asked the Under-Secretary for War whether he is prepared to grant a Return showing the number of men examined for military service during the War and the number and percentage classified as C3 in each of the English counties?

The Report published by the Ministry of National Service as Cmd. 504 contains numerous statistics for various localities, but I do not know of any other statistics, and I do not think that the labour and expense of preparing a special Return is justifiable.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that there are subalterns now in the Royal Malta Artillery of 21 years' service and over, and that they have nothing further to look forward to except compulsory retirement at the age of 50; and what decision has been arrived at regarding the promotion and the rules for age and retirement of officers of the Royal Malta Artillery?

I am aware of the position as regards subalterns, but I regret that I am not yet able to announce a decision.

asked the Minister of Pensions whether he is aware that the present system of summoning all pensioners in the East

asked the Minister of Pensions whether anything is being done

I am afraid the suggestion made by the Noble Lord would not be practicable. I would point out, however, that, in addition to Nottingham, there are boarding centres in several large towns in the East Midlands region, and that reasonable travelling expenses and compensation for loss of remunerative time are paid to men summoned for medical examination.

asked the Minister of Pensions what is the number of permanent women civil servants above the higher clerical grade now employed in his Department; what was their length of service on appointment; what was their date of appointment; what were their salaries immediately prior to appointment; and what salaries are they receiving now?

The number of permanent women civil servants above the higher clerical grade now employed in the Ministry is seven. The following are the particulars:for the identification of ex-service men who are inmates of mental institutions and have not yet been identified; and will he publish the names of these men at regular and short intervals?

I am informed that there are no unidentified ex-service men in mental asylums. In view of the distress and anxiety which is occasioned to relatives of ex-service men by suggestions that there are a number of unidentified ex-service men in asylums, I am glad to have had this opportunity of stating the position and trust it will receive wide publicity.

asked the Minister of Pensions if he is now in a position to state what is the total number of ex-service men his Department has declined further responsibility for and handed over to the care of the Poor Law?

I assume the hon. Member is referring to the cases of ex-service men in asylums whose insanity has at no time been accepted by the Ministry as connected with their war service. My right hon. Friend regrets that he is not yet in a position to give any more exact figure than that stated in the reply given to the hon. Member on the 15th February last, as a number of appeals have still to be heard by the tribunal. I may perhaps remind the hon. Member that pending the hearing of their appeals the Ministry bear the cost of the men's treatment and maintenance.

asked the Minister of Health what steps, if any, are taken to provide ex-service men, who have received instructional training under the scheme formulated by the Government, with employment at the conclusion of their training; and whether many of these trained men have been prevented from obtaining employment owing to restrictions imposed by trade unions and to the fact that trade unionists refuse to work with them notwithstanding the undertaking given to the Government before the scheme was put into force?

The steps taken to obtain employment for disabled ex-service men who have received training are to canvass employers, to advertise for vacancies, and to stimulate public opinion by holding meetings and in other ways. Trainees enter the workshops of employers under arrangements by which the State pays a diminishing and the employer an increasing proportion of the trainee's remuneration. On the cessa- tion of the State payments, the employer pays an increasing proportion of the district rate. At the conclusion of training the trainee is accepted by the trade union as a fully skilled man. In some districts certain trade unions have objected to trainees being employed in preference to unemployed skilled men, but in general the trade unions have co-operated whole-heartedly in the scheme and we have no evidence that many trainees are prevented from obtaining employment owing to trade union opposition.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India what proportion of the total revenue of India is derived from sales of opium and from licence fees and excise duties on opium; how much opium is produced annually for export and how much for internal consumption in India; and what acreage is at present under poppy cultivation?

The latest complete figures available regarding opium are for 1920–21. In that year the total revenue derived from the sale of opium, licence fees, and excise duties was about 3 per cent. of the gross revenue of India. The number of chests manufactured in the opium year ending 31st October, 1921, was 12,524, of which 5,800 chests were for export and 6,724 chests for internal consumption. The area under poppy in that year was 116,056 acres, after deducting failures.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies what proportion of the revenue of the following colonies is derived from sales of opium and licence fees and excise duties on opium; and how many selling permits are issued, and how many smoking rooms are licensed, in each colony, respectively; the Straits Settlements, Hong Kong, the Malay States, each of the unfederated Malay States under British protection, Ceylon, Brunei, Sarawak, and British North Borneo?

The information in the possession of the Colonial Office does not enable me to reply fully to the question, and the various Governments concerned are being requested to supply statements.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he is aware of the large numbers of ex-members of the Royal Irish Constabulary who had their furniture and effects maliciously destroyed prior or subsequent to disbandment, and who obtained degrees for compensation as long as three years ago which have not hitherto been met; whether this Government or the Government of the Irish Free State are responsible for the awards in question; and what steps are being taken to meet them?

