asked the Prime Minister if he will state in outline what prac- tical results have been achieved as from 1st March last under the National Service scheme; and will he also state the numbers employed in this Department with and without salary, and the total estimated annual salary?

The Prime Minister has asked me to reply.The practical results achieved as from the 1st March last under the National Service scheme, include the following:—The number of voluntecrs enrolled has been raised from 92,000 to 288,000. The Agricultural Section of the Department has been able to provide sufficient ploughmen to meet all the ascertained needs of the farmers. The Trades Section has been continuously engaged upon the classification of trades in the order of their relative national importance, and orders have been issued providing for the restriction of the use of labour in certain trades. Thirty-five thousand women have registered their names and applied for forms under the scheme published by the War Office for service behind the lines in France, and 12,450 women have enrolled under the recent appeal for the Women s Land Army.So far the placing of National Service volunteers in employment has been the duty undertaken by the Ministry of Labour, through the Employment Exchanges, but recently plans have been prepared for the National Service Department as from 1st May to allocate to employment, as well as to enrol, National Service volunteers. Concurrently arrangements have been made for the National Service Department to take over from the same date the substitution of men withdrawn from trades of national importance, for service with the Army, and good progress has been made with the establishment of officers and offices for this work.The number employed in the National Service Department, including messengers, porters, etc., is 511 at headquarters and 120 in the country. The annual cost of this staff is £70,055, but many are only temporarily employed on enrolment purposes and their services will shortly cease. There are twenty-six officers loaned from other Government Departments, and 273 officers working as volunteers, forty-three at headquarters, and 227—principally sub-commissioners—in the country.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of National Service (1) whether his attention has been drawn to the fact that a man who registered at Bournemouth as a national volunteer, and was interviewed by the official at the local Employment Exchange on the 22nd February, has not been placed in work; will he explain the cause of the delay; and whether six weeks may be taken as the average period taken to place a man in work after enrolment; and (2) whether his attention has been drawn to the complaints made by national volunteers against the Employment Exchanges owing to men being sent long distances to do work for which they are totally unfitted; whether he is aware of the case of a draper sent from Christchurch, Bournemouth, to Paisley, a distance of 500 miles, who returned the same night owing to his inability to perform the work assigned to him; whether he is aware that another man, who had never done labourer's work in his life, was sent from Bournemouth to Paisley and put to do the work of a bricklayer's labourer and that many men in Paisley could easily have done the work; and will he say how this transfer of labour from one district to another where there are men already able and willing to do the work compares with the principle laid down by the Director-General of National Service that an essential part in his scheme is that men are not to be transferred from one district to another if there are men in the other district already there and equally capable of doing the work?

My hon Friend has asked me to answer these questions. If the hon. Member will be good enough to send me the names and addresses of the three National Service volunteers to whom he refers, I will have inquiries made, and will send him a report as soon as possible. On the general question as to the time taken to place a volunteer in employment, I should explain that, on the date mentioned, the machinery for transfer was not yet in operation. Under present arrangements it is possible to place a volunteer in employment forthwith, provided that he is not in employment, that he is willing to move at once, and that a vacancy suitable for the qualifications possessed by the volunteer is available. In the ordinary case, however, certain formalities have to be complied with, and it is open both to the volunteer and to his employer to protest against the transfer. In addition to the period which must necessarily elapse, and which must be of varying duration, before the volunteer is accepted by the employer to whom he has been offered, the volunteer is entitled to certain periods of notice before he can be transferred, which may amount to 17 days. These periods do not, of course, relate to cases where the volunteer or his employer lodges a protest against the transfer, in which cases the transfer may be further delayed, or may be cancelled altogether. As regards the general question of transferring volunteers from one district to another, the instructions provide that supplies of local labour, suitable for the vacancy, are to be exhausted before men are brought from a distance. In the absence of particulars, I cannot, of course, say whether the instructions have been carried out in the instances referred to.

asked the Prime Minister whether an official Accommodation Committee has been set up; if so, who is its chairman; what staff is employed; what is the cost of this staff; and what are the full functions of this Committee?

A Committee was set up in January last to consider, during the continuance of the War, demands for accommodation from any of the War Departments, and also from any Department not directly concerned with the prosecution of the War which might conflict with the needs of the War Department, and to-determine the allocation of such accommodation.The Committee consists of:

asked the Prime Minister if he will state the relation between the newly-appointed Surveyor-General of Army Supplies and the Financial Secretary to the War Office; and whether the latter may now be considered to have resigned his responsibilities to the House of Commons for the expenditure of public funds?

The exact relationship of the Surveyor-General of Army Supplies and the Financial Secretary is under consideration at the present time.

asked the Prime Minister whether the Reconstruction Committee which was appointed by the late Prime Minister to advise the Government on the many national problems that will arise at the end of the War has been reconstructed; if so, if he will state the composition of the reconstructed Committee, and whether records were kept by the earlier Committee which are available for the purposes of the new Committee; whether, in view of the uncertainty and anxiety which exist in the public mind in regard to the state of the preparedness of the Empire for peace, he will indicate more precisely the nature and scope of the work of the Committee, and, in particular, if it includes the consideration of problems relating to the overseas territories of the Empire; whether any conclusions have been arrived at by the Committee; and, if so, if he is in a position to make any statement in regard to them?

The answer to the first and second parts of the question is in the affirmative. The composition of the Committee is as follows:

• The Right Hon. The Prime Minister (Chairman).
• The Right Hon. E. S. Montagu, M.P. (Vice-Chairman).
• Professor W. G. S. Adams.
• Mr. J. R. Clynes, M.P.
• Sir A. M. Duckham, K.C.B.
• Mr. R. Hazleton, M.P.
• Major J. W. Hills, M.P.
• Mr. Thomas Jones.
• Mr. P. H. Kerr.
• Dr. Marion Phillips.
• Mr. B. Seebohm Rowntree.
• The Marquess of Salisbury, G.O.V.O.
• Mr. Leslie Scott, K.C., M.P.
• Sir J. Stevenson, Bart.
• Mr. J. H. Thomas, M.P.
• Mrs. Sidney Webb.

Generally the function of the Committee is to recommend to the Government the inquiries which should be made and the steps which should be taken in connection with the restoration of peace conditions.

asked the Prime Minister if he has received a communication from the guardians of the Bradford Poor Law Union stating that, as the condition of the sightless community is daily becoming more precarious owing to the insufficiency of remunerative employment to enable them to cope with the burdens imposed upon them through the cost of living and increased taxation due to the War, the guardians press for the publication of the Report of the Interdepartmental Committee on the Blind which was instituted in 1914 to inquire into the conditions of the blind, and for the embodiment without delay of such recommendations contained in the said Report as will materially benefit sightless persons; and, if so, what action he has taken in regard to it?

The Prime Minister has asked me to answer this question. I understand that my right hon. Friend has not received the communication referred to. With reference to the publication of the Report, as I explained in reply to a question on the same subject by the hon. Member for Blackburn on the 17th October last, the Committee were unanimous in thinking that the interests of the blind community would be best served by deferring the issue of the Report' until a more opportune time. The question of publishing the Report will be reconsidered in the event of any change of circumstances occurring likely to be favourable to its issue.

asked the Prime Minister whether Sir Joseph Maclay has been appointed Shipping Controller; if so, will he state the date of his appointment and all practical results obtained since that date; and what is the present personnel of the Ministry of Shipping?

My right hon. Friend has asked me to reply to this question. Sir Joseph Maclay's appointment as Shipping Controller dates from the coming into operation of the New Ministries and Secretaries Act, 1916, namely, 22nd December, 1916. It is not possible within the limits of an answer to a question to describe the many measures which have been taken by the Shipping Controller in pursuance of his duties, but some of the chief of them were described by me in speeches made in this House on 14th February, 15th March, and 4th April. With regard to the last part of the question, the persons employed in the Ministry number 830.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if the requests for political treatment and release of the Irish prisoners at Lewes and Aylesbury will be considered at an early date by the Government; if the Government will follow the lead of the new Russian Government in their dealings with political prisoners; whether he is aware that the immediate release of the prisoners would be of great assistance to America and would remove the feeling rapidly growing amongst Irish-Americans; and if he is aware that if this feeling was removed it would be of great benefit to the American Government and would strengthen their hands in the future progress of the War?

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 22nd March to the hon. Member for South Devon.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the revenue from Ireland and the expenditure on Irish services in each of the financial years 1911, 1912, 1913, 1914, 1915, 1916, and 1917?

