asked the Food Controller if he will state the amount of financial loss sustained this last nine months, each month separately, through the purchase of home-produced cheese?

The financial losses on the purchases of home-produced cheese by the Ministry during the last nine months are as follows: March, £73,778; April, £34,901; May, £59,394; June, £81,585; July, £145,812; August, £152,705; Septem- ber, £254,655; October, £313,885; November, 363,581. Under the Ministry's pooling system, which has been in operation since July, 1918, these losses are met from profits on the sales of imported cheese, all Government cheese being sold at a flat rate through the distribution system to the consumer.

asked the Food Controller whether he is aware that Mr. S. J. Chilcott, a butcher, of 4, Fore Street, Tiverton, Devon, who refused to take cancerous meat allotted to him under the food control, and whose shop was closed by the local food committee in consequence, has lost the action at law brought against the food committee and has been ordered to pay damages, which he is totally unable to afford; and whether, in view of these facts, the Ministry of Food intends to intervene on his behalf or to allow him to go to prison for having refused to serve cancerous meat to the public?

A bullock was allocated to Mr. S. J. Chilcott, a butcher, of Fore Street, Tiverton, Devon, by the allocating officer of the Tiverton Market. When the beast had been slaughtered, a cancerous growth was discovered in the kidney. Mr. Chilcott subsequently received compensation. An action was brought by Mr. Chilcott against the Tiverton Food Committee, in which he alleged that his shop had been closed on their instructions. The case was tried before Mr. Justice Darling, who found as a fact the shop had been closed by Mr. Chilcott and not by the food committee, and gave judgment for the defendants with costs. Mr. Chilcott has not been ordered to pay damages, and there is no ground for suggesting that he should go to prison for having refused to serve cancerous meat to the public. The Food Controller, therefore, sees no ground for intervention in the case.

asked the Prime Minister whether he is now in a position to give a considered reply to the representations made to him in August last by a labour and co-operative deputation in favour of the Ministry of Food being constituted as a permanent State Department?

No, Sir. The Government have not yet come to a decision in the matter.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland if on 17th November the usual weekly market at Thurles, county Tipperary, was suppressed, and the country people prevented from offering their produce for sale; and, if so, why?

The weekly markets at Thurles were suppressed in compliance with the Order of the Competent Military Authority, dated 20th September, 1919.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether, in view of the position of opponents to vaccination in Ireland, hundreds of objectors to the operation being liable to prosecution, he can see his way at once to introduce an Act exempting from the provisions of the compulsory law those who honestly object to vaccination, and thus bring the law into line with that prevailing in Great Britain?

It is not proposed to alter the existing vaccination law in Ireland.

asked the Secretary to the Admiralty how many vessels belonging to the Scottish fishing fleet have been ordered for reconditioning in English ports, and how many English vessels for reconditioning in Scottish ports?

To obtain the information asked for would entail a very considerable amount of clerical work, and impose an additional strain on an already hard worked and reduced staff, and as the work is now drawing to a close the figures will appear to serve no benefit other than a review of the past. I would point out that about 2,400 vessels had to be reconditioned, and it was considered essential to return them to their owners as soon as possible. They were not, however, available all at once, but came forward in a stream, and the object has always been to keep the reconditioning ports to which these vessels belong, fully employed. Reconditioning at other than the home ports was undertaken when the latter were full, and in order to expedite the return of these vessels to their normal duties. In these circumstances, therefore, I hope my hon. and gallant Friend will not press for the compilation of these statistics.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he can state the number of men in the Royal Navy at present undergoing imprisonment for offences of a minor character?

I am afraid I cannot answer this question until I know what my hon. Friend means to convey by the phrase "offences of a minor character." Imprisonment is certainly not awarded for offences of a minor character, as we understand the phrase. However, if my hon. Friend would wish to go through the scale of punishments for offences set out in the King's Regulations, I will see that he has an opportunity.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that Sapper Cave, of the 3rd Corps (Signal Company), was transferred to the 2nd wireless squadron on March, 1919; whether this man has been almost stone deaf for nearly two years, and is useless as a wireless operator; whether Sapper Cave has been refused demobilisation, and has been solely employed picking up paper and in supervising the work of an Indian sanitary orderly; and whether he will cause immediate inquiries to be made with a view to the release of this man?

