asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has received a petition to the House from Sir Ronald Ross, K.C.B., F.R.S., asking for compensation for loss in his profession incurred through his long-continued investigations on malaria; whether the petition is based upon the precedents of similar petitions successfully submitted to the House by Dr. Edward Jenner in 1802 and again in 1807, and by George William Manby in 1823; and whether he will commend Sir Ronald Ross's petition, as required by Standing Order 66, in order to enable it to be laid before the House?

I have received the petition referred to, but I have not felt justified in taking the course suggested, which is not in accordance with modern usage.

asked what is the total amount received by the National Exchequer through the operation of the Settlement Estate Duty, 1894; and the amount which would have been received on these estates if, instead, only Death Duties had been paid?

The amount of Settlement Estate Duty paid in 1894–5 was about £20,000, but I regret that I can make no estimate of the amount of Estate Duty which would have been chargeable since that date in respect of the estates which paid Settlement Estate Duty at that date if the provisions in regard to settled estates had not been in operation.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Budget Grant in aid of nursing will be applied for the benefit of insured persons and their dependents only; and whether he has yet decided on any scheme for the distribution and administration of this Grant?

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave on the 6th instant to my hon. Friend the Member for Stirlingshire.

Before any scheme is made final with regard to the administration of this Grant will it be laid before the House?

I will consider that.

asked the Secretary for Scotland whether he has received a large number of resolutions in favour of placing the Nursing Grant at the disposal of the Insurance Commissioners; and when he is likely to be in a position to say whether he is likely to accede to these requests?

I have received a number of such resolutions. With regard to the administration of the Grant, I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply which was given by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer to the hon. Member for Stirlingshire on the 6th instant.

Are we to understand that the Scottish Office takes up no definite attitude of its own with regard to the allocation of these duties as between the Scottish local authorities and the Scottish Insurance Committee?

I do not think that is a correct inference from my answer.

Will the right hon. Gentleman give some indication of what the attitude of the Scottish Office is?

Shall we have some information before the close of this Session?

Will the right hon. Gentleman say whether he has received any resolutions to the contrary effect?

I was not asked that question, and I am afraid I cannot answer it without notice.

Would not all these questions be much better answered on the Scottish Estimates?

Can the right hon. Gentleman say when the matter will be settled, and what opportunity there will be before it is settled of making representations to the Scottish Office or the Chancellor of the Exchequer?

Of course the matter is primarily one for the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and my hon. and learned Friend must question him on the subject.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that I have just asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer this question, and he was unable to give an answer?

Hon. Members should give some of the other countries a chance.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he has yet decided when he will be able to meet the deputation representing the Scottish mineral oil trade on the subject of taxation of Home-produced motor spirit?

I have suggested to the Scottish Mineral Oil Association that having regard to the very technical nature of this subject it would be useful if in the first instance they would be good enough to arrange an interview with my official advisers.

asked if schemes for the formation of State-managed societies dealing specially with married women and with other selected classes of insured persons are in course of preparation; and when the House will be taken into the confidence of the Government?

The answer is in the negative.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if the Commissioners of National Health Insurance are still considering the formation of a State-managed society for a portion of the deposit contributors; and if the promised consultation with existing societies has yet taken place, and with what result?

The Commissioners have conferred with the Advisory Committee on the subject of the future of deposit contributors, which is still under consideration.

May I ask my hon. Friend, in consulting the Advisory Committee, to see to it that it shall not consist entirely of representatives of approved societies?

Consultation with the Advisory Committee is certainly a consultation with authorised representatives of approved societies.

Is not my hon. Friend aware that the Advisory Committee is not an assembly of approved societies, but includes members of county committees and employers of labour, and can in no sense be regarded as an assembly of approved societies?

All I said was that on the Advisory Committee approved societies are authoritatively represented, and that is so.

What reply did the representatives of approved societies on that Advisory Committee give to the Government?

I cannot say anything about what transpired. I simply say a consultation took place.

May I express the hope that His Majesty's Government will above all remember the pledge given to revise the position of the deposit contributors?

asked the hon. Member for St. George's-in-the-East, as representing the Insurance Commissioners, whether the Insurance Commissioners have reason to believe that in several areas the amounts of the panel chemists' accounts for drugs supplied in the first quarter of the year are greater than for the corresponding quarter of the previous year; and what action they propose to take so that the chemists may get paid for the drugs they supply on the doctors' orders?

