asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether his attention has been called to the number of persons, skilled and unskilled workmen, employed at Haulbowline; whether he is aware that in consequence of the additional numbers the housing accommodation in the urban district of Queenstown has proved inadequate to the present needs; whether he will take steps to secure that a Grant shall be made to the urban council to enable it to provide houses for the workers; and whether, in accordance with the general undertaking given by the Prime Minister on the 28th September, 1914, he will invite the co-operation of the Departments concerned, the Admiralty, the Local Government Board for Ireland, and the Irish Board of Works, with a view to expedite the work as much as possible?

I understand that since the outbreak of war there has been a considerable increase in the number of workmen employed at Haulbowline, and that partly on this account there is some pressure on the housing accommodation available at Queenstown. I am causing further inquiry to be made into the conditions there, with a view to ascertaining whether they justify representations being made to the Departments concerned.

asked whether a Russian subject, not born in the British Empire, but of military age, will be accepted for service in the British Army?

Foreigners are not accepted for service in the British Army.

asked the Under-Secretary for War if he can see his way to arrange that a pre- ference in filling positions in the non-combatant branches of the Army shall henceforth be given to married men?

Of the non-combatant branches of the Army, the Royal Army Medical Corps and the Army Pay Corps do not require any more men. The men required for the Army Service Corps and Army Ordnance Corps are all selected because their trade in civil life makes them suitable for the duties they will have to perform in the Army. It is already very difficult to get sufficient tradesmen of the required trades to meet the requirements of the Army Service Corps and Army Ordnance Corps, and such tradesmen as can be obtained are taken whether they are married or single. To allow only married men to join these technical corps would restrict their supply of the tradesmen required, and would militate against the efficiency of the forces in the field. My hon. Friend will also be aware that I am being continually pressed to give to men attested, or deemed to be attested, some choice regarding the arm in which they are to serve.

asked whether any recruits making a false declaration as to their age have been prosecuted for so doing; if so, what was the approximate date of the last prosecution; and what is the object of these prosecutions?

There have been no court-martial prosecutions for the offences, named.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will state the name of the Lunacy Commissioner who has been absent on military duty since the beginning of the War; in what capacity is he serving; whether he receives military as well as civil pay; and whether he has duties partially or exclusively dealing with mentally unbalanced soldiers who have not been discharged from the Army or Navy?

The Commissioner in question is Major B. T. Hodgson, one of the legal Commissioners. For many years he served in the Volunteer Forces and on the outbreak of the War was mobilised with his Territorial unit. In accordance with the general practice of the Civil Service he is receiving his civil salary minus his military pay. No such duties as are referred to in the latter part of the question devolve upon him.

asked the President of the Local Government Board if he will say what arrangements are made in France and Germany when married men are called to the Colours to prevent their homes being broken up by way of moratorium against rent or by special allowances?

I will send a statement to the hon. Member as to the information at my disposal.

asked the President of the Local Government Board if he will make inquiries into the case of George Cannell, of 35, Albert Bridge Road, Battersea, who applied to the Battersea Local Tribunal on 3rd March for exemption from military service on conscientious grounds, with the result that he was granted exemption from combatant service, and afterwards, on the appeal of the military representative heard on 20th March before the County of London Appeal Tribunal, was refused any exemption whatever; if he will ascertain whether the military representative attempted to prejudice this case by referring to the case of the applicant's brother, who was alleged to have made profit out of the War, and gave it as his opinion that if the applicant had the same chance his conscience would not prevent his accepting it; whether he is aware that the chairman of the Appeal Tribunal stated that he supposed the applicant's views were similar to those of his brother, and that leave of appeal to the Central Tribunal was refused; and whether, in view of the fact that the applicant is well known to hold religious and moral opinions which would make it impossible for him as a conscientious man to take any part in war, that these opinions are quite independent of those held by his brother, and that they were accepted by the Battersea Local Tribunal as a sufficient ground for exemption, the Local Government Board will take steps to obtain for this applicant the opportunity of having his case heard, without the introduction of irrelevant matter, by the Central Appeal Tribunal?

The cases of George Cannell and his brother, Sidney Cannell, came before the full London Appeal Tribunal on the application of the military representative that they should not be exempt from combatant service. The tribunal was not prejudiced by any question or statement of the military representative, and no question was asked by the chairman regarding another brother who was alleged to have made profit out of the War. The case of Sidney Cannell was taken first and in the hearing of George Cannell. It is true that the chairman asked George Cannell, when his case came on, whether his views were similar to those which he had just heard expressed by his brother, and this appears a perfectly fair question, in view of the fact that they had been brought up together. A number of questions were addressed to George Cannell, and his case was individually and fully and fairly considered. The decision of the tribunal was unanimous, as was also the refusal to give leave to appeal. I have no power to revoke or vary the decision of the tribunal.

asked whether the War Office has confiscated, in the case of certain regiments of the New Army, profits made by the careful management of money issued in lieu of rations, thereby depriving the men of the benefit of this money now they are on active service?

Where public money is issued to units for the provision of the rations normally issued in kind, and is proved by experience not to be all required for that purpose, the surplus cash reverts to the public, just as do rations undrawn. Where an allowance is issued to the individual soldier for rations or messing, no such question arises.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether it is proposed to give Mrs. Mary M'Grath, of Kenagh, a pension in respect of the death of her husband, Private Peter M'Grath, No. 5,346, 5th Leinster Battalion; whether he is aware that the late Private M'Grath had fourteen and a half years' military service before joining the Leinsters, and that this woman is now left destitute with four small children, the eldest only nine years old, and that her separation allowance was stopped the week he died; and whether, in the interest of recruiting, he proposes to take any steps to deal with such cases?

Separation allowance is still being issued to Mrs. M'Grath. The question of pension will be inquired into, and I will let the hon. Member know the result.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office if he will state why the decision of the Ballinalee Pension Sub-committee to allow the mother of Private M. Cunningham, No. 5,173, 7th Battalion Leinster Regiment, some additional sum to the 6d. per day left by her son was refused; whether he is aware that this woman lives alone on a rood of bog garden and has no means of support; and will he communicate with the Local Government Board on the matter?

Inquiries are being made, and the hon. Member will be informed of the result in due course.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office if he will explain why no dependants' allowances have been paid to James Dermody or Ellen Dermody, of Rathbracken, Granard, in respect of the sum left them by their son on the 9th October last; whether he is aware that since 10th November nothing has been paid to these old people; and will he now direct that the payments be resumed and the amount due since November be paid in full?

The hon. Member has been informed by letter that inquiry will be made as soon as the information necessary to identify the soldier has been received.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office if he will explain why the dependant's allowance of James Oates, Clondra, county Longford, was stopped for seven months, from 6th July to 13th February, notwithstanding that his son, Private M. Oates, B company, 5th Royal Dublin Fusiliers, had left it to him; and will he now see that the same is paid immediately?

Inquiries are being made and the hon. Member will be informed of the result.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether he is aware that Section 2 of 25 and 26 Vic, c. 83, provides that any person who shall be in occupation of any land of greater extent than a quarter of a statute acre and who shall be considered by the board of guardians to require relief shall be relieved by them in the workhouse and not otherwise; and seeing that this Act deprives all agricultural labourers in Ireland in possession of cottages erected under the Labourers Acts to which in most cases more than a quarter of a statute acre of land is attached, whether he will introduce a short amending Bill this Session to remove this grievance?

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave on this subject, on the 8th March, 1915, to the hon. Member for North Meath. The present time is not opportune for introducing legislation on this matter, concerning which there probably exists a considerable diversity of opinion.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether, in view of the increased cost of living, provision is now being made by the Government for increasing the salaries of Irish prison warders; and whether provision for such increase will be made in the Estimates for the year 1916–17?

As the hon. Member is aware, the question of increasing the salaries of Irish prison warders has been for some time under consideration. I am glad to be able to inform him that Treasury sanction has now been obtained to assimilating generally the rates of these salaries to those paid to corresponding grades in England, subject to the conditions of service being also assimilated as far as this is possible.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland if he will state the present salary and emoluments of The M'Dermott, chief inspector of prisons in Ireland; how many times per year he visits the prisons in his charge and their number; how many officers of prisons have recently been discharged at his instance for trivial offences unless they consented to join the Army; whether this forms any part of his duties as inspector; when and where he was trained for the duties of his present office; and is he receiving any special payment in respect of his duties as a recruiting officer?

