asked the Minister of Health whether the National Housing and Town Planning Council urged the Ministry of Health to adopt the policy of going slow until prices assumed a normal policy and then resuming operations; whether this is the policy adopted by the Government; whether the building of the 800,000 houses included in the housing survey of 1919 under this policy is therefore only a question of time; whether the limitation relative to the commitments will be relaxed in the case of rural schemes when labour and materials are available; and whether sites already acquired will in any cases be disposed of and, if so, in what cases?

In answer to the first four questions, I cannot add anything to the statements on housing policy made on the 14th and 21st of July. I have dealt with the question of sites in a circular to local authorities, a copy of which I am sending to my .hon. and gallant Friend.

asked the Minister of Health if he is watching the results of the plan recently adopted in certain cities of the United States of America for encouraging house building, by which all new houses built are exempted from local rates for a period of 10 years; if he is aware that this plan, and without any subsidy, has caused great activity in house building; and whether he has considered its application to this country?

I am causing inquiry to be made into the facts in this matter.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that the. Hawarden rural district council have expended £5,000 on the purchase of land and the making of sewers in connection with the housing scheme; that the Department has decided that the scheme must be deferred; that, although East Saltney is a rural district, it is more of an urban nature, there being numerous works, and that 29 per cent. of the present houses are overcrowded; and whether, in view of the circumstances, he will accede to the council's request to allow them to proceed with 50 per cent. of the houses without further delay?

Fifty-two houses have already been completed by the Hawarden rural district council, and a further 62 are in course of erection, in addition to 14 houses which are being built by a public utility society. The question whether any further contracts should be entered into in this district will be considered in connection with the case of other local authorities, but I think that for the present the council should devote their attention to the completion of the houses already under construction.

asked the hon. Member for the Pollok Division of Glasgow, as representing the First Commissioner of Works, whether he is aware that the Metropolitan Borough of Islington recently passed a resolution protesting against the unsatisfactory and extravagant manner in which the requisition of certain properties and their subsequent conversion into flats has been carried out by the Office of Works; whether he has been notified that the corporation decline to pay the amount certified to be due to the Ministry; whether this expenditure was sanctioned by the present Commissioner of Works or his immediate predecessor in office; and what action he proposes to take to remove the well-founded objections of the Islington Corporation?

The Office of Works acted as agents for the Ministry of Health in the work to which the hon. Member refers, and the First Commissioner is not concerned with the action of the borough council in refusing to pay the sum certified to be due to the Ministry. The First Commissioner is satisfied that the work which his Department was required to do was carried out in the most economical manner possible.

asked the Minister of Health if he is aware that the population of any urban district council of Waltham-stow is now estimated to be over 140,000, and that its rateable value is given as £595,775, while, of the 264 boroughs in England, only 18 have a population approaching these figures, and only 23, most of them large manufacturing towns, exceed this rateable value; and whether, having regard to the fact that his Department has now been considering the question of appointing a committee to inquire into the question of the government of Greater London for over 10 years, and the serious financial position Walthamstow and other Greater London working-class districts now find themselves in through expenditure upon unemployment, Poor Law administration, education, and other necessities that are of benefit to the whole of the authorities within the area named, he will make some statement upon this urgent matter before the House rises?

The Government have decided to recommend the appointment of a Royal Commission to consider the question of the Government of Greater London.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that the Controller of Health Insurance promised a deputation which waited on him on 6th July that he would summon an early conference of all interests concerned to consider the advisability of improving the system of seamen's insurance; and what steps, if any, have been taken towards this end?

The matter to which the hon. Member refers is now being investigated by an Office Committee appointed for the purpose. Steps will be taken at the earliest possible date to obtain the views of all interests concerned.

asked the Minister of Health whether his attention has been directed to recent allegations against the management of asylums; whether any communication has been made to the Lunacy Commissioners on the matter; and, if so, what is its nature and their subsequent Report in reply?

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to-day to the hon. Member for Wallasey (Dr. M'Donald), of which I will send him a copy.

asked the Minister of Health whether it is his intention to permit the return to the Hammersmith Board of Guardiaans of the infirmary and workhouse in Ducane Road, Shepherds Bush, which is at present being used as a special surgical hospital by the Ministry of Pensions; and whether he is aware that the Red Cross spent over £16,000 on rendering this hospital suitable for special types of cases, and that at present there is no other suitable accommodation to be obtained elsewhere?

