asked the Prime Minister whether it is the intention of the Government to guarantee a price for home-grown wheat next year to encourage farmers to increase the supply?

I should be glad if this question could be postponed for a few days.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Agriculture whether, in view of the need of increasing the production of the land, the Government will consider the advisability of framing a scheme under which farmers could obtain facilities for the supply of sulphate of ammonia, basic slag, and other fertilisers, and the Board could in suitable cases make Orders compelling the application of such manures with provisions for recovering the cost incurred?

There is a scheme now in operation under which farmers can obtain sulphate of ammonia at under market rates—its application at these rates being likely to be highly profitable. As to slag and most other manures, the difficulty is to get enough produced to satisfy existing demand. Every possible effort will be made to see that the existing supply is used to the best advantage.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Agriculture whether, in view of the urgency of super phosphates being available for agricultural purposes if a full crop of potatoes and turnips is to be produced from the 1917 crop, he is taking steps to secure a supply of this essential fertiliser being available?

The demands upon sulphuric acid for munitions purposes are so great that there must be some shortage of superphosphate. The Ministry of Munitions is, however, in close touch with the Board in the matter, and both are doing their utmost to meet an extremely difficult situation.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Agriculture if he will say what quantity of superphosphates has been exported since 1st September?

Between the 1st September and the 30th November last 3,78l tons of superphosphates were exported from the United Kingdom. The larger part of this total was exported to British Possessions before 23rd October, when the prohibition of exportation to all other destinations was made general. Licences for the exportation of superphosphate are now only being granted in very exceptional cases, in which the use of small quantities of this manure is an absolue necessity for the production of essential food products in our Dominions.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Agriculture if he is aware that 66,000 acres were sown with mustard in this country last season, and that contracts are now being made with farmers for the growing of large quantities for the coming season; if so, whether mustard is to be treated as an article of necessity; and, if not, will he consider the advisability of taking steps that will ensure the growth of wheat or other grain of national importance on this land?

The question which my hon. Friend raises is important and will be closely examined. Mustard certainly cannot be considered a national necessity in the same sense as wheat, and farmers would, I think, be wise not to assume that the acreage which they may place under mustard, in excess at any rate of that normally grown, will be specially profitable to them next season. It must not, however, be supposed that all the mustard is grown for use as a condiment. It is also grown as a catch crop or for green manure.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Agriculture if his attention has been called to the fact that farmers are selling off young cattle from twelve to eighteen months old in unusually large numbers at the present time; and, if so, will he state what measures he proposes to take to prevent the sale and killing of cattle before they are really fit for the butcher?

There is no evidence at present of any serious check to the breeding and feeding of stock. The matter is being closely watched by the Board. There is, however, considerable alarm among farmers at the price of feeding stuffs. This- matter has been under investigation by the different Departments concerned, and is being considered. In my opinion, even though there may be present difficulties in maintaining a normal head of breeding stock, it would be a short-sighted policy for farmers to reduce them unduly. The killing of stock at a younger age and in a less highly finished condition than usual is not necessarily under present circumstances uneconomical, provided that the total head of breeding stock is maintained.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Agriculture whether his attention has been called to the disproportionate rise in price of seed potatoes when sold in small quantities of 56 pounds and 28 pounds; and what steps he proposes to take to ensure a supply for smallholders and occupiers of allotments at reasonable prices?

The evidence which the Board have does not lead them to the conclusion that there has been in general a disproportionate rise in the price of seed potatoes when sold in small lots. But, undoubtedly, considerable increases in price may take place in such cases, particularly when the potatoes pass through several hands. The Board, therefore, strongly advocate schemes of co-operative purchase by smallholders. They have also addressed a letter to the county war agricultural committees, giving particulars of a successful scheme for supplying seed potatoes in Somersetshire last season, and urging all such committees to arrange similar measures immediately with the object of securing supplies of seed for planting in 1917. The Board will do their very best to help the committees to carry out co-operative schemes of this kind. A Departmental Committee has under close consideration the question of preserving a sufficient amount of the present crop for seed next year.

asked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether, in view of the shortage of the potato crop and the difficulty with which the Irish labourers will be faced in the spring with regard to seed potatoes, he will be willing to receive a deputation from the representatives of the land and labour organisation in connection with the matter upon a date which will be convenient to him?

The Irish Department of Agriculture inform me that after careful consideration of such figures as are available in regard to the position of the potato crop in the various portions of the United Kingdom, they do not at present anticipate that there will be a scarcity of seed potatoes in Ireland. As pointed out, however, in answer to numerous recent questions on the subject, the Department are taking all possible steps to impress upon farmers the necessity for exercising the strictest economy in regard to potatoes, and especially the desirability of saving as far as possible all seed potatoes. If the organisation mentioned will send me a statement of any representations they may wish to make I shall be pleased to consider them, and I could then see whether the objects in view would be advanced by my receiving a deputation.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Agriculture whether, in view of the value of commons as open spaces for the use and recreation of the public, and in view also of their utility to smallholders and commoners as grazing grounds, he can state what conditions the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries intend to impose to ensure the complete restoration after the War of any common land temporarily appropriated or enclosed for food production under the authority of the Order in Council published in the "London Gazette" on the 6th instant; whether it is proposed to take steps to secure that any land so enclosed or appropriated shall be used solely for the purposes of allotments; whether it is intended to authorise the enclosure of any part of a Metropolitan common or common regulated under the Commons Acts, 1876 and 1899; and whether, before agreeing to any enclosure of common land, the Board will satisfy itself that no other land in full private ownership lies derelict or unused in the district?

The right of the Board and of those claiming under them to retain possession of any common land taken under the Order in Council terminates at the end of the War, and it is only proposed that power should be obtained to continue in occupation for such further period as, may be necessary to secure any annual crops growing on the land when the War ends. Each application to take any portion of a common will be considered on its merits with due regard to the interests of the commoners and of the public, and the Board will not give their consent unless they are satisfied that no other unoccupied land is available for the purpose.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Agriculture if he is aware that early this year about fifty acres of unused land, mostly in the hands of building contractors whose work is suspended owing to the War, was offered rent-free to the Bristol allotments committee for the growing of vegetables, etc., but that such offers could not be accepted by the committee as they were not able to make the philanthropic owners immune from obligation under the Compensation for Crops Act; and whether the Board is taking any action to overcome this difficulty, in view of the possibility of similar offers being made in Bristol and elsewhere in time for the spring planting?

The Board are aware of the circumstances and have recently obtained powers under the Defence of the Realm Regulation to overcome the legal difficulty in question.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Agriculture whether he is now in a position to state what course the Government propose to take with a view to increasing the quantity of land to be brought under cultivation; and whether it is intended to empower the county councils to take possession of disused land and of land not under cultivation, and re-let it as allotments or small holdings?

By a Regulation which was made by Order in Council under the Defence of the Realm Act on the 5th inst the Board are empowered to take possession of any unoccupied land and to cultivate it or arrange for its cultivation. Generally speaking the Board will not control the details of cultivation, these being left to the local authorities, and they have now made an Order authorising all allotment authorities in urban areas to exercise on their behalf the powers conferred by the Regulation. County councils are not allotment authorities, and in most cases there is little or no labour available in rural areas which could not more profitably be applied to land at present under cultivation. If, however, any county councils desire to make use of the powers given by the Regulation and will submit a scheme to the Board it will receive careful consideration.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Agriculture if, in an official publication, any list of makers of milking machines has been tabulated; and whether they have made arrangements with the Ministry of Munitions for the delivery of milking machines and other labour-saving machinery and implements used in agriculture?

No official list of makers of milking machines has been made, but information as to the leading machines is readily obtainable from the usual trade sources. The Ministry of Munitions are doing everything that is possible, on the representations which have been made to them by the Board, to facilitate the supply of material required by traders for the manufacture of agricultural implements and machinery, and the Board are pressing them to allow makers of such implements and machinery, where they are controlled firms, to devote more time to their normal business, but the Ministry have no control over the delivery of the manufactured article.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will state whether the new Regulations imposed as to the milling of flour will apply to imported flour as well as to home-milled flour, and whether these Regulations will apply to flour which was either ordered from abroad or in transit before the new Regulations were imposed?

Imported flour will be admitted only subject to conditions as to quality preventing it from competing unfairly with home-milled flour. A statement on the subject was issued on 8th December.

asked whether such bakers and confectioners as shall have, on the 1st January next, in the ordinary course of business unused stocks of flour will be obliged to suffer the loss of such stocks without compensation; and how are they to be dealt with as respects those stocks?

The Board of Trade will be prepared to consider in exceptional cases of this kind applications for authority to depart from the terms of the Flour and Bread Order, 1916. Authority will, however, only be granted in cases which are clearly shown to call for exceptional treatment. I am sending the hon. Member a copy of a Press notice which has been issued on the subject.

asked the Vice-President of the Board of Agriculture (Ireland) whether he is aware that the Irish millers are changing the method of obtaining bran and pollard from corn, with the result that store pigs cannot be profitably fed for bacon but are being utilised as pork; and whether he will make inquiry and endeavour to provide a remedy?

Irish millers must necessarily conform to the new Regulations in regard to the manufacture of flour. The resultant reduction in offal will be in pollard rather than in bran. Investigations show that pigs can still be profitably fed on such mixed meals as are available.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether confectioners will be allowed to use white flour until their stocks are run out or whether they will have to stop using it after 1st January; if so, what do the Board of Trade intend doing with their superfluous stocks; and if he will state whether there will be exemptions made in the case of those holding small stocks?

The Food Controller will be prepared in special circumstances to consider applications for licences in respect of such stocks. I am sending my hon. Friend a copy of an official notice which recently appeared in the Press on this point.

asked if it is intended to prohibit the artificial bleaching of flour, whether by chemical processes of manufacture, or by the addition of chemical or other substances?

This point will be watched, and, if it is thought necessary, action will be taken on the lines suggested in the question.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if his attention has been called to the fact that the greater part of the rice consumed in India and Burmah is husked by the cultivators and is not polished; and that high polished rice such as is used in this country is not consumed; and, if so, if he will prohibit the polishing of rice in this country and turn the mills and their workmen to some useful occupation?

The Food Controller recognises the importance of this fact and is making a personal investigation into the practicability of dealing with it.

asked whether, having regard to the shortage in the supply of milk, steps will be taken to prevent certain chocolate manufacturers, not only during the months of December to February, but during the remaining nine or ten months of the year, from buying up the supply of milk of entire districts to be used for their own manufacturing purposes?

Should the supply of fresh milk be insufficient, either generally or in any particular district, there is power under the Defence of the Realm Regulations to prohibit the use of milk for such purposes as those specified in the question, and this power will be used in any such case. On the instruction of the Food Controller an Order restricting the use of milk for chocolate is being prepared.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will state the average prices of Indian and Ceylon tea realised last week at the Mincing Lane auctions with the corresponding prices ruling at the same period last year; will he state the amount of tea in bond at the present moment with the amount for the corresponding period last year; will he state the average prices ruling on the Mincing Lane market for the same growths at the end of May last with the corresponding period last year; and also the quantities in bond at the same periods; will he order a census of stocks of tea in bond in the hands of wholesale dealers, blenders, distributors, importers, and any others concerned to ascertain, if possible, the cause or causes of the recent considerable advance in the wholesale price of tea; in the event of any undue accumulation or withholding of stock being found, will he take proceedings under the powers possessed by the Board of Trade against any party or parties in possession of more than their normal requirements; and will he state the wholesale prices of low-grade Indian, Ceylon and Java tea ruling at the end of August, and last week's quotations for the same or similar articles?

I will circulate in the OFFICIAL REPORT a statement on the points of fact raised in this question. The Government will not hesitate to use the powers they possess if they find that stocks are being unreasonably withheld. It is hoped that in future questions of this nature involving much work to the Department will not be asked.The following is the statement referred to in the above reply.The average prices of Indian and Ceylon tea realised at the Mincing Lane auctions during the periods mentioned, as

given in William James and Henry Thompson's weekly tea circular are as follows:

		India.		Ceylon.
		Per lb.		Per lb.
		s.	d.	s.	d.
Week ended 30th Nov., 1916	…	1	0¼	1	0¾
Week ended 2nd Dec, 1915	…	0	8⅞	0	9¾
Week ended 25th May, 1916	…	1	0½	1	1¼
Week ended 27th May, 1915	…	no sales		no sales
Week ended 1st June, 1916	…	1	0⅜	1	0⅞
Week ended 3rd June, 1915	…	1	0	1	0⅛

The Wholesale Prices of low grade teas, as given in the "Grocer," were:

		26th Aug., 1916.				2nd Sept., 1916.				2nd Dec,1916.
		Per lb.				Per lb.				Per lb.
Indian—		d.		s.	d.	d.		s.	d.	d.		s.	d.
	Dust	8	to	0	11	8½	to	1	0	10½	to	1	1
	Fannings and Pekoe Fannings	8½	to	1	0	8¾	to	1	0	10¾	to	1	2
	Broken Pekoe	9	to	1	2	9	to	1	2	11	to	1	2
	Pekoe Souchong	8½	to	1	1	8¾	to	1	1	10¼	to	1	3.
Ceylon—
	Dust	8	to	0	10⅓	8	to	0	10½	10½	to	1	2
	Fannings	8¼	to	1	0½	8½	to	1	0½	11	to	1	3
	Broken Pekoe	9	to	1	1	9½	to	1	1	11½	to	1	3
	Pekoe Souchong	8¼	to	0	10	8½	to	0	10	11	to	1	1
Java—
	Broken Pekoe	8	to	0	11	8½	to	0	11	10¼	to	1	2
	Broken Souchong	6½	to	0	10½	7	to	0	10½	9½	to	1	1
	Pekoe Souchong	7¾	to	0	10	8¼	to	0	10	10¼	to	1	0

The amount of tea in bond at the periods mentioned was:

		Lbs.
At end of November, 1916	…	125,667,000
At end of November, 1915	…	148,464,000
At end of May, 1916	…	102,489,000
At end of November, 1915	…	74,041,000

asked the Secretary for Scotland whether, in view of the shortage of agricultural labour, any steps have yet been taken by the Board of Agriculture for Scotland to secure the maximum amount of labour available for the production of the most valuable and vital foodstuffs, such as wheat, oats, and potatoes, and to reduce, as far as possible, the labour engaged in less important products, such as barley?

The Board have endeavoured, through their representatives before the Appeal Tribunals and otherwise, to maintain tillage and to prevent land from going under grass. They have not hitherto prescribed cultivation of one cereal as against another. In a late season, or when work is backward for other reasons, barley can be planted when it would be too late for other grain crops.

asked the Secretary for Scotland if he is aware that many

I am aware that the crops in some districts may have suffered to some extent last season from scarcity of labour and other causes. The farmers' wish for greater certainty respecting their supply of labour in the coming season is fully appreciated by the Government, and the census now in progress is directed to that end. The Board of Agriculture are already represented at sitting of Appeal Tribunals.

asked the Secretary for Scotland whether he is aware that the agricultural census paper which has been issued under the Defence of the Realm Act Regulations by his Department to farmers, to be filled up in triplicate and returned by 1st December, or as soon after that date as possible, does not indicate for which year the statistics of crops are to be given, whether for the past year of 1916 or for contemplated or intended crops of 1917; and whether he will take any steps to make this matter clear?

I am not aware that the form of the census return lent itself to any serious possibility of misunderstanding; but in any case the matter was put beyond doubt by a widely circulated newspaper notice issued in advance of the census date.

asked the Vice-President of the Department of Agriculture (Ireland) what quantities of potatoes were exported from Ireland in the months of September, October, and November, 1916; what was the grade of these potatoes; what was their destination; and will he say if he has complete cognisance of all potatoes exported from Ireland?

