asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he can indicate the total amount of indemnities and levies exacted by Germany in occupied territories up to the present time; and whether, when the terms of peace proposed by the Government came to be dismissed, they will include the repayment of all such moneys to the countries and cities concerned?

I have no exhaustive figures, but, as an example, I may mention that the War contribution levied on Belgium by the German Governor-General amounts by itself to 2,330,000,000fr from November, 1914, to November, 1917, apart from enormous fines imposed on localities, firms, and private persons. These monstrous exactions will certainly have to be taken into account when peace terms are being arranged.

May I ask whether we have levied any indemnities or levies on German East Africa, and if not why not?

I am afraid I must ask for notice of that question.

Why should not we do to them what they do to us?

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether an agreement has recently been concluded with the United States under which American citizens resident in the United Kingdom are required to serve either in the British or American forces; and whether the Government of the United States made any representations with a view to the exemption of American citizens resident in Ireland?

The Convention with the United States of America of 3rd June, which was laid before the House on 30th July, makes liable to military service American citizens in Great Britain. American citizens resident in Ireland are therefore not affected.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War if he is aware that at many depots and camps there is a large number of highly-skilled workmen of low medical category who are engaged doing work of the most menial kind; and whether, with a view of utilising the skill of these men to the best advantage, he will adopt some system of combing them out and transferring them to shipbuilding or aircraft work?

Very complete instructions have been issued to ensure that low category men are placed at their trades in the Army as and when vacancies occur. Particulars of any cases where low category men would be better employed at their trades in the Army or in civil life will, if brought to notice, be carefully examined.

Will it be possible to transfer back to civil life colliers who are graded B 1 and under?

I believe the whole question of transferring them back to their work is now being considered.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he will inquire into the case of Private John Norris, No. 30258, Labour Corps, who has served three years in France, is suffering from chronic rheumatism, and, having deformed feet, is unable to march; whether he is aware that two of his brothers have already been lost, one of them leaving six children whose mother is also dead; and whether, under these circumstances, he will consider giving Private Norris home service?

I am making inquiry, and will write to my hon. Friend as soon as possible.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the intention of the Government as to the proposed legislation, already promised, to protect the position of men called up under the Military Service Acts as regards their contracts for civilian service with their employers; whether the Government have been advised that recent legislation does not include the carrying forward over the war period of contracts for civil employment; and whether the omission can now be made good?

I am advised that there is some doubt whether the contract of service of the nature indicated by my hon. Friend is put an end to by the calling up of an employé or merely suspended during the period of his military service. I shall consider, however, whether it would not be possible when further emergency legislation is introduced to include a provision declaring that such contracts are, in fact, suspended.

asked the Minister of National Service whether steps will be taken to carry out his promise that proprietors of one-man businesses who, on entering the Army, are reduced to Grade 3 shall be returned to civil life?

I am afraid that I do not understand precisely the point which the hon. Member wishes to raise. All men are medically graded by National Service medical boards before being posted for service. The arrangements as to Grade 3 one-man business proprietors are set out in the Local Government Board Circular R 167. I have no knowledge of having given any promise to the effect stated, and would be glad if the hon. Member would give me further information.

asked the Minister of National Service whether he is aware of the discontent caused in the West Riding of Yorkshire by the practice of the National Service representative of challenging most of the decisions of the local tribunals and obtaining a reversal of their decisions at the Appeal Tribunal where local conditions are unknown; whether he is aware that twenty-one cases out of twenty-four were so reversed from the Barnsley Tribunal; and whether he will instruct the National Service representative to moderate the number of his appeals?

I am not aware that there is any general discontent of the kind suggested. I am inquiring as to the cases at Barnsley. If the hon. Member will refer to the answer that I gave to the hon. Member for Bradford on the 17th of July last, I think he will agree that the result of the appeals shows that the action of the National Service representatives has not been unreasonable, and I am, therefore, unable to adopt the course suggested by the hon. Member.

asked the Home Secretary if he has received petitions about the case of Leonard S. Smith, a conscientious objector now undergoing his third sentence of imprisonment in Walton Prison, Liverpool, asking that there should be a re-hearing of his case to judge the genuineness of his conscientious objection, seeing that the only reason why the central tribunal refused to regard him as genuine was that he had, under a misapprehension, attested under the Derby scheme; and will he give favourable consideration to the petition?

I have received a petition from the prisoner, and have forwarded it to the Central Tribunal. It is for that tribunal to say whether they will allow the case to be reopened.

asked the Home Secretary if an application has been received from Walker Bailey, Llanddensant Camp, Llangadock, who has had twelve months' unblemished service under the Home Office scheme, to be allowed to take up the exceptional employment scheme, and who has submitted work to the Home Office Committee and has not been allowed to take up the scheme; and will his request be granted?

This case is at present under the consideration of the Committee.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that advertisements have appeared, and are appearing, in the Irish Press inviting Irish candidates up to thirty-four and a half years of age to qualify for commissions by service in Officers' Training Corps irrespective of whether they have served overseas; whether numbers of Irishmen who have served, or are serving, in the ranks overseas have already been recommended for cadet battalions with a view to commissions; whether the Regulations have hitherto required such service from candidates; and whether he will take steps to ensure that those who have served and are recommended will be given an opportunity of being trained before those who have no previous overseas service?

