asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether, in view of the importance of the Debate on the Colonial Office Vote, on the 21st July, especially as affecting the future relations of the Dominions with this country, a full report of that Debate has been telegraphed to the Dominions; if so, whether all the divergent views have been fairly presented; and whether he will communicate to the House of Commons any message telegraphed to the Dominions in regard to the Debate?

No, Sir. I do not think the heavy expenditure involved in cabling the report is necessary, as the OFFICIAL REPORTS go out by mail.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War if he will state the names, rank, and pay of the consultants in dentistry to the Forces abroad; how many dental surgeons are employed upon dentistry alone for the Forces at Home and abroad; and the numbers of each rank?

There are no consultants in dentistry to the Forces abroad. There are forty-eight qualified dental surgeons serving abroad, and forty-eight at Home in the rank of lieutenant. There are also ninety-three honorary consulting dental surgeons at Home. These numbers do not include the dental surgeons employed by local military authorities at Home, nor those doing duty with Colonial troops.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say if it is the intention to add to the somewhat meagre number of dentists with the Forces abroad1?

I have heard no complaint that there is any requirement to that effect.

Is it not a fact that a considerable number of soldiers have been invalided home through dental troubles?

That may very possibly be, but it does not follow from that that there is an insufficiency of dental surgeons at the front.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether on 14th July there was a field day from Wensley Camp; whether the troops went through meadows and even oats and wheat; and, if so, whether he will see that during such military mano⅓uvres growing food-stuffs will be respected?

I have not had any report of the circumstances of this case, but adequate, and indeed minute, instructions have been issued for the protection of crops and seeds. I will send my hon. Friend a copy of these instructions.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that I am giving him an actual case in which the troops did cross a field of growing oats and wheat?

Of course inquiry will be made. Perhaps my hon. Friend will be good enough to furnish me with particulars

Is compensation paid by the War Office in cases such as this?

Yes, Sir, always.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether the military authorities, in dealing with British naturalised subjects within prohibited areas, allow such subjects to meet any charges alleged against them or whether the military authorities act arbitrarily?

I would refer my hon. Friend to Regulation 14 of the Defence of the Realm Regulations, which states clearly the powers which it has been necessary to confer on the military authorities in this matter for the purpose of safeguarding the national interests in the existing serious circumstances arising from the War.

What I really want to know is whether a British naturalised subject, in this case of over ten years' standing, is intended to be dealt with arbitrarily by the military authorities without any opportunity of presenting his case?

Yes, Sir, the answer is in the affirmative—he is.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty when a reply will be given to the petitions presented by storehousemen, first and second grade; and can he inform the House whether the matters of fourteen days' annual leave with full pay and Colonial allowance, both of which were under consideration as far back as March last, have yet been setted?

In February last the pay of storehouse-men (first grade), was raised as from the 1st October, 1914, from a scale of 33s. to 39s. a week to one of 34s. to 40s. a week; and that of storehousemen (second grade) from a scale of 26s. to 32s. to one of 28s. to 33s. a week. A further petition has since been received, and is under consideration, but I cannot give any undertaking in regard to it. It is not contemplated to alter the existing Regulations in regard to leave and Colonial allowance.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty whether Mr. W. V. Harrell, formerly a police officer in Dublin, is now in the Navy or in the service of the Admiralty; and, if so, in what position, with what salary, and where and when he underwent the necessary training for that position?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. With regard to the second, the gentleman in question receives the pay of his rank and such allowances as he may be entitled to.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty whether 2s. 6d. in the £ is charged on officers' pay in the Navy, even from boys earning £8 a month; and that, although the tax is returned if applied for, the amount claimed has to be paid if the officer is killed before applying for it?

No Income Tax is charged on the pay of an officer when the Paymaster is satisfied that his total income from all sources does not exceed £160. Nor is the 2s. 6d. rate charged in any case where the Paymaster is satisfied that the total income does not exceed £2,500. In the event of any overcharges being made by local Paymasters, these are refunded on the examination of the accounts at the Admiralty, irrespective of whether the officer applies for repayment or not. The estate of a deceased officer is credited at the Admiralty with any amounts erroneously stopped from pay by local Paymasters.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether, in view of the fact that cotton is now essential to the manufacture of cartridges for rifles and of ammunition for guns, and that it is not against international law to make it absolute contraband, he can now say why the Government refuse to make cotton absolute contraband, in the interests of our Allies as well as of our own soldiers and sailors?

I beg to refer my hon. and gallant Friend to the full statement on this subject made by me on Monday.

Is it a fact that the amount of cotton already imported this year into Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Holland collectively is more than their normal importation was in the average years before the War; and is it not a fact that a great deal of this cotton gets to Germany?

I cannot carry the figures in my head, but no doubt there has been a very considerable importation of cotton into the neutral countries named during the whole of this year. I hope it has been very much diminished during the last few months.