The quantities of potatoes exported from Ireland during the months September, October and November in the years 1914, 1915 and 1916 are as follows:—

	Sept.	Oct.	Nov.	Total, for three months.
	Tons.	Tons.	Tons.	Tons.
1914	2,177	8,120	20,243	30,540
1915	2,076	12,378	20,439	34,893
1916	722	7,431	22,377	30,530

The Department have no information showing the grades of potatoes exported. As far as the Department are aware, the exported potatoes are sent to ports in Great Britain. The Department have no statutory powers, but they are satisfied that in the case of potatoes exported from Ireland the Returns received cover at least 95 per cent. of the export.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether the Estates Commissioners will, now that their larger operations are suspended, co-operate in the effort to increase food production by asking Mr. Gradwell to join with his tenant, Mr. M'Culloch, in selling for distribution and tillage the grass farms which the latter desires to sell near Finea, Westmeath, leaving the distribution of the price between the owners to the Commissioners or to arbitration; and whether the matter will be undertaken immediately for the purposes of next year's cropping?

The Estates Commissioners state that they furnished Mr. Gradwell's solicitor at his request in 1912 with an estimate of the price which they would be prepared to offer for the purchase of the lands provided formal proceedings were instituted before them for the sale of the lands freed and discharged from all occupation interests, and that they were subsequently informed that Mr. Gradwell did not intend to proceed further with the matter, as under the Act of 1909 the purchase money would be payable in Guaranteed Three per Cent. Stock, equal in nominal amount to the purchase money.

asked the Vice-President of the Department of Agriculture (Ireland) whether the Government intends compelling a certain quantity of tillage in each county for food-producing purposes of the local communities?

The Department have at present no powers to act in the direction suggested in the question.

asked the Vice-President of the Department of Agriculture (Ireland) whether any such steps as those contemplated by the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries in England to augment the food supply by the cultivation of commons and unused land near towns will be taken by his Department; and, if not, whether he will state what steps, if any, he intends taking to increase the supply of food for the working population?

The Department have at present no powers to compel the cultivation of commons and unused lands near towns in Ireland. The powers of the Department to influence the production of a larger food supply are entirely non-compulsory in character, and are confined mainly to the forms of education, encouragement, and persuasion. These powers are being vigorously used this year, as they have been since the outbreak of War. The question of taking further powers is being dealt with in consultation with the Board of Trade.

asked the Vice-President of the Department of Agriculture (Ireland) if his attention had been called to the fact that in several parts of Ireland for some time back there has been wholesale slaughter of young pigs between the ages of six and nine months; whether the Department has already prohibited the slaughter of calves under three months old; and whether he will recommend that a similar Order be made against the laughter of young pigs, which deprives the country of necessary stocks?

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given on the 7th ultimo to a question on this subject by the hon. Member for the East Division of Kent.

asked the Vice-President of the Department of Agriculture (Ireland) if he will take steps to see that inspectors of the Department visit the railway stations and ports to inspect goods traffic which is being sent from various parts of Ireland to England, with a view to seeing that there is no delay in the carriage of poultry, butter, and eggs to the markets for Christmas, and that this traffic is properly handled?

Inspections of the nature referred to are already carried out by the Department. Special attention will continue to be given to questions affecting the transit of agricultural produce.

asked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland if the Irish Government and the Irish military authorities rely upon the reports of the constabulary as regards the state of Ireland; whether 90 per cent. of the county inspectors of police are of a different religious persuasion; whether he is aware that they are known to be politically hostile to masses of the Irish people; and if care will be taken that the reports submitted by them will be carefully looked into?

The reports of the constabulary are only one of the means of information at the disposal of the Government. I have no reason to suppose that county inspectors who happen to be of a different religious persuasion to that of the majority of the Irish people are influenced by partisanship in their reports, but all such reports are, of course, read with care, and a display of partisanship in a report would not fail to receive attention.

asked the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland if he is aware of the opposition given by the pension officers to claimants for the addi- tional 2s. 6d. awarded by the Government to old age pensioners; if he is aware that all persons in receipt of the pension had their claims closely investigated before they received the pension of 5s.; having regard to such investigations, will he say why the present system of inquiry into their cases is being pursued; if he will say whether the pension officers are acting on Government instructions in their attempts to place difficulties in the way of pensioners claiming the additional 2s. 6d.; and if he will recommend to the Treasury the desirability of paying all old age pensioners, without any further delay, the additional allowance granted by the Government to meet the increased cost of living?

This question relates to matters over which I have no control, and should be addressed to the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

asked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether the measures contemplated by the Government for dealing with the problems of increased cost of living and shortage of food comprise any provision for completing the schemes for labourers' cottages and plots, duly approved but held in suspense, and for reinstating or providing with homes the evicted tenants and representatives of evicted tenants, hitherto denied relief on technical grounds not affecting the merits of their claims; and, both these classes being objects of relief and available sources of increased food production, whether immediate action will be taken with regard to them?

The measures contemplated by the Government for dealing with the problems of increased cost of living and shortage of food do not comprise any special provision for completing schemes for erecting labourers' cottages, or for reinstating or providing with homes, evicted tenants or their representatives. New housing schemes cannot be taken up during the War.

asked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether he is aware that at the last Fethard Fair livestock which were on the loading bank. at 7 a.m. were not loaded into wagons until 3 p.m.; whether he is aware that some cattle at the previous fair were booked at 8 o'clock in the morning, not loaded until 3.30 p.m., did not arrive at Maryborough until 6 o'clock the following morning, a distance of 50 miles; whether he will call upon the Department of Agriculture to report upon these complaints?The HON. MEMBER also asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that the siding and loading bank provided by the Great Southern and Western Railway Company of Ireland is inadequate to meet livestock requirements at large fairs, causing much suffering, injury, and deterioration in value; and whether he will have inquiry made and take measures to compel the company to provide the necessary accommodation.

I will answer this question and the question addressed to my right hon. Friend together. The Department of Agriculture have no information as to the correctness or otherwise of the statement made in the question, but their inspector reports that five special trains with livestock left Fethard Station on the occasion of that fair, the first at 9.40 a.m. and the last at 2.55 p.m., in addition to a passenger train at 12.5 p.m., which also conveyed livestock, and that a total of 175 wagon-loads of livestock were despatched from the station on the occasion. As regards the previous fair the Department understand that there was considerable delay in forwarding certain livestock to Maryborough and other stations north of it. This delay was mainly due to an engine having broken down upon two occasions and no other locomotive being available until Thurles was reached. The railway company explain that they have great difficulty in keeping their locomotives in proper repair owing to circumstances arising from the War. The accommodation for dealing with livestock at Fethard Station on the occasions of large fairs is, I understand, inadequate for the purpose, and the attention of the railway company will be drawn to the matter.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether Police-inspector Clifford, at the head of twenty-five armed men, on their way from Kingstown to Dublin on Monday, 24th April last, drew up at the corner of Haddington Road in front of a house occupied by the Irish Volunteers; and whether the latter, instead of firing on the police, sent a friendly message to the inspector on receipt of which he withdrew his men unmolested?

The facts are not as stated. I am informed that only six of the police party were armed, and that the inspector received no message of any kind from the rebels and saw none who were armed.

asked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether it is with his sanction and consent that the police continue to persecute Mrs. Sheehy-Skeffington; whether he is aware that a police constable called at her brother's house a few days ago and questioned the maid servant as to Mrs. Sheehy-Skeffiington's present address, asked whether she visited her brother's house, said she had left her lodgings, and pressed the servant to inform him where she now resided; and whether he can state what is the object of such proceedings?

asked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether, in view of the denials recently made that the police are taking any course to harass Mrs. Sheehy-Skeffington, he will state whether last week a policeman in uniform from Rathmines called at her brother's house and made lengthy inquiries of his servant as to whether she visited there, if she was staying there, and what is her present address; can he say why this lady is being pursued by the police; what is the object of their desire to know her address unless to subject her to surveillance; and are the widows of any other murdered men treated in the same way?

