asked the Prime Minister whether he has noticed that, since July, 1914, in Divisions in this House on matters-affecting Ireland all English parties have combined to outvote and defeat the party claiming to represent Irish Nationalists; that the Leaders of that party frequently complain of having been betrayed, contemptuously ignored, and a policy pursued opposed to that which they advised; that every memorial and resolution sent to the Government, or to any member of the Government, by an Irish corporation, county, borough, or district council, or other representative body on a matter of Irish importance has been similarly treated, and the opposite policy pursued; that all the forms of justice and of civil law have been abrogated; that men not subject to military law have been, in contravention of English Statutes, tried by secret courts-martial, some executed, and many sent to penal servitude where they still are; that many, without charge or trial, have been deported to England,. where they still are; that no public meeting of protest is allowed; that elected public bodies are warned not to call attention to these things; that so much of the public Press as is not silenced by bribes is silenced by Government authority; that Ireland is held and ruled as a conquered country by a large army of occupation; that its appeals to neutral countries, in the absence of constitutional Government, are intercepted and prevented; that the Irish people, forced by these facts to withdraw their representation from Westminster and look elsewhere for justice, now trust and rely upon themselves alone, sinn fein amain; and whether he has any statement to make on the international, the English, or the Irish aspect of this situation?

I can add nothing to what was said by the Prime Minister in this House on 7th March.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will state, respec- tively, the amounts of Income Tax contributed by Great Britain and Ireland for the year 1915–16?

I beg to refer the hon. Member to the Return of Revenue and Expenditure (England, Scotland, and Ireland) (House of Commons Paper, No. 119, of 1916), in which full details are given on page 5.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether he is aware that it is the custom to ship live pigs to England from Ireland; whether they are killed for manufacture into become soon after arrival; and if he will say whether it will be sold as English or Irish become?

The answer to the first two parts of the hon. Member's question is in the affirmative. The bacon would be sold as English bacon.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food what was the total number of South American sheep and lambs arriving in England and not claimed or purchased by the Government for war purposes between 1st October and 31st December, 1916, whether he is aware that gambling and holding up has taken place with respect to this produce, especially in the stores at Liverpool and Manchester; whether some of the parcels have changed hands several times without a single one being offered to the public for sale; and whether, as it is very easy to detect this business by demanding returns from the refrigerator companies, he will have the matter thoroughly investigated and take steps to punish the offenders?

The quantity of South American sheep and lambs arriving in England for consumption by the civilian population between 1st October and 31st December, 1916, was:

• 146,000 carcasses of sheep, and
• 132,000 carcasses of lambs.

In reply to the latter parts of the question, the investigation promised to the hon. Member is now in progress.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food if the Food Controller received a communication addressed to him by the secretary of the Purveyors' and Family Grocers' Association on the 14th of February, requesting a supply of sugar for members who commenced trade between the 1st of January and the 1st of July, 1916, namely, six months prior to the Commission's restrictions curtailing the supply of sugar; if so, what steps have been taken to see that those new traders might receive the usual percentage of the sugar they received in 1916; and if he will explain why those traders who commenced business before the Royal Commission's Orders were issued in July, 1916, are now penalised and left without sugar during the present year?

I am informed that the communication in question was duly received by the Royal Commission on the Sugar Supply. As, however, I have explained in answer to previous questions, the arrangements made by the Commissions do not admit of sugar being allotted to persons who did not begin to trade until after 1915. As the hon. Member is aware, the Food Controller is to-day meeting Members of the House to discuss the whole sugar position.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether his attention has been called to the failure of the existing system of controlling supplies of sugar and potatoes to secure their fair share of available supplies to the poorer classes in Glasgow; whether he is aware that the situation is steadily becoming worse; and whether he will either institute a system of rations compulsory on all classes alike by means of sugar and potato tickets or by some other means which will secure an equitable distribution?

I am not aware that, there is any pronounced shortage of sugar in Glasgow. The supplies have been recently increased by an additional allotment to that city in common with other places where the industrial population has increased by reason of the War. As regards potatoes, the prevailing shortage has pressed more severely upon Scotland than upon many other parts of the United Kingdom, but special steps have been taken through the Scottish Office to provide an increased supply.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether his attention has been called to the way in which the existing supply of potatoes has been distributed to the public during the past few weeks, resulting in many large families of the working class being unable to obtain any potatoes at all; whether the Food Controller will consider the possibility of arranging for the distribution of all essential articles of food in which there is any shortage in such a way as to ensure that the whole population, poor and rich, shall be able to obtain an equal share of the available supply; and, if this is impracticable under the existing complex machinery, which is in private hands and conducted for profit, whether he will consider the advisability of making the local and municipal authorities responsible for the distribution at fixed Government prices?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. The Food Controller has ensured that so long as potatoes are available at all, their price shall not put them beyond the reach of the poorer classes. Unfortunately the shortage is so considerable that an increased supply can only be made available for the poor, who need them most, if those who can afford to buy articles of food of a similar character abstain from the consumption of potatoes as completely as possible. An appeal by the Food Controller to this effect appeared in the Press this morning.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether he has considered the advisability of fixing a flat rate or price for potatoes, and by doing away with periodic increases remove the cause of holding up necessary and urgent supplies?

As I have already stated, the object in fixing a higher price for potatoes delivered during the later months of the season was to prevent the whole of their stocks being thrown on the market at once. There is no evidence that farmers are unduly withholding potatoes from the market, and the Food Controller sees no reason to vary the Order now in force.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether his attention has been called to an advertisement of Kearley and Tonge quoting Canadian leanest sides at 152s.; whether this firm sells any Irish bacon; is he aware that the Canadian article, though inferior to Irish bacon, is quoted 12s. dearer than the highest price which can be demanded for Irish bacon, namely, 140s.; and whether he proposes to take any action in the matter?

The quotation of this firm for Canadian smoked bacon appears to be as stated. The firm sell Irish bacon of all descriptions, and their current price for smoked Irish bacon is not as stated in the question, but is 159s. per cwt. The price referred to in the third part of the question is the importers' price ex factory for green Irish bacon.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food if he will give the number of sheep and cattle in Great Britain at the beginning of the War and at present; the amount of tonnage now required for the transport of food for these; and what steps he proposes to take for increasing the consumption of home-grown in preference to imported meat, so as to render available further tonnage for the transport of cereals?

The number of sheep and cattle in Great Britain on 4th June, 1914, and 6th June, 1916, is returned as follows:

		1914.		1916.
Sheep	…	24,285,514	…	25,006,987
Cattle	…	7,092,918	…	7,442,185

It is not possible to make a satisfactory estimate on the point raised in the second part of the question, as returns of imports are given for the United Kingdom as a whole, and as feeding stuffs are largely derived from materials imported for other purposes, such as wheat and oil seeds. The question of policy raised in the last part of the question is, at the present moment, receiving the earnest consideration of the Government.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether the result of the system of voluntary rationing has been to increase the consumption of wheat and other cereal foods; and, if so, will he state the effect of the increase on the demand for tonnage and the steps, if any, being taken to reduce consumption?

I have no reason to suppose that the suggestion made in the first part of the question is correct, and from the many communications received in the Ministry of Food it seems clear that the consumption of bread has been lowered by the adoption of the voluntary rationing scheme.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether he has any knowledge of farms in Surrey which have been given up by the tenants because profitable cultivation has been 'made impossible by the action of the military authorities?

The Department have no knowledge of farms in Surrey having been given up for the reason stated. If my hon. Friend has any particulars and will send them to me, immediate inquiry will be made in the matter.

asked the Under Home Secretary whether, in view of the need of men for the land to increase the food supply, he will take immediate steps to allow conscientious objectors working under the Home Office scheme, who have knowledge of agriculture, to go on farm work?

The Committee on the Employment of Conscientious Objectors recently arranged with the Board of Agriculture for the issue of a circular to all War Agricultural Committees, explaining the conditions under which men could be sent out for employment in agriculture, but farmers appear to be unwilling to employ conscientious objectors, and very few requests for these men have been received by the Committee. The Committee have, however, taken over Dartmoor Prison as a work centre, and a large number of men will be employed there on farm work and in the reclamation of land.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland (1) whether the arrest and deportation of Mr. J. J. O'Kelly, without charge or trial, was because he is secretary of the Society for the Preservation of the Irish Language, a purely literary body, which has been publishing an annual volume of Irish literature and. has undertaken a scheme for writing the whole history of Ireland in modern Irish based on the baronial divisions; and whether the material for the annual report of this society, taken from Mr. O'Kelly's house by the military last May, will now be returned to him; and (2) whether the arrest and deportation of Mr. J. J. O'Kelly, without charge or trial, was because he is vice-president of the Gaelic League, and a member of and constant attendant on its four most active sub-committees, namely, the Oireachtas committee, which holds an annual festival extending over a week, and is devoted to the revival of the language, literature, social customs, songs, stories, music, art, pastimes, and industries of Ireland; the finance committee; the publications committee; and the committee charged with education and organisation; and whether all these activities are now held to be illegal?

I must refer the hon. Member to my answers to his previous, questions on this subject.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether, in connection with the arrest of Mr. Eamon Waldron, Gaelic-League organiser, at Ennistymon, the police acting under District Inspector O'Brien seized the personal property of that gentleman, including a wooden trunk, a leather attache case, a number of educational books, together with private and business letters, and also two cheques belonging to the Gaelic League, and representing public contributions to the-language fund; whether a charge of any kind was ever preferred against Eamon Waldron; whether, now that he has been released, the authorities intend to keep his property; and, if so, on what statutory grounds or on what plea of public policy is action of this kind justified?

Inquiries are still proceeding in connection with this matter.

asked the Home Secretary if he will inform the House what the intention of the Government is regarding the places in which and the conditions under which the men deported from Ireland without charge or trial are to be compelled to reside, and the arrangements for their maintenance and the maintenance of their dependent families in Ireland deprived of their breadwinners?

The places in which and the conditions under which these men are compelled to reside in this country are precisely the same as would be applicable in the case of any person removed under Defence of the Realm Regulation 14. The question of the arrangement for their maintenance or the maintenance of their families is not a matter for the War Office.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether he has received a resolution passed at a meeting of the workers engaged in the brewing, distilling, and allied trades protesting against the proposals which will deprive thousands of men in the St. Patrick's Division of employment; and whether it is the intention of the Government to start munition or other work for those workers from whom their action will take away the means of living?

I have seen the resolution referred to by the hon. Member. Before making any announcement such as he asks it is necessary I should ascertain what is the real prospect as to serious unemployment.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether he has received copies of resolutions passed at public meetings of the licensed grocers' and vintners' associations in Granard, Longford, and Edgeworthstown expressing their approval of closing public-houses in those towns provided the occupiers are compensated for the loss of their businesses; whether he will consider this opportunity for the reduction of licensed houses in Ireland; and whether the Government, whose restrictions of brewing and distilling threaten to ruin these traders, many of whom are struggling men, will propose any scheme of compensation before imposing these restrictions?

The matters raised in the question are engaging the attention of the Departments concerned.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether, in view of the unemployment and distress in Dublin city, especially in the building trade, and also the urgency of providing sanitary housing and rebuilding the ruined business areas, he will consider the need of immediately advancing the amounts of loans already sanctioned by the Local Government Board for housing and likewise the moneys awarded for rebuilding, so that employment may be given at once and distress and danger avoided?

I cannot at present add anything to the answer I gave the hon. Member for North Dublin on the 6th instant.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland if provision will be made for a substantial Grant to carry on the work of afforestation in Ireland; if he is aware of the amount of timber cut down for the past two years, and that no effort has been made to replant the tracts thus laid waste; and if he will say what are the Government's proposals in this matter?

Owing to the great demand for timber there have been large fellings in Ireland during the past two years, and the Department of Agriculture have submitted proposals to the Development Commissioners with a view to the replanting of areas cleared and the extension of planting. The purchase of land for forestry purposes is suspended, and operations on lands already acquired are continued only so far as is necessary to prevent loss. It is anticipated that planting will be resumed at the end of the War.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland if he will state the grounds on which the Local Government Board reduced the old age pension granted to Michael Heaney, Long ford Sub-Committee, from 5s. to 3s.; whether he is aware that this man is now practically destitute and his sister also; and if he will direct that both have the full amounts granted to them?

This case does not appear to have come before the Local Government Board.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland why Mary Noonan, Kill-sallagh, Edgeworthstown, has, after six years, been deprived of her old age pension; why the pension officer valued other people's property against her merely because they took her in to let her end her days in comfort; and if he will direct that further inquiries be made into this case?

Mary Noonan lives with and is maintained by her son, Patrick Noonan, who works two farms of 74 acres, very well stocked, carrying fourteen cattle, one horse, four store pigs, and fowl. Her benefits and privileges are estimated to exceed £31 10s. per annum. The Local Government Board are not aware that the pension officer has taken other people's property into consideration in her case.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland if he will state the reason for taking his old age pension from Francis M'Nally, Cartrongolan, Drumlish; whether he is aware that this man has without question enjoyed the pension since 1910; that his income is actually less now than when the pension was first given; and will he direct the Local Government Board to direct that this man's pension be restored?

Francis M'Nally's pension was discontinued on the ground that his means exceeded the statutory limit. The Local Government Board have no information as to his means in 1910, but if they were greater than at present he should not have been in receipt of a pension. The Board have no power to restore the pension.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland why John Cullen, of Long field, Edgeworthstown, has been refused an old age pension although owning no land or other means; and if he will direct a special inquiry into this case to prevent injustice to this old man?

John Cullen, of Edgeworthstown, is one of a family consisting of two brothers and two sisters, who have a good farm of forty-four acres. They have, in addition, land taken on the eleven months' system at a rent of £22 a year. The family are reported to be well-to-do. There is no reason for holding a special inquiry because the case has already been fully investigated.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland if he will state the grounds on which Mrs. Anne Flood, Ringainey, Edgeworthstown, has been deprived of her old age pension after enjoying the same for some years; if he will explain why she should be deprived of it merely because her son gave her a home to save her life in the severe winter; and if he will direct that the pension be restored?

Mrs. Anne Flood's pension was discontinued on the ground that her means exceeded the statutory limit. From the particulars furnished to the Local Government Board she should not have been in receipt of a pension. Support given by a son constitutes means within the meaning of Section 2 (1) (d) of the Old Pensions Act, 1911. The Board have no authority to restore the pension.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland why Owen Victory, Earl Street, Long ford, is refused the full pension to which he is entitled; whether he is aware that this man has no means and that the committee thrice granted him the full amount; and will he direct that the full pension be now granted?

Owen Victory, of Earl Street, Long ford, is in receipt; of a pension of 2s. a week, and the Local Government Board were not satisfied that he is entitled to a pension at a higher rate. He is not without means; he has land for which he pays a rent of £23 a year, also a house and stables. He keeps lodgers and lets the stables to people coming to the town on fair and market days. He has some cattle on his land.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland why Patrick Ward, of Corloggan, couny Long ford, Ardagh subcommittee, was deprived of his pension after two and a-half years; and whether, seeing that he is only a labourer living in a labourer's cottage, he will take steps to have this decision reversed?

The case of Patrick Ward was the subject of a special report by an inspector of the Local Government Board. Besides the labourer's cottage and the acre of land which Ward holds under the Labourers Acts, he has for the past fifteen years been renting 8 acres of land at a rent of £1 15s. a year, I acre of garden at £1 7s. 6d., 4 to 5 acres of meadow at about £12 a year, and turf bank at 7s. a. perch. The following stock and crops were on the land: two cows, two calves, one yearling, one horse, two goats, twenty-eight fowl, 2 roods of potatoes, I rood of roots, ½ rood of vegetables; and, in addition, there had been sold four pigs for £19 and six calves for £60. He had also hay worth about £48 and turf worth about £24 a year, and he was receiving help from sons in America to the extent of at least £8 a year.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty if he will add the total tonnage of the merchant vessels sunk by mine or submarine in the weekly Return issued by the Admiralty to the Press; and will he give the total tonnage of the vessels sunk for the weeks ending 25th February and 4th March last?

