asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether he has received any information as to the proceedings at the meeting of the Third International at Moscow; and if he can state what steps will be taken to counteract the methods employed by the British Communist party of working through the Indian students at the English universities and of sending out to India expert propagandists in the guise of British workers going out there to various ports, and of conducting an extensive and active anti-militarist propaganda among the British and native troops in India?

Before this question is answered, Mr. Speaker, may I ask you whether it is in order for an hon. and gallant Member to make a statement under the guise of putting a question to the Minister, as in this particular case?

I presume that the hon. and gallant Gentleman has satisfied himself as to the foundation of his question.

Accounts of certain proceedings at the meeting in question have been published. With regard to the second portion of the question, I would assure my hon. and gallant Friend that if any reliable information of the nature suggested is received, suitable action will be taken. But he will, I am sure, not expect me to advertise the exact steps that might in this event be adopted.

Have His Majesty's Government any objection to anti-militarist propaganda?

Certainly among the troops. It is one of the first principles of government to prevent such propaganda.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether he has any information to the effect that the Nizam of Hyderabad has commissioned an eminent Indian lawyer, Sir Ali Imam, to come to this country in order to make representations with a view to securing acceptance of the proposal to return the administration of the Berars to the Nizam of Hyderabad; and whether he proposes to receive representations made in such a manner?

I have seen suggestions to that effect in some Indian newspapers, but I have no official information; nor, in so far as the question were one of the private proceedings of the ruler of an Indian State, would the Secretary of State be concerned with it. But it is obvious that no representations will be considered by my Noble Friend, unless they be made in the constitutional manner through the Government of India.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India if his attention has been called to the attack by certain national volunteers, carrying a national flag in one hand and a sledgehammer in the other, on the Holwell monument in Calcutta, erected by Lord Curzon, at his own expense, when Viceroy of India, to the memory of all those who perished in the Black Hole; whether, considering that this action is apparently a reflex of the attacks on the Lawrence statue at Lahore and may rapidly extend to attacks on all memorials throughout India, he will state what steps have been taken to put a stop to this movement; and whether these national volunteers have been proclaimed an illegal association?

I have seen reports in the Press as to attempts to damage this monument. They include a statement that two men were sentenced to one year's and six months' imprisonment respectively, while a third was discharged, after giving an undertaking of good behaviour. No report has been received as to any proclamation of unlawful associations by the Government of Bengal in connection with these incidents.

Does the Under-Secretary not think that there is great danger of this agitation spreading, and is it not necessary that some special steps should be taken to protect these ancient monuments?

I can assure the hon. and gallant Gentleman that steps are being taken and, as he will see from my answer, those who have attempted to cause trouble and mischief in regard to these various memorials have been dealt with severely.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether his Department maintain or assist any hostels or homes for Indian students in this country; if so, will he state how many are so helped and where they are situated; how many students are housed in them; if they are restricted to only law and medical students; can he state what method is adopted to attract students to such homes; and what is the approximate annual cost of the same to his Department?

No hostels or homes for Indian students in this country are maintained, assisted, or controlled by the India Office. One such hostel is maintained and controlled by the High Commissioner for India on behalf of the Government of India. With the hon. Member's permission, I will circulate in the OFFICIAL REPORT information regarding this institution which has been furnished to me by the High Commissioner.

Following is the information referred to:

There is only one hostel for Indian students maintained by the Government of India which is under the supervisory control of the High Commissioner for India. This is situated at 21, Cromwell Road, South Kensington, and provides accommodation for 33 men. The accommodation provided is available for any Indian who is a bona fide student, and is not restricted to any particular class. The hostel was established to provide for the accommodation of students on their first arrival, until they are able to find permanent lodgings. Full particulars regarding the accommodation available are given in the Handbook for Indian Students," pages 6 and 7, a publication of the High Commissioner for India, whilst the Advisory Committees in India are also in a position to supply full information about this hostel to students about to proceed to England who consult them. The approximate amount disbursed through the office of the High Commissioner for India, from Indian revenues in respect of the hostel was, for 1922–23, £2,300, as compared with £2,900 for 1921–22, and £3,700 for 1920–21.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India what progress has been made as regards improving the homes for lascar seamen in London and other ports in this country; whether any result has come from the conference of shipowners called by his Department some months ago; and can he make any statement on the subject?

The shipping companies concerned have undertaken to send lascars only to homes approved by the India Office at ports in the United Kingdom where such homes exist. The Strangers' Home for Asiatics in London and the Sailors' Home at Glasgow have, after full inquiries, been approved for this purpose. When these homes are full their superintendents will arrange for the provision of other accommodation at homes which they have found to be satisfactory. At Cardiff arrangements have been made for the periodical inspection of a privately owned boarding-house on behalf of the India Office, and for its recognition so long as the inspection reports are satisfactory. No need has been found for making arrangements of the kind at other ports.

Does that also apply to the case of the Arabs?

My Noble Friend the Secretary of State for India is only concerned with the arrangements for Indian Nationals. These arrangements are partly the outcome of an inspection made by myself about six months ago. What is being done in the case of Arab seamen I do not know, as they come under the jurisdiction of the Colonial Office.

Has any objection been taken to the housing of lascars in sailors' homes which are occupied by white seamen?

All these homes are more or less exclusively set apart for the reception of Asiatics, certainly in London, and I believe in the case of the other two, but I would like notice of that question.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether an official has been sent home from Dar-es-Salaam to purchase motor cars for the local government; whether, in that case, he will state why such purchases could not have been carried out by the Crown agents; and whether the latter, in a case of this nature, receive a commission to cover their expenses?

No official has been sent to this country by the Government of the Tanganyika. Territory for the purpose stated. The Tanganyika Government has decided to purchase certain new motor cars and lorries. These purchases are being made through the Crown agents for the Colonies in the usual way, but advantage is being taken of the presence in this country, on leave, of the Tanganyika Government transport officer to obtain his advice upon the types of vehicle best suited to local conditions. The Crown agents are authorisd to charge a commission of 2½ per cent. of the net f.o.b. cost upon motor vehicles purchased by them on behalf of Colonial Governments. This commission goes to meet, but does not cover, the cost of the Crown agents' expenses.

Can we be certain that these motor cars and lorries will be British, and American?

Certainly as to the lorries, but I do not know whether there may not be certain Fords which are necessary. Very often they are a type of car which are absolutely necessary for certain purposes.

Is the Under-Secretary not aware that there are a number of British makers producing cars in this country capable of doing all the work that Ford cars can do?

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he is now in a position to inform the House as to the circumstances under which 14 persons were hanged in public at Oron, Calabar, and 12 hanged at Calabar; whether these persons were allowed counsel at their trial and found guilty by a jury; whether the execution of these sentences was specifically sanctioned by the officer administering the government in Executive Council in accordance with the Colonial Regulations; whether the practice of executions in public is approved by the Government; and what directions have been given to Governors of non-responsible-government Colonies with regard to the carrying out of capital sentences for the future?

Eighteen murderers were hanged in public at Oron, in the Eket district of the Calabar Province, in April, 1919, namely, eight on the 22nd of April and 10 on the 23rd. The Eket district was at the end of 1918 in a very unsettled state following the influenza epidemic, which was attributed to witchcraft, and a large number of murders had taken place. Early in 1919 a military patrol was despatched to the district, order was restored, and many persons suspected of being concerned in the murders were arrested. Sixty-three were tried in the provincial court of the Calabar Province by the Resident or by the District Officer, sitting with native assessors, and as a result 51 were convicted of murder or offences connected with the murders. I will circulate the remainder of the answer in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

Were these natives allowed to be represented by counsel at the trial, and were they tried by a jury? Why is it that the Colonial Office is unaware of these things?

I gather that the only Report we then had was considered sufficient. It was a report from the Colony on the subject, dealing with it generally, and not in detail. We have since got a detailed Report which was asked for later. I understand that there is no trial by jury system in that part of Nigeria.

What about counsel?

I do not think counsel were so employed, so far as I can gather.

Is it not a fact that, unless these executions in witchcraft cases take place in public, the natives refuse to believe that the witch doctors have been killed?

Cases of that kind have arisen, particularly in the heart of tropical Africa. The natives often believe that somebody else is substituted.

Were these men prevented from employing counsel?

I do not think so. The question was as to whether they had counsel in this particular case.

Following is the remainder of the answer:

Twenty were sentenced to death for murder, but, in the case of two, the officer administering the Government in Executive Council commuted the death sentence. Counsel and juries are not employed in Nigerian Provincial Courts for reasons which are fully explained in Sir Frederick Lugard's Report on the Amalgamation of Northern and Southern Nigeria (Command 468, page 23), but in all these 18 cases the death sentences were confirmed by the Chief Justice of Nigeria after reviewing the proceedings at the trials, and were specifically sanctioned by the officer administering the Government in Executive Council after each case had been separately considered. The form of order for execution in use in Nigeria provides that the condemned person shall be executed at a time and place to be appointed by the Resident of the Province. The Resident ordered that the executions should take place at Oron, which had been the scene of so many murders, and as there is no prison there the executions took place in public, a special scaffold being erected for the purpose. In any case it was desirable to hang these murderers with some publicity in order to convince the primitive natives of the locality that they had been executed, and had not escaped punishment by the exercise of magical powers. The Nigerian Government has now issued instructions that no execution shall be carried out in public in future without the express sanction of the Governor. The normal practice in the Colonies is to execute capital sentences in the prisons and no special directions are considered necessary. As regards executions at Calabar, seven murderers were hanged there on 29th May, 1919, and nine more on the following day. I can ask for a special Report on those executions if the hon. Member so desires, but it is probable that they were carried out in the prison in the normal way.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies how Palestine is at present being administered; who appoints the officials and from whom do they get their authority and instructions; is it His Majesty's Government's intention to form a self-determination government; and can he give his assurance that Palestine will be administered by British authority and Palestine governed as a Crown Colony?

