asked the Secretary for Scotland whether the sums paid by the Glasgow Corporation for the supply of water from Loch Catrine were sanctioned by the Local Government Board of that time; if so, how Much was paid for land, for water for compensation, and for other rights purchased, and to whom these sums were paid?

No sanction of the nature mentioned was given by the Board of Supervision, the predecessors of. the Local Government Board for Scotland, nor was any such sanction required.

asked the Secretary for Scotland how much money has been spent during the year ending 31st December, 1913, by the Scottish Board of Agriculture on the formation of roads, the improvement of housing, and the guaranteeing of telegraph facilities in the congested districts?

The expenditure for these purposes in the congested districts during the year ended 31st December, 1913, was as follows:—

		£	s.	d.
1.	Formation of roads	5,904	2	10.
2.	On improvement of housing	3,250	0	0
3.	For guaranteeing telegraph facilities	59	18	7

The expenditure on improvement of housing was made by way of loan.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury the amounts paid by the Road Board in the years 1911, 1912. and 1913 for road improvement in Ireland. indicating how much was by way of Grant and how much by way of loan; and what is the estimated amount to be expended in Ireland during the present year by way of loan or by way of Grant?

The figures will be found in the Return given in answer to Question No. 10.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury the amounts paid by the Road Board to the local authority in each county in Ireland for road improvement in the years 1911, 1912, and 1913, showing how much was by way of loan and how much by way of Grant; and will he state what. sums by way of Grant or loan it is proposed to expend in each county during the year 1914?

The following statement shows for each county in Ireland the amounts paid under Grants and loans, respectively, in the financial years ended 31st March, 1912, and 31st March, 1913, and the eleven months ended 28th February, 1914.Further columns have been added showing the amounts outstanding and not yet requisitioned by Irish county councils in respect of Grants and loans made and indicated, but the actual amount spent in each county in 1914–15 will depend upon the progress the county councils make with the works approved by the Board, and upon any additional applications submitted which may subsequently be approved.

County Council		Amounts paid under Grants and Loans in Year ended 31st march, 1912.		Amounts paid under Grants and Loans in Year ended 31st March, 1913.		Amounts paid under Grants and Loans in 11 months ended 28th February, 1914.		Amounts outstanding and not yet requisitioned under Grants and Loans made and indicated.
		Grants.	Loans.	Grants.	Loans.	Grants,	Loans.	Grants.	Loans.
		£	£	£	£	£	£	£	£
Antrim	…	813	—	2,780	—	1,463	—	11,641	—
Armagh	…	2,432	—	1,220	—	468	—	6960	—
Carlow	…	—	—	—	—	375	—	1,125	750
Cavan	…	—	—	1,011	—	789	—	665	1,000.
Clare	…	866	—	866	—	1,179	—	8,112	—
Cork	…	3,247	—	—	—	416	—	38,678	—
Donegal	…	—	—	—	—	—	—	10,000	5000
Down	…	2,728	—	3,276	—	1,008	—	7,310	—
Dublin	…	2,000	—	1,200	—	850	—	8,720	—
Fermanagh	…	483	—	864	—	—	—	1,028	145
Galway	…	—	—	—	—	—	—	4,700	—
Kerry	…	—	—	1,000	—	4,000	—	15,153	—
Kildare	…	400	—	800	—	883	189	3,894	5,038.
Kilkenny	…	571	—	1,714	—	50	—	3,475	—
Kings	…	—	—	585	—	—	—	585	—
Leitrim	…	566	—	566	—	—	—	1,676	675
Limerick	…	—	—	—	—	—	—	2,200	—
Londonderry	…	—	—	—	—	675	—	2,889	2,802
Longford	…	400	—	400	—	750	1,045	300	—
Louth	…	—	—	—	—	179	—	6,471	7,100
Mayo	…	—	—	—	—	1,000	—	4,200	—
Meath	…	416	—	916	—	—	—	3,918	—
Monaghan	…	—	—	775	—	775	—	3,577	—
Queens	…	—	—	350	—	750	—	4,000	—
Roscommon	…	1,058	—	2,048	—	934	—	352	—
Sligo	…	666	—	946	2,000	230	385	7,222	7,309
							3,070
Tipperary (N.R.)	…	—	—	163	—	504	—	1,789	—
Tipperary (S.R.)	…	—	—	892	—	1,278	—	3,801	—
Tyrone	…	858	—	236	—	858	—	2,257	—
Waterford	…	569	—	919	1,721	340	—	3,126	3,094
Westmeath	…	—	—	1,513	—	2,838	1,000	3,347	—
Wexford	…	—	—	—	—	1,317	510	5,638	—
Wicklow	…	—	—	—	—	—	—	12,752	6,090
Total	£	18,073	—	25,040	3,721	23,909	6,199	190,964	39,003

asked the Secretary to the Treasury if he will say whether any sums by way of Grant or advance have been paid by the Road Board to local authorities in Ireland during the years 1911, 1912, and 1913, for purposes other than road improvement; and, if so, will ho give particulars of the works and payments?

