asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether a deadlock has been caused in the sale of pigs and pork owing to recent restrictions, and especially so in county Cavan; and, if so, if he will consider the advisability of at once having these markets made free of all restrictions and thus allow this Irish industry to pursue its normal course?

I have been asked to reply to this question. Difficulties have arisen in the North of Ireland in connection with the enforcement of the controlled price of pork and prosecutions have already been instituted in several cases. The Food Controller's Orders were made for the protection of the consumer and it is not intended to revoke them.

asked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether his attention has been drawn to the references made to the development of the Arigna mineral area by County Court Judge Brown, K.C., at the opening of the Sessions at Carrick-on-Shannon on the 5th instant; in view of such expression and the fact that not alone would the development of this mineral area, especially the coal, give employment needed in the district, but would supply the country with cheap fuel and save the Government shipping which has to be used for the conveyance of coal into Ireland, what steps have been taken, if any to develop this area on a large and comprehensive basis; is he aware that the people in the district are entirely opposed to the construction of a short line of 3 miles of railway which is inadequate to develop the district properly and give transit facilities to all parts for the coal; and will he therefore consider the proper development of the district and give powers under the Defence of the Realm Act to connect up with the different railway systems at Collooney, a length of about 26 miles, especially as the rails for this purpose can be got from existing railways in Ireland?

I have seen a report in the Press of the County Court judge's observation. As to the rest of the question, I would refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to a previous question on this subject in the OFFICIAL REPORT Of the 29th October.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether, in any agreement that is made between the Irish Government and other authorities as to the scale of dietary to be enjoyed by Irish political prisoners of war, regard will be had to the fact that a real shortage of food exists in Great Britain and that supplies of surplus foodstuffs from Ireland will be of value to the population here?

In arranging the scale of dietary for prisoners convicted under the Defence of the Realm Regulations, the scheme of voluntary rationing recommended by the Food Controller has been taken into consideration.

asked whether the new rules drawn up by Commandant Austin Stack, the Lord Mayor of Dublin, and the Irish Government, for the treatment and privileges of Irish political prisoners of war, namely, that a scale of dietary approved of by the prisoners, and in addition to that now in force, should be adopted; that the privileges conceded to Irish prisoners of war should be extended to all convicted of sedition or political offences; that no prisoners are to be moved from Ireland without their assent; and that they are to be allowed visitors every day, are now in force?

There are no such rules as are suggested in the question.

asked whether the Lord Lieutenant has fulfilled the undertaking he gave on the 14th instant relative to political prisoners of war in Cork Prison who, in consequence of the insufficient quantity of food supplied, had gone on strike against eating it; and have these prisoners now been released or transferred to another place of confinement?

I am not aware of the facts to which the question purports to refer. Certain prisoners have been conditionally released in accordance with the provisions of the Prisoners (Temporary Discharge for III-health) Act, 1913.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether the second Section of the Act of 1847 and the Orders which are issued when a writ for the election of a member to serve in this House is issued apply to a soldier who is on leave in the constituency in which he is a voter and to a soldier who is, for instance, billeted out in his constituency?

>: I am advised that the Section of the Act referred to does not apply to a soldier who is on leave in the constituency in which he is a voter, but it does apply to a soldier who is billeted in his constituency.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether a German is employed in charge of the electric station at Dar-es-Salaam, in East Africa, at a salary of £50 per mensem, and, if so, whether a British subject could be employed on this work; and what is the amount paid to wives and families of Germans in East Africa, and whether they are interned or not?

I am afraid that I have no information as to the first part of the question. Certain allowances, I understand, are made to indigent enemies in that portion of the country which is under civil control, and the German Government has recently sent a sum of money to help them. I have no information whether any payments are made in that portion which is under military control to Germans who are not interned.

asked what are the impediments in the way of the War Office carrying out the promised promotion of the senior officers of the Royal Garrison Artillery whose juniors in the Royal Field Artillery have already received their well-merited promotion?

I am not sure that I understand my hon. Friend's point. All promotions are carried out as quickly as possible. On the general question I would refer him to the answer given on 29th October to my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Southampton.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War how many officers of the General Staff, from brigadier-generals downwards, at present at the General Headquarters, Home Forces, and in the several Commands at home have held such appointments continuously for twelve months and upwards; and whether he will consider the adoption of a rule that every officer appointed to the General Staff at Home must serve at least six months in every year in a British Expeditionary Force?

Out of the total of General Staff officers employed at General Headquarters, Home Forces, and at Headquarters of various Commands at Home, 54 per cent. have been changed during the year ending on 15th November, 1917, and 46 per cent. have held their appointments for more than a year. It must not be forgotten that many of the functions of the General Staff are such that continuity of tenure of appointments is necessary in the interests of efficiency.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he has any objection to give particulars of the names and rank of the officers now at the Headquarters of the several Commands in the Home Forces who or whose parents were of enemy origin—that is to say, either German, Austrian, Bulgarian, or Turkish—and whose names are not the same or not spelled in the same way as they were a few years ago?

I regret that this information is not available.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War if he is aware that Private Arthur Smith, No. 273270, Labour Corps, was discharged from the Army as medically unfit on the 8th September, 1916; that on the 12th September, 1917, he was medically examined under the Military Service (Review of Exceptions) Act, 1917, and was classified for service B2; that he was then and there handed a calling-up notice to report for service at the Labour Unit Depot, Peckham, at 9 a.m. on the 13th September; that on the 12th September he lodged an appeal at the Islington Local Tribunal on his medical certificate, which stated that he was suffering from pulmonary emphysema and cardiac dilation of the heart; that he was arrested on the 16th September and taken under escort as an absentee to Peckham, where he has since been up to the present time; that, following legal proceedings on his behalf, a letter has been written from the War Office, dated the 14th November, stating that instructions were issued on the 16th October, 1917, for the discharge of this man to be carried out; if he is aware that the man is still awaiting his discharge; and if he will cause an inquiry to be made?

I am inquiring into this case, and will write to my hon. Friend as soon as I am in a position to do so.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that Sapper T. N. Beasley, No. 320,617, Inland Water Transport, Royal Engineers, was discharged from the Army Ordnance Corps after nineteen days' service, and from the 3/10th Battalion of the Middlesex Regiment after fifty-five days' service, in each case as medically unfit; whether he is aware that subsequently he was an inmate of the Isleworth Infirmary suffering from tuberculosis and also was attended by the county tuberculosis officer at Acton; that, being sent on or about the 3rd August, 1917, from Woolwich to Sandwich as attached to the Inland Water Transport, Royal Engineers, he was taken ill and absented himself in consequence, was put under arrest awaiting court-martial and kept twenty-one days in the guard room with other men, eating and drinking from the same vessels, while rapidly becoming worse by reason of his confinement; whether he is aware that one of the men confined with Beasley in the guard room was suffering from syphilis; what justification there is for these diseased men being confined together and with others, having regard to the danger of the spread of the diseases; will he take steps to ascertain who is respon sible for this and to ensure against repetition; and why Beasley was sentenced to twenty-eight days' imprisonment for the alleged offence and sent to Chelmsford to serve his sentence, notwithstanding his tuberculous condition and in spite of the fact that he had been twice discharged from Army service as medically unfit?

This case has been for some time under investigation on a written representation from my hon. and learned Friend, and a reply was about to be sent to him. A medical board was held on Sapper Beasley at the end of October and reported that there were no physical signs of tubercle of the lungs. This confirmed a previous report at the end of September from Fort Pitt Military Hospital, where his sputum was submitted for examination. The board also had before them the man referred to, with whom Sapper Beasley was confined, and could find no trace of syphilis. He had been under treatment for this complaint at the beginning of the year, and had been discharged cured.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether, if a man is mobilised and makes an allotment in favour of a dependant upon mobilisation, the Government allowance is paid, if dependency is proved, from the date of enlistment?

The rule is that the allowance is paid from the date of enlistment, provided the soldier's application is received within ten days; otherwise it is paid from the date of application.

asked whether, in the case of a soldier who has made an allotment and claimed an allowance in favour of a dependant, and it is stated that the forms signed have been lost, Government allowance, if dependency is admitted, is paid from the date of the original claim or from the date of any subsequent application?

If there is satisfactory evidence that a claim was made and the form was lost, the practice is to pay the allowance from the date of the original claim.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether he is aware that Messrs. Cox and Company remit money to officers prisoners of war in Germany which is only paid to them in marks by the German Government at the rate of exchange obtainable before the War; whether he is also aware that the above mentioned officers can cash cheques in Germany for which they get the proper rate of exchange; and whether, therefore, he will give instructions that this system of remitting money through Messrs. Cox and Company should be discontinued forthwith?

I understand that Messrs. Cox and Company remit money to officer prisoners of war in Germany through an agent in a neutral country and that officers get the full value of the current rate of exchange.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office of how many thousands of pounds the German Government have deprived British officers by paying them at par money remitted to them by Messrs. Cox and Company; and why the British Government have acquiesced In this source of increment to the German Government?

My hon. Friend is, I think, under a misapprehension. Over a year ago when the practice of the German Government came to notice, representations were made which resulted in the German Government abandoning their practice with retrospective effect. The German communication to this effect was dated 25th February, 1916. If my hon. Friend has reason to think that the arrangement is not being carried out in any particular case, I shall be glad to know of it.

asked the Home Secretary whether Peter Petroff has been removed from Islington internment camp; where he now is; what is the reason for his removal; and whether he will be allowed as before to see, and receive letters from, his friends?

Petroff was removed to Pentonville a few days ago, because he had refused to take food in the Islington place of internment. So long as be remains in Pentonville he cannot receive letters or visits, but I hope that he may be returned to Islington shortly.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware that the women clerks in the Accountant's Office, Dublin, have held a protest meeting against the appointment of Miss Rose to a position in the Agricultural Wages Board; whether he will give an assurance that junior clerks in his Department shall not be released to go to other Departments while senior clerks on the waiting list are disregarded; and whether he will issue an official explanation in each case of a preferential appointment causing discontent in his Department?

asked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware that a clerk of twenty-one months' service in the Savings Bank Department was transferred to the Agricultural Wages Board, Ireland, as a woman clerk whilst nearly 100 names stood before hers on the recognised list of applications for transfer; and will he say why, in view of the fact that clerks are constantly being released for work in other Departments, he does not release women clerks to fill the six existing vacancies in the Accountant's Office, Dublin?

I would refer the hon. Members to the reply which I gave to the hon. Member for Dublin Harbour to-day.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what further consideration has been given to the resolutions adopted by the executive committee of the Navy League on the 8th August and 28th November, 1916, and forwarded to His Majesty's Government, which demanded that any negotiations for peace which may hereafter be entered upon as between the Central Powers and His Majesty's Government should embody, as an essential condition, an undertaking on the part of the German Government of a surrender of ton for ton of merchant shipping for vessels of the British mercantile marine and the mercantile marine of our Allies destroyed by German warcraft during the War; and what decision, after eighteen months' consideration, has now been arrived at?

Any negotiations for peace will be conducted by the Allied Governments acting in concert, and I am, therefore, unable to make any statement of an individual character such as is called for in this question.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether he has taken any steps to amend the Light Railways and Tramways (Ireland) Act to enable capitalists to proceed as quickly as possible for powers to get the necessary facilities for the development of the industries of the country; will he, at least, grant the same powers to the Light Railways and Tramways (Ireland) Act as are granted by the Board of Trade to the Light Railways and Tramways Statutory Rules and Orders, No. 1,380, of 1914 (England), which enables the necessary documents, plans, and books of reference, etc., to be lodged with the county council and local authorities in any month of the year instead of twice a year as at present in Ireland; and, if not, will he get this amendment inserted in the Light Railways and Tramways Acts (Ireland) immediately?

It is provided by general rules made in 1913 that applications under the English Light Railways Acts should be submitted to the Light Railway Commissioners in May or November, and by the further rule, to which the hon. Member refers, applications may be made in any other month with the consent of the Commissioners. Irish county councils are only required to meet quarterly, and I am advised that any amendment should be limited to permitting applications in Ireland to he made to county councils at any quarterly meeting, but legislation would be nece[...]sary to effect the change, and I see no prospect of it at present. I have no reason to believe that any actual inconvenience has been caused by the existing limitation.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he is aware that two Sinhalese of the district. of Kegalle, in Ceylon, have recently brought a civil action against the Kacheri Muhandiram, of Kegalle, a Government official, claiming the restitution of a piece of land which the plaintiffs alleged they had been induced to transfer to the defendant after the defendant had wrongfully arrested them under martial law for complicity in the riots, and under threats that the defendant would have them court-martialled and shot; that the defendant consented to judgment being entered against him; whether any proceedings or steps have been taken by the Ceylon Government against their officer; and whether, in view of the circumstances disclosed in this case and repeated allegations of similar cases of extortion occurring under martial law, and under the system adopted by the Ceylon Government for recovering damages from the whole Sinhalese community for the riots, the Government will now order a full Inquiry into these alleged cases and into the general administration of martial law during and after the riots?

I have no information as to these allegations. The answer to the last question is in the negative.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he is aware that Mr. Edmund Hewavitaren, a well-known Bhuddist, was charged before a court-martial with treason and complicity-in the late riots in Ceylon and, despite the fact that evidence was produced proving, an alibi, was sentenced to penal servitude for life; that three months later he died of enteric fever which broke out among the prisoners in the gaol in which he was confined; that all petitions for a revision of sentence were refused during his life-time, but that subsequent to his death the Governor of Ceylon has informed his relations that evidence has transpired which supports the statements made by Mr. Hewavitarne before the court-martial, and that if this evidence had been before the court-martial it would probably have acquitted Mr. Hewavitarne; that the Governor has now expressed his sincere sympathy and regret; and whether, in view of these circumstances, the Government will order an impartial Inquiry into the other alleged cases of miscarriage of justice in the courts-martial and into the general administration of martial law during and after the Ceylon disturbances?

I have seen a reproduction of Sir John Anderson's letter to the -brother of the late Mr. Edmund Hewavitarne, the terms of which are generally as stated in the question. I have asked the Governor for a Report on the circumstances in which this letter was written, but I have not yet received his reply. The Governor has personally investigated all cases brought to his notice in which it is alleged that innocent persons were convicted by court-martial, and in view of the action which he has taken in these cases I do not think any further general Inquiry is either necessary or desirable.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware of the delay in giving long-service medals to postal servants; and whether, to prevent discontent, he will issue all medals due without delay?

Imperial Service medals are not issued by me, but if the hon. Member will give me particulars of any case in which a retired Post Office servant thinks he ought to have received a medal by now, I will consider the question of making inquiry.