asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether the Persian Government has acquiesced in the award of Kasr-i-Shirin, or the Chiasurkh district to the Turks?

Kasr-i-Shirin has not been awarded to Turkey; as regards Chiasurkh the answer is in the affirmative.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he can state how many of the Great Powers are represented at the present time in Mexico City by Ambassadors, Envoys Extraordinary, Ministers Plenipo- tentiary, or Consuls; if communication is still open between the city of Mexico and the outside world; approximately the number of English now in the city, men and women; and if they run serious risk of murder and outrage at the hands of one party or other in the Republic of Mexico?

In reply to the first part of the hon. Member's question, I have no official information as to the number of Great Powers at present represented by diplomatic or Consular officers in Mexico-City. There are about thirty-five Foreign Powers who are represented at Mexico City, and I have not heard of any of the representatives of the Powers being withdrawn except the representative of the United States. The answer to the second part of the hon. Member's question is, to the best of my knowledge, in the affirmative. As I informed the hon. Member for Wirral on the 25th ultimo, I have no other than published statistics as to the number of British subjects in Mexico City. I have seen it stated in the Press that there are said to be some 800 British subjects in the city at present. The number probably varies from time to time according to the prospects of safety in the surrounding districts. As regards the position of British subjects in Mexico, the present conditions vary so much in different localities that it is difficult to say if they are running risk of murder and outrage throughout the Republic. His Majesty's Consular officers have been instructed to warn British subjects of their possible danger in the disturbed areas, and that having regard to local considerations they must use their discretion as to leaving the Republic. I have reason to think that they are in the main in touch with one another and with His Majesty's officers, and that dispositions have been made to provide for their safety as far as possible. As I informed the hon. Member for Wirral on the 25th ultimo, His Majesty's Minister in Mexico City has arranged, as far as possible, for the defence of British subjects there in an emergency. He has also been arranging for British subjects who wish to leave Mexico City to do so.

Might I ask the right hon. Gentleman if His Majesty's Minister in Mexico City knows more or less the whereabouts of British subjects in the Republic, and whether it is not a fact that they have all at one time or another been warned by him or the British Consul that they remain in Mexico at their own risk?

They have been warned some time ago that if they remained in the interior it will be at their own risk, and that they ought to withdraw to ports if in any particular locality they considered they were not safe.

asked whether there have been negotiations between China and ourselves and other Powers for the addition to the leased territory known as the International Settlement of Shanghai of the district known as Chapei; and, if so, what consideration in return is being offered to China?

There is no leased territory at Shanghai, but for many years past friction has been caused between the Chinese and foreign authorities by the conflict of jurisdictions arising out of the natural development of the International Settlement at that port. In September, 1912, the diplomatic body at Peking were requested by the Chinese Government to arrange for the negotiation locally of a clear demarcation of the boundaries between the Chinese and foreign areas with a view to effecting a permanent settlement of the questions at issue. No effect was given by the Chinese authorities at Shanghai to this request until the end of last year, when the subject was again raised. Beyond some friendly exchange of views, no formal negotiations have, however, taken place as yet.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he can state the results of the recent negotiations between China, Tibet, and ourselves, as to the status of Tibet?

I cannot at present make any statement on the subject.

asked which are the Powers that have not agreed to ratify the Opium Convention of the International Conference at The Hague, dated 23rd January, 1912, and their reasons for declining to do so?

So far as I am aware the Convention has been ratified only by eight Powers—that is to say, China, Portugal, Siam, the United States, Guatemala, Honduras, Venezuela, and Denmark. His Majesty's Government have announced their intention to ratify and the formalities of ratification are at present in process of completion. I do not know whether any other signatory Powers have announced their intention to ratify, nor can I give the reasons for the abstention of those which have declined to do so.

Will the right hon. Gentleman lay Papers of the recent Conference at The Hague?

I will look into that.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India what are the respective numbers of European and of Indian teachers who have been appointed by the Secretary of State, within the last five years, to give instruction in art or architecture in Indian schools and colleges; whether any of the Europeans so appointed have had any previous training in the principles and practice of Indian art and architecture; and, if not, why they were preferred to qualified Indians?

The numbers are three Europeans, no Indians. I am not aware that any of the three had before appointment specialised in Indian Art and Architecture, but it may be presumed that their professional training included some study of the subject. With regard to the third question, I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given to him on the 5th May.

In future appointments will more care be taken to see that really suitable and experienced men for the posts are appointed?

