asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether his attention has been called to the fact that Messrs. C. Burley, Limited, brick and Portland cement manufacturers, and also Messrs. Smeed, Dean, and Company, Limited, cement and brick manufacturers, both of Sittingbourne, Kent, are not paying the rates of wages and overtime conditions agreed upon by the National Joint Industrial Council for the Cement Industry; and, having regard to the fact that the firms named are Government contractors, will steps be taken to remove them from the list under the terms of the Fair Wages Clause of 1906?

The attention of the War Office having been called by the National Amalgamated Union of Labour to the rates of wages paid by these firms, a full investigation was made in June last into their conditions of employment. As this investigation did not show that they were contravening the terms of the Fair Wages Clause, it was decided that their names should not be removed from the authorised list. These firms hold no War Office orders at present, but should any be entrusted to them in the future they will, as in the past, be required strictly to observe the terms of the Fair Wages Clause.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress has been made in settling the preliminary arrangements for the adoption of the recommendations of Mr. Justice Swift's Committee as to the pay and conditions of employment of officials in county courts; when such recommendations are likely to be brought into force; and if the suggested scheme will be submitted to the executive committee of the County Court Officers' Association for their opinion before being brought into operation?

It is a necessary preliminary to any reorganisation of the County Court staffs that the Courts should be placed upon a satisfactory financial basis, and the question of increasing the revenue of the Courts was accordingly referred to a committee, who have had the matter continuously under investigation since the Report of the Swift Committee, and are expected to report in the near future. In the meantime, I understand that a tentative draft scheme for the future salaries to be paid to the registrars of the Courts has been drawn up by the Lord Chancellor's Department, and that the suggestions of the Association of County Court Registrars have been invited upon it. The schemes for the classes next to be dealt with are also under consideration by the Lord Chancellor's Department, and the County Court Officers' Association will be given an opportunity of expressing their views on these schemes before they are brought into operation. I should add that the adoption of any of these schemes will be dependent on the passing of legislation, which will, it is hoped, be introduced during the present Session.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether a contingent annuity of £5,000 has been granted to the Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain granted by letters patent under the Great Seal; and whether an equivalent payment was granted to his predecessor?

Yes, Sir. These annuities are granted under the Lord Chancellor's Pension Act, 1832. The annuity to the present Lord Chancellor does not become payable until he ceases to hold office. The late Lord Chancellor does regular work as a member of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council and as a judicial member of the House of Lords.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the new valuations of the annual values of landed properties in England and Wales, excluding the administrative County of London, as provided by Section 32 and Schedule 2 of the Finance Act, 1922, for the purposes of assessment to Schedule A of the Income Tax and to the Inhabited House Duty for the financial year 1923–24, have yet been completed; if so, what is the aggregate of the annual values as thus ascertained for each of these two taxes, respectively; and what are the aggregates of the corresponding annual values as ascertained for each of them in the administrative County of London and in Scotland, respectively, for that financial year?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the negative. As the hon. Member is aware, the revaluation of properties does not come into force for the purposes of assessments to Income Tax and Inhabited House Duty until the year 1923–24, and the work of revaluation, which is now proceeding, has been so schemed as to enable the assessments to be completed in due time, that is to say, before the 1st January, 1924, when the first instalment of tax for the year 1923–24 becomes due and payable. In these circumstances, the information for which the hon. Member asks in the second and third parts of this question will not be available before next year.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the average gravity of the beer brewed in England and Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, respectively, in the year ending 31st December, 1922, and the average gravity for the United Kingdom as a whole?

The average gravities of beer brewed by brewers for sale in England and Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, respectively, and in the United Kingdom as a whole, in the year ended 31st December, 1922, were as follow:

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has any information to the effect that the American Government is about to demand from the Allies payment for the cost of the American occupying army?

The Allied Finance Ministers received a Memorandum on this question from the unofficial representative of the United States Government on the Reparation Commission during the Conference in Paris in March, 1922. The text of this Memorandum was given in a reply to a question by the hon. and gallant Member for Newcastle - under - Lyme (Colonel Wedgwood) on the 15th March, 1922, of which I am sending the hon. Member a copy. The question is at present under discussion between the Allied Governments and the United States Government.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware that pencils stamped made in Germany are being supplied to the Government Departments; and what is the reason for making such purchases from German firms to the detriment of similar firms in this country?

