asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware that Irish national teacher-pensioners, pensioned out in pre-war times on inadequate pensions, find themselves now in a position bordering on poverty owing to the increased cost of living; and, if so, whether any scheme for the amelioration of their grievances is being considered by the Treasury or the Government?

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware that a number of disabled Irish National school teachers have, through ill-health, had to relinquish their positions and to accept pensions averaging less than 1s. per day; will he consider the condition of these public servants, many of whom have given twenty to thirty years' service to the State, but are now unable to augment their small pension by further labour.; and will he grant them a war bonus large enough to enable them to support themselves in moderate comfort?

I would refer the hon. Members to the reply which I gave to the hon. Member for South Kilkenny on the 26th October.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether he is aware that the pensioned retired teachers of Ireland are hard hit by the increased cost of living, because of the fact that most of them served with smaller salaries than those now being paid, and, consequently, were awarded smaller pensions; and, in view of the work done by these public servants, will he recommend their inclusion in the war bonus scheme and so remove a hardship?

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given to-day to the question of the hon. Member for Kilkenny and to the several previous replies on this subject.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he 1s aware, that owing to his statement the public were led to believe that they could demand I pound of sugar with 2s. worth of other groceries, there is great discontent amongst the public because of the inability of the tradesmen to supply sugar on these terms; and can he suggest any measure to remedy this?

I am aware that some members both of the public and of the trade have misread my statement in the way suggested, but the fault does not seem to me to lie in the language of the statement. At the time it was made I explained (in reply to a supplementary question by the hon. Member for Plymouth) that the supply of sugar on those terms could not be made obligatory on retailers.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware that, notwithstanding his recent assurance that efforts would be made to enable the poorer sections of the people to obtain: adequate supplies of sugar, retailers in Manchester are still making the sale of one pound of sugar conditional upon the expenditure of 5s. on other goods?

No evidence of the kind has been brought to my notice, but I shall be ready to inquire into any case in which specific facts are laid before me.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware that in cases where. Army separation allowance is payable to old age pensioners that circumstance is taken into account and the pension diminished or discontinued; and if he will issue an order that the pensions in such cases be inviolate?

Generally speaking, separation allowance does not operate to diminish or discontinue old age pensions. Particulars of the administrative concessions made in this respect are described in a recent Parliamentary Paper (Cd. 3320),to which I would refer my hon. Friend.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Treasury will advance the amount recommended by the Goulding Commissioners to the owners of property destroyed in Dublin; whether the Treasury will communicate to the owner the amount of such ex gratia payment; and whether, if such owner rebuilds forthwith, the grant will be paid to him in instalments on production of an architect's certificate?

The Treasury is in communication with the Irish Government with regard to building grants, and for the present I am unable to make any statement on the subject.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland by whose authority a Report on the conditions of the Irish prisoners interned at Frongoch, contained in the weekly newspaper "New Ireland," was prohibited from publication; whether he is aware that this number of the paper was, in the ordinary course of events, submitted to the Irish Censor on Wednesday, 8th November; that the Censor informed the editor of "New Ireland" that the Report in question must be submitted to Dublin Castle; that the authorities in the Castle gave no decision whether the Report might or might not be published until twelve o'clock on Thursday, 9th November, although the normal time for dispatching to newsagents would have been at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, 8th November, and that in consequence of their delay it was impossible to publish the paper before the morning of Saturday, 11th November; whether it is the policy of the Irish authorities to suppress all evidence in the public Press of ill-treatment of the Irish prisoners; and, if not, will he say on what grounds the Report above referred to was suppressed?

I am informed that the facts generally as to the prohibition of the publication of the article referred to by the Press Censor are as stated in the hon. Member's question. The reason for the action taken was that the article contained statements likely to cause disaffection. The editor was at liberty to publish the paper on Wednesday, the 8th November, if he had then chosen to omit the article.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether the Irish political prisoners at Frongoch are or were, until recently, compelled to sleep in grain lofts which are insanitary and infested with rats; whether he is aware that men have been certified by the camp doctor as being in good health, and that on re-examination at the request of the camp leader he has admitted that they were suffering from affection of the lungs; that prisoners have on numerous occasions fainted on rising in the morning; that the meat supplied to the prisoners has on three occasions been condemned; that it is impossible for the prisoners to keep the food sent them by their friends owing to the rata which infest their quarters; whether he is aware that the camp censor refused to allow a visitor to question the prisoners about the food supplied to them; that six of the prisoners have been isolated for scabies as a result of the quality of food supplied; that at least a dozen of the prisoners are under eighteen years of age; whether a report of the London committee of the Irish National Belief Fund containing these allegations, amongst others, has been brought to the notice of the authorities; and whether it is proposed to take any steps in the matter?

Some of the allegations made in the question have already been dealt with by me on numerous occasions in this House. I am making inquiry into those that have not.

asked the Secretary of State for War what is the name of the officer described as staff officer for intelligence to whom Sir Francis Vane reported the shootings at Portobello Barracks between the time these shootings had taken place and the time when Captain Bowen Colthurst was placed under arrest?

I have nothing to add to the answer on this subject given yesterday to the hon. and learned Member for South Donegal.

asked when the evidence taken at the courts-martial on Irish prisoners is to be published; and if it will include the evidence taken at the trial of Countess Marckiewicz?

Arrangements are being made to give effect to the pledge given by the Prime Minister in reply to the hon. Member for East Mayo on 24th October, but I cannot at present state the date when publication will be made.

asked the Home Secretary why Messrs. Scollan and Neeson, who were respectively the Frongoch prisoners' treasury and secretary, were transferred to Reading; and if he will instruct the commandant to issue a balance sheet, from the first day of the opening of the canteen, to be submitted to the prisoners?

J. T. Scollan and J. Neeson were transferred to Reading by my direction, as it was reported to me that such transfer was desirable in the interests of discipline at Frongoch. The monthly balance sheet of the canteen account is, I understand, now posted in the camp. I will inquire whether it is practicable to post a balance sheet to cover the whole period from the opening of the canteen.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland if he will state the reason of the delay in making the promised increase in the pay of the Irish prison warders; whether the war bonus has yet been paid or not; and whether he is aware that this deferring of the fulfilment of promises made to these men is creating discontent in the service?

I would refer to my reply of to-day to the questions of the hon. Members for Queen's County (Leix) and Sligo North. The payment of war bonus has already come into operation.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether he proposes to ask the Postal censor to allow editors of Irish papers to forward issues of their papers to American customers for their Irish friends on giving an undertaking, which shall appear on the face of the wrapper, guaranteeing that the paper contains no objectionable matter, and certifying its being sent direct from the newspaper office?

If my hon. Friend is referring to the transmission abroad of Irish newspapers, I would refer him to the answer I gave on the 25th October to the hon. Member for West Clare.

asked the Secretary to the Admiralty if he is aware that the established inspectors of work in the Royal dockyards have had no increase of salary since April, 1907, that chargemen working under them can and do receive more remuneration for equal time worked than the inspectors receive; and whether, in view of the increased cost of living that has taken place since the present salaries were fixed, he will increase the pay these officers are now receiving?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative, and it is also the fact that certain chargemen receive a somewhat higher total weekly remuneration than the inspectors. The question of increasing the scale of pay now authorised for inspectors has been considered, and it has been decided that no increase can be granted. It should be remembered, first, that inspectors are now entitled to payment for overtime, and, secondly, that many of them have received temporary promotion with increased pay for the period of the War.

asked the Secretary to the Admiralty if he is aware that acting inspectors of work in the Royal dockyards are receiving less remuneration than many of the men whose work they inspect are receiving; that chargemen who work under these inspectors are, under present conditions, being paid at a higher rate; that the inspectors receive no pay for overtime unless they work over fifty-six hours per week; that if they work over eighty hours per week they are not paid for such time; and whether, in view of the increased cost of living, he will grant an increase of pay to these men?

