asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether President Wilson has addressed a Note to China; whether steps were taken to prevent its publication in this country; if so, with what reason; and whether a copy of this Note will be issued through the Press Bureau?

In reply to the first part of the question, I understand that the United States Government recently addressed a Note to the Chinese Government. The reply to the remainder of the question is in the negative.

asked the Prime Minister whether he will consider the advisability of conferring with the Allied Powers in order to arrange the international prohibition of gambling in futures and options, especially in produce markets, to prevent cornering or profiteering in corn, wool, cotton, and food products, and also to prevent gambling in shares, metals, and commodities under the proviso that all such dealings shall guarantee delivery?

The suggestion in the question does not seem to me to be practicable.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland why the claims to increased old age pensions of Thomas Scahill and Celia Scahill, his wife, of Turlough, Castlebar, county Mayo, were rejected on appeal by the local pension officer; and whether the claimants have any means whatever except their old age pensions of 5s. per week each and lodgings provided for them at his residence by their son-in-law, a herd, who has to support a large family?

It was determined that the joint means of Thomas Scahill and Celia Scahill, his wife, exceeded 19s. 6d. a week, the limit fixed for the granting of an additional allowance.

Their means were estimated as follows:

Old age pensions … 10s. a week.

Value of maintenance 5s. a week each, making a total of £l a week.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland if he will state, in regard to land purchase transactions since the beginning of the War, the amount of cash advanced, the rate per cent, at which such money has been raised, the rate per cent of the annuities paid in respect of same, and if the deficiency is borne by the Exchequer; and the total amount of guaranteed land stock issued to vendors, and at what price such stock has been issued?

Since the beginning of the War the amount of cash advanced for land purchase transactions has been £5,731,313, of which £4,754,423 is repayable by a 3¼ per cent, annuity, including interest at 2¾ per cent., and £976,890 is repayable by a 3½ per cent, annuity, including interest at 3 per cent. The money was provided— £ (1) By the issue of £5,000,000 Guaranteed 3 per cent. Stock at 7l½ 3,575,000 (2) By the application of Sinking Fund instalments 1,103,700 (3) By temporary borrowings at 5 per cent, to 5½ per cent. balance

The stock issued to vendors in the period has been—

£ Guaranteed 2¾ per cent. Stock at 92 718,025 Guaranteed 3 per cent. Stock at par 1,916,252 The loss incurred by issuing stock at a discount is made good by means of an annuity chargeable on the Vote of the Irish Land Commission. A deficiency on the income account of the Irish Land Purchase Fund, due to temporary borrowing, is made good by the Guarantee Fund.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that there is growing dissatisfaction at the manner in which some of the medical examinations under the Military Service (Review of Exceptions) Act of men who were previously rejected are conducted; whether he is aware that men totally unfit for military service are being classified for active service; whether he will furnish to the House of Commons copies of instructions, printed and oral, which have been given to the medical boards; whether he will state why some of the entries on the classification cards given to men upon re-examination do not agree with their medical history sheets; and whether he will state what is the percentage of men previously rejected as totally unfit who, upon re-examination, have been classified in categories A, B, and C?

In reply to the various points raised by my hon. Friend, I may say that I am aware that attempts are being made to stir up dissatisfaction with the administration of the Review of Exceptions Act. There have been cases in which reasonable grounds for dissatis- faction have been present. In practically every case these grounds had been removed before any public comment arose.

The whole working of the administration is being, and will continue to be, most carefully watched, and throughout the country medical boards are working with great care.

I am not aware that any man totally unfit for military service is being accepted for active service. If my hon. Friend will supply me with details of the cases he has in mind, they will be fully inquired into.

Copies of all printed instructions issued in connection with the Review of Exceptions Act are in the Library of the House. No secret or oral instructions have been issued by the Army Council.

With reference to alleged cases of disagreement between the classification shown on a man's medical history sheet and on his classification card I have no knowledge. The proceeding is to attach to the medical history sheet a counterfoil of the classification card. This counterfoil is made out at the same time as the classification card which the man received. It, therefore, is extremely unlikely that mistakes are made. If the hon. Member knows of any śpecific instance full inquiries will be made. The instructions dealing with this matter are in the Library of the House.

