asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he has any information that numbers of Germans of military age have succeeded in returning to Germany from neutral countries in neutral ships, travelling under assumed names with false passports; and if effective steps are now being taken to prevent this proceeding?

A large number of Germans of military age attempting to return to Germany with passports of neutral countries have been detected and arrested. No doubt a certain number have succeeded in getting through. Information to this effect has been received. Every effort is made to prevent them, but the habitual use of forged and false passports and of false papers purchased from neutral seamen makes the work of detection difficult. Various neutral Governments have been warned of the abuse of their passports by Germans, and such steps as are possible have been taken to make the acquisition of false papers difficult.

asked if any decision has been arrived at on the question of extending the list of absolute contraband, so as to include every commodity which is vitally necessary to our enemies?

The proper method of dealing with this question is under consideration. My hon. Friend will not forget that we have to act in these matters in concert with our Allies.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he is aware that, owing to the standard of proof of enemy destination required by the Contraband Committee, many cargoes are released without being sent before the Prize Court; and if it is intended to modify the instructions to the Contraband Committee so as to allow the question of destination to be settled in the Prize Court?

I do not think that any cargoes are allowed to proceed by the Contraband Committee against which there is any reasonable evidence that they are destined for the enemy. In this matter the discretion of the Contraband Committee is as it ought to be unfettered by any instructions, and in my opinion they have exercised that discretion well.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if, in view of the fact that war prisoners are employed to clean the streets of Munich, he will consider the advisability of employing our prisoners of war in this country for a similar purpose?

Work can be enforced only on combatant prisoners of war. Dorchester and Shrewsbury are the only places of considerable size near which such prisoners are interned, and they have not been employed there in this work; but the matter shall receive consideration.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether, when consenting to the use of Mrs. Scott, recently deported, as carrier of a letter written in Hungarian from London to the Finance Commissioner of Hungary making a certain offer if Hungary would secede from Austria and join Russia, he was aware of the other uses previously and concurrently made of Mrs. Scott by Messrs. Rothschild; on what grounds the Foreign Office enabled Mrs. Scott to pass into and out of enemy countries once a month during eighteen months of the War; and whether the American Embassy, through which legitimate communication with those countries was carried on, was kept informed of the uses being made of Mrs. Scott over the same ground?

I must have time to make inquiries with regard to this matter, and perhaps the hon. Member will repeat his question on Tuesday next.

asked the cause of the demonstration made by the Egyptian Reserve at the Sultan's Palace, Cairo, on the 29th January, in which both soldiers and civilians were shot at and injured, and the number and nature of the casualties?

Certain Egyptian Reservists recently appeared before the palace with the object of presenting cer- tain specific grievances to the Sultan, and a slight disturbance resulted, in which a few people were injured. The incident, which was of no importance, is not likely to be repeated.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, in the absence of law empowering the Egyptian Government to refuse permission to found a newspaper without giving a reason for the refusal and to prohibit the publication of a newspaper in more than one language, will he say what are the principles or rules for guidance in these matters respectively?

I do not think it would be desirable to make a general statement of that description, but if the hon. Member raises the question of any specific newspaper, the matter will be considered.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he has any information showing that there is any considerable number of officers and men at the present moment prisoners of war in Turkey; if so, will he state the reasons why the Turkish Government have refused to furnish these names; and whether His Majesty's Government have refused to furnish the Turkish Government with the names of Turkish officers and men taken prisoners?

I have recently received from the United States Embassy at Constantinople through the United States Ambassador in London a list of 491 British naval and military prisoners of war taken at the Dardanelles. The United States Embassy believe this list to be complete. I have also received from the United States Embassy a list of 107 British prisoners taken in Mesopotamia. I am pressing for a complete list of prisoners taken in Mesopotamia. It was at one moment found necessary to suspend the transmission to the Porte of lists of Turkish prisoners of war, but on the receipt of the lists of the British prisoners of war the transmission of the lists of Turkish prisoners of war was resumed.

Have the relatives been notified?

Yes, I think the relatives have all been notified—I believe so.

asked how soon the first British invalid prisoners of war will be sent to sanatoria in Switzerland?

No, Sir, I am not yet in a position to say.

Can the right hon. Gentleman tell me when he will be in a position to say? Can he say how long these negotiations are likely to take?

It is very difficult to answer that question. Perhaps the hon. Gentleman will put down a question in a week or ten days' time.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether any answer has yet been received to the telegram sent from the Foreign Office to The Hague relative to the punishment of the sixteen Naval Reserve prisoners interned at Groeningen; whether he can explain the delay in the reply to his telegram, and state what sentence these men have served; and what action His Majesty's Government propose to take in the matter?

The inquiry was made by dispatch, and on its receipt at The Hague the Commodire at Groeningen was requested by telegram to furnish a Report, which has now been received. Four of the men concerned have completed their sentence of fourteen days in cells. The remainder have been provisionally released pending further inquiries, but I cannot say how much of their sentence they served. His Majesty's Minister at The Hague is making representations to the Netherlands Government with regard to the case.

Does that mean that His Majesty's Government will demand a full explanation of these unjust sentences, and will demand compensation for those who have been wrongly imprisoned?

I cannot answer that question without further consideration. Undoubtedly a full inquiry will be made, and if my hon. Friend wishes to proceed further in the matter, as I dare say he does, perhaps he will put down a question.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether the Interdepartmental Committee recently appointed to deal with the question of prisoners of war has the power to take evidence, to reconsider decisions arrived at by the Government before it was appointed, and to consider questions affecting the conduct of prison camps in Great Britain as well as of those abroad?

