asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether he can hasten the issue of the Returns with regard to Imperial Revenue and Expenditure, in continuation of Parliamentary Papers, Nos. 308 and 309, of Session 1914–16; and when he expects they may be available?

Yes, Sir; steps have already been taken to hasten the completion of these Returns, and I hope they may be available in about ten days' time.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why the payment to County Court officials who have enlisted is proposed to be altered from full wages to profit wages, amounting to a deduction of as much as 16s. per week?

I am not aware of the proposal. Perhaps the hon. Member will communicate to me the information on which his question is based.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland when it is proposed to send to Ireland the Committee appointed to consider the industrial unrest; if he is aware that in many parts of Ireland the wages paid to labourers do not exceed 20s. per week; and if he is aware that this wage is paid by firms that claim to be controlled?

The various Committees appointed by the Prime Minister to inquire into the causes of industrial unrest have completed their investigations and made their Reports. It is not proposed to appoint a separate Committee for Ireland. As regards wages, I have nothing to add to my previous answers. I have no information as to the last inquiry in the question.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether, within the past few days, the authorities of certain Civil Service Departments in Dublin have, by means of oral and written communications, attempted to exert undue pressure on members of their staffs between the ages of nineteen and forty-one years to join the Army; if so, in what circumstances and on whose authority this has been done; whether in one of these Departments the authorities who endeavoured to bring such pressure are themselves men who are evading the Military Service Acts by reason of their transfer from Great Britain to Ireland; whether, in this particular Department, the places of Irishmen who previously volunteered for active service have been filled by transferees from Great Britain; and, in view of the fact that in another of these Departments the staff concerned have been ordered to notify their intentions in the matter to the head of the Department by the 13th instant, he will take immediate steps to restrain the action of these authorities in attempting to discriminate unfairly against the section of the community indicated?

In connection with the decision of the Government to release a further quota of Civil servants for military service, the heads of Irish Departments have invited members of their staffs to volunteer for service subject to the requirements of the Departments. I know of no foundation for the suggestion in the concluding part of the question.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he can anticipate and possibly obviate the need of any discussion on the Recess Adjournment Motion as to the publication of the British, Allied, and neutral tonnage losses by making a statement as to how much information can be afforded to the public without serious detriment to the public interest, bearing in mind the necessity of enlisting the cordial co-operation of all classes in this country and Allied countries in fighting the submarine menace?

I do not think there is anything I can add with advantage at present to the replies given on behalf of the Government by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the House of Commons on Wednesday, the 1st of August, and the recent speeches made by the Prime Minister.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty on what day he is prepared to make his statement as to the Admiralty Staff and the allocation of duties?

I cannot say more than that I would propose to make a statement directly I am in a position to do so.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether, under an Admiralty Order of 1916, men of experience who by reason of wounds or injuries received and considered unfit for general service are not to be invalided from His Majesty's Service, but are to be retained for such purposes as instructional or clerical work; whether men who have been so retained are paid the disability pension to which their disability entitles them; whether men who have been invalided by reason of wounds or injuries and then subsequently re-entered for service are paid their disability pension in addition to their ordinary pay; and whether officers in receipt of pensions for wounds or injuries are paid those pensions concurrently with full pay while serving?

The statements made in the first and last parts of the question are in the main an accurate representation of the facts. In regard to the second part of the question, pensions or gratuities for wounds, etc., are only granted to men on their actual discharge from the Service in compensation for the loss of earning power caused by the Service. So long as the men remain on full pay, compensation is not paid. As regards the third part of the question, the matter raised is now under the authority of the Ministry of Pensions. I think I am right in saying that as from the 21st June last, the answer to the query is in the affirmative. My hon. Friend would perhaps wish to confirm this.

asked the Undersecretary of State for War whether he is aware that the Dewsbury Board of Guardians have 100 soldiers who have been treated till recently as pauper lunatics and that the military authorities refuse any pension to their wives and dependants on the ground that the lunacy has not been caused by service in the Army, with the result that the maintenance of these men is thrown on to the local rates; and whether the War Office can grant any relief to the board?

I have received no communication from the Dewsbury Board of Guardians, and I am not aware of the circumstances to which the hon. Member refers. I am, however, making inquiries in the matter, with a view to placing those soldiers whose insanity is attributable to or aggravated by their military service in the position of "service" as distinguished from "pauper" patients, in which case, in addition to their receiving certain benefits for themselves, their families are supported. I would add that at the request of the Ministry, a formula as to attribute-ability has been prepared by the leading experts in this distressing malady which will greatly widen the range of cases in which this favourable treatment can be given.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether a separate allowance is paid to wives married to soldiers in internment in neutral countries who have been married in these neutral countries since the soldiers have been interned there and subsequently return to this country?

