asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty whether, in view of Paragraph 26, Item (a), of Admiralty Fleet Order No. 3,604 of 1921, it is proposed to revise the Regulations for the selection of representatives at the quarterly meetings of the Navy, Army, and Air Force institutes, and bring the method of representation in line with the principles of representation laid down for the procedure for general requests for the Welfare Committee promulgated in the Admiralty Fleet Order quoted above?

No sufficient reason is at present seen for altering the existing procedure.

asked the Minister of Health whether the Law Officers of the Crown were consulted as to the legality of the substitution of the term mental specialists for medical practitioners in the wording of Section 49 of the Lunacy Act, 1890; and, if they have not been consulted, will he see that this is done?

There has been no substitution of the term mental specialists for medical practitioners in Section 49 of the Lunacy Act, 1890, and I see no need for consulting the Law Officers.

asked the Prime Minister whether the Polish troops have violated the neutral zone between Poland and Lithuania; and what steps, if any, the Government are taking in connection with the Polish-Lithuanian question?

On receipt of a report as to the alleged violation by Polish troops, an inquiry was addressed to His Majesty's Minister at Warsaw, to which a reply is awaited. With regard to the second part of the question, I would refer my Noble Friend to the reply returned to the hon. and gallant Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme (Colonel Wedgwood) on 8th March.

asked the Prime Minister if he is aware of the variation in municipal law of this country and that of the Central Powers, respectively, in the late War affecting nationality, and the non-applicability of the concept thereof of this country to Asiatic countries in which political status is determined by religion; and whether he will take some action to adjust the variation?

I am aware that the nationality laws of this country and the Central Powers are not identical, and it is true that the basis of the British law of nationality is not a religious one; but I cannot undertake to adjust either or both of these matters.

asked the Minister of Agriculture what is the approximate number or proportion of the horses exported from this country during the last three or four months which have been slaughtered shortly after arrival abroad for food or other purposes and have not-been used for work?

No exact information is available to show what proportion of the horses now being exported from this country are slaughtered for food shortly after arrival abroad. The information available to the Ministry goes to show that all horses exported to France are put to work, while the proportion immediately slaughtered in Belgium and Holland varies with the demand for working horses.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether officials of the National Sailors and Firemen's Union have keys to the Board of Trade premises at Bristol; for what purpose the rooms so put at the disposal of this union are used; whether other unions of seafarers receive this privilege; and whether he will give the names of the officials who possess the said keys?

A room at the Mercantile Marine Office at Bristol was, at the request of the National Maritime Board, placed at the disposal of the two port consultants appointed under the auspices of that Board for the purpose of carrying out duties in connection with the National Maritime Board and the District Maritime Board. The present port consultants are Captain Grey of the Shipping Federation, and Mr. Jarman of the Sailors' and Firemen's Union, and both have keys of the room.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he has received representations from the Bristol District of the Amalgamated Marine Workers' Union with regard to the signing on of the crew of the s.s. "Reindeer" on 28th February at that port; whether a protest was made to the Board of Trade officer against intimidation being practised by officials of another trade union on Board of Trade premises; whether a number of seamen were prevented by such intimidation from obtaining employment; and what action he proposes to take to prevent a recurrence of the intimidation referred to?

Representations have been received from the Amalgamated Marine Workers' Union about the signing on of the crew of the "Reindeer" on 28th February; and on 29th February two seamen complained at the local Board of Trade office that they had been prevented from obtaining employment as members of the crew of the vessel. I have no information as to seamen being prevented by intimidation from obtaining employment, and there is no power to interfere with the discretion of the master in selecting men for employment.

asked the President of the Board of Trade, with reference to the exemption of certain books from the payment of German reparations duty on import to this country, how many classes of goods there are, other than these scientific or philosophical books, which are exempt from the levy; whether before a parcel representing the value of 5s., on which the amount of reparations collected would be 1s., can be cleared, it necessitates the detention of the parcel and the advising of the recipient, who may be in an inland town, who must fill up and sign various forms in the presence of an Excise official, who may be a considerable distance away, or deputise a forwarding agent to do the same for him, whose charge is usually 5s. for such a clearance; and whether, in order to save time and expense, His Majesty's Government will adopt the procedure of our Allies, such as France, Italy, and Belgium, who receive quarterly from the German Government a lump sum representing the total value of their imports from Germany, instead of collecting petty items as outlined above?

