asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he has been able to take any steps to secure the release of ten members of the steamship "Coquet" which was torpedoed in the Mediterranean, and who were taken prisoners by hostile Bedouin Arabs on the coast of Tripoli; and whether the Foreign Office have any news as to where these men are at present?

The Italian Government have at our request asked the Governor of Tripoli to make inquiries in regard to this matter. According to the latest information the ten prisoners are at Antelat, about 150 kilometres south-east of Benghazi.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he can state the number and aggregate tonnage of German and Austrian merchant ships sheltering in neutral ports throughout the world, and the number and tonnage of the vessels which have been made available for commercial use by the recent action taken by the Governments of Portugal and Italy; and if he has any information that other neutral Governments hold the view that, having regard to the increasing shortage of tonnage and the methods of submarine warfare against the merchant ships of all nations adopted by Germany, they would be justified in requisitioning and making use of all available ships in their harbours?

I am advised that to obtain and tabulate the information asked for by my hon. Friend in the first part of his question would involve a large amount of labour, and I hope it will not be imposed on public officials who are at this time already overworked. No statement has, so far as His Majesty's Government are aware, been made by any neutral Government on the point suggested in the latter part of the question, and I cannot therefore say what views they hold.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty on what date the steamships "Marmion" and "Waverley," belonging to the North British Railway Company, were commandeered for Government service; and on what basis and to what amount is the company being paid for the services of these vessels?

The steamship "Marmion" was requisitioned by the Admiralty in April, 1915, and the steamship "Waverley" in September, 1915. Payment in respect of requisitioned railway steamers is in accordance with the general arrangement made pursuant to the Regulation of the Forces Act, 1871.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether a number of the steamers fitted with refrigerating chambers which were requisitioned by the Admiralty for use as store ships or ware houses for frozen meat and kept lying in French ports or elsewhere had only a portion of their holds fitted with refrigerating chambers, and that other holds in these ships, representing thousands of tons of space, could have been carrying cereals or other foodstuffs had the steamers not been requisitioned by the Admiralty, and had they been running in their regular trades?

A certain number of ships fitted partly for the conveyance of meat have been used as depot ships, but in every case this has been done advisedly and was the best course to adopt. It was done when the military requirements were for a small amount of refrigerated space only, and to have used a ship wholly refrigerated would have meant withdrawing from the trade routes refrigerated space urgently required for the conveyance of meat to this country. So far as possible small boats wholly refrigerated were used, but the supply was insufficient. The number of vessels so employed has been steadily reduced by the adaptation of fruit ships for the carriage of frozen meat and by joint-supply arrangements with the Allies. Three vessels only are now employed in this manner, of which two will, it is anticipated, be released from Government service during the next few weeks. The remaining vessel will also be released as soon as another ship can be prepared for the service.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether, under the provisions of the Naval Force Act, 1903, which constituted the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, of which the Royal Naval Anti-Aircraft Corps is a portion, and the provisions of the Royal Naval Volunteer Act of 1859, any member of the Anti-Aircraft Corps enlisting in His Majesty's Regular Forces is subject to a penalty of six months' imprisonment and any officer enlisting him is subject to a fine of £20; and what steps he proposes to take to deal with those men who have unwittingly incurred these penalties?

The answer to the first two parts of the question is in the affirmative. A certain number of part-time men belonging to the Anti-Aircraft Corps were attested under a departmental arrangement which was considered to be in their interest. If single part-time men of military age were discharged after having voluntarily given valuable service, they would find themselves under the compulsory provisions of the Military Service Act as from the 2nd March. Since it was thought very unfair that such a situation should arise, they were consequently attested as stated. This was done by arrangement with the War Office. It is, of course, not proposed to take any action whatever of a punitive character in respect of either the men or the recruiting officer.

Is not the mistake you made that it is open to a common informer to sue for penalties?

I hope the hon. Member will not be a common informer.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether, in the event of hostile aircraft being sighted at places where aeroplanes of the Royal Naval Air Service are in readiness, it is necessary to obtain sanction from the Admiralty before such aeroplanes are allowed to go up to attack the invader?

The answer is in the negative.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether certain steamers ordered by the Transport Department to proceed in ballast to Australian ports, there to load wheat requisitioned by the Australian Government, are discharging their cargoes at Italian and Spanish ports; and, if so, will he state who is responsible for these proceedings?

Certain vessels were released from service by the Admiralty at the request of the Colonial Office on condition that they should proceed, after discharging cargo in the Mediterranean, to Australia, to load wheat for this country or France, for the conveyance of which sufficient tonnage was not available.

Was it under these orders that the cargoes were to be discharged in Italian and Spanish ports?

No. Their orders were, after discharging cargo in the Mediterranean, to proceed to Australia.

As a matter of fact, have these vessels discharged their cargoes at Italian and Spanish ports, and who was responsible? That is the question on the paper.

I am afraid I have not gathered the purport of it. They discharged their cargo in the Mediterranean and then went on to Australia. If the matter is to be raised I will look into it.

Who is really responsible for these ships discharging their cargoes in Spain?

