asked the Food Controller whether he has received a complaint from the Braintree Local Food Control Committee as to the shortage of harvest beer; whether he can supplement the supply by stopping the brewing of all luxury beer so that more harvest beer may be brewed from the same quantity of grain; and whether he is aware that difficulties may arise if his Department does not assist the farmers and their men before harvest in regard to rations and beer?

I received yesterday a letter from the Braintree Local Food Control Committee complaining of the shortage of Harvest beer, and they have been asked to furnish the names of the brewers or publicans who are unable or unwilling to supply beer to harvesters. If it appears that the proportionate share of the supplies allocated to the county has not been received in the particular district, steps will at once be taken to remedy this grievance.

asked the Food Controller whether in view of the prices being charged for eggs, he will consider the advisability of fixing maximum prices at a reasonable figure?

The wholesale price of eggs has fallen considerably during the last fortnight, and a corresponding reduction in the retail price may reasonably be expected. I am still advised that any attempt to reduce the present level of prices by Statutory Order would have an adverse effect upon production which would more than counterbalance any immediate advantage to the consumer. But I appreciate the hardship involved by the present retail prices, and shall continue to watch them carefully.

asked the Food Controller whether he is aware that, under the various Cheese Orders, the factor is allowed 1½d. per lb., the cutter-up 2½d. per lb., with discounts, and the producer 1d. per lb. only, or just enough to cover the cost of collection and haulage of the milk to the depot; that the cost of labour and materials used in cheese making are up 100 per cent. and over, rennet from 4s. to 33s. to 40s. per gallon, cheese calico from 1¾d. per yard to 8½d., and cheese cloth from 2d. per yard to 1s. 6d.; that the cheese made has to be retained for considerable periods in the cheese rooms, turned over, and moved until distribution is made to the factors; that producers have been deprived of at least 50 per cent. of their retail trade; that in these circumstances it is impossible to make cheese at a profit; and whether he will reconsider the prices fixed?

The prices of British cheese were fixed in consultation with the Agricultural Advisory Council, and the costs of and incidental to production were fully taken into account. The commission of 2½ per cent. allowed to factors is equal at present rates to approximately ½d. per lb. The retailers' allowance of 2½d. per lb. has to cover all risks in shrinkage, cutting, and general trade expenses. Where a maker has to hold cheese in his cheese room for more than six weeks from the time of manufacture he receives an additional payment of 1s. per cwt. per fortnight to cover the cost of storing and handling. It is not at present proposed to revise these prices.

asked the Food Controller why the price for hard fruit was fixed at £30 per ton when the members of the Fruit Growers' Association, who attended a conference in London at the request of the Government, had advised that the price should be £40 per ton; whether he is aware that, previous to the Order fixing the price, plums had been sold in considerable quantities in the open market at prices up to £160 per ton; and whether he will consider the possibility of fixing the price as advised by the Fruit Growers' Association at a minimum of £40 per ton, as the price now fixed entails hardship on fruit growers throughout the country?

The maximum prices for plums were fixed in agreement with the Board of Agriculture, after the representations of fruit growers had been fully considered. The fact that high prices have been obtained in some cases for immature fruit is not thought to be a sufficient reason for revising the prices announced.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what is the result of his consideration with the other Departments of the restriction on the importation of apples and other fruits from our Dominions and the United States, in view of the failure of hard fruit in this country?

It is hoped that a decision on this matter will be arrived at very shortly, and I will let the hon. Member know the result.

asked the Food Controller why presents of game are not allowed to be sent from Ireland, where a system of food rationing is not in existence, to Great Britain; whether he is aware that a large amount of foodstuffs which would relieve the scarcity here will not be available and will probably be largely wasted; and if he will rescind the Order in question and allow game to be sent from Ireland to Great Britain without restriction?

The Food Control Committee for Ireland are not aware of any prohibition which would prevent presents of game from being sent from Ireland to Great Britain.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether an Irish firm offered to supply the Mullingar Asylum with 400 tons of coal at £3 10s. per ton; whether this offer was refused and a tender accepted for 400 tons of imported coal at £4 per ton; and whether, in view of the unnecessary transit by sea and land involving fuel expenditure and waste, he will inquire into this matter and prevent repetition where possible?