Palestine is being administered by a High Commissioner acting under the instructions of His Majesty's Government. The High Commissioner is appointed by His Majesty the King. The other officials of the Palestine administration are appointed by the High Commissioner subject to the direction of the Secretary of State for the Colonies. They are under the orders of the High Commissioner. In regard to the last two parts of the question the policy of His Majesty's Government was defined in Command Paper No. 1700 which was laid in this House in June, 1922.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies if his attention has been called to the decision arrived at by the Palestine Arab Congress when it was resolved to reject any loan for Palestine; and can he state how the money advanced by Crown agents to Palestine will be repaid, seeing that no loan will be floated?

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Baronet the Member for Orkney on the 25th June regarding the status of the Arab Congress referred to. The reso- lutions of the Congress are not binding upon the Palestine administration. I do not accept the assumption made by the hon. Member in the closing words of his question.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies the number of Jews who have emigrated to Palestine during the last 12 months from English-speaking countries; and will he give the total number of Jews who have settled in that period?

The number of Jews who emigrated to Palestine from English-speaking countries during the year 1922 was 200, out of a total of 7,844, and for the months January to May, 1923, the number was 34, out of a total of 4,088.

Can the hon. Gentleman say what cost these Jews have entailed on the British taxpayer?

None at all. The whole cost of the emigration was borne entirely by the Jews themselves.

I mean the cost of holding the country for their spiritual home?

The object of our being in Palestine is not merely to hold it for a spiritual home, as the hon. and gallant Gentleman calls it, for the Jews. There are other reasons.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether any compensation, in addition to the ordinary retiring allowance, will be granted to civil servants who have lost their employment on being retrenched from the Kenya service before reaching retiring age?

Additional compensation in respect of abolition of office is not proposed, and it has not been customary in East Africa.

May I ask if these officials are being treated on a different basis from retired civil servants on the West Coast?

I cannot say off-hand. But in view of the necessity for cutting down the Kenya Budget by so large a sum in one year, I agree it puts it quite out of the question that any additional sum should be given in these cases.

Is it not a standing rule throughout the British Empire that when a civil servant's office is abolished, he should receive some compensation in respect of the original office?

Yes, he receives compensation. But this is a question of additional compensation, and I am informed that it has not been customary in any case in East Africa.

What compensation do they receive?

I think it is based on one-sixtieth of the salary for so many years' service.

Do they receive as liberal terms as the manager of the. British Empire Exhibition?

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether conversations between the India Office and the Colonial Office with relation to the Kenya Settlement have yet been renewed since each Department has heard the views of the various deputations now in this country from Kenya?

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether the question of the reformed Constitution of Kenya Colony has yet been settled?

I cannot say more at the moment than that the whole matter is engaging the close attention of my Noble Friend the Secretary of State, and that I hope to be in a position to make a statement in the Debate on the Colonial Office Vote.

Will that statement be the result of consultations with the India Office?

Most certainly. My Noble Friend and the Secretary of State for India are in frequent personal communication, and I shall not be able to make the statement until the matter has been before the Cabinet.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he has yet received any report from the officer administering the Government of Kenya in reply to the inquiry as to whether British patrols had captured men raiding on the Abyssinian border for slaves, and whether the captures included rifles with the Abyssinian Government stamp on them?

No, Sir. There has been barely time for a reply, even if there has been no need to refer to officers serving on the frontier.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he is aware that a letter was despatched to Sir Charles Bowring, Acting Administrator of Kenya Colony, and dated 29th May, signed by the president of the Kikuyu Association and others, asking for permission for two Kikuyu delegates to proceed to England in order to state the native side of the Kenya question; and whether, seeing that this request was made by three well known chiefs and was entirely voluntary, he will say why this permission was not granted?

It is clearly desirable that a decision on the Kenya question should not be delayed unnecessarily by the despatch of fresh delegations, and in this case the Acting Governor has reported that the request of the Kikuyu elders for permission to send a deputation was withdrawn at a meeting at which two of the leading elders were present.

Would any difficulty have ensued, seeing that this letter was dated 29th May?

It was hoped that the Kenya discussions would have been over some time before now, but they are rapidly approaching a conclusion.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies what Department is responsible for advising the Secretary of State for the Colonies as to whether Colonial railways should be constructed departmentally or by private enterprise?

In arriving at a decision on a question of policy of this kind the Secretary of State, would consider the opinions of the Colonial Government concerned and the advice given by the officers of his own Department, including the Commercial Adviser to the Secretary of State. He would probably also consult the Crown Agents for the Colonies.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether the terms of reference of the Committee which he has announced will be set up to consider the question of the construction, by private enterprise or otherwise, of the African railways will include consideration as to the method of building the projected railways in Kenya, or is the decision of the Secretary of State that these railways shall be constructed departmentally to be looked upon as final.

