire will continue in it, but when the old arrangement terminates, Perthshire will come under the new arrangement.

Are we to understand that Perthshire has a distinct grievance, and that it will lose money?

The Noble Lord must make his own calculations on the basis of the facts I have given him.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury why the total cost of the works to which the Road Board made Grants does not appear in this year's Report as in former Reports?

As explained in paragraph 18 of the Report, the omission of Appendix 2 (List of Grants) of the Third Annual Report of the Road Board of the estimated cost of each work is due to the fact that in many cases the amount of the Grant is determined, not by the cost of the proposed work, but by the amount of money which can be allocated to a particular work.

Will the hon. Gentleman say what percentage of the total cost is paid by the Road Board?

I am afraid I cannot add anything to the answer I have already given.

asked why there is no entry of the amounts of the various investments shown in the last Report of the Road Board?

The hon. Member will find in Appendix 16, page 66, of the Third Annual Report of the Road Board a complete statement of the various investments made by the Board in the year ending 31st March, 1913, together with a list of the investments and amounts held by the Board at that date.

asked why the amount granted to Welsh counties, whose roads are often hilly and costly to maintain and which are largely used by tourists, has been so small?

I understand that the Grants indicated by the Road Board to highway authorities in administrative counties in Wales, including Monmouthshire, amounted to £106,962 up to the 30th June, 1913. The Board do not consider this amount as small, having regard to the funds available. The hon. Member will find, if he refers to the Local Taxation Returns, that the maintenance of roads in Welsh counties is not exceptionally costly.

Will the hon. Gentleman inform the Road Board that the roads are largely used by tourists, and that therefore it is not fair that the local authority should pay?

Certainly I will inform the Road Board as to what the hon. Gentleman has said. Perhaps he will make representations himself.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether he is aware that those employers of dock labour in Liverpool who are not parties to the Liverpool dock labour scheme have been avoiding payment of their contributions under the National Health Insurance Act at the expense of those who are parties to the scheme; and whether he will cause steps to be taken to prevent this practice by requiring them to stamp the workman's card at the termination of the first period of employment in every week?

The Commissioners have received representations in this sense in regard to one firm only in Liverpool. The matter is now being investigated, and, if the allegations are substantiated, immediate steps will be taken to secure strict compliance with the provisions of the Act and the regulations.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether the Government proposes to provide for the development of open-air schools, in order that the physical deficiences of the poorer children in our public elementary schools, to which the tables of heights, weights, and state of nutrition testify, may receive attention without addition to the existing rates and taxes?

The Board of Education already pay Grants in aid of open-air schools for children suffering from tuberculosis and other ailments for which open-air treatment is specially suitable. The Government are fully alive to the importance of the subject of open-air schools, but they are also alive to the difficulty of the problem of developing the national system of education in any direction without further expenditure of public money, which would have to be provided out of either rated or taxes, or both.

May I ask the right hon. Gentleman whether it would not be better to secure decent housing for the children?

We desire to secure both.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether he intends to proceed with the Education (No. 2) Bill in the event of there being any strong opposition to its proposals?

There has been nothing to indicate that there is any widespread opposition to the Bill, and I, therefore, hope there may be no difficulty in passing it this Session.

Can the right hon. Gentleman give building Grants without the Bill?

There are ways of doing it, but the way the Government has suggested, is the one which they recommend, and they think it is very important that it should be done in that form.

Does the right hon. Gentleman want to do under a Bill what his predecessor, the present Home Secretary, did without a Bill?

Does the right hon. Gentleman remember that he told me a few days ago that he could not give this building Grant without legislation?

Certainly, not for elementary educational purposes.

Are we to understand that the Grant given before, by the predecessor of the right hon. Gentleman under the Appropriation Bill by Supplementary Estimate, was wrong?

I think that that is really a subject matter of Debate. There was criticism made in regard to the other and I thought that the House on this occasion would prefer the way which I suggest.

Does the right hon. Gentleman mean that he cannot give this building Grant without a Bill?

I have already indicated that I cannot give relief to local education authorities in connection with elementary schools, except the matter is regularised in the way we suggest.

asked the President of the Board of Education if the Glamorganshire education authority are still ignoring the directions of the Board as to the payment of the teacher's salary at Llansannor Church school; and if he is aware that this teacher is a duly qualified teacher, and that no teacher with a knowledge of Welsh answered the advertisement of the local authority?

The managers have stated that they have appointed a head teacher qualified in all respects except in the matter of Welsh, and that no other candidate has applied for the post. The Board are endeavouring to bring about a settlement of the dispute. They do not at present know what action the authority propose to take.

How long has the Board had under consideration the tyranny of this education authority and the persecution which is being caused to the teacher of the school?

I am in communication with the local education authority at the present moment. We have not yet got the case stated for our decision, and we are suggesting to the local education authority that they might send the case for our decision at an early date. I am very anxious with the help of the managers and the local education authority to bring the matter to an end as soon as possible.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that it is five months since this teacher has been appointed?

My attention was not called to the matter until two or three weeks ago.

Will the right hon. Gentleman be able to give the information to the House before the Adjournment?

In connection with this particular school?

Yes.

I cannot really add anything to what I have already said. I am in communication with them, and have suggested that they should present the case for our decision, and I really believe that I shall be able to arrange something very shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if the officers in the prisons service who were transferred from the local authority in 1878, under the provisions of the Prisons Act of 1877, are entitled to an annuity of two-thirds of their salary; or, if not, if they are entitled as Civil servants to the advantages conferred upon the Civil Service by the Superannuation Act of 1909?

"Existing" officers transferred under the Prison Act, 1877, are not entitled to an annuity of two-thirds of their salary, but they may be granted a pension calculated on the length of their service and not exceeding the amount of two-thirds of their salary. It has been ruled by the Treasury that, as these officers derive their right to pension from Section 36 of the Prison Act, 1877, they are not Civil servants within the meaning of the Superannuation Act, 1909, and cannot, therefore, enjoy the advantages given by that Act.

Am I to understand that as Civil servants they are deprived of benefit as prison officers under the Act of 1877, and that as prison officers they are deprived of the benefits conferred upon Civil servants by the Superannuation Act of 1909?

I would not put the matter quite in the way in which the Noble Lord does. Their rights depend upon the construction of the Statute, and I. have no power to intervene in the matter.

Has the right hon. Gentleman no power to include them under the provisions of the Act of 1909?

I believe not. The provisions of the Act bind me as much as they bind the officers in the service.

asked whether any man or woman, whether a suffragette or not, would, under the Prisoners (Temporary Discharge for Ill-Health) Act., be let out of prison, although convicted of purposely breaking windows or setting fire to houses, if he or she decided to starve themselves whilst in prison?

If the hon. Member means by "any man or woman" every man or woman, the answer is in the negative. If, however, the ordinary construction is placed upon the words "any man or woman," the answer would depend upon the circumstances of each case.

Are we to understand that any persons who call themselves suffragettes, whether they are of the gender of the goose or the gander, are now under the law given privileges which are not allowed to other people? Would the right hon. Gentleman make that clear?

If the hon. Member means whether in every case such persons would be given privileges, the answer is in the negative. If he means that in a particular case privileges might be given to that particular person, the answer is that it would depend upon the circumstances of the individual case.

Then we are to understand that suffragettes have got a chance of getting some advantage over all other people under the Home Secretry's late Act?

No, on the contrary, I am afraid that the effects of starvation in prison cannot be described as an advantage.

It is voluntary starvation.

asked the Home Secretary why he has offered Miss Agnes Lake, who was recently sentenced to six months' imprisonment in the third division for managing the advertisement columns of the "Suffragette," a pardon on condition that she resigns her membership of the Women's Social and Political Union; and what authority he has for attaching conditions as to a prisoner's future politics to any pardon conferred on her?

The Noble Lord has been misinformed. I have made no such offer.

Would the right hon. Gentleman state he has not offered a conditional pardon to this lady?

That is not the question which the Noble Lord has put on the Paper.

Has the right hon. Gentleman offered this lady a pardon on condition that she refrains from identifying herself with this militant union?

That is exactly the question which the Noble Lord has on the Paper, and which I have answered in the negative.

Has there been an offer?

I cannot say from memory whether in this particular case I have made any offer at all, but if I did it would be similar to other cases, that if they gave an undertaking that they will not join in any future action to break the law, not to keep out of a particular organisation or not, but if they will not break the law, I will consider whether the case should not be favourably dealt with.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his attention has been called to the case of John Davitt, who was charged at the Dartford Police Court on the 21st July with acting as a pedlar without a licence; whether Davitt was dealt with as being of unsound mind; whether it is only the man's political eccentricities which gave the prison doctor the impression that he was insane; and whether it is his intention to have the man further examined medically?

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his attention has been called to the case of John Davitt, of Dartford, who has been, or is, in danger of being sent to a lunatic asylum on the recommendation of the prison doctor for expressing views inimical to the present state of society; and, if so, will he have this man's ease inquired into by an independent doctor before he is certified as insane?