I would refer the hon. Member to the Return relating to Imperial Revenue, Collection, and Expenditure (Great Britain and Ireland), for the year ending 31st March, 1916 (H.C. 118 of 1916), and to similar Returns for the previous years, which contain all the figures at present available.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what deductions may be made in a return for Income Tax or Super-tax in respect of the sums which are required to be expended under covenants contained in the lease of property, the annual value of which is being accounted for, in respect of insurance of buildings, structural and decorative repairs, prescribed by the covenants, and other annual payments, e.g., annual maintenance of private road, the subject of a specific covenant, respectively?

I would refer my hon. and learned Friend to Section 35 of the Finance Act, 1894, and Section 69 of the Finance (1909–10) Act, 1910, as amended by Section 8 of the Finance Act, 1914, which prescribe the allowances to be made for Income Tax and Super-tax purposes in respect of repairs, insurance, maintenance and management of property.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has considered the operation of Section 36 of the Finance Act, 1916, with reference to the non-allowance of deduction of premiums paid for life insurance in the computation for Super-tax, and the hardship which the refusal to allow such deduction involves to those incomes which are slightly over the limit upon which Super-tax begins to be payable, having regard to the present burden of taxation and high prices of living; and whether he will consider the desirability of amending the law so as to give relief up to a sum of £100 in respect of life insurance premiums?

I would refer my hon. and learned Friend to Section 32 of the Finance Act, 1916, which makes special provision to obviate hardship in the case where a taxpayer's total income narrowly exceeds one or other of the limits of exemption, abatement, etc.

asked the hon. Member for Worcestershire (Bewdley Division) whether, in the case of married officers having a small business, the abatements, the premium on life policies, and allowance for children, may be allowed off the profits of the business instead of off the small Army pay; whether this was done at the beginning of the War; and, if so, whether the practice can be re-established?

Special Income Tax relief applicable to the service pay of sailors and soldiers was granted for the first time by Section 25 of the Finance (No. 2) Act, 1915, and upon the principle which was determined when the differentiation of Income Tax rates was introduced—in 1907—it was expressly enacted that the allowances for abatement, insurance premiums, etc., should be made primarily from the Service pay. There has been no change in the practice since the introduction of the special relief for Service pay. Previously it was immaterial whether the allowances were made from Service pay or other earned income, as the Income Tax rates were the same for each. I may remind the hon. and gallant Member that this matter was fully discussed in connection with an Amendment moved by the hon. Member for Devizes to Clause 27 of the Finance (No. 2) Bill, 1916.

asked whether workmen are entitled to deduct from their income returned for Income Tax purposes the amount deducted from their wages under the provisions of Parts I. and II. of the National Insurance Act, 1911?

The provisions of the Income Tax Acts do not permit to any taxpayer a deduction in respect of pay-meats for benefits during sickness or un-employment, whether such payments take the form of premiums to insurance companies, etc., or contributions under the National Insurance Act, 1911.

asked the hon. Member for Worcestershire (Bewdlcy Division) whether, in view of the rearrangement of exemptions to Income Tax and the lowering of the taxable limit, as well as in view of the cost of living, there is any probability of a scheme being formulated in the near future to substantially increase the salaries of the lower classification of Civil servants, particularly those whose salaries are under £150 per annum?

The claim of the less highly paid classes of Civil servants to an increased war bonus is at present under the consideration of the Conciliation and Arbitration Board.

asked the Prime Minister whether the hon. Member for the Fareham Division is Director-General of a Food Production Department; will he say in what commodities a minimum and maximum price have been guaranteed; the amounts of same and for what period; and how many salaried persons are connected with this Department, giving the total estimated annual salaries?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. With regard to the second and third, I will refer the hon. Member to the Ministry of Food, which has made existing Orders setting up maximum and minimum prices. The number of salaried persons employed in the Food Production Department of the Board is 372, and the estimated amount of their salaries is £65,890 per annum.

asked the Prime Minister if he is aware that the President of the Board of Agriculture made a statement in early January that the crop of 1917 potatoes grown in Jersey should not be subject to fixed pricing or commandeering, and that on that promise the Jersey farmer, who pays rents of from £14 to £18 per acre, planted every available acre; that fertilisers are very expensive in Jersey, labour scarce and highly paid, and that a fair minimum price per acre potatoes f.o.b. transport is, including rent, about £70; if he is aware that the War Office sent an Army Service Corps colonel to Jersey to bargain with the Committee of the Defence of the Island for the taking of half the 1917 crop From 15th June (best or ware potatoes only) at £8 6s. 8d. per ton, and that at this rate the result must be bankruptcy for the farmer, as the only question is how much he must lose per acre, and that it would be financially better for the farmer even now to plough up his potato land and grow roots, etc., for his cattle; and if he is aware that this bargain was obtained by the Army Service Corps colonel on the statement to the committee that in the event of his getting the potatoes at his price Government would see to it that transport would be obtained for the remaining half of the crop, but that otherwise it would not be so, that this authoritative statement was in the nature of a threat, and that the bargain was thus obtained by means which should not have the sanction of the Government; and if, under the circumstances, he will have a more equitable contract arranged, or if he will take the whole crop at cost price plus a percentage, seeing that at the end of May, June, and early July there will be practically no other potatoes to be had in this country?

My right hon. Friend has asked me to take this question. As regards the first part of my hon. Friend's question, my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Agriculture has stated, with reference to the maximum prices originally fixed for main crop potatoes in 1917, that the Food Controller did not propose to fix maximum prices for first and second earlies. This statement has no bearing on the policy of minimum prices now adopted by the Food Controller. As regards the remainder of the question, I am unable to give an answer without detailed investigation, which I am having made. I will communicate the result to my hon. Friend as soon as I am in a position to do so.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether ho is aware that there are 303 fish friers' shops in Bradford that supply, altogether, between 800,000 and 900,000 meals per week consisting of fish and potatoes, fried, in all cases, in pure beef dripping; that these meals are provided at an average cost to the consumer of 2d. to 2½d. each; if he is aware that although 4,500 stones of potatoes per week are used in providing these meals and a large proportion of the potatoes are purchased on the cooperative system by the fish friers in the city the potatoes have to be bought at retailers' prices; if he is aware that under the present arrangement in regard to prices it is becoming a general practice among potato merchants to buy from farmers, whether by reason of collusion or of necessity is not known, as if the farmers were retailers, and with the result that fish friers and others are obliged to pay extra cartage charges and commission to potato merchants over and above farmer-retailers' prices or go without supplies; and if, in view of the importance of maintaining the supply of cheap nutritious meals economically cooked and served during the present crisis, he will consent to receive a deputation of fish friers and allow them to explain their case to him?

I have no information as to the precise facts mentioned in the hon. Member's question; but I shall be glad to arrange for the reception of a deputation of Bradford fish friers on the points raised in the question.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food if he can state the quantity of barley and other cereals and materials required to produce the 3,000,000 gallons of spirits to be manufactured by the patent-still distilleries and the 8,500,000 gallons of spirits to be manufactured by the Scottish and Irish pot-still distilleries during the present year for potable purposes?

Approximately 115,000 quarters of grain are required to produce 3 millions of patent still spirit, and approximately 425,000 quarters to produce 8½ millions of pot still spirit.

asked the Director-General of Food Economy if he is aware-that a portion of the black currant crop used in this country is imported from France; and will he withdraw the restriction upon the import of this fruit to enable the firms engaged in this trade to complete their arrangements with the growers, so that this article of food may be made available for the people of this country during the coming season?

I hope that it may be possible, subject to exigencies of ton- nage, to arrange for the admission under licence of a portion of the black currants, usually imported from France.

asked the President of the Board of Agriculture whether he is aware that a number of milking cows in the Birmingham district are being slaughtered, and that the figures of certain typical herds already show a reduction in the number of animals from 435 to 325, and a decrease from the normal milk supply of 31 per cent., and that further reductions in the number of milking cows are believed to be imminent; whether he is aware that this position is attributable mainly to the following causes: that farmers' supplies of hay, clover, and roots are almost exhausted, that owing to the late season the grazing is very backward, that brewers' grains cannot now be obtained in the quantity hitherto available, and that the low price fixed for milk during the summer months, which comes into operation on 1st May, is unre-munerative in present conditions; and whether he will be prepared to take steps to remedy a condition of affairs which, if allowed to continue, must necessarily be very prejudicial to the health and welfare of the children in the Birmingham disirict?

The President of the Board of Agriculture is aware that there is a reduction in the number of dairy cows generally, and that it is partly due to the causes stated by the hon. Member. But he is not aware that the price fixed for milk during the summer months is un-remunerative. On his advice the Food Controller has fixed the minimum price for the winter contract months of 1917–18 at a figure which it is hoped will help to maintain the dairy herds of the country.

asked the President of the Board of Agriculture, in view of the Government proposals for the guarantee of minimum prices for British wheat and oats so as to extend the production of these crops, whether he will grant the Return of the prices, produce, and acreage of British wheat, barley, and oats for each of the last fifty years, standing in the name of the hon. Member for the Tradeston Division of Glasgow, so that this information may be available in convenient and up-to-date form?

