asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he has any information with regard to the mobilisation of Montenegrin troops on the Albanian frontier; and if he is aware that the Five Banner tribes are pledged to resist the invasion of their homes and that the territory in question has the smallest possible commercial value from the Montenegrin point of view and the highest possible value, as constituting their ancestral homes, from the Albanian point of view?

I am informed that the Montenegrin Government are proceeding to occupy the districts of Hoti and Gruda up to the boundary as determined by the Convention of London I have no knowledge of any pledges taken among themselves by the Five Banner tribes, nor am I in a position to measure the value attaching to the territory in question from the Montenegrin or Albanian point of view, but I shall be glad of any information on the subject that the hon. Member can give me.

Will the hon. Gentleman consider the advisability of re calling to the memory of the King of Montenegro a declaration which he made when his troops invaded Albanian territory to the effect—

The hon. Gentleman should give notice of that question.

asked what is the number of those who hold appointments as Consuls or Vice-Consuls who are not British subjects?

All salaried posts in His Majesty's Consular Service are filled by British subjects According to the latest Returns the number of unsalaried posts filled by persons who are not British subjects is 287. These appointments are only made when no suitable British subject is available for the post.

asked if any fresh information is available as to the manner in which Mr. Benton met his death in Mexico, or if further inquiries in regard thereto are contemplated; and what further steps are proposed to be taken in the matter?

The conclusions drawn by Mr. Perceval, after taking a number of depositions, are that there appears to be little room for doubt that Mr. Benton entered Villa's house about 11 a.m. on February 17th and that he was unarmed That there is no certainty as to what occurred after Mr. Benton entered the house, and that there seems to be strong reason to believe that some extremely untoward occurrence had happened there before noon, and probably soon after 11 a.m. If Mr. Benton was killed during his interview there is no room for doubt that Villa is responsible for his death, although it may have been actually inflicted by others; further, that it must have been caused by stabbing, as there is no evidence that shots were heard Nor is there evidence as to the disposal of the body. There is, however, great room for doubt whether it was ever taken to Chihuahua, and it is quite possible that it was burnt I do not consider that any further information could be obtained and do not contemplate any further inquiries As I have already stated, although it is impossible for His Majesty's Government to take any action at present, we do not intend to let the matter rest, and, as soon as by any change of circumstances it is in our power to carry the matter further, we shall take whatever steps may be practicable.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether his attention has been drawn to the evidence of Mr. Rodwell before the British East Africa Commission on Native Labour, stating that the labour recruited for the coast was entrained in a manner which, if applied to the trucking of sheep, would be considered cruelty to animals; and what steps he proposes to take to remedy this condition of affairs?

Yes, Sir, and I notice that in Section 105 of their Report the Committee recommend that steps should be taken to place matters on a better basis. The Governor states that he is looking into the matter with the general manager of the railway and will report further.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will lay upon the Table of the House the instructions given to the commander of the Camel Corps which is to reoccupy Burao; and whether it is proposed that the re-occupation shall be temporary or permanent?

No instructions have yet been given, and when they are issued they will be issued to the officer in command of the whole of the military force in the Protectorate, including both Camel Corps and Indian troops I shall be happy to lay a copy of them upon the Table in due course, but the officer in question has not yet been appointed The reoccupation will be for an indefinite time, but for so long as may hereafter seem necessary.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in view of the recent Report of the Departmental Committee on Local and Imperial Taxation and of the Report made last July of the Land Conference, he will without delay appoint an impartial Committee, before whom expert witnesses can be called, to inquire into the policy and working of the scheme of land valuation and taxation set up by the Finance (1909–10) Act, 1910?

The Government have repeatedly offered to appoint an expert Committee to inquire into the administration of Part I. of the Finance (1909–10) Act, 1910, but the hon. Member and his Friends have never seen their way to accept the proposal. I further stated, over a year ago, when last this matter was before the House, that the Government were then prepared to consider the question of the appointment of a second Committee of a different character to inquire into the policy of the Act, but this suggestion also met with no response.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether he has noted that in the case of King's Lynn there is, according to the latest published figures, an overcrowding of elementary children in seven departments; and whether any action is to be urged on the local education authority?

