asked the Prime Minister what is the position and status of Irish peers, other than those holding United Kingdom titles, under the administration of Ireland by the Free State Government; and whether such persons will have the right to stand for election in the Irish Parliament?

This will depend upon the terms of the constitution of the Irish Free State.

asked the Prime Minister whether Peers of Ireland will be free to vote in the House of Lords if by legislation Irish Members from the area within the jurisdiction of the Irish Free State have no seat in this House?

The right of Irish representative Peers to vote in the House of Lords will not, I am advised, be affected by any change made, pursuant to the Bill now before Parliament, in the representation of Irish constituencies in this House.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury how long the question of reorganisation, reconstruction, regrading, or assimilation of the technical staff of the Estate Duty Office in Dublin has been engaging the attention of the Commissioners of the Treasury or the Commissioners of Inland Revenue; whether complaints as to the great delay in coming to a decision on the matter have been repeatedly made to the Treasury and to the Board of Inland Revenue by the Dublin staff; whether Mr. Bradford, an assistant secretary to the Board of Inland Revenue, stated, in a letter written in September last to the honorary secretary to the Reconstruction Committee in Dublin, that the Board hoped to come to a definite decision by the 1st October, 1921; whether, as a result of the delay referred to, three examiners in the Dublin Office, of 15½, 14, and 12½ years' service, respectively, in the First Division, Class II, who had been promoted and specially advanced for legal qualifications, are each in receipt of a salary of less than the initial salary of the senior clerical officers, who perform non-technical work in the same Department; and whether a definite undertaking will now be given that the Dublin Office will be reorganised before transfer to the Irish Government?

The Estate Duty Office, in eluding the branch offices in Edinburgh and Dublin, has been reorganised as from 1st April, 1919. As the staff were informed ill November, 1920, the question of any further adjustment in the light of subsequent developments was reserved for later consideration. It is hoped shortly to reach definite conclusions, but so far as the Irish staff is concerned, their effect will be for the consideration of the Irish Government Authorities.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether, in the interests of economy, he will order all civil servants using the railways on Government business and at the Government's expense to travel third class?

The question raised by the hon. and gallant Member has been under consideration for some time. It is a general one affecting all branches of Crown service, and is not confined to the Civil Service. Preliminary examination has shown that alternative methods of dealing with the problem must be authoritatively considered: and the Government have thought it right to await the report of the Committee on Reduction of Expenditure on the subject of the pay and conditions of service of the various State services before coming to a final decision.

asked the Minister of Pensions why the liability for the maintenance of the children of the late Private W. Dixon, No. 7/19,922, Border Regiment, should have had to be a liability on the Lanchester Poor Law guardians; if he is aware that for three years' keep by the ratepayers nothing has been allowed; and will he inquire into this case?

The late soldier enlisted as a single man, having deserted his wife and children in 1913. The wife died subsequently and the children became chargeable to the Poor Law. The soldier was presumed dead in July, 1916, and an application for pension on behalf of the children was made in June, 1920. The application was successful, and arrears of pension were awarded for a year which is the maximum period admissible.

asked the Minister of Pensions if he is aware that the 20 per cent. pension to ex-Sergeant Charles Johnson, 2nd Battalion East Yorkshire Regiment, is not being paid to him after being granted at Durham City Medical Board, on 8th April, 1921; that he is still suffering from the effects of his military service; that he has a large family and an ailing wife dependent upon him; and will he have inquiries made into the case?

The disability in this case was only accepted as having been aggravated by service, and, as the Pensions Appeal Tribunal have confirmed, and thus made final, the decision of the Ministry, that aggravation has passed away, and I regret that the case cannot be re-opened.

asked the Secretary of State for Air (1) why Mr. Noel Smith, a non-service man, declared substitutable by the Departmental Substitution Committee, is still retained; what exactly are his special qualifications; whether efforts have been made to secure an ex-service man with the same qualifications, and, if so, precisely why an ex-service man with the necessary qualifications cannot be obtained; if such efforts have not been made, why the recommendations of the Lytton Committee are disregarded in this manner;(2) on what grounds a Miss Dalton is retained in his Department; what duties this woman performs; whether he is aware that she has not passed any examination; and why an ex-service man who recently qualified should not take her place?

