asked the Secretary to the Admiralty if he is aware that difficulty is being experienced in attracting men to work at the torpedo factory, Fort Matilda, through inadequate housing accommodation; and will he take steps to deal with this matter?

The matter is engaging the close attention of the Admiralty, who are also in consultation with the Scottish Local Government Board on the matter.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he can inform the House the total number of motor-car owners in the United Kingdom, and the total number of those to whom the War Office has directly appealed to release their chauffeurs for service either in munition works or for motor transport service with an undertaking to reinstate them after the War?

I cannot state the number of motor-car owners in the United Kingdom. The appeals to car owners have been made through the secretaries of the Royal Automobile Club and its affiliated clubs. Special recruiting officers have also toured the country and have interviewed car owners, but no record has been kept of the total number of owners to whom appeal has been made.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether any officers have, since the War began, been sentenced by courts-martial to be shot?

No, Sir.

asked the Under-Secretary for War whether he is aware that some Yeomanry regiments are still without the horses necessary to properly train the men; and whether, in view of the fact that there are a large number of horses at present in the remount camps, steps can be taken to distribute some of them among such of the Yeomanry regiments as require them?

The 1st Line mounted brigades have approximately their full strength of horses. The strength of horses in the 2nd Line brigades is not up to establishment, but they have on an average over 200 horses a regiment, and the military authorities are satisfied that, in the circumstances and in view of the other facilities available, the number are not insufficient for training purposes. The issue of horses from the remount depots to units of the New Armies and of Territorial divisions and brigades is and must be made with direct reference to the order in which the various units are likely to be required for service.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether officers of the Indian Medical Service have been prejudiced in respect of promotion during the War as compared with the position in this behalf of officers of the Royal Army Medical Corps, who have received such rapid promotion that, when of equal or inferior length of service, they supersede their brother officers of the Indian Service, almost all lieutenants having become captains and in some cases majors; and, if so, whether he will consider what steps can be and should be taken to give the members of the Indian equal promotion with that enjoyed by the members of the British Service?

The rapidity of promotion of permanent officers of the Royal Army Medical Corps is chiefly due to the great expansion of the British Army. No such expansion has taken place in the Indian Army, and, therefore, neither the need nor the opportunity for similar special promotions has arisen in the Indian Medical Service. I cannot accept the suggestion which seems to underlie my hon. Friend's question that the normal expectations of officers of one Service as regards promotion are in any way prejudiced by the good fortune enjoyed in wholly exceptional circumstances by officers of another Service.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether, to show the amount of relief derived by ratepayers in Ireland from the Old Age Pensions Act and the National Insurance Act, he will state the entire amount spent on poor relief in Ireland in the financial years 1908–9 and 1914–15, respectively, and the difference between those two years' amounts?

The figures for the year 1908–9 were given in my reply to the hon. Member's question of the 21st April last. Those for 1914–15 will not be available for some months.

asked the Chief Secretary if he will state the total income of the Irish Agricultural Organisation Society in the last completed financial year from the Treasury, from the Department of Agriculture, from the Congested Districts Board, from creameries as fees or subscriptions, from any voluntary source, and as profits on trading, respectively; and the names of all the officials of the society paid £100 a year or more, with the salary and annual expenses of each?

I am informed that the total income of the Irish Agricultural Organisation Society in the last completed financial year was £8,423 10s. 3d., of which £3,388 17s. 2d. was received from the Development Fund and £350 from the Congested Districts Board. The voluntary contributions from the Agricultural Co-operative Societies in fees and subscriptions amounted to £3,227 18s. 4d.; individual members' subscriptions and donations to £1,322 5s. 1d.; and sundries, including the sale of publications and advertisements in the annual report, to £134 9s. 8d. No money was received from the Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction, and there were no profits from trading, as the society does not trade. The society does not publish any lists of its employés, their salaries or their expenses, but it submits annually to the Development Commissioners, for the information of the Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, a statement containing these particulars, and any assistance from the Government depends upon the approval of the society's expenditure under these and other heads.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether any persons are undergoing penal servitude in Ireland for offences committed when under the age of eighteen years; and, if so, what is the number of such persons?

There are no persons undergoing penal servitude in Ireland for offences committed when under the age of eighteen years.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many male and female persons of the ages of sixteen, seventeen, and eighteen years were, upon conviction, received into prisons in England and Wales in 1914?