According to the latest Returns in the possession of the Board, which are for the school years ended in 1913, the average attendance does not exceed the recognised accommodation in any of the departments of the public elementary schools in King's Lynn. In these circumstances I do not propose to take any action.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether he is aware that, in the recently issued list of schools, the figures given in respect of Charlton, St. Bartholomew, and St. Mary Church of England schools show that in six departments of these three schools overcrowding exists, and in one case the overcrowding amounts to nearly 20 per cent.; and whether he will issue an urgent warning to the Dover local authority that adequate school accommodation must be provided forthwith?

According to the latest Returns in the possession of the Board, which are for the school year ended November, 1913, the recognised accommodation exceeds the average attendance in all departments of the schools referred to by the hon. Member. The pressure in these schools has been relieved by the opening of the girls' department of the Barton Road Council School in September, 1912, and the enlargement of a neighbouring non-provided school. In the circumstances I do not propose to take any action.

In view of the very large number of overcrowding cases in Dover, will the right hon. Gentleman instruct an inspector to go down there and really see what is going on?

I think we are fully informed as to what is going on. If my hon. Friend desires to draw my attention to any particular school I shall be glad to see what can be done.

asked whether His Majesty's inspector condemned the school at Ewell, Surrey, in his Report for the year ending 30th April, 1904, and instructed the managers on 29th June, 1904, to make improvements without delay; whether these condemnations and warnings have been repeated frequently in subsequent years; whether in January, 1908, the local education authority informed the Board that they were ready to provide a new school; whether the Board decided in November. 1909, not to recognise the school in its existing premises after 10th April, 1911, and to pay no further Grant; whether on 22nd July, 1913, it was officially promised that the school would be put right in three or four months; whether the school still continues in exactly the same condition as eleven years ago; and whether the Board of Education is now prepared to call on the local education authority to supply proper school accommodation in Ewell?

The statements contained in the hon. Member's question are substantially correct. The delay in adapting the premises of the church school as a school for boys is due to the fact that the work cannot be proceeded with until the completion of the new council school for girls and infants. There has been some difficulty in obtaining a suitable site for the council school, but a site has now been approved by the Board, and I understand that the plans will shortly be submitted. The authority have been warned that the payment of the Grant for the current year and the continued recognition of the church school premises will depend on the progress made with the erection of the new council school.

In view of the fact that those warnings have been going on for ten years, does not the right hon. Gentleman think it would be better now to proceed to action, otherwise the authority will only be laughed at?

We are proceeding on action as contained in the last paragraph of my reply.

asked how many of the 6,000 school places in Birmingham which were promised a year ago have been provided; and for what number of those not yet provided have plans been approved and tenders accepted?

Within the last year 2,100 new school places have been provided in Birmingham. Plans have been finally approved for 266 further places, preliminary plans have been approved for, 1,800 more, and sites have been approved for a further 2,200. I am unable to say in what cases tenders have been accepted. The Board also have before them proposals involving the provision of 3,050 places in addition to those which I have mentioned.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether ho is aware that the overcrowding of the Church of England school at High Town, Crewe, is shown by th latest figures published to be still continuing; and whether the reduction of Grant threatened a year ago, if the overcrowding continued, has been carried out?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. The Grant has been suspended, and the Board are awaiting a further communication from the local education authority with regard to the provision of the new council school before they come to a decision as to the terms upon which the Grant can be paid.

As to these various answers, may I ask the right hon. Gentleman whether he is aware that there are only a few that have really the required amount of accommodation, that a very large number are overcrowded, and that in consequence a very great scandal exists, and whether he will look further into the matter?

I have already looked into the question all over the country, and I understand that the hon. Member is doing the same thing.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the people of the country prefer that their children should be educated in church schools rather than in council schools?

I do not accept that.

It is so.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether his attention has been drawn to the fact that in the Buddhist province of Burmah, where there is believed to be a wider extension of education among the masses of the people than in any other part of India, the number of capital sentences and of whippings in comparison with the population is invariably much in excess of the number of such sentences passed in other provinces; and whether inquiry will be made into the methods of judicial administration in Burmah which lead to such a result?

As regards whipping, I would beg to refer the hon. Member to the answer given him on the 17th February. With regard to the rest of the question, serious crimes are exceptionally numerous in Burmah and are on the increase. The Secretary of State sees no sufficient reason for the suggested inquiry.

asked whether, with a view to improving the method of judicial administration in Burmah, the Secretary of State will take into his consideration the advisability of establishing a High Court in that province, with a barrister as chief justice, in place of the existing Chief Court, in which the chief judge is ordinarily a civilian promoted from the executive branch of the service?

The Secretary of State sees no reason for modifying the decision on this point which has been more than once expressed to the House. The present Chief Judge of the Lower Burma Chief Court is a barrister, and not an Indian civilian.

asked how many district boards in the Madras presidency are availing, or have availed, themselves of the power to levy a railway cess for the construction of narrow gauge branch lines to open out their districts; what is the mileage concerned; are these feeder-branches guaranteed a minimum rate of interest by Government, and, if so, what is that rate; and, if the net profits of these lines exceed the amount of the Government guarantee, will the district boards receive the whole of those net profits?

Ten district boards in Madras have levied a railway cess for the construction of railways. The total mileage contemplated is 491 miles, of which 155 have been constructed, and fifty more are under construction, or sanctioned. No guarantee of interest has been given by the Government in any case; but in respect of two lines aggregating seventy-four miles, rebate is given by the main line towards interest at 3½ per cent. on the cost of the branch line. The district boards retain the whole of the net receipts, except in the case of one line of twenty-two miles, in which the net receipts above 3½ per cent. are to be shared equally between the district board and the working agency.

asked the hon. Member for St. George's-in-the-East, as representing the First Commissioner of Works, if the name of Stafford House is to be changed to Lancaster House; and whether he will consider the advisability of allowing the architectural features of the museum to be more seen by the public than at present through opening up a view to the south by thinning the plantation of shrubs and throwing the two plots of ground into one, and to the west and cast by substituting an open railing for the present closed iron paling on the one side and for the present brick wall on the other?

The change in name mentioned by my hon. Friend has been made with the assent of the King. The suggestions of my hon. Friend will be considered by the First Commissioner.

asked whether the British mails, while being carried by the Norwegian steamer "Childar," were looted when that steamer was recently pirated in South China; has any satisfaction been obtained from the Chinese Government whose subjects effected the piracy; and whether, in view of the unsettled condition of the West River and the Canton delta, the Admiralty can see their way to expedite as far as possible the construction of the two river gunboats foreshadowed in the Naval Estimates of 1911–12, 1912–13, and 1913–14, but not so far proceeded with?

I am informed that nothing is known at the Admiralty or the Foreign Office of the pirating of the "Childar" beyond what has appeared in the Press. As regards the last part of the question, I have nothing to add to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for North Birmingham on the first of this month.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that last year a French steamer was pirated on the West River and another steamer was also pirated?

The two river gunboats to which the second part of the question refers were not for the West River at all, but for the Yangtse.

asked whether any compensation has been claimed from the Chinese Government for property lost by British officers on board the steamers "Shui-on," pirated in 1911, on the "Tai-on," pirated in 1913 in South China; and whether any compensation has been claimed for the dependents of the chief officer of the "Shui-on" who lost his life, and whose mother is in poor circumstances?

In the case of the "Shui-on," His Majesty's Government claimed the following sums from the Chinese Government:—

If these Chinese pirates get it into their heads that British officers may be shot and mail-looted with impunity will it advantage us much in that part of the world?

