asked the Secretary of State-for Foreign Affairs whether he is aware that not less than six books of secret documents have been published in Russia by the Commissariat for Foreign Affairs and are procurable in Stockholm and in other neutral capitals; and whether he has procured copies of these books for the use of the Foreign Office?

Translations of the documents, as they appeared in the Russian paper "Pravda," are in the possession of the Foreign Office. I will inquire about the books.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether by a Memorandum, dated 6th March, 1917, and published in the Press of 19th January. 1918, Palestine is to be subjected to a special régime, to be determined by agreement between France, Great Britain, and Russia; and whether, as this agreement was made to secure the religious interests of the Entente Powers, which religious interests abide, even though dynasties and governments change, he will say what means are now being taken to make the objects and conditions of the Allies' campaign in Palestine clear and understood?

I would refer the hon. Member to the Proclamation issued by the General Officer Commanding in Palestine on the occasion of the occupation of Jerusalem.

Can we have more information about the special religious interests referred to here? They are undefined and unintelligible to the general public. It must be known to the Foreign Office what they are.

I think the hon. Gentleman will find those interests are dealt with in the Proclamation to which I have referred.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland if he will state what are the yearly percentages of the causes of disqualification of applicants for old age

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether he has received from the pensioners of the Royal Irish Constabulary a statement of their

I will answer these two questions together. I am afraid I can give the hon. Member no further information beyond the figures which I gave him on the 27th June, which were for the United Kingdom as a whole. As the hon. Member was informed on that occasion, no separate figures are available for claims rejected; and separate figures are not available for the different parts of the United Kingdom.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland if he will state what is the yearly number of appeals for the years 1914 to 1917, with the percentage of those for and against old age pensioners or applicants for old age pensions?

With the hon. Gentleman's permission. I will circulate in the OFFICIAL REPORT a statement in answer to this question.

The answer to the first paragraph of the question is in the affirmative. There is no record of the number of constabulary pensioners at present unemployed, but there is every reason to believe that there are fewer unemployed now than before the commencement of the War, every effort being made to facilitate pensioners obtaining suitable employment. With regard to the last paragraph of the question, I would refer the hon. and gallant Member to the replies given to questions asked on the subject by the hon. Member for the College Green Division of Dublin and the hon. member for the Leix Division of Queen's County on the 29th October and 23rd November last.

Will the right hon. Gentleman and the Irish Office consider the claims of these men afresh now we have a change of government in Dublin?

I cannot give any undertaking about it. The matter was gone into very fully, as the hon. and gallant Gentleman will find by reference to these answers.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether he has now been able to ascertain the reasons that led the Estates Commissioners, in view of their previous undertaking that men who were serving in the forces of the Crown or who had relatives so serving should have preference, to refuse in a recent distribution of lands at Killua, West Meath, the application of Regimental Quartermaster-Sergeant Bond, Leinster Regiment, who has to his credit nearly twenty-four years' continuous service, including four years' service in France; why was James Killick, of Clonmallon. West Meath, also refused land, although he has three sons at present serving; and will the Estates Commissioners now review their decision in these cases?

The classes of persons to whom parcels of untenanted land can be sold by the Estates Commissioners under the Land Purchase Acts are prescribed by those Acts. In the distribution of the lands referred to in the question the Commissioners found it possible to divide over 230 acres amongst persons coming within these classes who have served or are serving in the present War, or have members of their families so serving. The application of Regimental Quartermaster-Sergeant Bond and James Killick were considered, and in the exercise of their discretion the Commissioners did not include them amongst those who were provided with land. It is not the practice of the Commissioners to give the reasons which actuate them in the exercise of the discretion vested in them. The land has been distributed, and possession taken by or on behalf of the allottees, and the question of the distribution cannot be reopened.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say whether, as a fact, some of the land allotted on this Killua estate was not given to men who had not served themselves, and who had no dependants at all—in other words, they came first and the men serving came last?

