asked the Prime Minister what methods, other than those of peaceful persuasion, he proposes to adopt in the shipbuilding yards to ensure greater activity and earnestness among employers who do hot play their part and employés who down tools or go slow?

I can add nothing to the statement which the First Lord of the Admiralty made on Tuesday last.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in view of the fact that compensation has been refused to owners of feeding stuffs where stocks in terms of the Cattle Feeding Cake and Millers Offals (Maximum Prices) Order, 1917, dated 1st November, 1917, cannot be realised except at a loss, whether he will be prepared to authorise the Board of Inland Revenue to permit owners whose financial year terminated on or before 31st October to value these stocks for purposes of Income Tax and Excess Profits Duty at the prices fixed by the Food Controller less the allowance to be made to dealers?

If I understand the hon. Member's question aright, the ordinary principles governing the computation of liability to Income Tax and Excess Profits Duty would appear fully to meet these cases. As regards sales only, the prices actually realised would, of course, come into the trader's account; and as regards stock on hand at the date of making up the account, it is open to the trader to value upon the basis of the then market price as an alternative to actual cost price.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in connection with the recent promotion of an assistant clerk in the National Education Office to a second division clerkship, he will state how many years' service this assistant clerk has, and if he had been doing the work usually assigned to the second division clerks; how many assistant clerks senior in service have been passed over, and if the majority of these are at present, and have been for a number of years, doing the work usually performed by second division clerks; how many assistant clerks senior to the one promoted are at present on military service, and if their claims were taken into consideration and those of clerks of the higher divisions in the service; whether the promoted assistant clerk is still being employed at the work in which he was engaged while he was an assistant clerk, and, as he has not been assigned to a second division vacancy, of which there are several in the National Education Office, what is the necessity for his promotion; whether, subsequent to his discharge from the Army, this clerk was engaged at clerical work in a London office; and, if so, what were the special circumstances responsible for his transfer to the Education Office?

Due consideration was given to the claims for promotion of all the assistant clerks in the employment of the Commissioners of National Education, and the clerk recommended for advancement was deemed to be the best qualified for promotion. Since his discharge from the Army in consequence of serious wounds the clerk selected for promotion has been continuously employed in the Office of National Education.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Treasury are going to pay out of the Grant to East Coast towns any sums of money to make up the trading losses upon certain East Coast local authority electric supply or other trading undertakings; and, if so, has he taken into consideration the fact that this will bear most inequitably on the electric supply undertakings in other East Coast towns which have made similar losses, but, through being under private ownership, will not only have to bear those losses but also have to contribute more heavily towards the rates, as such towns will not get so large a Grant owing to its being used to make up the trading losses of other East Coast towns?

My right hon. Friend has asked me to reply to this question. The Treasury made special Grants of £70,000 last year and in the present year to the local authorities of watering places upon the East Coast towards meeting the liabilities of the authorities upon the understanding that the Grant would be apportioned by a committee of the towns according to their several needs. The Grants have been allocated by a committee of towns and have been distributed by the Local Government Board in accordance with that allocation.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware that payment of the war bonus awarded by the Conciliation and Arbitration Board for Government employé's as from the 17th December last is being withheld from the temporary technical and clerical staffs employed in the General Valuation office, Dublin, while payment is being made to similar classes in other Departments; and whether, inasmuch as the non-payment of the bonus is causing hardship and discontent amongst the staffs mentioned, he will issue instructions to have the bonus paid immediately to the officers concerned?

The war bonus referred to was awarded to permanent —established or unestablished — employés, but not to temporary employés. The term "permanent" has usually been applied only to established staff, and a misunderstanding arose owing to the special significance given to it by the Conciliation and Arbitration Board. Instructions have now been given for the payment of the bonus to the unestablished staff, and I am obliged to the hon. Member for calling my attention to the matter.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury if the Treasury will sanction the extension of the exhibition of Irish building industries and manufacturers in the National Museum in Dublin to the limited extent proposed by the Joint Committee on Native Materials of Dublin, in view of the need for preparation to re-establish the building industry in Ireland on the conclusion of the War?

No proposals on the subject referred to in the question have been laid before the Treasury, and I am consequently unable to make any statement on the matter.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury, with regard to the local taxation account and the capitation Grant of 4s. per week for the maintenance of pauper lunatics in Ireland, to what extent the War has affected the ability of the local taxation account to meet the charges on it, and what proportion of the Grant this account will be capable of discharging in the years ending 31st March, 1918 and 1919, respectively?

The annual income of the branch of the local taxation account, from which the capitation Grant in aid of the maintenance of pauper lunatics is defrayed, consists of the proceeds of local taxation licence duties collected in Ireland in the previous year and a fixed Grant of £79,000. For the five years 1909–10 to 1913–14 the average amount of the licence duties was £212,916, and for the four years 1914–16 to 1917–18 the average of these duties was £211,052. Owing to the insufficiency of income of the account in the present financial year to meet in full the charges payable there out, it has become necessary under Section 58 (5) of the Local Government (Ireland) Act, 1898, to abate the charges by 12.27 per cent. The insufficiency of income of the account which arose for the first time in 1911–12 is not due to the decline since 1914 in receipts during the War, but to the growth for many years past of the charges against the account, mainly in connection with the cost of maintenance of the insane poor. The condition of the account in 1918–19 and its ability to bear the charges against it cannot at present be estimated.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether he has received a communication from the Irish Cattle Traders and Stock Owners Association requesting that every owner of Irish cattle holding a dealer's licence be free to sell to whom he pleases, that every meat trader holding a permit from the Food Controller should be entitled to purchase up to his permitted number from whom he pleases, that the flat rate should not apply to Irish cattle except that where the cross-Channel freight as well as the 7s. 6d. due to the seller refunded to him out of the flat-rate fund, no further objections would be offered to that rate; whether any reply has been sent, and how the matter now stands?

The communication referred to by the hon. Member does not appear to have been received by the Ministry of Food, but the question as to what regulations should be made respecting the shipment of Irish cattle and meat to England is at present under consideration by the Food Controller, in consultation with the Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction for Ireland. It is hoped that it may be possible to make a more definite statement with regard to this matter at an early date.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether he has received a resolution from associations of butchers in London protesting against the action of the Ministry in bringing into operation the rationing scheme without issuing the new schedule of prices agreed to by the Ministry as the just claim of the trade, in view of the increased labour involved, and complaining further that the Ministry has not placed lean cows in a grade by themselves as boners at a price equitable to their food value as originally agreed upon; and, if so, whether he will make a statement with a view to meeting the complaints that have been made?

The resolution in question has only just been received by the Ministry of Food, and will be acknowledged in due course. The new schedule of prices referred to was issued at the earliest possible moment, and came into operation on the 4th March. The question of the price of cattle fit only for boning is at present under consideration as part of an Amending Order dealing with cattle sales, which it is hoped to issue at an early date.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether each person buying meat at Birkenhead must have a permit or authorisation of some sort from his Department; whether all meat bought there for dispatch to London must be bought on behalf of the Wholesale Association of Smithfield; if these are the only buyers permitted, how can his Department repudiate responsibility for the condition of the tuberculous beef sent to London; whether his agents took advantage of the illness of the Birkenhead meat inspector to send this rubbish to London; and whether he proposes to suspend the guilty persons from any ether operations in the Birkenhead market?

The answers to the first, second, and fourth parts of the question are in the negative; the remainder does not, therefore, arise.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food if he will withdraw the Order that has been issued compelling the owners of young pigs to sell by live weight in view of its injustice to them, as, seeing that these pigs only weigh from about 30 to 60 lbs., by withdrawing the Order the people would obtain more money for them?

The question of raising the limit of weight within which young pigs for store purposes may be sold free of the maximum price is being considered, and it is hoped to make an announcement on the subject at an early date.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food if he is aware that on the 19th of February there were 206 dead pigs for sale in Enniskillen market and on the 26th of February 185 pigs, and that on the 5th of March there were only 15 pigs exposed for sale; if he is aware that this short supply is caused by the last Order of the Food Controller, as the people refuse to slaughter their pigs under the new control prices; and if the Food Controller will withdraw the Order and allow the people to sell their pigs in the open market without any control price, as by doing so the markets will regulate their own prices?

The Pigs (Maximum Prices) Order was made on the 6th November, 1917, and the maximum price for pigs has not been altered since that date. The diminution in the supply of pigs at Enniskillen as between February and March, 1918, to which the hon. Member refers is not, therefore, due to the cause suggested. The Food Controller cannot undertake to withdraw the Order or revoke the maximum price for pigs; he will, however, consider the advisability of permitting a slight increase in the maximum price.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food if the Food Controller has ordered that no extra butter ration would be authorised except for individuals suffering from diabetes and tuberculosis; and if he is aware that persons suffering from a certain form of indigestion must die unless they are able to carry out their doctors orders, and assurances have been given by those high in authority that they would receive a permit?

On the advice of a Committee of Reference of the Royal Colleges of Physicians and Surgeons and of the Central Medical War Committee, it has been decided by the Ministry of Food that, for the time being, extra allowances of butter and margarine can only be made to invalids suffering from tuberculosis, diabetes (glycosuria), coeliac disease, or pancreatic insufficiency. It is improbable that a committee composed largely of medical men in extensive consulting practice would have overlooked any form of indigestion such as that to which the hon. Member refers, but if he states the nature of it special inquiry can be made.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food why, under the compulsory rationing scheme, the German prisoners of war in this country are to be allowed the same quantity of meat per head as the agricultural labourer?