There are no specific articles exempted from the levy except scientific and philosophical periodicals, but there are Orders in force, copies of which I am sending to the hon. and gallant Member, by virtue of which goods, to which certain conditions apply, are exempted. With regard to the second part of the question, I am informed that it is the fact that the arrival of the parcel has to be notified to the recipient, who must fill in the necessary form, but that he is not required to sign it in the presence of an officer of Excise. As regards the third part, I would refer the hon. and gallant Member to the reply which I gave to the hon. Members for Whitechapel (Mr. Kiley) and St. George's (Mr. Erskine) on the 13th March.

asked the President of the Board of Trade with regard to German reparations dyes handed over to the Central Importing Agency during the six months ending 31st September, 1921, what was the value of these dyes as fixed by the German authorities; what was the amount which they realised when sold in this country and what was the cost of realisation; whether the gross or the net amount was credited to the German Reparations Funds; and what was the amount of profit, if any, which was made by the agency in question on the transactions involved?

The value of German reparation dyes handed over for sale by the Central Importing Agency during the six months ended 30th September, 1921, as fixed with the German authorities, was 12,297,000 paper marks. I am unable to state what these particular dyes realised or the cost of realisation, but accounts as at 31st March, 1922, will be prepared in the ordinary course and these will be available later. The amount credited to the German Reparation Funds is the delivered value of the dyes. With regard to the last part of the question, I believe that the Central Importing Agency have derived no profit from handling these dyes.

asked the Home Secretary whether his attention has been drawn to the matter relating to the trial' of James Edward Linney, aged 39, of 129, Crown Bank, Talke, Stoke-on-Trent, on a charge of murder; whether he is aware that the trial took place at Stafford on 25th February, 1922; that Linney was discharged, the Court having brought in a verdict of not guilty; that Linney has been involved in serious expense and has suffered much in consequence of this prosecution; and that it cast a stigma on his character which, in addition to a natural deafness, is making it more difficult for him to find suitable em- ployment; and whether, in view of the proved innocence of this man, he will inquire into the matter, with a view to some adequate compensation being given to him for the suffering and damages caused him by three months' imprisonment?

I can add nothing to the reply I gave to the question of the hon. and gallant Member for Neweastle-under-Lyme (Colonel Wedgwood) on this case last Tuesday.

asked the Home Secretary why aliens who are confined in the mental hospitals of this country, and are a charge upon the counties, are not sent home to their countries of origin?

The existing law on this subject will be found in Section 71 of the Lunacy Act, 1890, and Article 12 (6) (b) (i) of the Aliens Order, 1920. In proper cases alien lunatics are sent back to their own countries.

asked the Home Secretary if an officer of the prisons department, who is a widower and whose daughter is acting as housekeeper, is treated as a bachelor as regards subsistence allowance; if the term bond, fide dependant in the Regulations may be interpreted to mean a daughter acting as housekeeper; and has the allowance been refused in such a case recently?

The question no doubt refers to the allowances granted to officers transferred in the public interest and unable to obtain unfurnished quarters. For the purpose of such allowances—as I explained in reply to a question on 10th November—unmarried officers having dependants living with them are treated in the same way as married officers. An allowance was applied for by a widower, who represented that his daughter should be regarded as his housekeeper, but as it appeared she was not living with him, and not dependent on him, the allowance could not be granted.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he is aware that a colony of Kroo boys settled in Sierra Leone over 20 years ago, and have since formed the seafaring community of the colony; that the Governor of the colony has decided to deport a number of these boys, although no charge of any kind has been made against those whom it is proposed to deport, beyond that they have criticised the conduct of their Kroo chief in many matters; and will he take any steps in the matter?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. As regards the second part, I have received no information of any decision on the part of the Sierra Leone Government to deport Kroo men from the colony; and I will ask the Acting Governor for a report on the matter.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he is aware that, under a local ordinance in Sierra Leone, the chief of the Kroo community is empowered to take 1s. per head from the wages of every Kroo boy engaging for service upon sea-going vessels; that, recently, this Kroo chief has demanded an additional 1s. per boy, with the declared intention of remitting this to the neighbouring Liberian Government: whether the Liberian Government admits receiving portions of the money so exacted, and that this taxation of persons domiciled in a British colony, on behalf of a foreign Government, has led to a good deal of dissatisfaction amongst the members of the tribe: and will he take any steps in the matter?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative; as regards the remainder, I have no information, but will ask the Acting-Governor to furnish a report.

asked the Minister of Labour whether, in issuing Form U.I.A. 505C, it was intended that a juvenile, who is living with his parents or other relatives who are also unemployed, should not be recommended for the six weeks' extension of unemployment benefit, seeing that a single man and woman in similar circumstances would be recommended for the benefit; whether in the Motherwell district there are hundreds of Lithuanian Poles practically starving owing to the stoppage of unemployment benefit and parish relief; and whether he will reconsider the paragraph relating to the aliens in the circular in question?

The six weeks' extension of benefit is not granted to boys and girls under the age of 18 unless they are entirely dependent upon their own earnings for their livelihood when in employment. My right hon. Friend cannot see his way to modify this rule, or the rule that the extension is not granted to aliens, unless, of course, they are entitled to covenanted benefit.

asked the Postmaster General whether girls who have received a secondary school education until the age of 16 are then too old to make application for appointment as probationers in the Post Office telephone service; and, if so, whether, since this excludes from the service a number of girls who have had the advantage of a better education than those who leave school at the age of 14 and, in effect, penalises the children of those who have made sacrifices in order to give them the benefit of a rather better education, he will remove this disqualification?

The maximum age limit for the appointment of girl probationer in the Post Office is 15. In order to keep the number of girls passing through the class at a minimum and thus to ensure their absorption in adult situations, it is necessary that girl probationers should be recruited at a comparatively early age; and it is found that girls of a suitable type are forthcoming from the elementary schools. Girls over 16 years of age are eligible for appointment as telephonist and to compete for a number of other situations in the Post Office; and the prospects of candidates from secondary schools are not materially affected by the maximum age limit for appointment as girl probationer being fixed at 15.

asked the Lord Privy Seal, whether he has yet come to any decision with regard to the setting up of a committee to investigate the present methods of financial control exercised by the House of Commons, with a view to considering what improvements can be made?

No, Sir. I was not indeed much encouraged by the reception which my suggestion met with in the House, but a more conclusive reason for my inactivity has been that I have been unable to find time to consider or discuss it further.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether an Official Report of the Debates in the House of Lords of about 25 pages and an Official Report of the Debates in this House of over 100 pages both cost the same, viz., 1s.; and whether, if 1s. is the proper cost for the latter, the price of the former can be reduced proportionately to the number of pages?

The price of the daily issues of OFFICIAL REPORTS OF DEBATES in both Houses of Parliament is based on the cost of production averaged over a period. The production cost of the smaller editions required in the case of House of Lords Debates is relatively higher than in the case of the larger editions required for House of Commons Debates. It would be highly inconvenient, and, I think, impracticable, to have a varying price from day to day for the sale of these Reports, according to the length of the proceedings and the size of the edition required for one House or the other.STATEMENT showing in what respects the status of the Officials of the Public Works Department (India) has been altered or modified.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the gross amount annually received into the Treasury as the produce of the Land Tax; the cost of assessment and collection chargeable upon such tax, including the payments to assessors, collectors, and clerks to land tax commissioners, and for other incidental expenses; whether a Return can be presented showing the number of assessors, collectors, and clerks to commissioners and bodies of land tax commissioners now existing throughout England, Wales, and Scotland, as well as the number of land tax parishes in which an annual assessment is made, with the amount collected in each parish, the sums irrecoverable, and the cost of the maintenance and working of this machinery; and whether, seeing that the Land Tax in England, Wales, and Scotland is now reduced by redemption and exoneration from about £1,800,000 in 1798 to about £670,000 at the present time, and in view of the large amount of fiscal machinery maintained in existence for the assessment, and collection of this small total, much of it in trifling sums, and of the cost necessarily involved, he will consider the advisability of obtaining the consent of Parliament to the abolition of the tax by compulsory redemption at the present rate of 25 years' purchase, either by one payment or by payments spread over a term of years?

The gross receipt of Land Tax in the financial year 1920–21 amounted to £684,871 16s. 7¼d. The amount paid into the Exchequer was £650,000. The administration of the Land Tax is inseparably bound up with that of other Inland Revenue duties, especially the Income Tax, and it is not possible to apportion the total cost of assessment and collection between the various duties. A return of the nature asked for, which would extend to some 15,000 parishes, would involve an expense which would not be justified by the value of the information obtained. As regards the last part of the question, the amount of fiscal machinery maintained for the special purpose of the Land Tax and involving expenditure is very small, and no appreciable saving in the cost of administration would result from the compulsory redemption of the tax in the manner suggested.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his attention has been called to a letter from leading British firms in the Far East to the British Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai urging a reduction in the present duty on China tea to the same level as that on Indian and Ceylon tea, and urging, further, that Lancashire firms, who view with alarm the falling off in their China trade, would welcome any move which would promote larger British trade interests in China; and if he will take the matter into consideration in framing his forthcoming Budget?

My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer's attention has been called to the letter referred to, but he is unable to anticipate the Budget statement.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the amount of the sales of National Savings Certificates during each of the last six weeks?

The nominal value of National Savings Certificates sold during each of the last six weeks was:

asked the President of the Board of Trade if be proposes to introduce the Merchandise Marks Bill at an early date?

I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer which I have to-day-given to the hon. Member for Chippenham (Mr. Terrell).