asked the Prime Minister whether there are any ex-enemy aliens at present serving terms of imprisonment in this country for offences committed against the law after they became prisoners of war; and, if so, how many, and can he state the longest sentence imposed?

I have made inquiry and, so far as I can find, there are no such cases.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that, although there are huts at Tidworth at present empty and available for occupation, units that are being sent to Tidworth for training are bringing tents with them and thereby adding to the congestion on the railways apart from cost of haulage; and will he have inquiries made?

I am informed that the only units at present encamped at Tidworth for training are the junior division, Officers' Training Corps units, and that all tentage and camp equipment for these has been issued from Tidworth.

asked the Secretary of State for War what is the estimated number of officers and men engaged in the War still returned as missing?

As I stated on 7th July, the approximate number of missing officers and other ranks of the Regular Army and Territorial Force in all theatres of war, respectively, of whom no definite information has been received, and whose deaths have now been officially accepted upon lapse of time, is 99,868.

In addition, the following number of prisoners of war are still unaccounted for:

It should be remembered that the lists of prisoners of war include some who were not definitely known to be prisoners. This is particularly so in the case of Turkey, as the reports received were often very vague. As regards Germany, I would draw the hon. Member's attention to my full reply, on 18th May last, to the hon. Member for Stratford.

asked the Minister of Pensions if he is aware that a notice has been sent to John Saunders, Denhead, St. Andrews, late No. 590,844, Labour Corps, informing him that his claim to a pen- sion has been rejected on the ground that his disability was not attributable to nor aggravated by his service, although his own doctor, the medical referee, the deputy-controller of medical services, and the medical board have expressed a contrary opinion; and if he will look into this case?

I am having careful inquiries made into this case, and will communicate with my hon. and gallant Friend as soon as possible.

asked the Minister of Pensions why the pension of Mrs. Peattie, a widow, of 3, Galtine Place, St. Andrew's, mother of the late Private William Peattie, No. 202219, Royal Highlanders, has been reduced from 15s. a week successively to 11s. and 8s.; and whether he will reconsider this case, seeing that her late son was her chief support and that he was likely to have occupied a good position had he survived, her only other child being a daughter who is a typist and who has to support herself, and also considering that this widow's savings only bring in a small sum of from £2 to £3 a year?

The award of pension which has been made is at the highest rate admissible having regard to the present income of the household. The case is, however, under consideration by the Special Grants Committee, with a view to a possible supplementary grant under that Committee's Regulations.

asked the Minister of Pensions upon what grounds arrears of pension to the amount of £48 13s. 9d. are withheld from William Clark, No. 203161, late Border Regiment, of 41, Welbeck Street, Chorlton-on-Medlock, Manchester; whether he is aware that this ex-soldier has been unable to obtain payment of pension since 18th December, 1918, in spite of his admitted right thereto, Reference S. B. K., 2,701; and whether he will expedite payment of all sums due?

I am having immediate inquiry made into this case, and will communicate with my hon. and gallant Friend as soon as possible.

asked the Minister of Pensions how many pensioners have been boarded during the last 12 months; how many have been reduced; how many cases cancelled; and whether any facilities are given to men to be boarded in their own towns?

From the 1st July, 1919, to the 30th June, 1920, the Ministry of Pensions Medical Boards have carried out 1,225,567 medical examinations. So far as possible men are given the opportunity of being boarded in their own towns. Boards have been established in most of the large towns in the Kingdom, and out-station Boards are established as required, when the number of pensioners resident in the vicinity justifies that course. In sparsely populated areas a travelling Board visits the various centres at stated intervals. I regret that I am unable to state the number of pensions reduced or cancelled during the past twelve months, without undertaking a very laborious review, which my right hon. Friend does not consider he would be justified in imposing on his staff.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he will inquire into the case of Captain William Quinlan, Royal Marines, with a view to reconsidering the decision that this officer cannot be pensioned under naval regulations, in view of the fact that Captain Quinlan served before the great War for 20 years in the Royal Marine Light Infantry, was then transferred as an instructor to the King's Own Malta Regiment and discharged after 30 years' service to an Army warrant officer's pension in 1911; that prior to discharge he was informed by the War Office that he could not be regarded as a candidate for the meritorious service medal or annuity because on discharge the whole of his pension would be borne by the Admiralty; that he rejoined the Royal Marine Light Infantry in 1914 as a warrant officer, and was granted a commission in 1915; that he was informed by the Adjutant-General, Royal Marines, in 1918, that Orders in Council of 5th December, 1915, and 13th March, 1917, were applicable to his case as a re-enlisted warrant officer promoted to a commission; and that the decision arrived at inflicts the gravest hardship on this officer who, after 35 years' service, has been awarded an Army pension of 7s. 5d. a day, whereas on the rulings previously given by the War Office and the Adjutant-General, Royal Marines, he should be entitled to a Navy pension of approximately £270 per annum?

