asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether any restriction is placed on the communication by German prisoners of information as to their whereabouts to their relatives and friends?

No, Sir; they are allowed to write two letters a week on purely private affairs.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether any arrangements have been made for the exchange of British subjects in Germany who are invalids and consequently unfitted for military service with Germans in this country in similar conditions; and whether any male British subjects in Germany are granted the same liberty as German aliens in England and are not interned in concentration camps?

His Majesty's Government proposed to the German Government in October last an exchange of civilians who are invalids, and consequently unfitted for military service, and they have since renewed this proposal on three separate occasions. But, so far, they have been unable to secure its acceptance by the German Government. As regards the second part of the question, I would refer the hon. Member to the reply returned on the 10th instant to the hon. Member for Lewisham.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he has received any information from Russia as to the results already obtained through the prohibition of the manufacture and sale of vodka, and as to the means which are being taken by the Russian Government to meet the loss in revenue due to this cause?

I have no information beyond that which is contained in the White Paper recently issued.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he has obtained any information from France as to the steps which the French Government and Parliament have taken in connection with the prohibition of the sale of absinthe, following upon the order pronounced by the prefect of Paris and other prefects throughout the country?

I have received from His Majesty's Ambassador in Paris copies of two decrees, the first prohibiting the sale or circulation of absinthe and similar liquors, and the second prohibiting the opening of new establishments for the sale of spirits. Copies of these decrees will be placed in the Library of the House.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury (1) what proportion the 132 assistant clerks employed by the National Insurance Commissioners who have been allowed to join His Majesty's Forces bear to the total number of such clerks employed by the Commissioners; and (2) if he is aware that requests by assistant clerks employed by the National Insurance Commissioners for permission to join the new Army have been repeatedly met with the answer that nothing can yet be said; that some applicants have been placed in an invidious position, as, in expectation of an early decision when their applications were made, they asked friends in the Civil Service to delay their enlistment in order that they might complete their training together; that an office memorandum was issued on 25th November to the effect that permission could be given to only seven second division clerks and forty-three assistant clerks in addition to those whose applications had already been sanctioned; and that applicants now fear that, unless permission is granted quickly, the opportunity of serving their country in the new Army may have passed; and, in view of these facts and for the encouragement of other employers, will the Treasury make special efforts to modify their attitude in cases where the duties of applicants are of a kind which can be performed by temporary clerks?

The total number of assistant clerks in the Department referred to is 516, and arrangements have already been made to increase the number allowed to volunteer for military service to 154. As regards the last part of the question, I am informed that my hon. Friend has nothing to add to the reply given by the Prime Minister to the hon. Member for Sunderland on 23rd November last.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if, in view of the fact that certain trades are reaping extra profits from the War, he will give special attention to the proposal made to him by the hon. Member for West Bradford, that in cases where individuals or firms make larger profits during the War than before the War they should pay a heavily graduated extra Income Tax?

As stated in my reply to the hon. Member for West Bradford, I cannot anticipate my next Budget statement, but my hon. Friend may rest assured that this, along with other proposals, will receive due consideration.

asked the First Lord of the Treasury whether it is the intention of His Majesty's Government to introduce legislation to amend what is declared to be the existing Law with regard to the status of limited companies in which all the shares, other than a purely nominal amount, are held by alien enemies resident in enemy countries?

My right hon. Friend has asked me to answer this question, which has already been asked several times. I would refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for East Nottingham on 4th February.

asked the Under-Secretary for War whether applications for commissions by members of the University and Public Schools Brigade are now being discouraged; and whether, in view of the fact that men who have joined this corps did so on the understanding that they would have a good chance of obtaining a commission and would otherwise have enlisted in their local units, the conditions under which they enlisted can be restored?

