asked the Home Secretary whether he can give the districts in the United Kingdom in which the carrying and use of firearms without special licence has been forbidden under a recent Order?

It is presumed that the reference is to Defence of the Realm Regulation No. 37 A, under which it is made an offence to carry firearms without a permit from the' competent naval or military authority within any area specified in an Order made by such authority. No report has reached this office of any Order having yet been made under this Regulation.

asked the Secretary of State for War if men who have been discharged from the Army as unfit for further service, and who have subsequently recovered and voluntarily rejoined the forces, are entitled to a bounty on so rejoining; and, if not, will he consider the advisability of extending the bounty to such cases?

The bounties are only given to men who were serving on an engagement at the outbreak of war and since then have completed their full period of service. I am afraid that it cannot be, extended to the men referred to in the question.

asked the Secretary of State for War what arrangements have been, or are being, made to pay the soldiers, prisoners of war now interned in Switzerland, the arrears of pay due to them?

Arrangements have been made with the Swiss Government to issue part of the pay. Any portion of the balance can be obtained by application to the regimental paymaster.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether his attention has been called to the recruiting frauds in the county of Durham upon mechanics, farm labourers, miners, and others; and what steps, if any, have been taken to pay the sums of which the men concerned have Veen defrauded?

Steps have already been taken to inquire into these allegagations, and I will let my hon. Friend know the result as soon as the report which is now awaited has been received

asked the Secretary of State for War whether, in the case of a man who attested under the Derby scheme and was rejected for medical reasons in November, 1915, and who is now called up for re-examination and passed as fit, the payment of 2s. 7d. allowed to recruits is being refused by the War Office on the ground that he is not a volunteer; and whether such men as the one referred to are to be considered as volunteers or as conscripts?

If my right hon. Friend will give me particulars of any cases that he is aware of, I will have them looked into.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether the question of providing soldiers at the front with shields to protect the more vital parts of the body has been considered; if so, what decision has been arrived at; whether shields are now being used, especially among the Australian troops; and whether the steel helmets now supplied are satisfactory in all respects?

The question of providing body shields is under consideration, but a report from the Commander-in-Chief is awaited before a decision can be taken. From the reports received the steel helmets appear to be satisfactory.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether it is his intention to deport to Russia those Russian subjects who hold Russian certificates of exemption and those who belong to the second-class militia and are above thirty years of age, seeing that neither of these categories have been called to serve in Russia at the present time; and (2) what steps he intends to take to make a military register of all aliens of military age in this country; whether such a register will include neutral as well as friendly aliens; whether it will be entrusted to the military authorities, to the police, or to the municipal authorities to make and to maintain this register; and whether it would distinguish those liable to be called up by their own countries?

I would refer my hon. Friend to the official notice published yesterday. All aliens of allied and neutral nationality are already registered with the police in all parts of the country except the Metropolitan Police district. The registration in the Metropolitan Police district had to be deferred on account of the large number of aliens there resident: but it will now be applied to male aliens of French, Italian, Russian, and Serbian nationality. Belgians are already registered. The same particulars will be registered as in the rest of the country.

asked the Home Secretary whether it is intended to give a war bonus to Irish national teachers; is he aware that other teachers paid by the British Treasury are in receipt of a war bonus; and will he also consider the question of paying the Irish teachers monthly, at any rate for the duration of the War?

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply of the late Chief Secretary to the question of the hon. Member for North Wexford on 1st March last, and to the replies which I gave yesterday to questions on this subject. I am about to communicate with the Treasury afresh on the subject of payment of teachers monthly.

asked the Home Secretary how many Irish political prisoners he is now in a position to order the release of, in addition to the 460 whose release was ordered last week, as a result of the inquiry by the judicial tribunal?

Recommendations have been received from the Advisory Committee for the release of 248 more men in addition to those I mentioned last week. "Their release will take place after the discharge of the first group has been completed.

asked how many Irish prisoners are still in confinement, stating the place or places of detention?

There are about 1,400 interned Irish prisoners now at Frongoch. I cannot give the exact figure, as releases, in accordance with the recommendations of the Advisory Committee, are taking place daily. There are also twenty-seven at Reading, a few others in hospitals, and three women prisoners at Lewes.

asked the Home Secretary, in reference to the death by shooting of Ernest Cavanagh on the steps of Liberty Hall, Dublin, on 25th April, when the information came into his hands that Ernest Cavanagh was shot by a member of the Citizen Army; and whether he is prepared to lay the evidence before any Member of this House who may desire to see it?

The answer which I gave to the hon. Member on the 13th July was based on information obtained by the spolice. They were not present when Cavanagh was killed, as no police were on duty on the streets at the time, but the information was believed to be accurate. After further investigation the police report that, so far as can be ascertained, Cavanagh was shot when attempting to enter Liberty Hall on the morning of the 25th April, and not on the 24th, as previously stated. No troops were operating in this area on the 24th, but by the time at which it now appears Cavanagh was killed, the rebels in Liberty Hall and the military in the Custom House were firing at one another, so it is not possible to say definitely by whom he was shot.

asked the Home Secretary whether coroners' inquests are still held in Ireland in cases of death by violence; and, if so, whether an exception is made in Dublin in cases where the death of an ordinary citizen has been caused by bullet wounds?

The answer to the first portion of the question is in the affirmative. No exception is made in Dublin in cases where deaths of ordinary citizens or others have been caused by bullet wounds, but during the progress of the late rebellion it was manifestly impossible to carry out the usual procedure.

asked the Home Secretary whether Russians of military age, desirous to return to Russia are now only permitted to go via Archangel, and not by the shorter Swedish route; whether such Russian travellers are now being sent at the cost of the British Government; if so, why they are not allowed to travel at their, own expense; and whether, in the interests of economy, he will alter these arrangemnts?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative, and to the second in the negative; the rest, therefore, does not arise.

asked at what date the first party batch of Russians were sent from this country to Russia via Archangel; how many parties have now been sent; how many Russian subjects in all have been so sent up to the present; whether any escort was sent with these men; if so, how many escorting persons were sent and at whose expense; and whether all Russians thus transported to Russia were clearly informed that if they remained here they might go before a tribunal which is to be set up?

The hon. Member's question no doubt refers to the arrangement made last month whereby Russians who have of their own free will applied to the Russian Consul for identification papers and to the Permit Office for a permit to enable them to return to Russia for military service are required to travel via Archangel. Their return to Russia is voluntary, no escort is sent with them, and in every case before a permit is issued they are offered the option of serving in the British Army. The number of persons who have so far left for Russia in this way is about twelve.

asked the Home Secretary whether two Germans of the name of Freudenberg and Sutl arrived at Plymouth in the steamship "Osterley" from Australia, being interned prisoners sent home for the purpose of being exchanged with German prisoners; whether these two prisoners had first-class cabins with every luxury on board; and whether similar treatment is accorded to our interned prisoners in Germany?

The arrangements for the passage of these men were made by the Commonwealth Government, and I have no detailed reformation on the subject.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that there is a shortage of sugar in Kerry and Cork; and whether he will take steps to relieve the present shortage by the immediate shipment of sugar?

I am informed that no such shortage exists.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he is aware that on the 10th instant a fruit grower, in the Wisbech district, tendered to the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway Company at their Wisbech station a consignment of strawberries weighing 1½ tons for conveyance to a jam manufacturer at Bristol by passenger train, at owner's risk, and that the railway company refused to accept the same or any less quantity of such fruit than ½ tons; and whether it is on the instructions or with the approval of the Board that growers of perishable produce are thus prevented from sending it by rail out of a glutted district and securing its conversion into jam?

I am aware that the railway companies have taken various measures with a view to minimising the difficulties which might have arisen in present circumstances in dealing with the strawberry crop, and that it has been found necessary to require to certain destinations consignments of not less than 30 cwts. Ample notice has, I understand, been given of this restriction in those cases where it has been found necessary to impose it.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will state the results to date of the policy of the Government in interesting the country financially in the promotion of the British dye industry; and when the whole question will be brought under Parliamentary review?