As I stated in a previous reply to the hon. Member, the Commissioners are informed that in some cases an increase is shown. The question as to the causes of the increase and as to any steps which may be necessary is receiving careful attention.

asked the Prime Minister whether Mr. Masterman is the Minister at present in charge of the proposed Amending Insurance Bill; and to what Member of the Government will the conduct of this measure before the House be entrusted?

I will make a statement as to the Amending Insurance Bill on Friday.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether he can now give any further information as to the civil action for £1,000 damages which is being brought against Mr. Channing Arnold by Captain Finnie, a member of the Civil Service in Burma; whether the action has lately been taken from the postponed list and put down for hearing before Mr. Radford Young on 18th August; whether the action is in respect of an alleged libel for which Mr. Arnold has already been tried and convicted in a criminal court and has suffered four months' imprisonment; and whether the taking of these further proceedings against him by a Government official, supported by Government funds and with the assistance of a Government advocate, has the sanction of the Secretary of State?

The Secretary of State understands that Captain Finnie considers his character to be vindicated by the criminal conviction of Mr. Arnold for defamation, upheld on appeal to the Privy Council, and is applying to the Chief Court for leave to withdraw his suit. The Secretary of State has not interfered, as he would be unwilling to deprive a public servant of his legal remedy, and Captain Finnie's decision is a voluntary one.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India when he expects to receive a full report of the case recently tried before the Punjab Chief Court, in which the keeper of the Zamindar Press of Lahore appealed against a declaration of forfeiture made by the Government of the Punjab under the Press Act; and whether, in view of the reports that have already been received showing the character of the articles in respect of which the declaration was made and the penalties involved, the Secretary of State is prepared to give some further consideration to the matter?

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer given him on the 7th instant. A full report of the judgment is expected next week, and pending its receipt the Secretary of State must reserve his opinion on the points raised in the latter part of the question.

asked whether it has been established that an applicant who appeals to the Courts under the Press Act, 1910, for relief against fine and forfeiture must show not merely that the words of his pamphlet or article are not likely to bring any section of His Majesty's subjects in India into hatred or contempt, but that it is impossible for the words in question, either directly or indirectly, to have that tendency; whether this has been described by an eminent judge in India as an almost hopeless task; and whether, in view of the harshness of these provisions and of the discontent that has been aroused, the Secretary of State will consider the advisability of discontinuing further proceedings against the Press until this Act has been modified or repealed?

The Secretary of State is advised that the judgment to which the hon. Member apparently refers need not be held to have established anything more than the validity of the forfeiture under Section 12 of the Indian Press Act of the particular publication in respect of which an appeal had been preferred. He is unable to say how far the terms of the judgment are applicable to cases under other Sections of the Act, or are likely to be followed by other High Courts, and he is unable to adopt the suggestion contained in the last part of the question.

In case it turns out that this ruling is considered applicable to all cases, will the Secretary of State reconsider his points with a view to modifying the law?

No, I do not think it can be considered applicable to all cases.

asked the Secretary for Scotland if he is aware that in the early spring of this year the county council of Zetland drew the attention of the Fishery Board for Scotland to the fact that large shoals of herrings had been located to the north and west of Shetland and asked the Board to note the effect on these shoals when the whaling operations started, and that in their reply the Fishery Board immediately took up an un sympathetic attitude in regard to the depredations of the foreign whalers by stating that though these shoals might move from the grounds it would not necessarily follow that such movement was due to whaling operations; and whether, in view of the fact that immediately whaling operations started the said shoals of herrings did disappear from the fishing grounds referred to, he will draw the attention of the Fishery Board to the need for giving better attention to the injury being done to the great British herring fishery by foreign whaling companies?

I am aware of the communication from the county council of Zetland to which my hon. Friend refers, but I am unable to accept as accurate his description of the Fishery Board's attitude or his suggestion that depredations are being committed and injury being done to the herring fishery. I am informed that the herrings did not disappear from the grounds referred to on the commencement of the whaling operations, but that several substantial catches have been obtained on the western grounds during the whaling season.

asked the Secretary for Scotland if he is aware that, owing to the depletion of the herrings and cod fishing grounds off Norway, caused by whale fishing, the Norwegian fishermen burned down the whaling stations in the country, and that whaling in the northern parts of Norway was subsequently prohibited by law, that as a result several Norwegian whaling companies erected whaling stations in Shetland in 1903 and 1904, that since whaling operations began and extended in Shetland the herring fishing on the west and north of Shetland, on which many fishermen and their families depend for a livelihood, has rapidly declined, and that this decrease is due to the depredations of the foreign whalers; and whether he is prepared to introduce legislation prohibiting the landing of whales in any part of Scotland, in the interests of the herring industry, and in order to prevent further depopulation of the fishermen crofter class in the Shetland Islands?