Since the formation of the Universities and Public Schools Brigade some 1,700 of its members have been appointed to commissions. In view of the extent to which its ranks have been depleted it is not proposed to make any further large demand on this brigade, but it is always open to its commander to recommend suitable candidates as he thinks fit. I am not aware that men who joined this brigade did so on the understanding that they would be subsequently recommended for commissions.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether there is a married establishment for Special Reserve regiments; and, if not, whether it is necessary for Special Reservists to obtain permission to marry in order to entitle them to separation allowance under the Army Order of 13th August, 1914.

Permission to marry is not necessary for purposes of separation allowance under the Army Order referred to.

asked the Under-Secretary for War the number of cases, and deaths, among the Expeditionary Force of measles, scarlet fever, typhus, and typhoid fever since the commencement of the War?

asked the number of cases of and deaths from the following diseases amongst British soldiers on the Continent of Europe and in the United Kingdom, respectively, since 1st August, 1914: typhus fever, enteric fever, cholera, small-pox, scarlet fever, diphtheria, measles, dysentry, pneumonia, and cerebro-spinal meningitis?

The following is a Return showing the number of cases and deaths amongst the Expeditionary Force and the British troops in the United Kingdom of certain diseases from 1st August, 1914:—

asked the Under-Secretary for War the names and places of business of the individual dealers and firms through whom the Remount Department in Ireland is now buying horses for the Army; and upon what dates, respectively, they were appointed or asked to buy?

There are a certain number of dealers in Ireland from whom horses are purchased. They are not appointed buyers by the War Office, but if they have any horses which they think may be suitable for the Army, they advise the Army purchasing officers who then go and inspect with a view to purchase. Their names are as follows:—J. Burke, Dublin; M. Nugent, Dublin; B. Nugent, Dublin; J. Nugent, Dublin; J. Meleady, Dublin; J. Daly, Dublin; M. Quinn, Dublin; J. Hickey, Dublin; P. Day, Dublin; P. Fox, Dublin; P. Byrne, Dublin; T. Byrne, Dublin; B. Smith, Dublin; C. Roche, Dublin; E. Kinney, Newry; J. Laverty, Dungannon; W. Dermond, Cork; W. Driscoll, Cork; B. Slocock, Carlow; W. Murphy, Waterford; Messrs. Widger, Waterford; T. Roche, Carlow; J. Kinney, Newry; J. Widger, Waterford; T. Roark, Carlow; R. Robinson, Ballybay; R. Johnson, Belfast; E. Kenny, Newry; T. Maguire, Lisnaskea.

asked the Chief Secretary whether, owing to the advance in food-stuffs due to the War pressing hardly

This is a matter primarily for the consideration of the county councils themselves. In some instances where county councils have asked the Local Government Board to sanction increased wages to workmen employed by them in connection with county works, the Board have informed them that they would raise no objection to the proposed increases in the rate of wages if the county councils were satisfied, having regard to the prevailing rate of wages in the county, that the increases are necessary to secure efficient labour.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury if he will state by what authority does the Inland Revenue insist upon a penny stamp being affixed to a pay warrant authorising the Paymaster-General to pay the sum of £1 19s. 10d., being salary, less National Health Insurance contribution, for a week ending a given date?

Where a salary payable amounts to £2 or upwards, the receipt given on the order for payment is held liable to Stamp Duty, notwithstanding that the net payment after deduction of the Insurance contribution is less than £2. The authority for the charge is the definition of receipt in Section 101 of the Stamp Act, 1891.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he can state the number of barrels of beer at the standard gravity charged with duty in England, Scotland, and Ireland, respectively, in the months of January, 1914, and January, 1915?

The number of barrels of beer at the standard gravity charged with duty in England, Scotland, and Ireland, respectively, in the months of January, 1914, and January, 1915, was as follows:—

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether he is aware that Mrs. Catherine Bearer, of Keskcarrigan, county Leitrim, was twice granted an old age pension by the Carrick-on-Shannon sub-committee, and was, on appeal by the pension officer, disallowed the same, on the ground of means; and whether, having regard to the fact that Mrs. Bearer has no means except what is derived from a farm of 8 acres of flooded land, the rent of which is £2 16s. 8d., a special inquiry will be made into her claim, with a view of granting her the pension?