The only German-made pencils being supplied to Government Departments are from pre-War stocks not yet exhausted, or from confiscated stocks which came into the possession of this country in the course of the War. The policy of His Majesty's Stationery Office is now to purchase only British-made pencils, except in the case of a few varieties where satisfactory British pencils are still not obtainable.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether the Treasury has approved a scheme of reorganisation for the Trade Marks Branch of the Patent Office; and whether he anticipates that such a scheme will result in a substantial reduction in the arrears at present existing?

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

asked the President of the Board of Trade the total volume of imports and exports from and to India for the year 1913?

During the year 1913 the imports into the United Kingdom, consigned from British India, amounted in value to £48,420,490. The exports, consigned to British India, of produce and manufactures of the United Kingdom amounted in value to £75,512,030, and of foreign and colonial merchandise to £1,397,010.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what was the value of the engineering goods which were exported to Russia in 1912 and 1913?

The value of machinery of all kinds (including locomotives, electrical machinery and marine engines) of United Kingdom manufacture consigned to Russia amounted to £2,821,000 in 1912 and to £4,136,000 in 1913

asked the Minister of Agriculture what is the amount of wheat and of flour imported into this country respectively during the last three consecutive yearly periods for which he has the figures?

The quantity of wheat and wheat meal and flour imported into the United Kingdom in each of the years 1920, 1921 and 1922, is as follows:

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Overseas Trade Department, as representing the Ministry of Health, whether he will advise or put pressure on the East Sussex County Council to enforce their bye-law made under Section 2 of the Advertisements Regulation Act, 1907, and take proceedings to secure the removal of two hoardings which have been erected near the railway station and highway at Burgess Hill and the advertisements displayed thereon, on the ground that they offend the eye, a fine view of the Sussex Downs is spoilt, and in the almost unanimous opinion of the inhabitants the prosperity of the town, which depends to some extent on the visitors and residents who come to it as a health resort, will be impaired?

I have been asked to reply. I have no power to take any action in the matter. If the inhabitants of the district in question consider that the county bye-laws are not being adequately enforced, their proper remedy is clearly to address themselves to their representatives on the county council.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Overseas Trade Department, as representing the Ministry of Health, whether a Bill will be brought in this Session to extend to other local health authorities the powers already conferred by the Public Health Act, 1875, on borough councils to run hospitals for any class of illness, including early un-certifiable cases of nervous breakdown; and, in view of the urgent need for hospitals of this description unconnected with lunacy administration and free from detention, will the Minister of Health extend a grant to enable the health committee of the councils to maintain such hospitals, with a view to the reduction of the £7,900,000 now spent annually in keeping up the asylum system?

The question of introducing legislation with regard to mental treatment is receiving the consideration of the Government.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Overseas Trade Department, as representing the Ministry of Health, whether any schemes have been received from the Guardians of the Parish of St. Leonard's, Shoreditch, for the purchase of X-ray apparatus, Talbot motor ambulance, and other necessary improvements within their institution; whether sanction to these schemes is being unnecessarily delayed; and, if so, whether he will immediately give sanction, with a view to the improvement and welfare of the in-patients on up-to-date, modern, and scientific methods, thereby abrogating the antiquated methods of the Poor Law?

My right hon. Friend is not, on the information at present before him, prepared to sanction either of the schemes mentioned in their present form. It was considered desirable to take the advice of experts upon the proposal to purchase X-ray apparatus, and, as a result of such consultation, it has been possible to make suggestions to the guardians which, if adopted, will effect an economy to the amount of about £345, or approximately half the cost of the apparatus. With regard to the ambulance, it is not clear that the existing arrangements are not more efficient and more economical than those proposed by the guardians.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Overseas Trade Department, as representing the Ministry of Health, the number of men and women 70 years of age and upwards who are inmates of the workhouses in England, Scotland, and Wales, and the average cost per week for their maintenance?