The matters to which my hon. Friend refers are highly controversial, and I am not prepared to accept the inferences which he draws. With regard to legislation, I see no reason to suppose that a measure on the lines suggested is necessary or desirable.

asked the Secretary for Scotland whether he is aware that under the Whaling Act of 1908, a sum of about £6,000 has bean collected by the Fishery Board in the form of whaling licence fees from whaling companies operating in Shetland; that this money has accrued to the Treasury; and whether the Government is prepared to refund from this money to the Fishery Board a sum sufficient to enable the Board to place a vessel or vessels in Shetland waters for the purposes of investigation as to the movements or presence of shoals of herrings in the area of waters alleged to be depleted of herrings by the operations of foreign whalers, in order that the facts as to the effects of whaling on the herring fishing may be more clearly demonstrated?

The facts with regard to the amount and the accrual of the whaling licence fees are as stated by my hon. Friend. The statements which have been made in support of the allegations to which he refers do not appear to afford primâ facie ground for a special inquiry such as he suggests, but the Fishery Board will be prepared to consider any information bearing on the subject which may be submitted to them.

May I ask how far this matter is receiving the attention of the authorities interested?

Of course, the whole matter was considered by a Committee some years ago, and it was on the Report of that Committee that legislation was carried.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that there is a great consensus of opinion that whaling does interfere with the herring fishing industry?

I believe that a great many herring fishermen are of that opinion, but the reasons they give are very contradictory.

asked whether the investigations of the Scottish Departmental Committee on North Sea Fisheries covered the whole of Scotland; and, if so, what object the Fishery Board seems to attain by the appointment of a Departmental Committee to investigate the conditions on the west and north coasts?

The Departmental Committee to which my hon. and gallant Friend refers in the first portion of his question covered the whole of Scotland so far as certain general questions were concerned: the Fishery Board's investigation relates particularly to certain special questions such as transport facilities and the marketing of certain classes of fish in regard to which the inshore fisheries of the west and north coasts are conducted under special disadvantages.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that what the fishermen want is the carrying into effect of the recommendations already made by the Committee?

I am aware of that.

May I ask if this inquiry will extend to the south coast of the Moray Firth?

I have already explained in my answer that the inquiry is to deal with certain difficulties as to transport and sale. These do not affect that part of the coast.

asked the Secretary for Scotland whether his attention has been called to the fact that only tenants and leaseholders occupying their holdings under tenancies which were in force when the Small Landholders (Scotland) Act of 1911 came into operation are entitled to be declared small landholders or statutory small tenants under the Act; whether he is aware that many such tenants have been, and are being, induced to enter into new leases of dates subsequent to the commencement of the Act, and are thereby permanently disqualified for applying to the Land Court in respect of their present holdings; and what steps, if any, he proposes to take to ensure to all Scottish small holders the right to apply to the Land Court in order to obtain security of tenure and fair or equitable rents?

The reply to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. The Board of Agriculture for Scotland have no knowledge of the action referred to in the second part. It is competent to contract out of the Act, but any person has the right to apply for a new holding. The rights mentioned in the last part of the question are already secured to small holders and no further steps are necessary.

Is it the case that these men are perfectly disqualified from applying?

No, Sir.

asked how many applications have been made under the Small Landholders (Scotland) Act, 1911, for new holdings and enlargements up to and including 30th June, 1914; and how many of those have not got beyond the stage of application?

Up to and including 30th June, 1914, there have been 5,215 applications for new holdings under the Small Landholders (Scotland) Act, 1911, and 3,784 applications for enlargements, making a total of 8,999. Of these, 1,964 have either been withdrawn or rejected because the applicants were unsuitable or because the land applied for was not available. Of the remainder, about 5,470 have not yet been provided for by any schemes adopted by the Board of Agriculture for Scotland, but all these except 1,364 have been interviewed. The classification of the applications according to counties necessitates a number of figures, and I propose to circulate that table with the Votes.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware how many new holdings have been created?

