asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food if he is aware that much dissatisfaction is felt among the working people at Brightrigg, Oxnam, near Jedburgh, in the county of Roxburgh, because of the delay in supplying forms of application for sugar for preserving fruit, and because of no replies being sent to reminders accompanied with envelopes stamped and addressed by people who are suffering loss from the sugar not being provided in time to preserve their fruit; and whether the Ministry of Food will make prompt inquiry into the matter?

I must refer the hon. Member to the answer given yesterday to the hon. Member for North-East Lanarkshire.

Can my hon. Friend say, with regard to the Scottish counties and the jam makers, who depend so much on the supply of sugar, whether anything is going to be done?

I do not understand what the hon. Member means.

I will put it this way: Can my hon. Friend tell me whether more consideration is being given to fruit growers in counties dependent upon the growth of fruit than to other people in some of the urban districts of the country?

Every effort is being made by the Department to distribute equally whatever supplies may be available.

Can the hon. Gentleman say whether sugar is now available?

No supplementary supplies are now available for this purpose.

Is the hon. Member aware that advertisements are appearing that sugar, especially for preserving purposes, is available?

I have not seen any such advertisements.

Have the fruit growers of Scotland received any sugar at all?

I conclude that they have received portions in response to their applications, like persons in other parts of the country.

Cannot the hon. Gentleman say definitely; it is not a matter of "concluding." Does he not conclude that these people cannot make jam out of conclusions?

I will inquire.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether, in accordance with representations made to the Controller of Import Restrictions by a deputation of wholesale fruit brokers and merchants of Liverpool, Glasgow, Manchester, and London, he will take steps to arrange for the removal in whole or in part of the prohibition of the import of apples and encourage the stowing of apples as light freight to fill up vessels at ports of loading?

May I ask the hon. Gentleman if he will also reply to my question 81, which was postponed yesterday, and which deals with the same subject?—[To ask the President of the Board of Trade whether, in view of the importance of the apple as an article of diet and the ease with which it can be carried with other articles, His Majesty's Government will endeavour to provide for it improved shipping facilities?]

I think the answer I am about to give will cover also the question which the hon. Gentleman postponed yesterday. I would refer the hon. Gentleman to the answers which have recently been given on this subject, and in particular to that which was returned to the hon. and gallant Member for the Enfield Division of Middlesex last Friday.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether he is aware that Indian meal made from Indian corn and largely used for food is at present being sold wholesale by millers in different parts of Ireland at from £2 15s. to £3 per sack of 280 lbs. or 20 stone; whether he is aware that the pre-war wholesale price of this same article was only 15s. to 16s. per sack of 20 stone or 280 lbs.; and whether he can say what steps the Food Controller has taken, if any, to regulate and lower the price of Indian meal to the consumer?

The answer to the first two parts of the question is in the affirmative. The maximum retail price in Ireland of maize flour, maize meal, and maize products generally, has been fixed at 3½d. per 1b.

Will the hon. Gentleman say when the maximum price was fixed?

At the moment I cannot give the date.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that the Government have taken over the control of Indian corn, during the last six months, from which Indian meal is made, and, if that is so, can he say why no maximum price has been fixed for Indian meal in order to protect the consumer?

I should like notice of that question. The reply which I have given is an answer to all the points contained in the question on the Paper.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food Whether he is aware that in many parts of the country, and more especially in Ireland, flour is bought in bulk by the farmer's or labourer's wife and carried home to be made into bread and consumed in their own household; and whether, see- ing that the baker's shop-made loaf of 4 lbs. is going to be reduced in price from 1s. to 9d., whether a corresponding lowering of price will be made in the price of flour made into bread by the people in their own homes?

The retail price of flour will be reduced so as to correspond with the price of bread.

Does the hon. Gentleman mean the retail price, especially for home flour—that is, flour bought by people to make bread in their own homes?

Certainly, yes.

asked (1) the President of the Board of Trade if he is aware of the difficulty of dealing with the arrivals of fish, notably herrings, on the North-East Coast on account of the shortage of labour and difficulty of transit; if so, will he say what remedy is suggested; (2) the President of the Board of Agriculture if he is aware of the arrivals of quantities of fish, notably herrings, quantities of which are wasted; if so, what means are being taken to market such to the people; (3) the President of the Board of Agriculture if he has received a resolution from the North Sea Fisheries Committee calling the attention of the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries to the waste of fish landed at North-Eastern ports owing to the inadequacy of the arrangements at such ports for the distribution of such fish by rail, and to the resulting loss to the community of a quantity of valuable food; and, if so, will he say what steps are proposed to remedy the matter?

