asked the Lord President of the Council what means, if any, the League of Nations possesses for repatriating and settling somewhere else Russian refugees now collected in Constantinople; whether there is any prospect that nations other than Great Britain will provide any of the funds which must be gathered together if the League is to function in this behalf; and why this duty devolves upon a body which can only recommend others to find the money with which to carry out what it recommends?

The League obviously can only act in this matter in so far as it is supported financially and otherwise by the Governments constituting it, but I have no reason to suppose that such support as is necessary will not be forthcoming at the proper time. There is clearly advantage in an international body like the League, rather than individual Governments, dealing with a problem of this kind.

asked the Home Secretary whether he is aware that no officials having power to facilitate the return of Conventionists who served with military forces on the side of the Allies are to be found at any place nearer to South Russia than the British Passport Control Office at Constantinople; and whether, in these circumstances, he will consider applications which may be forwarded by post from Russia, accompanied by satisfactory documentary evidence of the applicant's military service?

I am aware of difficulties such as are indicated in the first part of the question, and have under consideration the best means, if any can be found, of meeting them; but I do not think I can adopt the suggestion made in the last paragraph of the question.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India if he is aware that many optical instrument makers are working short time and others are drawing State unemployment benefit; whether, in spite of these facts, the India Office has placed two orders for prism binoculars abroad; and to which foreign firms have these orders been given, and for what reasons?

The India Office has placed no orders recently for binoculars, but I am informed by the High Commissioner for India, who, as the hon. Member is aware, deals with such matters under the direct control of the Government of India, that he has recently placed one order for 5,120 prismatic binoculars with the French firm of Huet and Company through their English agents. This order was not placed until it had been ascertained that the instruments were suitable. A large financial saving was involved. 6,000 binoculars had previously been ordered from English makers.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether the Government will consider the possibility of granting permission to governors of provinces in India and the Tropics to return home on leave once during their tenure of office?

I cannot answer for the Tropics generally, but so far as India is concerned, effect could not be given to my hon. and gallant Friend's suggestion without amending the Government of India Act. Amendment of the provisions in question would raise very difficult and controversial questions, and while the Secretary of State is prepared to consider the matter should amendment of the Act be required in other directions, he is not prepared at present to consider the promotion of legislation for this purpose alone.

asked the Secretary for Scotland the present salary of the procurator fiscal for Roxburghshire and Berwickshire; the allowance made to Mr. Sydney Hilson, Jedburgh, the pre sent holder of these offices, for travelling expenses; and the net amount saved annually since the offices were amalgamated?

The present salary of this officer is £950. No fixed allowance is made to him for travelling expenses, but the increase under the head of travelling and subsistence charges consequent on the amalgamation of the offices of procurator fiscal for Roxburghshire and Berwickshire may be taken as £30 per annum. The net annual saving which results from the amalgamation of the two offices is about £120.

asked the President of the Board of Education if he is aware of the hardship caused through the leaving certificate examinations at the Academy, Greenock, having been fixed to clash with the dates of the University preliminary examinations; and will he have the matter inquired into?

My right hon. Friend has asked me to reply to this question. I am aware of the circumstances referred to. But I cannot admit that there is any hardship to individuals. If pupils pass at the leaving certificate examination, they obtain exemption from the University preliminary. If they fail, they have a second opportunity of presenting themselves for the University preliminary before the opening of the academic year. I may add that, prior to coming to any decision in the matter, the Department, in accordance with their usual practice, consulted school managers throughout Scotland. The dates suggested were generally accepted as satisfactory, and no objection was raised by the managers of the Greenock Academy.

asked the Prime Minister whether he has received copies of resolutions passed by a national demonstration held in support of self-government for Scotland; and if it is the intention of the Government to introduce legislation giving Scotland a measure of self-government suited to the interests and circumstances of Scotland and satisfactory to the Scottish people?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. As regards the last part, we do not propose to introduce such legislation this Session.

asked the Secretary for Scotland whether he has had before him a Provisional Order which proposes to deprive the ratepayers of Assynt of their rights in the stone pier at Lochinver, known as Culag Pier; whether this stone pier has belonged to the parishioners, free of charge, for many years; whether 16 years ago the Duke of Sutherland tried to obtain possession of this pier, but as he could not produce a charter for the ground on which it stands nor show that access to the quay was from his ground, the Board of Trade refused him a Provisional Order and confirmed the rights of the people to the stone pier; and whether, in view of this evidence, he will institute a full inquiry into the rights of the parishioners before any such Provisional Order is accepted?