That does not arise out of the answer. I have not the latest information with me.

asked the Secretary for Scotland whether, in view of the success attending the appointment of a special demonstrator at the Royal Scottish Museum, he will consider the advisability of extending the innovation to the national galleries?

I am informed that the Board of Trustees will consider the suggestion made in the question.

asked the Secretary for Scotland (1) whether the Local Government Board are now negotiating with a public utility company for building at Rosyth; if so, which company it is, and who it is made up of; how much building it involves; the total area of the scheme; and (2) whether, before the negotiations for a public company developing Rosyth are completed, the details of the scheme will be submitted to this House in order that it can be discussed?

The Local Government Board for Scotland are considering the steps which will fall to be taken by them when the Housing Bill becomes law, but I am not in a position to make any statement of the points mentioned by my hon. Friend at present.

May we take it from the right hon. Gentleman that before an agreement is made—assuming that it is to be made—with the public utility company, involving, probably, a credit of £1,000,000, we in this House will have some knowledge of the details under which the company is going to act?

I shall be very glad to give any information in my power. As my hon. Friend is aware, Rosyth is an urgent case, and steps will have to be taken there as soon as the Bill is passed into law.

Will my right hon. Friend give an undertaking in this House—

No.

I beg to give notice that as the House is not to have an opportunity of discussing the scheme I will raise this question on the Adjournment.

The hon. Gentleman might raise it on the Bill.

Yes, but you will put the Government Whips on.

May I ask whether my right hon. Friend will not consider the advisability of saving 1 per cent. by dispensing with the company?

I do not think the matter can be settled in that very short way.

Will the scheme apply to the whole area or only to the Admiralty part of the property?

We are only dealing with Government property and Government employés.

May I ask how long this scheme will be delayed?

A great deal will depend upon when the Bill passes.

Is the Scottish Office of Works in any way responsible for it?

I would remind my hon. and gallant Friend that the Bill provides that in certain contingencies the Scottish Office of Works may be called in.

asked the Secretary for Scotland whether, in the event of the negotiations for a public company developing Rosyth falling through, the Admiralty or the Local Government Board will build; whether, in that case, the building will be under the rules and regulations of the Local Government Board but organised by the Office of Works; and whether in that case they will be supervised by the new principal architect which it is proposed should take the post now held by Mr. Oldrieve, or whether, this being a Scottish undertaking, some special office will be created within his own Department to deal with it?

The Housing Bill which is presently before Parliament does not confer upon the Local Government Board for Scotland any power to build houses for Government employés, and the second and third parts of the question do not, therefore, arise.

Is it not the case that, should the negotiations with the Public Utility Company fall through, the building will be supervised by the Office of Works, and, if that is so, is it true that the Office of Works in Scotland has been degraded in status without the change being discussed in this House?

That is a question which my hon. Friend must address to the representative of the Office of Works.

Does the Secretary for Scotland say that, in his official capacity, he does not safeguard the interests of Scotland when they are at stake?

I did not say so.

You implied so. Let us have a straight answer for once.

Are the houses to be available only for Government servants?

It is a purely Admiralty scheme.

Is the right hon. Gentleman prepared to see some of the privileges of Scotland with regard to the Scottish Office of Works filched away from him during his unfortunate tenure of office?

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he can now state when the medal for general services in operations carried out by His Majesty's Navy in the Persian Gulf in the years 1909–12 will be granted?

As I have already stated, a medal is being struck and will shortly be available for distribution.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware this question has now been going on for two years, and if, instead of "shortly," he can give a definite date for this medal for those men?

I regret the delay, but the question of Grants in lieu of prize money has also been involved and under consideration, and that has involved correspondents with two other Departments, but the matter will be dealt with as quickly as possible.

Why is it that those delays always occur with medals, which sometimes are not issued for many years?

Can the right hon. Gentleman extend the medals to the year 1913–14 for men doing the same duty?

I will consider that.

Will the medal be issued this year?

I hope so.

asked whether, under the Government Housing Bill, it will be competent for the Board of Agriculture for Scotland to takeover the houses which are to be built by the local authority at West Benhar if the local authority so desire; and wheher it will be competent for the Board of Agriculture for Scotland to build houses in the future in other similar districts which are partly agricultural and partly industrial?

The powers which it is proposed to confer upon the Board of Agriculture for Scotland and the conditions upon which they may be exercised are set forth in Clause 1 of the Bill. I am not in a position to anticipate the decision of the Departments concerned in specific or general cases.

asked whether the whole of the £71,000 Grant, under the Budget for education in Scotland this year, will be distributed among secondary education committees in accordance with Section 16 (2) of the Education (Scotland) Act, 1908, or whether any and, if so, how much of this Grant will be absorbed by prior charges under Section 16 (1) of the Act?

I hope to be able to lay before Parliament in the course of this week a statement showing the proposed application of the Education (Scotland) Fund for the current year, including the sum of £71,000 to which the hon. Member refers.

asked the Secretary for Scotland whether he can state why, in appointing a Departmental Committee to investigate the conditions of inshore fisheries, the Fishery Board for Scotland limited the scope of such inquiry to the west and north coasts and outer islands of Scotland; and whether he will take steps to secure the extension of the remit to the Committee so as to include the investigation of the equally serious condition of inshore fisheries on the east coast of Scotland?

As I explained in my reply to the hon. and gallant Member for Banffshire n the 7th instant, the Committee referred to was not appointed by me, but was appointed by the Fishery Board for Scotland, and consists of members of the Board and its staff. The purpose of the Committee is to investigate questions such as transport facilities and the marketing of certain classes of fish, in regard to which the inshore fisheries of the west and north coasts and of the outer islands are conducted under special disadvantages. On the east coast, as my hon. Friend is aware, the deep-sea herring fishery is the main fishery, but if there are special points in connection with the inshore fisheries which require investigation, the Fishery Board will be prepared to consider any representation regarding them.

Does the scope of this Committee's inquiry include the granting of State loans to fishermen?

No.

asked how many appeals have been lodged by land lords to the Court of Session against the decisions of the Land Court in the matter of rent reductions to small landholders and statutory small tenants, and the result in each case?

No appeal is competent against a decision of the Land Court fixing rent.

asked the Secretary for Scotland whether, in view of the fact that statutory small tenants and small landholders applying for rent reductions are financially unable to defend appeals by landlords to the Court of Session on points of law, he is prepared to authorize or advise the authorisation of the payment of expenses of respondents in vexatious and unwarranted appeals?

The question of expense is a matter for the Court of Session to decide. If an appeal were vexatious and unwarranted the Court of Session would, I imagine, award expenses to the successful respondent.

Will the right hon. Gentleman see that that promise is carried out?

No, I have no control over the Court of Session in Scotland.

asked the hon. Member for St. George's-in-the-East, as representing the First Commissioner of Works, whether it has yet been possible to make arrangements for the free admission of the public to Hampton Court Palace on Saturdays and bank holidays for any part of the day?

The First Commissioner fears that effect cannot, with safety, be given to this suggestion. The numbers who now visit Hampton Court on these days are already as large as can adequately be controlled.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that within the past few years attempts have been made to float in England the following companies, namely, Fanning Island, Limited, the Central Railway Company of Canada, the Montreal Central Terminal Company, the Collooney, Ballina, and Belmullet Railway and Piers Company; can he say whether the prospectuses of any, and, if so, which of these companies have been filed with the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies; whether his Department exercises any control over foreign companies such as the Central Railway Company of Canada and the Montreal Central Terminal Company, which are incorporated abroad; and, seeing that the Dominion Government and the Agents General of Ontario and Quebec were obliged publicly to correct certain misrepresentations of fact made in the prospectus of the Central Railway Company of Canada, he will consider the advisability of introducing legislation enabling him to protect British investors against unscrupulous promoters of foreign companies?

I am aware that prospectuses were issued by Fanning Island, Limited, in March, 1912, by the Central Railway Company of Canada in July, 1911, and in April, 1914; and by the Montreal Central Terminal Company in June, 1914, but I have no information as to the issue of any prospectus by the Collooney, Ballina, and Belmullet Railway and Piers Company. Fanning Island, Limited, is the only one of these companies which is registered under the Companies (Consolidation) Act, 1908, and is, therefore, the only company which is required to file a prospectus with the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies. The prospectus issued by that company was duly filed with the Registrar. Every company incorporated outside the United Kingdom which establishes a place of business within the United Kingdom's required by Section 274 of the Companies (Consolidation) Act, 1908, to file certain information with the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies. As at present advised, I do not propose to introduce legislation extending the provisions of Section 274.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that Fanning Island, Limited, promoted by Sir Thomas H. C. Troubridge, Bart., and Mr. C. H. Armstrong, in March, 1912, was incorporated under the Companies (Consolidation) Act, 1908; will he say whether a copy of the prospectus then issued was filed with the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies; and whether this company has filed an annual balance sheet in accordance with the Companies Act, or held any meetings of directors and shareholders?

Fanning Island, Limited, was incorporated under the Companies (Consolidation) Act, 1908, on the 19th March, 1912, and a prospectus dated the 20th March, 1912, was filed with the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies on that day. I have no knowledge who were the promoters of the company. No balance sheet has been filed by the company, and the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies has been informed that the company did not proceed to allotment, and that the subscription money received in respect of applications for shares was returned. In these circumstances it is probable that no meetings of shareholders have been held, but I have no information on this point or as to any meetings of directors.

asked whether the Board of Trade have approved of the proposed (and in some cases nearly finished) escalators now being substituted for lifts at certain railway stations in London; if the Board intend to permit the lifts to be abolished at any deep stations where escalators are being constructed; and, if so, what means of transit up and down it is proposed to provide for elderly, short-sighted, lame, and invalid persons whose different employment obliged them to use the various underground railways?

Lifts are retained in use at some stations where escalators have been constructed; at others escalators have been constructed at the outset instead of lifts, and stairways are also available. If the hon. Member will indicate any particular station at which he is of opinion that inconvenience is or may be caused, I will look into the matter.

asked the Postmaster-General what are the units of work figures relating to the Hebden Bridge Post Office and the cost of living index number for that town adjusted to the common standards; and what are the units and index number necessary to place that office in Class III.

The volume of work at Hebden Bridge now amounts to 44 units. No investigation has been made by the Board of Trade into the cost of living in that town, but judged by analogy with neighbouring towns the cost of living in Hebden Bridge is not above normal. According to the standard of classification in force 240 units would be required to warrant Class III. scales, but the whole question of the classification of provincial offices for scales of pay of outdoor force is under consideration.

asked what progress has been made with the Post Office underground electric railway, and how much money has been spent upon its construction up to date?

My right hon. Friend hopes shortly to be in a position to invite tenders for the construction of the tunnel, and an experimental track is being constructed on War Office property, so that certain tests may be carried out before inviting tenders for electrical equipment. Up to the present date, therefore, no money has been spent upon actual construction.

Is this an extension of the system recently established between the Front Opposition Bench and the Whips' Room?

I do not understand the question.

I mean between the Government Bench and the Whips' Room?

I do not understand the question.

asked the Attorney-General if his attention has been directed to the existence of agreements between manufacturers on the one hand and retail tradesmen on the other, by virtue of which the former bind down the latter not to sell goods to the public for less than a definite fixed price; and whether, in view of the artificial raising of prices caused by the widespread practice of this trade policy, he will advise proceedings to be taken to test the legality of the practice, as it has been tested in the United States of America?

I regret that I do not know what kind of proceedings my hon. Friend refers to. I cannot advise the Crown to take proceedings unless illegality appears to exist.

Will the right hon. Gentleman allow me to send in specific instances of this particular practice?

I have no objection to receiving particulars of any instances which the hon. Member may forward.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that these proceedings have been taken in the United States of America in the Supreme Court?

Is the practice of keeping up prices portion of the Free Trade system of this country?

asked under what Act and Section of the Income Tax Acts the concession of average is made to some employés of limited liability companies?

It is open to question whether subordinate employés of limited liability companies should not be assessed under Schedule D, in which case they would be legally entitled to the benefit of the average. In these circumstances the Commissioners of Inland Revenue have not objected to the application of the average under Schedule E where the District Commissioners see fit to grant it. I may add that the practice has been in force for forty years.