It is true that, in the present abnormal conditions of work, some of the acting inspectors in the Royal dockyards are receiving less remuneration than the men employed under them, but an endeavour to equalise matters has been made, in consequence of which inspectors who normally are not entitled to overtime now receive payment for overtime worked in excess of fifty-six hours a week, and subject to the condition that not more than twenty-four hours' overtime may be paid for in any one week. The question of improving the remuneration of acting inspectors has been recently under consideration, and it has been decided to grant them annual increments in their acting rank during the period of the War.

asked the Secretary to the Admiralty whether he is aware that a plumber of Birkenhead, who has made four trips on the auxiliary cruiser H.M.S. "Andes," at the port rate of £12 per month, was informed by the captain on the last trip that in future he would only be paid £10 per month, and that, if he refused to accept this, he would be sent to barracks; and whether he will make inquiries into this matter and state the reason for this enforced reduction of the proper rate?

The Admiralty have at present no definite information as to what the captain said to the plumber, but £10 is the standard rate adopted by the Admiralty for the mercantile rating of plumber. If the man was unwilling to accept this rate, the Admiralty have the option of terminating his engagement at seven days' notice under the terms of his agreement. The man will continue to be paid the rate for which he signed until he is discharged under that agreement, unless he decides to accept the Admiralty standard rate. There was, therefore, no enforced reduction of the rate, and there is no authority for stating that he would be sent to the barracks if he refused. For the guidance of those whom it may concern, I should like to say this. No one has any right to threaten men with military service if they refuse to accept less than the Admiralty standard rate. On the other hand, the Admiralty are not prepared to concede the claim of an applicant to higher payment than that rate. If the person concerned refuses to sign on at the standard rate, then he will be in this position: For the period of a fortnight—as to which see Section 6 of the Military Service Act, 1916 (Session 2)—it will be open to him to seek an opportunity to sign on in another ship, and again at the Admiralty standard rate. If he fails to do this, he is, of course, liable under the Military Service Act

asked whether the Canadian Government has sought permission for shipbuilding firms on the Pacific Coast of Canada to accept contracts from Norway for the construction of merchant vessels; and whether, if the British Government is not prepared to make use of facilities for shipbuilding on this coast, there is anything to be gained by putting difficulties in the way of Canada getting this business?

The matter is under discussion with the Canadian Government.

asked the Secretary of State for War (1) whether he can give the number of men suffering from enthetic (venereal) diseases in the British Army at home and abroad as shown by his latest Return and the date of that Return; and (2) whether he can state the number of men reported temporarily unfit for duty or service in the British Army at home and abroad by reason of enthetic (venereal) diseases as shown in his latest Return and the date thereof?

The admissions to hospitals at home from the cause in question represent a ratio of 48 cases per 1,000 men per annum, which is slightly less than the ratio in peace time. No figures are available for the troops abroad.

asked the Secretary of State for War (1) whether he can state the number of men permanently invalided and discharged out of the Army owing to enthetic (venereal) diseases, but temporarily cured of the same, during the years 1914, 1915, and 1916 up to his latest Return and the date thereof; and (2) whether he can state the number of men suffering from enthetic (venereal) diseases who have been discharged uncured from the Army at home and abroad during the years 1914, 1915, and 1916, and permitted to return to their homes?

I regret that there are no statistics available. It would take much time to compile them, and I hope my hon. Friend will not press me to put this additional work on a heavily strained Department. I would remind the hon. Member that no men are discharged from the Army for these diseases in the infectious stage.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether the Government is prepared to introduce a measure providing for the increase of pay of all ranks in the Army, and particularly for the increase of the pay of regimental officers in the Army; whether he is aware that there are many lieutenants and second- lieutenants in the Army who have, on joining the Army, given up their civilian sources of income and have now to maintain themselves and, in addition, in many cases a wife and family, on about half the pay earned by a collier, and that there are many second-lieutenants who are commanding companies, with all the responsibility and labour attaching to such command, upon pay equal to that received by a bricklayer's assistant, who works ten hours a day in London; and whether, seeing that the rates of pay were fixed in prewar times, when all officers were expected to be possessed of private incomes, and that the rate of pay was justified by the fact that part of an officer's pay is represented by pensions and gratuities on his leaving the Service, he proposes to take any action in the matter?

I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to the hon. Member for Hartley on the 12th October.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office why huts which have been used by soldiers at Bracton, Staffs, are being lined with three-ply wood and otherwise improved to accommodate German prisoners, so that they may be much better housed than our own soldiers; and is he aware of the discontent caused by this to our men?

My hon. Friend is, I find, misinformed. No improvements have been made in the huts at Bracton with a view to German prisoners being accommodated in them. They were put; up for the accommodation of British soldiers, and remain as they were when it was in contemplation to use them for this purpose.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether he is aware that farriers, removed to Birmingham as horseshoe viewers, are only being paid the Birmingham rate without any extra allowance in consideration of the men having to maintain their homes in Woolwich; and whether he will arrange for these men to be paid the usual lodging allowance?

I will make inquiry and let my hon. Friend know the result.

asked whether a wife who has been deserted by her husband is entitled to a separation allowance in cases where the husband is legally liable for her maintenance; and what steps the War Office require the wife to take in such cases to secure maintenance?

If the soldier before mobilisation or enlistment did not contribute to his wife's support she is not entitled to separation allowance; but it is open to her to apply for the soldier to be placed under a compulsory stoppage of pay for her benefit. Such application, accompanied by an Order of Court, if one has been obtained, should be addressed to the Regimental Paymaster, or, if the soldier belongs to the Territorial Force, to the Secretary of the Territorial Force County Association, who is charged with the issue of separation allowances for her husband's unit. Particulars of the addresses of Regimental Paymasters and Secretaries can be obtained from a Post Office.

asked whether a separation allowance is refused in the case of a man and his wife who have been living apart for a short period, owing to a quarrel, even although the man has made an allotment from his pay to his wife?

The issue of separation allowance has been authorised in numerous cases where the husband and wife, who were living apart at the date of mobilisation or enlistment, have become reconciled since that date, and there is evidence of a genuine intention to live together again after the termination of the husband's military service.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that Private Vincent Scully, Letterkenny, late of the Irish Guards, joined that regiment on the 11th February, 1915, as a volunteer from the Royal Irish Constabulary; that he was wounded, losing his right arm from the shoulder, at the battle of Loos; that he is now finally discharged from the Army on a pension of 14s. a week; that such pension is totally inadequate, as he is wholly incapacitated from supplementing it; that as an inducement to the Royal Irish Constabulary to join they were informed by the Inspector-General that the pension in such cases would be calculated and granted as if the injury had been received on Royal Irish Constabulary duty; that the Constabulary Act, 1883, would accordingly apply; that Section 3 (1) (c), and Section 6 of the Second Schedule to that Act, provides for the granting of full pay as pension; that those provisions are adopted by the Police Act of 1915 in favour of Royal Irish Constabulary constables who join the Army during the War; will he say, in view of those provisions, why Private Scully was informed by the Inspector-General, Royal Irish Constabulary, that the military pension of 14s. a week was more than could be awarded from the Royal Irish Constabulary; will be inquire whether the provisions of the Constabulary (Ireland) Act, 1883, Section 3 (1), Second Schedule, Section 6, have ever been fully applied, i.e., awarding full pay as pension; and, if not, can he state the reason?

Private Scully served one year 181 days, and was invalided on the 8th August last on account of amputation of right arm, the result of a gunshot wound received in action at Loos, The Chelsea Commissioners awarded him a pension of 25s. a week for two months and then 14s. a week for life, and also supplied him with an artificial arm which the examining surgeons pronounced to be satisfactory. Fourteen shillings a week is the usual rate of permanent pension awarded to a private soldier who has had his right arm amputated through lower third of humerus, and the Commissioners regret that they are unable to grant Private Scully any higher rate. The latter part of the question I must ask my hon. Friend to address to my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he will issue instructions to paymasters to reply to urgent inquiries respecting non-issue of draft books, as soldiers' dependants are unaware for what purpose books are withdrawn and no immediate issue of fresh books in place of those withdrawn?

Instructions have already been issued that in every case in which a book is withdrawn explanation is to be given to the payee.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he will give instructions to paymasters that draft books be not withdrawn from soldiers' dependants or post offices until fresh issues are ready, as the present method of withdrawing books and weeks elapsing before fresh issue involves unnecessary distress?

The arrangements as regards withdrawal and replacement of books are already on the lines which the hon. Member suggests. My attention has, however, been drawn to some individual cases in which new books issued at the end of a quarter have been lost in post, or otherwise failed to reach the post office punctually, and I am having inquiry made into these cases, which are probably those which have come to my hon. Friend's notice.

asked the Paymaster-General if Lance-Corporal H. Perkins, No. 1096, l/8th Hants Regiment, a married man with one child, served nearly five years in that regiment and lost his leg at Gallipoli, and was granted a total disablement pension of 25s. per week for eight weeks; if he has now been put on a permanent pension of only 12s. 6d. per week; if, as his leg was taken off just below the hip joint, he is entitled to a pension of 14s. per week; and, if so, why he is not receiving this?

This man has now been awarded a pension of 14s. a week for life, and instructions have been issued for payment accordingly.

asked the Secretary of State for War if inquiries into the matter which led to the discharge of a man named Mates, 5th Connaught Rangers, have yet concluded; if any provision has been made for the support of his family and payment of rent pending the decision being made known; if he is aware that this man entered a police force in England in February last and was obliged to resign at the end of June owing to relapse and illness, and was then, and contiues to be, cut off from all sources of relief and obliged to subsist upon funds provided privately; if the cause of this treatment during the period 1st July last to date has formed a portion of such inquiry; and if, in consideration of this man's services to the Government without receiving any reward, he will permit the discharge of one of his sons to support him in his old age?

It has been found necessary to refer to Salonika to obtain the information regarding Mates' Army service necessary to enable his case to be reviewed, and I am afraid that the report has not yet been received.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office, with regard to the regulation that a supplementary pension may be granted to a disabled soldier of such an amount as when added to the State pension, earnings, and other income shall not exceed the pre-war income of the beneficiaries, or in any case the sum of 50s. a week, whether any war bonus is to be computed in present earnings, seeing that it is expressly excluded from pre-war earnings?

The answer is that war bonus is to be computed in present earnings.

asked whether it has been decided to increase the billeting rate for troops both with and without subsistence; and, if so, by how much?

I regret I am not yet in a position to add anything to the answer which I gave my hon. Friend on the 8th instant.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that, on 30th August, the rooms of Mr. Philip Milwood, at 34, Tankerville Road, Streatham, S.W., were visited by military officers, and a number of documents taken away, among which was a quantity of purely personal matter, including a will, an inventory of stored furniture, also several letters from prominent men to which Mr. Milwood attached a sentimental value; and, as such papers can be of no public value, whether they will be returned without further delay?

Mr. Milwood's rooms were visited on the date mentioned, but I am informed that no documents of a personal nature were taken away.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether in September last a number of officers and men were sent to join the Third Tigris Corps; whether his attention has been called to the fact that in the case of any officers or men no rations were provided for the river journey, and that consequently individuals had to take their own food; and will he say who is responsible for this lack of prevision?

The matters mentioned in this question have not been brought to my notice. As far as I can judge they belong to a period before the date on which the War Office assumed full control.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether permission could be given to members of pensions committees or other competent persons to visit the military hospitals in order to ascertain the number of soldiers who are on the eve of receiving their discharge, so that steps could be taken to look after their interests in the period intervening before the actual resumption of their civil occupation?

This information is already given to local committees, and should reach them fourteen days or more before the man's discharge.

asked the Secretary of State for War what use is now being made of the labour battalions which have been formed; and whether, in view of their increasing numbers, greater use could be made of them in agricultural operations?

I am afraid this is not possible. Labour battalions are formed for service overseas and are sent out as soon as they are mobilised.

asked the Secretary of State for War what was the opinion of the Committee set up as a result of the passing of the Army Act Amendment Act, as contained in the interim Report on one of the parties whose conduct was under investigation?

The main Report has not yet been received, and I am afraid I cannot undertake to deal in this House with the Committee's conclusions except as a whole. To do otherwise might give a wrong impression. The final Report is to be received shortly, and the action to be taken will then be for consideration.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he has received a letter detailing a series of punishments to which Private T. Hodgson Jowett, No. 6749, C Company, 2/4th Northants, Rise Car School, Darlington, has been subjected for exercising his legal right to refuse vaccination and inoculation; whether the War Office received from this soldier a registered letter on the subject, which was forwarded to his commanding officer: whether he is now being confined to billet for what is not a legal offence; whether this treatment will now be stopped; and whether he will take steps to punish officers who try to enforce vaccination and inoculation upon soldiers contrary to regulations, and in spite of the repeated official assurances as to their being voluntary?

Inquiries are being made.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether his notice has been called to the case of Sanitary Pioneer Halley, No. 196075, Withnoe Camp, Cornwall, who has been sent to the cells until his draft goes to the front for the reason that he has exercised his right to refuse inoculation; whether he will see that this soldier is immediately released and allowed the leave which this punishment is intended to prevent: and whether he will reprimand the officers responsible for this attempt to substitute their will for the law and for the military regulations affecting inoculation?

Inquiries are being made.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he can state the number of men rejected by the recruiting doctors during the years 1914, 1915, and 1916 respectively?

I am afraid that it is not possible to give this information, as no statistics are available. Many men, for instance, have been rejected more than once.

asked the Secretary of State for War (1) whether the Reports of general officers and commanding officers of the Canadian units show that the British service rifle is better than the Ross rifle; whether the men who have to use them prefer the British or the Ross rifle; why, if the British rifle is the better, the Ross rifles were sanctioned for manufacture and issued to the righting troops; and (2) whether the charge brought by Lieutenant General Sir Sam Hughes about Canadian arms being scrapped and replaced by other material not so good has any reference to the Ross rifle; and whether his official information shows that the Canadian soldiers themselves refused to use the Ross rifles and threw them away because they jammed?

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he has any official information showing that the equipment, transport, and arms of Canadian troops were scrapped by British officers who did not know their business to be replaced by other material not so good, and that Canadian soldiers were allowed to go under the knife of first-year medical men while men from the Dominion were not utilised; will he say whether the Canadian surgeons themselves made their wishes known to the high medical authorities that they desired to be sent abroad to the Near East and elsewhere; and whether Canadians have lost months, and sometimes a year, in hospitals not under Canadian control when they should have been back in the trenches?

The matters referred to in these three questions are the concern of the Government of Canada, as well as of the Imperial Government, and I think it is undesirable to answer questions upon them at present.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he will consider the possibility during the coming winter of arranging for the release of soldiers who have served in the trenches without any leave of absence for a period of twelve months or more?

I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer which was given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State in reply to the hon. Member for the Houghton-le-Spring Division on the 2nd November.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether, in certain importations of oats from foreign countries intended for the feeding of our horses at the front, there were found quantities of fish-hooks; whether it was necessary to employ magnetic machinery to separate the fish-hooks from the oats; and whether any representations have been made to neutral nations that this practice had been resorted to?

As far as is known, no fish-hooks have been found in oats imported from foreign countries, but clippings from horseshoe nails have been found. It appears that no injuries have been caused by these steel clippings, and there is no reason to suppose that they have been mixed with the oats otherwise than by accident.

asked the Secretary of State for War, with regard to the 325th Royal Defence Corps, stationed at The Armoury, Holyhead, whether, owing to-some mistake in the Paymaster's Department or otherwise, considerable sums have been overpaid to the men, or many of them, and have now to be refunded; whether such sums to be refunded range from a few shillings to as much as £16; and whether, seeing that the refunding of sums of this kind presses very hardly on the men in question, the clerks or departments responsible for the serious error will be made themselves to refund the money?