I could not say off-hand. I should like notice. I should say the Transport authorities. I cannot saddle the Colonial Office with it.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether the Royal Warrant, dated 28th January, 1915, with regard to the new rank of Warrant Officer, Class II., applies to pensioner quartermaster-sergeants and quartermaster-sergeant instructors of the Royal Marines who were called up and have been serving since August, 1914?

The Royal Warrant dated the 28th January, 1915, does not apply to Royal Marines. The Order in Council, authorising the promotion of certain Royal Marines to the rank of Warrant Officer, Class II., issued in November, 1915, does not apply to all pensioner quartermaster-sergeants and quartermaster-sergeant instructors called up for service, otherwise the establishment would be exceeded, but would be applied in the case of a pensioner being selected temporarily during the War for a particular appointment on the establishment as a quartermaster-sergeant or quartermaster-sergeant instructor.

Is there any reason why there should be inequality as between these two groups of non-commissioned officers doing exactly the same work?

The difficulty that faces us is the establishment.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether an advertisement inviting men to join the Royal Navy includes the words "candidates can enrol at once and wait to be called up at any time within the next eight months with fourteen days' notice"; whether such information is confirmed at local recruiting offices; whether he is aware that after enlistment men have been informed that they were liable to service at any time upon receipt of fourteen days' notice; whether this is what the advertisement means; and whether he will release such men as may desire from their engagement unless the Admiralty is prepared to stand by its own advertisement?

The intention of this advertisement of the system of deferred entry is that men should be liable to come up at some time within the next eight months at fourteen days' notice, their wishes as to the actual time being noted and complied with so far as the requirements of the Service permit.

Is it not the fact that the advertisement says notice shall be given by the men and not that they shall be called up at any time?

I have a copy of the advertisement in my hand and it says candidates may enrol. It is all very carefully explained to the candidate by the recruiting officer. The effect of the guarantee we give is "we give you fifteen days' notice and you are liable to be called up some time in the next eight months, but we will do our best to meet your wishes."

Are you altering the advertisement?

I will look into it.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he is aware that Mr. Philip Coker, formerly in the service of the Government in the Colony of Nigeria, was sentenced by the Chief Justice at Lagos in January, 1910, to nine months' imprisonment for larceny, and was released in June of the same year after investigation; that a free pardon was then refused to him, and that at the end of last year a judgment was given in full Court by the Chief Justice in Nigeria, by which Mr. Coker's innocence was established and his character cleared entirely of the charges for which he had been punished; and whether the victim of this miscarriage of justice will now receive compensation for the wrong he has sustained, restitution for what he has suffered, and reemployment in the Colonial Service?

No information on the subject of this case has been received by the Colonial Office since the 21st of May, 1912, the date of the reply given in this House to a previous question by the hon. Member. I am consequently unaware of the judgment referred to, but will ask the Governor-General of Nigeria for a report.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will say when he expects to be able to publish dispatches dealing with operations in the Cameroons?

Major-General Dobell and Brigadier-General Cunliffe have been asked to send home dispatches covering the whole period of the operations, and when these are received Papers will be laid after consultation with the Army Council.

How long will that be?

It is difficult to name a time. I should think it would mean a month or so.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War if he will state the regimental number, number of battalion, date, and certified cause of death of Patrick Sullivan, a soldier of the Royal Irish Fusiliers, one of two brothers, both wounded in action, whose appeal for proper treatment was disregarded, and who died in Weymouth workhouse and was buried in a pauper's grave; what the explanation of that treatment is; why no inquest was held; and whether it is in obedience to a special or a general instruction from the competent military authority in Ireland that the facts of this case have been suppressed by a certain portion of the Press in Ireland?

If the hon. Gentleman wants an inquiry made into this case it is for him to furnish me with the particulars referred to in the second line of the question. I cannot undertake to make roving inquiries.

How does the right hon. Gentleman expect an ordinary Member of this House to obtain particulars from a dead man? Does he think a man who has sacrificed his life for his country is not worth inquiring into?

I admit that the inquiry suggested by the hon. Member requires someone extraordinary, but I thought he possessed those qualifications.

Has the man not died and been buried in a pauper's grave?

Seriously, if the hon. Member will furnish particulars of course I will have inquiry made.

Has the right hon. Gentleman consulted the newspaper he refers to and the local authorities at Weymouth?

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether his Department is accepting men rejected for the Navy as medically unfit; and, if so, will he say why this is so?

Section 1, Sub-section (3) of the Military Service Act, 1916, provides that the Admiralty shall have the first call on the services of men transferred to the Reserve under Section 1 of the Act. If the Admiralty do not want any man because he does not reach the standard of fitness in force for the Royal Navy he may be accepted for military service if he reaches the standard of fitness for the Army. It is possible that a man may comply with the standards for the Army if he does not comply with those for the Royal Navy. I do not imagine that there will be many such cases, but the case is a possible one.

asked the Under-Secretary for War if he will order the immediate release of Fred Capper, who was medically rejected by the medical officer at Glossop on 29th October, but who, on receipt of the yellow form, went to the recruiting officer at Glossop for advice on 5th March, and was asked for his certificate of rejection, which was taken from him, and he was then sent to the military quarters at Chester; and will he see that the recruiting officer guilty of this offence is seriously dealt with?

