TRANSPORT (MOTOR OMNIBUSES AND COACHES).
asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport if any tests are being made of the use of the country roads by long-distance chars-à-banc with the object of arriving at, a better apportionment of the responsibility for the upkeep of those thoroughfares?
The traffic census taken last year on the Class I roads of the United Kingdom contains a special heading: "Motor omnibuses (including motor coaches)," but particulars as to the length of journey are not collected, and I doubt whether it would be practicable to do so. A census of traffic on Class II roads will be taken during the month of August this year, following the same procedure as that adopted in the case of the Class I roads.
KENYA COLONY (RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION).
asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies upon what duties the staff who are available for constructing railways in Kenya Colony, departmentally, have been and are now engaged; whether such duties occupy their full time; and for how long they have been in receipt of salaries?
The construction of the new railways in Kenya will be under the general supervision of the general manager of the Uganda Railway. He has drawn salary since the beginning of 1923; he is an official of execptionally wide experience in South Africa, and is, in the opinion of the Governor of the Colony, well able to control construction in addition to his other duties. Actual construction will be in the hands of the chief engineer of the Uganda Railway, an officer of the Royal Engineers, who has during the last two years been seconded from a railway appointment in India. I understand that his energies have not found sufficient scope in the maintenance of the present railway, but he has agreed to remain for a further period in view of the extra occupation which new construction will give him. No doubt a certain number of special temporary appointments will be necessary, and my hon. Friend may rest assured that the interests of the Uganda Railway will not be sacrificed.
asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies if he is aware that of the only two railways constructed, or being constructed, in Kenya the one built departmentally cost many times the estimated cost, and took more than twice the estimated time to complete; whether he has any information indicating that the one now being built by contract is costing considerably less than the estimated cost, and is likely to be completed at substantially less than the estimated cost and within the contract time; and what are the reasons which caused the decision to construct future railways in Kenya departmentally instead of by public contract?
The first railway mentioned by by hon. Friend is presumably the Uganda Railway, which was not built departmentally, but by a special staff working without knowledge of the country and under the control of a Committee sitting in London. As regards the second, the Uasin Gishu Railway, I understand that some considerable economy in cost is assured, and I hope that there will also be some saving in time. But the estimate was prepared at a time when prices of materials and labour were very high, and a great part, at least, of the economy is due to the fall in prices. Fortunately the work was not put out on a fixed price contract and the Government will gain a large part of the benefit of the economies. The reasons for adopting departmental construction for the further railways now contemplated in Kenya are that economy is expected, and that it is considered that the supervising staff available locally is well able to carry the work through.
asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether, in view of the serious results which attended the construction of the Uganda Railway by administrative action and, more recently, entailed by the works in the Sudan now being carried out by Messrs. S. Pearson and Son after some millions of money had been wasted in the attempt to carry out the work by administrative action, it is his intention further to experiment in the carrying out of work n the Crown Colonies on these lines?
The Colonial Office was not concerned in either of the matters referred to by my hon. Friend. In Colonial Office experience departmental construction of railways has proved to be the most satisfactory method. It is not an experiment; indeed, it would be more accurate to say that construction by contract, where it has been adopted, has been an experiment the results of which have not been uniformly successful. I have already made it clear to my hon. Friend the Member for Ashton-under-Lyne (Sir W. de Frece) that no general rule has been or will be laid down.
TELEPHONE DIRECTORY.
asked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware of the great inconvenience and loss resulting from the unreasonably long notice required before a name can be entered in the telephone directory; and whether this notice can be shortened and quarterly instead of half-yearly directories published?
The directories go to press five to six weeks before the date of publication and, owing to the magnitude of the work, this time cannot be improved upon. The directory consists of 1,024 pages, with about 180,000 entries, in which accuracy is of the greatest importance. The cost and labour involved in the preparation and printing of two additional issues yearly make such an undertaking prohibitive.
asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury if he has received any complaints as to the manner in which the telephone directories are issued from the Government printing works; is he aware that these books fall to pieces a few days after being used owing to the loose manner in which the leaves are bound together; and were similar complaints received when these directories were produced by private firms?
The answer to the first and last parts of the question are both in the affirmative. With regard to the second part, I would refer my hon. and gallant Friend to the reply given to the hon. Member for Acton (Sir H. Brittain) on the 12th March last. The expectation then held out of a material reduction in the number of faulty copies issued was not realised on the last issue, which, owing to the strike among Stationery Office paper workers, had to be carried out with the assistance of inexperienced employés, but even under these conditions the total number of copies in regard to which complaint has been made did not exceed 500 out of a total issue of 275,000 and in some of these cases the copies had not been treated fairly.
POSTAL FACILITIES, NORTHERN IRELAND.
asked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware that postal facilities in Northern Ireland are inadequate; and whether he will take steps to extend and improve them?
The postal facilities in Northern Ireland are at present under examination. Perhaps the hon. Member will let me know if he has any particular locality in mind.
TELEPHONE FACILITIES, HACKNEY AND STOKE NEWINGTON.
asked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware of the need for an increase in the number of telephone kiosks in Hackney and Stoke Newington, especially after the shops, some of which have telephones available for the public, are closed; and whether he will consider the provision of increased telephone facilities, giving a 24-hour service, both in the interests of the people and as a source of revenue to the Exchequer?
Negotiations are in progress with the borough councils concerned for suitable sites for kiosks in these districts. The kiosks will be available at all times.
