I am authorised by my Noble Friend (Lord R. Cecil) to say that it is impossible for him to be here, and perhaps hon. Members who have questions down for to-day will not mind postponing them till Monday.

Are we to have no representative of the Foreign Office here to-day?

I speak subject to correction, but I understand that Members are not entitled to have questions answered on Friday.

Most important questions relating to foreign diplomacy arise on the Bill which is down for consideration today, and on the back of which the name of a Foreign Office Minister appears. Is nobody from the Foreign Office, or nobody authorised to speak on behalf of the Foreign Office, to be here?

In the previous discussion on the Bill attention was drawn to the fact that no representative of the Foreign Office was present.

What is the hon. Member's point of Order? He is now entering into a debate.

I am asking whether the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, or someone representing the Foreign Office, will not be here for the succeeding proceedings?

No doubt someone will be here when the Bill is reached, though he may not be able to be here at Question Time.

Is there no obligation on the representative of the Foreign Office to be here to answer questions?

Not on a Friday.

I beg to postpone my questions. May I say that I have already a certain number of questions down for Monday, and if I postpone these questions I shall certainly exceed my usual limit. I do not know whether, in the circumstances I can still ask these questions on Monday together with the questions of which I have already given notice?

I dare say that there will be some of Monday's questions which will not be pressing, and which can be put off.

In postponing my question, may I call your attention to the fact that it affects the Bill to be discussed this afternoon, and that we ought to have an answer before we enter upon that discussion?

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what arrangement has been arrived at with the Governments of the self-governing Dominions with regard to their separate representation as distinct States at the International Peace Conference after the War; and whether the Resolution of the Australian Labour Conference claiming such right, and political independence for the Dominions and for Ireland, is in substantial agreement with the purpose of the Governments of those Dominions?

No such arrangement has been made or, as far as I know, suggested by any Government. I have no official knowledge of the Resolution referred to.

Has the hon. Gentleman any unofficial knowledge?

None to be communicated by answer.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether the non-payment of the extra 5s. war bonus given to men in naval establishments at home and withheld from men who have gone out from this country to work in the dockyard at Gibraltar is causing considerable dissatisfaction; that the 21s. a week allowed for Colonial pay is insufficient to meet the extra outgoing expenses; and that an ordinary dockyardsman at Gibraltar has to pay 26s. a week for food without washing and other outgoings; and whether, in view of these facts as well as the further fact that, by the articles of agreement signed by workmen appointed to naval establishments abroad, which include Gibraltar, the Government undertake that the wages paid to their employés shall be their rate of pay plus any war increase, he will consider the possibility of granting the men at Gibraltar the extra 5s. a week war bonus?

The additional 5s. a week war increase in wages granted to workmen in the Home Dockyards on the 1st April has been approved to be paid, as from the same date, to the Home Dockyard workmen serving at Gibraltar.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether his Department have effective control of the various cold storage establishments both for meat or other food products throughout the country; and, if so, can he account for the difference in price between meat in Australia or the Argentine and the same meat when sold to the public here at Home?

The Government have not taken over the cold stores though a large amount of the space available is used for Government purposes. The difference between the purchase price of mutton in Australia and the sale price of such mutton in this country is due to the costs incidental to transport and distribution, of which cold storage is only one item. The importation of Argentine beef for civilian purposes is not controlled by the Government, and the prices are determined by market conditions here.

Is it not obvious that these cold storage establishments could hold up a large quantity of meat and keep it off the market, thereby forcing up the market price?

I will represent what the hon. Gentleman says to the Ministry of Food.

May I ask whether the Government have all the facilities for cold storage that they require, or whether further facilities will be required?

I will also make that representation.

asked the Vice-president of the Department of Agriculture (Ireland) whether he will consider the advisability of giving financial assistance to Irish farmers to enable them to provide proper storage for the corn which will be available after the harvest?

The Department of Agriculture are not prepared to recommend the granting of financial assistance from State funds to farmers generally for the purpose mentioned. The Department are of opinion that farmers should make arrangements to have their corn stacked and thatched properly, and have so advised. The existing facilities as to storage in Ireland will, the Department believe, be adequate to deal with the forthcoming harvest.

Can the Leader of the House say whether he has any announcement to make in respect to an appointment to the vacant office of Food Controller.

The Government have appointed Lord Rhondda to be Food Controller. They wish to recognise the spirit in which he has complied with the request. It must be evident to everyone that this office is no sinecure. It is of immense importance at the present time, but its holder is confronted with exceptional pitfalls and difficulties and is subject to the constant criticism of those with whom its operations inevitably interfere. Moreover, as head of the Local Government Board, Lord Rhondda has been actively engaged with proposals in regard to the public health—proposals which have already reached an advanced stage of maturity. He was therefore very reluctant to abandon his old office. But in response to the strong pressure on the part of the Prime Minister he has consented to do so.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say who will be appointed President of the Local Government Board?

It is only this morning that Lord Rhondda has consented, and we have not had time to come to any other decision.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, in order to provide against the probable shortage of fuel in London next winter, the Coal Mines Department will arrange to store large supplies of coal during the summer months in Regent's Park and other suitable open spaces, so that the same may be available for purchase at reasonable prices either by coal merchants or by consumers who are in a position to take delivery of the coal in large or small quantities?

The Controller of Coal Mines is investigating the question of providing suitable sites for storing emergency supplies of house coal, but 'he does not think that public parks could be suitably utilised for this purpose.

Does the hon. Member know that last year this matter was discussed at a conference in September, and it was then found impossible to get large supplies in London.

I am aware of the difficulties that arose last winter, but I have stated repeatedly that the Coal Controller has this matter under consideration, and the question of providing suitable storage is engaging his special attention.

Can my hon. Friend say what steps the President is taking to have the coal transported? Is he aware that a great many of us who want to follow the advice of the Coal Controller and get coal in now cannot get it because there is not the transport?

Transport is one of the chief difficulties which confront the Coal Controller, but the point is engaging his attention, and I am hopeful that we shall be able to solve it.

Has the right hon. Gentleman considered the advisability of commandeering, without rent, any building sites in different parts of London?

It would be as well to put all these suggestions on the Paper.

I will not ask this question to-day, because an attempt is being made to settle the matter.

asked the Home Secretary whether the chains imposed upon the Irish political prisoners in England under sentences of secret courts-martial were made specially for them or are part of the ordinary equipment of prisons; if the latter, will he state when the chains were last used; of what offence the prisoners were convicted upon whom they were then imposed; and whether those prisoners had been convicted by civil or open Courts or by military and secret Courts?

The light chains in question are part of the ordinary equipment of the prison and are in almost daily use when prisoners are transferred from one place to another. They form no part of the punishment of any class of prisoners, but are used only for safe custody when prisoners are travelling by railway or otherwise.

Might I ask if photographs of these men in chains will be taken for propaganda work in Russia?

asked whether Mr. Colm O'Geary, one of the Irish political prisoners in England under sentences of secret courts-martial, has become blind under the prison treatment; on what grounds his request for a little dog to lead him about has been refused; and what justification is offered for chaining this blind man in addition to handcuffing him?

Two ophthalmic surgeons have been consulted owing to complaints made by O'Geary about his vision. They both report that his vision is practically normal in both eyes. Nothing is known as to the alleged request for a dog.

asked the Home Secretary whether Countess Marckiewicz, a political prisoner in penal servitude at Aylesbury under sentence of a secret court-martial, being the wife of a Russian citizen, has been informed of the successful revolution in Russia, and that she is free to communicate the facts of her present position and treatment to the new Russian Government; does he undertake that such statement shall reach that Government; and whether he has considered the advisability of releasing this lady before the Russian Government intervenes on her behalf?

The answer to the first two parts of the question is in the negative. As to the third, I have no-statement to make.

asked the Prime Minister if, in order to remove dissension and ill-feeling in Ireland, he will state the Government's proposals in reference to Irish prisoners?

I propose to make a statement on this subject upon the Adjournment.

asked the Home Secretary why the approach of hostile aircraft is not made known in London, as elsewhere, by siren or fog-horn; and whether, in order to render air-warnings distinctive and unmistakable, steps will be taken to prohibit the use of sirens for other purposes throughout the metropolitan area until further order?

I would refer my hon. and gallant Friend to the statement which I made in the House last night, in which I explained why it has not been thought desirable to give public warning by siren or foghorn in London.

Does the right hon. Gentleman consider that the size of London and the fact that some foolish people do rush into the streets provide any reason for depriving Londoners of that protection which is given to people outside?

If the hon. Member had been here last night he would have heard the answer.

I read the right hon. Gentleman's speech.

May I ask whether it is proposed to introduce any systematised form throughout the country, or whether it is proposed to allow the local organisations to make their own arrangements?

The arrangements are made under the supreme direction of the military authorities. London being a special district, special arrangements are made, but this particular method of warning is not recommended as likely to save life.

Are we to understand that no method of warning is to be introduced?

There is a method of warning which is very effective, but this particular method is thought likely to result, not in the saving of life, but possibly in the loss of life.

Was the method which the right hon. Gentleman suggests is so effective, employed on the occasion of the recent raid in London?

Yes, so far as time permitted.

Has my right hon. Friend's attention been drawn to the statement of Lord Knutsford of the London Hospital on the subject?

That also was discussed last night.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War why no warning was given of the approach of hostile aeroplanes on the occasion of the raid last Wednesday?

I have nothing to add to what was said by my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary last night on the Motion for the Adjournment.

If it is necessary to give warning in the provinces, why should it not be necessary to give warning in London?

That matter was discussed last night.

That very matter?

Yes.

I beg your pardon, Sir.

asked the Undersecretary of State for War whether it is a general rule in the nursing service that all nurses must join in Protestant prayers; whether Irish Catholic girls on entering for training are informed that such is the case; if there be no such rule and no authority for tampering with the religion of individuals, by what authority did a new superintendent of nurses recently in Harton Hospital, South Shields, command Catholic girls to attend Protestant prayers on pain of being reported for insubordination; and whether it will be made clear, there and in all military hospitals, that the religion of individuals must not be tampered with, and that record and promotion must in no way be affected by it?

There is no rule of the kind suggested in military hospitals and every effort is made to enable Catholic nurses to perform their religious duties. The Harton Hospital, South Shields, is not a military hospital.

Is it under the control of the War Office?

I believe not.

asked the Undersecretary of State for War whether firms who deliver aeroplanes without having carried out the initial test flights are called upon to make any payment to the War Office for such relief; and, if so, what is the amount of such payment, who receives the sum, and who is responsible for taking the additional risk of putting these machines through their initial flight tests?

Departures from the contract conditions governing delivery by manufacturers are met by corresponding abatements on contract prices. Machines which have been delivered prior to the carrying out of their test flights are put through their tests by service pilots at the acceptance aerodrome. Owing to the thoroughness of inspection during manufacture it is not considered that any special risk is involved.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that an exceptionally high price is charged by all private pilots to put these machines through their tests—it is about £10 a machine, which means a payment of about £10 an hour for this big risk—and is he aware that the Government at the present time are saving that £10 by taking it out of the manufacturer and subjecting the pilot to taking these risks without any additional compensation or insurance?

All I can say is that no casualties have resulted.

In the event of casualties resulting, do you propose to take any action?

That is a hypothetical question.

asked whether officers of the Royal Flying Corps who failed to qualify as pilots, but who wish to continue in the flying service, are allowed to qualify as observers, or whether, under such circumstances, they are asked to resign their commissions and, that being done, are subject to conscription as privates?

If an officer fails to qualify as a pilot, and wishes to become an observer, he is accepted for training as an observer, if recommended. If not recommended, an officer who belongs to another unit is returned to his unit as an officer. If not recommended as an observer, but recommended and approved as suitable for another branch of the service, he resigns his commission and joins a cadet unit. If not recommended either as an observer, or as an officer in another branch of the service, he resigns his commission and becomes liable to conscription.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that numerous officers at the present time are being relieved of their commissions in the Royal Flying Corps purely and simply through friction arising with their commanding officers in France, although they are capable pilots, and in these circumstances is he prepared to set up a small Court of inquiry, or some form of appeal for these officers, who at present have no form of appeal whatever?

I cannot accept the statement made by my lion. Friend in the first part of his question.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware of the great difficulties that exist in getting out of the rank of observer into that of pilot?

I understand that is not true. I understand that observers very frequently become pilots.

asked if an officer of the Royal Flying Corps is permitted to engage the enemy on his own initiative if, being either flying or ready to take the air, he observes hostile aircraft operating over this country, and, if he is not permitted thus to engage the enemy, what action is he supposed to take?

This question must clearly be governed by the suitability of the aeroplane at the officer's disposal for the attack of hostile aircraft.

Are we to understand that a pilot has to make up his mind, while in the air, as to whether or not his machine is suitable to engage; and if he thinks it is suitable, is he entitled to engage the enemy; or, if he is standing by the machine with no senior officer near enough to give him orders, is he entitled to engage the enemy?

A good deal is left to the discretion of the individual officer.

Is it not a fact that officers have been court-martialled for doing that at Dover quite recently?

No, it is not.

asked what number of hours daily officers under instruction at aerodromes are expected to fly; whether the hours apply to Sundays as well as week-days; and what time, if any, is allowed to such officers and their instructors for recreative and recuperative purposes?

The number of hours flying per diem depends on the weather and the stage of training. Training in flying is carried out on Sundays as well as week-days. Leave is granted periodically both to instructors and to pupils.

Are we to understand there is no regular leave allowed either for instructors or pupils, and that in the ordinary way they can be called upon to put in seven days a week training and instruction?

Leave, of course, depends upon military exigencies, which are the controlling and determining factor.

asked the Prime Minister whether he is aware of the incompatibility which is once again becoming accentuated in the combined naval, military, and political administration of the Air Services; and whether, in view of the pending resignation of the chairman of the Air Board, he will consider the advisability of eliminating this friction and consequent official delays by vesting the supreme control of the naval and military aeronautical undertakings in the respective services in and reconstructing the Air Board under one Minister of initiative imagination and experience, with powers to organise from the surplus of the naval and military requirements an air fleet to carry the air war into the enemy's country independent of our ordinary naval and military undertakings, thus expanding our aeronautical operations and at the same time eliminating the present factions?

The answer is in the negative.

Is any definite action at present under the consideration of the Government for instituting an offensive against the enemy in Germany from the air?

If it were, I do rot think it would be very likely that I should make it known

Is the policy of the Government going to be altered in view of the question of their refusal to take reprisals for the raids we have experienced?

asked the Undersecretary of State for War whether on 3rd and 4th June there were disturbances in Leeds, in the course of which several soldiers were injured and their homes attacked; whether above 200 Russian Jews have enlisted in the British Army from Leeds alone and that their families complain that the homes of these men have been violated and the businesses and work of their friends destroyed; and whether he will take some steps to restore confidence and create enthusiasm among the Allied alien population?

My hon. Friend has asked me to reply to this question. I have not had time to make inquiry, but am obtaining a report on the points mentioned.

asked the Undersecretary of State for War whether he has made further inquiry into the case of Private A. C. Downes, for whose release from the Army request was made by the Board of Agriculture; whether he is aware that it is not correct to describe this man's father as the manager of his farm, seeing that he is the owner of it and that his son, A. C. Downes, is indispensable to the management of this farm of 1,140 acres; whether he is aware that Mr. Downes did apply for and obtained the services of soldiers and also of women to work on the land, but that this labour requires constant supervision and that for this purpose the services of A. C. Downes are indispensable; and whether he will now give immediate direction for the request of the Board of Agriculture to be complied with by the release of A. C. Downes from the Army for agriculture?

