asked what is the amount of the funds belonging to alien enemies held by the Public Trustee?

Funds belonging to alien enemies held by the Public Trustee fall into two separate categories: ( a ) Dividends (including repaid capital), interest, and share of profits. ( b ) Property (including money) vested by an Order of the Court.

The total sum received under (a) amounts approximately to £1,750,000, and the amount of property, including cash, under (b) amounts approximately to £3,600,000.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether insurance cards (National Health) have been printed in French and Flemish for the convenience of Belgian refugees in Great Britain and Ireland; and whether it is by the direction of the Treasury or on their own initiative that the Irish Insurance Commissioners refuse to print insurance cards in Irish or even to recognise cards printed in Irish by Approved Societies for Irish-speaking insured persons?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the negative. Certain documents of a purely explanatory character have been printed in the language named for the assistance of persons who could not otherwise appreciate their position under the Acts; but I am not aware that these arrangements furnish any analogy applicable to documents of different character in dissimilar circumstances.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury if he will specify the Irish institutions in the expenditure on which economies in the coming year have been so far determined, with the amount in each case; and whether further economies in Irish institutions are in contemplation?

The Estimates for the coming financial year are now under consideration, and will be published in due course.

also asked the Secretary to the Treasury the amount of public money paid under all heads to each occupant of the position of Attorney-General and Solicitor-General, respectively, from the 1st July, 1914, to the present time, with the total for the period; and the amount of other fees received by each of those officers during the time he held the position of Law Officer of the Crown, with the total for the period?

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave to the hon. Member for Mansfield on the 20th instant. That reply gave the figures in question for the financial year 1914–15, and as the relevant accounts are made up for periods from the 1st April to the 31st March in each year those figures are the only ones available. I fear that I do not understand the second part of the question; the hon. Member is surely aware that the Law Officers are not allowed to undertake private business.

asked the Under-Secretary for War if it is the intention of the War Office that the customary fee of 1s. is to be paid to the recruiting sergeant in each district on every man called up under Lord Derby's scheme of enlistment?

The whole question of recruiting rewards is under consideration in view of the new conditions.

asked the Under-Secretary for War whether he will revise the list of reserved workers in the hosiery trade so as to include finishers or trimmers; and whether he is aware that the starring in this trade has been apparently done by persons who had no knowledge of the trade and is looked upon in the trade as having been carried out in an unsatisfactory manner?

The War Office is not responsible for preparation of the List of Reserved Trades. This work is being done by a Committee sitting at the Board of Trade. The question, therefore, should be addressed to the President of the Board of Trade.

asked the Secretary for Scotland what facilities are offered Scottish police in connection with recruiting; are their positions kept open for them; and in what way is their pay dealt with when with the Colours?

As regards the first part of the question, I would refer the hon. Member to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for North-East Bethnal Green on the 9th November. The answer to the second part of the question is in the affirmative. As regards the last part of the question, the men when on service with His Majesty's Forces receive their appropriate naval or military pay and allowances. In addition, allowances may be made to their wives or other dependants by police authorities in terms of the Police Constables (Naval and Military Service) Acts, 1914 and 1915.

asked what facilities are offered to police in England and Wales in reference to recruiting; are their positions kept open for them; and in what way is their pay dealt with?

Any member of a police force who enlists with the consent of his chief constable has his place kept open for him so that he can return to the force at the end of the War. It is for the police authority to decide how many men can safely be spared. A police officer allowed to enlist does not draw his police pay as well as his Army pay while on military service, but the police authorities are empowered to make allowances to his wife and other dependants in addition to those paid from Army funds, and such allowances are almost invariably given.

also asked what facilities are offered to members of the Royal Irish Constabulary to recruit; are their positions kept open for them; and in what way is their pay dealt with whilst serving with the Colours?

