asked the Prime Minister whether he is aware of delays in the discharge of ships and a considerable congestion of tonnage at Basra; what Department is responsible; and will he say what steps will be taken to expedite the discharge of ships at that port?

My right hon. Friend has asked me to answer this. There has been some interruption in the work of loading and discharging ships at the place mentioned. There are several special reasons fox this, amongst which I might mention the following: Quarantine, extending in some cases to nineteen days; interference in labour supply by the feast of Ramazan; shorter hours worked, due to the intense heat and the arrival of ships with heavy stores, beyond the capacity of the ships' derricks, which had to wait service of floating crane.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether his attention has been called to the uncertainty created by the Order which states that no person shall without a permit buy, sell, or deal in potatoes of the 1917 crop grown in the United Kingdom other than first and second earlies; whether he is aware that an impression prevails in many districts among small allotment holders that they will be unable to sell their potatoes except to the Government at a price arbitrarily fixed; whether, in order to avoid this possibility, potatoes are being rushed upon the market; and whether, in order to prevent this and secure to the nation the full advantage of the mature crop of potatoes, he will at once indicate the general lines on which permits will be issued to small growers and the prices at which the potatoes will be taken by the Government in case they are commandeered?

The object of the 1917 Crop (Restriction) Order was to prevent speculative dealings in or advance sales of grain or potato crops before definite arrangements were made for their disposal. It is unlikely that the Government will take over the stocks of small allotment holders. It would be improvident, as well as illegal, for growers to sell main-crop potatoes at the present time, and I have no information to suggest that this is being done to any appreciable extent.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether there is in bond at the present time a large amount of cocoa, stated to be 60,000 tons; if so, whether he will take means for the conversion of at least a portion of such cocoa into chocolate, of which there is a small supply available; whether the importation of foreign chocolate is now permitted; and whether the chocolate now in bond is being liberated for consumption as required?

I have been asked to reply. The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. In view of the restriction imposed on the amount of sugar to be used for purposes of manufacture it is unlikely that the manufacture of chocolate from such cocoa will be increased; nor are the existing supplies of sugar sufficient to warrant the removal of this restriction. Foreign chocolate is now admitted to the extent of 150 tons a month. Chocolate which was irregularly imported in advance of the grant of import licences has now been released, in anticipation of the monthly allowances which will shortly fall due.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether he will consider the desirability of issuing an Order by which millers shall in future keep a record of the kinds and quantities of the cereals used by them in the composition of the flour offered for sale; whether he will state the decision with regard to reducing the percentage of cereals permitted other than wheat to a lesser proportion than 50 per cent.; and whether he is aware that a large proportion of maize in flour used for bread is undesirable, as it requires much more baking than wheaten flour?

The Order to the effect suggested in the question is already in force, and the returns made thereunder indicate that the normal percentage of admixtures is considerably below the prescribed maximum, which, as I informed the hon. Member last week, is retained for emergency purposes. The present short supply of maize will prevent its use in any considerable quantity for several months. It is anticipated that the provision of new machinery for finer grinding will prevent any recurrence of difficulties caused in some cases by the admixture of this wholesome grain, when larger supplies of it again become available.

asked the Secretary to the Admiralty whether junior officers of the Navy are not encouraged to bring before the notice of their superiors inventions for the more effective employment of men or material for war purposes; and whether there is any Department in connection with the Admiralty to which such officers may forward suggestions without in any way jeopardising their chances of promotion?

It is the desire of the Admiralty that officers of the Navy of whatever rank should be encouraged to bring such inventions to notice. The Admiralty believe that this principle is well understood and acted upon in the Fleet. The Board of Invention and Research is the Department of the Admiralty appointed to deal with inventions and suggestions of this character. A large number of suggestions are received from junior officers, and there is no ground whatever for the impression that these are not welcomed or are prejudicial to the officers' future.

asked the Secretary to the Admiralty if he will state the estimated number of temporary commissions it is proposed to give to civilians as assistant paymasters in the Royal Naval Reserve and Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, respectively, to meet the requirements of the Navy to the end of the current year; and whether he will consider if a proportion of these appointments could be filled up by active service writers?

