asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much of the extra taxation levied since he has been at the Exchequer has been expended upon national defence, and how much on various schemes, the legislation sanctioning which was initiated by himself?

As the hon. Member knows, the produce of particular taxes is, with trifling exceptions, not earmarked to particular items of expenditure. I may however mention that in the five years 1908–9 to 1913–14, inclusive, the new or increased taxes imposed by the Budget of 1909–10 yielded £111,175,000. In the same period additional expenditure (over the figures for 1908–9) has been incurred in respect of the following items, amongst other:— £ Navy 51,309,000 Army 4,551,000 Total Navy and Army 55,860,000 Old Age Pensions 44,339,000 Insurance 11,697,000 Road Improvement Fund 4,640,000 Development Fund 2,900,000 Sanatoria 1,500,000 Departments of Agriculture 1,000,000

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the number of earned incomes paying Income Tax between £160 and £300; what number of these are earned by salaried persons and manual labour, respectively; and if the same methods are employed to ascertain wages in manual labour as in the case of salaries?

It is estimated that the number of Income Tax payers with total incomes exceeding £160 and not exceeding £300, and either wholly or partly earned, is about 600,000. No definite figures are available, and the Income Tax statistics do not distinguish between the incomes of salaried persons and those of manual workers. Similar methods are employed in ascertaining taxable income in both cases.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the exact reasons for not now putting agricultural landowners under Schedule D for the purposes of Income Tax; and whether, in view of the consensus of opinion against the perpetuation of low wages and uneconomic cottage rents, he will consider the desirability of ceasing to limit the allowance under Section 69 of the Finance (1909–10) Act, 1010, in respect of expenditure upon the repair and maintenance of rural cottages to those of an annual value not exceeding £8 per annum.

I fear I cannot undertake to discuss by way of question and answer the objections to the transfer of the assessments on land from Schedule A to Schedule D of the Income Tax. I cannot sec my way to extend the allowance granted by Section 69 of the Finance (1909–10) Act, 1910, to houses of annual value exceeding £8.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the amount of real property and personal, respectively, charged to Income Tax in England and Wales for the last complete year?

The gross annual value of the property in England and Wales assessed under Schedule A of the Income Tax Acts was in 1911–12—the latest year for which final figures are available—£235,289,749. There was, in addition, a considerable amount of income from real property included in the assessments of industrial concerns, such as railways, mines, etc., but there is no means of determing what this amounts to. With regard to personal property, the assessments on income derived therefrom cannot, in general, be distinguished from those in respect of the profits of trades, professions or employments. The gross income reviewed in England and Wales for 1911–12 under the Schedules which include income from personal property amounted to £573,645,728.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether there is any other Civil Service Department in which the full duties and responsibilities of administration are assumed at such an early age as in the Customs and Excise Department, and at so low a remuneration as to be below £2 a week; and whether he will extend to the Customs and Excise staff a recommendation made by the Royal Commission on the Civil Service that, even in the case of certain officials who obtained their appointments by examination inferior in standard to the Customs and Excise entrance examination, the incremental progress should after a salary of £130 per annum is reached be at the rate of £10 per annum?

The duties of these officers are executive duties, prescribed in codes of instructions, and performed under the supervision of local superior officers, and I cannot accept the suggestion, in the first part of the question, that they are incommensurate with the age and salary of officers in the early years of service or with the duties of other Civil servants at corresponding ages and salaries. As regards the second part of the question, I would refer the hon. Member to my reply to his question of the 23rd ultimo on the subject of the salary scale of these officers.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the scheme of revised pay for clerks of surveyors of taxes will be brought into operation; and, if so, from what date?

The matter is receiving careful attention, but I am not yet in a position to make a statement.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what advalorem duty would be required to produce the same total revenue from imported tea as the 5d. per pound produced in the last year for which figures are available?

On the basis of the receipts for 1913–14 and the average import price of tea in that year, the duty required would have been 55 per cent.

asked the hon. Member for St. George's-in-the-East, as representing the Insurance Commissioners, how many local authorities or insurance committees applied, under Section 17 (2) of the National Insurance Act, for permission to treat dependants of insured persons for tuberculosis; and how many of these were recommended by the Local Government Board or the Insurance Commission to treat these dependants under the Hob-house Grant?

