asked the Prime Minister what are the total casualties in the Western area of operations, distinguishing between killed, wounded, and missing, up to the 9th October, as well as the total casualties in all fields of operations?

The reply is as follows:—

asked the Under-Secretary for War (1) whether he is aware that officers sent home sick or wounded from battalions in the field are, after recovery, frequently sent to battalions of regiments other than their own, and that this policy is causing much dissatisfaction, and can he see his way to change it; (2) whether, in cases where commanding officers of battalions serving in the field have made special efforts to secure suitable officers, these officers may, on completion of training at home, be sent as vacancies occur to the battalions whose commanding officers originally accepted them as candidates for commissions; and (3) whether he is aware that officers, with or without drafts, are sent out from the various reserve battalions to the Infantry base depots and then detached from their new regiments to fill vacancies in other regiments; and, seeing that this practice is detrimental to the units to which these officers originally belonged and eliminates entirely the personal factor, will he say what action he will take?

The hon. Gentleman's suggestions are really a request that the enemy will keep the casualties in different units on a uniform and moderate scale. If we could procure compliance with such a request, it might be possible to arrange a system by which the points mentioned in. the three questions I am answering would be secured, but, as the incidence of casualties as between different units is nortoriously uneven, I am afraid that all I can promise is that what the hon. Gentleman calls the personal factor, and upon which he justly sets store, will be kept in view, so far as the conditions of the Service permit.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he can state the increase in tithe due to the rise in the price of grain since the outbreak of hostilities; and will he say whether this increase will be subject to excess profits taxation?

I would remind my hon. Friend that the value of tithe in any year is regulated by the average prices of wheat, barley, and oats in the seven preceding years. I am informed that the increase in value in 1915, as compared with 1914, is only 1¼ per cent., and my hon. Friend will see that, even if tithe were technically within the scope of the Excess Profits Duty, it is hardly possible that any actual liability to assessment would arise.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury if he will state the names of the Government buyers or agents purchasing hay in Ireland and their respective districts; and if he will say by whom they were appointed, what qualification they possessed, and whether they were subject to any test of efficiency before appointment?

The particulars are as follows:—

DUBLIN.—District purchasing officer: Captain H. Hunter.

Assistant district purchasing officers: Dublin, Second-Lieut. T. Henshaw; Kildare, Captain C. J. McCarthy; Meath, Second-Lieut. F. McConnell; Queen's County, Second-Lieut. T. Lloyd; Roscommon and Mayo, Second-Lieut. M. J. Balfe.

BELFAST.—District purchasing officer: Major J. A. Robertson.

Assistant district Purchasing officers: Antrim, Second-Lieut. de Blaquire; Antrim, Captain L.V. Bennett; Londonderry, Lieut. R. R. Huyshe; Monaghan, Second-Lieut. W. Cromie; Tyrone, Second-Lieut. W. J. McMullen.

CORK.—District purchasing officer: Captain J. Black.

Assistant district purchasing officers: Second-Lieut. Hassan, Lieutenant C. R. Dampier, Second-Lieut. W. G. Hamilton.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War if he is aware that British officers of the Indian Army are now at a disadvantage in the matter of promotion as compared with officers of equal service in the Home Army; and whether steps will be taken to put British officers of the Indian Army on the same footing as officers of the same service in the Home Army?

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave to the hon. Member for Great Yarmouth on 28th July, of which I will send him a copy.

asked the Under-Secretary for War whether the military authorities have stopped the transmission of newspapers through the post to persons residing in foreign neutral countries unless sent from the publishing offices; will he say what the present practice in this matter is, and whether an official public announcement will be made as soon as definite policy is settled?

A public announcement on this matter has already been made, and will be found in the newspapers of the 27th October.

asked the Under-Secretary for War the number of British troops taken prisoners by the Germans in the last big battle on the Western frontier?

We have no information as to the number of British troops taken prisoners by the Germans during the last big battle on the Western front.

asked the Under-Secretary for War whether there have been reported to the War Office any and, if so, how many cases in which pneumonia has supervened upon inoculation for typhoid and where, in some cases, inoculation has brought on madness and in others led to invalidity, so that men have become totally unfitted for their duties and been cast diseased upon the world incapable of gaining their livelihood?

Such reports as those mentioned in the question have been made to the War Office by the hon. Member for the Haggerston Division, but not so far as I am aware by other persons. Investigation has been made and it has been proved that the individuals spoken of as having died as a result of inoculation against enteric fever have in fact died of some quite ordinary disease. In particular my attention has been called to a speech delivered on the 16th October by the hon. Member mentioned, and I should like to say with reference to the statements then made, some of which are reproduced in the question, that they are not only without foundation, but are grotesque misrepresentations of the results of a treatment from which the Army has derived incalculable benefits.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether a large number of French troops were provided with steel helmets as long ago as April last, and the remainder by July last; whether the percentage of head wounds in French hospitals has in consequence fallen to nil; and whether the percentage of such wounds in British hospitals is still very great, amounting in some hospitals to 15 per cent.?

The object of the introduction of steel helmets in the French Army was no doubt to reduce the number of head wounds, and although I have no statistics I hope that it has had that desirable result. I am obtaining information as to the percentage of such wounds in British hospitals, but it is not available to-day. It would be a mistake to suppose that the wearer of one of these helmets is immune from wounds by modern weapons.

asked the Undersecretary of State for War whether he is aware that soldiers on active service are under the impression that letters written in the Welsh language are not passed by the military censor; and whether he can say whether the censor's staff includes someone conversant with the Welsh language?

If Welsh soldiers on active service are under the impression mentioned in the question there is no reason for such an impression, as a general routine order has been issued to the Army in the field stating that soldiers are not to be forbidden to write their letters in Welsh. This order was issued as long ago as May last. Further, I may state that the general secretary of the Undeb y Cymdeithasau Cymraeg was given permission to publish in the Welsh vernacular Press a notice to the effect that letters from soldiers on active service may be written in the Welsh language. The Censor staff includes an examiner conversant with the Welsh language who is competent to deal with any letters in Welsh which cannot be read in France, and steps have been taken to make this known to all concerned.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether no recruits are required for Home defence, and all enlisted men are now required for foreign service?

Yes, Sir. All men are enlisted for general service with the liability to be sent overseas, except a few ex-non-commissioned officers over a certain age, who may be accepted for home service only.

asked the Undersecretary of State for War whether he is aware that a gentleman with forty years' experience as a buyer and tenant on Smithfield Market, having two sons in the Army both thoroughly experienced by extensive practice in the meat trade, wrote to his Department describing their capabilities and suggesting that their technical abilities should be utilised at the pay of common soldiers in inspecting the Army meat supplies; that this offer was replied to (779 A.G., 2 B.) by a letter from the Director of Recruiting ignoring the suggestion, and simply stating that if the men in question desired a transfer to another regiment they should apply through their commanding officer; that the salesman in question wrote further, pointing out that this was no reply to his suggestion, but received no further answer; whether this is his Department's usual method of dealing with disinterested offers of specialised technical ability; and whether he will notify those responsible of the effect produced by such methods?

I have acquainted myself with the correspondence to which my hon. Friend's question refers. As the son and nephew of the gentleman referred to did not themselves express any desire to be employed as inspectors of meat, and had in fact enlisted in a Yeomanry regiment, it was intimated that they ought to make their own application for transfer. Such an application was obviously essential before anything could be done, as the son and nephew were, of course, free agents. The gentleman referred to replied to the War Office letter that men who did not know a quarter of beef from a chest of drawers were being employed as inspectors of meat. The letter containing this statement did not seem to call for any reply, and as no application from the son and nephew had been received, nothing further was done. I am sorry if the gentleman who made the suggestion should feel that his desire to be of assistance was not appreciated, but some evidence of desire to undertake the work in question was obviously required from the two soldiers, but this has never been afforded.

asked the Under-Secretary for War in what manner Mr. Knowles came to be appointed meat inspector and supervisor of meat contracts to the War Office; what firms gave him credentials; was any inquiry made into his record in the meat trade; was it known that he was managing director of a firm which failed under unsatisfactory circumstances; is he aware that, on the investigation of the affairs of this firm, Mr. Knowles was personally made bankrupt for certain liabilities as managing direc- tor; was he an undischarged bankrupt at the date of his appointment to the War Office; on whose advice was the contract with Perfect and Company undertaken; why was this work not done direct through the Army Service Corps; why, in view of the number of firms who receive, store, and dispatch frozen meat, the work was not publicly tendered for; whether he is aware that the work could be adequately and efficiently performed for half the present cost; and whether, in view of the need of public economy, he proposes to continue the present outlay?

Mr. Knowles has been employed by the War Office for over five years, and the nature of his duties has been repeatedly explained to the hon. Member. He does not supervise War Office contracts. The Department is quite satisfied as to his credentials and he has worked most loyally and efficiently. With regard to Messrs. Perfect and Company, their work has been carried out most satisfactorily and has thoroughly justified their employment. There are no grounds for the suggestion that any economy would be secured by altering the present system.

also asked on what date was Mr. Wells appointed to his position as meat inspector to the War Office; who gave him any credentials, and what did those credentials describe as his previous experience; whether, if he applied to a London borough council for the position of food inspector under the Public Health (London) Act, 1891, he could produce the necessary statutory qualifications; whether he had had a single week's experience as a practical butcher or a meat inspector; and whether he will cause inquiry to be made among all persons connected with this appointment to see if any corrupt practices were used to secure the appointment of this person?