I am obtaining a report on this case.

asked the Under-Secretary for War whether he is aware that some cases exist where boys of eighteen and a half years of age are refused discharge from the Army on the application of their parents, and are under orders to proceed shortly to the front, yet are re- fused commissions in the Army on the stated ground that they are too young, although admitted in every way to be efficient and strongly recommended for such commissions by their commanding officers; and whether he is prepared to take any action in such cases?

Soldiers of eighteen and a half years of age who are recommended by their commanding officers for commissions would not be refused on account of their age.

asked whether it is intended to draft into the Non-Combatant Corps men who have volunteered for military service but who are not passed as physically fit by the doctors?

It is not intended to draft into the Non-Combatant Corps men who have not been passed as physically fit by the doctors. The Non-Combatant Corps is provided solely for such men as have conscientious objections to combatant service. The ranks will be filled solely with these men although the officers and noncommissioned officers need not necessarily be objectors to combatant service.

Will this Non-Combatant Corps be employed in France or in this country?

I think possibly in this country, but chiefly in France.

asked the Under-Secretary for War whether his attention has been called to a case in the Glasgow Tribunal, where the military representative, a Colonel Nelson, declared that an attested man forty-one years old in January was in a different position from an unattested man of the same age; and whether, in view of his pledges in this House, he will circularise his representatives on the subject?

Under the present Regulations, no man who has attained his forty-first birthday would be called up for military service, whether he be attested or unattested. Leaflets making this clear have been distributed.

asked the President of the Local Government Board if he has received a protest against the action of the Sculcoates Rural District Tribunal in refusing to permit the hearing of cases in public even when this was desired by the claimants; and will he say what he proposes to do upon the conduct of the neighbouring tribunal of Hull, which has acted in a similar manner, having refused to admit the public and having also refused to permit the accredited representative of the only labour paper in the district to the hearing of cases?

Representations have been received respecting the Hull Tribunal, but not respecting that for Sculcoates. My right hon. Friend is communicating with the local tribunals.

asked the President of the Local Government Board if clerks to the local tribunals are members of the Board and are entitled to take part in the hearing of cases and to put questions and express opinions; if his attention has been called to the observations made by the clerk to the St. Austell's Tribunal on 7th March that he did not agree with exemption on conscientious grounds; and will he inform the town clerk of Accrington that it is not the duty of the clerk to the tribunal to act as chairman and to be constantly expressing personal opinions at the hearing of cases?

On the evidence before my right hon. Friend he does not think it necessary to take any action in the cases mentioned.

asked the President of the Local Government Board if he will call the attention of the chairman of the Helmsley (Yorks) local tribunal to the impropriety of his statement at a meeting of the tribunal that the unattested single men would have very little sympathy from the tribunal, as these men had stood back until the last moment, when they had to be forced in, and that the matter was absolutely scandalous and they wished the opinion of the tribunal to be known?

My right hon. Friend has no information on the subject beyond what is given in the question. The action of a tribunal must be judged rather by its decisions than by the remarks which individual members may be alleged to have made.

Are we to understand that the Local Government Board condone statements like this, made publicly by chairmen of tribunals who have been appointed because of their judicial capacity and fair-mindedness?

The hon. Gentleman is not to understand we agree with the allegations made or that we have got any evidence on the subject.

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether instructions have been issued to the local tribunals that where a church applies for exemption from the Military Service Act, 1916, for one of its servants, as for instance a choirmaster and organist, that the church has no right to depute the pastor to represent the church at the appeal; and, if not, will he instruct the clerk to the Neath local tribunal that he was wrong in advising his tribunal not to allow the pastor of the Orchard Place Baptist Church to represent the church in respect of the claim for exemption of the organist and choirmaster, and in laying it down that the church could only be represented by the secretary?

Inquiries are being made in the case to which the hon. Member refers.

asked the Under-Secretary for War whether his attention has been called to the report of proceedings in the Brentford Police Court on the 13th instant, when it appeared that several young men had been arrested by the police and locked up in the cells on Sunday and Monday night, bail being refused; whether two of these cases were under appeal to the Middlesex Tribunal; whether one of the others had made three applications to the Ealing recruiting office to know where he was to join, and was told not to worry as he would have notice; whether the magistrates described the proceedings as disgraceful and said that the men had the sympathy of the Court; and whether he will take steps to see that this kind of conduct is not repeated by the military authorities?

I am awaiting a full report on this case.

I will put the question down again.

asked the Under-Secretary for War whether he is aware that 200 orderlies have, on or about 16th March, been transferred from a military hospital to undertake duties elsewhere and 200 conscientious objectors of military age have been appointed to take their place; whether he is aware that women orderlies are available for such appointments and are doing excellent work in this capacity at No. 3 General Hospital, London Command, Wandsworth; and whether for the future the policy of the Government is to employ conscientious objectors as orderlies at military hospitals?

