asked the Postmaster-General if his attention has been directed to statements made on behalf of persons engaged in the picture postcard trade to the effect that the latest increase in the postal rate on postcards has led to a diminution of 50 per cent. in sales and to loss of employment to thousands of workers engaged in the production of such cards, threatening further unemployment in the coming winter; whether this loss of trade has been accompanied by a proportionate loss of postal revenue; and whether he will consider the reduction of the rate in order that the trade may be revived for the coming export season and further unemployment be prevented?

My attention has been called to such statements. Pending the examination of returns which have recently been taken, I cannot say to what extent the number of postcards sent through the post has diminished, but I have no reason to think that there has-been a loss of postal revenue. As my right hon. Friend has previously stated he will consider the reduction of the rate as soon as that can be done without asking for a subsidy from the Exchequer.

asked the Minister of Labour how many special schemes under the National Insurance Act of 1920 came into existence; how many are in existence now; and how many were allowed to be established under the Act of 1921 owing to their having been completed before the specified date in July last?

A special scheme for the insurance industry was approved in June last and is now in operation. A special scheme for the banking industry is under consideration under the provisions of the Act of July, 1921, referred to in the last part of the question. No other special schemes have been established or are in contemplation at present.

asked the Minister of Labour the number of workers in each of the trades to which the Unemployment Insurance Acts apply; the number unemployed in each of these trades, respectively; and the number in each trade whose benefit has been exhausted?

The number of insured workers and the number of unemployed in each trade are given each month in the "Labour Gazette," of which I am sending a copy to my hon. and gallant Friend. No figures are available as to the number of persons in each trade who have exhausted benefit, but the total number of such persons at 14th October was 665,037, of whom 48,132 were working short time.

asked the Minister of Labour how many of the 8,000,000 persons who were brought into benefit under the Unemployment Insurance Act, 1920, have received unemployment pay without having paid sufficient contributions to entitle them to benefit?

A precise answer to my hon. and gallant Friend's question would mean an examination of all the claims in all the Exchanges. But I should say, on a rough estimate, that 1,500,000 at least of the 8,000,000 of persons under reference have either so far not contributed at all or have made contributions which under the permanent machinery of the Act—and apart from Section 3 of the Act of 3rd March, 1921—would not have entitled them to benefit. But as my hon. Friend knows, the benefit paid is a liability on the Unemployment Insurance Scheme which will have to be discharged in due course by the contributions of these and other contributors.

asked the Minister of Labour the number at present unemployed in each of the building trades, respectively?

The number of men in the building trades registered as unemployed at 7th October were as follows:—Carpenters, 7,324; bricklayers, 2,688; masons and monumental masons, 1,901; slaters, 317; plasterers, 292; painters, 19,310; plumbers, 2,841; other skilled workers, 5,087; and labourers, 70,817.

asked the Home Secretary whether the police have any evidence of deliberate organisation on the part of the Communist party to exploit the misery of the unemployed and to induce civil disturbance on the occasion of recent demonstrations throughout the country; whether any funds are known to have been expended for this purpose; whether the money is known to have come from abroad; and whether the Home Office can take, or proposes to take, any action to prevent aliens and others from spending money, or in other ways trying to exploit the unemployed, and thereby occasion breaches of the peace?

The answers to the first two parts of the question are in the affirmative; to the third part, that some money is known to have come from abroad. As regards the last point, it is, of course, one thing to have general knowledge of the plans of the Communists and another thing to obtain definite evidence against an individual; but, when there is such evidence against aliens, steps are taken to deport them. In the case of British subjects, proceedings can be taken, as the law now stands, only when they advocate acts of violence.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that, in consequence of the abnormal state of trade, large numbers of persons insured under the National Health Insurance Act have been unemployed for a period of 52 weeks and that the effect of Section 13, Sub-sections (1) and (5), of the National Health Insurance Act, 1918, is that such insured persons cease to be entitled to National Health Insurance benefits, thereby losing the benefit of past years of National Health Insurance contributions, and that such persons, in the event of again becoming employed, are treated as new entrants into insurance, entitled only to reduced rates of benefit; and whether, in view of this position, he will undertake to introduce at an early date a short Bill to remove this serious hardship to the workpeople concerned?

As I stated on Thursday last, in reply to similar questions, this matter is receiving my most careful consideration, and I hope that some means may be found of meeting the situation.

asked the Postmaster-General whether, in view of the fact that candidates for the position of assistant inspector of wireless telegraphy were required to be graduates in physics or electrical engineering, who have had practical experience in wireless telegraphy and electrical engineering, or naval or military experts who have had an equivalent training, he will state what are the technical and scientific qualifications of Commander Grattan, who has recently been appointed to the post?

Commander Grattan is a naval expert. He was trained in wireless telegraphy in the Navy before the War, and during the War had wide experience in charge of a large number of naval wireless telegraph stations. Commander Grattan's qualifications were carefully considered along with those of a number of other candidates for the post; and the Committee of Selection were unanimously of opinion that he was best qualified for the duties.

asked the Postmaster-General how much his Department receives for the railway carriage, handling, and delivery of every 10,000 circulars sent from this country to be posted in France, Belgium or Germany?

Under the International Postal Convention, each country retains the postage on matter posted in that country. My Department therefore receives nothing in respect of a circular posted in a foreign country for delivery in this country.

asked the Postmaster-General why Treasury circular, dated 7th September, 1918, in respect of grade II posts has not been applied to the ex-service men temporary clerks employed in the Post Office Savings Bank, Blythe Road, West Kensington; if the work these men are performing, such as register work, sales and investments of stock, correspondence with the British public concerning public moneys, and loans and dividends proving, can be termed routine work; and, if so, why the same work was not considered routine in the temporary women clerks' case for re-grading; and in view of the fact that the temporary male clerks in the savings bank have been told, through the medium of the Departmental Whitley Council, that certain men are worthy of promotion, will he give the House an assurance that a proportion of grade II posts will be given these men, some of whom have served in the Department three and a-half years?

The matters referred to in the question are at present under consideration, and I will communicate with my hon. and learned Friend as soon as I am in a position to do so.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he will undertake in future to give preference to all candidates applying for the post of Post Office medical officer who served in the War, even if their absence from home in the service of the State naturally gives them a shorter record of home service in the district?

Service with the forces during the War is regarded by the Post Office as a very important factor when appointing medical officers. But to regard it as the only factor of importance would be detrimental to the Medical Service. The fact of a doctor being absent from his district during his service with the forces would not be allowed to prejudice his prospects of obtaining a Post Office appointment.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will include in the next issue of the Annual Return, No. 189, 1921, the sums expended by the Labour Department on public assistance of all kinds and the administrative cost?

My right hon. Friend presumably has in mind sums expended on such purposes as the training of ex-officers and ex-service men and resettlement grants under the Military Service (Civil Liabilities) scheme. On the whole I do not think that the scope of the Return in question should be extended as he proposes. The expenditure for the purposes stated is entirely provided from Parliamentary Votes, and the desired information can therefore be obtained from the annual Appropriation Accounts.

asked the Minister of Labour if some 200 ex-service wounded men who had been trained to cut and polish diamonds have been deprived of the opportunity of earning their living in that occupation owing to the depressed market due to some extent to the market being flooded with cut stones collected by the Bolsheviks in Russia; and will he undertake to provide fresh training?

It is a fact that a number of disabled ex-service men, most of them badly disabled, trained in the cutting and polishing of diamonds, have been discharged, because the successors to the late Sir Bernard Oppenheimer find themselves unable to continue operations on the scale contemplated. In view of the special circumstances it has been decided that these men may be granted further training in another trade, provided that they are still eligible. Each man has been so informed.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the total amount of debt and floating debt in the United States of America; and if the amount has been reduced since 31st March, 1921?

On the 31st August last the total interest-bearing debt of the United States of America was stated to be $23,681,181,000, of which certificates of indebtedness amounted to $2,769,314,000. Since the 31st March the total debt had diminished by $59,591,000, but the certificates of indebtedness had increased by $14,389,000.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if any negotiations are going on, or likely to start in the near future, with regard to consolidating and refunding the entire external debt of Mexico?

I have no information on the subject beyond what has appeared in the public Press.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has received a memorial of the Manchester, Salford, and District Grocers' Association, dated the 12th August; and if it has received, or will receive, his consideration?

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

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in order to obviate overlapping and fraud, he will consider the desirability of establishing a public register of persons receiving public assistance of every kind in every municipal borough and in the area of every urban and district council?

The question of improving facilities for the interchange of information between the various bodies administering public assistance is under consideration.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether any steps are to be taken for the consideration and stabilisation of the various currencies; whether it is proposed to hold a conference on this matter; and what are the prospective arrangements?

"10 Downing Street,

S.W.1.

8th September, 1921.

"Sir,—I have given careful consideration, in consultation with my colleagues, to your letters of 11th July and 12th August transmitting a resolution of the Credits and Currency Committee of the Federation of British Industries proposing the appointment of a new Commission with terms of reference similar to those of the Committee on Currency and Foreign Exchanges presided over by the late Lord Cunliffe.

I note that this proposal is not put forward as a criticism of the policy recommended by Lord Cunliffe's Committee and that the Federation of British Industries regard it as highly desirable that an arbitrary control of the currency should be replaced by some automatic means of regulation. The Federation suggests, however, that there is so great a difference in the conditions under which the policy was laid down from those existing to-day that a reconsideration of that policy in the light of more recent events is required.

His Majesty's Government are not able to agree that there have been, since the date of the Cunliffe Report, such important changes in conditions as the Federation suggests. I notice, for example, that the 'unpegging' of the exchanges is mentioned as one of the changes which was not within the contemplation of the Cunliffe Committee. But I would remind you that it was in March, 1919, that the exchanges were 'unpegged,' and that the final Report of the Cunliffe Committee is dated December, 1919, when the depreciation of the European Exchanges in terms of dollars, had already reached very large dimensions. I would further remind you that in September, 1920, less than a year ago, the whole subject of currency and exchanges was exhaustively examined by the International Financial Conference at Brussels, which endorsed and re-affirmed the conclusions of the Cunliffe Committee. It should also not be forgotten that the Committee on Financial Facilities for Trade, which was largely composed of business men and widely representative of British industry, came to similar conclusions.

In these circumstances His Majesty's Government regard it as too soon to come to a definite conclusion in favour of reconsidering a policy which no one, and certainly not the members of the Cunliffe Committee, expected to restore complete equilibrium before the expiration of a comparatively long period. The idea that there is some short cut to a recovery of normal conditions is, in the nature of things not unlikely to prove illusory, and until there is a clearer case for reconsideration, it might only be harmful to create uncertainty amongst commercial men and financiers as to the policy to be followed. At the present moment, after going through a period of unexampled depression and weathering a three months' coal stoppage, trade and industry are beginning to show the first faint symptoms of recovery. In the opinion of His Majesty's Government to appoint a Commission to reconsider the policy of the Cunliffe Committee at this particular juncture might prove very unwise. It would tend to unsettle public opinion once more, and perhaps raise undue expectations, as to the results which might be obtained by artificial action.

For these reasons His Majesty's Government have decided that—for the present—the appointment of the new Commission which you propose is inexpedient.

Yours faithfully,

(Signed) D. LLOYD GEORGE.

The President,

Federation of British Industries."

asked the Minister of Labour whether the women staff employed by the Ministry of Labour at Kew are engaged on women's work; and, if not, upon what work are they engaged?

The women staff employed by the Ministry of Labour at Kew are all employed on permanent women's work. There are now 746 temporary women employed at Kew as against 1,107 on the 1st July, 1919. There are over 1,800 temporary ex-service men employed as against 161 on the 1st July, 1919. The position is continually under review, and indeed is at this moment again being reported on to me.

asked the hon. Member for the Pollok Division of Glasgow, as representing the First Commissioner of Works, whether he can fix a date on which the huts and other temporary buildings on the Embankment and in St. James's Park will be evacuated?

It is hoped to evacuate the buildings on the Embankment by the 31st December, and the bulk of those in St. James's Park early in the new year.

asked the Minister of Pensions the number of women now employed in the Ministry of Pensions; and if he will consider the desirability of giving a large percentage of these posts to ex-service men now being discharged from other Departments?

