asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether super-tax is charged under the Finance Act against life insurance premiums made compulsory for payment by testamentary directions or by direct order of the Court of Chancery; and, if so, why super-tax is not charged against interest on mortgages or other equally compulsory charges against income?

The point raised in the first part of the question cannot be answered without reference to the facts of particular cases. I am informed that a case raising the point may shortly come before the High Court.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve fishermen in Group 4 of Section Y are being called up before younger men in Section I, the result being that older and married men are being called upon to serve while younger and, in some instances, single men are not being recruited?

The order in which fishermen are called up is in every case a matter of consultation with the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries as regards England and Wales, and with the Scottish Fishery Board as regards Scotland. As a general rule, men are called up in relation to their value to the fishing industry, the purpose being to maintain this source of food supply as much as possible. The practice may quite conceivably result in older and married men being called up before younger unmarried men.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether the Government has commandeered the whole of the raspberry crop in Scotland; whether the whole of the crop so commandeered will be required for Army purposes; if it is not so required, on what principle will the amount not required for Army purposes be distributed among private manufacturers; and whether the eight firms who have been manufacturing for the Army will be restricted to the same proportion of raspberries for their private trade as other firms?

I have been asked to reply. The Food Controller has requisitioned the whole of the raspberry crop in Scotland, of which 2,000 tons will be required for the Navy and Army. The estimated surplus of 1,000 tons is being distributed among jam manufacturers in accordance with the recommendations of an advisory committee of the trade. It is hoped that the Scotch manufacturers will receive an allotment of about 50 per cent. and the English and Irish manufacturers of about 45 per cent. of the average quantity used by them in the years 1914 and 1915, less the quantity of English or Irish fruit which has already been secured. A slightly higher proportion is being given to the Scotch manufacturers, because they are nearer to the places where the fruit is grown. The firms which are manufacturing for the Navy and Army will not receive any portion of the surplus raspberries for their private trade.

asked the Home Secretary how many conscientious objectors against military service are at the present time detained or suffering imprisonment in civil prisons?

There are 1,219 prisoners in civil prisons convicted of refusing to obey military orders who allege that they have a conscientious objection to military service.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether soldiers stationed at Aldershot, among whom are a number of wounded men on light duty, cannot get leave to visit their relations in London except on a walking pass, i.e., on condition that they walk from Aldershot to London, a distance of thirty miles; and, if so, whether he will take steps to remove this restriction, which is considered a hardship?

Under the conditions at present prevailing on the railways, it is considered that soldiers stationed in this country should not as a rule be granted leave, other than draft leave, if that involves travelling by train.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office if he will have steps taken to bring the wages of foremen, writers and other civil employés at the Ordnance Department, Island Bridge, Dublin, brought up to 93 per cent. of the Woolwich rates, as the work performed by the several classes is of the same nature?

No, Sir. The rates of wages of employés at the different stations are dealt with in accordance with the Fair-Wages Resolution of this House

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office when it is intended to issue the full rates of bonus in accordance with the award of the Arbitration Committee to the established Civil servants and others in the same but unestablished grade at the Ordnance Department, Island Bridge, Dublin?

The full rates of bonus to which the different classes of employés are entitled are being issued.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether there is any objection to the employés of the Army Ordnance Department at Island Bridge seeking evening employment in other Government Departments to augment their earnings, which are less than normal in most cases at the present time?

Provided that an employé does his work satisfactorily, and for as long as he is required, there is no objection to his obtaining other employment in his spare time.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether, when a surplus is available from the British Expeditionary Force canteens consideration will be given to it being used for the purpose of reducing prices rather than for other purposes, as men who are solely dependent on their pay are with the present high prices of commodities, only able to obtain a few supplies?

Every consideration is given by the Expeditionary Force Canteen Committee to the question of selling goods to the soldier at the lowest price consistent with the risks incident to the business.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether he is aware of the delay in the payment of separation allowances to dependants of soldiers; and, if so, is anything being done to expedite matters?

asked the Pensions Minister if he is aware of the delay in assessing the separation allowances of the dependants of soldiers and sailors resident in Islington; and, if so, will he state what steps he has taken, or he proposes to take, to immediately rectify this state of affairs?

I would refer my hon. Friends to the reply given on the 2nd instant to my hon. Friend the Member for the Thornbury Division of Gloucestershire.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether there is any rule fixing the age at which His Majesty's Ambassadors retire from service abroad; and, if not, how many of His Majesty's Ambassadors at present in active employment are over the age of seventy?

There is no provision in the Diplomatic Salaries Act in regard to the age of retirement for members of the Diplomatic Service, but the Diplomatic Service Regulations, which are issued by the Secretary of State and may be varied by him if he considers it in the public interest to make exceptions, contain a Clause providing for the retirement of members of the Diplomatic Service on attaining the age of seventy. There is at present one Ambassador over that age.

asked the hon. Member for Sheffield (Central Division) whether he is aware that in the case of Corporal A. P. Hartley, of the 1st Newfoundland Battalion, taken prisoner on the Western Front on 14th April of this year, three communications in the form of postcards were sent to his wife in April, May, and June, respectively, and that of these the one sent in April never reached its destination, while those sent in May and June were only received on the 24th July and 23rd July, respectively; and will he say whether it is possible to obviate such uncertainties and delays in the arrival of communications from prisoners?