Inquiry is being made, and I will let my hon. Friend know the result.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether it has been arranged for the Road Board to undertake the maintenance and repair of certain roads in France; whether the War Office, through the Road Board, are now endeavouring to obtain men in this country to carry out this work and are offering to give them 3s. a day, with separation allowance, pensions, and all expenses found; and, if so, will he explain why this form of work, which entails little or no danger to life, is worth much better pay than work in the trenches?

The maintenance of the roads referred to remains in the direct control of the military authorties, but they will have the assistance of the late chief engineer of the Road Board. The terms offered are for expert road makers over military age. Their services are most urgently required, and I am assured that they could not be obtained at smaller cost.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that the proposal to convert the Canadian camp at Westenhanger, Kent, into a hospital for venereal disease is causing indignation in the district; whether he is aware that the proposed site is in close proximity to a station on the main line of the South-Eastern and Chatham Railway, adjoins two main roads, and is in the neighbourhood of a large aerodrome and several villages in a closely populated rural area; whether he is aware that, except at certain stages of venereal disease, patients are not confined to hospital wards, and that it will consequently be impossible to prevent men in a contagious condition from mixing with the rural population and thus endangering a spread of the disease in such a situation as that of the proposed hospital; and whether, in view of the further objection on moral grounds to the presence of a venereal hospital so situated, he will take steps to procure the abandonment of the proposal and to select a more isolated position for the purpose?

This project is at present in abeyance. Objection is usually raised to the location of this class of hospital, but I would remind my hon. Friend that it is necessary to make provision for them, and accommodation in suitable buildings is rarely available in isolated positions.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether, in-order to meet the difficulties of the agricultural community owing to the shortage of labour and the lateness of the season, the Government will consider raising agricultural works companies on similar lines, as to military administration and discipline, to existing works companies and composed of competent Home-service agricultural workers, each company to be fully equipped with a complete set of steam tackle for ploughing, cultivating, and threshing, detailed administration of terms and conditions of labour to be under the control of existing county agricultural war committees, and the whole scheme to be coordinated by the War Office and the Board of Agriculture?

I am not aware that any suggestion of the kind outlined has been put forward by those responsible for safeguarding the interests of agriculture.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether the Army disciplinary measure known as field punishment No. 1, popularly described as "crucifixion," is resorted to in this country when so many other forms of punishment are available, or whether it is reserved exclusively for troops in the field?

Field punishment No. 1 is reserved exclusively for troops in the field.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether the question of gratuity to officers incapacitated as the result of frostbite has been finally considered by the War Office?

It has been decided that this and other cases of injury arising from some special risk due to war conditions, and where reasonable precautions were not neglected by the officer, may be treated for compensation purposes as though it had occurred in action.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office if he is now able to state the number of men from the county of Devon who have joined the Army and Navy during the War who up to then were engaged in agricultural pursuits?

No, Sir; I fear I cannot give the information asked for, as the figures are not yet available.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he will make inquiries as to who was responsible for sending No. 4613, Private Ambler, 3/6th West Yorks Regiment, on foreign service when he was under eighteen years of age, having regard to the fact that two months previous to his being drafted for foreign service the soldier's mother had made an application under Army Council Instruction 1186 of 1916, which was then in force; and if he will take steps to have the soldier treated in accordance with the Army Council Instruction under which the application was made?

The necessary inquiries are being made, arid orders have been issued for the soldier to be dealt with under the Instructions referred to if they are applicable.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that Army agents are still employing numbers of eligible men, including many single men; and whether he can state the number of men of military age employed by Cox and Company, Holt's, and McGregor's?

I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer given on the 9th to the hon. Member for the Hyde Division of Cheshire.

asked the Secretary of State for War what has resulted from the inquiry into the action of Lieutenant Hiscock, recruiting officer, Gravesend, who granted an exemption to F. C. Honeysett, conditional whilst employed by the Association of Portland Cement Manufacturers (1910), Limited; whether exemptions will be granted on condition that the man remains in the service of one particular employer; whether Lieutenant Hiscock has granted any more such exemptions; and, if so, how many?

As the hon. Member has been informed, the recruiting officer endorsed in error some certificates of exemption issued by him with the condition that the man should remain in the service of a particular employer. His mistake has been pointed out to him, and the whole question will come before the tribunal for decision.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he is aware that a man of particularly diminutive type, 5 feet 2 inches in height, weighing only 98 pounds, who has been rejected six times owing to defective heart, bad teeth, and hammer toes, has been recently called up for reexamination in the Manchester district, and has been passed for Class A; and will he take steps to prevent the military authorities from calling up inefficient men who are only a costly burden to the Army?

If the hon. Member will give me particulars of the man's name I will have inquiries made.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he will give the numbers of men recruited for military service from each of the counties in Ireland?

I regret that it is not considered desirable to give this information.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that W. F. Tuck, No. 114413, F Company, Works Battalion, 13th Devons, Egg Buck-land Fort, recently called up for service, will not be nineteen years of age until 30th May, 1917; that he was called up for service on 3rd November last, and that he has been passed for labour abroad though only possessing one eye; and whether he will state that this boy will not be sent out of the country until he is nineteen?

This case has not been brought to notice, but inquiries are being made, and orders have been issued that Tuck should not be sent overseas until he is nineteen years of age.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether conscientious objectors could be employed to carry out work on the roads in France by the Road Board, instead of still further depleting the country districts of labour?

All men of the Non-Combatant Corps are already fully employed on essential duties and the total number of conscientious objectors is not equal to the number of men required for labour in France.

asked the Home Secretary whether he is aware of the feeling aroused in the Borough of Warwick, which is a considerable military centre, at the liberties and privileges granted to the large number of conscientious objectors now housed in Warwick Gaol; and whether he will state what work they are employed upon and for what number of hours per day they are engaged upon it?

I have received no representations in this matter. I understand that the men employed by the Committee on Employment of Conscientious Objectors at Warwick are engaged in vegetable gardening, building, tailoring, boot-making and repairing, and the manufacture of mats and mailbags. A certain number of men are also employed on the necessary cooking, cleaning and clerical work. The hours worked are eight hours a day in addition to periodical fatigue and orderly duty. I understand from the Committee that the work centre at Warwick is used only for such men as are not fit for hard outdoor labour, and as a depot to which men fit for all classes of labour can be sent, while arrangements are being made for their employment elsewhere, or between periods of employment.

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether he is aware that a conscientious objector, named Sydney Robjohns, No. 324 in the Military Register, class No. 43, with the medical report, Class C 1, who appeared before the Battersea local tribunal both in July and October, although admittedly a man holding conscientious convictions with regard to war, was only granted non-combatant service; that the London Appeal Tribunal on 3rd November confirmed this decision and refused to refer him to the Pelham Committee, although he expressed his willingness to do any work of national importance which was offered him; whether he is aware that many other men have been referred to that Committee by other tribunals; and whether, under the circumstances, he can see his way to request the tribunals in all cases where the genuineness of the applicant has been admitted to allow these men to do work of national importance provided by the Pelham Committee instead of compelling them to a term of imprisonment?

I have no information of this case beyond what appears in the hon. Member's question. Tribunals have received full directions respecting these cases. The fact that a man is willing to do work of national importance is not itself sufficient reason why he should be referred to the Committee in question. The Committee only deals with men whom the tribunals have exempted altogether for military service on condition that they undertake work of national importance. In the case referred to, the tribunal decided that the man should be exempted' from combatant service only.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he will take steps to stop the irregularities in regard to the calling up of men for military service committed by Lieutenant-Colonel Walker, Stourbridge, particularly his practice of calling up on short notice men who are entitled to two months' further grace, this having been done in the cases of D. Sedgley, Ernest Smith, H. Parker, and others, and also his action in not giving at least fourteen days' notice as required by the Regulations in other cases?