I am causing the information desired by my hon. Friend, so far as available, to be printed and issued as a Command Paper.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Agriculture if he has any recommendation to make or suggestion to offer to men who have undertaken to cultivate an acre of ground in addition to working full time in factories, in order to increase the food supply and who are obliged, at the direction of military service tribunals, to drill with local volunteers, having regard to the fact that it is impossible for a working man to cultivate an acre of land and drill with the volunteers as well after working hours?

In such a case, the man should represent the full facts to the tribunal and apply for the variation of his certificate of exemption by the modification of the condition attached to it.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland if he is aware that there were a number of claims sent in to the Rebellion Property Losses Committee which have been refused on the grounds that the claims were made too late; and if he will issue instructions that would enable the claims of those who sustained losses to be considered on their merits?

The Property Losses Committee has submitted its final Report, and is no longer in existence. Public notice was given that the latest date fixed for the presenting of claims was 12th August, 1916, but any case subsequently notified, in which a satisfactory explanation of the delay was furnished, was accepted and dealt with.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland if the Gaelic League, 25, Parnell Square, Dublin, applied for compensation for losses sustained during the rebellion in 1916; if he is aware that the Gaelic League is a non-political and non-sectarian organisation devoted solely to the interests of the Irish language movement; and what the Government's proposals are in reference to the claim?

The claim of the Gaelic League has been received, and is under consideration.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty is he aware that the Admiralty has requisitioned the tug "Wexford," although the port of Wexford is a tidal harbour with a draught of water only up to 12 feet on spring tides, with a very bad bar at the entrance and the tide flowing directly across it, so that the services of an efficient tug are required in anything but the finest weather; is he aware that the tug "Wexford" was specially built to suit this harbour and, as the trade of the port is conducted mostly by small sailing vessels, that these would be in the absence of the tug rendered useless, and would have to be laid up or sold and, owing to the want of discharging facilities, small steamers cannot be induced to come to the port; is he aware that the tug "Wexford" also acts as tender for the Irish Lights Commissioners, attending Blackwater and Lucifer light vessels and Tuscar Rock lighthouse, where the services of an efficient boat, especially in winter, are indispensable; is he aware that the earnings of the tug for this work amount to about £750 per annum, and that the Harbour Commissioners fear, should the tug be removed, they would lose this contract, without which they would be unable to maintain a tug for the service of the port; is he aware that the Admiralty has already requisitioned the general cargo steamer "Wexford Coast," which was a regular trader built specially for the port, thereby placing the financial position of the Harbour Commissioners in jeopardy, and that, if the tug "Wexford" is now taken away, it will practically mean the closing of the port; and, seeing that the tug is vital to the interests of the port and district of Wexford, will the Admiralty cancel the order for requisitioning her services?

A letter of protest in connection with this matter has been received from the Harbour Commissioners of Wexford, and is at present under consideration.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether it is the custom in the Royal Navy for the officer responsible-for initiating operations to personally report the result of those operations to the Admiralty?

No, Sir. The senior officer present reports the result of operations.

asked the First Lord' of the Admiralty whether his attention has been called to the confusion and dissatisfaction occasioned in the Royal Naval Air Service by the fact that there is no outward distinction between flight-lieutenant, flight-commander, and squadron-commander in the uniform of the Royal Naval Air Service; whether he is aware-that in the Royal Flying Corps the following distinguishing marks have been adopted for these ranks: flight-lieutenant, two stars; flight-commander, three stars; squadron-commander, crown; and whether, under these circumstances he will consider the advisability of introducing a regulation which shall permit flight-commanders to wear a small gold star above the eagle on the left arm, and squadron-commander a small golden crown in the same position, so long as they are attached to the air branch of the Royal Navy?

The principle of distinction of uniform between the ranks of flight-lieutenant, flight-commander, and squadron-commander has been recognised by the Board of Admiralty; the details are now being worked out by the Departments concerned.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether, in view of the expense entailed on young officers attached to the Royal Flying Corps who would have to scrap their old uniform and provide themselves with a completely new kit if the proposed new instruction is enforced, steps will be taken to cancel it?

Officers posted from other units to the Royal Flying Corps will during the first three months of their service with the Corps wear their former uniform. Those who are posted direct to the Royal Flying Corps on first commission will wear Royal Flying Corps uniform. Officers who return from abroad will conform within three months of their arrival in England, and officers serving at home by 15th August, 1917. These arrangements should obviate any hardship being incurred through the necessary change of uniform.

asked what control the Air Board has over the design and construction of airships for the Royal Naval Air Service?

The Air Board have no control over the design and construction of airships for the Royal Naval Air Service.

asked the Secretary to the Admiralty whether the pilot of the naval aeroplane N 5,056 who, near Grosmont, in Yorkshire, fell and was killed on the 10th instant, was a trained aeroplane pilot; whether the cause of the accident has been ascertained; and, if so, could he state what it was?

This officer was under training; he was flying a Maurice-Farman aeroplane, on which type he had carried out four hours' solo flying previous to the accident. The pilot apparently got into difficulties in thick clouds and lost control of the machine, whose nose dived to the ground. The subsequent examination did not disclose any constructional defects in the machine.

asked the Under Secretary of State for War what is the minimum number of hours' flying insisted on before pilots are sent to the front?

I regret that this information cannot be given publicly as it would be useful to the enemy.

asked the Secretary to the Admiralty whether he is aware that British stewards and cooks who had been working on the steamship "Boveric" for one month, between 22nd February and 23rd March, at Cardiff and Penarth, were removed on the latter date and their places taken by Chinese by the order of the Admiralty; that one of the men discharged was an ex-soldier, twice wounded; and that the action taken nearly resulted in a stoppage of work at Cardiff and Penarth, which stoppage was only avoided by the efforts of the trade union officials; and whether he will give a guarantee that in future the Admiralty will adhere to the clause in the existing agreement that Chinese crews are not to be signed on in Home ports unless a satisfactory crew of British seamen and firemen are not available in reasonable time?

The owners of the "Boveric" discharged the cooks and stewards because it became necessary, in the absence of a British crew, to engage Chinese seamen and firemen, which engagement was effected by the owners with the concurrence of the National Sailors' and Firemen's Union and of the Admiralty. No information has reached the Admiralty regarding a probable stoppage of work on this account. I should add that prior to the 22nd February this vessel carried a Chinese crew; and, further, that the signing on in the present instance was in strict accord with the Admiralty memorandum regarding the employment of Chinese.

asked the Secretary to the Admiralty if he is aware that Mr. M'Lennan, contractor, of Invergordon, who is carrying out work for the Admiralty, is paying the joiners employed on the work 1d. per hour less than the standard wage of the district; that the men employed by this firm have to work one hour per day more than the recognised hours in the district for the lower rate paid by the firm; that the representatives of the men have appealed to Mr. M'Lennan to observe the conditions of the Fair-Wages Clause, but he refused to do so; and whether, in view of this refusal, he will cancel any contracts this firm have in hand for the Admiralty?

The question raised is receiving consideration. There are apparently no definite standard rates and hours for the district of Invergordon, and it is considered that Mr. M'Lennan has in the past complied with the conditions of the Fair-Wages Clause of his contract. Further investigations are, however, being made in the matter.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty to what extent shipping tonnage available for the needs of the United Kingdom has been decreased during the months of February and Match respectively, a? compared with December and January last, in consequence of losses from submarines, mines, and commerce raiders; whether he will state the same by percentages if not by tonnage; and whether the tonnage of neutral ships chartered by the Government has also decreased in February and March as compared with December and January, and by what percentages?

My right hon. Friend has asked me to answer this question. I am sorry that it is not thought desirable to give the particulars for which my hon. Friend asks.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether time-expired soldiers who have completed their extra year and who have mechanical knowledge will be allowed to take their discharge from the Army if they undertake to go to munition work?

Under the Military Service Acts a man is not time-expired until the end of the War except in certain cases in which age and length of service combine to fulfil the conditions laid down in Military Service Act (Session 2), 1916. Men who are surplus to requirements are given the chance of undertaking munitions work. Such men naturally include no A1, B1, or C1 category men, and comparatively few B ii. and C ii.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War, in regard to an attested man who was rejected after the 13th July, 1917, as unfit for any form of military service, but who was refused a certificate of discharge at that time and did not receive a certificate of discharge for several months, which will be regarded as the date of his discharge for the purpose of the Military Service (Review of Exceptions) Act, the date of his rejection or the date when a certificate of discharge was issued to him?

asked whether, under the new Military Service Act, the relief from further medical examination for six months after their last medical examination granted to all men of military age dates from the date of medical examination or from the date when the man received his discharge papers resulting from such medical examination?

I will send to my hon. Friends an extract from Instructions consequent on the Military Service (Review of Exceptions) Act, which will give them the information which they require.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War if, according to the grouping of recruits into categories now in operation, men who are considered fit only for service in labour units at Home are classified as 0 2; and, if so, on what grounds are men of this class being sent on service abroad?

In view of the fact that the conditions of service behind the lines in France are no more severe than those obtaining at home, it has been decided to modify the definition of category C, and the matter is at present under consideration.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War (1) if he is aware that Private W. Illingworth, No. 64548, 3rd labour company, 3rd platoon, Durham Light Infantry, 4th Corps, British Expeditionary Force, France, who has been blind of one eye from birth, and who is only able to see indistinctly with the other eye and who was classified C2 by the Army medical authorities when he joined the Army, was not re-examined before he was sent overseas; and whether, having regard to the fact that men of the C class are re-examined before being sent over seas, he will arrange for Private Illing-worth to be re-examined at an early date; and (2) whether his attention has been called to the case of Private Charles Dobson, No. 30672, 3rd Duke of Wellington's West Riding Regiment, No: 6 Company, No. 7 hut, Chirton Camp, North Shields, who twice offered himself for enlistment and was rejected medically unfit and was afterwards called for re-examination, classified C1, put into an Infantry regiment, and is now being trained for foreign service; whether he is aware that this soldier had ten tubercular glands taken from his neck on the 28th February, 1915, and that when be was called to the Colours he was suffering from a recurrence of tuberculous glands; if he is aware that Private Dobson had been warned after the operation alluded to by his medical adviser that he must exercise great care to prevent tuberculosis attacking his lungs, of which there was danger; if he is aware that before he joined the Army Private Dobson was under the supervision of the Public Health Department as a sufferer from tuberculosis and had been instructed by that Department to occupy a separate bedroom with the object of protecting other members of the household from the disease; whether, under the circumstances mentioned, the Army Council intend to retain Private Dobson for service in the Army; if so, what steps will be taken to protect the other soldiers who share No. 7 hut with Private Dobson; and what measures he intends to adopt to prevent the disease from which Private Dobson is suffering from attacking his lungs?

I am having inquiries made into the matters brought to notice by my hon. Friend in this question and the next, and I will inform him of the result as soon as possible.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War what is the War Office estimate of the number of young men who would be available for the Army if the Military Service Act were applied to Ireland; and how many of these men are expected to enlist voluntarily towards the 500,000 which Sir William Robertson states are required before July?

I am afraid that the two parts of my hon. Friend's question are based on hypotheses, and any attempted answer would be unsatisfactory.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether in the case of Jewish soldiers anything has been done to meet their religious scruples in regard to food; and whether, so far as practicable, he will see that proper arrangements are made to supply these men with kosher food to which they are accustomed?

General officers commanding troops at home have been authorised to issue a money allowance in lieu of rations to Jewish soldiers in connection with the Jewish festival, whenever this course was considered advisable, and this has gone a long way to meet the requirements of the Jewish religion. Arrangements to supply each Jewish soldier with kosher food as part of the Army rations are not practicable.

asked whether there are paid military representatives now employed on tribunals of military age and fit for general service; and, if so, what steps are being taken to relieve these representatives by men not fit for general service so as to set them free for military service?

I would refer my hon. and gallant Friend to the answer given on 19th February to the hon. Member for the Barnstaple Division. Instructions have been given that the War Office is to be notified of the present medical classification of officers now employed as military representatives. Officers are the only military representatives in receipt of pay as such.

asked the Comptroller of the Household, as representing the National Health Insurance Commissioners, whether conscientious objectors to military service are being employed in a temporary-capacity by the Commissioners; if so, will he state the rate of wages paid to these men; and whether women who had volunteered for the work in the first instance were discharged to make room for these men?

A few of these men are employed by arrangement with the Committee on Employment of Conscientious Objectors, who pay them 8d. per day, less any deductions for separation allowances, and are responsible for their maintenance. No payment of any kind is made to the men by the Insurance Commissioners. The answer to the last part of the question is in the negative.

asked the Home Secretary whether he will state what rations are issued to conscientious objectors who are employed at Dartmoor and elsewhere; whether those rations are the same as or less than those issued to soldiers fighting on the various battle fronts; and whether such rations are in excess of those laid down by the Food Controller for other civilians in this country?

As regards Princetown, I would refer the hon. and learned Member be the answer given to the junior Member for Devonport on 21st March. The rations at other camps and work centres under the Committee on Employment of Conscientious Objectors vary according to the local circumstances, and to the class of work which the men have to do. Instructions were given in March that the rations suggested by the Food Controller for other civilians in this country were not to be exceeded. They are less than those of soldiers on active service. The Committee consults the Food Controller whenever occasion arises.

asked the Home Secretary whether he will state to the House the principle which actuates the Home Office in directing by its Regulations that conscientious objectors, released to work under the Home Office Committee who took part in peace or other propaganda or are convicted under the Defence of the Realm Regulations for an offence of a political character should be returned to the Army?

The Regulation made by the Committee on Employment of Conscientious Objectors is that public propaganda, whether by making speeches, taking part in processions or demonstrations, or otherwise, is forbidden. This Regulation was made in consequence of representations that men, relieved of the consequences of military offences in order to take up work of national importance, were availing themselves of the liberty thus obtained to indulge in public propaganda. For a breach of this, as of any other Regulation, a man is liable to be recalled to prison or the Army. There is no Regulation referring to convictions under the Defence of the Realm Regulations, but there is a Regulation to the following effect:"Any man who, after his release from prison, and before his final discharge from the Committee's control, is convicted of any offence by any Court of criminal jurisdiction, will be reported to the Committee, and, unless there are extenuating circumstances, of which the Committee shall be the sole judges, will be sent back to prison or recalled to military service, as the case may be."

asked the Home Secretary if he will inform the House of Commons whether conscientious objectors who have been found genuine by the Central Tribunal and released under the Home Office scheme and then have committed a breach of the Regulations and have been returned to the Army and re-court-mactialled will be given another opportunity of coming under the Home Office scheme; or what steps does the Government propose to take in the case of these men, whose genuineness has been recognised by the Central Tribunal and who have indicated their willingness to do work of national importance under civil conditions?

The Committee on the Employment of Conscientious Objectors will consider any application to be allowed again to take up work under them which they may receive from a conscientious objector who has been returned to the Army for a breach of the conditions of his release from prison, and who is serving a fresh sentence of imprisonment passed by a court-martial. They cannot, however, promise that every application will be granted.

asked the Under-Secretary of 'State for War whether he will inquire into the question of leave as it affects the 13th Battalion (Pioneers) Gloucester Regiment, 39th Division; whether this Battalion has been in France for thirteen months, almost wholly on night work, and has shown throughout great keenness and good discipline; whether no leave has been granted during the period, except special leave for pecuniary, etc., reasons to less than thirty men; and will he represent these facts to the Commander-in-Chief in France, so that this matter may be looked into?

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War if he is aware that many soldiers at the front have not had leave for eighteen months; and if he will make an Order that those who have served more than twelve months at the front shall be granted leave to visit their homes and friends?

In answering these questions I regret that I can add nothing to the answer which I gave on 2nd April to my hon. Friend the Member for Salford North.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War what was the number of deaths amongst soldiers at Kinmel Park Camp, Rhyl, for the months of February and March, and the causes of such deaths?

The answer is as follows:

February—1 officer, 15 men—
Pneumonia	7
Bronchitis	4
Pleurisy	2
Motor accident	1
Died at Abergele of syncope	1
Found dead in quarters (an officer)	1
March—1 officer, 17 men—
Pneumonia	6
Cerebro-spinal meningitis	4
Bronchitis	1
Pneumococcal meningitis	1
Meningitis	1
Dilated heart	1
Hemiplegia	1
Cancer of stomach	1
Under anæsthetic	1
Bomb wounds (an officer)	1

asked the Under Secretary of State for War if his attention has been called to the unfairness of sending young Army captains out to the front who have had no experience whatever of trench warfare to be placed over the heads of fighting sub-lieutenants; and if he will see that such positions and promotions are filled by the young lieutenants who have done the fighting, and who should get the reward and encouragement due to them?

It is very seldom that the circumstances mentioned by my hon. Friend occur, though occasionally they are unavoidable. In the large majority of cases the rank of captain given at home is temporary and lapses on the holder going abroad.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether the Committee appointed to consider the question of the promotion of officers of field rank in British Infantry battalions is likely to report soon in view of the urgency of the matter?

I presume that my hon. and gallant Friend refers to the Committee of which my right hon. Friend the Member for Dundee is Chairman. I understand that the Committee is now considering its Report.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he can consider the advisability of promoting a greater proportion of regimental officers of Regular battalions to higher commands in view of the fact that these officers have special knowledge of the present conditions of warfare, and have in many cases a distinguished record as fighting officers?

A very large number of regimental officers are commanding brigades and several are commanding divisions.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether, in view of the discrimination involved in the fact that machine-gun companies are not supplied with cookers, so that they are deprived of hot meals when on active service, although such are regularly provided for the accompanying Infantry, the War Office will come to a decision, without further delay, as to the type of cooker which is most suitable and supply one to each machine-gun company as soon as possible?

The War Office would be glad to supply travelling kitchens to all units, but unfortunately there are difficulties of organisation and provision, which render it impracticable in certain cases. There is, of course, no discrimination against the machine-gun companies.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War why the warrant officers and non-commissioned officers of the 8th and 9th battalions 6f the Royal Munster Fusiliers who were sent back to Ireland from France wounded were reduced to the rank and pay of privates, whilst the separation allowances of their wives and families have also been cut down; if a similar course has been adopted with officers of the higher command in the Army; and, if not, why such an order has been carried out against these particular men; and if immediate steps will be taken to have all these cases dealt with and justice done to the men, in spite of the paymasters at Cork and at the base in France?

I am afraid that I cannot give my hon. Friend an answer in regard to the particular cases without fuller details and inquiry. I would remind him, however, that, under certain conditions, acting rank may be given in France, which is relinquished when the holder ceases to perform the duties attached to it.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether the attention of the censorship has been called to the telegram from the correspondent of the "Morning Post" newspaper in Petro-grad, published in Tuesday's issue of that paper; why publication has been allowed of an accusation against the Council of Workmen's and Soldiers' Deputies that, with the aid of German gold, several hundred paid agitators have been sent out to teach the scattered populations of one-sixth of the globe what is the meaning of a republic; whether the whole tenor of the article is an attack on the Council of Workmen's and Soldiers' Deputies who organised the recent revolution; and whether the export of this newspaper will be prohibited?

The attention of the War Office had not been drawn to this telegram, which is not of a military nature.

asked on what date the Commander-in-Chief wrote to state that the "Nation" newspaper contained objectionable matter which should not be sent abroad?

The date of the communication from the Field-Marshal Commanding-in-Chief, France, with reference to the "Nation," was 12th March, 1917.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War what was the number of registered newspaper; published in England and Wales, the circulation abroad of which had been prohibited on 1st December, 1916; how many of these, if any, had been convicted of offences against the Defence of the Realm Act; and what are the corresponding figures at the present time?

The number of registered newspapers whose circulation abroad was actually prohibited on 1st December, 1916, and at the present time, respectively, is as follows:

	England and Wales.	Scotland.	Ireland.	Total.
1st Dec.	10	1	13	24
At present	17	1	10	28

None of these had been convicted of offences against the Defence of the Realm Regulations so far as can be ascertained.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether Germany has yet called to the colours any of the class normally due for service in 1919 apart from those who have joined as volunteers?

The answer is in the negative. The class is being mustered, however, at the present time, and will probably be called up shortly.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War how many target-practice rods are in use at present by the Army, and what they cost each; how many other machines for teaching to shoot are in use in the Army; what they are called; and what they cost each, respectively?

The military authorities do not consider target-practice rods desirable for training purposes, and none have been ordered for issue to the troops. The appliances for instruction in shooting and their price are as follows:

	s.	d.
1. Aiming discs	0	4
2. Dummy cartridges	0	1
3. Aim corrector	2	3
4. Aim teacher	3	1
5. Ball rest rifle aiming	12	0
6. Rest tripod musketry instructional	4	9
7. Rest rifle aiming	12	3
8. Rest rifle firing	6	9

The target-practice rod cannot be used in conjunction with dummy cartridges, and the latter are essential to the system of training which has produced such successful results.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether application has been made to him for an account of the effects of the late James M'Connor, No. 65553, gunner, 76th Battery Royal Field Artillery, which occurred at Bagtche Amanus whilst prisoner of war on the 3rd September, 1916, and with what result; and whether, apart from personal effects, an allowance will be made in proportion to what he allowed those dependent on him?

Applications have been received, but there has not been time to close the account, as the report of the soldier's death has only recently been accepted for official purposes. The last part of the question should be addressed to my right hon. Friend the Minister of Pensions.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War what are the Army horse rations in France and Mesopotamia, respectively; and in what proportions in each does bran enter?

I will send my hon. Friend copies of the orders containing the rations. In France bran is issued to animals in accordance with the recommendations of veterinary officers at the rate of 1⅛lb. of bran in substitution for 11b. of oats. In Mesopotamia active operations are in progress and the ration cannot be stated exactly, as it depends on local resources.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War if he will advise the formation of a Committee to deal at once with the rates of pay of our soldiers and sailors in all fighting units; if he is aware of the fact that discontent prevails in the ranks with the pay which our British soldiers receive; if he is aware that hundreds of thousands of these men were trade unionists who gladly volunteered and left good jobs and homes to serve their country; is he aware that the low rate of pay of our soldiers has a tendency to bring the Service into contempt; that no British soldier can be expected to live respectably on his low rate of pay; and will he hold out some hope that the men who make such sacrifices for the honour and safety of our Empire shall in future be better paid?

As my hon. Friend has been informed on a previous occasion, it is not considered necessary to appoint a Committee on this subject. I am not aware of the discontent to which my hon. Friend refers.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether he is aware that carpenters and joiners enlisted in works battalions are doing work at their own trade for the ordinary Army pay alongside civilians in the same trade receiving the proper civilian rates; that 2d. per hour working pay allowed to these men in the Army was stopped on 1st January last; and whether he will state what the policy of the War Office is in regard to soldiers working at their own-trade?

The facts are as stated' in the first two parts of my hon. Friend's question. All men in works units draw Infantry rates of pay and no working pay. As regards the last part, a soldier draws the Army rate of pay applicable to the arm to which he belongs, and the fact that a man happens to be employed at what was his civil trade gives him no claim to preferential treatment.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War what prices will be paid per pound for the wool clips in England, Scotland, and Ireland this year?

I would refer the hon. Gentleman to my reply to a similar question put by the hon. Member for Tavistock on 4th April last. The basis of prices for Great Britain and Ireland is 50 per cent, over the average prices ruling in June-July, 1914. Detailed price lists for each district are now being prepared and will be published shortly in the Press.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether he is aware that lissatisfaction existed last year regarding the Committee appointed to take charge of the purchase of Irish wool; whether he is prepared to consider nominations on that Committee representing the Irish wool growers and buyers, so as to secure disinterested and competent men, experienced in the buying and sorting of Irish wool; and whether he is prepared to review the prices to be allowed to wool-growers for the 1917 wool-clip, which, owing to the cost of production due to the extra expense of keeping, resulting from the protracted severe weather, the increased scale of wages paid, and the additional cost involved by increased tillage, if based on the 1916 wool-clip prices, will prove inadequate and unjust?

I am not aware that there was any dissatisfaction last year with the constitution of the Irish Advisory Committee on wool purchase. Care was taken to secure that representatives of the growers and wool merchants were men of high standing and experience in the buying and sorting of Irish wools. The Committee is already representative of all interests in the Irish wool trade and it is not considered advisable to add any further members to it. With regard to the latter part of the question, as stated in my reply to the hon. Member for Tavistock on the 4th April, the basis of prices for this season's wool-clip in Great Britain and Ireland is 50 per cent, over the average prices ruling in June and July, 1914, which represents an additional 15 per cent. compared with the basis of prices for last year's clip.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that in certain districts of Ireland, notably in county Donegal, there is a shortage of food for milch cows and for horses engaged in farm work; and whether the War Office will consider the advisability of releasing part of the hay and other foods commandeered by them for the purpose of supplying this deficiency?

It is not proposed to release any of the hay bought, which is of a special quality most suitable for food for the Expeditionary Force horses, but the representative of the Forage Department in Ireland has already made arrangements to provide hay of suitable quality in all cases where genuine shortage exists.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office if he is aware that loss and inconvenience has been caused to farmers in Queen's County who sold hay to the military authorities last autumn by the failure up to the present of the military to take delivery and make payment for such hay; and, in view of the fact that farmers require immediate payment in order to enable them to meet the Land Commission and other payments which become due on the 1st May, the War Office will make an order for the delivery and payment of such hay?

Fifty per cent. of the value of all purchases is paid at time of purchase unless the vendor does not desire such advances. A further 25 per cent, can be obtained where urgently required, provided the Irish Advisory Committee recommend. Interest from the date of purchase to date of removal of the purchase at 5 per cent, on balance due is paid, also dryage allowance on a percentage scale. Supplies are purchased to cover twelve months' requirements, and delivery can only be taken as required. All vendors are quite aware of this at the time of sale, and it is for this reason that the payment of interest and dryage allowance is made.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether his attention has been called to the case of Mrs. Jack, widow of the late Colour-Sergeant W. J. Jack, who served for twenty-four years in the Middlesex Regiment and for three and a half years was employed at a recruiting depot; whether Sergeant Jack, who had earned six medals, was employed at the chief recruiting office in Whitehall at the time of his death; whether his widow and two children have been refused any pension; and, if so, whether some provision will be made out of public funds for the widow and children of a man who served his country so long and faithfully?

This man was a discharged soldier employed as a civilian on the London area recruiting staff. There is no provision for pension to his widow, either in virtue of his service as a soldier or as a civilian after discharge. She was awarded a compassionate gratuity of £14 from the Civil Compassionate Fund in May, 1915.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether a soldier who is a widower is entitled to claim separation allowance, on the same scale as for a wife, for his daughter over sixteen years of age who takes charge of the home and of five younger children all under sixteen years?

Separation allowance for the children under sixteen is issuable at the higher rates applicable to motherless children. The daughter over sixteen may, if otherwise eligible, receive a dependant's allowance within the maximum admissible for a wife.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether when a soldier's mother becomes an inmate of a rate-aided asylum the War Office immediately suspends the dependants' allowance, even though the soldier has to make regular payments of more than the allowance to get her received as an inmate; whether there is any source from which a son in such a case may be enabled to discharge his liability towards his dependant mother; whether the allowance is paid if the mother was an inmate of the institution before the son's enlistment, and the son made regular payments for her main- tenance there; and whether he can state why the son is penalised for obtaining for his mother the necessary institutional treatment after his enlistment?

The rules are as stated. I am not aware that there is any obligation on a soldier to make these payments.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether he is aware that the workmen employed in the R.E. Yard, New Road, Woolwich, have only received an advance of 1d. per hour since the commencement of the War; and whether these men can be granted the 5s. bonus recently awarded to other Government workers?

As employés in the building trade these men receive the district rate of their trades. If my right hon. Friend has any ground for supposing that this is not the case and will supply details I will have inquiry made. They are not entitled to the bonus.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office if he can see his way to raise the allowance for billeting at present granted to men of the Army Pay Corps from the sum of 2s. 6d. per day to at least 3s. per day, having regard to the impossibility of obtaining lodging with full subsistence in London or any other town under decent conditions for 2s. 6d. per day, and more especially in London where rents are higher and food is dearer than elsewhere?

The hon. Member is presumably referring to the lodging and ration allowances. I regret I can only answer his question in the negative.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he is aware that, notwithstanding the statement made some three months ago that instructions had been given that men trans- ferred from the Royal Naval Division to the Royal Engineers were to retain for the present their old rate of Engineer pay, and be given reasonable time and instruction in which to reach Royal Engineer standards and technical ability, some commanding officers appear to be unaware of these instructions; and will be cause a more general circulation of the instructions, so that all men eligible may receive the concession?

The instructions referred to covered only the signallers, as these alone were concerned at the time. Since then the remainder of the Engineers have been transferred, and instructions have now been issued to include them.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether the German interned prisoners at the Isle of Man who volunteered for work at Yate were promised the rate of pay current in the district; if so, why was this cut down to a Is a day, with the consequence that they refused to do any work for three weeks; were they sent back to the Isle of Man; what was the cost of their transport; and who was made responsible for this mistake and unnecessary expense?

I fear a mistake was made in this matter, with the result suggested in the question. The prisoners, being civilians, could not, according to international usage, be compelled to work. The trouble appears to have arisen through a misapprehension on the part of officials in the Isle of Man.

asked the Minister of Munitions whether he will appoint any Irish representatives on the Committee set up to deal with the development of minerals, other than coal and iron ores, likely to be of special value for the War?

The Advisory Committee is a technical body chosen without any regard to special representation of particular portions of the United Kingdom, but solely for their professional qualifications.

asked the Minister of Munitions how many skilled and semiskilled men have already been transferred from the Navy and Army to do munition work of essential national importance; how many are still available, and does he intend to utilise the men referred to as emergencies may arise; what proportion of men now fully trained and marking time in the barracks and camps are both anxious and willing to employ their skill land energy in the production of necessary munitions; and, if so, why they are not allowed to do so.

On 10th April, 1917, there were, as far as it is possible to ascertain accurately, between 45,000 and 50,000 soldiers engaged on the manufacture of munitions. My hon. Friend will appreciate that as soldiers are being released from and returned to the Army on the completion of their jobs, and for various other reasons, it is impossible to give any definite figure. The number of men released from the Navy who are engaged on munitions work is about 640. It is not possible to give the numbers of such men still available from the Army, but the War Office are continually releasing men at the Ministry's request, on an application being received from a firm engaged on urgent war work and the type of skill necessary not being obtainable from civilian sources.

asked the Minister of Munitions whether Messrs. Vickers, Limited, as managers of a projectile factory, handed several hundred of their women employés notice of discharge on Friday, 13th April, two days after their return from their Easter holidays; whether he is aware that discharges given under these circumstances entail considerable hardship upon the women, as many of them have little or no money to take them to their own homes; whether he will give instructions that the women so discharged will be provided with free railway passes to their homes; and what is the reason of these discharges?

The facts as to the discharge of these women are substantially as stated. Before the holidays, however, the management states that they made it known to the employés that it would be necessary to discharge a number of women immediately after the holidays, and that those wishing to obtain their clearances would be allowed to have them on application. Seventy women asked for and obtained their release before the holidays. In all eases the women were given a full week's notice, but 75 per cent, of those who received notices asked, before the week was out, to be allowed to go without working out their time, as they had got other employment. I am informed that the reason for delaying the discharges until after the holidays was that it was not possible to forecast the number of discharges that would be necessary. The women who have been discharged will receive the amount of their fares to enable them to return home. I am informed that in individual cases where hardship had arisen, the notices were withdrawn. I have given instructions to the Ministry's officers to take immediate steps to deal with any outstanding cases.

asked the Minister of Munitions how many permits have been issued for new cars to proposed private owners; how many of these were issued in respect of Ford cars; and how many Ford cars have been delivered under these permits?

The records of the Department are not kept in a form which enables me to answer this question, and the labour of searching for the information would be out of proportion to any useful purpose which could be served. I may say, however, that it is unlikely that many Ford cars have been supplied recently to private purchasers, as the Government requirements have absorbed practically the entire output.

asked the Minister of Munitions, as representing the Central Control Board (Liquor Traffic) how many of the male employés of the Board at Annan are of military age?

In Annan the Board have twenty-seven male and eighty-four female employés. Of the twenty-seven males, eight are of military age. Five of these have been either medically rejected, classed in C2 (or lower), or discharged from the Army as unfit; one is a Creole and is not liable for military service. The remaining two hold responsible managerial positions.

asked the Minister of Munitions, as representing the Central Control Board (Liquor Traffic), when the Board will publish a Report with a financial statement of last year's work at Annan?

I understand that it is hoped to publish a Report on the Board's work at Annan very shortly. No separate accounts will be compiled for Annan. The receipts and expenditure for the period ended 31st March, 1917, will be included in the accounts for the Gretna district, which will be incorporated, in due course, in the general account of the Board for inclusion in the Appropriation Account of the Vote of Credit for the year 1916–17.

asked the Minister of Munitions whether he is yet in a position to say what arrangements are contemplated to increase the supply of labour in the Cleveland ironstone mines; whether any steps are being taken to recall men experienced in the work of these mines who have enlisted and who can be spared from the Army; if so, what number of men is likely to be available from this source; whether any men are to be brought from elsewhere; if so, what class of men and in what number; for how many men are huts to be built; and whether any steps have been taken to ascertain whether lodgings are available in the district so that the expense of hutting might to some extent be saved?

Steps are being taken to obtain particulars of Cleveland miners who are serving with the Colours in England and are not classified as fit for general service. The War Office will be asked to release these men for work in the Cleveland ironstone mines. It is not at present known what number of men is likely to be available from this source, but if as is anticipated this source will prove insufficient it will be necessary to bring into the Cleveland district labour from outside—both miners and labourers. The number of men required from outside cannot be definitely given till it is ascertained how many local men can be released from the Army. After careful inquiry into the lodging accommodation available in the district, huts are being built for 2,600 men.

asked the Minister of Munitions whether the cost of an artificial limb for a limbless soldier is £15; whether his Department has gone into the question of the intrinsic cost of an artificial limb; if not, whether it will do so; and, if such a limb can be produced in -a workshop under his control at a cost of about £5, will he start their manufacture at Brighton and Roehamption?

The cost of an artificial limb varies according as to whether it is to replace an arm or a leg, and with the nature of the amputation. A Committee of experts exists for the purpose of advising as to the most suitable types of limbs and as to the prices which should be paid for them. If they advise that prices asked by the manufacturers are excessive, the question of a Government factory will be considered, but the main consideration which I have in view is not the cheapness of the limb but its efficiency.

asked the Home Secretary if his attention has been drawn to the action of the Vicars of Symondsbury, Chideock, and Whitchurch Canonicorum, West Dorset, who have refused to put the village clock forward an hour, in defiance of the (Summer Time Act; and will he ascertain if they did so in order to assist the right of private judgment in chronological as well as in theological matters?

The attention of my right hon. Friend has not been drawn to this matter. The Home Office has no powers of control over church clocks; but he would greatly deprecate any action of the kind, which must cause considerable inconvenience to residents and others.

asked the Home Secretary whether Section 18, Sub-section (2), of the Police Act, 1890, is in operation during the War; whether police pensioners who have rejoined the force are having any portion of their pensions stopped; and whether, in the case of a police pensioner who is in temporary employment under the Government, the £8 per year Income Tax he is paying in respect of his wages will be taken into account in estimating the amount of pension to which he is entitled?

The Police, etc. (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1916, provides that in the case of pensioners who for purposes connected with the present War have joined His Majesty's Forces, or obtained employment under the Admiralty or Army Council or Ministry of Munitions, or entered or re-entered any police force, Sub-section (2) of Section 13 of the Police Act, 1890, shall not apply except to such extent as the police authority may determine. Metropolitan Police pensioners who have rejoined the Metropolitan Police Force in consequence of the War are allowed to draw their pensions in full. Calculations under Section 13 (2) must be based on gross remuneration, and Income Tax cannot be taken into account.

asked the Secretary to the Board of Trade whether he is aware that since he replied, on a recent occasion, to a request made to him by the United Kingdom Federation of Newsagents, who requested him to receive a deputation on the matter of unsold remainders of newspapers, in which reply he stated that the Royal Commission on Paper was responsible for the administration of the Order dealing with the matter and not the Board of Trade, the federation has applied to the Royal Commission on Paper for permission to send a deputation to that body, and the Royal Commission on Paper has replied to the application by saying that the decision on the matter does not rest with the Royal Commission on Paper but with the Board of Trade; and whether, in view of this reply from the Royal Commission on Paper, he will now consent to receive a deputation from the United Kingdom Federation of Newsagents?

The Board of Trade, as at present advised by the Royal Commission on Paper, do not propose to issue a compulsory Order prohibiting the sale of newspapers on the terms known as "sale or return," so that it will not be necessary to trouble the federation to send a deputation on the subject.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will give the names of the Advisory Committee of the Board regarding the work of its commercial intelligence branch; and who are the Irish representatives on the Committee?

supplied the following list of members:

• Sir F. Forbes Adam, Bart., C.I.E.
• Sir Alfred E. Bateman, K.C.M.G.
• Sir Hugh Bell, Bart.
• Sir Henry Birchenough, K.C.M.G.
• Captain R. Muirhead Collins, C.M.G., R.N.
• George H. Cox, Esq.
• T. Craig-Brown, Esq.
• Sir Algernon F. Firth, Bart.
• William L. Griffith, Esq.
• C. A. Harris, Esq., C.B., C.M.G., M.V.O.
• Albert J. Hobson, Esq.
• Louis J. Kershaw, Esq., C.I.E.
• H. C. M. Lambert, Esq., C.B.
• Edward H. Langdon, Esq.
• Stanley Machin, Esq.
• The Hon. Sir Thomas Mackenzie, K.C.M.G.
• William H. Mitchell, Esq.
• James W. Murray, Esq.
• Ebenezer Parkes, Esq., M.P.
• Sir Hallewell Rogers.
• The Right Hon. Lord Rotherham.
• The Right Hon. William P. Schreiner, K.C, C.M.G.
• The Right Hon. Sir Albert Spicer, Bart., M.P.
• G. J. Stanley, Esq., C.B., C.M.G.
• The Right Hon. Robert Thompson, M.P.
• V. Wellesley, Esq.
• G. H. Roberts, Esq., M.P.
• Sir H. Llewellyn Smith, K.C.B.
• H. Fountain, Esq., C.B., C.M.G.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he has been in communication on behalf of the Government with the employers' associations and the trade unions concerned in the shipbuilding industry with a view to introducing payments by results in cases where time-work has hitherto prevailed in order to increase the output of shipping; and, if so, what steps he proposes to take to ensure the fair working of any system of payment by results that may be introduced and to prevent the unfair cutting of rates, which has often given rise to complaint in the past?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. In order to ensure the successful introduction of payment by results, I feel that it is a matter of great importance that the workmen should have confidence that the system will be fairly worked. It is already an essential part of the scheme that the existing time-rates shall in all cases be deemed to constitute a guaranteed rate, should this be desired by the workmen's representatives, and I am consulting with the Admiralty and the Ministry of Munitions with a view to deciding what further safeguards in connection with the alteration of rates are necessary and practicable.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Shipping Controller whether he will encourage the policy of building seven ships of 2,000 tons each, instead of one of 14,000 tons, in order to ensure that seven times the number of submarines will be required to do the same amount of damage?

No ship of 14,000 tons has been ordered by the Shipping Controller, and the policy suggested by my hon. Friend is that which is actually being carried out. The three types of standard ships contracted for are of, approximately, 5,000, 3,000, and 2,000 tons gross respectively.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Shipping Controller what was the output of new ships in the second half of 1916; was the estimate given by the ex-President of the Board of Trade on 15th November last reached or exceeded; have the pooling arrangements he then suggested been carried into effect in all the shipyards; and what is the present estimate of the output of new ships during the current half-year?

The output of steamers of 100 tons gross and upwards, in the six months ended 31st December, 1916, was less than the estimate mentioned by my right hon. Friend the late President of the Board of Trade in November last. The pooling arrangements referred to, concentrating work on vessels nearest completion, have been carried out. As to the last part of the question, I am glad to say that our estimated output for March was exceeded, being at the rate of over 1,000,000 tons per annum.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Shipping Controller what were the average rates per ton for grain from Buenos Ayres to the United Kingdom on the following dates: January, 1917; March, 1917; and at the present date?

All grain is now brought to this country from all destinations at the Blue Book rates, or their near arithmetical equivalent. This equivalent in the case of grain from the River Plate is, as nearly as possible, 52s. 6d. per ton, and my hon. Friend will understand that this figure is true of all the three dates to which he refers.

asked what are the present freight rates on coal from South Wales ports to Waterford, Dublin, Belfast, and Cork, and also from Lancashire ports to the same cities?

The present rates of freight on coal from South Wales ports are as follows:

• To Waterford and Cork, 17s. to 17s. 6d.
• To Dublin and Belfast, 14s.

less 1s. to 1s. 2d. per ton cost of discharge, and 6d. per ton cost of trimming the coal, payable by shippers.From Lancashire ports the rates are as follows:

To Waterford	…	…	16s. to 17s.
To Dublin	…	…	12s.to 12s. 6d.
To Belfast	…	…	12S.to 6d.
To Cork	…	…	17s. to 17s. 6d.

less the same charges for discharge and trimming.

asked how many steamers registered in the United Kingdom are now trading between neutral ports?

With the exception of vessels of a type unsuitable for general ocean-going work, and of vessels which make intermediate calls at neutral ports, all steamers on the register of the United Kingdom are directed into employment for the naval, military, supply, and export requirements of this country, the Empire, and the Allies.

asked the President of the Board of Agriculture whether he will consider the advisability of the Order of 20th February regarding the allotment of land to cultivators being extended to parish councils, in view of the fact that parish councils have lists of applicants for land and have no power to act?

The Cultivation of Lands Order, 1917 (No. 2), to which the question refers, was intended to provide for the cultivation of the vacant plots which are usually to be found in urban districts by means of the spare-time labour which is usually available in those districts, and it was particularly desired that any labour which could be more usefully employed in keeping in cultivation the lands already tilled should not be diverted to breaking up such plots. In a number of cases, however, where the district of a parish council is of an urban character, the Board have readily acceded to a request that they would delegate to the parish council similar powers to those conferred on urban district councils. Moreover, under the Cultivation of Lands Order, 1917 (No. 3), the County War Agricultural Executive Committees now have power to enter on land and arrange with parish councils, or other bodies, for its cultivation in small plots or otherwise, and this is the better course where, as is usually the case, a parish council has not the staff necessary for direct administration of the Order.

asked the Comptroller of the Household, as representing the National Health Insurance Commissioners, if he is aware of the injustice to-panel doctors in munitions areas through the neglect of insured persons moving into them to transfer until they fall ill, whereby local doctors receive no allowance for cases actually living in their area, whose allowances go to pay the- doctors in the areas from which they have come, who cannot treat them, and, therefore, have no responsibility for them; and whether he can arrange that such removals shall be transferred when they take place, either by the insured persons or by their approved society, and that neglect to make such transfer shall be penalised by loss of benefit or in some other way?