I am afraid the facts are generally as stated. According to Chapter XI. of The Hague Agreement, the German military authorities have now promised to notify captures and to enable prisoners to communicate with their relatives with the least possible delay.

asked the hon. Member for Sheffield (Central Division) whether he is aware that information of the fact that seventy-seven men of the 1st Newfoundland Battalion were taken prisoner in an engagement on the Western Front on 14th April of this year was only received by the regimental authorities after the lapse of over three months on 1st July, and then through an unofficial source of information; and whether steps can be taken whereby such delays and the consequent anxiety and suspense entailed on the relatives of the men concerned shall be obviated?

I am not acquainted with the particular case referred to, but there is no doubt that the mail of British prisoners of war in Germany, both inward and outward, has been very greatly delayed for some time past. The attention of the German authorities has been drawn to the matter through the Netherlands Legation at Berlin, and we hope that the delay will be reduced in future. I would also refer the hon. Member to Chapter XI. of the Agreement recently concluded at The Hague.

asked the hon. Member for Sheffield (Central Division) whether the biscuits now being dispatched to prisoners of war in Germany by Messrs. Huntley and Palmer on behalf of the Central Committee are being packed in tins, and also if any other food is now being dispatched by the Central Committee to our prisoners in Germany packed in tins; if not, when was the practice discontinued; whether he is aware that complaints are now being received from our prisoners that all food, including biscuits, packed in tins are being confiscated by the Germans in order to feed their own troops on the Western Front; and whether he can give any assurance that the recommendations of the Joint Committee on this subject are now being followed by the Central Committee?

I am informed that the biscuits referred to in the first part of the question are not packed in tins, but in cardboard boxes. The major part of the contents of the standard parcels dispatched by the Central Prisoners of War Committee is contained in tins. No other method of packing has, after full inquiry, been found possible for certain of the contents. I am not aware that food, including biscuits packed in tins, for our prisoners of war is being confiscated by the Germans, and should be glad of any information on the subject that my hon. and gallant Friend can supply. In reply to the last part of the question, I am not clear to what recommendation my hon. and gallant Friend refers.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland if he will direct the postponement of the legal proceedings against the Enniscorthy Board of Guardians and against the vaccination defaulters in the Gorey Union until an opportunity has been given to ascertain what the feeling in Ireland is on the subject of extending the conscience clause to that country?

The Local Government Board have no option but to enforce the law in this matter so long as the law remains unaltered.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether his attention has been called to the case of Mr. James Hanly, of Newtowncashel, county Longford, who was for seven months illegally detained in Ford's Home, Dublin, as a lunatic, without legal warrant or process; whether Mr. Hanly complains that during that time he was severely assaulted on many occasions and otherwise ill-treated; whether this institution is licensed for the detention and treatment of the insane and, if so, is it under the control of the lunacy inspectors; whether in the end Mr. Hanly was released and his sanity vouched for by two doctors; and whether any action will be taken by the Government to secure Mr. Hanly compensation for his illegal detention?

Mr. Hanly was a patient in Mrs. Forde's hospital and a convalescent home connected with it, under the care of a distinguished Dublin physician from February to September, 1915. After he left the hospital Mr. Hanly complained to the police about his treatment there, but on careful inquiry no grounds for his allegations were discovered. The hospital is not licensed for the detention and treatment of the insane, and is not under the control of the Inspectors of Lunatics. I have no information as to whether Mr. Hanly's sanity was vouched for by two doctors after his discharge from the hospital, and the question of compensation for his detention, if he is entitled thereto, is not a matter for the Government.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether the announcement in Circular No. 1,008, that he is assured by the Local Government Board that they will give favourable consideration to the representations of local education authorities if any question is raised by district auditors on technical grounds as to retrospective expenditure on salaries may be regarded as applying to the retrospective improvement of salaries of teachers in secondary schools?

I understand that the Local Government Board will not differentiate in this respect between teachers in elementary schools and teachers in secondary schools.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will state the names and addresses of the insurance companies registered in the Companies Department of the Board of Trade during 1916, the names of the companies struck off the register, and the names of the companies ordered to be wound-up in the High Courts and County Courts during the year?

The information desired is given in the following lists as far as possible, but the second list may not be quite complete, and it includes the names of companies which were previously in liquidation but were not struck off the register until the year 1916:

(1) Names and addresses of existing companies which made a deposit under the Assurance Companies Act, 1909, during the year 1916. No new companies to which the Assurance Companies Act applies were registered during the year.

(2) Names of companies which had power in the Memorandum of Association to transact assurance business of a class to which the Assurance Companies Act, 1909, applies, which were struck off the register during the year 1916:

(3) Names of companies to which the Assurance Companies Act, 1909, applied, which were ordered to be wound up in the High Court or in the County Courts during the year 1916: