asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the quantities cleared for home consumption in each of the months of the present financial year, and the quantity for the corresponding months of the previous year, of the following articles: tobacco, tea, coffee, and sugar?

The following are the quantities of tobacco, tea, coffee, and sugar retained for home consumption, i.e.,the quantities cleared less those on which drawback was paid in each of the months of the present financial year, and the quantities for the corresponding months of the previous year:

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware that several of the overseas Dominions are offering agricultural land in large quantities for the after-war land settlement of men belonging to the British Navy and Army on easy and attractive terms as to rent, cost of buildings, and equipment, and a very low rate of interest on loans for the provision of stock and working capital in addition to a free passage; and whether, in view of the importance of detaining at home after the War the largest possible number of our adult male population, the Government propose to offer similiarly generous terms to those ex-Service men who would prefer to settle upon land in Great Britain if facilities are afforded to them to do so?

The Treasury will be prepared to consider carefully any representations that may be made to them by the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries with regard to the terms on which money can be advanced for the new small-holdings colonies. My hon. Friend is, of course, aware that the problem of land settlement in the Dominions is not the same as in the United Kingdom, and that the special need for, and the economic prospects of, new settlers in the former case may justify exceptional treatment which could not necessarily be accorded in this country.

asked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland if he will state the mess charges per week paid by the Dublin Metropolitan Police per man for the first week in August of this year, and what was the average cost per man per week for the year previous to the War; also, what was the average weekly cost per man for the year 1884, taking any police station in the city of Dublin for its standard?

In the barracks of the B Division of the Dublin Metropolitan Police the cost of dinners for the first week of the present month was 6s. 8d. per man, and the average weekly cost for the year previous to the War was 5s. 4d. No record is available of the prices in 1884, but the charge is said to have varied from 4s. 6d. to 5s. The mess consists of dinner only, excluding dinner on Friday, and is entirely in the hands of the men themselves.

asked the Chief Secretary if he will state the wages and other allowances, if any, per month of constables of three and five years' service in Dublin, Glasgow, Liverpool, Birmingham, and London; and what is the estimated cost of living in each of the cities in question for men of a similar social position?

Constables of the Dublin Metropolitan Police having from three to eight years' service receive pay of 29s. a week and, in addition, a war bonus of 3s. 6d. a week. From inquiries which I am making concerning the other forces mentioned, it appears that their ordinary rates of pay are somewhat higher than the Dublin rates, but they are subject to a deduction, not applicable in Dublin, of 2½ per cent, towards pension funds. The practice in the matter of war bonus varies in the cities of Great Britain, none being given, as I am informed, in Glasgow, Manchester, or Edinburgh. In Liverpool there is a war bonus of 1s. 6d. a week to the force generally, with a further sum not exceeding 3s. to married men. The London Metropolitan Police have a war bonus of 3s. a week and the, Birmingham Police 2s. 6d. I have no authoritative information as to the present cost of living in the cities mentoned by the hon. Member, but it appeared from the inquiry made by the Board of Trade in 1912 that the cost of living of the working classes in Dublin and Glasgow was 7 per cent, less than in London and about 4 per cent, and 6 per cent, greater than the cost in Liverpool and Birmingham respectively.

asked the Chief Secretary by whose authority the Dublin Metropolitan Police were warned against asking the assistance of the chief magistrate of Dublin for the relief of their grievances; and if he will state whether the City Police of London, Glasgow, Birmingham, or Liverpool would be permitted to approach the chief magistrates of their respective cities to consider their treatment in the matter of wages?

As I intimated in reply to a question of the hon. Member on Wednesday last, it is inconsistent with the discipline of the Dublin Metropolitan Police that in matters concerning the force members of it should make to outside authorities representations which they had not made to their own superiors. The Chief Commissioner, with my approval, in view of the steps which had been taken by some members of the police force, caused a notice to be issued in accordance with this principle, and at the same time drew attention to the methods legitimately available to the force for seeking redress of any grievances under which they might consider themselves to labour. The members of the force, I am glad to say, received this notice with their accustomed loyalty and regard for discipline. The case of Dublin cannot properly be compared with the others mentioned by the hon. Member, as in the latter cases the police are under municipal control.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland if his attention has been drawn to a circular issued by the Commissioner of the Dublin Metropolitan police prohibiting the men from holding meetings in support of the demands for a living wage; if he will say what means the men will have of making their grievances known to the ratepayers of Dublin, who pay 8d. in the £ towards the upkeep of the police, if the right of public meeting is refused; and if ho will say if the Government have devised any scheme to meet the request of the Dublin Metropolitan police for an increase in wages?