HOUSE PROPERTY (INCOME TAX ASSESSMENTS).
asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give instructions to assessors of Income Tax, Schedule A, in cases where property is bona fide let under a lease for a short term of years, not to assess such property in excess of the rent actually received, notwithstanding that if the owner was free to rent the property by the year a higher rent could be obtained than that received during the currency of the lease?
The reassessment for Income Tax purposes is being made in accordance with law under which the annual value of property is the rack-rent at which it is let, or is worth to be let, by the year. In cases where property is let at a rack-rent fixed by agreement within the preceding seven years, the annual value is by law fixed at the amount of the yearly rent. If, however, the rent paid by a tenant is not a rack-rent, for example, when the tenant undertakes also to hear the cost of repairs, or pays a substantial premium on the grant of the lease, the rack-rental value of the property would often be in excess of the actual rent, and often has so been in the past.
UNIVERSITY OF WALES (GRANT).
asked the President of the Board of Education the date and amount of the last increase in the Government grant to the Welsh University; the total amount of Government grant for last year; the amount received by the University authorities under the 1d. rate which was to be raised as a condition of receiving the increased permanent grant; how these funds have been disposed of by the University authorities; whether the tuition fees charged to students have been raised; and, if so, to what extent and for what reason?
The last increase of Treasury grant to the University of Wales was one of £1,053 in respect of the current academic year, which was announced to the university on 21st December last. The total amount of Treasury grant for the last academic year (1921–22) was £95,947, of which £49,947 represented the equivalent of the produce of a 1d. rate over the whole of Wales: the equivalent grant for the current academic year has since been raised to £51,000 by the addition of the sum of £1,053 mentioned above. Full particulars of the disbursement by the university of the sums received from the produce of the 1d. rate and the Treasury grant will be found in the printed accounts of the university. The following statement appears in the Report of the University Council for the last academic yearThe council submitted to the Court at its meeting on 20th July, 1922, a full statement of the financial position of the university, and in accordance with the resolution passed at that meeting the four constituent colleges have been asked to increase the fees of all students by 25 per cent. as from 1st October, 1923. The increase will still leave the fees of Welsh colleges at a substantially lower figure than those charged in all the provincial universities of England.
BRITISH ARMY (FLOUR SUPPLIES).
asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office, if any alteration has now been made in the specification in tenders for the supply of flour required for troops at Home stations to require the use of a proportion of English wheat?
The flour used in Army bread has, under the terms of the contract, to be milled in this country, and the information which I have obtained from the millers on the subject indicates that part of it is usually, if not always, made from English wheat. The question of stipulating by the terms of contract for a definite proportion of English wheat is still under consideration; but I hope that a decision may be arrived at shortly.
RUHR OCCUPATION (BRITISH TRADE).
asked the President of the Board of Trade whether any difficulty is now experienced by British merchants and others in obtaining export licences from the French authorities for goods from the occupied areas of Germany contracted for after 1st February; and whether other difficulties placed in the way of the export of these goods have now been removed?
German Government decrees forbid firms in Germany to apply for licences to the occupying authorities, and the French and Belgian concessions which permit of applications for licences being made by or on behalf of the purchasing firms in this country only extend to contracts concluded before 1st February. Even if this date were extended, and purchasing firms were permitted by the occupying authorities to apply for licences in respect of goods contracted for subsequently, the German Government decrees would not permit of the delivery to such firms of goods contracted for since 20th February, so that the exportation of such goods would in any case be impossible.
TRANSPORT CREWS (NAVAL PASSES)
asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will cause inquiries to be mace into the case of E. Parker, a fireman on the transport "Montgomeryshire"; for what reason this man has been imprisoned and under what Act was he tried at Constantinople; whether the crews of transports are regarded as belonging to the mercantile marine or the Admiralty; and, if the former, why they require to obtain naval passes for leave ashore?
The crews of transports are engaged under Board of Trade agreement by the owners of the ships. No information is available in the Board of Trade regarding the case of E. Parker, or whether naval passes are required by crews of transports, but inquiry on these points will be made.
INDIA (DR. McGOVERN'S VISIT TO LHASA).
asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether the Government of India recently issued a communiqué to the Press regarding the visit of Dr. McGovern to Lhasa; and, if so, what was the substance of it?
A communiqué was issued on the 30th April. I am sending the hon. Member a copy.
ANIMALS (SLAUGHTER).
asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he will do everything possible to expedite the compulsory introduction of the humane killer into this country?
I canot undertake to promote legislation for the purpose suggested at the present time. It is, however, open to any local authority to adopt the model bye-law which has been issued by my Department providing for the compulsory use of a humane killer, and 90 local authorities have already adopted this bye-law.
ASSIZES (YOUNG OFFENDERS).
asked the Home Secretary what is the percentage of convictions of the total number of persons between the ages of 16 and 21 years committed for trial at assizes in the year 1921?
The number of persons between the ages of 16 and 21 tried at Assizes in the year 1921 was 379; of these 303 (or 80 per cent.) were convicted.
MINERS' DISPUTE, NANTGARW (POLICE).
asked the Home Secretary whether he is aware that a strong force of police was imported into Nantgarw, Glamorgan, on the 10th, 11th and 12th June, on the occasion of the decision of the miners of that district to cease work, and that the importation of police is regarded by the people of that town as being unwarranted and a reflection upon its inhabitants; whether this importation took place with the authority of his Department; and, if so, whether he will refrain from repeating this action, which is interpreted as an attempt to overawe the workers when acting in pursuance of legitimate trade union activity?
I am informed that the local superintendent, an inspector and four constables from neighbouring beats went to Nantgarw on the occasion in question so as to be available if required. The answer to the second part of the question is in the negative, and the remainder does not therefore arise.