I would refer the hon. Member to my replies of the 18th November to the hon. Member for East Limerick, and of the 22nd November to the hon. Member for the Connemara Division of Galway. The positions of policemen who enlist are kept open for them.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether, in view of the privilege enjoyed by holders of the Victoria Cross, Distinguished Service Order, and certain Territorial and Volunteer decorations of being allowed to place the initial letters of these orders after their names, he will consider the desirability of according similar permission to holders of the Military Cross?

The Royal Warrant makes express provision against the permission which my hon. Friend desires.

asked the Under-Secretary for War what are the total casualties of the German Army, as published to date in the Prussian, Saxon, Bavarian, Wurtemburg, and naval lists; and how many of these have been returned under the headings killed, severely wounded, died, and missing?

The total casualties as published in the official casualty lists for Prussia, Saxony, Bavaria, and Wurtemberg up to 30th November, 1915, amount to:—

2,524,460.

Of these there were, according to the official lists:— 484,218 killed and died of wounds. 384,198 severely wounded. 27,674 died of disease. 381,149 missing.

Perhaps the Noble Earl would ask the Admiralty for the naval casualties, which are not included in the above figures.

asked the Under-Secretary for War whether he is aware that, although the 1st Monmouthshire Regiment has been fighting in France for nearly a year, many of the men have not yet been allowed leave of absence; and whether he will arrange, before they are sent to any other place, that those men who have not had leave will be given an opportunity to visit their families and relatives?

I am not aware that this unit is likely to be moved. I must, however, remind my hon. Friend that units are liable in the public interest to be moved at short notice, and I fear that I can give no pledge that in such circumstances either officers or men who have not had leave will be given leave.

asked the Under-Secretary for War whether service in the ranks of the Army will count in reckoning the probationary period of appointment in the case of an officer commissioned from the ranks?

I am sending the hon. Member a copy of a special Army Order, dated the 18th instant, which deals with this matter.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office if he will have inquiries made into the case of William Newton, lately Private No. 2,028, 1/5th Battalion East Lancashire Regiment, who was recently discharged from the Army as unfit for further service, and, in particular, if he will ascertain whether before his enlisment this man had worked for over six years for Mr. Riley, brush manufacturer, of 1, Mosley Street, Burnley, and was a man of excellent health; whether the heart trouble from which he is now suffering is due to-shock caused by the explosion of a Turkish shell which entered the ground and exploded just below where he lay in a trench in Gallipoli and caused him severe internal injuries though technically he was unwounded; whether he has since been informed that he cannot claim any allowance or pension; and whether, under all the circumstances, he will consider if he is just as much entitled to a pension as he would be if he had lost an arm or a leg while serving in the War?

I am having inquiry made into this case, and will in due course let my hon. Friend know the result.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office if he will have inquiries made into the case of Mrs. Eastwood, of Burnley, wife of Driver D. Eastwood, formerly of the Army Service Corps, with a view to ascertaining whether this man served at the front from the outbreak of the War until January last; whether he was then placed in hospital on account of loss of memory, and has since been transferred to the Lancaster Asylum; whether it is now officially stated that there is no hope of his recovery; whether the allotment of £1 2s. 2d. a week which Mrs. Eastwood was receiving has in consequence been stopped; whether a life pension of 4s. 8d. a week has now been offered her; whether this is in accordance with the Regulations; and whether she has any right of appeal to enable her to obtain a more adequate provision?

Driver Eastwood was discharged on 3rd December, 1915, for general paralysis of the insane. His disability, though aggravated by military service, is due to disease of specific origin unconnected with his military service. The rate of pension awarded to him, namely 4s. 8d. a week, is the maximum allowed by the Regulations. Mrs. Eastwood has not been awarded a pension. She is not a widow. Separation allowance and allotment of pay cease on discharge from the Army.

asked the Minister of Munitions whether he is aware that the Dublin Corporation offered to undertake the manufacture and supply from their workshops of ammunition boxes and other equipment at competitive prices for the Munitions Department; and whether he can state why their offer has been refused by the Government?

