asked the Secretary of State for War whether it is intended to continue permanently the use of Maresfield Park, Sussex, as a military camp?

This question is under consideration, and I regret that I cannot at present announce a decision.

asked the Secretary of State for War when the Director-General of Lands proposes to remove the obstructions on the western shore at Southampton, between the West station and Millbrook; and whether he will take steps to hasten the removal of these obstructions?

I assume my hon. and gallant Friend is referring to the train ferry depot at Southampton. The work for the removal of the railway sidings is at present in hand, and it is anticipated will be completed within five weeks. There will then remain some oil tanks, pipes, etc.; these have recently been sold by the Disposal and Liquidation Commission, and I am informed that it will take two months to dismantle them.

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether any steps are being taken to bring the aerial communication of the Empire, and the question of the future of lighter-than-air craft before the Imperial Conference?

These subjects will be discussed by the Imperial Conference, and a memorandum on the development of civil air communication within the Empire, which refers particularly to lighter-than-air craft, has been prepared for the consideration of the Dominion Prime Ministers.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether his atten- tion has been called to a statement reported to have been made in the German Reichstag Committee for Economics by the Secretary of State to the effect that the improvement in the German home market was best shown by the fact that the number of unemployed persons had, since August, 1920, fallen from 400,000 to 360,000, and to the statement that the number of miners at work between the middle of 1919 and the end of 1920 had increased by 220,000; and that the output of the coalmines had increased from 9,oSO,000 tons per month to 12,000,000 tons between the above dates while the output of brown coal in April, 1921, was 10,500,000 tons as compared with 7,300,000 tone before the War; and if he has any means of ascertaining whether the above statistics are accurately reported?

The figures mentioned in. the question appear to be correctly reproduced from reports in the German daily Press. Official German reports show that the numbers in receipt of the Government unemployment donation were those given in the question for the total of persons unemployed. The numbers employed at coalmines in Prussia increased, between the second quarter of 1919 and the last quarter of 1920, according to official returns, by nearly 170,000 in the case of hard coalmines and by nearly 40,000 in the case of brown coalmines. The output of coal in Germany is reported to have increased as stated in the question, and the output of brown coal in April, 1921, is reported officially as 10,300,000 tons, the average monthly output in 1913 having been 7,300,000 tons (metric).

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether any decision has been arrived at with reference to the permanent salaries of officials in Kenya, Uganda, and our other East Africa Dependencies; whether the war bonus is now being brought to an end; and what, if any, rise in salary it is proposed to make permanent?

War bonuses were abolished in East Africa generally from the 1st of April, 1920, on the introduction of improved permanent scales of salary. No all-round percentage increase of salary was adopted, but new scales were arranged, in consultation with the Governors, with the condition that the amount actually drawn by an officer under the new arrangements should not be less than his salary and war bonus under the old arrangement. Representations have been made in favour of further increases, but in the present financial position I see no prospect of being able to consider them.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he is aware of the potentialities of the West Indies as a centre for a successful alcohol industry for power purposes; and, if so, whether he will make representations to the Chancellor of the Exchequer with a view to a remission of the full spirit duty and surtax upon the importation of West Indian denatured spirit into the United Kingdom?

The subject to which my hon. and gallant Friend refers is under the consideration of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. When that consideration is completed I will inquire further as to the grounds for making representations to the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the sense suggested.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what was the total sum received by the British South Africa Company for the 4,500,000 acres of land sold at the close of March, 1918; whether the payments due from these sales have been completed; and, if not, what is the estimated outstanding liability?

The sum actually received from the sale of lands and stands up to the 31st March, 1918, was about £850,000. I do not know what further sum was still outstanding at that date, but on the 31st March, 1921, the amount still due and outstanding on account of land and stand sales up to the latter date is understood to have been rather over £1,000,000.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will ascertain whether the British South Africa Com- pany has disposed of 2,298,000 acres of land for which no payment has yet been received; and what steps the company proposes to take in the matter?

I will make inquiries of the British South Africa Company.

asked the Secretary of State for India how many officers are actually serving at the present time with Indian cavalry, including officers on leave and seconded; how many of these it is proposed to dispense with when the reduction of Indian cavalry is completed; and what provision is being made for finding employment or compensation for officers whose services are no longer required?

To obtain reliable figures of the number of officers now serving with Indian cavalry it will be necessary for me to refer to India. The subject of the second and third portions of the hon. and gallant Member's question is at the present time under consideration by a Committee appointed by the Government of India, whose Report I hope to receive shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for India the. approximate number of blind people in India; whether there is any legislation in force for their treatment and care; and, if not, whether he will make recommendations on this subject to the Government of India?

At the Census of 1911, there were 175,214 blind males and 173,133 blind females in British India. There is no special legislation applicable solely to blind persons, nor has the need of such legislation become apparent. Dispensaries, stationary and travelling, are available throughout British India where treatment is given gratuitously to all poor persons; and cataract and other eye operations form one of the largest and most widely appreciated branches of their work. In the United Provinces, for example, 12,326 in-patients were treated during 1919, and 591,229 out-patients for eye diseases.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether business in the Indian rice market has been suspended by local merchants; whether the Home Government has received strong representations from rice merchants and traders regarding the situation; whether he is aware that all rice on the Indian market has been cornered by one or two operators, and that this artificial manipulation of prices tends to raise the price of this essential food; and does the Government propose to take any steps against such operators by legislation or otherwise?

I have seen a statement regarding the Rangoon market to the effect stated by my hon. Friend. As regards the rest of his question, I would refer him to the reply I gave yesterday to the hon. and gallant Member for New-castle-under-Lyme (Colonel Wedgwood), of which I will send him a copy.

asked the Prime Minister whether correspondence passing between the Ministry of Transport and the directors of the great railway companies has been extensively quoted from in the Committee considering the Railways Bill; and, in view of the fact that this correspondence is at present fully known to certain Members only of the Committee, will he lay the whole correspondence for the use of all Members?

I have been asked to take this question. I am not aware that any correspondence between the Ministry of Transport and the directors of the railway companies has been quoted. The correspondence to which I understand the hon. Member refers is correspondence between the chairman fo a railway company and the Railway Companies' Association, of which no copies are in the possession of the Ministry of Transport.

asked the Secretary for Scotland what is the total average road rate levied in county areas of Scotland for the present financial year, and what was the corresponding figure for 1912–13 and 1914; what is the contribution in actual cash payments that Scottish local authorities have received from the Road Board; and how much is it estimated will be received by Scottish county authorities from the Motor Vehicles Tax administered by the Ministry of Transport?

I have been asked to answer this question. The average road rate levied in county areas in Scotland in 1912–13, 1913–14 may be put at approximately 6d. in the £. Information as to 1920–21 is not at present available and the rates for the current year are not yet fixed. From the inception of the Road Board in 1910 to 22nd September, 1919, when it became merged in the Ministry of Transport, the total sums paid to highway authorities in Scotland were: £ Grants 442,359 Loans 128,246 £570,605

As regards the third part of the question; estimates of expenditure on roads in Class I and Class II on which the bulk of this year's grants will depend, are now being received. Until these returns have been examined it is impossible to give an estimate of the total grants likely to be paid to Scottish highway authorities during the current financial year.

asked the Minister of Health whether letters of inquiry are still addressed to medical men who certify deaths as due to vaccination; and, if so, how many of such letters have been sent in regard to such certificates during the past 10 years?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative; 20 such letters have been sent during the past 10 years. It is also the practice in these cases for a medical officer of the Ministry to make personal inquiries into the circumstances.

asked the Postmaster-General whether his attention has been drawn to complaints received by the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce that cables despatched from India at ordinary message rates are frequently delayed in delivery for five or six days, whereas those despatched at the urgent rate of 5s. per word are delivered promptly; whether this has given rise to a suspicion on the part of traders that they are being forced to send their cables at the dearer rate in order to ensure delivery within a reasonable time; and whether, in view of the present position of trade and the obvious importance of removing all unnecessary difficulties in the way of commercial undertakings, he will take effective steps to prevent delays occurred in the delivery of cable messages sent at ordinary rates?

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer which I gave yesterday to a similar question by the hon. and gallant Member for Moss Side (Lieut.-Colonel Hurst). The delays are due to unavoidable interruptions in some of the Eastern Company's cables, which I am informed will shortly be repaired. There is no foundation for the suggestion that the delay is artificially increased in order to divert ordinary traffic to the urgent service.

asked the Minister of Agriculture the terms of settlement arrived at with the representatives of the National Farmers' Union or other bodies representing farmers in relation to the compensation to be paid by the Government for wheat and oats planted under conditions set forth in Part I of the Agriculture Act of 1920; and, approximately, this year's acreage of wheat and oats, respectively, in each county in England and Wales?

The payment proposed to be made in respect of wheat and oats harvested this year will be at the rate of £3 per acre for wheat and £4 per acre for oats, subject to the provisoes to Section I of the Corn Production Act, 1917, which relate to mixed corn and to cases of negligent cultivation. Returns as to the acreage of wheat and oats are now being collected and tabulated, but complete figures for each county will not be available before the middle of August.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether, in repealing Part I of the Agriculture Act, he proposes to adopt the principle of compensating those farmers who, relying on the provisions of the Act, have taken special steps to encourage the growing of wheat and oats against their own judgment, but with a view to the public needs?

Farmers who have grown wheat or oats this year can claim the subsidy proposed in the Bill which I have introduced to repeal Part I of the Agriculture Act. No further compensation appears to be necessary, in view of the fact that any farmers who may have grown wheat or oats against their own judgment need not continue to do so after the present harvest.

asked the Home Secretary the number of former enemy aliens who have been deported under Section 9 (1) of the Aliens Restriction (Amendment) Act, 1919; the number of persons who have submitted a statement, as provided by Sub-section (3) of Section 9, that the continued residence in the United Kingdom of an enemy alien was undesirable in the public interest; and the number of such statements that have been acted upon?

In only one case was a statement submitted under Sub-section (3). That case was referred to the Advisory Committee under Sub-section (1), and the Committee advised that the alien should be allowed to remain in this country, and as I was satisfied that there was no reason to the contrary, I allowed him to remain accordingly. There was therefore no case in which any former enemy alien could be deported under Sub-section (1).

asked the Home Secretary what is the number of former enemy aliens, having a British-born wife or a British-born child under the age of 16, who have applied, under Sub-section (4) of Section 10 of the Aliens Restriction (Amendment) Act, 1919, for permission to land in the United Kingdom; and in how many cases such permission has been given?

The number of applications under Sub-section (4) was 940. The Advisory Committee recommended permission to land in 687 cases, deferred per- mission for periods of six or twelve months in 105 cases, and refused to recommend permission in 148 cases.

asked the Home Secretary the names of the chairman and members of the Advisory Committee appointed in pursuance of Section 9 (10) of The Aliens Restriction (Amendment) Act, 1919; and how many meetings of this Committee have been held since the Act was passed?

The Advisory Committee was composed as follows: Sir Robert Wallace (Chairman), the hon. and gallant Member for South-West St. Pancras, the hon. and gallant Member for Reigate, Lord Decies, and Lord Nunburn-holme. They completed their work last summer and dispersed. They held a large number of meetings, but it is not now possible to ascertain how many there were.

asked the Home Secretary whether Section 1 of the Aliens Restriction (Amendment) Act, 1919, will expire on the 31st December, 1921; whether it is proposed to take steps to continue the provisions of such Section after the date named?

The answer to both parts of the question is in the affirmative.

asked the Home Secretary whether he is aware that a lad of 16 years of age has been sentenced to 12 months' hard labour by the Cambridge borough bench for stealing; that the boy had not been previously convicted; and if he has taken any action in the matter?

The lad in question was convicted on five separate charges of larceny, and they were admittedly not his first offences. He is now under the "modified Borstal" system employed at shoe making at Bedford. His release will depend on his conduct and disposition while under the prison authorities, and, having regard to all the facts of the case, I do not think that any interference with the sentence would at present be for his benefit.

asked the Home Secretary whether the provisions of Section 14 of the Aliens Restriction (Amendment) Act, 1919, which exclude members of foreign diplomatic missions from the operation of the Act, are held to apply to M. Krassin and the members of the Soviet trading delegation?

M. Krassin and the members of the Soviet trade delegation are not entitled as of right to the exemption provided for diplomatic missions by the Section referred to. Their status in this country is defined by Articles 4, 5, and 6 of the Trade Agreement with the Soviet Government.