No, Sir. Instructions were issued on the 28th June last to the effect that the allowance is not admissible in such cases.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether, in view of the feeling existing in Scotland in regard to the operation of the Order reducing the working hours of textile factories, and the losses to manufacturers and dislocation of business, without any corresponding advantage in the saving of wool, he will suspend the application of the Order to Scotland until a final decision has been arrived at by the Wool Advisory Committee after consultation with the owners of mills affected by the Order?

The Central Wool Advisory Committee met on the 9th instant, and took into consideration the question of diversity of treatment in the various areas with regard to restriction of hours. The Committee were unanimously of opinion that such diversity was inadvisable. They decided, however, to recommend that the Order should be amended increasing the working hours on weaving and worsted spinning to fifty per week, with corresponding adjustments with regard to woollen spinning and the manufacture of hosiery. The War Department will act on this recommendation.

asked the Undersecretary of State for War whether any action has been taken by the Government, and, if so, will he state the nature and extent of such action, with regard to the utilisation of the French peat deposits so as to relieve the coal supply from England in respect of fuel to the armies in France?

This matter has been the subject of close investigation for some time by the War Department, and arrangements have now been made for the erection of a peat fuel factory in France to help to supply the Army in France with trench and other fuel in substitution for charcoal, coke, and coal, and to that extent to relieve the coal supply from England.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office if he is aware of the discontent in the Army Ordnance Department, Island Bridge, and Government laundry, Dublin, owing to the employés not being paid the local rate of wages; and when it is proposed to consider this claim for increased wages?

The case of these employés has been dealt with recently—the men in February last, the women in May. If the hon. Member is aware of any changes in the local rate of wages since then I shall be glad to have particulars.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether the Government is aware that since the 1st May all ranks in the French Army who are doing duty in the trenches draw extra pay at the rate of 1 franc a day for every day spent in the trenches; and will the Government consider the advisability of conferring a similar benefit on British soldiers?

The facts are as stated in the first part of the question. As my hon. and gallant Friend is aware, the general question of soldiers' emoluments is at present being considered by a Cabinet Committee, and this point has no doubt been brought to their notice.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether he is aware that the staff of male cooks employed in the Royal Herbert Hospital have not participated in any of the bonuses given to other Government employés and are now receiving just the same wages as at the outbreak of war; and whether he will have their case considered with a view to granting them an increase to meet the increased cost of living?

Inquiry is being made, and I will inform my right hon. Friend as to the result.

asked the Undersecretary of State for War when the Government intend to adopt our Allies system of the wearing of gold stripes on the upper arm for all officers and men who have served for a special length of time in the various theatres of war?

I would refer my hon. and gallant Friend to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh East on the 9th instant.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War when Private George Lynch, 5th Battalion Royal Dublin Fusiliers, Curragh Camp, will be released from the Army; and if he is aware that this boy is only fifteen years old and joined the Army without the consent of his parents, who reside at Irishtown Road, Dublin?

This boy's discharge will be carried out as soon as he has appeared before a medical board. Inquiries are being made as to the circumstances under which he was accepted for service.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether men who are enlisted under the Military Service Acts when they are over forty years of age and reach the age of forty-one during their training are drafted for foreign service?

The answer is in the affirmative

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether A. Green-man, 54, Battersea Rise, S.W., the proprietor of a single-man business, who suffers from an enlarged heart and valvular disease of the heart, has been passed C 3, has been called to the Colours; and whether it is the policy of the War Office to call up men in this position and thus cause individual hardship and an outlay of public money out of proportion to the service they can render in the Army?

This man was specially examined at the heart hospital, and in the opinion of the specialists who examined him his heart is free from any valvular lesion. The remainder of the question would appear, therefore, not to arise.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether William Neilson received exemption as a conscientious objector from the Coatbridge military tribunal on condition that he undertook work in the Royal Army Medical Corps; and whether he has been called up to report at Hamilton on the 15th instant and has been forced to join an Infantry battalion; if so, whether instructions will be given that the condition laid down by the tribunal will be observed?

William Neilson received various periods of exemption from the Coatbridge local tribunal; but when a further period of renewed exemption was granted in April, 1917, an appeal was carried, in accordance with the Regulations, to the Appeal Tribunal, which, on the 21st May, 1917, decided that "exemption be not granted, and that any existing exemption be withdrawn." The Appeal Tribunal added a rider recommending that Neilson be not called up before 31st July, 1917. effect was duly given to the Appeal Tribunal's recommendation.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether men unfit for service by reason of disease are being retained in the Army in order to compel them to undergo operations to which they will not submit voluntarily?