The answer is in the negative.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether the pensions officers have absented themselves continuously for the past fourteen months from all the meetings of the county pensions committee which were held at Tralee, where the officers for the Ardfert sub-district reside, and where, also, their official address, the Custom House, is; whether they have been requested to attend each of these meetings when they were informed their attendance was necessary; and, as no inconvenience can be caused by attending meetings held at their very doors and at rare intervals, whether they will be required to attend in future, when requested, the meetings of the county pensions committee?

I am aware that the pension officers have not recently attended the meetings of the Kerry County Pension Committee at Tralee. As regards the rest of the question, I can only remind the hon. Member that there is no obligation on pension officers to attend these meetings, and I am not prepared to issue an instruction requiring their attendance.

asked the Chief Secretary whether, in view of the fact that the national schools of Ireland will be closed this year for the Easter holidays on the 15th April, which is the usual day for the payment of teachers' salaries, he will ask the Commissioners to consider the advisability of issuing payment about one week earlier so that the teachers, who already suffer under the disability of quarterly instead of monthly payment, may have their salaries before they scatter for the holidays?

The Commissioners of National Education inform me that, in view of the large amount of clerical work involved in the examination of the claims of the teachers for the salary and other Grants due to them next month for their service in national schools up to the 31st instant, it is regretted that it would not be possible for the Commissioners to have the money orders ready for issue to the school managers at any earlier date than that fixed in the Board's rules for the purpose, namely, 15th April.

asked the Chief Secretary on what grounds the old age pension claim of Owen Geraghty, Belmullet pension sub-district, county Mayo, *has been fixed at 2s. per week instead of the full amount, Geraghty owning no property of any description.

The Local Government Board refused to allow an increase to Owen Geraghty's pension from 2s. on the ground that in their opinion his means did not entitle him to any increase. When the question was being decided in July, 1913, Geraghty was in possession of a well-stocked farm, which he alleged he had assigned to his children. On consideration of all the circumstances of his case, it appeared to the Board that the assignment came within the terms of Section 4 (3) of the Old Age Pensions Act, 1908, and they accordingly decided that he was not entitled to any increase.

asked why the claim of Mrs. Norah Melody (No. 1572), Ballina, county Mayo, to have her old age pension claim increased from 3s. to 5s. per week has been refused by the Local Government Board on appeal, the claimant having no means of her own?

Nora Melody's application has not been refused. On the contrary, her pension has been increased from 3s. to 5s. a week from the 5th November last.

asked the Chief Secretary whether Poor Law rate books in Ireland are being destroyed after a lapse of some years from their preparation; what are the regulations with reference to the preservation of the same; and whether he will consider the desirability of having them preserved as records in the Public Record Office, Dublin?

The Local Government Board have no information as to the practice of local authorities in regard to the preservation or destruction of the rate books. There are no regulations with respect to the old rate books, but the Board, when consulted, advise local authorities that records, such as minute books, valuation lists, or rate books, should be preserved. The Board are of opinion that as these documents might be required for purposes of reference by local ratepayers it is preferable that they should be retained in the custody of the local authorities themselves.

asked upon what grounds the Estates Commissioners refuse to advance the full purchase price of their holdings to Patrick Kavanagh and Denis Casey, Caldbeck, Ballacolla estate, Queen's County, seeing that they are both judicial tenants and work their town holdings in conjunction with agricultural holdings in the locality?

These holdings consist in each case of a cottage and garden, the areas being 3 roods 25 perches, and 3 roods 33 perches respectively. The rent of Kavanagh's plot appears to be judicial, but in the case of Casey the plot is held under a yearly tenancy. The Estates Commissioners, in exercise of their discretion, decided that these were not suitable cases in which to make advances under the Land Purchase Acts repayable by annuities continuing over sixty-five years, but they have intimated their willingness to vest the holdings in the tenants if the purchase-money is lodged in cash in each case.

asked the Under-Secretary for India whether he can state the amount by which the exports of India exceeded the imports during the nine months ending the 31st December, 1913, or alternatively and approximately during the current financial year; and if he can say in what proportion the balance of trade in favour of India was paid for by Council Bills, by imports of gold and silver bullion, and by the imports of sovereigns, respectively, and how much of the gold bullion and sovereigns were shipped from Great Britain, and how much from Egypt and Australia?

The figures for the nine months ending 31st December, 1913, are as follows:—

		£
Excess of Exports over imports of merchandise on private account		27,900,000
Sales of Council Bills	£
and telegraphic transfers	21,255,000
Net Imports of gold bullion on private account	6,358,000
Net Imports of silver bullion on private account	2,343,000
Net imports of sovereigns on private account	4,838,000
		34,794,000

The greater part of the gold bullion went from Great Britain and of the sovereigns from Egypt and Australia, but the exact distribution is not given in the Returns.