asked the Minister of Labour whether he has been able to advise the central advisory committee on juvenile employment that they should relegate the work of supervising the conditions of domestic service to the numerous philanthropic societies who are capable of undertaking the task; and whether these advisory committees will continue to make use of employment exchanges for their sittings and use the notepaper of his Department for their communications?

"a special advisory committee may take steps either by themselves or in co-operation with any other bodies or persons to give information, advice and assistance to boys and girls and their parents with respect to the choice of employment and other matters bearing thereon."

I would remind my hon. and gallant Friend once more that this committee has nothing to do with any persons over the age of 18; and, further, that no action they may take has in it any element of compulsion, and is taken merely by way of assistance and advice. The committee does in fact avail itself very largely of the assistance afforded by such bodies as the Metropolitan Association for Befriending Young Servants. In view of representations made to me, I discussed the whole question of domestic service; the advice which the Juvenile Advisory Committee tenders to young persons under 18; and its relations to the administration of the Insurance Act yesterday with the chairman and members of the Central Advisory Committee. I have now had the advantage of hearing the views of the deputation which my hon. and gallant Friend introduced to me last Monday, together with the views of the Central Advisory Committee. I am considering the matter.

asked the Home Secretary whether there are any regulations affecting the number of hours per week worked by persons employed in licensed premises, especially with regard to the question of a weekly half-holiday and a day of rest and the age and sex of persons so employed; and, if so, what the regulations are, if any?

Certain provisions of the Shops Acts, 1912 and 1913, apply to persons employed in licensed premises, as follows: Under Section 2 (1) of the Act of 1912, a young person under 18 years of age must not be employed in or about the business of the shop for a longer period than 74 hours, including meal times, in any one week. Under Section 1 of the same Act every person employed as a shop assistant, i.e., wholly or mainly employed in connection with the serving of customers, receipt of orders or despatch of goods, must be allowed a half holiday once a week and intervals for meals as laid down in the Act (First Schedule), but an occupier of licensed premises may elect to adopt in lieu of those provisions the alternative arrangements allowed by the Shops Act, 1913, under which

(1) Assistants must not be employed more than 65 hours exclusive of meal times in any week, and two hours must be allowed for meals on ordinary days and three-quarters of an hour on half holidays;

(2) Every assistant must be given 32 whole holidays on a week-day in the year, and 26 whole holidays on Sundays.

Where these alternative arrangements are adopted, they apply to all persons wholly or mainly employed in any capacity at the premises in connection with the business.

asked the President of the Board of Trade (1) what is the value of the Hungarian assets held by the Board of Trade under war legislation or Regulations; what is the amount of accrued interest thereon to date;

(2) what is the total approximate claims made and ranking against the Hungarian assets now in his hands; when does he propose to pay a composition or instalment out of the assets in hand to those persons whose claims have been made and admitted; and is he aware that many persons entitled to share in this distribution are in distressed circumstances and in need of the money?

The total amount of debts declared to the Public Trustee by British nationals in the United Kingdom as due to them from Hungarians is about £3,500,000 sterling. In addition there was property in Hungary before the War belonging to British subjects the value of which has been returned as £10,000,000, and in so far as this property may have been damaged by exceptional war measures the owner will have a claim to compensation. No Hungarian assets are held by the Board of Trade, but a certain amount of Hungarian property is in the hands of the Public Trustee, and other amounts are recorded with him. It is impossible to give a reliable estimate of the amount that will be realised on the sale of Hungarian property rights and interests held by or recorded with the Public Trustee, but the nominal value of such property is about £1,500,000 sterling. Out of this, such property as is proved to belong to former Hungarians who, under the Treaty of Peace, acquire a new nationality will have to be released. It will not be possible to make any payment out of proceeds of Hungarian property which will be subject to the charge to be established under the Treaty, until the amount of the claims ranking against the charge has been definitely ascertained.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will state in terms of pounds sterling the cost of coal, bar steel, sugar, milk, and meat in Germany and Great Britain, respectively, so that such figures may indicate the quantity of such goods purchasable in

Germany and Great Britain in accordance with their real values instead of in the depreciated currencies of both countries?

As far as quotations that appear to be comparable can be obtained, the following statement furnishes the information desired, for as recent a date as possible in each case: