asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware that the Liverpool Victoria Approved Society is issuing a printed form to claimants of sickness benefit, stating definitely that pregnancy does not come within Section 8 of the Act as a specified disease or disablement; whether he is aware that this is in contradiction to the terms of Section 110 of the Commissioners' handbook to the administration of benefits and to a statement made in this House that an employed married woman is entitled to sickness benefit under the ordinary conditions while she is incapable of work through illness resulting from pregnancy; whether it is by his instructions that the Insurance Commissioners abstain from interference when sickness benefit is denied by some approved societies to all married women insured persons rendered genuinely incapable of work by pregnancy, whilst other approved societies follow the instructions given by the Commissioners and the terms of the Act, and grant sickness benefit in all cases of approved incapacity to work, by whatsoever disablement caused; whether the Commissioners are justified in refusing redress when complaints are made to them on this score, under the pretext that it is for the societies to decide whether the evidence of incapacity is sufficient, seeing that incapacity for work in these cases not disputed, and what is at issue is merely a general misreading of the Act; whether he sanctions the action of the Commissioners in refusing to entertain such complaints unless the complainants go to the expense and trouble of a formal appeal, which is beyond their power; and whether, in any forthcoming financial assistance to the approved societies to enable them to bear the past as well as the future drain of incapacity due to pregnancy, he will take care to discriminate between societies which have fulfilled their obligations in this matter and those which have denied them?

My right hon. Friend has not seen the form referred to in the first part of the question. The conditions under which sickness benefit is payable are defined by Section 8, and the method of dealing with disputed claims by Section 67 of the National Insurance Act, 1911, and there is nothing in the answer given by my right hon. Friend, or in any statement made or action taken by the Insurance Commissioners inconsistent with the effect of these Sections. I am not aware that any approved society has refused to meet proper claims as suggested in the last part of the question.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he has received any complaints regarding the firms of Masterton and M'Gregor, and R. Hill, contractors, of Perth, whose workmen are on strike; if not, whether he is aware that the first-named firm, before giving the unemployment insurance card to their workmen, wrote on the card Perth strike, and the other firm wrote inside the card Perth; whether the Regulations issued by the Board of Trade permit employers to victimise, or attempt to victimise, workmen in this way; and whether he will take steps to prevent a repetition of actions of this kind?

The defacement of the unemployment books in the manner described in the question is prohibited by the Regulations. I am making inquiry into the circumstances mentioned by my hon. Friend and will see that, if necessary, suitable action is taken.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty what are the number of airships, rigid and non-rigid, aeroplanes, and seaplanes built or building in the case of each of the following great Powers:—Great Britain, France, Russia, Germany, Italy, Austria-Hungary, United States, and Japan?

The information asked for is not published by foreign Governments, and I can only refer the hon. Member to the statement I made last month in introducing the Navy Estimates.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty when the Royal Marines now serving on His Majesty's ship "Hermione," and who were transferred to this ship from His Majesty's ship "Melpomene" in January, 1912, are likely to return to England?

The Marines referred to were not transferred from the "Melpomene" to the "Hermione" in January, 1912, but in July, 1913. They had volunteered for the commission of the latter ship, and will therefore in the ordinary course remain in her until she returns to England to recommission in the summer of 1915. Owing to changes that have been made in the complement, a proportion of them will probably be relieved in a few months time.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether, in view of practice camps being about to commence, the new edition of "Field Artillery Training," now in preparation and long since promised, is likely to be issued in the immediate future?

It is hoped that sufficient advance copies of this book, which is in the Press, will be available for batteries going to practice.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that whilst recruiting for the Regulars for the whole of Ireland has fallen from 62 per 100,000 in 1909 to 60 per 100,000 in 1913, in the province of Ulster it has fallen from 54 per 100,000 in 1909 to as low as 38 per 100,000 in 1913, and in the province of Leinster it has risen from 88 per 100,000 in 1909 to 100 per 100,000 in 1913; and whether the recruiting classes in the loyal province of Ulster are flocking more and more to the colours of some provisional or other alien Government?

Although my hon. Friend appears to have taken the whole population, female as well as male, as the recruitable population, his percentages are, I find, substantially correct. In reply to the last part of the question, there are many obscure causes which affect recruiting, and it is not always possible to identify with certainty the precise cause of any particular upward or downward movement.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether the intended increase of wages to employés in Department factories and depots will apply to employés in the Royal Small Arms factories at Enfield and Waltham: and, if so, to what classes of men there employed?

The increase will apply to Waltham and Enfield as to the other ordnance factories. I cannot specify the exact classes in reply to a question, but the orders will be issued shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for War what is the establishment and present strength of the following units: the 1st Battalion Wiltshire Regiment, the 1st Battalion Gordon Highlanders, the 2nd Battalion Royal Scots, the 1st Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers, the 1st Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment, the 1st Battalion Royal Scots Fusiliers, the 1st Battalion Royal Warwickshire Regiment, the 2nd Battalion Seaforth Highlanders, the 1st Battalion Royal Irish Fusiliers, the 2nd Battalion Royal Irish Regiment, the 4th Battalion Middlesex Regiment, the 19th Hussars, the 12th Lancers, and the 4th Dragoon Guards; how many men in each of these units are over twenty years of age and have also had a year's training; and what percentage these would represent of the war strength of each of these units?

The rank and file establishment of all the Infantry battalions mentioned is 720, and of the three Cavalry regiments, in the order given, 565, 565 and 619 respectively. On the other points asked, it would be contrary to accepted practice to publish information.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office what was the actual expenditure on wages in the Army Ordnance Factory in 1913–14, for which the sum of £1,265,000 was provided in the Estimates; and how many of those regularly employed were paid at a rate of less than 23s. a week, and how many of those regularly employed earned less than 23s. a week on the average, distinguishing between those who worked overtime and those who worked full time or less?

The answer to the first part of the question is £1,239,031. As regards the second and third parts, I assume the hon. Member is not asking for details of boys' wages, and the answer to both parts, on that assumption, is none.

asked the Secretary for War if he will state when and by whom Sir Arthur Paget was informed that the troops in Ireland would be reinforced by further detachments from Aldershot and Lichfield; and whether orders of any kind were issued to the commanding officers in those districts to have troops in readiness for dispatch to Ireland?

The question of moving reinforcements in the case of serious disorders was discussed between my right hon. Friend and Sir A. Paget when the latter was in London, but as far as I am aware, no such orders as those referred to were given.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India what will be the cost to the Indian taxpayer of the creation of the appointment of Director of Statistics in order to free the head of the Commercial Intelligence Department to tour in commercial centres while stationed at Delhi; whether it is further contemplated by the Government of India to sub-divide the present office of Director-General of Commercial Intelligence into two offices with headquarters at Calcutta and Bombay; if so, at what cost to the Indian taxpayer; and whether the cost of these measures is included in the Governor-General's last estimate of the cost of making Delhi the capital of India?

The net additional cost of the appointment of Director of Statistics is £500 a year. There is no present intention of sub-dividing the office of Director-General of Commercial Intelligence. The reorganisation was considered advisable for reasons largely unconnected with the transfer of the capital. The answer to the last question is in the negative.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether he is aware of a recent decision of Mr. Justice Macleod, in the Bombay High Court, in which is was held that an officer in the Indian Army was entitled to receive his pay without any deduction, and that an attachment levied thereon may be raised; and will he say how, in such circumstances, the remedy of a creditor approximates to, and is as effective as, the bankruptcy procedure of this country, and does it involve imprisonment?

I have only seen a newspaper report of the decision ascribed to Mr. Justice Macleod, but it appears that the most recent reported decision of an Appellate Bench of the Bombay High Court had the effect of making the Indian law the same as the English law as regards the non-attachability of the salary of a British officer serving in India.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether the Government of India received a memorial from the Calcutta Trades Association praying that the Civil Procedure Code, 1908, may be amended as far as necessary to render the pay of officers serving in India attachable to the extent provided in Section 60 of the Code; has the Secretary of State received any communications from the Government of India on the subject; and can their purport and the views of the Secretary of State be made known to this House?

The answer to the first two parts of the question is in the affirmative. The matter is now engaging the Secretary of State's attention, but he is not in a position to make any statement.

asked the Prime Minister whether it is his intention, in view of the conditions of employment in the Home Civil Service and the Indian Civil Service having been considered by Royal Commissions, to institute an inquiry by Parliamentary Committee, or otherwise, into the conditions of employment in the India Office?

Under an Order in Council of the 11th December, 1905, the provisions of all Orders in Council respecting the employment and remuneration of persons belonging to the Second Division of the Civil Service of the State apply to the second class clerks in the India Office. As regards other classes of clerks, the practice of the Secretary of State for India in Council is to treat provisions of Orders in Council and Treasury proceedings relating to establishments as applicable to the India Office. I do not, therefore, consider any inquiry necessary.

asked the Postmaster-General whether, as there is to be an extension of the hours of posting at the General Post Office on Friday evenings to catch the Canadian and American mails, there will be a corresponding extension of hours at other post offices in London; and whether he will consider the possibility of still further extending the hours of posting at the General Post Office beyond 3 a.m. on Saturday mornings in view of the fact that passengers do not leave Euston until 9.25 a.m. on Saturday?

I am sorry that it is not at present practicable to make any further extension of the hours of posting, either at the General Post Office or at any other London office, for the Canadian and American packets leaving Liverpool on Saturday afternoons. The matter will be considered again when more experience has been gained of the working of the present arrangements.

asked the Postmaster-General what proportion of the concessions of the Holt Report affect women; and what is the amount of money by which female officers will benefit thereby?

Perhaps I may refer the hon. Member to the answer recently given to a similar question by the hon. Member for the Tradeston Division of Glasgow. The answer appeared in the Votes for Monday last.

asked the Postmaster-General what is the limit of weight of parcels in the parcels post of Germany, France, Belgium, and Switzerland; what was the original limit in the United States of America when this service was introduced as a Department of Government in that country, and what is the present limit; and at what date the British limit of 11 lbs. was fixed?

I assume that the hon. Member is referring to the inland parcel post service of the countries in question. The limit of weight for parcels in the inland service of Germany is 50 kilogrammes (about 110 lbs.); in the Belgian inland service the limit is 60 kilogrammes (about 132 lbs.); in the Swiss inland service the limit is 60 kilogrammes for certain localities and 50 kilogrammes for others. In the French inland service the limit is 10 kilogrammes (about 22 lbs.). In the United States of America the limit, when the inland parcel post came into operation on the 1st of January, 1913, was fixed at 11 lbs.; on the 15th of August, 1913, the limit for parcels sent not more than 150 miles was raised to 20 lbs. The present limits (fixed on the 1st of January, 1914) are 50 lbs. for parcels sent not more than 150 miles, and 20 lbs. for those sent greater distances. The maximum weight of 11 lbs. for the inland parcel post in this country was fixed on the 1st May, 1886.

asked the Postmaster-General how many telephones were added to the London telephone system during the year 1913; how many applications for telephone services in London are on hand at present, and of the applications on hand how many are less than one month old, how many are over one month but less than three months old, and how many are over three months old; and will he give similar information for Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Belfast, and Dublin?

Total new telephones provided during the year 1913:—

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether, in response to a questionnaire addressed by the Committee for the Economic Preservation of Birds in 1913 to His Majesty's Consuls and Vice-Consuls asking to be favoured with information as to the species of birds in the districts in their vicinity, and whether any protection of such birds is desirable or otherwise, a number of replies were posted to the Foreign Office, afterwards being transmitted to the secretaries of the Committee for the Economic Preservation of Birds with a request that they should not be made public; and, if so, in view of the discussion now taking place in Standing Committee B upon the Importation of Plumage (Prohibition) Bill, and the advisability of all information in the possession of the Foreign Office being placed fully before the members of the Committee, will he remove the prohibition of publication above mentioned, and permit of the terms of such replies being printed and circulated for the information of all Members of the House?

A request for information was, in the first instance, addressed to certain of His Majesty's diplomatic and Consular officers abroad by the Committee for the Economic Preservation of Birds direct, and the replies thereto were not in most instances sent through the Foreign Office. The Secretary of State could not naturally assent unreservedly to the publication of any statements emanating from Foreign Office officials as they might reflect upon the Government or upon some section of the people of a foreign country, and it was for this reason that the Committee was requested last December to submit, for the approval of the Secretary of State, proofs of any evidence supplied by His Majesty's diplomatic or consular representatives which it was proposed to make public. The Committee agreed to this course, but up to the present this has not been done.