asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether there is still a paid chaplain to the force stationed at Gerhallam Fort, Dunoon; what is the salary paid yearly to such chaplain; and whether he will consider the possibility of using his services elsewhere to more advantage where a larger body of troops is camped, in view of the fact that there are so many churches within easy walking distance of the fort?

I will inquire into the matter which my hon. Friend brings to my notice, and inform him as soon as I am in a position to do so.

asked if the Canadian Government has been consulted as to the advantage of transporting German prisoners in outward-bound vessels which are often crossing the Atlantic to Canada without full freights, and there employing them in useful work of national importance, and where food can be supplied to them more cheaply than in this country at the present time?

This question has been before the Government, but on a balance of considerations it is not considered advisable to adopt the suggestion.

Have there been any communications with the Canadian Government?

Yes. Communications have been received from the Canadian Government.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that doctors of medicine can be found among the rank and file and officers of the fighting forces; and whether he is taking any steps to free these men for the pursuit of their profession in connection with the wounded?

Steps have been taken to withdraw medical practitioners who are officers of the fighting force. All medical practitioners who are known to be non-commissioned officers and men are invariably offered appointments as officers in the Royal Army Medical Corps if fitted to hold His Majesty's Commission.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that even those who are wounded experience great difficulty in getting out of the ranks?

if my hon. Friend knows of any particular case, I will look into it.

Are the same steps being taken in connection with dentists?

I cannot say offhand, but I presume they are.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether Mr. T. F. Breeze, in the guard-room, 15th Battalion, Scottish Rifles, Cornwall Road, Walmer, Kent, a conscientious objector, was refused the assistance of a court-martial friend in connection with his recent court-martial; and, if so, can steps be taken to invalidate the proceedings and to give Breeze a fair trial?

I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer which I gave him in a similar case on 2nd April.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War why the recruiting officer at Keighley has called up Martin Wilkinson, of Ickornshaw Farm, Cowling, for military service immediately his certificate of exemption expires, seeing that Wilkinson is a farmer and was engaged in this occupation in August, 1915, and is therefore entitled to two months after the expiration of his certificate before he can be taken into the Army?

I am afraid that inquiry is necessary before I can answer my hon. Friend. I have called for a report, and will let him know as soon as possible.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether his attention has been called to the action of the military medical board at Stoke-on-Trent in keeping hundreds of men waiting all day for re-examination to the great loss of men and manufacturers alike, and whether he will find out who is responsible and have an inquiry held into his conduct?

I have called for a report, and hope to be in a position in a day or two to inform my hon. and gallant Friend of the result.

Is the hon. Gentleman not aware that this is going on all over the country, and should he not issue a general Instruction to prevent this?

Is it not possible to give those military medical men instructions that groups should not be all called up at 8.30 o'clock in the morning, but at different hours, so that the whole industry of a district is not interfered with?

I will see what I can do.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office what extra separation allowance is granted to the wives of soldiers residing in the London district; and what corresponding allowance is granted to officers and men serving in the London district?

The extra separation allowance which is granted, subject to certain restrictions, is 3s. 6d. a week. Officers serving in the London area receive no special allowance. Married warrant officers, non-commissioned officers and men stationed in the London area, and living with their families, receive 6d. a day "London allowance" in addition to family allowance.

Has the hon. Gentleman taken into consideration the question of the necessity of giving officers some allowance?

Yes, I have considered it very carefully, but I am afraid that I cannot see my way to do it.

Why not?

In cases of hardship arising out of family expenditure the officers can apply to the Civil Liabilities Commission.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office Whether, considering the expenses that junior staff officers on consolidated pay are put to at home owing to constant change of station and other moves and the fact that they are not billeted as they are abroad and yet are doing as important work as those abroad without the chance of distinction, he will consider the question of the grant to them of field allowance while they are under canvas?

I can only refer the hon. and gallant Member to my reply of 1st May.

asked the President of the Board of Agriculture if he has received a complaint from a number of men residing at Bignalt End, Staffordshire, that their repeated applications to the North Staffordshire County Council for small holdings are ignored; and what action he is taking in the matter?

No such complaint appears to have been received at the Board of Agriculture. The matter shall be inquired into.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will state what functions and powers were conferred upon the aratchy of a town in Ceylon under martial law in June, 1915, and what are the qualifications and character of the men who fill that position; whether he has read the depositions of L. Sophia Hamy, of Algoda, with reference to the visit of the town aratchy to her house on 10th June, 1915, accompanied by Englishmen and Punjabi soldiers, who looted the house, tied her husband's hands behind his back, dragged him forth to a group of other prisoners, and, on the vague assertion of the aratchy that three of them were bad characters, shot those three dead without trial; whether he has read the depositions of other witnesses corroborating this; and whether any inquiry has been held into the possible motives by which the aratchy might have been actuated?

The town aratchy is a minor local official; no special functions were conferred on him under martial law. I cannot admit the accuracy of the depositions. I have received the report of an inquiry by a Commission into this case, which gives the aratchy a good character and exonerates him from blame.

The right hon. Gentleman has not told the House whether this woman's husband was murdered, whether the woman herself was a witness at the inquiry of which he speaks, and whether her evidence broke down in any particular?

I have answered the question, and the answer includes the statement that I do not admit the accuracy of the deposition.

asked whether the clemency which the Governor of Ceylon is entitled to exercise covers all sorts of crimes; whether it was properly exercised by Sir Robert Chalmers, when about to leave Ceylon, in stopping the proceedings for perjury already begun against certain Moors who by perjury had abused the credulity of the courts-martial in 1915 and succeeded in getting three innocent men, D. J. R. Goonewardene, D. J. Gooneskere, and Romanis Perera, sentenced to death; and, seeing that there were many such cases in Ceylon at that time and substantial benefits to be derived from swearing against the lives of Sinhalese, whether it is still possible to bring to justice perjurers who were the sole witnesses in capital cases?

I must refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave to the hon. Member for Burnley on the 6th March.

What is the result of the inquiry then promised with reference to the witnesses in this case?

I cannot go beyond the answer which I have given, and I already told the hon. Gentleman many times over. I have answered these questions repeatedly, and I cannot add anything to the information which I have given.

asked whether Mr. Mitchell, superintendent of Panawatte estate, Yatiyantota, Ceylon, has ever been called upon to vindicate his character against the deposition made by W. G. Siddhappu before Mr. J. C. Marshall, J.P., that on the 13th June, 1915, nine days after the disturbance had ceased, Mr. Mitchell had deponent's brother, Serahami, shot dead by Punjabi soldiers, without charge or trial; and under what law English planters and their English employés are exempt from liability for such conduct in Ceylon?

The report of an inquiry into this case shows that the allegations against Mr. Mitchell are entirely unwarranted.

How is it that the people who have made these depositions have not been tried for perjury if their statements are untrue?

It arises from the cause which leads to differences between the hon. Gentleman and myself. His information and mine differ wholly.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether his attention has been called to the difference in treatment in the cases of Arthur and Harry Dias and that of other persons sentenced with them in Ceylon in 1915 to penal servitude for life, that, though all were convicted on the same evidence and all popularly believed to be not guilty, the two Diases were released on payment of £5,000 and the other persons are still in penal servitude; whether there is any reason for the difference in treatment but the wealth of the former and the poverty of the latter; and whether the law in Ceylon provides for this difference for this reason?

My predecessor received a full report in the cases of Arthur and Harry Dias. I see no reason to question the discretion of the late Governor in the exercise of clemency in these cases.

Are the poor men convicted on the same evidence still in prison because they are poor?

No.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what the official answer is to the deposition of Mr. L. P. Perera, of Ampe, Ceylon, that on the 4th June, 1915, the only day there was disturbance at Ampe, his only son, Romanis, was away at the Avissawella Police Court, and therefore could not have had any part in the disturbance; that on the 8th June twenty-seven men, including the deponent and his son, Romanis, were arrested on the unsupported complaint of a Moor trader, named Peer Tamby, and that without charge or trial Romanis Perera was tied to a tree and shot dead by the military in the sight of the other twenty-six captives; why was Mr. Perera compelled to witness the murder of his only son; whether there is any record of the charge made by Peer Tamby; and, if any of the facts are denied, why the deponent has not been tried for perjury?

This case has been the subject of inquiry, in the course of which the writer of this deposition was examined. His statement was discredited in many particulars by other witnesses. I have no information as to the last part of the question.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether the Moor who initiated the riots at Kandy, Ceylon, in 1915, by shooting dead a Sinhalese youth on the night of the 29th May, and though known to the public and to the police to have done this was not then arrested, has since been arrested and tried for that act; and, if not, will he say why this course has not been adopted?

I have nothing to add to the reply given to the hon. Member on the 14th December last.

Then this Moor who secured the execution of several Ceylonese has never been arrested?

On a point of Order, Mr. Speaker. Is there nothing in the Rules of the House to prevent one hon. Member of the House from repeating day after day a series of six or eight Questions regarding a difficulty in Ceylon which happened some years ago—questions which are calculated to cause great difficulty and disturbance in Ceylon?

I have no authority to interfere.

Cannot a repetition of questions be prevented?

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what notice has been taken of the conduct of Mr. C. S. Vaughan, Special Commissioner at Kandy, Ceylon, in issuing a Proclamation there on 10th June, 1915, that persons not obeying orders or carrying firearms will be liable to be shot at sight; how many persons were shot without trial under this Proclamation; and what official position Mr. Vaughan now occupies?

I must refer the hon. Member to the reply given to his similar question on the 1st May. Mr. Vaughan is an officer of the Ceylon Civil Service.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies the result of the inquiry which his predecessor said six months ago was being held into the slaying of W. P. Singho, of Algoda, Ceylon, on the 10th June, 1915; and whether the six English gentlemen who, according to the deposition of Singho's widow, had him shot, have been tried for that act?

I have received the report of a local commission of inquiry into this case, but await the Governor's observations in the matter.

In view of the fact that in the case of every accusation against an official the official receives exoneration, and that there has been grave doubt all through in this matter, would it be possible to have an independent and impartial inquiry, with some Member of Parliament taking part in the investigation, and thus try to settle the disturbance?

I am not aware that the opinion expressed by the hon. Gentleman exists except in a very limited quarter of the House, but I desire to make an answer generally to these questions, replies to which, in detail, would involve an amount of labour on the part of the Governor and his officials which would make it impossible for them to discharge their duties. As Secretary of State I have made myself fully conversant with the history of this question, and I am perfectly sure that the Governor is doing everything in his power in order to produce a state of peace and order.

Arising out of that general answer, has not the right hon. Gentleman received a petition from the natives of Ceylon praying for an English Commissiion of inquiry; has he received any opposition to that petition except the opposition of the officials?

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has now come to a decision as to granting an increased boot allowance to the Metropolitan police, having regard to the fact that the present boot allowance of 6d. per week only covers the cost of repairs, which has nearly doubled since the beginning of the War owing to the rise in the price of leather as well as the increase in labour?

My right hon. Friend has decided, on the recommendation of the Commissioner of Police, to increase the boot allowance to one shilling a week. It is proposed that the increase should have effect as long as the abnormal prices due to the War continue.

May I ask whether boots could not be considered part of the uniform?

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the special permission of the prison governor has to be obtained before a prisoner can be allowed the use of a toothbrush; and whether, in the interests of hygiene and the welfare of prisoners, he will consider the desirability of reconsidering the Regulation?

Toothbrushes are issued to all prisoners who apply for them. I see no reason for reconsidering this practice, but an endeavour will be made to encourage the use of brushes.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he has received from the leather workers' trade, on their own behalf and on behalf of their workpeople, a protest against the exten- sion to that trade of the National Insurance Act, Part II. (Munition Workers' Unemployment Insurance); whether the boot and shoe manufacturers have, in consequence of a similar protest, been virtually excluded from the operation of that Act; and whether he is prepared to extend like treatment to the leather workers' trade?

I have been asked to reply to this question, as the Ministry of Labour has been entrusted with the powers formerly enjoyed by the Board of Trade in this matter. Representations of the kind indicated by my hon. Friend were received in September of last year from certain associations of employers in the leather workers' trade. The position is that a trade included in the Schedule to the National Insurance, Part II. (Munition Workers) Act, 1916, which covers the manufacture of leather goods, cannot be excluded from unemployment insurance without further legislation.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will give a list of the light railways in Ireland wholly or partially controlled by county councils and the amount of the guarantee in each case that had to be paid from the rates in the year 1915; and whether, now that railways are under Government control, this differentiation and burden on poor districts will be removed?

Most of the information asked for in the first part of this question is to be found in the Reports of the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland. The terms on which the railways are being taken over should have the effect of preventing any increase beyond the 1913 level in the guarantees payable in respect of the lines of which possession has been taken.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he has yet been able to arrange to take fish from Irish fishermen to pay on delivery as is done in the case of Scotland; and whether he is aware that the new arrangement has caused loss and inconvenience to the public as well as to fishermen without any corresponding advantage to anybody?

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer given yesterday to the hon. Member for North Dublin.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food what is the food value of beer as compared with the quantity of grain and sugar destroyed in its production?

It is estimated that beer, together with the milk obtained by feeding to cattle the by-products of the brewery, contains between 28 per cent. and 59 per cent. of the energy and less than 27 per cent. of the flesh-forming matter of the constituents from which the beer was made; whereas if these constituents were not used for brewing, but were directly used as human food, about 71 per cent. of the former and 68 per cent. of the latter would be recovered.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food why no sugar has been supplied to the staff and patients of the Tyrone and Fermanagh Lunatic Asylum, Omagh, since the 1st January last; if he is aware that this institution contains over 800 patients; that their pre-war requirement was about 1 ton of sugar per week; and that, although they have given full particulars to his Department at their request on the 30th March last, no action has since been taken?

The Ministry of Food have been in communication with the firms which, according to the letter from the asylum authorities on the 30th March last, previously supplied sugar to the asylum. It is recognised that the asylum have not received their proper supplies of sugar in the past and it is hoped that the matter may now be rapidly adjusted, and I have to say that I regret that it appears that there has been undue delay in investigating this matter.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether any Order has been made prohibiting the use of flour or rye flour for making paste for paper-hanging or bill-posting; and, if not, will he consider the advisability of issuing such an Order?

Yes, Sir. Through the combined operation of the Wheat, Rye, and Rice Restriction Order, and the Maize, Barley, and Oats Restriction Order the making of paste from sound cereal grain for wall-papering or bill-posting is now prohibited. It should be understood that the repapering of walls is not a domestic enterprise of a patriotic character.

asked the President of the Board of Agriculture whether the provisions of the Ground Game Act can be relaxed so as to allow tenants with land adjoining coverts to kill by any means rabbits that are destroying crops for human food?

An Order has been made under the Defence of the Realm Regulations empowering executive committees to authorise persons to enter on any land for the purpose of killing rabbits if they are doing damage to crops.

Persons generally or tenants?

Tenants.

asked the President of the Board of Agriculture whether it is proposed to remit the fine imposed on a farmer at the Bourne Petty Sessions for shooting one pheasant out of seventy-four that were damaging a field sown with peas; and whether prosecutions for killing game destroying human food will be prohibited during the War?

Any application for the remission of the fine should be addressed to the Home Office. It is not proposed to proceed on the lines suggested in the latter part of the question, but the Board are prepared to take immediate action to effect the reduction of the stock of pheasants in any case where they are satisfied that this is necessary for protection of crops.

Did not the Board of Agriculture state that licences were to be issued to enable tenants to kill pheasants out of season?

That was only to the end of March.

Will the hon. Gentleman approach the Home Office in respect of the remission of this fine?

We have given instructions for an inquiry to be made locally into the whole of the circumstances. We had better wait and see what the answer is.

Will instructions be given that such prosecutions should not be instituted without reference to the Board of Agriculture?

This was a police prosecution.

Yes, but does the hon. Gentleman not know that these prosecutions may be stopped by official action?

I have every sympathy with the hon. Member. We hope that the statement I have given will be sufficient.

Could not the licences granted to the end of March be continued, as it is much more important now?

Perhaps my hon. Friend would give notice of that question.

asked the President of the Board of Education when the Report of the Board of Scientific and Industrial Research for 1916–17 will be available for Members of this House, in view of the special Estimates for that Board now before Parliament?

My right hon. Friend has asked me to answer this question. The Report of the Committee of the Privy Council for Scientific and Industrial Research is made for the year ending 31st July, and will appear as soon as possible after that date.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether the Grant to the British Dyes Corporation, Limited, for scientific and industrial research comes within the cognisance of his Board; if so, can he state the amount of the Grant and how much of it has been paid, and when; and whether, in view of the special Estimates of the Board of Scientific and Industrial Research now before Parliament, he can supply any information to the House on the results or the methods of expenditure of that Grant?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the negative. My right hon. Friend is informed by the President of the Board of Trade that no payment out of the Grant in question has yet been made to British Dyes, Limited, or applied for.

asked the hon. Member for Sheffield (Central Division), whether any use is yet being made of the Dutch passenger ships whose safety has been guaranteed by the German Government for the mutual exchange of British and German civilian prisoners over the age of forty-five?