I have been asked to answer this question. Pre-truce decrees for damage to property granted to ex-members of the Royal Irish Constabulary are subject to the same conditions as pre-truce decrees granted to other persons, namely, they are, if the claims were undefended, liable to review by the Compensation (Ireland) Commision and the awards of the Commission are payable, in the first instance, by the Free State Government. I am satisfied that the Commission are dealing with ex-members of the Royal Irish Constabulary as quickly as possible, having due regard to the claims of other persons. Meanwhile, however, in the majority of such cases advances amounting to the whole or a considerable proportion of the decree have been made subject to repayment when the compensation is paid by the Free State Government, and in any case in which there is a balance outstanding and hardship is caused by the delay in payment, it is open to the man concerned to make application for an advance to the Irish Grants Committee. As regards post-truce damage, claims in respect of such losses may be made, and in many cases have been made to the Royal Irish Constabulary Tribunal, and, if the loss is not such as can be said to arise out of disbandment, to the Royal Irish Grants Committee.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will give the names of those Colonies and Protectorates in which the Secretary of State considers the conditions to be such that their adherence to the 1921 Convention for the suppression of the traffic in women and children is either unnecessary or impracticable; and in what respect the conditions in these Colonies and Protectorates differ from the conditions in such Colonies and Protectorates as have adhered?

It has been decided that adherence to the Convention is unnecessary and impracticable in the ease of Nigeria, Ashanti, the Northern Territories of the Gold Coast, the Protectorate, but not the Colony, of Sierra Leone, and the Uganda Protectorate. The reasons are, that in the conditions prevailing locally the state of things which the Convention contemplates does not exist. The situation will be carefully watched, and if there is reason to believe that the evils, which the Convention is designed to obviate, are likely to spring up locally, the necessary legislation will be adopted.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the sum of £40,000,000 allocated for Sinking Funds in the present Budget excludes the amount by which the liability in respect of terminable annuities will be reduced during the year?

This amount is included in the total provision of £40,000,000.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if any agreement has been reached by the Allies with respect to payment to the United States for the cost of maintaining the American Army while on the Rhine; and, if so, what is the amount?

This question is still under discussion between the United States Government and the Allied Governments concerned.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if the Reichsbank has trans- ferred to Switzerland 100,000,000 gold marks; and if the Reparation Commission approve of this action of the German Republic?

I have no information with respect to this transaction.

asked the President of the Board of Trade the quantities and

asked the President of the Board of Trade what was the importation of skimmed condensed milk in the first three months of this year as compared with the corresponding period of 1922; and did these imports bear conspicuous labels to warn mothers that this skimmed condensed milk is, in the view of the Ministry of Health, unfit for infants?

The quantity of sweetened condensed milk manufactured from separated or skimmed milk

The following statement shows the quantities and values of the principal descriptions of cotton manufactures exported from the United Kingdom and registered as consigned to the United States during the periods specified, as far as the particulars are available:imported into the United Kingdom during the quarter ended 31st March, 1923, amounted to 330,355 cwts., valued at £894,842, as compared with 278,230 cwts., valued at £829,753, in the corresponding period of 1922. Similar particulars in respect of the imports, if any, of unsweetened condensed milk manufactured from separated or skimmed milk are not available. I am informed by the Minister of Health that no Regulation is yet in operation requiring that condensed milk manufactured from separated or skimmed milk should bear a label, "Unfit for infants."

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been called to the claim of the Marshall Shipping Company, Limited, against the Board of Trade, in which the company seeks to recover from the Board, as the successors of the Ministry of Shipping, the sum of £20,000 imposed by that Ministry as a condition of granting the company a permit for the sale of the steamship "Holms Island" whether it is with his knowledge that the Board is defending such action; and upon what authority it was decided to impose this charge without the authority of Parliament?

The answers to the first and second parts of this question are in the affirmative. The circumstances in which licences in such cases were imposed are stated in the Memorandum on the War Charges Validity Bill (Cmd. 1843).

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport why, in view of the satisfactory results obtained by the use of ordinary crude gas tar, the Roads Department insists on local authorities using dehydrated or refined tar on roads under their jurisdiction at a higher cost to the ratepayers?

I am not prepared to admit that the use of ordinary crude gas tar for road works has been generally attended with satisfactory results. Many instances to the contrary could be quoted, especially in areas where roads drain into fishing streams. In order to secure a tar of known constituents and ascertained qualities, a specification has been drawn up by my Department, after consultation with representatives of the interests concerned, and, while local authorities are not debarred from using crude tar, the observance of the Roads Department specification is a condition attaching to all grants made from the Road Fund.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport whether, in view of the unsatisfactory delay on the part of railway companies in reducing railway rates and in view of the great expense imposed on traders in making application to the Railway Rates Tribunal, he will consider the introduction of a small amending Bill amending the Railway Act in order to give the Minister of Transport power to make an application to this tribunal if, in his opinion, the action of the railways is prejudicial to trade?

