asked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware that the postmen at Hindhead find great difficulty in obtaining houses; that one of them cannot get a house nearer than five miles away; that another was compelled to keep two homes going for ten weeks before he could obtain permanent accommodation, and then had to take two rooms a mile away from the office; whether he is aware that the rents payable by these men vary from 5s. to 8s. a week, and that the postmen at Hindhead are paid on the lowest provincial scale for postmen; and whether he will take steps to secure better housing for them, and will also place them on a higher scale of pay in consideration of the high cost of living at Hindhead?

I am informed that difficulty is experienced in obtaining houses at Hindhead of the kind usually occupied by postmen, but it is thought that the first man mentioned could have obtained suitable accommodation at a much less distance than five miles at some increased cost. With regard to the second part of the question, I believe the facts are as stated, but I understand the postman has been able to make very satisfactory arrangements. The question whether it is feasible to place the postmen attached to this office on a higher scale of pay will be considered in connection with the general question of classification of outdoor force arising out of the Holt Committee's recommendations.

asked the Postmaster General whether, seeing that third-class clerks are allowed one month's annual leave in addition to bank holidays, etc., he will favourably consider the suggestion of granting similar privileges to the assistant superintendents, Class II.?

A month's annual leave is granted to male officers of supervising rank only if they are on a scale of pay rising above £300 a year. The maximum salary for assistant superintendents, Class II., does not reach this limit, and I do not see my way to extend the privilege in question to them.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he can see his way to select a supervising officer to serve on the new Committee which is to consider the Holt Committee's Report, having regard to the fact that no representative of the manipulative staff has experience of the duties of the supervisory staff?

The two representatives of the staff to serve on the Committee referred to have already been nominated, and more than one of the associations representing supervising classes has acquiesced in those nominations. I regret that I cannot agree to the appointment of an additional staff representative.

Will the reference to the Committee which is to inquire into the question of the wages and conditions of emploment of Post Office servants include such issues as those raised in the recent two days' Debate on the Holt Report?

Yes.

Is it a fact, as stated by the hon. Member for Worcester yesterday, that the Postmaster-General did make a promise that the House was to give its approval to the terms of reference before the Committee was set up?

I believe that is not the case.

I have been in communication with the Prime Minister, and the statement which the Postmaster-General made was in regard to the promise of a larger inquiry in regard to Government employés generally.

To put our minds at rest, may I ask have the terms of reference been drawn in such a way that the statements made by the Postmaster-General on the 10th of June and the 15th of June are included in those terms of reference?

indicated assent.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware that the Canadian postal authorities permit certain announcements of exhibitions and shows and charitable appeals to appear on the postmark cancelling the letter stamp; whether they derive any revenue from this source; and, if so, whether he will authorise the use of such postmarks in this country?

I have no official information on this subject, but I believe the answer to the hon. Member's first question to be in the affirmative. The second point I cannot answer. As to the third, I think the objections to such a system decidedly outweigh any advantages.

asked the Postmaster-General what questions were addressed to telephone subscribers in the course of his recent inquiry; how many forms were sent out and how many returned; upon what principle subscribers were selected for the inquiry; and will he lay the details of the replies upon the Table of the House?

About the end of last year personal visits were made by the managers of telephone exchanges in London to a number of the principal subscribers in order to obtain expressions of opinion as to the service. It soon became apparent, however, that the general extension of this system would occupy a very long period, and it was therefore arranged that exchange superintendents should ring up subscribers to make inquiry. The number of subscribers thus rung up was about 133,500, which practically represents the whole body of subscribers in London. Replies were obtained from 128,100 subscribers, of whom about 112,000, or 87 per cent., expressed themselves as satisfied; about 10,200, or 8 per cent., gave indefinite answers; and about 5,900, or 4.6 per cent., expressed themselves as dissatisfied.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say what guarantee he has got that the reply was given by responsible people and not by housemaids and messenger boys?

I understand that housemaids are not usually employed in business offices.

Will the right hon. Gentleman arrange to have me rung up by the superviser so that I can express my view?

How many replies were received from Members of this House?

I dare say I could find out, but I am afraid that I cannot say offhand the exact number.

Will the right hon. Gentleman have the same or a similar inquiry made in the provinces?

I do not know that I should mind, but it would take a very long time. There are a large number of subscribers, some 400,000, from whom to collect information.

Is it not the fact that in the provinces the telephone has not been brought as much up to date as in London and that, therefore, it is giving an unduly unfavourable appearance to the whole telephone system?

I cannot admit that for a moment.

Is not the telephone much better anywhere than it is in London?

asked the Postmaster-General whether the rule of his Department and of the Civil Service Commissioners that conscientious objection to vaccination shall be respected applies also to the telephone service; and, if so, why it is stated on the Regulations issued to candidates for situations as female telephonists in the London area that no exemption is allowed in respect of primary vaccination?

The rule to which the hon. Member refers applies also to the telephone service and is included in the printed Regulations. Owing to a misunderstanding an obsolete copy of the Regulations has, I find, been issued in certain cases, but this has now been withdrawn.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware that officers of His Majesty's Customs and of the Board of Trade stationed in Penarth are given the same rates of pay as obtain in similar services in Cardiff; and whether he will favourably consider the inclusion of the Penarth Post Office within the Cardiff area and the granting to the staff at that office scales of pay equal to those obtaining in the Cardiff Post Office?

This matter is already under consideration. Inquiries are being made, and I will communicate with the hon. Member when they have been completed.

asked the Post master-General whether an application has been received from Bold Parish Council, Lancashire, for the installation of a telephone call office in Clock Face, near St. Helens; and what steps he proposes to take in the matter?

No application from the Bold Parish Council has yet reached me, but I will have inquiry made in the matter.

asked the Postmaster-General when the contract with the Peninsular and Oriental Steamship Company for the carriage of the Indian mails expires?

The contract is now terminable at any time by either party on twenty-four calendar months' notice. It has been arranged that such notice shall not be given before the 31st of January, 1915.

Is it contemplated to have a mail to India twice weekly at the termination of the present contract?

That hardly arises out of the question.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that no Member of the present Ministry is a director of this company?

That, too, does not arise out of the question.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether the firm of Macmillan and Company have a contract under the Director of Public Instruction, India; whether he has received a complaint that books supplied by the firm are bound by another firm, Messrs. Burn and Company, under conditions that do not apply with the Fair-Wages Clause; whether he is aware that Messrs. Burn and Company are not observing the working agreement prevailing in the trade and refuse to employ trade unionists; whether he will have inquiries made into the matter; and, in the event of Messrs. Burn and Company being subject to the Fair-Wages Clause, if he will take steps to have the Clause enforced?

The Secretary of State has ascertained that the books supplied by the firm of Macmillan and Company to the Director of Public Instruction, Bombay, are not bound by Messrs. Burn and Company. The books in question are printed and bound in India, with the exception of one book which is printed and bound in Edinburgh under fair-wages terms. In these circumstances the question of the conditions of employment in Messrs. Burn and Company's shops does not arise.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland the number of holdings on Captain Smyth's Coole estate, Westmeath, excluded from the sale, with their aggregate area, Poor Law valuation, and rent, and the rate this is per acre; how much this exceeds the average rent per acre on the estate; the amount the Estates Commissioners were willing to advance for the purchase of these holdings; whether the Commissioners attempted or suggested, or are willing to consider, an arrangement by insurance or otherwise that would enable these holdings to pass to the occupants like the rest of the estate; whether there is any non-residential land in the vicinity that could be attached to them to render them purchasable; whether the Commissioners, having rejected these tenants' purchase agreements, will take immediate steps to secure or recover for them the same rights of turbary they enjoyed before signing those agreements, and which are now denied them; and, relief of congestion being one of the objects of land purchase, if he will say what the Government propose to do for these tenants who, and whose landlord, want to sever their connection, but who, because of congestion, are said to be outside both the rent-fixing laws and the purchase laws?

The number of holdings on this estate not included in the lands sold under the Irish Land Act, 1903, appears to be twenty-eight, in respect of seven of which purchase agreements were not entered into. Agreements in respect of the remaining twenty-one holdings, which consist of houses and plots in the village of Coole, were entered into between the vendor and the tenants, but the Estates Commissioners did not consider them security for the total amount of the advances applied for, and as the parties did not come to an arrangement as to the balance to be paid in cash the purchase agreements were dismissed. The amount the Commissioners were prepared to advance in respect of these twenty-one holdings was £585. The aggregate area of the twenty-eight holdings is 58 acres, the rental £70 3s. 6d., equal to £1 4s. 2d. per acre. The Commissioners are not in a position to state the Poor Law valuation. The average rent per acre of the holdings on the estate is 14s. 3d. The advances applied for having been refused, the purchase agreements entered into are null and void, and the tenants revert to their former position as if the purchase agreements had not been entered into. The Commissioners do not propose to take any further action in these cases.

asked whether the Sale of the estate of Mr. D. G. FitzGerald, Turlough, county Mayo, to the Congested Districts Board has yet been completed, or the cause of the delay in completion of the sale?

The Congested Districts Board inform me that the sale of this estate has not yet been completed; but it is believed that the difficulties which arose in completing the sale have now been removed, and that the agreement for purchase will be entered into at an early date.

asked whether kelp gatherers along the West Mayo coast have recently been requested to pay the usual royalties to the Marquess of Sligo for this year; and whether they are now liable for such charges, having regard to the estate purchase agreement between the Congested Districts Board and Lord Sligo?