I would refer my Noble Friend to the reply on 3rd May by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Admiralty to the question of the hon. Member for Newington. The Admiralty state that there is no accommodation available on these Dutch boats for prisoners of war.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland what is the cause of the delay in setting up a register of secondary teachers in Ireland; will such register be ready for the coming school year; and whether any new rules have been or are being framed for the distribution of the Teachers' Salaries Grant, or whether the present rules will be enforced during the coming year?

Draft regulations for a register have been framed and are under consideration. New rules for the distribution of the Teachers' Salaries Grants are being drafted.

When does the right hon. Gentleman expect these rules to come into operation?

I cannot answer that without notice.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland if he will state what is the number of teachers in workhouses in Ireland paid by the State, the total amount paid in salaries, and the average salary per teacher?

The salaries of teachers in workhouse schools in Ireland are paid from Poor Law funds and not by the State. Grants in aid of the salaries are made out of the Local Taxation (Ireland) Account. There are 181 such teachers, whose salaries amount to £7,512, an average of £41 10s. each, and who are allowed apartments, rations, fuel, and light, or money value in lieu thereof in addition to their pay.

asked the Chief Secretary if he is aware that an important meeting of business people and manufacturers of Belfast and the province of Ulster was held in the Ulster Hall, Belfast, on 13th December, 1916; that this meeting was presided over by the Lord Primate of Ireland, and that the moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland and the vice-chairman of the Methodist Conference also took part; that at this meeting a resolution was passed calling upon the Government to apply the Regulations of the Board of Liquor Control to those parts of Ireland where munitions of war are manufactured, where large bodies of troops are encamped for training, and at all ports where troops embark; and will he say if he has received a copy of such resolution and if he proposes to give effect to it?

I have received numerous resolutions on this subject, including that from Belfast referred to in the question. The matter is, however, not within the discretion of the Chief Secretary. I must refer the hon. Member to my right hon. Friend the Minister of Munitions.

asked the Prime Minister whether he is aware that thirty Unionist Members of this House are as present serving overseas, of whom twenty-three are serving in France, six in Egypt, and one in Russia; and whether he will arrange that facilities should be offered to those Members to attend in their places in this House during the progress of the Electoral Reform Bill, without prejudice to their positions in their military units?

The statement in the first part of my hon. Friend's question is, as far as I can gather, substantially correct. As regards the latter part, I can give no other answer than that given by me on the 8th of this month to my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Wednesbury.

Will the Government bear in mind that this group of Members includes an overwhelming majority of opponents of woman suffrage, and consider their position in the interests of fair play to the opposition to woman suffrage?

Will the hon. Member remember, also, that there are twenty-two members of the Liberal party also serving at the front?

Is the military genius of the officers from this House now at the seat of war to be withdrawn because women are to be enfranchised?

asked the Prime Minister whether any agreement has been arrived at between any representative Labour body and any of the Government Departments as to the allocation of some of the lesser positions in the Civil Service to disabled men; and, if so, will he say with what bodies the arrangement has been made and what is its nature?

So far as I am aware, no official negotiations have taken place with any representative Labour body on this question.

asked the Prime Minister whether he will instruct the officials of each Government Department having an address in London to put the number of their postal district on their letter paper?

My right hon. Friend has asked me to answer this question. Instructions were issued to all the Departments when the new mode of address was introduced, and all fresh supplies of official paper will bear the full address of the Department.

Might it not be put on in ink?

I believe that is being done.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether recent Returns indicate that the coal-mining industry has been earning excess profits; and, if so, to what extent?

I can add nothing to the replies I have already given to my hon. Friend in answer to similar questions.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the aggregate amount for the last financial year of the mining royalties, etc., assessable to Mineral Rights Duty; and how much of that amount was also assessable to excess Mineral Rights Duty?

The information desired by the hon. Member is not available. I regret that in view of the labour involved in obtaining detailed analyses of Revenue Returns, I cannot undertake at the present time to furnish these particulars.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say the probable amount of mining royalties last year assessable to Mineral Rights Duty?

I have already said that I have not got the information.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will consider the advisability of allowing the com- plimentary tickets, issued to nurses who convey squads of wounded soldiers and sailors from hospitals to theatres and entertainments to be exempt from the tax upon complimentary tickets, as the augmentation to revenue from this source would be very small and the situation would be embarrassing if the nurses are compelled to pay the tax while the soldiers and sailors go free?