I have no further particulars. The Commissioners cannot look further into the matter.

Are we to understand that there is to be any changes of policy or is this going on?

This is a case of land distributed some time ago.

Can the right hon. Gentleman give no assurance that that policy will be changed in future?

An assurance has been given that the interests of these men will be carefully attended to?

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether Sir William Byrne, Permanent Under-Secretary, is being succeeded by Mr. James MacMahon; and, if so, whether any reason for this change can be stated?

Sir William Byrne who is the permanent chairman of the Board of Control in London, has been acting temporarily as Under-Secretary for Ireland. He has expressed a desire to resume duty in England, and has now tendered his resignation as Under-Secretary. His resignation has been accepted with regret. He is being succeeded by Mr. James MacMahon, who is considered to be the most suitable person for the position.

Is Mr. James MacMahon accepting the office as a permanency, or, like his predecessor, as a temporary engagement?

I cannot give any further information.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say whether the continued absence of the Chief Secretary himself from this House, where he is so much appreciated, is the cause?

The hon. Gentleman is asking another question.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland if the board of governors of the Royal Belfast Academical Institution have passed resolutions pressing upon the Government and the National Board of Education in Ireland the necessity for establishing a training college for elementary teachers in Belfast in connection with the Queen's University, and that this proposal is strongly supported in Ulster; and if he will recommend that Government assistance shall be afforded to this project?

The resolutions referred to have not been received. If the proposal is put forward it will receive full consideration.

asked the Home Secretary whether a patent No. 1,177 9/17, applied for on 25th August, 1916, and completed on 27th September, 1917, for an artificial arm was granted to Siemens-Schuckertwerke, G. M. B. H., of Siemen-stadt, near Berlin; whether this limb can be made in this country without infringing the patent; and whether the restrictions placed on private persons in regard to trading with the enemy apply also to Government Departments?

My right hon. Friend has asked me to answer this question. No patent has been granted to the applicants in this case, but the benefit of the application was, by Order of the Board of Trade, vested in the Public Trustee, and a patent granted to him on the 24th January last. Any person desirous of manufacturing the invention may make application to the Board of Trade for that purpose. I am afraid I do not understand to what the last part of the question refers, but if the hon. and gallant Member will communicate with me I will endeavour to give him the information he desires.

Does it become a valid patent in favour of the German patentee?

No, not necessarily.

asked the Home Secretary if a leaflet headed "Reality," printed by G. B. Dibblee, Windsor House, Bream's Buildings, London, E.C.4, is being widely circulated; that this leaflet deals exclusively with the present War; that it bears no imprint indicating either the author or the publisher; whether this leaflet was submitted before publication to the Press Bureau, under Regulation 27c of the Defence of the Realm Act; and whether any proceedings have been instituted against those responsible for the publication of this leaflet in violation of the provisions of the Regulation mentioned?

I am informed that "Reality" is a weekly periodical which was in existence before the 16th November, 1917, and Regulation 27c, therefore, does not apply to it.

asked the Home Secretary whether Liverpool newspapers are rigorously forbidden by the Censor to mention the arrival and movements of American troops, while newspapers published in other towns regularly record such arrival and movements; whether on 27th June last the "Daily Mail" newspaper published an article, written by the Attorney-General, on the organisation of receptions to American troops, and referring, inter alia, to their welcome at Liverpool and elsewhere; that after the publication of such article the editor of the "Liverpool Express" newspaper, who has repeatedly refrained from publishing matter in his possession concerning American troops, in obedience to the instructions of the Censor, forwarded a communication to the Press Bureau stating that he assumed he was at liberty to quote from this article in the "Daily Mail" newspaper, and that he was informed in reply that if he did so quote he must delete the words at Liverpool and elsewhere; and whether, in view of the freedom given to the "Daily Mail" newspaper by the Press Bureau, he can see his way to extend similar latitude to provincial papers of old standing and good repute?