I understand that the Wolfhill Collieries were prepared to supply coal from their collieries to the Mullingar Asylum at about £3 per ton, and that this offer was not accepted, but Welsh steam coal was supplied through a Mullingar merchant at £4 per ton and Scottish steam coal at £3 15s. per ton. When it was discovered that Welsh coal was being supplied to the Mullingar Asylum and that coal from the Wolfhill Collieries was available, the Welsh coal was at once stopped with a view to saving unnecessary transit.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether he can ascertain what financial provision has been made by the Government for further cultivation of flax in England and Scotland; and whether similar provision will be made for the South and North of Ireland?

I understand that the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries, in consultation with the Board of Agriculture for Scotland, have made arrangements for the cultivation of some 12,500 acres of flax in Great Britain during the coming year and for dealing with the resultant crop. The expenditure required for the cultivation and treatment of this year's crop is estimated at £1,280,000, including capital expenditure on factories and plant which will, of course, not recur in future years. The Department of Agriculture in Ireland have not been provided with any additional special funds for flax growing, beyond what they received from the Ministry of Munitions in connection with seed-sowing operations of last year. The expenses of the seed-sowing work this year are also to be provided from Ministry of Munitions funds. This estimate amounts to £7,500.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether the National Research Department is spending in flax research in Ireland any of the money placed at its disposal; and, if so, in what districts and under what conditions the research work in Ireland will be conducted?

The Department of Scientific and Industrial Research are negotiating with the Irish linen manufacturers for the establishment of a Research Association, which, when established, would be eligible to receive Grants from the Department. A local committee of manufacturers has been formed to draft the requisite memorandum and articles, and to obtain the support of the industry. The association will, it is hoped, include all districts.

asked the Chief Secretary whether one of the ten areas into which Ireland is being divided for furnishing quotas in connection with the 50,000 recruits sought to be obtained by voluntary recruiting before the 1st October next is made up of the counties of Antrim and Down, including the city of Belfast; whether, in joining the rural districts of Antrim and Down with the city of Belfast, the quota is taken for the area as a whole or whether a separate and fixed quota is to be taken for the city of Belfast as distinct from the rural counties of Antrim and Down; on what basis and by whom have the quotas been fixed; whether the percentage of exemptions being allocated for reserved occupations in connection with war work in Belfast, when deducted from the aggregate population of Antrim and Down, including Belfast, materially diminishes the quota properly contributable by the counties of Antrim and Down and gives these counties an unfair advantage as compared with other Irish counties; whether his attention has been drawn to a speech of Mr. Henry M'Loughlin, a member of the Irish Voluntary Recruiting Council, delivered before the Down County Council in Belfast on 19th July, wherein he declared that Belfast and Ulster had not given their fair quota during the last eighteen months to keeping up the reserved battalions of the 29th Ulster Division because the division had to be made up very largely from Englishmen and Scotsmen and some battalions had to be disbanded; whether the voluntary recruiting returns for this period from Dublin and Cork relatively on the basis of population were materially-larger than those of Belfast; whether he is aware that upwards of 50,000 men of military age paraded in the Orange celebrations in Belfast on the 12th July last; and whether, before deciding what quota Belfast and the counties of Antrim and Down should contribute as compared with the rest of Ireland, an investigation by some impartial body of the true position and contribution requisite from the city of Belfast and the counties of Antrim and Down will be made?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. Belfast city and the counties of Antrim and Down being considered as one area both for recruiting and quota purposes. The Recruiting Council have the benefit and advice of the Ministry of National Service for fixing area quotas, which will be based on the figures supplied by the Registrar-General. Due consideration will be given to the essential war industries, food production activities, and relative population, as well as to the number of men already recruited, so that no unfair advantage could accrue to any area. Mr. M'Loughlin's speech appears to be correctly quoted in the question. I have not the information as to whether the voluntary recruiting returns for the period referred to from Dublin and Cork relatively on the basis of population were materially larger than those of Belfast, but if the hon. Member presses for it I will endeavour to obtain it. I am not aware of the number of men of military age who paraded in Belfast on the occasion referred to. I see no reason for the investigation suggested in the last part of the question.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether a copy of Mr. Cowan's Report on Housing can be at once supplied to the Association of Municipal Authorities of Ireland, with a view to its being discussed at the annual conference of the association to be held early next month?

