asked the Prime Minister whether the post of Master of the Rolls is now vacant; if so, how long it has been vacant; and when it is pro- posed to fill up the vacancy?

The Prime Minister hopes to be able to make an announcement on this subject shortly.

asked the Prime Minister if he will state the date on which; the Inter-Allied War Staff formulated their accurate forecast of the German I offensive; and on what date the extension of the British line was effected by the Army under the command of General Gough?

The answer to the first part of the question is the end of January. With regard to the second part of the question, I do not think it right to give the information asked for.

asked the Prime Minister by what means he became apprised of the conversation between the Kaiser and ex-King Constantine in which the Kaiser said that he would beat the Allies because they had not established unity of command; on what date he was informed of the matter; and whether he took any steps to avert the danger thus indicated?

I regret that I cannot answer this question, as it is not possible to divulge the source of the information upon which the Prime Minister's statement was based.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether evidence has been placed before him that the reduction recently effected in, the number of days required to handle transactions in registered War Loan, etc., though an improvement in procedure, does not meet the seller's difficulty; whether he is aware that in a recent case a leading firm of brokers in Glasgow were unable to place a sum of £6,000 in War Bonds for this reason; and whether he proposes to take action in the matter?

I understand that in the case referred to by my hon. Friend the transfer was registered and a new certificate was issued in about three days, a period which compares very favourably with the time taken by all other institutions or companies to issue new certificates. Further, the Bank of England have long since intimated their readiness to certify transfers and sub-transfers of Government Stocks and thereby place registered stocks on exactly the same footing as any non-Government security. The Government and the Bank of England have done everything in their power to remove the difficulty.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what amounts, approximately, were subscribed to War Loans in each year of the War by Income Tax payers and non-Income Tax payers respectively?

I am afraid this information is not available.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the amount of gross income brought under review by the Inland Revenue Department for the year ended 31st March, 1918?

No definite figure is yet available, but the amount is roughly estimated at £1,850,000,000.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether he has received representations from the Deptford Local Food Control Committee regarding the withholding of a supplementary meat ration from women conductors on omnibuses and tramcars, although granted to male workers engaged upon precisely the same work; whether consideration has been given to such representations; and, if so, will he state the result?

The representation referred to has been received. The question of extending supplementary meat rations to women conductors of omnibuses and tram cars is under consideration along with similar claims on behalf of women doing the work of men, and a decision will be communicated to all Food Control Committees as soon as possible.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War how many German prisoners there are at Margate College; how many German servants wait on them; how much the cork carpet for the house cost; and how many pianos have been sent in for their use?

I am not yet in a position to answer my hon. Friend's question, and I should be glad if he would repeat his question next week.

asked the Undersecretary of State for War whether he is aware that there are many duly qualified pharmacists at present in the Army whoso services are not being utilised as dispensers; and whether he will consider if more advantage can be taken of these trained men?

Up to the present the supply of pharmacists and dispensers for the Army has been sufficient to meet the demand, and it has not been found necessary to withdraw these men from other units. The fact that there are a number of dispensers available in corps other than the Royal Army Medical Corps has not been lost sight of.

asked tie Under-Secretary of State for War whether, now that he has learnt that his answer of the 5th December last was inaccurate and that Corporal Heasman, employed as a dispenser at No. 2 London General Hospital, had neither the pharmaceutical nor Royal Army Medical Corps qualifications, he will have him medically examined with a view to his transfer to a fighting unit and fill his place with a qualified woman from the waiting list; and, if not, will he state precisely what his alleged infirmity is, and the grounds for his refusal to transfer this man?

During the present emergency it has been provided by an Army Order that, if a dispenser is not in possession of the qualifications required by the Standing Orders of the Royal Army Medical Corps, he shall have had three years' experience in the duties. The non-commissioned officer referred to is reported by the authorities of the hospital to have had this experience and to be a competent dispenser. He works under the supervision of a fully qualified pharmacist. He has been recently medically examined and his category is B 3. Owing to an injury to his left hand he is unsuitable and ineligible for transfer to a combatant unit.

asked the Undersecretary of State for War how many men have been discharged out of the Army for physical disabilities since the introduction of Conscription who, up to the time of discharge, had not been sent abroad?