Evidence as to the treatment of British prisoners of war will continue to be taken by the Government Committee recently set up for this purpose. The reference to the Interdepartmental Committee is that it should deal with any questions with which two or more of the Departments represented are concerned. It will be for the Committee to decide whether any particular question raised comes within its reference.

Is the Interdepartmental Committee permitted to decide?

The Interdepartmental Committee will decide whether the question comes within its reference, and will take such action as it is able to take in the matter.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War why, in exchanging prisoners of war with the enemy, only one British officer was obtained in exchange for Prince Salm, notwithstanding the promise of three British officers given in the letter which Mrs. Harriet Scott brought to this country from Austria?

All points bearing on the exchange of Prince Salm-Salm were considered before the agreement with Ger many was reached.

asked who is the party, or who are the parties, on behalf of Great Britain to the agreements with certain bodies of merchants in Denmark and Sweden, respectively; and by what authority they became parties to those agreements?

I am not sure to what specific agreements the hon. Member alludes, but agreements concluded on behalf of Great Britain are concluded by His Majesty's Government under the authority of His Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.

asked whether any person of German origin who was a member of the Ford peace party which left the United States of America some time ago is now in this country, despite the assurance that no member of this party would be allowed to land and remain in the country?

I am not aware that any member of the Ford peace party who is of German origin has been allowed to land and remain in this country. If the hon. Baronet will give me particulars of any case which he has in mind, I will inquire into it.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he still adheres to his declaration made in his Note of the 23rd July last that we are not detaining enemy goods as such; if this implies that all enemy goods detained at sea by our cruisers are at once released without being submitted to the Prize Court as contemplated by the Order in Council of 11th March, 1915; and, if so, can he explain why greater indulgence is shown to enemy goods than is shown to neutral goods detained under that Order?

If the hon. Member will refer to what I said on 23rd July in the Note which I addressed to the United States Ambassador, he will see that this question does not convey a correct impression of my statement. It was only where the fact of enemy ownership afforded no evidence that the goods were of enemy origin, or possessed an enemy destination, that I said they were not in practice being detained. Such cases are extremely rare, but with respect to them the declaration made has not been withdrawn. The answer to the second part of the question is in the negative, and the third, therefore, does not arise.

asked if in 1913 Germany had about seventy-five unsalaried Consular officers in the United Kingdom as against about thirty-six unsalaried British Consular officers in Ger- many; how many of the unsalaried German Consular officers in the United Kingdom were Germans; how many were of enemy origin who had become naturalised British subjects; how many of the unsalaried British Consular officers in Germany were British subjects; and how many were subjects of countries with which we are now at War?

It has been found very difficult to get complete information on the subject of this question, and the following must be regarded as only approximate: British unsalaried Consular officers in Germany, at the end of 1913, numbered thirty-seven, of whom eight were British and the remainder German subjects. Germany at the same time, according to the list compiled at the Foreign Office, had in this country fifty-seven unsalaried Consular officers, of whom, according to information available, four were Germans and eight were naturalised British subjects of enemy origin. These figures do not include a number of so-called Consular Agents, who, according to the German Consular Regulations, have no official authority, and are consequently not members of the Consular body, properly speaking. The German Consular Agents in the United Kingdom were, with one possible exception, all British subjects.

asked how many Consular inspectors are now in the Service; in which countries they serve; the salaries paid them; and their principal duties?

The system of Consular inspection is in suspense during the War.

asked if any of the recommendations of the last Royal Commission which reported on the General Consular Service have been adopted; and, if so, which?

It will, I am afraid, be impracticable to deal with the recommendations of the Royal Commission in regard to the General Consular Service during the War.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is aware that Scotsmen domiciled in Scotland, but having places of call in London for business purposes are being summoned to serve on London juries; that this is being continued even though these premises are closed and unutilised on account of the War; that this practice presses severely on Scotsmen resident so far from where the jury is to sit, especially as they often are unaware that they have been so summoned, the notices not having reached them on account of the premises being closed; and whether he will see that this practice is discontinued during the period of the War?

I have no authority under the present law to intervene in this matter, and cannot undertake in existing circumstances to introduce legislation to amend the law relating to jury lists. But I will call the attention of the City authorities to the question, as it would appear from the representations made that the present arrangements may operate harshly in individual cases.

asked the Home Secretary whether his attention has been called to the claim at Oxford City tribunal, on the 3rd instant, of one Joseph Kaye for exemption; whether this man's real name was Kaufmann; whether his father is a German; whether he himself was in Germany a month before the War; and, if so, whether, as he is an obvious enemy of this country, he will consider the desirability of interning him?

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his attention has been called to the case of Joseph Kaye, or Kaufmann, an undergraduate of St. John's College, Oxford, who applied before the Oxford City tribunal for exemption from military service on the ground of conscientious objections to assisting in the organised murder of fellow Socialists; if he is aware that it was given in evidence that Kaye, or Kaufmann, is the son of a German father, born in Bavaria, and of a mother born in England of German parents, and that the conscientious objector was in Germany a month before the outbreak of war and is a notorious pro-German in sympathy; whether the tribunal decided that they had no jurisdiction to hear the application for exemption; whether this decision was on the ground that the applicant was an alien enemy; and, if so, will he say why Kaye, or Kaufmann, has not long ago been interned?

