asked the Chancellor of the Exhequer whether he is aware that, although the prospectuses of the Four-and-a-Half Per Cent. War Loan and of Exchequer Bonds stated that the securities would be accepted as the equivalent of cash for the purpose of subscriptions to new issues, these securities are not accepted in conjunction with cash in payment for the new Loan, Post Office issues of the old securities are not accepted as the equivalent of cash at the Bank of England, nor Bank of England issues so accepted at the Post Office; and that whereas an investor in the new loan for cash can obtain stock or bonds as he desires, an investor paying for the new loan in older securities can only obtain it, in the first place, in the same form as the old security, and that a holder of both Four-and-a-Half Per Cent. War Loan and Exchequer Bonds of both Bank of England and Post Office issues who desires to subscribe a further sum making up a level holding in the Bank of England may be required to make two applications for conversion, two applications for odd amounts, and two applications for purchases with new money, in place of one application to be paid for partly in cash and partly in old securities as the equivalent of cash; and whether, in view of the fact that the filling up and signing of these numerous forms bewilders people and has a tendency to deter them from subscribing for as much as they otherwise would, he will arrange without delay that the conditions in the prospectuses of the old securities shall be literally complied with in every respect, and that the old securities shall be treated as the equivalent of cash?

The alternatives suggested by the hon. Member were most carefully considered, but were found to involve practical difficulties which were quite insuperable.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware that the Bank of England decline to recognise a general power of attorney unless the original is deposited with them for permanent custody, and decline to recognise Section 48 of the Conveyancing and Law of Property Act, 1881, which provides for an office copy being sufficient evidence, thus preventing a general power deposited with them being available for any other purpose;' and whether, seeing that the position taken up by the Bank is likely to prejudice investment in War Loan or other Government securities, he proposes to take any action in the matter?

This question is under consideration.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury if he is aware that the members of the Northumberland and Durham Miners' Permanent Relief Fund have decided to levy among themselves a special weekly contribution during the war and six months afterwards in order to give their aged members an extra 3s. per week to meet the increased cost of living, but that such aid is not to be extended to members in receipt of old age pensions; seeing that the reason for this exception is that such a contribution would mean a corresponding reduction of the pensions and thus only benefit the Treasury instead of the pensioner, will the Regulations be so altered as to give the old age pensioner the advantage of his brother workmen's contributions; and will he state if the regulation in paragraph 11 of Cd. 8320 applies?

As stated in Parliamentary Paper, Cd. 8320, action is not being taken for the withdrawal or reduction of existing old age pensions in consequence of the receipt of temporary assistance from relief funds or other voluntary sources to an amount not ex-ceeding 5s. per week, given for the purpose of enabling the pensioner to meet the increased cost of living. This applies both to a new allowance and to an increase in an existing allowance.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury if he is aware that the pensions committee at Port Glasgow had, up to 27th December, 1916, 126 applications from old age pensioners for the extra 2s. 6d. per week, of whom 106 received the full grant of 2s. 6d., five receiving 2s., one receiving 1s. 6d., five receiving 1s., and three the sum of 6d., while six claims were refused; is he aware that if all to whom advances were given by the committee had received the full grant of 2s. 6d. per week there would have been an extra expenditure of only 16s. 6d. per week; is he aware that to arrive at such conclusions there were eight appeals to the Local Government Board, in six of which the Local Government Board upheld the pension officer's decision, while the decision of the local pensions committee were upheld only in two; and will he consider the advisability of so altering the Rules and Regulations that the 2s. 6d. extra be universal, only excepting those who benefit by other concessions?

While I have no reason to doubt the accuracy of my hon. Friend's statements, I have not had time to verify them by a local inquiry. As regards the last part of the question, I can add nothing to the reply which I gave to my hon. Friend on the 12th instant.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury if he is aware that a large and representative gathering of Members of this House passed a resolution in favour of a special contribution of 2s. 6d. being paid by the State to each old age pensioner to meet the increased cost of living due to the War; and whether the Treasury have taken any steps to accede to that request in the case of those old age pensioners who are not already in the enjoyment of other concessions granted during the War?