The total number of women employed by the Ministry is 12,535. Of these, 214 are established civil servants and 6,121 are temporary employés engaged on non-clerical or women's duties, such as hospital staff, typists and cleaners, leaving 6,200 temporary women employed on work of a clerical nature. The latter number is a reduction of 1,707 on the number employed in October, 1920, and is being rapidly reduced still further in accordance with the Lytton Committee's recent recommendations; but the resulting absorption of ex-service men from outside is considerably diminished by the fact that, owing to decrease of work, many Vacancies do not require to be filled.

asked the Minister of Pensions whether the Pensions Issue Office is to be permanently staffed by women?

The permanent staff of Pensions Issue Office will comprise officers of the executive, clerical and writing assistant grades. It is intended to reserve the posts of writing assistant for women, but the personnel of the other two grades has not yet been finally determined.

asked the Minister of Pensions how many ex-service men and how many women, respectively, are now employed on the staff of his Department?

I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer which I gave to the hon. Member for North Lambeth (Mr. Briant) on the 20th instant.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury if his attention has been called to the alleged unfair dismissal from the Civil Service of ex-service men; if he can state what the policy of the Government is, has been, and will be, in this matter; and if he can give any figures bearing on the allegations of unfair treatment which are being very widely made?

I would refer my hon. Friend to my oral reply of the 20th October on this subject.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury how many ex-service men have been discharged or received their notices from Government Departments since 1st June last?

I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to a similar question on the 20th instant.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury how many ex-service men who have been previously employed in Government Departments are awaiting reallocation through the Joint Substitution Board?

The number is about 1,500.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty if Stoker William Winstanley, No. 116,640, His Majesty's Ship "Tiger," who joined the service on 20th June, 1915, for 12 years, i.e ., five years' active service and seven years' reserve, was discharged as medically unfit for the reserve at the expiration of his five years' active service, and as a consequence he has not received either a pension or reserve pay; and will he make inquiries into this case and, if found eligible, will he take steps to have Winstanley placed upon pension?

Winstanley was found medically unfit for enrolment in the Royal Fleet Reserve on the expiration of the active service portion of his special service engagement and was discharged "time expired." Under Regulations now in force he would have been discharged "invalided," and in the circumstances the cause of discharge will be altered to "invalided." Any claim for pension will then be a matter for the consideration of the Ministry of Pensions. I understand, however, that the man has already received from the Ministry the maximum compensation in respect of his disablement. He is not eligible for the award of a pension on account of his naval service.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he will consider the advisability of the Army Council reviewing their decision in respect to the grants of married allowance to Territorial soldiers under 26 years of age, in view of the experience of the Territorial Force associations during the recent training when large numbers came to camp assuming that they would get this allowance and had to be assisted out of private funds, whilst others were unable to join as they could not afford to do so, and that the present Regulation tends to be detrimental to recruiting for the completion of the establishment of units?

The matter is still under consideration, and no decision has yet been reached.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty whether the Government intend extending the scope of their trading in various naval centres to the provision of cheap articles of clothing to officers and warrant officers of the Royal Navy; if this be so, why this step is being taken; and whether he has considered the effect of this State competition on private enterprise?

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given on the 17th August last to a question by the hon. and gallant Member for the Basingstoke Division (Sir A. Holbrook).

asked the Secretary of State for India what batta is to be granted to the troops engaged in the Arghanistan operations of 1919 and in the Waziristan and Mahsud operations operating during 1919–20 and 1921?

If my hon. and gallant Friend refers to field service batta for Indian troops as laid down in Indian Army Regulations, I feel sure that it has been drawn for all the operations mentioned. If the reference is to the grant of some special gratuity; the Government of India have not proposed any such grant.

asked the Secretary of State for India how many of the candidates at the last examination for appointment to the Indian Civil Service were British and how many were Indian?

There were 52 Indian candidates, 16 Europeans and Anglo-Indians, and five candidates from Ceylon, making a total of 73.

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether he is aware that in connection with work at the Shotwick aerodrome for a permanent depot for the Air Force the workmen are being subjected to medical examination, although the employment is only of a temporary character; that several men over 50 years of age have been discharged in consequence; that one man has been discharged for having three defective teeth; that this action is causing resentment amongst the workmen and may involve a stoppage; and whether he will give instructions that all men employed on work of a temporary character shall not be subjected to medical examination of this kind?

The regulations provide that civilian employes (unless casually employed for less than six working days) will, on engagement, be examined by a medical officer as to their physical fitness for employment. A rigid standard of physical fitness is not, however, required, and it is sufficient for the medical officer to ensure that prospective employés are:

(a) fit to carry out the work for which they are engaged, and

(b) not suffering from any infectious or contagious disease.

I am calling for a report in the case referred to, and will communicate with the hon. Member.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, (1) whether the terms of the engagement concluded between His Majesty King Hussein I and the British Government acting on behalf of the Allies, 1915, were stated when the Peace Conference met in 1919; if not, why;

(2) if it is the intention of the Government to honour the Treaty of 1915 between the British Government and His Majesty King Hussein I, which brought the Arabs to fight side by side with the Allies; the terms of the said Treaty; and whether the Arabs, under the guidance of King Hussein I, carried out with honour the engagement of 1915?

No formal Treaty was concluded between His Majesty's Government and the King of the Hejas in 1915. His Majesty's Government, however, gave certain undertakings to the Arabs through King Hussein to support their efforts to gain their independence subject to reservations as to British and French interests and as to boundaries. These undertakings were embodied in a long and inconclusive correspondence; and on certain points no specific agreement was reached. The then Emir Feisal represented his father King Hussein at the Peace Conference in 1919 and made a full statement of his father's case both in writing and verbally before the Conference. The assistance given to the Allies by King Hussein's declaration of war and the gallant part played by the troops under the then Emir Feisal in General Allenby's campaign against the Turks are already well known to the House.

asked the Chief Secretary whether his attention has been called to the provisions of Section 3 of the Criminal Injuries (Ireland) Act, 1920, under which any rates payable by a ratepayer to a county council in Ireland may, on application to the High Court, be set off against the amount due by such council to the ratepayer for compensation for malicious injuries; whether the Sinn Fein authorities have warned solicitors in Southern Ireland that they must on no account institute any proceedings under Section 3 of the above Act and that solicitors are in consequence intimidated and prevented from instituting any such proceedings; whether, in consequence of this action, the persons to whom sums are payable by Irish county councils for malicious injuries cannot obtain payment, while the county councils by whom such sums are payable are insisting on such person paying the rates and are enforcing them by distress and otherwise; and what remedy exists for this state of things?

My attention has been drawn to the fact that persons for whom the remedy provided by the Section referred to was intended, are allowing themselves to be intimidated from availing themselves of it. In reply to the last part of the hon. and learned Member's question, I can only repeat what I have frequently stated, that the Government will afford all necessary protection to any person in Ireland who declines to be coerced by intimidation from the exercise of his legal rights.

asked the Chief Secretary if demands for payment of money are being made in Ireland by Sinn Fein organisations under threats of violence if the money demanded is not paid; and what course British subjects in Ireland should take to ensure themselves protection if they refuse to pay?

His Majesty's Government have had brought to their notice a number of cases of attempted forced exactions of money made, or purporting to be made, by local units of the Sinn Fein organisation. Assurances have been given that such attempted exactions have not been authorised by the responsible heads of that organisation. People in Ireland can count on the support of the Crown forces in giving them all possible protection in resisting such demands.

asked the Chief Secretary whether many pensioners of the Royal Irish Constabulary are in great financial straits owing to the delay in the promulgation of the Statutory Orders applying the provisions of the Police Pensions Act, 1921, as to increased pensions to Ireland; and whether he will take steps to accelerate the promulgation of these Orders and to re-assess the Irish pensions accordingly?

Drafts of the Statutory Orders referred to are now in course of preparation and will be completed for reference to the police representative bodies in as short a time as practicable. I am unable to accept the statement in the first part of the hon. Member's question, as the hardships, which might otherwise result from delay in making these Orders, have in most, if not all, cases been averted or largely abated by interim or provisional arrangements, which have been made for giving effect to certain portions of the new pension scheme in anticipation of the issue of final Orders.

asked the Chief Secretary whether his attention has been called to a notice, which has recently been widely issued in Belfast, stating that a black list of those who persist in trading with boycotted banks and firms is being issued, and a public boycott of the parties who thus endeavour to flout the order of the Dail is ordered forthwith; and whether the issue of such notices is in accordance with the terms of the Truce?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. As regards the last part, the question of boycott was not dealt with in the Truce arrangement.

asked the Prime Minister whether the Sinn Feiners in Ireland are still boycotting English manufactured goods, including English agricultural machinery; whether the Irish Dairymen, Limited, 30, Lower Abbey Street, Dublin, are exhibiting a German cream separator at the dairy show now being held at the Agricultural Hall; whether, in the opinion of the Government, such action constitutes an honourable reading of the Truce conditions; and whether he will take steps to prohibit the importation of foreign agricultural machinery into Ireland?

I understand that an attempt is still being made to boycott certain classes of British goods in Southern Ireland. This is a departure from the spirit, if not the letter, of the Truce, and if a corresponding movement were organised in Britain against Irish goods, I feel confident Irishmen would regard it as a defiance of the Truce. Any breach of the law committed in connection with this boycott can and will be dealt with, but I must point out that there is nothing to prevent the exhibition of German cream separators either in Ireland or in any other part of the United Kingdom. The answer to the last part of the question is in the negative.

asked the Chief Secretary what steps the Government are taking to secure the release of British subjects imprisoned by Sinn Fein organisations in Ireland?

There are no members of the Crown forces or of any other branch of the public service under arrest by Sinn Fein organisations in Ireland. There are 24 other persons said to be under arrest by such organisations. Every possible step is being taken to secure the release of persons illegally arrested.

asked the Prime Minister whether it is with the knowledge and consent of the Government that the Ulster Volunteer Force is being reorganised; and whether the attention of the Government of Northern Ireland has been called to this organisation as a breach of the provisions of the Government of Ireland Act?

I am informed that in certain districts in Northern Ireland a movement is on foot to revive the organisation known as the Ulster Volunteer Force. I am not aware, however, that any action has yet been taken by the promoters of the movement which could be regarded as a breach of the provisions of the Government of Ireland Act.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he is aware of the inaccuracy of a large percentage of clinical thermometers; and will he take steps to introduce some method of test and certificate of correctness?

This is a matter which can only be dealt with by legislation, and I would remind my hon. Friend that a Bill to require the testing of clinical thermometers was introduced by the Government earlier in the Session, but was not proceeded with owing to lack of time. I hope to re-introduce the Bill next Session. In the meantime, I am glad to say that most British manufacturers of clinical thermometers are voluntarily having their products tested at the National Physical Laboratory.

asked the President of the Board of Trade the index figures of the cost of living for the following years, 1880, 1890, 1900, 1910, and 1920, respectively, and their relative value to the cost of living for the month of September, 1921?

I have been asked to reply. The index numbers prepared by the Ministry of Labour, relating to the cost of maintaining the pre-War standard of living of working-class families, show an increase of about 110 per cent, from July, 1914, to 1st October, 1921. Owing partly to the absence of comparable data for dates prior to July, 1914, and partly to changes in standards of living since 1880, it is impossible to give exact figures for the dates referred to by my hon. Friend.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will give the retail price of a standard house coal (best Derby) in London in 1913 and the price to-day, specifying the various items by which the price is arrived at, in continuation of similar information given on 14th July, 1919?

The retail price of a standard house coal (best Derby) in London in 1913 was 27s. per ton, and the corresponding price to-day is 62s. per ton. I am not in possession of the information which would enable me to specify the various items comprised in the latter figure. As my right hon. Friend is aware, the price of coal is now left to the ordinary fluctuations of the market.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will state the cost of slack or small coal delivered to a works about 30 miles from a colliery today, as compared with 10s. 6d. per ton in 1913, given in answer to a question on 14th July, 1919, specifying for both periods the cost of labour, timber, other costs, royalties, owners' profit, railway rate, and wagon hire?

Now that control has come to an end I am afraid that I am no longer in a position to obtain the information asked for by my right hon. Friend.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he can make any statement as to the schemes for the cheapened and improved transport which the Ministry was instituted to devise and initiate?

I would refer the hon Member to the Railways Act of this Session and to the Roads Act of 1920.

asked the Secretary for Scotland whether the effect of the Regulations for the Government training and certification of teachers for schools in Scotland is to restrict such appointments to persons who have received teachers' certificates in schools under the Scottish Education Department?

The answer is in the negative. The Scottish Regulations for the training of teachers are framed to meet normal circumstances in Scotland, but they do not prevent admission to the office of teachers in Scottish schools of persons who, having reached an equivalent standard of general education, have received the necessary training in England or elsewhere.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will arrange with the governor of Hong Kong to appoint a commission of inquiry with a view to the abolition of the custom of mua tsai existing in the Colony of Hong Kong, under which girls are transferred from household to household on payment of money, generally called adopted in China, and also the abolition of the custom of tse chu fa, under which girls after adoption are resold for prostitution; and whether, in view of the fact that the Chinese Republic has declared these customs to be illegal, similar steps can be taken in Hong Kong, a British colony, notwithstanding the fact that China has not strictly enforced the laws which she made to secure their suppression?

The Governor of Hong Kong has already been asked to report on the desirability or otherwise of the appointment of a Commission of Inquiry into the mui-tsai system in the Colony, and I will consider what steps the Government may usefully take in the matter on receiving his report. The sale of any girls for purposes of prostitution is strictly and expressly forbidden under the Protection of Women and Girls Ordinance. As regards legislation on the mui-tsai question, the fact that it has not been found practicable to enforce legislation in China would seem to be an argument against similar legislation in Hong Kong, apart from other considerations involved.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he has received the memorial of the Kenya missionary societies protesting against the change in the Kenya coinage on the ground that it is intended to deceive and will rob the native worker; whether the governor asked for this change at the instigation of the Legislative Council or on his own motion; and can anything yet be done to prevent this change?

I have seen a copy of the memorial referred to in the question. As far as it relates to the arrangement, fully explained in the statement printed in the OFFICIAL REPORT of the 2nd June last, for marking down the existing coins of the value of one, five and ten cents of a florin, I may take this opportunity of stating that I have already given instructions that these coins must remain in circulation at their present values till they can be replaced at the rate of two cents of a shilling for one cent of a florin by the new subsidiary coinage which is to be prepared. The substitution of the shilling for the florin as the standard coin was due to the Legislative Council, and originated in the suggestion of an unofficial member, and not in any way at the instance of the governor, and I have no reason to believe that it will operate to the disadvantage of the natives.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether there is any proposal to federate in any way the Governments of Mauritius, Ceylon, and any other Colony; and whether any such proposal will first be submitted for approval to the representative members of the legislative councils of the Colonies concerned?

No such proposal as that indicated in the first part of the hon. and gallant Member's question is in contemplation. The second part, therefore, does not arise.

asked the Minister for Health whether he is aware that the River Lea, between Low Leyton Marsh and Temple Mills, is at the present time in a highly insanitary condition; and that this reach of the river adjoins Hackney Marshes, where there are a considerable number of dwelling-houses on or near the river bank and where over 2,000 persons play football on Saturday afternoons; and whether he will institute an inquiry as to the responsibility for a state of affairs which is most prejudicial to the health of the neighbourhood and order that it shall be remedied without delay, especially as any scheme for cleansing the River Lea would provide useful work for the unemployed in that district of London?

The latest information which I received was that, while the river was not, because of the prolonged drought, in a satisfactory condition, there was no danger to public health. I am having further inquiries made.

asked the Prime Minister whether, with reference to the Commission on Smoke from Factories now touring the world, seeing that a similar Commission was appointed for the same or a similar purpose in 1903 or 1904, he will say why a further Commission of Inquiry is necessary; and what the expense of the present Commission is likely to be?

I have been asked to answer this question. I am informed that the only investigation abroad in connection with the Committee has been a short visit by two Members to certain industrial districts in Germany. The Committee was originally appointed in 1914, and it was considered that further investigation of the important problem was then necessary. I am not sure what inquiry in 1903 or 1904 my hon. and gallant Friend has in mind. I understand that the total cost of the present Committee, whose labours are now coming to a close, is not likely to exceed £1,500.