asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether he will give the destination of the Irish prisoners who were deported; what class of work they will be employed at; and when they will be permitted to take their trial?

The Irish prisoners were sent to various prisons in this country. In reply to the other parts of the question I cannot say anything regarding the future, but at present these men are doing no work.

asked the Secretary to the Admiralty whether, with reference to the questions asked by the hon. Member for Blackburn on the 8th December, 1915, he will state the reasons why the clerks in question who resigned their appointments have not had their civil emoluments, etc., restored as from the dates of their resignations instead of from 1st January, 1916; whether one effect of the Admiralty's decision is that if any of these clerks are hereafter established they will lose the benefit of their pensionable service to the dates of their resignation; and, if so, whether it is the considered decision of the Admiralty that such clerks should be penalised relatively for action in itself so commendable on military grounds?

The clerks in question, having resigned without obtaining the consent of the head of their Department, were not entitled under the Treasury rules to any civil pay whilst serving, but on review of their cases it was considered reasonable to allow civil pay as from a date at which they would, no doubt, have been released for military service if they had awaited the consent of the head of their Deparment. The Admiralty decision does not carry with it the contingent disadvantages suggested in the second part of the question.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War if he will make inquiry into the case of Private Miller, No. 054,859, 320th, Army Service Corps, who enlisted fourteen months ago and was sent to France three weeks later, where he has been ever since without any leave; and will he see if leave can be granted to him?

I have frequently stated that I cannot undertake to have inquiry made as to why leave has not been given to individual soldiers. The grant of leave is a matter for the discretion of the Commander-in-Chief.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether the aggregate loss through fire in any other command area in any way approaches the loss in the Eastern Command for the same period; and, if not, whether he would bring the matter of these frequent fires and heavy fire losses in the Eastern Command before the Army Council for inquiry and remedy?

The fire losses in the Eastern Command during the last financial year were unusually heavy owing to one large fire. All such occurrences, whether in the Eastern Command or elsewhere are fully inquired into.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether he has noticed the very large number of fires that have occurred in the Eastern Command area on military property, or in premises temporarily occupied by the military, including important fires at Chatham, Colchester, Woolwich, Tunbridge Wells, Hove, at camps in Surrey, Sussex, and Kent; whether he will state if the approximate value of stores, forage, vehicles, and of premises owned or occupied by the military, destroyed or damaged by fire during the past eighteen months (say to 1st May) has exceeded £100,000; and, if not, whether he will state the total number of fires reported in this area and the aggregate estimated fire loss as far as it is obtainable from the reports on the fire inquiries held and other data available at the Eastern Command headquarters and at the War Office?

The value of the losses is much below the figure suggested by the hon. Member. As I have previously stated, the smaller fires are not reported to this Office.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether any difference is made in the claim for a pension of a soldier suffering from ill-health or wounds by his being retained in hospital until he can be sent home as time-expired instead of being discharged earlier as medically unfit or on account of wounds; and whether the retention of the man until he is time-expired saves the State from any financial liability?

A disability pension could be awarded in either case. If, however, the man was discharged as time-expired and not as medically unfit, his claim might not come before the Chelsea Commissioners for consideration in the usual way unless he made the claim himself. The War Office does not discharge men as time-expired instead of as medically unfit in order to evade the pension claim. The man only remains in hospital until he is fit to travel.

asked the Home Secretary if, before his representative attends the meeting of the Woolcombers' Union on the 21st instant, called for the purpose of pressing the suggestion of his Department to employ women on the night turn in woolcombing sheds, he will make inquiries among fashionable dressmakers in the West End of London concerning the increase in the amount of dress material used in ladies' skirts at present in fashion as compared with the amount of material used for similar garments before the War, and endeavour, with the assistance of the President of the Board of Trade and the War-Savings Committee, to prevent the waste of at least 2 to 2½ yards of material per garment, and in this way diminish the demand for night work from women of the working class, who have their homes and children to attend to in the daytime?

I am afraid I cannot usefully add anything to the answer which I gave to the hon. Member on this subject on the 16th March. The Government is most anxious to discourage extravagance of any kind, but his suggestion is not, I think, a very practical one. The Home Office is very careful to limit any facilities it gives to work required in the national interest, and will, as far as possible, do so in the present instance.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether, in view of the fact that arrangements have been made between the German and French Governments under which wounded prisoners of war may be treated in Switzerland, he has made any efforts to secure similar benefits for British prisoners in Germany and German prisoners in Great Britain?

An agreement has been arrived at with the German Government for the transfer to Switzerland of British and German wounded and invalid combatant prisoners of war who are ineligible for repatriation under the agreement affecting incapacitated prisoners of war. The agreement is on the lines of that already existing between France and Germany.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he received a telegram on Thursday, llth May, from the secretary to the British Undertakers' Association requesting that there should be no further depletion of their staffs, as it will endanger the national health if during the forthcoming summer there should be delay in burying the dead, especially in infectious cases; and what has been his reply thereto?

I did receive the telegram referred to and the point raised in it was considered.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether he is aware that the local pensions committee has granted an old age pension of 5s. per week each to Michael Murphy and his wife Johanna Murphy, of Dromalohert, Glencar, county Kerry; can he state whether these claims have been specially investigated since his attention, was called to them; and what decision has been reached in the matter?

No appeals have been received by the Local Government Board on any recent claims by these people. If appeals are received, an inspector will be sent as promised.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether he is aware that bad housing conditions and the low rate of wages paid to the working classes are the principal causes of dissatisfaction in Ireland; and if he will state what steps, if any, the Government will take to remedy this evil?

The matters raised by the hon. Member's question are too wide to be dealt with in a Parliamentary reply.