Directions have been given for a copy of the Report to be furnished to the Corporation of Dublin. Until the Report has been received and considered by that body it is not intended to supply copies to any other persons.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether he is aware that the late Chief Secretary for Ireland gave certain guarantees on behalf of the Government to facilitate the property owners of the destroyed areas in Dublin in getting the necessary supplies for reconstruction; whether he is aware that the Controller of Timber Supplies and the Minister of Munitions suggested to the Dublin Corporation special committees for reconstruction, that the use of reinforced concrete should be encouraged in every possible way, so as to secure economy in the use of timber and constructional steel; whether he is aware that the Government has taken control of stocks of cement, and that the contractors have to suspend work on a number of buildings in course of erection; and whether he will see that, in view of the Government pledges upon this matter a Class A or P4 certificate shall be at once issued?

I recently received a deputation in regard to the matters referred to in the question, when I suggested that an estimate should be prepared of the quantities of the various materials required, with a view to a conference in London with the Departments authorised to issue permits. So far, I have not yet received the estimate.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether he is aware that a house known as Monfin, Ballycarney, Ferns, County Wexford, the property of an officer now seriously wounded, who left the house in charge of a caretaker in order to serve in the War, was raided for the second time on the 8th June, and a large portion of the heavy lead roofing removed and other property stolen; if so, whether any arrests have been made in connection with this raid; whether there is adequate and, if so, what police protection for property in this neighbourhood; and, seeing that such a raid amounts to malicious injury, whether the officer in question will be recompensed for the damage done and the property stolen?

On the night of the 15th, or early morning of the 16th, June, 1918, the unoccupied dwelling-house of Lieu- tenant-Colonel Henry M. Eustace, Mount-fin, Ferns, was entered by thieves, who managed to get on to the roof and cut and carried away a large sheet of lead and other property to the value of about £5 10s. The local police have made every possible inquiry into this case, but have not, so far, obtained any clue. No arrests have yet been made. Frequent patrols, both by day and night, visit the place, and everything possible is being done to protect the property. On a previous occasion, in 1915, the house was entered, and a Mauser rifle and an old Colt's revolver carried away. The question of compensation for malicious injuries or damage to property is one for the Courts to decide.

asked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland what steps he is taking or has in contemplation for putting into operation the Government of Ireland Act, 1914?

I am unable to make any statement at present.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether farmers in Templemore constabulary district who have surrendered their guns under recent Order have been refused permits; and whether he will take steps to have their guns returned to them so as to enable them to protect their crops?

I am informed that permits to have and carry arms have been granted to all farmers in the Templemore district, whose applications have been recommended by the local police.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland if the Commissioners of National Education in Ireland have recently made any alterations in the rules governing the special promotion of national school teachers; and, if so, whether such rules will be published for the information of school managers and those concerned?

The Commissioners of National Education inform me that the question of publishing these new Regulations is under consideration.

asked the Pensions Minister whether he has been supplied with the names of the county Longford Naval and Military Pensions Committee recently appointed by the Longford County Council; when this new committee is to meet; and whether it will be entitled to appoint its own secretary?

I have been supplied with the names of the persons appointed to form the Longford County War Pensions Committee, and I am sending the hon. Member a copy of the list for his information. Arrangements are being made for the first meeting of the committee, but the date is not yet fixed. The committee will be entitled to engage a secretary, at a salary approved by the local authority and the Local Government Board.

asked the Postmaster-General whether, in all appointments that have to be made by the Irish postal authorities, care is taken that wherever possible preference is given to ex-soldiers and ex-sailors of good character; whether he is aware that in the town of Kilkenny complaints are made that no such preference to men who have served in the forces has been shown and that, further, young civilians, when employed, are given uniform while ex-soldiers have to perform their work in plain clothes; and will he make inquiries as to the numbers of civilians and ex-soldiers and ex-sailors who have been taken into the employment of the post office at Kilkenny since the outbreak of war and also the weekly wage received by such civilians and soldiers?