Gluts of herrings have occurred at North Shields on two occasions recently, when a proportion of the fish was lost for food purposes owing to a variety of causes, the chief of which were lack of labour, difficulties of transport, and the lack of tin-plates at the canneries. The herrings landed on both occasions were immature herrings of a very soft and oily character. These travel badly and are difficult to handle as fresh herrings, but are suitable for kippering and canning. In spite of difficulties, large quantities were so treated. The situation was dealt with by the Fish Food Committee and the Food Controller, in co- operation with the Board, and these three authorities have since been making such arrangements as are possible for dealing with gluts in the future. I will send my hon. Friend a statement of these arrangements, which is too long to give in answer to a question.

Is the hon. Member aware that I made a complaint the other day respecting the shortage or labour, and that I was informed by the Board of Trade that the matter is now rectified. Is the labour sufficient, for I have had many complaints?

That is argumentative.

asked the President of the Board of Agriculture, in view of the demonstration of fruit-bottling given at the House of Commons on the 30th ultimo, and of the constant reminders by the Food Production Department of the necessity of preserving all possible fruit and vegetables, whether he will explain why the necessary bottles ordered from the Board of Agriculture many weeks back cannot be obtained, as the delay causes inconvenience and ultimate loss to the public through the spoiling of the fruit?

I must remind the hon. Member of the extreme difficulty of obtaining any glass ware at present. The efforts of the Board and the Ministry of Munitions have already resulted in greatly increasing the output, so much so, that 160,944 bottles were distributed last week, and the supply is increasing week by week.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether or not the Irish Office and the Board of Trade have considered the Report of the expert sent by the Controller of Mines to examine the mineral field at Arigna; whether the Government are prepared to publish the Report of the expert; and whether the Government are now prepared to take any and, if so, what steps to make the coal reserves of Arigna available for the supply of Irish demands in the coming winter?

The Controller of Coal Mines is still in consultation with the Chief Secretary upon the expert's Report on the Arigna coal and other mines, and it is not considered desirable yet to publish the Report.

asked the Pensions Minister whether his Department is making itself responsible for the training of a considerable number of men invalided out of the Service by a course of instruction at the Polytechnic in Regent Street; whether, in the case of these men, any provision is made in respect of residence and other charges, or whether private appeals have to be made for the establishment of hostels; and whether it is proposed to do anything in this direction apart from charitable appeals?

It is the case that a substantial number of discharged disabled men are being provided with training at the Polytechnic Institute and at other institutes, both in London and elsewhere. An allowance at the maximum rate of pension is made to each man under Article 6 of the Royal Warrant to enable him to maintain himself during his training and in addition an allowance to his wife and family or dependants, but the Minister has been able to take advantage in some instances of offers made spontaneously by private individuals to provide hostels in which a certain number of the men can be lodged during training. It will be obvious, therefore, that while I am glad when private gratitude adds to the amenities available to disabled soldiers, the general scheme is based on the idea that maintenance, including housing, should be defrayed out of pensions and allowances to men and their families.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that a number of Russian medical students in this country would, if British subjects, be entitled to exemption from military service under Army Instruction Order, 1290; and whether, in view of the Military-Service (Conventions with Allied States) Act securing to conscripted aliens the same rights as are conceded to conscripted British subjects, he will extend the provisions of Army Instruction Order 1290 accordingly?

It is not proposed to extend the provisions of the Instructions in question to Russian medical students in this country, as these persons have the right of application to a tribunal for exemption or can apply to the Russian Ambassador for the grant of a certificate of exemption.

Is the hon. Gentleman not aware that the Statute gives exactly the same privileges to the Russian subject here under the Military Service Acts as to the British subject, and unless there is some alteration made in the Order difficulties are certain to arise in connection with the tribunals, because they will be placed in a worse position?

What is the object of trying to exempt anybody from service in the Army? What advantage is it to this country to prevent these conscripts joining the Army?

asked the Undersecretary of State for War whether he can state if new arrangements have yet been made for expediting the discharge of unfit men from the Army; if so, what is the nature of these arrangements; when they came into operation; and how many men have been discharged as unfit for further military service during July?

In order to expedite the discharge from the Army of unfit men, other than patients in hospital, instructions were issued on 30th June, 1917, to General Officers Commanding-in-Chief to establish at a convenient centre in their command a standing invaliding board, to which all men considered unfit for further service were to be sent. All men whom the standing invaliding boards approve for discharge are discharged forthwith. Orders were further issued that the discharge of a man was not to be delayed in order to arrange substitution or to enrol him as an Army Reserve munition worker. Within twenty-four hours of the receipt of the man's documents from the approving officer, the president of the medical board, a notification is sent to the secretary of the local committee of the Statutory Committee in the district in which the man intends to reside and to the Director of the Employment Department, Ministry of Labour. The latter arranges for a representative of the Employment Exchange nearest the man's home to visit the man at his home in order to place him in employment. It is not considered advisable in the public interest to publish any figures with regard to the numbers of men recruited into or discharged from the Army.

Can my hon. Friend say whether men who are in this condition, and are, for instance, six months awaiting discharge, of which I could give him an example, can make application themselves to the Medical Board, or must they have the approval of the commanding officer and the medical officer?

Speaking offhand, I think they can personally.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that there are cases in Ireland where men are kept not for six months, but for years?

If my hon. Friend will produce any specific case of such delay as he has mentioned, I will have it immediately inquired into.

asked the Home Secretary whether his attention has been called to a man and his wife who are in the employment of the United Press of America, of 79, Temple Chambers; whether he is aware that the man was editor and his wife the assistant editor of a pro-German paper in Seattle until the German subsidies failed to arrive after the War and the paper failed; whether the man is avowedly pro-German in sentiments and his wife a German by birth, although asserting that she is a Norwegian; will he say if all their time is occupied in the United Press; and, if not, what is done with their spare time?

My attention had not previously been called to these persons, but I am making inquiries, and will let the hon. Member know the result.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether any estimate has been formed of the expenditure of the proposed Ministry of Reconstruction during the present financial year; if so, what is the estimated sum; and what, if any, estimate has been formed for the first full year of working of the Ministry of Reconstruction?

We have as yet no sufficient data from which to frame any trustworthy estimate of the cost of the Ministry.

Are we then to understand that the Bill was introduced with the connivance or approval of the Treasury, without any estimate at all, and therefore practically unlimited expenditure free, as asked in connection with this new Ministry?

There will be no unlimited expenditure as long as I have anything to do with it.

Has any expenditure already been incurred?

Yes, a small, very small, expenditure.

Will the hon. Gentleman assure the House that a strict limit will be fixed to the expenditure for this year?

That is a matter for argument on the Bill.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether he is aware of the hardship caused to licensed traders in Listowel and district, as well as other parts of Ireland, by wholesale licensed houses refusing now to supply the usual, or indeed any, quantity of liquors to their regular customers; and whether a Regulation will be made compelling the wholesale houses to supply a reasonable quantity to their usual customers, as has been done by the Sugar Commission, based on the amount of sugar received in 1915?

I must refer the hon. Member to the second part of my answer given yesterday to the hon. Member for East Galway.

Will the hon. Gentleman say what the answer was, as I am not aware of it?

If the hon. Member will refer to it I think he will find it is a sufficient reply to the question.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that the wholesale liquor traders in Ireland have now practically a complete monopoly of the trade, and not only are they selling their own retail quantities, but also those which should go to the small shopkeepers?

The terms of yesterday's answer were so cast, because we were aware of the facts stated by the hon. Member.

asked the Undersecretary of State for War whether, in view of the fact that the 4th Battalion of the King's Shropshire Light Infantry, although they had been on service abroad for more than two years, were sent to France the day after they arrived here and had therefore no chance of seeing their relatives, he will do his best to get them leave as soon as the military situation makes it possible?

I am hopeful that the Field-Marshal Commanding-in-Chief will take into consideration the special circumstances of this case.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War when the decision regarding the promotion of officers and men of the Territorials will be issued; and will the same conditions prevail as will be applied to the Regular Forces?

As I informed my hon. Friend on 13th June, a new system of promotion of officers in the Territorial Force is already being carried out in the combatant branches, and the promotions are nearly complete. I am not aware of any decisions pending in regard to the promotion of other ranks.

asked the Prime Minister whether the conditions under which the right hon. Member for Barnard Castle sits in the War Cabinet differ in any respect from the conditions of the other members?

