asked the Prime Minister whether he can give the result of his inquiries into the activities of the Anti-Conscription League at Hume Street, Dublin; whether the objects of this league are directed towards forcing Protestants in the southern provinces of Ireland to sign a pledge to resist Conscription; is he aware that Protestants are being visited and compelled to sign the pledge under threats of being immediately boycotted if they refuse; and will he say why a licence is accorded to the activities of this league which was refused to a league founded with similar objects in England?

(on behalf of the Chief Secretary for Ireland): I have made inquiries, and I am informed that Miss O'Brien, of 11, Hume Street, has invited Protestants to sign a protest against Conscription, but I cannot find that any intimidation has been used to force persons to sign.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether it is the practice to advance money to Foreign Embassies to meet the necessary expenses of upkeep; if so, whether the Foreign Office is consulted before such advances are made; whether such advances are in the nature of gifts or of loans; how many such advances have been made since 4th August, 1914; and what is the total aggregate amount so advanced; if not, why money has been so advanced to the Russian Embassy, in view of the fact that the British Government is in no diplomatic relationship to the Russian Government; and whether he will give an assurance that no further advances will be made to Mr. Nabokoff or to the Russian Embassy?

It is not the usual practice to advance money to foreign Embassies in this country to meet expenses of upkeep, but such advances may be made on the recommendation of the Foreign Office in special circumstances, if this is considered desirable. It does not appear that any useful purpose would be served by granting a Return of such advances made since the 4th of August, 1914, and I do not propose to do so. The answer to the last part of the question is in the negative.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether, in view of the fact that, following the cancellation, by the Royal Naval Volunteer Act of 1917 and Royal Proclamation of the 17th July, 1917, of the right of all members of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, under Section 5 of the Royal Naval Reserve (Volunteer) Act. 1859, to be discharged from active service at the expiration of three years from the time of being called up, detained pay was, by Admiralty Order of the 1st September, 1917, No. 2,777, granted to all men belonging to the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, provision will be made for an augmentation of the pay of officers affected by this cancellation?

There is no intention of granting increased pay to officers of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve whose services are retained beyond three years. Commissioned rank carries with it certain immediate and prospective advantages, financial and other, for which men are not eligible, and no reason is seen, therefore, for granting to commissioned officers additional emoluments provided by Statute particularly for the benefit of men. My hon. and gallant Friend is, of course, aware that officers of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve participated in the recent increases of pay and other concessions granted with effect from 1st October last.

asked the Undersecretary of State for War if ex-officers of Militia who were embodied, and thus became Regular officers during the time of the South African War, and resigned their commissions only after the declaration of peace and who were on account of age unable to rejoin the Army at the commencement of this War, can have their old commissions returned to them in case of their being called up for military service under the Military Service (No. 2) Act, 1918?

I regret that it is not possible to give any general undertaking of this nature, but I can assure my hon. Friend that such cases as may arise will receive careful consideration.

asked the Secretary to the Admiralty if he will issue an Order stating clearly the position of the mechanics in the Royal Naval Air Service who provide their own tools; whether it is proposed to purchase the tools from the men or pay for the hire of them; whether the men will have to pay for tools lost or broken; and whether the men who are still using their own tools will be paid the 3d. per day allowed as tool money?

An order was issued on 14th March setting out the terms on which the Service was prepared to purchase took which were the personal property of ratings of the Royal Naval Air Service. It is not proposed to hire these tools from them. When issued to men on loan they will be replaced if broken or if unavoidably lost, but if lost by neglect a proportion of the cost will be charged against the man responsible. It should not be necessary for men to use their own tools, neither is it desired.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether soldiers are now inoculated with a vaccine which has for its object protection against typhoid fever and paratyphoid A and paratyphoid B; how many doses of this vaccine are administered to ensure protection; and how often must it be repeated?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. Two doses of the vaccine are administered, the second being given after an interval of ten days. Soldiers are re-inoculated yearly.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether he is aware of the unrest caused to agriculturists by the War Office proposals to take the entire hay crop of 1918; and whether he can now state the methods by which the residue of the hay is to be disposed of after the needs of the Army and farmers have been met?

The policy to be adopted regarding the 1918 crop of hay has not yet been decided.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether he will ascertain what is the amount now standing to the credit of Private C. Graham, No. 6487, 1st King's Liverpool Regiment, in the books of the regimental paymaster, Crown Hotel, Preston, No. 1, seeing that this soldier's pay-book shows that he has been debited with an allotment of 3s. 6d, a week to his sister and that only 1s. 9d. has been charged against his pay?

As to the allotment, I would refer my hon. and gallant Friend to the reply given to his question on the 8th instant. The documents referred to in that reply included a statement of accounts which showed that on 31st March last the soldier was in debt to the amount of 17s. 6½d.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office if he is aware that an application for increase of wages was made by the scrubbers employed at St. Luke's War Hospital, Bradford, about eight weeks ago, which, it is stated, is still under consideration of the Army Council; if he is aware that the scrubbers referred to begin work at 7 a.m. and work until 5 p.m., with one and a half hours interval for meals, have to work not less than two hours every Sunday but are given five hours holiday each week, the wages being only 18s. per week with no meals provided, and of the further fact that some of the scrubbers are widows and have families dependent on them; and if he will, having regard to the present cost of living, press for an early decision to grant a substantial increase of wages in response to the application?

Authority has already been given for the rate of pay of these scrubbers to be temporarily increased to 22s. per week.

asked the Home Secretary whether he is aware of the fact that at a recent meeting of the Rotherhithe Tribunal it was stated by an applicant who was a hairdresser that there were two Austrian hairdressers carrying on business in St. Mary's Church Street, both, he believed, unnaturalised, and that, out of fifteen hairdressers' shops from Dockhead, Bermondsey, to the Red Lion Tavern, Rotherhithe, he was the only Englishman; and whether he will have an inquiry made into the cases of these alien hairdressers?

My attention has been called to the statement referred to in the question. The hairdressing trade has long been to a great extent in the hands of aliens of various nationalities. In the case of friendly or neutral aliens I have no power to interfere; but enemy aliens engaged in hairdressing are being required to find work of national importance. I do not think that any special inquiry is necessary.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will state the various countries which have joined the Allies in making war on Germany, with the dates on which each Power passed into the status of a belligerent; and whether he will give a list of those Powers which, though not at war, have suspended diplomatic relations with Germany?

The following countries have declared war on Germany:—

• Russia, 1st August, 1914.
• France, 3rd August, 1914.
• Belgium, 3rd August, 1914.
• Great Britain, 4th August, 1914.
• Serbia, 6th August, 1914.
• Montenegro, 9th August, 1914.
• Japan, 23rd August, 1914.
• Portugal, 9th March, 1916.
• Italy, 28th August, 1916.
• Roumania, 28th August, 1916.
• United States, 6th April, 1917.
• Cuba, 7th April, 1917.
• Panama, 10th April, 1917.
• Siam, 22nd July, 1917.
• Liberia, 4th August, 1917.
• Greece, 29th June, 1917.
• China, 14th August, 1917.
• Brazil, 26th October, 1917.
• Guatemala, 23rd April, 1918.

asked the Comptroller of the Household what are the qualifying ages and incomes and the rates of State pensions granted in New Zealand and Australia compared with the old age pensions paid in this country?

Under the Old Age Pension Acts of 1908 and 1911 a person of the age of seventy who has satisfied the pension authorities that he or she fulfils the statutory conditions and has not incurred one of the statutory disqualifications is paid a pension at the following rates:

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether he can give the latest figures of the municipal debt in England and Wales, Scotland, and Ireland?

I regret that I cannot give my hon. and gallant Friend any later figures than those which I gave him in reply to a similar question last year, when I informed him that the total amount of the outstanding loans of the councils of cities and boroughs in England and Wales, including the City of London and other Metropolitan boroughs, was it 31st March, 1915, £281,390,000. For the figures for Scotland and Ireland I must refer him to the Scottish and Irish Departments.

asked the Comptroller of the Household, as representing the National Health Insurance Commissioners, what arrangements have been made for the discontinuance of the disablement benefit under the National Health Insurance Act of seventy years of age, to be substituted in all cases by the full old age pension in accordance with the original intentions of the promoter of national health insurance?

The administration of old age pensions does not fall within the province of the Insurance Commissioners, but it does not necessarily follow that a person in receipt of disablement benefit under the National Health Insurance Acts is entitled at the age of seventy to a full old age pension. The usual statutory conditions in this connection apply in each case.