asked the Prime Minister on what charge the late Thomas Kent, of Coole, Fermoy, was convicted by the secret court-martial; whether counsel on his behalf was allowed to question the legality of trial by secret court-martial on that charge; what occasion is alleged for the military and police breaking into the house of the Kent family, smashing the doors without waiting for them to be opened; whether the alleged offence consisted in that Thomas and Richard Kent, on entering the hall, found their mother's life threatened by Constable Rowe with the point of his bayonet to her breast, fired at Rowe, the military and police firing upon the Kents simultaneously and wounding them severely in the head and body, from which wounds Richard Kent has since died; whether there is any instance for a century in this country of a death in such circumstances being punished as murder; whether those who fired upon the Kents have been or will be tried for murder; whether Thomas Kent, for the purpose of being executed, had to be propped up in a chair, his wounds, making standing impossible for him; why a priest was at first refused permission to attend him in preparation for death; what was the text of the document which the priest, on persisting, was required to sign but refused to sign; under whose orders the raid, which could have been carried out peacefully, and the subsequent proceedings were so conducted that of Mrs. Kent's sons Thomas has been executed, Richard killed, and David sent to penal servitude for five years for defending their mother in her own house; and, if he disapproves of all or any of the proceedings, what action has he taken to signify his disapproval, and whether he contemplates any action with reference to Mrs. Kent and her son David?

Thomas Kent was convicted by Field General Court-martial of taking part in an armed rebellion, under Regulation 50 of the Defence of the Realm Regulations. In the interests of the public safety it was decided to exclude the public from this Court, at which no counsel appeared for the prisoner. The house of the Kent family was never broken into The door was opened by the inmates when they surrendered. Head Constable Rowe did not threaten Mr. Kent's life with a bayonet or any other weapon; his head was blown off by a shot fired from a window of the house whilst he was standing in the yard. Thomas Kent was not wounded. He was given a chair at his execution owing to his nervous condition. A priest was given every facility to attend him, and did attend him before and at the execution and at the burial. Another priest was invited to, but refused, to sign the following declaration:

"I hereby declare upon my honour that I will convey no information, message or document of any kind, and that I will treat aft absolutely secret any information I may receive from any rebel or prisoner with whom I may be permitted to communicate."

The arrest of Thomas and David Kent was ordered by the police, who asked for and received assistance from the military authorities. Richard Kent was shot while attempting to escape after the surrender.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether Mr. William Duggan, insurance superintendent, was arrested in Dunman-way, county Cork, on the 10th May last, and after being imprisoned in the Cork Military Prison and the Richmond Prison, Dublin, was afterwards deported and confined in Wandsworth Gaol, and ultimately interned in Frongoch; whether he had previously informed the police that he had no arms, which was shown to be the fact when his house was searched; whether any charge has been made against Duggan and, if so, what; whether all communications from his wife, including parcels and a remittance of money, have been intercepted and not delivered; and whether, in view of the fact that Duggan's arrest has excited public feeling and necessarily affects his business and that of his company, his release will now be ordered?

An order was made on the 7th June for the internment of William Duggan. The grounds on which the order was made are stated in the notice served upon him. He is at Frongoch, and his case is under consideration by the Advisory Committee, who will have before them the points raised in the question. Letters and parcels sent to interned prisoners are censored, and, except in special circumstances, are delivered. I have no reason to suppose that the usual practice was not observed in, this case.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether Mr. Michael Walsh was arrested at Ratharoon, Bandon, county Cork, on the 9th May and, after being imprisoned in Cork Barracks and Richmond Prison, Dublin, was deported to Knutsford; whether his house was first searched and no arms found; whether he is aware that Mr. Walsh never belonged to any body of volunteers and took no part in the Sinn Fein movement; whether there is any charge of any kind against him; and whether, seeing that he is the only male member of his household and that his services are urgently required for farming purposes, his mother being old and infirm, an order will now be made for his release?

Mr. Michael Walsh will be able to lay all the facts of his case, including the points mentioned in this question, before the Advisory Committee, and that is the course which he should.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty, in regard to the Orders in Council of 28th November, 1914, and 3rd February, 1915, by which the Crown can take possession of naval prizes without sale, whether he can state on what basis of valuation has money been paid into the Naval Prize Fund by the Exchequer in such cases?

The Order in Council of 3rd February, 1915, confirmed the order made in the Order in Council of 28th November, 1914, and simply authorises delivery to the Crown in lieu of sale. No money has been paid into the Naval Prize Fund in such cases, nor is any required to be paid by the Order quoted.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he can allay the unrest existing in the minds of married men passed for garrison service abroad as to whether none of them will be called up for service until all single men passed for the same service have been called up?

All these married men are wanted. As regards the single men classified for garrison service abroad, who have been reverted to the Reserve, steps are being taken to call them up.

asked whether arbitrary deductions such as 6d. a week for laundry from a Territorial soldier's pay at Upstreet, Canterbury, can be compulsorily made even though some of the soldiers in the battalion prefer to do their own washing, and make no use of the laundry to which 6d. of their, pay per week is paid without their consent?