This information is not available.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War if he is aware that Private George Peel, No. 19987, a soldier under nineteen years of age, has been sent to France, although his father had previously objected on the ground that the boy was too young to serve, and had sent a copy of the soldier's birth certificate to the commanding officer; if he is further -aware that the soldier's father has in his possession two written assurances which he received in reply to his communications to the commanding officer, the second of which is dated 11th March, 1918, both stating definitely that the soldier would not be sent overseas until he reached the age of nineteen; and what action he intends to take to redeem the pledges of the Government in regard to this and other cases of boys under age who have recently been sent overseas against the known wishes of their parents and guardians?

I am afraid I can add nothing to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on Tuesday last.

asked the Home Secretary whether he has inquired into the case of Abram Lipshitz, a Russian citizen, sent to Wormwood Scrubs in January as a conscientious objector; whether he is aware of the number of Russians who object to serve in the British Army, because since the Revolution Britain is alleged not to have helped Russia, and because no Russian Government has enlisted British nationals in the Russian Army; and whether the release of Russian conscientious objectors will be considered, especially as they desire to return to Russia?

If my hon. Friend will furnish me with this man's regimental number and the name of the regiment to which he belongs I will have inquiry made.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will have a special inquiry made into the health of R. C. M'Caig, who is at the Home Office centre at Knutsford, with a view to his discharge from the scheme on account of the state of his health?

The Committee have kept themselves informed of this man's state of health. He was recently allowed three weeks sick leave, but his health is now improved and there is nothing in his condition to justify his discharge.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether, now that he is aware of the needs of the country for man-power in the Army and seeing that there are a number of men under the age of thirty-five, category A, in the Army Pay Corps who had enlisted before the War began, he will at once take steps to transfer them to fighting units?

There are only about eighty permanent Army Pay Corps clerks under thirty-five years of age, and I do not know how many of them are fit for general service, but each case will be duly considered.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether the mess allowance of 10s. a month, formerly payable to the president of each regimental mess in respect of the officers comprised in that mess, is now payable to such officers personally; if so, what is the reason of this alteration; whether no such allowance is paid to officers over the rank of major; whether the object of this change is economy at the expense of senior officers; and, if so, what is the approximate amount saved?

The answer to the first part of my hon. and gallant Friend's question is in the affirmative, but I would remind him that an individual grant was also in existence for cases not covered by the regimental mess. The reason for the change was to simplify the issue of the grant, as it had become impossible for messes to make the necessary adjustments with each other in the very numerous cases of detached officers. The individual grant was never paid to officers above the rank of major, and the answer to the third part of the question is in the affirmative. As regards the last two parts of the question, as I have already explained, the object of the change was not economy, and I have no reason to suppose that any economy has resulted. The intention was neither to reduce nor to increase the expenditure, but merely to adopt for the War a more simple system of issue.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether certain men were enlisted in May, 1915, as storekeepers to take charge of motor spare parts and were given weekly pay amounting to 42s.; whether it is now intended to reduce that pay to 2s. 7d. per day; and, if so. for what reason?

I would refer the hon. Member to my reply of the 11th April to the hon. Member for Maldon, of which I am sending him a copy.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office why the men of the 321st Company of the Royal Defence Corps, Isle of Man, cannot get their full pay; and why 1s. 9d. a week has been stopped?