In reply to the first part of the question, it is not possible to give an estimate as regards assistant paymasters, Royal Naval Reserve, as it depends on the expansion of various naval services, the rate of completion of new construction, sickness, and casualties, which cannot be anticipated. As regards assistant paymasters, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, it is not expected, so far as can be foreseen, that any more will be required, except in a few exceptional cases. In reply to the second part of the question, it is not proposed to award any of these temporary commissions to active service writers, as civilians so entered can be reverted to civil life at the end of the War, when the present number of assistant paymasters will not be required. I may observe that, whereas at the outbreak of hostilities there were fifteen active service warrant writers, there are now five paymasters (new titles) promoted from commissioned writer and warrant writer, five commissioned writers, and forty-two warrant writers.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether a number of conscientious objectors confined in Mountjoy Prison, Dublin, some of whom have served more than four months of their present sentences, during which time they have been employed on wood-cutting, recently refused to break stones on the ground that the Irish prison rules provide that a man shall be employed on work of a less penal character after the first month; whether the governor admitted their right to refuse, and that they should not have been asked to break stones; whether, except for exercise, they have since then been working all day in their cells with the doors shut; and whether, as these men are well out of the first stage, he will issue instructions that they are to be employed in accordance with the prison rules on associated labour and not in strict separation?

As the stock of timber for wood-chopping had come to an end, and a further supply was unobtainable, the conscientious objectors referred to were given the option of stone-breaking in the open air. They declined, and were therefore given work in their cells. When wood is obtained they will resume wood-cutting.

asked the Undersecretary of State for War if he is aware of the ill-feeling in various parts of the country in consequence of wounded soldiers being sent back to the trenches whilst there are a number of fit soldiers in England doing clerical work who have never been to the front; and whether the Government intend sending those fit men out in preference to the wounded soldiers?

Soldiers doing clerical work at home should be of categories lower than A. Instructions are and have been issued, and action is constantly taken, to give effect to this policy. No man who has returned from an Expeditionary Force is sent back to his unit abroad unless he is in category A. Every man who is fit for general service is required abroad.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he will cause inquiries to be made as to the health of Private S. H. Pescod, 4th Warwicks, Parkhurst Military Hospital, Isle of Wight; and if, after careful medical examination, the man is found fit for sedentary work only, he will issue such orders as will prevent any possibility of his being employed in future on hard manual labour?

Inquiries are being made, and I will inform my hon. and gallant Friend of the result as soon as possible.

asked the Undersecretary of State for War whether Frederick George Porter, No. 2/60685, of Leighton, Howard Grove, Southampton, was rejected in January, 1917, as unfit for military duty, and was then taken from his employment as a labourer in the grain warehouses of Messrs. Lewis, Hutton, and Sims, Limited, and sent by the military authorities to Avonmouth, where he was directed to work for Messrs. Baldry Yerburgh, and Hutchinson, of Rocking ham, and employed in a blacksmith's shop; whether he was then taken ill and has returned home unfit for work and receives no pay, allowance, or medical attendance; and whether this man is an enlisted soldier and is therefore entitled to pay and allowances until such time as he is discharged from the Service?

Inquiry will be made, and I will communicate the result to my hon. and gallant Friend as soon as I am in a position to do so.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether instructions have been issued to Appeal Tribunals to the effect that no exemption may be made on the ground of hardship in cases of one-man businesses in categories higher than C 2 where the appellant is under thirty-one years of age; otherwise, whether such cases are dealt with at the discretion of the majority of the tribunal; and whether the cost incurred in connection with an appeal to the Central Tribunal is borne by the appellant?

I have been asked to reply to this question. No instruction of the kind mentioned has been issued to Appeal Tribunals. The cases are dealt with by the tribunals on their merits. Expenses incurred by an appellant on an appeal to the Central Tribunal are borne by him.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that labourers employed in the Army Ordnance Department, Island Bridge, Dublin, only receive £1 8s. 9d. per week in wages as compared with 39s. per week for the same class of workers in Woolwich; whether he will see that these men are placed on an equality as regards pay with those of the same class in Woolwich; and if he is aware that these men are often kept half an hour over their time on Saturday waiting for their wages without any allowance being made for it, while if an employé is only one minute late in the morning he is suspended for a whole day.

