asked the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he is in a position to make a statement as to military and political matters on the coast of the Red Sea, the Hedjaz and adjoining Sultanates, and in Mesopotamia?

The House will, I hope, pardon me if I answer may hon. Friend's question in some detail.

General Marshall's operations on the Euphrates in March, and his subsequent operations in the neighbour of Kirkuk in April, resulted in inflicting on the Turks casualties amounting to about 10,000 men, of whom 7,500 are prisoners of war, the capture of 30 guns and much other war material.

As regards the operations of the Mesopotamian Political Administration, very satisfactory progress is being made in redeeming the country from the state of ruin into which it had fallen under the Turks. Thirteen Government primary schools, four municipal State-aided schools, a teachers' training school, and a survey school have been opened. Extension classes in agriculture have also been started. The local demand for education is very insistent, and is being met as rapidly as the supply of teachers will permit. Large tracts of land hitherto unfilled have been brought under the plough through the combined efforts of the people and the Political Administration. Use has been made of mechanical tractors and artillery horses, which have supplemented the ordinary means of cultivation. The opening up of the country by road, rail, and improved water transport and the establishment of security on the highways have resulted in an increase of trade and a lowering of prices of commodities. The contrast between the improved condition of Mesopotamia and that of the neighbouring country occupied by the Turks, where disorder and famine are chronic, has not failed to impress the population and its leaders, the local notables and tribal chiefs. The relations between our troops and the people are excellent, and a spirit of harmony and co-operation prevails. The opinion is frequently expressed that the British people mean well by the Arab race.

Turning to the operations of the forces of our Ally, the King of the Hedjaz, the casualties inflicted on the Turks by the Arab armies along the line between Dera'a and Ma'an number about 2,000, in addition to which two locomotives have been destroyed, 122 culverts and bridges demolished, and railway communication between those two points permanently interrupted. In the interior, five Turkish convoys, aggregating 1,500 camels, have been captured by the Sherif Ali, and a severe defeat has been inflicted on the Emir of Hail by the Sherif Abdulla.

Is my Noble Friend aware what kind of education is being given? Is it an English education?

I am afraid I do not know the details, but I am sure it is the best education.

Have any steps been taken to open the coal mines?

I will inquire. I am afraid I cannot answer without notice.

Are any schemes of of irrigation under contemplation in Mesopotamia?

The matter is, I know, being considered, but I cannot tell my hon. and gallant Friend the details.

Is there any immediate prospect of starting the pilgrimage to the Hedjaz?

I do not think it has ever been interrupted.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that on 14th July the annual aeridhacht at Glenbeigh, county Kerry, was cancelled owing to the Proclamation, but that a number of visitors arriving, unaware of this, went to picnic on the seashore and about three dozen there engaged in singing well-known Gaelic songs, but the police quickly brought fifty soldiers who drove the whole party from the seashore, prevented any further singing, and struck persons with their rifles; whether these soldiers acted under military command; and, if not, whether commanding officers in Ireland will be instructed not to assist the police on trivial occasions or without real necessity?

A meeting was advertised to take place at Glenbeigh, county Kerry, on the 14th instant. This was forbidden, and no meeting took place at Glenbeigh, but certain persons attempted to hold one at Rossbeigh about one and a-half miles distant. This was dispersed without any force being used. Subsequently further crowds collected, and, as they did not disperse after being warned by the police, the police and military dispersed them. There was no charge of any kind, but in certain cases the men who refused to move were pushed with the butt ends of rifles, but this was the only instance. No songs were heard. The military present were under their own commanding officer.

asked the Home Secretary whether he is aware that Mrs. Sheehy-Skeffington, now detained in Liverpool and prevented from returning to Ireland, is a widow whose husband was murdered by a British officer but who has received no compensation, that she desires to return to Dublin, where she has earned her living as a teacher; and that her son, aged nine years, has gone to Dublin; and whether he will state the conditions on which she will be allowed to live at her home?

I have nothing to add to the replies with reference to this case which were given to similar questions on the 18th instant by the Attorney-General for Ireland and myself.

Cannot the right hon. Gentleman ascertain what is the charge against this lady, and why she should be subjected to this special penalty after having been allowed to come to Liverpool and go no further?

She was warned before she left the United States that she would not be allowed to go to Ireland.

Is it not a fact that her passport was a passport to return home?

I dare say it was in the ordinary form, but she knew very well that she would not be allowed to proceed.

asked the Home Secretary on what date was Captain Bowen-Coulthurst released from Broadmoor; how long had he been then an inmate of Broadmoor; whether a special mental inquiry was made into his case; if so, whether he is now considered to be sane and free from all danger of any relapse; how many persons have been liberated from Broadmoor during the last ten years; and what was the average term of detention in these cases before they left Broadmoor?

Captain Bowen-Coulthurst was received in Broadmoor Asylum on the 5th July, 1916, and conditionally discharged on the 26th January last. I was advised in the matter by the medical staff of Broadmoor, who are specially skilled in all questions of insanity, and who had him under constant observation during the whole period of his detention. Captain Bowen-Coulthurst is not regarded as free from all danger of relapse, and for that reason conditions as to residence and supervision were attached to his discharge. During the last ten years 185 inmates of Broadmoor Asylum have been discharged from the asylum. Of these 169 have been discharged on conditions designed to protect themselves and the public from the risks arising from a relapse into insanity. I cannot say what was the average term of their detention. It varies very greatly according to the circumstances of the individual case.

May we take it that this officer is now at liberty to live in Ireland, although the widow of the man whose death he caused, and against whom no charge is made, is not allowed to go there?

No, Sir, that is not the case. One of the conditions of his release is that he shall reside in a fit place, in England.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say whether it is his intention to recommend that Captain Bowen-Coulthurst be now placed upon the military staff in Dublin?

For recruiting purposes.

asked the Home Secretary whether he is aware that delays occur in letters from interned Irishmen in English prisons reaching their friends; whether it is on his instructions that for three weeks past no news from Irish prisoners in Lincoln prison have reached their friends; why are letters from Holloway so detained that in one case two letters, written at an interval of two weeks, arrived on the same day; and whether, in view of the anxiety, distress, and false notions engendered by such irregular correspondence, he will give orders to ensure that the prisoners' friends have regular news from the prisons?

I am aware that letters written by these interned prisoners to their friends are sometimes delayed. They are allowed to write for the purpose of communicating with their relations and friends on domestic matters and matters of business in which they are personally interested, and unless their letters are confined to such matters they are liable to be delayed or stopped. Such delays as are suggested in the question, if they have occurred, can only be in cases where these limits have not been observed. The prisoners have been specially reminded of this rule, and if it is observed their letters will not be held longer than is necessary for their proper examination by the Censor, which, in ordinary circumstances, does not delay them for more than twenty-four hours.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War if an officer or non-commissioned officer recalled for service under the Military Service Act, who has previously left or been discharged from the Service, will, irrespective of his medical grade, be entitled to be restored to his former rank?

The case of each officer is fully considered. As regards non-commissioned officers, the question is still under consideration, and it is hoped to issue instructions very shortly.

In what sense?

The instruction will be issued.

asked the Home Secretary whether he is aware that Herbert Wilson, a conscientious objector, now court-martialled for the fourth time, has always been ready to do work of national importance; and whether he will be allowed to do work under the Home Office scheme?

The Central Tribunal, before whom this man appeared in September, 1917, reported that he could not be said to have any real conscientious objection to military service. The answer to the last part of the question is therefore in the negative.

Is it not the case that these conscientious objectors are permitted to leave prison if they will pledge themselves to do work of national importance?

Yes, generally speaking, that is true.

Is there any right of revision in a case of this sort where a man professes himself to be anxious to do work of national importance?

No; if he has not satisfied the Central Tribunal he is not examined again.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether, in view of the fact that the war bounty is now limited to men who are not above the age of fifty-one years, he will again consider whether men of that age who have completed thirteen years' service may be released from the Army in the same way that the limitation of the bounty awarded under Army Order 209 of 1916 to men under the age of forty-one carried with it the compensating advantages for men of the age of forty-one and upwards, that they could claim their discharge if they had completed thirteen years' service?

My hon. and gallant Friend appears to be under a misapprehension. Any soldier who was serving on an Army engagement entered into before the outbreak of war which expires during the War, and who is retained under the Military Service Acts, is eligible for the bounty irrespective of his age at the date of being retained.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that that is not the question I asked. The question I asked is whether a man of fifty-one can be released.

My hon. and gallant Friend says "in view of the fact that the war bounty is now limited to men who are not above the age of fifty-one." None of us was quite clear what he had in mind.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether he is aware that under War Office Letter, 27th April, 1914, paragraph 4, instructions have been issued to civilian employé pensioners employed at Colewart Barracks, Portsmouth, and to the pensioners similarly employed under the Royal Engineers, Hillsea lines, that in future their rate of pay is to be reduced by 2s. per week; and whether he will make inquiries with a view to the withdrawal of the paragraph in question, as no man who has fought for his country and earned a pension should be placed in civilian employment at a disadvantage as compared with other workmen?

I will make inquiries, and inform my hon. Friend of the result.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether it has yet been decided to render financial assistance to the widow and children of the late Bertrand Samuel Goater, S/14576, staff sergeant, Army Service Corps, who died on the 30th October, 1917; whether he is aware that this soldier served through the whole of the South African War, being invalided from the Army about two months before the, outbreak of the present War with tubercular lung, the disease being accelerated by foreign service; that, after three months' sanatorium treatment, the soldier resumed his former duties at the Army Service Corps Office at Netley, and was afterwards engaged at Romsey and Winchester as barrack warden; that his widow has received no financial assistance, though left with three children, their ages ranging from one to four years; and that one child falling ill was unable to obtain the necessary nourishment, and died in consequence; and what action it is proposed to take?

This man was a discharged soldier, employed as a civilian subordinate. His widow is not entitled to a soldier's widow's pension, and his civilian service was too short to entitle her to a gratuity under the Superannuation Act. A small Grant has been made to Mrs. Goater from the Civil Compassionate Fund.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether Section 4 of the Superannuation Act of 1887, requiring that officers who have been retired with a pension or gratuity must have at least 10 per cent. deducted from any civil emoluments they may be able to earn in a Government Department, is held to apply to officers who have been retired from the Service owing to wounds or disablement incurred during the present or any previous War?

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether an officer in Government employment who is in receipt of a disability pension is in any case subject to any deduction from his salary on the ground that he is in receipt of a disability pension; and, if so, will he state what percentage of the salary earned is deducted on such grounds, and what justfication there is for such deduction?

The Treasury is advised that an officer who is in receipt of retired pay granted on account of disability owing to service in His Majesty's Forces, and who accepts any civil employment of profit under any public Department, is liable under No. 4 of the Rules made under Section 6 of the Superannuation Act, 1887, to a deduction of not less than 10 per cent. from the profits of his civil employment, provided that his salary and retired pay together exceeded £400 per annum. The deduction is prescribed by Statute.

Then a soldier, officer, or man, wounded in this War is to have 10 per cent. deducted from any employment he gets? Will the hon. Gentleman have that Warrant cancelled?

I used the word "disability" advisedly. The wounds pension alone is exempted under Rule No. 1 (a) from that action. It would require alteration by Statute.

Will the hon. Gentleman include disability in that, and get the Statute altered?

asked the Pensions Minister (1) whether he is now in a position to state whether a man who was partially disabled by wounds or injuries received in former wars will be put in a position corresponding to that of a man who was totally disabled in such wars and receive the scale of pensions as laid down for the present War; (2) whether he is now in a position to state whether a man who was partially disabled by wounds or injuries received in former wars shall be put in a position corresponding to that of a man who was totally disabled in such wars and receive the scale of pensions as laid down for the present War?

I regret that I cannot yet announce a settlement of this matter.

Are we to understand that the statement made by the Minister of Pensions last Friday week was unauthorised and inaccurate?

I cannot admit it was either unauthorised or inaccurate. I think what he said was perfectly true. He said he hoped to be able to make an announcement shortly.

Did he not make a definite statement that it had been decided?

I have no knowledge of that statement.

Can the hon. Gentleman tell us when an official announcement will be made, apart from that form of announcement?

This is a matter which concerns not only the Pensions Ministry, but other Departments. It is before the Government. The Committee are considering it, and I believe an announcement will be made very shortly.

Will the announcement be made in the House or on the platform?

I believe it will be made in the House.

asked the Pensions Minister whether he continues to receive complaints about the practical effect upon the dependants of enlisted apprentices of the present Regulations governing such cases; and whether, in the light of the experience latterly obtained on this matter, he is proposing further modifications in favour of this class of case?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative, and as regards the latter, it is being considered whether farther modifications can be made in the Regulations in favour of the class of case to which the hon. Member is referring.

asked the Pensions Minister whether his attention has been called to the case of Mrs. Cavill, of 222, Nutgrove Road, Brown Edge, St. Helens; whether he is aware that her husband was wounded in October, 1914, discharged from the Army, and died from tuberculosis on 24th February, 1917; whether he is aware that Mrs. Cavill has only been granted a pension of 10s. for herself and three children, and that the pension authorities have refused to increase the amount, on the ground that Rifleman Cavill's tuberculosis was not connected with the wounds he received in action; whether he will state the reason the Ministry of Pensions have for making this assertion, the names of the doctors upon whose certificates they rely, the dates of those certificates, and their nature; and, seeing that the attitude of the Ministry of Pensions towards Rifleman Cavill's family has created indignation in the neighbourhood, will he say what action he proposes to take?

This case has recently been carefully considered by the Medical Advisers to the Ministry, who are of opinion that Rifleman Cavill's death cannot be regarded as attributable to, or aggravated by, service, nor as connected with the disability fox which he was discharged. In these circumstances Mrs. Cavill is only eligible for a reduced pension under Article 17 of the Royal Warrant, which gives no additional allowance for children. I regret that I cannot give the information for which the hon. and learned Member asks in the third part of his question. My right hon. Friend cannot be called upon to disclose the source of the advice which is tendered to him, and the responsibility for which he accepts.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War if he will consider as to taking steps to arrange for the periodical publication in the Press of particulars regarding the exchange of prisoners of war for the information of the relatives of prisoners in Germany and other enemy countries; and what steps are taken to ensure that British prisoners of war shall be acquainted with the arrangements that exist with respect to the exchange of prisoners.

Agreements respecting the exchange of prisoners of war are published in the form of White Papers. Copies of the Hague and Berne Agreements have been sent to the protecting missions at Berlin and Constantinople respectively, so that prisoners of war may be kept informed of their provisions. The Agreement recently come to at The Hague contains provisions for its circulation when ratified in all prisoners of war camps, and for its publication in the British and German Press.

asked the Prime Minister whether he is aware that our prisoners of war in Germany are forced by the German Government to work in the mines, and that many of them are totally unused to this kind of work and are suffering hardship; whether any protests have been made through the Netherlands Embassy against this ill-treatment of our prisoners; and whether, in case the German Government refuse to abandon these practices, steps will be taken to compel German prisoners in this country to work in the mines here?

The Agreement concluded at The Hague contains an Article (No. 33), which it is hoped will provide a satisfactory solution of the question of the employment of British prisoners of war in mines, which has long caused anxiety to His Majesty's Government. The Agreement, however, has not yet been ratified.

Can the hon. Gentleman give us any idea when the Agreement made at The Hague will be ratified and the terms of the Agreement made public?

I cannot say that; of course it has to be ratified, not only by this Government, but by the German Government. It might be very inexpedient to publish the text before it was ratified.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that the adoption of the suggestion that German prisoners should work in British mines would mean trouble for the Government?

I have heard that suggestion.

asked the hon. Member for Sheffield (Central Division) how many British and Indian officers and rank and file, including followers, are known or believed to have died in each prisoners' camp in Turkey in each month since 1st January, 1917?

I am informed by the military authorities that the following deaths have taken place in prisoners' camps in Turkey since 1st January, 1917: 3 British officers and 518 other ranks, including Colonials; 1 British naval officer and 8 naval ratings; 6 Indian officers and 732 other ranks.

I am sorry that I cannot state the number of deaths in each camp in each month without throwing undue labour on the officials concerned.

Can the hon. Gentleman inform me whether the figures are derived from the Turkish Government—are they official?

No; I think the figures come from neutral sources, but they are military figures and come from the Casualties Branch of the War Office. I shall be glad to make further inquiries on that point, if the Noble Lord wishes.

As these figures are as and from 1st January, 1917, will the hon. Gentleman say up to what date they apply, so that we can have some idea as to when it is possible to get the last information from Turkey?

They are eighteen months' figures.

asked whether, in winding up the German banks, care will be taken that any claims now pending against them by British subjects will be allowed to proceed and will not be prejudiced by any action that may be taken on this subject in the immediate future?

I have no reason to think that any claim pending against German banks by British subjects will be prejudiced by the Orders which have been made for the winding up of the businesses of these banks.

Why have they not been wound up before?

asked the Secretary for Scotland whether Mr. C. J. N. Fleming, inspector of schools, Scottish Education Department, has been appointed Director of Cultivation under the Board of Agriculture for Scotland, in place of Mr. William Barber; and, if so, what are the practical qualifications of Mr. Fleming for this appointment?

Mr. Fleming is a Civil servant of long experience and high capacity, with a good general knowledge of agriculture. As secretary to the district agricultural committees of Berwick and Selkirk he was extremely successful in extending cultivation in these counties. From this work he was selected by the Ministry of Food as Deputy-Commissioner for the East of Scotland. His present appointment is to undertake temporary duty as Director of Cultivation in Scotland. For such a position administrative capacity and experience are of the first importance. Mr. Fleming will act under the general supervision of the Board and in association with officers of wide agricultural knowledge. The appointment, I may add, had Mr. Barber's warm approval, and, so far as I can judge, any criticism proceeds from quarters in which Mr. Fleming is not known. I have every confidence that the appointment will justify the Board's expectations.

Is Mr. Fleming a practical farmer or has he any practical knowledge of farming?

I have already stated the practical knowledge which he possesses, and that he has the full confidence of the Board and of the agricultural community.

Has he retained his position as inspector of schools?

I think not.

Is the right hon. Gentleman not aware that the appointment of a school inspector to this post has caused serious disquiet and mistrust among the agriculturists in Scotland?

I have no such information, and I am satisfied that when Mr. Fleming has filled the position for a very short time any such feeling as may exist will disappear.

Is it the policy of the Scottish Office to appoint people to offices for which their capacity is unknown?

Certainly not.

asked the President of the Board of Agriculture whether he proposes to bring in a Bill this Session to give security of tenure to the allotment-holders?

The Corn Production (Amendment) Bill, which has just reached this House, deals with this matter.

Does the Corn Production Bill give security of tenure to allotment-holders, and, if not, will a new Bill be introduced next Session?

This Bill does deal with the matter, and I think that my hon. Friend had better wait and see.

asked the President of the Board of Agriculture whether he is aware that the failure of this season's cherry and plum crop in Kent was largely due to an attack of a fungus commonly known as brown rot, Sclerotinia fructigena, and not due to frost; whether he will take every possible step to prevent the recurrence of this fungus this autumn and next spring; and will he see that fruit growers can get an adequate amount of sulphate of copper spray to syringe the fruit trees?

The failure of the Kent plum and cherry crop in the present season cannot be attributed to a single cause. The inclement weather during flowering, the normal alternation between years of large and small yield, and the fungus mentioned by the hon. Member, which was encouraged by the quantity of fruit left to rot on the trees last year, were all contributing factors. Brown rot is an endemic disease, and the means for combating it are described in the Board of Agriculture's Leaflets Nos. 86 and 312. Supplies of copper sulphate are available for the spraying of fruit trees as a preventive against brown rot. Further investigation into the diseases of fruit trees is under the consideration of the Horticultural Advisory Committee, recently established by the Board of Agriculture.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been called to the terms of a contract entered into by a Department of the Board of Trade for the cutting of a large wood in a certain district in Yorkshire, the name of which has been given to him privately; whether he is aware that the contractors are in connection with this contract temporarily paying to unskilled workmen wages so high as to attract agricultural labourers away from the land to the great detriment of the farmers in the neighbourhood, especially at harvest time; and whether he can state why the contract price was fixed so high as to allow of the contractors paying these unduly high wages to unskilled workmen?

The wood referred to was bought by the Yorkshire Pitwood Association, and the Board of Trade do not control the wages paid by that body for working it. I am, however, drawing the association's attention to the points raised.

Will the hon. Gentleman answer the latter part of the question?

I cannot admit the statement which is made.

Is it not the case that the timber people escape the high Income Tax and the Excess Profits Duty, and is not that the reason why they can pay such high wages?

No.

That is so.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware of the importance of preventing the abstraction of agricultural labourers from the land for these and other purposes?

That is a question which, I think, I ought not to answer.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether his attention has been called to the unequal distribution of jam and of cheese; and whether it is proposed to secure a more equal division of such supplies as exist, so as to avoid an absolute famine in these articles in some industrial districts?

The distribution of jam will improve as soon as the new stocks of this season are available. The Food Controller is considering whether any further measures are necessary in order to secure a more equal division. So far as cheese is concerned, a fresh scheme has been devised for including home cheese in the arrangements for distribution, which have hitherto merely covered imported cheese. In settling this scheme special attention will be paid to the occupations and needs of industrial and agricultural districts, where the present scarcity is most acutely felt.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether there is any prospect of a lower price being fixed for bacon and ham in the near future?

The price of bacon and ham to the consumer in this country is largely governed by the cost of those commodities in North America. This is one of the matters now being discussed between the inter-Allied Food Controllers, and I cannot at the moment make any definite statement.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether, in view of the improved food supply, he will consider whether disabled discharged men suffering from physical ailments, which call for special nourishment, may be included under the supplementary ration scheme?

Food control committees have been instructed that all invalids suffering from certain specified diseases are entitled to the appropriate extra rations, and discharged soldiers and sailors are, of course, included in this concession. It is also within the discretion of food control committees to refer applications from invalids suffering from other diseases to the Ministry of Food for a grant of extra rations, and the committees have been specially instructed that they may adopt this procedure in the case of discharged soldiers and sailors. I hope that these arrangements will meet the cases to which my hon. and gallant Friend refers, and I am sending him the memoranda issued on the subject for the guidance of the local food control committees and of medical practitioners.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether he will now state the scheme that has been prepared for the distribution of the potato crop which will be purchased by the State as and from the 1st November next; is the distribution to be in the hands of certain factors appointed by the Food Control Department to the exclusion of wholesale dealers and retailers; if so, how many of these factors are to be appointed; on what basis will they be remunerated; and has he received any resolutions from potato merchants and growers against this sale policy of the Potato Distribution Committee?

As I informed the hon. Member for Perth yesterday, it is hoped that an announcement on this subject will be made very shortly.

Will this announcement be made before the rising of the House?

I will ask the Food Controller about that.