I will make provision to meet this point in the draft of the Finance Bill.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether, having regard to the Cabinet instruction that timber is to be economised, he will explain why timber is still being employed for the extensive external wall surfaces of the various aircraft supply stores now being erected for the Royal Flying Corps in the North-West of London and in various provincial centres; and, having regard to the purpose to which these buildings ate to be put, he will consider the advantage of utilising a material of some fire resistance, such as a non-proprietary concrete slabbing, rather than timber weather boarding?

Fire-resisting material is, as far as possible, being substituted for timber in all buildings in course of construction for the Royal Flying Corps except in cases where the work was nearing completion or the contract too far advanced before the issue of the instruction to which my hon. Friend refers.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Shipping Controller, whether he is aware of the Cabinet instruction as to limiting the use of timber wherever possible; whether he is aware that reinforced concrete sea-going barges have been used to a considerable extent in Italy and that reinforced concrete ships are being built in Norway; and whether any endeavour is being made that any new barges or minor hulls which may be required, both for sea, river, and harbour, should in future be constructed of reinforced concrete rather than of timber?

The Shipping Con- troller is aware of the necessity for limiting the use of timber, and due regard has been had to this fact in connection with his shipbuilding programme. The possibilities of reinforced concrete are being carefully examined, and tenders and plans for the construction of barges of various types are already in preparation.

asked the President of the Board of Agriculture whether, having regard to the Cabinet instruction that timber is to be economised wherever possible, he can see his way to issue, in popular form on the same lines as the general leaflets issued by the Board of Agriculture, useful information to estate owners and farmers as to simple methods of making fence posts and gate posts of concrete rather than of timber, and to utilise concrete generally for farm purposes on a greater scale than has been the case heretofore; and whether he is aware of the use of concrete on the farms and estates of the United States, and the fact that it is now more economical, not only in maintenance, but also in first cost, to use concrete for the minor purposes in farm work for which timber is generally employed?

I am obliged to my hon. Friend for his suggestion, though I fear there is no chance of our being able to adopt it during the War. I understand that the construction of concrete fence and gate posts involves the use of a good deal of steel or iron and wire as well as skilled labour. The Department are advised that, generally speaking, it is preferable to continue during the War to use the rough timber, which is usually at hand on a farm, rather than to embark upon concrete.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether the Committee on Canals is aware of the Cabinet instruction that has been issued as to the necessity of avoiding the use of timber wherever possible and has taken steps to arrange for such new barges as may be required to be constructed of reinforced concrete in order to save timber; and whether he has particulars of reinforced concrete barges used in Italy and could have information circulated among those concerned?

The Canal Control Committee are, I think, fully aware of the desirability for economy in the use of timber and of the possibility of substituting reinforced concrete for timber for certain purposes, including the building of barges.

asked the Minister of Munitions whether, having regard to the Cabinet instruction that economy is to be practised in the use of timber, any endeavour is being made to circulate information or popularise the use of concrete and reinforced concrete for the simple minor uses in controlled factories, as well as for the construction of the actual buildings, as for example for railway sleepers used on sidings, electric transmission poles, fenceposts, shelters, latrines, and troughs?

The Ministry of Munitions have pressed for the use of concrete and reinforced concrete wherever possible, in order to economise the use of steel for constructional purposes, and the present scarcity of timber, as well as of steel, renders the necessity of employing concrete still more urgent. I may add that, in making application for a Building Licence, applicants have to state their readiness or otherwise to use reinforced concrete, and this is one of the points taken into consideration in dealing with these applications.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether, in view of a considerable amount of misunderstanding existing in the minds of teachers and local authorities, he will state that the amount recently voted for additonal pay to teachers will be added to what they already received from the local education authorities; and whether he will make such financial arrangements by means of payments of Grants in advance as will enable the local education authorities to pay this amount to their teachers at once?

I would remind my hon. Friend that the money in question has not yet been voted, and I am, therefore, unable to make the financial arrangements which he suggests. So soon as the money has been voted, arrangements will be made for paying the Grants to the local education authorities in instalments.

May I ask whether those payments will enable those educational authorities to pay the increased Grant to teachers as from the 1st April?

I think that is so, but I should like to have notice of the question.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he can explain the delay in the issue of the Report of the Committee on Nurses for the War, and whether he can state when the Report will be issued?

Copies of this Report are now available for the use of Members, and I am arranging for a supply to be placed in the Library.

On a point of Order, Mr. Speaker. May I ask whether it is not the practice, or one of the Orders of this House, that when a question is handed in at the Table and edited to any extent that the Member giving notice of the question should be advised of the fact? A week ago I put down a question to which I asked a written answer regarding certain statements concerning the Liquor Control Board which appeared in a periodical, and requesting information thereon. I subsequently found that the question, as printed, attributed to me the sentiments in the article. Is it not one of the rules of the House that a Member should be advised before, or when, his question is so altered?

The Clerks at the Table endeavour to get hold of Members. The Clerks are always present, but hon. Members are not. It is sometimes very difficult to discover where hon. Members are.

I desire to ask the representative of the Ministry of Labour whether he can give any information to the House as to the cause of the suspension of the omnibus traffic in London, and will he state what the Government have done or are doing to bring about a settlement of the dispute?

The Ministry of Labour were approached by the manager of the company, who informed us that he had received a communication, dated the 3rd May, from the General Secretary of the London and Provincial Union of Licensed Vehicle Workers, informing the company that the delegates representing the various branches of this union had decided to withdraw the adhesion of this union to Clause 3 of the Agreement signed on the 25th September, 1913, by Sir Albert Stanley on behalf of the General Omnibus Company, Mr. Richard Tilling on behalf of Messrs. Tillings, Ltd., and Messrs. A. Smith and H. A. Bywater on behalf of the above union, and countersigned by Sir George Askwith, Chief Industrial Commissioner.

He also informed us that he had received on the 4th May another letter in which the company were informed that the annual delegate meeting had resolved that the signature of Mr. Ben Smith, organising secretary of this union, as appended to the minute signed on 5th January, 1917, at the Ministry of Labour and countersigned by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Labour, be declared null and void. The effect of this minute was that the union would not use their machinery in defence of men who broke the printed agreement with the company.

The Ministry got into communication with the officials of the men, and conveyed to them the information they had received from the manager of the General Omnibus Company. They forwarded to us a copy of the letter, informing us of the decision of the delegate meeting regarding the minute which had been signed by Mr. Ben Smith, organising secretary, on the 5th January, 1917.

The question of the claim for 10s. advance to drivers and conductors and 5s. for the skilled and semi-skilled garage staff was raised by the representatives of the union. The Ministry advised that, notwithstanding the decisions of the delegate meeting, this claim should be proceeded with and dealt with if the men remained at work.

The company raised an objection to proceeding with the arbitration if that meant they had to recognise the union which had declared null and void two agreements which they had arrived at with the company. The company, acting on the advice of the Department, agreed to proceed with the inquiry regarding the claim for an advance of wages, leaving it to the men in their employ to select or make their own arrangements for representation at the inquiry.

The inquiry regarding this advance would in the normal course have taken place this week, and immediately the men return to work will be proceeded with.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his attention had been drawn to the announcement in the "Daily Express" this morning to the effect that the Government control of breweries has been decided upon; and whether there is any foundation for the statement?

This is an unauthorised and inaccurate account of one of several private interviews which have been held by the Prime Minister. As soon as the policy of the Government is decided it will be announced in the House of Commons.

Can the right hon. Gentleman account for the unauthorised reports of these interviews appearing in the Press? Is he not aware that there are powers under the Defence of the Realm Act for dealing with this sort of thing?

I cannot account for it. I do not see how the powers under the Defence of the Realm Act could be put into operation when we do not suspect anything of the kind.

Will the right hon. Gentleman say then that the statement that the breweries were informed yesterday that control was to be taken is without any foundation?

I was not present at the meeting, but my colleagues who were there say that the account was inaccurate.

Is it purely a coincidence that the "Daily Express" has had advance information for every proposal, either by this or the late Government, for dealing with the liquor trade?

I do not see how I can be expected to answer that question.

You might ask Lord Beaverbrook.

When the right hon. Gentleman makes his statement, will the House have an opportunity of discussing it?

Most certainly!

Will discussion arise before anything effective is done?

Oh, no!

I can add nothing to the answer I have already given.

Is it not extraordinary that, unless this House is to abrogate its power, it should not be allowed to look into the stable before the door is locked and the horse gone?

The question was whether the House should have the opportunity of discussion. It all depends upon what is being done. Obviously anything like State purchase would not be dreamt of without the consent of the House of Commons.

But State control during the War?

That is going on now. It is entirely a question of degree.

Will the right hon. Gentleman give the House an opportunity of either giving or withdrawing its sanction?

Is Lord Milner to be appointed Controller of English beer, so as to reduce it to the German standard?