I hope they will not get it into their heads.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in view of the fact that since the passing of the Finance (1909–10) Act, 1910, the average annual increase in the number of houses in Great Britain has fallen by one-half, and in view of the consequent shortage of workmen's dwellings and cottages and of the urgency of the housing problem, he will, without delay, appoint an impartial Committee to inquire into the cause of this shortage and the best method of again stimulating private enterprise that has hitherto housed 97 per cent. of the population?

The Government are not prepared to appoint a further Committee on housing, as they consider they have already in their possession the information on this subject which such a Committee would be likely to obtain. My right hon. Friend has, however, set on foot extensive local inquiries, both in urban and rural districts, with a view to ascertaining the dimensions of the problem to be solved in each locality.

My question was directed to the cause of the shortage.

My right hon. Friend is making inquiries.

asked the names of the urban districts in which, as the result of formal complaints under Section 10 of the Housing, Town Planning, etc., Act, 1909, or of inspections by the Board's officers, the councils had, prior to the 1st January last, been urged by the Board to build houses under Part III. of the Housing of the Working Classes Act, 1890, and have not yet agreed to do so; and whether, as regards cases of formal complaints, a mandamus has been applied for in any instance; and, if so, with what result?

As the answer is somewhat long, it will, with my hon. Friend's permission, be circulated with the Votes.—[See Written Answers this date.]

asked the President of the Board of Education whether his attention has been given to the Royal Commission on the Civil Service which has recommended that greater facilities should be given, especially in England, for progress from primary to secondary schools and thence to the universities; and whether he intends to initiate measures to attain this object?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. I hope that the legislative measures which I contemplate introducing will contribute materially towards the object of the Royal Commission's recommendation.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, in view of recent developments, he will approach the London and North Western Railway Company with a view to securing the reinstatement of Driver Crowsley, who was dismissed their service because he distributed leaflets urging soldiers not to shoot their fellows if ordered to do so?

I am not in a position to approach the railway company on such a matter.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been called to the statistics relating to mortality amongst seamen on British ships; and whether he proposes to take any steps in the matter?

I am aware of the statistics to which my hon. Friend refers, and by my direction, the whole question of seamen's mortality is now being investigated by officers of my Department in consultation with representatives of the Local Government Board and the General Register Office.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he has received a letter from the South end and District Trades Council with reference to the exportation of young children to Canada by the Southend Board of Guardians; if he is aware that young children, eight years of age, have been taken before the local magistrates with a view of finding out if they are willing to go to Canada; and if he intends taking any action so as to prevent young children being sent away to other countries?

The Local Government Board have received a letter on this subject from the Southend Branch of the National Union of Gasworkers and General Labourers. The law requires that children who are to be emigrated should be taken before the local magistrates with a view to their consent being obtained. The Local Government Board, in the absence of special circumstances, raise no objection to the emigration to Canada of orphan and deserted children above the age of seven years. There is a complete system of official inspection of child emigrants in the Dominion.

May I ask my hon. Friend whether he is aware that Commissioner Lamb, who, I understand, is a member of the Salvation Army, was at the board of guardians advising and giving evidence in regard to this particular matter, and whether he is aware that in consequence of paying £20 per head they were to give a child in return?

I cannot say what, if any, payment is made in respect of children who are emigrated.

May I ask whether the hon. Gentleman can give any assurance that these children who are emigrated to Canada will be well cared for?

Yes, the inspection in Canada is extremely careful, and every means is taken to see that the children are properly treated.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he can state the names of the representatives appointed in the formation of the wages board for the confectionery trade; and what organisations, if any, they each represent?

