asked the Prime Minister if he has received a Report as to the progress and recommendations, if any, of the Shipping and Shipbuilding Committee; how many sittings this Committee has held within the last six months; whether any changes have been made in the personnel of this Committee during this period; what is the annual cost to the State of this Committee, including salaries, rent, rates, taxes, printing, posting, and stationery; and whether the perpetuation of this Committee is proposed?

The Prime Minister has asked me to answer this question. The Shipping and Shipbuilding Industries Committee was set up in April, 1916, and, in addition to three interim Reports, has just presented the first portion of its final Report. During the past six months the Committee has held six meetings, and one change in the personnel of the Committee has occurred. I may refer the hon. Member for the further particulars he requires to the answer given to him on the 12th December last concerning the arrangements made for dealing with several Committees appointed to consider the position of important branches of industry after the War. The Shipping and Shipbuilding Committee is one of the Committees there referred to.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether, in view of the fact that if a man stops his allotment separation allowance for a wife also ceases, instructions will be issued that, when an allotment for a wife is once declared, no man shall be allowed to stop the same until he has obtained documentary evidence, vouched for by responsible persons, that he has good reason for the cessation of his allotment, and so prevent wives being left destitute by allotments being stopped for quite inadequate reasons?

It is not within the power of the Admiralty to issue any such instructions. I may, however, state for the information of my hon. and gallant Friend that in practice no man stops his allotment to his wife without the approval of his commanding officer, and that within the experience of the Department such approval is not given in the absence of good reason. If my hon. and gallant Friend has any individual case in mind, I shall be glad to receive particulars of it.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty whether the usual or any gratuity is payable to the dependants or relatives of Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve officers attached to the Royal Marines who may fall at the front; and, if not, whether he can establish a system of awards placing these officers on a similar basis to Territorial officers in the Regular Army?

I understand that my hon. Friend is referring to the gra- tuities which, under Article 497 of the. Royal Warrant for the Pay of the Army, are payable to Territorial Officers under certain conditions on the termination of their service during the War, or to the estates of such of them as may die during their service; if so, I may say that there is no authority to pay any similar gratuities to officers of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve or to temporary officers of the Royal Marines or to their estates in the event of their death on service. I ought to remind my hon. Friend that in the event of disablement on war service, or in the event of death, such officers, their widows, children, and other dependent relatives, are, of course, eligible for awards of pension or gratuity on the scales and subject to the conditions applicable to officers of relative rank in the Navy and. Army generally.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty if he is aware that the present scale of compensation for dependants of seamen lost at sea was drafted in 1915; if he is aware that since then wages and bonuses of all classes have increased to meet the increased cost of living, which is estimated to be 50 per cent.; and if he will see that the scale of compensation to dependants of seamen is increased by a similar amount and that seamen's lives are insured for £1,000?

The members of the mercantile marine engaged for and paid by the Admiralty are eligible for the same benefits as the rest of the mercantile marine. The hon. Member is wrong in saying that the scheme of compensation remains the same as when originally promulgated in 1915. Since then the minimum pension to widows and allowances to children have been increased as follows:Widow's pension:£26 a year to £35 16s. 11d. a year.Allowances for children:£6 10s. a year up to 4,

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether there are well over a hundred men in the Guards at Chelsea Barracks who are unfit for service, and are never likely to be fit for service, who have not been fit for months past to do any drill, and who have, in fact, with the exception of a few odd jobs, done, and are doing, nothing; and what is the cost to the country of retaining each of such men in the Army?

All men surplus to requirements are reported on the first of each month and at intervals during the month as they accumulate. They are then inspected and disposed of by transfer to other corps. At the last Return at the end of January ninety-one men were shown in categories B 2 and B 3; forty-five of these have been sent to other corps; thirty-five will be tested at their trades next week, and the remaining eleven are earmarked for agriculture and substitution. During December and January seventy men have been discharged as medically unfit.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office what pay and allowances have been paid to sisters and nurses of Queen Alexandra's Imperial Nursing Reserve who have served or who are serving with the British forces at Salonika; whether in or about February, 1916, their allowances were reduced in breach of the contracts under which they were serving; and whether a number of sisters and nurses who have no private means have been obliged to resign owing to their inability to meet their necessary expenditure on the pay and allowances given them?

The pay and allowances of these nurses are as follow:

Pay:	£		£
Sisters	50	to	65	per annum.
Nurses	40	to	45	per annum.

Since 1st November, 1916, they have received an addition of £20 a year, if under engagement to serve as long as required. They also receive board and lodging allowance, 25s a week; uniform allowance, £9 a year; field allowance, 3s. a day, together with accommodation, fuel, and light. For some time, and by error, a money allowance in lieu of lodging, fuel, and light was paid to them, in addition to the provision of lodging, fuel, and light in kind. They were not entitled to it, and it was stopped from 1st February, 1916.

asked the Under-Secretary for War if his attention has been drawn to the frequent complaints that are made by soldiers serving in the Salonika force with regard to the difficulty in getting any leave; whether he is aware that there are men who have served in that force for nearly three years, and in. some cases have been in hospital through fever and wounds, without having any leave whatever; and whether he will make representations to the military authorities on this subject?

I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer given on the 16th January to my right hon. Friend the Member for South Molten.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether Tom Thomas, No. 132, No. 1, Western Company, Non-Combatant Corps, 13, British Expeditionary Force, with six others of the same Company, is under arrest in France awaiting court-martial; if so, what is the nature of their offence; and whether it is proposed to deal with them under Army Order 10?

I regret that I have no information on this matter.

asked the Home Secretary whether Charles W. Gooding, a conscientious objector, is confined to Wormwood Scrubs; whether this man has been certified by no less than six doctors, including a heart specialist, to be suffering from valvular disease of the heart, enlarged heart, and other complaints; and whether this man will be given his discharge?

I am advised that this prisoner's health has considerably improved since his reception in prison, and afford 3 no sufficient justification for discharge?

asked the Home Secretary whether, in view of the fact that the firing of maroons is liable to create a panic leading to loss of life, being frequently mistaken for the firing of antiaircraft guns, he will once more consider the desirability of giving warnings of coming air raids by means of syrens or police rattles, or otherwise?

It is true that on Monday Last a regrettable loss of life was caused by a panic which occurred among some aliens in the East End, but I do not think that this affords sufficient reason for abandon- ing the use of the sound warnings by day and in the evenings. These warnings were urgently called for by many public authorities and by a large section of the public in London, and there can be no doubt that they have saved life by the prompt clearing of the streets. Syrens have been tried, but they cannot be heard because of noise of the traffic in those streets where the danger would be greatest, and rattles are less effective than the police whistles already used. It would be very undesirable to change the system of warning, especially now that most people have learned to recognise the sound of the maroons.