I have made inquiry and am informed that Joseph Kaye or Kaufmann is a natural-born British subject born in Liverpool, that his father who was born in Bavaria came to this country in 1871 and was naturalised as a British subject in 1879, and that the family changed their name to Kaye in September, 1914. I am not aware of the grounds on which the tribunal decided that they had no jurisdiction—that is a question for the military authorities—but I may say that so far as regards nationality, he clearly comes within the provisions of the Military Service Act. I am informed that Kaye is at present under arrest on a charge under the Defence of the Realm Regulations.

asked the Prime Minister whether his attention has been called to a case in which the Battersea tribunal refused exemption on 29th February to an only son who was the sole support of a widowed mother, and to another case on the same day in which the Brentford tribunal granted total exemption to a brewer on the application of a brewery company on the ground that it was impossible for a brewery to supply beer without its brewer; and whether these tribunals were respectively giving effect to the intentions of the Government when they passed the Military Service Act, 1916?

The Prime Minister has asked me to reply to this question. My attention has not been previously called to these cases. I cannot undertake to deal with individual cases of this kind, but an aggrieved person can appeal from the decision of the local tribunal.

Are we to understand then, that a brewer is more a matter of concern to the Government than the only son of a widow?

No, Sir. The hon. Gentleman knows quite well that his suggestion has no foundation whatever. The action of the tribunals is subject to revision by the Court of Appeal and we have provided not only an Appeal Court, but we have put in exact words to make it clear what the functions of the tribunals are.

Would it not be better to give clear instructions in the first instance to the local tribunals?

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether his attention has been called to the case of Albert E. Pearce, 27, Windsor Terrace, Penarth, near Cardiff, who has owned a dentistry business for two years and has still to meet a loan of £30; whether he is aware that this man, who has been refused exemption by the tribunal, is the support of a mother and two sisters, one of them being an invalid, and that his only brother has been on foreign service and is now in hospital; and whether, in view of the undertakings of the Prime Minister and himself, he will say what action, if any, it is proposed to take?

My attention has not been called to this case. I must refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave to his question on Tuesday last.

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether he is aware that the local tribunal appointed under the Military Service Act, 1916, at Salisbury have failed to appoint representatives of organised labour on the committee; and whether he will make inquiry into the matter with a view to its rectification, as such action on the part of the local authority creates instead of allaying friction?

I understand that the town council have decided to appoint a representative from the National Union of Railwaymen on the local tribunal.

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether his attention has been drawn to the fact that members of tribunals are seeking to hold up to contempt and ridicule applicants for exemption from military service who base their claims on certain scriptural injunctions; and will he take steps to prohibit this practice, in view of the fact that the clergy have secured exemption from the Act as professional exponents of these precepts?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the negative; the second point, therefore, does not arise.

May I bring the cases referred to in the question before the right hon. Gentleman, and will he take steps to draw the attention of the local tribunals to the matter?

If information is brought before me which proves to be trustworthy I will take any steps on it I think right.

Will the right hon. Gentleman refrain from doing anything to deter the exposure of contemptible travesties of moral conscience?

asked the President of the Local Government Beard whether his attention has been drawn to the fact that the Westminster tribunal, on the 7th instant, granted three months' postponement to a director of Drummond's Bank on the ground that there was only one partner left to carry on the business, and on the same day allowed only one month's postponement to a man who is supporting his invalid mother, a widow whose other son is serving, the applicant being told to get his mother into a room; and will he take steps to secure greater equality of treatment than was shown in the matter of these two cases?

I cannot undertake to discuss individual decisions of the local tribunals. I may refer to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for the Attercliffe Division on Tuesday.

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether, in view of his instructions to local tribunals that they should confine their inquiries to ascertaining facts, he will discourage the putting of hypothetic questions to the conscientious objector, such as those as to what he would do in the case of his mother being attacked by a German, such questions having no relation to fact, in view of the recent statement of the First Lord of the Admiralty that enlistment is for a cause which does not involve invasion or even the serious danger of invasion of our hearths and homes?

I cannot undertake to issue such instructions as are suggested.

Is the right hon. Gentleman not aware that owing to the action of local tribunals thousands of appeal cases are going to the Appeal Court which need not do so if the local tribunal does its work properly?

I am not aware of the fact. I do not admit that to be a correct statement of fact. No announcement here is going to affect the action of the tribunals. They have the Act and the Regulations, and there are countless questions answered here If they make a mistake the Appeal Courts must revise their decision.

In the case of tribunals constantly flouting the Act and the Regulations and compelling appeals will the right hon. Gentleman compel the tribunal to follow the law?

I have no power to do anything of the kind.

Will the right hon. Gentleman hasten the setting up of the Appeal Tribunal in order to get these questions settled?

As far as I know the great majority of the local appeal tribunals have been established already. Where there has been delay it has not been the fault of the Government. But the delay has been on the part of the local authority in providing us with the names.

Does the right hon. Gentleman approve of the bullying of witnesses by solicitors?

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether his attention has been directed to the refusal of a number of local tribunals to consider the granting of certificates of exemption to conscientious objectors except from combatant service only; and whether, in view of the provisions of the Military Service Act, 1916, he will take steps to see that the letter and spirit of the Act are more faithfully observed by such tribunals?

It has been stated in some instances that local tribunals have been under the impression that no exemption? could be given to an applicant for exemption on conscientious grounds other than a certificate of exemption from combatant service. Where this has been alleged I have communicated with the tribunal. I do not think the misconception is at all prevalent.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether his attention has been called to the case of two members of the British Socialist party who applied for exemption before the Huddersfield Tribunal on 4th March; whether Captain Bradbury, the military representative, said that such men were a great evil and would hinder recruiting if they were left; and, since no evidence was forthcoming that the men had done anything whatever to hinder recruiting, and since men who do hinder recruiting can be dealt with by law, whether steps will be taken to impress upon military representatives that it is desirable to avoid creating the impression that men are to be conscripted for their political opinions?

I have not heard of the circumstances to which my hon. Friend calls my attention. It would be quite wrong for any military representative to attempt to prejudice any man before a local tribunal on account of his political opinion, and if a statement, such as is mentioned by my hon. Friend, was made, it was improper and should not have been made. I have no reason to suppose that military representatives drag in the question of men's political opinions in conducting cases before local tribunals. A local tribunal is not only a judicial but a representative body, and, as such, the members would naturally resent and check any improper procedure of this kind.

I will send my right hon. Friend full particulars of both cases.

asked if the officers and their crew of the mercantile marine have been exempted from service under the Military Service Act, 1916; if so, why ships' stewards on passenger ships have not been included in such exemption, seeing that under the Merchant Shipping Act the stewards are part of the crew; and, in view of the fact that ship stewards are often required to take up duties which it would not be possible for women to discharge, he will consider the desirability of also exempting ship stewards who can produce a three years' continuous discharge for sea-going experience?

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply on this subject given to the hon. Member for Barrow-in-Furness on the 7th March, a copy of which is being sent to my hon. Friend.

asked the President of the Local Government Board if a communication has been addressed to the Ilford local tribunal saying that a man who has divorced his wife and has the custody of dependent children is not in the same position under the Military Service Act, 1916, as a widower with dependent children; and, if so, on what grounds such a decision has been given?

I am advised that a man who is legally divorced is "unmarried" within the meaning of Section 1 (1) ( b ) of the Military Service Act, and the local tribunal in question were informed to that effect.

Could the right hon. Gentleman explain how he justifies this distinction between a divorced man with children and a widower with children?

The hon. Gentleman is now asking me to defend a proposition of law. A man is either married or unmarried, and if he is divorced he is unmarried.

asked the President of the Local Government Board if, in view of the fact that local tribunals are stating that pledges given by Ministers in Parliament on the Military Service Act, 1916, are not binding upon them, he will obtain an amendment of the Order in Council made under that Act embodying the pledges of Ministers as a part of the Regulations, particularly those pledges in regard to widows' sons, to serious domestic hardships, and the right of conscientious objectors to employment in industrial occupations of national importance?

The answer is in the negative.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Agriculture if he is aware that there is disquietude among farmers owing to a recent speech delivered by a great authority; if he can state whether farm servants who have attested, and who have been exempted by the tribunals, are still liable to be called up; and if he is aware that farmers are under the impression that if they now carry out the usual ploughing and sowing they may be left at harvest without the essential labour, and that they consider the position most unsatisfactory?

I am aware that there is disquietude among farmers as among other classes on the ground of the supply of labour. It is undoubtedly extremely difficult for them to carry out the two duties of sparing as many men as possible for the Army, and maintaining to the utmost possible extent the output from the land. And it is a difficult task for the Government to see that a proper balance is kept between the claims of these two national duties. As my hon. Friend knows farm servants who have attested, and been exempted by the tribunals, are not liable to be called up as long as their certificates of exemption remain in force. Certificates may be renewed, or reviewed on grounds which were widely published in notices issued on the 12th and 14th February. But while this is so, farmers undoubtedly ought not to refrain from the usual ploughing and sowing of the land, as the provision of adequate labour for harvest must and will be regarded as a primary necessity in the interests of the nation.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that land is actually going out of cultivation owing to the ruthless way in which men are being called up?

It is extremely difficult to keep a proper balance between the necessity of getting men for the Army and keeping sufficient men on the land.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War if his attention has been called to the fact that at the military service tribunal at Llandilo, Carmarthenshire, the military representative stated that in the Regulations it was clearly stated that no appeal could be entertained by a local tribunal unless it was made by or in respect of an attested man, and that in consequence of this statement many men who had come 15 miles with aged relations to attend the Court were unable to have their applications heard; and whether, in view of this, he will see that the Regulations issued to recruiting officers are correctly amended?

My attention has not been called to the circumstances mentioned by my hon. Friend. I cannot understand why a man who has not attested and who is not subject to the Military Service Act should wish to attend before a tribunal. As regards men to whom the Military Service Act applies, full instructions have been given to local tribunals that under the Act applications were to be made before the 2nd March, i.e., before any man had been deemed to be enlisted under the Military Service Act.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether the Government will consider the advisability of not calling up married groups until the supply of single men has been exhausted?

All groups of unmarried men who have voluntarily attested and all classes of unmarried men subject to the Military Service Act have already been called up. The Government fully considered the necessities of the due supply of men to be drawn for Army service before calling up any groups of married men.

Without controverting what the right hon. Gentleman says, does not the Government think that the loyal married men have a just cause of complaint in the numerous exemptions given on the pretext of conscience?

That opens up a very wide question.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether his attention has been called to the case of a clerk who claimed exemption before the City of London Tribunal on 6th March, on the ground that he had been rejected five times and was subject to epileptic fits, having had a fit whilst waiting to be examined at the headquarters of the Queen's Westminsters; whether, though the man's condition was known to the doctors, he was passed, his rejection paper which he had just received being recalled; that the man was refused exemption by the tribunal; whether the War Office has considered the human and economic waste involved in the wholesale recruitment of unfit persons; and what provision the War Office propose to make for them in view of the probability of their speedy physical collapse and consequent discharge from the Army?