Mr. Noel Smith and Miss Dalton are employed in a confidential capacity as private secretary and as personal assistant to the Controller-General of Civil Aviation and myself respectively. Appointments to such posts are at any time a matter of personal selection, and person qualifications and experience are obviously of the first importance. I do not read the Lytton Reports as limiting my discretion in such exceptional cases, and I have decided that substitution by ex-service men is not called for.

asked file Secretary of State for Air why a non-service architect is retained in his Department; whether he is aware that a disabled ex-service architect and surveyor was first dismissed from his Department and afterwards offered a post as foreman of works at £3 per week plus bonus, which he declined to accept; that the disabled ex-service man had previously been in private practice, and was in every way a thoroughly efficient and highly technical man; and why the non-service man was given preference in direct contradiction to the terms of the Lytton Report?

The civil engineer at Halton, who, I assume, is the non-service architect referred to, is retained because of his special qualifications for the work, which is, in any case, coming to an end about next August. His replacement at present would mean a loss of efficiency and economy. The ex-service man who was offered a foreman of works post had not the special training and qualifications which would have made him a suitable substitute.

asked the Secretary of State for Air what is construed in his Department as constituting private means; whether he is aware that a Miss Pugh employed in his Department admitted having a certain amount of private income; that this lady found it unnecessary to engage in work prior to the War; that the establishment branch has stated that they do not regard her as possessing private means; what justification there is for this attitude; and why she is not substituted by an ex-service man?

Neither the Air Ministry nor (as will be seen from the Third Report) the Lytton Committee have found it possible to lay down a hard and fast rule as to the minimum annual income which may be regarded as constituting private means. Miss Pugh's small private income, communicated confidentially, was accepted by the Substitution Committee (not, as suggest d in the question, by the Establishment Division) as not debarring her from further employment, but I may say that prior to my hon. and gallant Friend putting down his question, it had already been decided to replace Miss Pugh if an ex-service man capable of performing her highly-specialised duties can be obtained.

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether a Mr. Wintermore, a non-service man, is being retained in his Department as indispensable; what was the pre-War occupation of this gentleman; is he aware that his alleged technical qualifications have all been obtained as a result of his experience at the Air Ministry; whether prospective candidates for this post sent by the Joint Substitution Board were interviewed by Mr. Wintermore himself; if not by whom were they interviewed; what exactly are the qualifications required for this post; and upon what grounds it has been stated that no ex-service man with these qualifications can be found?

Mr. Winter Moore, a non-service man, is in charge of a branch which is responsible for the preparation of schedules of parts of aeroplanes, engines, etc., and is now regarded as non-substitutable owing to the fact that efforts, covering a long period, to obtain an ex-service man to replace him were unsuccessful. Before the War he was employed as an architect. His technical training acquired outside the Service includes a three years' course at the Royal College of Arts on architecture, etc., and a course of mechanical engineering. He is an Associate Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, and has been employed on technical work in connection with aircraft during the past seven years, a period of very great development in aircraft. Prospective candidates for his post, with one exception, were interviewed by an R.A.F. squadron leader to whom Mr. Winter Moore is responsible. Owing to a misapprehension, Mr. Winter Moore interviewed one candidate. Candidates for the post were required to be conversant with all details of the work connected with the compilation and issue of schedules of parts of aircraft and aircraft engines, and to possess a wide aeronautical experience and knowledge of the special requirements of the Air Service. No ex-service candidate with the necessary experience has hitherto been found.

asked the Postmaster-General whether the understanding that ex-service men should be given preference over civilians for employment in Government service has been rescinded as regards the Post Office; and, if not, whether he will inquire into the case of Mr. W. A. Warren, late corporal, Gordon Highlanders, who was several times wounded, and whose application for the sub-postmastership of the sub-office in Liverpool Road, Southport, was passed over in favour of the widow of the late civilian holder of the post?

Applications from ex-service candidates, particularly from disabled men, for appointments as sub-postmasters are still given special consideration, provided that they can offer suitable accommodation, and are likely to give satisfactory service. In the selection of a new sub-postmaster at Liverpool Road, Birkdale, the claims of the widow of the late sub-postmaster could not be overlooked in favour of Mr. Warren, who was not disabled or unemployed, and offered premises which were distinctly inferior to those provided by the widow.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether officers of the Army in India ordered on field service to Waziristan or elsewhere are entitled to free passages home for their wives and families; and, if not, will be take steps to have such passages granted to them?

The families of officers ordered on field service to Waziristan or elsewhere on the Indian frontier are not entitled to have their families sent to this country at Government expense, and I regret that I am unable to recommend the Government of India to sanction the concession suggested. As a War measure, the families of officers sent from India to Mesopotamia were given free passages to this country, and this concession has been continued until the end of the current trooping season, provided the period of separation is likely to be a year or longer.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether the research work on the cultivation and extraction of natural indigo in India, which has been carried out with such conspicuous success during the past five years, has been discontinued and the Indian research chemist is to return home?

I have received no information to this effect. The question of policy is one for the local authorities to decide. I will ask for information for the hon. Member.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been called to the claims of Messrs. D. Davidson Gray and Company, 10, Elbe Street, Leith, against the German Government; and what progress has been made in the satisfaction of these claims?

The claims referred to have been contested by the German Government, and the claimants have been informed by the Clearing Office that if they desire to maintain their claims it will be necessary for them to bring the matter before the Anglo-German Mixed Arbitral Tribunal.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether a considerable number of masters and officers of the Mercantile Marine, many of whom served the Admiralty during the War, are at present unemployed; and whether the Government are taking any steps to relieve the distress so caused to this deserving class of men

I have been asked to reply. I believe it to be the case, unfortunately, that many officers and masters of the Mercantile Marine are unemployed. Ships' officers in receipt of remuneration at a rate not exceeding £250 per annum fall within the scope of the Unemployment Insurance Acts. As regards officers excluded from insurance because they were in receipt of remuneration in excess of that sum. I am afraid it would not be possible to institute any special measures of relief.

asked the Minister of Labour what are the conditions governing the granting of the extension of the further six weeks' unemployment benefit which may follow the exhaustion of the 16 weeks' benefit provided by the Act of 1921?

In accordance with the terms of Section 3 of the Unemployment Insurance Act of last March, the extension of six weeks' benefit is only to be granted if, having regard to all the circumstances of the case, it appears expedient to the Minister of Labour in the public interest. With this extension the Insurance Acts will have made 44 weeks of benefit available between last March and next June, and during recent months grants have been added for wives and dependent children. It is of paramount importance to conserve the funds available. They must not be dissipated by being given where the grant is not fully justified. I am therefore issuing special directions to the Local Employment Committees and the Employment Exchanges for their guidance in dealing with applications for the extended six weeks' benefit. The ordinary requirements will in all cases apply, including, in particular, that the applicant must be available for work, genuinely seeking whole-time employment and unable to obtain it.The extension of benefit will not be granted:—

asked the Secretary for Scotland whether he will consider the advisability of appointing a matron, trained in nursing, to the staff of the Borstal institution in Scotland; and whether he will, taking into consideration that the institution is intended to be more of a school under very strict discipline than a prison, consult the Prison Commissioners of Scotland with a view to altering the conditions of service and uniform of those charged with the supervision of the inmates and removing that staff, whilst so employed, from the ordinary prison warder establishment?

Sanction has recently been obtained for the appointment of a matron at Polmont Institution, and the Prison Commissioners are considering the selection of a suitable person to fill the post. I will consult the Prison Commissioners regarding the second part of the question.

asked the Secretary for Scotland whether, under the new conditions, Irish boys sentenced for periods of detention in the Borstal institution in Scotland may be transferred to Ireland to undergo their sentences, thus relieving the taxpayers of Great Britain of that expense; and whether he is aware of the considerable percentage of Irish inmates who are at present detained at the Polmont institution?

It is the case that a considerable number of inmates in this institution are of Irish extraction. In view of the fact that the offences for which they were sentenced were committed in Scotland, I can see no justification for their transfer to Ireland. I would further point out that in many cases these lads have parents or other relatives living in Scotland who would be unable to visit them if they were transferred.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he is aware that, under the new law of Danzig, trade marks registered by German firms in Germany prior to the introduction of the Danzig law will continue to be protected in Danzig, but that British firms which had registered their marks in Germany prior to the War or since will not enjoy this privilege, and will have to make application for fresh registration in Danzig; whether Danzig is under the protection of the League of Nations; and whether it is the considered decision of the League that the rights given to German nationals under Article 311 of the Treaty of Versailles, in respect of industrial property, should not be applicable to other nationals in respect of their industrial property, including trade marks, registered in Germany?

His Majesty's Government are informed that the regulations governing the registration of trade marks in Danzig are the same for all nationalities equally, and that no difference is made in Danzig law between Germans and other foreigners. Danzig is under the protection of the League of Nations, but His Majesty's Government are not aware that the Leage has come to any decision in the sense suggested in the last part of the question.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how many British troops are now in Iraq; what is the annual cost of their maintenance there; and what further reductions in their strength are proposed?

The reduction of British and Indian forces is proceeding on the lines that I have already. explained to the House. As I informed the hon. and gallant Member for Central Hull (Lieut.-Commander Kenworthy) on 14th February, I propose to make a full statement on this subject when I present the Middle East Estimates.