I have already written to the Guardians urging them to agree to an extension of the tenancy of this institution by the Ministry of Pensions.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty the number of staff now employed; the corresponding number in 1914; and the annual cost to the country?

As stated in my reply to my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Bradford, North (Major Boyd-Carpenter) on Monday, the staff now employed at the Admiralty numbers 5,200, but will be reduced by some 20 per cent. before the end of the calendar year. The corresponding number in 1914 was 2,072. The cost of the Admiralty Office for 1914–15 was estimated at £483,500, and for the present year it is estimated at £1,752,800.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will make his statement dealing with the replies to the Treasury circular for the reduction in next year's Estimates?

I would refer the hon. and gallant Member to the answer given to him by my hon. Friend the Financial Secretary on the 27th July.

asked the Secretary for Mines what amount of the total sum now standing to the credit of the betterment fund established under Section 20 of the Mining Industry Act is allottable to the South Wales area?

I have been asked to reply. Of the total sum now standing to the credit of the Miners' Welfare Fund, established under the Mining Industry Act, £57,297 is allocated for the benefit of the South Wales district.

asked the Secretary for Mines whether he can give any information as to the number of coal pits which have not opened since the settle- ment of the coal dispute; and what difference in employment figures this entails?

I have been asked to reply. I would refer the hon. Member to the written answer given to-day, in reply to a similar question by the hon. Member for Belper (Mr. Hancock), of which I am sending him a copy.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he can give names of the

Apart from the above pits, which are not working at all, there are 93 pits, normally employing about 29,000 men, in which no coal was wound up to 23rd July, but in which approximately 10 per cent. of the normal personnel has been employed in winding water and otherwise preparing the pits for coal-getting.

asked the Secretary for Mines whether his attention has been called to the high prices charged for domestic coal; and whether he has any powers to enforce or recommend diminished prices in view of the subsidy guaranteed to the industry by the State?

I have been asked to reply. I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to questions on this subject by the hon. Members for Finchley (Colonel Newman) and Southwark (Mr. Gilbert) on the 25th July.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Overseas Trade Department whether Great Britain has at coal mines, or seams of mines, that were working up to the recent stoppage, but have not resumed work; and, if he cannot now give that information, will he obtain it?

I have been aasked to reply. It is hardly practicable to give a full list of these mines within the compass of an answer to a question. Moreover, the position is changing from day to day. According to the latest information the position is as follows:— present any commercial representative in Bulgaria; and what steps are being taken to encourage trade with that country?

I have been asked to reply. The second Secretary on the staff of His Majesty's Minister at Sofia devotes special attention to the commercial work of the post. There are in addition salaried consular officers residing at Sofia and Varna. As regards the latter part of the question, the Department communicates to British manufacturers and merchants any openings for trade with Bulgaria which are reported by His Majesty's Minister or by His Majesty's Consular officers. Bulgaria has also been included in the Export Credits Scheme.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether it is within the functions of his Department to consider whether it is possible to stimulate the wearing of cotton fabrics in this country so as to relieve the congestion of stocks in the cotton trade?

I do not think this is a matter in regard to which the Board of Trade can usefully take any action.

asked the Minister of Labour if he is aware that a large number of miners have been thrown out of work through the breaking of a shaft at the Clock Face Colliery, near St. Helens; whether these men have been refused unemployment benefit; and, if so, for what reason?

I am informed that approximately 150 claims to benefit have been made by workpeople employed at this colliery. The circumstances under which they are unemployed are not quite clear, and the insurance officer has, I understand, withheld his decision on the claims pending a reply to inquiries which have been made. Steps are being taken to expedite the decision. I will communicate it to my hon. Friend. If the insurance officer disallows the claims, the applicants have the usual right of appeal to the Court of Referees and the Umpire.

asked the Minister of Labour if he will convey to the local Labour Exchanges the decision of Mr. Justice Roche, of 30th June last, on the subject of the liability of club servants to unemployment insurance, and thus facilitate the settlement of claims for repayment of moneys illegally collected?

A circular conveying Mr. Justice Roche's decision of the 30th June last on the question of the liability of insurance of certain club servants employed by the Junior Carlton Club has already been issued to all Employment Exchanges. I would point out that Mr. Justice Roche's decision only applies to servants employed in clubs which are not carried on for purposes of gain. It is therefore necessary for the Department to be satisfied in each case that the club is not so conducted before a refund can be made.

asked the Minister of Labour how many men the Government has paid the passage for, or part thereof, to Canada, Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand, respectively, since the Armistice; what has been the cost of this assisted emigration scheme to the British Government; and if any part of the cost is borne by the Dominion Governments?

I have been asked to answer this question. The number of warrants for passages issued under the Government schemes for the assistance of ex-service and other settlers is 30,551, comprising 54,145 persons, including women and children.

The figures for the respective Dominions are:—

The total expenditure to all parts of the Empire is £1,038,191. No part of this cost has been borne by the Dominion Governments.

asked the Minister of Labour how many applications have been received by the Civil Liabilities Department from ex-service men to date and in 1921, respectively; in how many cases have, grants been made; and how many cases are still under consideration?

The number of applications received by the Military Service (Civil Liabilities) Department from ex-service men under the Resettlement Scheme up to the 22nd July, 1921, is 273,815; of this number 23,390 have been received in 1921; grants have been made in 106,354 cases, of which number 10,381 have been made in 1921. There are at present 5,370 cases under consideration.

asked the Minister of Labour what is the total number of applications received by the Appointments Department from ex-service men up to date in 1921; how many of these are either trained or in training; how many have been placed in appointments; and how many cases are still under consideration; and how many applications has the Department dealt with in the preliminary stages for training under the Boards of Education and Agriculture of Great Britain and Ireland?

The number of applications from ex-service men received by the Appointments Department for training up to date is 51,073, of which 2,187 were received during 1921; the corresponding figures for appointments are 116,430 and 19,792. The total number of those who have completed training up to date is 10,746, of whom 3,180 relate to 1921. The corresponding figures for those still in training are 18,548 and 1,156 respectively; and for those placed in appointments 55,617 and 9,709, respectively. There are at present 1,540 cases under consideration for training, and 11,433 under consideration for appointments. The preliminary stages of applications for training have been dealt with by the Appointments Department in 48,278 cases for the Board of Education, and in 10,030 cases for the Ministry of Agriculture.

asked the Minister of Labour the weekly average of applications for employment received by the Appointments Department from ex-service officers and men, and also the weekly average placings?

Based on figures for 13 weeks ended 22nd July, 1921, the weekly average of applications for employment received by the Appointments Department from ex-service officers and men is 570, and the weekly average placings is 286.

asked the Minister of Labour whether it is possible to employ suitable ex-service and other men with family responsibilities and others dependent on them in the employment exchanges instead of engaging girls and young women; and whether he is aware that there are large numbers of unemployed men, with full clerical and commercial experience, who would be glad to do the work of and to receive the salaries at present paid to girls and young women?

I am afraid that it is not possible to substitute men for the women officers remaining in the employment exchange service. These women are engaged on work which is definitely women's work, in the women's and juvenile sections of exchanges. The Ministry's Standing Advisory Committee on Substitu- tion has the whole position under periodical review, and I have, as a result of consideration of these reports, already been able to secure the admission of a number of ex-service men to posts previously held by women. The present position is that in all but five cases substitution has already been carried out to the fullest possible extent. In two of these five cases ex-service men are being trained to take the place of women and in the remaining three cases the women have been retained in order to cope with the abnormal unemployment which at present exists among juveniles.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty if he is aware of the delay in granting war medals to ex-naval men who served in the late War; and when does he anticipate that the whole of the 1914–15 Stars will be issued to the ex-naval officers and men who are entitled to them?

The distribution of the 1914–15 Star and the British War and Victory Medals has now commenced, but I regret it is not practicable to state when it will be completed. It is hoped, however, that the distribution will be practically finished by the end of the next financial year. I may add that with a view to economy in administration the issue of the 1914–15 Star to ex-naval officers and men was deferred until the British War and Victory Medals were also ready, and the three decorations are being issued together to those entitled to them. Contrary to my expectation it will be necessary to invite those not now serving to apply for their medals, as the present addresses are in most cases not available.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Admiralty what upholstered furniture is carried for use in a modern ship; how is it distributed; and what proportion, if any, is available for lower deck messes and rest-rooms?