The officers commanding the battalions at this camp, which is somewhat isolated, have contracted for the men's washing at the rate of 6d. per head, as it was not practicable to get this washing done in any other way. There are some aspects of this matter which I am examining further, and I will communicate with my hon. Friend in due course.

asked if the age on the national registration form is taken by the military authorities as the age of a man for military service; and, if a man can prove by a birth certificate that his age was by mistake wrongly stated on the registration form, whether the military accept the birth certificate as a true record of his age?

The question has not arisen so far as is known to the War Office, but if in the future it does arise the birth certificate will be accepted as a true record of the age of a man provided he can show that the certificate of birth applies to him or provided the military representatives can prove that the certificate applies to him.

asked if the Army Council will order the release for civil work of national importance of Ernest Flint, a conscientious objector, of Blackburn, who is now in the detention camp at Kinmel Park awaiting court-martial, seeing that this man has in many ways proved his conscientious objection to military service to be genuine, having given up his employment as an engineer at the place where he worked immediately it became a controlled establishment, forfeiting his trade union unemployment benefit for four months?

My hon. Friend has presumably acquainted himself with what my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister stated on the 29th June, and if he has done that he will see that the answer to this question is in the negative.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War if he is aware that at Shaft Barracks, Dover, on 24th May, Percy H. P. Larkman and Robert Miller, conscientious objectors, were severely punched on the head and face by Sergeant Puttock, after which they were handcuffed, a pack of about 20 lbs. weight put upon them, their hands fastened to an iron rod above their heads, so that they were obliged to stand on tiptoe a great part of the time, and left in this condition for about forty-five minutes; if he will endeavour to put a stop to such forms of punishment; and what steps he proposes to take?

Inquiry is being made into these allegations, but in the meantime I must not be taken as accepting them as correct.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office if he will have inquiries made into the case of W. J. Eglin, 3, Harrison Street, Burnley, late No. 2289, 5th East Lancashire Regiment, in order to ascertain whether this man was discharged from the Army on 17th March, 1916, suffering from deafness and rheumatism; whether he has received any grant or pension since his discharge; whether repeated applications have been made to the Chelsea Commissioners for such a pension; and whether this man, who is a married man with two children, is suffering severe distress in consequence of the delay in dealing with his case?

Inquiries are being made into this case, and the result will be communicated to my hon. Friend.

asked the Secretary to the Board of Trade whether, in view of the fact that numbers of passengers are constantly unable to find proper seating accommodation on the railway trains, he will consider the possibility of providing some extra accommodation during the summer months on the main lines of railway?

The railway companies assure me that they will do everything they can to provide sufficient accommodation for the traffic to be conveyed during the summer months.

asked the Secretary to the Board of Trade whether he is aware that, in spite of the shortage of forage in this country, hay is being deliberately burnt at several points along the railway lines, presumably by order of the railway companies; and will he take steps to have this practice put a stop to and the hay made available for the use of the nearest Army horses?

The Railway Executive Committee inform me that every endeavour is being made to preserve hay on railway embankments and cuttings where possible. Generally speaking, however, the grass growing on the embankments is of so coarse a kind as to be unsuitable for forage purposes, and not worth collecting. In such circumstances the best course is to burn it, or otherwise fifes occurring accidentally might endanger the adjoining crops.

asked the First Commissioner of Works if an application has been made by the employés in the Royal parks for arbitration on the question of a war bonus; if such application has been refused; and, if so, on what grounds; and if the application for a war bonus is to be conceded?

The question of rates of pay to employés in the Royal parks is one for decision by the Treasury and myself, and it was decided that there was not sufficient ground to warrant submitting the case in question to arbitration. My reasons for refusing a war bonus to those men were fully stated in the reply which I gave to my hon. Friend on the 16th of March last.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what were the numbers, respectively, of surveyors in each of the undermentioned sections of the amalgamated Customs and Excise service, namely, ex-Customs principal clerks, ex-Customs surveyors, ex-Customs collector-surveyors, ex-Customs first-class clerks, and ex-Excise supervisors, who, being regarded as eligible for promotion at the time of the last promotions by selection to the controlling grade in 1915, had passed the efficiency bar at £400; having passed the efficiency bar had been, either before or after passing the bar, favourably reported on by their collectors or other superior officers for promotion; having been so reported on had been, either in 1914 or 191S, invited to attend before the selection committee; having been so invited were selected for promotion, and were selected for promotion before having reached the salary of £400?

In the case of men whoso suitability for selection for promotion to the highest grade in their classification is being inquired into, many distinct qualifications have to be considered. Suitability is a question of degree, and the reports of superior officers cannot be divided into two clear-cut classes of

Class.				Number Eligible for Promotion 1st September, 1915.	Number of Men in column 2 with Salaries exceeding £400.	Number of Men in column 3.		Number Selected for Promotion before Reaching £400.
						Invited to Attend Selection Committee.	Selected for Promotion.
(1)				(2)	(3)	(4)	(5)	(6)
Ex-Customs—
Principal Clerks	…	…	…	4	4	1	—	—
Surveyors	…	…	…	20	20	9	2	—
Collector-Surveyors	…	…	…	20	6	1	1	1
1st Class Clerks	…	…	…	40	35	8	—	—
Ex-Excise—
Supervisors	…	…	…	96	—	—	—	10