asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) whether, in the case of a private limited company with a merely nominal capital, the actual value of the business of the company or the amount of its share capital paid up will be taken as the basis for ascertainment of the allowance of 6 per cent. on capital for the purposes of the Super-tax on war profits; and (2) if he will state, in connection with the proposed special tax on war profits, whether provision will be made to avoid hardship in the case of firms which have made an abnormal loss in one or more of the three years on which the assessment for 1914–15 was based, by eliminating the figure for the year of abnormal loss, or by causing the average of profits to be calculated over a more extended period, or by some other equitable method?

As regards this question and the next I would ask my hon. Friend to await the circulation of the Finance Bill.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he proposes to allow a rebate of the duty upon motor cars, chassis, and parts imported solely for ambulance or other Red Cross use?

I am considering this question.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will state what record exists at the Treasury in reference to the suspension of the Bank Act at the outbreak of War, dealt with in this House on 5th August, 1914, by the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, who said that the Government had already taken steps, in the anticipation of a possible emergency, to suspend the Bank Act in order to enable the bankers to secure an adequate supply of notes, and that they came to the conclusion that it was not necessary to suspend specie payments; at what date and hour were steps taken to suspend the Bank Act; what were their nature; was any letter written by the Chancellor to the Bank of England upon the precedents of 1847, 1857, and 1866; if so, on what day and hour was such letter despatched; was any reply received thereto, and at what date and hour; can the nature of the reply of the bank be furnished to the House; in case it was oral, has any record been preserved; on what day and hour was the decision taken to close the stock exchanges and on whose advice; to how many persons outside the Government, and to whom, had communications with the Bank of England been made known by 3 p.m. on the 5th August, 1914; are the records relating to the War crisis regarded by the Treasury as personal to the then Chancellor of the Exchequer or as available for submission to Parliament; what is the net loss, or responsibility for loss, on German, Austrian, or Turkish bills of exchange incurred by the Government; and what is the estimated net liability otherwise incurred to banks or members of the Stock Exchange in consequence of the outbreak of war?

I am causing a copy of the letters exchanged with the Bank of England on the 1st August, 1914, on the subject of the so-called "Suspension of the Bank Act" to be presented to the House. I have no record of the hour at which the letter from the Bank of England was received or the reply despatched. The correspondence was treated as confidential until the announcement of the Chancellor of the Exchequer to the House of Commons on the 5th August.

The decision to close the Stock Exchange was taken by the Stock Exchange Committee on their own initiative, without reference to the Treasury.

The liabilities at present outstanding in respect of bills of exchange, assistance given by the Government to banks and members of the Stock Exchange, have already been reduced to about £38,000,000. Most of the outstanding advances are regarded as adequately secured, and the ultimate loss, if any, is likely to be small.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland the total amount accounted for to the Local Government Board as having been expended in county Cavan under the Prince of Wales's Fund or other patriotic funds to the end of August last; and who is the dispensing authority in that county?

No Grants have been made by the Local Government Board out of the Prince of Wales's Fund to county Cavan since the inception of the fund. Advances from the Prince of Wales's Fund may, however, have been made through the Soldiers' and Sailors' Families Association or the Royal Patriotic Fund, but these are not accounted for to the Local Government Board.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty, in view of the admitted facts in regard to the case of Surgeon David Vickery, who was invalided from the Navy on a mistaken diagnosis, whether he will now communicate to him their decision on his claim for the surgical and medical expense in which he was involved, bearing in mind that the grievance is of many months' standing?

As an act of grace, it has been decided to make a grant of £20.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether, in view of the wish of members of cadet corps to perform some military duties, arrangements could be made for the officers to help with recruiting work or to assist in drilling recruits at depots, and for the cadets to act as orderlies in military offices, thereby releasing men for active service?

The position of officers and cadets of cadet units in reference to the point raised is different. The officers have no military status and cannot be placed in control of enlisted men. As regards cadets, full authority was given to general officers commanding-in-chief as long ago as last November to employ cadets of recognised units as orderlies in military offices so as to release men capable of being trained to take their place in the fighting line.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether continued hospital treatment is provided for soldiers suffering from nerve disturbance and loss of mental balance in the neurological sections of the twenty-three military hospitals of the United Kingdom, in which uncertifiable cases of this nature amongst the rank and file are treated?

Yes, Sir, so long as accommodation is available.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether Springfield House Hospital, Wandsworth, to which uncertifiable cases of soldiers suffering from nerve disturbance and loss of mental balance are sent, is a block of the Middlesex County Asylum at Wandsworth, and is under the same management as the rest of the institution; whether the rest of the asylums is in use for certified lunatics; whether all the soldiers in the Springfield House block are uncertifiable; whether no civilian could be placed in this position; and, in view of the difficulty of stating at the outset whether a case is curable or not, will he consider the desirability of the provision of hospital treatment for all cases for some time prior to their relegation to buildings associated with lunacy control, and of the acquisition of convalescent homes to be worked in conjunction with the hospitals for the completion of the recovery of such cases?