I cannot agree that application to the Railway Rates Tribunal involves great expense to the traders or other applicants. The tribunal's rules of procedure and scale of fees have been drawn up with a view to facilitating access to its jurisdiction. Before the "appointed day" the provisions of the Railways Act, 1921, afford ample means whereby traders can bring to the determination of the tribunal questions as to railway charges. When standard charges have been fixed, the Act requires the tribunal to review the position each year, and while the Minister may direct that after the second annual review a review shall not be held in any year, no such direction may extend to a company in respect of which the Board of Trade have requested that a review shall be held. In these circumstances, I see no reason to introduce legislation to amend the Railways Act, 1921, on the lines suggested by the hon. Member.

asked the Home Secretary whether he is aware that a commission of 5 per cent., and in some cases a higher rate, is being paid for the collection of tithe under the Welsh Church Act, 1914; and whether, in view of the financial position of the Church Commissioners and the comparative ease with which tithe is collected, steps will be taken to reduce the cost of collection?

I am aware that hitherto a commission of 5 per cent. has been paid, and 6½ per cent. in the urban areas of the Cardiff collection. I am informed that the condition of the tithe rentals handed over to the Commissioners, the fact that tithe collection generally is based on maps and apportionments created between 1836 and 1848, and the general breaking up of large estates during recent years, have made the collection of tithe rent charge a difficult matter, and the Commissioners had to obtain the most expert assistance they could find. The Commissioners are continually giving the matter their attention and have, in fact, already made arrangements under which the rate of commission paid throughout the greater part of North Wales shall in future be only 4 per cent.

asked the. Home Secretary whether a communication has been addressed to every local authority to which a burial ground is transferable under the Welsh Church Act, 1914, inquiring whether the authority is prepared to accept such transfer; whether any local authorities have declined; and, if so, will he furnish the names of such authorities?

No such communication has been addressed to local authorities generally. In the following cases, where transfer of a burial ground has been proposed, the local authority has declined to accept, namely; Llangattock-Lingoed, Boughrood, and Llanddarog.

asked the Under-Secretary to the Scottish Board of Health if he is aware of the continued dissatisfaction among the fishermen on the west coast of Scotland, because of the inadequate policing of the coast against the depredations of trawlers within the three-mile limit; and does he propose to take steps at once to remedy this grievance?

My Noble Friend is aware of the complaints made from time to time by fishermen in particular districts of the West Coast to the effect that their districts are not receiving sufficient attention from the fishery cruisers. The Fishery Board are always ready to devote special attention to any section of the coast where complaints of illegal trawling are supported by specific information, and they have recently been following this course in the case of the part of the coast in which the hon. Member is specially interested.

asked the First Commissioner of Works when the Round Pond, in Kensington Gardens, the cleansing of which has been completed for some time, is to be refilled with water?

A commencement has now been made with the refilling of the Round Pond, and it is anticipated that it will be filled in a fortnight.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he is aware that the Village Clubs' Association has received from the Ministry of Agriculture Returns, under Section 8 (4) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries Act, 1919, from 19 English county councils, all of which show a great need in many villages for village halls and clubs; whether he is aware that the executive committee of the association have unanimously stated that they are unable to cope with the work under the conditions recently laid down by the Development Commissioners; and what action, if any, he is prepared to take in the matter?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. With regard to the second part, I am informed that, as the Association felt unable to accept the conditions suggested by the Development Commissioners, the matter has been reconsidered, and a grant from the Development Fund on a £ for £ basis, amounting to £1,140, has been approved, and one-half of this sum has already been paid to the Association.

asked the Postmaster General if he is aware that on 12th April a speech by Mr. B. S. Townroe, of the "Building News," was broadcasted from the London broadcasting station on the subject of the threatened building lockout, in which it was stated that building wages had increased to a rate higher than in any pre-War year, and no mention was made of the fact that real wages were 17 per cent. lower than pre-War; and whether he is taking any steps to secure that any broadcasted political or industrial news will be stated in an unbiased manner?

I think it is undesirable that the broadcasting service should be used for the dissemination of speeches on controversial matters, and I have had the attention of the British Broadcasting Company called to the incident to which the hon. Member refers.

asked the Postmaster-General (1) whether, in view of the very large profits being made by the firms which form the British Broadcasting Company, he is taking any steps to reduce the royalties received by the company and to control the profits of the constituent firms, respectively;(2)whether, in view of the unexpectedly rapid development of broadcasting and of the inadequacy of the British Broadcasting Company agreement to meet the needs of the new situation, he is taking any steps to revise or cancel the agreement?

I would refer the hon. Member to the statement I made on the subject on the 19th instant. As I then stated, I propose to refer the whole question to a Committee.