I have been asked to reply to this question. An application for a Provisional Order in respect of Culag Pier is now before the Minister of Transport. I understand that a similar application made to the Board of Trade in 1906 by the Duke of Sutherland, the former owner of the estate of Assynt, was withdrawn owing to opposition by the local inhabitants, who disputed the Duke's title to the stone part of the pier. In the circumstances the Board were not called upon to give a decision on the question of ownership. Similar objections have been lodged to the present application, and it is proposed to require the promoter to produce evidence of his title to the pier before the question of making a Provisional Order is decided.

asked the Secretary for Scotland whether he is in a position to state the result of his inquiries into the sentences of three months' imprisonment with hard labour imposed upon four unemployed workmen, named Murphy, M'Daid, M'Guire, and Boss at Greenock sheriff court for taking possession of the Greenock parish council offices, and preventing the staff, for about 20 minutes, from proceeding with their duties?

I have made inquiry into this case. The men referred to were the leaders in a serious and organised breach of the law, and I see no reason to advise any interference with the sentences pronounced upon them.

asked the Prime Minister if he will state the advances already made for the promotion of British trade in connection with the allocation of the sum of £25,000,000?

My hon. Friend is under a misapprehension. The Trade Facilities Act, 1921, empowered the Treasury, on the recommendation of an Advisory Committee, to guarantee, in respect of interest or principal or both, loans calculated to promote employment in the United Kingdom. The aggregate capital amount of loans in respect of which guarantees might be given, was not to exceed £25,000,000. The Treasury has, in accordance with the Act, agreed to guarantee such loans to a total, up to the present, of £8,500,000. The loans in question are being raised by the borrowers from various private sources, and there is no question of the Treasury making any payments unless and until the Treasury has to implement any of its guarantees.

asked the Minister of Labour the result of his inquiries into the position of workmen formerly employed either by private firms or by the county council of Zetland who have been disqualified for unemployment benefit because they were tenants of crofts, although they had paid the contributions laid down under the Unemployment Insurance Acts?

I understand that in most, if not in all, of these cases the contributions paid have been exhausted by the benefit received, and the present question has arisen with regard to claims for free benefit. In view of the fact that the applicants are employed for a considerable part of each ear in working on their crofts they are unable to satisfy the conditions for free benefit which has accordingly been disallowed on the recommendation of the Local Employment Committee.

asked the Minister of Labour whether the Street, Lincoln was submitted to the umpire under the Unemployment Insurance Act in December, 1921, and that he still awaits the decision of the umpire; and, if so, whether he will expedite the decision and explain the cause of the delay?

A claim by Mr. Hopewell was disallowed by the Lincoln Court of Referees on 5th December last. No appeal to the umpire against this decision can be traced either in my Department of in the umpire's office. I

asked the Minister of Health whether, on 31st March, 1921, there was a sum of £2,900,000 due from local authorities and other purchasers for building materials supplied to them by the Ministry; what proportion of this sum, if any, is now outstanding; and what steps are being taken to recover it?

The amount due to the Department, on 31st March, 1921, for building materials supplied was as stated in the question in round figures £2,900,000. The local authorities concerned have running accounts with the Department for materials supplied, on which payments on account are made from time to time. The receipts for the current financial year will amount to some £6,600,000, and it is anticipated that the total sums due on 31st March will again amount to about £2,900,000. Certain items of the outstanding accounts are in dispute, but local authorities are being pressed to clear up these items, and it is hoped that final settlements will be made at an early date.

asked the Minister of Health whether he has yet received a reply from the local authority on the subject of a complaint signed by four inhabitant householders in the rural districts of the Isle of Wight that the local authority had failed to exercise their powers under Part XI of the Housing of the Working Classes Act, 1890; and whether he is agreeable to a public inquiry being held without delay?

I am still awaiting a reply from the rural district council, to whom a further reminder was sent on Thursday last. As I have already informed the hon. Member, as soon as a reply is received I will consider carefully whether there is a primâ facie case to justify a local inquiry.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury if he will give the numbers, by Departments, of temporary civil servants in receipt of a salary of £500 or more?

The information desired by the hon. Member is as follows:

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury if the grades of first and second-class women clerks are now obsolete; and what is the number of these women assimilated to the lower clerical grade?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. The number of first and second class women clerks assimilated to the clerical class is approximately 3,968, in addition to 417 clerks of analogous classes in the Ministry of Labour.

asked the Minister of Pensions why the publicity officer recently appointed by him was not engaged through the Joint Substitution Board, according to Treasury instructions; why a non-service man was selected; what efforts were made to secure a qualified ex-service man; whether the post was advertised, and, if not, how was this official obtained; whether, at the present time numerous trained journalists, fully qualified for this post, who have served with His Majesty's forces, are at present unemployed; and will he undertake to make inquiries through the Joint Substitution Board with a view to obtaining an ex-service man for this post?

My hon. Friend appears to be under some misapprehension. The officer in charge of the Publicity Branch of my Department was selected from several candidates so long ago as April, 1918, before the Joint Substitution Board was established. Having regard to the intimate knowledge of pension matters which that officer has acquired and to the uniformly good service which he has rendered both to my Department and to the ex-service community, I am not prepared to recommend any change.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether, in view of the fact that a large number of men have been dismissed or are under notice to leave the Royal Army Ordnance Depot at Chilwell, he will say how many of these men are ex-service men; whether men from other depots are being drafted to take the places of those discharged; if so, how many men have been so drafted to Chilwell; and whether, in view of the unemployment already existing in the neighbourhood of Chilwell and the consequent distress, he will give directions that the claims of ex-service men who have been there employed be given priority of consideration to those of men from other depots?

681 men are at present under notice of discharge on reduction of establishment at the Ordnance Depot, Chilwell, of whom 530 are ex-service men. No men are being drafted in to take the place of the men under discharge, but recently 12 ex-service men, mostly officers and men of the Royal Army Ordnance Corps, have been brought in from the Ordnance Depots at Georgetown and Aintree to fill vacancies in the establishment of the higher supervisory posts, for which their corps qualifications made them particularly suitable and for which ex-service men of similar qualifications were not locally available. No further transfers from other Ordnance Depots are contemplated.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs how many permanent positions in the Consular Service have been given since the War to ex-service men and how many to men who did not serve with the Forces of the Crown during the War; whether any and, if so, how many competent ex-service men available for permanent employment in that Service have been passed over; and for what reason were the applications of such ex-service men refused and preference given to non-service men?

Since the War 68 ex-service men have been accepted for permanent service in the General Consular Service; and three who were interned throughout the War. The number of non-service men appointed was 27. No non-service man was appointed who had not very special qualifications; and I think that practically all who were of military age were men, whom the Foreign Office found it essential to retain at their posts abroad during the War.

asked the Postmaster-General what was the estimated cost of constructing the post office tube from Spring Street, Paddington, to Aldgate; how much has been expended to date and what sum is now required to complete; what was the estimated saving to justify the tube being constructed; and has he considered the loss or charge for interest on the capital outlay expended to date, the loss by reason of the delay on completion, and the desirability of finding work for unemployment by expediting the completion and bringing into use the tube for Post Office purposes?

The sum provided under the Post Office (London) Railway Act, 1913, was £1,100,000. The account up to the end of March, 1921, has just been issued (Command Paper 13). The sum expended to date is approximately £1,127,000. I cannot estimate the cost of the work remaining to be done; it would, of course, be very largely in excess of the original estimate. It was not anticipated that the construction of the railway would effect any appreciable saving. The intention was to expedite the transmission of the mails, and relieve the congestion of street traffic. The considerations mentioned by the hon. Member have not been overlooked; but my right hon. Friend is unable to recommend that the additional expenditure involved in the completion of the railway should be incurred at present.

asked the Postmaster-General if he will state the circumstances in which Miss Rance, assistant supervisor, Class II, London Telephone Service, resigned her appointment while in the employ of the late National Telephone Company, and the length of the period between her resignation and subsequent re-engagement; whether it is a fact that two years after the transfer of the National Telephone Company to the State she was promoted, and subsequently placed in the position on the seniority list she would have occupied had her service been continuous; and whether, seeing that this is contrary to Regulations and unfair to those who entered the service before this lady commenced her second period of service, he will secure that her seniority is dated in accordance with these facts?

It is understood that Miss Rance resigned her position as telephonist at Ipswich in the service of the National Telephone Company on the 28th of October, 1910, as a result of a dispute with the clerk in charge. She was reengaged by the company in London on the 3rd of March, 1911, and was promoted to her present position of assistant supervisor, Class II, on the 12th of June, 1914. It is clear from the records that it was the intention of the company that the break in Miss Rance's service should not affect her pay or prospects, and the break has, therefore, been ignored in fixing her seniority in the Post Office.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport whether any preliminary surveys have been made for the electrification of railways in the coalfields of South Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, and Derbyshire; and whether any railway route in these areas is to be electrified?

I have made inquiries and am informed that the railway companies concerned are not at present considering any project for the electrification of any of their lines in the area referred to.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport whether his attention has been called to the fact that fish is often wasted at Grimsby when there is a demand for it in the West Riding; and whether his Department have any evidence that this anomaly is the result of inadequate railway services or high railway charges?

I have no such information or evidence before me. If, however, the hon. and gallant Member can give me any more specific information, I will represent the position to the railway companies. On the subject of rates, the hon. and gallant Member will recall that it is open to traders to make an application to the Railway Rates Tribunal under Section 60 of the Railways Act, 1921.