The answer to the first part of the hon. and gallant Member's question is in the negative, and to the second part in the affirmative.

The terms of reference of the Committee are as fellow: To consider whether, and, if so, what, measures could be taken to encourage private enterprise in the development of the British Dependencies in East and West tropical Africa, with special reference to existing and projected schemes of transportation; and to report to the Secretary of State for the Colonies.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether, in view of the official statement that the supervising railway staff in Kenya available locally is well able to carry through the work of railway construction now planned, he will state what the normal work of such staff is and how it comes about that they have sufficient time to devote to extra very comprehensive duties which in no way come into the sphere of activity for which they were engaged?

The circumstances were fully explained in my written reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Ashton-under-Lyne on the 3rd July. For the senior staff of an important railway it is essential that the best possible men should be obtained. When really good men have been obtained it is not unreasonable to find that their energies are equal to a wider activity than that afforded by the ordinary duties of their posts. Apart from that, while I cannot say that the terms of appointment of either of the officers immediately concerned expressly covered duties in connection with construction, I am not prepared to admit that such duties are in any way foreign to the scope of their employment.

Is it not correct that Mr. Hammond in his Report stated that they never made the slightest attempt to train their own technical staff, and that they imported the necessary additions from overseas, mainly from India? In view of that fact, is there any reason for believing that the present staff have any technical qualifications for carrying out the work of local railway construction?

I am afraid that would lead to a debate.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he can, before the Colonial Office Vote is taken, lay Papers concerning the negotiations with the British South Africa Company concerning Southern and Northern Rhodesia?

I hope that it may be possible to lay Papers within the next few days.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies the present position relative to the grant of constitutional reforms to Ceylon; and whether despatches outlining the new constitution have yet been sent out to the Colony?

Papers on this subject have recently been presented to Parliament. The Secretary of State has addressed despatches to the Governor which will be laid before the Legislative Council on their receipt in Ceylon, and will subsequently be published here.

Are the papers recently published the last that have passed on this question? Has any decision been come to by the Government to modify the proposal in any particular direction?

Will this House be required to ratify this constitution or to approve of it in any way? If so, will care be taken that we have an opportunity to discuss the matter on the Colonial Office Vote?

It will be in order to discuss it on that Vote. These modifications in Colonial constitutions are always made by Letters Patent and are not the subject of legislation in this House. They are thus more easily modified. There are a good many of these cases in the West Indies and many changes are being made. In reply to the first supplementary question, certain changes have been made in the original proposal as the result of representations we have received. I was under the impression that a further document, in addition to the one referred to by the hon. and gallant Member, was laid at the end of last week. If it was not, it will be laid this week. The final despatch is, I think, in draft, but before it is issued it will have to be laid in Ceylon.

Can we have an undertaking that before the Letters Patent are issued, there will be an opportunity for the House to discuss the matter?

I think I am correct in saying that there is no possibility of the Letters Patent being issued before the Colonial Vote is taken the week after next.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether, seeing that a Somaliland chief who had been deported to the Seychelles was allowed to return to his country in May, 1922, upon surety being provided by the relatives, His Majesty's Government would be prepared to consider favourably a proposal for permitting the early return to Ashanti of King Prempeh under similar sureties?

The question of Prempeh's return has recently been discussed verbally with the Governor of the Gold Coast, and the Secretary of State concurred with him in thinking that Prempeh's return to Ashanti could not be sanctioned at present. I may add that the Somaliland chief to whom my hon. Friend refers was not released, but is still detained in Seychelles.

Are not the Government showing unnecessary timidity in regard to the return of King Prempeh?

I happen to have discussed this matter personally with the late Commissioner for Ashanti, who has just concluded his term of service. I have also discussed it with the new Commissioner who is going out. I shall get a further Report from him on political conditions in Ashanti before we take any further action in the matter.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether Mr. Couper, formerly general manager of the Uganda Railway, has been superseded; and, if so, for what reasons?

No, Sir. Mr. Couper applied for permission to retire on the pension for which he was qualified in respect of his 25 years' colonial service. His East African service amounted to 20 years, which, under the Regulations, renders an East African official eligible for voluntary retirement.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will present copies of such documents as are desired by the Irish Government to them, and thereafter require all documents and records at present in Ireland essential for the British people in England, Scotland, and Wales in respect to historical, industrial, legal, and property rights duly placed in the Public Records Office in London?

No, Sir, I am not aware of any sufficient ground for such an arrangement, which I think would be likely to impose grave disadvantages on British subjects in Ireland without any corresponding advantages to residents in this country. Provision for the transfer of the Public Record Office in Dublin to the then Provisional Government was made in Part I of the Schedule of the Order in Council dated 1st April, 1922.