I would refer the hon. Member to the replies which I have just given to the questions asked on this subject by the hon. Member for the College Green Division of Dublin.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland if he will grant the Return standing in the name of the hon. Member for South Westmeath? [Return giving particulars of the annual Local Government Board expenditure in county Westmeath.]

None of the officers mentioned has his duties confined to county Westmeath, and it is therefore impossible to segregate the expenditure for that county as desired.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland the cause of the increase in the estimate for Local Government Board expenditure in Ireland for the cur- rent year over the preceding year; and whether, in view of the burden now placed on all ratepayers, he will investigate what economies may be made in the administration of the Irish Local Government Department during the period of the War?

I would draw the attention of the hon. Member to the Memorandum on the Estimates for Civil Services by the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, which shows that there would have been a saving of over £4,700 on the Vote of the Local Government Board if it had not been for the new Grants for child welfare. The question of economies in the Local Government Board was given most careful and anxious consideration, with the result that the cost of the Department was reduced by this sum of £4,700 a year above referred to. This saving was effected by a reduction of inspectors, engineers, and clerical staff.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office if he will give the number of men who have joined His Majesty's Forces from the county of Devon since the 4th of August, 1914; and also the number of those men who up to the time of their enlistment were engaged in agricultural pursuits?

No, Sir, I cannot, I fear, give the information asked for in the first part of the question. It is not in the public interest to give these figures. Statistics as to the number of agricultural labourers or farm hands who have enlisted are being taken out, but are not yet available.

asked the Secretary of State for War if it is the practice to give the same facilities to men of the Non-Combatant Corps who are obeying military orders the same privileges in regard to leave and free railway passes as the men in combatant regiments get; and, if so, why men in No. 1 Company, Non-Combatant Corps, who are employed in skilled trades at soldiers' pay in the Government yard at Aldershot, have been refused free passes and told that if they want free passes they must be willing to join a combatant corps?

The instructions issued are in the sense of the first part of the question. As regards the latter part of the question I am not aware that there has been any misunderstanding in the Aldershot Command, but, if there has been, it will have been removed by a letter which was recently sent.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office if he is aware that inconvenience and financial embarrassment are being caused to farmers in South Wilts, owing to the Government having failed hitherto to take delivery of or pay for the wool which now remains unsold upon their premises; and whether, seeing that under normal conditions sheep farmers in this district count upon receiving 75 per cent, of the value of their wool before the end of July and the balance before the holding of Britford Fair on the 12th August, and discharge thereout their rent and other current liabilities, he will take steps to ensure that the purchase of their wool shall now be carried through without further delay?

I am fully aware of the importance of purchasing wool from the farmers at the earliest possible date. Returns have now been received from the farmers in South Wilts giving the number of their fleeces, and instructions have been given to the authorised merchants to effect purchases with the least possible delay. A considerable quantity will be purchased in the course of the next few days.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether he is aware that the new Regulations affecting the sale of wool in Ireland have seriously embarrassed the farmers, and in a number of cases have prevented them from meeting their current financial obligations; whether he will consider the advisability of full payment being made for wool on delivery; and will the Government pay the full current market prices existing at the time that the Wool Order came into force?

Purchases of wool in Ireland have been proceeding freely since the beginning of this month, and full payment is being made in the usual manner in accordance with the published price list for the district. In any case, where the farmer experiences difficulty in selling his wool to his usual buyer, he should communicate with the Chief Executive Officer for Ireland, Wool Purchase Office, Grafton Street, Dublin. The answer to the last part of the question is in the negative.

asked whether advantage has been taken by Government Departments of information obtained from the private correspondence if firms with whom they have business relations; and whether any intimation has been made on any occasion which would have made firms aware that their private letters and telegrams were open to Departments with which they might be in negotiation?

The fact that a firm has business relations with a Government Department does not influence the Censors in deciding whether or not its correspondence should be referred to the Government Department interested. The question is decided solely by reference to the consideration whether the information contained in the correspondence is likely to conduce to the successful prosecution of the War.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he will give the names and qualifications of the various persons employed by the authorities to purchase hay and straw for the Army in Ireland?