Figures are not yet available for the whole country, but in some localities the percentage of A category men has been low. In one district notorious for fraudulent rejection in the past the percentage has been as high as 25 per cent, on the examinations conducted up to the 1st June. All the suspected cases were called first in that area, and the result has been fully to substantiate the worst fears of the authorities. The boards conducting those examinations were composed entirely of civilian doctors, with Territorial or temporarily commissioned or retired presidents. They have been specially inspected by inspectors from the War Office and their work has been reported as a model of careful examination.

asked why men previously rejected as medically unfit are upon re-examination in some instances given classification cards marked category R.E., and are told that they must come up for re-examination in three months, whereas the Military Service (Review of Exceptions) Act provides that no man who is not accepted for service shall be called up for further examination for six months?

Such orders would be directly contrary to the instructions issued by the War Office. If my hon. Friend will give me particulars of a definite case, I will have the matter taken up at once.

asked if a man holding a certificate of absolute exemption on physical grounds from a tribunal is liable to be called up for re-examination under the Military Service (Review of Exceptions) Act; and, if so, and if he is placed in some medical category, whether he can be called up to the Colours so long as his tribunal certificate is not withdrawn?

If particulars are given of the man to whom my hon. Friend's question applies, inquiries will be made. If, however, he is a man to whom the Military Service (Review of Exceptions) Act, 1917, applies, he was excepted from the provisions of the Military Service Acts, 1916. In that case any exemption which a tribunal may have purported to give him was an exemption from a liability to which he was not subject and had, therefore, no validity. When the Statutory Order requiring him to be medically re-examined was issued under the new Act he ceased to be an exception to the old Acts and had the ordinary right of making application for exemption to the appropriate tribunal.

asked the Secretary to the Local Government Board if he has now made inquiry into the case of Mr. A. Riley, of 115, Abel Street, Burnley, whose conditional certificate was recently withdrawn by the Burnley Appeal Tribunal, although the conditions upon which exemption was granted have in no way changed; and if he will say whether this man, who is a weaver by trade and whose medical category is C 1, is the sole support of a widowed and invalid mother, aged sixty-five; whether he also supports a crippled brother who, as the result of an injury to his spine, is unable to maintain himself; whether, in consequence of the decision of the tribunal, it will be necessary that the man's home should be broken up and his two relatives placed in the workhouse: and whether he proposes to take steps to obtain a revision of the case?

The Appeal Tribunal state that they supported the decision of the local tribunal in this case, and gave the man a short period of grace in addition. It appears that there is a brother who has been rejected for the Army, but who was working four days a week, and that there is also a married sister living l½ miles away. The Appeal Tribunal did not anticipate that either the mother or the brother would have to go into the workhouse. The decision in cases of this kind rests with the tribunals, who have the obvious advantage, in deciding on the merits of a case, of having heard it.

asked the Secretary to the Local Government Board if he will give instructions to the clerk of the tribunal at Liverpool that men called up under the Military Service (Review of Exceptions) Act are entitled to lodge a claim for exemption as soon as the notice is received on any of the grounds of the Act, seeing that he is refusing applicants this right on the ground that the appeal cannot be lodged until the re-examination has taken place?

I am making inquiry in the matter.

asked the Secretary to the Local Government Board whether his attention has been drawn to an announcement made by the Worcestershire appeal tribunal to the effect that, in all future applications on the ground of ill-health or in respect of an alleged improper Army medical classification, the appellant's, medical adviser or advisers must attend the tribunal for the purpose of examination and cross-examination; whether he is aware that these instructions are contrary to the practice of the Central Tribunal in such cases and to the procedure laid down in Army Council Instruction 27/5,702 (AG 2b) (R.) (O.) of 15th September, 1916, and circulated to tribunals with Circular R 101; and whether, owing to the hardship involved on the poorer appellants and to the exceptional demands on the medical services due to the conditions arising out of the War making their attendances before tribunals undesirable in the national interests, he will issue instructions to the Worcestershire appeal tribunal asking them to observe the procedure heretofore adopted?

I am making inquiries in the matter.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether Mr. Epstein, the sculptor, has been exempted from active military service on the grounds of his importance in the world of art; and, if so, who is responsible for this assertion?

Mr. Epstein was refused exemption by the local tribunal. Against this he appealed. He was granted three months exemption by the appeal tribunal. Against this the Military Representative claimed leave to appeal to the central tribunal. Appeal is now pending.

asked the Home Secretary whether Mr. Albert Taylor, late Parliamentary candidate for the Rossendale Division, has recently served his first sentence in Wormwood Scrubbs Prison, during which he has been for 111 days on punishment diet, in strict cellular confinement, and for about half of that period without a bed; whether this punishment, as a consequence of his resistance to the Military Service Act and refusal to undertake the prison tasks allotted him under it, has been detrimental to his health; and whether it is proposed to continue this method of punishment indefinitely?

This man has been punished in the appropriate way for refusing to work in prison. Care is taken to make sure that prison punishments are not such as to cause injury to health, and in this instance the prisoner gained in weight while he was in prison. He has now been discharged. If he should again be convicted and committed to prison, refusal to work will entail punishment in accordance with the prison rules.

asked the Home Secretary whether Dr. J. C. M'Callum, a graduate of Edinburgh University, medallist and holder of the Monat scholarship, executive tuberculosis officer for the county of Argyll, holding the diploma of public health, and having specialised in the treatment of tuberculosis, has been employed by the Home Office Committee on Employment of Conscientious Objectors, first at Wakefield and then as a labourer in the manufacture of manure for Messrs. Rough and Sons, Broxburn, Edinburgh; whether, in consequence of a breach of workshop discipline. this employment has been terminated; and whether, in the national interest, he will consider the possibility of employing this specialist on public health work under whatever financial conditions the Committee's regulations impose instead of on work for which he is not fitted or instead of sending him back to court-martial and prison?

John M'Callum has been employed as stated. His employment has been terminated, not for one, but for several breaches of discipline. The Committee on the Employment of Conscientious Objectors have recommended his recall to the Army, and the case is now out of their hands. Dr. M'Callum has never applied to the Committee to be released in order to take up employment as a doctor, but he and members of his family have made applications for him to be allowed to do ploughing and similar work for relatives.

asked whether Emanuel Ribiero, a conscientious objector, belonging to North Salford, is still at Lord Derby's war hospital at Winwick, near Warrington; whether he is still hunger-striking and being forcibly fed; whether he describes the process as slow mental and physical torture likely to end in his death or loss of reason; whether he is still confined to one room and denied visitors, or reading, or correspondence; whether he has suffered this discipline for five months; and whether the sole reason is that he is a genuine conscientious objector to taking the life of his fellow man, and is entitled to complete exemption provided under the Military Service Act?

I have made further telegraphic inquiries about this case, and will let my hon. Friend know as soon as possible.

asked the Undersecretary of State for War whether he can yet give a reply as to what has happened to the conscientious objectors sent out to France several weeks ago?

Of the five conscientious objectors belonging to labour units who were sent to France, four Lave since been returned to this country under the provisions of Army Order No. X.,1916, of the 25th May. The fifth is performing his duties satisfactorily, and has not in consequence received any punishment.

asked the Undersecretary of State for War whether he is aware that in the case of five conscientious objectors, Garland, Middleton, Price, Keighley, and Davies, in the 3rd Manchester Regiment, court-martial proceedings were quashed and a series of detention sentences passed on the men, they were then transferred from E Company, which was not going to France, to G Company, which was going; whether they have now been sent to France; and, if so, what steps he proposes to take to fulfil the promise of the late Prime Minister that no soldier should be sent to France who there was good reason to-believe was a conscientious objector?

I have called for a report, and will write to my hon. Friend as soon as I am in a position to do so.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether a sentence of two years' hard labour has recently-been passed upon Mr. Clifford Allen in consequence of his refusing to obey military orders; whether he is aware that the refusal was due to a conscientious objection to military service; and if he will say what previous punishment this man has already undergone in respect of a similar offence?

The answer to-the first and second parts of the question is in the affirmative. He was previously sentenced first to one year's hard labour, of which he actually served eighty-eight days, and again to one year's hard labour, of which he only served 147 days.

asked the Undersecretary of State for War whether he is aware that a large number of qualified surgeons-and medical practitioners are undergoing a course of military training at Blackpool; whether many of these men have for weeks past been engaged all day on the usual Infantry drill without the opportunity of doing any medical or surgical work of any kind whatever, although in many cases they are highly skilled men and have given up large practices in order to serve in the Army; whether a similar state of things exists in other training centres; and whether, in view of the need for doctors' and surgeons at the front, he will take any steps in the matter?

Medical men are sent to Blackpool Training Centre for a short course of instruction, on the completion of which they are dispatched to the forces abroad. All the officers, other than the permanent staff of those temporarily unfit for service abroad, are waiting opportunities for shipment. There is no other training centre for Royal Army Medical Corps officers.

asked the Under-secretary of State for War why Mr. M. Gormley, of 49, Blakey Street, Blackburn, who holds a certificate of total exemption from the local tribunal on the grounds of infirmity, has been called up to the Colours for 18th June; will he take steps to have this calling-up notice cancelled at once; and will he point out to the recruiting officer the illegality of such action?

I will inform my hon. Friend of the result as soon as possible.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether, in view of the increasing demands by the War Office on the medical profession, and the great number of casualties amongst doctors in the field, the War Office will exempt all medical students of one year's standing and upwards from liability to be called up under the Military Service Acts?

The Army Council has been in close touch with the medical authorities, and the need for providing for future needs of the medical profession has been given full weight. As the hon. Member is aware, under present arrangements a large measure of protection is given to medical students; none of those who are within twenty-four months of qualification are called up for service, while of those in the earlier years only men fit for general service or classified B 1 are called up. In view of the present need of men of these categories for combatant service, it is not considered that in the national, interest any alteration of the present arrangement should be made.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that Mr. Horace J. Batteson, age thirty-eight, classed B 2 on account of defective sight and deafness, an electrical engineer duly qualified for X-ray administration and so certified has, in breach of a distinct promise that he should be posted to the Royal Army Medical Corps for X-ray work, been posted to a labour battalion for overseas road making and other works; whether he is aware that Mr. Batteson has since February been engaged on the operation of X-ray apparatus at the Westminster hospital; that his father is a medical man of standing as also are two brothers, one a captain in the Royal Army Medical Corps at Malta; whether he will inquire into the conduct of the recruiting officer at the White City who insisted upon posting Mr. Batteson to a labour battalion though informed of his acceptance for the Royal Army Medical Corps, as well as that of the captain in charge of the battalion who though informed of the order for transfer declined to act upon it, and caused Mr. Batteson to be hurried overseas the day after medical classification though there were some 100 men available to fill up any vacancies in the draft; and will he take steps to prevent a repetition of such conduct whereby service in the Army is rendered unnecessarily harsh and burdensome?

This man presented himself for direct enlistment on 31st May, 1917, and was placed in Class C 2. I understand that he was asked about his trade, as his statement that he was an X-ray operator did not agree with his registration card. He then stated that he was an attendant only. Nothing is known of his having presented any letter of acceptance for the R.A.M.C. at the time of his enlistment, and he was posted to a labour battalion in the ordinary course. I am, however, making further inquiries, and will let my hon. Friend know the result.

asked the Undersecretary of State for War whether Territorial officers of the Royal Army Medical Corps have recently been sent out to France in charge of branch Territorial hospitals with the rank of temporary major who were not Territorial officers before the War, or were not on the staff of a recognised Territorial hospital, and therefore not à-la-suite officers, whilst officers who were serving before the War, who have been mobilised since August, 1914, at the front since February, 1915, and in some cases officers commanding surgical division at general hospitals, are held not to be eligible for promotion above the rank of captain; and why doctors who until recently have remained in the enjoyment of their practices in England are given advantages of promotion and pay over officers who have been voluntarily serving in His Majesty's Forces for years before, and continuously since, the beginning of the War?

I am not clear to which hospitals my hon. and gallant Friend refers. If he has in mind the special Territorial general hospitals which were recently sent overseas, the senior officers were specially selected from the Territorial Force general hospitals in each command which furnished a hospital. These officers by a special arrangement were to serve for a minimum period of three months, and be relieved when necessary by other officers on the staff of the parent hospital. Appropriate acting rank was given to officers occupying positions where such promotion was considered desirable. The question of appointing field officers to the charge of the medical and surgical division of all general hospitals is under consideration.