The number of persons over 70 years of age in receipt of Poor Law relief on the 1st January, 1922, in Poor Law institutions in England was 41,427 and in Wales 1,110. Most of these aged persons were suffering from sickness, accident or bodily or mental infirmity, and were accommodated in wards or institutions for the sick or mentally infirm. The average weekly cost of the maintenance of persons over 70 years of age has not been ascertained. For information relating to Scotland, I would refer the hon. Member to the Scottish Office.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will give the quantity and value of broken granite used for the repair and maintenance of roads that has been imported into this country from Belgium and France during the last 12 months?

The quantity and value of granite, other than (1) setts and pavement curbs and (2) monumental and architectural objects, imported into the United Kingdom during the year 1922, and registered as consigned from Belgium and France, respectively, were as follow: From Belgium, 136,451 tons valued at £149,351, and from France, 20,350 tons valued at £21,969. The proportion of these quantities utilised for road-making is not known.

asked the Prime Minister whether, in view of the Report of the Advisory Committee on the coal industry, to the effect that the costs of railway transport stand in need of immediate reduction, and in view of the fact that both the agricultural and manufacturing industries of this country are finding their activities hampered by oppressive railway freights, he will set up a Committee to inquire into the cause and the remedy?

I have been asked to reply to this question. In view of the recent establishment of the Railway Rates Tribunal by the Railways Act, 1921, which is now the determining authority for railway charges and to which appeal can be made at any time, I am unable to agree that any useful purpose could be served by setting up a further Committee of Inquiry.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport whether he is aware that a fare of £12 is charged on British railways for travel and accommodation that can be got on the Canadian railways for £3; and whether he will take steps, in the interest of the revival of trade and commerce, to secure such a reduction in fares and freights that will mitigate a burden that is hampering all industries and promoting unemployment?

I am not aware of what is stated in the first part of the hon. Member's question; as regards the second part, the Minister has no powers of directing the railway companies as to their charges. Sections 60 and 78 of the Railways Act, 1921, however, provide a means whereby application may be made to the Rates Tribunal to reduce the charges made by the companies.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport if he will consider the advisability of recommending the railway companies to raise the age limit for children's half-price tickets to the school-age limit of 14 years?

The Minister has now no control over railway charges, but I am sending a copy of the hon. Member's question to the railway companies for their consideration.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport whether the joint Committee of the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries on damage to fisheries have presented any Report subsequent to their Interim Report, dated the 14th March, 1922; if so, at what date will it be made available to Members; if not, whether any experiments have been made or data obtained which do not confirm or which in any way contradict the opinions expressed in the Interim Report; and, if so, at what date will such information and data be made available to Members?

I have been asked to reply. The answer to the first part of the question is in the negative, but a report dealing with the scientific work of the Joint Committee, which was dissolved on 31st March last, will be published as soon as possible. With regard to the third part of the question, I would ask my hon. Friend to await the publication of a statement which I hope may be issued at an early date for the informa- tion and guidance of highway authorities of the results of investigations which are being conducted by the Road Dressings Sub-committee of the Ministry's Standing Committee on Rivers Pollution of the effects on fish and stream life of the washings from bituminous surfaces.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he is aware that farmers are suffering from a considerable hardship in the duty payable on imported agricultural instruments under the Safeguarding of Industries Act; and if he will consider the possibility of taking steps to remove this grievance?

I have been asked to reply. With the exception of magnetos for agricultural motor tractors, I am not aware that any of the goods which are subject to duty under the Safeguarding of Industries Act are of special interest to farmers. I shall be glad to hear from my hon. and gallant Friend of any appreciable increased cost of agricultural instruments to farmers through the operation of the Act.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether a number of articles have been exempted from the operation of Part I of the Safeguarding of Industries Act; why this has been done; and whether any refund will be made to traders who have already paid duty on such articles?

By Treasury Order dated 15th February, 1923, made in accordance with Section 10 of the Finance Act, 1922, certain compound articles were exempted from duty under Part I of the Safeguarding of Industries Act. This was done under the conditions outlined in the preamble to the Order to facilitate the administration of the Act. The Order applies only to articles entered on or after 19th February, and the answer to the last part of the question is in the negative. I am sending a copy of the Order to the hon. Member.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in what country or countries has the China Customs Treaty been ratified; on what date were representations last made to France with a view to ratification in that country; and when the interest on the eight per cent. Treasury Bills and Notes of the Chinese Government, which is now in arrears for over a year, is likely to be paid?