It would be quite impossible to give all this information within the permissible limits of an answer to a. question. Generally speaking, I may state that the staff of the Forage Department in Ireland have been selected and recommended by the Department of Agriculture, and that they are the sons of farmers brought up on the land, and that they have in many cases passed through the agricultural course of the Royal College of Science with honours. I may add that every purchasing officer employed in Ireland is a skilled man at his work and has passed through a probationary course in this Department before being employed on purchasing duty.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he is aware that a number of farmers in the Dover district, who have suffered damage by reason of military operations since the beginning of the War, agreed with a valuer on behalf of the Government in the autumn of 1915 as to the assessment of such damage, but that up to the present the compensation has not been paid, considerable sums of money being in this respect due to the farmers concerned; and whether, in view of the fact that nearly a year has elapsed since the assessment was agreed, and that a further valuation will shortly have to be made in respect of the continuing loss occasioned to the farmers, he will take steps to have payment made without further delay of the money due on this account?

I understand that three of the cases to which I think my hon. Friend is referring only reached the War Office this week. They are being at once referred for the decision of the Royal Commission. There are, I believe, two other cases, and steps are being taken to expedite them. I am sorry there has been delay, the main cause of which has been the breakdown of the local land agent.

asked the Secretary of State for War if the Royal Flying Corps are still advertising for skilled cabinet makers; if Arthur Williamson, now in the 15th Working Company of the King's Liverpool Regiment, Park Hill Camp, Oswestry, volunteered in answer to this appeal by the Royal Flying Corps, passed the trade tests, but failed to pass the doctor owing to bad teeth; whether he was then sent into a labour company and is now doing work of exactly the same nature as is advertised for by the Royal Flying Corps but at ordinary soldier's Tate of pay; and whether, as this man in a first-class artisan, he will be transferred to the Royal Flying Corps?

Inquiry is being made, and my hon. Friend will be informed of the result as soon as possible.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether he is aware that French Army officers' horses are usually purchased at a much higher figure than is allowed by the British Government; and whether, under those circumstances, leave will be given for the sale of this class of remounts for exportation to France?

The War Office have no information in the sense of the first part of the question. All horses in the United Kingdom which are serviceable are required for the British Army.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office if he has concluded the inquiries he promised to make respecting Richard Francis, sergeant of the 3rd Northamptons; and whether he proposes to take any action in the case of this injured soldier?

I will write to my hon. Friend about this soldier. I was not aware that he had previously been in communication with me.

asked the Minister of Munitions whether any Regulation or rule exists in the Munitions Department that the staff are not to use Government motor cars, unless in cases of genuine service urgency, if other means of public conveyance are available?

Strict rules are in force to the: effect suggested in the hon. Member's question.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that numbers of highly-skilled men are retained in certain engineering establishments, although there is not enough work to keep them employed to the best advantage, whilst workmen cannot be obtained for some of our national tool and shell factories; whether he possesses any powers to secure a redistribution of this labour so that it may be better employed; and, if so, whether this matter will have his consideration?

I do not know to what cases my hon. Friend refers, but if he will give me particulars inquiries shall be made. This is not a matter in which the Board of Trade possess any compulsory powers, but, as my hon. Friend is probably aware, the Ministry of Munitions, in co-operation with the Employment Department of the Board of Trade, have for a considerable period been dealing with the distribution of skilled engineering labour by means of the scheme for voluntary enrolment as war munitions volunteers.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether he can, before the House rises, announce that the double export tax now being paid on Travancore tea has been abated?

Since replying to my hon. Friend's question on the 5th July I have received no further information as to the negotiations then in progress. I have inquired by telegraph and will acquaint my hon. Friend with the result.

asked the Home Secretary if he is aware that Peter Donovan, of Casheliskey, and James Walsh, of Knockea, both in the neighbourhood of Clonakilty, county Cork, are now the only two prisoners detained in Frongoch Prison from this district; will he state if there is any special reason for detaining them or will they immediately be brought to trial; if so, when and where; and can they be represented by an independent solicitor?

