asked the Secretary of State for India whether he is aware that the steamship "Abydos" was taken by the Government of India from its owners for use as a floating workshop in spite of protest that her minimum draught of 11 feet rendered her useless for that purpose; whether after much delay and expense the "Abydos" was on arrival at Busrah condemned as quite useless there; whether she was returned and at further large expense and delay reconverted into a cargo vessel; whether she is now used under requisition by the Indian Government; and whether the Indian Government has now agreed to pay the owners £10,000 for immediate attributable loss, which loss is entirely due to official incompetence in India?

As regards the first three parts of the question, I would refer my hon. Friend to the answers made to the questions put by him on the 13th March, 10th April, and 26th June. As regards the fourth part of the question, I gather from the returns of the Ministry of Shipping that the vessel was again requisitioned in January last for the purpose of carrying supplies for pilgrims, and may still be so employed. The compensation mentioned in the last part of the question presumably includes the hire of the vessel at book rates for the five months of the first requisitioning, but as to this I am making inquiry.

I beg to give notice that if there be an Indian Budget I shall call attention to this grave scandal.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether the recent statements of Sir Satyendra Sinha and the Maharaja of Patiala, published in the Press on the subject of the proposed Indian reforms, were made with his knowledge and approval; if so, whether statements of opinion and criticism, either for or against the proposed reforms, from other Indians will be equally permitted to appear, whether written in this country or in India; and whether cables to and from India relating to the proposed reforms are permitted to be published without alteration or delay other than telegraphic?

His Highness the Maharaja of Patiala and Sir Satyendra Sinha, who are my colleagues on the Imperial War Conference and Cabinet, have the same freedom to express their opinions as any other members of these two bodies. They informed me that they proposed to make a statement to the Press, but no question of my approval could possibly arise in such a case. As regards the rest of the question, the Government is anxious that statements of opinion and criticism, whatever they may be, shall be fully available to the public, subject to the ordinary rules of censorship.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether, considering that nothing has been done to increase the pay of the British officers of the Indian Army or to permanently improve the conditions of service of those officers since the commencement of the War, he will instruct the Government of India to consider the question of a substantial increase in the pay of the British officers at the same time as they are considering the question of a substantial increase in the pay of the Indian officers and men?

I would refer my hon. and gallant Friend to the answer I gave to the question asked by him on the 15th instant. Although the pay of British officers of the Indian Army has not been raised during the War, they have benefited substantially from various measures undertaken to improve the conditions of service. But I will communicate my hon. and gallant Friend's suggestion to the Government of India.

asked the Secretary of State for India (1) whether he is aware that the firm of Schroder, Smidt and Company was closed down under the Enemy Trading Act, and that J. Frericks, who was the manager of the firm, has started in business for himself; can he say what is Frericks' nationality; whether Schroder, Smidt and Company were connected with the Calcutta Hide Trade Association; if so, what action has been taken in order to prevent the trade again going into the same channel; (2) whether he is aware that the firm of Smidt, Sanders and Company was closed down under the Enemy Trading Act and that Max Staub, who was the manager of the firm, has started business in his own name; can he say what is Staub's nationality; whether Smidt, Sanders and Company were connected with the Calcutta Hide Trade Association; and, if so, what action has been taken in order to prevent the trade again going into the same channel?

The two firms have been wound up under the Enemy Trading Act. They were connected with the Calcutta Hide and Skin Shippers' Association. The two individuals mentioned are Swiss by nationality and were in the employ of the firms. They have since started business in the trade on their own account, and are carrying it on to the limited extent described in my answer to my hon. Friend's question of the 10th July. I am asking the Government of India whether they are satisfied that they are not acting in any way on behalf of the liquidated firms or still associated with them.

asked the Secretary to the Admiralty whether, in view of the fact that men are being recruited for the transport service in France up to the age of fifty-five, he will state what is the age limit for their retention on the active establishment?

If my hon. and gallant Friend refers to the Royal Marine Labour Corps, there is no age limit, and the men are retained as long as they are fit for the work they are required to perform.

Can a man of sixty-five be kept on against his wish?

I presume he will be recruited for hostilities for the duration of the War.

asked the Secretary to the Admiralty whether the Admiralty have during the last three years made any important purchases of cotton or cotton Waste from any firm in this country of which any of the partners are of enemy birth; and, if so, will he state the name of such firm and the total amount of business transacted with them?