Does the Noble Lord know whether it is a fact that there has been more cotton already imported by those countries?

I have said there has been.

Can the Noble Lord say whether the excess of cotton imported into Sweden is used in Sweden or not?

I should not like to say whether that is so or not.

asked the Secretary for Foreign Affairs whether the General Act of the Conference at Berlin, signed on 26th February, 1885, bound this country, Austria-Hungary, Belgium, France, Germany, and Russia, with other Powers, in the event of all or any of them being involved in war, to place a large area of Central Africa under the rule of neutrality during the War; if so, whether this treaty was duly considered by the Government during the early days of August, 1914; and whether this provision of that treaty has been forgotten or ignored by all or any of its signatories?

The Berlin Act provides machinery by which belligerent Powers possessing territories in the Free Trade zone in Africa may, with the consent of the other belligerents, neutralise such possessions for the period of the War. It does not, however, impose any binding obligation on any Power to take this course. The question of neutralising the territories of the present belligerents in the Free Trade zone was carefully considered during the early days of last August, but the events which occurred in Africa during the first ten days of the War rendered such a course impossible.

asked the Secretary for Foreign Affairs whether the Government of Russia will continue the same rate of import duty on agricultural machinery, namely, 75 kopecs per hundredweight, as formerly; and if he can state the result of any negotiations with the Russian Government upon the subject?

By the new temporary customs tariff introduced by the Russian Goernment on 25th March certain increases in customs duties were sanctioned, including an increase in certain cases in the duty on agricultural machinery. These changes were understood to be of a temporary nature due to existing circumstances, and though it has not been thought that the present is a suitable time for the initiation of negotiations on the subject, the matter has not been lost sight of.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will circulate as a Parliamentary Paper the various Notes which have passed between Germany and the United States with reference to the German blockade?

The Notes in question have not been communicated officially to His Majesty's Government, who are dependent for their knowledge of them upon the versions published in the Press, which are available to everybody, and the Press have given them so much publicity that it seems unnecessary for the Government to reprint them from the Press at the public expense.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he is aware of the anxiety amongst the relatives of officers and men who are engaged in military operations in the Cameroons at the lack of news; and if he will say when dispatches from the Officer Commanding will be published?

There is no additional information available for publication beyond what has already been issued. I am unable to state when dispatches for publication may be received from the Officer Commanding.

When were the last dispatches published? It is a very long time.

I have in my mind not so many weeks ago the taking of two places, the names of which will be in the hon. Gentleman's mind though they have escaped mine.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether the military order, under the Defence of the Realm Act, has yet been issued for the destruction of the monuments of 1798 throughout Ireland, as promoting disaffection and being prejudicial to recruiting; if not, whether the order will be issued and executed during the recess; and (2) if he is in a position to say when the military authorities intend, under the Defence of the Realm Act, to remove the treaty stone at Limerick, as promoting disaffection and being prejudicial to recruiting; and what they intend to do with the stone?

I may say generally that the good sense and good feeling of the great majority of the people of Ireland make it unnecessary to issue any orders with reference to monuments connected with sad incidents of long ago.

In view of the fact that the military authorities assume control over monuments and this may mean serious consequences, will the right hon. Gentleman give the date at which they draw the line between what is permissible and what is not, and on which side of that date, for instance, will monuments erected to the memory of those shot by the police during the land agitation stand?

That is a comprehensive question involving a larger one of historical instances. I am not aware that the military authorities take special care of monuments in general. The hon. Gentleman asked me some time ago why a particular monument was not allowed to be erected and I said it was because it was feared that the inscription on the monument was likely to injure recruiting.

Will the inscription on the monument erected to the memory of those shot by the police during the land agitation be destroyed?

I must ask for notice.

Have they placed a veto on a statue to the hon. Member for North-West Meath?

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether the military authorities administering the Defence of the Realm Act are anywhere, except in Ireland, ordering out of their native country men against whom no charge has been made and imprisoning such as refuse to go; whether they are anywhere, except in Ireland, serving such men with copies of the Aliens Restriction Act and rules thereunder; whether this treatment of Irishmen as aliens in their own country has been found to help recruiting there; and can he state any purpose that it is calculated to serve except provocation?

In reply to the first part of the question, I have already on several occasions stated that the Defence of the Realm Regulations are being administered by the military authorities with absolute impartiality throughout the United Kingdom. There is no foundation for the suggestion that Irishmen have been treated as aliens or subjected to the provisions of the Aliens Restriction Order. In the four cases which the hon. Member has in mind the competent military authority directed that the persons named in the Orders and prohibited from residing in Ireland should report their proposed new place of residence to him for approval. It was at the same time intimated to them that certain areas, including those defined as prohibited areas by Order in Council under the Aliens Restriction Act, would not be approved, and in order to assist them in their selection copies of the Order in Council containing a list of the prohibited areas were handed to them. This limitation of the areas in which they might in future reside was, however, imposed on them entirely in pursuance of powers vested in the competent authority by Article 14 of the Defence of the Realm Regulations.

I beg to give notice that on the Motion for the Adjournment I will call attention to this matter.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that, according to the Army List, the number of officers on the strength of Infantry service battalions is usually given at more than double the strength laid down in the manual showing the constitution of Infantry battalions; and will he say whether the supernumerary officers who are not immediately required for active service will be given the first opportunity of rejoining their own battalions when drafts are called for to meet casualties in these battalions in preference to officers in the Special Reserve battalions?

The facts mentioned are naturally within the knowledge of the Army Council, who are also alive to the consideration mentioned by the hon. Member in the last part of the question. I cannot give any pledge that supernumerary officers will go as reinforce- ments only to the units by which they have been trained, as it is impossible to starve units which have lost many officers in order to maintain intact the principle to which the hon. Member has drawn attention.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that some regiments in this country are so badly provided with cooking utensils that they are compelled to use their dixies for making tea in the afternoon in which beef has been stewed for their one o'clock meal; whether he is aware that in some cases no appliances are provided by which men can have anything but stew every day; and what he proposes to do to remedy this?

Troops under canvas are entitled to receive camp kettles, Soyer's stores, and Aldershot ovens upon an approved scale, but owing to the very large number of troops under canvas it has not been possible in all cases to supply the full requirements of the two latter items, and General Officers Commanding have therefore been authorised in such cases to manufacture or purchase suitable substitutes locally.

Does the right hon. Gentleman understand that some regiments only have dixies for stewing food in and making tea; and could not something be done to remedy that?

Yes. I quite appreciate the desirability of the point put to me by the hon. and gallant Gentleman, and I think steps have been taken to obviate the difficulty in the future.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that in some Yeomanry regiments, having a certain amount of arms, men are allowed leave to help in the harvest, and in others they are not allowed leave at all for this purpose; and could he say what is the reason of this difference and what is the Government's intention?

I stated clearly on the 19th July, in reply to a question put by the hon. and gallant Member, what troops are eligible to receive furloughs for harvest purposes. The application of the rule would, of course, have to take account of the circumstances of different units, but I have no information as to any deviations from the policy laid down arising from any other causes.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War if he is aware that the Scottish Football League Committee has decided to adhere to the arrangements previously made with regard to professional football matches; and whether the Government will issue instructions so as to ensure that the restrictions operating in England shall also operate in Scotland?

I am afraid this is not a matter upon which the Government can issue definite instructions. I was not aware that the Scottish Football League Committee had reached the decision mentioned, but, if the hon. Gentleman will send us any information he has on the subject, I will consider whether any appeal to the league should or can be made.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he has made any inquiries as to the waste of rifles at the front; whether undamaged rifles are collected from the trenches; and whether the authorities have any means of sending them back to this country?

Proper attention has been given to all these points, and the answer in each case is in the affirmative.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that an officer coming straight back from the front stated in a lecture that he himself had collected sixty rifles, and asked the authorities to send them back, and the authorities said they had no way of doing so; and is he aware, therefore, that there is great waste of rifles which could be prevented?

I do not quite follow what the hon. and gallant Gentleman means by no way of sending them back. If the officer in question collected sixty rifles they would be most useful. It may have been some time ago. This matter has been under consideration since the beginning of the War, but active steps were not taken till more recently.

Have all the new regiments received service rifles?

That does not arise out of the question.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War if he can make any statement as to the health of our troops in the Dardanelles?

There is a certain amount of enteric and dysentery.

What steps is the right hon. Gentleman taking to send further accommodation out to the Dardanelles?

Perhaps I might read a part of a letter which the Director-General of the Army Service Corps has received from the General Officer Com-manding-in-Charge:—

"I wish you to see what has been done. There were difficulties which were enormous. There was some reorganisation. It is all now remedied or in process of being remedied. I act on the principle of asking you for everything I want, and here I have spared no expense to improvise. With regard to nurses and doctors, you have always responded and we have never been really in want."

I think that will give the hon. Gentleman an indication of what has been done. I will let him see the rest of the letter. It is rather long.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that Sergeant Holloway, lately turned out of the 2nd City of London Yeomanry as suffering from incipient pulmonary consumption after having served for years in the British Army, including the South African War, has been refused any help from the War Office; and whether the Government propose to take steps to secure sanatorium treatment for this man?

The War Office have no particulars of this case, and the hon. and gallant Member should advise Sergeant Holloway to apply by letter for sanatorium treatment, when his case will be at once considered.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that Sergeant Holloway has already applied and the War Office have refused to do anything for him?

No; but if the hon. and gallant Gentleman will let me have the particulars, I will have them looked into.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether there has been delay in supplying Royal Horse Artillery batteries, Territorial Force, with telephone equipment; whether this necessary equipment is in stock and on sale in London; whether it has in some cases been bought direct by battery officers; and whether in such cases such expenditure will be approved and reimbursed, so as to hasten the supply of this equipment, as in many cases the lives of such officers will be dependent on telephone communication.