It is presumed the hon. Member refers to the 3d. a day extra pay for non-commissioned officers under Army Order No. 1 of 1918. A Royal Warrant has now been published authorising the extension of this Grant to the Royal Defence Corps from 29th September, 1917.

asked the Undersecretary of State for War, in the case of. an officer who has lost a leg on active service and has been supplied at the expense of the State with an artificial limb and has subsequently resumed duty, whether, after twelve months' wear and tear of the artificial limb as the result of the duty, the necessary repairs are chargeable to the officer; and whether, if this Regulation is in force, immediate steps will be taken to remedy this state of affairs?

In the case of officers resuming duty after being provided with artificial limbs at the expense of the State, renewals and repairs resulting from such duty would be paid for out of public funds.

asked the Pensions Minister whether he has received a resolution from the York City Council asking that the administrative expenses of the local naval and military war pensions, etc., committees may be borne wholly by State funds, and not as at present (as to two-thirds by State funds and one-third by the local authority); and what action he proposes to take in the matter?

I have received the resolution to which the hon. Member refers and similar resolutions from a number of local war pensions committees. The matter is under consideration in connection with a Bill of the introduction of which I have already given notice.

asked the Pensions Minister if his attention has been drawn to the pension payable to the dependants-of the late William John Alexander, No. 155136, Q Company, 10th (S) Battalion,. Army Service Corps (Mechanical Transport); whether he is aware that a pension was granted to his mother in 1916 but no sum was paid for a considerable time; and whether a balance of £26 4s. 3d. is still unpaid?

I have not been able to trace any record of this case, and I have therefore had to refer to the regimental paymaster for information. I will let the hon. and gallant Member know the result in due course.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury why the dependants of Private Witton, No. 62026, Northumberland Fusiliers, have had their allowance dropped by 1s. 6d. per week; and will he take steps to see that the allowance is restored to the previous sum?

The separation allowance was reduced in accordance with the scheme approved by the War Cabinet on one of the children attaining the age of fourteen years.

asked the Pensions Minister whether he will consider the desirability, in anticipation of an election either during the continuance of war or shortly following its termination, of introducing a short Bill making the promise of endeavour on the part of a candidate for election to the House of Commons to procure a higher rate of pension to discharged or disabled sailors or soldiers a corrupt or an illegal practice?

While I appreciate the motive of the hon. Member's suggestion, I find myself unable, I regret, to look on it as one to which it would be practicable to give effect.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what facilities have been given to men of military age in the Crown Colonies to enlist for service in any of our combatant Services; have such facilities, if any, been given to members of the Civil Services in the Crown Colonies; and has any attempt been made in the Crown Colonies to apply the same principles of substitution, by the employment of men above military age or of women, as have been applied in this country?

Every possible facility for enlistment and, in suitable cases, for obtaining commissions has been afforded both to Civil servants and to others of military age in the Colonies and Protectorates, and the response has been most gratifying. Bermuda, Ceylon, the West Indian Colonies, and Fiji have furnished separate units. The Eastern Colonies 'have released as many men as could pos- sibly be spared. The West and East African Colonies have utilised all the available men of military age, chiefly for the purposes of local campaigns. The principle of substitution has been resorted to as far as possible, but my hon. Friend will recognise that in tropical Colonies few men, and still fewer women, are available as substitutes for men of military age.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether he has cancelled the passports to this country issued to a Home Rule deputation which was to leave India to put the case for Home Rule before the British public; and, if so, why he has done this?

The answer to-the first part of the question is in the affirmative. After careful consideration the War Cabinet have decided that it would not be right to depart from the general rule that passports should only be issued in cases where the journey is undertaken in the national interest.

asked the Home Secretary whether the inquest on the death of E. W. Burns, who died in Hull Prison on or about 13th March, shows that death was in any way connected with forcible feeding; and whether an independent inquiry has been ordered?