The rate at Dublin is 29s.; at Woolwich, 39s.; it is not proposed to equalise the rates for the two places. I am not aware of any delay in issuing pay, but will draw the attention of the local authorities to the statement.

asked the Minister of Munitions what steps, if any, have been or are being taken to collect grease and other by-products useful in the manufacture of munitions from the clubs, rest houses, and huts for soldiers and sailors in London?

I have been asked to reply. The Ministry of Munitions has actively supported every application for priority for the necessary plant and materials for the extraction of grease from refuse, and considerable quantities of these materials are now being delivered monthly for the production of glycerine for cordite. It has been found, however, that the amounts collected from clubs, hospitals, workhouses, and similar institutions do not repay the cost of collection.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether any member of the Viceroy's Council, or of the Council of the Secretary of State, has any medical or sanitary qualification or experience; and, if not, what provision is made for informing the Councils, the Viceroy, and the Secretary of State of any urgent questions of a medical or sanitary nature?

Neither Council includes among its members a medical or sanitary expert. But the Governor-General in Council and the Secretary of State in Council respectively have at their command the services of competent and professionally qualified advisers in these branches of the administration.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether he is aware that certain officers of the Indian establishment invalided from Mesopotamia who solely by reason of the absence of transport facilities, were prevented from resuming their duties on expiry of medical leave, have consequently only drawn half-pay for protracted periods, during which they have had to make provision for themselves and their families in the United Kingdom; and whether he proposes to take steps to remedy the hardship thus imposed on invalided officers by directing that full pay shall date from the expiry of medical leave in all cases where, owing to the proved lack of transport facilities and for no other reason, the above-mentioned officers have failed to resume their duties on the expiry of their leave on medical certificate?

I recognise that there is an element of hardship in the case of officers who, owing to lack of transport, are detained in this country after having been passed medically fit to return to India or one of the Eastern theatres of war. A proposal for remedying it is under discussion with the War Office.

asked the Pensions Minister if he will inquire into the case of Private Henry Whittington, aged thirty-four, No. 22285, who enlisted in the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment on 16th January, 1915, his previous earnings as a bricklayer being over £2 a week; is he aware that this man suffered shell concussion and was gassed in the battle of the Somme; that he was invalided on 3rd August, 1916, to Birmingham, transferred to Blackpool, Derby, and Ripon, complaining of pains in head, chest, and back, difficulty of speech, dizziness, and insomnia (which are still present); that he was treated by electricity and massage and discharged to his home from Ripon on 8th May, 1917; that four days later he was committed to Notts County Asylum, Radcliffe-on-Trent, the certificate stating that he had threatened his wife, and his wife having denied this several times to the relieving officer; that her testimony is confirmed by the medical officer at Ripon Military Hospital, who stated in a letter to his mother, dated 25th May, 1917, that he had shown while in hospital no sign of insanity and that there was no suggestion of mental trouble or probability of his losing his reason; that this man, who has a wife and two children, was offered 13s. 9d. for himself and 2s. 6d. for one child and after discharge from the asylum on 15th June, 1917, was offered 4s. 7d. per week for himself and his dependants; and that up to the present he has drawn nothing; and will the pensions administration now state to what pension and allowances this ex-soldier is entitled, together with indemnity for the stigma attaching to having been detained for a month in a pauper asylum?

Private Henry Whittington was discharged from the Army on the 8th May last certified to be suffering from shell shock, and to be disabled to the extent of one-half. His discharge papers mentioned that he had one child. He was therefore awarded a pension of 13s. 9d. for himself, and 2s. 6d. for one child. Before the payment could be commenced it was reported that Private Whittington had been transferred to an asylum, and there was correspondence with the asylum authorities as to his maintenance. Now that the man has returned home, arrangements have been made to pay the pension and allowance to him in the usual way. He will also receive an allowance for his second child. The question whether Private Whittington was properly sent to the asylum is not a matter with which the Ministry of Pensions has power to deal.