asked the Prime Minister how many members of his Ministry hold paid directorships in commercial or other companies, either at home or abroad, stating the aggregate number of directorships so held and the total fees received by these members for their services to the Government and their services to the various companies; and will he supply a list of the companies concerned?

:No member of the Government holds any paid directorship in a public company.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War if he will issue instructions to the officer in charge of the Army Ordnance Department and the Government laundry in Dublin to pay to the employés the same wages and bonus as is paid to Woolwich Army Ordnance Department employés engaged on similar work; and if he is aware that Irish employés receive 10s. less than those in Woolwich?

:I can add nothing to my reply on the 26th April last to a question by the hon. Member for the St. Patrick's Division of Dublin.

asked the Pensions Minister whether a soldier, disabled to the extent, say, of one-half his earning capacity, receives only one-half of the total disablement pension of 27s. 6d. per week; if only partially disabled is he expected to find work which will suit his physical capacity; and, if so, whether, if such discharged soldier is willing to work but is unable to find employment to suit his condition, he will consider the desirability of granting a temporary pension over and above the pension granted until such time as work suited to his physical capacity can be found?

:Pensions given to soldiers are based on physical impairment rather than on earning capacity, and are generally given in the first instance on a sufficiently generous scale to secure the man adequate support until his disablement reaches its final state when the pension is fixed in accordance with that state. A full pension is granted for periods of disablement during which a man improves his condition by undergoing treatment or training.

asked the Postmaster-General whether work is still proceeding on the Post Office (London) Railway; and, if so, what number of men are now employed, and what tonnage of iron and steel has been used in the construction of the railway for the year ending 31st March, 1917?

:The only work which has been undertaken in respect of the Post Office (London) Railway is the making of the tunnel in which the railway is to be laid, and that work is nearing completion. At the present time 435 men are employed upon it. Twenty-five tons of steel and 14,000 tons of cast iron segments have been used during the period stated. By far the greater part of the iron was manufactured before that period and practically all the steel before the outbreak of the War.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland if he will state the names of the inspectors and the results of the different valuations of the estate of the late Robert Leslie, at Tarbet, county Kerry, before sanction of the advance of the purchase money under the Land Act of 1903; how it happened that, after the vendor had agreed to accept 22½ years' purchase of the rent, he was paid out of public money, and the tenant purchasers are required to repay 26¼ years' purchase of the same holdings, with the result that they have since been embarrassed; whether any official valuer certified the tenanted portion of the estate to be security for this price; what has been the average price paid under the Act in county Kerry; whether the percentage of failures to pay annuities has been higher on this estate than on any other in Kerry; why the outlying untenanted portion of the estate, 385 acres, instead of being distributed for relief of congestion as provided by the Act and required by local circumstances, was bought from the vendor and sold back to him in addition to his demesne, with the consequent continuance of congestion and diminution of tillage; if Mr. Leslie represented this land to be necessary for his own use, why has he since been allowed to sell a portion of it again; what is the area of the Leslie holding as enlarged; how much of it is in tillage for food production this year; and. in view of the number of small holders and landless people in the neighbourhood willing to till land if sold to them at the value, what steps are being taken to make the portion added to the Leslie demesne available for them in time for next year's cropping?

:This estate was sold direct to the tenants under the Irish Land Act, 1903, and the holdings were vested in 1909 in accordance with the terms of the purchase agreements. No increase was made in the prices. A large number of the holdings were sold under the provisions of Section 1 (1) of the Act, and were not subject to inspection for security. The remaining holdings were inspected before the advances were made, and the statement that there were different valuations is not correct. The average number of years' purchase on this estate was 23.6, and the average for Kerry is 21.2. I am, informed that most of the small holdings on this estate are in the occupation of tradesmen and shopkeepers in Tarbet, and a considerable number of them are town fields. The purchase annuities on this estate have been regularly paid. The area repurchased by the owner under Section 3 of the Act was 383 acres, comprising his demesne ate Tarbet, on which there are extensive buildings, and a large portion under timber. No additional lands were purchased by the owner. The Estates Commissioners have no information as to any subsequent sale or the extent to which the owner's lands are being cultivated?

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland if he will say how many dispensary districts in Ireland are now without regular medical officers, to the necessary neglect and danger of the public health; will he specify the statutory provision under which the Local Government Board for Ireland cause this neglect and danger by refusing to sanction the appointment of duly qualified medical practitioners by local bodies while retaining in the Board's service men possessing, the very qualities on which the Board bases its refusal; by whom was Mr. A. Robinson, now inspector, recommended to the Board for employment; what his age and qualifications are; when he was employed temporarily; when permanently; what his salary and expenses amounted to in the financial year ending 31st March last; what is his relationship to the Vice-President of the Board; whether the business of the Board is conducted in the interest of the Robinson family; if not, why this man of military age is retained in Ireland; and whether the practice of the Board on this subject will now be reversed?

:No dispensary district in Ireland is without a regular medical officer. The power of the Local Government Board to control the appointment of medical officers is given by Section 8 of 14 and 15 Vict., cap. 68. The temporary inspector referred to in the question was appointed to his present position in January, 1916. The President of the Board, who made the appointment, was personally acquainted with him, and was aware of his qualifications. He is a barrister and a B.A. of Trinity College, Dublin, aged twenty-six, and is a son of the Vice-President of the Board. Prior to his appointment he was for eight months at the front with the Red Cross. He came home upon being twice medically rejected for active service on account of a defective right arm. The salary of inspectors of the Local Government Board is £500 a year, with actual travelling and subsistence expenses. The amounts repaid in the case in question during the financial year were: Travelling expenses, £142 12s. 2d.; hotel allowances, £74 10s.