At the inquest held in this case the jury found that death resulted from pneumonia consequent on the inhalation of some fluid food during forcible feeding, and that no blame whatever was attributable to the doctor. Although I had no reason to feel any doubt as to the finding of the jury, whose inquiry was perfectly independent, I thought it right, in view of the importance of the question of forcible feeding, that a special inquiry should be made by medical men of the highest standing, and at my request my hon. Friend the Member for the Universities of Edinburgh and St. Andrew's, who was recently president of the Royal College of Surgeons, and Dr. Maurice Craig, Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, who has an exceptionally wide experience of this matter undertook the inquiry. I have now received their report, which entirely confirms the finding of the jury. They are satisfied that the case was one where resort to artificial feeding was necessary, and that the death of the patient was not due to any want of care or skill on the part of the medical officer.

asked the Home Secretary whether he is aware that Max Wilhelm Hundert, a naturalised German, was recently fined for the eighth time for failing to screen a light in his hotel at Folkestone; and whether he has considered the question of interning this German, who deliberately sets our laws at defiance?

I am in communication with the military authorities with regard to this case.

asked the Home Secretary if he can state the number of hackney-carriage drivers and conductors whose licences the Chief Commissioner of Police has refused to renew on account of the men being medically rejected as unfit for His Majesty's Forces, and also the number refused on account of being placed in a low category?

Renewal of licence has been refused to sixty-six men, being cab drivers, stage-carriage drivers, or conductors, who were examined as the result of having been placed in a low category or rejected as unfit for His Majesty's Forces and were certified to be medically unfit to hold a licence.

asked the Home Secretary if he can state the number of licensed motor-cab drivers and stage-carriage drivers and conductors who have been discharged from His Majesty's Forces as medically unfit; and the number who have applied to be re-licensed in -order that they might follow their ordinary avocation but whose application has been refused by the Chief Commissioner of Police?

The number discharged from His Majesty's Forces as unfit is not known, and cannot be ascertained. The Commissioner of Police has had to refuse to re-license twenty-seven such men who have been certified to be medically unfit to hold a licence.

asked the Home Secretary whether, except the Order of the 4th March prescribing certain forms, any other Order in Council under the Representation of the People Act has yet been issued; and, if not, when a definite Order in Council will be issued?

My right hon. Friend has asked me to reply to this question. Two Orders in Council have been issued under the date of 4th March; one altering certain dates relating to registration, and the other prescribing forms for England and Wales. A further Order dated 22nd March has been issued prescribing forms for Scotland and Ireland respectively.

asked the President of the Board of Trade by what method the average prices of each sort of British corn will be calculated by the local inspectors of corn returns under the Corn Returns Act, 1882, for the purpose of arriving at the prices at which tithe rent-charge is to be valued, in view of the fact that there is now no free price in the market of wheat, barley, or oats?

The method of calculating the average prices of corn is that laid down in the Corn Returns Act. The prices realised at the scheduled markets are returned to the Board by the local inspectors in the same way as before the introduction of maximum prices by the Food Controller.

asked the Comptroller of the Household, as representing the National Health Insurance Commissioners if he is aware of the unrest amongst industrial insurance agents through their wages remaining practi- cally the same as before the War; and can he take any steps to rectify this matter?

I have been asked to reply to this question. I have been aware of the unrest mentioned, and appointed a Committee of Inquiry into the matter, from whom I am now awaiting a Report.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether he can state the grounds on which William Swanton, of Dromkeal, Ballydehob, county Cork, has been deprived of an old age pension of 4s. a week, which he has been in receipt of for a number of years, and the grounds on which his wife has been refused a pension notwithstanding that the local pension committee and the local pension officer, after inquiring on the spot into the particular circumstances of the case, recommended her for a pension of 2s. a week; and whether he will take steps for the revision of these cases, in order that fair treatment may be given in both?

William Swanton was granted a pension of 4s. a week in March, 1913. The claim of his wife for a pension was appealed against by the pension officer on the ground of means. In dealing with this appeal, the question of William Swanton's right to a pension came before the Local Government Board for the first time, and they disallowed his pension and decided that his wife was not entitled to a pension, on the ground that the privileges enjoyed by them are worth more than £31 10s. a year each.