Advertisements of this nature have not been sanctioned by the Army Council who have ordered their discontinuance. As regards the latter part of the question, if a soldier is serving overseas and is recommended he is sent home by the Commander-in-Chief for admission to an Officer Cadet School. A limited number of candidates with experience of active service are also invited from General Officers Commanding-in-Chief at home. These are dependent upon the vacancies in the Officer Cadet Schools, and at present the numbers are very few. There are no regulations on the subject, but demands are made periodically on Commanders-in-Chief, according to the requirements of the Service, and preference is given to those who have experience gained on active service in the field.

May we take it that preference in every case will be given to those in the field, and is my right hon. Friend aware that these advertisements were still appearing as late as last Saturday? I have a copy of an Irish paper of Saturday last in which the advertisement appeared.

I have discussed this, as my hon. and gallant Friend knows, with the authorities, and we have issued orders discontinuing it.

Who inserted them?

I cannot say, but I think they were inserted in the Irish papers by the Chairman of the Committee in charge of recruiting.

How many commissions were actually granted as the result of these advertisements?

I cannot say offhand, but I shall be very glad to make inquiries.

Does this not show that there is considerable friction or lack of understanding between the War Office and the recruiting authorities in Dublin?

I do not think it does. This recruiting committee in Dublin was not in actual touch with the authorities concerned in granting commissions in the War Office.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware that dissatisfaction exists in Ireland with the action of the Government in appointing Mr. Forsyth as Secretary to the Irish Post Office; if he will state what Irish experience Mr. Forsyth has and the length of his service in Ireland and in Great Britain; if he is aware that it has been announced that Mr. Forsyth was a prominent Mason, as if that was his chief qualification; if he is aware that this is the reason given for passing over Mr. J. J. Coonan, who has discharged the position of assistant-secretary with efficiency and exceptional ability; if Mr. Coonan has been passed over because he is a Catholic; and if he will state the postal service of Mr. Coonan and why he was passed over?

I am not aware of any-general dissatisfaction in Ireland with this appointment. Mr. Forsyth has spent thirty-three years in the Post Office service in Ireland and one in England. His Irish service included ten years in Limerick, twenty years in Dublin and three years in Belfast. I have no knowledge as to whether he is or is not a Mason. Mr. Coonan has had thirty-four years' service in the Post Office in Ireland. I appointed Mr. Forsyth because I considered he was the best qualified officer for the post.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that Mr. Coonan acted as assistant secretary for a number of years, having, therefore, greater experience than Mr. Forsyth, and, according to the statement made by the right hon. Gentleman, longer service; that it has been publicly announced in the Press that one of the reasons for the appointment of Mr. Forsyth is that he is a prominent Mason, that three-fourths at least of the staff of the Post Office in Ireland are Catholics, and that this matter has already created a very serious feeling in Ireland?

I cannot be responsible for what is published in the Press. I am not aware that he is a Mason. I am certainly not one myself. I may say that I have received a letter from Mr. Coonan protesting against the interference of hon. Members in his private affairs.

The right hon. Gentleman has stated that Mr. Coonan has longer service and he has greater experience because he has occupied the position of assistant secretary, and can the right hon. Gentleman give any reason for his being passed over? It is a matter of indifference to me whether Mr. Coonan likes it or dislikes it. I want to see fair play.

He is passed over because Mr. Forsyth is more suitable.

The hidden hand!

asked the Postmaster-General whether arrangements will be made to have a delivery of letters received by the mail trains which arrive at Longford station about 4 p.m. each day instead of holding over the same till the following morning, in view of the fact that when cross-Channel mails are late there is a special delivery after the 1.30 train from Dublin?

I am making inquiry, and will communicate with the hon. Member.

asked the Minister of Labour why the war bonus which was recently given to employés in the Employment Exchanges was not extended to caretakers; and will he take steps to see that this oversight is remedied at once?

Cleaners and caretakers engaged in Employment Exchanges at pre-war rates of wages have received a war bonus proportionate to their hours of work upon the scale of the war bonus granted to permanent full-time employés by the Award No. 17 of 17th December, 1917.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether he is aware that hardship at present exists in Dublin amongst the working classes and people of small incomes, and that this hardship, if the Regulation recently made regarding the reduction in the supply of coal is not altered, is inevitably bound to increase; whether he is aware that, since the beginning of the War, the classes referred to, owing to the increased cost of living, were compelled to reduce their consumption of coal to the lowest possible point, and that reduction on the lines now suggested would mean that many homes would be deprived of fuel for several days each week either for the purpose of heating, cooking, or other domestic necessities; in view of the hardship which the Order in question is calculated to inflict, especially on the aged, the enfeebled, and the infants, will he take immediate steps to secure that any reduction will be based on the number of apartments in each dwelling after securing the full complement for the kitchen supply of each home; and whether he will see that the interests of the purchasers of email quantities are safeguarded?

As I have already informed the hon. Member the whole question of the distribution of coal in Ireland is being very carefully considered by the Coal Controller and myself.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether he can state, approximately, the number of rifles and machine guns in the custody of the Ulster Volunteers?

It is believed that the Ulster Volunteers are in possession of 50,000 rifles of different patterns and eleven machine guns.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether he has made inquiries respecting the demand of Irish plot-holders to obtain the grant of £2 per aero given to British plot-holders; and whether security of tenure will be guaranteed for increased food production?