The firms on our list are, I am advised, all firms who were placed upon the list pre-war, and, of course, after careful investigation as to their capability and financial standing. So far as we are aware, the answer to my hon. Friend's question as to any of the partners being of enemy birth would appear to be in the negative. But I am making closer inquiry.

Have contracts not been given for cotton waste to a firm the very name of which indicates enemy origin?

I cannot say. Perhaps the hon. Gentleman will give me the facts.

asked the Secretary to the Admiralty whether, before deciding to lay on a supply of water to certain naval buildings from a local water company, he has considered the possibility of obtaining an ample supply from a stream in the locality at far less cost?

This and other alternative sources of supply were fully investigated and rejected in favour of the one adopted, after full consideration of the special circumstances of the case.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he has any information that M. Miliukof, the ex-Foreign Minister of Russia, has gone to Berlin; and whether, in view of M. Miliukof's previous pro-Ally record, M. Miliukof's visit to Berlin was undertaken as an emissary of, or traitor to, the Ailed cause?

The answer to the first part of the queston is in the negative. The second, therefore, does not arise.

Are His Majesty's Government in relations with M. Miliukof, or have they been in relations with him recently?

If the hon. Member means have we received any communications from him, I am not aware that we have.

Have the statements that M. Nabokof has accompanied M. Miliukof to Berlin had the attention of the Foreign Office?

The hon. Member should give notice.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether the Government has any official information regarding the fate of the ex-Emperor of Russia?

No, Sir; not beyond that which has appeared in the Press. We have received no authentic reports, but I am afraid all the rumours I have received confirm the unhappy news.

asked the Foreign Secretary whether, since the assassination of Count Mirbach, Germany has demanded the right to send a battalion of soldiers to Moscow to maintain order?

I have no information beyond that telegraphed through the wireless stations of the Russian Government, which has already appeared in the Press.

asked whether operations on the Murman coast have been undertaken on a clear and definite understanding embodied in any written memorandum or correspondence between the Allies or any of them and any Russian Government; and whether any statement on the Murman coast expedition will be made on the forthcoming Vote of Credit?

I can add nothing to the reply given to the hon. Member on the 18th instant.

Is the memorandum of agreement published in this morning's papers, which really is an answer to this question, not authentic?

I have no information upon that point. There are great difficulties of telegraphic communication with our officials on the Murman coast and Russia generally. I do not at all deny or affirm the accuracy of the statement which appears in the Press. We have not received any information on the subject.

Has the Foreign Office actually no knowledge of any agreement with reference to this matter, and is it quite in the dark with regard to the published agreement or alleged agreement which appears in the papers this morning?

I have given the hon. Member a precise answer to that question.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether representations have been made to him by leading Russians having trading interests with Britain as to the necessity that exists for formulating a definite British commercial policy towards Russia; if so, whether consideration has been given to these representations; whether any steps are being taken to counteract the commercial penetration and exploitation of Russia by Germany; and is it proposed to organise the British commercial connection with Russia so as to place it on a safe, sound, and successful footing?

I am fully aware of the importance of the matters to which the question relates, and all practicable steps are being and will be taken for the purpose, having regard to the difficult and rapidly changing conditions prevailing in Russia. If the hon. and gallant Member will put himself in communication with my hon. Friend, who represents the Department of Overseas Trade, he will be happy to give him further information as to the measures actually being taken.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether German schools in Palestine are still working; whether Germans are not interned, and will he make inquiries to hasten the full Report?

As I informed my hon. and gallant Friend a fortnight ago, all German schools have been taken over, and all male adults interned. I will make further inquiries about the full Report.

The answer given to me a week ago, not a fortnight ago, stated that the right hon. Gentleman had no information on the point. Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the German papers say that these Germans are still in Jerusalem and that their schools are still working?

I have copied out the answer given on the subject nearly a week ago.

You said a week ago that you had asked for a Report but had not got it. Have you no further information?

In the answer to which I have referred, it was stated, not by me but by the Assistant Secretary of State, that all the German schools had been taken over and all male adults interned. That is evidently quite inconsistent with the Report which my hon. Friend appears to have obtained from the German papers. I am making further inquiries about the full Report.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether a memorial has been received from Sir P. Arunchalam and Mr. E. J. Samerawickrame on behalf of the Ceylon Reform League and the Ceylon National Association asking for certain reforms with a view to the grant of a measure of responsible government for Ceylon; whether an answer, and, if so, what answer has been returned to the memorialists; and whether the Government will meet the demand for responsible government put forward by the people of Ceylon by extending to Ceylon the same reforms as are now proposed by the Secretary of State and the Governor-General for India?

I duly received the memorial, but only a formal acknowledgment was made pending the receipt of the observations of Sir John Anderson, which he did not live to complete. I have also received memorials from other sections of opinion in Ceylon, supporting different proposals. I shall give all these views my careful consideration, but I do not propose to form any conclusions until the time is more opportune for a full examination of the difficult questions involved, and until I have received the views of the new Governor.

Will the hon. Gentleman say whether there is anything which makes a consideration of reforms in Ceylon at the present time any less opportune than the consideration of reforms in India's administration?

I do not think that question is involved in the question on the Paper, and I do not propose to answer it.

asked the Under-Secretary for War how many of the recommendations of the House of Commons Committee on Man-Power and the Army Dental Service, dated 12th December, 1917, have been wholly, and how many have been partially, acted upon already; how many will be acted on in the future; and if any are disapproved of on principle by the War Office and will not be acted upon?

In reply to a question by my hon. Friend on 23rd January last, I explained the views of the authorities at the War Office with regard to the recommendations of the Committee over which he presided. From that reply it will be seen that the suggestions of the Committee were already under consideration or had been acted upon. Since then, in answer to further questions, I have stated that the dental service in the Army has been reorganised and that the number of dental surgeons employed is being considerably increased, and I can assure my hon. Friend that additions have been, and will be, made to meet all requirements. Also, I stated, in answer to a question on the 4th July, that arrangements were being made for the dental examination of soldiers to be carried out in all cases by dental surgeons.

asked the Under-Secretary for War (1) whether he can take steps to have Signaller G. Chapman, No. 23878, Signalling School, British Expeditionary Force, transferred to home service, in view of the fact that he is the only son of a widow, has received four wounds and suffered from trench fever, and was quite recently operated upon for a disease of the ear and nose; (2) whether he can arrange that the last son, who was called to the Colours four months ago, of Mrs. A. Hughes, of 101, Rhodeswell Road, Limehouse, may be retained on home service, in view of the fact that her eldest son was killed at Loos, another son is a prisoner of war in Germany, a third is serving on the Western Front, and a fourth has been wounded in Egypt?

I regret that neither of these hard cases come within the ruling as to home service, and I cannot, therefore, take any special action.

Does not the case in Question 22 come within the rule and under the pledge which was given by the Minister of National Service in this House?

No such pledge was given by the War Office.

asked the Undersecretary of State for War if he will consider the case of a widow, afflicted by sorrow and unable to work, who has lost her husband since the War began, has lost one son in the War, and has two sons serving, one in Salonika, one she has not seen for three years, and one son training in England, with a view to the release of one of her remaining sons?

I am afraid I cannot give any undertaking that either of the sons will be released, but if my hon. Friend will furnish me with full details I shall be pleased to have the case carefully and sympathetically considered.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether, in the case of a family where there were four sons, aged twenty-two, twenty, nineteen, and eighteen, and the first three have been killed in action, arrangements will be made to secure that the remaining lad will not be called up or, if called up, will only be employed in non-combatant service?

The question of calling up any individual for military service is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Minister of National Service. If, however, the lad referred to is called up, the case would receive careful and sympathetic consideration by the War Office.

asked the Undersecretary for War if his attention has been drawn to the conditions now existing at Sidestrand Camp in the case of men of forty-five years of age and upwards now in training there; whether he is aware that these men complain of the severity of the training immediately imposed for those who are not used to such a life, alleging that they have not had their clothes off for a fortnight, that they have to sleep on the floor without oil sheets, and that their instructors are men of not more than twenty-five years who treat them with roughness; and whether, in view of assurances recently given in this House, he will have inquiries made into this case with a view to improving these conditions?

Enquiries have been made, and I find that no complaints have been made to the commanding officer of the battalion or to the company officers. There are no grounds for the suggestion as to the severity of the training, and I am assured that the men receive sympathetic treatment. If any man complains or shows signs of distress during drill or training he is allowed to fall out to rest. No man does physical drill against his will; it is a voluntary parade for which 30 per cent. of the men have volunteered. There is no reason why men should remain in their clothes at night, and if any men have done so, it is of their own choice. An extra blanket is being supplied to the men and all are equipped with waterproof sheets, except in a few cases where there has been unavoidable delay. Steps have been taken to procure the sheets as quickly as possible. Instructions have been issued that older recruits should be drilled by older non-commissioned officers, but there are not sufficient non-commissioned officers over forty and some below that age have been employed only so far as this deficiency necessitated. I have seen a letter written by a soldier in this camp in which he states that the administration is excellent, and that the men receive every consideration.

asked the Undersecretary of State for War concerning men of the Labour Company, France, who are classified B 2 or Grade 3 and who are forty years of age or approaching thereto, if he is aware that men of this age and class, whose daily routine until recently began with reveillé at 4.45 a.m., parade at 6 a.m., and was followed by a heavy day's task work with the Royal Engineers which, with a long walk in the interval, commenced at 7 a.m., have been supplied with rifles, which they are to learn the use of after their day's work and without any adjustment of their daily task; if he will make inquiries with a view to the day's work of the men in question being reduced so as to allow of rifle practice if the latter is considered necessary; and if he will further inquire as to the reason why this Order, increasing the day's work of the men of this company, is followed or preceded by the words, no reference must be made to this Order when writing home?

Inquiries are being made, and I will communicate with my hon. Friend as soon as possible.

asked the Undersecretary of State for War whether he is aware that Private Percy Read, No. 47442, Wilts Regiment, a married man with one child, farming 169 acres of land at Ashton Keynes, Cricklade, Wilts, has recently been called to the Colours; that this farmer has 60 acres of haymaking and 20 acres of harvest to be done; that he has twenty-eight cows in milk besides a variety of other cattle; and that he has no responsible person except his wife to take charge; and whether, in the interests of food production, he can see his way to at once release this farmer until the harvest is in?

My hon. Friend has already drawn my attention to the case. I regret that I cannot take initial action. Representations should, in the first instance, be made to the Director-General of Food Production.

asked the Undersecretary of State for War if he can say at what age Canada, Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand, respectively, send soldiers into the trenches; whether they permit any men to be sent to Franco under nineteen; and what is the minimum length of training soldiers of the Dominions are subject to before being sent to the fighting line?

I cannot answer this question. The matter is one within the discretion of the Dominion authorities alone.

asked the Prime Minister whether he is prepared to take steps for the protection of a man who has been wrongly advised by his employer in respect to the procedure for securing an appeal against the decision of a military service tribunal, in a case where the man in question has a wife and seven children under twelve years of age dependent on him, and honestly believes that if his case could be heard he would obtain exemption?

My right hon. Friend has asked me to reply. There is a regular procedure for dealing with cases in which a man through ignorance has allowed his tribunal rights to lapse. If the man referred to is still in civil life he may apply to the local tribunal for leave to lodge a late appeal, and if the hon. Member will furnish me with particulars of his case I will see that the facts are communicated to the National Service representatives concerned.

asked the Minister of National Service if he is satisfied that his Department is granting the same equality of treatment to small private traders in regard to managers and business heads of departments as to those of the large co-operative societies; and are the military representatives instructed to be as strict with the one as the other at the tribunals?

asked the Minister of National Service whether he is aware that instructions have been issued to regional advisory committees in each division, with power to give or grant protection certificates to general managers, secretaries, departmental managers, buyers and managers of branch stores of industrial co-operative societies; and, seeing that these do not include owners of one-man businesses, will he say why the same instructions are not issued for the proprietors of one-man busnesses, and will he have the same instructions issued at once?

There appears to be some misunderstanding about the effect of the recent arrangement made with the industrial and co-operative societies. The procedure referred to by my hon. Friend the Member for Tower Hamlets refers solely to certain indispensable men engaged in, or responsible for, the retail distribution of food, whose cases are considered by regional advisory committees, composed of equal numbers of representatives of the society and officials of the Ministry of National Service under the chairmanship of a representative of the Ministry.

Food retailers trading on their own account have also received special consideration from the Ministry of National Service on the recommendation of the Ministry of Food.

