asked the Minister of Pensions (1) the maximum amount paid as treatment allowances to an ex-service man confined in a lunatic asylum; if the same allowance is payable in respect of a patient certified insane undergoing curative treatment in an institution approved by the Board of Control;

(2) if more than 6,000 ex-service men are at the moment confined in lunatic asylums; if treatment allowances are paid by his Department in respect of persons so detained but refused in certain instances to persons unwilling to suffer such detention and asking, in the alternative, to be received by known institutions approved by the Board of Control but which are not lunatic asylums in the ordinary sense;

(3) if he is aware that an institution known as Chartfield, supported by voluntary subscriptions, has through intensive medical treatment achieved remarkable results in the cases of ex-service men rendered temporarily insane through the stress of war; and if treatment allow ances are being refused to patients anxious to enter this institution, and in certain cases granted only on the condition that the patient suffers detention in a lunatic asylum?

The number of ex-service men at present in asylums is as stated. Men suffering from certifiable insanity due to war service are eligible for treatment and allowances at the expense of the Ministry in any institution, approved by the Board of Control, which, in the opinion of my medical advisers, affords the most appropriate treatment. Treatment allowances in respect of these patients are made on substantially the same basis as in other cases of in-patient treatment, and do not vary with the institution. My hon. and gallant Friend appears to be confusing treatment allowances with the cost of treatment. To the best of my knowledge all the officers whose condition is due to service, at present in Chartfield, are receiving maximum retired pay; but it is the fact that the Ministry has refused to accept responsibility for the charges for their medical treatment at this home. As my hon. and gallant Friend well knows, I readily welcomed the deputation which he recently brought to me to consider what improvements are possible in the treatment provided for these unfortunate men, and I arranged to have Chartfield inspected and to consider further its possibilities. The Report has not yet been submitted to me, but in the meantime I have consulted with the Board of Control, who now say that they are unable to recommend the Ministry to place this home on the approved list for the reception of patients generally. This, I may add, is in accordance with the general policy of the Ministry, which has been and is to separate persons suffering from certifiable insanity from other patients.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that he has not been asked, either by Chartfield or, so far as I know, by anyone else, to utilise this place generally, but only in regard to insane patients, and will he tell me definitely, does he adopt the position that if a man is insane he must go to a licensed lunatic asylum and to no other place? Otherwise, what test does he apply in regard to approving a particular institution?

I need hardly tell the House that I take the greatest personal care to see that all the institutions I have are good. I am bound by law to send a certified patient to an asylum or some other place approved by the Board of Control. So far as I know, and I have given the matter careful attention, the places I utilise for this unfortunate class of men are very well run indeed. I do not ask for any charity. I feel that it is an obligation of the State, and so long as I am' Minister of Pensions I shall not look to charity but to the State.

In spite of what the right hon. Gentleman has said, is it not a fact that men have come from lunatic asylums to which they have been sent by his Department, in a shocking state, and that these same men have been kindly treated and actually cured at this institution?

Is there any valid reason why Chartfield, which has been so successful in dealing with these cases, should not be put on a par with other establishments?

I have no personal knowledge of the success or otherwise of Chartfield. I sent a man down, and his report is now being submitted. I shall consider the individual merits of Chartfield, but I am satisfield that it is my duty to see that the various institutions which I have are good and are carrying on successful work. I refuse to send ex-service men into charity institutions. It is my duty to see that the State pays a fair and reasonable amount, and that they are properly treated.

Is the right hon. Gentleman prepared to give the names of the gentlemen who comprise the Board of Control?

Certainly.

Is it not a fact that the general asylums are fully aware of the hope and possibility of treatment, and put that as their first object in receiving patients?

I am sorry to press the right hon. Gentleman again, but may I ask what kind of hardship are we inflicting upon the insane by compelling them to mix with the sane? That is what I cannot follow.

It is rather difficult to discuss a question of policy of that kind by questions and answer, but I refuse to mix insane patients with neurasthenics.

asked the Minister of Pensions whether he is aware that Mr. Frederick Colbourne, late Royal Engineers, who has been for the past four months on full treatment allowances, has been unable to secure payment of allowance in respect of his second youngest child, though application was properly-made through the pensions committee 16 weeks ago; and whether he can expedite payment?

Treatment allowances have been regularly paid in respect of all the children eligible and known to the Ministry. The allowances in respect of the youngest child, of whom the-Ministry were not made aware until comparatively recently, have now been adjusted and payment authorised accordingly.

asked the Minister of Pensions whether he is aware that the six orphan children of the late Private John Langford, No. 202,722, Highland Light Infantry, who died from consumption in December last, are left entirely destitute; that their claim for pension has just been dismissed by the appeal tribunal on the score of the father's death not being due to War service, which decision was owing to a conflict of medical opinion; and whether, in view of the particularly distressing circumstances of the children, he can recommend them for a grant from the Special Grants Committee?