As this officer is an Army pensioner, I regret that he cannot be pensioned under Naval Regulations. I may add that at the time he was informed by the Adjutant-General of Royal Marines that the Orders in Council of 5th December, 1915, and 13th March, 1917, were applicable to his case, the Army and Marine rules for the grant of retired pay to Army and Marine pensioners called up and granted commissions during the War, were the same, and that the Army pension recently awarded to him is in excess of that permissible under the Orders quoted.

asked the Prime Minister why, at the open competitive examination for assistant inspectors of taxes held on the 13th July, 1920, no extension of age was granted for men who had served in the Army during the War, and would have been eligible for this examination before the War, or for men and Government servants who had volunteered for the Army, but had been medically rejected, and who also would have been eligible; whether the Civil Service Commissioners will extend the limits of age for future examinations as they recently did for the examination for supplementary clerkships in the Post Office and for the intermediate examination of January last; whether, in view of the nature of the work in the Taxes Department and the desirability of obtaining the best candidates, the age limits for the assistant inspector of taxes examination will be made the same as in the old assistant surveyors of taxes examination, which were 19 years to 25 years; and whether, if the general regulations cannot be altered, he will consider the desirability of holding a special ex- amination to enable Army men, and medically rejected men (established Civil Servants) not now eligible to compete?

The necessary steps were taken, in accordance with the recommendations of the Committee on Recruitment of the Civil Service after the War, to obtain suitable recruits for the inspectorate of taxes from men who had served with His Majesty's Forces during the War, as well as from men pronounced unfit for general service who had been employed temporarily in Government Departments. Steps have also been taken to select candidates from established Civil servants who were retained during the War for civil duties. The machinery of selection which was set up, and is still in operation, as regards these classes is not regulated by any fixed limit of age, and it does not appear that any modification of the rules governing the recent examination was required in the interests either of service men or Civil servants. The character of future examinations for this class is under consideration.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the War Office whether ex-service men are being discharged from the Army Pay Corps office in Tavistock Square and are being replaced by young serving soldiers; if so, what percentage of the ex-service men employed on 1st July are having their services dispensed with; what is the reason for this action; and how can these discharges be reconciled with the principle accepted by the War Office of giving preference to those who have served in the armed forces of the Crown?

I would refer the hon. and gallant Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Morpeth (Mr. Cairns) on 22nd July last.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture if he can give particulars of the work offered to and refused by the Ordnance Survey Department, Southampton, during the period from 1st April, 1919, and up to the present date?

(1) September, 1919.—A private firm enquired in a tentative way if the Ordnance Survey would print an atlas for a Colonial Government. The firm was informed that if the Colonial Government in question were to write to the Colonial Office the matter might perhaps be arranged on payment, but that the Ordnance Survey does not as a rule carry out work for private firms.

(2) February, 1920.—A shipping chart for Mr. Hurd's History of the Merchant Navy was asked for by the Historical Section of the Committee of Imperial Defence. That Section was asked to get the work carried out by His Majesty's Stationery Office. This was quite a small service, but it was not convenient at the time to undertake it.

(3) February, 1920.—It was arranged that the maps for Volume III. of the History of the Russo-Japanese War should be printed by the Stationery Office, the plates having been prepared by the Ordnance Survey.

(4) May, 1920.—Histories of the War. After correspondence between the various Departments concerned, it was decided that, as the Ordnance Survey possesses the plates of the maps of the Western Front, it should produce all the maps and illustrations for the Military History of the War, and that the Stationery Office should produce those for the Naval History, except for Volume I. now being arranged for by the Ordnance Survey.

(5) June, 1920.—A diagram of a non-cartographic nature was reproduced for the Board of Agriculture for Scotland. But the Board was asked to send non-cartographic work of a similar character elsewhere in future.

It may be added that the Ordnance Survey, which has only a limited number of printing machines, cannot always undertake to print miscellaneous outside work; though it does usually accept such work, especially when the cost is repaid.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether it is the intention of the Civil Service Commission or the, Treasury during the present year to fill all vacancies for women clerks in Govern- ment Departments, normally decided by open competition, by means of a special examination open only to temporary women clerks; if, so, is he aware of the great hardship that will be caused to would-be candidates who have been trained with the idea of competing for positions in Government service; whether he is aware that, with this object in view, many parents of girls between the ages of 17 and 20 have, at great personal sacrifice, kept them at school or college in order to give them a thoroughly good education; and whether, under the circumstances, he will give instructions that the ordinary course of selection by examination shall be continued at least for the ensuing 12 months so that would-be candidates shall have, at all events, a year's notice of the altered intentions of the Government?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. The fact that inconvenience might be occasioned to prospective outside candidates has not been overlooked, but after a careful review of the whole situation it has not been found possible to modify the existing ruling that all vacancies on the permanent clerical grades occurring up to the end of the current year shall be filled from among persons who have served in a temporary capacity in the Government service. The question whether any provision can be made towards meeting the case of candidates adversely affected by this arrangement is at present under consideration, but no promise can be given as to the decision that will be arrived at.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Munitions whether he is aware that a number of temporary clerks employed under the Director of Raw Materials in the Colonial Wool Department have not participated in the bonus to temporary administrative assistants, which was notified on the 5th May last, although several applications have been made by these men; and whether he will explain the reason for non-payment?

The answer is in the affirmative. The announcement was modified by an official announcement of the 29th May. With the approval of the Treasury, the salaries of the officials referred to by the hon. Member are being reviewed in common with those of other temporary officials.

asked the Lord Privy Seal if any decision has yet been arrived at as to the date when the functions of the Ministry of Shipping and the Ministry of Munitions will be transferred to the agreed Departments of the Board of Trade, Ministry of Transport, Admiralty, War Office, and Air Ministry?

The answer is in the negative.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether the Congested Districts Board for Ireland have yet submitted a pension scheme in accordance with the provisions of Section 52 (2) of the Irish Land Act, 1909, to the Treasury for approval; if so, whether the scheme has been approved; and when a communication to this effect will be conveyed to the Congested Districts Board for Ireland for the information of the officials concerned?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. The scheme, however, as submitted by the Congested Districts Board is incomplete, and the Treasury have felt bound to stipulate for the insertion therein of certain additions and modifications mostly of a minor character. A letter has been sent to the Chief Secretary's Office to-day, stating that on receipt of a revised scheme embodying those alterations the Treasury will be prepared to give their formal approval as required by the Irish Land Act of 1909.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland, whether all members of the Royal Irish Constabulary who retired from the force since 1st April, 1919, are entitled to pension under the new Act; and, if so, why the arrears have not been paid up to date?

The reply to the first part of the question is in the affirmative so far as concerns retirement after 25 years' service either voluntarily or on grounds of ill-health. The settlement of arrears in cases where pensions have been revised is being dealt with as rapidly as the present pressure of work at the headquarters office of the Royal Irish Constabulary permits.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether he will publish the new rates of retired pay for officers invalided from the Indian Army, seeing that the Royal Warrant governing similar cases of retirement under British rules has now been presented?

The rates of invalid pensions for officers of the Indian Army are being carefully considered in connection with the warrant recently issued for the British Service and I hope to be able to make an announcement on the subject before the end of this month.

asked the Secretary of State for India, whether he has received two memorials from the Indian police appealing for improved conditions of pay; whether the statements contained in these memorials are generally consistent with facts; and what action he proposes to take in this matter?

Improved rates of pay for the Indian Police have already been sanctioned and introduced. I am aware that memorials to the effect that the revised rates are inadequate have been submitted by police officers of certain provinces. I have received advanced copies of some of the memorials, but not the memorials themselves, which, I understand, have been sent in, as required by the rules, through the local Governments and the Government of India. Any recommendations that those Governments may make to me on the subject will receive full consideration, but until I receive them I am hot prepared to reopen the question. I will, however, inquire of the Government of India when their recommendations with regard to the memorials may be expected. With regard to the second part of the question, I think that the memorialists have to some extent misunderstood the Orders passed.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he can inform the House the basis on which the indemnities will be paid to the railway companies when they pass out of Government control; and the approximate sum involved?

The payments which the Government or the railway companies may be called upon to make at the termination of Government control are governed by the various agreements set out in Command Paper 654 and by Section 8 of the Ministry of Transport Act, 1919. It is quite impossible at the present time to state even approximately what amounts are involved.

asked the Minister of Transport how many motor vehicles licensed to carry more than 12 passengers besides the driver have been registered by the proper authorities in England and Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, respectively; what is the maximum weight and width of all such vehicles; and what penalties, if any, can be imposed upon the owners and drivers of such motor carriages if they pass over roads or bridges that are not authorised as safe to carry such weights when used as passenger vehicles?

There are no official figures available. These vehicles would be registered as heavy motor cars without details of their seating capacity, and no reliable figures could be obtained. The maximum weight of a heavy motor car is five tons unladen and the maximum width 7ft. 6in. The penalty for passing over a bridge which is properly notified as not being safe is £10, and for passing along a road on which they are prohibited, £20.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he will consider the advisability of establishing a highways committee, as a temporary adjunct of the Road Board, to inquire into the abnormal high road rates imposed on ratepayers throughout the country, especially in those districts where the scenery is such as to attract large numbers of motor char-a-bancs, and where the resident population to the county areas is small, and to inquire into the possibility of reconstructing turnpikes so that those who use the roads should directly contribute towards their maintenance?

I do not consider any such committee as is suggested either necessary or desirable. Under the new taxation proposals all mechanically-propelled road vehicles will be directly taxed towards maintenance and improvement of roads, and the circumstances detailed in the question are being taken into consideration in the making of grants by the Ministry towards road maintenance and improvement out of the fund created by such taxes. Any reconstruction of turnpikes would be a retrograde measure.

asked the Minister of Food whether he will produce his accounts to the Auditor-General in such a way that that official can give profit and loss accounts for each item of foodstuffs separately and enable him to show the profit and/or loss in each case?

The form of the accounts follows that prescribed by the Treasury, and I have no power to make any departure from the manner in which they are rendered to the Auditor-General. The foodstuffs presented in the accounts are sub-divided into thirteen groups, and the stocks with the profit and/or loss in each case are exhibited separately.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether he is aware that the Erith Education Committee, by resolution of the 18th June, confirmed by the council on the 28th June, has decided to employ no teachers who do not belong to a particular union to the prejudice of all other teachers and of all other teachers' unions and federations; whether he realises the effect of such a decision; and whether he will make representations to the local bodies concerned?

I have no information on the matter, and I am not aware that I have any authority to intervene. If the schools are inadequately staffed, the Board can, of course, exercise their powers under the Code.

asked the President of the Board of Education if he is aware of the practice of some local education committees co-opting as school managers men who purposely evaded service to King and country; and can anything be done, as it is causing great dissatisfaction?

I am not aware of any such practice as the hon. and gallant Member suggests. The appointment of Managers of Public Elementary Schools is regulated by the provisions of the Education Acts and not by the Board of Education.

asked the Home Secretary whether the War-time regulations relating to pigeons are still in force; and, if so, the necessity for their continuance and the probable date of their cancellation?

Some parts of the regulations relating to pigeons were revoked after the Armistice. The remainder are still in force, and I am informed that the Admiralty and War Office consider it necessary to retain them for the present. They will lapse on the date to be fixed by Order in Council as the termination of the War unless any part of them is continued by permanent legislation.

asked the Home Secretary whether the operations of the committee who are bringing to England children and young persons from Hungary and other parts of South Eastern Europe are being conducted under his supervision and control; how many such children and young persons it is intended to bring to this country; whether stringent precautions are being taken to prevent the introduction of infectious disease; where and under what conditions are these immigrants being accommodated; whether any adults are being admitted with, the children and young persons; and whether any similar hospitality and charity are being offered in England to children from Allied countries who may be as much in need as children of late enemies?

The work of the Committee is not supervised or controlled by me: 456 children from Vienna have already arrived and 400 more from Buda-Pest are expected shortly. That is all I know of at present. Careful medical examination of the children before they start for this country is made under the supervision of a medical officer of the Ministry of Health; and on arrival they are placed in quarantine in a camp near Richborough. In due course they are distributed to various parts of the country, the whole process being supervised by the Ministry of Health. No adults are being admitted with the children. A Manchester Committee has recently asked for and obtained permission to bring over a number of French children from the devastated areas of France for a period of recuperation in this country.

asked the Home Secretary whether some thousands of immigrants from Eastern Europe arrived one day recently in this country; what quarantine measures were taken as regards immigrants from typhus-infected regions; whether he has any information as to where these people have settled and under what conditions they are living; and if he will say, in view of the shortage of house accommodation in England and of the threatened unemployment next winter, combined with scarcity of food, whether there is any limit to the hospitality which this country is prepared to extend to destitute and disease-infected immigrants, even though they be of friendly race?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the negative. The number of immigrants from Eastern Europe is inconsiderable, and those that do arrive are subjected to strict medical inspection. The rest of the question does not, therefore, arise. If my hon. Friend has in mind batches of 300 to 400 transmigrants from Poland to America, they leave this country as quickly as possible and are subject to strict medical inspec- tion, both by the American medical authorities in Europe and our own.

asked the Home Secretary if his attention has been called to a statement by Mr. H. V. Keeling, a trade unionist, recently returned from Russia, to the effect that there was no doubt that much Bolshevist money was spent in subsidising propaganda in this country, and that no one could live long in Moscow and know what was going on without being aware of it; if he knows the people to whom such Bolshevist money has been sent; and, if so, what action he proposes to take against them?

My attention has been called to the statement. I have information showing that certain persons are receiving Bolshevist money for the purpose of propaganda in this country. As the law stands there is no power to deal with them for receiving such money; but their proceedings are carefully watched.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Overseas Trade Department what action His Majesty's Government is proposing to take relative to the purchase of property by a British concern from the original and rightful owners in the Baltic provinces, having regard to the fact that the Latvian and Esthonian Governments have refused to recognise the transaction as lawful and have themselves confiscated the properties or passed such laws as to render the sales null and void without their sanction?

I would refer my hon. and gallant Friend to a reply given on 14th July to an identical question.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what were the imports of articles of aluminium from Germany during the first half of the present year as compared with the same periods in 1913 and 1914, respectively?

The registered imports into the United Kingdom during the first half of the present year of aluminium and articles made of aluminium, consigned from Germany, were as shown in the below. Prior to 1st separate particulars of aluminium and

asked the Minister of Health whether, in November, 1917, the Lancashire Asylums Board agreed to recognise the National Asylum Workers' Union, and notified visiting committees and medical superintendents accordingly; and whether the visiting committee of the Winwick institution challenges the right of their staff to

manufactures thereof were not required to be furnished to the Customs. According to the official trade returns of Germany, the exports of such goods to the United Kingdom during the first six months of the years 1913 and 1014 were as stated in the table.

organise and to be represented by the aforesaid union?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. The visiting committee of Winwick Asylum have forwarded to the Lancashire Asylums Board a resolution deprecating members of the clerical staff and sub-officers joining the union in question. This resolution will be considered by the Lancashire Asylums Board in September.