asked the Prime Minister which Minister is responsible to Parliament for the action of the Rubber and Tin Committee?

The Minister of Blockade.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether consideration has been given to the memorial presented to the Treasury in September last by the women clerks in the General Post Office asking for increased remuneration; and, if so, can he state the result?

I would refer the hon. Member to my answer of the 20th instant to the hon. Member for North St. Pancras, of which I am sending him a copy.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether any exception is made from the provisions of the Sale of Sweetmeats (Restriction) Order with regard to parcels for soldiers at the front; and, if not, whether he will consider the possibility of taking this step?

No exception of this kind has been made or appears to be necessary. The operation of the Order will neither prevent the dispatch of sweetmeats to soldiers at the front nor reduce the quantity of sweetmeats available.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether he has received resolutions from retail confectioners in Dublin respecting supplies; and what are the intentions of the Food Control?

The resolutions referred to in this question have only just reached the Ministry, and cover too much ground to be dealt with in reply to a Parliamentary question. The hon. Member for Wilton, as Director of Sugar Distribution, is replying in detail to the Irish Retail Confectioners' Association, and is sending the hon. Member a copy of his communication.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether representations have been received from the corporation of the City of Nottingham in favour of supplementary rations for women doing heavy work, so that these rations shall be reckoned on the same basis as those for men; whether he is aware that the assumption by the Ministry of Food that the needs of the ordinary woman-worker, manual, in regard to meat are fairly met is regarded in Nottingham as being ill-founded; and whether a change in this matter will be made?

The communication referred to has been received and noted. It is not proposed to make any general change in the principle of supplementary rationing, which was adopted on expert advice; but my Department is always prepared to consider cases of women on exceptionally heavy work, whether customarily performed by men or not. A considerable number of these have already been admitted to supplementary rations, and the list may be extended in suitable cases.

asked the President of the Board of Agriculture if he will state the number of acres of grass land in England which have been compulsorily ploughed up, but which operation was performed after it was too late to sow with spring corn this season?

No figures are available which would enable this question to be answered, but I have no reason to suppose that agricultural executive committees have insisted on land being ploughed up too late for spring sowing. There have, however, been some cases where heavy land was ordered to be ploughed up in May and summer fallowed in preparation for sowing corn next autumn.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty what arrangements, if any, can be made to give occasional leave to men not on the strength of the Navy but engaged afloat on Admiralty vessels employed in subsidiary operations; and whether some of them have had no leave for three years?

I assume my hon. Friend refers to the officers and men engaged on commissioned Fleet Auxiliaries. As regards these vessels, under existing arrangements twelve days' leave per annum, exclusive of travelling, is provided for, and in the majority of cases leave is granted every six months where the exigencies of the Service permit. As regards these vessels when serving abroad, provision is made for the officers and men who have been abroad for more than eighteen months to be relieved if they so desire, and all the officers and men whose applications have been forwarded and who appear to be entitled to relief have already been received and whose cases are being relieved, with the exception of a small number whose applications have only just been received and whose cases are being dealt with as speedily as the supply of reliefs allows. If my hon. Friend is aware of any cases of hardship, I shall be glad to have them inquired into if he will furnish me with particulars.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he has had any complaints from the camp at Old Kilpatrick regarding the quantity of food served out to the Labour Battalion stationed there, and also regarding the conditions under which the men have to sleep and the lack of medical attention; whether these men are paid at the value of 2d. per hour, though they were recruited as skilled men and then turned to unskilled work, in which their special qualifications are of no value, but are being wasted to the country; and whether he will have inquiries made and remedies applied?

As these men are Royal Marine Engineers, I have been asked to reply to this question. No complaints have been received by us regarding either the quantity of food or the conditions of the camp generally, but I am making inquiries on these points. A naval medical officer has been appointed, but on the first formation of the camp there was no one available, and the Officer Commanding was instructed to call in the local practitioners if necessary. The men employed at this camp were recruited as unskilled workmen, and are paid at pioneer rates, namely, 1s. 2d. a day, plus 6d. a day engineer's pay. They draw the usual allowance, namely, rations, supplemented by 6½d. a day in cash, to be spent at the option of the men They also, of course, receive separation allowance at Army rates. The men in question are employed on work of national importance, but unless they have been wrongly described as unskilled men when enlisted, they are not being wastefully employed in any respect. I will, however, have inquiries made on this point.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether Maurice Applebaum, No. 32042, 3rd South Wales Borderers, of Morriston, South Wales, a Russian Pole, born at Warsaw, is confined to Wormwood Scrubs for refusing as a conscientious objector to serve with the British forces; and, if so, whether this man can now be released and allowed to return to his native country?

I am not aware of any reason why Applebaum should be released, as suggested, but if my hon. Friend can advance any reasons why such action should be taken, I shall be happy to consider the matter.

asked the Minister of National Service whether he is aware that the Convention between this country and Russia on 16th July, 1917, does not extend to the kingdom of Poland nor to Polish subjects; and whether he will take steps to discontinue the calling up of Russian Poles to the British Army?

With regard to the first part of the question, I would refer the hon. Member to the answer which was given to the hon. Member for Ealing on the 3rd June. The answer to the second part of the question is in the negative.

asked the Undersecretary of State for War under the provisions of what Act has he the power to retain in Army Reserve W a man of over military age?

All enlistments under the Military Service Acts are for the period of the War, and a man may be held to serve under such enlistment for the period of the War notwithstanding that he has subsequently become over the military age and has been transferred to Class W of the Reserve.

asked the Undersecretary of State for War whether a man in Army Reserve W is entitled to the usual pay and allowances of his rank during such time as he is unable through ill-health to follow the employment in which he is retained?

If a man in Class W of the Reserve falls ill and wishes to be recalled to the Colours, he can report his case to the local war pensions committee, when he will be recalled and brought on to Army pay.

asked the Undersecretary of State for War whether he can make any announcement as to the suggested liberation for work of national importance of accountants now serving with the Colours and above the age of thirty-one, or at least not of fit ability to be at the front?

I would refer my hon. Friend to the replies given on Thursday and Friday last by the representatives of the Ministry of National Service to questions on this subject by the hon. Member for Leith Burghs.

asked the Minister of National Service whether instructions have been given to the local tribunal at Leeds to exempt from military service men of Russian birth but of Belgian domicile, who came to this country on the outbreak of the War and who express the intention to return to that country at its conclusion; if so, on what date; whether he is assured that these instructions are being observed; and whether the instructions apply only to Russians in Leeds or to all Russian subjects who have acquired Belgian domicile?

Instructions to the tribunals are issued by the Local Government Board, and not by the Ministry of National Service. I have had inquiries made, and I understand that no instructions of the nature referred to in the hon. Member's question have been issued.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he has issued an Order to the effect that conscientious objectors who have declined to accept the decisions of tribunals and as a consequence are in prison, having refused to accept the offer of work by the Home Office Committee, are to be dismissed from the public service; if so, whether he has received any representations from the Postal Trade Unions on the matter; and whether he will postpone the operation of the Order pending further consideration of the whole question?

The cases referred to are men who are in prison and have either refused to have their cases investigated by the Central Appeal Tribunal or have declined to undertake work of national importance offered them by the Home Office Committee. I do not think that such men can properly be retained in the Post Office service. Representations have been made on the subject by the National Joint Committee of Post Office Associations, and my right hon. Friend has fully considered them, but he does not feel able to modify the decision, which has already been carried into effect.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether steps are being taken to use for inland navigation the River Ouse between St. Ives and Bedford?

The War Office has no such scheme in contemplation, but perhaps my hon. Friend would address his question to my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether general leave has now been resumed among the British troops serving in the Western Front?

At present the military situation on the Western Front only admits of leave being granted to a limited number of troops.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether it is possible to grant leave in the case of a number of men in the Balkans. Egypt, and Palestine who have not been home for over or nearly three years, more especially since some of them have now come back to France and are still there?

As I have frequently explained, the facilities for transportation govern the limitation of all leave granted to troops serving in Egypt and Salonika. I can, however, assure my hon. Friend that everything possible, consistent with the military situation, is being done to increase the numbers to whom leave is granted. As regards the men who have been sent to France, my hon. Friend will realise that the military exigencies of the moment necessarily allow only a limited number of troops being given leave, but, as soon as opportunity permits, I am sure the Field Marshal Commanding-in-Chief will give every consideration to those who have had long service in other theatres of war and who are now serving on the Western Front.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Munitions whether he is aware that users of acetylene gas, both public and private, have, owing to the prohibition of the sale of carbide for many months past, been placed in greater difficulties than the users of any other kind of artificial light: whether the dealers in this country have considerable stocks which might be distributed in whole or in part without touching the supplies on which the State depends for munition purposes; and whether the present position as regards stocks is such as to warrant his Department in allowing at any rate a small release to public and private users without any risk to national reserves?

The position of carbide supplies has recently improved, and I am considering the possibility of releasing a certain quantity for purposes (including those of public and private buildings and vehicles) which have not hitherto been permissible. The available stocks do not, however, justify the release of more than a small proportion of the amount concerned for these purposes before the War.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Munitions whether Mrs. Fullam, 52A, Hammond Road East, Southall Green, Middlesex, who was dismissed from a filling factory for refusing to be vaccinated, has been reinstated in accordance with his undertaking of 7th May; and, if not, why has the manager of the factory refused to reinstate her?

The management of the factory in question intimated to Mrs. Fullam on the 17th May that if she wished to resume her work at the factory she was at liberty to do so. She did not avail herself of the offer, and on the 4th June the manager of the factory intimated to Mrs. Fullam that he could not keep her place open any longer.

asked the Pensions Minister why the widow of the late Private H. Woodhead, killed in France on the 25th April, 1915, should not receive the gratuity of £5 which appears to have been given in many similar cases of other widows who have lost their husbands?

As I have stated on previous occasions, the gratuity to widows in cases where the death of the husband occurred before 1st July, 1916, was paid by the Royal Patriotic Fund Corporation. I have ascertained from the corporation that in August, 1915, a gratuity of £7 was paid to Mrs. Woodhead, being £5 for herself and £1 for each of two children.

asked the Home Secretary whether he will give the dietary scale allowed to interned British subjects, interned Germans (enemy aliens), British prisoners in civil prisons, German prisoners of war, and British soldiers undergoing sentences of court-martial, respectively; and in each of these cases to how many calories are the daily food allowances equivalent?

The dietary for camps in which civilians, whether Germans, British subjects, or others, are interned was stated by my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary in reply to a question by the hon. Member for York on the 5th March. This dietary is based upon the dietary scale for the general population as regards rationed articles. The value of the dietary for men engaged in work is approximately 3,000 calories. The dietary for civil prisons is also based on that for the general population for rationed articles. It is a diet framed for men who are engaged in work and who are not permitted to supplement it by purchases, and has an approximate value of 3,100 calories.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether the Norris life-raft has been fully considered since the commencement of the submarine menace as a means of life saving with a view to its compulsory adoption for passenger steamers?

The Norris life-raft has not been considered with a view to its compulsory adoption for passenger steamers. The Board of Trade, while endeavouring to secure the carrying of necessary lifeboats, life-rafts, etc., on British ships do not make compulsory the carrying of any particular type of proprietary boat, raft, or other life-saving device.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware that on and from the 24th instant members of the supervising staff of the Central Telegraph Office have been listed for the compulsory performance of overtime on manipulative work proper to the staff they supervise; whether the men concerned have been consulted as to their willingness to perform this work in addition to their normal supervising duties; whether on a previous occasion, when it was thought that such an innovation was about to be introduced, the authorities declined to receive a deputation from the recognised association, on the ground that it was not the intention to introduce such a scheme; and whether he will suspend the introduction of the proposal until the association has been given an opportunity to lay its views before him?

The employment of certain members of the supervising staff of the Central Telegraph Office in the manner indicated is necessary as a temporary expedient to meet the situation created by the shortage of manipulative staff during the War. The number of volunteers was not sufficient to admit of the arrangement being maintained on a purely voluntary basis. The Staff Association were informed beforehand of the necessity for the measure, and it is open to them to make further representations on the subject if they so desire. My right hon. Friend is sorry he would not be justified in suspending the introduction of the change.

asked the President of the Board of Agriculture whether he is aware that the Agricultural Wages Board recommended that any change or alteration in wages should be dated back to 31st March; whether he is aware that the farmers in Sussex have held a meeting and decided not to pay any increase before the final legal date; whether he is aware that this decision is already creating discontent; and what steps he proposes to take to rectify this situation?

The Agricultural Wages Board on the 28th March last unanimously resolved that since it was impossible for all district committees to meet at once and determine their recommendations regarding wages, they were of opinion that by mutual agreement between employers and workers it was desirable that any minimum rate of wages which may be fixed should be made retrospective as from the end of March. I understand that many district wages committees have passed similar resolutions. However desirable such an arrangement may be, I have, as the hon. Member is aware, no legal power to enforce it.

asked the President of the Board of Agriculture whether dealers in hay and straw after the D.P.O.S. has requisitioned hay and straw for Army horses from the farmer are allowed to buy from farmers at their own prices; whether, when farmers ask for a permit to sell to a civilian individual, the sale has to go through a dealer who may receive £2 per ton profit; and, if so, whether the Government will take steps to prevent this profiteering?

My right hon. Friend has asked me to answer this question. The answers to the first and second parts of the question are in the negative, and the third part does not therefore arise.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he is aware that M. Troelstra, member of the International Socialist Bureau Executive, has been invited to attend the Labour Party Conference on 26th June; if he is aware that the man in question has strong German sympathies; if he is aware that this man is in collusion with the German Foreign Office; and if he intends taking any action in the matter?

The reply to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. The Cabinet have decided that permission should not be granted to M. Troelstra to visit this country.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether by an Act of the Congress of Vienna of 9th June, 1815, the kingdom of Poland, though dynastically united to Russia, remained, and has continued, constitutionally to be a separate entity; whether its laws have been entirely distinct and modelled on the Code Napoleon; whether he is aware that by Article 5 of the Civil Code of the Kingdom of Poland (1825) it was provided that the laws of such kingdom affect all Poles who are subjects thereof even if they are living abroad; and if such provision has remained intact and in full force up to the outbreak of the present War, or when was is abrogated and by what means?

By Article 1 of the Final Act of the Congress of Vienna of the 9th June, 1815, as well as by Article 3 of the Treaty of the 3rd May, 1815, between Russia and Prussia, and by Article 5 of the Treaty of the 3rd May between Russia and Austria the position of the Kingdom of Poland was defined as follows?

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Treasury will sanction the payment by the Board of Education of a Supplementary Grant in 1919–20 to local education authorities on the basis of the approximate expenditure in 1918–19 before the accounts for 1918–19 have been audited?

My right hon. Friend has asked me to answer this question. I am not at present in a position to state the arrangements which will be made for payment of Grants in 1919–20, but they are under consideration, and I will make an announcement as soon as possible.

asked the President of the Board of Education what particulars of their approximate expenditure during the year 1918–19 will the Board require from local education authorities to enable the Board to calculate and pay Supplementary Grant for 1919–20 on the basis of the expenditure for 1918–19, payment of the Grant being made by instalments and the balance being paid when the accounts have been audited; and by what date will the Board require the aforementioned particulars from local education authorities to enable provision to be made in the Education Estimates for 1919–20?

I would refer the Member to the answer given to-day to his question addressed to the Chancellor of the Exchequer.