Mr. Wells was first employed by the War Office in August, 1914, and the Department is quite satisfied as to his credentials. The nature of his duties has been repeatedly explained to the hon. Member. The suggestion which the hon. Member makes at the conclusion of his question is most uncalled for and improper.

asked the Under-Secretary for War whether the total payments made to Messrs. Perfect and Company, having been £12,000 odd from 1st August, 1914, to 31st May, 1915, a period of ten months, have now been increased so that for the last four months a payment of £8,000 odd had been made; and whether he will state the principal heads of this increase and the number of extra hands among whom these increases were distributed?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. As regards the second, the principal heads of increase are wages, overtime, and incidental expenses of employés. The number of extra employés taken on since 1st June, 1915, is about twenty-five.

also asked the Under-Secretary for War whether he is aware that at Norwich Quarter Sessions an officer of the Army Service Corps was convicted for stealing Army beef from a railway van and forwarding the same to London to be sold; will he state how long these depredations had been going on; what was the name of the contractor forwarding the goods and from what station was it consigned to Norwich; whether any loss in connection with the robbery falls on his Department, the contractor, or the railway company; and whether he has yet received his special report on the Tunbridge Wells case and can state who in that case were consignors of the goods?

I have no information with regard to the case at the Norwich Quarter Sessions beyond a newspaper report which my hon. Friend sent me, from which it appears that the soldier convicted was a lance-corporal and not an officer; but I will make inquiries. As regards the Tunbridge Wells case, the special report was duly received, and measures were taken to put a stop to the practice which obtained in some units of selling their surplus ration meat for conversion into sausages. The sale was made with the authority of the officer commanding the unit.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether noncommissioned officers and men now serving with His Majesty's Forces abroad are allowed to return home to take up com- missions; and, inasmuch as injustice may be thereby inflicted on competent and experienced men, if he will say what alternative procedure has been adopted to give permission to those who deserve it by reason of their services?

Suitable non-commissioned officers and men, whether serving at home or abroad, may be recommended for commissions by their commanding officers. Those serving with the Expeditionary Forces are considered at the General Headquarters of the Commanders-in-Chief, and, if selected, are either sent to the cadet schools which have been established in France and Egypt, or are sent to the United Kingdom for training. In selecting candidates for appointment to commissions preference is given to those who have had recent military experience.

asked the Under-Secretary for War, if he can explain why the mother of Private W. Eager, No. 19703, 3rd battalion, Royal Dublin Fusiliers, has not yet received any dependant's allowance, although her son gave 16s. out of the 18s. earned by him to his mother before enlistment, and on enlistment allotted 3s. 6d. weekly out of his pay to his mother; whether he is aware that letters have been written by Mrs. Eager and the local secretary of the Soldiers' and Sailors' Families Association to the paymaster and commanding officer, and as a result no allowance has been paid from the 29th March, 1915 (the date of enlistment) to the present date; and that many similar cases of neglect to pay allowances to dependants of men who have joined the Royal Dublin Fusiliers still exist and have had and are having a serious effect on recruiting in Ireland?

My attention has already been drawn to this case and inquiry is being made. I will inform my hon. Friend of the result in due course.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether the War Office is about to issue gum-boots to the Army for use during the winter months in the trenches so that the men may not be dependent for these on casual benevolent gifts?

Gum-boots are being issued at the public expense in the same way as last year, but of an improved pattern as a result of the experience gained.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office if large orders for boots, accoutrements, harness, and saddlery for the British Army or for the Allies have recently been placed in America; and, if so, can he say why British firms were not given the opportunity of contracting?

The only order of any magnitude recently placed in America for goods of this description for the British Army is for gum-boots for trench use, and this was only placed after exhausting all suitable sources of supply in the United Kingdom. As regards the Allies' requirements, the only order placed abroad by the War Office is a small purchase of Canadian leather of special type, which was specifically asked for by the Russian Government. We have no information as to direct purchases which may have been made in America by the Allied Governments, but their attention has been drawn, through the International Commission, to the opportunities of meeting their requirements in this country.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether he is aware that in the city of Galway military notices are posted up on all vacant spaces, none of which notices bear the imprint of any firm of printers; whether care has been taken that the house entrusted with the work is one in which the Fair-Wages Resolution of the House of Commons has been observed and where the hours of employment are reasonable; if not, whether steps will be at once taken towards transferring all such work to recognised trade union houses; and whether he will see that, for the future, a fair share of the printing required for military purposes shall be given to such houses in Galway?