I am informed that adequate provision for the supply of the articles mentioned has been made from trade sources, but further inquiries are being made into the point raised by the hon. Member.

asked the Home Secretary whether he will consider the case of Peter M'Anany, a pensioned police constable of the Metropolitan Police, who was called upon to resign in June, 1915; is he aware that this man left a good position to rejoin the police on the outbreak of war, that he served for ten months without complaint, that after only one week's sickness from a festering corn he reported himself to the divisional surgeon as fit to resume duty, and was so certified; will he say why this instruction to resume was subsequently cancelled and M'Anany told to resign; is there any Commissioner's order or police regulation that rejoined pensioners after one week's sickness are not to be retained in the service; and will he now, in view of the need for men in His Majesty's military forces, reinstate M'Anany, and so relieve one of the younger police officers who have volunteered to enlist?

I have already considered the case of this pensioner, who rejoined on the outbreak of the War. After being under medical treatment from time to time on account of trouble with his feet, he was in June last certified as not physically fit for police duty, and was accordingly retired. It is not proposed to re-employ him. Obviously, the possession of sound feet is a primary necessity for men engaged on police duty.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he has any intention in the immediate future of introducing legislation which will suspend for the duration of the War or any other period the declaration of bonuses by life assurance companies?

I am at present considering whether any special legislation with regard to life assurance companies is desirable.

asked the Secretary for Scotland what war economies he has been able to effect in the administration of Scotland?

If my hon. Friend will refer to the tables appended to the Memorandum by the Financial Secretary to the Treasury in the Estimates for Civil Services for the current year, he will find a comparative statement of the sums included in the Estimates for that year and the preceding year, from which he will see in what cases it was found possible to effect a reduction. Every effort has been, and, so far as I am in a position to control the Scottish Estimates, will continue to be made to reduce expenditure wherever possible, but I think it is generally recognised that the administration of the Scottish Departments has been economised, and that therefore the opportunities for diminished expenditure are restricted.

asked the Home Secretary whether he has granted a certificate under the Cruelty to Animals Act, 1876, to Mr. Leonard Hill, under which Mr. Hill performed a number of experiments upon living animals with chlorine gas, as reported in the "British Medical Journal" of the 4th December, 1915; if such experiments were performed in the United Kingdom, where were they performed, what were the terms of such certificate, and who was the person who signed the same as required by the said Act; what were the animals used by Mr. Leonard Hill in these experiments and how many of such animals were so used; and, if more than one kind of animal was used, how many of each kind?

I have made inquiry, and find that the research described in the article referred to was conducted jointly by Dr. Hill and Dr. Flack, but that all the experiments referred to were performed by Dr. Flack. They were performed in the laboratory of the Medical Research Committee at the London Hospital Medical College, and six were done under licence alone and twelve under Certificate A. Under licence alone six animals were used (five cats and one rabbit), and under Certificate A twelve guinea-pigs. Dr. Flack's Certificate A was given by the President of the Royal Society and the Professor of Physiology, London University.

asked the Home Secretary if he will give the names of those newspapers specially concerned in the subject-matter to which was sent the circular letter of 1st December about proceedings in camera; and whether he can say whether any of these newspapers printed and published the circular in any of their issues?

The circular was sent to the "Justice of the Peace," the "Law Journal," and the "Law Times," and I believe it was published in each of those papers.

asked the Chief Secretary whether any proposal has been made by Mr. James W. Bond, D.L., county Longford, recently to sell his ranch at Coolcraff to the Estates Commissioners; and, if not, will he request them to communicate with Mr. Bond, who has now promised to sell these lands for distribution if a price can be arranged?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the negative. As the hon. Member has already been informed, the Estates Commissioners have had an inspection made of the lands referred to and have intimated to the owner the sum they would be prepared to advance if formal proceedings are instituted for the sale of the lands to them under the Land Purchase Acts. Up to the present the owner has not instituted such proceedings.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether the Estates Commissioners have acquired any and, if so, how much untenanted land on the Reynall Estate, Mullaghmore, county Meath; and, if so, whether it is proposed to divide it amongst local applicants, and when?

