asked the Prime Minister if any person has been detailed by the Government from the commencement of hostilities to write an accurate official history of the War; whether there is any person engaged on that work at the present time; and if he will mention his name?

As I stated yesterday, this question is in the hands of the Historical Section of the Committee of Imperial Defence.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury, what was the approximate cost, including freight and insurance, of transmitting gold between London and New York at the beginning of October?

I have no official information except that the rate of insur- ance against war risks under the Government scheme is 21s. per cent., but I understand that certain shipments of moderate quantities were effected at the beginning of October at above 28s. 6d. for freight and insurance against both marine and war risks, the war risk in these cases being obtained in the market somewhat below the Government rate.

asked what is the present practice of the Bank of England as regards payments in exchange for Bank of England notes and currency notes when presented at the bank for payment in gold?

The practice is to pay in gold.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury, if he will set out the instructions issued by the Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury to banks other than the Bank of England as regards paying out in notes rather than gold, in relation to economy in the use of gold coin; and whether he has received any communications with reference to the extent to which bankers and their customers have co-operated in complying with these instructions?

Letters were addressed to the banks calling their attention to the notice issued by the Treasury which appeared in the Press on 6th August and inviting their co-operation in the policy of His Majesty's Government. The response of the banks and the public has been in general most satisfactory.

asked the Under-Secretary for War whether sensitised vaccines are being or have been used in any part of the British Dominions since 1st August, 1914, for the purpose of the inoculation of soldiers against typhoid fever?

No sensitised vaccines for the purpose of inoculating soldiers against typhoid fever have been supplied by the War Office.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether an order, partly on behalf of our Allies, for 5,000,000 yards of serge khaki has been given to manufacturers in the United States; and, if so, whether he can state why a portion of this order was not distributed amongst the manufacturers of Great Britain and Ireland?

No order for Army cloth of any description has been placed in the United States for an Allied Government, either through the War Office or through the Commission Internationale de Ravitaillement. While no official information is available, it is believed that negotiations have taken place direct between the Italian Government and American manufacturers with a view to placing a substantial order for Army cloth. As soon as the report reached the War Office representations were made to the Italian Government, through His Majesty's Ambassador at Rome, and also through the Italian delegates on the International Commission, as to the desirability of placing the order in this country rather than in America. Every endeavour has been made by the British Government to keep the Allied Powers informed of the capacity of this country for meeting their requirements, and to impress upon them, in the financial interests of the Allies as a whole, the importance of placing their orders here rather than in neutral countries. I may add that the orders for Army cloth placed by the Allies in this country since the outbreak of war amount to over 43,000,000 yards.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether facilities are being afforded for Indian pilgrims to Mecca and Medina in spite of the war with Turkey?

The Government of India have done what is possible to arrange facilities for Indians who are desirous of making the pilgrimage in spite of the difficulties due to the War.

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether, in view of the present unrest amongst householders as to the increases in rents and mortgage interest and its effect upon recruiting, he will forthwith bring in the Bill dealing with this matter?

I regret that I am not at present able to make a further statement on this subject. I am still collecting information with a view to ascertaining both the extent of the grievance and the possible methods of meeting it.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, in order to maintain the maximum output of coal, and in view of the present shortage of wagons, arrangements can be made so that foreign wagons may be loaded with coal when destined to points on or to places in the direction of the railway owning the foreign wagons; whether this practice is permitted by railways in the case of goods; and, if so, what is the reason for the discrimination against coal?

The attention of the Railway Executive Committee has been called to my hon. Friend's suggestion, and I am assured that it is receiving their serious consideration. Coal traffic is largely carried in privately owned wagons, and I am not sure that arrangements made for dealing with general merchandise can necessarily be applied to coal traffic.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he can state the number of women who were found employment by the Labour Exchanges during the twelve months ending 10th September, 1914, and the occupations to which they were sent?

The number of women over seventeen years of age who were placed in employment through the Labour Exchanges during the twelve months ended 10th September, 1914, was 215,310. I will furnish my hon. Friend with details of the occupations in which they were placed.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he can state the value of bullion and species in dollars exported from Germany, the Netherlands, and the Scandinavian countries in dollars to the United States for the available months of 1915, with the comparative figures for 1914?

Between January, 1914, and October, 1915, there were no imports into the United States of America of bullion or specie from Norway or Sweden, and the only imports during this period from the Netherlands were 2,000,000 dollars in April, 1915, and from Denmark, 1,475,000 dollars in March, 1915. In 1914, the imports from Germany were as follows:—

No imports from Germany have been recorded in 1915.

asked the Home Secretary whether he is aware that the stipendiary magistrate at Greenwich Police Court has called public attention in Court to the lack of shelter in the yard of Greenwich Police Court for weak and ailing horses, many of whom are in poor condition and in pain, and who are left exposed to all weathers while the cases against their owners or drivers for offences under the Protection of Animals Act are being dealt with in Court, and has even suggested that it might become necessary to take proceedings against the police themselves in order to wake up officialdom to a sense of duty; and whether he will take steps in order that a remedy may be provided for this state of things?

The provision of shelter for horses at this Court was contemplated, but has been postponed in consequence of the present necessity for economy in public expenditure. For this reason the magistrates have not pressed the matter since the beginning of the War, and the remark to which my hon. Friend alludes was not intended to be taken seriously.

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether he is aware that Mr. W. Stevens, clerk to the Brentford Board of Guardians, has terminated his appointment with the board; is he aware that his salary was £750 per annum, and, in consequence of his being clerk to the assessment committee, for which his salary was £320 per annum, he has been granted a superannuation allowance of £552 16s. 8d. per annum; if the Brentford Board of Guardians were justified in granting the annual allowance based upon 31–60ths of £1,070; and if he intends taking any action in the matter?

I understand that the facts are as stated in the question. I have been advised that remuneration received as clerk to the assessment committee must be regarded as an emolument for the purposes of the Poor Law Officers' Superannuation Act, 1896, and, in the circumstances, I do not consider that any action on my part is called for.