These figures could not be obtained without more trouble to the prisons staff than would, I think, be justified by the result. The prisons staff has been much reduced in consequence of the War, and any unnecessary clerical labour should be avoided.

asked the Secretary for Scotland how many male and female persons of the ages of sixteen, seventeen, and eighteen years were upon conviction received into prisons in Scotland in 1914?

I have obtained a special Return giving the figures desired by my hon. Friend, which are as follows:—

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland how many male and female persons of the ages of sixteen, seventeen, and eighteen years were upon conviction received into prisons in Ireland in 1914?

Two hundred and eighty-three male and fifty-four female persons between the age of sixteen and nineteen years were received on conviction into Irish prisons in 1914. Of the former, thirty-four were under sentences of detention in a Borstal Institution, and were accordingly transferred to that institution.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many male and female persons have in each of the ten years last past been sentenced to death in England or Wales for offences committed when of or over the age of sixteen and under the age of nineteen; and whether in any such case the sentence was carried into effect?

During these years sentence of death has been passed on six male prisoners over sixteen and under nineteen years of age; in no case was the sentence carried into effect, and there has been no case of a female prisoner of that age being sentenced to death.

asked the Secretary for Scotland how many male and female persons have in each of the ten years last past been sentenced to death in Scotland for offences committed when of or over the age of sixteen and under the age of nineteen; and whether in any such case the sentence was carried into effect?

No such persons were sentenced to death in Scotland during the ten years 1905–14.

also asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland how many male and female persons have in each of the ten years last past been sentenced to death in Ireland for offences committed when of or over the age of sixteen and under the age of nineteen; and whether in any such case the sentence was carried into effect?

No persons have been sentenced to death in Ireland during the last ten years for offences committed when of or over the age of sixteen and under the age of nineteen.

asked the Postmaster-General whether it has been decided to staff the City, Central, and Trunk Exchanges at Carter Lane by women at night; whether, in arriving at this decision, due regard has been paid to public safety in the event of enemy air raids and the importance of this centre of communication in an emergency; whether efforts have been made to obtain men for this work; and what is the rate of wages offered?

The answers to the first three parts of the question are in the affirmative. I have come to the conclusion, however, that it would not be right to make further efforts to attract men to do this work, which can perfectly well be done by women, in view of the demand for men in occupations for which they alone are suitable. The rate of wages offered to temporary women employed on the duty is 24s. for four night's work weekly.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether any Order in Council has been or will be made postponing the commencement of the Merchant Shipping (Convention) Act, 1914?

An Order in Council was made on 2nd June postponing the coming into operation of the Act until 1st January, 1916.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware of the quantities of frozen meat awaiting shipment at the meat works of Queensland and New Zealand and that the works are closing down for want of shipping space in the refrigerated vessels; whether he can state how this has arisen; and whether large refrigerated liners belonging to the Shire line and other companies have been used for short journeys, as from England to France and London to the North Sea Fleet, when other boats could easily have been fitted up with insulated space for such short journeys?

I am quite aware that at the present moment stocks of frozen meat in Australia and New Zealand are in excess of what can be conveyed by the ships immediately available, but I am not informed that any works have been closed down. The congestion is due in part to the fact that the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia have been compelled to use insulated ships as troopships, thus interfering to some extent with their full commercial use; several vessels have also been sunk or damaged. At the same time, the slaughter of cattle and sheep has been forced owing to the recent drought. Every effort is being made to remove the accumulation of stocks as speedily as possible, and in Australia, I understand, it is diminishing. Two vessels have been sent out to New Zealand in ballast at the expense of His Majesty's Government in order to relieve the situation. The vessels at present being used in convoying meat to the North Sea Fleet are vessels of small insulated capacity and are not in the Australian or New Zealand trades. One vessel usually employed in the Australian trade has been employed in conveying meat to France, as she was temporarily unfit for her regular trade, but she will soon be released. Certain vessels are being necesarily used as store-ships in ports where sufficient cold storage is not available.

also asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, in the sale of the commandeered meat of New Zealand and Australia, his Department will open an office in the vicinity of Smithfield Market at which a stock book of all goods the Government have to offer shall be kept; that it shall be possible for buyers of twenty sheep or lambs or upwards to obtain at such office store orders against cash at the Government's current price for the day; and, in the case of such buyers, will the Government adopt the principle which was formerly the rule of the imported River Plate meat industry, of rebating to the buyer the commission now paid to agents for selling the Government's meat on the market?

I am not prepared to accept the suggestion of my hon. Friend that His Majesty's Government should undertake the sale of meat at offices, and through officers, under their direct control. Lender the system which has been adopted sheep and lambs are being regularly sold in smaller lots than twenty. The last part of the question does not in the circumstances arise.

next asked the President of the Board of Trade whether his Advisory Committee have drawn up their scheme of sale for commandeered meat without regard to the needs of the nation and with the sole object of retaining the control of certain firms over certain brands of goods which they have been accustomed to handle; why, in view of the discontent with the Board of Trade, he does not publish his Advisory Committee's Report; whether certain firms like H. S. Fitter and Sons, Thomas Borthwick and Sons, and the Colonial Consignment Company are allowed to sell Government meat on commission for what the market will give, while other firms, who have to sell their goods in competition with these, have to pay a fixed price; whether, seeing that this arrangement enables these firms to crush the others out of the market, although both classes are equally British taxpayers, the Government, when they have goods to sell on commission, will spread them equally between all market firms selling frozen meat; and will he say whether one of his Advisory Committee is also chairman of the Colonial Consignment Company above referred to?

I can assure my hon. Friend that if the Report of the Advisory Committee has been drawn up for the purposes which he suggests, I would not "have adopted it. I must also point out that his question involves charges of grave breach of public duty against the High Commissioner for New Zealand and the Agent-General for Queensland, both of them distinguished public servants of unquestioned probity. It is true that the chairman of the Colonial Consignment and Distributing Company was consulted by me, and, as I have already stated, I am satisfied that his business interests do not preclude him from giving independent advice. I have also to add that before the Report of the Committee was adopted representatives of the retail butchers were consulted by the Board of Trade. Not only have no complaints been made to the Board of Trade as to the way in which the sales of meat are conducted, but I also understand that the market is satisfied with the arrangements which have been made. All meat is sold at the market price of the day, no difference being made between one firm and another, and the firms acting as Government agents are the same firms who in the past have handled the respective parcels of meat from the several freezing Works. This procedure has received the assent of the Australasian Governments. I am not aware that any firms have been crushed out of the market, but I would add that strict orders have been given not to sell to speculators.

further asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he has noted the arrivals of refrigerated meat in the Port of London, and the fact that for some time previous to the 13th May all the meat stores of London had been filled to overflowing, and that the vessels bringing the meat have had to be treated as warehouses; has he noted that from that date to the present frozen beef, mutton, and lamb have rapidly risen in price to unprecedented figures; whether he will state the number of beef quarters and mutton and lamb carcasses, approximately, in the London refrigerators on 1st January, 1st March, 10th May, and 10th June; will he state why the Government are asking more for their meat than private individuals; and whether a reduction of 1d. per pound on their mutton and lamb would still leave a profit on all their outlay?

Cold storage accommodation has been found for all meat coming into the Port of London, and no vessels have had to be treated as warehouses. I am aware that the price of meat has recently risen, but the effect of the sale of Government mutton and lamb has been to moderate the rise, and I hope that when larger quantities become available the market price will fall. As a large part of the meat in cold stores is held for Army purposes, it would not be in the public interest to give any figures as to stocks which might enable calculations to be made of the amount of our reserve stock for military use. With regard to the concluding part of the question, I have again to point out that the Government neither ask nor fix a price; the meat is sold on commission according to ordinary market practice, and the price of the day is determined by the prevailing market conditions. As I stated in my reply on 10th June to the hon. Member for the St. Patrick's Division of Dublin, I am not yet in a position to state what the actual profit, if any, accruing from the sale of meat will be, but whatever its amount it will be paid into His Majesty's Exchequer.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he can state approximately the gross quantity and value of charcoal imported by Great Britain, France, and the United States of America, respectively, in the last completed year prior to the War; the percentage of reduction of quantity and increase of price of charcoal imported by Great Britain since the War began; and whether, to give Ireland a chance of founding a new industry, he will have the yield and value of charcoal made from deep-level Irish peat by the Zohrab process, plus the value of the gas and bye-products, tested by his Department and the result made known at an early date?

The following statement gives such information as is available respecting the imports of charcoal into the three countries named:—

asked the Secretary for Scotland whether his attention has been called to the Report of the Prison Commissioners for Scotland for the last and previous years as to the number of commitments to prison for the first time, wherein it reports that sufficient use is not made of alternatives to imprisonment in dealing with offenders who have hitherto not been in prison; and whether he will by circular call the attention of magistrates and judges to the necessity of giving prisoners the benefit of recent Acts of Parliament in favour of other alternatives to imprisonment for the first time?

I propose to take an early opportunity of issuing a recommendation such as my hon. Friend desires.