I have made inquiries into this matter, and as regards the demand of Irish plot-holders for a grant, I would refer the hon. Member to the full reply given to his question on this subject on the 18th July by my hon. and learned Friend the Attorney-General for Ireland. So far as lettings under the Defence of the Realm Regulations are concerned, the tenure is as secure in Ireland as in England; and as regards lettings made under the Local Government Allotments and Land Cultivation (Ireland) Act, 1917, the continued operation of this Act after the War is one of the matters to be dealt with by general reconstructive legislation.

Is it not a fact that this grant is paid to English allotment-holders, and will it be paid to Irish allotment-holders?

My information is to the contrary.

Will the right hon. Gentleman make inquiry?

Yes.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether he is aware that the Conciliation Arbitration Board recently made a further award of war bonuses to Civil servants of 5s. per week, but that in this award a distinction is made for those between the ages of eighteen and twenty-one, who only receive a war bonus of 1s. per week; and, seeing that the cost of living has increased as much for those under twenty-one as over that age, will be also consider the claims of these persons?

The award referred to was arrived at by the Conciliation and Arbitration Board, to whom the question had been referred by His Majesty's Government, and I am not prepared to discuss it.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland if he is now in a position to make a statement with reference to a bonus for Irish national teachers and the arrears due to what are called paper-promoted teachers?

The Treasury have intimated their willingness to adjust the payment of war bonus in cases where at present teachers suffer loss of income as the result of promotion. The Treasury have not, however, up to the present, seen their way to agree to the concession sought in the case of "paper promoted" teachers, but I am still in communication with them.

Is there any possibility of having this matter arranged before we break up for the Recess?

So far as I am concerned there would be, but perhaps my hon. and gallant Friend will put down a question to the Treasury.

Perhaps my right hon. Friend would bring his more weighty pressure to bear on the Treasury?

Not more weighty, certainly.

asked whether the Order compelling Members of the House of Commons representing Irish constituencies to obtain a police permit to enable them to attend the House of Commons for the discharge of their Parliamentary duties has been abolished; and, if not, what is the reason for the delay in taking this course?

asked whether any restrictions have recently been imposed on Members representing Irish constituencies desiring to travel between their constituencies or their homes and this House in connection with their Parliamentary duties; whether such restrictions are imposed by Statute or by some other form of authority, and, if so, what authority; whether the proper legal advisers were consulted beforehand as to the effect of the Statute or other form of authority on the privileges of Members of this House; and, if so, what advice was received?

Under Regulation 14G of the Defence of the Realm Regulations, which came into operation on the 21st May last, any person proceeding as a passenger from Great Britain to Ireland is required to obtain a permit. Arrangements were made soon after the Regulation came into force under which any Member of Parliament may, on application at the Permit Office, in London, obtain a pass enabling him from time to time to go to Ireland without molestation. No permit is required by a person proceeding from Ireland to Great Britain.

Do these permits not facilitate Members getting to and fro?

That is so.

Is it not a fact that under this permit system it is in the power of the Executive Government to prevent Members of Parliament attending to their duties? It is the principle we object to.

I do not think that that is so. No permit is required to come to Great Britain. A general pass is issued at once to any Member who desires to go to and fro.

If those Members of Parliament from Ireland who are at present interned in England apply for a permit will it be immediately granted?

Certainly, when they are released.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that Irish Members of Parliament are prevented from going to their homes in Ireland without a special permit, and are therefore unable to attend to their Parliamentary duties, because they must pass through their homes on their way to London?

I suppose that that question relates to some regulation in Ireland, because there is nothing to prevent them coming to Great Britain.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that Members of this House are unable to leave their homes in Ireland without getting permits?

I am not aware of that.

Of course you are not.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that a Member of this House is entitled to go to and fro between his home and the House without molestation, and may I ask whether, on a point of this kind, it is not the Chief Secretary for Ireland who is responsible, so far as that country is concerned, for giving permission, and not the Home Secretary?

It is in order to give effect to these passes that they are submitted to me.

May I ask whether facilities will be given for any of the families of Members to return with them?

I am sure there will be no difficulty, and if an application be made it will be attended to.

I possess a permit now, but if I refuse to use it what would the right hon. Gentleman do with me?

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether he has considered the effect produced by the Order prohibiting the holding of meetings in Ireland for the discussion of political topics or for the purposes of amusement or recreation unless such meetings be authorised by a police permit; whether the Order prohibiting Members of the House of Commons representing Irish constituencies from addressing their constituents without a police permit has yet been abolished; and, if such Order has not been abolished, will immediate steps be taken for its abolition?

The reply to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. As regards the remainder of the question, I might point out that it is difficult to differentiate between meetings where the Members of the House of Commons address their constituents and any other political meeting, and I am accordingly unable to act on the hon. Member's suggestion.

May I ask the right hon. Gentleman whether he intends to maintain in Ireland the Regulations, prohibiting the holding of any political meeting whatsoever, without application to the police for a permit?

The Proclamation has taken that form, but, so far as an hon. Member of this House is concerned, the organiser of the meeting has only to intimate that to the police and the permit will be issued as a matter of course. It must take that form.

Is not this a most objectionable provision to apply to Members Of this House. I would ask the right hon. Gentleman whether he is aware that under all the coercion Acts applied to Ireland for the last thirty years, and in times of the wildest excitement, no Regulations of this kind have ever been enforced?

Yes, but during that thirty years we have not been at war.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that these Regulations apply equally to the North of Ireland, and that they have caused absolutely no inconvenience whatever?

May I ask the right hon. Gentleman if he can tell the House whether Regulations of this character are in force either in Germany or in Austria?