Inquiries have been made, and it has not proved possible to trace D. Sedgley. It appears that there are eighteen Ernest Smiths and five H. Parkers on the register; perhaps the hon. Member will say to which he refers.

asked the Secretary of State for War by what legal authority the recruiting officers are sending forms containing a number of questions to be answered by men having certificates of exemption; and, particularly, by what authority the recruiting officer requires the exempted men to notify any change of address to the nearest recruiting officer?

A recruiting officer is authorised under the Military Service Act and under the Defence of the Realm Regulations to call upon the holder of a certificate of exemption to produce his certificate or give particulars as to the authority by which the certificate was granted and the ground on which it was granted. A man is not legally bound to notify changes of address to the recruiting officer, but it is in his own interest to do so.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that Sydney Robjohns, No. 324 in the Military Register, Class No. 43, with the medical report Class C 1, has been passed for non-combatant service by the Battersea Local Tribunal, although the genuineness of his religious convictions was never doubted; and whether, seeing that this necessarily involves imprisonment in the case of a man holding these views, he can see his way to release him for work of national importance either under the Pelham Committee or under the Friends' Ambulance unit?

This man was granted exemption from combatant service, and an appeal against this was dismissed. In view of the tribunal's decision, nothing further can be done.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether his attention has been called to the case of No. 29908 Private John Mulherrin, 3rd Inniskilling Fusiliers; whether he is aware that Mulherrin received permission to lodge a late appeal with the Glasgow Tribunal and that such appeal was lodged on the 4th 'September; that before the appeal was heard Mulherrin was arrested as a deserter, fined, and handed over to the military authorities; that on the appeal coming on for hearing the tribunal dismissed the appeal on the ground that, where a man was already in the Army, a claim for exemption could not be entertained without permission of the Army Council; whether such permission is required by statute or otherwise; and, if so, whether it will be given?

Inquiries are being made.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office if he can state the instructions which have been issued by the War Office to the military representatives attending the tribunals under the Military Service Acts as to the calling up of men at present engaged in the mining industry?

Coal miners hold certificates of exemption issued by Special Colliery Recruiting Courts to men who entered employment in the mines up to the 24th June, 1916, and to men who have since that date been specially released for work in the mines from His Majesty's forces and from munition factories and from controlled establishments, and to youths who are miners as and when they attain military age. The recruiting officers have been instructed that men not properly exempted are to be called up for military service, and that the War Office should be informed of cases where certificates are issued by Colliery Recruiting Courts to men who do not fall within the above classes.

asked the Secretary to the Admiralty whether workmen who have been transferred from the Royal dockyards in the south to the new base at Rosyth are to be medically examined with a view to their transfer to the Colours; whether he is aware that many of these men have broken up their homes, removed their families, and established new homes at Rosyth, with a maximum of inconvenience to themselves, in order to convenience the Admiralty; and whether, under these circumstances, any consideration is to be shown to these men whose families may be left hundreds of miles away from their original homes if these workmen are to be drafted into the fighting forces of the Crown?

It is not the practice in transferring men from the dockyards in the south to Rosyth to examine them medically with a view to their transfer to the Colours, and it is not proposed to set up any such practice. The question is, however, under consideration of releasing some of the workmen who have attested or who are liable for military service under the Military Service Acts from the dockyard at Rosyth for service with the Colours in cases where they are not indispensable; and it is not intended that men who have been transferred from the south shall necessarily be excluded from the purview in determining the particular men to be released. Some of such workmen who have been transferred from the Royal dockyards in the south will, therefore, probably be medically examined with a view to their transfer to the Colours. The Board are fully aware of the circumstances in which the men have been transferred to Rosyth; and in any cases in which men who have moved their homes and families to Rosyth are released for military service every consideration will be given to any request for assistance in meeting the cost of the removal of the men's homes and families back to the south.

asked the President of the Local Government Board if he is aware that many cases have occurred, and many more are likely to occur, of owners of one-man businesses being called up for Army service and obliged to close down to the advantage of other traders, including large companies with alien shareholders; and if he will consider arranging to give the Civil Liabilities (Military Service) Committee power to grant reasonable compensation to men whose businesses are closed, owing to their being called up, from funds levied pro rata on traders selling similar goods or engaged in similar businesses in given districts where practicable or from such levy supplemented by Government Grants, or from funds wholly supplied by Government where no such levy is advisable or practicable?

The Military Service (Civil Liabilities) Committee already possess the power of making grants in respect of certain business obligations, but I do not think it would be practicable to extend the scheme to the payment of compensation in the circumstances referred to by my hon. Friend.

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether, in view of the injustice of calling up for Army service owners of one-man businesses while numbers of younger men with less respon- sibilities and not indispensable are uncalled, he will arrange that where it appears that hardship would be caused by so calling up the owners of one-man businesses such be deferred until as late a date as the national interests will allow?

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given on the 2nd instant to the hon. Member for the Attercliffe Division.

asked the President of the Local Government Board if he has received any representations from the Shoreditch tribunal on the continued presence in the district as civilians of friendly aliens of military age; and what action he has taken in the matter or what reply he has sent?

My right hon. Friend has asked me to reply to this question. No such representations were sent to the Local Government Board or to the Home Office until this morning, when inquiry was made of the tribunal. I would refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave to-day to Question 78.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he has any recent information as to where the men taken prisoners at Kut are, and their condition?

The majority of the British non-commissioned officers and men, according to the most recent reports, are at Afion, Kara Hissar, Adana, and Kasta-mouni, the first-named being by far the largest camp. The Indian troops appear to be at Ras-el-Ain. The condition of the prisoners generally was dealt with in the statement I made on Tuesday last.

asked the Treasurer of the Household whether retired British officers who were in Germany at the beginning of the War and are still prisoners there are included amongst those eligible for exchange if they are of the prescribed age and in other respects suitable?

I would refer the hon. Member to White Paper Miscellaneous No. 35 (1916) which contains our proposal to the German Government in regard to this matter.

asked the Secretary of State for War (1) whether Lieutenant-General Sir Sam Hughes has now any military jurisdiction over the Canadian Overseas troops after they leave the Canadian shores, or whether this Command is now vested in the hands of the Acting High Commissioner, Sir George Purley; if the latter, can he say whether administration, discipline, training, and promotions in the Canadian Overseas Army will now be entirely in the hands of Sir George Purley and his advisers, or whether they will be subject to the High Overseas Command and to the War Office in the same way as that prevailing in all our other British and Overseas Forces; and (2) if he can give the names of the present Acting Militia Council of the Canadian Overseas Army, with their ranks and length of military service; and if he can say whether this Acting Militia Council is now vested with powers independent of the Canadian Minister in Canada, powers independent of the Acting High Commissioner, powers independent of Lieutenant-General Sir Sam Hughes, and powers independent of the War Office?

The powers and duties of the Minister of Overseas Military Forces of Canada include all powers and duties in connection with the troops, property, and expenditure of the military forces of Canada in the United Kingdom and on the Continent of Europe heretofore exercised by or charged upon the Minister of Militia and Defence. He is also charged with the negotiations on the part of the Government of Canada, as occasion may require, with His Majesty's Government in all matters connected with the government, command, and disposition of the Overseas Forces of Canada, and such arrangements as may be advisable for coordinating their operations and services with those of His Majesty's troops, and generally for the purpose of utilising the Overseas Forces of Canada in the most effective manner for the purposes of the War. I have no information as to the Minister's Advisory Council.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether complaints have reached him that parcels of cigarettes, stationery, home-made bread, and comfortable clothing, such as shirts, socks, and scarves, sent to Private Christopher Lyons, No. 15,999, 10th Platoon, F Company, 1st Battalion Royal Dublin Fusiliers, 86th Brigade, 29th Division, British Expeditionary Force, France, by his relatives in Ireland, carefully packed and prepaid, have never reached him; and whether he will institute inquiries into the hardship inflicted on this soldier in the fighting line by the non-delivery of those comforts from home?

My right hon. Friend has asked me to answer this question. I am making inquiries and will communicate the result to the hon. Member.

asked how many airmen belonging to the Military Wing, Royal Flying Corps, have been killed in. this country during the last twelve months whose deaths may be attributable to preventable or unpreventable accidents?

The total number of fatal accidents from all causes in the, Royal Flying Corps, Military Wing, in this country in the last twelve months is ninety-eight.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many purchases of property by the Central Liquor Control Board have been sanctioned by the Treasury, and of that number how many have been actually paid for; what is the aggregate amount so paid; and how many cases are awaiting the sanction of the Treasury, and what aggregate sum do they represent; is he aware that there are cases in which the Central Control Board seized the property under the exceptional statutory powers possessed by them more than a year ago, and in relation to which the terms of purchase were agreed, which have not yet been paid for; and will he say how many of such cases there are, and what is the aggregate purchase-money so withheld?

I have been asked by my right hon. Friend to answer this question. There are three districts in Great Britain in which the purchase of property by the Control Board has been sanctioned by the Treasury. Within these districts compensation in respect of over fifty claims has been paid, the aggregate amount being about £100,000. The number of claims yet to be settled, and the amounts payable, cannot be stated until the claims have been submitted to and determined by the Royal Commission. There are no cases in which the Control Board took possession of property more than a year ago. The desirability of prompt payment is fully recognised, and every endeavour is made to secure it.

asked the Minister of Munitions whether any representations have been received from the naval authorities in Scotland urging that the Central Control Board (Liquor Traffic) should prohibit the sale of spirits in other coastal areas beyond those in which such prohibition is at present in force; and, if so, whether the Board propose to give effect to the representations of the naval authorities, and to take action in the direction indicated by them?

Certain representations on the subject have been received in special areas from naval and other authorities. These are now under consideration.

asked the Minister of Munitions whether he will direct the attention of the amalgamated branch appointed for the consideration of questions relating to land held by the War Office and the Ministry of Munitions, including negotiations for purchase, to the promise given by the Prime Minister on 4th March, 1914, as to the keeping of a record of the annual values as adopted for rating purposes and certain other particulars as regards land of which the purchase is effected or 'facilitated out of moneys provided by Parliament?

The answer is in the affirmative.

asked the Minister of Munitions if he is aware that some firms in Glasgow inform young men who demand their clearance certificates that they will get them at the recruiting office; if he can state if there has been any regulation altering the issue of a workman's book from the Labour Exchange to the local recruiting office; and if he intends taking any action in the matter?

I am not aware of the practice indicated in the first part of the question relating to leaving certificates, but if my hon. Friend will give me particulars I will cause inquiry to be made. In reply to the second part of the question, if this refers to unemployment books, I am informed by the Board of Trade that no alteration of the nature suggested has been made.

asked the Minister of Munitions if he is aware that, although he issued a circular letter stating that workmen who worked for controlled firms, or firms doing work for the Munitions Department, on recognised holidays would, if their rules or custom provided for extra pay for so doing, be paid at such extra rate, the Caton Engineering Company, of Lancaster, refuse to pay the extra rate to the joiners employed by them who worked during the holiday of the district, though the working rules of the district distinctly state that time and a half shall be paid; and whether he will take steps to compel that firm to observe the conditions set forth in the circular letter he issued?

The circular to which my hon. Friend refers stated that in the absence of agreements or customs for the payment of special rates payment should be made in respect of two days, representing the Whitsun and August Bank Holidays, at the rate of time and a quarter. I am unable to say whether the working rules would constitute such an agreement or custom, but any difference on the point could be reported to the Board of Trade for settlement. I am informed, however, that the firm paid their workmen at the rate of time and a quarter in respect of four days, and I have received no complaint from their employés on the subject.

asked the Minister of Munitions whether his attention has been called to the practice in Yorkshire controlled establishments of employing men and boys for three turns, thirty and a-half hours altogether, without any rest; whether any consideration has been given to the effect of these long hours on subsequent output; whether he is also aware that in the test shop of Messrs. Steel, Peech, and Tozer, Rotherham, the men and boys employed on saw-grinding hare to eat their food where they work, that there are no fans to carry away the emery dust, and that the men are not supplied with respirators; and whether he will make inquiry into the matter?

My attention has been drawn to this matter. I am making inquiries, and will communicate further with my hon. Friend.

asked the Minister of Munitions if his Department propose erecting large dynamos for motive power in works in a Northern Midland town, although the local urban district council had been supplying electricity to the premises taken over by his Department and had offered to supply the power required?

I am communicating with my hon. Friend respecting this matter.

asked the Secretary for Scotland whether he is aware that, arising out of a dilution of labour scheme, Messrs. William Beardmore, of Paisley, are employing juveniles from the prison known as the Kibble Institution; if he will state by whose authority such boys are employed; if he is aware that the boys are rated at 4d. per hour, which money goes to the funds of the institution and not to the boys or their parents; that the parents of the boys are called upon to pay towards maintaining the boys whilst in the institution; and if he will state what safeguards have been adopted to ensure that the boys receive the education and training for which they were sent to the institution?

The institution to which my hon. Friend is presumably referring is not a prison, but a reformatory school. I am informed that a number of the lads are temporarily employed at Messrs. Beardmore's munition works, Paisley, and are paid at the rate of 4d. and 5d. an hour. A substantial portion of their wages is set aside to be given to them when they leave the school and they receive pocket-money, the balance of their wages being retained for their maintenance, clothing, etc., the cost of which, owing to their employment at Messrs. Beardmore's, is considerably greater than that of the boys who are not so engaged. The school does not benefit by parental contributions, which are credited to the Treasury and not to the school. The employment of boys from reformatory schools in munition work has been sanctioned, and is carefully supervised on behalf of the Chief Inspector of Reforma-tory and Industrial Schools, with due regard to the purposes, including those specified by my hon. Friend, for which the boys have been committed to the schools.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether a firm of the name of Meyer had any contract for feeding the first Mesopotamia Expedition?

Not so far as I am aware, but I am without information as to contracts placed in India.

asked the Prime Minister whether, seeing that the transfer of Alsace-Lorraine to France will reduce the production of iron ore annually in Germany from 35,900,000 tons to 14,800,000 tons and increase that of France from 21,000,000 to 42,000,000, implying virtually an equivalent transfer of military strength likely to be resisted to the uttermost, the Allies will alternativey consider the effective, political, and economic neutralisation of Alsace-Lorraine, and Belgium, both States together with Holland, Switzerland, and Luxembourg, to constitute a free trade union guaranteed by the Great Powers, with the manufacture and export of munitions of war prohibited within its limits?

His Majesty's Government cannot consider suggestions of this kind, or indeed any suggestion as to terms of peace apart from their Allies.

asked the Prime Minister whether he will state the grounds upon which the publisher and the editor of the Brython newspaper are being prosecuted; whether the attention of the Government has been called to the fact that the "Observer," in last Sunday's issue, stated that the present situation in the Near East is the result of the lamentable mismangement of the Allies' chances both on the Danube and in Macedonia, and suggests that no more blunders were left to be perpetrated in the Near East; and, if so, whether the Government propose to take any action in this case?

The Prime Minister has asked me to reply to this question. As regards the "Brython," I am informed by the Director of Public Prosecutions that, while the police were in his opinion justified in the action taken by them, he has, in view of all the circumstances, decided not to continue the prosecution. As regards the "Observer," the answer is in the negative.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what have been the amounts and value of British-made morphia exported abroad during each of the last three years; and what have been the principal destinations of these exports?