I have no knowledge of the employment of conscientious objectors as hospital orderlies. Perhaps the hon. Gentleman would inform me in what hospital the alleged substitution of conscientious objectors of military age for hospital orderlies has taken place. I am aware of the substitution of men by women, and I drew attention to this fact and the admirable work of the women in my speech introducing Army Estimates.

Will the right hon. Gentleman kindly answer the last part of the question?

Yes. The answer is in the negative.

To ask the Under-Secretary for War whether men who have voluntarily attested and been accepted for non-combatant service in the Army, owing to their being medically unfit for combatant service, will be required to join the Non-Combatant Corps formed for conscientious objectors; and, if so, whether such men will be provided with a badge distinguishing them from those drafted to this corps on account of conscientious objection to combatant serviced

Since I put this question down it has been satisfactorily answered by the right hon. Gentleman yesterday.

asked whether a clerk employed in the War Office recently asked for and obtained exemption from military service before the Finchley Tribunal on the ground that he belonged to the Fellowship of Reconciliation and would rather throw up his post in the War Office than serve in the Army; and whether he still retains his post?

I understand that the facts are substantially as stated in the first part of the question. The clerk in question having obtained a certificate of exemption in the manner provided by law, it is not proposed to take any action in regard to him.

Has the right hon. Gentleman not considered that the Gentleman himself said he would rather give up his post at the War Office than serve in the Army? If he is not serving in the Army, why is he still at the War Office?

The position is this: Under the law he appeared before a tribunal, and that tribunal granted him exemption in accordance with the Statute. Is the War Office, therefore, to say that a man who obtained his legal rights under the Statute is to be dismissed from the service of the War Office?

May I ask why the wish of this gentleman has not been gratified?

Can the right hon. Gentleman say how this man can conscientiously organise war?

That really is not for me to say. It is for the tribunal, and the tribunal have decided in accordance with statements and evidence brought before them.

asked the Prime Minister whether, in view of the need for men in the Army, he will propose an Amendment to the Military Service Act of 1915 so as to bring within its scope all men who have reached the age of eighteen since 15th August, 1915, and also all men on attaining the age of eighteen?

The scope of the Military Service Act was limited to men who were invited to attest under the Group system. The proposal to extend it to men attaining the age of eighteen after the 15th August, 1915, was discussed during the passage of the Bill through Parliament, and the Government stated it could not be accepted.

Is the right hon. Gentleman not aware that only yesterday a resolution in support of this change was passed by influential hon. Members who sit behind him?

If it was only yesterday, obviously the Government have had no time to consider it.

Was it not passed only by a majority?

I have no official information.

Is the right hon. Gentleman not in official communication with the Committee?

No; I am not.

asked the President of the Local Government Board if he has received a communication from the Macclesfield guardians with respect to a clerk in their employ who has for some time been acting as relieving officer and registrar of births; if the guardians have given this officer notice of dismissal because he applied for exemption from military service on the ground of conscientious objection; if the clerk to the guardians sent a letter to the tribunal asking for temporary exemption for this servant on the ground of indispensability; and, in view of the definite pledges of the Government that the Military Service Act, 1916, would not be used for industrial compulsion, will he see that such a practice is not permitted in his own Department?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. I understand that the guardians have given the man referred to notice of dismissal in consequence of certain statements made by him to the local tribunal, and that the clerk to the guardians did write to the tribunal asking for a temporary exemption on the ground of indispensability, but that this letter was written on the authority of a resolution passed by the guardians in November last, and that notice to move the rescission of that resolution had been given before the case came before the local tribunal. The guardians can dismiss this officer without my consent, and I do not see that any question of industrial compulsion arises in this case.

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether a clerk employed at the Local Government Board recently asked for and obtained exemption from military service on conscientious, grounds, saying that he declined to do even hospital work; and whether he is still retained in his post?

The facts are, I believe, as stated in the question, and the clerk is still in the service of the Local Government Board. The Legislature has expressly recognised the conscientious objector. The clerk in question complied with the law, and I do not think that his action in this matter gives ground for dismissing him from his post.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether any effort has been made to trace and recall for service British subjects of military age who may have left this country for any part of North or South America since the outbreak of hostilities; (2) whether it is intended to give the police authorities in this country power to demand the production of a certificate of registration from any person should they deem it necessary; (3) whether it is intended to request the French and Italian police authorities to demand the production of a certificate of registration from any male British subject of military age who may be at present resident in either of the two countries; and (4) whether he is aware of the number of Englishmen of military age who have gone to reside in many parts of France and Italy, and particularly on the French and Italian Riviera, since the outbreak of the War; and what steps the Government have in contemplation whereby the services of these men may be secured for the Army?