The Advisory Committee, after carefully considering the evidence against these two persons, have recommended that they should be retained in internment. I cannot undertake to reopen their cases at the present time.

asked the Home Secretary whether he is aware that there are in this country certain persons, mostly Jews, who were born of Russian parents in France or Germany or some country outside Russia and the British Empire, and that these persons have never been in Russia, never been, liable to Russian military service, and never intend to return to Russia; how will such persons be regarded for the purposes of the threatened policy of deportation to Russia; and whether, in view of our law holding that natal place decides domicile, he will say that no such persons will in any case be deported to Russia?

So far as I am aware, persons in the position indicated by my hon. Friend are Russian subjects, and are not exempt from Russian military service. In any case, I see no reason why they should not serve in the British Army. If the question of the deportation of any such person should arise, all the circumstances will be fully considered.

asked the Home Secretary whether inquiry has been made into the case of an alien calling himself Baron von Nordwald, and employed by Messrs. Vickers in their office; and, if so, with what result?

The gentleman in question is a British subject by naturalisation and is of Austrian origin. He was naturalised in Australia in 1893 and in England in 1907. His employment by Messrs. Vickers is well known to the proper authorities, who are entirely satisfied in the matter.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will explain why grey waste yarn, including dyed waste yarn, which is not needed for making explosives, is allowed to (inter the United Kingdom from India without licence; why general licences are not obtainable through the Board of Trade Import Department for yarns spun in India, including dyed yarns, for which freight has been obtainable, home manufacturers not producing yarns identical with the Indian yarns; and why Indian cotton spinners, who have to purchase raw cotton in anticipation, are compelled to refuse fresh orders, and so to curtail their production, which result is occasioned by the existence of a prohibition in the United Kingdom which does not exist in India?

Waste yarns are not exempt from the prohibition of the importation of cotton yarns and they cannot be imported without licence. After careful consideration it has not been found possible to exempt Indian goods from the prohibition, but endeavours will be made to avoid hardship in the enforcement of the restrictions by granting licences to import goods produced in India under contracts entered into before the date of the prohibition, so far as this can be done without defeating the object of the prohibition.

asked the President of the Board of Trade why permits to import hops are still being given; whether he will now take steps to bring the prohibition absolutely into force, seeing that there is no sign of any scarcity of hops in this country; and whether he can give the total quantity of hops imported since the prohibition came into force on 8th June, with the amounts from each importing country, and also the names of the merchants or dealers, and the quantities of hops imported by each since prohibition came into effect?

The following are the quantities of hops imported into the United Kingdom since 8th June, distinguishing the countries whence consigned:

			Cwts.
From United States	…	…	20,178
From Russia	…	…	312
From Belgium	…	…	1,075
From France	…	…	158
From Tasmania	…	…	46
From New Zealand	…	…	577
From Canada	…	…	130
			22,476

It is contrary to Customs precedent to publish the names of individual importers and the quantities imported by them. By far the greater part of the quantities imported have been admitted in accordance with the standing arrangement as to goods

asked what quantities of Foreign hops were imported in the week ending 5th July, and in each subsequent week respectively; whether the continued importation of hops up to the present is to be accounted for on the ground that they represent delivery of goods contracted for before the prohibition of imports; and what quantities of hops contracted for as aforesaid still remain to be delivered?

The figures are:

	Cwts.
For the week ended 5th July	929
For the week ended 12th July	nil
For the week ended 19th July	630
For the week ended 26th July	1,119
For the week ended 2nd August July	1,203
For the week ended 9th July	1,805

No hops have been admitted on the sole ground that they were contracted for prior to the prohibition. They must have been actually paid for by the consignees in this country, or

asked what is the total quantity of foreign hops imported into this country since the intention of the Government to prohibit such importation was announced in Parliament?

I would refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer which I have given to the question put by the hon. Member for Ashford, which covers the imports of hops since the date when the prohibition came into force.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether the freights now being paid on sugar, meat, and wheat purchased by or on behalf of the Government are in excess of those paid in the period immediately preceding the War; and, if so, whether he will state for each of these commodities and for the chief ports of export the freights charged in July, 1914, and those now quoted?

The rates of freight now being paid on sugar and meat are the subject of special arrangements, the details of which I am not prepared to make public at present. Rates of freight on wheat cargoes vary considerably from day to day in some instances. The most important rate is that across the North Atlantic. I understand that the average rate in July, 1914, for wheat from Philadelphia or Baltimore to the United Kingdom was 2s. 4½d. per quarter, while in the week ending 12th August last the average was 11s. 5d. per quarter.

asked the Secretary for Scotland whether he will take steps to secure that as vacancies occur in the procurator-fiscal's and sheriff-clerk's services such vacancies shall, so far as practicable, be filled up by promotions within those services, seeing that the Royal Commission on the Civil Service recently recommended procedure on these lines?

I have consulted with my right hon. Friend the Lord Advocate, and can assure my hon. Friend that the recommendations of the Royal Commission have received and will continue to receive due consideration in connection with the vacancies referred to.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what special allowance of petrol is made to county surveyors, road surveyors, and chief constables of large counties whose duties entail the travelling of great distances; and if some extra allowance can be granted them out of the reserve held?

Arrangements have been made under which chief constables will be allowed their full requirements of petrol up to thirty gallons a month, and in certain cases more than this amount. I regret that it has not been found practicable at present to make any special arrangements for county surveyors and road surveyors.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, owing to American and British speculators operat- ing through the medium of options and futures, the price of wheat and bread has been unduly raised; and whether he will make inquiry and consider the advisability of instituting measures to prevent gambling in food supplies?

My hon. Friend will be aware that dealings in wheat futures have been suspended on the principal markets in this country during the War. As I stated in reply to a question asked on Tuesday by the hon. Member for East Leeds, the recent rise in the price of wheat in this country was mainly due to advances in wheat prices in the United States, over which His Majesty's Government have no control.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if there are now employed in the British mercantile marine from 5,000 to 8,000 Germans, and from 1,000 to 1,200 Austrians, out of a total of 30,000 foreigners, exclusive of Lascars; and whether he could give a Return of the enemy alien merchant seamen now employed?

So far as the Board of Trade are aware there are no enemy aliens now employed in the British mercantile marine.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware that delays occur in the delivery of letters and parcels to Salonika; and whether he can arrange that the deliveries will be more regular?

There is no avoidable delay in the transmission of letters and parcels to the Salonika Force. I am sending the hon. Member a copy of the answer given to a similar question asked by the hon. Member for North Kerry on the 3rd instant.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury what were the abnormal circumstances obtaining on the occasion of the last selections for promotion to the controlling grade in the amalgamated Customs and Excise service which necessitated the promotion of eleven surveyors, of whom ten were ex-Excise supervisors who had not reached a salary of £400, in view of the recommendation of the Hobhouse Committee contained in paragraph 210 of their Report, to which an existing member of the Board of Customs and Excise was a signatory, that promotions to the controlling grade should normally be made from those surveyors who have passed the efficiency bar at £400, and in view of the fact that at least nineteen of the sixty-five eligible surveyors who had passed the bar had been favourably reported on by their superior officers and only three were promoted?

The abnormal circumstances which required the selection of surveyors with salaries of less than £400 for promotion to the controlling grade was that the number of surveyors with salaries above £400 who had reached the standard necessary for promotion to the highest grade in the service, was insufficient. This will be remedied automatically in a year or two.

asked whether the special reports of superior officers on the qualifications for promotion to the controlling grade of the sixty-five eligible surveyors of Customs and Excise who had passed the efficiency bar at £400 on the 1st September, 1915, were only sufficiently favourable in nineteen cases to justify an invitation to attend the selection committee; and, if not, may it be expected that invitations will be issued to some of the remaining forty-six on the occasion of the next selection?

It is essential to select the best men for the highest grade in the Service. The fact that a man has not been called up in his turn does not necessarily mean that he is passed over for good, but it does generally mean that there must be some exceptional reason to warrant his being called up later on. It is clearly impossible to give any promise beforehand.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether Mr. Joseph Mooney, J.P., of Cabra, county Dublin, was appointed by the Local Government Board for Ireland an arbitrator under the provisions of the Labourers (Ireland) Order, 1906; and, if so, what salary or what scale of remuneration is attached to the office?

There are no permanent arbitrators appointed for the purposes of the Labourers Acts, but Mr. Mooney has been appointed as an arbitrator for several particular cases at the scale of remuneration set forth in Rule 54 of the Labourers (Ireland) Order, 1912.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether his attention has been drawn to the outbreak of fever at Lettermore, in the Oughterard Union; and whether he will authorise an inquiry to be held with a view of ascertaining and removing the cause or causes of the periodic outbreaks of fever in this district?

