asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he is aware that at the Mechanicians' Training Establishment an Order has been issued regarding the method of addressing active service instructors, which is contrary to the provisions of paragraph 2 of Article 728 of the King's Regulations and Admiralty Instructions, and which is much resented by the petty officers now undergoing training; and will he look into the matter?

An Order was issued that the instructors at the Mechanical Training Establishment at Chatham, who are both civilians and chief petty officers, were to be addressed by the prefix "Mister" during hours of instruction. Directions have since been given that the style of address is to be strictly in accordance with the Regulations.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he will publish the orders issued regarding the method of selecting ratings to be discharged by the introduction of compulsory discharges, as many men of unblemished character feel that they have been hardly treated by being selected for discharge whilst other men of similar rating who have committed themselves arc being retained?

I would refer my hon. and gallant Friend to the reply given to the hon. Member for Bodmin (Mr. Foot) on the 2nd March.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether tenders have been accepted for the supply of Japanese peas to the Royal Navy; and whether he will see that the supplies to the men of the Fleet are restricted to home-grown produce, in order to give encouragement to the agricultural industry?

I would refer my hon. and gallant Friend to my reply of the 5th March to the bon. Member for Lincoln (Mr. A. T. Davies). As stated in that reply, the Admiralty give a very substantial preference to home products, but the restriction he suggests would involve too heavy a burden on Navy Votes when the difference in price is as much as 50 per cent., as was the case with the Japanese peas.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty the present naval strength of France in battleships, battle cruisers, cruisers, light cruisers, destroyers, submarines, and aircraft?

The following statement, which includes all battleships, cruisers and light cruisers launched since 1902 and flotilla leaders, destroyers and submarines launched since 1907, gives the present naval strength of France:

Battleships:
Dreadnought	6
Pre-Dreadnought	3
Battle Cruisers	Nil.
Cruisers	6
Light Cruisers	5
Destroyers:
Flotilla Leader	1
Others	50
Submarines	47
Airships	20
Planes (with service units)	38
Planes(in training units)	60

asked the Minister of Pensions whether he has inquired into the stoppage of pension in case A/W 2,391 (Manchester), on the ground that the claimant has been living an immoral life; whether he is satisfied that she was given an opportunity to meet that charge; and, if not, if he will review the stoppage and continue payment of pension pending a decision?

The claimant has been afforded ample opportunity of explaining her position and the statements made by her have received careful consideration by the Special Grants Committee to whom the case was referred under Section 3 (1, f) of the Naval and Military War Pensions, etc., Act, 1915, as amended by Section 2 (3) of the Naval and Military War Pensions, etc. (Transfer of Powers) Act, 1917. I can see no ground for questioning the decision of the Committee in this case.

asked the Minister of Pensions what is the total expected annual cost of the administration of the current year of the Ministry of Pensions, divided into general, medical and local war pensions committees; what number of pensions, exclusive of widows, children and dependants, were receiving disability pensions on 1st. August, 1921, and on 1st February, 1922; what was the annual cost thereof, respectively; what is the annual expenditure incurred in respect of the medical boards for examining disabled pensioners; what is the amount of the salaries and fees paid, respectively, to whole-time medical officers and part-time medical officers engaged on this duty; how many whole-time medical officers were employed by the Ministry on 1st August, 1921, and on 1st February, 1922, respectively, and how many of these were engaged at institutions; how many disabled men who were in receipt of disability pensions on 1st August, 1921, have now ceased to draw pensions by reason of death, being settled by gratuity, or a final weekly allowance in lieu of pension, and of their disability having become less than 20 per cent.; how many disabled men were in receipt of disability pensions of 20 per cent. and 30 per cent. during the year ending 1st February, 1922; how many three-men medical boards are now employed by the Ministry of Pensions; and what is the saving brought about by the substitution of two-men to three-men boards?

The estimated total cost of administration of my Department (including Committees) for the financial year ending 31st instant is £4,180,000, of which £1,110,000 is for medical services. The cost of sessional fees for boarding during the current financial year is estimated at £450,000. Salaries of medical officers cannot readily be apportioned as between boarding and treatment duties. The number of whole-time medical officers employed on the dates mentioned were 632 and 605, of whom 315 and 289, respectively, were at institutions. The number of medical boards of any kind naturally varies from day to day according to requirements, but the average number of three-men boards is about 170 a day. All cases coming up for re-survey are now examined by two-men hoards, a change which effects a considerable economy. The statistics asked for in the second, third, seventh and eighth parts of the question are not available for the dates mentioned without considerable research, but I am sending the hon. Member copies of the last two Annual Reports of my Department, which will, I trust, provide him with information sufficient for his purpose.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether Imperial preference will apply as from 1st April next to imports from the Irish Free State into Great Britain and Northern Ireland, as in the case of imports from the Dominions?