That question must be put to the Foreign Secretary.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that a series of meetings of Unionists is to take place in Ulster on the 15th of August, and that those demonstrations are being attended by various Members of Parliament; and, in view of the fact that on the 1st July similar Unionist demonstrations were held, and absolute liberty given for processions and demonstrations?

The hon. Gentleman must put down some of those questions.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether in rationing coal for private consumption in Ireland steam coal is included in the quality rationed; whether he is aware that the 200 tons commandeered by the Irish Coal Controller from the supply for Mullingar Asylum was Welsh steam coal and did not come within the terms of the Irish Coal Order at all; and will he therefore direct that Messrs. Guinness send it on to its original destination, Mullingar Asylum?

No rationing scheme for coal with respect to Ireland has been issued by the Board of Trade or the Controller of Coal Mines. The coal which was recently ordered by the Mullingar Asylum, and which was stopped, was Welsh steam coal, and the reason it was stopped was that the asylum had then a very large stock of coal on hand. This coal, I am informed, was delivered by a Dublin merchant to Messrs. A. Guinness, Son and Company against the orders of the Coal Controller, and the merchant has since explained that this was due to a clerical error.

Messrs. Guinness, Son and Company have been notified by the Coal Controller that when it becomes necessary they will be asked to give up part of their stock of coat for other purposes. The Mullingar Asylum on the 1st instant had 1,100 tons of coal in stock, and the Wolfhill Collieries are prepared to supply them with any further quantities they require.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether he is now in a position to give the names of the persons appointed to, and the terms of reference of, the Committee on Intermediate Education; and whether he can make a statement regarding the Grants to Irish National school teachers, about which anxiety is being evinced in Ireland, and if he is not in a position to do so to-day will he use his best endeavour to reply to a similar question before the House rises?

I will answer this and similar questions put by hon. Members below the Gangway. The following persons have accepted the invitation to serve on the Committee of Intermediate Education:

• Rt. Hon. T. F. Molony (Chairman) (Lord Chief Justice of Ireland).
• Rt. Hon. W. J. M. Starkie, Litt.D.
• Sir J. Larmor, D.Sc, F.R.S., M.P.
• Rev. P. Canon Marshal), Killarney.
• Rev. T. Corcoran, D.Litt., University College, Dublin.
• Rev. Brother Hennessy, Dublin.
• Professor J. M. Henry, M.A., Fellow Trinity College, Dublin.
• Professor R. M. Henry, M.A., Queen's University of Belfast.
• Mr. J. Thompson, M.A., High School, Dublin.
• Miss H. M. White, LL.D., Alexandra College, Dublin.
• Miss M. Ryan, M.A., University College, Cork.
• Mr. W. J. Williams, B.A.
• Mr. C. R. Beavan, Chairman of Ireland Branch Incorporated Association of Assistant Masters in Secondary Schools, Campbell College, Belfast.
• Miss A. McHugh, Assistant Mistress, 70, Stephens Green, Dublin.
• Miss E. Steele, Assistant Mistress, Belfast.
• Mr. G. Fletcher, F.G.S., Assistant Secretary in respect of Technical Instruction, Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction, Ireland.
• Mr. E. Ensor, M.A., Inspector of Intermediate Education Board.
• Mr. M. Headlam, Treasury Remembrancer in Ireland.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether he is aware that a dispute exists at a shell factory as a result of which about 1,000 men and girls are out of work; whether he is aware that the dispute originated in the dismissal of two engineers on their return to work after illness; that the dismissed men had taken part in the recent dispute which was referred to arbitration, and that it is the allegation of their fellow workers that they were victimised because of this; whether he is aware that, following their dismissal, fifty other engineers struck work, and then 300 labourers and 600 girls were locked out; and whether he will state what action he proposes to take in the matter?

I have just heard from the officer in charge of the Dublin office of the Ministry of Munitions that he is sending full particulars of the dispute to the Minister of Munitions to-day, to whom I would refer my hon. Friend for the information he requires.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War if he can give the names of the members of the Committee, over which he presides, appointed to consider the question of venereal disease; if he can give the terms of reference to this Committee; if he can state, in particular, if it is open to this Committee to consider the repeal of the Contagious Diseases Acts; and whether the Report of this Committee and the evidence given before it will be published?

I would refer my hon. Friend to my answer to the hon. Member for Northants on 25th June, when I gave the names of the Committee. There are no terms of reference. The answer to the last part of the question is in the negative.

Is the Committee which is to report on the Criminal Law Amendment Bill to report whether the Bill is to be proceeded with or to proceed with the Bill?

The Committee reporting on the Criminal Law Amendment Bill is a Joint Committee of both Houses. The Committee to which my hon. Friend the Member for Pembroke (Mr. Roch) refers is an informal Committee, over which I preside in the War Office and which includes representatives of almost all the Allies, to see how best we can combat venereal disease in the Army.

Did my right hon. Friend give all the names of the Committee? Did he not omit to give the names of members of religious denominations?

I do not think so, but I am quite willing to give the names—the Archbishop of Canterbury, Cardinal Bourne or Bishop Bidwell, Dr. Myer or Professor Garvie.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether any steps have been taken with a view to the reduction of officers' expenses after demobilisation, having especial regard to the fact that during the War many men have obtained commissions in regiments in which a high rate of expenditure has hitherto been considered necessary?

The importance of this point is recognised, and it will not be lost sight of; but I do not think any definite announcement can be made until we know more definitely what the post-war Army will be.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War (1) whether General Sir Ian Hamilton and Lieutenant-General Sir William R. Birdwood will receive the decoration to be issued by the War Office to the Dominion troops for the Gallipoli operations; (2) whether it is proposed that Imperial troops will receive the decoration for the Gallipoli operations which is to be issued by the War Office; and, if not, whether the Army Council will strongly urge the Government to reconsider this decision, so that Imperial troops engaged in the same operations as Dominion troops, all under command of an Imperial officer, will receive equal treatment?

I would refer my hon. and gallant Friend to my reply on Thursday last to my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for the East Riding Division of Yorkshire, to which I have nothing to add.

Is the House to understand that not even any member of the 29th Division will receive a decoration for their service; is the right hon. Gentleman aware that this division and other divisions were precluded from receiving the Mons Star because they were fighting in the East, and does he not think it only fair that Imperial troops should receive equal recognition with Dominion troops?

This decoration is a decoration given by certain of the Dominions to their troops. The War Office in this case is simply the distributor of this decoration, which has had the approval of His Majesty. I do not think that the parallel is at all complete between this particular decoration and the Mons Star. This particular decoration is given by the Dominions, as I understand it, to commemorate the first appearance of Dominion troops in a European conflict.

Will the War Office consider the question of instituting a special decoration for the English troops, especially the gallant Lancashire troops, in whom I am particularly interested, who took part in the landing at Gallipoli, in view of the fact that the Lancashire landing will go down as famous for all time?

The hon. Gentleman should give notice of that question.

In view of the fact that there are not many of the 29th Division left—

The hon. and gallant Gentleman should give notice of that question.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War if the Government will consider the advisability of issuing to the British troops who served in Gallipoli a decoration similar to that about to be issued by the War Office to the troops from the overseas Dominions who also served in Gallipoli, in recognition of the fact that it was the first time when British troops from the Mother Country fought side by side with their brothers from other parts of the Empire in a European war?

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply on the 20th March last to my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Melton.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War how it is proposed to avoid the award of an extra medal to Colonial troops who serve on other fronts after serving in Gallipoli, while Imperial troops only receive one medal for similar service; and what will be the Regulations as regards the award of the Colonial medal to the Imperial officers who served with Colonial troops in Gallipoli?

The decoration for Australian, New Zealand, and Newfoundland troops, referred to in my reply on Wednesday last, will only be awarded to those individuals who fulfil certain conditions, and I would ask my hon. and gallant Friend to await the issue of the Regulations dealing with the matter.

Are not the Colonial troops bound to be entitled to two medals, and is the right hon. Gentleman aware that, in addition to the other divisions which have been mentioned in other questions, the 10th (Irish) Division is also concerned in this matter?

I cannot add anything to the answer I have given.

Are we to understand that Colonial troops will receive two decorations and the Imperial troops one?

Yes, the Dominion troops will receive two decorations.

Is not that contrary to what the right hon. Gentleman said two days ago?

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will make inquiries from East Africa as to whether German sisal plantations are now being operated by Greeks more or less in trust for their German owners; whether these people are now trying to get for their crops the price that the British Government pays for sisal; and, if so, will he urge that the plantations be taken over altogether and worked for the benefit of the State?

I have no recent information as to the first and second questions. As regards the third, I am not prepared to copy the German method by confiscating private property in occupied enemy territory.

Is it confiscating private property to work these plantations in the interest of national efficiency and to put the funds, as they are doing in connection with German banks here, into a pool?

The hon. and gallant Gentleman is rather an expert in these matters.

Why not adopt in German East Africa the same principle towards German businesses that you adopt in this country?

It is an entirely different matter in an occupied enemy country.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how many licences have been granted to enable commercial transactions to be carried out with enemy subjects during the years 1914, 1915, 1916, 1917, and 1918, respectively; and whether any record is available showing the reasons of granting such licences?

As my right hon. Friend was informed in reply to his question on the 17th July, the Board of Trade are in communication with the various Departments concerned. The replies, however, are not complete, and I am therefore not yet in a position to let him know the result. I fear that in any case it will be difficult to furnish any information of value in a statistical form, owing to the varied nature of the cases dealt with.

Will as much information as can be made available be sent to my right hon. Friend?

I will inquire into that.

asked the Prime Minister if his attention has been called to the recent trial and conviction of Sir Joseph Jonas, a naturalised German, and of Charles Alfred Vernon, son of Carl Auguste Hahn, for supplying information to Germany connected with the mechanism and construction of a new German rifle intended for use by the British Army; whether Vernon is, or ever has been, in the service of the Ministry of Munitions; and if the names of these two persons will be submitted to the Committee to be set up under the British Nationality and Status of Aliens Bill, should it become law?

The answer to the first and second parts of the question is in the affirmative. As regards the last part of the question, the case of Sir Joseph Jonas will be submitted to the Committee. Vernon, however I am informed, is a natural-born British subject.

asked the Minister of Munitions whether he is aware that the firm of Jonas, Colver and Company, Limited, had, prior to the War, one of the best reputations in Sheffield as steel makers, and during the whole of 1915 and the early part of 1916 were practically the sole suppliers of aeroplane cranks and crank steel for air engines, but that their reputation for good steel changed, and that owing to the bad steel supplied by this company the principal machining firm in Sheffield was occupied on machining 80 per cent. of defective stuff to the prejudice of the engine programme of the Air Board; whether any compensation in respect of bad steel paid to machining firms came out of public funds; whether an analysis showed that much of the steel was such that it never could have met the tests required; whether he is aware that in the middle of 1917 the chief steel maker to Jonas and Colver left and that Mr. Robert Jonas is now in charge of the steel-making plant; whether the Air Board has recently installed a Government steel specialist at the works, and what experience of steel making has this expert; (2) whether he will explain why, in spite of the repeated output of defective steel by Messrs. Jonas and Colver, they still have the largest allocation for the production of high-grade steel of any firm in Sheffield; and whether he will cause a full independent inquiry to be made into the transactions of this firm since the War began?