The required information consists of two lengthy tabular statements, which I propose, with the hon. Member's permission, to circulate in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

The statements referred to are as follow:

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty what percentage of room in a ship is allocated for living quarters for the lower deck and what percentage is allocated for officers; and how do these percentages compare in modern ships of war?

For the most recent capital ship (His Majesty's Ship "Hood") 31 per cent. of the space available for accommodation is allocated to officers and 69 per cent. to men. I may add that a committee was appointed before the War to deal with the question of accommodation, and the recommendations in their report have been followed since that time.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty the number of British admirals on the active list; anhd the number of British battleships at present on active commission?

The number of Flag officers on the active list is as follows:—

These numbers are in accordance with pre-War figures, to which the Flag List has been reduced since the War.

Thirteen battleships are in full commission and four in commission with reduced crews.

asked the Secretary of State for War what is the total cost involved in the Royal Army Service Corps for the present year and the cost for the year 1920–21; and what are the respective numbers of the men voted?

The figures are as follow:

As explained by my right hon. Friend the late Financial Secretary when the Army Estimates were under discussion in Committee of Supply on 15th March last, this corps was in course of reduction from a strength of about 35,000 when the 1920–21 Estimates were prepared, and the rate of reduction was overestimated. The actual total cost for 1920–21 has not yet been ascertained, but appears to have been underestimated.

asked the Secretary of State for War what are the reasons for the increase in the number of men borne in miscellaneous establishments?

The hon. Member presumably refers to the figure 2,015 for "Miscellaneous Establishments" in Vote A, Army Estimates, 1921–22, as compared with the figure 1,927 for 1920–21. These miscellaneous establishments are the staffs at a number of schools and technical establishments set out in Head III of the Estimates, some of which show increases and some decreases as compared with 1920–21. The increase of 88 on the total numbers is more than covered by the inclusion in the current year's Estimates of a new school for training boys as artificers for the Army. This school is not yet formed and is still under consideration.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will carry out a recommendation of the headquarters of the South Eastern Command approved by the War Office that, having regard to the loss occasioned to the occupier by the acts of the Government camp warden, a hut at Seaford in the occupation of Mrs. Cameron be conveyed to her free of cost; if not, what compensation he proposes to grant to Mrs. Cameron for the loss she has sustained by the acts of the camp warden; and whether, the matter having been raised in May last, he will be able to give a decision before August, when the hut is required for camp purposes

I have now sanctioned the proposal of the War Office that the hut should be handed over to the subscribers for the sum of £20.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the new scale of pre-War disability pensions will be promulgated; and from what date it will operate?

I assume that the hon. and gallant Member refers to pre-War life disability pensioners who served during the Great War, excluding the former war pensioners and men again invalided who have already been dealt with on the Great War scales. If so, the answer is that the scales approved for post-War disability pensioners will be applied to pre-War life disability pensioners under the same conditions and as from the same date as the increases in long service pensions have been applied to long service pensioners, subject, however, so far as the disability element is concerned, to medical survey to determine the present degree of disability. The post-War scales to which reference is made are in an advanced stage of consideration and will be promulgated shortly.

asked the Minister of Pensions if he proposes to make any detailed statement on the representations he has received from the various local committees with respect to the carrying out of the provisions of the War Pensions Bill; and whether he intends to permit these committees, when the new machinery is being called into existence, to give full and free expressions of their views both on areas to be constituted and personnel worth retention?

My right hon. Friend has repeatedly stated during the passage of the War Pensions Bill through this House that he is prepared to give full consideration to representations made by local committees as to the carrying out of its provisions; and I would invite my hon. Friend's attention to the new Sub-sections, (2) and (6), now inserted in Clause 1 of the Bill.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the total amount of the grants paid or promised by the Treasury on the recommendation of the Development Commission to the Agricultural Organisation Society, the Women's Institutes, and the Village Clubs Association, respectively?

The total amounts of the grants paid or promised to the bodies referred to by the Treasury on the recommendation of the Development Commission are as follow:

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the total amount of new money applied for by the issue of 5| per cent. Treasury Bonds to 30th July and the amount converted from Exchequer Bonds, National War Bonds, etc., into 5½ per cent. Treasury Bonds?

Final figures of conversions are not yet available, but the approximate face value of Exchequer Bonds and National War Bonds converted into 5½ per cent. Treasury Bonds is about £89,000,000, of which about £52,000,000 are Exchequer Bonds. The total amount of new money received by the Exchequer in cash up to 30th July was £8,130,000, as shown in the Revenue and Expenditure Return published in to-day's Papers. This represents, roughly, the proceeds of applications up to 25th July. Later figures are not available.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the amount of debt owing to this country respectively by Czecho-Slovakia, Poland, and France; the equivalent of this, per capita, on the population of those countries; and also, what is the total debt of those countries measured in pounds sterling at current exchange, and the amount of indebtedness this represents per capita of their populations?

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the total amount of War Savings Certificates cashed for June and July, and the total amount of new money, for the same months, placed in War Savings Certificates?

National Savings Certificates repaid (excluding accumulated interest) amounted

New money placed in National Savings Certificates in the same months was approximately

An exceptionally large number of certificates had been held for five years by July, 1921, and for this and other reasons the figures for these two months are not entirely normal.

The following table gives the particulars asked for so far as I have been able to obtain them. With exchanges subject to wide fluctuations a>s at present, sterling figures of currency debts must be treated with caution.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury how many persons employed in connection with Savings Certificates are in receipt of salaries which are not borne on the Vote for the National Savings Committee; and on what Votes do they appear?

Practically every post office in the country has duties to perform in connection with the issue of Savings Certificates, of which some £300,000,000 worth are outstanding and nearly 1,000,000 a week are being issued. Subject to this qualification, the answer to my hon. and gallant Friend's question is that all the salaries of the staff employed in connection with National Savings Certificates are borne on the Vote for the National Savings Committee, and in the case of the Scottish Savings Committee on the Vote for Temporary Commissions.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether it is the practice to issue to each Member of this House copies of the Debates in Standing Committees; if go, whether, in view of the need for stringent economy, this distribution could be discontinued; and what would be the resultant saving to the Exchequer?

Yes, Sir, the practice is as stated. The question of discontinuing the general distribution of the Reports of Debates in Standing Committees has already been brought to my notice, and it is proposed to supply copies in future only to those Members who apply for them at the Vote Office. This change would, I am advised, enable a reduction to be made in the number of copies printed by 500, and would result in a saving of about £225 per annum. Steps are being taken at the same time to reduce the number of copies issued to Public Departments.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether his attention has been drawn to the fact that Gandhi, the leader of the nationalist movement in India, has collected £1,000,000 sterling for the purpose of developing cotton manufacture in India and with the declared object of boycotting Lancashire cotton goods; whether he is aware that the cotton manufacturers of Lancashire are by no means averse to this form of competition, but that they realise a great danger to the Lancashire cotton industry if such competition is supported by the present import duties, which are already having a very serious effect upon the Lancashire cotton trade; and whether he will recommend that such duties be repealed or substantially reduced or, alternatively, insist on countervailing excise duties being imposed?

I would refer my hon. Friend to the recommendation made by the Joint Select Committee of Parliament on Clause 33 of the Government of India Bill, 1919, of which I will forward him a copy.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether there has been a meeting between a committee of the Madras Corporation and the management of the Buckingham Carnatic Mills with reference to their lock-out of their men, and that negotiations proved unsatisfactory to the mill management; and whether the Madras Government will now bring pressure to bear upon the mill management to close the dispute?

I have received no further information regarding this strike, but Lord Willingdon informs me that he is doing everything in his power to deal with the situation. I understand that the Madras Legislative Council met on Monday last.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether he has sanctioned an estimated expenditure of £18,500,000 on the construction of a barrage across the Indus; and whether, seeing that there are grave doubts in the minds of competent engineering authorities as to whether the necessary works can be carried out for the sum mentioned and that the making of the barrage may seriously affect the course of the Indus and do incalculable damage in the province of Sind, he will, under all the circumstances, withhold his approval of such a heavy expenditure with doubtful results under present financial conditions?

I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave yesterday to a similar question by the hon. and gallant Member for Melton (Sir C. Yate) of which I will send him a copy.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether in numerous cases applicants for allotments have been applying for land for many months without success; whether his Department is empowered to provide allotments in default of local and county authorities; and in how many cases has this power been exercised by his Department during the past two years?

Local authorities are often faced with difficulties in satisfying the demand for allotments, owing to the fact that the law requires that the rents to be charged to the allotment holders must be such as may reasonably be expected to ensure the authority concerned against loss, and any default powers possessed by the Ministry are subject to the same financial limitation. I am not aware that any authorities are refusing to provide allotments for applicants who are willing to pay rents sufficient to cover all the authority's outgoings, but if particulars of any such cases are supplied to the Ministry, immediate inquiry will be made. In reply to the last part of the question, the Ministry has not found it necessary during the past two years to exercise its powers of defaulting allotment authorities.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether, in connection with his recent circular to local authorities instructing them to terminate the tenancies of allotments acquired under the Defence of the Realm Act, numerous local authorities are issuing notices to quit, irrespective of whether the land can be put to any purpose or not; whether these councils are ignoring the suggestion that they should acquire land on other conditions for allotments; and what steps he proposes to take in the matter?

My attention has been drawn to the cases of three local authorities who have already issued notices to quit to Defence of the Realm Act allotment holders expiring at Lady Day, 1923, but these notices will not prevent negotiations being entered into for the retention of the land as allotments under the Small Holdings and Allotments Acts, 1908 to 1919. My Department is already in communication with the authorities concerned.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether allotments on public land may, by the terms of the Land Settlement (Facilities) Act, 1910, be held for a period of two years from 1st September next, the reported date of the official termination of the War; whether private land, acquired under the same conditions is being surrendered now; and why there should be such discrimination in favour of private landowners?

Yes, Sir. Section 30 of the Land Settlement (Facilities) Act, 1919, empowers a local authority to continue as allotments land of which the authority is owner or occupier for a period of two years from the termination of the War. Land in private ownership, entered on for allotments under Regulation 2L, is only being surrendered at the present time when required for building or other industrial purposes, or when the compensation payable by the Ministry for continued possession would be out of proportion to the value to the nation of the retention of the land as allotments. No compensation is payable by the Exchequer to the local authority in respect of land of which the authority is owner or occupier, and the comparison instituted by the hon. Member is not, therefore, justified.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether the Neath Borough Council have procured for allotments land at Westmoor which they have offered to hand over to the local allotment association at a rent of about £20 per acre a year, the association to pay, in addition, rates, taxes, and outgoings; and whether he will consider an immediate investigation into this case with a view to the reduction of this extortionate rent?

The Ministry understand that the council acquired the land in question, comprising 2a. 0r. 34p., under a compulsory hiring order for 14 years. The rent and compensation were agreed by the valuer acting on behalf of the council at £18 and £186 19s. 6d. respectively. Having regard to the high rent and heavy compensation agreed to be paid by the council, the rents are undoubtedly very high, but the council had no option but to comply with the requirements of Section 25 (3) of the Small Holdings and Allotments Act, 1908, and charge an economic rent. It is now understood, however, that the allotments association are arranging for a certain uniformity in the rents of all the allotments let to their members which will result in the rents paid by the holders of plots on the particular piece of land referred to being lower than those originally fixed.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he is aware that applicants for allotments at Wandsworth have been attempting to procure land at Porters Farm through the local council; that this application has been rejected by the council with the concurrence of his Department; and that the sole reason for such rejection is the statement of the owners that the land is to be developed for building shortly; whether the same excuse has been advanced by the owners to every application during the past three years; whether he will cause investigations to be made into this case; and whether such excuses by landowners to prevent unused land being acquired for food production are becoming general in the country?

The Ministry has repeatedly pressed the Wandsworth Borough Council to acquire land to satisfy the demand for allotments, but the decision as to whether the land at Porters Farm should be compulsorily acquired or not is a matter for the council, and the Ministry has no power to take any action to alter the decision. In reply to the last part of the question, the Ministry has no information to show that landowners are unwilling to let land for allotments pending development. In the case of the Porters Farm land, the fact that the owners have not developed the land for building during the last three years can hardly be taken as proof that they do not intend to do so in the near future, when, it may be expected, the conditions affecting the building trade will materially improve.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether borough councils in various parts of the country have co-opted on allotments committees of the councils representatives of local allotment associations with a view to assisting the councils in the provision and administration of allotments; whether this course is in the opinion of the Ministry deemed advisable; and whether he will represent to the Wandsworth Borough Council the desirability of acceding to, the representations of the local allotment associations and grant co-option, thus falling into line with other metropolitan borough councils?

The answer to the first two parts of the question is in the affirmative. In reply to the last part of the question, I would refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave to the hon. Member for Pontypool (Mr. T. Griffiths) on 18th July last.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the £50,000 paid by the North Eastern Railway Company to their late deputy general manager, the present Minister of Transport, has been charged to the British taxpayer or to the shareholders of that railway, as promised by the Government in July, 1920?

The undertaking given by my predecessor in this matter was that the opinion of the Law Officers would be taken as to whether the claim of the railway company in respect of this matter could be disallowed. The opinion when obtained was to the effect that the amount so charged by the railway company fell to be allowed as a working expense—particularly having regard to the fact that a similar debit had been so-dealt with in the company's books in the standard year with regard to another official—the effect of which was to reduce the Government's liability to the railway company during the period of control by a very much larger sum than that now in question. It ought to be clearly understood that this payment to the right hon. Gentleman was made in respect of definite rights which he had against the-railway company under a formal agreement made in 1912. The sum paid was a figure of compromise arrived at after legal and actuarial advice taken by the railway company, and the whole transaction was disclosed to the Government before the right hon. Gentleman became Minister of Transport.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he is aware that a train leaving Ealing Common on the District Railway at 4.22 a.m., and another one leaving Ealing Broadway at 4.54 a.m., which before the coal strike used to run regularly, and were the means of enabling a number of persons employed in the early markets of London to travel by, have been taken off, and since the settlement of the strike have not been restored, and that the reason for this is an alleged dearth of passengers, a statement which is challenged by users of the train; whether he will Inquire into the running and subsequent discontinuance of these trains and the number of passengers carried; and whether, in view of the desirability of encouraging as far as possible persons engaged in the early market trades living in the suburbs, he will take steps to have the service restored?

My right hon. Friend the Minister of Transport is making inquiries into the matter, and will communicate the result to my hon. and learned Friend as soon as possible.

asked the Minister of Transport whether the Government will consider the desirability of appointing either a Select Committee or a Royal Commission to investigate the increasingly serious effect of the competition between the tramway systems of the country and motor transport, especially with a view to ascertaining whether some form of coordination of activity is possible in the interests of both?

The information in the possession of my right hon. Friend the Minister of Transport does not warrant him in taking the course suggested in the question, but he will be glad to consider any facts my Eon. Friend desires to bring to his notice. The provisions of Section 14 (3) of the Roads Act, 1920, empower the Minister, when appeals are made to him from the refusal of local authorities to licence vehicles to ply for hire, to impose such conditions as are necessary to prevent improper competition with existing tramways undertakings.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether he has received a memorial of the retired teachers complaining that teachers superannuated before 1918 are treated far less equitably than those superannuated at a later date; whether many thrifty teachers have been disqualified from benefiting under the Pensions (Increase) Act, 1920, solely by reason of their thrift; and what action he proposes to take in the matter?

I have received the memorial to which the hon. and gallant Member refers. A proposal to extend the benefits of the School Teachers (Superannuation) Act, 1918, to teachers already in receipt of pension was considered in the House of Commons and was negatived. The Pensions (Increase) Act, 1920, which applied to many classes of pensioners besides teachers, was an attempt to alleviate cases of real hardship. I do not see my way to initiate legislation either to extend the scope of the School Teachers (Superannuation) Act in the direction suggested, or to exempt teachers from the conditions to which other beneficiaries under the Pensions (Increase) Act are subject.

asked the President of the Board of Education if he is aware that the West Ham Council have omitted to make use of the means at their disposal for securing general attendances at their compulsory continuation schools; that they have been extravagant in relation to the amount of work done, and have now decided to close the compulsory continuation classes; does this decision meet with the Board of Education's approval; and will expenditure of the schools now to be run on a voluntary basis be taken into account for the purpose of a grant?

Owing to increasing irregularity of attendance, the expenditure of the West Ham Authority upon day continuation schools has become disproportionate to the number of pupils in effective attendance. The decision of the authority has not yet been communicated to the Board; and until I have before me their specific proposals for continuance of day continuation schools on a basis of voluntary attendance I cannot make any statement on the subject.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether His Majesty's Government is aware of the deportation of Ottoman Christians from the Black Sea coast, and of the alleged massacre of some of those so deported; whether Greeks and Armenians in Constantinople are being subjected to illegal arrest and to trial by court-martial without the right of being legally represented; and whether such action within the neutral zone constitutes a breach of its obligations on the part of the Porte?

His Majesty's representative in Constantinople has been instructed to inquire into the truth of these allegations, and, should this be established, to address a strong protest to the Angora Government in regard to the deportations in the Black Sea area, which is not within the neutral zone, and over which the Porte has no control. The arrest and trial by the Constantinople Government of Ottoman Christians said to be implicated in anti-Moslem outrages at Ismid involve no breach of their obligations; but His Majesty's representative has been instructed to consider the possibility of instituting some form of Allied supervision over these proceedings.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether, by instruction of His Majesty's Government, the Eastern Telegraph Company have, within the last month or two, paid over to the Turkish Government the sum of £350,000 sterling, being the accumulated amount of the part of the receipts accruing to the Turkish Government and due by the Eastern Telegraph Company since the Armistice; and why was not this money retained in part payment of reparations due by the Turkish Government to British subjects?

I understand that the amount paid by the Eastern Telegraph Company on this account up to the end of May last is £324,442 18s. 1d. This sum was not paid on the instructions of His Majesty's Government, but His Majesty's Government entirely approved the payment. Apart from the legal aspect of the retention of these sums, the view was taken at the time that in view of the critical financial situation of the Turkish Government, endeavours should be made to enable it to find funds to carry on the necessary administrative services in the interests, not only of Turkey, but of her creditors.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether, in view of the facts that Mrs. Stan Harding, a British subject and journalist of high standing, was in June last year, after being lured into Russia under a Bolshevik safe-conduct, thrown into prison by the Soviet Government in Moscow, condemned to death on a charge of being a British spy, kept for months in solitary confinement under foul conditions in order to induce her to enter the espionage service of the Soviets, he will consider the need for taking urgent steps to obtain redress?

As I informed the hon. Member for St. George's (Mr. Erskine) on the 1st instant, I have nothing to add to the reply given on 18th July to the Noble Lord the Member for Hitchin (Lord R. Cecil).

asked the Home Secretary whether the provisions in the Licensing (No. 2) Bill could be put into operation at once in controlled areas by an order of the Liquor Control Board?

I am advised that there are a .number of desirable provisions in the Bill which it would not be possible for the Central Control Board to bring into force by order.

asked the Prime Minister whether, in view of the announcement of the official date of the termination of the War, the Government will consider the desirability of publishing for general information a list of all Regulations, legal or legislative enactments, and kindred matters which are thereby affected, with, in each case, an explanatory note?

I do not think there would be justification for the labour involved in the publication of such a statement which, in the absence of precise qualifications to meet individual cases, might be misleading.

asked the Prime Minister whether, under the latest Dutch programme, the Dutch East Indies have to provide within 12 years 4 cruisers, 24 destroyers, 32 submarines, mine-layers, and an air establishment, this being the final recommendation of the Defence Commission; and whether, in view of the Washington Conference, the British Government will suggest to the United States, who are convening it, an invitation to the Dutch Government to associate itself with any disarmament proposals which may be arrived at?

I am informed that the figures quoted by my hon. Friend are approximately correct. As regards the last part of the question, the Conference on disarmament is being summoned on the initiative of the United States Government, with whom it rests to issue the invitations.

asked the hon. Member for the Pollok Division of Glasgow, as representing the First Commissioner of Works, whether he is aware that, at the instance of the Disposals Board, a sale is proceeding in Wands-worth of surplus stores, including a number of safes, office clocks, etc.; whether the Office of Works has recently received from the various Departments any requisitions for safes or other articles similar to those now being sold; whether these requisitions have been met by the purchase of new safes, etc.; and whether, in the interests of economy, arrangements will be made with the Disposals Board for the acquisition of all articles likely to be required in the various Government Departments?

The answer to the first two parts of the question is in the affirmative, and to the third part in the negative. Arrangements are already in force on the lines suggested by the hon. Member.