Telephone equipment has not yet been authorised for issue to the Territorial Force Horse Artillery at home, as all such available equipment is required for Field Artillery, Infantry, and Signal units. As far as I know there is no equipment suitable for service in stock or on sale in London. Local purchase of this equipment is prohibited, and no cases of such purchase by officers of the units referred to are known to the War Office.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War if he proposes to take any steps to remedy the grievance of the officers of the Indian Army, who receive no promotion except by time service notwithstanding the losses they are sustaining in the field and the fact that they are necessarily doing the duty of a grade superior to that for which they are paid?

The British and Indian Army systems of pay and promotion differ greatly. In the British Army promotion depends upon the occurrence of vacancies in the cadres. In the Indian Army officers receive promotion according to length of service, irrespective of the occurrence of such vacancies. It follows that in times of peace promotion is, on the whole, more rapid in the Indian Army, whilst in a great War like the present the advantage in this respect is with the British Army. But the emoluments of officers in the Indian Army do not depend only on their rank as regulated by the time scale, but also on their regimental or staff appointments. Temporary promotion in such appointments, both officiating and substantive, is given as vacancies occur, and, when given, carries an increase of emoluments. Temporary rank has also been given in certain cases of temporarily increased responsibility, and the question of extending this practice is under consideration.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether his attention has been called to a case tried last week before Mr. Justice Horridge, in which an undischarged bankrupt, named Lionel Squire, was plaintiff, and Messrs. J. Keele, London agents for the Sunbeam Motor Company, were defendants, regarding commissions paid on transactions with the War Office, in which the learned judge stated that £40,000 of commission had been paid in a single transaction; whether this undischarged bankrupt is now or has been employed either as an intermediary or as a paid servant by the War Office; if so, upon whose recommendation he was so employed; whether any of the parties to the transaction continue to have any dealings whatever with the Department; and whether the Department intends to take criminal proceedings against those concerned in this matter?

Mr. Squire was employed as a civilian engineer in connection with the assessment of the value of impressed motor vehicles from the 5th to the 31st August last, and on clerical work in connection with the closing of this depot, at a reduced rate of pay, from the 1st September to the 15th November, 1914. He was engaged verbally by the then Secretary of the Mechanical Transport Committee who is now serving at the front. When taken into employment on the day following the outbreak of War it did not transpire that he was an undischarged bankrupt. The War Office originally dealt with the London agents of the Sunbeam Company at the company's request, but for some time past has dealt with the company direct. As regards the last part of the question, the matter is being considered by my legal advisers.

May I ask the hon. Gentleman whether Lionel Squire, at the same time that he was in the employment of the War Office, was receiving a commission which, in the words of the judge, amounted to £40,000 in all from the persons for whom he was intermediary, and whether it is the habit of the War Office to inquire into the character sufficiently strictly to ascertain whether a man is an undischarged bankrupt or not?

The first question that my hon. Friend puts to me is a question of fact, of which he is quite aware as the result of the recent trial. In regard to the second question, of course, we make all the inquiries we can, but I would ask my hon. Friend to remember the circumstances under which this man was taken into employment.

Cannot the hon. Gentleman say what steps the War Office are taking, or are going to take, to prevent this gross stealing of public money, as in this case has been done?

The mere fact that attention has been drawn to the matter is sufficient to put us all on our guard in the future.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether any reconsideration has been given to the case of wives of soldiers who have been brought home from India and are resident in London, but are not receiving the special London allowance; and whether, in view of the fact that the case of these women is entirely different to that of those who resided in the United Kingdom and subsequently removed from the provinces to London, he will grant the special London allowance?

The question has been reconsidered, but I regret I can see no reason to alter the decision previously given.

asked the Secretary of State for India if he is able to communicate any information to the House as to military operations in India since War broke out?

Apart from punitive measures in the Kachin tracts of Upper Burma in January, in which a small force of military police and Gurkhas were engaged, it has been found necessary to take action on three occasions since the outbreak of War. In January the fort at Spina Khaisora was attacked by a force of Khostwals, which was repelled and driven back into tribal territory. In this affair Captain Jotham, of the North Waziristan Militia, lost his life in an act of signal gallantry, which has been recognised by the award of the Victoria Cross, as announced in Monday's papers.

In March a considerable force of Zadrans and others from Khost made an incursion into British territory. They were attacked near Miramshah by the Bannu Movable Column and the Military Police, and driven back with very heavy losses. Our losses were slight.