Mrs. Catherine Bearer's claim to an old age pension was disallowed on the 14th of September, 1914, and her case is not now before the Local Government Board, and it is not therefore open to them to make the special inquiry suggested.

asked the Chief Secretary if he will state the average number of persons in prison in Ireland ten years ago and now; the amount of increase or diminution in the annual cost of the prison service now as compared with ten years ago; the scale of pay of the Prison Board, governors, officials, and warders, respectively, then and now, with the present periods and amounts of increase in each class; if the warder service is recruited from police pensioners, what their scale of pay is, and whether they are satisfactory; on what grounds warders in Irish prisons are paid £15 a year less than warders in English and Scottish prisons performing similar duties; why the petition presented by the Irish warders two years ago for an increase of pay has not been granted nor even acknowledged; and, in view of the increased cost of living, whether an increase will now be made in the pay of those men?

The daily average number of persons confined as prisoners in the Irish prisons in 1913–4, the last year for which figures are available, was 2,226, as compared with 2,565 in 1903–4. The net expenditure has increased in the ten years from £104,472 to £110,653, but for details of the scale of pay of the General Prisons Board and the prison officers and of the changes which have taken place since 1903, I would refer the hon. Member to the relative Parliamentary Estimates (for 1903–4 and for 1913–14). The permanent warder service is not recruited from police pensioners, but a limited number of these are employed at the rate of one guinea a week as temporary warders to act as guards, night watchmen, etc., and in these capacities they have been found satisfactory. Various differences in conditions account for differences in pay between warders in the English and Scotch and in the Irish prison service. The petition referred to by the hon. Member was acknowledged. The question of improving the position of warders in Irish prisons is at present under consideration.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether his attention has been called to an alleged hardship inflicted on the officers of Native contingents now at the front, that whereas the officers of English Cavalry regiments now fighting in France (or Belgium) are supplied with rations and horses (with their food) free officers of Indian regiments have to pay daily 7s. odd for their rations, also for horse-hire and for food for the horse; whether he will explain why there has been this treatment of officers of Native regiments; and whether he will take steps to place them upon the same footing as officers of British regiments in regard to horses and rations?

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer which I gave on the 9th instant to a similar question by the hon. Member for Nottingham East, of which I will send him a copy.

asked the Home Secretary whether he will explain why the Board of Control have refused their consent, except on a condition involving considerable and immediate capital expenditure, to a scheme submitted by the County Council of Surrey as the local authority under the Mental Deficiency Act, 1913, by which it was proposed to appropriate for the purposes of this Act land and premises forming part of but not required for the immediate purposes of one of their county lunatic asylums, and under which the council could have made an immediate commencement in the exercise of such of their statutory duties under the Act as are considered to be urgently pressing without the necessity of incurring any considerable capital expenditure at a most unpropitious time; if the reason for such refusal is that the scheme would involve the transfer of about twenty-nine inmates of the premises in question into the main asylum buildings and the consequent removal therefrom of a certain number of outcounty contract cases for whom the Surrey County Council are not responsible; and whether he will see that the council is not prevented from carrying out their statutory obligations in respect of a far larger number of unfortunate persons for whom they are responsible?

I have consulted the Board and am satisfied that the proposal to use a small asylum building for defectives would not adequately carry out the duties imposed on the local authority by the Mental Deficiency Act, while it would diminish the accommodation which is necessary and will soon be urgently required for the proper fulfilment of the duties under the Lunacy Act. In these circumstances I cannot interfere with the decision at which the Board have arrived, and to which after full consideration they feel that they must adhere.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what is the present position with respect to the Anglo-Portuguese Commercial Treaty?

The treaty of commerce and navigation with Portugal was signed on 12th August, 1914. The measure introduced into Parliament to give effect to the Treaty having become law, steps are being taken to ratify it at the earliest possible date.