The China Customs Treaty has not yet come into effect, and will not do so until the date of the deposit of all the ratifications with the United States Government at Washington. The following States have notified that they are now ready to deposit ratifications: The British Empire, the United States, Japan, the Netherlands, China. In Italy it is understood that the Treaty has passed both the Chamber and the Senate, and is now awaiting the King's assent. No representations have been made to the French Government by His Majesty's Government in the matter. In regard to the third part of the question, repeated protests have been made to the Chinese Government by His Majesty's Minister at Peking against the default to which the hon. Member refers, but no satisfactory assurances have been received and I am unable to say how soon the Chinese Government are likely to be in a position to resume payment of interest on these loans. His Majesty's Minister will continue to do all in his power to induce the Chinese Government to meet their obligations.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether, in view of the fact that the mandate for Palestine has not been fully ratified, he will state from what source the present Government in that country draws its authority; and whether that authority empowers it to hold elections?

The position is that the mandate for Palestine was conferred upon His Britannic Majesty by the Principal Allied Powers at San Remo in April, 1920. On the 3rd October, 1921, the President of the Council of the League of Nations communicated to the then Prime Minister a request that His Majesty's Government should continue to carry on the administration of Palestine in the spirit of the draft mandate, which had previously been submitted to the Council, until such time as the position had been definitely regularised. On the 24th July, 1922, the Council of the League approved the terms of the mandates for Palestine and Syria and passed a resolution that they would enter into force automatically and at the same time as soon as the Governments of France and Italy had notified the Council of the League that they had reached an agreement on certain particular points in regard to the Syrian mandate. It is true that agreement has not yet been reached, but this in no way affects the administration of Palestine. On the 10th August, 1922, a Palestine Order in Council, of which the draft had been officially communicated to the Council of the League on the 1st July, 1922, and which provided for the holding of the elections referred to by the hon. Member, was passed by the King in Council. This Order took effect on the 11th September, 1922, when it was published and proclaimed in Palestine.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether, upon the grant of responsible government to Southern Rhodesia, it will be open to the Government of that country to apply for membership of the League of Nations; and whether any reference to this will be incorporated in the letters patent?

Applications for membership of the League of Nations can only be dealt with as they arise and in the manner laid down by the Covenant. The answer to the second part of the hon. and gallant Member's question is in the negative.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies what methods of publicity are taken to inform persons desirous of emigrating under the Overseas Settlement Act of the necessary procedure to take advantage of the provisions of that Act?

I invite my hon. Friend's attention to the answer which I gave to a similar question asked by my hon. Friend the Member for Barrow-in-Furness (Mr. D. Somerville) on the 20th February.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies how many assisted passages it will be possible to provide during the financial year 1923–24 under the provisions of the Empire Settlement Act?

I presume the hon. Member refers to the financial year 1923–24. The actual number of passages which it will be possible to provide will depend upon the absorptive capacity of the Dominions, but provision has been made in the Estimates for 1,200 free passages and, approximately, 48,000 assisted passages at a cost of £730,000.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies how many persons of British nationality are employed and paid by the British Government in Iraq for work which is of an advisory nature?

British officials employed in Iraq fall under two categories. The High Commissioner and his staff, which comprises three responsible officials with secretarial and subordinate establishment, are paid in equal share by His Majesty's Government and by the Iraq Government. British officials in the employment of the Iraq Government are paid wholly from Iraq revenues.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies what was the deficit on the Iraq Budget for the last financial year?

I would refer the hon. Member to my reply to the question put by my hon. Friend the Member for Luton (Sir J. Hewett) on the 19th February, in which the figures for last financial year were given.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether any and, if so, how many British firms have yet applied for concessions or leases of land in Iraq; for what purposes were such concessions sought; and whether in any of these cases the terms offered by the Iraq Government were such as to enable the firms to accept the offers?