I am having inquiry made into this matter, and will let the hon. and gallant Member know the result in due course.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether he will state the number of cast-off horses which have been sold since the commencement of the present War, the names of the firms, and the number of horses each firm disposed of?

The number of cast horses reported by commands at home as having been sold up to 31st July last is 15,823, or 2.80 per cent. of the total number of horses purchased in the first year of the War. The remaining information desired by my hon. Friend is not immediately available, and I regret that in the present pressure of work its compilaton would not justify the labour involved.

asked the Minister of Munitions if he will give the names of the Members of both Houses of Parliament who are assisting his Department in any capacity?

The following is a list of the Members of Parliament who are assisting the Ministry:—

Members of the House of Lords assisting the Ministry.

Munitions Supply Department.

Area organisation—Lord Elphinstone.

Explosives Supply Department.

Director-General—Lord Moulton, K.C.B.

Advisory Committee.

Marquess of Crewe, K.G.; Earl Curzon of Kedleston, G.C.S.I., G.C.I.E.; Earl of Derby, K.G., G.C.V.O.

Central Control Board ( Liquor Traffic ).

Lord D'Abernon, K.C.M.G.

The Members of the House of Commons are:—

The Right Hon. D. Lloyd George, Minister of Munitions; Dr. C. Addison, Parliamentary Secretary; Col. Arthur Lee, Military Secretary.

Parliamentary Private Secretaries.

Sir Leo Chiozza Money, to the Minister; F. G. Kellaway, to the Parliamentary Secretary.

Advisory Committee.

Right. Hon. Arthur Henderson; H. W. Forster.

National Labour Advisory Committee.

Right Hon. Arthur Henderson; C. W. Bowerman; Alexander Wilkie.

Representatives of the Ministry for the Release of Soldiers as Skilled Munition Workers.

Commander Carlyon Bellairs; A. Shirley Benn; E. Craig; A. du Cros; Sir T. Esmonde, Bart.; J. M. Hogge; Sir G. Croydon Marks; A. H. Marshall; J. Duncan Millar, K.C.; C.T. Needham; R. E. Prothero, M.V.O.; Sir G. Scott Robertson, K.C.S.I.; A. MacCallum Scott; E. Shortt, K.C.; Rigby P. W. Swift, K. C.; Gershom Stewart.

Secretariat.

H. A. Law.

Munitions Supply Department.

Edgar Jones; Hon. H. D. McLaren.

Central Munitions Labour Supply Committee.

Right Hon. Arthur Henderson; Charles Duncan.

Munitions Parliamentary Committee.

W. Adamson; A. A. Allen; L. C. M. S. Amery; A. Shirley Benn; A. Bigland; A. F. Bird; A. W. Black; F. Handel Booth; W. Brace; Sir William J. Bull; Evelyn Cecil; H. G. Chancellor; J. R. Clynes; Sir Stephen Collins; Ernest Craig; W. Crooks; Timothy Davies; Sir W. Howell Davies; Right Hon. W. H. Dickinson, K.C; A. du Cros; Right Hon. H. E. Duke, K.C.; Sir J. Hastings Duncan; Sir Richard W. Essex; Arthur Fell; Right Hon. C. Fenwick; Sir J. Fortescue Flannery, Bart.; Gerald A. France; Samuel Galbraith; F. W. Gold-stone; J. G. Hancock; H. Percy Harris; G. F. Hohler, K.C; D. T. Holmes; W. Hudson; Spencer Leigh Hughes; Rev. J. Towyn Jones; Barnet Kenyon; Hon. H. L. W. Lawson; Sir Maurice Levy, Bart.; Sir John M. McCallum; J. A. Murray Macdonald; H. J. Mackinder; John Mackintosh Macleod; D. Mac-master, K. C.; Right Hon. Thomas J. Macnamara; Ronald McNeill; A. H. Marshall; J. Duncan Millar, K. C; H. Morison; C. T. Needham; R. J. Neville, K.C; H. Nield, K.C; F. Ogden; J. O'Grady; James Parker; Ebenezer Parkas; De F. Pennefather; B. E. Peto; E. M. Pollock, K.C.; J. W. Pratt; Captain E. G. Pretyman; Sir Arthur Priestley; W. M. R. Pringle; Sir John Randles; G. Carados Rees; J. Rowlands; Right Hon. H. L. Samuel; Sir H. S. Samuel; A. MacCallum Scott; Hon. Alexander Shaw; E. Shortt, K.C; Gershom Stewart; J. E. Sutton; T. Taylor; G. R. Thorne; Will Thorne; T. G. Tickler; Robert Tootill; Sir J. Tudor Walters; Colonel John Ward; Geo. J. Wardle; H. A. Watt; Hon. W. Watson; J. Dundas White; W. Tyson Wilson; T. E. Wing; A. W. Yeo.