I must not be understood to admit that the gentlemen who were appointed were in any way unsuited.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether the investigations into the building craft in India commenced in the United Provinces in 1911, the results of which were published last year by the Government of India, are being continued in other provinces; and, if not, whether the Secretary of State will consider the importance of being accurately informed of the economic conditions of India in this respect?

Local governments have been requested to institute inquiries and to report the results. Their reports, no doubt, will in due course be published.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether a large proportion of the religious mendicants of India, who are estimated to number several millions, is drawn from handicraftsmen compelled to adopt begging through the decay of village industries; whether many skilled craftsmen, partly owing to the restrictions placed upon their employment in municipal or other official undertakings, have ceased to train their sons in their hereditary callings, and now send them to Government schools to compete for minor clerical appointments; and whether the Secretary of State or the Government of India will consider some other means of encouraging such skilled craftsmen besides that of appointing highly paid European experts to supervise them?

The number of persons supported by religious mendicancy in India is shown by the Census of 1911 to be about 700,000, as in the previous Census. The number of other mendicants shows a marked decrease in the ten years, while the number of persons supported by the building industries has risen by 18 per cent. In view of these facts the Secretary of State doubts whether the inference implied by the question is well-founded.

Is it not a fact that those employed in building operations are, to a large extent, immigrants from China and elsewhere, and cannot in any sense be classed as making up for the deficiency of master builders?

I do not think that is correct.

Is it not a matter of public notoriety that the proportion of religious mendicants to the population was far greater than the hon. Member assumes?

asked whether a judgment debtor can be arrested in execution of a decree at any hour and on any day and detained in custody in the civil prison until brought, as soon as practicable, before the Court; whether it is only after his arrest and consequent detention in prison that the Court can inform him that he can get his discharge from prison by applying to be declared insolvent, and that even then the judgment debtor, after declaring his intention to so apply, must furnish security to the satisfaction of the Court that he will appear when called upon in any proceeding upon the decree in execution of which he was arrested; whether it is purely in the option of the Court to substitute a notice to appear and show cause against arrest instead of issuing a warrant for arrest; and whether there are any means by which a judgment creditor can enforce his claim by process of bankruptcy when there are no effects to distrain on except by the process of arresting or applying for the arrest of his debtor?

The reply to the first portion of the question is in the affirmative, to the second and third in the negative. As regards the last portion, the application of a judgment creditor takes the form of an application for arrest, but neither the law nor the practice followed can properly be described as odious or unreasonable.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether his attention has been drawn to the result of the recent appeal to the Chief Court of the Punjab brought by the "Daily Zamindar" of Lahore against the declaration of forfeiture made by the Government of the Punjab under the Press Act; whether he is aware that, as the result of this appeal, the proprietors of an Indian newspaper of a large circulation will be penalised by a fine amounting to £800, besides the entire loss of their printing presses, in respect of three articles which contained no incitement whatever to violence or disorder, but which on account of certain criticisms of Government action were held to have a seditious tendency; whether his attention has also been called to the opinion expressed by the Chief Justice of Bengal that, owing to the all-comprehensive nature of the provisions of the Press Act, the task of an applicant to the Courts against forfeiture of security is an almost hopeless task, so that every newspaper which expresses any views of which the local Government disapproves becomes liable to fine and forfeiture; and whether, in view of the apparent harshness of the working of the Press Act in the case of the "Daily Zamindar," the Secretary of State will direct further inquiry to be made into the matter?

The Secretary of State has received a telegraphic summary of the judgment in which the Punjab Chief Court rejected the appeal of the keeper of the "Zemindar" Press, and is awaiting a full report. The Court found it impossible to accept the editor's explanation that the articles were inoffensive, and held that he must have been aware that they tended to incite to violence and disorder. The opinion expressed by the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court on another case referred to action taken under a different Section of the Press Act.

In view of this sentence, will the Indian Government give instructions that these prosecutions should not continue in the future?

Is it not a fact that the punishment, as far as one can tell, is altogether out of proportion to the offence committed, and will the Secretary of State consider the desirability of giving relief?

That is a matter for the Court.

asked whether any progress has been made in the arrangements for modifying the system of semi-slavery prevalent in the Lushai Hills?

If the hon. Member refers to the Bawi system, certain principles have been laid down by the Assam Administration, in consultation with the local missionaries, for dealing with the system which should diminish its objectionable features. The Chief Commissioner of Assam will visit the Lushai Hills and examine the conditions personally.

asked whether the Secretary of State is aware of the block in promotion existing in the Indian police and of the fact that some of the senior officers have been serving in the same grade for eight years; whether the Secretary of State is aware that while officers in the Public Works and Forests Departments automatically draw Rs.1,250 permensem, after twenty years' service (under the annual incremental system granted to these Departments), police officers of thirty years' service are drawing only Rs.1,000 per mensem, and police officers of twenty-five years' service are drawing only Rs. 900 per mensem, and have been in these grades since April, 1906; whether the Secretary of State, in view of the hardship of police officers serving eight years and longer in the same grade, will introduce the annual incremental system which is in force in the Public Works and Forests Department, and thus remove the block in promotion which now exists in the police force in India; and whether he is aware that police officers from all provinces in India memorialised both the Secretary of State and the Viceroy on this subject five years ago and that feeling exists in the Departments on this subject?

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him on the 23rd June. Pending the Report of the Royal Commission the Secretary of State is not prepared to consider the adoption of the change suggested in the conditions of service of the police.

Will the Secretary of State consider it after he receives the Report?

Of course he will receive the recommendations that will be made.

Will he consider the matter if it is not a recommendation?

asked the Secretary for War whether the Indian Government is now compelled to pay bounties to time-expired men to prolong their service in India on account of the shortage of recruits; how much money that has amounted to during this year from 1st January; and what steps he proposes to take to cure this evil?

also asked whether, owing to the lack of drafts from Home, the Indian Government is offering bounties to British soldiers to extend their service in India; the extent of these bounties and how far the response to the offer has succeeded in making up the deficiency; and what steps the Government intend to take to deal with the falling off in the number of recruits joining the Army?

The object of giving the bounty and its amount have already been clearly stated in replies given to questions put by the hon. Members for the Enfield and Bath Divisions on the 1st, 2nd, and 6th instant. The bounty has only recently been offered, and it is too soon to make any statement as to the results. As regards the question of recruiting generally, I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for West Marylebone on the 1st instant by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister.

Has the payment of bounties to men to remain in India anything to do with the announcement that Reservists of Sections ( a ) and ( b ) can come back to the Service?

The questions are not very analogous.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what sum is saved annually to the Treasury by the amounts deducted under the Superannuation Act from the retired pay of officers of the Navy and Army who hold Civil appointments under Government or any public Department?

As the hon. and gallant Member is aware, the actual deductions are made not from the retired pay, but from the Civil emoluments. They, therefore, affect a very large number of separate Civil votes, and the precise figures for which he asks could only be obtained at the expense of a disproportionate amount of labour. I may, however, refer him to the Annual Return for 1912–13 (House of Commons Paper 238).

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if his attention has been drawn to an examination for assistant clerks (abstractor class), National Health Insurance Commission (Wales), to be held on the 28th July in which the subjects of examination will be English, a language (Latin, French, German, or Welsh), elementary mathematics, and two of the following subjects: a second language (Latin, French, German, or Welsh), history and geography, further mathematics, and science; and if, taking into consideration the nature of the examination, the cost of living, and the condemnation by the Royal Commission on the Civil Service of the initial salary, £45 per annum, of assistant clerks, he will take steps to have brought into operation the recommendations of the Royal Commission so far as these relate to the salary scale of this class?

I am aware that arrangements are being made for this examination. The specific recommendations of the Royal Commission with respect to assistant clerks are receiving the careful attention of the Treasury. When a decision has been reached with reference to these and other cognate recommendations, steps will be taken to give effect to them without any avoidable delay.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say how long the "careful attention" is going to last?

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the number of persons now employed in an unestablished capacity in the office of the Welsh Insurance Commissioners; and whether it is intended to retain such persons with a view to permanent employment?

The figure for which the Noble Lord asks is 77; no statement can be made in regard to the second part of the question until the permanent needs of the Department have been ascertained.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say when it will be ascertained?

It is most important to consider the six months' contribution cards and we have to see how the system works.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether any panel patients have been transferred from the Rhymney Valley Medical Association to the Bargoed and District Sick and Medical Aid Society after the closing of the panel list for the year on the 14th December, 1913; whether the latter society was an approved society and officially recognised at that date; and whether, under the circumstances, these transfers have been sanctioned?

My right hon. Friend is informed by the Welsh Insurance Commissioners that the answer to the first and second parts of the question is in the negative; the third part does not therefore arise.