I am sending my hon. Friend a complete list of the members of the Sugar Confectionery and Food Preserving Trade Board for Great Britain. The Regulations for the Trade Board do not provide specifically for the representations of organisations, but the representative members were selected after consideration of all names received, including those rceived from organisations of employers and workpeople.

asked the Post master-General whether, seeing that a higher standard of qualifications has been stated to be required for the new classes created under the revision, he is aware that among the rejected officers were men who had but recently passed a Civil Service examination for second-class engineerships, whilst among the officers promoted were many who held no such certificate, but yet are recognised as efficient assistant engineers, and that in very many cases the controlling officers in charge of the redundant engineers have all along been prepared to testify as to their efficiency and general suitability for advancement; in these circumstances will he say why vacancies which have been filled from other sources during the past two years were not given to these men?

The Civil Service examination referred to was held to afford members of the redundant class of sub-engineers an opportunity of qualifying for the old second class of engineers. It was not of the same character as that for the new class of assistant engineers, for which a higher standard of qualifications is required. Two of the officers who qualified at the Civil Service examination have been promoted to the class of assistant engineers, and the claims of the remainder will continue to be considered as suitable vacancies arise. It was necessary, however, in the interests of the services, to recruit a certain number of officers through the examination for assistant engineers.

asked the Postmaster-General if a Protestant storekeeper was some time ago appointed postmaster at Glenfarne, county Leitrim; if, owing to the opposition raised by the Roman Catholics in the district, a Post Office clerk was detailed to act temporarily as postmaster; if, ultimately, another person was appointed; on whose report or advice this action was taken; and if he will lay upon the Table the Papers relating to the matter?

The appointment of sub-postmaster at Glenfarne was recently conferred on the manager of a provision store who was considered to be the most suitable of the applicants for the vacant position, but he subsequently declined the appointment and, pending the selection of another candidate, it was necessary to send a sorting clerk and telegraphist to take charge of the office. A fresh appointment has now been made. The case has received exhaustive consideration, both locally and at headquarters, and I am satisfied that, in the circumstances, the best arrangements possible have been made. I consider it unnecessary to lay upon the Table the relative Papers.

Is the House to understand that there is no truth in the allegation in the question I have put that the opposition was raised by the Roman Catholics of the district?

We know of no religious persuasion in the Post Office.

May I ask the hon. Gentleman if the Post Office has made inquiry as to why the man they appointed was not allowed to carry on, if the man was denounced by the local association of the Order of Hibernians and the United Irish League, who allowed no business to be done in Glenfarne while he was there, and if then the Post Office surrendered to the Order?

We made full inquiries, and the man who originally accepted the appointment was a servant of the man who held the premises who declined to allow him to continue in the office.

Was the man first appointed a Protestant, and were public resolutions not passed and printed in the newspapers denouncing the appointment on the sole ground that he was a Protestant?

I have already stated that we make no inquiry into the religion of a man.

May I ask if the House is to understand that no notice is taken of the religious principles of those who apply for the position of postmaster?

Certainly. I have already made that statement.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that the employer of this man, who was appointed, increased his salary in order to induce him to devote his time to his business, and that he had not sufficient time to look after the post office?

I am not aware of that.

asked the Prime Minister whether he is aware that, consequent on the publication of the Report of the Royal Commission on the Civil Service, renewed demands have been expressed for the need of the reform of the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge from without, with the object of making these bodies more directly serve the welfare of the State; and whether he is now in a position to announce what steps will be taken to attain this?

I think it only right that the authorities of the universities referred to should have a reasonable opportunity of considering the question in the light of the recent Report.

asked the Prime Minister whether he has noted that the Royal Commission on the Civil Service has recommended that a committee should be appointed to inquire whether the scheme of examination for Class I. of the Civil Service specially favours the older universities and handicaps the newer universities; and whether he will promise that such a committee will be appointed?

The recommendation will be carefully considered along with the other recommendations of the Royal Commission.

asked the Prime Minister if his attention has been called to a statement by the Defence Minister of New Zealand to the effect that it is a serious question whether New Zealand should continue to pay a certain sum yearly if she has no voice in Imperial defence; and if he proposes to take any action in the matter?