The salary of The M'Dermott, who is vice-chairman of the General Prisons Board, and not chief inspector of prisons, is £1,000 per annum, as shown in the Parliamentary Estimates, and he has no other emoluments. The number of visits he pays to prisons is a matter for his own discretion. No prison officers have been dealt with in the manner stated in the third part of the question, and accordingly the fourth part does not arise. Before obtaining his present appointment The M'Dermott was for ten years inspector of prisons, and previously a practising barrister. He is not a recruiting officer.

asked the Vice-President of the Department of Agriculture (Ireland) whether the inspector appointed by the Department for the purpose of judging at mare shows this year in the county of Dublin is the same person as was last year appointed for the same purpose in the same county and incurred censure for his action in such judging on that occasion; whether any inquiry was made previous to his appointment as to his having peculiar ideas as to the sort of animals which ought to be bred by Irish farmers; whether he is allowed to act on those notions as he chooses; if so, whether he is to be appointed to act as judge at any future mare shows in the county of Dublin; and what salary and expenses he receives for his services?

The inspector who judged this year at the mare shows in county Dublin is the person who acted in that capacity last year. The Department had no occasion whatever to censure this officer. They are well acquainted with his qualifications as he has been in their service for fourteen years. He has no peculiar ideas on this subject and is, in their opinion, thoroughly competent to select mares for the award of nominations. As the Dublin County Committee of Agriculture objected to the standard of judging last year, the Department arranged to have another inspector attend independently at six shows in county Dublin this year, and his report is to the effect that the standard set by the judge was not too high. The percentages of mares passed by the judge was the average for all Ireland. The appointment of judge for next year will not be considered until next autumn. The officer who acted as judge in county Dublin is a member of the Department's permanent staff, and received for his services at mare shows no remuneration in addition to his regular salary as agricultural inspector.

asked the Vice-President of the Department of Agriculture (Ireland) whether he is aware that indignation has been aroused in the county of Dublin and elsewhere by the results of the judging at the mare shows held in that county in February for the purpose of allotting 254 available nominations under the horse breeding scheme; that, although 417 entries were received for the shows, the judge appointed by the Department allotted only 190 nominations, leaving no fewer than 64 nominations unallotted; that numerous mares were rejected which were quite sound and had passed the usual veterinary examination; and, if so, what is the justification for this action of the inspector in question?

The Department have received representations that the Dublin County Committee of Agriculture are dissatisfied that a larger number of mares was not passed as suitable for nominations at the recent exhibitions held in that county. Such representations are usually received in similar circumstances from other counties, and the Department have received them this year from Limerick and Tipperary, where different judges were concerned. The object of judging at mare exhibitions is selection with a view to securing that mares calculated to improve the breed of horses in the district are mated with the approved registered sires, the owner of the mare being provided with a nomination entitling him to a contribution from public funds towards the cost of service for the purpose. It is not the object of the schemes to provide farmers with free service for their mares generally without reference to this standard. The funds allotted for the scheme by the Department and by the Treasury are given expressly for encouraging improvement in horse breeding. The Department's judges are specially instructed to see that the conditions under which the Grants are given are fulfilled. Fifty per cent. of the mares shown this year in county Dublin were passed by both judge and veterinary surgeon, and as this is almost exactly the average percentage of mares from the whole of Ireland, the Department have no reason to consider that the standard adopted was unnecessarily high. It is not the case that any mares were rejected which had passed the veterinary surgeon, but thirty-five mares which had been selected by the judge were rejected by the veterinary surgeon. As intimated in my reply to another question to-day by the hon. Member, the Department, because of the doubts expressed by the Dublin. Committee, arranged to have another inspector independently present at certain of the exhibitions. The report of this inspector shows that the standard adopted was in his opinion lower than was desirable. To satisfy any reasonable doubt of the Committee the Department have offered to send another judge to see any sound mares which the Committee consider should not have been rejected.

asked he Chief Secretary for Ireland if he will state the amount of the abatement made from the sum payable to each local authority in Ireland in the year ended 31st March, 1916, owing to insufficiency of income of the Local Taxation (Ireland) Account; the net amount in respect of land purchase liability deducted from or added to the sums payable to each county, county borough, and urban district council in Ireland as road authority on account of the Estate or Death Duty Grant in the year ended 31st March, 1916; and the net amount in respect of land purchase liability deducted from or added to the sum payable on behalf of each board of guardians in Ireland on account of the Estate or Death Duty Grant in the year ended 31st March, 1916?