These four questions appear all to relate to the enforcement of the Military Service Act, which is a matter for the Army Council, and any action which might be taken in the directions indicated in the Questions would be for that Council rather than for my Department, though I should be ready to render them any assistance within my power. I would remind the hon. and gallant Member that the Act applies only to single men of military age who were ordinarily resident in Great Britain on the 15th August last; and since November, when the question of compulsory service arose, passports to leave the country have not been issued to such persons save in exceptional circumstances.

asked the Chief Secretary whether the Local Government Board for Ireland has brought under his notice instances of large employers of labour in Ireland dismissing their Irish workmen and taking into their employment Englishmen of military age who have fled to Ireland to escape the Military Service Act, 1916; and what action has been or will be taken with reference to this illegal conduct?

The Local Government Board have received no information to the effect stated in the question. Perhaps the hon. Member would furnish me with particulars of the large employers of labour who have acted in this amazing way.

( by Private Notice ): I beg to ask the Minister of Munitions whether, in view of the statement made on behalf of the Government yesterday that still further demands must be made for men upon the agricultural industry, he can make any statement as to the necessity for maintaining agricultural production and retaining on the land a sufficient number of agricultural workers?

It is true, as my hon. Friend says, that it will be necessary in the national interest to review the exemptions granted to certain classes of agricultural workers, but it must not be supposed that in taking this action the Government have failed to realise the importance of maintaining the highest possible output of home-grown food supplies, which remains a national object of a most essential nature. We should deprecate the removal from work on the land of labour which is really essential and irreplaceable for this purpose.

Has the Minister for Agriculture approved of the further steps to be taken to get labour from the land?

Yes; it is the decision of the Government.

But has that decision the approval of the Minister for Agriculture? That is what my right hon. Friend asks.

Yes, certainly. As a member of the Government he fully accepts it.

asked the approximate number of men being treated out of Army funds for consumption, distinguishing between those who are suffering from consumption alone and those who are suffering from consumption and also from wounds or other injuries directly attributable to warfare?

The number of cases of tubercle of the lung under treatment in hospitals in the United Kingdom on the 29th February was 632. I have not the information to enable me to answer the latter part of the question.

asked the Under-Secretary for War whether he has received a copy of a resolution passed by the guardians of the Belper Union, drawing attention of His Majesty's Government to the abuse of the practice of the commutation of pensions, to the danger arising therefrom, and at the same time suggesting certain remedies; and, if so, what steps, if any, does he propose to take in the matter?

Yes, Sir, I am aware that such resolutions have been passed by several boards of guardians, but an invitation to them to produce specific cases has not so far led to the production of any; and the framers of the resolution seem to have been imperfectly informed as to the existing practice. Commutation is most carefully controlled, and total commutation is in no case permitted.

asked the Under-Secretary for War whether there is a provisional battalion near the East Coast with several officers of German extraction; and, if so, what steps he proposes to take?

The attention of the Army Council has been drawn to the fact that there are two officers with German- sounding names in a provisional battalion somewhere on the East Coast. The Council have made inquiries and find there is not the slightest ground for suspicion of the two officers concerned, that they are both gentlemen who have given and are giving very good service to the country at the present moment, and there is no doubt whatever about either their loyalty or their suitability for the positions which they occupy.

Are they of German extraction or not?

I do not know what the hon. Gentleman means by extraction.

Are they descended immediately from Germans or were they born in Germany?

What does the hon. Gentleman mean by immediately?

Father or mother.

Are there not some very distinguished families in this country of German extraction?

Is not the entire Anglo-Saxon race of German extraction?

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he has received any report as to the number of men now in the 20th Battalion Royal Fusiliers who have been offered commissions by commanding officers and who were unable to avail themselves of such offers on account of the refusal of the commanding officer to release them from this battalion; and, if not, will he call for such a report to be made immediately to him?

No, Sir. No report has been received. I must emphasise the fact that the commanding officer of a battalion is the sole judge of the fitness of individuals serving in the battalion for commissions. My hon. Friend is aware of the steps which I have taken in this case.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that that answer conflicts materially with what he told me yesterday?

I am wholly unaware of anything of the kind.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say if it is not a fact that men accepted by Officers' Training Corps have been rejected by the War Office?

No, Sir. The hon. Gentleman is mistaking two things. This is a question of a corps which is serving at the front which is not an Officers' Training Corps, and, therefore, has no connection with the matter my hon. Friend has in mind.

Will the right hon. Gentleman make inquiries as to the large number of men who have been offered commissions who have been unable to take up these commissions on account of the commanding officer refusing to release them?

I do not know that what my hon. Friend desires is a statistical record. What he really desires is that men who are serving in this battalion fitted for officers' rank should obtain commissions. To that end I will address myself. I do not think that to ask for statistical records is to help to beat the Germans.

asked whether reports were asked from each commanding officer of the Universities and Public Schools Battalions recently as to the number of men in each battalion who were suitable for commissions or to be trained for commissions; and what were the numbers of men reported by the commanding officers for each of these battalions, respectively?

The figures mentioned in the question are not in the possession of the War Office.

asked the number of men who, during the past six months, have left the 18th, 19th, 20th, and 21st Royal Fusiliers and 16th Middlesex (Public Schools Battalions), respectively, to take up commissions or to be trained for commissions?

This information could not be given without searching through thousands of forms, and I fear that I cannot undertake to have this search made.

In view of the answer of the right hon. Gentleman, I beg to give notice that I will raise this subject on the Motion for the Adjournment.

asked the Under-Secretary for War when he expects to be able to publish despatches dealing with operations in Egypt?

I will refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on the 22nd February to the hon. and gallant Member for the Melton Division.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say what that answer was?

I would rather refer my hon. Friend to it, but roughly it was that long communiqués have been issued in the Press, and I do not think anything further can be said.

Did the right hon. Gentleman not say he would consider the question of publishing these despatches in the "London Gazette"? Has he hopes of that being done?

I do not think it is possible.

Why?

For many good reasons.

asked the Under-Secretary for War if he is aware that, by an official letter from the War Office, dated 30th November, 1914, it was notified to all officers of British units borne on the Indian establishment at the date of mobilisation who had been or might be brought home on account of the War in Europe that they would receive pay at Indian rates; if he is aware that the difference between Indian and Home rates of pay is not more than sufficient to compensate officers who left India suddenly in the emergency of war for the expense and loss of having to break up their homes hastily and to dispose of their household effects for what they would fetch and to transport their families to England; whether, notwithstanding the official intimation of the 30th November, a letter, dated 23rd December, 1914, was sent to all general officers commanding all Home commands and Expeditionary Force intimating that British service officers who had come from India on war service were, in the event of their being wounded, to receive Indian rates of pay for three months only and thereafter British rates under British Regulations; if he is aware that many officers affected by this altered rate of pay only became aware of the change to their disadvantage when, after being three months on sick leave, they found themselves in receipt of the lower rate of pay; if he will say what steps were taken to ensure that the altered rate should be brought promptly to the knowledge of all officers affected by it; why the rule laid down in the official letter of the 30th November, 1914, has not been adhered to; and if he will restore to British officers from India serving in the War the rate of pay officially promised them?

These officers receive Indian rates of pay while on active service in France, that is to say, service in France is treated as equivalent to service in India. If an officer of a British unit in India comes home to this country on sick leave, he ceases to draw Indian rates on embarkation. In the case of officers coming to this country on sick leave from France it was decided after full consideration and consultation with the India Office to allow a special concession of three months on Indian pay.

Is the hon. Gentleman not aware that great injustice is being done to these officers who, when they left India for active service, were given to understand by official intimation that they would be throughout their service in Europe subject to Indian rates of pay?

I understand that this decision giving them three months of Indian pay while on sick leave is only in the nature of a concession.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether a large part of the petrol required for aviation, transport, and other war purposes is distributed through the British Petroleum Company, Limited, which is German-owned; and, as at the end of the War German owners will have access to the records, will he cancel existing contracts and cease dealing with this company?

The contract for the supply of petrol for the requirements of the Home Forces is held by the Asiatic Petroleum Company, Limited, who at present employ the British Petroleum Company, Limited, as their distributing agents. The War Office is not a party to the contract between the two companies, and no question of cancellation therefore arises.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if his attention has been called to standing orders which have been adopted by the Manchester City Council, and other bodies, to the effect that no contract shall be entered into by any firm or company whose subscribed capital is held or controlled to the extent of one-third or upwards by persons of German or Austrian nationality; and if steps will be taken to free British traders under contract with the British Petroleum Company, Limited, which is German-owned, from the odium or damage of being compelled to sell to that company?

My attention has not been called to the standing orders of the Manchester City Council referred to. The application of the Trading With the Enemy Amendment Act, 1916, to the British Petroleum Company, Limited, will shortly be considered by the Advisory Committee.

asked what are the steps now necessary to be taken by civilians who are desirous of obtaining commissions in the Army?

A civilian who desires a permanent commission in the Army should write to the Secretary of the Civil Service Commission for the necessary forms of application to attend examinations for Woolwich and Sandhurst. If he desires a temporary commission he should write to the Secretary of the War Office for the necessary form of application, when he would be told how to proceed.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War if he has been furnished with complete lists of the British prisoners of war in Bulgaria, and if these can be published?

The number of prisoners of war in Bulgaria whom it has been possible to identify is 519, of whom seven are officers and the rest non-commissioned officers and men. The names of the officers have already been published, and those of 303 men will be published in the course of the next few days. The remaining names are awaiting complete verification by the record officers concerned. I may point out that the relatives of each man are notified individually as soon as possible after identification, and that the publication of the names in the Press is not the first intimation.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War if the negotiations now in progress for an exchange of prisoners relate to all British prisoners in Turkish hands or only combatants; and if he can state what progress has been made with the negotiations?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. The Ottoman Government have agreed in principle to the exchange of British and Ottoman incapacitated prisoners of war and a list of the latter is being prepared. His Majesty's Government have proposed to the Ottoman Government the exchange, man for man in equal numbers, of combatant prisoners of war and have requested full particulars regarding the number of British prisoners of war held by Turkey. Pending the receipt of this information it has been considered advisable to proceed as soon as possible with the exchange of the incapacitated prisoners of war. The negotiations for the general exchange of British and Ottoman civilian prisoners have been interrupted by the departure of the Ottoman Minister for War from Constantinople, but renewed efforts will be made to bring them to a successful conclusion on his return.

Have any arrangements yet been made with regard to the ladies at Bagdad who were removed to another place?

I must have notice. As far as I know there are no British in Bagdad now.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War if all British prisoners of war in Bulgaria have been assembled at Philippopolis or, if any are confined in other places, if he can state where they are so that food and comforts may fee sent to them; and if he has any information as to the special needs of these prisoners and the best means by which they can be supplied?

It is understood that all British prisoners of war are now established at Philipopolis. This has been mainly due to the American Chargé d'Affaires at Sofia, who has at last obtained permission to visit these prisoners. No information is available as to the special needs of these prisoners. They have been supplied with some garments and small luxuries by the American Chargé d'Affaires. Parcels intended for officers or men known to be prisoners of war in the hands of the Bulgarians should be sent through the Post Office addressed in the usual way, that is to say, the name, regimental number and rank, followed by British Prisoners of War, Bulgaria, c.o.. General Post Office, London.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether his attention has been called to a resolution passed by the town council of the borough of Cambridge on Thursday, 2nd March, 1916, drawing the attention of the War Office to the lack of control of and to the insufficient guards placed at the military isolation hospitals in Cherryhinton Road and Newmarket Road, whereby patients are enabled to escape and thereby cause danger to the health of the community; and will he say what steps he proposes to take in the matter?

This matter is already under the consideration of the Army Council. I cannot state to-day what steps it is proposed to take in the matter.

asked whether, seeing that it was stated in a War Office circular dated 2nd March, 1908, in reference to transfer from volunteer yeomanry into Territorial yeomanry, that the service of members of yeomanry corps who joined the Territorial Yeomanry would be con- tinuous as from 1st April, 1908, irrespective of the date of attestation, that a similar statement was contained in the attestation papers, and that certain members of the 1/1st Lanarkshire Yeomanry who transferred into their Territorial yeomanry and attested on the above footing, and have served the prescribed extra year after mobilisation, and who are now with the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, will receive their discharge on 31st March, 1916?

If, as is stated in the question, the attestation papers of certain members of the Lanarkshire Yeomanry were endorsed to the effect that their term of enlistment in the Territorial Force would date from the 1st April, 1908, then primâ facie the date of discharge of such men would be the 31st March. It will, however, be obvious that the decision on the matter turns upon what is stated in the documents. I am drawing the attention of the Scottish Command to the hon. Member's question with a view to any necessary action being taken.

asked when the amended Royal Warrant dealing with the pensions payable to discharged soldiers will be published; and whether such amended warrant will be retrospective in its effect?

I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer which I gave yesterday on this subject to the hon. Member for East Edinburgh.

Can my hon. Friend hold out any hope that the issue of this warrant will be accelerated?

We are losing no time. We are very anxious not to prejudice the position of the soldiers, and that all the steps to be taken should be fully considered and the matter dealt with accordingly.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he intends to issue a report of the Sugar Royal Commission; and, if so, whether the operations of the Commission down to 31st December, 1915, will be fully stated?

I would refer my hon. Friend to the information contained in the reply that I gave yesterday to the hon. and learned Member for York.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that there is a scarcity of sugar in Dublin; why the Royal Commission has not sent the necessary supply; and whether he will take steps to have a cargo of sugar sent to Dublin without delay?

Three thousand tons of sugar arrived in Dublin on 15th March.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware that applicants in Scotland for Treasury bills are charged the remittance fee of the money in sending it to London, or if the applications are made direct to the Bank of England the Treasury bills are not issued until three to four days after the application, that is, until the money has been actually collected by the Bank of England; whether he is aware that this practice militates against the sale of Treasury bills in Scotland; and whether, in view of the inequality of this treatment of districts where no branches of the Bank of England exist, he will appoint a bank or banks in Scotland that will be in a position to sell these Treasury bills with out extra fees or loss of interest as compared with purchasers of such bills in London and the neighbourhood?

I would refer my hon. Friend to the last paragraph of my answer to a question put by him on the 26th January last, in which a similar point was raised in regard to Exchequer Bonds. I cannot admit that there is any inequality of treatment of various parts of the country in this matter. It is the invariable rule that interest on securities sold by the Treasury does not begin to accrue until the purchase money is actually received.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he is aware of the uncertainty in the public mind as to the conditions under which Exchequer Bonds and 15s. 6d. Certificates are issued free from Income Tax; and whether he will cause a short statement stating these conditions to be circulated to post offices, trustee savings banks, and joint stock banks?

I will bring my hon. Friend's suggestion to the notice of the National War Savings Committee. As regards the 15s. 6d. War Savings Certificates, I may say that these are entirely exempt from Income Tax, and the only Income Tax condition affecting them is that they cannot be held by an individual whose income exceeds £300 a year. This restriction does not, however, extend to the dependants of persons whose income exceeds £300 a year if they are not themselves also in receipt of an income exceeding that figure. The exemption from Income Tax, however, still awaits statutory sanction, which it is proposed to ask for in the Finance Bill.