I will consider whether any assistance outside the Warrant can be given in this case, and will communicate with my hon. and gallant Friend at an early date.

asked the Minister of Pensions what steps have been taken and are being taken by his Department to indemnify local insurance autho- rities for the expenses incurred by them for the institutional treatment of ex-service men whose appeals for pensions on account of tuberculosis have been upheld after the Ministry have declined liability, and ceased payments for institutional treatment?

The expenses of residential treatment for ex-service men suffering from tuberculosis are settled directly between my Department and the Ministry of Health, in accordance with preferential arrangements applicable to ex-service men, and subject to a mutual arrangement entered into between the two Departments. I am not aware that there has been any failure to deal with the claims referred to in the question in acordance with the agreement reached.

With all respect to the right hon. Gentleman, has he not failed to meet the point of the question, namely, that when a man has won his appeal and has been refused by the local authorities, how is the local authority, who have been supporting him out of the local funds, to be indemnified against the pensions authority for a charge which the Board has admitted to be due from the Pensions Ministry?

If I have not fully caught the point of the question on the Paper, I will reconsider it in the light of the hon. Member's supplementary question, and, perhaps, he will put the question down again.

asked the Minister of Pensions whether he is aware that Henry Angel, 25, Parmiter Street, E., late Private, No. 75640, Labour Corps, who lost his wife during his war service and placed his children in the care of the Church Army after her death, has been refused payment of allowances for those children at motherless rates while he is undergoing treatment; that this refusal is stated to be based on the fact that Angel has not contributed to the maintenance of these children since May, 1920; whether, since Angel has been on treatment allowances from 3rd April, 1920, to 1st February, 1921, and again from 5th February, 1921, to the present date, he is aware that it would have been impossible for the man to contribute when he is expressly debarred from earning whilst drawing treatment allowances; that these children will have to be handed over to the care of the guardians unless the allowances to which their father is entitled are granted; and whether he will take steps to have this obvious injustice remedied?

This matter presents considerable difficulty, and I am giving it my close personal attention. I will communicate with my right hon. Friend as soon as possible.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that this case has been hanging on for some months?

Yes, Sir, but my right hon. Friend knows, as an ex-Minister of Pensions, that there are questions, simple in themselves, which involve a great amount of financial difficulty.

asked the Minister of Pensions if he can make provision for the decision being made retrospective which was given by him in a letter of September last in respect to William Chapman, an ex-service man who had been deserted by his wife, and whose allowances in respect to his children had been wrongfully paid to the said wife; and is he aware that stoppages are now being made from the man?

I regret that I am unable to accept my right hon. Friend's suggestion. The allowance paid to the wife was in accordance with the practice then in force, and on no occasion have allowances in respect of the children been paid to her. The deductions referred to in the last part of the question are being made by the local committee to recover large overpayments made by them to the man.

asked the Minister of Pensions whether he is aware that Private W. E. Newson, No. 5944, 1st East Surrey Regiment, Ministry Reference No. 11/m/149930, who was discharged 11th August, 1915, with tubercular condition of both lungs and marked attributable to war service, is now marked aggravated; and can he say why the change of entitlement was made after the previous medical boards had marked the medical sheets attributable?

I am having inquiries made into this matter, and will communicate the result to my hon. and gallant Friend as soon as possible.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that this kind of treatment is causing a good result of unrest, and is this present arrangement the result of the Anti-Waste campaign?

I can assure my hon. and gallant Friend, and I should like to assure the House, that the view of the Ministry of Pensions is that, however vigorous the Anti-Waste campaign may be in this country, under no consideration whatsoever will it be responsible for decreasing the amount due to pensioners.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that at the present time the schemes for tuberculosis colonies have been cut down?

Unfortunately, that is one of the difficulties of the Ministry of Pensions, namely, dual control. As my hon. and gallant Friend knows, tuberculosis patients have been taken away from the Ministry of Pensions and put under the control of the Ministry of Health.

asked the Minister of Pensions what are the present total number of pensioners and their approximate yearly cost; how many of the total are female pensioners and if in all cases they are final pensions or what percentage of the same are liable to review?

The total number of persons at present in receipt of pensions or allowances from the Ministry is approximately 3,200,000 and the estimated expenditure for the current financial year (exclusive of £4,000,000 for administration) is £107,000,000. With regard to the second part of the question, pensions are in payment to 1,400 nurses and 171,000 widows of officers and men. Pensions to motherless children and other classes of dependants are not classified according to sex. All pensions payable under the Ministry Warrants have hitherto been subject to review in certain circumstances, and none can therefore be regarded as final. Under the War Pensions Act recently passed I have power to make final awards in accordance with regulations which are now being framed, and these regulations will apply retrospectively to many awards already made.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether any high official in Dublin Castle was supplied with a safe conduct permit or pass by the Irish republican army or Sinn Fein, and under what conditions it was issued?

The answer to the first part is in the negative. The second part does not, therefore, arise.

How is it that Mr. Cope was able to go about Dublin?

