asked the Prime Minister if it is the intention of the Government to intern all enemy aliens residing in this country; and, if so, can he state how many such aliens have already been interned; what steps are being taken to intern the remainder; and how soon the internment will be completed?

The Prime Minister asked me to reply to this question. I would refer the Noble Lord to the full statement which I made last Thursday in reply to questions. I will send the Noble Lord a copy.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether the further demand for new recruits has induced his Department to relax the restriction placed on the men of the Customs and Excise service on recruiting themselves in the fighting forces of the country; whether the Department has considered the possibility of female labour taking the place of those servants anxious to join the Army; whether there is any reason why the Customs and Excise Office should be treated differently in this respect from other Departments; and whether it is possible for women to do the clerical work in warehouses, in the Customs long rooms and on general Excise stations, where clerical work, owing to the new duties relating to separation allowances, is exceptionally heavy?

I would refer my hem. Friend to the answer given him on the 9th March, Arrangements have already been made to employ 100 women on clerical work at headquarters, and a special inquiry is in progress as regards the possibility of employing them away from headquarters.

asked the Under-Secretary for War if he is aware that the 2nd Battalion Irish Guards has been without a quartermaster for the past four months; and whether it is the intention of the War Office to appoint a quartermaster to this battalion?

I understand that a quartermaster was appointed to the 2nd (Reserve) Irish Guards in the "Gazette" of 9th June.

asked the Under-Secretary for War whether his notice has been drawn to the fact that the contents bill issued by the "Daily Mail" newspaper on 21st May consisted of the words, "Kitchener's Tragic Blunder"; whether this bill had the sanction of the Press Censor or whether the question of prosecuting the persons responsible for the same for publishing false news has been considered?

No, Sir; my notice has not hitherto been called to the contents bill mentioned. I have already stated that the action which the journal in question saw fit to take has appreciably stimulated the response to Lord Kitchener's appeal.

asked the Under-Secretary for War if he is aware that non-commissioned officers in the Territorial Force who have been trained and passed as specialists in musketry are frequently promoted to be company sergeant-majors, thus interfering with the efficiency of and causing inconvenience to this branch of training which they have been trained to assist; and if he will consider the advisability, when recommended, of granting such men a scale of pay equal to that which they would receive if promoted to be company sergeant-majors?

The duties of a company sergeant-major require special knowledge of musketry, and all non-commissioned officers are required to be capable of giving instruction in musketry. There is consequently no necessity for making any such arrangement as that suggested.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether the Government allowance will be paid to the legal wife of a soldier, even though she was not living with him in the period immediately preceding his enlistment, assuming that the soldier himself makes an allotment and that no Government allowance is being paid to any other dependant of the soldier?

Generally speaking, this would depend on whether the soldier supported his wife before the War, but the circumstances of each case would have to be considered.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether he proposes to carry out the scheme recently outlined for the development of research work and the better application of science to industry; and, if so, when will he be in a position to announce the names of the advisory council?

I certainly hope to carry out the scheme initiated by my right hon. Friend, and I hope to be in a position to announce the names shortly.

asked the Secretary for Foreign Affairs whether he has yet received any report of the recent Women's International Peace Conference at The Hague; and, if so, whether he proposes to communicate it in any form to this House?

I have received a copy of the resolutions passed at the congress. I see no reason for laying them before the House.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury what are the salaries paid to the following officials of the Public Works Loan Board: secretary, assistant secretary, and solicitor; whether, seeing that the work of this Department has been greatly lessened of late, these officials are now fully employed; and, if they are not, will he cause their transfer to some of the depleted Government Departments?

As regards the first part of the question I would refer my hon. Friend to the published estimates. As regards the second part, although the work of the Department is somewhat diminished as the result of the restrictions on borrowing, it must be remembered that a large part of its duties consists in the administration of existing loans. A considerable part of the staff is now with the Colours and the services of any who can be spared from the Department are being, and will be, from time to time made use of temporarily in other Departments as occasion arises.

asked the Chief Secretary whether he has seen the recent decision of the King's Bench in Ireland, which laid down that, under the Intoxicating Liquors (Ireland) Act, 1906, a bonâ fide traveller requiring to be served with groceries in licensed premises on Sunday must take intoxicating liquors so as to bring himself within the law; and what steps does he propose to take to deal with such a situation?