Will the hon. Gentleman say when the Bargoed and District Sick and Medical Aid Society was approved—what date?

No, Sir. I am informed that this society is not one of the institutions approved under Section 15 of the Act.

Not yet approved?

Not approved at all, as far as I am aware.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware that the Treasury are enforcing the payment of £30, being the duty on a donation of £300 given by the late William Townsend White, Esq., to the funds of the King Edward VII. Hospital in Cardiff; and whether, having in view the financial needs of this hospital, he will allow the duty to be remitted in this case?

Estate Duty at 4 per cent.— i.e., £12 and not £30—with interest from the date of the donor's death, is chargeable by Statute in respect of the gift in question, and there is no provision of the law under which I could accede to the Noble Lord's request.

asked whether interest will be paid on the excess of Income Tax paid under the original proposals of the Budget as compared with the new rate of Income Tax, or whether he is prepared to allow any sum as interest to those persons who are willing that the excess payments should be treated as payment in advance for next year?

The answer to both parts of the question is in the negative.

asked whether there will be any opportunity of discussing the present injustice of only allowing two-thirds of the rent or annual value when the proprietor resides on the premises when calculating the liability to Income Tax, Schedule D?

I fear I can add nothing to the reply which I gave yesterday in answer to a similar question by the hon. Member.

Has the right hon. Gentleman received any representations as to the great dissatisfaction caused by the present system?

I do not know that I have received any representations recently.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will say what arrangements will be made to repay the excess Income Tax in cases where interim dividends have been received from which tax at 1s. 4d. in the £ has been deducted, having regard to the fact that the company will not pay the tax to the Inland Revenue authorities for the year 1914–15 until early in 1915?

The question of adjustment is one for settlement between the company and its shareholders, but suggestions for dealing with it are contained in the circular letter now issued by the Board of Inland Revenue.

Will the right hon. Gentleman say whether the Board of Inland Revenue will repay the excess before they receive the tax from the company?

No, not until they have paid the amount over.

Will not the taxpayer very often be out of his money until the early part of next year?

I do not think so.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether he can give any estimate of the cost to the Exchequer if the exemption from Income Tax in respect of rents and profits of lands, etc., belonging to any charity were extended to apply to any property in the occupation of a charity?

I regret that I am unable to give any definite estimate of the cost of an extension of the exemption on the lines indicated.

Cannot the Inland Revenue authorities very easily get figures from the claims for repayment?

I consulted the Inland Revenue authorities before giving the reply, which I felt sure the hon. Member would find unsatisfactory, and that is all the information I can give.

asked the President of the Board of Agriculture whether it is with his knowledge and consent that the people are being prevented from picking wimberries in the Crown woods in the Tintern district; whether he is aware that the people have enjoyed this privilege for generations, even when the woods were private property; and whether he will allow the practice to be continued?

Poor people are allowed as hitherto to gather wild fruit, windfall timber, etc., on obtaining a signed permit. About ninety permits have been issued since 1st January last.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will consider the evil effects of the present stringent suppression of the use of opium in the spread of drinking habits among the coolies in Malaya and elsewhere, and in the use of cocaine; whether the objective of the Government is the forcible abolition of the use of all stimulants in the East; whether that is a practicable policy; and, if not, whether he will consider if moderation in, or mitigation of, the suppression of opium will on the whole most conduce to moderation in this behalf?

It is the fact that the consumption of fermented liquors, especially beer and stout, has considerably increased in the Malay States since 1909, and the working of the Excise Enactments is being carefully studied, with a view to the proper control of this consumption. It is also the fact that recent seizures point to a certain amount of illicit importation of cocaine. As regards the last part of the question, the hon. Member is aware that the main object of the Opium Convention of 1912 is to provide for the control of the trade in cocaine, morphine, and their derivatives concurrently with the restriction of opium to medicinal uses.

Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that cocaine or morphine is more injurious than opium?

Is the question of the injuriousness of a number of injurious things worth considering at all?

I do not propose to deal with that aspect of the question.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury when it is proposed to proceed with the widening of the east and west road through Surrey, and when the construction of the part immediately west of Dorking is likely to be undertaken; is he aware that proprietors of land abutting on the road have been informed that it is desirable to postpone frontage improvements in view of the possibility of a strip of the land being required for widening; and, in order to avoid unnecessary expenditure of private and public funds, can anything be done to accelerate a decision on the subject?

No application in respect of the scheme in question has been submitted to the Road Board, who have no knowledge of negotiations with landowners. The Board regard the scheme, however, as one which might well be executed with their assistance in a period of trade depression.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how many Labour Exchanges have been opened in England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales, respectively; how many and which Labour Exchanges have been closed; and for what reason?

The numbers of the permanent Labour Exchanges that have been opened in England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales are 334, 52, 23 and 33 respectively, and the corresponding numbers of the Exchanges that have been closed or are shortly to be closed are 34, 1, 3 and 7. I am circulating with the Votes a statement showing the names of these Exchanges and the grounds for closing them.—[ See Written Answers this date. ]

asked the President of the Board of Trade what is the proportion of white deck-hands and stewards carried on the steamships of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, which carry His Majesty's mails to and from India, and upon the ships of the Norddeutscher-Lloyd-Bremen Steamship Company, proceeding to and from India, respectively?

There is no information in the possession of the Board of Trade as regards the proportion of white deck-hands carried on the ships of the Norddeutscher-Lloyd Company, but if the Noble Lord will specify any particular vessels of the Company which he has in mind I shall be happy to see if the information can be obtained. As regards the Peninsular and Oriental Company's vessels, there appears, as the Noble Lord has already been informed, to be no fixed proportion of white seamen, but I understand that on a ship like the "Medina" the crew consists ordinarily of 347 persons, of whom 145 are Europeans and 202 natives, and that on the "Kashgar" the numbers are 53 and 139 respectively.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether periodical inspections are made by his Department of passenger steamers sailing under the British flag from this country as to their seaworthiness and the sufficiency of lifeboats carried in proportion to the number of passengers accommodated; and upon what date or dates the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company's steamship "Arcadia" has been so inspected during the last year?

Passenger steamers which hold certificates issued by the Board of Trade, are thoroughly surveyed at least once in every twelve months. The same applies to other passenger steamers unless they hold passenger certificates issued by some Government whose certificates are recognised by the Board of Trade under the Merchant Shipping Acts. The "Arcadia" has a certificate granted by the Bombay Government which is recognised by the Board of Trade under an Order in Council, and it has not been surveyed here during the last year.

asked the Postmaster-General, if, in making contracts for the conveyance by sea of His Majesty's mails, any regard is had, in the case of steamship lines conveying the mails to the Far East, to the proportion of white men and Lascars, respectively, carried; and whether his Department makes any stipulation as to trade union or other rate of wages being paid to officers, seamen or firemen, and stokers?

The answers to both parts of the Noble Lord's question are in the negative. The Fair-Wages Resolution has never been considered applicable to contracts with steamship companies for the conveyance of mails, nor do I think it can properly be applied to them. Steamship companies like railway companies are mainly engaged in large commercial operations, and the conveyance of mails is no more than an incidental part of the general business of transport on which their labour is employed.

Do I understand, other things being equal, that they do not take into consideration the rate of wages paid and the conditions generally on board the steamship line to whom they are giving the contract?

No, what the Noble Lord is to understand is the answer I have given him. It deals with the facts quite plainly.

Am I to understand that you do not take into consideration how the men are paid?

If the Noble Lord will read the answer I have given when he gets it, he will understand the position perfectly.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how many foreign dredgers are engaged on the new Admiralty docks at Rosyth; whether such dredgers have foreign captains and men; and, if so, are such men being paid the English rate of wages?

Three Dutch dredgers with attendant plant are employed under a sub-contract in carrying out dredging of a special nature at Rosyth. They are manned by Dutch captains and crews, who are being paid wages equal to English rates.

Will the right hon. Gentleman inform the House what the rates are?

I could not say without notice.

Is it impossible to employ Scottish dredgers and Scotchmen on this work?

Yes, Sir; we are informed so—consistently with the progress of the work.

asked the Postmaster-General whether any increase is to be made in the salary of Miss Lansley, of Weyhill, near Andover, seeing that her hours of work now begin at 5 a.m. instead of 6 a.m., that she has seven postmen under her control instead of three, that her eyesight is giving way from overwork after twenty-two years of being postmistress, and that her salary averages, after paying rent for the post office, to 14s. a week; and whether some £10,000 per year pass through her hands?