The following statement gives the information desired by my hon. Friend:—

STATEMENT showing the Quantity and Value of British-made Morphia and Morphia Salts exported from the United Kingdom during each year from 1913 to 1915, inclusive, distinguishing each principal destination.
Countries to which Consigned.	Quantities Exported.			Value thereof.
	1913.	1914.	1915	1913.	1914.	1915.
	Ozs.	Ozs.	Ozs.	£	£	£
Germany	81,944	85.094	—	40,539	33 534	—
France	24.052	12,408	35,303	11,260	6,018	26,630
Japan (including Formosa and Japanese leased territories in China)	252,110	352,l30	204,742	118.794	143,975	136.059
Other foreign Countries	40,832	45,831	41.067*	19,262	20,954	29,255
Total to Foreign Countries	398,938	495.463	281,112	189,855	204,481	191,944
Hong Kong	640	—	83	320	—	49
Other British Possessions	6,576	8.557	14,377†	3,179	4.236	8,741
Total to British Possessions	7,216	8,557	14 460	3,499	4,236	8,790
Total	406,154	504.020	295,572	1 3,354	208,717	200,734
* Includes exports to Russia, 17,319 ozs.; Sweden, 7,042 ozs.; Norway, 2,471 ozs.; Denmark, 1,80 ozs.; Spain, 1,180 ozs.; Italy, 2,065 ozs.; and Corea, 6,08 ozs
† Includes exports to Australia, 6,083 ozs., and Canada, 7,972 ozs.

asked the Home Secretary how many cases of espionage have been recorded and dealt with in 1914, 1915, and 1916 to date?

Such information as it is desirable should appear in this connection has been published in the Press from time to time in the form of official communiqués.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that the British Incandescent Mantle Works, Limited, have been working at full speed in turning out Veritas mantles, the whole of which output is taken by Falk, Stadelmann and Company, Limited; whether he is aware that the demand for these mantles is so great that Messrs. Falk, Stadelmann and Company, Limited, are having additional supplies made by Joseph T. Robin, Limited, the managing director of which is Joseph T. Robin, the Government adviser on incandescent mantles, to meet the demand; and whether it is with the sanction of the Board of Trade that such mantles are marked "Veritas," the trade mark of the British Incandescent Works, Limited, an enemy firm now being wound up?

The trade mark referred to is registered in the name of Messrs. Falk, Stadelmann and Company, Limited, and not in that of the British Incandescent Mantle Works, and the former company are therefore entitled to use it upon the mantles they sell, and have them manufactured with the mark by any firm they please.

asked the President of the Board of Trade (1) whether he will state the previous experience of the five principal persons acting under Sir Thomas Robinson in controlling the purchase, transport, and distribution of Government supplies of frozen meat; what were the names of the butchers, meat importers, or cold storage companies with whom that experience was gained; (2) if he will state the various companies engaged in pastoral finance, meat freezing, and meat shipping in which Sir Thomas Robinson holds an interest; whether any of these companies have any preferential trading arrangements with Armour and Company, of Chicago, or had entered into any such arrangements the operation of which is suspended only by the War; and (3) if he will state who are the persons in his employ engaged in purchasing, transporting, and distributing frozen meat; what are the names of the five principal persons acting under Sir Thomas Robinson; and what is the rate of their remuneration?

I am satisfied that the various persons concerned with the purchase, transport, and distribution of Government supplies of meat are performing their duties in an efficient manner, and I must decline to give the details for which my hon. Friend asks in this question and in those numbered 18 and 19.

asked the Paymaster-General, as the Labour adviser to the Government, what action he has taken or proposes to take to stop the conscription of labour for industrial purposes now going on by employers, by the Government, and by the military?

If my hon. Friend will furnish me with concrete instances of action taken in violation of the law or of the pledges of His Majesty's Ministers on the subject, I shall be happy to make such representations to the Departments concerned as the circumstances may seem to require.

asked the Postmaster-General if he is aware that Chief Inspector Towersey, sub U-Y Division, the Police Station, Scholefield Road, N., applied on the 24th October to have a telephone fixed at his residential flat, chiefly in order that it might be available for air-raid work; that he was asked to pay a surcharge of £4 for connecting up the line, in addition to the annual subscription and the usual fee for calls, although there is already a line, recently disconnected, from the flat below his actually passing his window; will he explain why this surcharge is made on an officer who has given his work in the special constabulary; and if it is in accordance with the commercial policy of the Department to make these charges?

I have ascertained that although the flat below that occupied by Mr. Towersey was formerly served by telephone some external work would be required to divert the wires to the floor above. In these circumstances the special surcharge introduced to meet the financial stringency brought about by the War is, in the ordinary course, applicable. If, however, Mr. Towersey had represented that the service was needed in connection with his police duties, he would have been informed that the production of a certificate to that effect from the Metropolitan Police authorities would have relieved him of the payment of the surcharge.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware that in rural districts in Ireland, such as Swords, county Dublin, the telephone service is not available to the public before 9 a.m. or after 8 p.m. on week days, and on Sundays is available only from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m., and that up to a recent date the service was available at all hours on weekdays; if he will say what is the reason for a change involving inconvenience to the public; whether the postmasters in the places mentioned would not object to a return to the old regulations on being paid reasonable remuneration for any additional work; and whether the whole question will be reconsidered?

Telephone call offices in post offices are usually available only during the hours when the post offices are open for other business, and the recent general reduction of hours of attendance has thus affected the telephone call office service. The public call office at Swords was recently removed from private premises to the local post office, an economical arrangement under which the circuit can now be used for sending telegrams as well as for telephone calls. It is frequently possible for a person wishing to make a telephone call outside the official hours to do so on paying a special fee to the sub-postmaster, and I will inquire whether such an arrangement is possible at Swords.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he is aware that the French Government have been pressed in the French Chamber to grant no facilities for the working of mineral properties by foreigners to the prejudice of British metallurgical interests, particularly in Algeria, and that the Minister of Public Works pleaded for permission to sanction enterprises conducted by subjects of the Allied Powers; if he will say whether the Government has made or will make representations urging the importance of this course; and whether similar representations will be made to the Russian Government in connection with pending sales of German-owned manganese mines?

The question of the grant of concessions for the working of mineral properties in Algeria and elsewhere in French territory was discused in a recent debate in the French Chamber of Deputies, but it is hardly correct to state that the French Government were pressed to grant no facilities for the working of such properties by foreigners. One point raised was whether the French Government should grant such concessions without first submitting them to Parliament for approval, and into that question His Majesty's Government could obviously not enter. But they are, of course, anxious to assist British enterprises in France and elsewhere by every means in their power. His Majesty's Government are in communication with the Russian Government in regard to the manganese mines in the Caucasus, but the final decision of the Russian Government as to the conditions on which their sale will be effected has not yet been made known.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether the Foreign Office has received any information, as to the smuggling of morphia from Japan into Manchuria and China; and whether morphia manufactured in Great Britain is exported in large quantities to Japan?

It is reported that morphia is smuggled into Manchuria and China from Japan. The second part of the question should be addressed to the President of the Board of Trade.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs which Powers have signed the Protocol opened at the Hague after the International Opium Conference in 1914 for signature by Powers prepared to proceed forthwith to put in force the Opium Convention of 1912?

Since the reply which was given to the hon. Member on 18th May of last year on this subject, no further notification has been received from the Netherland Government of any Power having signed the Protocol.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Agriculture whether the Government propose to acquire land and employ the 15,000 unemployed military prisoners in this country in growing food for the people; and, if not, will he state what reason there is for keeping 15,000 useless men when the German Government have employed British prisoners of war in growing food during the last two years?

For the reasons given in a recent Debate in another place, and owing to the difficulty of acquiring land for reclamation purposes on reasonable terms without extremely controversial legislation, it has not hitherto been found possible to employ prisoners as the Noble Lord suggests; but as I stated to the Noble Lord the Member for South Nottingham on 2nd November, a small Committee appointed by the War Office is now actively at work upon the consideration of all proposals for the employment of prisoners of war. I think it will be found better to employ them if possible on maintaining the cultivation of existing arable land rather than on land which it is not easy to make quickly productive.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Agriculture whether he is now in a position to give a further estimate as to the shortage in the Irish potato crop of this year; whether he can state, approximately, the quantity of Irish potatoes of this year's crop shipped from Ireland up to the end of October; and whether shipment of potatoes from Ireland is still going on?