The difference in procedure is due to the fact that the co-operative societies are highly organised and can be dealt with as a unit, whereas at present the owners of one-man businesses are not organised on similar lines. I would welcome their organisation, so that their cases might be dealt with in the same simple way; and if they will organise by regions, we will at once form similar committees, so that the waste of manpower which arises from their unorganised state may be eliminated. The present arrangements do not, in my opinion, give any ground for the belief that one-man food retail businesses are less favourably treated than co-operative food retailers. They have been made not in the interest of the traders as such, but to maintain the effective distribution of food.

Does not the right hon. Gentleman see that this is preferential treatment, and that the little man has just as much right to be treated exactly in the same way as the multiple-shop trades or the co-operative society?

I think my hon. Friend is under a misapprehension.

Not at all.

The position at the present moment is quite clear. The one-man-business man is not receiving less considerate treatment in any way than the co-operative society. The whole question has arisen on the retail distribution of food, and the policy which is being followed is simply to maintain satisfactory retail distribution. As a matter of fact, because of the unorganised condition of the one-man business system of shops, the one-man business man engaged in the retail distribution of food on the average receives more consideration than the individuals engaged by, and acting for co-operative societies.

Can the right hon. Gentleman inform me of one co-operative society which has been shut down in comparison with the thousands of small shopkeepers who have had to join the Army? I would like an answer to that question.

The hon. Member must give time for research.

I should think so!

Apart from the one-man businesses, which the right hon. Gentleman says are unorganised, why is there no representation of that part of the trade which is organised, and only representation of the co-operative societies on these tribunals?

These are not tribunals in the ordinary acceptance of the word. There is, as hon. Members are aware, a great deal of difficulty at the present time to maintain the retail distribution of food because of the heavy claims on transport. Advisory committees, of a type which has been established for two years, have been appointed to deal with the cases of employés of co-operative societies. There is no change in principle, and if in any case the one-man business is combined, as has been the case in certain instances, exactly similar treatment will be given. It is purely a matter of procedure.

May I ask the right hon. Gentleman if his reply is supposed to be an invitation to people to combine in order to get what is necessary from the Government, and that they can only obtain it by that means?

Far from it. We have done everything that we can to help and assist the one-man-business men consistent with the needs of obtaining men for the forces. This arrangement with the cooperative societies is designed to secure economy in the use of man-power. It is not designed to secure protection for individuals. Economy in the use of man-power is our aim, at the same time as we maintain a satisfactory distribution of food. It only refers to food distribution, and to nothing else.

May I ask if the economy of man-power is limited to being provided by the big stores at the expense of these people in the one-man businesses?

No; it is the other way.

Not at all!

asked the Minister of National Service if he is aware that loss and hardship is being inflicted in many instances by the refusal of military service tribunals to grant sufficient time to owners of small businesses who have been refused exemption from military service and who cannot find purchasers for their businesses or persons willing to occupy during their absence to dispose of their fixtures and stock; and whether, if such cases are brought to his notice, he is prepared to consider them, with a view to postponing the calling-up notices for periods of time according to his discretion?

No, Sir; I am not aware that the conditions are as stated by the hon. Member. Special instructions have been given to tribunals with regard to men engaged in one-man businesses, and even where exemption is refused I understand that they frequently recommend a period of delay before the man is required to report for service. Further, directors of National Service of regions have discretion to postpone calling up in a case in which exceptional circumstances appear to justify such a course.

Is the right hon. Gentleman prepared to receive evidence if we present cases of hardship where men have been given five days in which to sell their businesses of the value of £4,000 or £5,000?

Oh, yes; we are always only too delighted to receive evidence.

asked the Minister of National Service if he is aware that in the Bradford district there are allotments rapidly deteriorating and growing less food on account of the allotment-holders concerned being compelled to spend their time in drilling with the Volunteer Force; and if, in the interest of food production, he will recognise the right of exempted allotment-holders to claim relief from service with the Volunteer Force?

I have been asked to answer this question. Any man may apply to the appropriate tribunal to be relieved from the obligation to join the Volunteer Force, and I have no doubt that any such application will receive careful consideration.

asked the Minister of National Service if he is now able to state whether he is willing to accept the recommendations of the local education authorities, in place of those of the Board of Education, for the exemption from military service of the head masters of private schools on the ground of the urgent need of retaining the services of such head masters and of preventing the crippling effect on local education requirements of their being withdrawn from their scholastic duties; and, if not, whether he can make other arrangements for considering the claims of such applicants?

There are considerable difficulties in the way of accepting recommendations from local education authorities, but arrangements have been made which will, I hope, meet the needs of the educational position. The instructions issued are rather too long to read in reply to a question, and I propose to circulate them in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

asked the Minister of National Service why Carl Vormberger, alias Charles Vernon, resident at Carlsruhe, now Westwood, Edward Road, Bromley, Kent, has been hitherto held exempt from military service or from work of national importance, and is it proposed to continue this exemption?

I am making inquiries, and will inform my hon. and gallant Friend of the result.

asked whether it is proposed to issue to the Navy and Army any new Regulations as regards the saluting of officers by men; and whether anything will be done to stop the unnecessary saluting of officers of all regiments and branches by men of the Home and Dominion forces in London and other large towns?

An Army Order was issued on the 1st July abolishing the left-hand salute, but no further Regulations are in contemplation.

asked the Undersecretary for War if he is aware of the dissatisfaction that exists among the officers of the remount service reserve regiments, many of whom have now been abroad for years whilst others remain, apparently permanently, at home in the best and most desirable stations, nominally on the plea of health; and whether the latter officers will now replace the former, seeing that in one remount service the hardship to health abroad is not usually great?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the negative. Applications for transfer to home service from officers serving with the Remount Department abroad are, when forwarded through the usual channels, dealt with on their merits.

Is there any system at the War Office for interchange of home service and war service abroad in regard to these men?

I am not sure whether that system obtains in regard to the Remount Department men, but it does obtain in regard to the branches of the staff.

asked the Undersecretary of State for War whether any and, if so, what steps have been taken to arrange for the promotion of officers not only of the Royal Army Medical Corps but especially of the Royal Army Medical Corps, Territorial Force; whether he can say if any and, if so, how many promotions of à-la-suite officers of Territorial general hospitals have been made since 1916; and whether, having regard to the services rendered by such officers, he will consider the question of making due arrangements for their promotion?

The promotion of Regular Officers of the Royal Army Medical Corps is governed by the terms of the Royal Warrant for Pay, and no steps outside that Warrant have been taken. As regards Territorial Force officers, instructions have been issued which will provide for the promotion of approximately twelve lieutenant-colonels to the rank of colonel, Army Medical Service, and forty promotions to the rank of lieutenant-colonel. Promotion of à-la-suite officers are governed by establishment within their units only and all vacancies which have occurred have been met by promotion of the next senior officer.

asked what is the nationality of Privates Ortweiler and Kohnstamm, of the Middlesex Regiment, who have joined a Cadet battalion with a view to their being commissioned in the British Army; whether the battalion of the Middlesex Regiment to which they belonged is composed entirely of naturalised aliens of enemy origin who come under the Military Service Act; and if it is proposed that these men should be placed in command of British soldiers?

These two soldiers are British-born subjects. The answer to the second part of the question is in the negative. As regards the last part of the question this depends, as in all cases, on whether they attain the necessary standard of efficiency while in a Cadet school to qualify for a commission.

Can the hon. Gentleman tell me what is the difference between these men and Lord Milner?

asked if, when a certain number of permits for home leave are issued to a division in the British Expeditionary Force in France instructions are given that they shall be allocated to officers, non-commissioned officers, and men in proportion to their strength in that division; and, if not, will orders be issued to that effect?

asked the Under-Secretary for War whether he is aware that discontent exists among the forces at the front in regard to the manner in which leave is granted, more especially to the lower ranks; and whether, consistently with military necessities, he can give an assurance that in future leave will be granted on a more equitable basis than has hitherto prevailed?

Since the German offensive began, in March, the facilities for leave which we had then secured have, unfortunately, had to be foregone for reasons which will be obvious to the House. I am assured that they will be resumed as soon as the situation permits. Meanwhile, new instructions as to the granting of leave have had to be issued to make it, though, as I have said, it is necessarily greatly restricted, as equitable as possible. From the 20th of this month the restrictions have been relaxed, particularly in the case of men who have come from another front after prolonged absence from home.

Will the hon. Gentleman answer the question—if when a certain number of permits are assigned to a division in France instructions are given that they shall be so allocated to officers, non-commissioned officers and men that they shall severally get their fair share?

Before the German offensive in three months the War Office got back over 600,000 men, but since March the conditions of leave are entirely different. I will look into the point.

asked whether it was in pursuance of any War Office Instructions that, after the military control office in New York had granted to Mrs. Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington a passport to return home, she was stopped at Liverpool from proceeding further; and what were the military grounds which have been invoked to prevent this lady returning to her former employment as teacher of languages in Dublin?

My hon. Friend is under a misapprehension. Mrs. Sheehy-Skeffington was definitely informed by the Military Control Officer in New York that an order prohibiting her from going to Ireland had been made by the Home Secretary under 14 E of the Defence of the Realm Regulations, and Mrs. Sheehy-Skeffington cannot, therefore, have left New York under any misapprehension. When she landed at Liverpool a copy of the order was served on her by the civil authorities.

In view of the sufferings which this lady has already undergone, cannot the authorities take a lenient view of her case and allow her to get back to her home?

My hon. Friend must address that question to my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary.

May we conclude from the answer that has been given that there are no military reasons against her return?

No, Sir.

If there are military reasons, why cannot they be stated as asked in the question?

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether Captain Bowen-Coulthurst, who was court-martialled at Dublin in 1916, is still a commissioned officer in the Army; if not, on what date did his commission terminate; and whether he is in receipt of any pension or allowance?

Captain Bowen-Coulthurst was "gazetted" to the retired list under Article 537 of the Royal Warrant for Pay, which deals with officers who become insane. The date of his retirement was the 10th June, 1916. He is in receipt of retired pay.

Does retired pay continue as long as he is in his present condition?

Yes.

asked the Prime Minister whether the proposals of Sir Horace Plunkett, chairman of the recent Irish Convention, for establishing without delay a responsible Irish Government, thus utilising the results achieved by the Convention, have been considered; and whether the Government will proceed on these lines instead of bringing in the promised Home Rule Bill?

I can add nothing to the previous replies on this subject.

asked the Undersecretary of State for War whether he is aware that at No. 1 Stores Depot, Royal Air Force, Kidbrook, a notice has been posted up to the effect that sleeping-out passes are not to be granted to the men; whether he is aware that some of the men live within easy reach of the depot; and whether he will make representations with a view to the withdrawal of the notice?

The facts are as stated in the question. The rule has been imposed as a temporary measure in the interests of discipline and efficiency.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether a dispatch describing the defence of Kut was received by wireless from General Townshend; and whether the whole or any portion of this dispatch, other than the list of mentions already issued, will be published?

Reports describing a portion of the operations during the siege of Kut were received by wireless from General Townshend, but as they were from a subordinate commander and the operations were dealt with in Sir John Nixon's dispatch gazetted 10th May, 1916, it was decided that they should not be published.

asked when a list of honours for the defence of Kut will be published?

A few names have been received from the Government of India, and these are now under consideration.

asked the Undersecretary of State for War whether, in view of the stoppage of separation allowance to soldiers of Labour Battalions engaged in agriculture and living at home, he will see that the wages to be paid by farmers to such soldiers shall be at the rates proposed by the local agricultural wages boards; and whether, to meet the claim of these men that while they are retained by the Army they ought to be paid by the Army, he can see his way to allow these men their Army pay for weekdays in addition to whatever wages they may be paid as agricultural labourers?

All farmers are under contract to pay the full civil rates for the locality, and I shall be glad to make inquiries in any case brought to my notice in which a soldier does not receive the rate fixed by the wages board. I regret I cannot increase the amounts now allowed as Army pay.

asked the President of the Board of Agriculture whether he is about to alter the policy of the Board in giving Grants for agricultural research hitherto made in accord with White Paper A 220/1, September, 1911; and what are the reasons for such alteration of policy?

No change in the policy outlined in the Memorandum of September, 1911, is contemplated; the decision to transfer the plant pathology work to a new institute at Rothamsted being, in the Board's view, quite in accordance with that policy.

asked the President of the Board of Agriculture if he will give a statement of the annual Grants-in-Aid made to research institutions, showing the names of such institutions and the annual Grants to each of them, and the special research work carried on at each of them, in accordance with the White Paper A 220/1 of the Board, dated September, 1911; and whether the whole of the money so expended is obtained under the Development and Road Improvement Funds Act, 1909?

I will have a statement of these Grants printed in to-day's OFFICIAL REPORT. The whole of the money so expended is obtained from the Development Fund, with the exception of £450 of the £2,900 spent on research in fruit growing at the Bristol University.