The Congested Districts Board inform me that the persons who have arranged to purchase the seaweed from Lord Sligo this year are liable for the payment to him of the usual charges.

asked whether the sale of the estate of the Marquess of Sligo to the Congested Districts Board has yet been completed or when, approximately, it will be completed; and what is the cause of the delay?

The Congested Districts Board inform me that the difficulties which arose in connection with the proposal for the purchase of this estate have recently been disposed of, and the Board's offer has now been finally accepted.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland the particulars of the means alleged by the pension officer to be possessed by Mrs. Anne Reilly, of Fermore Street, Westmeath, to whom the local sub-committee have granted an old age pension; and whether the Local Government Board will have the estimate revised by a competent person before adjudicating on the inspector's report?

The Local Government Board are unable to trace that any appeal has been received in this case.

asked the Secretary for Scotland if the Local Government Board have sustained an appeal by the pension officer of Dairy, Ayrshire, against the granting of a pension to Mrs. Janet Fairns by the sub-committee at Barkip, Dairy; that Mr. Fairns has a daughter over fifty-three years of age; that there are many in the district who can testify to her being at least seventy years old; and if he will cause further inquiry to be made and so prevent injustice being done on mere technical grounds to this woman?

The Local Government Board sustained the appeal in question on the documentary evidence of the Census Returns of 1851 and of the claimant's marriage certificate, both of which indicate that she has not yet attained the age of seventy. No information as to the age of her daughter was furnished to the Board. The decision of the Board on an appeal is final. Accordingly, if the claimant desires to bring forward any further evidence, her only course is to lodge a new claim.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he can see his way to advise the pension officer at Colne, Lancashire, to supply the pension committee of the borough of Colne with the following information which has hitherto been supplied to them, and to which they attach importance, namely, the number of deaths of pensioners in the borough during the year ending 31st March last, and the number of removals of pensioners into and out of the borough, together with the number of pensions payable on the 31st March, 1914?

There are no Regulations or statutory obli- gations imposing on pension officers the considerable labour which would be entailed by compliance with requests from pension committees for the information asked for in the question, but my right hon. Friend is considering the matter.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether he has received from genuine evicted tenants, provided for in the Land Conference Report but on technical grounds denied the benefit of the resulting legislation, a memorial praying for relief in the forthcoming Land Bill, and putting their claim in a non-contentious form; and whether he will accede to this request?

I have received various communications from persons claiming reinstatement as evicted tenants or representatives of evicted tenants. The Estates Commissioners consider that the evicted tenants who have already been reinstated or who have been provisionally noted for consideration in the allotment of untenanted land include all persons whose claims deserve consideration, and who are suitable to work land; and I do not think that any case has been made for the extension of the classes of persons for whom the Estates Commissioners may provide holdings under the Evicted Tenants Act, 1907, and the Land Purchase Acts.

asked whether the Congested Districts Board has circulated leaflets in the fishing centres containing the information about mackerel curing, set forth in their last annual Report, in accordance with the undertaking given to the hon. Member for South Kerry?

The Congested Districts Board inform me that the leaflet has not yet been circulated. It is in course of preparation and will be circulated shortly.

asked whether the Return of Peat Bogs, of which notice appears on the Order Paper, will be granted; and, if there is any difficulty, with what modification would it be granted?

Any Return on the lines suggested would involve a great deal of labour and much expense, and would take a long time to prepare. I do not think that any useful purpose would be served by the compilation of such a Return. The Department of Agriculture are always ready to afford all available information to any person or company interested in the question of peat deposits in Ireland.

asked the Vice-President of the Department of Agriculture (Ireland), whether he has made himself acquainted with the opinions of peat fuel experts in Russia, Germany, Sweden, Norway, and Canada that Irish peat is superior to theirs for the manufacture of fuel, seeing that this manufacture, nevertheless, pays in those countries; whether there is any reason known to the Department why it should not do so in Ireland; whether he will procure and make available in Ireland a statement of the process of pulping, whereby peat is, without pressure, rendered harder than oak; at whose instance and at what expense has the Department procured a Dutch instructor for the manufacture of peat litter; and whether the Department is prepared to procure a competent instructor in the manufacture of peat fuel, on being satisfied with a practical scheme for that purpose?

The Department are not at present prepared to express an opinion as to whether or not a peat fuel industry could be successfully established in Ireland, the conditions there being very different from those of the countries referred to by the hon. Member. If the hon. Gentleman will supply further particulars as to the process of pulping to which he refers the Department will make inquiries about it. At the instance of two firms engaged in the manufacture of peat moss litter in Ireland, the Department made in each case a Grant of £50 towards the cost of obtaining the services of a Dutch peat, worker to give instructions to the people employed in these works. The Department are prepared to consider similar applications from other firms engaged in industries of this kind who desire technical instruction for their workers.

Have the right hon. Gentleman or the Department seen specimens of this peat from Sweden?

