asked the Prime Minister whether he will cause inquiry to be made into the medical treatment of officers and men of the Army in France and England suffering from influenza and pneumonia, with a view to satisfying the nation that adequate arrangements have been made; and whether he will cause a statistical table to be drawn up showing the percentage of mortality occurring during the recent epidemic in the British Army on the one hand and among the civilian population on the other from influenza and pneumonia during the last three months?

My right hon. Friend has asked me to answer this question. In reply to oral questions to-day, I gave my Noble Friend all the figures relating to the Army which are available. I do not think that any useful purpose would be served by instituting a special inquiry as suggested at the present time.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland if he will give the reasons for the refusal of the Local Government Board of Ireland to grant an old age pension to Mrs. Jane Richardson, Kilmorry Street, Newry; what were the grounds of opposition of the Newry revenue or pensions official in charge of the case; and if he will have an inquiry-made into this case?

An appeal was made by the Pension Office in connection with the claim of Mrs. Jane Richardson, Newry, for an old age pension on the ground that she was receiving board and lodging free, which was worth over 12s. 6d. a week, and it was upheld by the Local Government Board on the same ground. As the Board have given their decision in the matter, they have no further function in regard to this case.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether a German named Miss Mitzen has been taken on at the Admiralty; who recommended her; and why she was employed?

No employé of this name can be traced on the books of the Admiralty, and a statement of British nationality and parentage is required of every applicant for employment at the Admiralty. If, however, my hon. and gallant Friend will furnish me with the information upon which his question is based, full inquiries will be made.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War if his attention has been drawn to the fact that, owing to the time consumed by soldiers returning on leave to Highland homes, especially in districts where postal economies have considerably curtailed the running of passenger motors, etc., it frequently happens that the time actually available for remaining at home is reduced to a matter of hours only; and whether he could see his way to again cause this matter to form the subject of inquiry, with the view either of extending in these cases the normal period of leave or of ordering that time consumed in travelling shall be added to the period of leave?

I regret that I am unable to add anything to the answer which I gave on the 6th May last to my hon. Friend the Member for Orkney.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War what is the establishment and rates of pay of Army schoolmasters; whether they have received any advance of pay during the War; and whether, in view of the fact that the work performed by Army schoolmasters would otherwise be undertaken by commissioned officers, the status of commissioned rank and pay could be granted to Army schoolmasters?

The total establishment of Army schoolmasters is 350. The rates of pay for qualified schoolmasters range from 4s. to 7s. a day. In addition, rations, accommodation, fuel and light, and clothing are provided in kind, or allowances are given in lieu. Schoolmasters at selected schools receive additional pay at 1s. a day. There are certain other posts for which special pay is provided, and Army schoolmasters are eligible for promotion to commissioned rank as inspectors of Army schools. They have benefited by the Government concessions of relief from compulsory allotment towards separation allowances and the grant of war pay promulgated in Army Order I of 1918. With regard to the last part of the question, the work referred to has not hitherto been performed by commissioned officers, and it is not proposed to make any change in this respect.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War, in regard to the Army Order issued on the 9th October, 1918, modifying the conditions governing the award of the Territorial Force efficiency medal to warrant officers, non-commissioned officers, and men of the Territorial Force, if there is any reason why these provisions should not be extended to allow of the medal being awarded to men, whether they resigned or not before the War, who have since received commissioned rank?

Officers of the Territorial Force are eligible for the award of the Territorial Officers' Decoration and previous service in the ranks counts as qualifying service under certain conditions. As I stated in reply to the hon. Member for Exeter, on the 5th instant, the Royal Warrant governing the decoration is at present being amended, and it is proposed that embodied service as an officer should count double and embodied rank service as full qualifying service for the decoration.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War if he will state whether an order has been issued permitting wounded prisoners of war to include the period of their captivity when claiming their right to wear chevrons; and whether he will grant the same right to unwounded prisoners?

I would refer my right hon. Friend to the reply I gave yesterday to my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Warrington.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether compensation for seamen injured through war conditions and payment of part wages to dependants of seamen injured in Germany amounts to 23s. 4d. per week; and whether he will take steps to have this amount increased in order to meet the rise in the cost of living?

in the case of seamen totally incapacitated as a result of internment in Germany, the compensation scheme for the Mercantile Marine provides for the payment of two-thirds of the pre-war pay plus a victualling allowance in cases in which a free mess was allowed in addition to pay. Seamen injured through war risks receive compensation according to this scale or under the Workmen's Compensation Act, whichever is the greater.

asked the Under-Secretary of State to the Air Ministry whether Colonel Fell has been appointed director-general of medical services, Royal Air Force, and has he, on accepting such appointment, undertaken to adopt the principles recommended by the Watson Cheyne Committee or, if he has not yet been appointed, will Colonel Fell, or whoever else is appointed, be required to adopt such principles in the administration of the Royal Air Force medical service?

I am not yet in a position to add to the answer which I gave to my hon. and gallant Friend on the 4th instant. An announcement will be made very shortly.

asked the President of the Board of Education if he will consider the desirability of further powers being granted to education committees to enable them to compel parents to obtain dental treatment for their children who are attending elementary schools, either at their own or at the expense of the county council?

I should hesitate very much to adopt the hon. and gallant Member's suggestion, which involves the creation of a new offence, at all events, until further evidence is available as to the necessity of such a step.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether years spent as a student in a training college will count as qualifying service under the School Teachers (Superannuation) Bill or whether it is intended that a non-collegiate teacher shall be enabled to qualify for pension rights while his or her colleague is in college?

I cannot commit myself at present as to what service will be included in or excluded from "qualifying service." But I do not at present see how years spent as a student in a training college can be regarded as years of service or employment at all. I doubt very much whether the intending teacher who passes through a training college will find his pension prospects at all prejudiced thereby.

asked the President of the Board of Education if he has received a printed statement, dated the 2nd November, and signed by Mr. Spurley Hey, of Manchester, the president of the Association of Directors and Secretaries for Education, with regard to the position of these officers under the School Teachers (Superannuation) Bill; and will he state how exactly the matter stands, in view of the uncertainty which appears to exist and also of the responsibilities which will devolve upon these officers for the application of the powers and duties conferred by the Education Act of 1918?

I have received a letter, signed by the secretary of the association, dated the 2nd November. Under the School Teachers (Superannuation) Bill as it now stands, local education officials who have been teachers will be eligible for pensions on their previous teaching service if, in other respects, they comply with the provisions of the Bill and the conditions prescribed under it. Local education officials who have not been teachers do not come within the scope of the Bill.

asked the Secretary of State for India what action has been taken on the proposals put forward by the Government of India in 1913 and 1914 for increased pension to departmental officers of the Indian departments which were understood to have been held over in 1914 owing to the outbreak of the War; and whether the Government of India proposes to resubmit the case on behalf of these officers if the former proposals are obsolete?

Revised proposals have been received from the Government of India, and are now under consideration.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether Sir N. Chandravashar and Mr. Justice Beachcroft have submitted to the Government of India their Report on the cases of internment examined by them as members of the Bengal advisory board; and whether their Report vindicates the action taken by the government of Bengal?

The answer to both questions is in the affirmative.

asked the Home Secretary whether he is aware that Arthur Childs, a conscientious objector who was arrested in May, 1917, was examined by a military doctor and said to be suffering from heart disease; whether this man, who is at present in Wandsworth prison serving a sentence of two years' imprisonment, is in a hospital cell suffering from a weak heart; whether he is being forcibly fed; and whether he will have inquiries made with a view to this man's release on medical grounds?

Arthur Childs was discharged from prison on medical grounds on the 2nd instant. He was not fed forcibly.

asked the Home Secretary whether it is the fact that Isaac Hall, a coloured man from Jamaica, is imprisoned at Pentonville as a conscientious objector; if so, whether he is treated exactly like others of the same sort; and whether it is a fact that he had no opportunity of appearing before any tribunal?

The answer to the first two parts of the question is in the affirmative. Hall appeared before the Central Tribunal in February, 1917, but declined to accept work under the Committee on Employment of Conscientious Objectors.

asked the Home Secretary whether he will inquire into the case of J. Heiliger, an unnaturalised German subject resident at 43, Clarges Street, W., and the reasons for his non-internment?

This man is sixty-one years of age, and is, therefore, not subject, in ordinary course, to internment. He was exempted from repatriation on the recommendation of the Advisory Committee, having been forty-three years in this country, and having a British-born wife and family.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether there is any prospect of an early increased supply of coal for commercial and household purposes?

The available resources of coal will not permit of any relaxation in the effort to secure economy both by voluntary co-operation of consumers and by the effects of the Household Fuel and Lighting Orders.

asked the President of the Board of Trade to what amount the Port of London authority are permitted to raise its charge to meet the increase of payment that has been given to temporary workers on the staff; and will he receive representations from the employés' trade union to show whether or not the money is being expended in the manner for which it is earmarked?

The increase in the dock rates and charges on vessels and goods in the Port of London over those in force on the 23rd April, 1917, was recently raised from 50 per cent. to 70 per cent. While the increase of wages is, no doubt, the main factor which renders increased charges necessary, it is not the only factor, and the additional revenue is not earmarked to any particular purpose.

asked the Secretary for Scotland what is the present condition of the health of Mr. John MacLean; whether he is still being forcibly fed; and if it is proposed to release him?

I have nothing to add to the replies which I gave on the 6th instant to the hon. Member for North Somerset, which still hold good, except that as Maclean is now taking two meals a day in the ordinary way, he is artificially fed only once.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he is aware that under existing conditions medical men from British Columbia are prevented from registering in Great Britain unless they take a British degree; if this is in consequence of arrangements made by the Foreign Office with one or more Foreign and Allied countries; and if any such regulations can be suspended in view of the present great lack of medical men?

The difficulty in question arises from the fact that it had not been possible to arrange for such reciprocity between the United Kingdom and British Columbia as is considered to be necessary before an Order in Council can be issued applying the second part of the Medical Act, 1886, to that Province.