Investigations are being made by the medical inspector of the Local Government Board with a view of ascertaining and, if possible, removing the cause of the outbreak of fever at Letter-more. If further inquiry appears to be necessary, it will be made.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland if he is aware that the wages paid to all Government employés in Ireland range from 10 per cent, to 25 per cent, less than that paid to Government employés in Great Britain in similar positions; and will he take steps to raise their wages to the level paid to employés in Great Britain?

The general allegation in the first part of the hon. Member's question is not borne out by the facts, as in several large branches of the Civil Service there is a standard scale of salary applicable throughout the United Kingdom. The payment, however, of many classes of public employés must necessarily be determined in relation to the rates of wages paid by other employers, which vary in various localities, and in this connection regard must be had to the normal level of wages. I am informed that the normal level of wages is generally lower in Ireland than in Great Britain.

asked what steps have been taken by the Commissioners of National Education in Ireland to put into effect the decision of the Chancellor of the Exchequer to have the salaries of Irish national teachers paid monthly; and on what date teachers in Ireland may expect to receive their first monthly payment?

The Commissioners of National Education are being consulted as to the administrative arrangements necessary to give effect to the decision referred to. I am not able at present to say from what date the change will take effect. No time will be lost before making an announcement.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether he will state the amount of lodging allowance given to married members of the Royal Irish Constabulary; whether it is uniform for all Ireland; and whether he will consider the advisability and justice of increasing it in counties like Meath and Dublin, where suitable houses are scarce and consequently dear?

Married men of the Royal Irish Constabulary whose families are not accommodated in barracks receive generally a lodging allowance of 2s. a week and are exempt from the deduction of Is. a week which is made from the pay of constables accommodated in barracks. A further Is. a week is granted by way of lodging allowance to married men in Belfast, Cork, Limerick, Londonderry. Waterford and the depot in Dublin. The scale of allowance was reviewed as recently as 1914 by a Committee of Inquiry, who did not feel justified in recommending any increase. I am looking into the matter.

asked the Vice-President of the Department of Agriculture (Ireland) whether, in view of the fact that his Department pays the Grants for science teaching in Irish secondary and technical schools, the Department or their representatives on the Intermediate Board are to be taken as consenting parties to the change in the rules for the teaching of this subject introduced this year by the Intermediate Board; whether they acquiesce in the severance of the co-ordination between the two bodies which has hitherto been working smoothly in the schools and, according to the schoolmasters, effecting great and remarkable improvements; and, if so, whether the Department will state why they choose the present time, when the Leaching of science is universally regarded of such importance in education, to make this departure from the methods they have hitherto advocated?

The answer to the first two' portions of the question is in the negative. The Department have made representations on the subject to the Intermediate Education Board.

asked the Postmaster-General if he will state at what hour His Majesty's mails for Shetland were landed at Berwick on Friday morning, 21st July, and at what hour and on what day the mails for Unst, Yell, and Fetlar were dispatched from Lerwick, and for what reason these mails were delayed in Lerwick from Friday morning until Sunday mid-day before they were dispatched for the North Isles; and if. when the North of Scotland Steam Navigation Company find it inconvenient to send the steamship "Earl of Zetland" to the North Isles, or the vessel is temporarily withdrawn from this trip, or is otherwise engaged owing to the exigencies of trade, he will arrange that His Majesty's mails for Unst, Yell, and Fetlar be dispatched from Lerwick at the earliest possible moment overland, or by other means of transit, to their destination?

The Shetland mails were landed at Lerwick at 5 a.m. on Friday, the 2tst of July, but could not be dispatched by the steamship "Earl of Zetland" to the North Isles until Sunday, the 23rd July, because the steamer, which had proceeded to the Orkneys on the 19th July, was delayed first by labour troubles there and subsequently by fog on the return journey. A special dispatch overland to the North Isles would have involved considerable expense, which was not considered to be justifiable. But for the fog the "Earl of Zetland" would have returned in time to sail for the North Isles on the Friday afternoon. The question of dispatching the mails overland would be considered on any occasion when it was certain that they could not be dispatched by steamer within a reasonable time of their arrival at Lerwick.

asked if there is a rule in the postal service in Ireland against teachers in national schools holding the position of postmaster or postmistress?

As persons holding the appointment of postmaster or postmistress are required to give their whole time to their official duties, any other occupation is prohibited. If, however, the hon. Member has in mind the position of sub-postmaster or sub-postmistress, I may say that employment in the capacity of school teacher does not preclude, so far as the Post Office is concerned, appointment as sub-postmaster or sub-postmistress.

asked the Secretary for Scotland if he will state the amount of arrears in the county of Caithness dealt with by the Land Court since the Small Landholders (Scotland) Act, 1911, came into operation and the amount cancelled?

From the commencement of the Small Landholders (Scotland) Act on 1st April, 1912, to 31st December, 1915, the Land Court dealt with a total sum of £1,678, 9s. 1d. of arrears in the county of Caithness. Of this sum the Court cancelled £1,017 15s. 1d., and ordered the balance of £660 14s. to be paid.

asked what age in the opinion of the Land Court fulfils the obligation of Section 21 of the Small Landholders (Scotland) Act, 1911, as to right of assignment of a holding?

In the event of a landholder being unable to work his holding through illness, old age, or infirmity, he may apply to the Land Court for leave to assign his holding to a member of his family, being his wife or any person who failing nearer heirs would succeed him in case of intestacy. The Land Court, after inquiry, consider all the circumstances of the case and deal with the application on its merits, but have not fixed any definite limit of age.

asked the Secretary for Scotland if he will state how many first fair rents have been fixed by the Land Court for holdings in the county of Caithness since the Small Landholders (Scotland) Act, 1911 came into operation; the area in arable, in outrun, in individual occupation, in township pasture, if any, and in general common pasture of such holdings; and the amounts of the old rents and of the new fair rents of such holdings?

The Land Court have fixed first fair rents for 363 holdings in the county of Caithness from the commencement of the Small Landholders (Scotland) Act on 1st April, 1912, to 31st December, 1915. The area of these holdings extended to 5,305 acres 1 rood 12 poles arable, and 4,630 acres 2 roods 8 poles outrun in individual occupation, with shares or interests in township common pastures extending to 12,681 acres, and in general common pastures extending to 29,994 acres. The old rents of these 363 holdings amounted to £3,508 10s. 2d. The fair rents were fixed by the Court at £2,551 12s. 8d.

asked the Secretary for Scotland if he will state the number of revaluations on the expiry of the septennial period the Land Court have made in Caithness since the Small Landholders (Scotland) Act, 1911, came into operation, and the amounts of the old and of the new rents?

The Land Court have made revaluations of 278 holdings in the county of Caithness between 1st April, 1912, and 31st December, 1915. The old rents of these 278 holdings amounted to £2,859 5s. 1d., and the fair rents fixed by the Court to £1,570 2s. 2d.

asked how many applications from Caithness for the fixing of a first equitable rent have been dealt with by the Land Court since the Small Landholders (Scotland) Act, 1911, came into operation, and the amounts of the old rents and of the first equitable rents?

The Land Court have fixed first equitable rents for 146 holdings in the county of Caithness between 1st April, 1912, and 31st December, 1915. The old rents of these amounted to £2,270 11s. 6d., and the first equitable rents to £1,757 2s.

asked the Comptroller of the Household, as representing the National Health Insurance Commissioners, whether it is the duty of the Insurance Commissioners to call his attention from time to time to resolutions passed by approved societies and other bodies concerning the finance and administration of the National Health Insurance Act; if so, whether his attention has been drawn to the annual report of the General Federation of Trade Unions, in which that body expresses the view that the Report of the Departmental Committee on Approved Society Finance and Administration does not offer the most desirable solution of the financial problems involved; whether his attention has been drawn to the resolution passed at the High Court of the Ancient Order of Foresters regretting the restricted reference of the Departmental Committee, and calling upon the Government to institute at once a full, unrestricted, and open inquiry into the finance and administration of the Act; and whether he proposes to take any action in the matter?

Neither of the Reports referred to by the hon. Member have been, sent to the Commissioners by the bodies concerned, but I have seen a copy of the Report of the General Federation of Trade Unions, the unabridged relevant portion of which is as follows

"This (the Departmental Committee's) Report does not offer the most desirable solution but it offers the only solution within the terms of reference, and these were presumably dictated by national emergencies rather than by abstract theories of right and justice."

I have also seen a copy of the resolution of the Ancient Order of Foresters

which were unanimously passed at the last High Court; they are as follows: