asked the Secretary to the Admiralty whether any orders have been placed by his Department with the British Abrasive Wheel Company, of Sheffield; whether he is aware that this firm is controlled by Germans and is managed by an unnaturalised German of military age, and that a number of purely British firms in Sheffield make a superior quality of wheel; and, if any orders have been placed with this company, will he see that no further orders are given to them?

The firm in question were placed on the Admiralty list some years since, and the dockyards were authorised to make small purchases from them if and when requirements arose. The Admiralty has no direct contracts with the firm at the present time. As regards the control and management of the company, I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to him by the President of the Board of Trade on the 17th November last, and I would suggest that if he requires any further information he should apply to the Minister of Munitions, since, as my hon. Friend is aware, the firm has been declared a controlled establishment. No reason is seen for ceasing to deal with this firm, but the Admiralty will always be pleased to hear of sources of supply with which it is unacquainted.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether, under the Regulations of the Royal Naval Air Service, officers are entitled on retirement to a gratuity of £150 for each year's completed service; and whether on disablement an officer is entitled to a proportionate part, but if he is killed on active service his family or his representatives get nothing?

There are three classes of officers in the Royal Naval Air Service. Officers lent from the Royal Navy; officers who enter from civil life for four years' service with four years in the Reserve, and officers entered temporarily during the War.

Officers lent from the Royal Navy are entitled on retirement to the retired pay of their ranks. The gratuity of £150 for each year's service, to which my hon. Friend alludes, is granted to officers who enter from civil life for four years or more. It is not payable to officers entered temporarily for the War. This gratuity, being a lump sum in lieu of the grant of retired pay, is payable only to the officer himself and does not form part of his estate.

All officers, if injured on duty, are eligible for wounds pensions and gratuities, and any officers invalided for service caused during the War will have the benefit of the new scheme of disablement pensions for officers. The proportionate part of the gratuity of £150, to which my hon. Friend refers, may be granted to officers retired at their own request, or for physical unfitness due to causes beyond their own control.

If any one of these officers is killed on active service, his widow, children, or other dependent relatives are granted pensions and allowances on the most favourable scales provided under the Regulations, but no awards to relatives other than widows and children can be made thereunder in cases in which a condition, of dependence did not exist.

asked the Undersecretary of State for War whether there are any and, if so, what grounds of military expediency to prevent the exchange of civilian prisoners with Germany and Austria?

The exchange of certain classes of civilian prisoners of war with Germany and Austria has been in operation for the past eighteen months. All included in these categories who are not detained for military or other special reasons are repatriated.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he has inquired into the case of Private Hodgson, who was attested at Colston Hall, Bristol, on 10th February, and then was, on account of a recent operation and bad feet, placed in Class 3 B for Home duty; why was he placed in the 9th Somerset Light Infantry when he joined at Taunton on 7th April; why was he refused his request to join some other unit but passed for general service abroad; whether a further medical examination will be ordered; and what steps he proposes to take?

I have asked for a report on this case.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War (1) whether men who have been discharged from the Regular Army, Militia, and Special Reserve on completion of their term of service or who, before completion, have purchased their discharge are exempted from the Military Service Act, 1916; and (2) whether men who have been discharged from the Territorial Force on completion of their term of service of four years or who before completion have purchased their discharge are exempted from the Military Service Act, 1916?

The view of the Army Council is that men who have been discharged from the Regular Army, Militia, and Special Reserve and Territorial Force on completion of the period for which they engaged are exempted from the provisions of the Military Service Act, but that those who purchased their discharge before the completion of the period are not excepted.

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether not more than 400 of those seeking to escape military service for conscientious reasons have been sent to join the Non-Combatant Corps; and, if so, can he say what has become of the remainder of those who have been granted by the tribunals exemption from combatant service only?

At the present time no more than 400 men have been allotted to the Non-Combatant Corps. It seems impossible to give at present an exact analysis of what has happened to the remainder, but many have appealed from the local tribunal to the Appeal Tribunal against the decision that they should be allotted for non-combatant service. In many cases the Appeal Tribunal have reversed the decision of the local tribunal, and have decided that the claim was not a sincere one, and have allotted the applicant to non-combatant duties. Another reason why not more than 400 men have yet joined the Non-Combatant Corps is that men presenting themselves at the recruiting office with their form marked by the local tribunal as being allotted to non-combatant duties have stated that they have changed their minds and wish to do the right thing. They ask, accordingly, to be allotted to a Line regiment, and their wishes have been carried out. Others, of course, are being given work of national importance—for example, serving in the Friends' Ambulance Unit or sanitary service.

asked the Attorney-General whether he is aware that a body called the "No-Conscription Fellowship" has stated that its fellows are willing to harbour and conceal men of military age who have been duly called to the Colours; and whether he has received any instructions from the Government placing members of this fellowship who may harbour a deserter on a different footing to ordinary criminals?

The Attorney-General would be glad if any hon. Friend will send him a copy of the statement in question. The whole matter is under examination.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he can now give any information concerning Reginald Davis, of Bristol, a conscientious objector; where he is; and whether he is allowed to send or receive letters or to see his friends?

I am sending my hon. Friend a statement about this case.

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether he will inform the House of the reasons that have induced the Government to weaken the Forces of the Crown by enrolling men in a special corps which will not be allowed to bear weapons of offence, and in setting up a Committee whose terms of reference are to advise tribunals of safe occupations of a national character for those unwilling to bear arms?

Parliament has recognised the claim of conscientious objectors to non-combatant service and this special corps has been formed to provide this service. It does not by any means follow it is a safe service.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether the Army pay of a man who has attested under the Derby scheme and leaves his employment to report himself the day that his group is called up, understanding that he could be charged as a deserter if he did not do so, is due to him from the date of the calling up of the group?

The man would draw pay for the day that he reported himself. If not accepted for service and relegated to the Reserve he would receive no further pay unless called up again. If accepted for service his pay would be continued from the day he reported himself.

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether he is aware that no official labour representation has been included on the West Sussex Appeal Tribunal; and whether he will cause inquiry to be made?

I would refer the hon. Member to my reply to the question put to me on Wednesday last by the hon. Member for Blackburn.

asked the Under-secretary of State for War, whether, through the good offices of the American Embassy in Berlin, British military prisoners of war confined in German fortresses for misdemeanours are now allowed to receive parcels of food from home during the period of their incarceration; and, if not, what is the reason for the refusal of such request?

The result of the representations which have been made by the American Ambassador in Berlin regarding the delivery of parcels to British prisoners of war, who have been condemned to imprisonment in Germany, has not yet been announced.

asked the Under-secretary of State for War whether, seeing that five German ministers of religion have been authorised to visit nineteen German prisoner camps in Great Britain, and only one British clergyman to visit seventy-two British prisoner camps in Germany, His Majesty's Government have taken or will take the necessary steps to secure for British prisoners in Germany the same advantage of religious ministrations by clergymen of their own nationality as is already afforded by the British Government to Germans interned in Great Britain?

The attempts which have been made to obtain the concurrence of the German Government in the sending of more clergymen to Germany to minister to the British prisoners of war in that country have so far failed, but further steps are being taken to obtain this concession.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether the spy who was shot in London on 11th April was a man or a woman; and how many hours elapsed between the confirmation of the sentence and the execution?

To the first part the answer is a man, and to the second, eight days or 192 hours.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War if Mr. G. S. Day, after undergoing the official course at the Inns of Court Officers' Training Corps was accepted for a commission by the officer commanding the 3/12th London Regiment (Territorial Force); if his papers were duly sent in to the War Office on 8th March; if he was informed on 31st March that he was to be transferred to the 60th Division as a private soldier; and, if so, why was the application of the officer commanding the 3/12th London Regiment for Mr. Day's commission ignored?

This candidate's application for a commission is being reconsidered.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether semaphore signalling, which hitherto has been taught throughout every branch of the Service and with which all men in every arm are now familiar, has proved to be of no value; and whether in consequence orders have been issued prohibiting the instruction of recruits in semaphore signalling?

Instruction in semaphore signalling has been discontinued. It is considered that the time involved in learning semaphore signalling is better spent in training in visual signalling by Morse.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War why James Martin, of Enniskillen, county Fermanagh, has not been granted a separation allowance respecting his son, P. Martin, No. 1,754, 7th Inniskilling Fusiliers, now on active service?

Inquiry will be made, and the hon. Member informed of the result.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office, what are the present rates of pay for officers employed in the examination service; and whether his attention has been called to any cases where the chief examination officer, in receipt of pay at the rate of £3 or upwards per day, is also the paid servant of the local harbour authority and in receipt of his usual salary?

The rates vary at the different ports. I am not aware of any case such as that referred to. If the hon. Member has any such case in mind, perhaps he will communicate with me.

asked the Prime Minister whether any orders are now being placed by any Government Departments for goods of foreign manufacture required for the equipment of motor vehicles; and, if so, whether he will give directions that in all cases where adequate supplies can be obtained on favourable terms the orders therefor shall be placed with British manufacturers?

It is already the practice of the Department to limit such orders to cases in which adequate supplies cannot be obtained from British manufacturers, on satisfactory terms as regards delivery and price.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office if he will state the present rate of hire paid for the trawlers "Southern Prince" and "Ben Arthur;" employed in the Tyne examination service; what was the original cost of these trawlers and the sum which has already been paid by the War Office for hire; and whether he will consider the desirability in the interests of economy of acquiring these trawlers at a fair price with a view to re-selling them at the conclusion of the War?

The present rate of payment for the use of these boats is £475 each per month. The original cost of the "Southern Prince" was £7,200, of the "Ben Arthur" £7,000. The total sum paid up to 31st March, 1916, for each boat is approximately £8,200. This includes the cost of coal, insurance, stores and repairs, the wages of double crew and liability for replacement if either boat is withdrawn for any reason. It is not considered that it would be in the public interest for the Department to buy the boats with all the attendant liabilities.

asked the Under-secretary of State for War whether he is aware that a large supply of manure at Woolwich, which has generally been available for local farmers, is being accumulated by the military authorities with a view of disposal after the War; whether he is aware that such manure will lose 50 per cent. in bulk by storage and the greater part of its fertilising value, and that the procedure is wasteful; and will he, owing to the scarcity of artificial fertilisers and the more than usual need of manure to increase the production of food, cause such manure to be placed again at the disposal of agriculturists.

Yes, Sir, a large amount of manure has accumulated at Woolwich. It has been, and still is, available for the use of local farmers and agriculturists, and I should be glad if they would make the fullest possible use of it.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office if he is now aware of the amount of the loss which has fallen upon the War Department by the fire at the Royal Engineer Barracks, Chatham; if not, will he say what was the estimate of the chief Royal Engineer officer for the structural repairs necessitated by the fire that occurred at the Royal Engineer Barracks, Chatham, in respect of which an estimate has to be provided under the King's Regulations, No. 1,032; what was the number of troops and horses that were displaced by this fire, and which had to be reported under the King's Regulations, No. 1,033; whether temporary accommodation has had to be provided or whether the expense of billets had to be incurred; what was the extent of the damage done to the contents and stores in the buildings, and the approximate value thereof, as elucidated in the fire inquiry under the King's Regulations, Nos. 1,030, 1,031; and what payments, if any, have been made or have been claimed by the various civil fire brigades who attended this extensive fire for the services rendered to the military authorities?

The accommodation lost was for 410 men and 129 horses, and is estimated at £25,000 approximately. The buildings were so damaged as to be beyond repair, and the question of repro-vision will depend on the policy of housing troops after the War. The horses displaced have been temporarily accommodated in other buildings, the men partly in billets, partly in other barracks and huts. The value of the contents and stores in the buildings is still being assessed. The full report, with the proceedings of the Court of Inquiry, will be submitted to the War Office in a few days. The claims by the civil fire brigades amount to about £50. These are now under consideration.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office what has been, approximately, the total monetary value of the loss by fire in the Home Commands during the financial year ending 31st March, 1916, other than loss incurred by air raid or bombardment, on premises owned, leased, rented, or occupied by the War Department, including the value of any contents, stores, forage, materials, or vehicles; and, failing this information regarding the total fire wastage in premises occupied by the War Department being available, what has been the approximate value of War Department property damaged or lost by fire in the Home Commands during the year in question?

In those cases which involve a loss of over £200 the aggregate loss at present reported to the War Office is about £50,000. Cases involving a loss of under £200 are dealt with by the Command Headquarter offices, and are not included in the above figure.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office under what heading, if any, such fire losses appear in the Estimates of the War Department or whether the financial provisions necessary to make up the loss incurred in the Home Commands are in any way readily ascertainable in the Estimates; and, failing any heading or means of readily ascertaining the loss, whether he will consider the advisability of in future providing particulars of the annual loss incurred by fire (grouped by commands), and of the cost of new works, repairs, new stores, vehicles, etc., upon which expenditure had to be incurred, or has been estimated for, in order to replace the property lost by fire?

It is not practicable to provide separately in the Estimates for replacement of losses by fire, but any large losses from this cause are noted in the Appropriation Accounts under the relevant Votes.

asked the Under-secretary of State for War (1) whether arrangements exist for a systematic interchange of information between us and our Allies regarding all material and equipments of War; and whether such interchange took place in regard to the design for steel helmets, with which the French Army was supplied partially a year ago and completely nine months ago; and (2) whether, in view of the advantage of having all our troops in France provided with steel helmets before an advance takes place, he will endeavour to fill any existing shortage by placing orders in France?

The steel helmet, of which large quantities have already been supplied to the British Forces in France and of which adequate supplies are assured, possesses higher protective powers than the French pattern. It is desirable that a uniform design should be adhered to and I am not aware that steel of the requisite standard can be obtained in France. I may point out that it is most important to maintain the reliance which, I am informed, our troops now place in the helmets.

asked the Minister of Munitions (1) whether about 500 women employed by Messrs. Vickers, Barrow, have been notified that their services will not be required after 12th April; whether this is a preliminary to a transference to the 12-hour shift instead of the present 8-hour shift, in accordance with the change adopted at Erith; and what action, if any, he intends to take; and (2) whether he is aware that Messrs. Vickers, Barrow, have posted in their works a notice to the effect that one department, known as the gallery, in which about 1,000 women are employed, will be closed for a week or a fortnight or until the women are sent for; whether he is aware that many of these women have come to Barrow from all parts of the country, some from as far as Belfast, and are at present in lodgings; and whether, during their period of suspension, these women will be entitled to unemployment benefit or to an allowance from the firm during their compulsory idleness?

I understand from Messrs. Vickers that for the purpose of adapting some of their machinery for a new class of work they have found it necessary partially to close one of their depart- ments for a short period, and have notified a number of women accordingly that they would have to stand off for a period of one or two weeks. It is a fact that Messrs. Vickers have asked the assent of the Ministry and the Home Office to a proposed change from a three to a two-shift system at their Barrow works, but they state that their action in regard to the closing of the department is not due to this proposal, and they have been warned that they must not make any arrangements on the assumption that the permission asked for will be granted.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether his Department has recently made a purchase of electric fans; whether these fans were manufactured by Messrs. Ercole Marelli and Company, who have an office at Garlick Hill, Queen Victoria Street, E.C.; and whether, if so, would he state what is the trade description of the fan?

The facts are as stated. The trade description of the fans is: "Direct current ceiling fan, 54-inch sweep, four blades, 200 revolutions per minute, complete, with down rod and canopy, finished black enamelled with gold lines, specially insulated for tropical climates." As the works in this country of the company with whom the order was placed were already occupied with Government work, the company were permitted to place the order with Italian manufacturers.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether any orders have been placed by his Department with the British Abrasive Wheel Company, of Sheffield; whether he is aware that this firm is controlled by Germans and is managed by an unnaturalised German of military age; that a number of purely British firms in Sheffield make a superior quality of wheel; and, if any orders have been placed by this company, will he see that no further orders are given to them?