The number of shares in British Dyes, Limited, applied for at the date the company went to allotment was 630,000, and this number had increased, by 21st June last, to 841,000. The erection of extensive new plant for the production of intermediate products and finished dyes is being proceeded with as rapidly as is possible in existing circumstances, and the monthly output of finished dyes, though seriously restricted by the shortage of essential materials, is now double that of May, 1915, when the company took over the works of Messrs. Read, Holliday, and Sons. The whole question of the future of the British dye industry is receiving the earnest attention of His Majesty's Government.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether the original working agrement made by the Government with the railway companies of the country at the outbreak of war still exists; and, if any changes have been made, will he state what the present arrangements are?

The original agreement, with an alteration of financial detail, still exists. I will send my hon. Friend particulars of the alteration, which was announced in the Press in April, 1915. The agreement is, of course, subject to further modification in detail, and some modifications are under consideration.

asked when the promised Report as to the progress of the Committee on Enemy Companies and Shareholders will be ready?

A summary of cases dealt with by the Advisory Committee up to the 2nd June has been prepared and will shortly be circulated.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will state the value of the imports of fruit, vegetables, and flowers for the year 1915?

The following statement contains the information desired by my right hon. Friend: Imports into the United Kingdom of Fruit, Vegetables and Flowers in 1915. Fresh: £ Fruit 11,396,000 Vegetables 4,821,100 Flowers 185,700 Total 16,402,800 Dried or Preserved: £ Fruit 5,671,500 Vegetables (including pickles) 971,000 Total 6,642,500 Total of all Fruit. Vegetables and Flowersf 23,045,300

asked whether all the shareholders in the Red Hand Compositions Company, Limited, formerly Suter, Hartmann, and Rahtjens Compositions Company, Limited, and in Holzapfels, Limited, are now British-born subjects, and, if not, how many of them are British subjects by naturalisation, and what are their original rationalities and the number of shares held by them?

In Red Hand Compositions, Limited, three shareholders holding £67,260, out of the issued capital of £140,000, are British subjects by naturalisation who were originally of German nationality. In Holzapfels, Limited, nine shareholders, holding £215,800 of the issued capital of £450,000, are naturalised British subjects who were originally of German nationality, and it is possible that there may be some additional small holdings of naturalised British subjects among the 800 shareholders of the company.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how and to whom the captured enemy ships have been allotted; if he will consider the advisability of allotting some of the tonnage to the Irish coal trade; if he is aware that a number of Irish ships were commandeered by the military for work of national importance; and if he is aware that the allotting of some of the captured German ships to Ireland to take the place of those commandeered by the military would reduce the price of coal, which has already reached famine prices?

The captured and interned enemy ships are employed in the services all over the world where it is considered they are most needed, and are not allotted to individuals. Some of them have occasionally been employed in carrying coal to Ireland, and if necessary would be again so employed, but it is of course not possible to give specially low rates for any particular voyages.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether any further proposals have been made for the exchange of interned civilian aliens as between this country and Germany?

We have made a proposal to the German Government in the sense of the reply to the question asked by my hon. Friend the Member for Croydon on the 13th instant.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether the recent withdrawal of Orders in Council includes the withdrawal of the Order in Council of the 11th of March, 1915, whereby commodities of all kinds were to be prohibited from entering or leaving Germany?

The answer is in the negative.

asked the Lord Advocate whether he is aware that a Committee on minor legal appointments in Scotland recommended in 1911 that the number of sheriff-clerks in each sheriffdom should be reduced in number to one as vacancies occur in these offices; whether any action has been taken since that date to bring this about; and, if not, will an opportunity be taken during the War to carry out the recommendation in view of the necessity for retrenchment?

The answer to the first part of my hon. and learned Friend's question is in the affirmative; to the second in the negative. The scheme, of which the recommendation formed part, involves changes which might not result in an immediate saving, and it could not be brought into operation without legislation. I fear this is not an opportune time for the introduction of such a measure.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury what was the exact rate of Income Tax due and payable in respect of each of the quarterly periods terminating on the quarter days of the following years: 1913, 1914, 1915, and 1916, to date?

The Income Tax is an annual tax and the standard rate resulting from the successive Finance Acts for each of the years in question is represented by: 1s. 2d. in the £ for the year ended 5th April, 1914 1s. 8d. in the £ for the year ended 5th April, 1915 3s. in the £ for the year ended 5th April, 1916 5s. in the £ for the year ended 5th April, 1917

asked the Home Secretary whether his attention has been called to the cattle-driving affray in the neighbourhood of Ballinasloe, in which from 400 to 500 people were fighting the police for four hours; whether an adequate military force has now been sent to maintain order in the district; whether any and, if so, how many other cases of cattle-driving have taken place during the last two months in Ireland; and whether in every case the Government have taken or will take the necessary steps to maintain the peace?