It is proposed to allow the agricultural labourer a supplementary ration of meat. Prisoners of war can procure no substitutes, and their rations have been cut down to the utmost extent consistent with the standard of physical efficiency which; in the opinion of the medical officers, is essential for the satisfactory performance of work.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether he is aware of the difficulty in securing allotments adjacent to or within the Cork city boundary for those who are willing to till them; and what steps it is proposed to take to meet the necessities of those who are willing to assist in the production of home-grown food supplies?

I would refer the hon. and gallant Member to the reply given to his question on the 25th February, and add that the application of the Corporation of Cork for compulsory powers for allotments is being inquired into at present.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether he is aware of the desire of many persons willing to undertake land cultivation that a suitable portion of Phoenix Park should be given for allotments; whether, under the Defence of the Realm Act, any technical or legal obstacles can be overcome; and whether he can state what the Government intend to do in respect to the allocation of public land for public purposes in Phoenix Park?

It was decided last year that the Phoenix Park could not be made available for allotments. Some Crown lands in the neighbourhood of the Park were, however, made available, and this represents the limit to which public lands can be secured for this purpose.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether his attention has been called to resolutions of public bodies in county Clare, including the Urban District Council and the Rural District Council of Kilrush, calling attention to the fact that whereas uneconomic tenants who comply with the Tillage Regulations have not sufficient grass for their dairy cattle large grass ranches in the neighbourhood are left in the possession of landlords who till only a small portion; and whether, in view of the seriousness of the food question and the necessity of removing causes of complaint, he will advise that these grass ranches be taken over for sub-division among the tenants?

A copy of the resolution adopted by the Kilrush Urban District Council has been forwarded to the Department of Agriculture. The question of the sub-division of grass lands among tenants is not a matter for the Department. The powers in connection with the compulsory Tillage Regulations are confined to securing the cultivation of land for food production, and they do not contemplate the permanent possession or division of land. The compulsory Tillage Regulations are being enforced in county Clare and throughout Ireland, and the Department of Agriculture have entered upon lands of large extent where the Regulations were not complied with. Arrangements for similar entries in other cases are being made. It is a serious hindrance to such entries under statutory authority wherever unlawful entries are made upon lands in any district concerned.

asked the President of the Board of Agriculture what is the average cost of ploughing, per acre, by Government-owned tractor, by privately-owned tractor, by steam plough (two-engine system), and by pair-horsed plough, respectively?

The cost of ploughing, whether by horse or mechanical powers, varies so greatly with the class and condition of the land, that no average estimate of the comparative cost per acre throughout the country can be given.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether he has considered the application of Mrs. Kearny; whether he is aware that the authorities concerned promised consideration; and whether, in view of her statement of fact, he will now have the claim granted?

I presume this claim is one made to the Property Losses Committee. There were several claimants named Kearny, and if the hon. Member will furnish fuller particulars inquiry will be made.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether the Commissioners of National Education, at their special meeting on the 28th December last, recommended to the Treasury that those assistant teachers who are in receipt of the bonus of £9 and capitation of £8 15s. and who are to be deprived of these amounts under the proposed new scheme, should be paid amounts in lieu of these sums; if the Treasury has sanctioned these payments; whether he is aware that these amounts were granted under an Act passed in 1892; and if this was one of the chief objections to the proposed new scheme for education in Ireland?

The new grade salaries for assistant teachers, as recommended by the Irish Government to and approved by the Treasury, were based on the assumption that the bonus additions to salaries formerly payable under the Irish Educa- tion Act, 1892, would become incorporated with the new grade salaries. The Government were advised that there is no legal obligation to pay these bonuses in addition to the new grade salaries.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether his attention has been called to certain statements on behalf of conscientious objectors confined in Mount joy Prison, Dublin, by a Mr. James Douglas, of Wexford Street, Dublin, in which complaints were made as to the insufficiency and want to variety of the diet, the uncleanness of the food, and the absence of proper bedding and bathing and sanitary arrangements in the prison; whether any inquiry has been made as to the truth of these allegations; and, if so, will he state the result of such inquiry?

Two independent inquiries have been held into the statements made on behalf of the conscientious objectors lately confined in Mountjoy Prison. One was conducted by the medical member of the General Prisons Board; the other by a sub-committee of the visiting justices of the prison. The statements referred to were found to be without any substantial foundation.

asked the Home Secretary whether the conscientious objector at Princetown who shot another conscientious objector with a revolver and absconded from the works centre shortly after the occurrence happened has been recalled to military service?