Orders for grinding wheels of a particular type have been placed by the India Office with the company mentioned in the question. The wheels are made by a process special to the company, and hitherto have not been procurable elsewhere in this country. It was ascertained that the company was a "controlled" establishment on the list of the Munitions Department, that less than 7½ per cent. of its capital was German, and that the manager had been released from internment on account of his special knowledge of the process employed in the works.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will inform the House why persons of alien enemy origin have been, and still are, allowed to change their names, whether by enrolled deed poll or other means, and thus conceal their identity by assuming names of undoubted British origin; and whether, having regard to the prevailing sentiment and temper of public opinion, he will take steps to prevent persons originally subjects of Germany, even though naturalised, from being allowed to pass themselves off as British-born?

I have no power to forbid British subjects with German-sounding names, some of them British and loyal for many generations, from adopting British names. I would refer the hon. and learned Member to the answer given by my predecessor on the 16th June, and by the Attorney-General on the 8th December last.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether the brewers doing a military trade in places where troops are concentrated who have increased their stock of brewing materials to provide for their increased trade will be allowed to use these materials to supply this trade; and whether in such cases the proposed limitation will be postponed or other arrangements made to meet exceptional cases?

The whole question of the steps to be taken to secure a supply of beer sufficient for the reasonable requirements of the Army is engaging the Government's attention, and I hope shortly to be in a position to make an announcement on the subject.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that the enemy firm of Bohler Brothers and Company, of Renton Street, Sheffield, is a branch of the Austro-German firm of Gebr. Bohler and Company, of Vienna and Berlin, and carries on business there and at other places in Austria and Germany; whether this firm is engaged at its Austrian works in making guns and ammunition for the armies of the Central Powers; whether he is aware that the principal member of this firm conducting the Sheffield branch, one Walther Bohler, left that place in July, 1914, ostensibly for his summer holiday, but closed his residence and dismissed his servants, and has not since been seen, and that the firm's business is being carried on by a manager of the name of Cook, and that every effort is made to deceive the engineering trade in this country by concealing the enemy origin and constitution of the business, and even at times going so far as to deny the facts; whether he is aware that their stock of Bohler steel, being practically exhausted, the firm are purchasing supplies of Swedish raw material from local importers, or ingots of finished steel from any manufacturers they can obtain it, and passing it off to purchasers as genuine Bohler steel, and by these means are keeping the works going for the benefit of the enemy proprietors after the War, and in the meantime, and on the strength of an order given by a department at Woolwich Arsenal, are urging the firm's claims to be considered indispensable, and seeking exemption for Cook and other employés who are liable for military service; and whether, as the concern has neither directors nor shareholders in this country, and is wholly capitalised in Berlin and Vienna, he will cause inquiry to be made into these matters, and direct that the business should be compulsorily wound up, in order that the British market should no longer be imposed upon and British steel manufacturers handicapped by enemy aliens?

Bohler Brothers, of Sheffield, is a branch of the Austrian firm of Bohler Brothers and Company, which has its head office in Vienna and branches in Germany. I have no information as to what is being done at the works in Austria. The manager of the branch in Sheffield was abroad at the outbreak of war and has not returned. The present manager is a British subject, and I am not aware that the engineering trade in this country is being deceived as to the constitution of the business or the nature of, the steel purchased from the firm. I will refer the case to the Advisory Committee to consider the application of the provisions of the Trading With the Enemy Amendment Act, 1916, as soon, as they are Able to deal with it.

asked the Postmaster-General if he will explain why in his Report on the Post Office for 1914–16 no mention is made of the expenditure on the Post Office railway, and why the fact that he is expending a very large sum of money on this project at a time when national economy is of the utmost importance is concealed from the House of Commons; and whether he will take steps to present to the House of Commons a supplementary Report dealing with this matter?

