asked the First Lord of the Admiralty what are the duties of the recently-appointed shipowner, Mr. Arthur Ritson, at the Admiralty; and whether, in regard to the interests of merchant shipping in face of the submarine menace, he will consider the appointment of a merchant shipmaster to assist Mr. Ritson?

As announced in the public Press on the 9th May, 1917, Mr. Ritson's duties are those of adviser on shipping matters to the Admiralty War Staff. Mr. Ritson himself for several years commanded merchant steam vessels. A large number of Royal Naval Reserve officers, many of whom have been masters of ships, are employed in connection with the direction of merchant shipping, and the Admiralty is kept closely in touch at all the mercantile ports with shipmasters actually serving afloat. In these circumstances it is not considered necessary to adopt the suggestion made in the second part of the question.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War if the usual leave is being granted to the soldiers in training at Prees Heath Camp, Wiltshire; and will he state whether the usual draft leave will be given before they are sent abroad?

Yes, Sir; four days' draft leave is granted prior to embarkation.

asked whether a time-expired soldier who has served his extra year will be allowed to claim his discharge, or if he will be entitled to a leave or Home service?

A soldier who, on termination of his engagement, has served his extra year cannot claim his discharge unless he was forty-one years of age on termination of engagement and had served for twelve years or more. One month's furlough is granted as a privilege to such soldiers provided the exigencies of the Service permit, and in the case of men who are overseas that accommodation on leave boats or transports is available. Such men are not entitled to be kept on or sent home for Home service.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War what is the position as regards the Army of a man who attained the age of forty-one years on 12th February, 1917, who attested a year ago, who three months later was examined before a medical board and rejected, and who, up to the present, has not received any calling-up notice or notice for reexamination?

The position depends upon the exact circumstances of the individual case. If my hon. Friend will inform me of the man's name and address and what were the dates of his attestation and medical examination, and what were the place and result of the examination and the certificate given by the recruiting medical board, I will have inquiries made and inform my hon. Friend of the result.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he will inquire into the case of Mr. Herbert Turner, of 58, Ashley Lane, Moston, Manchester, who has been re-examined at the Hulme Town Hall and passed A 1, although he has been rejected many times through heart trouble, and was told by the medical board at the examination previous to this re-examination that he must on no account hurry or get the least excited?

I am inquiring into this case, and will let my right hon. Friend know the result.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether his attention has been drawn to the numerous complaints being published with regard to the treatment being given to young lads who have enlisted; whether the promises made that specially favourable conditions would be observed are being carried out; and whether he will provide more frequent facilities for these lads to visit their homes by rail?

Arrangements are being made to ensure that the instructions regarding the treatment and general comfort of these recruits will be carried out. They are entitled to four days' leave on free warrant on completion of three months' training. Other leave at reduced fares is subject to the restrictions announced last December.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether a soldier who was discharged before the War after completion of twelve years' service and who voluntarily re-enlisted, after having attained the age of forty-two years, for one year's service, can be retained with the colours after the expiration of the period for which he re-enlisted; and, if so, by what statutory authority?

If the hon. Member will give me the name, number, rank and regiment of the man he has in mind, I will have the matter investigated. I may point out that there were no enlistments for one year's service. There were, however, certain enlistments for one year or the duration of the War.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether the military representatives at tribunals have been instructed that they are not to press for the calling up of men to whom exemption cards have been issued by the Ministry of Munitions; whether the War Office recognises these cards; and, if not, whether he can state what their value is to any holder?

The provisions with regard to the protection of men employed on munitions are very elaborate and have been most carefully devised in collaboration with the Ministry of Munitions and other Government Departments. No special instruction has been issued to military representatives at tribunals which are inconsistent with the general Army Council instructions governing the matter. The value of an exemption card to the holder depends upon the nature of the protection which it is intended to confer. Each card is intended to, and in fact does, secure to the holder the degree of exemption to which he is entitled. I will place in the Library copies of the instructions which deal with this.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether Private F. C. Mills, No. 9307, C.S.M., T) Company, 7th Worcestershires, was granted leave of absence on agricultural furlough to permit of his digging and planting an allotment and has been called on to refund his pay and separation or family allowance on the ground that the work in question was on his own allotment and not for an employer; whether such a decision is in order; and, if so, whether, in view of the food shortage, fresh regulations can at once be issued for the removal of such restrictions and penalties?

When men are given furlough to work on farms of which they are the owners or tenant farmers no Army-pay or allowances are credited. The man's Army pay and allowances are regarded as included in his civil earnings for the period of the furlough, and no separation or family allowance is issued. The same rule applies to allotments.

asked the Home Secretary if he is aware that Wyndham Albery, chartered accountant, a conscientious objector to military service, was charged with being an absentee under the Military Service Act at Brentford Police Court and remanded; that the magistrate refused the granting of bail solely on the grounds that the military representative objected, and also refused to hear any evidence in support of bail; and what steps he will take to represent the advisability of bail being granted in similar cases where the character and position of trust held by the prisoner are sufficient guarantee that he will come up for trial when called upon?

I have made inquiry about this case, and find that in refusing bail the magistrates considered facts stated to them by the military representative. The grant of bail when a prisoner is remanded is a matter for the discretion of the justices, and if it is refused application may be made to the High Court. I have reason to believe that Courts of summary jurisdiction are generally alive to the desirability of allowing defendants bail on an adjournment whenever this can be safely done.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether a letter has been received from the Territorial Force Association of Dumbartonshire protesting against the proposed demobilisation of the 2/9th Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders; whether he is aware that the demobilisation of this unit will wipe out the identity of the county with any Infantry unit, the 1/9th having been disbanded last year in order to find reinforcements for other units in the fighting line; and whether, in view of these facts, he will see that the matter has further consideration?

My right hon. Friend has recently been in communication with my hon. Friend about this matter and I need not add anything to the explanation given.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that a number of new petrol-driven caterpillar traction-engines have been lying at Avonmouth Dock for months past while engines are required at the front and for agricultural purposes; that these engines are being impaired as a result of disuse; and whether he will take steps to utilise this machinery to the best advantage and prevent the continued waste of public money?

These engines are not exactly as my hon. Friend describes. They have been obtained for a special purpose and are issued as required in accordance with a programme. At the present moment the number of vehicles actually ready for service just balance the number required for units awaiting embarkation.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War if he is in a position to make any statement as to the health of the troops in garrisons on the River Tigris and River Euphrates, as to the provision of hospitals and the supply of nurses at such places as Basra, Bagdad, Amara, and Nasiriya, and as to the arrangements made for the supply of fresh vegetables?

The general health of the whole British Forces in Mesopotamia is satisfactory. There is an ample supply of hospitals, and no deficiency of nurses has been reported. The ratio of admission to hospital is less than double that of the troops in India in peace time. The death rate for all causes other than wounds in action is 4.5 per 1,000 per annum, which is only fractionally higher than the peace rate in India. Owing to the arrangements made to induce local cultivators to grow crops under our control, it is reported that full and varied supplies of vegetables can now be obtained throughout the year at all the principal centres.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether, in view of the increased cost of tobacco, arrangements will be made to either issue a ration of tobacco to soldiers on home service or to allow such soldiers to take up, on repayment, tobacco at duty-free prices?

My hon. and gallant Friend has been in communication with me about this. The ration of tobacco is given overseas as it has been held that the soldier in the field is unable to obtain it. These conditions do not apply at home, and the issue of a ration is not considered necessary by the military authorities. It is not a question of price, but of facilities for obtaining tobacco that governs the distinction.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War if he will consider the advisability of increasing the wages of civilian clerks on War Office work in Government Departments in Ireland?

Instructions were issued yesterday authorising a temporary increase, with effect from the 1st January last.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland if he will state the official figures percentage of the increased cost of living since the outbreak of war; if he will also state by what percentage the wages of Government labourers in Ireland have been increased; and if he will name the Departments that have granted an equal increase in wages with increase of living?

The hon. Member will find such information as is available of the estimated average increase in the cost of living in the Board of Trade "Labour Gazettes." The Conciliation and Arbitration Board has recently awarded an increased war bonus to Government Employés, which has been extended to all similar classes throughout Great Britain. The percentage on the ordinary remuneration represented by the war bonus now payable (which, in the case of all adult male Employès on the permanent staff whose wages do not exceed 30s. a week, is 9s. a week) will depend on the amount of the ordinary remuneration in each case, and I cannot undertake to furnish the hon. Member with the hypothetical figures asked for in the second part of his question.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether, in view of the increased and increasing price of provisions, he will consider the possibility of allowing those civilian hospitals which have admitted large numbers of wounded soldiers to their wards to take advantages of Army contracts for the supply of meat, etc., at contract prices?

This has been done already in a certain number of cases, but there are many considerations involved which make it impossible to promise any general extension.

asked the President of the Board of Agriculture whether the war agricultural committees are giving orders to farmers to break up grass land; whether they have the power to specify which particular field or fields on each holding should be broken up or whether it is left to the discretion of the occupier; and. if the former, under what Statute or Order in Council are these powers exercised?

The County War Agricultural Executive Committees are empowered under the Cultivation of Lands Order, 1917 (No. 3) and Regulation 2 M of the Defence of the Realm Regulations to issue directions as to the manner in which land should be cultivated. The committees are instructed to carry out their duties by agreement with the owners and occupiers of the land, but, in the last resort, they have the power to specify which fields should be broken up, if in their opinion it is necessary in the national interest.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food if his attention has been called to a resolution passed on the 20th of May last at a joint meeting of the Bradford Retail Fruit, Fish, and Game Dealers' Association and the committee of the Bradford Fish Friers' Section of the Bradford and District Chamber of Trade requesting that greengrocers, fish and potato friers, and hotel and restaurant keepers should be recognised by the Government as entitled to buy potatoes at wholesale prices, and that one wholesale price should be fixed for the new potato crop from 1st July and onwards; and if he is prepared to agree to this request?