Will my right hon. Friend draw the attention of the Treasury to the difficulty of understanding the question of Income Tax in reference to Exchequer Bonds?

Yes.

Are we to understand that where these bonds are held by people with incomes between £130 and £300 the income from these bonds is free of Income Tax?

They are held entirely free of Income Tax up to £300 a year.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he can make a statement as to the number of purchasers and amounts bought of £5, £20, and £50 Exchequer Bonds, respectively, and of 15s. 6d. certificates?

Up to the 16th March inclusive the total amount of Exchequer Bonds sold through the Post Office was £13,500,000, and the total number of purchasers 364,000. Figures for the three separate denominations are not available. Up to the 18th March inclusive the total number of 15s. 6d. War Savings Certificates sold was 1,100,000. It is not yet possible to give a figure for the number of purchasers.

asked the Secretary for Scotland whether he is aware that, in view of the number of deaths of Scottish soldiers at the front, a public demand has now sprung up for the institution of a public trusteeship for Scotland to look after the estates of these deceased soldiers; whether this demand is sufficient to induce him to introduce legislation on the subject during this Session; and, if not, will he say what demand he considers necessary?

The answer is in the negative. I do not see my way to introduce legislation to set up a new Department at the present time.

asked the Prime Minister whether His Majesty's Government have yet arrived at any decicision as to the total number of men who can be withdrawn from industry for fighting in the field while at the same time maintaining the financing of our Allies and providing them with munitions of war?

I must refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for North Somerset on the 21st February, to which I have nothing to add.

Is it not a fact that the Prime Minister said that this matter would have the early attention of His Majesty's Government? The question which I desire to ask is whether the right hon. Gentleman has ever received any communication from the Treasury and the Board of Trade dealing with the particular number of men who are available.

Of course, the matter is engaging the attention, not merely of those two Departments, but of all others which are affected by the drain.

That was the answer given to me last November.

Is the Government no nearer to a decision now than it was when the last answer was given?

asked who is responsible for laying the facts of the British case against the Central Powers before the people of the United States; and whether this work is undertaken by the Department presided over by Mr. C. Masterman?

The facts of the case of Great Britain and her Allies are explained to the American people through the representatives of the American Press and through other American channels devoted to the formation of opinion in the United States, but His Majesty's Government are, and will always be, ready to give to those representatives every possible facility for obtaining information as to, and explanations of, current events or policy. As regards the second part of the question, I would refer the hon. Member to the answer which I gave to the Member for St. Augustine's on 26th January last and to previous answers on the same subject.

Surely my right hon. Friend can answer a simple question? What I desire to do is to call the attention of the House to this question. [HON. MEMBERS: "Order."] Will the right hon. Gentleman answer the last part of my question, so as to enable us to call attention to the matter on the Vote?

It is obviously undesirable that any arrangements such as those which are suggested by my hon. Friend in this question should be a matter of publicity.

But they are public property?

I do not think that they are in the least.

Is not work being carried on by the hon. Member for Gravesend (Sir Gilbert Parker) without any salary?

asked the Prime Minister the reasons why he declines to give the House the information what Vote is charged with Mr. C. Masterman's salary?

I must refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave yesterday on this subject.

Can the right hon. Gentleman not tell us the Vote under? which it is to be taken?

asked the Prime Minister when he proposes to introduce a Bill to restore the right of personal liberty until forfeited on conviction of an offence proved according to law?

If my hon. Friend has in mind the question of internments under Regulation 14B, made under the Defence of the Realm Acts, I would refer him to the speech made by my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary on the 2nd March, to which I can only add that it is not proposed to introduce legislation on this subject.

I had in my mind precisely what is on the Paper, and as the right hon. Gentleman does not answer the question, I beg to postpone it until Tuesday next.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that quantities of manufactured marble tables are now imported from Belgium; that in some cases the firms supplying these insist on being paid for them in English money, which must eventually get into the hands of the enemy; and will he either stop this importation or allow British merchants to trade with Germany on the same terms as they now do with Belgium, which is under German rule?

Importers of Belgian goods are required to deposit the purchase money into a blocked account in a bank in the United Kingdom, from which it cannot be withdrawn except under licence. I am not prepared to disturb this arrangement, which has been arrived at after careful consideration of all the circumstances.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if, in considering proposals for dealing with the re-employment of labour after the War, consideration is being given to the importance of greater powers being conferred upon the Department of Labour Exchanges, with the object of making these institutions a real medium for the supply of and demand for labour, and that in order to co-ordinate the various voluntary and other organisations dealing with the employment question powers should be obtained to make the Labour Exchanges the chief or only medium through which employment will be regulated; and, in view of the importance of the re-employment question after the War, will steps be taken to call a conference of employers and men to consider the whole question, or a large and well-equipped committee appointed to draw up a comprehensive scheme?

All these suggestions shall be borne in mind in the examination which is taking place of the various problems which will arise at the end of the War.