The extension by insurance committees of sanatorium benefit to dependants is a matter within their own discretion, and does not require the consent of the Commissioners, though any application for funds under Section 17 (2) is required to be transmitted through them. Applications have been transmitted and sanctioned in respect of the year 1913 in the case of all areas in Wales with one exception, twelve areas in Scotland, and one area in Ireland. In the case of England, the alternative procedure under the Hobhouse Grant was generally recommended at an early stage in the negotiations between insurance committees and councils, and the few applications proposed under Section 17 (2) have accordingly not been proceeded with.

asked the First Lord of the Treasury whether he is aware that it sometimes happens that an old age pensioner receives disqualifying poor relief without the fact coming to the notice of the pension officer for a considerable time, if at all; whether he is also aware that the Board of Customs and Excise, in June, 1912, informed the London county local pension committee that further precautions to prevent the risk of such overlapping were very desirable; whether any further precautions are still desirable; and whether he will furnish a statement showing the steps taken before and since the date mentioned to prevent such overlapping?

I trust that the circular which the President of the Local Government Board proposes to issue shortly will meet the difficulty referred to by the hon. Member.

asked the Prime Minister if he has received a resolution condemning the Home Rule Bill, unanimously passed by a meeting held at Queen's Park, Toronto, on 9th May, at which 7,000 persons were present, presided over by the Mayor of Toronto, and at which the Hon. A. E. Kemp (Member of the Dominion Government), Dr. Pyne, the Hon. Wallace Nesbitt, Hon. Thomas Crawford, Mr. W. D. McPherson, Sir John Willison, and Mr. A. C. Pratt, Members of the Legislature of Ontario, spoke; and if he will state what reply, if any he has tent in response to the resolution?

I can find no trace that such a resolution has reached me.

asked the Chief Secretary whether it is the intention of the Law Officers in Ireland to put on trial at the Summer Assizes in county Mayo the twenty persons charged with riot in the town of Westport on the 4th February last; whether there is any prospect of getting an impartial verdict in county Mayo in this case, in view of the influence over jurors possessed by the Ancient Order of Hibernians, to which the persons charged are said to belong; and whether he will consider the necessity of a change of venue to a county or city where a fair verdict may be obtained?

I would refer the hon. and gallant Member to my reply to his question on this subject on 29th April, to which I have nothing to add.

asked the Vice-President of the Department of Agriculture (Ireland) whether his attention has been called to the complaint made by Mr. Patrick O'Brien, of Limerick, against the Clyde Shipping Company for damage done to a consignment of eggs during transit on their steamer to Glasgow; whether this company refuse to pay the claim of £6 10s. for the broken and damaged eggs, stating as their reason that the consignment was at owner's risk; whether Mr. Patrick O'Brien wanted to consign the goods at company's risk and was prepared to pay, but the company refused to do so; and whether the Department will inquire into this complaint with a view of compelling the company to pay this claim, and also to try and prevent the constant loss and damage to Irish goods in their transit to the ports in Great Britain?

The Department have received a complaint regarding damage to the consignment, and are in communication with the shipping company in the matter. The Department are taking all practicable action with a view to secure the safe transit of Irish eggs.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether orders have yet been placed for the two accelerated battleships of the present programme; what is the period of construction upon which tenders were placed; and what date is asked for for delivery to the naval authorities?

The provisional orders for these two ships have been placed with a view to completion at the earliest practicable date, which, it is hoped, will be not later than the autumn of 1916.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty how many light cruisers it is hoped to commission between July, 1913, and July next; and on what dates it is expected to complete the eight light-armoured cruisers of the 1912–13 programme?

Between July, 1913, and July, 1914, it is hoped that the following light cruisers will have been placed in commission "Birmingham," "Lowestoft," "Nottingham," "Fearless." As regards the second part of the question, it is hoped to complete all the 1912–13 cruisers before February, 1915.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty if admirals superintendent of dockyards were recently summoned to the Admiralty on official business; whether, on arrival, they were ordered to report themselves at the House of Commons; and if he will say what was the reason for this order?

The Admirals Superintendent of the Chatham, Devon-port, and Portsmouth yards were asked to attend at the Admiralty on Wednesday last, 13th May, for the purpose of considering whether, by a possible readjustment of work between the yards mentioned, certain contemplated discharges of workmen might be avoided. These officers attended at the Admiralty, and the matter was discussed there. It was necessary that my right hon. Friend the Financial Secretary should also see them, and as he was in attendance upon the House at the time, they were requested to meet him in his room during the course of the afternoon. This they did, together with the Director of Dockyards and Dock yard Work, and in consequence certain readjustments of work were put forward and approved, which my right hon Friend informs me will to a great extent render unnecessary discharges of workmen which would otherwise have had to take place. I do not understand why this procedure should call for notice, nor how the hon. and gallant Member came to be informed of the movements of officials engaged upon Admiralty business.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty if he is aware that Easton, Gibb and Son, contractors for work at the naval base, Rosyth, are paying the workmen doing the timber work in connection with the concrete and reinforced concrete work there 4s. to 8s. per week less than the rate agreed upon by the employers and workmen of that district; and whether he will take steps to enforce the provisions of the Fair-Wages Clause in connection with this contract?

I think that my hon. Friend must have in mind the wages paid to carpenters. The men employed on the timber work referred to are, however, in accordance with what I understand to be the usual practice on civil engineering works, not carpenters but timbermen, and are paid accordingly.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether the Board propose to put into operation the recommendations of the Departmental Committee on playgrounds of public elementary schools; whether this would involve a restriction of playground space in infants' departments amounting to a reduction from thirty square feet per child to sixteen square feet; whether the Board propose to sanction the present arrangements in existing schools with insufficient playgrounds until the year 1925; and whether the proposed reduction of playground space has been reported upon by the chief medical officer of the Board from the point of view of the health of the young children who will be affected by the changes now proposed?

With regard to the first parts of the question, the Board are carefully considering the recommendations of the Committee in connection with the revised edition of their Building Regulations, which will shortly be published. With regard to the third part of the question, the degree of insufficiency in each case will be taken into account, and I certainly do not contemplate general acquiescence in the present state of things for eleven years. With regard to the last part of the question, I have taken advice, both as regards the health of the children and other relevant matters, from the Board's staff and from other persons and bodies conversant with the question.

asked the President of the Board of Education the cost of the national competition in the year 1909?

A separate account was not kept of the cost of the competition for the year 1909, and I am, therefore, unable to give the information.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether his attention has been drawn to the criticisms made by the Royal Commission on the Civil Service upon the method of recruiting the administrative staff of his Department; whether any such posts have recently been filled by new appointments; if so, whether they were filled by transfer from the inspectorate, men of special experience from outside the service, men who had passed the Class I. examination, or promotion from the clerical staff of his Department, and, if by men of special experience from outside the service, whether they were first advertised; and, if no recent appointments have been made, what changes he proposes to initiate for future appointments in consequence of the criticisms of the Royal Commission?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. Since 9th June, 1913, when I last answered a question on this subject I have appointed five junior examiners. One of these was previously in the Board's inspectorate, two were appointed from outside the service, and two were promoted from the clerical staff of the Department. No vacancies in this grade have been advertised hitherto. The method of procedure in making appointments is under consideration in connection with the Report of the Royal Commission on the Civil Service.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether there is any sum standing to the credit of the late Thomas Trustle, formerly No. 763 Private, 67th Foot, in the military savings bank; if not, whether any record or receipt can be produced to show whether the sum of 203 rupees 15 annas, which appears to the credit of the late Thomas Trustle in his regimental account book at the time of his discharge, was ever paid to him; and, if so, how and when it was paid?

There is no sum standing to the credit of the late Thomas Trustle, formerly No. 763 Private, 67th Foot, in the military savings bank, nor can any direct evidence of payment of the amount shown as standing to his credit in his pocket ledger at the time of discharge in May, 1878, be produced, as the bank accounts and supporting vouchers for the period have long been destroyed. It is assumed that, following the practice of the Service, the money was withdrawn from the bank and paid to him by the Paymaster at Netley at the date of his discharge.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he will furnish an up-to-date Return to the House of serious or fatal accidents to officers or men in connection with the operation of Army aeroplanes, including particulars as to the types of the machines on which the accidents occurred?

A full statement of fatal accidents which had occurred in connection with Army aeroplanes up to 23rd March was furnished in reply to a question put on that date by the hon. Member for Leicester. There have been three fatal accidents since that date, of which the particulars are as follows:—

Date of Accident. Names of Kilted. Pattern and Number of Aeroplane on which Accident Occurred. Names of Manufacturers of Aeroplane on which Accident Occurred. 12th May, 1914 … Capt. E. V. Anderson. Sopwith 80 Gnome Biplane. No. 325. The Sopwith Aviation Company, Ltd. 12th May, 1914 … Second-class Air Mechanic Carter Sopwith 80 Gnome Biplane, No. 324. The Sopwith Aviation Company, Ltd. 15th May, 1914 … Lieut. J. Empson and First - class Air Mechanic Cudmore. B.E. Biplane, No. 331 Coventry Ordnance Works, Limited.

asked the Under-Secretary for India whether he has any information concerning the part played by private Indian charitable organisations in relieving the distress in the famine districts of the United Provinces?

The Secretary of State has no detailed information, but he understands that in addition to the Charitable Relief Fund opened by the Lieutenant-Governor, by which a considerable sum has been raised, a private fund was being organised. The reports from the distressed districts refer in general terms to the activities of private charity.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why the custom of the last thirty years in giving the full name and address of naturalised aliens has been departed from; and, in view of the difficulties of registration, will ho issue an amended Return for the year 1913 giving the same information as in previous years?

Returns of aliens to whom certificates of naturalisation have been granted are published in three forms: (1) A list is inserted monthly in the "Londone Gazette"; (2) A list is presented annually to Parliament; (3) The annual lists are consolidated from time to time into volumes. The names are in each case given in full, but recently, with a view to avoiding repeated publication of details, it

was decided that it was unnecessary to include in the annual lists the names of the streets and the numbers of the houses in which the aliens lived at the time of making their applications for naturalisation. By the time the lists came out many of the addresses would be changed. All the information which has hitherto been

published is still available in the "Gazette" lists.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department the result of his promised inquiry as to what steps can be taken to ensure that dangerous access to the Regent's Canal by children may be prevented?

I am still in communication with the dock company in the matter. I will communicate with the hon. Member as soon as I am in a position to do so.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether Sir Henry Primrose, Sir William Plender, and Sir Herbert Roberts have signified their willingness to be appointed Commissioners under the Established Church (Wales) Bill; and when it is proposed to appoint them?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. The Commissioners will be appointed on the passing of the Act.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department which of the three gentlemen proposed to be appointed Commissioners under the Established Church (Wales) Bill is a member of the Church of England, in accordance with the provisions of Clause 10 (I) of the Bill; and which is to be the unpaid Commissioner, in accordance with the terms of Clause 10, Sub-section (4) and (8), of the Bill?

Sir William Plender is a member of the Church of England. I may also point out that Sir Henry Primrose is a member of the Episcopal Church of Scotland. The unpaid Commissioner in accordance with the terms of Clause 10, Sub-sections (4) and (8), is the hon. Member for West Denbighshire, but Sir William Plender will also serve without remuneration.

asked the President of the Local Government Board if he will consider the advisability in the new Eating Bill of giving local authorities power to levy rates on the capital value of undeveloped land?

My right hon. Friend the President of the Local Government Board can only reply to this, as to other similar questions, that he cannot anticipate the provisions of the Rating Bill.

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether any local authorities undertaking the treatment of uninsured persons suffering from tuberculosis within their district, with the aid of the Hobhouse Grant, have applied for permission to give domiciliary treatment to such uninsured persons?

The answer is in the affirmative.

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether any instruction has been issued to local authorities, who have arranged to provide treatment for tuberculous subjects, that the medical life history of adult patients shall disclose whether the bacilli is of human or bovine origin; and, if no such instruction has been given, will he direct the same to be made in order to furnish scientific data calculated to determine the degree of danger, if any, arising from the ingestion of tuberculous meat?

No instruction of the nature referred to has been issued to local authorities. I may also observe that the question which the hon. Member desires should be determined would not be solved by merely ascertaining whether the organism was of bovine or human character.

asked the President of the Local Government Board what was the amount of money expended in Poor Law relief, both indoor and outdoor, in England and Wales in the years 1906 and 1913 respectively?

The total expenditure on Poor Law relief in England and Wales for the year ended on 31st March, 1906, was £14,035,888, including £7,316,809 which could be apportioned to indoor relief, and £3,917,305 to outdoor relief. The total expenditure for the year ended on 31st March, 1913, was £14,935,605, including £8,925,467, which could be apportioned to indoor relief, and £3,091,914 to outdoor relief.

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether his attention has been called to the risk and loss to which respectable and honest retail traders are at present exposed owing to the uncertainty as to the law regarding the sale of preserved cream; and whether he proposes to take immediate steps to relieve traders from the constant danger to which the present law exposes them?

My attention has been drawn to this matter. The evidence at present available as to the effect upon health of the addition of small quantities of preservatives to cream is to some extent contradictory. I have decided, therefore, to nominate a small expert committee to investigate afresh this question, which I recognise to be one of great and pressing importance to the trade concerned. Pending the completion of this investigation, which should not be prolonged, I would venture to express the opinion that it is inadvisable that local authorities should institute proceedings, except in cases where the amount of boric acid in the cream exceeds the amount declared on the label, or where the amount so declared is clearly excessive.

asked the Post-master-General whether he is aware of the practice in the Central Telegraph Office to request explanations of alleged low output from those members of the staff engaged in typing telegrams from Morse slip; whether he is aware that this reporting takes place at a date subsequent to that on which the work is performed, when the character of the message cannot be examined nor the difficulties connected with the transcription of Morse slip experienced at the time capable of demonstration; and whether, having regard to the statements of his predecessor that the purpose of recording the work done by telegraphists was not the speeding-up of the individual, whereas such records are used to force up the output regardless of circumstances, ho will have inquiry made into this system of reporting, in the interests of the public work and of the staff concerned?

When superintending officers in the Central Telegraph Office or elsewhere observe that the efficiency of the public telegraph service is suffering because a telegraphist is working slowly, it is their duty to call for an explanation, and to report the case for such notice as the circumstances may require. Such explanations are sought at the earliest possible moment. If my hon. Friend has any particular case in view in which he considers that this was not done, I should be happy to give him a full statement of the facts.

asked the Postmaster-General whether auxiliary postmen in Ireland are not to benefit to the same extent as auxiliary postmen in the remainder of the United Kingdom by the pro rata concession that has been announced; and, if so, will ho say what is the reason for this differential treatment, seeing that the cost of living figures in the Irish towns range from 93 to 87 as compared with the figure of 100 shown for London, and that the lower of these figures is higher than the figures shown for Bristol, Blackburn, Nottingham, Derby, and other important towns in England?

The application of the principle of an overriding minimum wage to Post Office servants in Ireland is still under consideration. An announcement on the subject will be made at a later date.

asked the Postmaster-General whether his attention has been called to a practice of his Department in Edinburgh of surcharging 1d. each on invoices stamped with ½d. stamps on the ground that these invoices are not lined with ruled lines and have not the words "Bought of" printed on them; if so, will he say whether this surcharge is according to Regulation of his Department; and, if it is, can he see his way to alter it because of the inconvenience which it causes to the mercantile community in view of the extended use in modern days of the typewriting machine, which does not require ruled lines on the paper?

The Regulations published at page 11 of the Post Office Guide require that invoices and other formal commercial documents sent by the halfpenny packet post shall consist of appropriate printed forms—that is, forms bearing printed matter clearly indicating the purpose for which they are intended to be used. Having regard to the large number of documents which are admitted at the reduced rate of postage, the requirement referred to is, in my opinion, both reasonable and necessary, and I do not see my way to alter it. A form intended to be used for an invoice would be considered to comply with the Regulations if the words "Bought of" appeared in print at the top. Ruled lines would not be regarded as essential.

asked the Secretary for Scotland if he has now considered the Report of the Departmental Committee on Inshore Fisheries and the fact that the Development Commissioners, with the sanction of the Treasury, have granted a loan of £4,000 for the purpose of assisting fishermen to install motors in fishing boats at four specified towns in the South of England; and whether, in view of the fact that the Minority Report of the Scottish Committee supports a somewhat similar proposal for Scotland and is practically supported by all the Scottish Members, irrespective of politics, he will give such Report his favourable consideration?

The matter is still under my consideration; but I would remind my hon. Friend that the main Report of the Committee does not recommend the adoption of such a course as he suggests.

asked the number of applications for small holdings received from Lanarkshire since the Act of 1911 came into operation; the number of holdings constituted; and the number of schemes in course of formation?

One hundred and eighty-nine applications for new holdings and three for enlargements have been received from Lanarkshire, but of these 102 of the applicants for new holdings have indicated that they want land in counties other than Lanark. Three holdings have been constituted, and three schemes are the subject of negotiation with proprietors.

asked the President of the Board of Agriculture whether, seeing that Louth is, and always has been, free from cattle disease of any kind, he will consider the justice of removing or modifying the restrictions imposed on the export of cattle from that county; and whether he will make inquiries with a view to opening the port of Birkenhead to stores sent from Woodside or Wallesey, in county Louth?

I am sending to the hon. Gentleman a copy of an Order made by the Board on Tuesday last, from which he will see that as from to-day cattle from county Louth may be shipped to eight British ports, including the Wallasey lairages at Birkenhead, under the normal conditions of the trade.

asked the President of the Board of Agriculture whether any cases of American mildew on gooseberry bushes were reported to his Department in recent years; and whether any remedy other than the destruction of the bushes was tried, and with what success?

A large number of cases of American gooseberry mildew have been reported to the Board in recent years. The Order which deals with this disease requires the removal and destruc- tion of all affected parts of the bushes in the early autumn. Where the Order has been strictly enforced by the local authorities the amount of disease has been considerably reduced.

asked the President of the Board of Agriculture, as Commissioner of Woods, what restrictions, if any, are placed on the issue of keys for admission to the two garden enclosures in Regent's Park; what proportion of the £270 received from key subscriptions is derived from Crown estate residents and from non-residents, respectively; what is the annual cost of maintaining these enclosures; and whether there is any legal obstacle to the opening of the 8 acres covered by these enclosures for the use of the general public?

Keys are issued to residents in the neighbourhood who hold their houses or flats on leases or agreements for a term of years. Residents pay rather less than half of the sum mentioned. The annual cost of maintenance is £130. The First Commissioner hopes that it may be possible to throw these enclosures into the public part of the park in 1922. Before this date it is legally impossible.

asked the Prime Minister whether, in the arranging of business, he will keep in mind the Coal Mines Rill introduced by the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with a view to giving facilities for its Second Reading as early as possible?

Yes, Sir, certainly.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether it was the opinion of the Court of Inquiry into the loss of the sailing ship "Dalgonar" that the casualty was due to the shifting of loose ballast shipped at Callao; whether the sailing ship "Inveravon," carrying ballast of a similar character on a voyage from Callao to Portland, Oregon, is now posted as missing; and whether he proposes to take any and, if any, what steps to secure that in future movable ballast shall be properly stowed, and that the owners of British ships shall bear full responsibility for accidents due to their negligence or want of care in regard to the proper stowage of ballast or cargo?

The reply to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. The Board of Trade have already prepared and are about to issue a notice calling the attention of shipowners and shipmasters to the dangerous character of the shingle ballast shipped at Callao and to the necessity of taking adequate measures to prevent it from shifting. The notice will also be handed by the Consul at Callao to the masters of all British ships taking ballast at that port.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he took any and, if any, what steps to cause search to be made for the recently discovered third boat of the steamship "Columbian"?

No, Sir. The vessel was lost on the other side of the Atlantic on a frequented trade route. In such circumstances, I am of opinion that no search for missing boats that could be undertaken by the Board of Trade could possibly add materially to the continuous search which would naturally be carried out by the large number of vessels on and near the route.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether men who joined the Irish Lights service in 1870 and subsequent years were compelled to insure their lives and had 5s. per month stopped out of their pay to meet the premiums on the policies, without ever being informed of the amount for which they were insured; whether a new Regulation was made in 1908 whereby the premiums due on the life policies of those entering the service after that date are paid by the Department, while those who entered before that date still have the premiums deducted from their pay or pension, as the case may be; and whether he will take steps to remedy this inequality between the older and younger members of the service in question?

I am informed by the Irish Lights Commissioners that generally since 1870 lightkeepers and lightship and steamer crews have been insured on entering the service, the Commissioners paying half the premium of 5s. a month, and the men being informed of the amount for which they were insured. Under Regulations made in 1897 free insurance was granted to lightkeepers irrespective of their date of entering the service, and a similar Regulation is in force as regards lightship and steamer crews after three years' service. The Irish Commissioners state that there is no inequality between the older and younger men now in the service, and men insured before 1899, when pensioned, are given the option of either paying three pounds yearly to maintain the policy or exchanging it for a paid-up policy of proportionately less amount.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether the attention of the Board of Trade has been called to the action raised by Colville's trustees against the burgh of Campbeltown in the Court of Session in reference to the ownership of that portion of the foreshore ex adxerso of the burgh to the north of Lochend Burn, which has been reclaimed by the operations of the burgh of Campbeltown at the expense of the inhabitants and is now a public park; whether either of the litigants communicated with his Department, as representing the Crown, before settling the dispute as to their respective rights or want of rights; will he state the terms of settlement between pursuers and defenders; and whether the rights of the Crown have been ascertained and conserved in the course of the action and settlement?

The attention of the Board of Trade has been called to this action. Neither of the parties communicated with the Board before settling the dispute as between themselves. The Board have been unable to obtain a print of the record in the action, but the following statement was sent to the Press by the Campbeltown Town Council in October last, that:—This action has now been settled by the corporation paying to Mr. Colville's trustees a sum of £400 and a Fen duty of 10s. per annum, and also their expenses modified to a maximum of £150, and in return the town council have now obtained and recorded their feudal title to the subjects.

The question whether any and, if so, what steps should be taken to safeguard the rights and interests of the Crown is at present under consideration.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what were the quantities of tea imported in the last year for which figures are available under the following declared values per pound: under 6d., over 6d., and under 9d., over 9d. and under 1s., over 1s. and under 1s. 6d., and over 1s. 6d., or under any convenient but similar scale of declared values?

No statistics are available with regard to the quantity of tea imported which falls within a particular range of values.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will furnish a list of the different schools of cookery or other institutions in the United Kingdom which are approved by the Board of Trade for the purpose of granting certificates to ships' cooks after instruction; whether he can supply figures classifying the number of British subjects, aliens, Chinese, and others who have attended each of these schools of cookery or other approved institutions during the past twelve months; and whether he will consider the advisability of forming separate classes of instruction at these different schools for British subjects desirous of qualifying for these certificates?

The list of approved schools of cookery for which the hon. Member asks is given below. I am not in a position to furnish the figures asked for in the second part of the question, and in reply to the last part I would point out that the organisation of the classes in these schools is necessarily a matter for the authorities by whom the schools are conducted.

Schools of Cookery and other Institutions.—Recognised under Section 27 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1906:

London School of Nautical Cookery, Sailors' Home, Well Street and Dock Street, E.

City of Liverpool Seamen's Cookery School.

Shipping Federation School of Nautical Cookery, Glasgow.

Shipping Federation School of Nautical Cookery, Hull.

Shipping Federation School of Nautical Cookery, Cardiff.

Shipping Federation School of Nautical Cookery, Sunderland.

Shipping Federation School of Nautical Cookery, Southampton.

Shipping Federation School of Nautical Cookery, Belfast.

Shipping Federation School of Nautical Cookery, North Shields.

The Army School of Cookery, Aldershot.

The Army School of Cookery, Poona.

The shipping offices at Calcutta.

The shipping offices at Bombay.

The shipping offices at Rangoon.

The shipping offices at Chittagong.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will furnish information as to the recipients and the amounts they receive annually from merchant seamen's pensions, towards the cost of which the balances of unclaimed wages and effects of deceased seamen are applied?

The latest information on this subject is contained in House of Commons Paper No. 147, Session 1913, of which I am sending the hon. Member a copy.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will give the value of the export of wholly or partly manufactured goods from the united Kingdom to the united States in the first quarter of the year 1912?

As I stated in reply to the hon. Member on the 15th May, the values of the exports of goods wholly or mainly manufactured to particular destinations are only compiled for calendar years as a whole, and are not available for shorter periods