I am aware of the resolution in question, but for the reasons given in my reply of the 12th instant to the hon. Member for the Houghton-le-Spring Division, the Treasury have not felt able to go beyond the scheme contained in Cd. 8373.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether his attention has been drawn to the case of Francis Albert John Liverton, who joined H.M.S. "Vivid" as a second-class boy seaman in September, 1915, and caught scarlet fever during an epidemic on that ship, which left him suffering from dilatation of the heart; whether he is aware that Liverton was discharged without a pension in August, 1916; and whether he will state why appeals for the reconsideration of the question of pension and for admission to a naval hospital have been refused in spite of a medical certificate stating hat the boy will be confined to bed for at least a year and will be a cripple for life?

I am having inquiries made into this matter, and will communicate with my hon. Friend.

asked the Minister of Pensions whether he is aware that there is dissatisfaction at the delay in announcing the revised scale of pensions and separation allowances; whether, in view of this delay, it is intended that the new payments shall be retrospective; whether he has now reached a decision as to what the new scale should be, and, if so, who is responsible for the delay in bringing it into effect; and whether he is now in a position to make a statement on the whole question?

I can assure my hon. Friend that there has been no avoidable delay on the part of the Ministry of Pensions in the revision of the scale of pensions, which is a matter of enormous concern to our disabled men and to the country at large, and so requiring the fullest deliberation. Any delay that has arisen has been cumulative, and due to a variety of circumstances. My right hon. Friend hopes shortly to be in a position to submit his proposals to the House, and in the meantime I cannot make any announcement as to the terms of the new Royal Warrant. Separation allowances, to which my hon. Friend also refers in the question, are matters still dealt with by the Admiralty and War Office.

asked the Minister of Pensions whether he is aware that the pension of No. 3690, Private Joseph Cosgrove, No. 1 company, Irish Guards, at present in Red Cross Hospital, Bray, county Wicklow, who was wounded in France, causing the amputation of his leg, thereby rendering him helpless, has been reduced from 25s. a week to 12s. 6d.; and whether, as he is unfit for employment of any kind, his former pension will be restored?

Private Cosgrove was invalided on account of wounds involving amputation of the left leg above the knee, and has been awarded a permanent pension of 12s. 6d. a week for life, the rate of State pension for this class of disablement according to the existing scale. Private Cosgrove, who was provided with an artificial limb, has been admitted to hospital for its readjustment, and has been awarded 25s. a week for two months from the 8th January to take the place of his permanent pension. If on discharge from hospital he should be in need of further assistance, it is open to him to apply to the local war pensions committee.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether his attention has been called to the resolution passed by the national teachers' associations in Ireland, declaring that since the adoption in Ireland of Greenwich time they have found from experience that more children than formerly are daily marked absent; and whether he will recommend the Commissioners of National Education to fix the time for the completion of the roll-call in national schools at 11 a.m. as formerly,

Resolutions on the subject referred to have been received from various teachers' associations, and the matter is at present engaging the attention of the Commissioners of National Education.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland if he is aware that the Ladyswell national school, Kilkenny, was closed in 1898 through lack of attendance; that Mr. Michael Martin, the school teacher, was retired from the service on a pension of £6 a year and a lump sum of £35; that he had to subsist on this pension until ten years ago, when he was appointed school attendant at the Callan Workhouse, Kilkenny, at a salary of £12 a year, plus board and lodging, in the workhouse; that he is unable to adequately keep his wife and family out of this sum; and that one of his sons, Gunner John Martin, was killed in action last July; and will he take steps to have the case of Mr. Martin reconsidered, with a view to making him a further grant?

The Ladyswell National School, county Kilkenny, was struck off the roll of national schools, and all Grants cancelled, from the 30th June, 1898, as it was no longer required in the locality and the average attendance of pupils was insufficient for the continuance of ordinary Grants. Mr. Michael Martin, the teacher of this school, retired from that date on the ground of permanent incapacity for further service as a national school teacher, and was awarded an immediate payment of £34 5s. and a disablement pension of £6 8s. 8d. per annum. The disablement pension was subsequently commuted in the following year for a lump sum of £93 12s. 6d. These awards were made under the Teachers' Pension Act Rules, and it is not possible to reopen the matter now.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland if he will state the number of days on which a Local Government Board clerk, named Purcell, was engaged as official shorthand writer in connection with the Irish Rebellion (Victims) Committee; the amount of remuneration he received for this work; and whether it is proposed to give him further facilities for doing outside work of this class, which had always been done in Ireland by journalists?