The replies to these questions will necessitate the examination of a large number of documents at Sheffield. This examination is proceeding, and I hope to be in a position to reply to my hon. Friend on Thursday.

asked the President of the Board of Trade (1) whether the products manufactured by the concern at Bergen in which Holzapfels, Limited, hold shares are in any way available for the use of enemy warships or other vessels owned by or trading with the enemy;

(2) Whether Supplies are sent to the Holzapfel concern at Bergen from any Holzapfel concern other than the concern in England; and, if so, whether an effective undertaking is given in each case that such supplies will not be used for the direct benefit of our enemies?

I am telegraphing for a report on the business of the Bergen concern, and will communicate with my hon. Friend as soon as I receive it.

asked what means Holzapfels, Limited, have of ascertaining the facts and enforcing the undertaking given to them by the concern at Bergen with which they are connected to the effect that supplies sent from England would not be diverted to enemy use?

In the event of any breach of the undertaking given by the company at Bergen to Holzapfels, Limited, coming to that company's notice any further supplies would be withheld.

asked the Homo Secretary whether he has received a copy of a letter from a soldier of the Middlesex Regiment No. 30890, now serving in France, stating that the writer and his only brother are soldiers in the British Army, their mother a British woman, and that their father who severed his connection with Germany in his boyhood, thirty-six years ago, is now interned at Alexandra Palace, and requesting the release of the father front internment; whether he has made inquiries into these statements; whether he will request the Aliens' Advisory Committee to consider the application for release; whether, if no release be granted and The Hague exchange of prisoners becomes operative, the father will be repatriated to Germany against his will; and whether, in view of the probability that if repatriated this man would be condemned as a traitor to Germany, he will give an assurance that this father of two British soldiers shall not be made a victim to Prussian militarism?

If the hon. Member will give me the name of the interned man to whom he refers, the case shall be considered.

asked the Home Secretary whether he is aware that in Wakefield internment camp there are about 200 men, nominally German, who, through long absence from Germany, ignorance of the German language, and many various ties of long standing, are intensely averse from the idea of being sent to Germany; whether he has made, or will make, inquiries in the various internment camps as to the number of such cases; and whether he will indicate the authority to which the pro-British interned alien enemies of pro-British sympathy should apply?

I have no information which would enable me to confirm the hon. Member's statement, and do not think it necessary to make the inquiries he suggests, as any interned German civilian whom it is proposed to send to Germany, but who wishes to remain in this country, can make a representation to the Advisory Committee, who will consider it and make a recommendation to me.

Are they to make those representations now or will an opportunity be given to them later?

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if the new scale of allowances to soldiers' dependants comes into operation on 1st November; if so, is he aware of the disappointment at the delay; and if he will bring the scale into operation at a much earlier date?

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will reconsider his decision that the new scale of separation allowances should begin in October instead of immediately, so as to diminish the continued hardship of the present scale?

The new scale dates from 1st October. I am afraid I can add nothing to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Debate last night.

Does that mean that they will be paid on the 1st October or that they will be paid as from the 1st October?

They will be payable as from the 1st October. I do not think my hon. Friend realises the enormous difficulty of bringing a very large number of allowances into course of payment, but every effort will be made to make the payment as soon as possible.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office why a soldier without children, who is living apart from his wife, receives 11s. 1d. for pay and 22s. 2d. for ration and other allowances, making, with the wife's separation allowance of 12s. 6d., £2 5s. 9d. per week for the maintenance of himself and his wife, while a soldier without children who is living with his wife receives 11s. 1d. for pay and only 21s. 6d. family allowance, making £1 2s. 7d. for the maintenance of himself and his wife; and whether the whole question of family allowances will be reconsidered?

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether he is now in a position to state if the consolidated family allowance payable in the case of married men living at home is in effect separation allowance, plus 7s. per week for the keep of the soldier; whether the increase of this family allowance, which was under consideration on 21st February and 12th June, is still under consideration; and whether such increase, if and when granted, will be made retrospective, so as to compensate so far as possible for the hardship which many soldiers have been suffering for months past owing to the enhanced cost of living?

I cannot understand the figures contained in question No. 21, but my hon Friends will be glad to know that it has been decided to make an increase in the rate of family allowance. I think the increase will satisfy my hon. and gallant Friend.

Will it bring it up to the separation allowance?

Yes; I think it will.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office why the pension awarded to Mrs. Bridget M'Enerney, Queen Street, Enniskillen, in respect of her late son, Private Patrick Joseph M'Enerney, No. 70300, Machine Gun Corps, has been discontinued, although she is in extremely poor circumstances; and will he take steps to have her case reconsidered?

The original documents in this case were destroyed in the fire at the Dublin Pay Office, and as there appeared to be some doubt as to whether Mrs. M'Enerney had really been dependent on her son before mobilisation, the question was referred to the Special Grants Committee, who decided that she had not been so dependent. Payment therefore ceased. The case, however, will be considered for parents' special pension, in view of the statement that Mrs. M'Enerney is in poor circumstances, and the hon. Member will be informed of the result.