The answer to the first three parts of the question is in the affirmative and to the fourth, that any civilian admitted to the county asylum would have been certified as insane. As regards the fifth part of the question, I may repeat what I have previously stated that cases are not sent to Springfield House Hospital until after a period of treatment in the neurological section of a general hospital.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether, in the event of soldiers who have served twelve years with the Colours and then a number of years in the Reserve who have now been called up, the period in the Reserve can be counted for a pension, or what period of service would be required before such men can obtain a pension?

The Reserve service counts toward pension if the men are invalided. Otherwise they qualify for pension only by giving the normal period of total service with the Colours, generally twenty-one years.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether Sergeant R. F. C. Yorke, of the London Scottish Regiment (gun section), was holding the rank of acting second lieutenant on the day of his death in action at Ypres, on 22nd December, 1914; and, if so, having regard to the Government's pledge that the Treasury would allow officers' widows to receive the pension of their husbands' temporary rank in every case, going back to the commencement of the War, he will explain why his widow has only been granted a sergeant's widow's pension?

The rank of acting second lieutenant is not known in the Army, and there is no trace of this non-commissioned officer having been offered a commission.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether promotions in the Army Pay Department are submitted to a committee of selection or whether they are made by the authority of one official only, or who is responsible for such promotions; whether he is aware that twenty-three staff paymasters, five of whom had been previously appointed acting chief paymasters, have recently been passed over for the grade of chief paymaster; whether he is aware that there is much dissatisfaction in the Army Pay Department in this matter; and whether he will cause inquiry to be made concerning it?

Promotions in the Army Pay Department are made under my authority. The recent promotions to the acting rank of chief paymaster were on account of the onerous nature of the charge of certain regimental pay offices owing to War expansion. An officer selected for the permanent grade of chief paymaster must possess special qualifications, and the recent selection was governed by this consideration.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office if he is aware that the Colonial allowance is not being paid to the troops of the Expeditionary Force to the Dardanelles who were landed in Egypt after the loss of the "Royal Edward," and who have resided there for six weeks; and, in view of the fact that this allowance was announced officially as being issued to all whose stay there exceeded fourteen days, he will explain why the allowance is withheld?

It appears that other allowances, not less favourable to the troops, were at first given in lieu. Instructions have already been issued that the Colonial allowance should be paid in future.

asked the Minister of Munitions whether his attention has been directed to the trial of 193 workmen before the general munitions tribunal at Newcastle; whether the offence for which these men have been tried arose out of their objection to leave munitions work in order to do commercial work; and, if he will state how many thousand hours of lost time on munitions work have been involved in their trial?

My right hon. Friend has received reports of the case in question. There were three sittings. At the first, on the 24th September, twenty-two men were fined 5s. each. The men in question had been engaged on work upon an Admiralty vessel, and had been transferred to an oil-tank steamer. They were found to have struck work upon a vessel required for use in War. The chairman of the tribunal, in announcing the punishment, explained that there were elements of doubt in the case which influenced him in inflicting a light penalty. At the second and third meetings the cases of 148 men were heard. These men were found guilty of a sympathetic strike. The fines inflicted were £1 each on the riveters, and 10s. on each holder-on and apprentice riveter. The offence committed against the Act was, in the view of the chairman, a serious one, and the question of hours lost in trying the case is completely irrelevant.

also asked the Minister of Munitions whether his attention has been directed to the statement of the chairman of the Munitions Court held at Lincoln, in the case of a man charged with absenting himself from work one day and with losing time, to the effect that the firm should apply to become a controlled establishment so that they could discharge the workman and by withholding his certificate prevent him getting work elsewhere for six weeks and so punish him; and whether it was intended that this penalty of six weeks' enforced idleness should apply to any offence under the Act other than that of the workman leaving his employment without permission?

My right hon. Friend has no information as to the facts alleged in the question, but he is communicating with the chairman.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether a firm named John Allan and Son, Limited, owners of the Stowford Paper Mills, Ivybridge, is engaged on Government work for the India Office under a sub-contract; if so, whether he is aware of the low wages that are paid to the employés, men receiving from 16s. to 20s. per week for a twelve hours' day and the women only 10s. to 12s. per week; and whether he will take steps to ensure that the Fair-Wages Clause is not violated?

The firm of John Allan and Son, Limited, of Stowford Mills, Ivybridge, is engaged on work for the India Office. I have no information as to the wages paid by the firm or hours of working, but I will make inquiries.

asked the Attorney-General whether he can propose such an Amendment of the Courts (Emergency Powers) Act, 1914, as will, during the War, protect mortgagors from whom a higher rate of interest is demanded upon threat of foreclosure?

Under the Act referred to in the question, no right of foreclosure can be exercised without application to a Court which has absolute discretion to defer the operation of such right where the party liable is unable immediately to make payment by reason of circumstances attributable directly or indirectly to the present War. I do not think the legislation suggested is necessary.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether he can hold out any hope that Patrick Brady, of Aghna-garron, county Longford, whose uncle was evicted from a farm of land on the White estate, will be provided with an equivalent holding, seeing that the other evicted tenants on this property have been provided with holdings under the Evicted Tenants Act?

I am informed by the Estates Commissioners that when the White estate was sold to the tenants under the Irish Land Act, 1903, a holding of some seven acres, in the townland of Aghna-garron, was vested in Patrick Briody (Brady). In June, 1907, Briody lodged an application for reinstatement in lands in Aghnagarron which formed part of a holding from which he stated he had been evicted in 1883, but as the application was not lodged within the time specified under the Evicted Tenants Act it could not be dealt with under that Act.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether his attention has been called to the recent resolutions unanimously passed by the Cork County Council and other public bodies in Ireland in reference to Mr. Mansfield's reinstatement; and whether, in view of the whole circumstances, he will now close this dispute by the unconditional reinstatement of Mr. Mansfield without loss of salary or prestige?

The reinstatement of Mr. Mansfield is a matter solely within the province of the Commissioners of National Education, and, although I wish that a final and friendly settlement could be brought about, I have no power to force my views upon the Commissioners.

asked the Vice-President of the Department of Agriculture (Ireland) what are the total amounts spent annually by the Department in the different sections of its work other than dairying; and by what sums are the Grants to each section to be reduced on account of the War?

The total amounts spent annually by the Department in the different sections of its work are shown in the Appropriation Account and in the Department's Annual Reports. The precise reductions which will be rendered necessary in each section by the financial position have not yet been finally determined.

asked whether the Department can furnish an estimate of the annual output of Irish creamery butter later than the year ending the 1st June, 1913; if not, why this cannot be done; and will he say if similar statements for Holland and other competing countries are two years in arrear with their returns?

The Department are not in a position to supply a later estimate of the value of the total output of butter in Ireland than that for the year ended 1st June, 1913, which was furnished in reply to the hon. Member's question of the 16th instant and which was based upon information specially obtained in 1913 for purposes of the census of Irish Agricultural production which takes place quinquennially. As already intimated to the hon. Member, it is not possible to state what proportion of the total output of butter in Ireland relates to creamery butter. The Department have no information as to the matter referred to in the concluding portion of the question.

asked by what total amount do the Department propose to reduce the Grant of £5,500 spent annually on the Irish creamery butter industry?

The Department propose to reduce by approximately £1,000 the expenditure on their schemes for improvement of the butter industry in the year 1915–16 as compared with the preceding year.

asked whether each instructor in dairying receives the same amount of salary from the Department; and, if not, why, giving the actual salaries paid for the years 1912, 1913, and 1914?

The scale of salary for instructors in dairying is £150, rising by increments of £10 to a maximum of £250, the increment being not necessarily annual. The salaries of the instructors vary according to the length of their service from the date on which they were placed on the scale. All the instructors are paid according to this scale except one, who discharges special duties in addition to the ordinary work of his office, and receives remuneration in excess of the maximum provided by the scale. The eight instructors employed were paid at the following rates in the year 1912: Four at £200 per annum; two at £220 per annum; one at £230 per annum; and one at £300 per annum. In the year 1913: Four at £210; two at £230; one at £250; and one at £350. In the year 1914: Four at £220; two at £240; one at £250; and one at £350.

asked the Home Secretary whether in connection with remission of children from school, under the Factory Act, 1901, boys and girls have to be inspected by a medical officer under the Home Office; whether this practice has continued, even though medical inspection in now carried on under the local education authorities under their own medical officers; and, if so, whether he will now arrange that medical inspection of scholars shall in future be carried out by a single set of officers under one authority?

The medical examination under the Factory Acts is for the purpose of testing the fitness of the child for employment in a particular factory, and imposing any necessary conditions as to the precise kind of employment. The requirement applies to all persons under the age of sixteen, and the bulk of the examinations take place after the child has left school. The question of linking up this examination with the school medical inspection has not been overlooked, but no change in the requirements of the Factory Acts can be made without an Amendment of the Acts, and that cannot be undertaken at present.