asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether his attention has been drawn to the case of Captain Broadbent, who, whilst claiming to be in command of the troops at Conway, was, on the 7th instant, fined by the magistrates for causing a light to be shown on his motor car near the sea at midnight, and was further charged with assaulting the police sergeant, in respect of which he was ordered to pay the costs; and will he say what action he proposes to take in this case?

I have called for a Report on this matter. Perhaps my hon. Friend will be good enough to repeat his question next week.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War if, in January 1915, on its being known that men were wanted for hut work in France, the War Office were reminded of the offer of the services of the architectural profession, made through the Royal Institute of British Architects in September, 1914; how many men nominated by the institute or its president were thereupon appointed to work in France; (2) if the offer of the services of the Royal Institute of British Architects, made through the president of the institution in May, 1915, which was stated to be not availed of because the greater part of the work was then finished, was supplementary to previous offers, and was submitted after hearing that many huts had been badly placed and badly built, with the hope of preventing anything of the kind in the future; (3) if a formal offer of the services of the architectural profession was received through the Royal Institute of British Architects in September, 1914; if any steps were taken by the War Office at that time to avail themselves of the services of competent men so offered; (4) if, in October, 1914, or shortly afterwards, the names of about fifty men, selected with great care as suitable for supervising certain military works then under consideration, were submitted to the War Office by or on behalf of the Royal Institute of British Architects; whether the services of any and, if so, how many of these skilled men were thereupon utilised; and (5) if he will state the total number of men whose services have been employed by the War Office arising out of the original and subsequent offers of the Royal Institute of British Architects to supply competent men for every kind of work connected with the profession?

Offers were made by architects, and names of gentlemen selected by the Institute of British Architects were submitted to the War Office in November, but for the building of the large hutted camps in the British Isles and for work in France, civil engineers rather than architects were needed. The huts in all cases followed typical plans, prepared by the already existing technical staff at the War Office, copies being distributed to various local officers. There was consequently comparatively small scope for designing. But the local problems of water supply, sewerage, lighting, etc., which varied in every case and were in some cases of great magnitude, were such as appertain to the engineering profession, and experts in these branches were engaged in various places to supplement the technical staff at headquarters and in various commands. About ten gentlemen who were members of the Royal Institute of British Architects were so appointed, as far as can be traced, but none of these were in the list submitted in November by the Institute. As far as the quality of the hutted camps is concerned, the Army Council invited the president of the Institution of Civil Engineers to appoint a committee of inspection. This was done, and a strong voluntary committee, with the president as chairman, visited all the large camps in the early part of this year, while they were still under construction. They dealt with design, construction, materials, and adaptation to sites, though not with any purely military questions, and the views they expressed supported the action taken by the War Office generally in respect of the gigantic task with which they were confronted last year. As far as the Institute of British Architects is concerned it may be said that, having due regard to the requirements of the public service, and the enormous number of offers received from other institutions, and individuals, the institute received a due share of attention and of appointments.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many camps or institutions for the internment of aliens are under the Home Office; what is the average salary paid to the commandants, superintendents, or superior officers in charge of these internment centres; how many officials, warders, labourers and other persons are employed in these centres; and what is the number of all paid employés for every hundred interned civilians?

The answer to the various points of my hon. Friend's question are, respectively: Four; in three cases the pay of the commandant is at Army rates, and in the fourth case is £270 a year; 186 (exclusive of guards); 92.

asked the Postmaster-General whether, in view of the necessity of lowering the Press telegraph rates between England and China, the offer of the Chinese Government to transmit provisionally viâ British cables telegrams from Pekin and other points in China to England at the rate of 85 centimes a word, representing a reduction of 40 per cent. on present rates, will be immediately accepted; and whether the good offices of His Majesty's Government will be available in helping to induce the Russian Government to accept the same rates for Press telegrams sent viâ the Siberian land lines?

The proposed arrangement is being discussed with the Russian Government, and it is hoped that a satisfactory settlement may be reached before long.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Agriculture what steps are being taken to increase the supply of Canadian beef for consumption in this country; and whether it is proposed to remove the embargo against the importation of Canadian live stock into this country?