Inquiries are being made, and I will let the hon. Member know the result as soon as possible

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that there are 1916 men with foreign service of three and a-half years without leave still serving in the Royal Army Medical Corps with the river sick convoy unit in Mesopotamia, and apparently without any preparations for their return home; and will he inquire into this, with a view to expediting their release?

Under existing instructions all warrant officers, non-commissioned officers and men eligible for demobilisation who enlisted voluntarily or joined for continuous service with the Colours in 1916 are to be despatched from their present stations or theatres by the 1st February next, subject to the necessary transport being available. I have no reason to suppose that any such man will be detained beyond the date mentioned.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether it is still his intention to appoint Territorial officers as adjutants of Territorial battalions, or whether these appointments are to be confined to officers holding Regular commissions?

Eligible Territorial officers will be appointed adjutants when they are available and are recommended for the appointment.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he will consider extending the permission to retain their temporary rank to the case of retired officers who had temporary rank in previous campaigns and who served in the present War?

The conditions laid down in Army Order 376 of 1918 were drawn up after very careful consideration, and it is not proposed to reconsider the matter.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he will have investigation made into the case of Private W. H. Crook, No. 8430, 5th Royal Irish Regiment, who was transferred, according to the Paymaster, to Class Z Reserve on his discharge on 22nd March, 1919, but on whose transfer certificate it was stated that he was transferred to Section B Reserve on that date; whether this man is entitled to Army Reserve pay; and whether, in view of the fact that he was recorded as having been transferred to Section B on the transfer certificate, he will take steps to have the matter rectified?

I will have inquiry made into this case and communicate later with my hon. and gallant Friend.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether Lieut.-Colonel Somerville served on the staff of Major-General Knox in Siberia for some time in 1919 and only received regimental pay; and, if so, whether he will state why Lieut.-Colonel Somerville did not receive the pay appropriate to the appointment he held?

Lieut. - Colonel Somerville drew regimental pay from 28th April, 1919, to 19th August, 1919. The case was fully considered before it was decided that this was the appropriate rate.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether he can say why men who enlisted in the Tunnelling Corps on 12th September, 1915, were drafted to France the following day, and promised 6s. per day, were not paid according to promise until 8th May, 1916?

Perhaps the hon. Member will furnish particulars of the case or cases to which he refers. I cannot, however, promise any result at so late a date.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether his attention has been called to a complaint by the plumbers employed at the Chigwell Ordnance Depot that they are not being paid the rate of wages which have been agreed between the employers and employed of the district, and that claims for arrears are outstanding both by present, and late employés of this depot; and whether he will cause inquiries to be made with a view or remedying the complaint referred to?

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

asked the Pensions Minister if he is aware that the pension of 15s. a week granted to Mrs. Smethurst, of Tring, who lost her three sons in the War and is a widow, has been stopped; and if he will investigate this case, which is one of hardship?

If the hon. Member will supply regimental particulars, for the purpose of identification, inquiries will be made, and I will let him know the result.

asked the Pensions Minister why the pensions to widows of officers who died on service in former wars have been raised and the pensions to widows of officers whose death was not directly attributable to former war service have remained unaltered; and whether he can see his way to increase their pensions correspondingly to meet the enormously increased cost of living?

The pensions of the widows of officers killed in former wars were raised to the level of pensions of the present War because it was felt that no distinction could fairly be drawn between one war and another. The question of pensions granted to widows of officers whose death was not attributable to war service is governed by different considerations. I may remind the hon. Member that the only class of officers' widows' pensions administered by the Ministry of Pensions, other than those for death due to war service, are those for deaths through injuries in the performance of military duty in peace time. Pensions for the widows of officers dying in other circumstances are administered by the War Office and Admiralty.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether a soldier released by Army Orders for munition work, and who subsequently went back to the Army and received Army pay, is entitled to pension rights for disabilities connected with or arising from his service in munition work?

