asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether he is aware that officers of Customs and Excise at Manchester in attending for duty on Sundays and public holidays, in connection with vessels discharging oil in bulk, and having signed on and off in the station appearance book in accordance with Importation Code, paragraph 431 (a), have only been paid for an attendance of half-an-hour, instead of for the whole time represented between the hours of signing on and off; that, in making week-day visits to vessels discharging oil in bulk between the hours of 8 p.m. and 6 a.m., the officers have not been allowed, in the case of visits before midnight, to count the time spent in return to their residences, nor, in the case of visits after midnight, to count the time spent in travelling to the vessels, although the Importation Code, paragraph 437 (a), recognises that the time occupied in proceeding from and returning to their residences should be allowed for; that, as a result of these deviations by the Board of Customs and Excise from established practice, the officers have been compelled to refund varying amounts received by them as overtime payment, yet at the time when their attendances were given the officers were not aware that changes had been made in the regulations governing their attendance on Sundays and public holidays and between the hours of 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. on other days; that, to obtain the full allowance for visits under the new regulations, officers will be obliged to pay their visits when public conveyances are not available for both journeys; and, in consequence, will he instruct the Board of Customs and Excise to refund to the officers concerned the amounts refunded by them, and, in future, to allow credit to be given for the actual periods covered by an officer's attendance?

The answer to the first part of the question is that the rule is that officers are paid for visits on Sundays and public holidays for the whole period of actual attendance necessarily given, including the time involved in signing on and off, subject to a maximum of three hours, and the Board of Customs and Excise know of no instance in which this rule has not been observed at Manchester, though instances have occurred where the time of attendance recorded by the officer did not correspond with the facts; to the second, that the regulation quoted was one of a set of old regulations which were superseded by new regulations issued to the service in December last; to the third, that the payments were improperly claimed under the new regulations which were well known to the officers; to the fourth, that the regulations are, as might be expected, more favourable in the case of visits paid at times inconvenient to the officers; and to the last part, that I see no reason to refund the amounts improperly obtained in the first instance or to modify the new regulations which, I may observe, were accompanied by the grant of a pensionable compensation allowance of £10 per annum to each of the officers concerned.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether any Civil Service Regulation exists, and, if so, where it is to be found, which forbids a permanent Civil servant, who is aware that the head of his Department is transgressing the Statutes under which he was appointed and acting contrary to the law of the land, from reporting the same to the Treasury; and whether a permanent Civil servant who acted thus would be liable to any penalty?

I am not aware of any such regulation.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) whether he will state the number of gross values, full site values, and valuations on occasion, which have been made by the permanent rating valuers of the General Valuation Office, Ireland, since the Finance (1909 –10) Act, 1910, passed; (2) whether he will state the number of Increment Value Duty files which have come into existence in Ireland since the passing of the Finance (1909–10) Act, 1910; in the case of how many of these files the corresponding valuation on occasion has been issued; and in the case of how many the valuation on occasion remains to be issued; and (3) how many estate duty valuations have been made in Ireland since the passing of the Finance (1009–10) Act, 1910; how many hereditaments or identification numbers they covered; for how many of these hereditaments or identification numbers have the original provisional valuations been issued; for how many of the original provisional valuations remain to be issued; when this balance of original provisional valuations will be all issued; and whether the work in connection with their issue will be given priority over all other valuations under the Finance Act in Ireland?

As I informed the hon. Member on the 14th July, the permanent valuers have been engaged on some 6,000 valuations. The number of Estate Duty valuations made in Ireland since the passing of the Finance (1909–10) Act, 1910, has been 2,330. The other statistics asked for are not available and could not be prepared without considerable expenditure of time and money. I cannot consent to add to the labours of the Department by instructing it to undertake this task, which will serve no public purpose, nor can I see any reason why the issue of provisional valuations should be given priority over all other valuations under the Finance Act in Ireland.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland how much money has been allotted by the Roads Board to county Clare; and whether he will draw the attention of the Board to the desirability and urgency of assisting in the work of road improvement?

The Road Board are fully aware of the desirability of assisting, so far as the funds available wilt permit, works of road improvement in county Clare. Grants aggregating to £4,958 have already been formally made for works of improvement on the Limerick-Ennis road and a further Grant of £6,065 has been promised to work on the road from Ennis to Lahinch, subject to the details and specifications being submitted and approved.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland what are the qualifications for the position of examiner of title under the Irish Land Commission; whether preliminary service of the Commission in other positions is a qualification; how fitness is ascertained and appointments made; and when, with what qualifications, and at whose instance J. G. Franks was appointed to this position?

All persons appointed to the position of examiner of title under the Land Commission must be either barristers or solicitors. Preliminary service under the Commission in other positions is not in itself a qualification. The appointments are made by the Land Commission, with the consent of the Lord Lieutenant, under Section 45 of the Land Act, 1881, as extended by Section 20 of the Act of 1885. Mr. J. G. Franks, who was thus appointed as an examiner of title on 8th June, 1910, was a practising. solicitor of over nine years' standing.

also asked the date at which Sir John Franks retired from the position of secretary to the Irish Land Commission; at what age; after how many years' service; at whose request; on what grounds; with what pension; whether that was the highest pension attainable by him; why a successor was not appointed from the staff of the Land Commission; how many years' experience in the offices of the Land Commission the person appointed had had; and, if the appointment was made by the Commissioners, by what method the requirement of fitness was satisfied?

Sir John Franks retired at his own request on 30th September, 1910, at the age of sixty-two, after thirty-four years' service. The immediate cause of his retirement was ill-health, occasioned in large measure by the strain of overwork; but apart from this circumstance he was entitled to retire by reason of his having attained the age of sixty years. He was awarded a pension of £850 per annum, the maximum attainable having regard to his length of service. With regard to the remainder of the question, I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given to his question on this subject on the 13th February last.

next asked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland if he will say at what age, after how many years' service, with what pension, at whose request, and for what reason Mr. William Edward Ellis retired from the position of auditor to the Local Government Board for Ireland; with what qualifications, examination, or experience was his son, Arthur C. Ellis, then appointed an auditor of the Board; and will he explain how the rules of the Civil Service were made to satisfy the conditions without which the elder Mr. Ellis refused to retire?

Mr. W. E. Ellis retired from the position of Local Government auditor in November, 1911, at the age of fifty-eight years, after nearly thirty-two years' public service. He retired on the ground of ill-healh, and was granted by the Treasury a pension of £227 10s. a year, in addition to a gratuity of £676 8s. 8d. under the Superannuation Act of 1909. Mr. Arthur C. Ellis was appointed in January, 1912, as a junior auditor. Being a barrister-at-law he was duly qualified under the Treasury Rules for this appointment. He had also been, for some years previously, clerk in the office of the Commissioners of Education in Ireland. It is not a fact that Mr. W. E. Ellis refused to retire, as suggested in the question.

asked the Chief Secretary whether he can state the reason why trawling with motor or other power is allowed in Cushendun Bay, county Antrim, inside the lead of the two salmon fisheries, during the fishing season, 1st June to 19th September; whether such trawling is permitted within the three-miles radius in any other Irish bay, with a few exceptions; and, if so, what steps he proposes to take to prevent such trawling in Cushendun Bay in future?

The Department have received no application for a by-law prohibiting trawling in Cushendun Bay. Should such an application be received it would be considered. By-laws prohibiting all trawling or steam trawling within certain distances from the land are in force on many parts of the Irish coast, but there is no general prohibition of trawling within three miles of the coast.

asked if the Congested Districts Board have made an offer to the owners of the Popham estate, near Boyle, county Roscommon; and if the offer has been accepted?

The Congested Districts Board have issued an offer for the purchase of the estate referred to, and they are at present in correspondence with the owners regarding it.