On the 8th December last the Committee on Employment of Conscientious Objectors requested the Army Council to recall this man from Army Reserve W to His unit. I have no information as to what has since happened to him, and any question, on this point should be addressed to the War Office.

asked the Home Secretary in what way the letter written by W. J. Greene, lately of the works centre, Wakefield, which is said to be a violation of Rule 12 of the Home Office Regulations, violated that Rule; and whether the expression of views on political questions in a private letter is regarded by the Home Office Committee as contravening the Rule against participation in public propaganda?

The letter contained propaganda, and suggestions for propaganda relating to the War; and it was for this reason, and not because of any expression of opinion on political questions, that the Committee recommended Greene's recall.

asked the Home Secretary if the Home Office Committee on Work for Conscientious Objectors has received a petition from the men employed upon the scheme at the Alsop Moor Camp, near Ashbourne, Derbyshire, in which very specific charges are made against the agent and the sub-agent, and in which a request is made for an inquiry into these charges; and whether, in view of the state of affairs there, he is prepared to grant a full and impartial inquiry into the matter?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. An inquiry has been held on behalf of the Committee on Employment of Conscientious Objectors, and having regard to the facts ascertained at the inquiry the men under the control of the Committee employed by the Buxton lime firms at Alsop and elsewhere are being withdrawn.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he has received by registered letter a request from Mr. C. H. Norman asking if the Foreign Secretary is prepared to issue a passport to Mr. Norman as a person employed under the Committee on Employment of Conscientious Objectors; what reply has been returned to that letter; and whether the Foreign Office is prepared to entertain applications for passports from conscientious objectors employed under this Committee who desire to leave England?

Mr. Norman's application for a passport was refused in accordance with the usual rule applying to persons liable to military service. With regard to the latter part of the question, each application would be considered on its merits, but I would point out that a person not exempt from military service could not in any case be given a passport.

asked the Under-secretary of State for War if he has received a communication from a solicitor acting on behalf of Arthur Wood, of Accrington Road, Blackburn, who is now Private A. Wood, No. 124448, 3rd class air mechanic, Overseas Section, Royal Flying Corps; whether, in view of the fact that in January last the Ministry of Munitions made a claim to the Ministry of National Service for this man's retention in his employment as a goldbeater's skin maker, in which he was engaged exclusively upon work for the Admiralty, acting upon which request the Ministry of National Service issued instructions to the recruiting officer at Preston to suspend the calling-up notice; whether, in view of the further fact that the Ministry of National Service informed the Ministry of Munitions that the recruiting officer concerned had been instructed not to call up Wood until the 12th August, 1918, this man was called up for service and passed into the Royal Flying Corps; and, in view of all these facts and the indispensable nature of the man's civil employment, will he give instructions that this man should be returned to his employment at once?

Private Wood was due to report for military service on 14th January last, and was regularly called up and posted to the Royal Flying Corps on 28th January. The application for his retention was not lodged with the Ministry of Munitions until 18th January, and was not forwarded to the Ministry of National Service until 31st January.

asked the Secretary to the Admiralty whether he is aware that a claim for increased wages has been submitted to the Admiralty by the Workers' Union on behalf of their members employed in His Majesty's dockyards; whether, owing to the refusal of the Admiralty to submit the points in difference to arbitration, he is aware that the executive committee of the Workers' Union has had to sanction their members presenting notices to cease work; and whether, having regard to the general policy of the Government since the beginning of the War in advising workpeople and employers to have their differences in the wages claim settled by arbitration, steps will be taken to carry out the same policy in respect to the existing wages claim of the members of the Workers' Union employed in His Majesty's dockyards?

The answers to the first two parts of the question are in the affirmative. As regards the last part of the question, it is not the desire of the Admiralty to refuse arbitration when general differences arise between them and their employés as to their conditions of service, but before arbitration can be agreed to in any particular instance, it is necessary to establish the fact that the persons applying for arbitration are entitled to represent the classes of employés whom they claim to represent. The delay in agreeing to arbitration in the particular cases referred to in my hon. Friend's question is due to the fact that it is doubtful whether the Workers' Union can claim to represent the employéson whose behalf they have put forward the claims, other bodies having claimed to represent the same classes. Steps are being taken to clear up this question of representation, and there will be no delay in submitting the claims to arbitration once the question of representations has been satisfactorily settled.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War how many officers of his Department are entitled to use motor cars provided by the Department for the purpose of bringing them from their homes to the office, taking them out to lunch, and taking them home; how much petrol is consumed weekly on service of this kind; and whether, in view of the appeal recently issued by the Petrol Committee to economise petrol, he will have the waste of cars, petrol, and drivers caused by this service at once discontinued?

The use of all War Department cars is strictly regulated by Army Council Instruction, which enjoins, inter alia, that no motor vehicle, car ambulance, lorry, or bicycle will be used without special authority of the General Officer Commanding on any but strictly military duty. No cars are allotted for the specific purposes referred to in the question, and every precaution is a ready taken to prevent waste.

asked the Undersecretary of State for War whether, when a soldier serving in India has been recommended for a commission and on account of age is not eligible to receive one in the Indian Army, arrangements will be made that he shall be transferred from India in order that he may obtain his due recognition and be granted a commission?