In April a Mohmand lashkar, estimated to number about 4,000 men, invaded British territory near Shabkadr, where they were attacked by the Khyber Movable Column. The enemy retired across the border and dispersed. Our casualties were about seventy.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has had complaints from any of the other London banks that the Bank of England parts more readily than they do with gold over the counter, making no effort to induce the public to accept notes in payments; whether he is aware that this leads the public to prefer the Bank of England and to the depletion of gold reserve; and whether he will make any effort to prevent this unequal action?

I am unable to trace any complaint such as is referred to in the first part of the question. The Bank of England is always prepared to make payments in currency notes or in its own notes when the payee so desires. But as both Bank of England notes and currency notes are payable in gold at the Bank of England, any attempt by the Bank to force their circulation would be not only most undesirable, but would tend in practice to defeat its own object.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will consider the advisability of authorising an alternative scheme for the conversion of Consols and Government Annuities on the lines proposed by Sir Felix Schuster, provided persons desirous of converting invest an equivalent amount in the present War Loan; and whether he will, if necessary, reopen the War Loan subscription list for that purpose and to that extent?

I have given careful consideration to the suggestions made by Sir Felix Schuster, but I could not recommend their adoption by Parliament.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether it is the intention of the Government to continue the I monopoly of the purchase of sugar until the termination of the War; if so, will the present Home Secretary take over his work in this connection; and will the responsible Minister give an undertaking that all commissions paid to brokers or merchants shall be confined to firms of British origin and associations?

I am unable to make any statement in reply to the first part of the question. No change is contemplated in the membership of the Royal Commission on the Sugar Supply, whose practice it is to pay no commissions on the purchase of sugar. The Commission, as is customary, buy at a net price from the Colonial or foreign sellers.

I am perfectly aware that that is the custom. I would like to know if the German firms already employed in this business will be discontinued?

There is no German firm employed in this business.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether Mr. J. J. Runge, of the firm of Tolme and Runge, was appointed expert adviser on sugar to the Royal Commission on Food Supply in August, 1914; and whether, in view of the important information of which such expert adviser necessarily becomes possessed and of the fact that Mr. Runge is a member of a German firm at Hamburg, he will take steps to appoint a man of British origin in lieu of Mr. Runge?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. Mr. Runge is not a member of any firm at Hamburg or any German firm. He is a natural-born British subject whose father was born in Cuba, and has the well-deserved confidence of the Royal Commission on the Sugar Supply.

Is it not a fact that this firm was employed to make very large purchases of cane sugar as well as beet sugar, although they have no special connection with the cane-sugar market, while English firms have?

If the hon. Member had listened to my reply to the question he would have heard that the father was born in Cuba, and lived there all his life. Like all other British firms, they have considerable experience of beet sugar.

further asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the firm of Tolme and Runge has been allowed to do business in purchasing sugar on commission for the Government and other principals since August, 1914, while Mr. Runge has been acting as expert adviser on sugar to the Royal Commission; and whether he will take steps to terminate this state of things and to employ only firms of British origin and associations to purchase sugar on their behalf?

Messrs. Tolme and Runge have bought no sugar on commission for the Government. As already explained, the Royal Commission buy sugar at a net price from the Colonial or foreign seller. Mr. J. J. Runge has retired during his employment by the Royal Commission from all participation in the business of Messrs. Tolme and Runge.

asked the First Commissioner of Works whether, in view of the concession of war bonuses or allowances towards the increased cost of living now made to postal employés, he will consider the desirability of making similar allowances to employés in his Department, including the forty-six attendants on the staff of this House and the labourers in the lighting and ventilating department who are receiving wages amounting to not more than £2 per week?

The question of a war bonus is one which affects the whole public service, and as such is being considered by the Treasury.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether special licences are being issued authorising the delivery to alien enemies in China of all goods in the hands of shippers in the United Kingdom before 26th July and authorising the renewal of drafts?

No special licences have been granted, but the shipment of goods to enemy firms in China has been permitted up to the 26th July, provided they were shipped on contracts made before the date of the recent Proclamation. There are certain matters, however, outstanding, with regard to the policy to be pursued in regard to this question, and I am not yet in a position to make a final and definite statement on the subject.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, in view of the increased prices of food, he will now, in the general interest of the people of this country, take steps to remove the restrictions on the importation of Canadian cattle?

The restrictions to which the hon. Member apparently refers apply to cattle other than those intended for slaughter at the port of landing, and the President of the Board is not, as at present advised, prepared to introduce the legislation that would be necessary to remove the restrictions in question. With regard to the importation for slaughter at the port of landing, of fat cattle from Canada, upon which there is no embargo, the President is now carefully considering what arrangements can be made for the re-creation of foreign animal wharves for the reception of such cattle, this form of trade having practically ceased of late years.

I would ask the right hon. Gentleman whether there is any evidence at this time of disease existing among Canadian cattle?

No, Sir; but the House ought not to forget that Canada has a long coterminous frontier with the United States, and there is a certain amount of disease in the United States.

May we take that answer as meaning that, as regards Canada, these restrictions are nothing more or less than disguised protection of one industry of this country in conflict with the general interests of the consumer?

That is a matter of argument.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that as from the 1st July the Dublin and South-Eastern Railway Company has materially increased its passenger fares, which fares were already greater than those in operation prior to 1913; whether he is aware that the same railway company proposes as from the 2nd August to increase by 10 per cent, the rates for merchandise traffic carried by goods and passenger trains, this following an increase of 4 per cent in 1913, and that these increases are alleged to be due to the enhanced cost of coal and other commodities, consequent upon the War; whether he is aware that the war bonus granted to all grades of operative and clerical employés is only Is. per week to those whose remuneration, including Sunday pay, does not exceed 20s. per week; and will he, under the circumstances, represent to the company that such proportion of the increased revenue as may be necessary shall be devoted to raising the wages and salaries of the employés to a figure commensurate with their requirements, having regard to the increase in the cost of living?

I have no doubt that if the revenue of the company is increased the position of the employés will be borne in mind by the directors.

also asked the President of the Board of Trade whether it has been brought to his notice that the receipts of the Dublin and South Eastern Railway Company have been diminished by loss of traffic since the outbreak of the War whilst other Irish companies have had increased profits directly resulting from the carriage of troops and munitions; whether he has taken into consideration that the time is opportune for placing all Irish companies under the unified control of a public authority, as recommended by the Majority Report of the Vice-regal Commission on Irish Railways, so as to obtain co-ordination both of profits and service conditions; and whether, in view of the commitments imposed upon the Dublin and South Eastern Railway Company by its having to provide protection for the line from coast erosion in the counties of Dublin and Wicklow, the Government have considered the question of making any Grant-in-Aid?

I hardly think that the present is a suitable time for legislating with a view to the unification of Irish railways, and I fear that the Government could not undertake to assist the Dublin and South Eastern Railway Company financially.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will state why a licence to export ten dozen golf balls to Sweden by an Edinburgh firm has not been attended to for over a period of a month; and whether he can say how long on an average it takes to determine whether a licence can be given1?

If my hon. Friend will supply me with details of the particular case to which he refers, I will make inquiry. In the great majority of cases a licence is issued or refused within a week from the elate upon which the application is received by the War Trade Department.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his attention has been drawn to the case of Jessie Klose, the English wife of a German subject, who was recently committed for twenty-one days in the second division for breaking a window at the Albany Street police station; whether he is aware that the woman committed the act simply to draw attention to her case; and whether, in view of the fact that this woman is English in all but name and has lost her means of support, anything can be done to alleviate her sufferings and have the position of women similarly placed given more sympathetic consideration?

A similar question was asked yesterday. Has the right hon. Gentleman anything to add to what he said then?

I am making inquiry into this case and am considering how it should be dealt with, but however hard an individual case may be, it cannot justify window breaking as a means of calling attention to it.

asked the Prime Minister whether there is any official information showing that American cotton seized by Great Britain is re-shipped to and re-sold in neutral ports?

The answer lo the question is in the negative.

asked the Home Secretary whether he is aware that the smuggling of opium from England into China is being carried on on a very large scale; and whether he will take such powers to control the opium trade in this country as will make it impossible that this country should be used as a base for such smuggling operations?

The exportation of opium otherwise than under licence is prohibited to all destinations by Royal Proclamation, and the Commissioners of Customs and Excise are making every effort to prevent breaches of the Proclamation. I should welcome increased powers to deal with this evil, but steps which were in progress to bring into force the International Convention for the suppression of the abuse of opium and similar drugs have necessarily been suspended by the outbreak of war.

asked the Postmaster-General whether the loss of £120,000 annually to his Department on the exceptionally low prices charged for Press telegrams still goes on; has this loss increased or decreased since the War; and has he considered the advisability of saving this sum in these war times?

Nothing has occurred to alter the unremunerative character of the Press telegraph business arising from the low rates which were fixed by Statute in 1868. An estimate made in 1912 indicated a loss of rather more than £200,000 a year, and as the number of Press telegrams has increased since the War by about 10 per cent, the loss also has probably increased.

Will the right hon. Gentleman consider the advisability of bringing in a Bill to alter this?

Yes. The subject is receiving the attention of the Government.

asked how many males of military age are employed in the Scottish Office; and whether their services will be requisitioned for the compilation of the National Register or declined on account of their age?

In reply to the first part of the question, the number is sixteen. The answers to the second part of the question are in the negative.

asked the President of the Local Government Board (1) whether he is aware that when local authorities advertise for voluntary enumerators under the National Registration Act they state that males of military age are ineligible; whether the Local Government Board has issued instructions, that males of military age are not to be so employed; and, if so, will he state the grounds on which these instructions have been given; (2) if he will state how many of the 20,000 members of the London Teachers' Association who have offered their services to the Government in the compilation of the National Register are males of military age; whether their offer of assistance will be declined upon this ground; and (3) if he will state how many clergymen, professional men, and special constables have offered their gratuitous services to the Government for the distribution and collection of forms in compiling the National Register; and whether the services of those of military age will be declined, and upon what grounds?

I am not in a position to state the number of persons of various classes who have offered their services in connection with the National Registration Act, nor how many of them are males of military age. The Local Government Board, in their circular of the 17th instant, suggested that the selection of males of military age should be avoided. There are of course, many cases of persons who, on account of physical unfitness or for other sufficient reason, are ineligible for military service, and there is obviously no objection to the employment of such persons.

Is the House to understand that males of military age are not possessed of sufficient intelligence to be of service to the State in compiling the National Register?

No, Sir.

asked how many males between the ages of nineteen and forty are employed by the Local Government Board; and whether their services will be requisitioned for the compilation of the National Register?

The number is 337. Of these, 120 are on military service. The answer to the last part of the question is in the negative.

asked how many males of military age are employed in the Irish Office; and whether their services will be requisitioned for the compilation of the National Register or declined on account of their age?

Included in the present staff of the Chief Secretary's office in Dublin and in London are twelve clerks and four messengers or porters of military age, all of whom are fully employed in the discharge of the duties of the office. It is, accordingly, not anticipated that their services will be utilised in connection with the compilation of the National Register, except in so far as is involved by the correspondence with regard to the compilation which is conducted by that office.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether he can prepare and issue a small handy pamphlet giving the names of all Special War Committees, with the names of the members of the Committees, the address of the secretary, and a brief summary of the purpose of each Committee, for the use of Members?

A list of War Committees with the names and addresses of the secretaries was issued in April last (Cd. 7855). In view of the time that would be involved in its compilation, I regret that I am unable to grant the further Return asked for by my hon. Friend.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether Detective Leary, of Union Quay, Cork, is supplied with sufficient money to buy the back numbers of local newspapers which he requires for his political purposes; and whether it is with the sanction of his superiors he gets employés in the offices of those papers to steal the back numbers for him?

Constable Leary is not supplied with money for the purchase of back numbers of local newspapers, and the imputation contained in the second part of the question is without foundation.

Has the right hon. Gentleman any authority for that answer?

I have much better authority for my answer than the hon. Member has for his statement.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War if he is aware that considerable disappointment and discouragement has been caused to the Volunteer Training Corps in South London through the official refusal to permit the holding during the ensuing week of a three-days' camp in private grounds at Orpington, Kent, the arrangement for which had been fully completed; whether he is aware that the men had arranged to march there and back, thereby relieving the railway companies of any extra pressure; and whether further consideration can be given to the matter?

I am not aware of the circumstances of the particular case mentioned, but the military authorities have reluctantly considered it necessary to refuse permission to all applicants to hold camps in certain areas, amongst which the county of Kent is included.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War if he can state in what direction it is intended to utilise the services of the Volunteer Training Corps in the near future?

This matter is one which raises many important considerations, and I am not yet in a position to say when the occasion for their employment will arrive. But my hon. Friend may rest assured that the potentialities of these Volunteers are constantly present to the mind of my Noble Friend the Secretary of State for War.

Can my right hon. Friend give a definite answer one way or the other, whether the War Office intends to utilise the services of this corps, and give them practical aid?

That is raising the same question again.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether a form is issued to colliery owners to ascertain the amount of their stocks; and, if so, whether he will add a question to ascertain the amount of coal that has been sold for delivery until the end of 1915 and until the end of June, 1916?

For some months past colliery owners have made to the Board of Trade a return of the stocks of coal held by them and of their output, and I am glad to take the opportunity of acknowledging the ready co-operation, with few exceptions, of the colliery owners in this respect. I am unwilling to place a further burden upon them which may prove to be unnecessary, but I shall have to consider how far a general return of the amounts of coal sold forward may be required in connection with the Bill which was given a Third Reading in this House yesterday.

asked the Prime Minister whether, in view of the fact that indirect coercion is still being used to compel both married and single men to enlist in the Army, he can now say whether the Government have decided to compel all eligible young men in Great Britain not wanted for other Government work to do their fair share of duty for the defence of our existence as a free nation; and, if not, for what reason the present system is to be continued?

I must refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer which I gave on 5th July to my hon. Friend the Member for the Tottenham Division.

May I ask the right hon. Gentleman why, when he stated that we should fight to the last man and the last shilling, the Government is not taking the necessary steps to provide that all available men are trained to fight? Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that many people in France are very dissatisfied with our present—

That question can be raised in Debate.

asked the Prime Minister if the salary of any Minister of the Crown is taken from the Vote to carry on the War; and, if so, whether he can see his way to bring in a Supplementary Estimate for the purpose?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative, and to the second in the negative. My hon. Friend has, I think, overlooked the fact that the salaries of the Ministers in the Admiralty, War Office, and Munitions Department must necessarily be paid out of the Vote of Credit.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that no information was given that this salary was in this Vote of Credit, and does he not see that, comparing it with salaries well known and recognised, the House has been misled? May I ask my right hon. Friend to explain why the House has not been frankly informed of what the position was?

My hon. Friend's memory is at fault. When the Army and Navy Estimates were introduced this year only token Votes were taken, and a statement was made by the Prime Minister that the whole of the Estimates out of the token Votes, both for the Army and Navy, would be paid out of the Vote of Credit, and those Estimates included the salaries of Ministers.

Is my right hon. Friend referring to the real object of this question, namely, as to the salary of the Joint-Patronage Secretary?

I thought I answered that question previously with regard to the salary of the Joint-Patronage Secretary. It has been paid so far out of the Treasury Vote, and it will only come upon the Vote of Credit if it should prove that there is not a surplus on the Treasury Vote.

Why was not a frank statement made about this question, and why has information had to be obtained in this way by question and answer some time after the date?

A frank statement was made when the question was asked, on the announcement of the formation of the Government, about the office of the Noble Lord. The moment my hon. Friend asked the question a reply was given to him.

The official announcement in the Press did not state there was any salary, and though we have been continually asking questions, we have not been able to obtain any information.

Full information was given in this House the moment the question was asked.

First we had to find it out.

asked the Prime Minister the latest totals of casualties both in Flanders and the Dardanelles?

I circulated these figures on Monday in answer to a question addressed by my hon. Friend the Member for Dumfriesshire. An error has been found in the sub-division of the figures, though the total is correct. I shall issue a revised table with the Votes. [See Written Answers this date.]

asked the Prime Minister whether the right hon. Gentleman can make any statement as to the progress of our arms in the Dardanelles?

I do not think the present time suitable for such a statement. Full reports of recent operations, originating both from the Officer Commanding and from correspondents, have appeared in the Press.

If it is entirely consistent with the public interest, would it be possible during the Recess to make such a statement as might be thought fit?

asked the Prime Minister whether he is aware that the Anglo-Persian Oil Company ordered seven tank steamers before the end of the last financial year 1914–15, and that these steamers will cost over a million sterling and take two years to build; and, in view of the pledge given by the then First Lord of the Admiralty, on 7th July, 1914, that the £2,200,000 authorised by Parliament would be exclusively employed in developing the oil-field in Persia, whether he can state the circumstances under which this expenditure has been authorised on steamers without Parliament being informed, seeing that the Anglo-Persian Oil Company has no other funds?

I would refer the hon. and gallant Member to the statement made by the late First Lord of the Admiralty on 15th June, 1914, in reply to a question by the hon. Member for Brentford In that reply the general heads of expenditure intended to be covered by the Government participation in the share capital of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company were explained. The portion of the contemplated expenditure by the company on tank vessels, which will be defrayed out of Government shares, has reference to the special type of vessels designed mainly for the transport of oil to suitable deep-water loading berths. The balance of the expenditure on tank vessels will be financed by the company otherwise than from the Government capital. The company is, of course, entitled to own and employ tank vessels to whatever extent may be commercially necessary and profitable. I am informed that the aggregate expenditure on both descriptions of tank vessels will fall far short of the figure named in the question, the contract having been placed on far more favourable terms than the hon. and gallant Member has evidently assumed.

Is it not the case that whatever way the company raise money by mortgage or otherwise the interest, loss and depreciation will have to fall on the Admiralty contribution? Was not an absolute pledge given that the expenditure would be confined to developing the oil-field in Persia, and for such tank steamers as were required the Admiralty would own or charter them?

The hon. Member is confusing two things. The pledge referred to was that given in reply to the hon. and gallant Member for Melton, who desired an assurance that the money voted by Parliament should be spent solely on the Persian oil field and not in any other part of the world. The company were free to buy and own tank steamers.

As this matter involves quotation from the Parliamentary Debates, I beg to give notice that I will endeavour to call attention to it on the Adjournment.

asked whether the petition of the prison officers for an increase of pay on account of the high food prices has been referred to the Economy Commitee; and, in the event of that Committee deciding to hear witnesses on this question, will the prison staffs be permitted to meet and select their own representative?

As stated in the reply given on the 19th instant by my right hon. Friend the Financial Secretary to the Treasury to a question by the hon. Member for South-West Ham, the Committee referred to will be consulted on the general question of a temporary increase of pay for Civil servants with small salaries. The procedure of the Committee will be for itself to determine.

I beg to ask the Prime Minister a question of which I have given him private notice: Whether his attention has been called to a statement made by Lord Crewe in the House of Lords last night that after the War the main subject of the Disestablishment and Disendowment of the Church in Wales would have to be reconsidered; and whether this is an authoritative declaration of the policy of the Government?

I understand that my Noble Friend made no such statement as is suggested in the question. His statement was directed to the question of time.