asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether his attention has been called to the condition in which prisoners of war are living in Yoz-gad, Turkey; whether he has official information showing that during the severe weather, when the temperature has been below zero, both officers and men have suffered terribly through having little or no clothing, and that practically the chief article of food which the officers and men receive is a poor class of porridge; whether to supplement this frugal meal it is necessary for prisoners of war to pur- chase food for themselves; whether breadcosts about 2s. 6d. for 10 ozs.; and whether, in consequence of the cost of articles of food, the Government will immediately take steps to see that food and warm clothing are forwarded to Turkey with the least possible delay?

In regard to the general conditions at Yozgad, I may say that they are not different from those at other officers' camps in Turkey. The climate is healthy, and, apart from the high cost of living and from the difficulty of obtaining certain supplies, the general conditions and treatment of the prisoners are tolerable.Stocks of clothing are constantly dispatched to prisoners of war other than officers, at this as at other camps, by the Netherlands Minister at Constantinople. On the 7th December last food and clothing to the value of £T25,630 were dispatched to the various camps.His Majesty's Government have no knowledge of the statements mentioned by the hon. Member in regard to the food supplied to the prisoners. Food parcels are sent from this country, and, though they take long to arrive, the majority appear to reach their destination in due course. I may add that in all countries officer prisoners of war have to pay for their own food.There is no recent information as to the price of bread at Yozgad, but a short time ago it was less than the price stated. The price appears to vary considerably in different parts of Turkey.An allowance is already made to all officers and men, in addition to their pay, to enable them to obtain the necessaries of life. Stops are being taken to increase these allowances. Food is already sent from this country, but it is probably more desirable that clothing should be purchased locally, and this is done by the Netherlands Minister at Constantinople, who has better facilities for securing its delivery to the prisoners

asked the hon. Member for Sheffield (Central Division) whether he is aware that no free rations are allowed to British officers in captivity in Turkey; and whether some allowance can be made and remitted to them in this regard?

No British officers in captivity in Turkey or elsewhere receive free rations or ration allowance. They receive pay and lodging, fuel, light, and field allowances, and they pay for their messing. In Turkey the cost of food is high and the pay issued by the Turkish Government is supplemented by grants from the relief fund administered by the Netherlands Legation on our behalf. Grants up to £7 (Turkish) have been made and the question of increasing this sum is now under consideration, in view of the increased cost of living and the depreciated value of Turkish paper money.

asked the Prime Minister whether, in view of the Kaiser's plan to restore ex-King Constantine to the throne of Greece, he can give assurance to the House that steps have been taken to prevent the realisation of that design?

The answer is in the affirmative.

asked the Prime Minister whether it is possible to take steps to negotiate with the Central Powers an exchange of all prisoners taken in 1914?

This proposal has been most carefully considered in conjunction with our Allies, and I regret to have to state that from several points of view it appears quite impracticable.

asked the hon. Member for Sheffield (Central Division) whether, out of the sixty-five merchant service officers of over forty-five years of age who are eligible for repatriation and who are now interned at Ruhleben, only eleven have been repatriated under the agreement made at The Hague with the German Government; how many German civilians who are officers of the German mercantile marine have been repatriated in the same time; and what is the reason why the agreement arrived at is not promptly and completely carried out?

The repatriation of British and German interned civilians over forty-five years of age, including merchant service officers and seamen, is not governed by The Hague Agreement, but by the agreement of 2nd January, 1917. Since that date, as I understand, forty-four British merchant service officers have been repatriated from Ruhleben and other camps in Germany, as against twenty-two from various camps in this country. I may add that sixteen German merchant officers are being repatriated in the course of the next few days. The delay in the repatriation of this category of prisoners was caused, as the hon. Member is probably aware, by a difference of opinion with the German Government as to their status.

asked the hon. Member for Sheffield (Central Division) whether many boys who were cadets and apprentices in the mercantile marine, now interned in Germany, are treated as ordinary seamen prisoners and mixed up with older men; whether many of these boys are employed in arduous labour in Germany; if so, whether this is contrary to the provision of Annexe 3 of The Hague Agreement with regard to the treatment of youthful prisoners of war; and, if not, whether there is any prospect of securing their treatment by the German Government in accordance with the agreement?