The necessity for a shorthand writer not having arisen, Mr. Purcell has not done any work for the Eebellion (Victims) Committee, and has received no remuneration. If his services are required, arrangements have been made with the Local Government Board for their being available.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether district councils in Ireland charged under the food production scheme with providing seeds and manures for small farmers and labourers will be allowed, where they so desire, to purchase such seeds locally as they consider most suitable for their district; whether they will be permitted to arrange to let each man who tills buy on their authority suitable manure up to a fixed amount from recognised merchants, and more especially as these manures can be bought from local merchants at from £2 to £3 per ton cheaper than has to be paid under the scheme of the Department?

Rural district councils requiring loans for the purchase of seeds and manures must, under the approved scheme, obtain the supplies through the Department of Agriculture. The approved scheme has been framed by the Department so as not to interfere with the market for local supplies, or to produce competition and inflation of prices. Experience has shown this to be necessary.

asked the Vice-President of the Department of Agriculture (Ireland) whether he proposes that his Department should exercise any of the powers conferred on the English and Scottish Boards by Regulation 2M of the Defence of the Realm Regulations; and if he requested that similar powers should be conferred on the Department of Agriculture?

The object aimed at in Regulation 2M, which applies to Great Britain, is secured by Regulation 2P of the Tillage Order, and by a further Order in Council of the 6th instant, which was published in the Press. These give to the De- partment of Agriculture very large powers of entry. The question whether increased powers may be necessary, either from withholding of land from tillage or from other causes, will not be overlooked by the Irish Executive.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether the Local Government Board have communicated to local councils their powers under Regulation 2L (5), (8), and (9) of the Defence of the Realm Regulations, by which they may enter on any lands which are not being tilled in accordance with the Regulations; what steps are being taken to secure co-operation between the Local Government Board and the Department of Agriculture in working these provisions; and will he bring before local councils the inadvisability of paying high rents for allotments when they will within a few weeks be able to avail of the powers conferred by these Regulations and take over lands, without the consent of the owner, where such lands are not being used in accordance with the tillage scheme requirements?

The question of exercising the powers referred to does not at present arise; when it arises each case will be considered on its merits. The Department of Agriculture and the Local Government Board are in frequent communication with regard to the working of that portion of the food production scheme for which they are jointly responsible. I believe local councils are fully alive to the desirability of getting lands for allotments as cheaply as possible, and, in view of the urgency of getting allotments prepared for sowing, it appears to me to be-better to encourage them to make their own arrangements with the owners rather than to induce them to defer action for speculative advantage.

asked the Vice-President, of the Department of Agriculture (Ireland) whether his attention has been drawn to a statement made by Sir Nugent Everard, Bart., a member of the Advisory Committee on Food Production in Navan, on the 29th ultimo, that in respect of prime finishing land it had been suggested that the best criterion would be the price at which it was let in pre-war times, and that land let on the eleven months' system at £4 per acre and upwards should be considered as finishing land and that class of land would be exempted, and again he said the question was not whether or not the land was arable, it was arable, but would it be advisable to break it up because probably it produced more food as it was now than it would be if it were tilled; and whether the words uttered by the honourable baronet represent the opinion of the Department and its advisory committee?

The Department of Agriculture have no official knowledge of the suggestions referred to in the hon. Member's question. They do not represent the view of the Department or of the Advisory Committee on Food Production.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland when the Dublin Corporation land cultivation committee may expect sufficient land in the Phoenix Park to satisfy the 425 applicants who applied for allotments to cultivate; and if he is aware that the applications were made as a result of a public promise made by the Lord Lieutenant to the effect that land would be given in the Phœnix Park for the production of foodstuffs?

I have nothing to add to the reply I gave the hon. Member on Monday last.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland if he is aware that there is a difficulty in utilising unoccupied town gardens for the production of potatoes and other vegetables owing to the fact that if the gardens were used for this purpose rates would become chargeable on the houses to which they were attached; and if he will introduce a short emergency Act to provide that during the period of the War no rates or taxes shall be chargeable upon any such gardens if the same are used for growing potatoes or other vegetables?

I hope to take steps which will enable these tillages to take place without risk of increased rating.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether private persons can send parcels to prisoners of war in Germany without any restrictions as to purchase of certain amounts in specified shops?