On this man being charged before the Dartford justices on the 17th of this month, it appeared to them doubtful whether he was of sound mind, and he was accordingly remanded for medical observation. The medical officer of Maidstone Prison (who is not a Civil servant) considered him insane; on the 22nd, another doctor also certified him insane, and an order for his detention as a lunatic was accordingly made by a magistrate specially appointed to act under the Lunacy Acts. The man is detained in Barming Heath Asylum, where his mental condition will receive constant attention.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that this man merely expressed extreme Socialist views, and are the magistrates and doctors of this country going to consider anybody a madman who expresses Socialist opinions?

I do not know what evidence was before them. My hon. Friend ventures to declare positively that the sole ground on which this man was found to be insane was that he expressed Socialist views. The evidence which I have before me is not of the same kind.

The evidence which I sent to the right hon. Gentleman was of that kind.

It seems a very curious thing that a man should be sent to an asylum in these circumstances, and I would ask the right hon. Gentleman whether he would give special attention to the matter and ask for a report from the medical officer of the institution to which the man was sent?

Certainly I will.

Will the right hon. Gentleman have an examination made by an independent official, not by the medical officer of the institution, but by a doctor of the man's own choice?

He has already been examined by an officer provided by the prison authorities who is not a Civil servant and by another independent doctor, and both of them found him to be insane.

asked the Prime Minister whether his attention has been called to the fact that the taxes on property imposed under the Finance (1909–10) Act, 1910, have not yielded the return which was anticipated when that taxation was proposed in 1909; if the Government has in contemplation any fresh proposals for providing new sources of revenue, which shall afford more reliable estimates of probable receipts, to meet deficiencies arising as the result of the miscalculations in regard to the 1909 Land Taxes; and if the failure to provide the necessary ships to maintain the strength of the Navy on the basis which the First Lord of the Admiralty has stated to provide the smallest margin of superiority which can safely be admitted is due to the mistaken estimate of the receipts from the Land Taxes, which it was stated at the time would be applied in part towards building up the Navy?

The reply to the first part of the question is in the affirmative (so far as concerns certain of the taxes on property imposed under the Act), and to the second and third parts in the negative. I must not be taken as accepting the implication underlying the question.

asked the Prime Minister whether he is aware of the disappointment caused by his decision not to proceed with the Bee Disease Bill; and whether he will allow the Bill to be introduced at an early date next Session?

I regret that in consequence of unexpected opposition, it was found impossible to proceed with the Bee Disease Bill this Session. The Government will consider favourably the introduction of a new Bill dealing with the subject next Session.

Is the right hon. Gentleman not aware that the opposition to this measure only comes from a small and rather noisy section of the population, and also that great ravages are being caused among the hives of small holders and others?

I am very sorry that this Bill has not gone through.

asked the First Lord of the Treasury whether his attention has been called to a Report of the Select Committee on the Publications and Debates Reports and the recommendation contained therein that the Answers to Written Questions should no longer be circulated with the Votes as well as in the OFFICIAL REPORT, thereby effecting a saving of not less than £1,000 a Session; and whether he proposes to give effect to this recommendation?

The proposal seems to me to deserve support, as it would apparently effect a substantial saving without any real inconvenience to Members. If this opinion represents the general sense of the House, I shall be prepared, at the proper time, to support an Amendment to Standing Orders giving effect to it.

asked when the Debate on the Indian Budget will be taken?

I will ask the hon. Member to await the statement on Business.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is in a position to make any statement as to the intentions of the Government with regard to legislation next Session in relation to illegitimacy?

I am unable to make any statement on this subject at the present moment.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has received any representations with regard to the case of Mr. H. C. Bedding, who was awarded the sum of £50 for capturing the mad Armenian who shot several people in Tottenham Court Road in September last; whether he is aware that Bedding has had to undergo several operations as a result of the injuries he received; that he has not yet recovered and has suffered considerable financial loss; and whether, in view of Mr. Justice Phillimore's statement that the country owed Bedding a debt of gratitude, he will consider the possibility of awarding him a sum that will be fair and adequate compensation for what he has undergone?

The Commissioner of Police reports that he is not aware that Bedding has undergone any operation as a result of injuries received by him on the occasion referred to; or that he has sustained any financial loss whatever in this connection. The reward given at the time appears to have been ample compensation for the services rendered by Mr. Bedding.

Will the right hon. Gentleman, in view of the great services which Bedding rendered and the obligation on the Home Office if he has suffered loss to make it up inquire carefully into the matter?

Certainly, but it is only fair to say that in view of my hon. Friend's question I went very fully into the whole case this morning and came to the conclusion that there was no ground for making an extra grant.

asked the Home Secretary what practical advantage, either in regard to design, construction, or operation of stage carriages, has resulted from the inspection of stage carriages which have broken down as the result of an accident or collision; and if it has been found that the knowledge acquired by police officers on the occasion of such breakdowns is, in any way, commensurate with the obstruction, delay, loss of revenue, and inconvenience to passengers which the existing practice of holding up the traffic for the attendance of a particular officer entails?

This requirement is made, not primarily for the instruction of police officers or for the improvement in the construction of stage carriages, but in order to further the ends of justice and secure the better protection of the public. The expert inspection is only made in cases of serious accident.

asked the Home Secretary how many patients were forcibly fed in lunatic asylums during 1912; and what was the maximum number of times that any one patient was forcibly fed?

I have not this information. To obtain it would necessitate addressing inquiries to all asylums.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that forcible feeding of lunatics is quite as dangerous as it is to prisoners, and does he not think that it is a matter which should receive the attention of the Home Office?

Is it not the fact that until suffragettes were forcibly fed nobody suggested that forcible feeding was not a humane method?

Yes, my hon. Friend is quite right.

asked the Home Secretary how many prisoners have been released under the Prisoners (Temporary Discharge for Ill-Health) Act; and how many have been rearrested and sent back to gaol?

The total number of prisoners released on temporary discharge under the Act is thirty-one. Twelve of these have been rearrested, some of them more than once, and sent back to prison, and one has returned of her own accord.

asked how many detectives are being employed to watch suffragettes who are released under the Prisoners (Temporary Discharge for Ill-Health) Act; and what is the cost to the country of this surveillance?

I am not in possession of, and it would not be in the public interest to give, the information my hon. Friend desires.

asked the Home Secretary whether George Lansbury will be kept in prison for three months unless he gives sureties; and of what crime has he been found guilty?

Mr. Lansbury has not been found guilty of a crime, but is liable to imprisonment for three months if he fails or refuses to enter into a recognisance and find sureties for his good behaviour. The High Court have found that the magistrate's order to this effect was amply justified.

Are we to understand that Mr. Lansbury, a former Member of this House, is to be kept three months in prison although he has been found guilty of no crime whatever?

Yes, but my hon. Friend misunderstands. Mr. Lansbury has been sent to prison under ordinary process of law, because he has failed to find sureties for good behaviour, and there does not appear to be at the present moment any ground for interference.

Can you send anybody to prison who refuses to find bail to be of good behaviour?

No, Sir; I cannot send anybody to prison.

Can any magistrate send any man, strike leader or anybody else, indefinitely to prison in default of giving sureties?

If any person is called upon to give sureties for good behaviour after hearing the evidence, and if the magistrate comes to the conclusion that the evidence is such as to require him to call upon the person charged to give such sureties, on his failing to give sureties he can be sent to prison.

Evidence of what—there has been no charge?

There was a charge.

Will the right hon. Gentleman take into consideration the fact that this surety was demanded of Mr. Lansbury some few weeks ago, and will he take that interval into account in the sentence of imprisonment on failing to find sureties?

I will certainly bear in mind what my hon. Friend says.

May I ask—

Further questions should be put down.

asked in what prisons Mr. Lansbury and Mr. John Scurr are confined; what privileges, if any, they enjoy as political prisoners; whether they are on hunger-strike; and how long he proposes to allow men who have not been convicted to remain in prison under these circumstances?

Mr. Lansbury is in Pentonville Prison. Mr. Scurr's case is still before the Court. As Mr. Lansbury is refusing food he is not receiving the privileges he would otherwise enjoy under Rule 243a. I am not at present aware of any grounds for intervention with regard to the sentence passed on him.

Do I understand that Mr. Lansbury, a prisoner who has been convicted of no offence, is in the third divison and on hunger strike?

No, Sir. My hon. Friend in his original question used the expression "convicted of crime." Technically, it is not correct to say that. When a man is called upon to give sureties for good behaviour and refuses to do so, he is technically not guilty of a crime, but he was charged with a certain offence and this offence was proved against him, and it was because of that proof he was called upon to give sureties for his good behaviour in the future.

May I ask why Mr. Lansbury is not being treated as a first-class misdemeanant, as he would be under similar circumstances in Ireland according to the state of the Irish law?

No, Sir, as I endeavoured to explain more than once, the question of the class to which any person is sent does not depend upon me, but depends upon the committing magistrate. In this case, I think, Mr. Lansbury was sent to prison in the second division.

I beg to give notice that at the end of Questions I shall-move the Adjournment of the House.