Further inquiries have been made with reference to the release asked for of Private A. C. Downes for the purpose of acting as bailiff on this farm under his father. These inquiries confirm the answer previously given, namely, that the management of the father is considered sufficient and that it is not necessary to release Private Downes to assist him. It is true that Mr. Downes applied for and obtained the services of soldiers last year to help him in the special seasons of hay time and harvest, but the present staff is considered sufficient for the ordinary work of the farm. In the event of any extra acreage being broken up as stated, military assistance could again no doubt be obtained by application being made to the agricultural company for this purpose. Private Downes is an "A" category soldier, and it is only in very special cases of urgency that the release of such soldiers is granted. This is not considered to be such a case, and the Army Council is not prepared to sanction the release asked for.

May I take it that in regard to the sufficiency of management of this farm the Army Council consider themselves a better judge than the Board of Agriculture and the Kent Agricultural Committee?

I am not quite sure how the Army Council came to this conclusion, but I know that it was in com- munication with the local authority there. I cannot add anything to the answer I have given.

I will refer to this matter on the Army Vote next week.

asked the Undersecretary of State for War whether his attention has been called to the fact that on the occasion of a recent air raid in Kent certain officers were placed under arrest; whether these officers are still under arrest; and, if so, on what charge were they arrested?

I have not been able to trace that any court-martial 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 under 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. On an explanation being given, the General was satisfied, and they were released.

How long was it be fore these officers were released, and has the hon. Gentleman's attention been called to the fact that no primâ facie case was made out?

There must have been a primâ facie case made out, because these officers were, on their own confession, in possession of these pieces of hostile bombs. My hon. and gallant Friend knows that that is an offence under military orders.

Is it not quite likely that these officers never heard of that Order, and is it not a fact that the very moment they understood that this material was required they immediately brought it in of their own free will?

The hon. and gallant Member ought to give notice of these new questions.

Is it not a fact that, despite the hon. Gentleman's answer, a certain officer of the Royal Flying Corps was called up before the Commanding Officer for taking the air because he could not get instructions?

I have no information whatever about that. I do not think it is the fact.

If I give the hon. Gentleman information will he act upon it?

With regard to the question put by my hon. and gallant Friend (General Croft), I pointed out in my answer that the moment a reasonable explanation was given the men were released.

Is it desirable that officers should be placed under arrest for trivial offences of this kind?

The charge against them was disobedience to orders. It is a well-known fact, which may not have been brought to the knowledge of these particular officers, that at all these aeroplane stations there is a definite order that no officer should be in possession of any piece of a hostile aeroplane.

Are they to be kept in the Service?

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether dissatisfaction exists among the junior married officers of the new Army in connection with the administration of the special separation allowances; and, in view of the fact that this dissatisfaction may be largely attributed to ignorance of the circumstances and conditions which govern the allowances, whether he will say under what conditions an officer is entitled to claim this allowance, the amount of the allowance, and the procedure necessary to obtain it?

I am not aware of the dissatisfaction to which the lion. Member refers. The conditions under which Grants may be made by the Military Service (Civil Liabilities) Committee are fully stated in the Special Army Order which was issued on the 14th March, a copy of which I shall be happy to send to the hon. Member.

Are we to understand that every junior officer has a copy of this given to him, or from where does he got the information?

I do not think that every individual officer has an individual copy sent to him, but he probably knows what the terms are.

What action is an officer to take if he wants to get full information-can he apply for it?

Certainly. Very likely the adjutant of the regiment will be able to supply him.

In the event of there being any back allowance due to him, is he entitled to claim it?

Certainly.

Is it not a fact that every officer of that rank can get that information by a specific application to Imperial House, Kingsway, the offices of the Civil Liabilities Committee?

They do not know it.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of National Service if men who signed National Service Volunteer forms are being transferred from their present employment to the Aircraft Manufacturing Company at Hendon, that they are being paid at a lower rate than they were receiving at the place they were transferred from, that the Aircraft Company refuse to comply with the agreement or recognise the promises made by the Director of National Service; and whether he" will take steps to compel this company to observe the conditions agreed to between himself and the National Service Volunteers?

No reports have reached the National Service Department of the cases alleged to have occurred in this question, but inquiries are being made, and in the meantime, perhaps, the hon. Member would supply me with any particulars he may have in his possession.

I will supply them.

asked the Minister of Munitions whether the workmen deported without trial from the Clyde are now free to return to Glasgow, and whether any conditions are attached to their return; whether the selection of the men to be deported was made on the strength of secret reports supplied to his Department; and, if so, whether the reports and the names attached to them will now be published; and, if no secret reports were supplied, will he explain on what principle these particular men were selected for deportation?

The Order with respect to the men removed from the Clyde under Regulation 14 of the Defence of the Realm Regulations has now been withdrawn. No conditions were attached to the withdrawal of the Order. The deportation was determined upon evidence which was carefully considered by the competent military authority. It is not proposed to publish the evidence.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether any rubber tyre? are being imported?

The only consignments of rubber tyres that are at present being imported are those which were en route to the consignees in this country at the date of the prohibition, i.e., 10th May.

asked the Prime Minister whether he is aware of the dissatisfaction felt in Ireland at the fact that one-third of the places at the Irish Convention have been assigned to the chairmen of the various county and borough councils; whether this means that for three-quarters of Ireland these places will be filled entirely by the adherents of one political party, that no Unionist or Protestant will be represented, and that those who occupy the places have not had to seek election since the War and are largely out of touch with the trend of public feeling; and is he prepared to modify his scheme in this respect!

The allocation of representation upon the Convention of the various shades of Irish opinion was decided upon after the most careful consideration, and the Government is not prepared to make the modification suggested by the hon. and Gallant Member.

With how much greater authority will those county council chairmen be able to speak for Ireland if they come back after the elections?

All these points have been carefully considered by us, and on the whole we think we have made the best possible arrangements.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the hon. and gallant Gentleman would not be elected by any body, Unionist or otherwise?

asked the Prime Minister whether his attention has been called to the increasing activity of aliens, enemy and otherwise, to take advantage of the absence of our men on active service to capture the small-shop trade of this country; and whether, under these circumstances, he can see his way clear, by the introduction of some legislative measure or by action under the Defence of the Realm Act, to protect the future commercial existence of the British small shopkeepers who have fought in defence of their country?

One of the results which it is hoped will be obtained by the passage of the Military Service (Conventions with Allies) Bill, which will be considered in Committee this afternoon, will be to remove this grievance to which the hon. Member refers.

asked the Secretary to the Admiralty whether the "Mauretania" is and has been for over a year anchored in certain home waters; whether during that time it has been and still is hired by the Government, and, if so, what rate is being paid for such hire; and whether, in the interests of economy, steps will be taken either to determine the hiring or to put the vessel to greater use?

It has been decided that the steamship "Mauretania" should be kept constantly available for use in emergency, and for this purpose an agreement has been arrived at with the owners by which she is held in this condition for payment of a very small sum, barely sufficient to cover the cost of the necessary care and maintenance. The terms, indeed, are exceedingly favourable to the Government.

May we take it that she has been lying in that position for the last year?

As a matter of fact she has not been in that position for a year, but for a much shorter period.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland at whose instigation and on what evidence the Proclamation was issued prohibiting the holding of a public meeting in Dublin to protest against the ill-treatment of the Irish political prisoners chained in penal servitude in England under sentences of secret courts-martial; whether it was under the ordinary law, under martial law, or under the Defence of the Realm Act that that purpose has been deemed illegal and the proclamation issued; what reason there was, if any, for supposing that the meeting, if allowed, would have been disorderly; whether the police inspectors advised that the meeting ought not to be proclaimed; and whether the entire police force in Ireland is now under the command of the military authorities?

The meeting was prohibited under Regulation 9A of the Defence of the Realm Regulations, because there was obvious reason to apprehend that the holding of it would give rise to disorder. The apprehension was only too well founded, as was shown by the criminal acts, including one very terrible crime, which were committed by persons who sought to hold the meeting in defiance of the prohibition.

The right hon. Gentleman has not answered the first part of the question, at whose instigation and on what evidence it was proclaimed; nor has he answered the Clause asking whether the police inspectors advised the meeting not to be proclaimed.

The hon. Member, as I conceive it, is not entitled to ask, and certainly I am not to answer, those questions.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office what price they are now paying per gallon for high-grade petrol for aeroplane work, and what price per gallon they are paying for low-grade spirit?

I do not think it desirable to publish contract prices.

asked the Prime Minister why a prepaid telegram, accepted by the Postal Department in Dublin on 22nd May, 1917, and addressed to His Holiness Pope Benedict, Rome, with reference to the treatment of Irish prisoners in Lewes and Aylesbury Gaols, from the Irish Women's Council, 6, Harcourt Street, Dublin, has not been allowed through to its destination?

I would refer the lion. Member to the notification issued by His Majesty's Government to the International Telegraph Bureau at Berne on the 3rd August, 1914, under which the public were warned that telegrams are only accepted at the sender's risk, and on the understanding that they may be stopped, delayed, or otherwise dealt with at the discretion of the authorities and without notice to the sender.

When a telegram is accepted at a Post Office, and is not forwarded, will the money paid be refunded?

No, Sir.

asked the Prime Minister what are the total captures of prisoners and guns by the British Armies since 1st July, 1916, on the Western Front, in Egypt, and Mesopotamia t

The total number of guns captured on the Western Front since 1st June, 1916, by the British Armies is 434. Since the beginning of the War to the end of May the British Armies have captured, altogether, 76,067 prisoners on the Western Front, to which must be added at least 8,000 for the month of June, In Mesopotamia, approximately, 10,900 prisoners have been taken since 1st Juno, 1916. One hundred and thirty-two guns have been captured since the beginning of the War, exclusive of guns lost at Kut and recaptured by us. The captures re-ported by the G.O.C.-in-C, Egypt, since 1st July, 1916, are, approximately, 8,739 prisoners and 18 guns. If my hon. and gallant Friend will put down a question in the same form in a fortnight's time I will give him exact figures up to the middle of June.

If the Department recommends to the Leader of the House that the time is not inappropriate for some expression of opinion—

The hon. and gallant Gentleman should give notice of that. It does; not arise out of the question.

asked the Prime Minister what is the total area captured by British troops on the Western front since 1st July, 1916?

About 600 square miles has been regained in this period. This figure must be taken as approximate only, as the boundary between the French and British armies has varied constantly.

asked the Prime Minister whether he will state the number of enemy aeroplanes known to be destroyed or driven down since 1st July, 1916, respectively?

Information on this subject is announced in the communiqués from the various fronts which are published in the Press. Compilation of the complete statement, for which my hon. and gallant Friend asks, would involve a good deal of work, and I trust that he will not press for it.

When two or three machines are shot down and fifteen or sixteen are seen to disappear and it is stated that eighteen enemy machines have been lost, are we to accept that Press statement as an accurate statement that eighteen aeroplanes and pilots belonging to the enemy have been killed, or is it purely to delude the public?

Do we understand that the War Office, while it may not be able to give it now, is keeping an accurate account of this item as they are of the other items?

Yes, we are, of course, keeping an accurate account and we are only too anxious to give it, but at present it involves a certain amount of inaccurate information because we are not quite certain whether, when we see an aeroplane going down, it has actually been destroyed or not, and we think it much better at present not to give any information at all rather than to give inaccurate information.

If you are not sure when the aeroplane is going down, how do you decide at some future date whether it is lost—by seeking information from the other side?

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer by whose authority public money was expended on the publication of a recent speech by General Smuts; and whether an equal sum will be expended on, and equivalent means adopted to secure publicity in favour of, a speech in reply to the arguments of General Smuts by the hon. Member for West Clare in this House on Friday, 1st June?

General Smuts' speech was printed on the authority of the Government, and, I believe, in accordance with the general desire of the House of Commons.

How far will this principle be extended of spending public money on speeches, for instance, which simply bolster up the position of the Government, no matter how footling the arguments may be which they contain?

The Government must take responsibility for the money spent in propaganda. I wish all the money that has been spent had been equally useful.