The reply to the first, second, and fourth parts of the question is in the affirmative. In addition to the case referred to there have been six other cases of cattle-driving during the past two months.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether he will state the names of the three certified efficient schools in England mentioned in paragraph 63 of the Report of the Board as having been added to the list, and of the two schools removed from the list?

The three certified efficient schools added to the list are: 28,188 London, Paddington, Harrow Road Place of Detention. 28,189 London, Finsbury, Pentonville Road Place of Detention. 28,190 London, Battersea, Nine Elms, Porton Road Place of Detention.

The two certified efficient schools removed from the list are: 28,089 Kingston-upon-Hull, St. Anthony's Practising Roman Catholic School. 28,105 Leicestershire, Asby Parva Good-acre Church of England School.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether he will give a Return stating the number of boys and girls aged twelve, thirteen, and fourteen, respectively, who were in attendance in elementary schools at the end of the educational year 1913, and at the end of the last educational year.

The following is a Return showing the number of boys and girls, separately, in ordinary public elementary schools, higher elementary schools, certified efficient schools, and special schools in England and Wales, aged twelve, thirteen, and fourteen, respectively, on 31st January, 1913, and 31st January, 1916: —— 12 and under 13. 13 and under 14. 14 and under 15. 1913. Boys 313,157 218,173 21,651 Girls 309,716 222,466 20,589 1916. Boys 318,214 208,785 14,084 Girls 318,177 228,727 17,149

asked the President of the Board of Education if he will indicate by name the nineteen areas in England in which no instruction in domestic subjects is given, and the fifty-seven areas in which no handicraft instruction is given?

The figures given in paragraph 68 of the Board's Report for 1914–15 were based on the information available at the time of the preparation of the Report, and require revision in the light of information subsequently available.

The nineteen areas where no instruction in Domestic subjects was given (according to the information available when the Report was prepared) are as follows: Scilly, Isles of Bridlington Lines. (Holland) Clitheroe Aldershot Congleton Edmonton Faversham Oldbury Hartlepool Swinton and Pendlebury Haslingden Lewes Berwick Middleton Bexhill Mossley Beverley Penzance (but see below).

Later information shows that instruction in Domestic subjects was given in Penzance during 1914–15. In addition, the Borough of Bexhill has since commenced instruction in Cookery.

The fifty-seven areas where no instruction in Handicraft (including Light Wood-work) was given during 1914–15 are as follows: Lines. (Holland) Grantham *Northumberland Gravesend Peterborough, Soke of Hartlepool Harwich Rutland Haslingden Sussex, East Hereford Borough Scilly, Isles of Leigh Wight, Isle of Lewes Dewsbury *Mansfield Bexhill Middleton Chelmsford Mossley Chepping Wycombe Newport Borough Newcastle-under-Lyme Penzance Peterborough New Windsor Ryde Yeovil *Sutton Coldfield Berwick-on-Tweed Wallsend Beverley Tottenham Boston Twickenham Bridlington Aldershot Chesterfield Blyth Clitheroe Cannock Congleton Chadderton Deal Edmonton Doncaster Hindley Dover Oldbury Dukinfield Swinton and Pendlebury Durham Borough East Retford Tipton Faversham Wolstanton United

The areas marked * have since commenced instruction in Handicraft or Light Woodwork.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether he will state the names of those counties in England in which no efforts are made to train teachers?

There is no county in England in which no arrangements are made for the training of teachers.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he has read the deposition of Mr. D. E. Jayetileke, of Thalagoda, Ceylon, that on the 5th June, 1915, he and two other men were fired on by a party of Punjabi soldiers, and setting forth details of the shooting, killing, and burial of the other two men; and whether Sir Robert Chalmers, then Governor of Ceylon, now Under-Secretary for Ireland, has ever had this case investigated?

I have read the deposition in question. The Governor of Ceylon has reported that the men in question were shot while evading arrest.