I will answer these two questions together. The police authorities inform me that they have no knowledge of the occurrences alleged. If the hon. Members will give the date and hour of the alleged visit by the constable, and his number, if in uniform, or description, further inquiry will be made.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office if he will ascertain the state whom Sir John Maxwell consulted last May, if any person, on the legality of trying persons not subject to military law by field general courts-martial, held in camera, in capital cases, and on the legality of having some such persons executed and others sent to penal servitude in pursuance of sentences of such courts; whether he was, or is, aware that this procedure is unprecedented; whether he was, or is, aware that there is no law authorising it; and if he will specify the law on which Sir John Maxwell was acting?

I have nothing to add to the replies which have already been given by the late Prime Minister, the late Home Secretary, and the Attorney-General on this subject.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury if he will state the practice of the Treasury in dealing with claims for property destroyed by the military in suppressing the insurrection in Dublin with regard to the bearing of the amount insured and the amount claimed on the amount of compensation allowed; the evidence required of the value of buildings, machinery, and stock, respectively; compensation for consequential damage, such as loss of rent and revenue; with the bearing of the amount insured and the amount of claim on the amount of compensation on such items; and the principle on which is determined the priority of payment of the sums awarded?

All claims received by the Property Losses Committee for property destroyed, damaged, or looted, during the recent disturbances in Dublin, whether as the result of the military operations or otherwise, were referred to experienced assessors, who were instructed to obtain the same evidence regarding the value of the property destroyed as would be required by an insurance company in case the loss had been caused by fire and was recoverable under a fire insurance policy. Consequential damages of any kind were by the terms of reference excluded from consideration, but rent, when insured, has been allowed for within the limit of the insurance up to one year. Claims were, as a rule, dealt with in the order of their receipt, but in numerous cases, in which special urgency was pleaded, the cases were disposed of at once.

asked the Home Secretary whether he is aware that, owing to the hour for mass on Sundays in Dartmoor Prison being 10.30 a.m. and many of the Irish political prisoners there being frequent communicants who must attend fasting, they under present arrangements get no food from five o'clock on Saturday till noon on Sunday, the breakfast being forfeited and the men compelled to take exercise when unable from hunger; whether he will arrange for either a late supper on Saturday or an early religious service on Sunday followed by breakfast; whether he is aware that the only time any of those prisoners are allowed to consult a doctor is at the dinner hour, and that if the doctor is consulted the dinner is forfeited; whether the prison doctor sanctions patients being thus penalised for consulting him; and whether he will have the arrangements so adjusted that these men may consult the doctor without losing their principal meal?

The hon. Member has been misinformed. The hour for the Roman Catholic service on Sundays at Dartmoor is 9.15 a.m., and breakfasts are served immediately after the service; prisoners take their exercise between breakfast and dinner. The medical officer attends daily at "Cease labour" to interview applicants, and prisoners after the interviews get back to their hall in time for dinner. No prisoner forfeits his dinner on account of his having consulted the medical officer.

asked the Home Secretary whether he is aware that the eyes of several of the Irish political prisoners in Dartmoor Prison are suffering from being compelled to work in an unlighted workshop in the early morning and late evening, one of them having been forced to wear coloured glasses; and, in order to prevent permanent injury to their eyes, whether he will arrange to have work done in reasonable light?

The hon. Member has been misinformed. None of the prisoners mentioned in the question has been compelled to work in an insufficiently lighted workshop at any time of the day, or has ever worn coloured glasses at labour, or is suffering from any eye trouble due to such a cause as is indicated in the question.

asked the Home Secretary whether he has since satisfied himself on the point on which he expressed doubt on 22nd August whether in France a complete distinction was made between political prisoners, not convicted of or charged with anything involving moral turpitude, and ordinary criminals; whether the Government have considered the advisability of following the French example by releasing all the Irish political prisoners now detained in this country; and, if not, whether those not convicted of bearing arms will be released and any convicted of bearing arms treated henceforward as political prisoners, their offence having been purely political?

I am informed that in some respects a distinction is drawn in France between political and other prisoners as regards treatment, but I have no information that the French Government have released any political prisoners. With regard to the remainder of the question, I must refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my predecessor on 22nd August.

asked whether the Irish political prisoners at Maidstone are mixed with ordinary criminals there; and, if so, for what reason?

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer which my predecessor gave to the hon. Member for West Limerick on the 23rd ultimo.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will specify the grounds upon which notice of dismissal from his position as local agent of the Board for Unemployment Insurance has been served upon Mr. B. J. Fallon, of Loughrea, Ireland?

Notice of termination of appointment was decided on in this case in view of information supplied by the competent authorities as to the disloyal activities of the agent in question during the recent disturbances in Ireland.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether he has cconsidered the case of teachers in convent national schools; whether the same ar bonus will be given to these teachers as to ordinary national school teachers, and not only to all the lay assistants recognised as serving on the staff, but also to the numerous additional teachers employed in many convent schools who are necessary for the efficient instruction of the pupils; and whether additional provision will be made for an increase of remuneration to the convents engaged in the teaching and conducting of the schools?

A special Capitation Grant at the rate of 4s. per annum for each unit of the average daily attendance of pupils will be paid from 1st July last to the conductors of convent national schools which are paid solely by Capitation Grants as an equivalent for the war bonus provided for teachers in ordinary national schools. Where lay assistant teachers are employed as part of the teaching staff of a convent national school paid on the capitation system, such assistants are paid their salaries out of the Capitation Grants provided for the school as a whole. The claims of lay assistants in convent schools for a war bonus must be met in the same way out of the special Capitation Grants issued to the conductors of such schools in respect of the war bonus.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland if he will state the words alleged to have been used, the character of the witnesses who proved them, and the constitution of the Court at Cahirciveen which sentenced Messrs. Jeremiah J. Riordan and Michael Walsh to two months' imprisonment, seeing that the Government prevent newspapers from publishing this class of information?

The language alleged was language inciting to sedition. The Court was regularly constituted, and it appears to have believed the witnesses. In view of the fact that notice of appeal has been lodged, I must not enter further into the matter.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether his attention has been called to the deposits of peat in Ireland capable of manufacture, as in Sweden and Canada, into fuel for power and domestic use nearly equal to coal at one-third the cost, and into charcoal and valuable by-products, all hitherto prevented in the interest of British coal; and whether, in view of the high and growing price of coal, the Government propose to do anything to release this latest supply of cheap fuel and open up an Irish industry of great potentialities?

The development of the Irish peat industry has not, so far as I am aware, been in any way prevented in the interests of British coal owners. Enterprise for the development of Irish peat deposits and the utilisation of peat on a wider scale for power purposes would be welcomed, but the experiments which have been made appear not yet to have led to the discovery of suitable processes.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether the war bonus paid to Irish national school teachers is to be paid also to retired teachers, male and female, of long and meritorious service, whose small pensions the rise in prices has equally rendered inadequate for their support?

I have explained, in answer to questions on 16th November and 4th December, the reasons why the proposal cannot be adopted.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland if he will give particulars of war bonus to be paid to Irish school teachers, and from what date it will be paid; and if he will say when it is likely to be paid?

A war bonus will be paid to national school teachers from the 1st July last at the following rates: 4s. per week to teachers of both sexes who are in receipt of weekly incomes not exceeding £2, and 3s. per week where the weekly income exceeds £2 but is not over £3. In the cases of convent and monastery schools paid on the capitation system, a Capitation Grant at the rate of 4s. per annum for each unit of the average daily attendance of pupils at such schools will be paid in respect of war bonus. The Commissioners of National Education hope to be in a position to pay the war bonus for the period 1st July to 30th November before the end of the present year.

asked the Vice-President of the Department of Agriculture (Ireland) whether complaints have reached the Department against levying the Entertainment Tax upon agricultural shows subsidised by county committees as being illegal and opposed to public interest, and against the restrictions and difficulties affecting the exhibition of machinery at those shows; and whether the Department will have those two causes of complaint removed?