Under the War Office Regulations which the Central Prisoners of War Committee and its authorised associations are bound to observe, private persons who desire to send parcels to prisoners of war in Germany must obtain from the Care Committee of the regiment to which the prisoner belongs a permit for a specified amount of food to be supplied by a shop authorised by the Central Prisoners of War Committee.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether there are officers in the second line of Yeomanry regiments who volunteered for service overseas in the early stages of the War and who still find themselves in the United Kingdom; and, if so, whether such officers can look forward to any opportunity of being appointed to service at the front?

There are still a certain number of officers with 2nd Line Yeomanry regiments who have not yet served overseas. During the last few months a large number of 2nd Line officers have been drafted overseas, and this procedure will be continued as far as possible, subject to maintenance of the fighting efficiency of 2nd Line Yeomanry units.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether orders have been given to surgeons of London hospitals not to undertake any operations on soldiers under their charge for diseases originating before they were wounded if the treatment of such cases would delay them from re-joining any longer than would be necessary for recovery from their wounds; whether he is aware that in the new armies there are men of lower physical standard than the old army and that many were passed for service with serious physical defects; and what reason can be given for an order which must seriously affect the health and even the lives of many soldiers?

The criterion in this matter is fitness for military service, and no instructions have been issued to prevent surgeons performing operations which are necessary for the cure of any disability which unfits a man for military service.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether his attention has been drawn to the number of Irishmen temporarily resident in Great Britain who are being compulsorily made subject to military law; if his attention has been drawn to the cases of James Bray, in Moss Hill Camp, Winchester, a Dublin carpenter, engaged on work of national importance, now awaiting court-martial, John Dooner, No. 18533, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, Dreghorn Camp, Midlothian, and W. E. Holloway Miller, guard room, North Fall Meadow, Dover; if he is aware that instructions have been issued to send Dooner and Miller out to France on the first draft before their cases can be fully considered; and if he will issue instructions to cancel these Orders so as to give time for full consideration of these objections and, if the objections are overruled, that they will not be sent to France without proper training?

Instructions were issued in September last that Irish labourers who were ordinarily resident in Ireland, and only resident in Great Britain for some seasonal occupation or for the purpose of being employed connection with dock transport work or munition work, or other contracts with a Government Department, were not to be called up for military service if the recruiting officer was satisfied that they were ordinarily resident in Ireland and only temporarily resident in Great Britain for some special purpose. My attention was drawn to the case of James Bray by the hon. Member, who has already been informed that Bray was arrested by the civil police as a suspected absentee from military service, and taken before one of the London stipendiary magistrates, who, after hearing the necessary evidence, decided that Bray was liable for military service, and ordered him to be handed over to the military authorities. The hon. Member has been informed that if he will supply further particulars of this case further inquiries will be made. Inquiries are being made into the cases of Dooner and Miller.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether in the case of youths apprenticed to certain trades and for whom apprenticeship fees have been paid, and who have not completed their apprenticeship, a proportion of such fees will be made recoverable on their being called up for service with the Colours?

My right hon. Friend has asked me to reply to this question. The question of the right of apprentices enlisted in the Army to recover any portion of fees paid by them for apprenticeship must of course depend on the terms of the indenture, but I am advised that, generally speaking, the legal impossibility of performance would put an end to the contract and would probably debar the apprentice from recovery of the fees. As far as my information goes, however, the number of cases in which a formal indenture and the payment of fees takes place is comparatively small, and, where such payments have actually been made, I cannot think that employers will wish to deprive any man who has served with the Colours of the training due to him under the terms of his apprenticeship, should he wish to continue it on discharge?

asked the Secretary to the Local Government Board whether his attention has beer drawn to the case of Reginald Southwick, a man in the employment of the North-Eastern Railway Company at Leeds, who is a prominent trade unionist and a representative of the workmen on the North-Eastern Conciliation Board, whether he is aware that this man, though in a certified occupation, was placed by the railway company on the spare list for the purpose of forcing' him into the Army, and that the company refused to let him leave and follow his occupation elsewhere; and, since the deliberate victimisation of an active trade unionist is alleged in this case, will he cause investigation to be made?