Will not the Government take steps, in the case of State documents which are really of no use in Ireland, to bring them over here, for safe custody in the Record Office?

If there are such documents which would be more important over here than over there, and have not been destroyed, that would obviously be taken into consideration, but I am not aware that there are any such documents left.

Are we really to understand that all the State documents from the time of Henry II are destroyed?

Oh, no, not all.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether, having regard to the fact that £7,000,000 was voted recently by the Dail for the compensation of injuries to persons and property in the Irish Free State, he has been able to ascertain whether the awards of the Wood-Renton Commission, as published in the "Dublin Gazette" up to the end of May of this year, have yet been met?

No, Sir; the awards gazetted up to the end of May have not yet been fully met. I have recently had the advantage of a discussion on this subject with members of the Free State Government, and I hope to have an opportunity of making a statement when the Colonial Office Vote is under discussion in the House.

Has not the hon. Gentleman repeatedly told us that they would be paid by the beginning of July, and how is it that a further delay has now occurred?

That would take me some time to explain. I was over in Dublin on Saturday, and went through the machinery of the various Commissions, and I should have something to say on that.

Is the statement in the first part of my question, that £7,000,000 has been voted, correct, and, if so, why have not the awards been met?

It has been voted, but it was suddenly found that it was not at present to the credit of the Government of Ireland.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he is aware that, with the consent of the British Government, the Wood-Renton Commission have imposed a rebuilding Clause in the majority of the awards which they have hitherto made; that in the Land Purchase Bill which is now passing through the Dail the Free State Government is taking power to take over any land; and, since this power, if exercised, would render the rebuilding of his house by the owner of demesne or untenanted land useless where the Free State Government intend to exercise their right of acquisition, will he use his endeavours to have the rebuilding Clause struck out and the sum allowed for in the price at which the land in question is being acquired from the present owner?

In reply to the first part of the question, while it is the case that the Wood-Renton Commission has attached a reinstatement condition to a considerable proportion of the awards made by them in respect of the destruction of or injury to buildings, I understand that, generally speaking, the condition is attached only to a portion, and in very many cases to a small portion, of the award. In reply to the second part, Clause 21 (3) empowers the Land Commission to acquire, by agreement or at a fair valuation, and subject to an appeal to the judicial Commissioner, land such as park or demesne land, which is normally excepted from the operation of the Bill, in cases where they certify that such land is required for the purpose of relieving congestion. In reply to the third part, if it should happen that, in pursuance of this provision, the Land Commission should certify that they require demesne or untenanted land on which is situated a building in respect of which an award of compensation subject to reinstatement has been issued, then I am advised that such an award, whether or not the condition has been carried out, is an obvious element in the fair valuation of the land, and the effect of such acquisition by the Land Commission, therefore, will be that the cash value of the award is added to the purchase price of the land. In these circumstances, the object desired by the hon. and gallant Member would appear already attained, and I see no ground for any further action in the matter. I may say that when I was in Dublin I brought this question to the notice of the Free State Government, and received that assurance from them.

Will the awards for rebuilding be paid in cash, and not in Irish Land Bonds?

Yes, any award which the Wood-Renton Commission make for cash will be paid in cash.

Has the British Parliament ever sanctioned forcing men who have been driven out of Ireland through terror of their lives to spend money on rebuilding houses which they can never occupy?

That is an argument.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he can now inform the House why the defended decrees obtained between January, 1919, and July, 1921, in the cases of H. V. Macnamara, Edith Macnamara, W. W. Manning, John Smyth, and Orlando Osborne, have not been paid by the Irish Free State Government as agreed with the British Government; how many defended decrees were obtained during the period mentioned; and what total amount is still unpaid?

I have asked for the information desired by the hon. Member, and hope to be able to give it to him at an early date.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that I sent him this informa- tion nearly five months ago, and reminded him of the matter nearly a month ago, and that these unfortunate people, most of whom are in very poor circumstances, have not yet been paid?

I am aware that my hon. Friend sent the information to me as he states, and I wrote that very afternoon in regard to these cases, and have also sent reminders, but I have not yet received any reply.

Could the hon. Gentleman answer the last part of the question, as to what total amount is still unpaid, having regard to the fact that it was agreed between the British Government and the Irish Free State that all defended decrees would be paid?

I understand that in every case these amounts are small—under £100 each—but the delay, I agree, is unsatisfactory.

Does not the British Government guarantee the claims before 1921; and, further, does not the hon. Gentleman realise that, even though these amounts may be small, they are all-important to these people, and will he see that this compensation is paid?

Certainly; we are doing our best. If they were in this country, we could make advances to them through the Irish Grants Committee, but I believe these people are still in Ireland, and, therefore, that machinery cannot be utilised. I am confident, as the result of my going over there, that the machinery will be improved. It is very largely a question of machinery.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether, in view of the fact that there are numbers of people who are only too anxious to emigrate but are unable to overcome the difficulties provided by the fare and, secondly, by the lack of sufficient information as to the various parts of the world to which they might emigrate, he will consider the desirability of diffusing knowledge of the facilities which exist under State-assisted schemes on far more popular lines than at present, and whether he can take further steps generally to ensure greater publicity for the work of Imperial emigration?

Information as to the facilities for migration under State-aided schemes is being increasingly diffused by means of leaflets, posters, cinema displays, etc. But the hon. Member will, no doubt, appreciate the fact that the volume of migration from this country is governed by the extent to which openings for settlers are available overseas.

Will the Department take steps to make this country available for its best citizens?

If there is to be any further extension of publicity on Imperial emigration, will the hon. and gallant Gentleman take steps to ensure that any such publicity will not be more picturesque and flamboyant than the conditions in the Dominions warrant?

asked the Under-Secretary of State far Foreign Affairs whether in the discussion at the Council of the League of Nations not only the president of the Saar Commission, but any dissenting member of the Commission or representative of the population of the Saar will be heard?

This is a matter for the Council to decide, and I can give the hon. Member no undertaking as to the persons whom it may desire to consult.

What instructions will be given to the British representative? Surely that is a matter for this House?

About what?

About summoning representatives of the Saar inhabitants before this inquiry.

I do not believe any instructions could be given on that point. I think the British representative, on a matter of that kind, would use his own discretion.

May we understand that an inquiry still has to take place, and that it has not yet taken place?

As far as I know, I think the inquiry has, in point of fact, taken place.

Arising out of that very important statement, may I ask whether the hon. Gentleman considers that the inquiry to which some allusion has been made in the newspapers can possibly be described as a judicial inquiry, when one side has been heard and the other has not?

I cannot pronounce judgment on that point. His Majesty's Government has a representative upon the Council, but he is not receiving instructions as to every word he should speak and every Vote he should give.

Has not the Council of the League of Nations actually come to a decision in regard to this matter?

I think I have seen that in the Press, but I have no other source of information about it.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether, in the event of disagreement as to the interpretation of any relevant article of the Treaty of Versailles or of the Saar Annexes to the said Treaty, the British representative will urge that the matter be referred to the permanent Court of International Justice?

I cannot undertake to answer hypothetical questions.

Have the French Government undertaken to demolish in the Saar district the barracks they built against the sense of the Versailles Treaty?

I cannot say without notice.

also asked the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether the Council of the League of Nations proposes that an inquiry shall be held into the administration of the Saar basin by the Governing Commission; if so, at what date it will be held; who are the persons appointed to conduct the inquiry; whether they will proceed to the Saar basin itself; what witnesses they will examine; and whether they will inquire into the suppression of the German currency, into the presence of French troops in the district, into the new ordinance with regard to the Press and public meetings; and into the wages paid to the miners which are alleged to have been the cause of the recent unrest?

I must ask the hon. Member to await the decision of the League. The House will recognise that it is difficult, and, indeed, undesirable, for His Majesty's Ministers to deal by question and answer here with matters that are not in their hands, but in those of the League.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he has any information to the effect that British subjects in Abyssinia are, by reason of the widespread nature of slave-owning and slave-trading in that country, compelled to obtain slaves for the discharge of their commercial obligations and needs; whether the Foreign Office has considered the serious contingencies which might arise for these British subjects in view of the peculiar relation in law of slavery in foreign territories; and, if so, whether the British Minister at Addis Ababa will will consider the advisability of issuing a warning to British subjects that anyone engaged in acts of slave traffic is liable to the same grave penalties under British law as if the offence were committed in this country?

I have no information of the nature indicated in the first part of the question. In September, 1922, the British and French representatives at Addis Ababa issued a notice to their respective nationals in Abyssinia to the effect that the possession of slaves is a punishable offence under British and French law.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether any steps have been or are to be taken to secure the ratification of the other signatories to the Washington Treaty within a reasonable time; whether any representations have been made upon this matter by any other Power; and whether there is any necessity to await ratification by the Powers who have not yet signed?

It is for the United States Government rather than His Majesty's Government to take the initiative in this matter. Consequently, no representations have been made nor have any been received by His Majesty's Government. The latest information in the possession of the Secretary of State is that the Naval Treaty has been ratified by the French Chamber. Otherwise the position is as stated in the reply which I gave to the Noble and gallant Member on the 21st February last. It is provided in the Treaty itself that it shall take effect only on the deposit of all the ratifications.

asked the Prime Minister whether any approach has been made by the Royal Japanese Government to His Majesty's Government with a view to the carrying out of the terms of the Washington Naval Convention by Japan, Great Britain, and the United States of America by mutual agreement, irrespective of the action of France and Italy in not carrying out the terms of the Agreement; what, is the attitude of His Majesty's Government towards this proposal; and whether any part of the Agreement has not been carried into effect already by Great Britain?

His Majesty's Government have received no such proposal, and the second part of the question therefore does not arise. As regards the last part of the question, the Agreement is being carried out in all parts, but the Treaties of Washington Act, 1922, restricting the building of vessels of war by private firms in certain aspects, has not yet come into operation.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if, in view of the fact that it is admitted by immigration officials at Ellis Island that 150 persons, of various races and colours, have been housed in the same sleeping quarters and that they cannot remedy this evil unless they build a larger building, he will make representations to the United States Government with a view to obtaining improved conditions for the increasing number of detained British immigrants?

His Majesty's Ambassador at Washington, who inspected Ellis Island about six months ago at the invitation of the United States Government, communicated to the United States Government the impressions left on him by that inspection. Sir A. Geddes made no secret of his conviction that the only way effectively to relieve the congestion at Ellis Island would be either to build an entirely new station or to supplement that already existing on the island (which cannot for reasons of space be much enlarged) by creating an additional station to which certain classes of immigrants could be diverted. It would be difficult for His Majesty's Government to make official recommendations as frank in character as the suggestions which Sir A. Geddes has thus had an opportunity of making in an unofficial manner. According to Press reports, one at least of his suggestions has recently been acted upon, a board of final appeal against deportation having been set up at Ellis Island itself, thus obviating the necessity for reference to a board in Washington and the delay thereby entailed.

Will the hon. Gentleman lay a copy of the report on the Table?

I think I should have to get the consent of the United States Government before doing so.

Would it not be possible to get the American Government to consent to examination at the port of departure rather than waiting to get to Ellis Island?

I should require notice.

Would it not be possible to refer the matter to the League of Nations?

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what is the nature of the bulletin prepared in his Department and transmitted through the Leafield wireless station; how often it is despatched; and what is the cost of preparing and transmitting it?

The messages deal with questions and events both domestic and foreign, which are of national importance and of international interest. They are despatched three times daily. They are prepared by members of the staff of the News Department of the Foreign Office, who also perform other duties. The messages differ in length, but on an average contain about 600 words, and a credit is allowed to the Post Office at the rate of 3½d. per word in respect of their transmission.

Does the hon. Gentleman think it is any longer desirable that the Government should become a press agent?

If the Government did not think it any longer desirable to do it, it would not be done.

What useful purpose is served by it?

It would take too long to explain.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether the recent railway regulations made by the French authorities in the Ruhr district of the occupied territory in Germany will prevent British tourists from visiting this or any part of Germany; whether tourists in the holiday season are still free to visit the Rhine and the many holiday places adjacent thereto; can he make any statement on the subject for the guidance of British tourists; and can he state if the same regulations apply to visitors on business to that part of Germany?

His Majesty's Government are unaware of any recent railway regulations which would prevent British subjects from visiting the Ruhr or from passing through the Ruhr en route for any other part of Germany. I would, however, refer the hon. Member to the following notice, which was issued by the Foreign Office on 9th February last: In existing circumstances passports for occupied German territory can be granted only in cases of important business or exceptional urgency. Persons travelling to Germany, both occupied and unoccupied, are warned of possible discomfort and delay owing to the uncertain train service. This notice still holds good for individual travellers, but in the case of personally conducted tours a concession has been made, and such parties are allowed to proceed on an undertaking being given that the necessary arrangements have been made for railway facilities and accommodation, and on the understanding that the party is being conducted on the responsibility of the agency organising the tour.

asked the Prime Minister if British citizens are being prevented by French military orders from freely travelling in Germany?

I have had no information to that effect.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if His Majesty's Government have any information as to the threatened occupation of Frankfurt and Cassel by the French military authorities?

No, Sir.

Is it not a fact that the French have already occupied the suburbs of Frankfurt?

Not so far as I am aware.

In view of the fact that the area of occupation is continually being extended, would it be possible to exhibit in the Tea Room a map showing the original proposal of the French Government and the present extent of the occupation?

As the Prime Minister said a week ago he was fully informed of everything that is going on in the Ruhr, cannot the Under-Secretary tell us whether in fact the outskirts of Frankfurt are occupied?

Could we at the same time have in the Tea Room a statement of what Germany agreed to pay and what she has already paid?

asked the Prime Minister whether he is yet in a position to state whether a reply has been received from the French Government to the British Note on the occupation of the Ruhr Valley; and, if so, what is the nature of this reply?

I can assure the hon. and gallant Member that as soon as it is possible to give any information to the House on the subject of his question, it will be done.

Can the right hon. Gentleman hold out any hope of that statement being made in the course of this week?

I think it will be possible to make some statement on Thursday.

Can the right hon. Gentleman answer the first part of my question—I can understand his reluctance to answer the second; I do not press that—has he had a reply from the French Government, "Yes" or "No"?