Some years ago the King's Bench Division, Ireland, held that, under the provisions of the Intoxicating Liquors (Ireland) Act, 1906, premises where mixed business is carried on cannot be opened during prohibited hours even for the sale of non-intoxicants. The recent decision referred to in the question establishes that the premises cannot be opened for the sale of non-intoxicants even where the purchaser has travelled more than three miles, but it does not affect the right, expressly preserved by the Statute, of bonâ fide travellers to be served with drink in licensed premises during prohibited hours for their own consumption on such premises. I do not contemplate any action in the matter, the necessity for which is urged by the hon. Member under some misapprehension as to the precise effect of the judicial decision.

asked whether, though Eugene Ferris, Bally-mullen, Tralee, evicted tenant on the Foley estate, was recognised as an evicted tenant under the Evicted Tenants Act, nothing whatever has yet been done to provide him with land; and what steps do the Estates Commissioners propose to take in this matter?

I am informed that, after careful inquiry, the Estates Commissioners have decided in the exercise of the discretion vested in them that Ferris's case is not one in which they should take any action.

asked what grants it is proposed to give to Patrick Meehan and Peter Egan, both of Doon, Tralee, evicted tenants on the estate of George W. Hussey Hickson; and whether, as both these tenants are very poorly circumstanced, having neither house nor stock, substantial grants will be immediately made to them?

Until the parties referred to have signed agreements for the purchase of the holdings, the Estates Commissioners are not prepared to say more than that they will give favourable consideration to applications for grants on their behalf.

asked the Chief Secretary whether, before vesting the Digby estate, Geashill, King's County, the Estates Commissioners will receive the deputation appointed by the tenants, who called at their office on the 2nd June last and were denied an interview?

I am informed that the deputation which waited on the Estates Commissioners on the 2nd instant gave no previous notice of their intention to call. They were, however, seen by the Secretary to the Commissioners, who assured them that their representations would be borne in mind when the estate in question, in priority to which were others involving purchase money estimated at six and a half million pounds, came to be dealt with. The question of receiving the deputation will then be considered by the Commissioners.

asked the Vice-President of the Department of Agriculture (Ireland) how many replies and what steps have been taken by the county councils to increase the cutting and supply of turf; and whether he will introduce a sample of the improved machinery used in Continental countries to utilise peat as fuel and for other purposes and experiment for result upon a suitable Irish bog?

In response to the Department's circular on the subject of increasing the output of turf, a number of replies from the various county committees have been received saying that the matter will be brought before these committees at the earliest opportunity. As already stated in a reply given on the 9th instant on the subject to the hon. Member for Westmeath North, hand-made turf is so far much cheaper to manufacture in Ireland than the machine-made product. The Department do not propose to introduce machinery for the manufacture of peat fuel.

asked the Under-Secretary whether he is aware that of the War Office contracts made in April, out of 1,523 contracts, thirty-six only were allotted to Irish firms; and whether, in view of the superior facility, economy, and efficiency both to the War Office and contractors, he will consider the expediency of establishing a permanent fully-equipped receiving depôt in Dublin?

The figures given in the question are substantially correct as regards contracts included in the list published in the "Board of Trade Labour Gazette," but in this connection I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given to him by my predecessor on the 11th May in answer to a similar question. As regards the second part of the question, the position remains as stated in the answer given to the hon. Member on the 18th March.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will state how many youthful offenders of or over the age of 16 were in 1914 sentenced in England and Wales to imprisonment under Section 72 (1) of The Children Act, 1908; if not more than ten of such cases occurred, with respect to each person so sentenced for what term he or she was ordered to be imprisoned; and whether the imprisonment was with or without hard labour?

No youthful offenders were sentenced in 1914 to imprisonment under Section 72 (1) of The Children Act, 1908.

asked the Secretary for Scotland how many youthful offenders of or over the age of sixteen were in 1914 sentenced in Scotland to imprisonment under Section 72 (1) of The Children Act, 1908; if not more than six such cases occurred, with respect to each person so sentenced for what term he or she was ordered to be imprisoned; and whether the imprisonment was with or without hard labour?

I am informed that there were no such cases of imprisonment in 1914.

asked the President of the Local Government Board if he will give statistics for each quarter from that ended on 31st December, 1910, to that ended on 31st March, 1915, as to the number of births; the number of births per 1,000 population; the number of deaths of infants under one year of age; the number of deaths of infants under one year of age per 1,000 births in each of the following areas, namely, England and Wales; London; England and Wales, excluding London; the ninety-seven great towns, as aggregated in the Returns of the Registrar-General; and the 145 smaller towns, as aggregated?

The following statement gives the information desired by the hon. Member:—