No, Sir; I have no information to this effect, but if my hon. Friend will give me any case I shall be happy to inquire into it at once.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War if he will instruct Lieutenant Leyland, recruiting officer, Hackney, to stop sending calling-up notices to Mr. A. Levene, 51, Downs Park Road, Lower Clapton, who is a certificated teacher in Category C and who is also exempt under Army Council Instruc- tion No. 378, 1917, as a recognised and certificated teacher of Hebrew and religion, being head master of Notting Hill Hebrew and religion classes and teacher at the religion classes, Gravel Lane, E.C., and has been engaged in that work for seven years?

Mr. Levene was formerly protected from military service as a teacher in Category C1 whilst employed by the London County Council in their schools. On ceasing to be so employed he was called to the Colours, and is at present liable to be treated as an absentee. As a theological teacher he is not protected under the Army Council Instruction referred to.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War if he can make a statement as to the position of men discharged from the Army as physically unfit; and will they be recalled for service, or are persons suffering from heart and lung troubles and tuberculosis, aggravated by service, regarded as finally discharged?

A man of military age discharged from the Army on grounds of disablement or ill-health is liable to be called up for medical reexamination and for service if he is passed as fit in any medical category unless he belongs to any of the following classes:

1. A man certified as engaged in agricultural work of national importance on the 31st March, 1917.

2. A man discharged as the result of wounds or gas poisoning received from the enemy or certified neurasthenia resulting from service in the present War.

3. A man re-examined under the Military Service (Review of Exceptions) Act, 1917, and found to be permanently and totally disabled for service.

4. A man discharged on grounds of health who has served overseas in the armed forces of the Crown.

The first three of these classes are expressly excepted by the Military Service (Review of Exceptions) Act, 1917, and the exception has been extended by agreement to the fourth class.

Men suffering from heart or lung troubles or tuberculosis aggravated by service may, on re-examination, be found to fall within the third of the above-mentioned classes.

Men who, on medical re-examination, are found to be suffering from tuberculosis of the lung are not accepted for service.

asked the Undersecretary of State for War whether men on joining the Army are posted to the units or corps for which they apply, provided there are vacancies in these units and they possess the necessary qualifications; and whether men who voluntarily join before they are called up for the purpose of joining some special corps are posted to such corps or unit?

In so far as is compatible with the exigencies of the Service while at the same time consistent with the exercise of strict equity as between the men themselves, recruits on joining the Army are posted to the units or corps for which they apply, provided there are vacancies in those units and they possess the necessary qualifications. Men who come forward before they are called up for the purpose of joining some special corps are posted to such corps, provided there are vacancies in the corps and they possess the necessary qualifications. Special reference is made to these points in the instructions issued to recruiting officers.

asked the Pensions Minister whether the statement in the draft of the new Royal Warrant for officers, to the effect that if the terms under the new Warrant are more beneficial to widows (and others) whose pensions have been dealt with or arose under previous Warrants the terms of the new Warrant may be applied with retrospective effect from 1st April, 1917, means that the pensions of the widows and children of officers who died in Mesopotamia or elsewhere of disease while on active service before 1st April, 1917, will be reassessed at the higher rate of pension under the new Warrant on and from 1st April, 1917?

Yes, Sir; where the cause of death is such as to qualify the widows and children for a higher rate under the terms of the new Warrant. I may add that the revision of such cases will be carried out without any application on the part of the widows.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether officers in the Indian Army who were given temporary rank on and after 1st September, 1915, were given no pay in respect of such temporary rank until 1st September, 1916; whether officers appointed on and after 1st September, 1916, to temporary rank have been given pay in respect of their temporary rank from the date of their appointment; and, if so, whether the officers appointed on and after 1st September, 1915, will now be given the back pay, hitherto withheld, for temporary rank from the date of their appointment?

In sanctioning the scheme which was promulgated in April last for giving accelerated substantive promotion, carrying pay and allowances, to officers of the Indian Army, my predecessor, after consultation with the Government of India and the War Office, fixed on the 1st September, 1916, as a reasonable date from which retrospective effect should be given to the concession of pay and allowances. Prior to that scheme accelerated promotion in the Indian Army was confined to temporary rank not carrying pay and allowances. I see no sufficient reason for enlarging the scope of a concession which at the time was thought sufficient to meet the case. I would refer the Noble Lord to the answer given by my predecessor on February 27th of this year.

asked the Home Secretary whether he will afford facilities for determining in the civil Courts the national status of men of Russian birth claiming to have expatriated themselves and to be domiciled in Belgium; and if, in the meanwhile, he will extend the time fixed under the Military Service (Conventions with Allied States) Act, 1917, namely, the 9th August instant, to enable such men as may elect to proceed to Russia to do so after their status has been authoritatively ascertained?

