asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he has received complaints from growers of vegetables in many parts of the country that, owing to the disturbance of ordinary conditions of transport, they cannot place their produce on the market; and whether, seeing that the railways are under the control of the Government, he can promise to take action to remedy this grievance?

I cannot find that I have received any specific complaints on this subject recently.

asked the Postmaster-General whether the charge for a parcel posted to a member of the Expeditionary Force is 1s. for a parcel up to three pounds; whether complaints have been received that this charge for small parcels falls heavily on the relatives of soldiers on active service; and whether he can see his way to a reduction?

The postage charged on parcels for members of the British Expeditionary Force, which weigh not more than three pounds, is as stated. I beg to refer the hon. Member to my reply to similar questions on Monday last.

asked whether the Board of Admiralty would consider the advisability of issuing indentification discs to officers and men in the Fleets at sea, so that in the event of bodies being washed ashore they may be at once identified?

It has already been decided to supply identification discs to naval officers and men, and these are in course of distribution.

asked the Under-Secretary for War whether, in connection with the additional staff in the Chief Paymaster's Department of the War Office, he has issued any order declining to reemploy retired assistant paymasters; and whether he has considered the desirability of employing these rather than outside assistants who can have no previous knowledge of the work?

No, Sir. No such order has been issued. There are no retired assistant paymasters, and the question of their employment does not, therefore, arise.

asked whether conscientious objection to vaccination is being respected in the case of soldiers serving among the Canadian, Australian, and other Colonial contingents?

I have been unable so far to obtain information as to the practice followed in the case of the Australian and New Zealand contingents, but I am given to understand that, in the case of the Canadian contingent, men who objected to vaccination have not been taken.

asked the Under-Secretary for War if he is aware that relatives of soldiers who die while under training have to bear the cost of railway transport of the body if burial is desired at home; and if he will consider the desirability of free transport in such cases?

This question is now under consideration.

asked whether, by Order in Council, men rejoining the Royal Field Artillery from the National Reserve were promised a bonus of £5 on rejoining, irrespective of class; and, if so, why men belonging to Class 3 have not been granted this bonus?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the negative. As regards the second part, the gratuity is not a bounty on enlistment, but is given to those men who were willing, during peace, to undertake an honourable obligation to come up for service when called upon in time of imminent national danger. Class 3 men did not undertake any obligation before mobilisation and have no claim to the gratuity.

asked if it is proposed to grant separation allowance to the wives and children of commissioned officers in the Army; and, if so, what will be the scale for each rank?

In view of the announcement made by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on Monday last, as to an increase in officers' pay, it is not proposed to make such grants.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether a paymaster is justified in declining to pay to a soldier's wife an allowance of 7s. a week to which she is entitled under a separation order issued against her husband prior to his enlistment by a police magistrate; and, if so, will he state the method by which the wife can proceed to enforce payment?

The magistrate's order should be sent to the General Officer Commanding, under whose command the man is serving. Under the Army Act the General Officer Commanding has power to make a stoppage of 6d. a day from the man's pay to meet the sum due under the order.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether the pay of officers of British regiments brought from India for service in the Expeditionary Force has been reduced to the English scale of pay; and whether it is necessary so to reduce the income of soldiers called to active duty at the front?

There has been no reduction in the pay of the British officers brought from India

asked the Under-Secretary for War if he can make some arrangement by which the large number of properly qualified, as well as untrained but eager, men who are now applying for commissions could be at once accepted, instead of having to wait weeks for notification of acceptance or otherwise, by increasing the number of officers' training corps or the number of officers trained in each corps?

The number of officers under training is being increased and supernumeraries are being posted with the object which the hon. Member suggests.

asked the Under-Secretary for War whether complaints have been received that the War Office refuses to accept for ambulance purposes any cars except those of the three makes, Daimler, Wolseley, and Sunbeam; and, if so, can he say what objection there is to accepting first-class cars of French and Belgian make for use in those countries?

The purchase of motor ambulances, by the War Department has not been confined to those manufactured by the firms named. In addition, the Red Cross have given us cars of many different makes. On account of the difficulty of the provision, and more especially of the distribution, of spare, parts, the multiplication of the number of types of mechanical transport vehicles is to be deprecated.

asked the Prime Minister (1) whether he is aware that the Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale, in the peerage of Great Britain, and Earl of Armagh, in the peerage of Ireland, and a prince of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, is in command of troops in the German Army, engaged in active hostilities against the Sovereign and people of the British Empire; whether he is aware that the first Duke of Cumberland, the paternal grandfather of the present duke, after his accession to the throne of Hanover, took the oath of allegiance in England, and sat in the House of Lords as a peer of Great Britain by hereditary right; whether the present Duke of Cumberland, who was born a British subject, has since divested himself of his British nationality and, if so, how and when; and whether, having regard to the fact that the present Duke of Cumberland is in arms with the enemies of the British Empire against the Sovereign of that Empire, and guilty of high treason, any and, if so, what steps will be taken to secure that he shall no longer retain British and Irish titles or peerages and a seat in the House of Lords; and (2) whether he is aware that the Duke of Albany, Earl of Clarence, and Baron Arklow, in the peerage of the United Kingdom, prince of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, is in command of troops in the German Army, engaged in active hostilities against the Sovereign and people of the British Empire; whether he is aware that the Duke of Albany was born in England, a subject of the British Crown, and succeeded, at his birth as a posthumous child, to these United Kingdom titles or peerages held by his father, who swore allegiance and sat as a peer of the United Kingdom in the House of Lords by hereditary right; whether the Duke of Albany has ever divested himself of his British nationality and, if so, how or when; and whether, having regard to the fact that the Duke of Albany is in arms with the enemies of the British Empire against the Sovereign of this Empire, and guilty of high treason, any and, if so, what steps will be taken to secure that he shall no longer retain United Kingdom peerages and titles and a seat in the House of Lords?

No writ of summons has been issued to these persons in respect of their peerages, nor would any writ be issued to them during the War. What ought to take place after the War is a matter which will be considered in due time. The question of the retention of British and Irish titles and peerages will be reserved for consideration until after the conclusion of the War.

asked the Prime Minister whether the Government can take any steps to prevent employers from giving employment to refugees from other countries at a cheaper rate of wages than would be paid to our own people?

My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has asked me to answer this question. I can only refer the hon. Member to my reply to his question on the same subject on Thursday last.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether any of the kings, grand dukes, dukes, or other sovereign princes of the German Empire, or any of their relations, being subjects of the German Emperor, are in receipt of pensions, allowances, or other money payments out of the public funds of the United Kingdom?

Particulars of certain annuities to persons of the class indicated are to be found on page 44 of the Finance Accounts for the year ended 31st March, 1914. As stated in reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Gateshead on the 18th September last, the annuity to the Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz has been suspended. The annuities to Princess Christian and Princess Henry of Battenberg are being paid, these princesses being British subjects resident in the United Kingdom. In the case of the Duchess of Edinburgh, it was held, as stated in 1893 by the then Solicitor-General in the House of Commons, that the late duke did not lose his British nationality by taking the Oath of Allegiance as Duke of Saxe-Coburg, and the payment of the annuity to the duchess is being continued in view of this fact and of the terms of the Treaty between Great Britain and Russia of 22nd January, 1874.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will state what appointments Sir William Plender has received from his Department since the 1st of August, 1914?

The only appointment Sir William Plender has received from the Board of Trade during the period named is that of Controller of Meister Lucius and Bruning, Limited, to which he was appointed by the Court on the application of the Board of Trade under the Trading with the Enemy Act.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will state what appointments Sir William Plender has received from the Treasury since the 1st of August, 1914?

Sir William Plender has been appointed by the Treasury Controller of the German, Austrian, and Turkish Banks licensed to carry on business in London. He has been good enough to consent to serve on the Committee on relief to British traders in respect of debts abroad, and to place his very valuable advice at the disposal of the Government in connection with some other questions. I may perhaps mention that Sir William Plender will receive no remuneration from public funds in respect of any of these services.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland if the Erris, county Mayo, estate of Mr. W. G. Murphy has yet been valued by the officers of the Congested Districts Board; if so, has an offer to purchase been issued by the Board and when was such offer issued; if the Congested District Board's offer for the purchase of the estate of Mr. J. E. Barley, Erris, county Mayo, has yet been accepted; if the Congested Districts Board have considered the application of their compulsory powers in the case of the Major Short estate, Erris, county Mayo; and is he aware that the owner and his agent have failed to reply to the tenant's application to have the estate purchased?

The estate of Mr. W. G. Murphy has been valued and the Congested Districts Board have decided to make an offer for the purchase of the property as soon as possible. The Board's offer for the purchase of Mr. J. E. Barley's estate has been accepted. So far the Board have not considered the question of applying their powers of compulsory purchase in the case of Major Short's estate, and they have no information as to the correspondence between the owner or his agent and the tenants.

asked the Chief Secretary whether he is aware that there is much discontent among the ex-officers of the Royal Irish Constabulary regarding the present condition of the Force Fund; and when he hopes to introduce legislation dealing therewith?

As I have stated on previous occasions I have received many and diverging representations on the subject of the Constabulary Force Fund which is being gradually wound up in the most equitable and beneficial manner possible, and in the way which fulfils the purpose for which it was founded. In these circumstances I do not propose to introduce any legislation in regard to it.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether contractors at the present time are paying standard rates to painters working His Majesty's ships; whether the standard rate is not paid to dockyard painters employed on the same class of work; and, if so, will he explain why the lower rate is paid by the dockyard?

Contractors, as the Noble Lord is aware, have to satisfy the Fair-Wages Clause. Dockyard mechanics, hired and established, are paid according to the scale of the dockyard regulations, which scale, taking all relevant facts into consideration, cannot be said to compare unfavourably with the rate for the locality outside the Royal Yard. The Noble Lord is, no doubt, also aware that the organisation of the Royal Yards provides for a threefold classification of workmen—labourers, skilled labourers, and mechanics. Both as regards painting work and rough woodwork, it is the practice in the yards to employ the skilled labourer class upon the simpler operations which require less skill than that of the trained mechanic. The skilled labourer's wage is below that of the skilled mechanic; but the general policy of the Board is that the skilled labourer should not be given such work as I have described, except of the rougher and more elementary kinds, and under no circumstances should the skilled labourer be put to do work which may be properly said to be that of the mechanic. As far as I am aware this practice is being strictly observed

asked the Postmaster-General whether he has received a memorial from the United Auxiliary Sorters' Association; whether the pay for extra duties of auxiliary sorters has been reduced from 8d. to 6d. an hour; and whether he will give favourable consideration to this and the other points contained in the memorial?

The memorial to which the hon. Member refers has been received and the matters dealt with in it will be considered.