Hon. Secretaries: Cecil Beck; James F. Hope; George H. Roberts.

Central Control Board ( Liquor Traffic. )

Major Waldorf Astor; John Hodge; Philip Snowden.

Munitions Inventions Panel.

Sir Henry Norman, Bart.

Committee of Adjudicators on Labour Transference.

W. H. Cowan; Sir G. Croydon Marks; Sir George Younger, Bart.

Committee on Industrial Fatigue and Hours of Labour.

J. R. Clynes.

asked the Secretary for India whether arrangements have now been made for the early publication in the United Kingdom of dispatches to the Government of India dealing with operations in the Persian Gulf and in Mesopotamia?

The only dispatches on the operations in the Persian Gulf and Mesopotamia which have been published in India have already been republished here in Command Paper Cd. 8074. For the present it is not considered desirable on military grounds to publish further dispatches.

asked the Postmaster-General what the charges are for parcels up to 12 lbs. sent from Ireland to soldiers in France; and will he state the charges for similar parcels sent to civilians in France from Ireland?

The postage rates on all parcels sent from any part of the United Kingdom to France, whether addressed to soldiers or civilians, are as follows:—

Parcels weighing over 11 lbs. cannot be sent by post.

I would also refer the hon. Member to my answer to a question as to the rate of postage on parcels for the troops on the 16th of September.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, having regard to the price of coal in the South of England, which is due to decreased output, he will withhold licences to export coal and coke except to the Allies of the United Kingdom during the War?

The pithead price of coal for home consumption is restricted by the Price of Coal (Limitation) Act, and the Board of Trade have suggested to local authorities that they should make arrangements in their districts similar to that which I have made with the London merchants for regulating retail prices. The export of coal and gas coke is closely watched by the Coal Exports Committee, and I am not prepared to recommend that licences for export to other than allied countries should be withheld altogether.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will state the cost of railway transit of fuel per ton per mile in 1913 in Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Canada, and Ireland, respectively?

I am not in possession of this information.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he can give the statistics of imports into the United States from Germany for each available month of the present year?

The following statement gives the information desired by the hon. Member. Figures for the corresponding months of the year 1914 have been added for comparison:—

NOTE.—The above figures have been extracted from the official monthly trade returns of the United States.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, under the scheme of Government insurance against air risks, in the case of such an insurance being effected by a landlord in respect of premises demised with a covenant to repair by the tenant, the Government, after payment for a loss, would require to be subrogated to the rights of the landlord and claim that proceedings to enforce the covenant to repair should be taken against the tenant?

In the case mentioned by the hon. Member the Government on paying the loss would, I understand, be subrogated to the rights of the landlord. Whether those rights should be exercised would depend on the circumstances of each particular case.

asked the President of the Board of Trade the average prices paid by the working classes in the large towns of the United Kingdom (population over 50,000) on 1st July, 1914, 1st October, 1914, and 1st October, 1915, for the following articles of food: beef (home and imported), mutton (home and imported), bacon, fish, flour, bread, sugar (granu- lated), milk, potatoes, margarine, butter, cheese, eggs, and tea?

The following table gives the information required except in the case of fish, for which average prices cannot be quoted:—

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Agriculture whether the attention of the President of the Board has been called to a recent meeting of the County War Agricultural Committee in Gloucestershire, at which attention was called to the waste of Government land in the Forest of Dean, which was now only available for sheep grazing, but which might, if placed at the disposal of the cottagers and others living in and near the forest, at a nominal rent, be producing useful and profitable crops of vegetables and other human food; and what action, if any, does he, as Commissioner of Woods and Forests, propose to take in the matter?

The open waste land in the Forest of Dean is subject to rights of common, and the Commissioners of Woods have no power to let it for growing vegetables or other agricultural purposes. I am, however, having further inquiry made into the matter, and will communicate with the hon. and gallant Member.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury how many companies have been allowed to make fresh issues of capital, and how many have been refused permission to do so, in England and Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, respectively, since 1st August, 1914?

This information is not immediately available, and it could not be put together without either interfering with the duties of the present staff, or engaging additional staff. I am afraid I cannot undertake to have it specially prepared.