The information desired is not available in the Colonial Office, but I will ask the Iraq Government to supply it.

asked the Under-Secretary to the Scottish Board of Health whether he is aware that, owing to the small number of building firms in the Highlands of Scotland and their extensive employment on the building schemes of local authorities, it was impossible for certain private individuals to get their houses finished in time to earn the Government subsidy on the 23rd October last; and whether, in framing their housing proposals, the Government will afford some measure of relief in cases of this kind which may be recommended by local authorities?

So far as I am aware there is only one case in the Highlands of Scotland where the person building under the provisions of the Private Builders' Subsidy Scheme was unable to complete the house within the prescribed period, although the full extension permitted by the Statute was granted. I cannot hold out any hope that assistance for this kind of case will be provided under the new housing proposals of the Government.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury the number of substitutionable posts existent in the Civil Service and the number of ex-service men discharged from the Civil Service who are awaiting reallocation through the joint substitution board; and whether any and, if so, what steps are being taken to allot these substitutionable posts among discharged ex-service men?

It is estimated that approximately 1,500 non-service personnel remain in substitutable posts. In many cases, however, these officers are employed upon work which is rapidly terminating, and their replacement by new personnel on the eve of the completion of their tasks would be extremely wasteful. In other cases substitution is proceeding as rapidly as is consistent with the efficient conduct of the business of the Departments, in view of the fact that these officers are the residue left of a very much larger number by a continuous and severe process of substitution. At the present time in the London area there are about 1,600 ex-service clerks on the books of the Joint Substitution Board. Of these, nearly 600 are men who did not serve overseas and are not disabled; a certain proportion of the remainder, though under notice, have not yet actually been discharged.

asked the Attorney-General whether he will have prepared and issue a statement showing the number of appeals which have come before the Pensions Appeal Tribunal of ex-service men suffering from pulmonary tuberculosis, including the appeals of widows of men who have died from the same disease, and the number of such appeals granted and refused?

I can add nothing to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister of Pensions on the 15th instant to the effect that no records exist from which these figures can be extracted.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether his attention has been drawn to a system in force on Indian railways whereby half a month's pay accumulated each year to the credit of each employé upon condition that the employé did not strike; whether he is aware that a decision was recently made that men who had taken part in certain recent stoppages of work should not forfeit the gratuity; that this new regulation applied only to those still in the service at the time the Regulation was made, and that widows of such employés who died in the interval have been refused the gratuity; and whether he will make representations in favour of these inequalities being removed?

My Noble Friend is aware that the facts are as stated by the hon. Member, and will consult the Government of India with regard to the point raised by him.

asked the Minister of Agriculture if, in view of the importance to agriculture generally of the investigations now being carried out by the Northumberland County Agricultural Society into certain diseases of sheep, known as scrapie, lamb diseases, etc., and into grass-ill among horses, he will consider defraying the entire expense from the special grant of £850,000 allocated to agricultural research?

The Ministry has for some time been in communication with this society concerning certain diseases of animals, and has arranged for local investigations, which will be continued this year. These investigations will be carried out by the Ministry with the society's co-operation; but, so far as I am aware, no appreciable expenditure has been or is proposed to be incurred by the society. In these circumstances the question of a grant does not arise.

asked the First Commissioner of Works what are the regulations as to parking cars in New Palace Yard; whether hon. Members, owners of cars, are charged for a stance; and, if not, will he consider imposing a charge?

Facilities are provided for Members to park their cars in New Palace Yard without charge, and I do not see any reason why a charge should be imposed.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he is aware that Australia, South Africa and Canada are entering into contracts with commercial companies for the erection of high-power wireless stations capable of communicating direct with this country and with the rest of the world; and whether the Governments of any of the Dominions have pressed for the speedy issue of licences for the erection of the corresponding stations in this country?

I have been asked to answer this question. I am aware that the Commonwealth and Union Governments have entered into contracts of the nature mentioned by the hon. and gallant Member. No similar contract has been made, so far as I am aware, by the Canadian Government, but I understand that that Government have issued a licence to the Marconi Company of Canada for the establishment of a high-power station at Montreal. The Government of the Union of South Africa have urged the early provision of a wireless station in this country to communicate with South Africa while observing that the question whether it should be a Government station or a station operated under licence is one for His Majesty's Government to decide. No communication has been received by His Majesty's Government from the Government of Australia or Canada. His Majesty's Government are alive to the urgency of this question and it is probable that a decision will be given very shortly.

asked the Postmaster-General whether his attention has been called to the recent erection of four telephone wires across the small front garden of a private house at Beckenham without any steps being taken to seek the owner's consent; and whether instructions have been issued by his Department to prevent similar invasions of private rights in this and other districts?

The wires were placed in this position under a misapprehension. Arrangements have been made for their removal.

asked the Postmaster-General if he is aware that there is considerable delay in connection with wireless telegraph messages sent from the Post Office stations at Leafield and Northolt; that two messages for Bucharest, recently sent via Northolt and timed 5.10 p.m. and 6 p.m., were transmitted at 10.30 and 9.30 p.m., respectively; and what steps the Department is taking to reduce these very considerable delays?

Some delay in the Leafield-Cairo wireless service is occurring owing principally to the pressure on the station for other wireless services, but on the average the service does not compare unfavourably with other means of transmission, and as it is steadily improving it is being increasingly used by the public. The service between Northolt and Bucharest was only started last month. It is still more or less experimental, and is at present confined to certain hours in the day. Traffic is not transmitted by this route unless the delay is likely to be less than that involved in transmission by landline, which sometimes reaches as much as 17 hours.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he will arrange for the return of Post Office receipts published in the weekly Exchequer Returns to be supplemented by a monthly statement of receipts of postal, telephone, and telegraph services shown separately, together with a statement of the total expenditure on all Post Office services?

The quarterly Exchequer returns show the revenue allocated approximately between the three services. Inasmuch as the receipts and payments proceed unevenly through the quarter, a monthly return, which would necessarily be based mainly on estimates, would only give rise to misleading inferences and comparisons.

asked the Minister of Labour whether, in the case of a village industry, such as a laundry, where the proprietor is in a position to give two or three women work for two days regularly each week, and is willing to pay them the Trade Board rate and when the women are, owing to their home circumstances, unable ever to put in a full week's work and will, in fact, never work for more than two days a week, sometimes only one, and thus will never become entitled to unemployment pay, the pro- prietor and the women are liable to pay unemployment insurance contributions; and, if so, whether, in the interests of the development of village subsidiary industries mainly run by part-time labour, he will take steps to have such part-time workers excluded from the Unemployment Insurance Acts?

Section 3 of the Unemployment Insurance Act, 1920, already provides that workers who are ordinarily and mainly dependent for their livelihood on some other person or on earnings derived from an uninsured occupation may obtain a certificate exempting them, but not their employers, from payment of unemployment insurance contributions. I cannot undertake to extend this provision.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware of the dislocation of industry and consequent increase of unemployment caused by the exercise of illegal pressure on employers by trades union officials, with a view to preventing such employers furnishing to other employers who are held by trades unions to have transgressed some trade union enactment of the material they may need for carrying on their work and keeping their men employed; and, if so, what action does he propose to take?

I have been asked to reply. I understand that in certain trade disputes attempts have been made to secure assistance from bodies or persons not directly concerned. I am not aware, however, that the action so taken has been illegal, and the decision on this point would rest with the Courts, if and when invoked. I have no authority to interfere.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Overseas Trade Department, as representing the Ministry of Health, whether Articles 10 H of the Relief Regulation Order, 1911, can be amended or waived so as to allow able-bodied men being put to useful work, at trade union rates of wages, for periods adjusted to amounts of relief granted; whether the whole of the relief can be granted in money; and, if so, whether he will give power to the guardians to affix National Health and Unemployment stamps to the cards of the men so unemployed, in view of the exceptional circumstances now prevailing?