The Irish Department of Agriculture inform "me that the information so far available would indicate an estimated yield of sound potatoes of about 4 tons per statute acre. This is 2.2 tons per acre less than in the year 1915 and 1.2 tons less than the ten years' average for 1904 to 1915. The estimated production this year would be about 2,350,000 tons against 3,710,000 tons last year. In comparison with the ten years' average from 1904 to 1915 this would be a decrease of about 750,000 tons. A further examination of the available returns may, however, lead to a slightly revised estimate of the yield per acre. Statistics are not yet available in the Department showing exactly the total quantity of this year's crop of potatoes shipped from Ireland to the end of October. This shipment is still going on, but hitherto at a rate below the normal. The whole question is receiving the most careful consideration from the Department in consultation with the Government.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury if he will state the total amount of funds now standing to the credit of the Road Board; what present use is being made of them; and whether any definite policy is under consideration for dealing with these funds after the War?

The total amount of funds (including investments at cost) standing to the credit of the Road Board on the 31st October was £3,763,569. New advances from the fund have been restricted to a limited sum (£200,000 in 1916-17) which is applied to the surface preservation of important roads. The available funds in the hands of the Board are invested, largely in short-term Government securities. After the War the funds of the Board (of which a considerable sum has already been promised to local authorities) would be applied in the manner provided by the Development and Road Improvement Fund Act, 1909, in the absence of amending legislation; but the rate of expenditure would no doubt depend on the state of employment and on other conditions which cannot at present be foreseen.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland when it is proposed to make further grants or loans to county councils from the Road Board funds; whether he is aware that the county Longford steam rolling plant is practically hung up for want of funds to complete the steam-rolling of the county; and whether, if loans are applied for to do this work, they will now be granted?

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer which I have to-day given to the hon. Member for Bethnal Green, from which it will be seen that new advances are limited to surface preservation of roads in certain special cases.

asked the Vice-President of the Department of Agriculture (Ireland.) why, on 12th September, on their own scheme for the marketing of honey, under paragraph 8, the Department quote 7½d. as the standard wholesale price for a fancy or first-grade section of honey when this was generally from 9½d. to l1d. in Ireland; why, when supplying the Ken-mare Bee Association on the same date with the names of buyers of honey, Form A 268, did they not give the names of firms inside and outside of Dublin who were giving better prices than the I. A. W. S., whose terms exactly they gave or quoted; why did they supply to the same association on the same date the name of a firm which is not a buyer of honey, whilst withholding the names of other firms; and whether steps will be taken to provide the Kenmare Bee Association with all the necessary information to secure the most advantageous price for their honey?

The Department are not aware that the wholesale price for honey generally in Ireland at the date of their letter to the Kenmare Association was as stated in the question—i.e., 9½ d. to l1d. per section. The association were informed by the Department of a number of firms in Ireland and England whose names had been furnished to the Department as buyers of honey, and with whom it was anticipated that the association might do business on advantageous terms. The Department also stated that they were, in accordance with their scheme for aiding in the marketing of honey, willing to dispose of the small lot of honey in question, which had been used for demonstration purposes. The Department did not offer 7½d. per section, but, fearing that the association might be misinformed as to current prices owing to inaccurate statements which had appeared in the public Press, they mentioned that it was understood that the current wholesale price in Dublin was about 7s. 6d. a dozen sections. The Department were not aware that any firm mentioned by them was not buying honey on the date referred to. If satisfactory business does not result between producers and firms whose names are suggested by the Department, the Department are prepared to supply additional names, so far as available.

asked the Vice-President of the Department of Agriculture (Ireland) whether his attention has been called to the clearance of timber in the South of Ireland; and if he proposes to take any steps' to compel landlords, who are now availing thmselves of the high prices for timber, to plant at least as many trees as they cut down?

The question of the measures to be taken to promote the replanting of woodlands and the afforestation of waste lands in Ireland by private owners is at present engaging the attention of the Department. The Department have, however, no powers to enforce the replanting of woodlands cleared by private owners. I would also refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 12th October last to a question on this subject of the hon. Member for Mid-Armagh.

asked the Vice-President of the Department of Agriculture (Ireland) whether the minutes of the Board of Technical Instruction (Ireland), held on 1lth November, 1914, show that no moneys were given by his Department to the Roscommon county committee for 1914–15 for technical instruction in towns or rural places out of the endowment of £55,000 made to that Department for technical instruction under Section 16, Sub-section (1) (c) of the Agriculture and Technical Instruction (Ireland) Act, 1899?

The minutes of the meeting of the Board of Technical Instruction in question show a contribution from the Department to the scheme of technical instruction for county Roscommon, which was made out of a joint fund made up of the endowment of £55,000 referred to in the question and a grant of £9,000 from the Agricultural Board. The minutes also show what would have been the Department's contribution under a scheme of allocation of funds, the general principles of which were adopted at a meeting of the Board held in July, 1903. The amount of the Department's annual contribution to the county Roscommon scheme had, however, been determined previously to this date.

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether he has received any complaints with regard to the overcrowding now prevailing at Boldon Colliery, the centre at present of an outbreak of enteric fever; and whether he will exercise the power he possesses to secure the putting into operation of the Housing and Town Planning Act at the earliest opportunity?

I have received two complaints in regard to overcrowding at Boldon Colliery. I am awaiting some information in regard to overcrowding which was promised locally to the medical inspector of the Department who investigated the outbreak of enteric fever, and on receipt of this information I will consider what further steps should be taken.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education

—						1912–13.	1913–14.	1914–16.
Number of pupil teachers in training—
England	…	…	…	…	…	3,327	3,093	3,586
Wales	…	…	…	…	…	729	766	896
						4,056	3,859	4,462
Number of pupil teacher centres—
England	…	…	…	…	…	407	392	434
Wales	…	…	…	…	…	37	43	52
						444	435	486
Number of bursars—
England	…	…	…	…	…	2,841	3,012	3,261
Wales	…	…	…	…	…	233	268	259
						3,074	3,280	3,520

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education whether he can state, for the last three years for which information is available, the number of secondary schools in England and

SECONDARY SCHOOLS ON THE GRANT LIST IN ENGLAND AND WALES, RESPECTIVELY.
—		Number of Schools.	Number of Pupils under 10 years of age.	Number of Pupils of 10 and under 12 years of age.	Total Number of Pupils under 12 years of age.
England.
1st of October, 1913	…	910	13,703	28,549	42,252
1st of October, 1914	…	929	14,385	30,468	44,853
1st of October, 1915	…	931	15,760	33,313	49,073
Wales.
1st of October, 1913	…	117	108	1,513	1,621
1st of October, 1914	…	118	102	1,544	1,646
1st of October, 1915	…	118	107	1,636	1,743

The above figures relate to 1st October in each year, the ages being taken as on 31st July preceding. They have already been published in the Board's Report for 1914–15. See pp. 39, 41, and 42 for England, and pp. 46, 46, and 47 for Wales. The figures given above for 1915 have been slightly corrected. The figures published in the last Statistical Volume (1913–14) relate to 31st January, the ages being taken on the same date, and, consequently they are not comparable with the figures given above. The figures for scholars under 7 years of age cannot be given.

submitted the following statistics:Wales, respectively, receiving Grants from the Board of Education; the number of scholars under seven years in such schools; the number under ten years; and the number under twelve years, respectively.

supplied the following particulars:

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education whether he will state for the last three years for which information is available the number of students intending to be teachers, recognised for the first time during each year, in conformity with Column 10 of Table 52 of Cd. 8907.

The following table gives the number of students intending to be teachers recognised for the first time during the year:

—			1913–14.	1914–15.	1915–16.
England	…	…	5,022	5,517	6,203*
Wales	…	…	754	851	851*
			5,776	6,368	7,054*
* The figures for 1915–16 are subject to correction.