In engaging fresh staff preference is given by the Irish postal authorities to ex-soldiers and sailors, and that course has been followed at Kilkenny. Five temporary postmen are at present employed at Kilkenny, of whom four are ex-soldiers or ex-sailors and one a civilian medically unfit for military service. In several instances civilians have been displaced to make room for ex-soldiers at Kilkenny.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War if he will have special inquiry made into the case of Private No. 87,803, C Company, Royal Welsh Fusiliers, Cork, who has been in the Army eleven weeks, and of this time has been five weeks in hospital, and is now in hospital again after a few days with his unit; and whether, in view of this fact and the further facts that he has teen under medical care since early 1914 suffering from rheumatism and weak heart, and that he has worked at two munition factories, being discharged from each place as inefficient through physical incapacity and finally discharged from the Ministry of Munitions as unfit for substitution work, he will order the man's discharge from the Army as unfit?

I am making inquiry, and will inform my hon. Friend of the result in due course.

asked the Minister of National Service how many men Colonel Butt examined at Perth on Monday, 22nd July, and on Tuesday, 23rd July; whether there is any truth in the statement that he examined 300 men before one o'clock on the earlier day; whether the reply of that officer to those who stated they suffered from asthma was, "Grade 1"; what were the gradings made by that officer on those two days; and will he see that in future two medical officers, one a civilan, do the grading in that particular neighbourhood?

There is no medical officer of the name of Colonel Butt employed by the Ministry of National Service. No National Service medical board at Perth or elsewhere has ever examined 300 men before one o'clock. The minimum number of medical men employed on a National Service medical board is three, including the chairman. If my hon. Friend will let me have the information upon which his question is based, I will make inquiries and communicate further with my hon. Friend.

asked the Minister of National Service if he has received a communication from Mr. Edward Rennison, solicitor, Blackburn, about the calling up of a youth aged eighteen, Grade 2, who is engaged solely in making coffins; and whether he can meet the request that the calling-up notice should be held in abeyance for a month in order that a substitute may be found, seeing that there is already difficulty in this district to get coffins made and bodies buried?

A letter has been received from. Mr. Rennison, solicitor, Blackburn, as stated by the hon. Member in his question, and the case has been referred to the Director of National Service for the North-Western Region, who has general authority to suspend temporarily the calling up in such cases in the event of his being satisfied that the circumstances of the case justify such action being taken. I am inquiring as to the action taken.

asked the Minister of National Service, in view of his statement that Grade 3 men of the new military age are not being called up, why calling-up notices have been sent to the men whose names have been privately furnished to him by the hon. Member for Blackburn?

Inquiries have been made into the two cases submitted by the hon. Member. I am informed that one of the men, who is of the new military age by a margin of a few days, was called up for service in error after being placed in Grade 3; the notice was, however, cancelled, and the man is still in civil life. In the other case, the proceedings appear to have been quite regular; the man was called for medical examination and was placed in Grade 3; there is no trace of a notice having been sent calling him up for service. He also is still in civil life.

asked the Minister of National Service whether he is aware that a number of men of military age resident in Ireland, who are shippers and dealers in live stock, fish, etc., trading between Ireland and Great Britain, are obliged to come constantly in the course of their business to Great Britain; and whether he can say that these persons while in Great Britain and holding permits to return to Ireland will not be called up for military service?

As the hon. Member is no doubt aware, the Military Service Acts apply to every male British subject of military age who has at any time since the 14th August, 1915, been or who for the time being is in Great Britain. While it is not proposed to enforce the Military obligations of Irishmen of military age who only visit Great Britain temporarily on urgent business or private affairs, it is considered that Irishmen who visit Great Britain regularly for the purpose of carrying on business are in a different position, and it is proposed that they should be called up for military service unless they obtain exemption from the tribunals. In view of the importance of their work in connection with food supply special administrative arrangements are being made to protect from recruitment Irish cattle dealers who visit Great Britain for the purpose of attending the cattle markets.

asked the Minister of National Service whether he is aware that the Civil Service Commissioners are transferring or have given notice of transfer to Somerset House, London, of a number of assistant clerks in Dublin or persons acting as such; if so, whether he is aware that instructions had been given to Labour Exchanges not to employ Irishmen of military age for work in England outside agricultural work; and whether he will cause the aforesaid transfer notice to be withdrawn or if he will state, if such notice is not withdrawn, if young men so transferred will be called up or be liable for military service while in this country?