The Department have received complaints from several county committees of agriculture and other interested bodies, and they have communicated to the Commissioners of Inland Revenue and the Ministry of Munitions. In regard to the Entertainment Tax, I would remind the hon. Member of a reply given on 20th July by the then Chancellor of the Exchequer to the effect that the question of exemption would be decided on the circumstances of each case.

asked the Secretary to the Admiralty whether he is aware that at present in Belfast the whole boating of the Admiralty transports and colliers is in the hands of one man, who is making a fortune out of the War, while other responsible men are allowed to stand idle and yet have to pay taxes towards the cost of the War; and whether he will give directions to the senior naval officer and naval transport officer in Belfast to have this work divided as in the case of the local shipbuilding firms?

It is found necessary for efficiency and economy to employ a single firm of boatmen to carry out the comparatively small amount of work involved. The statement that the firm is making a fortune out of the War is an exaggeration. Their charges are reasonable and their expenses are considerable. My hon. Friend will be interested to know that the local shipowners and brokers employ their own particular boatmen, and do not divide up their work.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty if the Censor of the Admiralty passes the posters and the headlines of newspapers which relate to naval matters; and, if so, why the posters were passed last week which announced another raid in the Channel when the raid was not in the Channel at all of even in the Straits of Dover?

The censorship of publications by newspapers rests with the Press Bureau, who are assisted by naval censors. Under the existing practice, submission for censorship of Press matter other than cablegrams and telegrams is voluntary, and no newspaper has ever submitted a "poster" for censorship. Newspapers sometimes give headlines with such articles as they submit, but not always.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether highly confidential Admiralty work is being done by Germans, or naturalised Germans, in the employment of the British Government; and, if so, what action does he propose to take?

I have asked my hon. Friend to furnish me with detailed particulars which would enable me to investigate the general allegation made in this question. So far I have received no reply; nevertheless, I have made a variety of inquiries in regard to the class of confidential work which I know from conversation my hon. Friend has in mind, and so far can find nothing to support his suggestion. However, let me say again, if he will give me the names of the particular firms or employés to which his question is directed, immediate inquiry will be instituted.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether Admiral Jellicoe, as First Sea Lord, will have the same or increased powers to those held by his immediate predecessor in office?

No change is contemplated.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he can give the facts in regard to Captain Hollweg's false statement in an attempt to justify the German system of mining the seas that it was England which first laid a minefield in the middle of the North Sea, having in view that the statement has been issued broadcast through the German Press Bureau?

My hon. and gallant Friend is perfectly correct in characterising as false the statement that it was this country which first laid down a minefield in the middle of the North Sea. It is so notoriously false as to be ludicrous. Germany began a policy of wholesale mining in the North Sea and Atlantic from the day war was declared. Many neutral vessels were sunk, and it was only by the exertions of the British Navy that many more were saved. The mines were laid on important neutral trade routes and far out at sea, and no notice of their existence was given. It was not until the beginning of November, 1914, that the first British minefield was laid. The limits of the danger area were at once announced to the whole world, and every possible precaution was taken to prevent any damage to neutral vessels.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether about forty men over military age were discharged from the Gun Wharf at Portsmouth on 11th November; whether men of military age are being retained; and, if so, whether in future discharged men over military age will be retained, if efficient, and men of military age released for military service?

Only thirteen men over military age were discharged from the Gun Wharf at Portsmouth on the date named; these had been entered only three weeks previously for temporary service. Only four unskilled men of military age-have been retained (whilst their substitutes gain sufficient knowledge) and these four will be included in the next discharge

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether Mr. C. B. Andrews, of East Sheen, has been finally rejected for military service; whether he first applied for, and was refused, exemption by the Mortlake and Barnes Tribunal as a conscientious objector; whether the Surrey County Tribunal and the Central Tribunal dismissed his appeal from the local tribunal's finding; whether he was, nevertheless, subsequently exempted on the ground, first, that he was suffering from agoraphobia and dreaded to appear before a military board and subsequently on the ground that his agoraphobism amounts to unsound mind not certifiable; whether Mr. Andrews was ever suspected of acute agoraphobia amounting to non-certifiable insanity until he had been refused exemption as a conscientious objector; whether the certificate of the local principal medical officer excusing Mr. Andrews from appearing before a local board was found to be unsustainable and was cancelled; whether the subsequent certificate of non-certifiable insanity is to pass unchallenged; and whether any precedent exists exempting in this manner and upon such grounds a strong man of thirty-one years of age?

Instructions were sent by the War Office in September last that C. B. Andrews was to be called up. I am informed that he was accordingly called up, and was specially examined by each member of the medical board separately. It was found that he was unfit for any form of military service, and he was accordingly rejected.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether the action of the Trade Union Typographical Society in refusing to allow women to work on linotype machines and as compositors is interfering with recruiting; and whether he can see his way to issue an Order in Council that where newspaper proprietors have linotype machines lying idle they shall be permitted to engage and train women to work on these services during the period of the war, provided the hours of labour are restricted between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.?

I understand that an agreement as to the relaxation of trade union rules and customs during the war has been reached between the Typo- graphical Association and the employers in the general printing trade, and that conferences between the employers' and workers' representatives in the newspaper section of the trade are now being held to consider the situation in the London area. If my hon. Friend can facilitate similar conferences in the provincial section of the trade it will be of great assistance.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether Private Thomas Allen, No. 25583, 10th Battalion, East London Regiment, and Peter Allen, No. 33050, 47th Training Reserve Battalion, conscientious objectors to military service, were arrested by the Irish constabulary in April last in county Mayo, taken to Castlebar gaol, handed over to the military, and afterwards brought before the magistrates at Nelson; whether they were subsequently given twenty-eight days' detention, sent to Gosport detention barracks and badly treated; whether they were afterwards court-martialled and sentenced to two years' imprisonment with hard labour; whether they later appeared before the Central Tribunal and were deemed not genuine; and, if so, will he say on what grounds?

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that Emrys Hughes, of Abercynon, a conscientious objector to military service, was sentenced to two years' hard labour, afterwards commuted to nine months' detention, and later to 112 days; that he was subsequently court-martialled in Devizes, sentenced to twenty-one months' hard labour, which was commuted to three months, and that he was afterwards taken to Wormwood Scrubs and appeared before the Central Tribunal, who decided that he was not a genuine conscientious objector; and whether it can be stated on what grounds such a decision was arrived at?

The President of the Local Government Board is informed that these cases were considered by the Central Tribunal and that, on their report, the men were not offered work under the Home Office Committee. The Central Tribunal determine each case on its merits.

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether he is aware that the Liverpool Appeal Tribunal, when hearing the appeal of a conscientious objector named Edward J. Roberts, refused to allow the person who appeared on his behalf to ask him either the fifteen questions drawn up for such cases by the Government or any other questions to prove the genuineness of his objection, and ordered him to take work in the Non-Combatant Corps, and refused his request to be allowed to appeal to the Central Tribunal; and whether, in view of the fact that this man has for seven years been a member of a religious community, one of whose tenets is opposition to all war, and is willing to undertake work of national importance, he will request the Liverpool Tribunal to rehear the case and to give Roberts and his representative a proper opportunity to state his case?

The Local Government Board communicated some time ago with the Appeal Tribunal respecting this case. The tribunal stated that they arrived at a unanimous conclusion that the man's alleged conscientious objection was not well founded. The President of the Local Government Board does not see his way to intervene further in the case.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware that F. W. Spiller, a telegraphist attached to the Central Telegraph Office, London, is a conscientious objector to military service at present serving a term of imprisonment; whether he is aware that his papers state that he is a Socialist and a dangerous man, and has aired his views in the office, and should therefore be handed over to the military to be dealt with; and whether it is in the national interest that steps will be taken to utilise this man's services upon the work in which he is proficient?

I am aware that Mr. Spiller failed to obtain exemption from military service on conscientious grounds, and that he is now in prison. I have no knowledge of the papers mentioned. The case will, I presume, be dealt with by the Home Office Committee later on, and I do not propose to intervene.

asked the President of the Local Government Board if a military service tribunal, in a case where there is some doubt about the medical evidence of an applicant for exemption, are entitled to submit the case for the consideration of an Army medical board; and, if so, will he inform Judge Greenwell, of the Durham Appeal Tribunal, to that effect?

It is open to a tribunal to suggest that an applicant for exemption should be examined by a medical board, but they have no authority to direct such an examination.

asked the Minister of Munitions if he has received a complaint about W A. Sisson, a skilled electrical engineer, who has been arrested under the Military Service Act and put into the Army; and whether, in view of the shortage of skilled workmen in connection with munitions factory work, he proposes to take any action in this case?

In reply to my hon. Friend, no complaint was received by my Department with reference to W. A. Sisson until after he had been called up. The attention of the War Office has been called to the fact that W. A. Sisson claims to be a skilled electrician, and I understand that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for War has given instructions by telegraph to secure that he shall be immediately trade-tested at Woolwich, with a view to his transfer, if suitable, to a technical corps in which his skill can be utilised.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Agriculture (1) whether he can state the number of persons employed by the various fox hunts in this country of military age who have been exempted from military service on account of the alleged national value of their occupation; whether he can further state the number of persons employed by these hunts for regular wages, both over and under military age; whether any statistics exist as to the number of persons employed as grooms, stablemen, second horsemen, etc., by the members and subscribers to these various hunts; and whether, in view of the dearth of agricultural labour, steps will be taken to make use of this available labour; and (2) whether, in view of the demand for economy, he has considered the advisability of suppressing for the period of the war fox-hunting; whether he is aware that there are something like 250 of these hunts in existence; that, despite war reductions, an average of 40 or 50 persons are associated with each of these hunts, maintaining valuable animals for this purpose alone, and that, as these animals must at least cost 25s. a week to keep, not less than £20,000 a week is expended in hay, oats, straw, etc., thereby rendering much dearer the cost to those who have to keep horses for purposes of trade industry; whether he is aware that each of these hunts on the average spends £200 in compensation for poultry killed by foxes, which for the 250 hunts represents a destruction of £50,000 worth of food annually; and, seeing that, in addition, these hunts maintain packs of dogs or hounds, which are often fed on butchers' meat, whether steps will be taken to shoot or trap the bulk of the foxes now to be found in this country?

I will answer these questions together. I cannot give the figures asked for in the first question or verify those given in the second, though -some of them seem to be overestimates. I have never heard of butchers' meat being given to hounds—it is generally old horses and donkeys. The question of the necessity of maintaining hunts in war-time is rather for the War Office than the Board of Agriculture, and their view of its importance in connection with light-horse breeding was explained in an answer given on the 6th of January last. Hunt servants are, of course, in no sense in a reserved occupation, and I hope that very few would now be found who are of military age and not many who would be of any considerable use in agricultural work. Foxes undoubtedly do a very great deal of harm to the poultry industry, but such evidence as I have is to the effect that hunts generally have succeeded in reducing their numbers very considerably, and this has been and can be done in other ways also.

asked the Secretary of State for War what is the number of men, approximately, at Ballyvonare camp, county Cork; whether a large number of them are men who have been wounded on active service; and whether the condition of this camp is satisfactory and suitable for men to recuperate in?

There were nearly 4,000 men under treatment at the Command Depot, Ballyvonare, on 11th December. Thes9 men have been discharged from hospital, but they are not yet able to rejoin their units owing to stiff joints. I have no reason to suppose that the depot is otherwise than satisfactory and suitable, and the results obtained from the recuperative treatment given there are decidedly good.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether he is satisfied that promotions in the Army are not influenced by any other reason than that of merit as tested by efficiency in the field; whether, if not, he can state why so many inefficient officers still hold high commands in spite of bad results; and whether he will take steps accordingly?

Yes, Sir; my Noble Friend the Secretary of State is satisfied that efficiency is the only consideration.

asked whether promotion in the Army medical services is determined by seniority or by merit?

Promotion in the Army medical service, as in other branches of the Army, is determined by seniority and merit.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office if he will state why John Kane, of Navan, county Meath, who joined the 7th Leinsters on 19th October, 1914, was transferred to the 8th Royal Irish Fusiliers, Tipperary, and discharged from the Fusiliers on 6th January, 1915, Regimental No. 15989, D Company, 8th Royal Irish Fusiliers, has not received the discharge he applied for in the first instance to the regimental paymaster, Island Bridge, and in the second to the officer in charge of Infantry records, Island Bridge?

I am sorry that it has not proved possible to obtain an answer yet to the inquiries which it was necessary to make in Ireland. I will send my hon. Friend a reply as soon as I receive the information.

asked the Secretary to the Local Government Board whether the decision to extend separation allowances to dependants of apprentices who are not in a position to make payments to those dependants will apply to the parents of a soldier who was an apprentice and was killed at Gallipoli; and whether the decision is to apply retrospectively?

The new Regulation, under which special separation allowances may in certain cases be granted to the dependants of sailors and soldiers who have been apprentices, came into force on the 1st December. Grants under the Regulations cannot be made for periods prior to the 1st December, but in the case of applications already received they can be made from that date. Future applicants can receive grants from the date of application. The dependants of sailors and soldiers paid from public funds, who have been killed at Gallipoli or elsewhere, and who had been apprentices, may apply to the Statutory Committee for special temporary allowances under Part I. of the Regulations.

asked the Paymaster-General whether the Stoke-on-Trent War Pensions Committee have appointed a relieving officer as a person to investigate the claims to supplementary pensions; and, if so, will he point out to the local committee the undesirability of such an appointment, involving a pauper taint on our disabled soldiers?

The Statutory Committee have made inquiry on this subject. They understand that the Stoke-on-Trent local committee have not made any such appointment as that referred to, but that amongst the members of one of the sub-committees appointed by the local committee is a relieving officer. His work as a member of the sub-committee is altogether of a voluntary character. The appointment of the members of a subcommittee rests entirely with the local committee.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether he is aware that margarine, sausages, and other articles of food supplied to the Army Service Corps stationed at Devonport are of such inferior quality that they are unfit for consumption; whether he can state who is responsible for supplying such food; and whether he will take steps to see that this branch of the Army is properly fed?

I am informed that the feeding of the men of the Army Service Corps at Devonport was recently inspected and found satisfactory. Bread, meat, bacon, salt, tea, and sugar are issued as the Service ration; other foodstuffs required are purchased, out of the 5½d messing allowance, from the regimental institute.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office if, for the benefit of people affected, he can make any statement as to the reimbursement of private persons evicted from their premises for the purposes of the War?

A Royal Commission has been sitting since the spring of 1915 with power to make awards in respect of direct and substantial loss incurred and damage sustained by applicants, by reason of interference with their property or business in the United Kingdom, through the exercise by the Crown of its rights and duties in the Defence of the Realm.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office if he will explain why our soldiers and sailors who are on active service within battle zones should not be paid rates of pay equal to those paid by our Colonies to their men who are serving under our flag; if he is aware that such inequalities of pay are creating discontent in our Army and Navy; and if he will consider the appointment of a Committee to draw up a scheme for the providing of ways and means to pay our soldiers and sailors a reasonable living wage, the same as all other classes expect and demand?

The first part of this question is a subject which cannot be adequately discussed by way of question and answer, but, briefly, the rates of pay in different parts of the Empire reflect differences in conditions of life. It is not thought necessary to appoint a committee as suggested in the last part of the question.

asked the Minister of Pensions whether in the case of members of trades unions who are insured persons and who are sent to hospital owing to wounds received in the War half the military pay is deducted; and whether, in view of payments made under the Insurance Act, both before and since the War, treatment in the hospitals for wounded men should be free?

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

asked the Minister of Munitions what is the proportion of the entire production of patent-still whisky now utilised for munitions and industrial purposes; how many distilleries are at present under Government control and utilised for other purposes than making alcohol; how many other distilleries are about to be utilised for such other purposes; and what percentage of the total present production of patent and pot-still whisky, respectively, is being used for Government and other industrial purposes?

