asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether any Stamp Duty or other tax is payable upon the transfer or sale of British ships or upon mortgages effected upon such ships?

The answer is in the negative.

asked what amount of revenue a 5 per cent, ad valorem Stamp Duty upon the sale, transfer, or mortgage of British ships would be estimated to produce in an average year; and whether such a duty could be collected without any material addition to the tax-collecting machinery of the Inland Revenue?

Any estimate must be highly conjectural, but I am advised that on the date available such a tax might yield about £650,000. The answer to the second part of the question is in the affirmative.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether the increased scale of pay granted to English prison warders on the 11th of April in consequence of the increased cost of living will also be granted to Irish prison warders?

The hon. Member is under a misapprehension. No increased scale of pay has been granted to the English prison warders during the War.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War if he can now state the result of his inquiry with regard to the restoration of the personal property of Thomas J. Clarke, executed, found on his person at the time of his surrender, and compensation to his widow for the business and domestic property destroyed by the soldiers when they occupied the house and made it a military station; and whether any public civil tribunal will deal with such cases?

No, Sir. The reply has not yet reached me.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War if he is now in a position to state the result of his inquiry as to the reason for preventing the delivery of letters and other trifling souvenirs given to a friend by Captain Colbert, of the Irish Volunteers, on the morning of his execution; the reason why the soldiers in charge told the condemned men and their friends in prison that the noise of shooting outside was that of soldiers practising for the executions; and, if this treatment was not enforced by rule, will he say by whose order it was enforced?

I have already sent the hon. Member the result of my inquiries.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether appeals have reached him from the urban and rural district councils of Clonakilty, from the entire people of that town, and from the best known individuals and Government officials in its vicinity, urging the immediate release or immediate trial of the young men of that district now held as prisoners of war in this country; whether they will be at least informed what the charges against them is, in view of their complete freedom from connection with disturbance in Ireland; and where Peter Donovan, John Donovan, Timothy Crowley, John Crowley, Edward Sullivan, and James Walsh are now detained?

An appeal has reached me from the Clonakilty Urban District Council praying for the release of a number of young men of that district. As I have repeatedly informed the hon. Member, all the interned prisoners are informed by written notice of the grounds on which the order of internment is made. I have released Timothy and John Crowley. The other prisoners referred to in the question are at Frongoch, and their cases are now under the consideration of the Advisory Committee.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether the badges given to men who have served in this War and been discharged will be all of one kind; and, if the form and conditions of these badges are not yet settled, whether he will arrange for some marks upon the badges to show if the bearer was wounded, if he has served more than six months abroad, whether he was in the Army before August, 1914, and any other significant facts?

I presume my hon. Friend is alluding to the badge which I mentioned in an answer I gave to the hon. Member for the Devizes Division on the 27th June. If so, I cannot at present state the conditions under which the award of the badge will be made. I do not think it would be practicable to use the badge so as to serve the purposes suggested in the latter part of the question.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether those warrant officers, non-commissioned officers, and men who, having completed twenty-two years' service, are retained in the Army by the Military Service Act will commence to draw their pensions upon the expiry of their twenty-two years' service?

No; but they will count their total service towards pension when they are discharged.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether instructions have been issued for the payment of the bounties promised to time-expired warrant officers, non-commissioned officers, and men retained in the Army by the Military Service Act, 1916?

Yes, Sir; instructions have been issued by special Army Order X. of 20th June last, of which I will send my hon. Friend a copy.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he has inquired into the case of Charles Fry, No. 168,995, Mechanical Transport, Army Service Corps, 2nd Corps, Borough Road College, Isleworth; whether he was put under chloroform and subjected to an operation for hernia in order to make him fit for general service; if so, whether this action, was taken without the leave of either the patient or his parents; whether he is-aware that the parent, on hearing of this, sent telegraphic inquiries, reply paid, to find out his condition; will he say why were these telegrams never answered; and whether this man will be allowed leave before being sent to the front?

I am not aware that this case has been previously brought to my notice. A report has been asked for.

asked whether the Scottish Horse Brigade of three is, in fact, made up of four regiments; and, if so, whether any reason can be given for the omission to include in the general list contained in the dispatches of the General Officer Commanding-in-Chie'f at Gallipoli the names of any officers and men of the regiments composing this brigade and of Lovat's Scouts?

It is not usual to state how brigades are made up. A list of those mentioned in connection with Sir Charles Monro's dispatch already published will be made public in a few days. Perhaps the hon. Member will "wait and see" whether any officers and men of the Scottish Horse Brigade and of Lovat's Scouts are included.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether he is aware that the Dublin Industrial Development Association, at their annual meeting held on Wednesday, 28th June, passed a resolution asking the Government to immediately establish the long-promised depot for the examination and reception of military and civil stores and goods in Dublin; and, if so, will he now take steps to establish this depot?

I would refer my hon. Friend to my answer of 9th May, which, so far as it relates to the establishment for the suggested depot, must, I fear, be taken as final.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether he is aware that men of the Expeditionary Force returned from abroad have in many cases been six months in this country and still have their accounts unsettled; whether they are being told that at present these accounts must wait; and whether, when special cases of hardship of this kind are brought to his notice, he will arrange that such cases will be no longer delayed?

The accounts do not take nearly so long to settle, as a general rule, and if my hon. Friend will give me any specific cases I will certainly have them inquired into. In any case of special hardship a provisional settlement will be made.

asked the Minister of Munitions whether in any factories under his control women have the option of working overtime; and, if so, what limit is made with regard to the amount of such overtime?

Women in controlled establishments, like other workpeople there, may, under the rules made by the Minister of Munitions under Section 4 (5) of the Munitions of War Act, be required to work a reasonable amount of overtime. The hours that can be worked in the case of women are, of course, limited by the Factory Acts, referred to in the answer just given to a previous question by my hon. Friend.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether the Government of India has arrived at any conclusion regarding the levy of double Export Duty upon tea planters in Travancore?

I have ascertained that negotiations are in progress with the Travancore State for remedying the grievance of which the planters complain.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether the Government of India and the provincial Governments are able to guarantee that natural indigo shall not again be swamped by German synthetic indigo after the War; and whether great increase in production is assured if such guarantee can be given?

My hon. Friend, as in duty bound, attributes unlimited power to the Government of India, but this power is in fact limited to their own sphere of action. The future of natural indigo depends mainly upon two factors —improvements in the methods of cultivation and of preparation of the dye for the market, and a settled and secure demand. The former may help to secure the latter, and the Government of India are doing all in their power to stimulate and assist the planters to place the industry on a sound commercial basis. I have already communicated with the other Departments of the Home Government which use indigo. I hope that after the War they will give favourable consideration to the claims of an Indian industry, but I cannot too strongly impress upon my hon. Friend, and through him on all concerned, that the planters themselves must co-operate td ensure more scientific cultivation, better preparation for the market and better marketing arrangements if durable results are to be secured.

asked the Home Secretary if he will state, for each Government Department and Board in Ireland, the name of each member of the staff dismissed, threatened] with dismissal, reduced, denied normal promotion, transferred to disadvantage, warned, or in any way injuriously affected in respect to his connection with the Irish Volunteers, from July, 1914, till April, 1916, during which time that organisation was not an illegal body?

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given to him by the late Chief Secretary on the 12th May, last year, and to that given on 13th December last to the hon. Member for Mid-Armagh.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether Mr. T. T. Runge, a partner in the firm "of Messrs. Tolme and Runge, was appointed expert adviser to the Royal Commission on the Sugar Supply?

I would refer the hon. Member to my previous answers of the 28th July and 25th November, 1915, in reply to the hon. and learned Member for York City, and my answer of the 2nd December, 1915, to the hon. Member for the Mansfield Division.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he can make any arrangement to reduce the freights now levied by shipowners; whether he is aware that the price of coal in Dublin is causing much alarm and constitutes a serious charge, particularly on the working classes; and whether he will make inquiries with a view to moderate and reduce the present price of coal?

As regards freights, I can only refer my hon. Friend to my reply to his question of the 22nd June. The pit price of coal is regulated by the Price of Coal (Limitation) Act, and I am in correspondence with local authorities in Ireland as to the possibility of limiting merchants' charges.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that Dublin merchants complain of the difficulty in obtaining transit of goods to Dublin, especially from London, and that greater obstacles are placed in the traffic between London and Dublin than is customary between other British centres and Dublin; and will he say what action he will take?

I am not aware that the conveyance of traffic between London and Dublin has been subjected to any avoidable restrictions as compared with traffic between other British centres and Dublin. I will, however, look into the matter, and communicate with my hon. Friend in due course.

asked the Vice-President of the Department of Agriculture (Ireland) what were the terms of employment of port inspectors of the Veterinary Department in Ireland at the date of the passing of the Summer Time Act, 1916, and have their working hours of duty been increased thereby; and, if so, what, if any, remission can be made, so as to carry out the intention of the Act in question, to give them as individuals an extra hour of daylight for relaxation?

The portal veterinary inspectors, who, with a few exceptions, are whole-time officers, are required to remain on duty for such periods as the exigencies of the service necessitate. Under the Portal Inspection (Ireland) Order, 1914, the work of inspection has to be carried out between sunrise and sunset, and in a number of cases this inspection is carried out even later by electric light. The Department are not aware that any appreciable increase in the inspectors' work has arisen, or is likely to arise, from the operation of the Summer Time Act.

asked the Secretary for Scotland whether he can give the number of small holders settled on the land in Scotland and the number of acres made available for them under the Small Landholders (Scotland) Act, 1911?

The information asked for in the first part of the question will be found in classified form in the forthcoming Report of the Board of Agriculture for Scotland, which I hope will be circulated in a few days. I regret that I cannot at present agree to press the Board for the further statistics asked for in the second part of the question, as their staff is depleted owing to a considerable number being on military service.