My hon. Friend appears to have overlooked the detached account of the expenditure on the Post Office railway for the year 1914–15, which was presented to this House on the 15th February. It was less than £38,000. It was unnecessary to repeat these figures in the Postmaster-General's Report, which stated how the work was progressing. Nothing whatever has been concealed from the House of Commons, and no supplementary Report is required.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether any, and if so, what efforts were made by His Majesty's Government to secure an independent medical inspection of the prisoner camp at Wittenberg during the many months that this camp remained unvisited, owing to the prevalence of typhus, by the American Ambassador at Berlin or by any of his staff?

The Germans permitted no kind of communication, either by letter or orally, as to the condition of Wittenberg during the months in question, and the Government had, I need not say, no suspicion of the horrors that were going on there, or of the gross and criminal cowardice of the German medical staff in abandoning their duties to those under their charge. Neither our Allies—whose prisoners in the camp were far more numerous than ours—nor we demanded independent medical examination of the camp, and on behalf of the Government I can only express profound regret that we so underestimated the brutality of our enemies. It is only right to say that we have no reason to suppose that other typhus infected camps in Germany were treated in the same way.

asked the First Commissioner of Works if he is aware that in substantial districts in London, Brighton, and Hove a number of houses were erected during the Regency and before the accession of William IV. which are governed by special Statutes whereby it is provided that they shall be painted externally in uniform and special tints, and shall be repaired under stringent regulations at stated periods; and whether, in view of the conditions produced by the War, he will direct that the Office of Public Works and any other Government Department which has a right to enforce these conditions should postpone action until a reasonable period after the War has elapsed?

I have no official knowledge on the point raised in the first part of the question. As far as the Office of Works is concerned, instructions were issued in the autumn of 1914 that all works of repair and renovation to Government buildings were to be postponed as long as was possible consistent with the due preservation of the buildings, and that in the case of leased buildings every effort should be made to arrange with the lessors for the usual covenants as to painting, etc., to be modified during the War.

asked the President of the Local Government Board if he will state how many cases of small-pox have occurred in Salford during the present year; what was their vaccinal condition; how many were fatal; whether any unvaccinated children developed the disease; how many unvaccinated children have been registered as unvaccinated during the last six years by the local vaccination officer, including those legally exempted; and whether strict attention is being paid to the condition of the drains and to the collection of refuse from the districts in which the small-pox cases have occurred?

There have been eight cases of small-pox in Salford during the present year. They all occurred in persons over eighteen. Six of them had been vaccinated in infancy but not since, one was unvaccinated, and one case—which was the only fatal one—was doubtful. Further inquiry is being made as to the vaccinal condition of this case. Of about 40,000 children born in Salford in the six years 1909–1914 about 4,800 had not been vaccinated at the date of the last vaccination officer's returns. The answer to the last part of the question is in the affirmative.

asked the Home Secretary whether a certificate of death given by a medical herbalist can be accepted by a registrar of deaths as satisfactory, or whether such a certificate has to be approved by the coroner for the district in which the person died before it can be accepted by the registrar?

Registrars are required to report to the coroner any death for which no certificate of cause of death is produced from a registered medical practitioner.

asked the President of the Local Government Board what proportion or sums of the £41,000 provided for the prevention of infant mortality have been allotted to Manchester, Bradford, and any other cities of over 250,000 in population: and what proportion, if any, has been allotted to rural authorities?

The amount of the Grant distributed in aid of maternity and child welfare work in 1915–16 to towns with a population over 250,000, including London, was £15,404 to local authorities and £4,809 to voluntary agencies. Grants amounting to £351 were paid to rural district councils, and a great deal of the sums of £6,130 paid to county councils and £2,475 paid to voluntary agencies in counties was for the benefit of rural areas.

asked the President of the Local Government Board what number of schemes have been approved under the Notification of Births Act, 1915?

Grants were paid in 1915–16 to 308 local authorities in respect of expenditure on schemes for maternity and infant welfare incurred in the financial year ended 31st March, 1915. Since that date several new schemes and additions to existing schemes have been approved, but the actual number is not readily available.