The particulars asked for by the hon. Member could not be furnished at the present time without an expenditure of time and labour which, in view of the existing pressure I would not feel justified in imposing on the Departments concerned. The bulk of the information will probably be compiled in the ordinary way in the course of a few months.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether the provision of electric fans for the Artillery and Infantry barracks and the cantonment hospital at Lahore has for the past two years been pressed on the Government of India by the Medical Department and the Military Board of Works; whether the money for providing these fans was available last year and used for building a ball-room at Lahore; and whether he will direct the Government of India to establish these cooling fans in this hot military station?

I have no information on this subject, but will make inquiries of the Government of India.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his attention has been called to a fire which broke out in a Nelson Street factory, Belfast, on the 22nd March last, in consequence of which seven persons lost their lives and a number of others were injured; whether he is aware that between thirty and forty persons, nearly all women, were employed in this factory, which was packed with highly-inflammable materials, and the only access to or exit from which was a single wooden staircase, whilst the gas-jets used in the establishment were absolutely unprotected; whether this factory came under the supervision of the Home Office; if so, will he say why these conditions were permitted to exist; whether, as alleged by the Town Clerk of Belfast, when some years ago the corporation proposed to adopt certain by-laws, he was given to understand by the authorities that it was thought inappropriate and inopportune to frame by-laws for a town in Ireland since no such by-laws existed in England or Scotland; whether, as stated by Councillor Duff at a meeting of the Belfast Corporation, whenever one of their officials drew attention to the fact that the workroom was in a rather dangerous condition so far as escape from fire was concerned, town canvassing started with the object of influencing the members of the committee to enforce as gently as possible the regulation put forth by their own official; whether, in view of all the circumstances, the Home Office will order immediately an inquiry into the whole circumstances connected with this tragic occurrence; and whether steps will be taken to see that in similar factories in Belfast the conditions are not such as to be a constant menace to the lives of the workers engaged?

I have had before me a preliminary Report on this disastrous occurrence, but the information is not yet complete, and I am awaiting a further Report. When this is received, I will take the whole circumstances of the case into careful consideration and, if necessary, communicate with the Belfast Corporation on the subject. The provisions of Section 14 of the Factory Act in regard to escape from fire did not apply to the factory, as less than forty persons were employed.

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether the Registrar-General has applied to the Board, under the Notification of Births Act, transferring the south-east ward of the borough of Deptford from the Deptford South to the Deptford East sub-district of the Greenwich registration district; whether he has received representations from the Deptford Borough Council expressing the opinion that the registration of births and deaths should be a duty imposed upon the borough councils and not upon the guardians; and whether he will consider the propriety of refusing to sanction the proposed alteration in the registration sub-districts of the Deptford Borough Council?

No application has been made to me for the issue of an Order altering the registration sub-districts in the borough of Deptford, but I have received a letter from the borough council, expressing the opinion referred to in the second part of the question. I am informed by the Registrar-General that he is in correspondence with the borough council, and that he would not desire to press the proposed alteration against the wishes of the council.

asked the Postmaster-General if officials have been sent by the Post Office from London to explain the use of the automatic telephone to Portsmouth telephone subscribers; if any subscribers have asked for these explanations; if these explanations had already been given when the machines were put up; if he can give the number of officials sent to Portsmouth and the cost of the visit; and if there were no competent officials or others in Portsmouth able to do the work?

Experience has shown that when an automatic telephone system is installed in any town it is necessary for every subscriber to have the working of the system carefully explained just before the change is made and for the use of the system to be carefully watched for a short period afterwards; otherwise much difficulty and inconvenience are likely to be caused to subscribers, and the resulting loss and expense to the Post Office would more than balance any saving effected by abolishing an explanation at the outset. Thirteen officials from London and elsewhere have been sent to Portsmouth for work of this kind and the cost will probably be about £100. There are not sufficient local officials with the necessary experience; nor would the explanations given by the fitters who installed the subscribers' telephones, some months ago in most cases, have met the circumstances.