asked the Prime Minister whether it is the intention of His Majesty's Government to furnish during the approaching visit of the Prince Regent and Prime Minister of Serbia an opportunity to the people of this country of publicly expressing its recognition of the gallant resistance and sufferings of Serbia in the common cause?

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply returned to-day to the hon. Member for St. Augustine's, Kent.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether for the purpose of facilitating the calculation of Excess Profits Duty under the Finance (No. 2) Act, 1915, he will cause to be prepared a list of the material modifications of the principles of the Income Tax applicable to the Excess Profits Duty to be supplied by the surveyors to applicants?

The information for which my hon. Friend asks is contained in the notes which accompany the form of return. I am sending him a copy.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he can now say what steps it is proposed to take with regard to the lack of control and the insufficient guards placed at the military isolation hospital in Cherryhinton Road and Newmarket Road, Cambridge?

I should be much obliged if my hon. Friend would repeat this question some time next week.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether the Record Office has carefully compiled lists of the prisoners of war and missing of the three Welsh regiments; whether they have carefully checked these lists with the information collected by the prisoners of war associations of the three Welsh regiments; and whether he is satisfied that the Record Office is efficiently performing its duties in this respect and is satisfactorily carrying out Army Council Instruction No. 277, of 1916?

All information as to prisoners of war and missing men is passed to the Record Office on receipt in the War Office, and, in addition, regimental lists of missing are issued every month and (in future) regimental lists of prisoners of war every two months. The second edition of the regimental lists of the prisoners of war of the three Welsh regiments will very shortly be ready for issue to the Record Office and the Regimental Care Committee. These regimental lists have been carefully revised in the War Office on the basis of the information received from the care committee, and it is considered that in their new form they should be substantially correct. The incompleteness of the information furnished by the enemy renders absolute accuracy impossible. I am not aware that Army Council Instruction 277 is not being satisfactorily carried out by the Record Office in question, but I am making further inquiries on this point.

asked the Minister of Munitions whether any and, if so, how many single men of military age have been engaged for the clerical departments at Woolwich Arsenal since 31st December, 1915; and if the consent of his Department is required before these men can be released for military service?

Since 31st December, 1915, sixteen single men of military age have been entered for clerical work in the office of the Chief Superintendent of Ordnance Factories, of whom five are men recently discharged from the Army or Navy, ten are medically unfit for active service, and one is an attested man. Since the same date sixteen single men of military age have been engaged for clerical work in the Inspection Department, of whom thirteen are medically unfit, one was recently discharged from the Army after serving twelve years, one served in the Army for twelve years and received a commission, which he resigned on account of ill-health, and one was transferred from the shops as he had undergone an operation. The consent of the Minister is required before men employed in any Department under his control can be released for military service. Such consent is never refused except in the interests of the public service.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that the recruits who are called to report at Wrexham complain that they are kept for long hours without food, and that in several cases they have been compelled to sleep on straw; and whether he will at once give instructions to those in authority that proper accommodation be provided for the recruits?

I am making inquiries into these allegations.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether four Christadelphians whose claims for exemption from military service on conscientious grounds had been rejected by the Appeal Tribunal at Liverpool, and who were handed over by a court of first instance to the military authorities on 28th March, have been committed to a military prison; and what action it is proposed to take to deal with the position in this and similar cases?

I am calling for a report on this matter.

asked the President of the Local Government Board with regard to his circular of the 23rd March to the local and Appeal Tribunals, whether he will state the meaning of his statement that it is of course essential to bear in mind the urgent needs of the Army for men; and whether the tribunals are recruiting organisations or have any other duty than to grant the exemptions authorised by the Act appointing them when the cases of hardship provided for are made good?

My right hon. Friend attaches no other meaning to the words in question than that which they ordinarily convey. The tribunals are not recruiting organisations, but, as he has already pointed out to them, they have to bear in mind that the primary principle of the Military Service Act is that every man who comes within its provisions, and who is available for military service, should join the Forces. All claims for exemption have to be scrutinised in the light of that consideration.

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether he is aware that the Thornbury, Gloucestershire, Tribunal, whilst allowing the Press to be present at their sittings when an applicant does not wish his application to be made in public, refuse to announce any of their decisions in public or to the Press; whether this is in accordance with the spirit and letter of the instructions he has issued; and does he propose to communicate with the tribunal on this matter?