The statements in the question are not quite accurate On the publication of the article in the "Daily Mail" (which was not submitted to the Press Bureau), a representative of the Liverpool "Express" inquired whether it could be quoted in that paper. He was informed that as the article had been published it could be repeated, but it was added that a reference made in the article to the place at which troops landed ought not to have been published. No discrimination has been or will be made between one paper and another.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether his attention has been called to the lecture lately delivered at the Royal Society of Arts by Sir Walter Egerton on the subject of British Guiana; and what steps will be taken to carry into effect the nine different reforms advocated by that officer?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. Generally speaking, the measures advocated by Sir Walter Egerton have received, and are receiving, a great deal of attention. Some of them are being carried out, but others are of such a nature that they cannot be dealt with during the War, and one involves political changes on which I am not prepared to express an opinion. As regards the scheme for a railway to the interior, upon which Sir Walter Egerton lays special stress, a practical step is already being taken by clearing a cattle track along a line which coincides with one of the proposed tracks.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether, considering the importance of putting a stop to the retention of German currency in East Africa, he will at once take steps for the calling in of the German rupee, and the substitution in its place of the British rupee minted in India, or whatever other British currency may be most suitable for the purpose?

I regret that I can add nothing to my replies to previous questions on this subject.

Is the German currency to go on circulating for ever?

I think my hon. and gallant Friend will find that the question is fully dealt with in my previous answer.

asked the Secretary for Scotland what is the yearly number of appeals for the year 1914 to 1917, with the percentage of those for and against old age pensions or applicants for old age pensions?

With my hon. Friend's permission, I will circulate in the OFFICIAL REPORT a statement giving the desired information, which is somewhat detailed.

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether he is aware that there are numerous cases of profiteering among tenants of small houses who sub-let one or more rooms for more than the total rent paid for the house; and whether he proposes to take any action in the matter?

I would refer my hon. Friend to my reply to the question put by my hon. Friend the Member for Oxford on Tuesday last.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, in view of the fact that he has made an exception as regards season-ticket rates in the case of Romford, he can see his way to grant some relief in the case of Southend-on-Sea, a town in which there are over 10,000 persons affected by this tax and where the inhabitants have been subjected, during the last three years, to exceptional hardship owing to the War?

No special exception has been made in the case of Romford, which, like other places to which the distance is just over 12 miles but is counted for charging purposes as 12 miles only, is regarded as coming under the 10 per cent. increase in season-ticket rates, and not under the 20 per cent. increase. Southend-on-Sea is 36 miles distant from London, and I regret that I cannot make any special concession in the case of that town.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if the Great Western Railway Company have stopped running their motor-rail service between Dore Junction, Aberdare, and Cwmaman; that this means inconvenience to the inhabitants, who number over 10,000; if the Miners' Federation and other bodies have begged the railway company to provide some relief and that the company have not yet done so; is he aware that public meetings are being held in protest; and will he endeavour to get the Great Western Railway Company to at least run some trains each day and grant reasonable facilities to this centre?

I am making inquiries into this matter, and will let the hon. Gentleman know the result.

asked the Minister of Pensions if his attention has been called to the case of W. Ashton, aged twenty-one, of 29, Tomlinson Street, Bradford, a discharged soldier, No. 22624, Northumberland Fusiliers, who, after treatment in the Northumberland War Hospital for shell-shock, was discharged on 18th April last and recommended by the board there for two months' treatment in a civil home; if this disabled ex-soldier has now been at home fifteen weeks awaiting such treatment and that his friends have been informed that there are a large number of cases on the waiting list before him; if it has been suggested by the authorities that Ashton should obtain light work for a few hours daily and that his pension is to be reduced as from 5th July next from 27s 6d. to 19s. 3d., although within the last few weeks he had a fit in a shop; if the parents of this disabled soldier are working people who have lost one son killed in the War and have one son now serving and that the disabled soldier has himself served in Gallipoli and in France; and what action he intends to take to deal with the case.

As stated in the question, Ashton was discharged from the Army for shell-shock, and was recommended for treatment, but the medical board appears to have considered that his case was not of such urgency as to call for his admission in priority to men who were already on the waiting list of the home to which he had been referred. It has now been arranged that he shall be brought immediately to London, and admitted to the Home of Recovery at Golders' Green, where a bed is ready for him. The reduction of pension from 27s. 6d. to 19s. 3d. is the result of an assessment of 70 per cent. incapacity by the Military Medical Board, who examined Ashton in May last, but so long as he remains at Golders' Green he will draw an allowance equivalent to pension at the highest rate of disablement, with a deduction of only 7s. a week for maintenance.

asked the Minister of Pensions whether his attention has been called to the case of an officer suffering from shrapnel wounds who was in the Western General Hospital, Manchester, and who was, while there, gazetted out of the Army on account of ill-health, and thereafter asked to pay the hospital expenses incurred; is he aware that his Department refused to pay these expenses for the officer; and what action he proposes to take in this case?

I cannot trace the particular case referred to unless I am furnished with the officer's name and late regiment. I may, however, explain that retired officers are expected to pay the cost of their maintenance in an institution up to a limit of 4s. 6d. a day. From the facts stated it is probable that in this particular case the officer was receiving wound pension and retired pay out of which he was asked to pay 2s. 6d. a day for his maintenance. If this surmise is correct, it does not appear that inquiry or action is necessary.

Is the House to understand that it is possible for an officer to be gazetted out of the Army while still in hospital suffering from wounds, and that in that event he is called upon to pay for his maintenance?

Yes; there are cases where officers have been gazetted out while they are in hospital. In that case they receive retired pay, and we make this charge for their maintenance—that is, board and lodging—while they are in hospital.

Has that policy the approval of the Ministry of Pensions?

It is not a matter over which we have any control. It is a matter entirely for the War Office.

asked the Pensions Minister whether he is aware that Harold Hollis, No. F6145, Royal Naval Air Service, air mechanic, ship "President II.," was discharged 4th August, 1917, for rheumatism and nerve trouble attributable, and received a gratuity of £10 and £l a week for twenty weeks, but has received no pension since; and whether this man is entitled to a pension?

Hollis was invalided in August, 1917, for sub-acute rheumatism, but the medical advisers of the Ministry did not regard the man's disability as due to service, and he was accordingly awarded a gratuity of £30 under Article 7 (2) of Order in Council, 30th March, 1917, payable £10 down and £l a week for twenty weeks. Hollis has appealed against the decision, and his case will come in due course before the Appeal Tribunal.

asked the Pensions Minister whether his attention has been drawn to the case of ex-Private V. W. Rawlings, No. 3993, who was discharged from the Army on 10th September, 1917, as being no longer physically fit for war service; whether he is aware that Raw-lings was offered, as compensation for the damage done to his health, a temporary pension of 14s. per week, of which only one instalment was sent, and a gratuity of £5; that Rawlings refused the gratuity on the ground that it was inadequate compensation; and was informed on 7th December, 1917, that his case had been referred by the Ministry of Pensions to the Pensions Appeal Tribunal; whether he is aware that on 6th March, 1918, the Pensions Appeal Tribunal unanimously decided that Rawlings's unfitness was attributable to or aggravated by military service; and that on 16th May, 1918, the Ministry of Pensions notified Rawlings that the circumstances of his case had been reviewed and that no award of pension or gratuity could be made; and whether, in view of the above facts, he will state what weight, if any, is attached to the decisions of the Pensions Appeal Tribunal?

Rawlings was a conscientious objector who was called up on 4th April, 1917, and posted to the Non-Combatant Corps. He did not respond to the call, and on the following day was fined by the magistrates and handed over to the military authorities. A week later he was placed under arrest for refusing to go on parade, and on 3rd May was tried by court-martial and sentenced to two years' hard labour. In July he was released and passed into Class W Reserve, to take up work of national importance, and while at that work he fell sick and was ultimately discharged from the Army on 19th September. It will be seen from these facts that Rawlings had no real military service to his credit. The decision of the Appeal Tribunal was presumably given on the technical ground that Rawlings, while in the hands of the military authorities, must be classed as a soldier, with all the consequences with regard to eligibility for pension which that description entails. It appeared to my right hon. Friend that it-would be an insult to the men who have fought to give pension for such service as this, and he accordingly directed that no award should be made. With regard to the last part of the question, while my right hon. Friend has accepted the decisions of the Appeal Tribunal in all but the most exceptional cases, he cannot delegate to them the duty which is laid upon him of being the ultimate interpreter of the Pensions Warrant.

asked the Minister of Pensions whether he is aware that Private H. E. Doe, No. 17347, 1st Royal Berkshire Regiment, was killed on 17th June, 1916, while on active service, and that his wife has' never received the gratuity of £5 which, prior to 1st July, 1916, was paid to widows by the Patriotic Fund, and on and after that date by the Ministry of Pensions, although she ha3 made repeated applications for the same; and will he have the matter looked into at once, in order that the allowance may be paid without further delay?

Private Doe was killed in action on the 17th June, 1916, and the widow is therefore not eligible for a gratuity from the funds of the Ministry. I do not understand why Mrs. Doe failed to obtain a grant from the Royal Patriotic Fund Corporation, and I am communicating with them in order that if any mistake has been made it may be rectified.

asked the Minister of Pensions whether he is aware that ex-seaman H. Sida, whilst serving in His Majesty's ship "Belvoir," was taken ill with inflammation of the eyes, was then sent to hospital, and after several months' treatment went blind; that this man up to a few weeks ago received a pension through the local war pensions committee which has now been stopped; that the Admiralty have repudiated liability and Lave referred the matter to the Board of Trade; that the Board of Trade in their turn have stated that the Admiralty are liable, and that owing to the action of these two Government Departments this man has not received even his back pay, or any assistance beyond that referred to since his discharge, with the exception of his silver badge; and whether steps will at once be taken to secure an adequate pension being granted to this ex-sailor so as to avoid his being sent to the workhouse?

I have been asked to answer this question. Sida served under us as a mercantile rating from 29th May, 1917, to 25th June, 1917—that is to say, a month—when he went sick and was sent to hospital. He was discharged medically unfit on 28th August, 1917. He was paid down to that date, and it is wholly incorrect to say that he has not received even his back pay. It appeared from the medical evidence that his disability was not due to his brief service with us, but, as he stated to us that he had, previous to serving with us, been serving on a steamship at the moment of her having been torpedoed, we referred the case to the Board of Trade. That Department replied that Sida has no claim to compensation, as his incapacity is not due to service on the vessel in question. However, his case is being further investigated from a, medical point of view.

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether the electors' lists for the Parliamentary borough of Bradford were published on the 29th June last; and, if not, whether any alteration of dates for the receipt of claims, etc., will be made so that the public may have the same time for inspection and correction of the lists as is provided by the Representation of the People Act, 1918, and the Order in Council made thereunder?

I understand that some of the electors' lists were not fully published on the 29th June as the whole of the copies were not received from the printers, but the registration officer informs me that the full lists in proof form were deposited for inspection in his office. My right hon. Friend is expecting a further report, when he will consider the suggestion in the last part of the question.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether his attention has been called to the disregard of expenditure, both in method and amount, on the works being carried out at Throsk, in Stirlingshire; whether the 6½ per cent. commission being paid on the cost tends to encourage this disregard; and whether he will devise some new method of payment of commission in works under his authority that will increase the payment in proportion to the economy effected, and not in proportion to the extravagance?

The work was urgent and the contract let on the prime cost plus percentage basis, the profit being fixed at 5 per cent., together with 1½ per cent. establishment charges for the contractors' London office expenses. It has been arranged that any increase in labour rates of wages authorised subsequent to the placing of the contract shall not entitle the contractors to an increased profit. The policy of the Admiralty is to avoid contracts on the net-cost basis wherever an alternative method is practicable; and, with regard to the last part of the question, it has now been arranged that in such contracts an endeavour should be made to arrive at an agreed estimated cost of the work on which the percentage profit is to be calculated, in order that any actual increase of cost above the estimate shall not bring additional profit to the contractors. The plan of increasing contractors' profits in proportion to the economy effected in carrying out the work is one to which we have given considerable attention, and, as a matter of fact, we have applied it in certain shipbuilding time and line contracts; but its administration is likely to be complicated.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say what that system is?

My hon. and gallant Friend means the system under which we endeavour to measure the profits by the economy effected?

Yes.

I will explain it to my hon. and gallant Friend and give him full particulars.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty whether the Admiralty is still doing business with Holzapfels, Limited; if so, whether any percentage of the resultant profits to that company! still goes to persons of enemy birth who left this country since the outbreak of war; if so, where these persons have resided and now reside; and if they can withdraw their share of the profits from this country?

As regards the first part of my hon. Friend's question, I have recently been assured by my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade that the enemy interests in this company have been practically eliminated. In the circumstances, the Admiralty propose to resume business transactions with the firm if and when occasion arises. As regard the other parts of the question, my hon. Friend should make inquiry of the Board of Trade.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that I do not refer in my question to enemy interests, but to two specific shareholders in enemy firms naturalised in this country, who left the country at the outbreak of war, and who, I was informed by the Board of Trade across the flood of the House some time ago, hold 24 per cent of the shares in this company?

I will put the matter again to the Board of Trade, but it is only quite recently that the whole question of the resumption of transactions with the firm was gone into between us and the Board of Trade.

Is the House to understand that the Admiralty have had no business transactions with Holzapfels, Limited, between October, 1916, and the present day?

I am not aware of the dates, but I know that some papers came before me the other day having reference to a proposal to put them again on our list.

asked the-Pensions Minister whether he is aware that an officer of the mercantile marine whose ship has been commandeered by the Government is placed in a most disadvantageous position compared with naval officers—namely, that naval officers, when taken prisoners, are allowed to draw their full pay, but, in the case of an officer of the mercantile marine taken prisoner, the only consideration he obtains is that his wife is allowed £2 a week, and as, to keep her husband from starving in a German camp, she is obliged to send him parcels of food, very little is left to keep herself and children; and whether he proposes to reconsider the position of these officers?

My right hon. Friend has asked me to answer this question, and I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given him on 4th June, which stated that allowances on a pension scale are paid to the dependants in this country of the officers of the mercantile marine who are interned in Germany, and that the expense of special treatment in officer camps in Germany is guaranteed. The pension scale is now under examination, and if it be found to need revision it will be altered, but I doubt whether it would be possible to adopt the suggestion that full wages should be paid during internment.

In view of the fact that the Board is entitled to pay for the cost of special treatment of an interned prisoner in a German camp, will the right hon. Gentleman extend this provision to ordinary board, to keep the officer in question from starvation and not encroach on the pittance allowed his wife?

That aspect of the problem will be considered in determining whether the pension scale should be altered or not.

asked the Prime Minister whether the undertaking that the Government will denounce all commercial conventions containing a clause regarding most-favoured nations has been or is immediately to be carried into effect; and, provided this is done, will he say what is the interval of time that must elapse before this country is freed of its present commercial conventions with the following countries: Switzerland, Spain, Holland, the Scandinavian kingdoms, the Argentine Republic, and other neutral Mid and South American countries?

I regret that I can add nothing to the answer which I gave to the hon. Member for Hexham on the 24th of June last.

asked the Prime Minister if he will consider whether, in view of the change of policy with regard to the national shipyards, the soldiers employed on constructing these yards would at present be more profitably employed on agricultural work?