A greater proportion of patent still spirit than hitherto will shortly be required for war purposes, but it is not in the public interest to give the detailed information for which my hon. Friend asks.

asked the Minister of Munitions whether more and, if so, how many distilleries have been taken over by the Government beyond the two mentioned on 26th October; whether in these eases the Government uses the whole output; whether the quantity used by the Government is included in the returns of quantities cleared for home consumption; and, if so, can he, without detriment to the public interest, give either the exact quantities used by the Government, or the total quantities used for industrial, including Government, purposes, or the proportion used in industry of the total returned as cleared for home consumption?

Beyond the two distilleries referred to in the question, no more distilleries have been taken over. It would not be in the public interest to give the further information asked for in the question.

asked the Minister of Munitions why smallholders in the parishes of Porton and Gomeldon are being turned out of their houses and holdings at a month's notice, in mid-winter, after completing the sowing of their next year crops, contrary to the decision of his Department last summer that this should not take place; how these men and their families are to find accommodation elsewhere seeing that there are no vacant houses or cottages in the Salisbury district owing to the proximity of the military camps; and upon what basis are they to be compensated for this sudden disturbance and the loss of their crops as well as their homes?

I am having this matter further examined, and hope to be able to make a statement about it in a few days.

asked the Minister of Munitions, whether workers in Queen's-Island, Belfast, have been served with a form requiring full particulars as to age of workers, trade, and whether attested; and, if so, will he state by whose authority and for what purpose such a form has been issued and persons asked to fill it?

On the information which my hon. Friend gives I am unable to give him a definite answer. If he will let me have a copy of the form he has in mind, I shall be glad to make inquiries.

asked the Minister of Munitions whether he has yet come to a decision with regard to the establishment of a munitions factory in Belfast, to provide employment for the textile workers now engaged on short time in that city, and who, for this reason, are unable to earn a living wage?

I am sorry that I can only refer my hon. Friend to the reply which was given to a similar question which he put on 30th November.

asked the Minister of Munitions whether the Government buys nitrate of soda through a single firm exclusively on a fixed commission basis; whether this firm, while employed by the Government as buyers, are at the same time allowed to carry on their own business as shippers and dealers in nitrate; whether he is aware that nitrate producers pay brokers through whom the nitrate is sold one-half per cent. commission; whether there is any reason why the Government or any other buyer should pay a commission for the purchase of this article; and in case such a commission is now paid, what is the amount of it?

The Government has purchased and still purchases its supplies of nitrate of soda chiefly, but not wholly, through one firm. This firm has for some time past practically discontinued its ordinary European trade in nitrate, confining its operations to purchases on behalf of the British and Allied Governments. It is understood that producers do not pay brokerage on sales made in Chile. It is considered that His Majesty's Government is quite justified in paying a reasonable commission to the firms who act for it. The rate of commission is in the nature of a sliding scale with a maximum of l½ per cent. on the purchase price (in Chile), which commission covers purchasing, financing, shipping, supervising, receiving and storing, and in general acting as the Government's buying agents, storekeepers, and distributing agents.

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether his attention has been called to the congestion existing at Shirehampton and Avon-mouth owing to lack of housing accommodation and to the public meeting recently held on the subject; if not, whether he will make inquiries into this matter; and whether, under the circumstances, he will consider the advisability of building further houses at once?

The President of the Local Government Board is in communication with the Minister of Munitions on the subject.

asked the Minister of Munitions whether it is the intention of his Department to prohibit all fairs being held during 1917; if so, will he say under what powers this action is taken; and how these fairs will interfere with the making of munitions, in view of the fact that they are attended by the public at their times of relaxation?

It is not at present intended to prohibit all fairs during 1917, but only such as fall within Regulation 9D of the Defence of the Realm Regulations, i.e., such as are likely to "impede or delay the production, repair or transport of war material or of any work necessary for the successful prosecution of the War."

asked the Secretary of State for India, whether he will direct that in future when a squadron com mander, Indian Army, Expeditionary Force, is transferred to any other appointment necessitating his squadron being commanded by another officer, such officer be paid for the extra work he has consequently to perform at the recognised rates of allowance?

I am unacquainted with the particular circumstances to which the question refers, but have no reason to doubt that if an officer is entitled by rule to an allowance for acting as squadron commander he will get it.

asked the Secretary of State for India, if he will say at whose instance and on what qualifications Lord Ronaldshay has been appointed Governor of Bengal; whether the probable consequences of his anti-Indian views were considered before the appointment was made; and whether the appointment will be cancelled in view of the opposition of the Press, both Indian and British, including "The Bengalee," "The Amrita Bazar Patrika," the "Bombay Chronicle," the "Allahabad Leader," the "Pioneer," and "Capital"?

I am responsible for advising the Crown in connection with this appointment. As a traveller, as a member of the Royal Commission on the Indian public services, as a student of Indian affairs, and as a member of this House, the Noble Lord has shown that he possesses quite exceptional qualifications for the post to which he has been appointed. There is not a shadow of foundation for describing his views as is done in the third part of the question. The answer to the last part of the question is in the negative, and I should like to add that His Majesty's Government were much gratified that the Noble Lord was able to accept the post offered to him and have complete confidence that in it he will add to the high reputation he has already made in other spheres.

asked the Home Secretary whether he is aware that David J. Williams was sentenced, under the Defence of the Realm Act, for having in his possession an early minute of the yearly meeting of the Society of Friends and a circular stating that harsh treatment had been meted out to men in the Army because of their conscientious objections; and whether he will remit the sentence?

If the question relates to David J. Williams's conviction at Swansea on 8th November the hon. Member has been misinformed. I find, on inquiry, that Williams was then found guilty of having in his possession a number of different pamphlets and leaflets which have been held by the Courts to contravene the Defence of the Realm Regulations. I see no reason for recommending any remission of the fine imposed. The fine has been paid.

asked the Home Secretary whether he will reconsider the case of Edward Fuller, now imprisoned for having in his possession posters containing an extract from a speech delivered by Mr. Bodkin in the course of a Government prosecution, and which he suggested should be sent to the Censor before it was posted; and whether, in view of this desire to do only what was proper and legal, he will consider whether the technical fault of this man has been punished with undue severity?

I refer the hon. and gallant Member to the reply given by my predecessor to the hon. Member for the Elland Division on 31 st October last, from which he will see that he has been misinformed as to the nature of Edward Fuller's offence. As to the statement that Fuller suggested that the placard in question should be sent to the Censor before it was posted, I am informed that the facts are as follows:—The bill-poster to whom Fuller first sent the placard very properly refused to publish it without the consent of the authorities, and Fuller expressed his willingness that consent should be applied for. On application being made for this consent, the Director of the Official Press Bureau informed the bill-poster that publication of the placard would constitute an offence against the Regulations under the Defence of the Realm Act, and the billposter accordingly took no further action. Fuller shortly afterwards published the placard through another bill-poster. I cannot accept the view that the offence was a technical one. The prisoner has now served the greater part of his sentence, and in view of all the circumstances I propose to advise his release before Christmas.

asked the Home Secretary whether he can yet make any announcement as to the concession of longer hours of evening trading prior to the Christmas holidays?

An Order suspending the Early Closing Order altogether from Thursday, 14th December, to Saturday, 23rd December, both days inclusive, has been made and published.

asked the Home Secretary whether he is now in a position to state what decision he has now arrived at with regard to the sale of confectionery in theatres and places of entertainment after eight o'clock?

An Order has been made prohibiting the sale of confectionery in theatres and places of entertainment after the closing hours fixed by the Order. In order, however, to give an opportunity of disposing of existing stocks, this decision will not take effect till the New Year.

asked the Home Secretary whether he is aware that a meeting in favour of peace is arranged to be held in Hammersmith on 24th January; and whether he is taking any steps to see that a breach of the peace is prevented or that the meeting is prohibited?