I have no power to refer the case mentioned by my hon. Friend to the civil Courts, but I think he may take it as clear that a Russian does not lose his Russian nationality by acquiring a domicile in Belgium or any other country. I have no power to alter the date fixed by the Military Service (Conventions with Allied States) Act, 1917.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether the alien enemy company known as the Armourduct Manufacturing Company, Limited, has yet been, completely wound up and dissolved; if not, what is the reason for the delay in doing so; has any of the assets been sold or transferred to Wilhelm Schmahl, alias William Small, the former manager or director, or to his nominee; if so, to what extent; and is he aware of a former decision of the Department not to permit this purchaser to become the purchaser of the assets?

Tenders for the business of the Armourduct Manufacturing Company, Limited, were recently obtained by the Controller appointed to wind up the business, but they were not considered satisfactory, and have been rejected. The Controller will take further steps to dispose of the assets. None of the assets have been sold or transferred to William Small or to anyone acting on his behalf.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what are the present arrangements for the control of the petrol supplies and by whom are licences issued and upon what grounds apart from the purpose of national service; is he aware that dissatisfaction prevails as to the grant of licences to persons not engaged in any national service who appear to be motoring solely for pleasure; and will he consider the advisability of requiring that the names of persons to whom such licences are granted should be exhibited in post offices and on church doors in the same manner in which the names of those holding gun or game licences are published?

The control of the distribution of petrol for civil and industrial needs in the United Kingdom is directed by a petrol controller appointed by the Board of Trade, and licences to obtain petrol are issued by the Petrol Control Department of the Board in accordance with the provisions of Sections 15 and 16 of the Finance Act, 1916, and Regulations made thereunder. These licences are not now issued upon any grounds whatever apart from business purposes or public duties, and efforts are being made to put a stop to the very small amount of pleasure motoring which still exists. I hope that everyone will realise the importance of refraining from any consumption of petrol except in cases of necessity.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he is aware that it is about thirty years since the scheme of rock or victualling allowance to light keepers was drawn up by the Commissioners of Irish Lights; whether he will recommend the revision of this scheme, i.e., Is. 9d. to 3s. 6d. per day to meet the present cost of living, and that the Commissioners of Irish Lights shall bear the cost of four months' reserve provisions and allow keepers to purchase these as they require them on the rocks, in view of the hardship involved in compelling keepers to provide these irrespective of cost; and will he say if the Scottish lighthouse-keepers are victualled on rock stations by their Board, what is their scale of diet, and the cost of the same per man?

The rock or victualling allowance of 1 s. 9d. a day has been in force for thirty years as stated and is the same as that paid in the Trinity House Service. The increased cost of living has been recognised by the Grant of a war bonus of Is. 3d. a day. As regards the supply of reserve provisions, I am informed that it is the practice of the Commissioners of Irish Lights to maintain a three months' supply at certain rock stations. The keepers at these stations are invited each autumn to submit demands for provisions required, to guard against their stations running short during the winter months, and these provisions are then purchased in bulk by competitive tenders, the cost being gradually recovered from the keepers concerned. The scale of diet at the Scottish rock stations is varied from time to time by the Commissioners of Northern Lighthouses, but I regret that I am not in possession of the information which will enable me to say what is the cost per man of the rations supplied at the present time.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether Wilhelm Schmahl, a naturalised German passing under the name of William Small, has been permitted to form and register a company under the name of Magic Appliances, Limited, and also a company under the name of the Scandinavian Box Company, Limited, and thus to trade under the guise of a neutral national name; has any licence for the supply of petrol been granted to this person either in his own name or the name of either of the above companies; if so, for what ostensible reason; and what quantity per month is he permitted to have when supplies are withheld from British-born subjects?

Magic Appliances, Limited, in which William Small holds 990 ordinary shares and 960 deferred shares out of an issued capital of 5,000 ordinary shares and 2,000 deferred shares, was registered in 1911; certain shares in this company held by enemies have been vested in the Public Trustee and sold by him to a natural-born British subject. No company has been registered under the title of the Scandinavian Box Company, Limited. A licence for 20 gallons of petrol per month has been granted to Magic Appliances, Limited, in respect of an auto-carrier, but there is no record of the issue of a licence in the name of Small or the Scandinavian Box Company.

asked the President of the Board of Agriculture what is the average percentage increase in the cost of purchasing dairy cows, feeding stuffs, and labour to-day compared with August, 1914; and what is the percentage increase in the cost of producing milk on these respective dates?

Dairy cows between August, 1914, and July, 1917, appear to have increased in price about 85 per cent. Of the principal feeding stuffs, hay has risen in price by about 100 per cent., offals by 120–150 per cent., and cake by about 140 per cent. No data are available with regard to labour for the periods named; but from January, 1914, to January, 1917, the cash wages of cattlemen in England increased approximately 37 per cent. I may refer the hon. Baronet to page 239 of the "Labour Gazette" for July for details. It is known that wages of workers on the land have increased since January, 1917, I am advised that the data are not available to enable a satisfactory calculation to be made of the average increase in the cost of producing milk from August, 1914, to August, 1917, as costs vary considerably from farm to farm and district to district.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he can state, for the information of speakers addressing audiences, the total loss of life in British, Allied, and neutral merchant ships, in passengers and merchant seamen, during three years of war through the submarine and mining campaign of our enemies?

I have been asked to answer this question. The number of lives reported as lost on British merchant vessels owing to enemy action from the comencement of the War until the 30th June last is 9,748, namely. 3,828 passengers and 5,920 officers and seamen. I regret that I am unable to give statistics as to the loss of life on Allied or neutral merchant vessels.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland if he will consider the advisability of extending the Schools Meals Act in Ireland so as to include Saturday; if he is aware of the difficulty experienced by the Irish Women's Reform League in working this Act; if he is aware that, owing to the demands made on their funds caused by unemployment, these ladies have in many cases at their own expense provided meals for the children; if he will take steps to provide an imme- diate Grant and extend the Act; and if he will consult with the ladies on this matter?

It is provided by Section 1 of the Education (Provision of Meals) (Ireland) Act, 1914, that meals may be provided when school meets and on other days. The Act is carried out by the local authorities in Ireland, and for many months a very large number of school children, I am told over 6,000, have been fed by the School Meals Committee which was formed by the Corporation of Dublin to administer the Act in the City. Local authorities are empowered to levy a rate up to Id. in the£ for this purpose of providing meals for school children. A portion of the produce of the rate is still available, and the Corporation have made arrangements to continue the provision of meals to the most necessitous cases during the holidays. The Irish Women's Reform League are not entrusted with the duty of carrying out the Act.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether he is aware that, out of the 700 members of the Dublin Metropolitan Police who attended the meetings held recently in Dublin, six men, who were alleged to have attended these meetings, were brought before the Commissioner and fined £l each; will he explain why the men should be selected who had the longest service; if the men were afforded an opportunity of an investigation and of seeing the evidence on which they were convicted; whether he is aware that the motive of this action is to prevent the constables from exposing the officers responsible for the removal of the recovered looted property from Store Street Police Station without any authority; whether he has already been supplied with the name of one of the prisoners arrested and an intimation that the records containing particulars of the property recovered, etc., which afterwards disappeared, together with the names of the constables by whom it was recovered and the persons upon whom it was found, are all recorded in Store Street Police Station; and whether he will now hold an inquiry or state why these officers should still be retained in the public service?

I stated my views with regard to these meetings of members of the Dublin Metropolitan Police in answer to the hon. Member on the 26th July. The senior constable from each division identified as having attended the meetings was fined as stated in the question. The men were given every opportunity to explain their conduct. I am satisfied that the imputation of an improper motive for this disciplinary action is unfounded. I invited the hon. Member on the 26th July to supply me with any information on which he might consider himself justified in making a charge against any member or members of the police force. He has not done so.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will ask for a Return showing the attendance of the members at meetings of the Rhodesian Natives' Reserve Commission?

The Commission began its inquiries on 4th June, 1914. It went into recess on 30th November, 1914, and recommenced work on 1st May, 1915. The field work was completed on 11th November, 1915, after travelling 3,492 miles by wagon or on horseback, 1,549 miles by motor, and 5,404 miles by train, and the Report was signed on the 16th December, 1915. I do not think that it is necessary to ask for a Return of the attendance of individual members.

asked the Postmaster-General if he will circulate a statement showing for each day in April, May, June, and July the extent to which the night mail to Ireland was late in arriving at Holyhead and Kingstown, and also showing the delay each day between the arrival at and departure from Kingstown and the arrival at and departure from Kingsbridge?

I will have a statement prepared in the form previously adopted, and will send it to the hon. Member.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he is now in a position to state the result of his inquiries into the application made for a letter box at Forge Cross, Glencar, county Kerry?

Arrangements are being made for the erection of a letter box at Forge Cross. It is anticipated that the box will be placed in position very shortly.