asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the number of applicants for the recent issue of Five per Cent, and Four per Cent. War Loans, respectively; the number of applicants for amounts of £100 and under in each class of Five per Cent, and Four per Cent. War Loans; and the number of applicants for amounts of £50 and under in each class of Five per Cent, and Four per Cent. War Loans?

The figures are as follows:

asked the Prime Minister whether an allotted day of Supply will be given this Session to the Home Office Votes?

There are several other Votes which I understand the House would wish to discuss before the Home Office Vote.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he can state approximately the number of Income Taxpayers whose incomes are between £130 and £16D a year, and the amount of revenue derived from such taxpayers during the financial year 1916–71

The figures asked for by my hon. Friend are not available. It is, however, roughly estimated that the reduction in the exemption limit with the consequential modification in the scale of abatements produces approximately seven-and-a-half million pounds of additional revenue.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will consider the question of extending the benefits of the Death Duties (Killed in War) Act, 1914, and the provisions of the Finance Act, 1894, relating to the free estate of a sailor or soldier, to the estates of civilians killed in air raids?

I have carefully considered this suggestion, but regret that I am unable to adopt it.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether he is aware that seamen and officers disembarking from a-foreign port have to give up to the Customs officers any gold in their possession, and sometimes have to wait two days before they get notes in exchange; that if they have brought any sugar with them they have to give it up; and whether, in the one case, he will give instructions that the men shall receive their notes at once and, in the other, that they shall not be discouraged from bringing sugar, but shall be allowed to take it home provided the duty is paid?

As explained, in reply to a question on the 13th June by the hon. Member for the Tamworth Division of Warwickshire, the conditions obtaining at the Customs examination of passengers and their baggage, etc., do not admit of notes being given on the spot in exchange for gold coin surrendered by passengers. As regards sugar, the Board of Customs and Excise inform me that the action taken by their officers is in accordance with the wishes of the Royal Commission on the Sugar Supply; and I see no reason to interfere. The right hon. Member is no doubt aware that sugar may not be imported into the United Kingdom without a licence.

asked the Under-Secretary for War whether, in the case of any officer discharging duties at the base on the Western Front who is an occupier of land in Ireland, and who has brought a large percentage of his land under cultivation under the Order of the Government in connection with the tillage scheme in Ireland for 1916–17, facilities will be given for special leave to any such officer for a limited period, say, ten days, to make arrangements for the harvesting of the crops cultivated and also for the planting of the crops for 1917–18?

The grant of leave rests with the Commander-in-Chief, and I am confident that any application made on the ground of urgent private affairs will receive all possible consideration, consistent with the military situation at the time.

asked the President of the Board of Agriculture whether the National Service Commission has been empowered to carry out the duty of providing and distributing labour in connection with agriculture without any previous consultation with the executive committees of the county war committees, who have already been carrying out this work to the entire satisfaction of the Board?

The National Service Department is required to give priority over all other demands to the claims of agriculture for all labour which is or may be available for agricultural work, and is solely responsible for supplying such labour from all the sources from which it may be recruited, with the exception of any labour controlled by the Employment Exchanges, which may be applied for direct from that Department by the war agricultural executive committees. The Board determines the proportion in which the labour so supplied shall be allocated to each county in England and Wales. The distribution of the allotted labour within their respective counties is the duty of the war agricultural executive committees, who were not consulted as to the arrangement with the National Service Department.

asked the President of the Board of Agriculture if, in view of the number of cattle that will have to be be slaughtered in the autumn from lack of feeding stuffs, he will arrange that part of the contemplated provisions of cold-storage accommodation for English meat be made at Plymouth so as to preserve the meat for use in the winter and spring, when scarcity will prevail?

The cold storage accommodation at Plymouth has a capacity which only take about 400 tons of beef. It is not contemplated to build more at Plymouth. All the cold stores in the country have been surveyed, and the proposal is to adopt existing stores and not to build new ones. This is necessary because of the scarcity of building and especially engineering materials.

asked the Secretary for Scotland what quantity of potatoes the firm of Messrs. Dennis have sold under the April Order increasing the price of seed potatoes?

I have no information as to the quantity of seed potatoes sold by the firm in question.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that Private Hector G. Flicker, No. 205,805, D Company, 2/5th Scottish Rifles, now at Moore Park Camp, Kilworth, county Cork, was born 15th February, 1901, and is therefore under seventeen; that this boy's father has applied to the War Office for his son's discharge from the Army, which he joined contrary to his father's wishes; and that the Bristol recruiting committee promised that he should be sent home; whether the War Office has also declined to discharge the boy and, if so, why; and will the War Office now at once send the boy to his parents?

I understand that the father's application for his son's release, which was refused, was not made until seven months after his enlistment. I am, however, making further inquiries into the various matters raised by my hon. Friend and will inform him of the result.

asked the Undersecretary of State for War whether he can supply any information as to the case of James Brightmore, a conscientious objector, at Cleethorpes; whether he was placed in a hole in the ground about 12 ft. deep which contained water; and whether he was supplied with blankets and an oil sheet and told he would be kept there until he gave in or was sent to France?

I have received a report on this ease, but as regards Private Brightmore the matter yet remains somewhat obscure, and I am making further inquiry. But I am able to tell my hon. Friend that as the result of the visit of an officer of the staff of the General Officer Commanding the Humber Garrison, the complaints of all conscientious objectors at Cleethorpes have been investigated, and steps taken to ensure that they are treated in every way as other men of the unit. The case of Private Brightmore calls for further investigation, but of the four other conscientious objectors who were personally seen by the, staff officer, three had no complaints and one complained that he did not receive his full rations.

asked the Undersecretary of State for War whether he can now give any information as to inquiries made concerning the allegations of ill-treatment of a conscientious objector named Jack Gray, No. 58541, 84th Training Reserve Battery, in the camp at Hornsea; whether he was frog-marched, put into a sack and repeatedly thrown into a pond, and pulled out by a rope round his body; and whether under this treatment he has given in?

No reply has yet been received to my inquiries, but I will not fail to write to my hon. Friend whenever I receive the reply.

asked the Undersecretary of State for War whether he has yet had a Report on the case of five conscientious objectors, Garland, Middleton, Price, Keighley, and Davis, in the 3rd Manchester Regiment; whether they have been sent to France; and, if so, whether he has had them returned to England 'n accordance with the promise of the late Prime Minister?

I have now received, a report on this case. Representations were made to the Director of Personal Services that it was believed that these men had been irregularly sent to France, and in consequence inquiries were made from the Command concerned as to the circumstances, and on the 19th June a letter was dispatched to headquarters in France saying that there was reason to believe that these men had been sent overseas, having been summarily awarded detention without being given the option of trial by court-martial, and further requesting that in the event of their being brought to trial by court-martial they were to be sent back to this country to undergo their sentence. T have not yet learnt whether they have been returned to this country, but I will communicate that information to my hon. Friend as soon as it reaches me. Reports from the Command concerned show that these men were irregularly sent to France, and that they should have been remanded for trial by court-martial in this country.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War if he will issue an Army Council Order to recruiting officers and military representatives instructing them that no more men whose regular employment is on the land shall be called to the Colours?

Telegraphic Instructions giving effect to the recent decision of the War Cabinet with regard to the calling up for military service of men employed in agriculture were issued some time ago. Detailed Instructions are in course of preparation in collaboration with the Board of Agriculture and the Scottish Office.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War if he will arrange that soldiers who are selected for assistance in agricultural work be allowed to go back to their own farms rather than sending them to work for strangers?

I am afraid that my hon. Friend's proposal would be attended with considerable difficulty. If men were transferred only to their own part of the country, there would probably be an excess of labour in one district and a shortage in another. A man who was applied for by his late employer might already be out with another farmer, and his withdrawal would be a difficult matter. It would also lead to men being: asked for by their former employers simply because they had been put to farm work, and not because there was a real shortage of labour on the particular farm.

asked if commanding officers still have power to grant temporary leave of absence to men under their command for harvest work on direct application of persons requiring assistance, or must such applications be made through the local war agricultural committees?

It is desirable that applications for individual men should come through war agricultural executive committees and instructions to this effect are about to be issued. Men, other than those in category A or those at command depots, may be granted agricultural furlough for a period not exceeding one month provided they can be spared from their military duties.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that an associate member of the Aeronautical Institute, who is draughtsmanship instructor at the British School of Aeronautical Engineering, Oxford Road, Manchester, classified C1, has been called up by the military authorities, and is now serving in the Army Service Corps at Orms-kirk cleaning horses, etc., and for the past two weeks has been laid up through the kick of a horse; whether he is aware that the drawing and design work of this aeronautical school, which is doing most important work at present, has had to be suspended, stopping the work of about thirty aeronautical pupils, many of them in the Royal Flying Corps; and, as no one is available to take his place, whether he will consider the advisability of this man returning to his former work.?

My hon. Friend has already been in communication with me about this case, and I have asked that it may be reconsidered.

asked the Undersecretary of State for War whether Charles Ruddick will now be given a warrant for a return ticket to Ipswich; and whether he has been summoned for re-examination under the Military Service (Review of Exceptions) Act, 1917, on 9th instant, Ruddick's permanent address being at 21, Grosvenor Road, London, S.W.I?

In view of my hon. Friend's statement as to the permanent address of Charles Ruddick, arrangements are being made to have him re-examined in London. It will, therefore, be unnecessary for the man to travel to Ipswich.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether the undertaking given to the effect that every soldier who is disabled by wounds or discharged from sickness or ill-health abroad will be excepted from the Military Service (Review of Exceptions) Act, 1917, extends to men who have been disabled or discharged on account of wounds, sickness, or ill-health during active service abroad in the Army prior to the present War or whether it is limited to the present War?

The instructions issued to recruiting officers on the 22nd June to the effect that no discharged man who had served overseas in the armed forces of the Crown was to be compulsorily posted for service under the Military Service (Review of Exceptions) Act, 1917, are not confined to men who have served overseas in the present War.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether, having regard to the fact that the powers of the Army Council, under the Military Service (Review of Exceptions) Act, 1917, to serve notice requiring a man to present himself for examination are, by Section 1 (1), limited to a member of the Territorial force who is, in the opinion of the Army Council, not suited for foreign service, and to a man who has left or been discharged from the naval or military service of the Crown in consequence of disablement or ill-health including an officer who has ceased to hold a commission in consequence of disablement or ill-health, and to a man who has been previously rejected on any ground, either after offering himself for enlistment or after becoming subject to the Military Service Acts, 1916, he contends that it is competent for the Army Council to serve a notice under that Act upon a voluntarily attested man who has been rejected but not treated as discharged, and, therefore, remaining in the Reserve and not subject to the Military Service Acts; and, if not, whether he will take the necessary steps to amend Army Council Instruction No. 640, paragraph 20 of which purports to authorise the service of a notice under the Act on a voluntarily attested man who is a Reservist, and who, after being attested, has been rejected, but who has not been treated as discharged, so that he is brought within the provisions of the Military Service Acts, on the ground that the course suggested in the Instruction is not authorised by the Act?

A man who is in the Army Reserve by virtue of voluntary attestation is liable to be called up for medical examination as a Reservist. Before the Military Service (Review of Exceptions) Act, 1917, was passed, it had been contended by some men in the position described by my hon. and learned Friend that they had been discharged from the Army Reserve by virtue of rejection on medical grounds, and while this contention was disposed of in a test case taken to the High Court the Instructions quoted were given in case the contention should be again raised. It makes little if any practical difference under what power a man is required to be re-examined. It will he observed, however, from the paragraph of the Army Council Instruction to which reference is made that it is expressly provided that the man can choose which procedure he prefers, and if he elects to be dealt with as an attested man who remains in the Reserve the Statutory Order sent to him under the Act is to be cancelled on his presenting himself for examination as a Reservist. The subsequent paragraph of the Army Council Instruction explains that in either case the man has all the grounds of application to a tribunal for exemption conferred by the Military Service Acts, 1916.

asked the Undersecretary of State for War if he is aware that a number of letters addressed by relatives in England to Corporal J. H. E. Watkins, No. 1176, Signalling Section, German East Africa, have been returned to the senders; why letters properly addressed have not been forwarded to this soldier at whatever place he was sent to after leaving hospital; if he will give instructions by cable to inform Watkins that his relatives have written to him but that their letters have not reached him; and how letters should now be addressed to Corporal Watkins so as to reach him in due course?

I have no information as to the first two parts of the question. The answer to the third part is in the negative. Watkins' friends were informed in April that he was in South Africa, and they have no doubt communicated with him there. Letters should be addressed care of General Hospital, Wynberg, unless the relatives have received some other address from him.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether men who voluntarily enlisted in the Army, and agreed to serve for the duration of the War or a maximum term of three years, will be released at the end of three years; and, if the conditions at that time will not permit of their discharge, will the War Office (in view of the fact that these men expect such a privilege) grant them a month's leave, as given to Regular soldiers who extend their period of service?

My hon. Friend is under a misapprehension in thinking that there were authorised enlistments for a maximum period of three years. The terms were three years or the duration of the Weir. The last part of the question does not therefore arise.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office the cause of delay in paying over to his mother, Mrs. John Wren, Richmond Street, Longford, the sum of £33 found to be due to the estate of the late Private Wren, who died recently in a London hospital, and concerning whose effects correspondence has now been going on for over three months?

Inquiry will be made into this case if the hon. Member will let me know the soldier's Christian name, regiment and regimental number.

asked the Undersecretary of State for War whether he is aware that Private Ernest Richard Bowyer, No. 290,739, 1/7th Battalion Welsh Regiment, belonging to North Salford, but now stationed at Marton Hall, Yorkshire, has lately been punished by being confined to barracks without pay for one month and given field punishment No. 1, which means being handcuffed and tied to a tree for two hours each day; whether he is aware that this young soldier is only sixteen years of age and three months and has served a year with the Colours, and that his offence was that he overstayed nis first leave; and whether he will take steps to prevent punishments of these kinds to lads of sixteen years of age?

I am sorry that the inquiries which were instituted are not yet complete; I will inform my hon. Friend as soon as I am in a position to do so.

asked what differences, if any, as to rank, messing, gazetting, pay, allowances, badges, pensions, and status generally exist between medical men belonging permanently or temporarily to the Royal Army Medical Corps and duly qualified medical women employed or about to be employed in France or elsewhere abroad; whether an assurance can be given that any outbreak of illness amongst women attached as workers to our Army in France would be adequately dealt with; and whether Sir Alfred Keogh, as chief of the Army Medical Service, is the authority officially responsible for the medical care of women so serving?

The complete details as to pay, allowances, pensions, etc., are not yet settled. The Director-General, Army Medical Service, Sir Alfred Keogh, is responsible for the employment of these ladies and for dealing with illness amongst them.

asked the Undersecretary of State for War if he is aware that recruits in the Irish Guards who are at present undergoing training at the military quarters, Caterham, Surrey, complain that the non-commissioned officers in charge make them run up and down in the sun until they are ready to fall down from exhaustion, and if any of the men make any mistake while drilling they are placed in the guard-room and charged with being idle on parade and receive as punishment three pack-drills for one hour each evening round the square; that as a result several men have to be removed on a stretcher to hospital from time to time; and what steps the War Office intend taking to put a stop to this method of training?

No, Sir; I am not aware that there is any foundation for the suggestions in the hon. Member's question. Men are not doubled up and down the parade ground aimlessly. If a man continually makes mistakes and shows that he is not trying, he would be brought before his company officer. If the hon. Member would care to visit Caterham, the commandant of the depot would be glad to give him facilities for seeing anything he wishes.

asked the Undersecretary of State for War whether all leave is forbidden to soldiers in camp in this country; and whether he will inform the House as to the present regulations governing leave of men in home camps?

Leave to troops in the United Kingdom is restricted owing to the demands on the railways and the necessity of reducing railway traffic at home. I will send my hon. Friend a copy of the Regulations governing the matter.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War if he will make an arrangement for July and August to open the Bull Wall, Dollymount, to the public during certain hours while the military-would not be training or using the rifle range?

I am inquiring of the military authorities in Ireland whether any relaxations are possible, and I will inform the hon. Gentleman of the result.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War if he is aware that, in connection with a dispute that arose a short time ago at the houses in course of erection for the employés at Queensferry, a military representative sent from the Manchester district told the workmen who made the complaint that if they did not get on with the work he would deal with them under military law; and will he state what authority this officer had for using a threat of that kind?

I have no information as to the incident referred to, but I am making inquiries of my right hon. Friend, the Minister of Munitions.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he is aware of the dissatisfaction existing in consequence of the method of granting leave of absence to soldiers at the front; whether he is aware that many men have been abroad for a period of over two years without leave, whilst others have received leave on many occasions during this period; and whether, having regard to these facts, he will endeavour to arrange with the Commander-in-Chief that leave shall be given first to those who have not yet received any, and adopt a system of equality of treatment in this matter to all?

I cannot at present add anything to the numerous answers which I have given on this subject, but I have asked that special consideration should be given to the soldiers specified in the question.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that a number of men now at the Royal Army Medical Corps depot, Blackpool, who volunteered in the early stages of the War expressly for this service and making written statements that the; volunteered for the Royal Army Medical Corps only, are now about to be drafted against their will, into infantry regiments; and whether he will take steps to retain for the branch for which they enlisted men who have already done good service in it and only enlisted for this work?

The Royal Army Medical Corps is a Regular corps, and met enlisted in it are liable for transfer to other corps. So far as is possible, men who originally asked to be posted to the Royal Army Medical Corps on con scientious grounds will not be sent to the Infantry if the fact is recorded in their documents. The transfers to which my hon. Friend refers were carried out in accordance with these principles.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether lie is aware that a number of Leeds members of the St. John Ambulance Association, who responded to an appeal for home hospital orderlies in June, 1915, and again, after a year's home service, responded to an appeal for oversea service in the Royal Army Medical Corps, were informed by official circular in December, 1916, that, if they volunteered their services, they would be sent in drafts to the Royal Army Medical Corps overseas, but if they did not would be discharged and called up after thirty days under the Military Service Act, whereupon they volunteered and were sent to Blackpool for training and are now ordered to join the Infantry in spite of this promise; and whether he will take steps to redress their grievance?

Inquiries are being made, and I will inform my hon. Friend of the result as soon as I am in a position to do so.

asked if steps have been taken to perpetuate the memory of those who have fallen on the field of battle otherwise than by temporary wooden crosses; and whether hewn or moulded memorial stones could be placed over their graves, so that, their resting-places may be permanently identified?

A special department of the Adjutant-General's branch of the War Office has been formed for the express purpose of finding, marking, and registering the graves of the fallen in all the various theatres of war. The greatest possible care is taken to collect and register all such accurate information wherever possible as may ensure the identification of each individual grave thus recorded in the future. Owing to the lack of transport and other difficulties, it has been found necessary to prohibit the erection of any memorial of a permanent nature during the continuation of hostilities.

asked what steps an officer in the Territorials who wishes to be transferred to the Regular Army for permanent service must take in order to get transferred; and will he lose his rank in so doing?

He must be recommended by the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of an Expeditionary Force, to whom the recommendation from his own commanding officer would go through the usual channels. Usually it is possible to transfer him in his own rank, but in considering this point the age and services of the Regular officers over whose heads he would come into the regiment have to be borne in mind, and in some cases transfer in a lower rank only is justified.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War if he will state the wages paid to labourers at Dollymount Camp, Dublin; if he will say when they will receive a war bonus; and if he is aware that their wages do not compare favourably with the rates paid in the district?

Inquiry is being made and the hon. Member will be informed on the result.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office if he is aware that a number of soldiers are employed in converting a building in College Street, Lambeth, into a flour mill; that some of these men are receiving 2s. 2d. per day pay in addition to their Service pay, while others, who are doing exactly similar work, are only receiving their Service pay of 1s. per day; if he is aware that this system of paying these men is causing discontent among not only the men directly affected, but among civilian workmen as "well; and whether he will arrange to pay all soldiers alike when engaged on this class of work?

I will inquire into the matter and communicate with my hon. Friend as soon as I am in a position to do so.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office if he is yet in a position to state how the man Mates who was discharged from the Connaught Rangers on 15th July wholly unprovided for has been or is to be provided for under the terms of the new pay warrant; if this man, owing to the treatment he received, has applied for a sworn investigation into the peculiar circumstances surrounding his case, and if such will be granted; if he is aware that Mates has offered to surrender his claim to pension on condition he is awarded a substantial gratuity to enable him to pay his debts, recover his property which he was obliged to dispose of, to defray medical expenses, and give him a fresh start in business; and if, in consideration of the results arising out of his illness, which causes bad impressions in the minds of many comrades who are serving and seriously deters others who are willing to serve, the matter may receive immediate attention?

This man has been awarded a gratuity of £20 under Article 7 (2) of the new Royal Warrant and payment advice was issued on the 21st June. He has applied for a sworn investigation into his case, and it is open to him to appeal to the new Appeal Tribunal if he so desires. He was retired after 242 days service, all at home, for age, and a medical board which specially reported on his case found no symptoms of other disease than old age.

asked the Minister of Munitions whether he is aware that the Committee on Production awarded 25 per cent, additional war bonus to all steelworks employés earning from 21s. to 30s. And 31s. to 40s. as against 20 per cent, additional war bonus granted at the Conciliation Board meeting held on the 4th of May last to all tinplate works employés earning similar amounts; and if he can state whether the Ministry of Munitions has endorsed the Committee on Production's findings?

The facts are as stated by my hon. Friend in the first part of the question. The award of the Committee on Production was not submitted for endorsement by the Ministry nor did it need to be submitted. Awards made on differences reported under Part I. of the Munitions of War Act, 1915, are binding of themselves and do not require the Minister's sanction.