This resolution has been received and will be considered in due course by the Crops (1917) Committee.

asked the Home Secretary whether he has received applications for compensation from any of the twenty persons who, having obtained permits in advance for the purpose, travelled, some of them from long distances and at expense which they could ill afford, to Lewes to visit Irish political prisoners there, were refused admittance on Whit-Monday, that being one of the ordinary days for visiting; and whether the expenses necessarily incurred, and rendered useless by the refusal, will be refunded?

I have received two such applications. The refusal of the visits was due to the misconduct of the prisoners, which occurred on the morning fixed for the visits and when it was too late to inform visitors that the visits had been forfeited. The answer to the latter part of the question is in the negative.

asked the Home Secretary whether he is aware that the number of county councillors for the administrative county of London is double the number of members which at the passing of the Local Government Act, 1888, was returned to Parliament; and what steps-he proposes to take on the Clauses of the Representation of the People Bill to ensure that the basis shall in future be the Parliamentary division as rearranged by the Boundary Commissioners?

I have some doubt whether the suggestion is within the scope of the Bill, but on the merits of the proposal I will communicate with my Noble Friend the President of the Local Government Board.

asked the Home Secretary what steps he proposes to take in connection with the thousands of licence holders in Ireland whose whole business is completely ruined under the Beer Restrictions Order?

I am afraid I can add nothing to the reply which the Chancellor of the Exchequer gave the hon. Member on 24th May.

asked the Secretary to the Board of Trade whether large quantities of birds' plumage, including ostrich feathers, are still being shipped into this country in spite of the Proclamation prohibiting such importations; and whether, in view of the shortage of shipping, he will take immediate steps to ensure that the Proclamation is obeyed?

The hon. Member is doubtless aware that consignments of goods on the prohibited import list are admitted into the United Kingdom if they can be shown to have been despatched to the consignees in this country or to have been paid for by them on or before the date on which they were prohibited. It is not unlikely that a certain quantity of feathers, which come from a great distance, will continue for some time to arrive under the above conditions.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether in framing regulations for the supply of petrol to car owners in Ireland, special consideration will be given to the cases of men whose sole means of livelihood is derived from letting motor cars on hire; and will he see that such people will not have their business ruined?

As the hon. Gentleman will probably have seen in the newspapers arrangements are now being made to allow motor cars to be used on hire, under certain conditions.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he has received a copy of a Resolution passed at the meeting of the county borough council of Stoke-on-Trent stating that, having regard to the important part at present played by local authorities in the supply of electrical energy and the extensive character of the capital commitments in relation thereto, local authorities owning electrical undertakings are inadequately represented on the Committee appointed by him to consider and report on the future supply of electric power for all classes of consumers in the United Kingdom, and urging him to give increased representation to them, both in the interest of ratepayers and of consumers of electrical energy; and whether he will take the necessary steps to increase the representation of local authorities owning electrical undertakings on the committee as requested?

I have received a copy of the Resolution referred to and of similar resolutions passed by other local authorities, and have decided to increase the representation of local authorities owning electrical undertakings on the Committee.

asked the Secretary to the Board of Trade whether he is aware that the railway return fare from Holyhead to Euston on the London and Northwestern Railway was 35s. 6d. in 1914 and for many years previously, and that it is now 63s., an increase of 88 per cent.; and, if this increase is not authorised by any Order made by the Board, what steps he intends to take?

I understand that the third class return fare between Euston and Holyhead was increased last summer from 35s. 6d. to 42s., and was thus brought into closer agreement with the general scale of third class fares in force throughout the country. All ordinary railway fares were increased by 50 per cent, at the beginning of this year under the authority of a Defence of the Realm Regulation. The total increase seems to be one of 77 per cent., but the fare originally was a very low one.

asked the hon. Member for Worcestershire (Bewdley Division) whether, with full regard to national interests, he can state how much money has been borrowed by the Government of Great Britain and by the other Allied Governments respectively, in the United States since 4th August, 1914?

The total sum borrowed by this country in the United States of America since the outbreak of war, including $400,000,000 lately advanced by the United States Government is about $2,000,000,000. I have no exact information as to the sums borrowed by the other Allied Governments.

asked the Secretary for Scotland what are the average yearly salaries for the following grades of primary teachers in Catholic schools and in public schools, respectively, in each of 'the school board districts of Edinburgh, Glasgow, Govan, and Dundee, namely, for male principals (excluding second masters), male assistant (including second masters), female principals (including infant mistresses), and female assistants (excluding infant mistresses), respectively; and what are the average numbers of children under the charge of each certificated primary teacher (including principal teachers) in Catholic schools and in public schools, respectively, in each of the same school board districts?

I regret that, in view of their depleted staff, it is not possible for the Scottish Education Department to undertake an inquiry of the range and detail that would be necessary to obtain a complete answer to the questions asked by my hon. Friend. I would refer him, however, to the latest published statistics, which show that the average salaries for the whole of Scotland in the year 1913–14 were as follows: — Public Schools. Roman Catholic Schools. £ s. d. £ s. d. Principal masters 193 14 6 152 13 6 Assistant masters 144 1 1 94 1 6 Principal mistresses 98 6 1 95 9 11 Assistant mistresses 86 1 8 74 16 0