asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether any steps are being taken to deal with the proposals of the Department of Agriculture (Ireland) with reference to the re-organisation of the subordinate staff of the national library; and whether, as these proposals have been a long time in abeyance and the staff of this institution do not receive remuneration commensurate with the duties performed by them and length of service, the Treasury will endeavour to arrive at a decision in their case?

Yes, Sir, the matter is receiving attention, and I hope that a reply will be sent to the Department in the course of a few days.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury if the letter of the late principal of the Marlborough Street Training College, Dublin, in reference to his pension claim, forwarded through Dublin Castle on the 7th April, has yet reached the Treasury; and, if so, when?

Yes, Sir. This letter was forwarded direct to the Treasury, and a reply was sent on the 13th April.

asked the Secretary of State for War how many officers and officials in his Department at present receive a salary of £1,000 or over, and how many received such salaries in June, 1914?

The numbers are as follow: Officers. Officials June, 1914 37 24 June, 1921 136 25 (excluding war bonus).

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs the amount of coal to be delivered monthly by Germany to Poland under the terms of the Peace Treaty; what quantities have been delivered monthly to date since 1st January, 1921; and what moneys, if any, are payable against these deliveries by Poland?

Under the Coal Protocol signed at the Spa Conference in July, 1920, a Commission, was set up to prepare an agreement for the distribution of Upper Silesian coal. Under this agreement the amount of coal to be exported to Poland was laid down at 390,000 tons a month. The amount exported from 1st January up to the outbreak of the insurrection is, according to the figures at present available, 1,141,947 tons.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether there are any restrictions imposed by the French Government on the sale abroad by French subjects of dyestuffs emanating from the cession of such by Germany to France under the Peace Treaty?

I have no information on the subject, and am unaware of any such restrictions.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Aflairs whether any sums, as reparation for damage inflicted by Germany, are being paid by the French Government to French subjects for such damage or losses incurred by them in Poland; and, if so, if and when it is contemplated similar action shall be taken by the British Government to British subjects similarly situated?

I have no information on the point raised in the first part of the question. The second part does not therefore arise.

asked the President of the Board of Trade when ex-Sapper F. J. Gardner may expect a settlement of the claim, A/61/P2, submitted by him to the Reparation Claims Department, Cromwell House?

This claim, which relates to property destroyed by aircraft action, together with other similar claims, will be submitted to the special Commission referred to in the answer given by the Chancellor of the Exchequer to the hon. Member for the Ladywood Division of Birmingham (Mr. N. Chamberlain) on the 4th May, 1920, and in the answer given by the Financial Secretary to the Treasury to the hon. Member for Dover (Sir T. Polson) on the 4th April last.

asked the Minister of Agriculture if his attention has been drawn to the case of an ex-service smallholder in the parish of Roxton, Bedfordshire, who, having applied to purchase a cottage and garden, has been refused by the county agricultural committee on the grounds that it must be sold by tender only; whether he is aware that in the same village this committee recently sold privately, with the sanction of his Ministry, to another ex-service man a cottage without asking for any tenders whatever; and will he have an inquiry made into this case?

The Ministry is informed by the county council that the cottage referred to in the first part of the hon. Member's question is very old and dilapidated and is not occupied at present as a dwelling house, but is used as a granary. The council decided to offer the property for sale by tender as such advertisement would give all ex-service men a chance of acquiring it, and not only the few who by chance might have been aware of the council's intention to sell. The council will not necessarily accept the highest tender and will, doubtless give preference to applications made by ex-service men. The cottage referred to in the second part of the hon. Member's question has been sold to an ex-service man who occupies land practically surrounding the cottage, and the two cases appear, therefore, to be hardly comparable.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department, as Chairman of the Central Control Board (Liquor Traffic), whether he will give the number of convictions for drunkenness in Carlisle during the first 13 weeks of 1921 and the increase or decrease on the figures for the corresponding 13 weeks of 1920?

The convictions for drunkenness in the City of Carlisle for the first complete 13 weeks of 1920 and 1921 are as follows: 1920 32 1921 39

Increase in 1921 as compared with 1920, 7.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Overseas Trade Department why the Government propose to exclude India from the operations of the new export credits scheme; and whether this decision can be reconsidered?

I should be very sorry if the exclusion of India from the new export credits scheme gave rise to any misunderstanding in India or that anything I may have said should be regarded as a reflection on the merchant community in India. I can at once assure my hon. Friend that the exclusion is due solely to the situation arising out of recent economic conditions. The falling-off in the demand for Indian produce, due to the general depression in trade and in especial to the economic dis-organisation of Central and Eastern Europe, has brought about temporarily an adverse balance of trade for India. The exchange value of the rupee fell very rapidly last year, and the situation has been aggravated by a falling-off in the internal demand for commodities and the drop in prices. There has consequently been a serious accumulation of stocks in Indian ports and at the distributing centres up-country. In these circumstances, His Majesty's Government do not think it desirable to include India at present in the export credits scheme, but the situation will be carefully watched, and should a demand arise which cannot be sufficiently met through the ordinary machinery for financing trade, I shall be very glad to consider the matter again at a later stage.