Yes, Sir. We have had a great deal of experience of this peat industry, and the result has not been such as to tempt us to go any further.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland the date of the starting of the Ulster Volunteer movement; the date of the starting of the National Volunteer movement; and the date of the Arms Proclamation?

The Ulster Volunteer movement was started early in January, 1913, the Irish Volunteers on the 25th November, 1913. The date of the Proclamation against the importation of Arms was 4th December, 1913.

Does not the right hon. Gentleman agree that these dates show an unfair discrimination against the Nationalist force?

No, I do not agree with that.

asked the Chief Secretary whether he has had his attention called to the fact that a great many public bodies in Ireland have protested against the Arms Proclamation; and whether he will advise the withdrawal of the Proclamation?

I have received a number of resolutions on this subject. As I have already stated the validity of the Proclamation prohibiting the importation of military arms and ammunition into-Ireland has been recently called into question in the Courts, and the matter is still sub judice.

Does it make the slightest difference as regards getting arms into Ireland, whether there is a Proclamation or not?

Yes, it does.

Does not the right hon. Gentleman regard it as inconsistent to maintain this Proclamation, and yet not to consider gun-running an infringement of the law?

We do consider gun-running an infringement of the law.

What action does the right hon. Gentleman propose to take against it?

Action has been taken against the ships employed in gun-running.

Have you captured any body?

Has any action been taken against men employed in gun-running?

asked the Chief Secretary whether his attention has been drawn to the field state of the Irish National Volunteer force, as published on 7th instant, giving as on the 3rd instant 891 drill centres and 153,500 men drilling, as against 630 drill centres and 114,900 members of the force drilling on the 10th ultimo; whether he has been able to verify the field-state figures given above; and will he say how the numbers returned compare with the latest information he has relative to the strength of the Ulster Volunteer Force?

I have seen the statement referred to. The latest information supplied to me by the police gives the total membership of the Irish National Volunteers and of the Ulster Volunteers as approximately 132,000 and 85,000 respectively.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say how many soldiers and ex-soldiers belong to either of these forces?

I cannot give the exact figures, but there are a considerable number of Reservists in both forces, and I believe there are rather more in the National Volunteers than in the others.

There are 38,000 ex-soldiers and Reservists belonging to the Irish Volunteers.

Then the hon. Member has the information.

He wants to give it to you.

asked the Chief Secretary on what grounds were two of the Irish National Volunteer Force arrested in Stranorlar on Monday last, hurried before a resident magistrate, and returned for trial without being allowed an opportunity of instructing a solicitor; and can he explain how the solicitor for the Ulster Volunteers was the only individual outside the authorities who had knowledge of the time and character of the proceedings?

I am informed that the two men referred to were returned for trial for affray and assault and that they were defended by a solicitor. No application for an adjournment was made to the magistrate who returned the parties for trial. I presume the solicitor who appeared for the assaulted parties had been communicated with by them. The case is sub judice, and I am not prepared to make any further statement on the subject.

Can the right hon. Gentleman state why the adjournment was opposed by the Crown Solicitor in view of the fact that the resident magistrate who returned the accused for trial remarked that no riot had taken place, and that the whole case is very flimsy. And can the right hon. Gentleman also explain why a mere Petty Session outrage is magnified into a coercion trial?

I must have notice of that question.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the sergeant who was prosecuting gave his name as Bonar, and that the Ulster Conservative party considered that an insult to the Conservative party in this House?

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how many persons in the Colonial Office service are connected financially or otherwise with the Pacific Phosphate Company or with any of its directors; and whether he will explain the absence of the usual ministerial signature or authentication from documents presumably issued by him to a Member of this House?

I am not aware that any Colonial Office official is connected financially or otherwise with the Pacific Phosphate Company or with any of its directors. I do not understand the second part of the hon. Member's question.

Will the right hon. Gentleman explain why communications apparently emanating from his office are not authenticated in any way whatever?

If the hon. Member will send me the communications to which he refers I will make inquiries.

asked the Secretary for the Colonies whether the Mullah, commonly called mad, of Somaliland, is advancing upon Burao; and whether he can give the House any information on this subject?

I have seen a statement in the Press to this effect, but I have not received any confirmation of it from the Commissioner of Somaliland.

May I ask the right hon. Gentleman whether his attention has been called to a manufactory of false news which exists in Aden, and from which telegrams are constantly sent to this country with a view of provoking the Government of Somaliland?

I think the House and the public have been equally inconvenienced by inaccurate news received from that locality.

Will it be convenient for the right hon. Gentleman to say how many troops are now stationed at Burao?

I would rather not do that.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether physical exercises are a compulsory part of the curriculum in public elementary schools; and whether he will cease to recognise any school which fails to provide for physical instruction in accordance with the code?

Physical training is one of the subjects mentioned In Article 2 of the Code. That Article states, however, that it is not necessary that all the subjects mentioned shall be taught in every school or class. The importance which the Board attach to instruction in this subject is shown in the introduction to the Syllabus of Physical Exercises. In view of what is said there I think it would be very difficult to satisfy the Board that at any particular school physical training is not required by the needs of the scholars. I am not aware of Any school in which physical training is not now included in the curriculum, though its efficiency and adequacy vary considerably.

In view of the great importance of this subject to the health of these people, will this policy be pursued at all hazards by the Department?

As every school is now including physical exercises in its curriculum I do not think there is any necessity for me to interfere with the discretion of the local education authorities. I am anxious that it should be as efficient as it can possibly be made.

asked the President of the Board of Education (1) whether 124 voluntary schools in London have been included in the Survey Report of the Board on unsatisfactory voluntary school premises; how many children are now in average attendance in these 124 schools; what steps are being taken to make sufficient satisfactory accommodation for these children; (2) whether the St. Michael's non-provided school, Paddington, has been condemned by the Board of Education both in regard to the playground, ventilation and heating, and that the general accommodation falls below the standard; whether the managers have been warned that this school cannot be recognised unless improvements are made; whether a date has been or will be fixed for the completion of the necessary work; (3) whether the St. Peter's Church of England school in St. George's, Hanover Square, has been condemned in respect of the playground, which is in the basement; whether the lighting, heating and ventilating arrangements have been scheduled for improvement; whether the managers have undertaken to bring the school up to the requirements of the Board; and (4) whether the premises of the St. Mark's, Hamilton Terrace, Mary-lebone, school, which are recognised for 483 children, have been condemned; that the boys have no playground but spend the recreation intervals in a narrow passage; in what year were the managers first informed that their buildings required improvement; and what action is being taken to ensure improvement within a reasonable time?

I am, of course, aware of the number of schools mentioned in the schedules and appendix of our letter to the London County Council. The total average attendance in these schools for the statistical year ended 31st July, 1913, was 47,654. I can say generally that whilst the matters referred to are the subject of correspondence between the authority, the managers, and the Board, I am not in a position to say what action may be taken in each case to secure improvement.

Does the right lion. Gentleman realise that he is the trustee for the health and good education of these 47,000 children; and will he use these new Grants as a lever for putting these schools in order at once?

I have not got them yet. When I have them, I shall put such pressure on the authorities as seems to me prudent.

Does the right hon. Gentleman think that any useful purpose is served by the hon. Member for North Somerset (Mr. King) asking these detailed questions on subjects which are now—

The right hon. Gentleman is not responsible for the questions.

asked the President of the Board of Education the name and rank of each officer of the Board who has, during the last ten years, had more than one month's continuous sick leave in any one year, specifying in each case the total period of absence, the nature of the illness, whether the officer eventually returned to duty, resigned, or was called upon to resign, and on what terms the resignation took effect?

I do not think it is desirable that I should, without the consent of the officers concerned, publish either the length or nature of their illnesses, or give the names of those who have resigned or been retired on grounds of ill-health, and I do not think that cause can be shown to justify the labour involved in going through the records of sick leave of over 1,800 past and present officers of the Board for ten years. I would, however, if desired, be prepared to give the number of officers who have resigned or been retired on grounds of ill-health, and the periods of sick leave preceding retirement or resignation in those cases.

asked the Prime Minister whether his attention has been directed to the value of guano phosphate deposits in Ocean Island, Western Pacific, estimated at £80,000,000 in situ, the use of which for a short term was obtained by a British company from the inexperienced natives for a trifle; whether he is aware that the Colonial Office, without the concurrence of the native owners, so extended the term in favour of ex-Colonial officials as to make it in effect permanent alienation, in consequence of which the necessary revenues for administration are drawn mainly from the food of the natives; whether he is aware that foodstuffs to satisfy this food tax have been seized and exported from the island while some natives were dying of starvation and others forced to surrender their lands and enter forced labour for Government or company; and, if an independent public inquiry into these matters be instituted, whether he will give to natives, and to missionaries and other Europeans giving; evidence, a guarantee of indemnity and a right to reside unmolested on the island afterwards?

I am informed that none of the facts are as stated in the first part of the hon. Member's question. I see no reason for instituting an inquiry into the matter.

asked the hon. Member for St. George's-in-the-East, as representing the Insurance Commissioners, whether the insurance cards for the second half of the year have not yet been fully issued to the approved societies; and, if not, what is the cause of the delay?

My right hon. Friend is informed that the distribution of the contribution cards for the second half of the year has already been completed, and that any supplementary demands for cards are being immediately dealt with.

asked, in view of the late decision of the Scottish High Court, what is the difference in the position of employers in Scotland as to their liability to stamp the cards of their employés and the employers in the rest of the United Kingdom?

There is no difference between the position of employers in Scotland and in the rest of the United Kingdom in regard to their liability under the National Insurance Acts.

I thought that there was a decision that employers in Scotland had not the same liability?

There is no difference. The position of employers in both countries is the same.

asked the hon. Member for St. George's-in-the-East, as representing the Insurance Commissioners, whether the hon. Member for Devonport has not yet been furnished with any statement by the London Insurance Committee as to why that body found it necessary to go over the case of Miss Deborah Hart a second time after a letter had been written by the Chief Insurance Commissioner on the 3rd June to the hon. Member for Devonport, stating that the formalities of transferring the insured person with the requisite consents, from the list of the one doctor to the other, had been completed, and that the case was finally and satisfactorily disposed of; and will he explain how, if the facts were as stated by the Chief Commissioner of the Insurance Committee on the 3rd June, the London Insurance Committee should write to him on the 26th June stating that the transfer of the insured person had only that day been completed?

I would refer the hon. Member to my reply of the 1st July. As stated therein the person concerned has at no time during the period in question been deprived of the services of a doctor.

Will the hon. Gentleman kindly answer the question I have asked?

I think I have dealt with the points raised in the hon. Member's question.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that his answer has no foundation either in substance or in fact?

The answer is accurate in every particular.

asked the hon. Member for St. George's-in-the-East, as representing the Insurance Commissioners, whether he is aware that George Mulles, of 27, Cyril Avenue, Nottingham, who was under care of his own medical attendant, suffering from bronchitis and empydema, and is a member of the National Amalgamated Approved Society, was examined on 3rd July by that society's medical referee and found not fit to work for a month; that the sick visitor nevertheless reported him fit for work and his sick pay was stopped; whether the opinion of the medical man should prevail over that of the sick visitor; whether this is typical of numerous other cases: and what steps the Government propose to take in, pursuance of its policy of compulsory insurance and supersession of voluntary agency?

The Commissioners have communicated with the approved society, who state that after consideration of the referee's report they authorised payment of benefit on 7th July. The remainder of the question does not, therefore, arise.

asked the hon. Member for St. George's-in-the-East, as representing the Insurance Commissioners, whether, in view of the fact that the Report of the administration of National Health Insurance for 1913–14 is a volume of 582 pages, costing the public 2s. 5d. to purchase, he will issue a handier, less costly, and more popularly edited edition which, while more generally available to the public, will bring out the statements made by the National Health Commissioners with regard to the sickness claims on approved societies that have been made during the year in question, and will emphasise the fact that the payment of sickness and certain other benefits is not guaranteed by the State, but is under the Act dependent on the solvency of the approved society?

My right hon. Friend will consider whether there is any sufficient demand to justify issuing the Report in sections.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he is aware that the proprietors of the Waleswood Collieries, near Sheffield, have been compelled by the Insurance Commmissioners to pay arrears of contributions under Part II. of the National Insurance Act in respect to surface workmen and engineering staff at the Waleswood Colliery; if so, were such contributions not paid at the time they became payable by reason of the staff having at that time been incorrectly informed by the Insurance Commissioners that they were not insurable under Part II. of the National Insurance Act; if not; why were such contributions not paid at the time they became payable; and are the proprietors of the colliery now entitled to deduct from current and future wages of the men any and, if so, what sums in respect of such arrears which the proprietors have been compelled to pay?

The employers in this case have been required to pay arrears of contributions in accordance with the Umpire's decisions. So far as I am aware, the question whether these contributions were payable was not previously raised, either by the employer or by the workmen, and no statement that the contributions were not payable was made by or on behalf of the Board of Trade. As regards the last part of the question, so far as I am aware, an employer on paying up arrears of contributions is entitled to recover the workman's share thereof by deductions in reasonable instalments from the workman's wages. I should mention that this right of recovery will be considerably limited by the amending Bill now before Parliament.

If that is so, does the right hon. Gentleman realise that these men may be relieved from this pressure under the amending Bill, and can he take any steps to relieve the men at present from having to pay 39s. 2d.?

I have my doubts as to whether I have power, but I will look into it.

asked the Secretary for Scotland what is the amount of arrears of rent upon the Kilmuir estates in the Island of Skye, and what is the annual rental?

The arrears of rent upon the Kilmuir estate as at 31st March, 1914, amounted to £3,765, and the rental for the year ending on that date was £4,031.

asked the Home Secretary how many of those rejected for colour blindness, as indicated in the last Report, failed with the lantern but passed the wool test, and vice versa; and whether he will consider the advisability of giving this information in the Reports in future?

My right hon. Friend has asked me to answer this question, which, I assume, refers to the sight tests used in the mercantile marine. One hun- dred and thirty-eight candidates passed the wool test and failed in the lantern test. Of these, twenty-four subsequently passed on appeal, and thus 114 finally failed. One hundred and one candidates passed the wool test, and in the lantern test were "referred" for further examination. At the latter examination seventy-six passed and twenty-five failed. No candidates failed in the wool test and passed in the lantern test. Three candidates were "referred" in the wool test and passed the lantern test, all three subsequently passing a special examination. The number of candidates who pass, fail, or are "referred" in the lantern and wool tests, respectively, will be given in the next Return as suggested.

NOTE.—"Referred" means that the candidate was not definitely passed or rejected, but was referred to London for a special examination.

Will the right hon. Gentleman bring his scientific spirit to bear on this question so that the wool test may be altogether eliminated?

The hon. Gentleman is rather belated in his suggestion. The old form of wool test has been abandoned. I had the pleasure of taking the objectors to, and critics of, the wool test, and the critics of the lantern test down to Shoe-buryness, and, after a pleasant night on the marshes, the objectors Were silenced and the critics satisfied.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he can now state the revised scale of pay for the Metropolitan Police, and when it will come into effect?

I am not yet in a position to make any final statement either as to the new scale or as to the date when it can be brought into effect. In order to enable me to make the necessary provision for the increased cost, I must lay on the Paper of the House the Minute required by Section 1 (6) of the Metropolitan Police Act, 1912, and before doing so I will make a full statement of what I propose.

Can the right hon. Gentleman give the approximate date when he will be able to give this increase?

I am sorry I cannot. There is a great deal of matter in the question.

asked the Home Secretary whether, having regard to the practice in most callings to pay extra money for Sunday work, he will arrange for a sufficient staff of relief men to act on Sundays as shall enable each constable doing Sunday day-work duty to have a half-hour interval to enable him to get a square meal on that day, such interval to be between the hours of his Sunday labour, thus reducing his labour on that day to seven and a half hours net?

It has always been the aim of the Metropolitan Police authorities to reduce the number of men on Sunday duty to the minimum. The suggestion of my hon. Friend would add considerably to the number of police employed on Sunday, and would on that account be unpopular, I believe, with the majority of the men.

Is it not a fact that, in view of the additional police protection required for high personages, Ministers, and also meetings in the parks, the hours of Sunday duty have considerably increased recently?

I am not aware of that. I will inquire.

Will the right hon. Gentleman inquire whether the total amount of duty done by each individual constable during the present summer is not very much greater than it was three years ago?

That is the exact point on which I will make inquiry.

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

I will make a definite statement on this subject on Monday next.

Why has it been impossible, in accordance with anticipation, to make a statement this week?

It is a very complicated matter.

Does the difficulty arise from a difference of opinion in the Cabinet?

No, not at all.

asked whether, in the event of the Government deciding to summon Parliament for an Autumn Session, it will be competent for the Government and will be their intention to postpone, under the terms of the Parliament Act, the placing on the Statute Book of both the Established Church (Wales) Bill and the Government of Ireland Bill, or either, to the limit of time prescribed by Clause 2 of the said Act?

This is a hypothetical question which I am not prepared to answer.

asked how many weeks' supply of wheat and wheat flour can be depended on to be in the country during the months of May, June and July in the case of sudden war; and whether the Admiralty can guarantee that sufficient wheat and wheat flour could be imported to prevent bread rising to a price at which the poor would be unable to buy it?

The question of the food supply of this country in times of emergency is kept under continuous observation by the Government. I do not think that it would be in the public interest that the information asked for by the hon. Member in the first part of his question should be given.

Are we to understand that the right hon. Gentleman cannot give us a definite assurance that the country will be safe from starvation in time of war and is calmly leaving the country exposed to this disaster at any time.

The matter is kept under continuous observation, and every possible precaution is taken.

But the right hon. Gentleman can give no assurance?

I can give the assurance that everything which can humanly be done is being done.

Could not some figures be collected by the Board of Agriculture when they publish their Return of stock on 4th June in any year?

Perhaps the hon. Member will give me notice.

asked the Prime Minister whether the general discussion on the Navy, for which he has promised to give a whole day, will in any way interfere with the general practice of setting apart a whole day for the discussion of Vote 8 of the Naval Estimates?

No, Sir; two separate days will be given.

asked the Prime Minister when he intends to issue the Report of the Committee of Defence?

I would refer the Noble Lord to the reply which I gave on this subject to the hon. Member for the Isle of Wight on 11th June last.

asked the Prime Minister whether he will give another opportunity for discussion of the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries Vote, in view especially of the fact that discussion was so curtailed when the Vote was last discussed that no opportunity was afforded for discussion of fishery matters?

This is a matter for arrangement through the usual channels.

asked the Prime Minister whether, in view of the expressed opinions from both sides of the House that the administration of the Old Age Pensions Act and the National Insurance Act should be transferred to another Department of State, he will transfer the expenditure under these Acts to the Local Government Board, and take steps to ensure the Treasury resuming its normal function of control over national expenditure?

The hon. Member's suggestion will be borne in mind.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he is aware that paragraphs 109 and 515 of the Territorial Force Regulations, directing that service on the unattached list, Class A, and published on 12th June, 1912, are retrospective in effect, and that officers who joined the unattached list after the date of 31st March, 1911, and before the date of 12th June, 1912, were acting on the Regulation then in existence, and that officers went on the unattached list who would not have done so could they have foreseen that a Regulation might have been published retrospective in effect and which prevented their service on that list counting for the Territorial decoration as in the past; and will he consider the desirability of removing this grievance from officers who left the active list for the unattached list between the above dates?

The regulation referred to as having been published on the 12th June, 1912, was in fact published on 20th March, 1911, and came into force on 1st April, 1911. The hon. and gallant Member's question is therefore based upon a misapprehension.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he is aware that many Territorial commanding officers are bound, on completion of their term of command, either to retire or go on the Territorial Force Reserve before having had an opportunity of completing their twenty years' service on the active list, and that no officer is placed on the unattached list or can be appointed to the Territorial Force Reserve unless certified as being efficient and fully qualified for his substantive rank, and that under such service officers are subject to military law and liable for active service in the same degree as officers on the Territorial Force active list; and will he consider the desirability of amending the regulations so as to enable such officers to count service on the unattached list and the Territorial Force Reserve as qualifying service for the Territorial Force decoration?

If the hon. and gallant Member has any particular case of hardship in mind, perhaps he will furnish me with the particulars and I will look into them. It would, however, be unfair to officers on the active list that service on the unattached list or in the Territorial Reserve, which involves no duty, should count upon the same footing. Moreover, I am not aware that cases frequently arise of officers reaching the end of the eight years' tenure contemplated by the Regulations without having completed twenty years' service.

Does the right hon. Gentleman realise that this is indeed a grievance, and it will go a long way to make the force more popular than it is to-day if that could be done and officers could have the Territorial decoration for that service?

I will bear the suggestion in mind.

asked what was the total shortage in the Regular Army on the 1st of June last; what was the shortage amongst the Regular British troops stationed in India on the 1st June last; what was the shortage in the Regular Army stationed at Home on the same date; and how much of this shortage occurred in the infantry of the line?

In answer to the first three parts of the question the figures are respectively as follows:—

11,084, 675, and 10,425.

Of these total deficiencies the shortage in the Infantry of the Line was in each case respectively:—

8,743, 117, and 8,564.

asked the Secretary of State for War (1) if he can now give the numbers for June of officers and of non-commissioned officers and men in the Regular Army, the Special Reserve, and the Territorial Force, respectively; and (2) how many officers, non-commissioned officers, and men, respectively, there are now fewer than the establishments in the different branches of the Regular Army, the Special Reserve, and the Territorial Force?

The regimental strengths of the Regular Army and Special Reserve in officers on 1st June were, respectively, 10,439 and 2,512, and in non-commissioned officers and men, 222,873 and 62,559 respectively. I stated the deficiencies in reply to the hon. and gallant Member for the Bodmin Division on the 23rd ultimo. Figures later than for the 1st June are not yet available. The strength of the Territorial Force in officers on the 1st April was 9,465, and the deficiency 1,768; the strength of non-commissioned officers and men on the same date was 251,838, and the deficiency 49,329. The 1st July figures for the Territorial Force will not be ready for some days.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he is aware that, whereas most of the soldiers stationed at Bulford Camp who are married on the strength have houses in the immediate neighbourhood at a rent of from 1s. 6d. to 2s. per week, many of those married off the strength are compelled to pay out of their Army pay as much as 6s. 6d. a week for one roughly-furnished room, and in some cases more, and that many of the wives of such men have consequently insufficient money to provide food for themselves and their children and are tempted to increase its amount by incorrect habits of life; and whether the Government will take steps to provide accommodation for their less fortunate employés in this isolated locality and so put a stop to what is a deterrent to enlistment in His Majesty's Army?

I was not aware that houseletters drew any distinction between soldiers married off the strength and those married on the strength. The inadequacy of the available housing accommodation is, however, recognised to be serious, and the Army Council, in addition to providing further married quarters at the cost of Army funds, are also anxious to encourage the construction of additional houses by private enterprise.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that in this particular district the housing of Government employés is nothing short of a national scandal, and do the Government propose to take any definite and early steps to remedy the unfortunate state of affairs which exist there?

I have already acknowledged that the Army Council admit that this is a serious matter, and are taking the most active steps they possibly can.

What are the steps?

I will tell the hon. Member later.

asked the President of the Board of Trade (1) the number of adult men working on railways in the United Kingdom who are paid less than 24s. a week; if such information is not in his possession, whether he will communicate with all the railways in question with a view to ascertaining what are the numbers of adult men in regular employment receiving a less sum than 24s. a week at the present time; and (2) the latest official information with regard to the wages and hours of railway servants either in Great Britain or the United Kingdom; and whether, in the event of the information now in his possession proving to be unreliable as regards present day wages and hours, he will grant a Return which will give full and up to date particulars of the wages and hours of all grades of labour, specifying in each case the minimum wage paid on the several railways?