My right hon. Friend is communicating with the local tribunal on the matter to which the hon. Member refers

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether he is aware that the Bucklow Rural District Council persists in refusing representation on the local tribunal to organised labour, in spite of the fact that the local trades council, representative of 2,000 working men, submitted nominations and also that a letter was sent from the Local Government Board on the 24th February requesting the appointment of adequate labour representation on the tribunal constituted, and that the retired gentleman, Taylor, whom the council claims as a representative of labour, particularly lacks the confidence of the trade unionists in the district, it being alleged that he and his two sons offered their services against the men during a certain strike; and, having regard to the very definite Undertaking that labour would be adequately represented on these bodies, whether he will again communicate with the Bucklow Rural District Council pointing out that organised labour must be given representation?

My right hon. Friend has been in communication with the local tribunal with regard to the representation of labour, and he is making further inquiries in the matter.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that, in reliance upon the promise of the Government, members of the Territorial Force enlisted for Home defence, who took the foreign service obligation before 2nd March, would be at liberty to choose and transfer to their own or to special units of the Regular Forces, or the New Armies, as they might desire, ninety non-commissioned officers and men of the 10th Middlesex Territorial Force, attached to the 63rd Provisional Battalion of the Territorial Force, took the foreign service obligation and applied for transfer, for the most part to their own unit, namely, the 3rd/10th Middlesex Regiment; whether he is aware that such arrangements were sanctioned by the Records Office and agreed to by the officers commanding their existing units, and also the units to which they desired to transfer, and were all completed before 2nd March; why, in breach of the pledge so given, these men, together with others numbering in all 260 men, have been required to join the 2nd/20th London Regiment at Salisbury Plain, and including men from the 8th and 9th Battalion of the Middlesex Regiment, all of whom had before 2nd March taken the foreign service obligation and desired transfer to other units; and what is proposed to be done to fulfil the promise made to them?

As I stated to the hon. Member on the 28th March, these men will be transferred to such Infantry units as they may expressly desire to join, but the Army Council reserve the power to attach men to such other units as may be necessary in the interests of the Service and of the country.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that Sapper G. A. Jepson, No. 128,795, a Derby recruit called up on 21st January at Sheffield, was posted to the 3rd York and Lancaster Regiment at Hylton Castle, on 5th March was transferred to the Royal Engineers, and left Sunderland on 11th March with a draft which arrived at No. 4 Base in France about 12th March, from which place his parents received a postcard, being the first intimation that he had left England, without the opportunity of seeing his parents or his home since he was called up and after about seven weeks' training only; and whether this course of procedure has the sanction and approval of the War Office?

Sapper Jepson was recently selected for transfer from the Infantry to the Royal Engineers, transfer to which is, as the hon. Member doubt- less knows, much coveted. Shortly after this transfer he was selected, with others, to be sent out as soon as possible to France to be trained in special work which is not carried on at home. The services of the men thus selected were urgently required. I was not aware that he was unable to send his parents information of his approaching departure before he left. I sympathise with him and with his parents in the fact that they were not able to meet before his departure, but as the selection of Sapper Jepson for this particular work is a matter which redounds to his credit, I hope his parents may be able to look at the matter with pride rather than with disappointment.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether any instructions with regard to the sight test for recruits have been issued subsequent to those dated 30th September, 1915, embodied in Order No. 4583 (A.M.D. 2)?

No, Sir.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he has received complaints of the action of the recruiting and military authorities at Ayr in ignoring certificates of medical unfitness and high-handed treatment of attested men in removing them to camp without reasonable consideration of their certificate or of their state of health as thereby certified; whether, as a separate matter, he has had notice of the retirement from the position of South Ayrshire military representative on the Ayrshire County Tribunal of one of the most active and respected workers in all matters pertaining to local government and county affairs on the ground that the War Office has made it evident that they neither value nor desire civilian help; and whether he will specially impress upon the representatives of the War Office engaged in carrying out the provisions of the Military Service Act, 1916, and the Regulation there under, the danger of increasing the growing fear of militarism in the country, either by such high-handed treatment as above-mentioned or by disregarding or slighting civilian co-operation in fairly carrying out the intention of the Act and Regulations?

I am calling for a report.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office what is the closest estimate his Department can make of the total expenditure in connection with the War in Great Britain and in Ireland, respectively, from the beginning of the War to 31st March, 1916; and whether of the amount spent in Ireland twenty times as much has been spent on recruiting as on all other kinds of war work combined?

I am afraid I cannot make the estimate for which the hon. Member asks, but no information in my possession leads me to the conclusion indicated in the second part of the question.

asked the Minister of Munitions if he is aware that a skilled instrument maker and mechanic, named Charles H. Thompson, of Watford, Herts, offered his services to the Woolwich Arsenal, War Office, and Royal Engineers, Chatham, in August, 1914, in any capacity where his services could be made use of; that on 30th June, 1915, he was enrolled as a munitions volunteer; that repeated applications were made to the Ministry of Munitions for definite information as to employment; and that, after a personal visit by the representative of the Ministry of Munitions at Watford, who is also manager of the Watford Labour Exchange, lengthy correspondence ensued, extending up to the 20th of February, 1916, when Thompson received a card informing him that he was registered as an unemployed workman, and was to attend the local Labour Exchange daily till work was found, and that no fees would be charged; if he is also aware that this man is regularly engaged by a private firm; and, if so, will he say how it is that his Department complain of the shortage of skilled labour?