My right hon. Friend has asked me to reply to this question. I will make inquiries in regard to this case. I may, however, remind the hon. Gentleman that a Committee has been set to with the object of dealing with cases in which railwaymen are alleged to have been released for military service otherwise than in accordance with the instructions issued by the Railway Executive Committee in June last.

asked the Minister' of Pensions why a soldier who otherwise would be discharged under paragraph 392, XVI., is transferred to Class W Reserve where he cannot apply for pension, and, more frequently than not, is incapable of working?

A soldier who would be entitled to a pension if discharged is not transferred to Section W, but to Section P. It is not intended that any men unfit to work should be transferred to Section W. If the hon. Member knows of a case I shall be glad to have particulars.

asked the Minister of Munitions if he can state the total amount of the output of the patent-and pot-still distilleries in the United Kingdom at present employed in the manufacture of explosives and the output still available for such purposes?

I do not consider that it would be in the public interest to give the information asked for in this question.

asked the Minister of Munitions if he is aware that Mr. W. G. Tarrant, of Byfleet, Surrey, who is building huts for the Army in France, is sending women out to assist with the work; will he state under what conditions these women are engaged; are they being paid at the same rate as men when employed on work usually done by men; do the provisions of the Munitions Acts apply to them; and what provisions are made for the housing, feeding, and general welfare of these women?

Messrs. Tarrant are employing a few women as carpenters in France as an experimental measure. They are housed in Army huts built by the contractor for them, and work under a fore- woman who is herself directly under Messrs. Tarrant's French manager. A housekeeper-cook and a lady supervisor have been engaged. The women have only been in France about a fortnight and a report will be asked for whether the work and general conditions are satisfactory. Their output and their pay is about half that of men. They do the lighter kinds of carpentry. The Munitions Act does not apply to them.

asked the Minister of Pensions whether he has as yet been able to make arrangements for housing the Ministry under one roof; and, if not, when he expects to be able to do so?

The staff which will be transferred to the Pensions Ministry at the present time exceeds 2,000, and, in the nature of the case, it is impossible to foresee what further staff may be required. It has not, therefore, been found practicable for the moment to find a single building suitable for the whole Ministry. The various branches will be brought together as opportunities offer and as far as circumstances permit.

asked the Home Secretary whether his attention has been called to a man named Gootman, who has recently been moving about from one hotel to another in or near the Strand in London, who has entered himself as a student of medicine at St. Thomas's Hospital, who habitually dresses in khaki, although not being in any way connected with the British Army, in order to ingratiate himself with British soldiers, who professes to be of Russian extinction and spreads the doctrine that Russia is bound to make a separate peace shortly because of the scarcity of food at the Russian front; and will he make inquiry into this man's credentials as to whether he is or is not really of German extraction and intern him or have him deported to his own country?

This individual came under the notice of my Department and the War Office some months ago in connection with an application for a permit to return to Russia. No evidence that he is of Germain extraction has been obtained, and I have been unable to verify the statement that he habitually dresses in khaki; but I am informed that he admits expressing the views referred to by the hon. Member. I am considering the case with a view to such further action as may be necessary.

asked the Home Secretary whether, in view of the shortage of doctors which now necessitates their journeying considerable distances to visit patients, he will consider the advisability of the speed limits for motor cars being waived so as to reduce the time spent en route; and whether, in view of the restricted lighting and the difficulties of transit at night, in order to facilitate doctors when visiting urgent cases, they may be permitted to use unobscured headlights on their motor cars?

I have no authority to waive the speed limit for motor-cars. In framing the Orders as to lights on vehicles special regard has been paid to the requirements of doctors and others who have occasion to travel by road at night. The Orders now in force allow the use of sufficient light for safe driving at ordinary speed, and I do not see my way to authorise the use of unrestricted headlights as the hon. Member suggests.

asked the Home Secretary whether ho can state what increased pay by way of allowances or otherwise has been given to the members of the City and Metropolitan Police Forces since the War began; whether the average man has received only a war bonus of 3s. per week and an extra allowance of 1s. per child under fourteen years of age; and whether he can state what proportionate percentage of increase of pay or allowance has been given to meet the increased cost of living which has gone up by over 80 per cent, since the beginning of the War?

I would refer the hon. Member to the very full replies given by my predecessor to questions on this subject on the 12th October and the 29th November last.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if it has been decided to grant a gratuity to all officers and constables in the Metropolitan Police Force who have completed their full service of twenty-five or twenty-six years and who have not been allowed to retire during the period of the War; if he will state what is the amount of the gratuity and when it is payable; and whether, in view of the increased cost of living, he will recommend the payment of the same either quarterly or yearly?

All members of the Metropolitan Police retained in the force under the provisions of the Police Emergency Act, 1915, who had completed twenty-six years' service on the passing of the Act, or who since that date have done so, are to receive on retiring a deferred bonus at the rate of £26 a year for all approved service after that date and after completion of twenty-six years' service. In the case of men who die in the service the bonus may be paid to the widow, children, or other relatives, as the Commissioner may determine. The bonus is payable only to officers retiring with the Commissioner's permission, and when the service has been in all respects satisfactory. It can be earned only during the continuance of the War, and is not payable until after the War, unless the officer in the meantime is permitted to retire. The conditions on which this bonus is given preclude its being paid until retirement, but, of course, the officers in question enjoy the war bonus granted to all the members of the Metropolitan Police, which is paid weekly.

asked the Home Secretary if he will state the number of single men of military age who have been recruited for the Metropolitan Police Force since August, 1914; the number of single men who have been allowed to join the Army during the period of the War; and the present number of the special police in the Metropolitan Police area?

Eight hundred and sixty-one single men were recruited for the Metropolitan Police in the early months of the War. Of these, 131 have since resigned. The total number of single men engaged on naval and military duties is 1,998. Of these 783 are serving with the Colours, and 1,215 are employed on special duty at naval and military establishments. The number of special constables enrolled for general service is 22,356, and for service on particular premises 8,076. These men do one or two tours of duty a week, each tour being four hours.

asked the Home Secretary if his attention has been called to the treatment of Countess Marckievicz; if he will cause instructions to be issued to improve the prison food and her general surroundings; and if he will say when she is likely to be released?

I am informed that this person is in good health, and that no modification of the diet prescribed by the prison rules is necessary. If any change should become necessary on grounds of health it would be ordered by the medical officer in the ordinary course. I am unable to say when she is likely to be released.

asked the President of the Board of Education what are the latest available figures concerning the supply of teachers to public elementary schools?

The following information is given in continuation of Table 52 (A) of the Board's Statistical Volume for 1913–14.The number of bursars, pupil teachers, and student teachers who had not been bursars recognised for the first time during 1914–15 and 1915–16 were as follows:—

——		1914–15.		1915–16.
		Boys.	Girls.	Boys.	Girls.
1. Bursars	…	756	2,764	797	3,133
2. Pupil teachers—
(a) Instructed in Centres	…	353	1,556	377	1,777
(b) Not in Centres	…	50	432	45	426
3. Student-teachers who had not been Bursars	…	92	365	85	407
4. Total	…	1,251	5,117	1,304	5,743

The present figures for 1916–17 are:—

——			Boys.	Girls.
1. Bursars	…	…	675	3,006
2. Pupil teachers—
(a) Instructed in Centres	…	…	299	1,615
(b) Not in Centres	…	…	25	228
3. Student-teachers who had not been Bursars	…	…	64	379
4 Total	…	…	1,063	5,228

In addition, 135 applications are under consideration.

asked the Secretary to the Local Government Board whether he can give any statistics of the work of the Civil Liabilites Committee up to 31st December, 1916?

Up to the 31st December, 1916, the local Commissioners had received 155,882 applications, and they had made recommendations in 130,000 cases. The Committee had at the same date decided 119,500 applications, and had awarded grants in 86,000 cases, representing an annual payment of £1,654,000.

asked the Secretary to the Local Government Board whether, in view of the recommendation contained in paragraph 17 of the Electoral Reform Report, he will cause to be published the populations of the counties and boroughs and Parliamentary constituencies of Great Britain as estimated by the Registrar-General for July, 1914?

I would refer the hon. Member to my reply of the 13th instant to the question of the hon. Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme.

asked the President of the Board of Trade, whether his attention has been drawn to the action of Armour and Company, Limited, of Australasia, in proclaiming that they have no connection with Armour and Company, Limited, of Chicago, or Armour and Company, Limited, of London; whether he is aware that 3,998 shares out of 4,000 are held by one W. I. Carney, an American wool and skin operator; whether this person has been closely connected with Armour's in America; and whether he will confer with the New Zealand Prime Minister, now in London, as to the advisability of effecting a nationalisation, or at any rate establishing a close Government control over all meat-freezing works in New Zealand?

I have no information as to the first part of the question, but His Majesty's Government is in communication with the Governments of Australia and New Zealand as to the desirability of some Government control being exercised over meat-freezing works in those Dominions, and I propose to confer with these Governments in the matter.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he has received complaints as to an increasing number of evasions by owners of small house property of the provisions of the Increase of Rent and Mortgages Interest (War Restrictions) Act; whether he is aware that some of these owners are making illegal demands upon the tenants, and, in the event of the tenants refusing to pay, are entering up their claims as arrears in their rent books; that such arrears, though not legally due, will be used against the tenant in any subsequent search for a new house; and what steps he intends to take to compel landlords to cancel arrears which have been entered in rent books in defiance of the provisions of the Act?

Some representations on this subject have been received by my Noble Friend, and he recently issued a notice to the Press explaining that improper increases of rents carried forward as arrears were not recoverable at any time, in this connection I would refer my hon. Friend to Section 5 of the Act of 1915. If my hon. Friend has any further suggestions to make, perhaps he would communicate with the President of the Local Government Board.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he is aware that the 50 per cent, increase in railway fares has caused many thousands of the London people in the police area to travel by tram and omnibus, causing fighting to obtain seats, and in many cases dozens of people have to wait about for many minutes before they can get away, and in consequence much working time has been lost; if he is aware that the present number of trams and omnibuses is quite insufficient to carry the people travelling by such means; and if he intends taking any action in the matter?

There can be little doubt that, owing to the restriction of railway facilities and the increase in passenger fares necessitated by urgent national requirements, a number of London people travel by trams and omnibuses who formerly travelled by train and that the tramway and omnibus authorities may have difficulty in coping with the demands made upon them. I fear, however, that it is not possible to prevent the inconvenience to which the hon. Gentleman refers.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if his attention has been drawn to the continuous opposition of the Dublin Port and Docks Board to the extension of shipbuilding in Dublin; if he is aware that two years ago a Dublin shipbuilding firm applied to the port board for land to extend their works; and if, having regard to the extraordinary action of the board in refusing ground for this work of the most urgent national importance, he will acquire the ground, under the Acquisition of Land Act, for shipbuilding, to be carried out by the Government or Dublin shipbuilders?

My attention has been called to the application of the Dublin Dockyard Company to the Dublin Port and Docks Board for a lease of certain land for the purposes of an extension of their shipbuilding yard. The Board of Trade have no power to acquire land under the Defence of the Realm (Acquisition of Land) Act, 1916, but I am consulting the Admiralty in the matter, and will I communicate with the hon. Member in due course.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he is aware that the coal merchants in the Lambeth area, South London, were charging at the rate of 2s. 2d. per cwt, during the week ending 10th February, which was in excess of the agreement made by them with the Board of Trade: and if he intends taking any action in the matter?

I may perhaps call attention to the official announcement in this morning's papers advising consumers what action they should take against dealers charging excessive prices. I will ask the London Merchants' Retail Coal Prices Committee to look into these particular cases, if the hon. Gentleman will be good enough to furnish me with any particulars he may have.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that hardship and distress is being caused in London, especially among working people, by the inability to obtain a supply of coal; whether this is due to small coal dealers and distributors being taken for the Army; and whether any steps are being taken by his Department to relieve the situation?

The available facilities for the distribution of coal in small quantities have been overtaxed owing to the unusual demand due to the recent severe weather and difficulties of locomotion. As has already been stated, the War Office have lent a number of motor lorries to assist in the distribution.

asked the President of the Boad of Trade whether he is aware that a number of clerks employed by the railway companies are working overtime for which they get no payment; that many of them, with salaries between £100 and £180 per annum, have not received any increases during the past, ten years; and whether, in view of the control of the railways now exercised by the Government, he will take the matter into his sympathetic consideration?

The Government control of the railways does not extend to the terms and conditions of employment of the clerical staffs of the various railway companies, which are matters for the consideration of the companies. A war bonus has, however, been granted by the British companies to clerks employed at the salaries mentioned.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will state the present output of the patent and pot still distilleries in the United Kingdom for potable purposes and the total quantity of spirits at present in bond?

The quantity of spirits in bond on the last day in January was as follows:

	Proof gallons.
Home-made spirits	138,539,000
Foreign spirits—
Brandy	3,820,000
Bum (including imitation rum)	13,115,000
	Gallons.
All other sorts	1,593,000

It would not be in the public interest to disclose how much of the output of distilleries in the United Kingdom is for potable and how much for other purposes.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Shipping Controller, with reference to the construction of merchant ships, whether the announcement of the nationalisation of shipping has stopped the placing of orders for new vessels by the shipowning companies; and, if so, how many vessels has the Shipping Controller ordered to make good this particular loss?

So far as available information shows, the statements that have been made with regard to the nationalisation of shipping do not appear to have led to any reluctance on the part of shipowners to place orders for the building of ships, but in any case my right hon. Friend the Shipping Controller is seeing to it that no suitable berth in any British shipyard not required for Admiralty work is left unutilised for merchant shipping. As I have already explained, it is not possible for me to state precisely what orders have been given for standardised cargo vessels, but the programme actually being carried out is a large one.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (1) whether he is aware of the personal loss and hardship caused to Mr. George Clark, of Glasgow, who was, in January, 1917. granted a passport to New Zealand and at once sold his household furniture, but has now been notified that it is withdrawn; and whether he can see his way to authorise the endorsement of this passport; and (2) whether he is aware of the personal loss and inconvenience caused to Mr. Martyn Pumphrey, of Glasgow, who, on receiving on 29th November last a passport to the United States, terminated his business partnership and prepared to sail but was notified on 8th January that the passport was withdrawn; and whether ho can see his way to authorise the endorsement of this passport?

I will reply to these questions together. In applications of this kind the Passport Office is guided by the views of the Director-General of National Service. In the cases of Mr. Clark and Mr. Pumphrey, the whole of the circumstances were taken into careful consideration by the National Service Department, who decided that permission to leave the country should be refused.

asked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant for Ireland, whether a force of extra police is still stationed in the county of Dublin at the expense of the ratepayers; if so, what is the reason; and whether, in view of the fact that the metropolitan county is, and for a long time has been, in a state of almost perfect peace, the extra force will now be removed?

There is no extra, force of police stationed in county Dublin.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland if he is aware that in April last Treasury sanction was given to a scheme for placing twisting Irish prison warders on the same pay as English warders; that the new scheme which has been put into operation in the Irish prisons service is not similar to the English scheme, but is to a largo extent based on the Scottish system, as is shown by the introduction of classes and payments on the hourly system; that, notwithstanding repeated promises by Ministers that no Irish officer would be victimised, a number of Irish officers who held special appointments under the old scheme are penalised under the new scheme to the extent of 8s. 4d. and 16s. 8d. per month; that the existing Irish warders are now only in receipt of the same pay as existing warders in England with three and four years less service; and, in consequence of the discontent and disappointment which at present exists amongst the Irish warders, will he take immediate steps to have those officers graded and paid on the same scale as those in England?

Under the scheme which has boon put into operation, the salaries payable are, in the case of male officers, generally similar to those payable in England, and in the cases of female officers, to those paid in Scotland. The classification adopted is that which is considered by the Prisons Board most suitable to the requirements of the Irish Prisons service. As regards special appointments, it is anticipated that in most cases the substitution of working pay for allowances for special duties will work out to about an equivalent of the allowances heretofore given. Where this is not possible, the circumstances of individual cases will be specially considered. The new scales do not purport to give the salaries which warders would have been in receipt of if they had entered the service under the present improved conditions. As I have before stated, the General Prisons Board are of opinion that the new scales of pay of Irish warders would work out to the advantage of practically all of them.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he is aware of the discontent amongst the employés of the Irish Lights Commissioners at Kingstown; if he is aware that the recognised rate of wages in the district is not being paid; if he is aware that the Irish Lights Commissioners employ labourers to do tradesmen's work at labourers' rates of pay; and if he will inquire into the working of the Irish Lights Department and remove the causes of complaints?

Since my predecessor replied to a question by the hon. Member on this subject on 23rd November last, certain further demands have been made by the men at the Lighthouse Stores at Kingstown, and have been considered by the Commissioners of Irish Lights who informed me on the 24th January that an agreement between them and the men's societies had been arrived at.