Then there is no statutory authority?

asked whether the present staff in the repayments branch will deal with the claims in respect of the excess Income Tax; whether it will be necessary to increase the staff in any way; and whether any estimate has been made of the cost of dealing with the additional claims resulting from the reduction of the rate of Income Tax?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative, and to the second and third parts in the negative.

asked the Attorney-General whether, seeing that Mr. Justice Darling stated on the 27th May, when delivering sentence on the defendants in the Army Canteen case, that he, the learned judge, was satisfied that the defendants were acting upon a system which was known to the directorate, encouraged by the directorate, and persisted in by the directorate, he will say whether he has laid the papers in this case before the Public Prosecutor, with a view to criminal proceedings for fraud and bribery being instituted against Sir Thomas Lipton, chairman of Liptons, Limited, and his co-directors

All the papers in this case have been before me and proceedings have already been taken against those persons against whom evidence existed, including one director of the company. There is no such evidence in the case of the director named in the question.

Is it not the fact that the learned judge, in the presence of the Attorney-General, stated that he was satisfied that the system was known to the directors and encouraged by them, and persisted in by them; and may I ask whether, having regard to that statement, the Law Officers of the Crown cannot find even a primâ facie case? Does the Solicitor-General not think that the directors are going to take all the steps they can to cover their trail?

The statement of the learned judge must be read in connection with the whole statement, and whether the learned judge was satisfied or not is not a question for the Law Officers.

Is it intended to proceed against the other defendants who were cited before the court martial?

I must have notice of that question.

Does the hon. and learned Gentleman mean that no further proceedings of any kind are to be taken in connection with this case?

So far as I know there is no evidence before the Law Officers to justify any proceedings being taken against any other person.

Is it not the fact that the Law Officers pressed for imprisonment against the persons who received the bribes, while the persons who gave the bribes were not sent to prison?

asked the Secretary of State for War if, in view of the shortage of men in the Territorial Army, he will take steps in the near future to permit all non-commissioned officers and men attending camp for seven days to draw separation allowances?

I regret that I can give no undertaking of the nature suggested.

asked the Secretary for War whether recruits in the Territorial Force who have not done the whole of their preliminary drills will be allowed to go to camp this year; and, if so, will they be allowed to draw the £1 bounty in addition to their fifteen days' pay if they remain the full fifteen days?

Yes, Sir, provided that they have completed the drills which recruits are required to perform before camp.

asked the Secretary for War if he will use his influence with the Treasury to induce those responsible for the Estimates for the next financial year to include a sufficient sum to permit all Government Departments concerned to allow ex-sailors and ex-soldiers of good character to count their years of service in the Navy or Army for pension with their subsequent years of service in the less onerous Civil service, so that British sailors and soldiers will be placed on an equal footing with Civil servants with regard to pension, and so that the recommendation of the Committee appointed by the War Office to report upon this question may be carried out?

I regret to be unable to adopt this suggestion.

asked the Secretary for War whether the rule limiting the total number of re-engaged men to 10 per cent. of the strength of units is still in force; and, if not, from what date has it been discontinued?

The regulation on the subject has not been altered, but I would refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave on this subject to the hon. Member for the Tavistock Division on the 19th May.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say whether it is not the fact that many men who were informed on enlistment that they could re-engage have been excluded by virtue of this rule; and whether it is good for recruiting that the legitimate expectations of the men should be disappointed in that way?

I do not think it is the case that many men have been disappointed, because in very few units have the number applying come up to 10 per cent.

asked the Secretary for War whether a bounty of £16 is being offered to time-expired men in India to induce them to re-engage?

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given to a question put by the hon. Member for Bath on the 6th instant.

Can the right hon. Gentleman state how many men secured the bounty, and how many men are still required?

I shall be glad to give the information on notice.

asked the Secretary for War whether Reservists are being invited to re-engage in the Regular Army at Home; and, if so, to what extent and under what conditions; and if he will state what other measures are being taken in order to deal with the question of the shortage that exists in the Regular Army at Home and in India?

A question put by the hon. and gallant Member for Midlothian on this subject was answered yesterday. To what I said then I would add that the qualifications for a man rejoining are that he must be unmarried, medically fit, must have two years unexpired service, and must have been awarded a military character of not less than "fair" when he left the Colours. In reply to the last part of the question I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to the hon. Member for West Marylebone on the 1st instant.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say how many men have been secured for the Service?

Not without notice.

asked the Secretary for War whether the permission of the Adjutant-General for the Hants Special Reserve battalion to recruit in Woolwich and Stratford was given as a result of the commanding officer Special Reserve battalion having represented that the recruits necessary to bring the Special Reserve battalion up to strength could not be obtained within the county of Hampshire?

No, Sir.

asked the Secretary for War whether he is aware of the inconvenience and detriment to discipline caused by the fact that commissioned officers, For reasons of personal economy, are often, on their outward and home journey to India and the Far East, compelled to travel second-class on the steamship and share cabin and other accommodation with non-commissioned officers sometimes of their own battery, regiment, or battalion; and whether, in view of the small salary earned by the commissioned ranks of the Regular forces, a first-class passage at second-class or reduced rate on such journeys will be arranged for?

This question has been considered on more than one occasion, but it is not thought advisable to reopen it at the present time.

When was the question considered last—how many years ago?

I think it was in recent years, perhaps two years ago. I am not quite certain.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office if he is aware that the War Department vessel the "Sir Robert Hay" was used on the 4th instant to take a party, composed of the members of the Warrant Officers' Club, their wives, and friends, on a pleasure trip; whether he is aware that each member of the crew had to work 10 hours' overtime, for which they were paid at the rate of 1¾d. per hour; and whether he will give instructions that these men be paid at the proper rate for the overtime worked?

I have inquired into this and find that the hon. Member has been misinformed as to the amount of overtime worked. It amounted to 3¾ hours. The crew has been credited with extra pay of 1s. 6d. per man, that being the sum due under Regulations.

asked the Home Secretary if he is aware that the statement that the Metropolitan Police officers who were sent to South Wales during the Tonypandy troubles in November, 1910, and February, 1911, received the whole of the allowance due to them does not accord with the views of the men concerned; and will he say whether he proposes to take any further steps to clear up the discrepancy of view so as to remove any feeling on the part of the men that their case has not received the consideration it deserves and that they have been unjustly treated?

The Commissioner informs me that he has received no such representation from the men concerned. A constable sent for duty outside the Metropolitan Police district is ordinarily entitled to subsistence allowance and lodging allowance, if food and lodging are not provided. On this occasion the men were provided with ample food, so that there was no question of their drawing the subsistence allowance. They were also provided with lodging, but as the lodgings were indifferent, special authority was obtained for payment of the lodging allowance. The Commissioner felt, however, that the arduous and often dangerous duty which the men were called upon to perform demanded some special recognition, and with my predecessor's approval further special allowances were given to all ranks. In addition to his ordinary pay, every constable accordingly received allowances amounting to 49s. a week for the first ten days, and during the rest of the strike allowances of 35s. a week, besides free food and lodging.

Are we to understand that the right hon. Gentleman is going to receive representations?

There is a subsequent question down.

If similar circumstances arise, will the Metropolitan Police be sent to perform similar duties again?

I must wait until the occasion arises.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Metropolitan Police authorities have had any controversy with the Glamorganshire authorities with reference to the cost of sending Metropolitan Police officers to do strike duty in the Tonypandy district; and if the Glamorganshire authorities have disputed the claim of the Scotland Yard authorities; and will he say if this circumstance has any bearing on the failure to satisfy the police officers who submitted to hardships on the understanding that they were to receive a special allowance?

The difficulty with the Glamorganshire County Council in regard to the payment of the cost of the Metropolitan Police employed in no way affected the settlement of the legitimate claims of the officers concerned, which were met out of moneys voted by Parliament. If any officer who has not received the special allowance and all other sums due to him will make application to the Commissioner, the matter shall at once be inquired into; but it is believed that every officer concerned was paid some years ago.

asked the Prime Minister if his attention has been directed to the fact that the Census of England and Wales for 1911 shows that the number of persons employed in building and works of construction had fallen to 946,127 from 1,042,864 in 1901, a decrease of 9.3 per cent. in the ten years, and that this decline is confirmed by a considerable fall in the number of persons employed in brick-making and by the returns of books taken out under the Unemployment Section of the National Insurance Act; if he is aware that in 1911 the number of private dwelling-houses under erection was 38,178 against 61,909 in 1901, and that, at the present rate of new building construction, many generations must elapse before the dwelling-houses of England and Wales, the majority of which need to be replaced will be rebuilt; and, if, in view of these considerations, he can promise for the next Session of Parliament a much more active housing policy than has so far been announced by His Majesty's Government?

I have no reason to doubt the statistics given by my hon. Friend, but I must not be held as agreeing to all the inferences he draws from them. As regards the latter part of the question, I cannot at present give any pledge with regard to the business of next Session.

May I ask the right hon. Gentleman if he now realises what was the result of the Land Tax?