This poor woman lost her son, and I am sure the House will consider she should be compensated for her loss.

I have said the circumstances were doubtful as to whether there was dependence, and it was decided against her. But if she is in poor circumstances, even without dependents, a special pension may be given, and that is now being considered.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office if he will make inquiry into the reasons for the delay in granting separation allowance to the father of Gunner W. Pickering, No. 247746, Royal Field Artillery?

I will make inquiry into the case, and inform the hon. Member of the result.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether he is aware that Gunner C. Gill, Royal Field Artillery, British Expeditionary Force, France, allowed his mother 8s. per week, and was provided with food and clothes by his employer, and that for the past two years since his enlistment Mrs. Gill has been in receipt of only 3s. per week allowance; and whether he will state the reasons which prevent Mrs. Gill from receiving a larger allowance?

I will inquire into this case, and inform the hon. Member of the result.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether he has now made further inquiries into the case of the late Private Ledsom, of Heswall, Cheshire; and whether he can see his way to consider favourably that an allowance be granted to Private Ledsom's mother?

My hon. Friend has no doubt now received my letter of 3rd August about this case?

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether, in the event of any change taking place in the government of Rhodesia, he will not permit any arrangement which will impose any financial liability upon the United Kingdom without having first laid proposals therefor before this House and obtained its sanction in the matter?

No change is at present in contemplation.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether, except in very limited numbers, Artillery officers are debarred from appointment either to the General Staff or to the Adjutant-General and Quartermaster Branches of the Staff, and that this is causing a block in promotion both in the Artillery Staff and in the appointment to Artillery Staffs; and, if so, whether, in view of the fact that there are many young Artillery officers capable of commanding battalions and of relieving more senior officers for service on the Staff, he will consider the desirability of appointing Artillery officers more freely to the General Staff?

I would refer my hon. and gallant Friend to my reply on the 4th July last to my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Leominster. Artillery officers are in no way debarred, and are given appointments on the Staff as opportunity offers.

Has the position improved?

I do not know whether it has.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he is now in a position to state when the Railwaymen's Convalescent Home, Leasowe Castle, Wallasey, will be restored to its proper use; and if any reason exists why the German prisoners at present housed there should not be lodged elsewhere or placed under canvas?

Every endeavour is being made to arrange so that the Convalescent Home shall be given back to the railwaymen as early as possible, but I cannot at present fix any data for its return. The Committee of the Home will be given the earliest possible information.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that there is intense dissatisfaction among the railwaymen that this convalescent home is used as a barracks for German prisoners?

Yes; I understand that is so, but it was almost impossible to get any other place of the kind.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he is aware of the dissatisfaction at the conditions under which the 1914 Star has been awarded; and whether, in view of the number of officers and other ranks who are to receive the Star without having had any fighting experience, he will consider the advisability of extending its general issue and adding a clasp for those who were within certain geographical fighting zones either in France or elsewhere in 1914?

As regards the first part of the question, I would remind my hon. and gallant Friend that no medal or decoration has ever been granted where the conditions of award did not cause some dissatisfaction. The answer to the last part of the question is in the negative.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that there are many hundreds of men who missed this medal by a matter of minutes, whereas there are many hundreds who received it without being in the least entitled to it?

Will the War Committee take into consideration the granting of some decoration to all those men who voluntarily joined up in 1914—

The hon. and gallant Gentleman should give notice of that question.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether, in view of the decoration by the French of the Colours of American regiments, steps will be taken to ensure that the Colours of British battalions which are not carried on service are not precluded from receiving similar honours by the decision of the Army Council to postpone all consideration of such matters until the conclusion of hostilities, or whether that decision can be reconsidered?

This question will be borne in mind.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether he can now give the hon. Member for Stafford a reply to his request for a larger contribution to the Stafford Infirmary towards the cost of maintenance and treatment of wounded soldiers, in view of the straitened finances of that institution and the substantial inadequacy of the Grant now made per bed to meet the costs thereof?

I regret that the local inquiries into this matter are not yet complete and that I am not yet in a position to reply fully. I will write to my hon. Friend as soon as possible.

A question as to the net cost and the amount allocated by the War Office could be answered in two minutes.

I am very sorry I cannot give a full answer till I have made further local inquiries.

asked the Prime Minister whether, considering that the Imperial War Conference, has now been brought to a conclusion, he will take the necessary steps to carry out at once whatever decision has been arrived at with reference to the denouncement of the commercial treaties containing Most-Favoured-Nation Clauses, as has already been done by the French Government?

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

asked the Prime Minister if his attention has been drawn to the speech recently made by the French Ambassador, M. Cambon, as to the importance of taking steps to prevent Germany obtaining a similar control over industrial interests in the Allied countries to that which she had secured prior to the outbreak of the War, which control had contributed so largely to the length of the present struggle owing to the resultant unpreparedness of the Entente Governments to meet the German attack; if any communication has been received from the French Government on the subject and as to the necessity of pressing forward a decision, in view of the time that has elapsed since the late Prime Minister pledged the Government to give effect to the Paris Economic Resolutions; and whether the Government will fully adhere to the principles embodied in those Resolutions?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. As to the second and third parts, the policy of the Government remains the same, and includes close co-operation with their French and other Allies, with whom they are in communication on the subject.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if his attention has been drawn to the position of the temporary employés of the Board of Trade at Liverpool; and, if so, what steps will be taken to improve the bonus payable to these men?

My attention has been called to the position of these temporary employés, and the matter is now being dealt with, in conjunction with the Treasury.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will give a Return showing the infantile death rates of the Lancashire boroughs and Lancashire urban districts during the five years, 1913 to 1917, inclusive?

My right hon. Friend has asked me to reply to this question. The figures are published annually by the Registrar-General, but I am sending to my hon. Friend a statement containing the information.

asked the Food Controller whether it has come to his knowledge that the Mayor of Lydd commandeered two bullocks some months ago at a time when the Romney Marsh Food Control Committee were refused permission to requisition cattle, which resulted in a shortage of meat in the district; whether sanction was given to the Mayor of Lydd by his Department; and, if not, what action he proposes to take in the matter?

The Mayor of Lydd is the authorised Government agent for the purchase and allocation of live stock in the Rye market district. Owing to a serious local shortage of meat on 17th January, this officer, in pursuance of his powers as deputy-chairman of the market district, and under the authority of the Ministry of Food, obtained two beasts from a local farmer and allocated them to Lydd. It has not hitherto been thought advisable to confer requisitioning powers on local food control committees.

asked the Food Controller whether he is aware that the Ministry of Food formed six months ago wholesale meat supply associations and appointed them Government agents to supply dead meat to retail butchers, the Government guaranteeing them against loss or leakage of every kind and in addition paying them a commission of 2½ per cent. on their turnover; and that the Ministry of Food requested these retailers, who had hitherto bought their own live stock and slaughtered them, also to form retail associations for the purpose of procuring supplies under Government control, but with no guarantee or commission; whether he can now state what has been the aggregate cost to the Ministry of the wholesale meat supply associations for the six months of its existence; what has been the cost on the turnover per hundredweight and per head of cattle and sheep so sold; and will he state the corresponding costs of the retailers' associations during the same period; whether he is aware that, by reason of Government subsidies to the wholesale associations, retailers have been supplied by the Government agents at lower prices than those at which the ready-money live-stock buyers have been able to procure their supplies; and that their associations have been compelled in consequence to buy of their members to make up their losses, although both classes of retailers are compelled to keep to the same scale of prices in selling meat; and whether, seeing that the present system operates also against farmers who fatten stock, it will be reconsidered?

Members of wholesale meat supply associations are required to give up trading on their own account and they buy and sell solely for the Central Live Stock Fund. They are guaranteed against loss and receive a fixed commission of 2½ per cent. Retail butchers, who have been formed into group committees or joint buying associations, continue to trade on their own account; they therefore take the chance of profit or loss on the grading of beasts purchased by them on the live-weight basis. In point of fact grading losses are frequently offset by the profit on offals, which the retailer who receives dead meat from a wholesale association does not obtain. It is too early at present to form any trustworthy estimate of the comparative cost of these various associations. The present system can only operate adversely to farmers who fatten stock in the rare cases where cattle are graded too low on the live-weight basis. The remedy for this is the purchase of all stock on the dead-weight basis, and in many districts farmers are inclined to welcome the extension of this method.

Is there complete agreement between the Board of Agriculture and the Department which my hon. Friend represents upon this question in relation to farmers and butchers in their respective interests?

The Departments concerned are in constant consultation on these matters.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that the London butchers are still suffering very great inconvenience in regard to the quality of meat that is supplied.

That is another question.

asked the Food Controller whether the occupiers of sporting rights may present game or venison for sale at bazaars in connection with war charities; and whether such game or venison may be sold without coupons or restriction of price?

Occupiers of sporting rights may present game and venison for sale at bazaars in connection with war charities, and, in respect of such sales, the usual rationing requirements and restrictions of price may in approved cases be modified by special licence issued by the Food Commissioner. The forms of licence now in use provide in each case for the removal of price restrictions; but the purchaser is either required to present his ration book to the vendor for detachment of the appropriate coupons, or he must himself detach such coupons from the ration book and preserve them for production to his Food Control Committee if required. The new rate of coupon values for game and venison is quite liberal; it was published in the Press on 30th July.

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether, as it has been decided that, in the event of a General Election, the votes cast at home will not be counted before the arrival of the ballot papers marked by the soldiers who are away from home, the soldiers are to vote on an earlier date than the General Election, or whether all over the country several days are to elapse between the poll and the counting of the votes?

Section 23 (3) of the Representation of the People Act contemplates the postponement of the counting of the votes cast at home for a period not exceeding eight days after the close of the poll, so that the counting of all the votes, including the absent voters' votes, may take place at one and the same time.

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether he has received a copy of the resolution passed by some of the inhabitants of a town complaining of the injury to their health by the emission of poisonous fumes from munition works in the town; and whether he has been able to arrange for an abatement of the fumes without injury to the processes of munition making?

My right hon. Friend has received a representation on this subject, and has been in communication with the local authority. The matters complained of appear to arise out of conditions due to the War, but he has directed an investigation into the question whether improvements can be effected without prejudice to the supply of munitions.

asked the Secretary to the Treasury if his attention has been drawn to the position of the extra Customs watchers at Liverpool; whether any of these men are in any circumstances only in receipt of 6d. per hour overtime; whether merchants are charged 9d. per hour for such overtime services; and will he explain why the men should receive 3d. per hour less than the charge paid by the merchants?