Miss Lansley was informed a few days ago that her remuneration would be increased as from the 1st March last by over £6 a year, and the arrears of payment due to her have now been paid. Her net income for post office work is about £65 a year. There is no special pressure of work at the Weyhill office, nor, so far as is known, is the office exceptional in regard to the amount of money passing through the hands of the sub-postmistress.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the £6 a year increase which he has just granted is taken up in extra rent charged this lady?

No, Sir. I was not aware of that fact?

Will you inquire into it?

asked the Postmaster-General if he is aware that a general scheme of compulsory overtime has been devised by the authorities in the sorting office at Glasgow providing for compulsory overtime for every day of the current year; if this is at variance with the evidence of Departmental witnesses before recent Committees; and if it is with his knowledge and consent that such an encroachment is being made on the private time of the staff?

I find that, in consequence of temporary pressure which has necessitated an unusual amount of overtime, a scheme of rotation on overtime work has been introduced at Glasgow with a view to minimising the inconvenience caused to individual officers who might otherwise be required to attend at short notice. It is contemplated that in ordinary circumstances no officer will be required to perform extra duty more than once a week, and in no case would he be liable to be called upon more than three times in a week. The recent Parliamentary Committee were informed that, generally speaking, overtime could be performed by volunteers, though, if they were not forthcoming, it was compulsory on the staff to perform overtime. I understand that the overtime is not sufficiently continuous or regular to justify the employment of additional established staff, but I am making further inquiry into this aspect of the matter.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether he is aware that there are thirteen voluntary schools under the London education authority which have no playground whatever, and for which no adequate provision can be made for physical exercises and for recreation; and what steps will be taken to secure to the children in these schools physical exercises and recreation?

My right hon. Friend is aware of the circumstances of the cases referred to. They were dealt with in official correspondence, which is now under the consideration of the London County Council and the managers. Care will be taken to ensure adequate provision for physical exercises and recreation.

Is the syllabus for physical exercises now compulsory in these schools, and, if so, how are they carried out without playgrounds?

No, they are not compulsory.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether he is aware that the Westminster Cathedral (Great Peter Street) school has been condemned by the Board of Education as so defective in the premises that no reasonable expenditure on the existing school building would be justified; whether it is his intention to cease to recognise this school after a definite date; and whether the local education authority will be called upon to provide the necessary accommodation for the children?

My right hon. Friend is fully aware of the defects of this school. The Board have informed the local education authority and the managers that before coming to a final decision with regard to the continued recognition of the school they will be prepared to consider any suggestions which the authority or the managers may desire to offer.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether he is aware that the girls of the Christchurch school, Albany Street, St. Pancras, have no playground and that the recreation interval is spent in the street; and whether these conditions will be allowed to continue?

My right hon. Friend is aware of the facts. The Board are in communication with the local education authority and the managers, with a view to remedying the existing conditions.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether he is aware that the St. Jude's school, South-wark, has no open-air playground, the only playground being situated beneath the church, where brick and iron pillars hinder free movement and in which there is no space for physical exercises; and that this playground is ill-ventilated and has been condemned; and whether it is his intention to close the school and require the local education authority to build for the 400 children displaced?

The facts are known to the Board. Before coming to a final decision with regard to the continued recognition of the school they have informed the local education authority and the managers that they will be prepared to consider any suggestions which the authority or the managers desire to offer.

Will all these schools obtain the largely increased Grants whether they come up to the requirements or not?

When the Grants are given the matter will be considered.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether the Welsh Board of Education is in the habit of taking on a number of temporary clerks every year; how long this temporary work lasts; what remuneration is given, both for time and overtime; and whether his attention has been called to the overcrowding in the education office during this temporary work?

No temporary clerks are employed in the Welsh Department of the Board of Education. The remaining questions, therefore, do not arise.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether a Departmental Committee has recently been appointed to consider the question of dental certificates; if so, whether the Committee has now concluded its deliberations and submitted its Report; and when the publication of the Report may be expected?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. The Report of the Committee will be issued very shortly.

asked the President of the Local Government Board the number of Poor Law children emigrated to Canada during 1913 with their parents and without their parents?

The number of Poor Law children whose emigration to Canada was authorised by the Local Government Board during 1913 was 715. Of these 140 went with their parents.

asked the Home Secretary (1) whether the report of Dr. Haden Guest as to the state of health of Nellie Hall has been brought to his notice, seeing that that report indicates that she was not in a fit condition to plead her own case and in consequence of the recommendation by the jury to mercy on the ground that those who paid her ought to be in the dock instead of her, whether he will see fit to recommend her discharge; and (2) whether Nellie Hall is still being forcibly fed; whether this has now been going on for six weeks; and whether, now that she is convicted, she will be released under the Prisoners (Temporary Discharge) Act?

I have not seen the report referred to. Miss Nellie Hall was convicted of an offence under the Explosives Act, and sentence was postponed until the hearing of another charge for which she is committed for trial. The prisoner is still refusing her food, and has in the interest of her own life and health to be forcibly fed, but the medical reports show that her general condition is satisfactory, and I am unable to recommend her discharge.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that Nellie Hall had no counsel, and was unable to conduct her own case? Is he also aware that she has been forcibly fed for six weeks?

On the first point, if Miss Nellie Hall had no counsel it was, I presume, in accordance with her own wish.

Why? She may not have been able to afford it.

If she were not able to afford it, counsel would have been provided for her, but I believe my hon. Friend will agree with me that it was in accordance with her own wish that she was not represented by counsel. As a matter of fact, her father asked permission to see her in order that he might persuade her to employ professional help, but she refused to do so. As long as Miss Nellie Hall remains a danger to the public I am bound to keep her in prison and alive as long as I can.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that this occurred after she had been convicted under the Cat and Mouse Act, and, in view of the very strong opinion expressed by the Bishop of London, can he not now release her?

If she will give an undertaking not to make use of her liberty under what my hon. Friend calls the Cat and Mouse Act to engage in further attacks on property, I shall be very glad to release her.

Are all these girls to be kept in prison unless they give an undertaking?

No, Sir, the position is exactly the same as it was at the time I introduced this Bill into the House. I then stated that in the case of prisoners whose liberty was a danger to the public I should be compelled to avail myself of the power of forcible feeding as a means of keeping them alive in prison.

In that case are we to understand that people who merely smash windows will be let out, whilst those harbouring bombs will be kept in?

I would not like to define it as in one case smashing windows and in the other harbouring bombs, but those prisoners whose liberty is a danger to the public ought, in my opinion, to be kept in prison.

Does not that refer to all criminals?

The right hon. Gentleman said that counsel was provided for prisoners who had no money. Is it a fact that the provision of counsel is compulsory in all cases where the accused has not sufficient money?

I cannot answer that without notice. But as a matter of fact, in this case, the absence of counsel arose solely through Miss Nellie Hall's refusal to have professional aid.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that a suffragist newspaper, in reporting this lady's case, referred to her magnificent defence and brilliant cross-examination?

I think my hon. Friend has correctly stated that fact.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that I was present in Court, and that the defence was not magnificent, neither was the cross-examination brilliant?

asked the Home Secretary whether the Irish girl, Miss Grace Roe, was forcibly fed before conviction; and, if so, whether this treatment had been previously practised on any of the suffrage prisoners; and can he say anything as to her present condition calculated to remove the anxiety of her relatives?

The answer to the first and second question is in the affirmative. Miss Roe has been awaiting trial until today. In the case of prisoners charged with serious offences it is necessary to feed them forcibly if they refuse food in order to ensure their being present to take their trial. I am informed that Miss Roe's condition gives cause for no anxiety.

Have any of these women ever broken their bail, and will the right hon. Gentleman consider the desirability of not forcibly feeding untried prisoners, so as to give no ground for the allegation that they are rendered unfit to conduct their own defence?

I know of no case in which any of these prisoners have broken bail. The question of bail is not for me, but I am fairly confident that if it were offered it would be accepted.

Is it not a fact that both Miss Roe and Miss Nellie Hall were refused bail by the magistrates and were thus compelled to remain in prison?

I do not know that.

It was so in the case of Miss Hall.

If the hon. Member says it was so in that case, I can only reply that that is not as I am advised.

Was Miss Roe offered the alternative of giving bail or being forcibly fed?

I do not think bail was asked for in her case. I may be wrong, but I am only speaking from memory.

asked the Prime Minister whether he is aware that in 1905 a Bill was introduced into this House entitled the Education Authorities (Access to Books and Documents) Bill; that this Bill was designed to restore to ratepayers the right of publicity on educational matters; that it was backed by six Unionist and four Liberal Members and was received with much favour; and whether he will embody the object of this Bill in the promised Education Bill or will add it as a condition of the new education Grants to be inserted in the Revenue Bill?

My right hon. Friend has asked me to answer this question. I am aware that such a Bill was introduced, but it was not debated, and I am not aware that it was received with much favour. The only representations made to the Board in the matter which I can trace were unfavourable to the Bill. The point raised will receive consideration, but I am not in a position to make any statement on the subject.

asked the Prime Minister when it is proposed to introduce the measure promised in His Majesty's most Gracious Speech on 10th February, 1914, to give effect to the proposals for the development of a national system of education, which were announced by the President of the Board of Education on 22nd July, 1913?

Owing to pressure of Parliamentary work I am afraid that any measure we can now introduce must be one of a limited character. The Grant of money announced in the Budget will, however, greatly contribute to the development of that national system of education to which my right hon. Friend referred last year.

When will this smaller measure be introduced?

I cannot give a date.

asked the Prime Minister what action the Government propose to take in regard to the Report of the Royal Commission on the Civil Service; and whether any opportunity will be afforded for a discussion upon the matter?

As I recently stated the recommendations are still under consideration, and I can say nothing further at present with regard to them. I will bear in mind the suggestion contained in the last part of my hon. Friend's question.

Will the right hon. Gentleman be able to make some statement as to the decision of the Government with reference to this Report before the end of the Session?

I hope so.

asked the Prime Minister whether, in view of the restricted nature of the Debate in Committee of Supply on 30th June, he will grant a day for the discussion of the question of the necessity or expediency of devising safeguards for securing the integrity of the public service?

I am not aware of any necessity for devising such safeguards, and I am not prepared to give Government time for a discussion of the matter.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say, in view of the recommendations of the powerful Lords Committee, that there is no necessity for action on any of these recommendations?

I think I stated my own position and that of the Government very clearly in the course of the Debate.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that a discussion such as the hon. Member wishes might lead to recriminations? Is he also aware that some of these noble administrators might be styled "guinea-pigs"?

asked the Prime Minister whether the Government contemplate proposing that this House shall sit in the autumn?

I would refer the Noble Lord to the replies which I gave on this subject yesterday, to which I can at present add nothing. A definite statement will be made at the earliest possible date.

Can the right hon. Gentleman give no indication when he will be able to make a statement?

I hope soon.

I will repeat the question on Thursday.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether the depot of the Hampshire regiment and the head quarters of its Special Reserve battalion are remaining at Winchester; whether the Special Reserve battalions of the Royal Rifles and Rifle Brigade are also to recruit in Hampshire; whether the latter used to recruit at Woolwich and not in Hampshire; whether he is aware that the Hampshire Special Reserve will be injuriously affected as regards recruiting, seeing that many men are also recruited for the Navy from that county; and will he say what the reason is for upsetting the equilibrium of recruiting by this change?

also asked whether this arrangement will seriously interfere with the Territorial system of recruiting for the Hampshire regiments; and whether the towns of Woolwich and Stratford have been added to the area in which the Hants regiments may recruit, as a partial recompense for the loss of their old recruiting ground?

The depot of the Hampshire regiment and the headquarters of the Special Reserve battalion remain at Winchester. The Special Reserve battalions of the King's Royal Rifles and the Rifle Brigade are allowed to recruit in Hampshire. The recruiting figures, however, go to show that this arrangement has not so far interfered with the recruiting of the Special Reserve battalion of the Hampshire regiment, as the Rifle Battalions are drawing very few recruits from Hampshire, A close watch, however, will be kept, and steps will be taken, if they become necessary, to safeguard the interests of the Special Reserve battalion. It is the case that the 3rd battalion Hampshire regiment has been allowed to recruit in Woolwich and Stratford. This arrangement was adopted independently of the change of the Rifle sub-depot from Woolwich to Winchester, because, with the Hampshire area alone to recruit in, the battalion had not been able to maintain its establishment.

Will the right hon. Gentleman answer the last part of my question?

I have answered that.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that the Hampshire Special Reserve bitterly complain of this arrangement, and say that this recruitment is interfering with them?

I have informed the hon. Member that steps will be taken, if necessary, to safeguard the interests of that regiment.

Has the War Office received a protest against this change from the Lord Lieutenant of the county? Is the right hon. Gentleman aware there is a very strong feeling in the county against the proposed change in view of the fact that already there is an exceptionally heavy strain thrown on the county by the very large recruiting for the Royal Navy?

I am not aware of what the hon. Member has informed me, but I have no doubt it is correct. I will make further inquiries.

As the right hon. Gentleman said they were getting hardly any recruits for the Royal Rifles, may I ask what is the object of keeping on this arrangement?