If my hon. Friend will furnish me with particulars of this case, I will have it inquired into.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he has received any communication respecting the case of J. H. Bailey, No. 35, Wolseley Road, Lowfields, Sheffield; whether Army Form W3236 has been sent to this man, informing him that he is required for service on 9th March under Class No. S3; whether this man has three times presented himself for attestation and three times been rejected; that he holds a rejection certificate dated 16th November, 1915, and signed by A. Taylor, recruiting officer, Sheffield; that on presenting this certificate as recently as 2nd March he was informed by the Sheffield recruiting officer that the rejection certificate does not hold good; whether this man will be provided with his cancellation notice; or whether, being legally exempt from service under the Military Service Act, 1916, he should disregard future notices and warnings from the military authorities?

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War if he will have inquiries made into the case of William Harrison of 11, Dall Street, Burnley, who has recently been enlisted under the Military Service Act, 1916, and, in particular, if he will ascertain whether this lad since the outbreak of war has offered himself voluntarily for enlistment four times, twice at Blackburn and twice at Burnley, and has each time been rejected as unfit; whether he is aware that on the last occasion, which was since the 14th August last, he received from the recruiting officer at Burnley a certificate of unfitness; that on or about 1st March he took this certificate to the same officer at the recruiting office at Bridge Street, Burnley, and asked for an armlet; that this certificate was then taken from him and orders given him to go and report himself at Burnley Barracks; and that on his going there he was at once taken on as a recruit without further examination; whether at this time he was still under a doctor's care suffering from a serious complaint and general weakness, so that he had not been able to do any work for the past two weeks; and whether the War Office will take any steps in the matter?

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War why Mr. W. H. Rebbeck, of Stafford, who was certified by a military doctor as medically unfit for service in July, 1915, and again, on his own application, on 4th November, 1915, was once more certified as unfit and given a certificate to that effect, has since been summoned to submit himself to a further examination?

Inquiries shall be made into these three cases.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether single men of military age who have offered themselves for enlistment and been rejected since 14th August are still receiving yellow notices issued under the Military Service Act, 1916, requiring them to join the Colours on a given date; that the officers at the recruiting offices refuse to accept the production of a certificate as sufficient evidence of rejection, but require that the man shall himself attend a second time before they will cancel the notice, which ought never to have been sent; whether he is aware that there is no provision in the Act under which such attendance can properly be asked; and whether, in order to simplify the procedure, he will now give instructions to all recruiting officers that in every case where a valid certificate is produced showing that the man to whom a yellow notice has been sent is within the exceptions mentioned in the First Schedule of the Act such notice shall at once be cancelled?

I have already dealt with the first part of this question in answer to questions in this House, and a communiqué has been issued to the Press and a poster widely exhibited instructing men who receive the notice paper in the circumstances mentioned how to act. Action, if such has been taken in the sense of the second part of the question, would be quite contrary to the spirit of all the instructions that have been issued. Attendance of men who have been rejected is not required so long as they can produce proof of rejection. Instructions in the sense of the last part of the question have already been given.

Would it then be sufficient to send the certificate through the post to the recruiting officer in order to get the yellow form cancelled?

No, Sir. My hon. Friend cannot have seen the instructions which have been issued. The man must return the yellow paper.

Will he upon giving notice receive another certificate?

If the person who receives a yellow notice has documentary evidence of his rejection, he should state what that documentary evidence is. If he has no documentary evidence, he should state the date, place and circumstances in connection with the occasion when he was rejected.

Where he has not this documentary evidence, will the notice be annulled?

He will have to give something which is acceptable.

Have these instructions reached all recruiting officers throughout the country?

Yes, Sir.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War why the Army Form W 3236 has been sent in very large numbers to friendly aliens in this country who were registered as such in the National Register; and whether, in cases where aliens have answered the summons under a misapprehension, they are being accepted for the Army?

British-born subjects who are the sons of aliens and aliens who have been naturalised are accepted.

The right hon. Gentleman has not answered my question: If these documents have been sent to friendly aliens and they have been accepted under a misapprehension, will they be released?

I do not see that the answer I have given does not answer my hon. Friend's question. He asked me why the form has been sent in large numbers to aliens, and I have said it is because aliens who have been naturalised—

These have not.

Then I can only suppose a mistake has been made. It was in order to get in aliens who have been naturalised that the form has been issued.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether Major D. Paton, Headquarters No. 8 District, Exeter, gave instructions to the recruiting officers under him to agree to pay to doctors undertaking the examination of recruits in November and December last 2s. 6d. per examination; that such recruiting officers thereupon verbally and in two cases in writing agreed with large numbers of doctors to pay them this fee, and on the strength of the undertaking secured the services of these doctors; that thereafter, when the examination of recruits had been made, the same recruiting officers were instructed by Major Paton to write to the doctors informing them that in promising the payment of 2s. 6d. per recruit they had exceeded their duty and the agreed payment would therefore not be made, and offering payment on a lower scale; and whether he proposes to take any action in the matter?

I regret that my inquiries into this matter are not yet complete. When they are I will communicate with my hon. Friend.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War if Army medical examiners of recruits are paid a fee only on cases which are passed; and if this can be accepted as the explanation of the fact that recently men have been passed as fit for military service who have an artificial leg, men who are so mentally deficient that they are unable to understand or answer any question put to them by the recruiting officer, and men who have never done any work for years on account of daily attacks of epilepsy, or what other reason there may be for passing such persons into the Army?

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether recruiting medical officers are paid only for recruits whom they pass as sound; and whether officers of the Royal Army Medical Corps receive special payment for each recruit passed?

I will answer at the same time Question No. 130. I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Blackburn and also to the hon. Baronet for giving me the opportunity for contradicting categorically the statement that recruiting medical officers are paid only for recruits whom they pass as sound. It is the examination which is paid for, and the pecuniary result to the examining medical officer is the same whether he accepts or rejects a recruit. I have stated this upon several occasions. I should add that a medical man holding a commission receives no fees for the examination of recruits. I cannot accept the latter part of the question of my hon. Friend the Member for Blackburn as being anything else than an incorrect representation of the results of the work of the examining medical officers. I think that instead of being held up to obloquy they deserve support and recognition in the heavy work they are patriotically doing on behalf of the country.

As the right hon. Gentleman casts reflections on the accuracy of the statement I made, if he disputes the facts will he allow me to give him actual cases bearing out every statement I have made?

Certainly.

asked the Prime Minister what action he proposes to take in order to secure that local tribunals shall carry out the pledge he gave to the House of Commons in regard to the Military Service Act, namely, that the last remaining son of a widow should not be taken; and particularly what does he propose to do in regard to a case which came before the St. Pancras tribunal on 23rd February, where an applicant, basing his claim for exemption on the fact that he was the only son of an aged mother, living at home, the two other sons having gone to the War, was refused exemption by the tribunal on the advice of the military representative that no financial loss would be suffered by the mother if her third and last remaining son was taken into the Army?

asked the Prime Minister whether if he cannot see his way to carry out his intention that care should be exercised by tribunals in selecting the last remaining son in families which have already contributed all the other members of the family to the Army and Navy and so avoid the catastrophe of entire families being wiped out, he will see that steps are taken at once to secure that these last remaining sons are placed in non-combatant service?

I would refer the hon. Members to the exact language used by me on the 5th January last. It will be seen that it was carefully confined to the case of a single unmarried son whose parent, if he were called up for service, would be deprived of the means of maintenance. My right hon. Friend the President of the Local Government Board has also dealt with the matter under the head of "serious hardship" in a letter addressed by him to the Central Appeal Tribunal on the 23rd February. It is, of course, impossible to go into the merits of particular decisions without knowing the special circumstances of each case.

Cannot my right hon. Friend distinguish between the case of a single unmarried man and the case of a man who is, say, the fifth or sixth but last remaining member of the family and will he not see that a single unmarried son who is the last remaining son who has not enlisted may be retained to the parents in order that the family may not be wiped out?

That is exactly what I said. I refer my hon. Friend to the remarks I made, reported in columns 956 and 957 on 5th January last.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War by what authority Private F. Cockshutt, 14th Battalion, Worcester Regiment, is being retained in the Army; by what authority the War Office refuses to give an undertaking that he will not be sent abroad, seeing that the boy is only seventeen years of age; and if further consideration will be given to the case and a promise given that he will not be sent abroad until he has reached the age of a conscript soldier?

I must refer my hon. Friend to the letter I sent him on 21st February.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he has yet completed his inquiry into the case of No. 14756. Gunner F. Ellender, 15th Division, C battery, 73rd Brigade, Royal Field Artillery, who enlisted in August, 1914, at the age of sixteen years against the wishes of his parents, and, although not yet eighteen years of age, has been on active service in France since July, 1915; if he is aware that correspondence with a view to having the boy sent back to England has been passing between his relations and the military authorities for eleven months, and that his birth certificate was sent to and acknowledged by his commanding officer several weeks ago; if he will say who is responsible for such delay in sending the boy back from the front; and whether, especially in view of the fact that Ellender's parents have five other sons serving in the Army, he will take immediate steps to have the boy transferred to a unit at home until he attains nineteen years of age?

Inquiries have been addressed to the military authorities in France about this case. T will inform my hon. Friend when the reply is received.

Does the right hon. Gentleman know that it is now more than a week since I put this question to him? Has the delay not been sufficient to discover whether these facts are true, bearing in mind the fact that the correspondence has been going on for many months?

I am quite aware that there has been unusual and regrettable delay, but I have not succeeded in getting the information from the other side.

asked whether the French Government has prohibited the use of poisonous dope in France; and whether the dope has to be free of tetra-chlorethone and other poisonous spirits?

I am making inquiries, and I will inform my hon. Friend of the result.

asked (1) the President of the Board of Trade if he can say whether aniline dyes and oils now being sold to consumers in Britain by the Society of Chemical Industry in Basle as being of Swiss production are in fact in a large measure of German manufacture; and (2) if he is aware of the advantage that is being taken of our present shortage of aniline dyes and oils by German manufacturers through intermediaries in Switzerland and the United Kingdom to secure a monopoly of the aniline dye trade of Britain for three years after the termination of the War, and to make it impracticable for British Dyes, Limited, and other British manufacturers of aniline dyes to compete in this trade; and will he give an assurance to consumers of aniline dyes in Britain that they will be suitably protected after the War against unreasonable contracts which they are being compelled to enter into in order to secure any supply of dyes for their immediate needs?

I am not aware of any basis for the suggestion that the Swiss makers of dyestuffs are sending German dyestuffs to this country, or in any way acting as intermediaries for German firms; and I have no reason to suppose that any contracts which British consumers may make with the Swiss firms will have the result suggested by the hon. Gentleman.

If evidence can be brought to the Board of Trade to show that the present consumers are practically threatened with the inability to obtain their dyes unless they do enter into a contract three years after the Trading With the Enemy Act becomes law, would the Government protect them and enable them to get their present supplies?

I do not know that that arises out of the question.

May I make representations to the right hon. Gentleman giving him what I regard as a case?

I shall be delighted to receive any information from my hon. Friend.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that some years ago a company was registered under the name of Arthur Wilson Peck and Company to acquire two well-known Sheffield houses who dealt in pianos and musical instruments; that at the outbreak of war 1,940 of the 2,000 £10 shares in this company were held by Germans or persons of German origin; that E. Bechstein, piano manufacturers, of Berlin, held the majority of the shares and controlled the company; and whether he proposes taking any steps to inform the inhabitants of Nottingham, Sheffield, and Leeds, where this firm carries on business, that this company is a purely German firm trading under an English name?

I am aware that Arthur Wilson Peck and Company. Limited, was registered in the year 1892 to take over two piano businesses carried on in Sheffield. 1,025 shares of £10 each out of an issued capital of 2,000 shares are held on behalf of Edwin Bechstein, who is a German subject. The greater part of the remaining shares are held by naturalised British subjects of German origin who were naturalised twenty years ago. The application of the Trading With the Enemy Amendment Act, 1916, to this case will be considered in due course.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if his attention has been called to the increasing export of spirits to neutral countries since 4th August, 1914, and the suggestion of their being smuggled through to the enemy in the interest of the manufacture of munitions, to the disadvantage of our Allies and the Forces of His Majesty at the front; and will he take steps to prevent the exportation of such spirits?

I am aware that there was recently evidence of an increase in the export of certain spirits, chiefly rum, to neutral countries contiguous to the enemy, and it was in view of this evidence that the exportation of rum and imitation rum to such countries was prohibited by an Order in Council dated the 28th January. The export of spirits of a strength of not less than 43 degrees above proof has been prohibited to all destinations for a considerable period of time.

asked how many German interned steamers have been requisitioned by the Portuguese Government both in their home and colonial ports?

I have not yet learnt the exact number of German ships requisitioned by the Portuguese Government, but I have asked the Portuguese Government for information on the point.

asked the Minister of Munitions if he can say whether any Order has yet been made under Sections 6 or 7 of the Munitions of War (Amendment) Act, 1916?

Orders under Sections 6 and 7 of the Munitions of War (Amendment) Act, 1916, were made on 24th February, and came into force as from 28th February. The effect of the Order under Section 6 is to make mandatory upon all controlled establishments engaged in the engineering, shipbuilding, metal and kindred trades in Great Britain the recommendations contained in the circular known as L 2, relating to the remuneration and em- ployment of women on certain classes of munition work. The effect of the Order under Section 7 is to make mandatory on all controlled establishments engaged in the above-mentioned trades in the United Kingdom, subject only to the exception mentioned below, the recommendations contained in the circular known as L 3, as to the remuneration of men on certain classes of munition work. The exception mentioned above relates only to some thirteen establishments in districts where, having regard to the existing district pates, the recommendations of the circular as they stand would clearly be inapplicable. The case of these establishments will be referred to the special Arbitration Tribunal which has been set up under Section 8 of the Amendment Act.

Will the hon. Member tell me where this Order can be obtained? Has it been published anywhere?

Yes, it has been published, and I shall be glad to send the hon. Member a copy.

asked the Minister of Munitions whether a letter has been sent from his Department to the Surveyors' Institution and similar organisations regarding the supply of tool-setters, in which it is stated that the demand for such skilled workers is greater than the supply and that the most suitable type of man to be trained for this work is of the higher educated type who in ordinary times would be in the university or just leaving one of the public schools; whether the letter proceeds to argue that the skilled mechanic is not useful material to train for this purpose owing to the high level of accuracy required; and, since skilled mechanics have had to accomplish the most delicate and accurate tool-setting up to the present time, whether he will state the facts and experience upon which the conclusion of the Ministry of Munitions is based?

I think my hon. Friend is under some misapprehension as to the precise purport and intention of this letter. In the present very acute shortage of this particular kind of highly-skilled labour it is absolutely essential to increase the supply by giving a specialised training in a single operation to persons who were previously not in the trade, and there are manifest advantages in utilising so far as possible for this purpose persons of a class who are unlikely to remain in the engineering trade after the War, since we thus avoid depleting other branches of the engineering trade whose services are required for munitions, and also the danger of overstocking the market with this particular kind of labour after the War. Fortunately it has been established by experience that persons of a good general education are quite well adapted to take the rapid emergency training provided in the schools established by the Ministry of Munitions, sometimes even more readily than men who, though possessing ordinary industrial experience and manual skill, may be accustomed in their ordinary occupation to work to a lower degree of accuracy. This was explained in the letter, for the purpose of making it perfectly clear that well-educated persons without previous industrial experience are eligible, in suitable cases, for training in the schools. I hope that no one will imagine that there was the least intention to institute a comparison between the general industrial capacity of the school-trained munition worker and the professional engineer. Any such comparison is obviously out of the question.

Can my hon. Friend say whether the people to whom a preference was to be given were mainly men of military age?

No, I think not.

If they come out of the universities and public schools obviously they must be?

May I ask the hon. Gentleman whether he will publish this letter?

No, it was a letter sent to the heads of public schools and universities. It was not a public document; it was only an exhortation to certain persons.

In view of the uncertainty which has arisen and the misrepresentations which have been made, would it not be better to clear it up?

I have endeavoured to clear it up by the long answer which I have given.

Is it not a fact that the letter does draw the comparison of which I speak, and does say that skilled workpeople who have been doing the work up to the present time are of less value than university students?

That is not a fair way of putting it; it makes the matter much worse than it really is.

Then why not publish the letter?

Why should these people who are of military age be specially favoured?

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty the number of commissions as assistant paymaster, Royal Naval Reserve, temporary and permanent, conferred since the outbreak of hostilities on civilians without examination and with no previous naval experience, the number of naval writer ranks and ratings promoted to commissioned rank, the number of warrant writers promoted to commissioned warrant rank, and the number of chief writers promoted to warrant rank during the same period?

The numbers are as follows:

The officers in the third category are not entered for general service but are signed on under an agreement which may be terminated at any time. Candidates are interviewed before entry. Those entered for general service, that is to say the first of the two classes mentioned, are drawn from bank clerks, chartered accountants, actuaries, and gentlemen in business houses, who have considerable previous experience in accountant work. Before being drafted to the fleet they are given a ten to fourteen days' course of instruction in cash, ledger and victualling work. No naval writer ranks and ratings have been promoted to commissioned rank, there being no commissioned rank in existence for the writer branch. Warrant writers promoted to commissioned warrant rank 3 Chief writers promoted to warrant writer 23

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty the number of chief writers recommended for promotion at the beginning of the War, and the number now recommended; whether, in view of the increase and the long service and standard of character and efficiency essential to obtain such recommendation, the Board of Admiralty will favourably consider the desirability of filling a proportion of future requirements for accountant officers during hostilities from the writers; and whether preference will be given to writer ranks and ratings at the end of the War if an increase in the number of accountant officers is then found necessary?

As regards the first part of the question, the figures are 214 and 234 respectively; as regards the second part of the question, twelve chief writers were promoted to warrant rank at the end of 1914, and eleven in 1915. The question of making further promotions is now under consideration with reference to the requirements of the Service. The claims of writer ranks and ratings to be considered in connection with the whole question of the officers of the accountant branch will not be lost sight of.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether any despatches were received from the head of the British naval mission to Serbia since the beginning of the late offensive there; and, if so, whether it is intended to publish the same in the near future?

Reports were received from the head of the Mission both before and since the enemy offensive in Serbia. It is not proposed to publish them; nor would it be appropriate to call for a formal despatch with a view to publication, since the Mission, however gallant its conduct, was almost insignificant in numbers, and its proceedings were merely incidental to the general operations of the Serbian Army.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether reparation and apology have been or will be publicly tendered by His Majesty's Government to Mr. Whitelaw, chairman of the North British Railway Company, and others, in respect of the injury, insult, and outlay inflicted upon them through the recent unsuccessful criminal prosecution in the High Court of Justiciary in Scotland?

I can add nothing to the answer which I gave my hon. Friend on the 2nd March.

Does not the right hon. Gentleman think that an unnecessary indignity was put upon these people by the manner in which action was taken by the Admiralty for an alleged offence of a purely technical kind?

As I said on 2nd March, the object of the Admiralty is to establish that no local authority or person shall have the power to hamper the movements of any ship connected with His Majesty's Service engaged upon war work, and that is a principle which we still think is of vital importance.

Could not that principle have been perfectly well established by a totally different proceeding than that adopted?

That was not the view which the Admiralty took.

Is there any more reason why an apology should be given to these gentlemen than to the hundreds of workmen who have been prosecuted under the Munitions Act?

Oh. but I have not given an apology in this case!

Did the right hon. Gentleman's Department overrule the Law Officers of the Crown in this prosecution?

Perhaps the hon. Member will do me the favour of reading what I ventured to say upon this matter yesterday.

Will the right hon. Gentleman make public the representations of fact to which he referred yesterday as being the basis of these proceedings?

I have given them what publicity I could, and they are published in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty the number of names of men considered suitable for commissions in the Royal Naval Air Service which are kept on a list for consideration; and the reason why they are not promptly given commissions and sent to classes of instruction?

There are at the present time 103 candidates on the waiting list to be trained as pilots for the Royal Naval Air Service. I am afraid that they must wait until there are vacancies at the schools for them.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether the Wilson liner "Sappho" was requisitioned by the Admiralty on her last voyage to Archangel?

No, Sir.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether the steamship "Uganda" is or has been under requisition by the Admiralty?

There are two ships named "Uganda" according to "Lloyd's Register." The one belonging to the British India Steam Navigation Company is still under requisition by the Commonwealth Government. The other belonging to the La Plata Steamship Company, Limited, was requisitioned by the Admiralty, but has since been discharged from transport work.

asked the President of the Local Government Board what has been paid to revising barristers in England and Wales for 1915, either for certification of expenditure incurred under the Elections and Registration Act, 1915, or revising lists; and what sum was paid to them in 1914?

The amount paid to revising barristers in England and Wales for certification of expenditure and other duties under the Elections and Registration Act, 1915, was £11,280. The total sum paid to revising barristers in the previous year was £25,462.

asked the President of the Local Government Board how much was paid for the preparation of overseers' lists from Government sources and local rates, respectively, up to 1st August in the years 1914 and 1915, respectively, and excluding the cost of printing claims and objections after 1st August in each year?

The information in my possession does not enable me to give the particulars desired.

Will the overseers prepare the lists for the revising barristers this year?

I could not say now.