The hon. Member presumably refers to a soldier released from the Colours under Army Order 205 of 1915. If that is the case, the answer to his question is in the affirmative, but any compensation awarded to the man under the Workmen's Compensation Act, 1906, would be taken into account in assessing pension. If, however, the soldier was transferred to Class W of the Army Reserve, the answer is in the negative.

asked the Pensions Minister how many women are at present employed in the Department of the Ministry of Pensions; and whether, in view of the large amount of unemployment amongst ex-Service men, it is his intention to supersede the women employés by the substitution of ex-Service men?

The total number of women at present employed by the Ministry of Pensions is 13,637. Of this number 1,591 are employed on nursing and other duties in hospitals and institutions, 683 are typists, and 1,339 are part-time cleaners or juveniles under eighteen, leaving 10,024 as the number of the female clerical staff. So far as the nature of the work permits, it is the policy of the Ministry to employ ex-Service men, and also women dependants of deceased or disabled men. Employment has already been found in the Ministry for 5,261 ex-Service men, of whom 1,899 have been disabled in the War.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether the dredger "Juiga" and a sister ship previously the property of the Bombay Port Trust were requisitioned by the Royal Indian Marine and ordered to the Persian Gulf for the purpose of dredging the sand bank that interferes with traffic proceeding to Basra; whether, having arrived at their destination, these vessels were left unemployed for a long period of time; whether on return to Bombay, never having been used for Government work, an offer to repurchase one of these vessels for £55,000 was refused in order to still further force up the price on account of the urgent need for using these dredgers on their lawful occasions; whether much of the pipe line belonging to the dredgers is now in Mesopotamia, and the pontoons being used as floats on the river; and whether the India Office, in consultation with the Ministry of Shipping, is now in a position to give an explanation of its action?

The two dredgers were purchased from the Bombay Port Trust in 1915, after they had done the work for which they had been built, at the urgent request of the General Officer Command- ing in Mesopotamia, for dredging the river approaches to Basra. They were eventually found unsuitable and were returned to India, where they have been held for sale by the Surplus Government Property Disposal Board. I believe that an option to purchase one of the dredgers for an greed sum was given to the Bombay Port Trust, acting on behalf of an Anglo-French firm, but was not exercised. In other cases inquiries for various reasons fell through. The dredgers are adapted to special conditions only. One dredger has now been sold to the Bombay Government for £75,000, an offer of this amount having also been received from an outside source, and negotiations for the sale of the others are proceeding. It is understood that part of the pipe lines and the pontoons were left in Mesopotamia as they were required for use there. Allowance for this has been made in valuing the vessels for sale. I doubt whether further explanation is needed, as the Disposal Board, in endeavouring to obtain a proper price for the vessels, is only doing its duty.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he has received a petition from the Constitutional Reform Association of Hong Kong asking for a more popular form of government for the Colony; whether he has made any reply to such petition; and what is the nature of such reply, if any?

Yes, Sir, representations of the nature indicated have been received, and Sir Edward Stubbs, the now Governor, has been asked to give his careful consideration to the questions involved after he has had some experience of the Colony. The association has been informed accordingly.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that the Rotherham Board of Guardians are paying approximately £2,000 a year in out-door relief to persons already in receipt of compensation under the Workmen's Compensation Act; whether he is aware that this is typical of other industrial districts in the country; and whether, in view of the fact that this charge has fallen upon boards of guardians in consequence of the small amount of compensation payable in comparison with the cost of living, he will consider the advisability of providing for a reimbursement to the boards of guardians of all the moneys so expended?