I am not aware that arrangements have been made for such a meeting on 24th January. If such a meeting were announced and breach of the peace were anticipated, the police would take the usual steps to maintain order.

asked the Home Secretary if it is now obligatory in all or any districts for one of each pair of metropolitan special constable patrols to carry an electric torch; if these are provided without cost to the special constables; if men who had previously supplied them at their own expense will be repaid the cost; and if refills are to be provided or a sufficient allowance made in respect of them to cover the cost when on duty?

It is not obligatory in any part of the Metropolitan Police district for special constables to carry torches. A considerable number of torches have been supplied officially; for these refills are issued free of cost. Special constables who have provided themselves with torches (which are of various makes and sizes) are not supplied with refills save in exceptional cases, and no allowance is made them to cover the cost.

asked whether the two extra holidays are to be granted on Wednesday and Thursday, 27th and 28th December, or on what dates?

I would refer the hon. and gallant Member to the announcement on the subject which appeared on Monday in the Press. It is not proposed to appoint any specified days as public holidays in place of the postponed Whit-sun and August Bank Holidays, but subject to certain exceptions employers who have not already given equivalent holidays in lieu will be required to do so before the 1st of March next. In the case of munition workers, special arrangements which have already been announced have been made by the Ministry of Munitions.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will discuss with the Admiralty the present practice of refusing to allow doubtful neutrals to land at the western ports; and whether he will take into consideration that the present practice of bringing them on to London enables them to watch our arrangements in the Channel, the Downs, and off the entrance to the Thames?

My right hon. Friend has asked me to reply to this question. The ports at which aliens can be allowed to land in this country were settled, and have been from time to time reviewed, in consultation with the Admiralty, and as at present advised I do not think any alteration is desirable.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, whilst there is a restriction on the importation of paper materials into this country, there is no restriction upon the importation of printed paper in the form of children's toy-books whether he is aware that this discrimination is prejudicial to home producers who are having to pay 50 per cent. extra for paper materials, in addition to war bonuses to the workmen they employ in this country; and whether he will consider the advisability of removing this discrimination?

Printed books, other than periodicals, do not at present fall within the restriction on the importation of paper, which, as the hon. Gentleman is aware, was imposed with a view to the saving of tonnage space. I will consider the desirability of some further restriction on these imports from that point of view.

asked whether instructions will be given to the newly-constituted inter-Departmental Committee to consider the application of the miners of South Wales for the 15 per cent. increase in wages on the basis of existing profits?

An increase of 15 per cent. in the miners' general wage-rate is being paid as from the 1st December.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he is aware that it was falsely reported in the London Commercial sale-room on 13th November that the "City of Cairo" was sunk; and, seeing that this report was calculated to increase the price of the kind of goods she carried, whether he proposes to take action in respect of false reports of this nature under the Defence of the Realm Act?

The first message received about this vessel was to the effect that she had been in collision and was settling down. It was no doubt this message that was responsible for the report that the vessel was sunk I do not think the case is one in which proceedings should be instituted.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he can arrange through the Petrol Control Committee to increase the supply to the City of Dublin Steam Dye Works?

The Committee have given further consideration to the case of the City of Dublin Steam Dye Works. The firm's allowance of petrol has recently been increased from 300 gallons to 330 gallons per month, and the Committee regret that they cannot see their way to give any further increase.

asked the President of the Board of Trade, in view of the traffic now going on from the Netherlands and the Scandinavian countries in food and information to Germany, whether the Government will take away from ships of these countries all landing facilities for their crews, and forbid them supplies except in regard to necessary fuel, having in regard the facts that they have no need for supplies of food since their own countries are so close and we have a real need to keep the supplies in this country?

The crews of neutral vessels are only allowed to land by special permission of the aliens officers at the various ports. The supply of stores to neutral ships which trade to the United Kingdom is already regulated, and the question is now being considered whether it should not be further controlled.

asked the Secretary to the Board of Trade if he will have inquiry made as to the minimum rates of wages paid to labourers, writers, and clerks employed in the city of Dublin by the London and North-Western Railway Company, the City of Dublin Steam Packet Company, and in the Army Departments; and if he will publish these rates of pay for the information of the House of Commons?

The information asked for is not available, and it is contrary to the general practice of the Board of Trade to publish the rates of pay of individual companies or firms.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if all available shipbuilding resources will, apart from work on warships, be concentrated on building and completing plain and economical food and commerce carriers, and that work on vessels involving decoration should be suspended on such vessels completed without ornamental trappings?

All shipbuilding resources which are available at present for building merchant ships are engaged in the building of cargo carriers, and arrangements are being made to concentrate available labour as far as possible on the ships nearest completion.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether the Board have given any instructions to shipbuilders as to the type, size, and speed which are considered best in the national interest for new merchant and passenger ships; and whether the shipbuilders are allowed to take orders for new ships which do not comply with these instructions?

Definite instructions have not yet been issued to shipbuilders, but no ship can be laid down without a certificate from the Board of Trade. Certificates are only issued in the case of vessels which are considered best in the national interest.

asked whether there are in the United Kingdom any and, if so, how many ships, other than ships of war, completed or in course of construction for neutral countries; and whether the Government have powers to acquire these ships compulsorily?

There are twenty-eight vessels under construction for neutral countries at the present time, and arrangements have been made for these vessels when completed to be used in the national interest. There is power to requisition any ship building in this country.

asked the Prime Minister whether, in view of the fact that the Board of Trade has no practical knowledge or experience of shipbuilding whereas the Board of Admiralty have been for many years expert shipbuilders, he will take the matter of building new merchant ships, so necessary in the present emergency, entirely out of the hands of the Board of Trade and place all the shipyards of the country under the direct control of the Admiralty, with instructions to produce the largest number of standardised steamships in the shortest possible space of time?

The Prime Minister has asked me to answer this question. My hon. Friend's information is not correct. The Board of Trade have a large experience in the building of merchant ships, and in conjunction with the Admiralty are taking all possible steps to hasten the completion of merchant ships already under construction. They are, moreover, acting in close co-operation with the Admiralty in regard to the placing of new orders.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he is aware that, at a meeting of the Advisory Committee held at Whitehall Gardens on the 4th October, the question of promoting British trade with Russia and Italy and the employment of foreigners as commercial travellers was considered; and will he see that, in any Government-aided scheme or schemes under Government patronage, the British commercial traveller is considered, especially in view of recent disclosures and exposures of neglected British trade handled by men of other nationalities?

I fully appreciate the importance of the employment of British commercial travellers for British overseas trade in preference to foreigners, wherever possible, and I have no doubt that full weight will be given to this consideration in any schemes which may be framed for the development of that trade.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he is aware that at a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Commercial Intelligence held at Whitehall Gardens on the 4th October it was resolved to recommend a special commercial mission to Spain and Portugal; and will he recommend that a representative commercial traveller be attached to that mission?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. The suggestion in the second part shall be borne in mind.

asked the President of the Board of Trade, in view of his expressed desire to ascertain whether price exploitation exists, if he can state what is the price at which sewing cotton is now sold as compared with the pre-war price, and if J. and P. Coats, Limited, have just declared a net profit of £3,387,395 for the year ended 30th June, 1916; after allowing for depreciation and the Excess Profits Duty; and, in the event of his being satisfied that an undue profit has been made by this firm in time of war out of the sale of a commodity largely used by poor people, if he will exercise the powers he possesses to reduce the price of sewing cotton?

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to the similar question addressed by him to my predecessor on the 30th November, of which I am sending him a copy.

asked the President of the Board of Trade why the music-publishing business of Schott and Company, Great Marlborough Street, London, W., has not yet been wound up under Section 1 of the Trading With the Enemy (Amendment) Act, 1916; whether the proprietor of the business is a Dr. Strecker, of Mayence, or some other German subject; and what is the alleged British interest in the capital of the business?

The partners in the firm of Schott and Company were Dr. Strecker, an enemy subject resident in Germany, and Mr. Volhert, a naturalised British subject. The partnership was dissolved by the outbreak of war, and, in accordance with the recommendation of the Advisory Committee, Dr. Strecker's interest in the business has been vested in the Public Trustee.