There is nothing to prevent the importation of Canadian cattle for slaughter at the port of landing, and landing accommodation for such animals is now available. The President of the Board is not prepared to introduce the legislation that would be necessary to allow the importation of Canadian and other foreign animals otherwise than for slaughter at the port of landing.

asked the Vice-President of the Department of Agriculture (Ireland) what is the total yearly revenue of the Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction for Ireland from all sources, giving in detail the sources?

The information asked for by the hon. Member is given in the Annual Appropriation Account, and in the Department's Annual Reports.

asked the right hon. Gentleman what is the annual amount applied by his Department for the creamery section; and what is the yearly value of the output of Irish creamery butter?

The annual expenditure by the Department on instruction work directly relating to the creamery butter industry has been approximately £5,500. The estimated value of the total output of butter in Ireland for the twelve months ended 1st June, 1913, the latest year for which the estimate is available, was £9,201,000. It is not, however, possible to say definitely what proportion of this amount relates to creamery butter.

asked the right hon. Gentleman if he will state the names, salaries, duties, and nationality of the eight inspectors who are not under dismissal in the creamery section of his Department; will he state the names, salaries, duties, and nationality of the inspectors who are under notice of dismissal; and whether any provision is being made or has been made for them?

The number of instructors in dairying at present employed by the Department is eight. No useful public purpose would appear to be served by publishing the names and salaries of these instructors. The Department have no information as to their nationality. They were all employed in Ireland prior to entering the Department's service. Owing to the necessity for public economy, the Department has been obliged to notify two of these instructors of the termination of their engagements. Under the conditions of their employment they are not entitled to any allowance on leaving the Department's service.

asked the right hon. Gentleman whether any resolutions have been received by him protesting against the dismissal of creamery inspectors in Ireland; if so, the nature of the same and from whom received; and what is the amount of the economy contemplated likely to amount to?

The Department have received a number of resolutions, chiefly from creamery societies and associations of creamery managers, protesting against any reduction in the staff of instructors in dairying employed by the Department. The saving to be effected in salaries, travelling expenses, etc., by the reductions in this staff will amount to about £800 per annum.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what wages are paid by Irish railway companies to their employés; and whether the Dublin South-Eastern Railway Company pay their men upon a lower scale than the other companies?

I would refer my hon. Friend to the average figures given in the Railway Companies (Staff and Wages) Return for 1913 (Parliamentary Paper 470), of which I am sending him a copy.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that it is alleged that through bookings from many places in Ireland viâ Dublin are refused, and that through bookings are accepted viâ other ports; and will he explain why this state of affairs is permitted, and whether the local rates from Dublin are higher than the through rates?

I understand that in the case of live stock (to which I presume my hon. Friend refers) through bookings viâ Dublin are suspended for the present. The Great Southern and Western Railway Company inform me that the shipping com- panies do not consider it practicable to restore these bookings as yet, and the Board of Trade have no compulsory powers in the matter. I cannot say how the through rates compare with the local rates.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will state the number and value of the motor cars imported into this country from the United States of America during the months of June, July, and August; and if all the space available in ships has been engaged for the transport of such motor cars for many months to come?

The following statement gives the particulars required by the hon. Member:—

Statement showing the number and value of motor cars, complete, and chassis, and the value of parts of motor cars imported into the United Kingdom which were consigned from the United States in each of the months of June, July, and August, 1915.

IMPORTS into the United Kingdom from the United States. ( a ) Motor Cars, complete. — Number. Value. £ June … 2,486 468,127 July … 1,559 287,412 August … 1,496 262,393

( b ) Motor Chassis. — Number. Value. £ June … 135 68,004 July … 250 101,475 August … 153 44,351

( c ) Parts of Motor Cars (value only). — Rubber Tyres, Tubes (not imported with complete Motor Cars). Other Parts. £ £ June … 45,270 50,532 July … 85,416 100,509 August … 121,194 196,858