I am informed that in connection with the sale by the owner to the tenants of their holdings on the estate of F. H. Reynall, situate in the counties of Meath and Westmeath, the owner has included, for sale to the Estates Commissioners for the purpose of distribution, some 170 acres of untenanted land in the town lands of Lobinstown, Killary, Derry-crane, and Clonsura, but, apparently, no lands of the name of Mullaghmore. In the allotment of these 170 acres, if acquired, the Estates Commissioners will have due regard to the wants and circumstances of the occupiers in the neighbourhood. The estate has not yet been reached in its order of priority to be dealt with by the Commissioners, and they are not at present in a position to state when they may allot the lands.

also asked whether the Estates Commissioners have offered a price for the untenanted land on the Headfort estate in the town lands of Ballintillian and Moate; whether their offer has been accepted; and, if so, whether the Commissioners propose to divide it amongst local applicants, and when?

I am informed by the Estates Commissioners that the reply to the first part of the question is in the negative, and that the acquisition of the land will be considered in connection with the sale of the estate. The Commissioners cannot at present say when they will be in a position to distribute the lands. In making this distribution they will have due regard to the wants and circumstances of the occupiers in the neighbourhood.

asked the Chief Secretary whether he was consulted by the Department of Technical Instruction about stopping the small grants to Irish training colleges; whether he is aware that this will mean closing some fifteen establishments; and will he direct that this be not done?

The Department inform me that they have not stopped their grants to training colleges, and that the hon. Member probably refers to the suspension of the grants to the colleges of Irish. These colleges are affected by the temporary suspension of Section III. of the Programme for Technical Schools and Classes, under which grants have been made by the Department for the supplementary training of teachers of primary and secondary schools in experimental science, drawing, manual work, domestic economy, Irish, etc. This matter has been fully dealt with in the reply given to-day by the Vice-President of the Department to a question by the hon. Member for Westmeath. The Department state that they are not aware that the suspension of these grants will result in the closing of any establishment.

also asked the Chief Secretary whether he is aware that the only evicted tenant on the White estate, in North Longford, left unprovided for by restoration as an evicted tenant was Mr. Thomas Brady, of Culleennore; whether he was aware that Mr. Brady was evicted on the 27th November, 1888, and his farm taken by a man named Bodell, who was allowed to sell his interest to another person who is now treated by the Estates Commissioners as a bonâ fide tenant to Brady's exclusion; and whether, in any division of lands taking place in the near future in this district, Mr. Brady will be provided for?

I am informed that the owner of this estate instituted proceedings for the sale of his estate direct to the tenants under the Irish Land Act, 1903, and purchase agreements, at prices agreed upon between the parties, were lodged with the Estates Commissioners, and the holdings were vested in the purchasing tenants in June, 1905. John W. Bodell, as tenant in occupation, purchased the holding formerly held by Brady, and it was? vested in Bodell accordingly in 1905. In May, 1909, he transferred his interest to Thomas Hand, who is now the registered owner of the lands. The reply to the con-eluding portion of the question is in the negative.

asked the Vice-President of the Department of Agriculture (Ireland), whether any Report of the result of experiments made at Ballyhaise to exterminate warble fly has been issued; and whether it is intended to have the Report distributed amongst livestock owners and breeders in the three Kingdoms?

A further Report will be issued as soon as the results of this year's work are available. When the experiments have advanced a stage further, the Department will be prepared to issue a Report upon the Whole investigation, and to distribute it as widely as possible.

asked the Postmaster-General what curtailments, if any, have been made recently in the collections and deliveries of letters, both as regards local services and the incoming and outgoing mails, in the following cities and towns: London, Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield, Cardiff, Swansea, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee, and Aberdeen, showing in each instance how every alteration affects the facilities previously afforded to the inhabitants of the various centres for posting and receiving letters?

It has been necessary to effect material reductions in the postal services of all these towns, but the detailed information which the hon. Member requires could only be obtained by local inquiry, and I am unwilling to demand it of officers who at this time are already seriously pressed with work.