asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has received any petitions from Portsmouth and other towns urging the necessity of the revision of the Pedlars Act, 1871, or the adoption of an amending Bill; and, if His Majesty's Government are unable to revise the Act, whether they will afford facilities for the passage of an amending Bill?

I have received a petition from various branches of the Credit Drapers' Federal Union on this subject. With regard to the second part of the question, I regret that I am unable to add anything to the replies which I gave to the junior Member for Portsmouth on the 18th February and the 16th March.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland if he will state in respect of each county in Ireland the net deductions from Grants in aid of local rates during the ten years ending 31st March, 1914, first owing to the insuffici- ency of the income of the Local Taxation (Ireland) Account, and, secondly, owing to all the causes connected with land purchase, with the total for each county and for all Ireland for the period?

The income of the Local Taxation (Ireland) Account was sufficient to meet the payments thereout for each year up to and including the year ended 31st March, 1910, and there were consequently no abatements made under Section 58 (5) of the Local Government (Ireland) Act, 1898, from payments to local authorities out of the account prior to that date. The following tables show the abatements made during the four financial years ended 31st March, 1914, from the Workhouse Grant, Pauper Lunatics Grant and Railway and Harbour Guarantees:—

Table showing for each county in Ireland the net deductions from Grants in aid of local rates during the ten years ending 31st March, 1914, in respect of land purchase liabilities under the Purchase of Land (Ireland) Act, 1891, and the Irish Land Acts, 1903 and 1909:—

asked the Home Secretary if he will obtain the Excise authorities who collect in their respective districts the compensation charge from the holders of intoxicating liquor licences a return of the total amount collected in the Tower Division of the county of London on that account for each of the Licensing for each of the years since the Licensing Act, 1904, came into operation?

I regret that I am unable to comply with this request. As indicated in the answer which I grave to my hon. Friend on 20th May, the scheme of the Act is that the compensation charges should be levied and utilized over the county as a whole.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty if officers and men of the Army have been granted the North-West India Frontier medal for services from 1906 onwards; and, if so, why officers and men of the Royal Navy and Royal Marine Forces engaged on active service up on the Persian Gulf from 1906 onwards have not been granted this decoration?

I must refer the Noble Lord to the reply which I grave him on the 12th of February last, together with that given by the Under-Secretary for India to the Member for Melton on the 5th of March last.

asked the President of the Local Government Board under what Statute or Statutes local authorities have power to give domiciliary treatment, including the provision of milk, eggs, meat, bread, etc., when required, to uninsured persons suffering from tuberculosis?

Under Section 3 of the Public Health (Prevention and Treatment of Disease) Act, 1913, it is lawful for a local authority to make any such arrangements as may be sanctioned by the Local Government Board for the treatment of tuberculosis.

asked the Postmaster-General whether Mr. Morrell, sorting clerk and telegraphist at Batley, was appointed to Batley or Dewsbury, or is borne on the establishment in both towns; whether he is aware that the scales of pay differ in these two areas, and that Mr. Morrell has been paid at the lower rate during his service at the higher scale office; whether the fact that Mr. Morrell is employed for the purpose of rendering assistance at Dews-bury and Batley as circumstances may re- quire is held to deprive him of the usual conditions of service; whether he has been informed that subsistence allowances are paid to Dewsbury telephone operators performing duty at Batley; if so, whether he is satisfied that a good reason exists for the difference in practice; and whether, having regard to all the circumstances and to the rate of wages paid to Mr. Morrell, he will see that a subsistence allowance is made and that the wages paid shall be in accordance with the scale laid down for the particular area in which Mr. Morrell is employed?

I am having further inquiry made, and will write to the hon. Member in due course.

asked the President of the Board of Agriculture whether, in view of the recommendations of the Departmental Committee on Inshore Fisheries, he proposes to introduce, during the present Session of Parliament or subsequently, a Bill to repeal any, and, if so, which sections of the Sea Fisheries Regulation Act, 1888, and of the Fisheries Act, 1891, and of the Sea Fisheries (Shell Fish) Regulation Act, 1894, and any other Act of Parliament relating to the sea fisheries of England and Wales, and substituting therefor a measure to give effect to any of the recommendations of the Inshore Fisheries Committee?

The recommendations of the Committee are receiving careful consideration, but I do not propose to introduce legislation on this subject during the present Session.