Any soldier who is ineligible on account of age for a commission in the Indian Army, but conforms in all respects to the qualifications necessary for a temporary commission in the British Army, can, if recommended by his Commanding Officer and the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief in India, be sent home for admission to an officer cadet unit to train for commissioned rank, though, if he is a candidate for an Infantry commission, he would normally be sent for his course of training to the officer cadet unit which now exists in India for the purpose of training candidates for that arm. The same procedure applies in the case of the grant of a permanent commission in the Regular Army to soldiers serving on normal Army engagements, with the exception that, if the recommendation of the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief in India is approved, the soldier is not sent home for further training.

asked the Undersecretary of State for War what is the cause of the delay in the issue of half-fare railway travelling vouchers to members of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps when proceeding home on leave, seeing that this concession was promised in November last?

My hon. Friend will realise that as the administration of the railways does not rest with the War Office, the detailed arrangements for the issue of these half-fare vouchers to the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps have necessarily taken some time to complete. The matter has now been arranged, and instructions will shortly be issued.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that there are many subaltern officers in training reserve battalions desirous of serving on one of the various fronts who have not had an opportunity of so doing since they received their commissions, often more than two years ago; that these officers, because they happened to be in hospital, or on courses, or otherwise, when they were originally ordered overseas, seem to have been overlooked in after drafts when they were available; and will he take steps to utilise without delay the services of such men?

I can assure the hon. Member that these officers have not been overlooked. All fit officers are sent out as soon as their services are available.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War if he is aware of a staff of between sixty and seventy clerks in the Infantry Record Office, Dublin, the majority only receive 30s. weekly, plus 2s. war bonus and 2s. overtime, total 34s., and that between eight and nine clerks receive 33s., plus 4s. war bonus, total 37s., and when they are to receive a war bonus, and if the same will be made retrospective; if he is aware that these clerks receive no weekly half-holiday such as is enjoyed by other military offices in the city; and when is this half-holiday to be granted?

Instructions have recently been issued which affect the pay of some of these clerks. I am not aware of any reason why these clerks should not have a weekly half-holiday when the state of the work admits it, provided that the regulated number of hours' work in the week is completed.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War if he can announce the decision of the Arbitration Board into the claims for increased wages of civilian clerks in the Army Pay Department and Record Office in Dublin?

Instructions were issued last Friday.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether the employés at the Royal Arsenal Army Ordnance Department, Woolwich, have been paid the 12½ per cent. bonus; and, if so, whether the same privilege will be extended to the employés at His Majesty's Gun Wharf, Devonport?

War Department workmen at both these stations have been granted this privilege.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he can definitely state that any arrangements are being made, in consideration of the bad climate of Mesopotamia, the changes of temperature from the bitter cold of 29 degrees to the heat of 130 degrees, and the increase of fevers, jaundice, and cholera in the hot weather, to replace any units of troops which have already withstood two hot weathers in successive years by units at present cantoned in the healthy conditions of Indian military stations?

Arrangements are in hand which will materially reduce the number of units which have been in Mesopotamia for two hot weathers, but the present scarcity of shipping precludes the regular replacement of whole units in Mesopotamia by those in India. The General Officer Commanding in Chief grants such leave as he finds possible, giving preference to those who have been in Mesopotamia for two hot weathers, but this privilege is bound to depend on the military situation at the time and the availability of transport. The improvement of general conditions in Mesopotamia has resulted in a large decrease in sickness, especially in enteric, malaria, dysentery, and cholera. Except during the height of the hot weather the climatic conditions about Bagdad compare very favourably with those in India.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether any test of skill was made of the men of the Army Service Corps (Motor Transport) before they were transferred to the Infantry from the mechanical department for which they had been definitely engaged; if so, what was that test, was it physical or on mechanical skill, and, if the latter, what method was adopted; and was the same rule applied to men who had been three years at the base and who had been Government taught as to the others?

The men transferred from the Army Service Corps were selected primarily on account of their physical fitness for service with a combatant unit. I am not aware whether any difference was made between men who had been Government taught and other category A men of the Army Service Corps, but as the transfers were made on medical grounds, I think it may be assumed that no such difference was made.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he is aware of the feeling prevailing among trade unionists generally, including those who are at present serving in His Majesty's Forces, at the continuance in force of the Army Council Regulations which forbids a soldier on leave of absence to attend a meeting of any trade union to which he might belong; and whether, therefore, he will advise the Army Council to amend the Regulation referred to so as to permit any soldier on leave of absence to attend his trade union branch meeting without any fear of punishment?

My hon. Friend is under a misapprehension. As I informed my right hon. Friend the Member for Deptford on the 17th December last, the provisions of paragraph 451 of the King's Regulations are not intended to prevent soldiers attending meetings of their trades union, provided such meetings are not specially convened for the purpose of discussing political matters.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether any change has been made in the command of the Labour Battalions on the Western Front; whether the general who has been so successful has been given another post; and, if so, why this was done and who is now in charge of the labour work in France?

I understand that the facts are as stated by my hon. Friend as regards the command of these battalions, but that the reorganisation has been carried out in the interests of efficiency of labour. The brigadier-general lately in charge, who was no longer required under the new scheme, has been appointed Controller of Salvage.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether he can now state the result of his inquiries into the position of dispensers in military hospitals as regards their claim to a war bonus?

Revised rates have been fixed as from the 1st January last. The necessary instructions were issued on the 8th instant.

asked the Undersecretary of State for War whether the grant of the silver badge is given to Army chaplains who have been in the campaigns on the occasion of their being invalided from wounds or sickness or on their retirement, or whether any other recognition of active service is given?

An Army chaplain who has served since 5th August, 1914, and who has relinquished his commission or appointment on account of physical disabilities which render him permanently unfit for further military service, is eligible for the award of the Silver War Badge. This badge is in no sense a" commemorative medal," and is not given as a mark of recognition of active service. It is a distinctive mark to show that those who have served during the War are physically incapable of rendering further military service.

asked the Undersecretary of State for War if he is aware that a motor dental surgery has been presented to the British troops by the Silver Thimble Fund; and, if so, whether any official recognition has been made of the value and usefulness of the gift provided by the ladies associated with that fund?

These motor dental surgeries are officially recognised as "Mobile Dental Units," and are affording valuable assistance in the dental treatment of the troops in the field. The motor dental surgery presented by the Silver Thimble Fund was taken over by the War Office on the 8th March, and will be des patched without delay to France, where, I can assure my hon. Friend, its value and usefulness will be highly appreciated.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether the lenders of private houses rent free for the purpose of Red Cross hospitals, whose premise shave borne the wear and tear of hospital work, in some cases for over three years, will have such houses placed in their pre-hospital condition at the expense of the War Office when no longer required; and, having regard to the reluctance of many owners who can ill afford to pay for such repairs themselves to make any claim, will he consider the propriety of making an official announcement on this matter?

Apart from the maintenance Grants paid by the War Office, the finances of Red Cross hospitals are based not upon public funds but upon the Red Cross funds to which, as the hon. and gallant Member knows, the public has subscribed with exemplary liberality for the purpose of aiding the sick and wounded in this and other ways.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office if he will make some inquiry into the reason why the new scale of pay has not yet been given to the men of C Company, 3rd G.B., Royal Welsh Fusiliers, Wexford, Ireland; and will he have this matter rectified?

Inquiries into this case are being made, and the hon. Member will be informed of the result as soon as possible.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether a Regulation has been issued that no soldier in the ranks who has served abroad may apply for a commission until he has become a full corporal; and, if so, will he state the date on which the Regulation came into force?

My hon. Friend Is under a misapprehension. No such Regulation has been issued. The Field-Marshal Commanding-in-Chief, Home Forces, is asked periodically to select candidates for admission into officer cadet units with a view to their being trained for commissioned rank. These candidates would normally be selected from among those who have already given proof of their leadership by having been selected for non-commissioned rank. Privates who possess technical or educational qualifications for special arms may, however, be selected, as also may privates who have had experience at the front and show special qualifications for holding a temporary commission.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether the attention of his Department has been called to the waste of time caused to clerks in the Army Pay offices in London through being compelled to attend at Mill bank Hospital in the event of their reporting sick and often having to wait six or seven hours before seeing the medical officer; and whether he will consider the possibility of arranging for the medical officer to visit the Army Pay offices periodically?

I have called for a Report on this matter, and will communicate with the hon. Member later.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office how many copies of Army Form 3,529 were printed, how many were issued to men for signature, and how many of this latter number were returned signed; also the latest date borne by any of these signed forms?

I regret this information is not available.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office if he is aware of the dissatisfaction caused by the ruling that the war pay of 3d. a day is not to apply to men serving in the Royal Defence Corps; that this payment has been made to such men since September, 1917, and that they are now called upon to refund the amount; why the payment was made and why it has been stopped; and, if a mistake has been made, will he consider the hardship imposed on men who now find themselves in debt through no fault of their own, and endeavour to arrive at some better arrangement?

I am making inquiry into this, and will communicate with my hon. Friend.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether extensive buildings in the Loch Doone district, originally intended for aerodromes and for the use of the Air Service, are being demolished because they are found to be useless; if so, why these buildings could not have been used for hospitals or other similar purposes; and whether he could state the amount of public money wasted upon them?