The answer is in the negative.

asked the Prime Minister whether the Government propose to take any and, if so, what steps to develop and make available for Irish needs the mineral resources of Ireland?

As was stated by the Vice-President of the Department of Agriculture in answer to a question of the hon. Member for the College Green Division of Dublin on the 20th June, the Department and the Geological Survey have been in communication with the Ministry of Munitions as to Irish mineral resources, and inquiries are at present being carried out. The Department's economic geologist is a member of the advisory committee appointed by the Ministry of Munitions in connection with the matter.

asked the Prime Minister whether the Government have yet reached any decision with regard to the reforming of the Commercial Intelligence Service abroad; whether that decision is in substantial agreement with the recommendations made by the Federation of British Industries and the Association of Chambers of Commerce of the United Kingdom; and whether, if any decision reached by the Government departs in principle from those recommendations, the Government will undertake that the above bodies, as representing the commercial and industrial interests of the country most vitally concerned, shall be consulted before the decision is put into effect?

The matter is still under the consideration of the Government.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware that dissatisfaction is being caused amongst the people from Limerick into Ballylongford, including Tarbert, Foynes, and Glin, owing to the threatened stoppage of the mail delivery by taking away the present mode of conveyance by car; and, seeing that this, if carried out, will interfere largely with the commercial conditions and marketing of food in the whole district, will he reconsider the matter?

I am having inquiry made, and will write to the hon. Member.

Will the hon. Gentleman make inquiries as to the need for this service in the interests of a large fishing industry and butter supply; and is he aware that the people of the district have no other means of getting their goods to market and across the Channel, and that much public inconvenience is caused?

I am very sorry that inconvenience has been caused in the district. I will have inquiries made, and will communicate with the hon. Gentleman.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that there are no train facilities in any shape or form in any of those districts, and that the mail cars are the only means of communication?

I will inquire.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether he is aware that dissatisfaction is felt in every part of North Kerry in connection with the conduct of the police in the shooting of Daniel Scanlon recently in Ballybunion; whether he is aware that the coroner invited the police on both days of the inquest to give evidence, which the police refused; and whether he will now have a sworn inquiry held in Ballybunion by an impartial tribunal to inquire into and ascertain the whole truth?

I explained the position of this matter yesterday, and the reasons why, on account of pending proceedings, I am unable to discuss the details of the case.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that I personally have made inquiries into this matter, and is he aware that respectable citizens of Ballybunion will cease to have any respect for law and order if some additional inquiry is not held into the matter, and why, as the result of the coroner's verdict, are those men not placed under arrest and put on trial?

I have nothing to add to the answer I have given.

asked the Prime Minister whether the Government realise the need of providing for the better housing of the working classes in the cities and towns of Ireland; and whether the Government have any and, if so, what plan for securing decent and sanitary homes for Irish artisans?

The housing of the working classes in the cities and towns of Ireland is a matter of urgent importance, and will, I hope, be taken in hand as soon as possible after the War together with the housing proposals for Great Britain, which have been promised by my right hon. Friend the President of the Local Government Board. The initiative will lie with the local authorities. In Dublin and, I believe, some other cities and towns housing schemes are already prepared by local authorities and have been considered by the Local Government Board, Ireland.

Is it not the fact that a Committee has just been set up for Great Britain to examine into housing, and is a similar Committee going to be set up for Ireland?

There will be no difficulty in setting up a Committee to examine into existing schemes, if that should appear necessary. The problem will be treated on the same lines as those indicated by the President of the Local Government Board.

Is there any difficulty in having a certain sum ear-marked for this particular purpose, so that after the War you may have something to dispose of?

I would rather my hon. Friend asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer that question; I cannot answer it.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in view of the unrest amongst County Court officials, the majority with from ten to forty years' service, and the threatened strike by them, he is prepared to meet a deputation of judges, registrars, high bailiffs, and officers to see if there is not a way out of the present difficulties, or will he authorise the Civil Service Arbitration Board to call such a conference and report their findings to him?

The Treasury are in full possession of the information relating to County Court officials and I see no advantage in the proposal that I should meet the deputation suggested. As regards the suggestion in the last part of the question, I would refer the hon. Member to my reply on 20th July to a question of his on the same subject.

Are we to understand that all the answers which have been made to questions relating to this subject have suggested that the difficulty is one in dealing with it? Is it not the case that the Treasury see the difficulty, but refuse to try any solution?

We do not refuse; we are trying to find a solution.