I am not aware of any authority under which the proposed reimbursement could be made.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he is aware that only a very small proportion of the worsted and woollen spindles existing in Poland and Czecho-Slovakia has been damaged in these countries through enemy action, and that the majority of this machinery is at present standing through inability on the part of manufacturers to find exchange to pay for importations of mill supplies and raw material necessary to put this machinery into operation; and if any inter-Allied arrangement is contemplated with a view to putting this machinery into operation, thus assisting in clothing the populations of these countries and giving employment to the industrial populations?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. As regards the second part of the question, I am not aware of any such Inter-Allied arrangement.

asked the Postmaster-General whether, in view of the importance of the issue involved in the case of Postman Anderson, of Arbroath, who is suffering a deduction from his weekly wages of 5s. for a long term of years in order to refund the Treasury a sum of £95, paid in error to his mother while her son was serving abroad, he will consult the Law Officers of the Crown as to the legality of inflicting upon a Post Office employé the burden of repaying a debt not incurred by him, and properly to be debited to the official who is responsible for the error?

I must refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on the 1st instant.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will state the number of ex-Service men at present unemployed in Newport (Mon.); and how many of these unemployed ex-Service men in that district are wholly or partially disabled?

At 28th November, the latest date for which figures are available, there were 910 ex-Service men at Newport (Mon.) claiming Out-of-work Donation, of whom 177 were disabled.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware that, in the scheme of reconstruction at present being carried out, and the reduction of staffs consequent thereon, numbers of men are being thrown out of employment who were medically unfit for military service; and whether, in view of the hardship inflicted in many cases, he will arrange that these men, who were ineligible for military service, will be treated on the same basis as ex-Service men?

I assume that the hon. Member's question has reference to the payment of out-of-work donation. The House having decided that donation should not continue to be paid to civilian workpeople, but only to ex-members of His Majesty's Forces, I am unable to accede to the suggestion that those civilians who were rejected for military service as medically unfit should be treated as if they had, in fact, given military service.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he has received a resolution from the Woolwich Board of Guardians protesting against the action of the Government in stopping the unemployment donation without first finding work for the unemployed, while at, the same time workmen are being discharged from Woolwich Arsenal and are being forced to appeal to the board of guardians for relief, and pointing out that the Government's action is throwing the relief of the unemployed upon local rates instead of keeping it as a charge upon the National Exchequer; and. whether he will give this resolution his consideration?

I have not received a copy of this resolution. On the 28th November there were 1,780 men registered as unemployed at the Woolwich Employment Exchange. Of these 742 were ex-Service men, and therefore not affected by the stoppage of civilian donation. Of the balance of 1,038 civilians, over 600 are entitled to unemployment benefit under the Unemployment Insurance Acts, so that the total number for whom State donation or benefit is not provided is about 400. An analysis of the figures in other centres leads to similar results, and on the information before me, I do not think there is at present any reason for taking extraordinary measures for the relief of distress.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Overseas Trade Department if certain inspectors formerly employed by the Ministry of Munitions have been transferred to the Department of Overseas Trade; whether this coarse was adopted to avoid the necessity of dispensing with their services or on the pound of their special knowledge of trade conditions in foreign countries; and if he will state the total number of officials transferred from the Ministry of Munitions to the Overseas Trade Department, their names and qualifications for their new positions, and who was responsible for examining their qualifications?

Only one officer in the Department of Overseas Trade was formerly an inspector in the Ministry of Munitions. This officer, who was in the Aeronautical Inspection Department of the Ministry, is employed in the Engineering Sub-section of the Department of Overseas Trade, where special knowledge of engineering is required. Three other officers, formerly in the Ministry of Munitions, are now serving in a temporary capacity in the Department of Overseas Trade. The qualifications of such temporary officers are examined either by myself or by senior officers of the Department. The first officer mentioned, prior to his appointment in the Ministry of Munitions, had twelve years' experience as commercial manager successively of two-firms of consulting engineers. Of the remaining three, one officer possesses eight years' experience in the employment of a firm of Manchester calico printers, and four years with a firm of cotton machine engineers; the second was employed for six years in one of the large railway companies, and for eight years in the Singer Manufacturing Company, subsequently sorting with two well-known engineering firms in New South Wales; the third was apprenticed for five years to a firm of engine builders and electrical engineer and afterwards had eight years' experience with engineering and electrical engineering firms in this country, besides four years' engineering experience in Australia.