I told the hon. and gallant Gentleman the other day that verbal communications were passing.

asked the Prime Minister if he is aware that the effect of the latest measures adopted by the French military authorities in the Ruhr and Rhineland has been to isolate the British Army in the British-occupied area except where it faces the Rhine; whether the British-occupied area, except the river frontage, is surrounded by barbed wire and guarded by French soldiers; whether British subjects desiring to enter or to leave the British-occupied area are, in fact, free to do so; whether, in view of these measures and of the influx into the British-occupied area of numerous families expelled by the French military authorities from the Ruhr, there is reason to anticipate a serious shortage of food supplies in this area; and whether the officer commanding the British troops in that area has recently reported as to the increasing difficulties of the situation in which the British Army is placed?

asked the Prime Minister if German railwaymen and their families, expelled from the Ruhr by the French military authorities, are taking refuge in the British occupied area; and if he has received any report from the British officer commanding our troops in that area as to the threatened shortage of food supply, affecting both the civil population and the British troops?

I have been asked to reply to these questions. So far as I am aware, no recent measures taken by the French have materially affected the situation of the British Army on the Rhine. I am not aware of any restriction on the freedom of movement of British subjects entering or leaving the British zone, or of any influx of refugees, or of any anticipated food shortage. No special reports have been received from the local military authorities on any of these matters.

asked the Prime Minister whether he has caused any inquiry to be made as to the conditions now prevailing in the Ruhr district as to the supply of food and necessaries to the industrial population; and, if so, what is the result of such inquiry?

My information is to the effect that the German authorities themselves have made no complaint of any shortage.

asked the Prime Minister whether he will consider the advisability of proposing a rule providing that the Parliamentary salary shall not be payable to a Member of this House during a period of suspension?

I have no reason to believe that there is a general feeling in the House that such a rule should be laid down, but if it should be the case, I am prepared to put a Motion on the Paper, and to leave the result to the unfettered decision of the House. I can, however, hold out no hope that it would be possible to give time for any such Motion before the House rises.

Will the right hon. Gentleman consider the desirability, during the period of suspension, of reducing the salary of the suspended Member, at least in proportion to the unemployment dole?

Will the right hon. Gentleman apply the principle fully, if at all, to Members of Parliament who do not fulfil their Parliamentary functions?

asked the Prime Minister whether it is his intention before the Imperial Conference meets to make a statement on the policy of the Government concerning matters which will come up for discussion; and whether the House of Commons will, like the Dominion Parliaments, have an opportunity of expressing their opinion before the Conference meets?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the negative. As to the second, I would refer the hon. and gallant Member to my reply to my Noble Friend the Member for Shrewsbury on the 14th of June.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the Prime Minister of every Dominion has stated his policy at this Conference and that he alone has not stated his policy; and is it right that this Government and this Parliament alone should be prevented from discussing such an important matter?

The object of a Conference surely is to confer, and the process of conferring is necessarily exploratory, and if those explorations yield results, those results will be discussed in the House of Commons. In the meantime, I do not see that a debate would serve any useful purpose, although, if desired, one could be held on the Consolidated Fund Bill.

Can the right hon. Gentleman give the House any information as to an extension of Preference to foodstuffs?

Is it not in accordance with precedent to have a discussion of the programme of such a Conference before it actually takes place? Such a discussion took place before the last Conference.

I do not think that is the case necessarily—certainly not a discussion of policy. I am not aware of a debate in which matters of policy were involved. But a debate on the subjects to be considered has, I think, been held before.

If specific questions be put to the Government on the Colonial Office Vote will they not be answered?

It depends entirely whether they are answerable.

Will the right hon. Gentleman answer my question—whether it is the Government policy to extend the preference to foodstuffs?

I do not think that is a question which can be answered. There would have to be a mass of evidence brought forward, and the subject would have to be explored.

Has the right hon. Gentleman received Mr. McKenna's assent to the extension of preference to foodstuffs?

asked the Prime Minister whether the sum total of the amounts that are required by His Majesty's Government to be paid by Germany for reparations to this country and by the Allied debtor countries in respect of their debts is the equivalent of the amount that must be paid to the United States; and will he give an assurance that this is the extreme limit of our sacrifices, and that it will be absolutely impossible to accept any further reductions?

As I stated on the Third Reading of the Finance Bill last Wednesday, the offer we made in January was not accepted, and our hands are perfectly free to deal with Allied debts. I certainly could not contemplate a position in which all sacrifices involved in any settlement were made at the expense of the British taxpayer.

asked the Prime Minister whether, in view of the Government decision to postpone the introduction of the Bill dealing with the addition to the Pre-War Pensions (Increase) Act till the Autumn Session, he will consider the advisability of making the operative Clauses of the Bill date back to the beginning of the present Session, so as to give some compensation for the delay to the beneficiaries?

When the Bill is introduced, I will consider the possibility of providing for its taking effect, as originally intended, from the 1st instant, so that the delay in its introduction may not penalise the beneficiaries. I fear no earlier date can be conceded.

asked the Prime Minister whether it is the policy of the Government to come to some understanding with the French Government with a view to the limitation of air power; and whether any proposals have been made to this end?