asked the Prime Minister whether he has any information showing what quantity of supplies of food, cotton, metals, and other essential products for the manufacture of munitions of war have been sent during the twelve months ending 30th June, 1917, from the Turkish Empire and Bulgaria to the Central Powers?

I am afraid I have no information of the nature desired.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will take steps to make postage stamps legal tender up to 10s.?

I think it would be very undesirable to adopt this suggestion.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what amount of money has been raised by Japan as a war loan to this country?

I do not think it is in the public interest to give particulars of financial arrangements with Allied Powers.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether it is proposed to recognise publicly the gallant action of Ella Trout, of Hall Sands, South Devon, who with her own boat was instrumental in saving life endangered by hostile action off the Start Point?

My right hon. Friend has asked me to answer this question. The facts of the case are being investigated, with a view to the services being rewarded.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War if the list of casualties published by the War Office includes deaths in the Army and Navy from disease; and, if not, can he say what the mortality from disease in the Army and Navy has been for the last twelve months?

The casualty lists published by the War Office include all deaths from disease in an Expeditionary Force and all deaths from disease at home among men from an Expeditionary Force. My hon. Friend will, no doubt, put his question down to my right hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty, in so far as it concerns the Navy.

asked the Undersecretary of State for War whether the promotion of officers of Yeomanry regiments, now dismounted in France and attached to infantry battalions, will remain regimental; and whether these regiments will retain their place in the Army List?

The intention is as described by my hon. and gallant Friend.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether, in view of the fact that a number of medical students volunteered for service as medical dressers in the early days of the War, their services will be recognised along with others who took part in the battle of Ypres in October, 1914?

I answered a question on Friday last put to me by the hon. and gallant Member for Stirlingshire, who raised a somewhat similar point of detail. I would refer my hon. Friend to that answer. The detailed regulations will, I hope, appear shortly.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he is aware of the number of Territorial officers who having served at the front since the earlier days of the War have now under the recent scheme of promotions lost their temporary rank owing to the seniority of officers in their regiment who were not able at the outbreak of war to volunteer for foreign service, and who are still serving at home, many of them in semi-civilian employment; and whether he will consider the advisability of transferring as many of these home-service officers as possible to the Territorial Force Reserve and so restoring to the officers who have been actually at the front the step in rank which they have more fully earned?

This is now under consideration.

asked the Home Secretary whether John Ashton, a conscientious objector confined to Wandsworth Prison, is the Private Ashton, late of the 3/10th County of London Regiment, Reserve Battalion, who attempted suicide by throwing himself before an oncoming train; whether he has since attempted suicide, is at present in a bad state of health, and has succumbed to pressure brought to bear upon him and offered to join the Army; and whether an inquiry will be made nito the mental condition of this man?

The prisoner John Ashton has informed the medical officer at Wandsworth that he attempted suicide when at Teignmouth in the way stated in the question while serving in the 3/10th County of London Regiment. He has not attempted suicide since. No pressure has been brought to bear upon him, but in September he applied, with the Governor's, permission, to his old commanding officer to be transferred to the Royal Army Medical Corps, or Non-Combatant Corps. It is understood that this application was not approved by the military authorities. The medical officer being in doubt as to this man's mental state has kept him under observation, and is now satisfied that he should be certified as insane, and he will accordingly be brought before the visiting justices.

asked the Home Secretary whether Ernest Harrison, No. 5150, is now in Wormwood Scrubs Prison; if so, why was he transferred from Wandsworth Military Prison to a civil prison; for what, offence is he serving imprisonment and at what Court was he sentenced; to what treatment was he subjected which reduced his weight by 33 lbs. in ten days; and whether, in view of the illness from which he has been suffering and his excellent character when he was in the Army, this man may have his sentence reduced?

Ernest Harrison, who was sentenced by district court-martial for disobeying a lawful command, was transferred to Wormwood Scrubs Prison as he claimed to be a conscientious objector. His weight has apparently fallen by 8 lbs since his reception in Wormwood Scrubs. He is reported in good health, though somewhat spare. Nothing is known by the civil prison authorities of the alleged loss of 33 lbs.

asked the Home Secretary whether he is aware that I Sinovitch, a medical student who obtained several scholarships, was exempted from military service till by an alteration of arrangements he was called up and arrested; that the Leeds Tribunal refused him leave to appeal as a conscientious objector and that the Central Tribunal refused to recognise him as genuine because the Leeds Tribunal refused to allow his appeal to be heard; and that he is now in prison in Wormwood Scrubs; whether he has considered the circumstances of this case; and whether this case will be reconsidered by the Leeds or the Central Tribunal?

I am afraid that the hon. Member is not acquainted with the facts of this case. The man applied for exemption to the Leeds Tribunal in June, 1916, but conscientious objection was not one of the grounds upon which the application was made. The tribunal saw no ground for granting exemption, and later did not consider that any adequate reason had been given for reopening the case. Subsequently the man was seen in prison by the Central Tribunal. His case was fully considered by them, and, on their report, he was not offered work under the Home Office Committee. I see no reason for making any representations in the case.

asked the Home Secretary if he will take steps to put a stop to the conduct of the governor of Pentonville Prison who constantly subjects the conscientious objectors who make respectful applications to him to abuse and insult?