The question raised by my hon. Friend is one which has been the subject of discussion with the medical profession, and the Commissioners were not convinced, nor did the profession appear to be agreed amongst themselves, that the existing system worked inequitably as between practitioners in munition areas and those in other parts of the country. I should, however, be pleased to consider any facts or particulars which the hon. Member may bring to my notice as bearing upon the point.

asked the hon. Member for Sheffield (Central Division), whether it has yet been possible to effect an exchange of prisoners with Turkey; if so, whether he can say how many have been exchanged, and when; if he can state when the camps where English prisoners in Turkish hands are interned were last visited; and what reports have been received as to their condition?

No actual exchange of prisoners has yet taken place. A proposal has recently been made to the Turkish Government for the exchange of 600 men on either side, as a preliminary to a wider exchange subsequently. No reply has yet been received, but one is expected momentarily. In regard to the second part of the question, I would refer my hon. and learned Friend to my reply to his question of 14th March. I am glad, however, to take the opportunity of stating that the United States Ambassador at Constantinople has obtained the consent of the Turkish Government to the inspection of certain of the prisoners' camps by representatives of the Embassy.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether his attention has been called to the account of our prisoners in Germany being starved and flogged when too weak to work; and whether he will have the account of their ill-treatment published and distributed among all the Allied and neutral nations?

Various reports of this nature have been received and investigation is being made in certain cases where there is primâ facie evidence to support the charges. If my hon. and gallant Friend will give me more specific information as to the subject matter of the question, I will have special inquiry made.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland when the employés of Government Departments in Ireland will be paid the same rate of wages as is paid in Great Britain for similar work; if he is aware that railway, postal, teaching, clerical, Board of Works, Irish Lights, and many other employments under the control of the Government are paying a less wage than that paid in Great Britain; and if he will say when Irish employés may expect to be on an equal footing with British workers?

asked whether Government employés in every grade and class of employment in Ireland are paid much less remuneration than the corresponding employés in Great Britain; if so, on what ground is this differentiation based; whether, if the differentiation exists, it will be abolished; and whether equal remuneration will be paid for the same work in both countries?

The rates of pay received by different classes of Government employés are calculated with reference to a number of varying conditions, and it is not until conditions are uniform that uniform rates of pay will be established. Otherwise I have nothing to add to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for the Harbour Divsion of Dublin on 12th March.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland if he is aware of the conditions of employment in the Board of Works at Kingstown; if he will have inquiries made into the claims of the men for increased wages; and if he will have the cause of dissatisfaction removed?

My right hon. Friend has asked me to answer this question. I may refer the hon. Member to my reply to the question asked on this subject on the 20th ultimo by the hon. Member for Dublin, N., of which I am sending him a copy.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland why the application of the Mcath County Council for £347 10s., it being the only money received from the Treasury for the treatment of tuberculosis, has not been granted this year, as similar estimates were since the passing of the National Health Insurance Act, 1911; and whether the granting of the amount was recommended by the Local Government Board for Ireland?

The Treasury decided not to sanction this Grant on the advice of the Local Government Board for Ireland, with which the Irish Insurance Commissioners agreed, that the arrangements for the treatment of tuberculosis in county Meath were not satisfactory.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether Thomas Smith, Balloughly, Kingscourt, as the representative of his mother, who was evicted from the Fleming or Blake estate, Cormeen, Moynally, county Meath, applied to be reinstated or get an equivalent holding; what action was taken in his case; whether local opinion acquainted with the facts attending the eviction of his mother, Mary Smith, consider it a case of eviction deserving of redress; whether it will again be considered; whether it was on any ground of objection to Thomas Smith personally or on the merits of the eviction of his mother; and whether another member representative of the evicted lady would be acceptable to the Estates Commissioners?

The reply to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. The Estates Commissioners received several communications from the locality on behalf of Thomas Smith, but, after inquiry and consideration, they have decided not to take any action with reference to his application for reinstatement in a holding on the Blake estate formerly occupied by his mother or the provision of an equivalent holding.

asked the Vice-President of the Department of Agriculture (Ire- land) what is the total expenditure on the Lismore salmon hatchery for the last five completed years; how much has the Department contributed of it; how many fry have been turned into the River Black-water in the period named; how many Lismore fry have been turned into other rivers during that period; whether the salmon fishing of the River Blackwater has improved; and what statistics are available to show such improvement?

The Department of Agriculture will supply the hon. Member with such information as is available on this subject as soon as they can.

asked the Vice-President of the Department of Agriculture (Ireland) whether progress will be made with the Helvick fishery pier as soon as the spring cultivation of land is over; when does he anticipate the harbour will be completed; and whether motor fishing boats will be supplied and the local fishermen trained in their use?

The works at Helvick Harbour will be carried out as soon as practicable. Owing to difficulties of the-weather and labour a date for the completion of the works cannot at present be stated. The local fishermen will have the-usual opportunities of acquiring and being instructed in the use of motor boats.

asked the President of the Board of Education in how many schools in England and Wales there is only a single teacher; and in how many the average attendance is under thirty and between thirty and sixty, respectively?

From information collected in January, 1913, it appears that there were then some 955 schools with only one teacher. With regard to the second part of the question, I would refer the right hon. Member to the statement [Cd. 7214] issued by the Board in 1914, which contains the latest tabulated figures on the subject. I am sending the right hon. Member a copy of the statement.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether, during or before May, 1914, about 120 public elementary schools in London with a total accommodation for over 54,000 scholars were condemned by the Board of Education; whether proposals were made by the London educational authority for the methodical improvement or replacing of these schools; whether any progress has been made with this work; and what action he proposes to take?

On the 14th April, 1914, the Board forwarded to the London County Council a list of 124 voluntary schools in their area the premises of which were unsatisfactory in various respects. It is for the managers of these schools, in the first instance, to submit proposals for their improvement. Since the outbreak of war three of the schools have been closed; in twenty cases definite plans for improvement have been submitted. A large number of the remaining cases have been discussed between the Board and representatives of the managers and the local education authority, but owing to the restrictions on building further progress is inevitably postponed.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether he is aware that copies of a pamphlet on "Condemned Denominational Schools of London," by M. B. Adams, were seized at Birmingham last September, that the owner has been refused restitution of the same, and that the pamphlet has no bearing on the War; whether he has had a copy of this pamphlet brought to his notice; and whether he is in any way responsible for the suppression of the views therein expressed?

Neither I nor my right hon. Friend had seen or heard of this pamphlet till the hon. Member put his question on the Paper, and sent my right hon. Friend a copy; and we have no knowledge of the circumstances in which it was seized.

asked the Home Secretary if his attention has been called to the fatal accidents in the coal mines of this country arising out of the neglect of the use of safety appliances to trams and travelling journeys on the main travelling roads in our mines; if his Department will at once enforce more stringently the existing laws; and if his Department will examine safety inventions to prevent such accidents held by poor inventors who cannot afford the cost of getting them on the market?

The question of accidents receives the constant attention of the Mines Department and the inspectors, and the Regulations of the Act in regard to the use of safety appliances are strictly enforced. If my hon. Friend has any information which appears to point to laxity at any mine and will let me have the particulars, I will have inquiry made at once. New inventions of all kinds are constantly being brought to the notice of the Department and the Department is always ready to examine any safety invention, but it cannot give financial assistance towards placing them on the market.

asked the Home Secretary what steps his Department proposes to take in regard to the death of two, members of the mining rescue brigade which occurred recently in the Garw Valley, South Wales; if his attention has been called to the findings at the coroner's inquest and the warnings and statements made by the hon. Member for West Monmouthshire, Mr. Frank Hodges, the local miners' agent, and others; will his Department at once take steps to safeguard the lives of the members of our colliery rescue brigades by the introduction of a safer apparatus; and if such apparatus will be thoroughly tested before being put in use?

At the request of the Home Office, Dr. Haldane, whose knowledge on the subject of rescue apparatus is unrivalled, has made a special investigation into the circumstances of this distressing occurrence, and the question of the steps to be taken for the prevention of similar accidents is being carefully considered by the Department in the light of his conclusions.