As far as possible the huts and buildings not now required at Loch Doone are being removed to other places where they are urgently needed. It is not yet possible to ascertain the net expenditure incurred on buildings at Loch Doone.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office if he is aware that the Civil Liabilities Association have been reducing the dependants' allowance since the Government decided to pay the soldiers' allotments; if he can give any reason why the association in question is reducing the dependants' allowance; and if he will take action in the matter?

I have been asked to answer this question. It is not the practice of the Civil Liabilities Committee to reduce any grants they have made on account of the Government having decided to pay the soldier's allotment. If the hon. Member can send me particulars of any case in which it is suggested that this has been done, I shall be very glad to look into it.

asked the Home Secretary whether the Proportional Representation Commissioners will hold any inquiries in connection with Liverpool; and, if so, will political associations, municipal authorities, public men, and voters generally be entitled to give evidence or express opinions upon any scheme which may be proposed?

; I understand that a local inquiry is to be held at Liverpool and that at this inquiry, as at all other inquiries proposed to be held by the Commissioners, an opportunity will be afforded to all persons interested to attend and be heard.

asked the Home Secretary whether the Commissioners appointed under the Representation of the People Act to suggest a scheme for applying proportional representation to 100 selected constituencies have sent out emissaries to ascertain local views on this question; whether these emissaries have been sympathetically received; and whether they have discovered in any of the constituencies visited that there exists any great knowledge of the subject or any real desire on the part of the electors to be included in the scheme?

I am informed that the Commissioners propose to ascertain local feeling with regard to the application of proportional representation in those areas which they select for the purpose by means of local inquiries, of which due notice will be given in the locality. None of those inquiries have yet been held.

asked the Home Secretary what Dominions are concerned in the proposed Bill giving power to denaturalised alien enemies; when they were first approached for their assent, which is now outstanding; and when he hopes to introduce the Bill?

All the self-governing Dominions and also India are concerned in the Bill to amend the British Nationality and Status of Aliens Act. The matter was before the Imperial War Conference in April last, and drafts of the Bill were circulated to the Dominions in May and Again in September. I understand that Canada and Australia, whose replies are still outstanding, have recently been urged to expedite them, and I hope to introduce the Bill very shortly.

asked the Home Secretary whether he has taken any and, if so, what steps to carry out the arrangement arrived at in the Debate in this House on the 17th December last, that no male German enemy alien should be allowed to remain uninterned except for definitely national as opposed to personal reasons, subject to the proviso that marriage to an English woman and the possession of sons in our Army should be considered a national reason?

I would refer the hon. Member to my answer to his question on the 30th January last. In the Debate on the 17th December I explained the principles on which I had acted with regard to the internment or repatriation of alien enemies, and since that date constant vigilance has been exercised in the application of these principles.

asked how many interned alien enemies have been removed from this country since the 1st January, 1917; and what are the good reasons for which any male prisoner is retained here?

About 3,200 German and Austrian prisoners of war have been either repatriated to Germany or sent for internment in Holland since the 1st January, 1917. About 1,000 more are waiting their turn for removal. The great majority of the remainder are retained in this country because they are men of military age and fit for service in the enemy forces.

asked the Home Secretary whether he has any statistics as to the number of naturalised Germans still resi- dent at Folkestone, where so much traffic with France takes place; and how many aliens and Belgians are now in that town?

The number of naturalised British subjects of German origin at present residing at Folkestone is six. The number of aliens, including British-born women married to aliens, is 1,178, of whom 849 are Belgians, 104 are French, 75 are Italians, and none are Germans. The majority of the male Belgians are in the employment of the Belgian Government.

asked the Home Secretary whether he is aware that wives of officers in His Majesty's Navy and Army and also in the merchant service are being constantly subjected to increased demands for rent and compelled to quit the houses of which they are tenants; and whether it is proposed to introduce legislation extending the operation of the Increase of Rent and Mortgage Interest Act to houses of a greater annual value than £26 in the provinces?

This question is under consideration.

asked the Home Secretary whether his attention has been drawn to the objection taken by the squire of Kingsey, Mr. Philip J. D. Wykeham, of Tythrop House, Kingsey, Thame, Oxfordshire, to an arrangement come to with certain villagers for their taking in poor children from London districts whose homes are within the air-raid zone and his claim to have the right of vetoing any children being sent to Kingsey at any time without his permission; and, if so, whether he will cause suitable action to be taken?

I have no knowledge of this matter, but I am causing inquiry to be made.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that on air-raid nights certain London suburban railway companies decline to run any extra or late trains in order to convey their passengers who have been delayed by having to take cover, and, as a result, many people have had difficulties to reach their homes in London suburbs and the Horde counties; and will he ask the Railway Executive Committee to issue instructions that special trains shall be run after the all-clear is sounded so that passengers may be able to leave London?