I believe the hon. Member is entirely misinformed as to the conduct of the governor of Pentonville Prison. The governor has sometimes talked seri- ously to prisoners in the hope of preventing them from returning to prison, but never in a way that could give ground for any complaint, and in fact no prisoner has ever complained either to him or to the visiting committee. The charge appears to be quite unfounded.

asked the Home Secretary whether his attention has been called to the position of school caretakers and others who live in houses provided by public authorities in regard to voting at Parliamentary, municipal, guardians, and public auditors' elections as affected by the Representation of the People Bill; and what will be their position in regard to voting at the elections referred to if the Bill is passed into law?

Under the Bill as amended in Committee the persons referred to, if males, may possess the residential qualification entitling them to be registered as Parliamentary electors. As regards the question whether these persons are entitled to the local government franchise under the Bill, perhaps I may refer to my right hon. Friend's reply to the question put to him by the hon. Member for South-West Ham on the 9th July last.

asked the Home Secretary whether his attention has been drawn to the overcrowding in trains, trams, and omnibuses in the morning before shops and offices open and in the evening after closing hours; and whether he will take steps to assist the conveyance of passengers to and from their work by arranging with the authorities concerned to increase all the services during the busy hours and to reduce them during the middle hours of the day?

My right hon. Friend has asked me to answer this question. I have every reason to believe that the transport authorities concerned are fully alive to the necessity of making such arrangements as those indicated for the busy hours, so far as it is practicable to do so. At the present time, however, the improvement of the services during those hours is a matter of exceptional difficulty, and I fear that some overcrowding at those times cannot be prevented.

asked the President of the Local Government Board, if, under the Government scheme for the relief of distress caused by enemy airraids, persons who are already insured against these risks will be eligible for the grants which local authorities are to be authorised to distribute?

Persons who are already covered by insurance or are otherwise provided for are not eligible for the awards from public funds payable in cases of death or permanent disablement. The local committees are authorised to make grants from the voluntary funds for the relief of distress in cases in which distress does in fact exist.

asked the First Commissioner of Works whether the pictures and treasures in the National Gallery, British Museum, and other public buildings have been adequately protected from air-raids?

My Department is only responsible for the buildings and not for the contents, but I understand that the most valuable pictures of the National Gallery have been removed to places of safety. At the British Museum steps were taken in the early days of the War, in consultation with the trustees, to provide protection in certain cases where valuable exhibits could not well be moved. As regards other Museums, I am informed that steps have been taken by the authorities responsible for the exhibits to ensure reasonable safety to the most valuable exhibits.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs how-much tea, grown in the British Empire or elsewhere, has been allowed to be imimported by the Scandinavian countries, Holland, and Switzerland, respectively, in each year since the War began, compared with their importations in the year prior to the War?

The figures I have promised the hon. Member are as follows:

The imports of tea have been—

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether the Egyptian Government has decided, or contemplates deciding, to restrict the area of cotton cultivation?

^* The above imports relate to the amounts retained for Dutch consumption in 1913 and 1914, whilst the figures for 1915 to 1917 represent the total imports exclusive of the re-exports to the United Kingdom and Allies. Practically all the Dutch imports of tea are derived from the Dutch East Indian possession.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he has received from the British Ambassador in Petrograd, or from the Russian Government, or from any other source, an account of the revolt of General Korniloff in Russia; and whether, in view of the gravity and conflicting reports of this affair, he will lay upon the Table such official information as he has received?

I have received no account of this incident from the Russian Government, although it has, of course, figured in the reports sent home by His Majesty's Ambassador at Petrograd. The hon. Member should realise the impossibility for His Majesty's Government to lay Papers on a question which is still sub judice in Russia and which in any case is a purely internal question affecting an Allied country.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether, having regard to the provisions of the Income Tax Acts, the tenant of a house is entitled, if he so wishes, to pay Schedule A Income Tax before Christmas and deduct from the December instalment of his rent instead of waiting till January to pay his Income Tax and deducting it from the March instalment of his rent?

The answer to my hon. Friend's question is in the affirmative.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether, under the new scheme for Irish national education, the bonus and capitation, or their equivalent, will continue to be paid as a vested right to those assistants who were in receipt of these payments previous to April last; if he will say what are the conditions governing the promotion of these teachers from third grade and second grade under the proposed scheme and how is it intended to deal with past services; considering the financial position these teachers are now in, especially married men with families residing in cities, will he state when it is intended to pay these teachers their due share of the grant of £384,000; and if he will say what is the cause of the delay in allocating this money?

Under the proposed Regulations for the new grade salaries of Irish national school teachers it is intended that the grade salaries should be regarded as including an equivalent for the bonus and capitation Grants payable to assistant teachers prior to April, 1917. As a rule, the new salaries are in excess of the amounts at present payable, but in every case the commencing salary under the new scheme will be fixed at such a figure as will ensure payment at least equal to that to which the assistant was entitled under the superseded rules at the date of the change. Assistant teachers reported highly efficient for three consecutive years will be eligible after the expiration of one year from the date on which they reached the maximum of the third grade for promotion to second grade with the increments of salary in that grade. In fixing the new salaries existing teachers will retain their present grades and receive the new rates of grade salary from date of change, allowance being made to each teacher for increments already received in his or her grade. As regards the latter part of the question, I would refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for East Mayo last Thursday.