I have no information as to the matters referred to in the first part of the hon. Member's question. It is possible that he is referring to certain assistant clerkships which have been offered to boy clerks who have been successful in the assistant clerks' examination. If so, they have the option to take or refuse the appointments offered to them. The answer to the second part of the question is in the affirmative. In view of what I have stated, the third part of the question does not appear to arise.

asked the Food Controller whether the secretary of the Sugar Commission, who is of British origin, has been called up for military service; whether the manager and expert buyer, who is of German origin and has nine first cousins fighting in the German Army, has been exempted; and, if so, why this course of action has been adopted?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. The decision to call up for military service the secretary of the Sugar Commission was, as the Ministry of National Service are aware, contrary to the expressed views of the Commission. With regard to the second part of the question, the suggestion which it conveys is strongly to be deprecated. The manager, whose duties do not include the buying of sugar, is of British birth and education. His father was born a Spanish subject and has been for over thirty years a naturalised Englishman. I am not aware that he has relatives fighting in the German Army, but I do know that he has relatives, fighting in the British Army, and that he himself has rendered and is rendering invaluable services to the Sugar Commission and to the nation. I would remind the hon. and gallant Gentleman that he raised this question at some length in this House in May of last year, and that the hon. Member for Wilton, who was then Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry, gave the House the fullest particulars of this case, showing that the alleged suspicion was wholly without foundation.

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether he is aware that Mr. Greville Smith, a member of the Heston and Isleworth Military Service Tribunal, is of enemy birth; if he will say what name was he born under and on what date did he change it; whether he is aware that his father was a sergeant-major in the German Army; when was he naturalised; and has he been summoned by the Brentford Bench to relinquish his position as a member of the Heston and Isleworth Urban District Council?

I am informed that Mr. Greville Smith is a natural-born British subject and that he changed his name from Schmidt to Smith twenty-seven years ago. His father served in the British Army and he has two sons serving with the British forces at the present time. In these circumstances the point as to the date of naturalisation does not arise. The reference in the last part of the hon. Baronet's question appears to be to certain legal proceedings in 1911, when, upon a case stated by the Brentford justices, it was decided that Mr. Smith was disqualified from membership of the district council. I think I should add, since the matter has been raised, that in those proceedings there was no question of Mr. Smith's nationality, but merely whether a mistake of law had or had not been committed, and that in giving judgment both the Brentford magistrates and the then Lord Chief Justice expressed their regret at being obliged to reach a decision adverse to him.

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether he is aware that Mr. Heldman, a member of the Heston and Isleworth tribunal, is of enemy birth; when he was naturalised, and who appointed him to this position?

I am given to understand that Mr. Heldman is a natural-born British subject, and therefore the question as to when he was naturalised does not arise. He was one of the original members of the tribunal appointed by the urban district council of Heston and Isle-worth upon the passing of the first Military Service Act in 1916.

asked the Home Secretary if he will have inquiry made into the condition of the health of J. C. S. Elliott, a conscientious objector, who has just returned to Liverpool Prison to serve his fourth sentence of two years' hard labour, who has already served twenty-two months in prison, who, when last in Liverpool Prison, was for six months in hospital, and was sent direct from hospital to Dublin, where he was put into the guardroom; and whether, in view of the man's long imprisonment and state of health, he can order his discharge?

I have made inquiry, and I find that this prisoner is in fair general health, and there is no medical ground which would justify my authorising his discharge from prison.

asked the Home Secretary why George F. Webb, a conscientious objector in the works settlement, Wake-field, who has been on the scheme for two years, has not been permitted to take up work under the exceptional employment scheme?

The committee have considered this man's case, but are not satisfied that his conduct and industry have been such as to enable them to give him permission to take up exceptional employment.

asked the Prime Minister whether his attention has been drawn to the continued imprisonment of men who for conscience sake have declined to undertake military service; whether he is aware that numbers of these men have shown the genuineness of their convictions by submitting without complaint to the severest form of imprisonment known to the law, and that some of them have suffered death and others become insane during their sentence; and whether he will now take steps to see that those conscientious objectors who by their sufferings have shown their sincerity are not called upon to undergo repeated terms of imprisonment for what is virtually one and the same offence?

I would refer the hon. Member to the replies which I gave to questions addressed to me on this subject on the 1st and 5th August.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware of the situation being brought about by the diminished output of coal from the mines, thereby affecting the prosecution of the War, our Allies, our industries, our export trade, and the comfort and convenience of our people; whether, seeing that this shortage of output is due to an insufficiency of men to work the mines, he will urge upon the Government the necessity of bringing back immediately from the Army the older miners; and whether this is now possible in view of the reinforcements to the Army being landed almost daily in France?

I am aware of the diminished output of coal and of its possible consequences, against which, however, must be set the main cause of the diminution, namely, the pressing military necessity of the withdrawal of 75,000 miners for the Army. The Army Council are engaged in releasing as rapidly as possible 25,000 miners of medical categories, B2 and B3, now serving at home, and between six and seven thousand of these men have already been released.

asked the Under-Secretary of State to the Air Ministry whether a lieutenant in the Royal Air Force will have to pay at least £16, at ready-money rates, for one cap and one suit of clothing in the proposed new pale-blue uniform; and whether the introduction of this pale-blue uniform is strongly opposed by all Royal Air Force officers in France and elsewhere on the grounds that it is impossible to wear it at work in the aerodromes or on the machines owing to its getting so easily stained with oil?

Controlled prices will, it is anticipated, be fixed almost immediately under which the new uniform will be purchaseable at a price which will be less by 25 per cent. than the figure quoted by the hon. and gallant Member. No foundation is known for the statement in the second part of the question.

asked the Under-Secretary of State to the Air Ministry whether a Mr. Haywood is assistant commandant of the Women's Royal Air Force; if so, is Mr. Haywood of military age; and whether Mr. Haywood was recently an insurance clerk in Cardiff and obtained exemption from military service on the ground of his then occupation?

Mr. Haywood is an established Civil servant who has been temporarily lent by his Department to the Air Ministry for urgent administrative work in connection with the Women's Royal Air Force. He does not hold the position of assistant commandant. Mr. Haywood is thirty-eight years of age and of Grade 2 medical category. He received a certificate of indispensability from his own Department in September, 1916, and his case, in common with that of all civilians of military age in Government Departments, is under review by a Committee of the Ministry of National Service.

asked the Under-Secretary of State to the Air Ministry whether several of the senior officers of the Women's Royal Air Force have resigned since the present commandant, the deputy-commandant, and the assistant-deputy-commandants were appointed; whether he is aware that at present there is a feeling of dissatisfaction in the force with the present commandant; and whether, in view of this dissatisfaction, he will institute a full inquiry into the causes?

Two senior officers of the Women's Royal Air Force have resigned since the appointment of the present commandant. The Air Council have every confidence in this lady's ability and discretion, and they see no need for an inquiry of the nature suggested in the last part of the question.

asked the Under-Secretary of State to the Air Ministry if he will state the previous experience of the present commandant of the Women's Royal Air Force, and the reasons for her appointment to the position?

Miss Douglas Pennant has for more than six years been a member of the National Health Insurance Commission for Wales, and she had previously served as a co-opted member of the London Education Committee. She was appointed to her present position because her experience and qualifications rendered her, in the view of the Air Council, the most suitable person available to carry out the duties attaching to it.

asked the Secretary Secretary whether he is aware that the following enemy alien workers, who hold exemption certificates from the Home Office, are employed making Army clothing in London at wages varying from £2 10s. to £7 10s. a week, namely, J. Aaron, B. Fallman, M. Fallman, who are Austrian subjects, and H. Lauria, A. Rabbonity, B. Steinberg, H. Stelofsky, S. Geidenberg, who are Turkisk subjects; why these enemy alien workers are permitted to draw the ordinary full rate of pay while our fighting Infantry soldier draws 1s 3d. a day; and whether he will arrange that a condition of their continued exemption from internment shall be that any moneys earned by these men above strictly necessary amounts shall be credited to some fund raised to benefit the dependants of our sailors and soldiers?

The names in the question were probably incorrectly spelt when given to the hon. and gallant Member, as some of them cannot be traced. So far as identified, they are persons who were exempted from internment on the recommendation of the Advisory Committee in 1915. Exemption from internment has never been made conditional on submitting to deductions from wages. These cases will be reviewed by the Advisory Committee recently appointed.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will inquire from Messrs. Whimster and Company, 30, Renfield Street, Glasgow, if it is their intention to dismiss the master of their steamer "Neto," who is a British subject, and appoint in his place an alien shipmaster; and if it is possible in wartime for British-owned vessels to be commanded and officered by alien seamen, notwithstanding the fact that there are numbers of masters and officers of British nationality who are seeking employment?

I will send a copy of the hon. Member's question to the owners of the ship, and ask them for their observations. A neutral who has the necessary qualifications can be employed as a master or officer of a British ship, but each case in which it was proposed to employ a foreigner as master during the War would be examined and dealt with on its merits.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, as the Kellner-Partington Company have entered into partnership with the Government of Austria he will now apply to the Courts for the appointment of a controller in the same manner as an application was made in respect to the Aramayo Francke Mines, Limited, of Bolivia; and, as this company or its directors will now be occupied in raising funds for the new undertaking into which they have entered in partnership with the Government of Austria, what does he propose to do in the matter of Mr. Lowe, who is one of the directors, but also a British subject?

So far as I am aware, no partnership has been entered into by the Kellner-Partington Company with the Government of Austria. The property of the company in Austria has been sold for cash and shares in an Austrian company, which cash and shares are retained by the Austrian Government during the War, and the company will thus retain an interest in the property in Austria if these shares are handed over at the end of the War. No money will be remitted to Austria as a result of the transaction, and I see no ground for applying to the Court for the appointment of a controller.

asked the Assistant-Director to the War Trade Department what was the exact date on which he intimated to the Kellner-Partington Wood Pulp Company that they might proceed with the sale of their shares to the syndicate of Norwegian purchasers?

The War Trade Department were not concerned in the matter. I presume the hon. Member refers to the approval by the Foreign Trade Department required by the terms of the Treasury licence. This was conveyed in a letter dated 10th July, 1917.

asked the Prime Minister whether his attention has been called to resolutions passed by the urban district council of Smallthorne, Staffordshire, protesting against the employment of aliens in any office or employment controlled by His Majesty's Government, and requesting that the services of any alien so employed may be dispensed with, and also of a further resolution protesting against any allowance of jam or of dried fruits being issued to prisoners of war in this country, having regard to the restriction in the allowances of those foods imposed upon the civilian population of this country; and whether he will indicate the intentions of the Government respecting these matters?

Resolutions on this subject have been received. As I announced on the 1st of August, a Committee has been appointed to inquire into the question of the employment of aliens in Government offices. I am informed that jam has long ceased to be, and dried fruits never have been issued to enemy prisoners of war in this country.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, in view of the possibility of a General Election, he can arrange for the liberation of a supply of paper, fairly apportioned, so that candidates may be able to place their views before the large new electorate?

It would be impossible to say now what supply of paper may be available at any time in the future, but should an election take place, arrangements would be made to distribute the supply available fairly among all candidates.

asked the Secretary to the Board of Trade whether he has examined and compared the diverse forms of tender which have been placed before him as now in use by the spending Departments; whether he has consulted the Paper Controller thereon; and, if so, whether he will say what steps, if any, it is proposed to take in order to secure a simplified and standardised form of tender with the resulting economies in time and paper?

The question of paper economy in connection with the forms of tender used by the spending Departments is now receiving careful consideration in consultation with the Paper Controller, but I am not yet in a position to make a statement on the subject.

asked the hon. Member for Sheffield (Central Division) whether the Mercantile Marine officers who are domiciled at hotels at Rijswijk, Holland, are required to pay two gulden a day each in addition to the three gulden a day allowed by the British Government; whether the sixty gulden per month advanced by the British Government is to be regarded debt which they are expected to repay; and whether, in view of the fact that quite a number of these interned shipmasters and officers have never had a penny from their owners while in Germany, he can release them from any liability of the kind?

My hon. Friend has asked me to reply to this question. The Board of Trade are making inquiries into the payments for subsistence by Mercantile Marine officers interned in Holland, and are now in communication with the Treasury and with other Departments concerned on the provision of allowances for subsistence, and on the question of relieving these officers from financial liability incidental to their internment.

asked the hon. Member for Sheffield (Central Division) whether the Prisoners of War Committee will inquire into the proceedings of the Commission held at Aachen on 11th June, when, notwithstanding the fact that they were sent at the request of the British authorities, the Commission is reported to have sent back three British merchant shipmasters to Holzminden Camp owing to the complaint of the Germans that, as we were not sending over their prisoners sent before the Commission at the request of the German Government, they would no longer continue to send ours?

The Commission at Aachen is a German Commission, and we have, unfortunately, no control over their proceedings. The reason stated to have been given by the German authorities for detaining the three shipmasters has no justification in fact.

asked the hon. Member for Sheffield (Central Division), (1) what principle regulates the charge made by the Prisoners of War Committee to British civilian prisoners repatriated from German internment camps;(2) whether the Rotterdamsche Lloyd Steamship Company have made no charge for the hire of their vessels used for the repatriation of British interned prisoners from Germany other than actual running expenses: and whether the generosity of this Dutch company was borne in mind by the British Prisoners of War Committee when the committee decided to charge the returned prisoners for the cost of their voyage; and(3) whether the British civilian prisoners repatriated to England from Germany in January last were asked to sign any paper promising to pay the cost of their journey; whether the signing of such a paper is now made a condition of embarkation before the prisoner leaves Holland; and, if this is not the case always, what principle of differentiation between British prisoners is adopted by the Prisoners of War Committee?

In reply to these questions, I may say that the charges mentioned are made in accordance with Treasury Regulations. The whole matter is being reconsidered by the Treasury, and in the meantime I can add nothing to the answers given on this subject by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 16th and 22nd July.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War if he can state whether prisoners at Ruhleben or elsewhere in Germany have been required to give an undertaking to repay sums advanced to them by the British authorities to enable them to return to this country; if so, will he state whether any inquiries were made before demanding such an undertaking as to whether the men were in a position to bear the cost of their journey home; and what course the Government will pursue in regard to the men who on their return home find that the discharge of this undertaking is a severe burden upon scanty means?

The charges mentioned in this question are made in accordance with Treasury Regulations. The whole matter is being reconsidered by the Treasury, and in the meantime I can add nothing to the answers given on this subject by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the 16th and 22nd of July.

asked the hon. Member for Sheffield (Central Division) whether the Prisoners of War Committee have received a report on the treatment of Mercantile Marine apprentices who are prisoners of war in Germany; and whether lads of good parentage, from fourteen years of age and upwards, are made to do the most menial work in the camp, some out working on commandoes with firemen, sailors, and Russian soldiers, and, as stated by Germans, their cadets who are prisoners of war in this country are being similarly ill-treated by the British Government?

We have an agreement with Germany for the special treatment of youthful prisoners. If my hon. Friend will communicate to me the names of any boys who are not being properly treated, I will see that the matter is taken up with the German Government.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether, during 1916 and 1917, the Ottoman Government agreed to allow a hospital ship to embark at Messina a number of British and Indian invalid prisoners and to land there clothing and food for the prisoners remaining in Turkey; whether the British Government subsequently decided not to avail itself of this arrangement; and whether, in view of the mortality among prisoners in Turkey, before and since that event, the Government will state the reasons for its action?

In a note verbale, addressed to the United States Ambassador at Constantinople on the 11th January, 1917, the Ottoman Government stated that a British hospital might proceed to Messina to repatriate twenty-five Turkish officials from Amara and the families of certain Turkish officials from the Hedjaz, and to bring back twenty-five British women and children from Baghdad. There was no question of the repatriation of invalid combatants by such a vessel, and the number of British invalid combatants which the Turkish Government were at that time prepared to repatriate by any route was insignificant. As a hospital ship could not properly be used for the repatriation of others than invalids, the arrangement proposed was unacceptable. The Turkish Government, at the same time, stated that the same hospital ship might bring stores for British prisoners of war, but on the express condition that they should be consigned directly to the Turkish authorities. This condition was also obviously unacceptable. It was only as the result of negotiations which culminated in the Berne agreement that the Turkish Government agreed to repatriate any considerable number of British prisoners of war, and to allow stores sent by the repatriation ship to be distributed by a neutral agency.