On the 21st March the Netherlands Minister at Berlin was informed by telegram that His Majesty's Government had received information that cadets and apprentices of the British mercantile marine who were prisoners of war in Germany are, in many cases, being subjected to the same treatment as merchant seamen, notwithstanding the proposal made to the German Government in October last that Annexe 3 of The Hague Agreement should be put into force. The Minister was also asked to urge the German Government to give effect to our proposal with the least possible delay, if they are prepared to accept it. In consequence of the information lately received, a fresh remonstrance will be addressed to the German Government.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether foe will reconsider the instructions given to the surveyors of Income Tax to deduct from officers' children's allowance recently created a charge for Income Tax which, in the case of other allowances, is not deducted?

These additional emoluments payable to officers are assessable to Income Tax equally with the rest of their emoluments. The statutory Income Tax allowances in respect of children apply, of course, in the case of officers as to any other taxpayers.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware that, owing to legislation prior to the War and to legislation and Government requirements in connection with the War, the services of the police have become more national and less local in character; and, this being so, whether he will consider the advisability of arranging for a more equitable readjustment of the burden of the total net cost of the police forces, as between the Imperial Exchequer and the local rates, by means of a direct Grant, so as to make the total Exchequer contribution for each force equal to one-half of the total net cost of the police?

This matter could only be dealt with properly as part of a general revision of the relations between Imperial and local taxation. Such a revision is, I am afraid, out of the question during the War.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether officials in the Government service of sixty years of age and over who are quite capable of continuing their work are being retired and replaced by younger men; and, if such be the case, will he consider the desirability of arranging for the continuance of their services at the present time?

The course suggested by the hon. Member has been officially urged upon all heads of Departments.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food if nurses in V.A.D. hospitals are given a considerably lower ration than nurses in military hospitals, women in the W.A.A.C., and W.R.N.S.; and, if so, why this difference is made between those who are giving their services voluntarily and those who are paid?

Under the new scale of institutional rations for hospitals and sanatoria, resident professional staffs in all home auxiliary hospitals will receive the same rations as the resident professional staffs in naval and military hospitals at home.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether representations have been made to him on behalf of the retail traders of Boyle, county Roscommon, setting forth that the wholesale traders by whom they were formerly supplied now use their supplies for their own retail purposes, leaving the ordinary retailers without their due proportion; and whether authority will be given to Messrs. Guinness to supply the local retailers direct through their local agent?

I have been asked to reply. I understand that the hon. Member has received assurances from my Department to the effect that during the last six months both Messrs. Guinness and other firms in Ireland have succeeded in meeting reasonable claims for supplies on the part of local retailers.

asked the Minister of National Service whether he is aware that the number of men engaged in the transport and distribution, wholesale and retail, of food has already been seriously depleted; and if he will, after consultation with the Food Production Department, the Railway Commissioners, the War Office, and the Ministry of Food, either by administrative action or by the introduction of the necessary provisions into the Military Service Bill, secure so far as possible that the increased supply of home grown and imported food is economically and expeditiously distributed to the consumer?

The Ministry of National Service is in close touch with the Ministry of Food and the Food Production Departments, and every consideration is given to the points raised by the hon. Member, so far as they concern the work of this Department.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland if he has succeeded in securing a Grant to enable the Dublin cooked food depots to continue their work?

No, Sir. The Committee of the National Relief Fund, to whom the application of the committee of the cooked food depots for a further Grant was referred, state that they are unable to sanction a Grant for the payment of wages and administrative expenses of the depots, as they are of opinion that their funds are not applicable for such a purpose. A Grant for equipment and expenses was made a year ago and an additional Grant later; but the question has now arisen as to whether the National Relief Fund can be applied towards payment of wages and working expenses, and the committee have decided, in accordance with their general practice, that it cannot, the rule being that stated in January by Lord Rhondda, namely, that the actual working of communal kitchens should be conducted without loss, the food being supplied at cost price and the expenses met, if need be, by local charitable contributions.

asked the Vice-President of the Department of Agriculture (Ireland) if he will state the present attitude of his Department in regard to sugar-beet culture and potato spirit; and can these matters be dealt with under the present law or will new legislation be required before his Department can move?