asked the Undersecretary of State for War what principles, or basis of principles, now obtain for the selection of officers in the Royal Army Medical Corps for promotion in rank; whether the same principles for purposes of promotion hold in the case of Royal Army Medical Corps officers in the Regular Force, the Territorial Force, and the temporary commissioned officers; whether any differences in the system of promotion exist in the different branches of the Royal Army Medical Corps; whether his attention has been called to certain recent promotions in the Territorial Force to the rank of major in the Royal Army Medical Corps; whether all or most of the officers so promoted have till quite recently been serving at home; whether he is aware that such promotion over the heads of other officers, some senior in previous and present service, in the same and other branches of the Royal Army Medical Corps who have had considerable overseas service is prejudicial to the interests of the medical service and is likely to increase the sense of injustice as to the irregularity of promotions, and that injustice has been done in some instances; and if he will say whether such promotions come within the purview of the recently appointed Army Promotions Board?

Promotions in the Royal Army Medical Corps, Regular Special Service, and Territorial Force, up to the rank of major, are governed by a qualifying time period of service for each step in rank. Promotions above the rank of major are by seniority and selection. In the case of a temporary commissioned officer promotion to captain is given after twelve months' service, and promotions to higher rank are given in individual cases as suitable vacancies arise, according to the officer's qualifications and the nature of the appointment for which such promotion is considered necessary. No differences other than those enumerated exist in the system of promotion in the different branches of the Royal Army Medical Corps.

If my hon. Friend is referring in the latter part of the question to promotions made in the Special Territorial Force general hospitals, which were recently sent to France under special conditions to meet emergency, the promotions made in these units are all temporary, and are not considered as prejudicial to the interests of the medical service or as causing injustice to other officers The whole question of promotion generally in the Royal Army Medical Corps Territorial Force comes within the purview of the Committee presided over by my right hon. Friend the Member for Dundee.

asked the Undersecretary of State for War when the Report of the Committee which has considered and reported on the question of promotion in regard to the General Reserve of Officers, the Special Reserve of Officers, and of the Territorial Force will be laid upon the Table?

The recommendations of this Committee are being sympathetically considered, and as soon as final decisions have been reached in regard to them the Report will be presented to both Houses, together with a note of the decisions. I trust that this will be done very shortly.

asked whether the War Office has any and, if so, what objection to its being announced that Lance-Corporal Bryan, who was recently awarded the Victoria Cross, was and is serving with the Tyneside Irish Regiment?

For military reasons the particular battalion to which an officer or man belongs is never given, the regiment alone being stated.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether the present Regulations permit the infliction of first field punishment upon soldiers stationed in this country; whether he is aware that this punishment has recently been inflicted at the remount camp at Winchester; and if he will say for what offences it was awarded?

The law permits the infliction of field punishment No. 1 upon soldiers stationed in this country, but in August, 1914, instructions were issued by the Army Council directing that field punishment No. 1 should not be inflicted, but that if necessary field punishment No. 2 might be utilised. Possibly the hon. Member is confusing the two systems, but if he has still reason to suppose that irregularities have been permitted, I shall be happy to make inquiry if he will furnish me with particulars and names of the men concerned.

asked the Undersecretary of State for War if there is any suggestion to abolish the Directorate of Barrack Construction; and, if so, will he give an undertaking that the unestablished staff shall be granted appointments in other departments of the Service?

Proposals for the re-organisation of this directorate have been made, but consideration of them has been deferred until the pressure of war work is relaxed.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War if the Directorate of Fortifications and Works and the Directorate of Barrack Construction are now fully occupied in and capable of dealing with all War Department work; and, if not fully occupied, will he undertake to allocate future services to these branches in preference to Departments outside the War Office?>

The Directorate of Fortifications and Works and that of Barrack Construction are fully occupied with War Department work. It is impossible to say whether they are capable of dealing with all future War Department work without additions to their staff.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he can now give any information concerning the court-martial of officers in connection with the Folkestone and Shorncliffe raid?

I have not been able to trace that any court-martials of officers of the Royal Flying Corps were held at Shorncliffe or elsewhere in connection with the Folkestone air raid. The fact appears to be that two officers, not of the Royal Flying Corps, were placed in open arrest and subsequently dealt with by their General for an offence against the Defence of the Realm Regulations by removing portions of bombs dropped from hostile aircraft.

asked the Undersecretary of State for War whether he has now had inquiry made into the administration of the Hulme Town Hall recruiting station; whether he has been able to make any alteration in that administration; and whether he will give directions that the number of unfit men reported passed for Class A without proper examination at Hulme Town Hall within the last few weeks shall have a proper examination?