My right hon. Friend does not think it desirable to amend the Regulations for the purpose suggested. Article 10 of the Relief Regulations Order, 1911, to which the question refers, is the article dealing with the application of a labour test by the guardians during times of exceptional distress. There is no reason why the test should not consist of the performance of useful work, but the guardians have no power to provide work for wages. At the present time where a labour test is applied under this article it is usual to apportion the number of hours' work exacted to the amount of relief given, but this is not contemplated by the article, which presumes that the hours of labour are to be the same in all cases, though the amount paid in relief will vary according to the necessities of each case. It would be very unfortunate formally to abandon the old idea by an amendment of the Regulations.

asked the Prime Minister whether he will consider the practicability of arranging for the proceedings of the House to be broadcast, in order that there may be closer touch between Parliament and the people?

I do not think that the hon. Member's proposal is desirable.

asked the Prime Minister whether he will introduce amending legislation to repeal those portions of the Civil List Acts which provide for the maintenance of children of reigning sovereigns?

The answer is in the negative.

asked the Prime Minister the entire cost of the British Mission to the Vatican since 1915; and what object the Mission achieves?

The total cost of the British Mission at the Vatican up to 31st December, 1922, was £32,355 19s. 9d. The question of continuing the Mission was decided on its merits by the late Cabinet, who concluded that the beneficial results with which it has been attended made its continuance desirable.

asked the Home Secretary if he has received a memorandum from Mr. John Syme containing various statements, charging some members of the Metropolitan Police with very serious, corruption, and also containing very serious statements concerning the dismissal of Captain Worrell from the Metropolitan Police; and whether, in view of the continual attacks now being made against this force, he will institute a departmental inquiry, at which those persons who are writing in the Press, together with Mr. John Syme, may make their statements?

I have seen the memorandum referred to. I would refer the hon. Member to the answers which I gave to the hon. Members for West Bromwich (Mr. F. Roberts) and Silver-town (Mr. J. Jones) on the 12th December last. Specific charges against individual officers made by responsible persons would certainly be the subject of most searching investigation. I am not prepared, however, to institute a special form of inquiry into vague charges of misconduct levelled against trusted members of the force by Mr. John Syme and Captain Worrell. If these gentlemen will put into writing, in a form in which they cannot claim privilege for them, the charges which they have made so freely at open-air meetings and in privileged communications, I will at once consider what action can best be taken to test the truth of the allegations made. I do not think that it is incumbent upon me to go out of my way to assist persons who give currency to extravagant statements unsupported by any evidence impugning the honour and integrity of responsible public servants.

asked the Home Secretary what special steps, if any, are being taken to deal with the prevention of anthrax arising from the use of East India wools in the mills of the heavy woollen districts?

The use of East Indian wool is subject to Regulations made under the Factory and Workshop Act. As being material which is liable to be infected with anthrax, there is power also to deal with it under the Anthrax Prevention Act, 1919; but, as the hon. Member will be aware, the disinfecting station at Liverpool was designed, in the first instance, on a small scale as a trial station to test the practical working of the process of disinfection, and the quantities of East Indian wool imported are greatly in excess of the capacity of the existing plant. It will not be possible, therefore, to apply the Act until the station can be extended; but pending such extension the disinfection of such wools sent voluntarily is undertaken so far as the capacity of the station permits.

asked the Home Secretary whether an Amendment of the Factory and Workshops Act is being prepared to include the application of the principle of a maximum 48-hours working week, so as to carry out part of the arrangement arrived at at the Washington Convention in 1919?

The Government do not contemplate the introduction this Session of a Bill to amend the Factory and Workshops Act in the sense suggested by the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary for Mines whether his attention has been called to the serious plight of the patent fuel industry in South Wales due to the high price of pitch, which is the vital binding ingredient in the manufacture of patent fuel from small coal; whether he is aware that the secretary of the Coal Owners' Association of South Wales alleges that the high price of pitch is solely due to the abnormal use of pitch for road making resorted to by local authorities, who could utilise satisfactory substitutes for pitch for road making; and will he inquire into the matter forthwith?

I am aware of the facts stated in the question, though I believe that it is incorrect to attribute the high price of pitch wholly, or even mainly, to the use of tar and pitch for road making. In so far as this is an element in the case, I understand the representations recently made by the patent fuel manufacturers to my hon. and gallant Friend the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport are receiving his sympathetic consideration and that the patent fuel manufacturers, at his suggestion, are taking the matter up with county councils.