The hon. Member is correct in stating that Charles H. Thompson enrolled as a war munitions volunteer on 30th June, 1915. It was at the urgent representations of his employers, Messrs. Cooper and Nephew, of Berkhampsted, and at his own definite request, that, on the advice of the adjudicators, no steps were taken by the Department to transfer him to munitions work. On the 25th January, 1916, Mr. Thompson first informed the Ministry that he was ready to accept a suitable vacancy on munitions work. As, however, he was only prepared to accept employment as a viewer or draughtsman and as there are relatively few vacancies for men of these occupations, it has not, so far, been possible to place him. It is understood that Mr. Thompson is a skilled instrument maker and mechanic. It is, therefore, the more regrettable that, owing to his refusal to accept work except as a draughtsman or viewer, the Department have, so far, been unable to transfer him to munitions work. If Mr. Thompson is prepared to accept munitions work as a skilled mechanic at the bench, I anticipate no difficulty in placing him.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether Peter Petroff is now interned at the Islington Infirmary; and, if so, whether he is allowed the usual facilities for correspondence and visits allowed to other prisoners there interned; and whether there is, or has been, any intention or any threat to deport this Russian-Jewish subject to Russia or any other country?

The answer to the first two parts of the question is in the affirmative, and to the last in the negative.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, in relation to the employment of wounded soldiers in industry, he will consider the handicap which the refusal of insurance companies to hold covered against workmen's compensation risks, except at high and oppressive rates of premium, the employers who are willing to avail themselves of this form of labour and to teach the men their trades; and whether he will take steps to refer the question to the Committee or other body of persons now dealing with the civil employment of disabled soldiers or create a committee for the purpose?

I would refer the hon. and learned Member to the answer given by my predecessor to a question on this subject by the hon. Member for Brentford on the 21st July last, in which attention was drawn to the conclusions arrived at in the Report of the Disabled Soldiers and Sailors Committee. I have no information to show that the situation has altered since the Committee reported, but if the hon. Member will forward particulars of any cases he has in mind, I shall be glad to refer them for consideration to the Statutory Committee of the Royal Patriotic Fund Corporation established under the Naval and Military War Pensions, etc., Act, one of whose functions it is to make provision for the training and employment of disabled soldiers after they have left the service.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he has received representations from the Irish Division of the Motor Trade Association for the removal of restrictions on the supply of petrol to garage owners on the ground that the shortage of petrol is seriously hampering business men, such as cattle dealers and professional men, such as doctors, solicitors, and veterinary surgeons, in carrying out their ordinary avocations; whether statistics have been furnished to him showing that only 10 per cent. of the petrol sold in Ireland is used for pleasure purposes; whether he is aware that Ireland has far less railway facilities than Great Britain in proportion to its area; and will he say what action he proposes to take in the matter?

I have not received any communication from the Irish Division of the Motor Trade Association on the subject, but any representations which they may desire to make will be given due weight. The whole question of the arrangements to be made with a view to the better distribution of the available petrol supplies is now under consideration, but I am not yet in a position to make a definite statement on the subject.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he can give the approximate tonnage occupied by imported foreign spirits, other than brandy and rum, during 1915, and also the tonnage during the same year occupied by imported foreign hops?

As I have already explained orally in reply to the hon. Member for the St. Augustine's Division of Kent, no satisfactory estimate of the tonnage space occupied by imported spirits can be framed on the information available. The total weight of hops imported in 1915 was 10,000 tons, and I understand that each ton occupies about 250 cubic feet.

asked the President of the Board of Trade (1) whether, when arranging for restriction of brewing materials, he will consider the desirability of saving tonnage by prohibiting material which can be easily produced in England and using the space for other material such as sugar; and (2) whether, in arranging for the restriction of brewing materials, it is intended to definitely restrict the importation of foreign materials, such as hops, by one-third, or to leave the brewing trade to make the restriction as they please, either from British or foreign sources?

The arrangements which are about to come into force will not impose any direct restriction on the importation of brewing materials, but are intended to secure a reduction in imports by a reduction in the output of beer. The arrangements leave it to individual brewers to obtain the materials for their beer from any source open to them.

asked the Secretary for Scotland whether his attention has been drawn to the recommendations in the Report of the Royal Commission on Venereal Diseases with respect to the examination of prisoners; whether it is his intention to carry them into effect in Scotland; and whether he will give an undertaking that no female prisoner or female person detained in an institution corresponding to a Borstal institution shall be locally examined except by a woman doctor?

The recommendations of the Royal Commission on Venereal Diseases with respect to the examination of prisoners will receive my careful consideration, in conjunction with their other proposals. I am not in a position at the present time to make any statement as to the action which may be taken upon the Report.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Agriculture whether, in view of the prevalence of tree-felling throughout the country at this time, he can see his way to seek or exercise powers to compel the adoption of some scheme of replanting wherever such felling has occurred?

This question has been very carefully considered, but there is felt to be great difficulty about any compulsory scheme of replanting during the War, chiefly because of lack of labour. From a wider point of view replanting is only a part of the larger question of reafforestation, which is under consideration.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether, in order to prevent enemy exports, the rule is that Consular certificates of origin should be obtained by all shippers; and whether, in the case of Copenhagen, this rule is impartially applied to all shipping?

With respect to all goods imported into this country from Denmark, the rule is as stated by my hon. and gallant Friend. With respect to goods going to other destinations, His Majesty's Government have, of course, no power to enforce any rule. They have, however, made agreements with some of the shipping companies by which they only accept consignments of goods if accompanied by Consular certificates of origin. Even where no such agreement exists, most vessels coming away from Scandinavia which are likely to come in contact with the naval patrols find it convenient for the whole of their cargo to be covered by such certificates, as delays in examination are thereby minimised.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether the Alexander estate at Cruicetown, county Meath, is likely to be vested in tenant purchasers this year; whether it was a sale for cash or Land Stock; and if a plot has been applied for by the district council to be used as pasturage for labourers' cows?

The reply to the first part of the question is in the negative, and to the last part in the affirmative. The estate is on the Principal Register of Direct Sales (all cash), and the Estate Commissioners are not at present in a position to state when it may be reached in its order for payment.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether, to secure good order in the districts in which the Congested Districts Board and the Estates Commissioners, respectively, have acquired untenanted land and not yet distributed it, the practice of letting tracts of the land on the eleven months system will be discontinued until provision has been made for the beasts of labourers and other poor people entitled to such land, and the practice of letting tracts of such land to persons in the employment of the Board or the Commissioners discontinued absolutely?

The Congested Districts Board do not let any untenanted land for grazing on the eleven-months system except where owners of adjoining holdings and poor people in the vicinity desiring to graze their cattle on the land have insufficient stock to make full use of it. Untenanted land acquired by the Estates Commissioners and awaiting completion of schemes of allotment, erection of houses, and other improvements is let temporarily by the Commissioners mainly to Committees of the tenants until the Commissioners are in a position to place the allottees in possession, and it is not proposed to discontinue this practice. There is no foundation for the suggestion contained in the concluding part of the question.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether his attention has been drawn to an inquiry by Colonel Sir Neville Chamberlain, Inspector - General Royal Irish Constabulary, as to the cause of a collision between W. J. Lysaght, Thomas Street, Limerick, and a constable of the Royal Irish Constabulary whilst cycling on the night of 16th May, 1915; whether he is aware that, as a result of the collision, W. J. Lysaght's two arms were broken; if he is aware that W. J. Lysaght has been put to considerable expense and loss owing to the collision; and if he will take the necessary steps to inquire into the matter with a view of compensating the victim of the collision for his losses and sufferings?

I am aware of the inquiries made by the Inspector-General regarding the accident referred to by the hon. Member and of the injuries sustained by Mr. Wm. Lysaght. The matter is not one in which I have responsibility or can properly take the steps mentioned in the concluding part of the question.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether it is possible to obtain a copy of the Convention, signed at Washington, 2nd March, 1899, which deals with the question of the disposal of real and personal property within the territories of the one Power on the death of subjects or citizens holding such property of the other Power?

The text of the Convention to which the hon. Member refers was laid before the House in August, 1900, by Royal Command, as Treaty Series No. 17, 1900, (Cd. 356), and should be procurable from the usual sources. If the hon. Member should experience any difficulty in obtaining a copy I shall be happy to furnish him with one.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether it is within the province of any person, whether personally aggrieved or not by the breach of an educational trust or by a failure to comply with the terms of an educational endowment, to call the attention of the Board of Education to such breach or failure; and, if not, to whom such representations may be addressed by a person or persons generally interested in education?

It is open to any person to call the attention of the Board of Education to any breach of, or failure to comply with, the trusts of any educational foundation which is subject to the Board's jurisdiction. It does not fall within my province to say to whom representations should be made in the case of other educational foundations, but my hon. Friend is doubtless aware that the Attorney-General exercises certain functions ex-officio in matters relating to charities.