The answer is in the affirmative.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he can state approximately how many men could be employed in the work of reclamation and draining of waste, derelict, and other similar land not now under cultivation; and whether he will at once prepare and put into force a scheme of employing men at present unemployed on this important work?

I regret that it is quite impossible to give even an approximate estimate as to the number of men who might be employed on the type of work to which the hon. Member refers, but the question of reclamation has been repeatedly considered by the Ministry, as a means of alleviating unemployment, and has been rejected, owing to many difficulties, such as special housing accommodation, transport, etc., which render schemes of this kind entirely uneconomical. As regards drainage, I would remind the hon. Member that the Ministry has, since the 1st of October last, been initiating drainage schemes for the relief of rural unemployment all over the country. Up to date, no less than 469 schemes, exclusive of 110 water supply schemes, have been approved, and, according to the latest complete returns, for the week ending 24th February, 1923, over 6,000 men were employed. But for the recent bad weather, which has held up schemes in many places, a far larger number of men would have been at work.

asked the Minister of Labour how many members of the staff of his Department are in receipt of a salary, including bonus, of £1,000 per year?

Sixty-eight members of the staff of the Ministry of Labour, including both headquarter and provincial officers, are in receipt of a salary, including bonus, of £1,000 per year or more. Of this number, three are loaned to other Departments, and two are leaving the service of the Ministry at the end of the current month.

asked the Secretary for Mines the number of persons killed and the number of persons injured and incapacitated for more than seven days in the mines of the United Kingdom for the five years ended 31st December, 1914, the weight of mineral raised per person killed, and the weight, of mineral raised per person injured during that period; and will he give similar particulars for the five years ending 31st December, 1922.

During the five years ended 31st December, 1914, there were on the average 1,495 persons killed each year by mining accidents in the United Kingdom, and 164,150 persons incapacitated for more than seven days. The weight of the mineral raised during this period was 191,909 tons per person killed, and 1,747 tons per person injured. Complete particulars of the mineral raised and persons injured in the year 1922 are not yet available, and information with regard to the number of persons injured in the year 1918 was not collected owing to the exigencies of the War. During the four years ended 31st December, 1921, there were, on the average, 1,125 persons killed each year by mining accidents, and 198,659 tons of mineral were raised per person killed. In the three years ended 31st December, 1921, 107,969 persons, on the average, were disabled for more than seven days, and 2,015 tons of mineral were raised per person injured.

asked the Minister of Health whether he has received the inspector's report of the inquiry held into the overpayment by the Liverpool Corporation of £383,000 to the contractors in connection with the Garston housing scheme; and, if so, will he cause such report to be placed upon the Table or made available for Members at the Vote Office?

The inspector's investigations are not, yet completed and I have only received an interim report. When the final report has been received, I will consider the hon. Member's suggestion that the reports should be made available for hon. Members.

asked the Prime Minister if he will furnish a Return stating the total numbers of men enrolled in the British forces during the War in the United Kingdom, the Dominions, the Colonies, and India; how many of these men were killed and wounded; what was the total cost of the British Empire participation in the War; how much of such cost was raised by taxation, direct and indirect, and how much was borrowed abroad; how much money was lent to France, to Italy, and to our other Allies; the value and tonnage of our mercantile marine lost during the War; how many lives were lost at sea by enemy action; the cost to date of war pensions, and an estimate of our future pension liabilities; the cost to Britain of the mandates she is exercising or has exercised over former enemy countries; any other expenditure of life or treasure incurred as a result of our participation in the War; and will he state the value credited for German shipping and colonies assigned to the British Empire in the name of reparations?

I am afraid that the compilation of a complete return on the lines of the question would involve prolonged labour and considerable expense, as it would be necessary to obtain elaborate information from the Dominions and India. I append such figures as are available. As regards most of the questions, it will be seen that the information given relates to the United Kingdom, and not to the whole Empire.

I.—British Empire Casualties.
—	Men Enrolled.	Killed.	Wounded.
United Kingdom.	6,211,427	743,702	1,693,262
Dominions and Colonies.	1,605,527	140,923	357,785
India	1,679,416	61,398	70,859
Total	9,496,370	946,023	2,121,906

II.—

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies (1) the number of emigrants who left Great Britain during 1919, 1920, 1921, and 1922, respectively;(2) the number of British emigrants to the United States of America during 1919, 1920, 1921, and 1922, respectively

The following statement shows the numbers of British subjects previously resident in (a) Great Britain and (b) the United Kingdom who left to take up residence in countries overseas in 1921 and 1922 respectively:

—	1921	1922.
Emigrants from Great Britain to:
All countries outside Europe.	173,421	153,003
United States of America	37,159	34,826
Emigrants from the United Kingdom to:
All countries outside Europe.	199,477	174,096
United States of America	56,393	49,902

The records for the years 1919 and 1920were seriously affected by the repatriation of persons who had been in this country for purposes connected with the War, and are, therefore, not comparable with the figures given above.