I cannot add anything to the answer I gave yesterday to a question by the hon. Member for the St. Patrick's Division of Dublin on these subjects.

asked the Vice-President of the Department of Agriculture (Ireland) whether the extra facilities granted in England in regard to freshwater fish and fishing have been extended to Ireland; have any representations in this connection been received by his Department; and will he explain his Department's attitude in this matter?

If the hon. Member refers to an Order made by the Food Controller on the 14th March entitled the Freshwater Fish (England and Wales) Order, 1918, I would point out that the Order is practically identical with the Freshwater Fish (Ireland) Order issued about a year ago. Under the powers conferred on them the Department of Agriculture have made Orders giving facilities for the extension of the capture of freshwater fish in every case in which such a course seemed desirable, but no general power of fishing in fresh water is given to the public in either the English or the Irish Order.

asked the President of the Board of Agriculture whether he is aware that an outgoing tenant, who has, under an Order issued by a war agricultural committee in pursuance of the Defence of the Realm Regulations, ploughed up, cultivated, and sown grass lands in excess of what is allowed to him by the covenants in his lease, or the custom of the county, or in respect of which under the grass age custom payments would have been due to him from the incoming tenant, has no remedy by way of a claim on tenant-right valuation against the incoming tenant or the owner by way of reimbursement of the cost of such ploughing, cultivation, and sowing, from which he can derive no benefit for the loss of eat age, for the loss of payments or grassage which would but for such ploughage have been due to him, and that his only remedy is to make a claim before the Losses Commission for the recovery of such expenses and losses; and if, in view of the above and the unsuitability of the Losses Commission to decide such claims, he will by a short Bill provide that they be decided by the tribunals set up by the Corn Production Act, 1917?

I am aware that in some cases a tenant who breaks up pasture in compliance with a notice under the Defence of the Realm Regulations and quits his holding will not be entitled to recover from his landlord or the incoming tenant full compensation for his expenditure and labour, but I am not prepared to say that the position of the tenant is in all cases that suggested in the question or that the Losses Commission does not provide an adequate remedy for any loss that he may incur by compliance with the notice.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether, having regard to the exceptional conditions now existing as regards the supply of fuel, particularly in the rural districts of Ireland, the necessary authorisation or sanction will be given by the Estates Commissioners to tenants who have signed agreements to purchase but whose holdings are not yet vested, and who have turbaries attached to their tenancies, to let reasonable portions of turbary to neighbouring tenants and labourers, so as to provide them with sufficient fuel locally and thus to relieve tonnage and labour for other purposes?

I am informed that the Estates Commissioners have no power to interfere in the cases referred to by the hon. Member. The matter is one for arrangement between the purchasing tenants and the vendors of the estate.

asked the Secretary to the Admiralty whether he is aware that an application for an advance of wages on behalf of the boom defence men at Milford Haven has been before his Department since August last; that this delay is causing irritation; that the men in question are at present receiving much below the proper minimum rates; and whether he will take the necessary steps to expedite a settlement?

In accordance with the recommendation of the local officers under whom the men in question are employed, it has been decided to increase the rate of wages by 3d. per hour, and the necessary instructions have been issued.

asked the Secretary to the Admiralty if, in order to prevent further unrest, he can state when ho will be able to reply to the respectful requests of the shipwrights of His Majesty's dockyards presented to him at their conference with him on Tuesday, the 15th January last?

The matter in question does not concern shipwrights alone; similar requests have been made by various other classes of mechanics, and my hon. Friend was associated in the representations at an interview on Tuesday last, in support of a request that a general advance in permanent wages should be granted to all classes of mechanics. The matter is one, therefore, which requires consideration, but it is hoped to make a communication on the subject within a few days.

asked the Secretary to the Admiralty whether the Committee which he promised to appoint for the purpose of examining into the question of naval separation allowances has yet reported; and, if so, whether its recommendations have been adopted by the Admiralty and are being acted on?

The Committee has been appointed by the War Cabinet. It is the original Soldiers' and Sailors' Pay Committee reassembled for this purpose under the chairmanship of my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Dublin University. Two meetings have already been held, but owing to the difficulties which are inherent in the subject, the Committee has not as yet been able to present a Report.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether in view of the shortage of food in the early part of the week, some arrangement can be made by which the separation allowances can be paid on the Friday or Saturday, as the present system of payment makes it impossible in many cases to got meat and other rationed articles?

My right hon. Friend has asked me to answer this question. In addition to separation allowances the Post Office pays Army and Navy pensions, old age pensions, and other allowances. It is imperative that this work should be distributed as evenly as possible over the days of the week, and I could not undertake to arrange for the payment of separation allowances on Friday, on which day old age pensions are payable, or on Saturday, which is always a particularly busy day in post offices.

asked the Undersecretary of State for War whether a large party of gunners, lately discharged from hospital, left Salonika for India on board the ship "Sallust," which had no accommodation for troops and had lately been used for the transport for mules; and, if so, whether the ship had been cleaned?

The "Sallust" carried troops from Salonica to Port Said in October, 1917. Only healthy men were embarked, and the only complaint made by the officer commanding troops was that the cooking apparatus was inadequate. This is explained by the fact that the vessel was only used for carrying troops in an emergency. There is no ground for the allegation that the vessel had lately been carrying mules; her previous cargo was grain, and the officer commanding troops entered on the usual Voyage Report that the ship was in a clean condition.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether the War Office will now take parallel action to the Admiralty in regard to giving permission to men to wear either the rose or flag on St. George's Day; and, in view of the near approach of that day, whether he will announce the decision as publicly as possible, so that preparation can be made if the decision is favourable?

Similar action has already been taken by the Army Council, with His Majesty's approval, and the necessary steps have been taken to promulgate the decision to the troops.

asked the Undersecretary of State for War if he will give the latest figures of the cases and deaths from typhoid and paratyphoid fever in the forces which have been employed on the Western front, Salonika, and Gallipoli, respectively, giving in each case the numbers inoculated and uninoculated?

As I informed the hon. Member on 5th December last, figures for Gallipoli are not available. In France during 1917 there were 266 admissions and 22 deaths from typhoid fever, and 715 admissions with 16 deaths from paratyphoid fever. In Salonica during 1917 there were 511 admissions with 19 deaths for the enteric group of diseases.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether the Army Council advised His Majesty in Council to make the recent Regulation 40 d, under the Defence of the Realm Act, by which a woman is made guilty of an offence who, when suffering from venereal disease, shall have sexual intercourse with any member of His Majesty's Forces or shall solicit or invite any such member to have such intercourse; what evidence the Army Council had whereon they based their recommendation; and whether, seeing that it is equally important to protect women from infection conveyed by soldiers and sailors suffering from venereal disease, the Army Council will recommend the passing of a similar Regulation to make it an offence for a member of His Majesty's Forces so suffering to have or solicit sexual intercourse with any woman?

As regards the first part of the question, I would refer my right hon. Friend to the answer which was given on this subject last Thursday by my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary to my hon. Friends the Members for North Somerset and Northampton. As regards the last part, the Army Council were desirous of applying the Regulation to the whole male population, but were advised that such a measure could not be held to be intra vires the Defence of the Realm Regulations. In the case of a soldier it is an offence punishable with two years' imprisonment with hard labour for a soldier suffering from venereal disease to conceal it. Any woman who has been infected has only to communicate with his commanding officer, when the soldier would be immediately inspected, and if found to be suffering from the disease would be dealt with by court-martial.

asked the Undersecretary of State for War whether, under Regulation 40D, under the Defence of the Realm Act, by which it is made an offence for a woman suffering from venereal disease to solicit or have sexual intercourse with a member of His Majesty's Forces, a woman charged with this offence can be medically examined against her will; and, if so, whether it is intended that women so charged shall be so examined?

The answer is in the negative.

asked the Home Secretary whether he is aware of the new Regulation 40 d, under the Defence of the Realm Act, whereby a woman suffering from venereal disease is rendered punishable for soliciting or having sexual intercourse with a member of His Majesty's Forces; whether he was consulted as to this Regulation before it was submitted to His Majesty in Council; whether when a Committee of this House dealt with the subject of venereal disease, when considering the Criminal Law Amendment Bill, 1917, and decided that an offence of this character should be equally punishable if committed by persons of either sex, that Committee decided also against subjecting a woman so charged to a compulsory medical examination; whether, under the circumstances, he will consider the desirability of this question being settled by legislation in this House rather than by Order in Council; and whether he will accordingly reintroduce the Criminal Law Amendment Bill at am early date?

I would refer my right hon. Friend to the reply which was given by the Home Secretary on Thursday last to questions by the hon. Member for North Somerset and the junior Member for Northampton.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether the Dorset Regiment at Bangalore have only been drawing one rupee per month per man for four months; and, if so, why proper pay has not been given?

The Secretary of State for India has asked the Government of India for a report. At present he has no information on the subject.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether the following seventeen men in the 2nd Northern Non-Combatant Corps, Private T. W. Mutch, No. 690; Private F. Hirst, No. 683; Private C. W. Smith, No.1439; Private T. A. Lupton, No. 684; Private J. J. Clarke, No. 692; Private N. Sidebottom, No. 1417; Private A. H. Vesty, No. 894; Private A. V. Rudd, No. 3575; Private H. Wright, No. 961; Private J. H. Mitchell, No. 1431; Private J. W. Vickers, No. 681; Private V. Fallas, No. 1485; Private C. H. Fitch, No. 891; Private B. Brooke, No. 974; Private I. Sutton, No. 886; Private G. Burton, No. 885; and Private K. W. Booth, No. 3674, were, on 10th December, 1917, sentenced at Abancourt for refusing to handle military supplies; whether their sentences of two years' hard labour have been commuted to eighty days' field punishment No. 1; whether, while undergoing punishment, they were, contrary to Regulations, dragged round the square and thrown on the ground, picked up, and again thrown down and kicked; whether soldiers who watched these proceedings made their disgust apparent; and where these men now are?

These men were tried, as stated, on 10th December last, at Abancourt, for refusing to handle military supplies. They did not receive sentences of two years' hard labour, but twelve of them were sentenced to eighty days' field punishment No. 1, and five to ninety days, four of whom had ten days remitted. There is no record that they received any ill-treatment, and I should be glad if the hon. Member would furnish me with any particulars he has in support of his statement. So far as is known, they are still in France.

asked the Minister of National Service if he will consider whether the combing-out process described by him has been effectually applied to the numerous Army pay offices throughout the country; and whether he will consider the advisability of relieving for active service some of the military effectives employed therein by substituting for them older or lower class men or girls?

Steps have already been taken to comb out from pay offices men fit for combatant services. The oases of the few such men remaining will be duly considered.

asked the Minister of National Service whether it is the intention of the Government, under the Military Service Bill, to take for military service any more men from agriculture; and, if so, of what grade and age?

It is the intention of the Government, bearing in mind the military situation, to recruit from agriculture, in common with other essential industries, such numbers of men as in the national interest can in their opinion be spared. I would refer my hon. Friend to the speech made on Saturday by the Minister of National Service.

asked the Minister of National Service if he is aware that a number of constables in the Manchester City Police have recently been compulsorily drafted into the Army without leave of appeal to a tribunal, and in some cases no calling-up papers being sent; and, if so, will he state the reason for this action and why, having regard to the fact that most of them are married men between thirty and forty years of age, he has not called up first the younger men in the same force who would certainly make much better soldiers?

My right hon. Friend has asked me to reply to this Question. As part of the measures taken by the Government to provide more men for the Army the Chief Constable of Manchester has been requested to release a number of men from his force. All the men so released had a right to appeal. Nine of them have given notice of appeal and are still in the force pending the hearing of their cases. Calling-up notices were sent in all cases; in one case the notice was not received, but the constable concerned voluntarily joined up with the others. In selecting the men to be released the Chief Constable would no doubt take into consideration not only age and fitness, but also the question what men could best be spared from police duty. The majority of the men released are, however, under thirty, though most of the men now serving in the force are over thirty years of age, about 50 per cent. of the force—including nearly all the younger men—having already joined the forces.

asked the Minister of National Service whether the Order under the Military Service Act. 1918, Section 2, issued on the 9th April, 1918, Part I. No. 009, auctioneer, valuer, appraiser, house agent, will affect this class if any of them be also estate agents or surveyors; if he proposes to establish a special tribunal, committee, or panel for estate agents and surveyors; if so, will it deal also with auctioneers, valuers, appraisers, and house agents; and if, under the same Order, Part IV., No. 108, clerks in other commercial establishments includes clerks in the offices of auctioneers, valuers, appraisers, house agents, estate agents, and auctioneers?

In the case of a man who combines two occupations, one or which is mentioned in the Schedule to an Order under Section 2 of the Military Service Act, 1918, and the other is not so mentioned, the question whether the man is covered by the Order or not must be decided by reference to his principal and usual occupation. It is not proposed to establish a special tribunal, committee, or panel for estate agents and surveyors in connection with the Military Service (Withdrawal of Exemptions) Order (No. 1), 1918. Clerks in the offices of auctioneers, valuers, appraisers, house agents, and estate agents are considered as covered by Code No. 108, in Part IV. of the Schedule to the above-mentioned Order.

asked the Minister of National Service whether men employed in theatres and music halls are considered to belong to non-essential occupations, and will they consequently be sent to fight or go abroad, or whether it is considered necessary to keep some of them of military age in this country for the purpose of providing entertainment for our sailors and soldiers when on leave?

The men employed in theatres and music halls have never been specially protected from recruitment.

asked the Home Secretary whether he can state the number of men who have been drafted for military service from the Metropolitan and county and borough constabularies up to the present?

According to the latest available returns, 3,503 men have been released for naval and military service from the Metropolitan and City Police and 12,207 from the county and borough police in England and Wales. A further call is being made on the police, which will bring the number to over 17,000.

asked the Minister of National Service how many aliens he has placed in work of national importance; how many he has recorded for and awaiting such work; how many are being used for non-combatant service abroad; and how many aliens of military age there are in the United Kingdom?

It would not be possible to give the figures asked for by my hon. Friend without imposing a great amount of extra labour on Departments which are already working at very high pressure, but I may inform him that from among Belgians the Employment Exchanges have since January, 1915, placed some 55,000 in work of varying degrees of national importance, and that the Employment Exchanges are engaged in interviewing and endeavouring to place in work of national importance uninterned male enemy aliens, in accordance with the policy which has been explained to the House. In the circumstances I hope my hon. Friend will not press for a further reply.

asked the Minister of Munitions whether No. 2 Amatol Factory at a certain place was instructed to work on Good Friday and Easter Monday, when double wages would be paid, and to close for a week from the night of Monday, 8th April; and, if so, whether he will explain the reason for the apparently unnecessary expenditure of public money incurred by working in the holidays?

Owing to the enormous expenditure of ammunition of a particular type in the earlier stages of the German offensive, a demand was received from the Army in France that every available shell of that type should be filled at the earliest possible moment. To carry out this demand it was imperative to work during the Easter holidays. As a result of Easter working, the factory was able to deliver the shells at the time required. In paying extra wages the usual custom of the district was followed. The employés were informed that if they worked through the holidays they should have their holiday as soon as the particular consignment had been filled, and, the need having been met, it was deemed advisable to give the holiday at once.

asked the Minister of Munitions whether he has received a communication from the Lancashire and Cheshire Federation of Master Builders regarding the lack of organisation and waste of man-power in connection with the erection of certain aerodromes; and, if he bas, what action he proposes to take in the matter?

The communication referred to has not come to the notice of the Air Ministry, but if my hon. Friend will supply me with detailed information as to any alleged lack of organisation or waste of man-power in connection with the erection of aerodromes due inquiry will be made.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware the Great Western and Midland Joint Severn and Wye Railway Company have lately given one week's notice to certain old people, named, respectively, Ellaway and Saunders, living at Lydney, in the county of Gloucester, to quit houses belonging to the company, which they have occupied for upwards of thirty years, owing to their sons, who were employés of the company, having been killed in action at the front, and although their parents were themselves formerly in the company's employment; and whether, seeing that the railway is under Government control, he will take steps to prevent such harsh treatment being carried into effect?

I am making inquiries in regard to the cases referred to, and I will communicate with the hon. and gallant Gentleman so soon as they have been completed.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been drawn to complaints by the Clydebank Food Control Committee as to the shortage of matches in the burgh of Clydebank; and whether he can see his way to increase the number of boxes of matches issued to retailers there?

Yes, Sir. In view of the increased population in Clydebank and similar places, arrangements have been made for forwarding increased supplies of matches.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he can state the number of boxes of matches released each week for use in London and Scotland respectively?

The number of boxes released for the London area is 4,000,000 per week, and that for Scotland 2,400,000 per week.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that war-time boots must be sold by retail traders at fixed prices whilst co-operative societies may return to purchasers 15 per cent. on the value; and whether it is intended that fixed-price articles should be thus sold at different cost by different classes of traders?

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer which I gave on the 11th instant to my hon. Friend the Member for Tiverton, of which I am sending him a copy.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Shipping Controller where the allocation of freight space from America to Great Britain among British firms who have purchased in America material for shipment to Great Britain for war purposes is determined; and whether in Great Britain or in the United States, and to which Department of State, should applications of such freight space as is available be made?

The apportionment of the total available freight space among the various supply services (munitions, War Office, etc.) is made by the representative of the Ministry of Shipping in New York, in accordance with instructions issued from time to time by the Ministry. The further allocation in detail of the space reserved for each supply service is made by the Department responsible for the service—for example, in the case of munitions by the Ministry of Munitions, to which Department any communication on the subject should be addressed.

asked the Vice-President of the Department of Agriculture (Ireland) what arrangements have been made to bring the serum treatment for swine fever into operation in Ireland; and whether he is aware that the experiments for the prevention of red-water in cattle have been abandoned, as no funds are avail able for carrying oat further investigations?

The adoption of serum treatment for swine fever in Ireland depends upon the provision of a laboratory for preparation of the serum, and instruction in its use. As I informed the hon. Member on the 14th March, funds have been provided to enable the Department of Agriculture to proceed with a scheme for establishing a laboratory, but, in present circumstances, the funds have been found insufficient, and the matter is being further considered. As regards red-water in cattle, I cannot add anything to the reply given by my hon. and learned Friend the Solicitor-General to a question by the hon. Member for South Armagh on the 5th March.

asked the Postmaster-General if his attention has been called to a dispute between his Department and the Islington Borough Council with regard to the condition imposed by the council, in giving consent to the carrying out of underground work by the Post Office, to the effect that the public way should be restored to the satisfaction of the borough engineer; is he aware that the question whether the word "satisfaction" should be read as "reasonable satisfaction" has been decided with costs in favour of the council and that, in spits of efforts on the part of the council to arrange things amicably, the Post Office authorities re quire that the matter should be further contested, involving the employment of counsel at public expense; and will he endeavour to avoid the expenditure of time and money on a dispute between a public body and a Government Department, at a time like the present, when there is no real ground to suppose that the borough council or the borough engineer are seeking to act in an unreasonable or arbitrary manner?

The Post Office request was, and is, that in the form of consent "satisfaction" should be ex pressed to be "reasonable satisfaction." If—as the question suggests—the council will agree that the word "satisfaction" in the form of consent is to be read as equivalent to "reasonable satisfaction," further proceedings will be unnecessary.

asked the Postmaster-General if his attention has been called to the result of an arbitration award which has been made under the Telegraph Act, 1878, with regard to a dispute between his Department and the Islington Borough Council in favour of the latter authority; is he aware that the Post Office, being dissatisfied, has given notice of appeal to another Court, and, if so, will he explain why during the present crisis the time of officials of two public authorities is to be employed in preparing statements, evidence, and arguments on what can just now only be considered a small domestic matter?

Under the Tele graph Acts road authorities are entitled to attach various conditions to consents for the construction of telegraphs. If the conditions are unacceptable, provision is made for an appeal to the Courts. The Islington Borough Council desire to attach to consents for the construction of under ground telegraphs a condition that rein statement is to be carried out to the "satisfaction" of their engineer. Past experience has proved that the acceptance of this condition precludes me from successfully resisting unreasonable demands, and I cannot accept it without qualification. If the council will agree that the word "satisfaction" in the form of con sent is to be read as equivalent to "reasonable satisfaction," further proceedings will be unnecessary.