In reply to a letter from the hon. Gentleman, a copy of a communication from one of the London railway companies on this subject was sent to him on the 8th March This communication showed that the company in question are taking steps to meet such difficulties as those referred to. I am taking up the matter generally with the Railway Executive Committee, and will communicate with the hon. Gentleman further.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware of the fact that the permanent weighers in the Surrey Commercial Docks have been unable to obtain the overtime pay and pay for Sunday work granted recently to other transport workers, and have been on several occasions asked by the dock officials to accept compensation leave in lieu of overtime pay, which they refused to agree to; and whether, in view of the fact that these permanent weighers have an average of thirty years' service and are only eleven in number, he will take action in order to meet their case?

I am informed that the overtime pay and pay for Sunday work to which the hon. and gallant Member refers was granted by the Port of London authority to labourers only. The weighers do not come under the category of "labourers" in the authority's classification of their employés, but are members of the Lower Division Staff who do not receive payment for overtime, but are allowed compensation leave instead. The matter is not one in regard to which the Board of Trade possess any powers.

asked (1) the Minister of Reconstruction if he can make any statement as to when the second and third Reports of the Whitley Commission will be issued to Members of the House of Commons; if these Reports have already been issued to any other persons; and, it so, to whom and on what dates; and (2) the Minister of Labour if he can yet make any statement as to when the second and third Reports of the Whitley Commission will be issued to Members of the House of Commons; if these Report have already been issued to any other persons; and, if so, to whom and on what dates?

As regards the publication of the second and third Reports of the Whitley Committee, I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given on the 6th March by the Chancellor of the Exchequer to the hon. Member for Rotherhithe, in which it was stated that these Reports had been laid on the Table on the previous day and would be in the hands of hon. Members as soon as they could be printed. In reply to the latter part of the question, the Reports have so far been issued only for Departmental use and to members of the Committee.

asked the Secretary for Scotland if he is aware that dissatisfaction exists in Scotland with the progress which is being made with the formation of wages boards for the settlement of the minimum wage for farm servants; and when the Committee concerned with Caithness will be likely to commence its labours?

No, Sir; I am not aware of any such dissatisfaction. All possible progress has been made, committees having already been formed for all but the two Northern districts. The district in which Caithness is comprised is partly insular, and under existing conditions this fact has led to some delay, I am informed, however, that the arrangements are now nearly complete.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury if the Treasury will consider the claims of Irish County Court assistants to be raised to the status of Civil servants?

The Treasury has had no such applications before, it, but, in any case, it would not be possible to entertain them at the present time.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland when the purchase agreements were lodged with the Estates Commissioners in the estates of Crookenden and Casey, county Cavan; when the holdings are to be vested; and, if not at once, will he give a probable date?

Purchase agreements for the direct sale of this estate were lodged in 1904, but the Estates Commissioners required the property to be sold to them with a view to rearrangement of a number of holdings and other improvements which are being completed. The holdings will be vested in the tenants as soon as practicable.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether it is the intention of the Government to fill the vacancy on the staff of the Estates Commissioners; if so, how soon; whether he is aware that the appointment in 1903 of Mr. Finucane by the late Mr. G. Wyndham was something in the nature of a guarantee to tenant farmers that their interests would be safeguarded by one who was of themselves and with whose ideas he was in sympathy as well as his being a Catholic; whether it was understood that at all times at least one of the three Commissioners would be a Catholic and in whom the tenant purchasers would have confidence; whether he is aware that a Protestant and a Unionist was appointed to succeed Mr. Finucane, thereby leaving three Protestants and three Unionists; in view of the ideas which to-day prevail as to rights of minorities, will steps be taken to see that the rights of a majority, both as regards religion and interests involved, will not be flouted, and this appointment given to one who is fully qualified in every way to fulfil it, who is a Catholic in religion, and who is entitled to it according to the rules heretofore adopted in all cases where at least promotion has rested between Protestants; is he aware that no appointment of recent years is being watched more closely and with such anxiety; and will he see that justice is weighed evenly and the appointment granted to the chief inspector, whose qualifications are second to none in any and every way?

I cannot add anything to the answer I gave to a question by the hon. Member for the College Green Division on the 5th July, 1917.

asked the Solicitor-General for Ireland if he will say whether the has read and considered the judgment in Kenelly and Others v. Cyril E. Brown, whereby boards of guardians are debarred from sending poor persons for operations, etc., to extern institutions or city hospitals; and, as this will involve unnecessary suffering and loss of life, whether the decision is the subject of appeal or whether legislation will be introduced to deal with this matter?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. I am not aware that any steps are being taken to appeal from the judgment of the King's Bench Division. Representations as to the necessity for an amendment in the law have been made since the decision referred to, and the matter will be duly considered.