The form in which the weekly Return of merchant shipping losses is published by the Admiralty was determined by the Government after very full consideration, and has been accepted and adopted by our Allies. I have given my close personal attention to my right hon. Friend's suggestion, and am satisfied that there are cogent naval reasons against publishing the tonnage figures, and thereby giving the enemy accurate information of considerable military value which he could not otherwise obtain.

asked the Secretary to the Admiralty whether he is aware that a number of workmen in Chatham Dockyard are resident in Woolwich; that the cost of travelling home at week-ends is pressing upon them very hardly; and whether steps can be taken to restore the privilege to them of cheap tickets on production of a voucher from the dockyard?

The privilege of week-end tickets was withdrawn on 1st January last in connection with the general scheme for restriction of railway travelling, and the case of the men referred to by my right hon. Friend is not considered to be so exceptional as to justify the grant of the privilege suggested by him.

asked the Secretary to the Admiralty whether A.M.C. ratings in the Royal Naval Air Service are required to find their own tools at an initial cost of £13 10s.; whether he is aware that the Admiralty allowance of 3d. per day for the use of these tools in the service of the State is insufficient to cover the cost of the wear and tear of such tools and provides no funds to pay for the use of the tools in the service of the State or to pay for loss and breakage; and whether he will consider the desirability of providing Government tools or increasing the daily allowance so as to prevent loss falling on the men?

The circumstances in which these ratings have been required to find their own tools were explained in my answer to my hon. Friend the Member for the Westhoughton Division on the 21st February. These ratings are generally enlisted from artisans who would already possess most of the tools contained in the list recently drawn up by the Admiralty; therefore an expenditure of only a few shillings would be necessary in most cases to bring the man's kit up to Admiralty requirements. Facilities are afforded to purchase tools at Government rates, which are considerably below those at present ruling in the retail market. Used Government tools may also be purchased to complete the kit at four-fifths of the Government rate for new tools. The 3d. per day allowed for upkeep of tools amounts, roughly, to £4 10s. per annum—sufficient to provide a new kit of tools every three years. The allowance should, therefore, amply cover depreciation and breakages. Practically all the tools included in the standard equipment are necessary to a fully qualified carpenter in civil employment—certainly none could be considered as useless on the man's return to civil life. It is, however, intended to issue a revised list of tools which will bring the cost of the full kit considerably below £13 10s.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he will give instructions to the military representa- tives to refrain from appealing from the decisions of the tribunals in the case of blacksmiths' assistants engaged in shoeing horses and making and repairing agricultural machines and implements essential for enabling farmers to produce food, without previous inquiry as to the endeavours of such blacksmiths to procure substituted labour; whether he is aware of the waste of time and delay of work caused by summoning and resummoning such assistants after short periods of exemption without duly consulting the agricultural committee in Ayrshire; and if he will call the attention of the local military representative thereto?

Inquiries are being made, and my hon. Friend will be informed of the result.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War if soldiers under the age of nineteen are being sent abroad, and when instructions were sent to commanding officers on this point?

Soldiers under nineteen years of age are not being sent abroad, and the last part of the question does not, therefore, arise.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that George Albert Butler has been passed by the Army medical officer at the Camberwell Baths as fit for general service; whether he is aware that Mr. Butler has been certified by two medical men, one a Post Office medical officer, to be suffering from chronic bronchitis and asthma, chronic dyspepsia, gastritis, lumbago, and nervous debility and depression; whether he is aware that he is further medically certified as suffering from two hammer toes, to have another toe deformed, and, in addition, an ingrowing toenail; and whether, in the circumstances, he will order a fresh medical examination of Mr. Butler?

If my hon. Friend will furnish me with particulars of the address given at the time of registration and the date of examination by the medical board I will have inquiries made.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War if he is aware that a number of Irishmen working in Dumfries, Scotland, and sent there by the Irish Labour Exchanges to perform work of national importance, are now being served with forms requesting them to attend medical boards at the various works-where they are employed; whether there is any obligation on Irishmen to attend these boards; and, if not, why are they being served with forms requesting them to attend?

Instructions were issued on the 9th March that Irishmen sent to Great Britain by the Labour Employment Exchanges to perform work of national importance were not to be called up for medical examination, as such men are considered to be only resident in Great Britain for a special purpose and excepted from the provisions of the Military Service Act, 1916. Inquiries are being made as to the men who were stated to have been called up in Dumfries.

asked the Homo Secretary what is the reason for the delay in determining the separation allowance for the wife of M. Collins, a conscientious objector, now employed under the Home Office scheme, who is at present at Belmont Workhouse, Sutton, Surrey; and if the matter can be given immediate attention?

Separation allowances are not granted as a matter of right to the dependants of conscientious objectors working under the Committee on Employment-of Conscientious Objectors, but only in cases in which the grant of such an allowance appears to be necessary. In the present case the inquiries made by the Committee made it appear doubtful whether the man's wife was not able to-provide for herself; but, in view of a medical certificate now submitted by her, showing that she is suffering from rheumatism, it has been decided to grant an allowance of 10s. per week for eight weeks, after which period the matter will again be considered.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that Mr. A. Bardsley, of Hyde, a conscientious objector, was arrested on 5th May, 1916, court-martialled on 7th June and sentenced to 112 days' hard labour, sent to Portsmouth civil prison, thence to Winchester, thence to Wormwood Scrubbs, and appeared before the Central Tribunal who expressed themselves unconvinced as to his genuineness; whether he is aware that this man was again court-martialled and sentenced to twelve months' hard labour, sent to Portsmouth civil prison, removed to Plymouth prison, where the governor made an attempt to obtain work of national importance for him; whether it was reported on 29th January last that he had accepted the Home Office work and was awaiting arrest; and whether anything can be done to hasten the release of this man from prison?

My hon. Friend has asked me to reply to this question. Instructions for (his man's release from prison were issued on the 14th instant, and he will be released for employment in a day or two.

asked the hon. Member for Worcestershire (Bewdley Division) whether restrictions are still being placed on employés of the Customs and Excise Departments who wish to join the Army?

A considerable number of Customs and Excise employés have been and are being released for military service, but I am afraid it is inevitable that in this Department as in others some men who wish to join the Colours should be still retained on their civil duties.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he can give any information with regard to the fighting in German East Africa on the 24th of January, of which no details have yet been published?

A communiqué issued to the Press on 26th January referred to operations, of which reports had been received, covering the period 22nd January to 25th January. On 24th January fighting occurred at and south of the Rufiji River; at a point south-west of Kilwa; and about Likuju, fifty-five miles north-east of Ssongea. Movements, in connection with which no especial fighting was mentioned, occurred in other areas. Detailed accounts of these operations have not yet been received.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether it is customary for a soldier of non-commissioned rank to be reduced to the rank of private for no other reason than that of age; whether he is aware that Private R. F. Varney, No. 544, 1st Middlesex Regiment, was promoted lance-sergeant (paid) 25th January, 1915, promoted to sergeant 26th September, 1915, but was reduced to the rank of private on 13th September, 1916, because he was forty-five years old; and, in view of the injustice of a practice of this kind, whether he proposes to take any action in the matter?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the negative. I am making inquiries into the case mentioned by my hon. Friend, and will inform him of the result.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he can give any information regarding Corporal J. H. E. Watkins, No. 1176, 2nd Rhodesians Signalling Section, German East Africa, from whom nothing has been heard for more than four months, although up to that time he had corresponded regularly with relations in England, and whose name, so far as is known, has not been included in any casualty list?

No casualty to this soldier has been reported since he was transferred to a hospital ship in November suffering from malaria. J have now cabled for news of his present condition, but I would observe that it is not traced that any inquiry from the relatives has been received at the Colonial Office, where the records of the regiment are kept; otherwise inquiry would have been made before

asked what is the number of dental surgeons now holding commissions; and what is the annual cost of dental work for the Army?

The number of commissioned dental surgeons is 454. I regret that the information as to the cost is not available.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War on what grounds Martin M'Hugh, of Beagh, Dromahair, county Leitrim, has been deprived of dependant's allowance out of his son, Private Pat M'Hugh, No. 22506, 6th Battalion Royal Dublin Fusiliers, B Company, Field Force, Salonika, notwithstanding the fact that the usual amount of 3s. 6d. has been deducted from his son's pay?

Inquiries will be made, and I will inform the hon. Member of the result in due course.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office if he will state the reason for the refusal of the War Office to pay separation allowance to Mrs. M. A. Lyttle, Drumlish, county Long ford, in respect of her son, Private J. Lyttle, No. 11567, Irish Guards; and whether he is aware that this boy was employed by Mr. Thomas Kiernan, county clerk of Drumlish, before his enlistment at a salary of £12 a year, all of which he gave his mother?

The claim for separation allowance was refused because prior dependence on the soldier could not be established. The statement as to contribution is not borne out by the soldier's own statement. Mrs. Lyttle was advised of her right to appeal last November, but no appeal has been received.

asked the Pensions Minister whether there is any age limit below which pensions are not granted; and whether a boy who enlisted under the age of fifteen and was discharged under the age of seventeen, after being wounded in action, would be entitled to a disability pension on the ordinary scale?

As far as disablement pensions under the new Warrant are concerned, the answer to the first part of the question is in the negative, and to the second part in the affirmative.

asked, with regard to the recently announced grant of supplementary allowances for wives who are physically unfit for work, under Statutory Committee Regulations, Part II., No. 7 (1) (d) (amended), whether a wife who is unfit for work owing to her approaching confinement is eligible for such supplementary allowance?

The reply is in the affirmative.

asked the Pensions Minister, concerning the case of ex-Private Harry Jackson, No. 10573, 3rd Duke of Wellington's West Riding Regiment, who enlisted in September, 1914, was sent to France in December, 1914, was gassed on Hill 60 in June, 1915, and subsequently, after repeated lapses into a state of mental deficiency, was finally discharged into Menston Asylum on 16th December last; whether he is aware that Private Jackson's wife is only in receipt of 10s. per week for herself and a baby nine months old, after the guardians had deducted 12s. from her husband's pension for his maintenance; if he will state the amount of the pension ex-Private Jackson will be entitled to under the new Royal Warrant; whether the amount will be subject to deduction by the guardians; and, if so, what will be the net weekly sum due to her under the Warrant?

I am informed that the facts are substantially as stated in the first part of the question, except that Mrs. Jackson is in receipt of 12s. weekly in respect of the balance of her husband's pension. Under the draft Royal Warrant such a case would be dealt with by the grant of an allowance under Article 6, and the wife would, during the period of her husband's detention in an asylum, receive an amount not less than the pension and. allowance for children to which she would have been entitled had she been a widow. In this case the allowance would be 18s. 9d. weekly.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether recent War Office contracts for Army shirts have included a new clause under which contractors are requested to pack shirts in strong paper parcels of ten, each parcel to contain one size only; if so, whether the parcels after delivery to the Royal Army Clothing Department have to be opened for examination; whether, after being so examined, they are rewrapped or otherwise; and what is the reason for the departure from the previous practice of the department made at a time of alleged special scarcity of paper?

The clause to which my hon. Friend refers is not new, but has been in existence for the last two years. The question how far paper packing can be discontinued is being considered.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office if he will state the number of Government agents for the purchase of timber in Ireland and how many of these agents are timber merchants doing business in the locality for which they are appointed; if he will state on what principle these agents are paid and if it is to their interest to fix a low rate of value for the timber that they purchase; and if he has received any complaints that owners of demesnes have been subjected to undue pressure to induce them to provide more than a reasonable contribution of trees from their estates while other estates have not been asked to supply any timber?

Timber has been purchased in Ireland by the staff of the Home Grown Timber Committee, consisting of eight officers under an officer of the Department of Agriculture. Five of these are salaried and three are paid on a fixed commission. I am not aware that it is to their interest to fix a low rate for timber purchased, and no complaints of the kind suggested have been received. In a few instances timber has been requisitioned, and in that case, the price is fixed by the Defence of the Realm (Losses) Royal Commission.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office if he can yet state whether it is intended to publish the Report of the hon. Member for Loughborough regarding the need for a receiving depot for War Office supplies in Ireland; whether he can state the substance of that Report; whether it recommended the establishment of such a depot; and whether any action is to be taken as a result of War Office communications with the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland?

No, Sir, as at present advised, it is not proposed to publish this Report. The hon. Gentleman will, therefore, forgive me if I do not disclose the views expressed with regard to particular points. The whole question is being considered, but I am not able to say more at the moment.

asked the Minister of Munitions whether any scheme is contemplated for bringing into the Cleveland district men from other districts to work in the ironstone mines; whether he is aware that many hundreds of Cleveland miners have enlisted in the Army; whether there are any classes of these men who could be returned for work in the mines without serious detriment to the military Service; whether he is aware that such men, being familiar with the working conditions of these mines, would be of more value in increasing the output than any others; whether he is aware that some of the mines are now not always working full time; whether measures can be taken to remedy this; and whether, before any steps are taken to bring in men from elsewhere, an opportunity will be given to the Cleveland Miners' Association to express their views?

The need for a large increase in the output of iron ore will necessitate a considerable addition to the numbers of men working in ironstone mines in the Cleveland and other districts. The Minister is fully aware of the advantages of utilising the services of men familiar with the working conditions of these mines, and the question of releasing from the Colours ironstone miners who are not fit for general service is under discussion with the War Office. The Minister has no definite information of mines not now working full time; but a local inquiry is being instituted, and all possible measures will be taken to remedy this state of affairs if it is found to exist. The Cleveland Miners' and Quarrymen's Association have already communicated with the Ministry on the introduction of labour from elsewhere, and an opportunity will be given to them of expressing their views before any steps are taken by the Ministry.

asked the Minister of Munitions whether he is aware that Sir William Clegg, the chairman of the Sheffield tribunal, is refusing to give workmen leaving certificates in cases where men have given their legal week's notice to leave their employment and served the six weeks' penalty period; if he is aware that such is against the Munitions Act; and if he intends taking any action in the matter?

I am making inquiries in this case and will communicate the result to my hon. Friend in due course.

asked the Minister of Munitions whether, in the interests of the food supply, of a solution to the tonnage problem, and of the efficiency of labour and the public health, he will prohibit forthwith all sale of intoxicating liquors on Sundays?

I have nothing to add to the answer given to the hon. Member on 15th March, in which it was stated that the Central Control Board (Liquor Traffic) are not, as at present advised, prepared to recommend the course suggested.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Air Board whether General Sir Douglas Haig has expressed his dissatisfaction, either directly or indirectly, with certain types of machines which are being employed in France; whether the BE 2E, BE 2 C, or BE 2D machine is still being ordered; and, if so, in what quantities?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the negative; but I would refer the hon. Member to the statement of the Field-Marshal's views contained in the dispatch from him which was published on 29th December last. As regards the second and third parts of the question, it would be contrary to public interests to give information as to the types and numbers of aeroplanes being ordered. The hon. Member may rest assured that no machines are being ordered for employment in France which the Commander-in-Chief does not v ant.

asked what proportion of British Government-designed machines are at present being employed in France and what proportion of private British-designed; what proportion of French-designed; and what proportion of accidents coming under the heading of killed, wounded, or missing are to be attributed to each of these types, respectively, in the last twelve months?

It would not be in the public interest to give the information asked for in the first and second part of the hon. Member's question. The compilation of the figures asked for in the third part of the question would involve a very considerable amount of work, and as it would not furnish the material for a fair comparison, I do not think that the War Office could justifiably be asked to undertake it at the present time of pressure.

asked the President of the Board of Education if any steps are being taken to further the teaching of the Russian language in the higher and secondary schools in this country; if the Russian coinage and weights and measures are being taught; if there are sufficient Russian teachers in this country; and if there are atlases with good maps of Russia and Siberia available?

The question of providing for instruction in Russian in State-aided secondary and technical schools is engaging the attention of many local education authorities and governing bodies, and in a few schools classes have already been started. Instruction in the language is provided at the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, London (King's College), Durham (Armstrong College), Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester and Sheffield, and at the University College of Nottingham. There are grounds for thinking that there is not a sufficient supply of competent teachers of Russian in this country. I am unable to say to what extent the Russian system of weights and measures is taught, or how far the atlases available are suitable for present requirements.

asked the Home Secretary whether he has received any requests from Ireland asking for increased visiting facilities and an improved dietary scale for the Countess Markiewicz; and if he will say why the publication of the evidence taken at her court-martial is continuously refused?

Representations have been received from three local authorities in Ireland asking that this prisoner may be allowed to receive a daily visit. The second part of the question should be put to the War Office.

asked the Home Secretary whether he is prepared immediately to introduce a Bill giving him power to revoke certificates of naturalisation granted in this country in cases where it would be desirable in the national interest, leaving the larger question of the amendment of the naturalisation laws to be decided at the Imperial Conference?

No, Sir. My right hon. Friend adheres to the view expressed in his answer to the hon. and learned Member for York on the 5th instant, that denaturalisation is an Imperial matter on which the opinion of the Imperial Conference ought to be taken.

asked the Home Secretary if he will specify the statutory authority, if any, under which books sent to the untried Irish prisoners of war at Frongoch were prevented from reaching them and confiscated instead of being returned to the senders whose names and addresses were given; and what has been done with this private property?

The authority for censorship is the Royal Warrant for the Maintenance of Discipline. As regards the question of return, the Censor's Office were authorised at the beginning of last November to inform inquirers that the return of rejected literature could not be guaranteed. Very little was stopped by the Censor, and such books and pamphlets as were stopped are probably still in his office.

asked the Home Secretary who is responsible for his incorrect information regarding Tierney, now in Denbigh Asylum as the result of cruelty in Frongoch Camp; whether there is any independent denial of the charge that he was forced to travel from hospital before he was fit for removal; why were the repeated representations of his colleagues in the camp regarding him, since confirmed by the results, disregarded; did punishment in the South Camp involve physical and mental deprivations injurious in such a case; in view of Mrs. Tierney's assertion that her husband never before suffered from mental trouble, who is it attributes a contrary statement to her; and whether, to accelerate his recovery, Tierney will be transferred to an asylum near enough for his wife and friends to visit him frequently?

The Home Secretary's answer of 28th of February on this matter was correct, and I must refer the hon. Member to it. No representations about Tierney's condition were made to the commandant or to the staff until the head leader reported his illness on the morning of 20th November last, when he was at once removed to hospital. I am informed that the order on which Tierney was admitted to the asylum states that Mrs. Tierney informed the doctor that he often had attacks of temporary loss of memory and confused ideas. The Home Office is making inquiry for an asylum nearer London to which Tierney could be removed.

asked the Home Secretary whether his attention has been called to an interview given by Lord Milner to Reuter's Agency and published on 6th March, 1917, in which he said that it was chiefly owing to the support of His Majesty the Czar that the results of the discussions were so satisfactory, and further that it was quite wrong to suppose that there was in Russia any controversy about the waging of the War, that it is merely a question of administration, in fact much the same kind of controversy as there was in England; whether this interview was submitted to and passed by the Censor for publication; if so, why the Censor continues to sanction publications calculated to deceive the people of this country; and whether communications setting forth the truth of the Russian situation and warning the British people of what was about to happen in that country have been systematically suppressed?.

In answer to the first part of the question my right hon. Friend has seen a report of the interview referred to. The reply to the second part of the question is in the negative. So far as I am aware, the suggestion contained in the third part of the question has no foundation in fact. The reply to the last part of the question is in the negative.

asked the Postmaster General whether he is aware that the Post Office temporary sorting clerks and telegraphists are dissatisfied with their present rates of pay, which are inadequate to meet the high cost of living; and, being denied as temporary employees the right of direct appeal to the Postmaster-General, will he have inquiries made into the matter with a view to an increase in wages being conceded to this class of low-paid employés?

Temporary sorting clerks and telegraphists, in common with all Post Office servants, have the right of appeal to the Postmaster-General. Claims from the temporary staff of the Post Office for increased remuneration have been placed before the Conciliation and Arbitration Board for Government employés, and I must await the decision of that Board.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he is aware that the Egyptian authorities have refused to allow any reference to be printed in the Egyptian newspapers concerning the book entitled, "With Kitchener in Cairo"; and if he intends taking any action in the matter?

As regards the first part of the hon. Member's question, I have no information. As regards the second part, the matter referred to would be one for the discretion of the Egyptian authorities.

asked the Secretary for Scotland whether he can state, approximately, the number of houses in Scotland affected by the restrictions placed upon: rents under emergency legislation; the rental of the same; the amount of money advanced on loan over them; and the rate of interest payable on such money?

I would refer my hon. Friend to the Appendix to the Minutes of Evidence before the Committee which reported to the Secretary for Scotland on this matter [Cd. 8154 of 1916], where he will find some of the information which he desires. I regret that I am not in a position to supplement it.

asked the Secretary for Scotland whether his attention has been drawn to cases where tenants of house property enjoying immunity under emergency legislation from an increase in the rent they themselves pay have sub-let rooms to munition workers and others at very high figures in such a way as to make money out of the Act restricting rents of small houses; and whether he proposes to take any action in the matter?

My attention has not, so far as I remember, been drawn to the allegations referred to by my hon. Friend; but I would remind him that the Act does not deal with furnished lodgings, which were after considerable discussion excluded from its operation.

asked the right hon. Member for Barnard Castle, as representing the Ministry of National Service, whether he has received an application from Niville Bushell, Esq., of 7, Burleigh Way, Enfield, a scientific farmer of eight years' experience, recently invalided out of the Army, and who held a commission since the early days of the War; and, if so, what was the substance of such application and what was the reply from the Director of National Service?

The answer is in the affirmative. Mr. Bushell stated that before the War the was a pig breeder and manager of poultry farms, and instructor. Being row unable to buy another farm he wished for an appointment under Government, and had already offered his services to the Board of Agriculture and to the Food Controller. The National Service Department had no post to offer him at the time, but undertook to keep his name in mind as the work of the agricultural section developed.

asked the right, hon. Member for Barnard Castle, as representing the Ministry of National Service, whether the Director-General will consider the importance of formulating his policy in regard to the enrolment of men for National Service so that definite appeals for labour are made in respect only of ascertained demands; whether this policy has been adopted in the case of appeals for women volunteers; and whether he will now discourage the enrolment of men and women who are already engaged in occupations from which in the national interest they will not be and ought not to be removed?

The Director-General intends to supplement his appeal by special appeals for special demands. In the case of women, only special appeals will be made, as there is no shortage of women labour. There is a shortage of male labour, and the Director-General will continue his general appeal, which includes those already engaged in work of national importance, not for the purpose of changing their occupations, but to enable them to be moved from one locality to another in the same occupation, if the national interest should require it.

asked the President of the Board of Education if the metric system of weights and measures in use in the Latin countries is being taught in the higher schools and State-aided educational institutions; if the money system of the various States in South America is being taught and the languages spoken there; and if there are teachers available for this?

The metric system of weights and measures is taught in all State-aided secondary and technical schools. The money systems of the South-American States are not generally taught in State-aided secondary schools, but they are taught in a considerable number of day and evening commercial classes. The faculties of commerce at most of the universities make arrangements for the study of foreign systems of weights and measures and currencies. Spanish has been taught for some years past in a few secondary schools, and in many others arrangements are now being nade for its introduction. It is taught in a considerable number of evening schools and classes. Portuguese is taught in a few only. The question of extending the provision for the teaching of these languages is now being actively considered by many local education authorities, and it is too soon to say whether the supply of competent teachers will be adequate. Instruction in Spanish is provided at the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, London (Ring's College), Durham (Armstrong College), Birmingham, and Liverpool, and at the University Colleges of Nottingham and Southampton.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland what are the present fares on local trains which do not carry mails for the journey from Carlisle Pier to Kingstown Station; and, in view of the fact that the distance is about 20 perches, will he ascertain if the new fares are approved of by the Irish Railway Committee?

Local trains are not run to Carlisle Pier. They run only to Kingstown Station. The question of the fares charged on the mail trains to Carlisle Pier has not been before the Irish Railway Executive Committee.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether he has received a request from the ship inspectors in the employment of the Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction for an extension of the age limit of compulsory retirement; and, if so, whether he is prepared to accede to it?

The memorial has been received and is under the consideration of the Department of Agriculture.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland why the application of Patrick Egan, Derrincliff, Newtowncashel, for reinstatement on a holding from which he was evicted or the provision of an equivalent holding was not entertained; whether he is aware that this is a most industrious man striving to eke out an existence on 4 acres of bog; and if he can hold out any hope of providing for him?

The Estates Commissioners received an application from Patrick Egan for reinstatement in a holding on the Smyth estate, formerly occupied by his father-in-law, but as the eviction did not take place within twenty-five years (before the passing of the Irish Land Act, 1903, Egan does not come within the class of evicted tenants for whom there is power to provide holdings under the Land Purchase Acts.

asked the Vice-President of the Department of Agriculture (Ireland) what became of the crops grown at the Ballyhaise Agricultural Station in 1915 on the 123 acres then cultivated and on the 105 acres cultivated in 1916; will he state for these years the cost of raising these various crops in detail; and also what the same realised and where they were disposed of?

Crops grown on the Ballyhaise farm in 1915 and 1916 were partly; fed to farm stock and partly sold. The Department of Agriculture are not in a position to furnish detailed information as to the cost of raising a particular crop, nor as to the sums realised by the various crops. The portions sold were disposed of locally.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether he has now decided on the publication of the Report by the Irish Railway Committee on the Burton-port line; and, if not, will he furnish copies to the hon. Members for county Donegal, together with copies of the Board of Works' Report on the working of this line?

When the Report in question reaches me, I will consider what publicity can be given to this and other Reports on the subject of the Burtonport Railway.

asked the Secretary for Scotland if he can state the convictions for drunkenness, males and females, respectively, for the years 1913, 1914, 1915, and 1916?

My hon. Friend will find a good deal of information on this subject, under classified headings, in the Judicial Statistics of Scotland, annually laid before Parliament. The figures would take some time to state verbally, and I propose to communicate them so far as they are available to my hon. Friend as soon as some necessary adjustments have been made.