Yes, Sir, the work of the Recruiting Medical Boards at the Hulme Town Hall has been inspected on several occasions recently, and has been found quite satisfactory. If my hon. Friend would care to attend the Board for a few consecutive sittings I shall be happy to make arrangements, and I think that he will find that these things are very different to what he has been led to believe.

asked on what date the Law Officers were asked to report on the powers and responsibilities of the War Office in the matter of utilising the services of experts in manipulative treatment; whether the Law Officers have been supplied by the War Office with the Report issued by the right hon. Member for Walthamstow, the hon. Member for Warwick and Leamington, and the hon. Member for York; and when the views of the Law Officers will be ascertained?

The Report named has been sent to the Law Officers. I am afraid I am not in a position to add anything to the answer I gave on the 12th instant to the question put to me on this subject by the hon. Member for the Devizes Division.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether, with due regard to national interests, he can make a statement as to the recent operations of the Salonika Expedition?

As I informed my hon. Friend the Member for Pembroke on 23rd April, I have nothing to add to what has appeared in the Press communiqués.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether any arrangements have yet been made to release small leather bends used by boot repairers; and, if so, will he state what the arrangements are?

It has been decided, in consultation with the Central Leather Supplies Advisory Committee, to release a certain quantity of light bends after the end of June, and a scheme is under consideration which is intended to secure that boot repairers get their fair share. Details of this scheme will be announced as soon as possible.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office what arrangements have been or are being made to establish the examining and receiving depot in Dublin; and whether he is aware that a suitable site can be had near Kingsbridge, on the Liffey; or buildings adaptable for the purpose within St. Patrick's Division?

I am afraid there is no existing building in Dublin suitable for a receiving and inspection depot. Pending the building of suitable premises, which I fear must be postponed till after the War, a large pattern room and information bureau is being opened near the Westland Row Railway Station.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether information has been sent to recruiting officers that a great development of the policy of using women in place of men wherever possible was contemplated for the Army; whether instructions have been given to obtain women recruits; whether £2 10s. a week have Been offered as wages to female motor drivers, from which sum only 15s. would be deducted for rations, etc.; and whether he will promise that the men formerly recruited for similar work will have their pay advanced to the sums now offered to women?

It is proposed largely to extend the employment of women with the Armies at home and abroad, and women are being enrolled. The rate of pay of a competent driver mechanic is 35s. a week, from which 14s. per week is deducted when board, lodging, and washing are supplied by the public. It is not proposed to alter the rate of soldiers, which are on an "all found" basis and include separation allowance.

asked the Home Secretary if the treatment of Irish political prisoners in this country under sentences of secret courts-martial is defensible, why are facts in that treatment prevented by the Censor from reaching the public; why, for instance, has no newspaper been allowed to publish the fact that those prisoners have been chained in groups in addition to handcuffs; and whether he will enable Members of this House to form their own opinion of the chains by placing a set of them in the Tea Room?

The Press Bureau have not prevented the publication of any statement with regard to the treatment of the Irish prisoners. The fact that groups were chained for safety during removal was stated by my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary in answer to a question in this House and was reported in the Press. The Home Secretary sees no reason for adopting the suggestion in the last paragraph of the question.

asked whether all the Irish political prisoners now in penal servitude in this country under sentence of secret courts-martial still adhere to their resolve to be treated as prisoners of war; if so, whether they are being subjected to any additional punishment for this; and will he describe this punishment?

There is a general determination among these prisoners to refuse to obey prison rules unless they are treated as prisoners of war. They are being punished in the ordinary course for breach of prison rules, refusing to work, etc., but not, of course, on account of their desire to be treated as prisoners of war.

asked the Home Secretary if he is aware that the war bonus recently approved has not been announced officially in the prisons; and will he say whether the wives and families of officers with the Colours will benefit by the bonus and explain why a number of the wives of officers with the Colours have had to refund certain sums of money paid to them at the various prisons?

The grant of the increased war bonus is being officially announced to the prisons to-day It will be allowed in the cases of married men absent with the Colours. Prison officers serving in the Army are paid the remainder of their civil salary after deducting military pay and separation allowances; and a refund of certain sums became necessary where an increase had been made in the separation allowance, which had not been brought to the notice of the prison authorities at the time.

asked the Secretary to the Local Government Board whether the attention of the Local Government Board has been called to the action of the Neath Borough Council in depriving the elected borough auditor of his office, in consequence of his imprisonment as a conscientious objector to military service; and whether this action is subject to review by the Local Government Board?

The attention of the Local Government Board has been called to the matter, but the action of the town council, is not subject to review by the Board.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he can state the selling retail price of household coal at the end of last month in London, Paris, Rome, Petrograd, Berlin, and Vienna, respectively?

Retail prices for coal in London are fixed under a voluntary arrangement between the London merchants and the Board of Trade. At the end of May the price of best Derby Brights, the most popular house coal, was 33s. a ton, and the prices of other classes of coal varied in proportion. I have no recent official information as to the price of coal in the Allied capitals, but inquiry is being made. Figures for the retail price of coal in Berlin and Vienna at the end of May are not yet available. In February the retail price in Berlin was 40.72 marks a ton for inland household and 30.54 marks for briquettes. On 1st May the Rhenish Westphalian Syndicate raised prices by 2 marks a ton for coal and 3 marks for briquettes. A further increase in retail prices may be expected on the 1st August, as a 20 per cent, ad valorcm coal tax comes into operation on that date. In Vienna the price of coal in sacks at the shoot was in February 62.2 kroner per ton and 68.2 kroner delivered at the consumer's door. On 14th May the Upper Silesian mines increased their price by 2 to 3 kroner per ton.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will reconsider the answer of his predecessor concerning the question of remitting the extra railway fares to masters, mistresses, officials, boys, and girls of schools, having regard to the fact that they are obliged to travel regardless of cost at least six times a year to and from the schools, and that the impost does not in any way discourage their travelling or save trainage?

The claims of school children and teachers for exemption from the increase in railway fares have been considered very carefully, but it has not, I regret, been found practicable in present circumstances to make any concession in their favour.

asked if it is proposed to maintain for the present the increase of railway fares or if there is any prospect of a reduction?

I regret that there is no present prospect of any reduction in the existing fares being possible.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how much malt was exported in 1916 and the amount that was exported for the four months ended May; and how much malt was exported to Holland during 1915 and 1916?

The total quantity of malt exported from the United Kingdom to all destinations amounted to 62,000 tons in the year 1915, to 26,500 tons in 1916, and to 4,100 tons in the four months ended May, 1917. Of these amounts 23,600 tons in 1915 and 7,000 tons in 1916 were exported to Holland. During the four months ended May of the current year no malt has been exported to Holland.

asked the Prime Minister whether he is aware of the number of insurance policies held by the poorer classes that have been permitted to lapse, and that this, while being a loss to the policy holders, has been a source of profit to insurance companies; and whether, in view of the fact that this condition of affairs is directly attributable to the exigencies of military service, he will consider the advisability of introducing some legislative measure to ensure equity in this matter?

The Prime Minister has asked me to answer this question. I would refer the hon. Member to the provisions of the Courts (Emergency Powers) Act, 1914, which prevent the lapsing of industrial life insurance policies for amounts not exceeding £25 on which the premiums have been paid for two years before the 4th August, 1914, without an application to the Court.

asked the President of the Board of Agriculture whether he is aware that in some parts of the country the hay harvest is on now, and the farmers crying out for help; can he say what arrangements are being made for the release of soldiers for harvest work and what number of men have been allotted, and how they are divided among counties; and are the arrangements to be made for distribution by the county war agricultural committees or by the military authorities?

My right hon. Friend has requested me to answer this question, as the allocation of military labour for civilian purposes will in future be in the hands of the National Service Department. Demands for labour in connection with the hay harvest are ascertained by the War Agricultural Committees, and have now been communicated to the National Service Department by the Board of Agriculture. The demands will be supplied by the Agricultural Commissioners of the National Service Department, from national service volunteers, skilled agricultural labour lent by public bodies, holiday workers, women, schoolboys, and such military labour as will be at their disposal. For this purpose the military authorities have been asked to release the number of men estimated to be necessary, and they will be distributed by the National Service Commissioners under arrangement with the military authorities. The allocation of military labour to the various districts where it may be most required is at present being discussed between the National Service Department and the Board of Agriculture, and I am not, therefore, in a position at the moment to state how it will be distributed.

asked the Chairman of the Kitchen Committee what price per lb. the Kitchen Committee of the House of Commons pay for Canterbury lamb?

Tenders for our custom are received on forms issued every month, and the Committee are satisfied that the contractors' prices compare very favourably with those charged to hotels and clubs.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland if he will state the number of deaths which have occurred amongst the subordinate male staff and their families at Mountjoy Prison for the past three years and the cause of death in each case; why married warders are compelled to go into the prison hospital when sick; what attention do they receive in the prison hospital and what are the qualifications, if any, of the warders attending sick officers; and will he state the present scale of dietary for sick officers and also for prisoners in hospital?

The General Prisons Board have supplied me with the following particulars:— Year. Number of Deaths. Causes of Death. 1914–15 9 Heart failure. Valvular disease of I heart. Convulsions. Measles (Infant). Measles. Cancer of stomach. Heart disease. Heart failure (Infant). Diabetes. 1915–16 5 Anguina Pectoris. Heart failure (Infant). Nephritis. Pulmonary tuberculosis Heart disease. 1916–17 3 Heart failure (Infant). Acute laryngitis. Pneumonia (Infant).

In addition to the above, a prison warder died at an outside hospital.

Free medical attendance for prison officers and their families is a privilege, not a right. Married warders suffering from illness which is not of a serious nature are treated in the prison hospital, but, if the illness is serious and skilled nursing is necessary, a bed is frequently procured through the good offices of the medical officer at an outside hospital. Sick officers are treated by the prison medical staff in a special portion of the prison hospital, and the hospital warders are selected and trained for this position. At Mountjoy they are men of long experience and proved capacity.

Full scale of dietaries:

For sick officers: Tea 1 oz., milk 1 pt., sugar 2 ozs., bread ½ lb., butter 2 ozs., egg 1, bacon 2¼ ozs., loin chops or fish 8 ozs., vegetables 4 ozs., potatoes 1 lb., porter 1 bot. or 1 pt. milk.

For prisoners in hospital: Bread 1 lb., tea 2 pts., butter 2 ozs., meat 5 ozs. (cooked), potatoes 1 lb., vegetables 4 ozs.

The dietary for officers is a modified dietary, adopted in February last in pursuance of the directions of the Food Controller. The necessary steps have been taken for a modification of the prisoners dietary.

Though officers under treatment in the prison hospital receive full pay they are not at present required to make any payment for the food supplied to them at the public expense.

asked the Home Secretary what percentage of juvenile delinquents up to and including the age of fourteen, released on probation under the Probation of Offenders Act, 1907, were charged with fresh offences during the period of probation for the years ending 31st December, 1913, and 31st December, 1916, respectively, in the seventeen towns to the clerks to the justices of which Home Office Circular No. 301,'145/10, dated 11th May, 1916, was sent; what was the number of children's probation officers, and probation officers acting as children's probation officers, regularly appointed and engaged as such, at the Courts of each of these seventeen towns on 31st December, 1913, and 31st December, 1916, respectively; and what was the number of offenders, juvenile, juvenile-adult, or adult, under the supervision of each officer on each of these dates?

I will see whether it is possible to collect this information without putting an undue burden on the officers concerned.

asked the President j of the Board of Agriculture if his attention has been called to the increase of red-water fever in cattle; and if he will cause further research to be made with a view of providing a more effective preventative or remedy for the disease?

I am advised that the present season is a favourable one for the propagation and growth of the ticks which carry the disease of red-water, and that i therefore some increase in the disease is i to be expected. The Board's leaflet No. 237 recommends measures for the prevention and eradication of the disease. In- vestigations are being conducted with the expectation, of discovering improved methods of treatment and have up to the present met with considerable success, but sufficient ground does not yet exist to justify a general recommendation of new remedial measures.

asked the President of the Board of Agriculture if he will give the number of cases of swine fever which occurred in England and Wales during the year ended 25th March, 1917, and those for the twelve months up to the same date in 1916?

The figures desired by the hon. Member are 3,673 in 1916–17, and 4,021 in 1915–16. These are the outbreaks of swine fever confirmed by the veterinary officers of the Board.