I have answered that no such pass was issued. Mr. Cope, I am glad to say, is a plucky servant of the Crown.

asked the Chief Secretary how many Sinn Fein military camps exist in Ireland; whether at these camps bombing, machine-gun, and rifle practice are carried on daily; and whether the police and military authorities have been instructed not to interfere with the Sinn Fein operations?

The terms of the truce agreement provide hat there is to be no provocative display of force, armed or unarmed, on the part of Sinn Fein. The instructions to the police and military are that this provision is to be adhered to in the letter and in the spirit. Where camps have come to notice which infringed this provision, steps have been taken to secure their dispersal, and these steps have been successful.

How many camps have been notified to the right hon. Baronet by the police authorities, and is he aware that they are not allowed to take any steps whatever to disperse them?

As to the second part of the question, it is simply not true that no steps are taken to disperse camps which are in violation of the truce. The total number differs from week to week as camps are dispersed. I can see no object in giving any particular total.

Do the right hon Baronet's remarks really apply to the area around North Cork?

They apply throughout Ireland.

They do not.

The whole point in reference to a particular camp comes down to this issue. Is it in violation of the truce, or is it not? When it comes to that point there are two ways of dealing with it, by force and dispersal, or by taking it up through the machinery of liaison officers, which as far as I know, has not failed.

Are there camps in Ireland which are not in contravention of the truce, and what is the nature of those camps?

There are camps which are not in contravention of the truce.

Will the right hon. Baronet kindly define when a camp ceases to be provocative?

Why have loyalists who have recently been arrested with arms and court-martialled been subjected to five years' imprisonment, while Sinn Feiners who have been court-martialled under similar circumstances have been discharged? Is that one of the conditions of the truce?

That does not arise out of this question.

Will the right hon. Baronet tell the House when a camp of armed Sinn Feiners drilling is within the truce and when it is without the truce?

That can only arise in the case of a given camp. It is impossible for me to do otherwise than try to interpret the truce which was made on 11th July.

Are we to understand that there are several camps where Sinn Feiners are allowed to drill and arm openly within the truce?

Such a camp would not be within the truce and would be dispersed if necessary.

What is the difference?

Are the camps that were represented in the illustrated papers, where the Sinn Feiners were going through machine gun drill with machine guns, camps or not camps?

That particular camp was dispersed.

asked the Chief Secretary whether key cyphers and confidential information regarding important matters in Ireland have been communicated by high officials in Dublin Castle to the Sinn Fein leaders; whether careful investigations have revealed the fact that not more than three officials could have been responsible for betraying the Government secrets; and whether he can say what action the Government has taken with regard to these officials?

My answer to this question is in the negative, and I think I am entitled to ask, when an hon. Member makes exceedingly grave insinuations against responsible officials who have my confidence, and for whose actions I am responsible to this House, that he will furnish me fully and without reserve with the grounds of his allegations, whatever they may be.

I have no objection whatever to replying to that. I ask the right hon. Baronet whether it is a fact that on several occasions when the police have made searches they have found the secret key cypher before it has been communicated to the county inspector?

I have no knowledge of any such thing.

I have.

asked the Chief Secretary whether the Government intend to proceed with the Irish Land Purchase Bill; and is he aware that unpurchased tenants in many parts of the country are entering into a combination to withhold rent unless the Land Purchase Bill is proceeded with or they receive an immediate reduction of 40 per cent, on their present rents?

As regards the first part of this question I am not at present in a position to make any state- ment as the matter is clearly bound up with much larger issues. The answer to the second part of the question is in the negative.

Is the right hon. Baronet aware that if he would make some clear statement in this case it would prevent a great deal of justifiable anxiety?

Yes, and the landlords in Ireland would be very pleased.

asked the Chief Secretary whether his attention has been called to the disastrous fall in the price of oats that has taken place in Ireland during the past few weeks; and is there any legislation on the Statute Book to which the Irish farmer can look to mitigate the sudden severity of the fall as there is in the case of Great Britain?

The relevant provisions of the Corn Production Act continue in force in Ireland as regards the 1921 oats crop, notwithstanding the passing of the Corn Production Acts {Repeal) Act, 1921. I am, however, informed that, notwithstanding the heavy recent fall in the price of oats, it is unlikely that the average price for the 1921 crop, calculated as provided in the Act, will fall below the fixed minimum which is the standard for purposes of compensation.

Are we to understand that farmers in Ireland are going to get the full guaranteed prices and farmers here are not?

The hon. Member is to understand the answer exactly as I have read it.

asked the Chief Secretary how many police barracks, occupied by the Royal Irish Constabulary at the time of the truce, have since been evacuated by orders from Dublin Castle; whether barracks so evacuated have remained empty or whether the same have since been occupied by Sinn Fein police; whether any steps are taken when police barracks are evacuated by the Royal Irish Constabulary to evacuate with them persons resident in the neigh- bourhood who have in the past befriended or assisted the Royal Irish Constabulary; and whether any steps have been taken to prevent their becoming the victims of reprisal?

asked the Chief Secretary whether many police barracks in Southern Ireland have been evacuated within the last week, and whether he can state the number; and whether he will inform the House in what manner, in the absence of the police, he proposes to give protection to law-abiding citizens forcibly compelled to obey the orders of Sinn Fein courts?

I do not think it is in the public interest to give the particulars asked for, but I can assure the House that any recent redistribution of forces in Ireland has been effected in the closest consultation and after agreement with the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief. The barracks evacuated remain empty, and provision is made for the supervision of the areas affected by means of mobile patrols. I have no reason to think that these re-arrangements will result in the less efficient protection of the civil community.

Does the right hon. Baronet propose to give protection after the assault or before?

Does the right hon. Baronet consider that mobile patrols are any use at night, or that foot patrols are the only patrols that are of the slightest practical value?

In these matters I must be guided by, and I do support, the recommendations of the commander-in-chief and the chief of police.

asked the Chief Secretary whether he has any information that arms were illegally landed near Dingle on 12th October?

This was one of a number of unverified rumours received after alleged event. No information of an intended landing of arms was reported by the police, and no actual landing has been verified by them.

asked the Chief Secretary whether his attention has been drawn to a letter in the Press of General Prescott Decie, lately in command of the Royal Irish Constabulary over a large area in Ireland, in which General Decie categorically states that he reported that a cargo which was almost certainly arms was being landed at a certain harbour in the South of Ireland, and that he was not allowed to have the cargo searched by the auxiliary police; and if he can now state why orders to search this cargo were not immediately given from Dublin Castle?

I have already dealt very fully in answers in this House with the question of the importation of arms into Ireland during the truce, and in particular with the statements contained in General Prescott Decie's letters. There is no foundation for the suggestion that any orders have at any time been given which precluded the search of a ship suspected of carrying arms. It would have been the clear duty of the responsible police officer on the spot to see that such a search was made in these circumstances, and from what I know of General Prescott Decie, I cannot but think that he would have been the first to order such action had he thought that the circumstances warranted it. Any reports that have tome to my notice have been based on vague rumour and only purported to refer to past events.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that General Prescott Decie says that he telegraphed to Dublin and asked for leave to search this particular ship in the harbour, and that he received no instructions until days afterwards, when the ship had gone and the arms had been taken off?

General Prescott Decie was the senior police officer under the military Governor of Cork, which is in the martial-law area. He was under the orders of the military Governor the whole time he was there, and if he allowed a ship to land any arms he was defaulting in his duty.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that instructions were given that the auxiliary police were withdrawn from searching these cargoes, and General Prescott Decie asked that the auxiliary police should be allowed to search this particular ship, and he was not given instructions?

I cannot allow these very serious allegations to ride off on the question of the auxiliary police. The police force in the whole of the martial-law area was available for searching ships suspected of carrying arms, and if there were not enough police they could have called in the military to assist them. In my opinion the particular port referred to had not been abandoned, as some hon. Members have said, by the auxiliary police, either during the truce or at any other time.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that he himself has informed the House that the searching of cargoes was suspended for 10 weeks, and it was during that 10 weeks that this ship arrived, and General Prescott Decie asked for special permission to seach this particular ship, and it was not given to him?

Was not General Prescott Decie one of many police officers who informed the Government that arms were being landed in Ireland?

There is no need for any police officer informing the Government that arms are being landed or attempted to be landed. It is his plain duty to intercept them on the ship.

asked the Chief Secretary whether his attention has been drawn to statements made by General Prescott Decie that the Royal Irish Constabulary were constantly reporting to Government the presence of Sinn Fein traitors and spies in the Customs and Post Office, but no action was ever taken; whether, in view of the fact that the Irish Customs are known to have large numbers of Sinn Fein sympathisers and spies amongst them, bodies of the special auxiliary police may be employed at every port to search cargoes for arms; and whether he can say if any, and, if so, how many, of His Majesty's ships are employed on patrolling duties to prevent gun running?

The suggestion that any means of identifying spies or traitors in any Government Department have been, or are being neglected is unfounded, and I must express my great regret that general charges of this kind, contrary to the public interest and un- substantiated by any evidence whatever, should be put forward. In cases where evidence of disloyalty has been forthcoming, immediate and drastic action has been taken. As regards the second part of the question, the Government have taken, and will continue to take, such measures as, in the light of the information available, seem to them best. It would not be in the public interest to give particulars of the nature indicated in the last part of the question, but I can state that all His Majesty's vessels in Irish waters are under the direct orders of the Commander-in-Chief, Western Approaches, who, in his turn, works in cooperation with the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief in Ireland.

asked the Chief Secretary whether Michael Sweetman, a Protestant farmer residing near Skibbereen, was murdered last February; whether later all the stock was driven off the farm by the Sinn Fein forces; whether, on 21st July, 10 days after the truce began, a quantity of the furniture was stolen from the house; whether, at the end of August, a large body of men, who said they were acting for the Irish Republic, seized and threshed all the corn on the farm and sold it and kept the proceeds; whether, subsequently, Mrs. Sweetman and her son were served with a notice to leave the district within 48 hours and left in consequence; whether, within the last fortnight, an auction has been held on the farm by Sinn Fein at which everything was sold; what measures the Government took to protect Mrs. Sweetman against these outrages; and what steps, if any, they have taken on her behalf since this occurrence?

As this question appeared on the Paper for the first time yesterday, I have not been able to complete the necessary inquiries. I would ask the hon. Member to repeat it one day next week. I profoundly sympathise—

Sympathy will do nothing. It is ridiculous.

I profoundly sympathise, and I am doing my best to compensate them as far as lies in my power.

asked the Chief Secretary what steps are being taken for the protection of the Royal Irish Constabulary in the negotiations now being conducted with the rebel leaders in Ireland?

I would refer my hon. and gallant Friend to the reply given by the Prime Minister to the question of the hon. Member for Rathmines on the Motion of the Adjournment on 19th August. I have recently seen the representative body of the force and have further assured them that their interests would be fully guarded.

asked the Prime Minister if he will issue a White Paper giving a list of the officers, non-commissioned officers, and men of the Army, auxiliary forces and Royal Irish Constabulary who have been killed in Ireland from the commencement of 1919 up to date, giving particulars containing date of death, place of death, and home domicile of each individual, as was done in the published casualty lists in the Great War?

I would refer my hon. Friend to a reply given to the same question by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for War on the 5th April last.

Will the right hon. Gentleman say whether that answer was in the affirmative or negative, and if in the negative will he reconsider it now?

I will let my hon. Friend see the answer. It is very long, and if he studies it he will find that there are conclusive reasons given.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether on 14th October a private soldier was attacked by armed men in the city of Limerick while walking with a girl; whether his bandolier was stolen; and what steps, if any, he has taken in the matter?

I understand from the Commander-in-Chief that the facts are as stated in the question. Inquiries into the matter are still proceeding.

Has the matter been brought to the notice of the Sinn Fein delegates in London?

No, it has not.

Will it be brought to their notice?

Not necessarily.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether the workhouse at Rathkeale, County Limerick, was occupied by a large party of armed rebels on 11th October; whether the ratepayers of the district are bound to pay for the upkeep of premises so occupied; and what steps he has taken in the matter?

It is the case that this workhouse, which had been vacant for some time, has been occupied by a number of men believed to be members of the Irish Republican Army. Such buildings are under the management of the local authority, and I have not been able to ascertain what arrangements were made in regard to upkeep when this building ceased to be used as a workhouse. Action has been already taken in regard to the present occupation of the building.

May I ask whether this is not a display of force, and whether, as such, it has been brought to the notice of the Sinn Fein leaders at the Conference?

As a matter of fact, I expect the evacuation has taken place to-day.

Will the right hon. Gentleman say whether the occupation of buildings is in the same category as a display of force?

Certainly. The commandeering of buildings is a breach of the truce, and a breach of the truce must be treated through the liaison machinery. That is the only way of dealing with it of which I know. It is a clear case of resistance to the proper interpretation of the truce.

Does the billeting of members of the Irish Republican Army come under the heading of the remarks that the right hon. Gentleman has just made?

Certainly, and the Sinn Fein liaison officials and their representatives here in London do not pretend that billeting is other than an infraction of the truce.

If the liaison office does nothing or is unable to do anything, what happens?

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether on Monday, 17th October, 1921, while the Clare County Court was sitting in the court house at Ennis, a Sinn Fein Court was sitting in the same building; whether the sitting of the Sinn Fein Court was interfered with by the military and police authorities; and, if not, whether he will explain why the sitting of an illegal court was permitted in His Majesty's court house?

I have made inquiries into this matter, and am informed that while the Clare County Court was sitting in the Ennis Court House, on the date mentioned, the county council held a meeting in another part of the same building. In addition to their ordinary business, they dealt with a number of arbitrations. No complaints were received by the police, either before or subsequently to the holding of these arbitrations.

Did the right hon. Gentleman receive the information before or after the inquiries were made?

I received the information to-day from Ennis.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether he is aware that a Sinn Fein court was held at Kin-sale on 1st September, 1921, at which a woman who kept a public house was fined for refusing to allow the Irish Republican Army police on her premises; whether the date of the meeting of the court was known to the military authorities at Kin-sale, as well as the fact that this case was to come on for hearing; whether instructions were issued by the authorities that the court was not to be interfered with; and whether, since the authorities thereby precluded themselves from protecting the accused woman, he will say in what way such persons summoned before Sinn Fein courts receive protection?

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether, while the assize courts were recently held in Kilkenny, a Sinn Fein court of assize sat simultaneously at the town hall; whether the same legal gentlemen transacted business in both courts; whether the Government had knowledge of the sitting of the Sinn Fein court, and nevertheless permitted it to continue without protest; and, if so, for what reason?

These questions, which appeared on the Paper for the first time yesterday, involve a number of details in regard to certain Sinn Fein courts alleged to have been held recently in Ireland. Inquiries were at once instituted, but there has been no time to obtain all the information required. I would, therefore, ask the hon. Members to repeat their questions one day next week.

Are we to understand the right hon. Gentleman has not got a complete list of all these cases which have taken place?

It is impossible for me to say that every allegation made in reference to the holding of Sinn Fein courts is true in fact. The cases that are reported by the police are dealt with at once, but there have been cases alleged which turned out not to have ever existed at all. I must make inquiries before I can arrive at a decision on these allegations.

Is the right hon. Gentleman in a position to answer that part of the question as to whether instructions were given by the authorities that these courts were not to be interfered with?

Instructions have been issued to the police to use their own discretion in reference to these courts.

What do you mean by "discretion?"

If the court be illegal the police have orders to disperse it.

Is it not the case that every one of these courts must be illegal?

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether he is aware that several civilians were arrested during the month of August last in Bandon by the Irish Republican Army Police on a charge of robbery, and detained as prisoners outside the town for a considerable time, during which they were fed with provisions demanded from a loyalist farmer, whose motor cycle and horse and car were also taken by the rebel police; and whether he has taken any measures in regard to the matter?

Reports regarding breaches of the truce in the Bandon district last August have been examined, but it has proved impossible to identify the case referred to in the question. Inquiries are being made, and it would be of assistance if the hon. Member would meantime furnish me with some more precise information.

Are we to understand that the right hon. Gentleman has no source of information and depends entirely on us?

If people in Ireland will not present their grievances to the police, but are content to leave them to questions in the House of Commons, I cannot help it.

Is it not the fact that until this House met and pressure was applied, no steps were taken to protect these people?

The hon. Member is not to accept any such suggestion, because it is not true.

Is the right hon. Gentleman not aware that any one seen going to the police in Ireland would be shot, or, at any rate, would be marked?

There is no substance in the statement of the hon. Member.

Why is there a truce?

There has been no clear case of murder by Sinn Fein since the agreed truce. There are two doubtful cases, but there is no clear case. The suggestion that anybody who even reports to the police is in danger of being shot is simply not true.

Is the right hon. Gentleman not aware that people who go to the police or officials are informed that they are marked men who will be dealt with after the truce?

Would the right hon. Gentleman send any of his own kith and kin there at the present time?

Yes, I go myself. I do not consider that during the truce anyone is in danger of his life.

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether his attention has been called to a Sinn Fein report on the working of the trade boycotts on British and Belfast goods which was presented to a convention of Sinn Fein delegates at the Dublin Mansion House under the presidency of Mr. de Valera, on 27th October last, and which was duly published in the daily papers; whether he is aware that, as stated in this report, 225,000 notices boycotting British goods and 30,000 notices boycotting Belfast goods have been distributed in Southern Ireland during the present year; whether many firms in the South and West of Ireland which before the boycott were in a prosperous condition were now ruined as the result of this boycott; whether anyone has been prosecuted for distributing these boycotting notices; and what other steps have been taken?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative, but I would mention that I have no means of checking the accuracy of the figures put forward. As regards the second part, while I do not desire to minimise the evil effects of this interference with personal freedom in the conduct of trade and industry, the statement that many firms in the South and West of Ireland have been brought to ruin by such action is, so far as my information goes, an exaggeration. These boycott operations are conducted with a very careful regard to the risks involved, and there is the additional difficulty of inducing injured persons to come forward to give evidence, but the policy of the Government in regard to these boycotts has been, and still is, to enforce the law, and the police have specific instructions to that effect. A number of prosecutions for intimidation have been undertaken and convictions obtained.

Has the right hon. Gentleman taken any steps to inform Senor de Valera that this is a breach of the truce? Has the right hon. Gentleman also pointed out to him—

called upon Mr. Gwynne to put the next Question [No . 56— see cols . 1910–11.]

asked the Chief Secretary whether bombs were thrown into the Beggar's Bush Barracks, Dublin, on Saturday, 29th October last; whether he can give any particulars of the outrage; and what steps, if any, he has taken in regard to the discovery and punishment of those who committed it?

Two bombs exploded in the outer yard of the Auxiliary Police Barracks at Beggar's Bush, Dublin, on the evening of the 28th ultimo. No other damage was committed than the breaking of two windows. A Board of Investigation was held the following day, and found that the bombs were thrown by persons unknown. The authors of the outrage have not yet been discovered, and the police investigations are still proceeding with a view to their apprehension and punishment.

Can the right hon. Gentleman inform me whether any Sinn Feiner has been arrested or punished since the truce began?

Certainly.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say how many?

That really does not arise on this question.

asked the Chief Secretary if the Irish Government is at present collecting motor taxes in the city of Dublin; and, if so, what amount has been collected, and why the authorities are prosecuting the owners of taxi-cabs elsewhere who have not taken out licences while Dublin taxi-cab owners are not prosecuted?

I have been asked to reply to this question. Under the provisions of the Order in Council of the 14th February, 1921, the Chief Commissioner of the Dublin Metropolitan Police is responsible for seeing that mechanically-propelled road vehicles in the city of Dublin are registered and that the proper duties are paid in respect of them. The actual duties are paid through the post offices to the Road Fund. The latest figures available, up to 30th June last, show that the collections from the city of Dublin amounted to £24,117. I have no information with regard to the last part of the question.

asked the Prime Minister whether any estimate has been formed as to the number now unemployed who will receive employment during the coming winter as a result of the measures now passing through Parliament; and, if so, what is the estimate?

I have been asked to reply. On the information at present available, it is impracticable to estimate the number of unemployed persons for whom work will be provided as a result of the various proposals which have been put forward by the Government, but I most sincerely hope that every effort will be made to expedite the various schemes with a view to the employment at the earliest possible date of the largest possible number of workpeople. I might mention that up to the present under the scheme of assistance to local authorities for public works, local authorities have sent up schemes involving in all a total expenditure of over £2,000,000. Further, six land drainage schemes and certain light railway schemes are under consideration by the Ministries of Agriculture and Transport respectively.

asked the Prime Minister if he will consider the policy of not exacting in payment from the German Government towards the indemnity any goods which will have the effect of causing unemployment in Great Britain?

It has always been the endeavour of His Majesty's Government, acting in conjunction with the Allied Governments, to safeguard the interests of British industry in connection with Germany's reparation payments.

asked the Prime Minister whether it is proposed to take any steps to prevent the eviction of bonâ fide unemployed persons who are unable to pay their rents during the present emergency?

Having regard to the wide discretionary power of the Courts, to which I referred in answering my hon. and learned Friend's question of 18th August last, I do not think any further steps are necessary. I will send my hon. and learned Friend a copy of the answer I then gave him and the enactment therein mentioned.

Do I understand that the Courts have a discretionary power as to whether they should grant evictions?

If my hon. Friend will look at the answer he will see.

In view of the very great distress at the present moment, may I ask whether the right hon. Gentleman has considered, among other proposals, the possibility of encouraging or assisting voluntary funds, such as that which has been established in Glasgow?

Certainly.

Assisting them?

asked the Prime Minister whether, having regard to the presumably unauthorised statements that appeared in the Press on the 25th instant in regard to the future government of Egypt, he is in a position to inform the House what is the present state of the negotiations between the Egyptian delegation and the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs; and whether he can assure the House that the decision of the Government, when arrived at, will not be made public otherwise than by means of a statement to Parliament?

I would refer my hon. and gallant Friend to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham on the 27th ultimo.

asked the Prime Minister how many Notes, and on what dates, have been exchanged between His Majesty's Government and the Russian Soviet Government since the British Note published in the London Press on the 21st September last regarding the breaches of the terms of the trade agreement by the Russian Soviet Republic; and whether, in accordance with the statements made by the Government when the economic treaty in question was signed, he will now take steps to have this treaty rescinded?

The reply of the Soviet Government to the British Note of 7th September was despatched from Moscow on 27th September. The substance of it has already appeared in the Press. A further Note on the subject, reaffirming the authenticity of the evidence upon which the first British Note was based, is in course of preparation. The course to be followed by His Majesty's Government in regard to the trade agreement must depend on the way in which the Soviet Government meets the protests and demands addressed to them.

Is it not a fact that the total value of the actual business so far consummated between the British Government and the Soviet Government is negligible in comparison with the value of the propaganda that is going on?

There is a question on that point.

asked the Prime Minister if he is aware of the latest news received by Dr. Nansen from Russia, and of the imperative need for food and clothing, and coal to transport them; and if he will consider these facts of human needs in relation to money claims which can be discussed between Russia and Britain whenever its Ministers choose to initiate such discussion?

His Majesty's Government are fully aware of the extreme seriousness of the Russian famine, and are following it as closely as possible. As regards the second part of the question, I would refer the hon. Member to the resolutions adopted at the recent conference of the International Russian Famine Relief Commission at Brussels. His Majesty's Government, whose policy in the question is in no way influenced by political considerations, desire to encourage voluntary assistance to the utmost of their power; and they have themselves contributed £250,000 worth of surplus stores to the British Red Cross.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the trade agreement of last March specifically leaves it open for the British Government to raise the question of debts, and has not the latest communication from the Soviet Government left the way open for the recognition of all legitimate debts?

Can the right hon. Gentleman say if the Government have finally decided that it is impossible to come to the assistance of these people?

We have contributed £250,000 worth of stores through the British Red Cross.

We are all very grateful for that, but I understand that they are all medical stores, which, of course, are of great value. That is not food. I am asking in regard to food?

We were assured that this was the most valuable contribution that we could make. America, on the other hand, was to contribute food. We were told that this was the best contribution we could make, unless we could supply them with the sort of commodity that would enable the Government to obtain food.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware of the pre-War practice of the big companies trading in Russia to barter in kind with the peasants, and is he aware that if the stored-up commodities, hammers, nails, and other things that the peasants use, could be sent to Russia., that these in turn would yield the corn.

asked the Prime Minister whether there are still thousands of Hungarian prisoners in Russia; and, if so, whether the settlement with Russia, if reached, could be made to include the return to Hungary of such of these prisoners as wish to go back to Hungary?

I have no information regarding the exact numbers of Hungarian ex-prisoners of war still in Russia, many of whom have been, and are being, it is understood, repatriated through the instrumentality of the League of Nations. The question of Hungarian prisoners would not form part of any negotiation between His Majesty's Government and the Russian Government.

Could representations be made to our representatives at Budapest with a view to facilitating this arrangement?

asked the Prime Minister whether he has yet received the recommendations of the hon. Member for Cambridge with regard to the future of the Ministry of Transport; and whether legislation is to be proposed for the transfer of the powers of the Minister of Transport?

I propose to await the report of the enquiry into expenditure before definitely deciding what provision should be made for the permanent work of the Ministry of Transport?

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that, as there is no Minister of Transport to sanction schemes for relief works, such schemes are being held up, because there is no Minister with power to sanction? Is he aware that there is at present before the Ministry a scheme from my own constituency which would employ 700 men at once if there were only someone with power to sanction it; and will he provide someone with power to sanction such works at once?

I agree that it is essential that there should be someone with authority at the Ministry of Transport, in order to sign the necessary documents, and arrangements are being made to appoint a Minister, without salary, to enable this to be done.

In considering the advisability of transferring the Ministry of Transport to the Board of Trade, where a person would naturally go in these matters, will the right hon. Gentleman bear in mind that at present the public are put to considerable inconvenience through not knowing to which Department to apply?

I do not see why they should suffer any inconvenience at the present moment.

They are.

At the present moment, they should write to the Ministry of Transport. The question of handing the business in connection with transport over to the Board of Trade is one which requires very careful consideration. I am not sure that it would be the best Department, but I do not want for the moment to express a definite opinion.

Is my right hon. Friend aware—I do not suppose that he is—that at present some important Departments connected with transport are specifically reserved to the Board of Trade?

asked the Prime Minister whether he has any information indicating that French policy has favoured and actively encouraged the return of the Emperor Charles to the throne of Hungary?

No, Sir; on the contrary, the French Government have acted on all the points strictly in concert with their Allies.

asked the Prime Minister how many British prisoners of war have recently been released from Turkey and how many still remain; where those who remain are interned; and on what terms release has been granted to some and how soon it is-hoped the remainder will be free?

Three British military prisoners and five British civilian prisoners were released on 1st July, 1921. Negotiations are now in progress for the release of all British prisoners remaining in the hands of the Turkish Nationalists in Anatolia. Should the negotiations prove successful it is probable that the release will be completed within a very short time. Just as I came into the House I received a telegram from Constantinople about the release of a certain number of prisoners. It had just arrived. I am sorry that I have not got it with me. I intended to bring it with me, but I will let my hon. and learned Friend have it at the end of questions.

Have those who have been released been exchanged for Turkish prisoners in English hands?

I must have notice of that question.

asked the Prime Minister whether his attention has been drawn to the announcement in the Press that at Thursday's meeting of the governing body of the International Labour Office a letter was read from Sir Malcolm Delevingne stating that he would be unable to take further part in the meetings of the governing body; and whether, in view of the fact that such a loss in continuity of work and intimate knowledge of the working of the International Labour Organisation as is involved by Sir Malcolm Delevingne's retirement is a public calamity, he can explain why this change in the representation of the British Government on the governing body has been made?

His Majesty's Government decided at the end of last year that the Ministry of Labour should be charged with the supervision and coordination of matters connected with the International Labour Organisation. This decision involved the appointment as British member of the governing body of that organisation, of a representative of the Ministry of Labour, who would in the ordinary course of his duties be acquainted with the work of the International Labour Office and with the matters to be discussed by the governing body and at the International Labour Conferences. My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Labour was accordingly appointed.

Was not this gentleman elected for three years to this office, and is the right hon. Gentleman aware that at the meeting which is now being held at Geneva not a single person from this country who was in at the inauguration of this organisation is present?

asked the Prime Minister whether he is aware that the highest judicial authority has pronounced the whole law relating to gambling to be in an extremely illogical and unsatisfactory condition; whether he is aware that numerous racecourses are the property of municipal and other corporations and of private owners, who may have no desire to break the law, but are permitted, and in practice compelled, to evade it; and whether, in view of the widespread interest among all classes in the sport of horse racing, he will consider the appointment of a Select Committee of this House, or some other competent body, to inquire into the best method of bringing the law relating to betting and other forms of gambling into accord with the wishes and the practice of a great part of the community?

The answer to the first two parts of the question is in the affirmative. I am not sure that the suggested Committee would be the best way of dealing with the subject, but the matter is under consideration.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the Corporation of Brighton, of which I am a member, is at present being prosecuted at assizes for permitting the ancient sport of throwing sticks at cocoa nuts?

Will the Prime Minister, in order to deal with the urgent question which has already come before another House, give the necessary facilities for the Bill which has already received the approval of the Lord Chancellor in another place?

That is a question which should be addressed to the Leader of the House.