The policy with regard to the construction of national shipyards is in no way affected by the decision to man the yards with civilian labour. The completion of the yards is a matter of great urgency, and the Government are satisfied that the soldiers engaged are most profitably employed in doing this work.

Is the Government satisfied that soldiers are more profitably engaged on this work than in getting in the harvest?

Yes; that is our view.

Will the right hon. Gentleman give the; House an opportunity of discussing this question of national shipyards?

Yes; I think the sooner the opportunity the better, and I hope we may soon be able to put down the Vote.

asked the Prime Minister what action His Majesty's Government intend to take in response to the speech and statement of German war, aims recently made by Herr von Kuhlmann in the Reichstag; and whether the Government will state wherein these aims may be compatible with the views of the Allies and wherein there may be some measure of agreement?

I do not see that any action can usefully be taken with reference to a statement so vague and inconclusive as that referred to. Our war aims are well known, and we wait in vain for a clear and unambiguous declaration of those of our enemies.

In view of that unsatisfactory reply, I beg to give notice that at the end of questions I shall ask leave to move the Adjournment of the House on a definite matter of urgent public importance, namely, the statement of German war aims.

Will the Noble Lord say where we can find that clear statement of Allied war aims?

The hon. Member knows perfectly well, and I can give him no information that he does not already possess.

asked the Prime Minister whether the return of the Home Secretary to this country indicates the conclusion of negotiations at The Hague; if so, whether he is in a position to make a statement on the subject of the new agreement; and, if not, whether all further negotiations will be suspended pending his return to The Hague?

asked the Prime Minister whether he can give the House any information as to the progress of the negotiations at The Hague for the exchange of prisoners?

The negotiations at The Hague as to the exchange and treatment of prisoners of war are not concluded; but it was considered that, in view of the number of questions requiring the immediate attention of the Home Secretary, his return to this country was desirable. The negotiations will be continued by the other members of the Mission, and at the stage which they have now reached, when further instructions will, no doubt, be required from the Cabinet, it will be a great advantage to be able to consult with my right hon. Friend.

Could anything be important enough at present to bring the right hon. Gentleman back from carrying to a successful conclusion such an important and delicate matter as the exchange of prisoners?

I am sure we recognise the importance of it and, as I have just said, we hope the presence of the Home Secretary here will be useful at the stage which negotiations have now-reached.

Will the Home Secretary be asked to return to The Hague when he has disposed of the difficult problems for which he returned to this country?

That I think will be impossible. It will be too late. It is as certain as can be that the delegates there will require definite instructions from the Cabinet, and in giving these instructions it will be of immense advantage to have the advice of my right hon. Friend.

Is it proposed to replace him by another delegate?

No. At the stage which the negotiations have now reached, my right hon. Friend agrees with me that that is quite unnecessary.

Will the whole matter of repatriation and exchange be under the aegis of the right hon. Gentleman; will one Cabinet Minister be in charge of the whole thing or must hon. Members go to various Departments to find out?

I am afraid I cannot give a definite answer to that question without notice.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that Members of this House have extreme difficulty in running to earth the actual Department which has to do with all the various branches connected with this matter?

The hon. Member had better put that question down on the Paper.

asked the Prime Minister whether his attention has been called to the existence of a system of farming out of nurses in the London Hospital under which nurses are taken from their training in the wards at the end of their second year, are paid 13s. per week, and sent out to nurse as trained nurses in private cases at £2 2s. per week, the hospital profiting by this means to the extent of over £6,000 per year before the War; and whether he intends to introduce legislation to protect nurses and patients from this system?

I have been asked by my right hon. Friend to reply to this question. The arrangements made by the London Hospital with their nurses are not a matter over which the Government have any control. There is no intention of introducing legislation on the subject.

Has the hon. Gentleman satisfied himself with regard to the accuracy of the statements in the question?