asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury what was the number of officers employed at the Treasury in 1914 whose maximum scale of pay exceeded £1,500 per annum; what is the number of such officers employed at the present time; and what is the nature of their duties?

The number of officers employed in the Treasury in 1914 with a maximum salary exceeding £1,500 per annum was two; the number of such officers at the present time is six. They act in the following capacities: Permanent Secretary and Head of the Civil Service. Controller of Supply Services. Controller of Establishments. Controller of Finance. Deputy-Controller of Supply Services. Deputy-Controller of Establishments.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies who signed the agreement on behalf of the Government with Mr. Lionel Curtis; and will he lay a copy of the agreement upon the Table of the House?

There is no agreement in the sense contemplated in the question. The terms of the appointment of Mr. Curtis are laid down in an official letter from the Colonial Office, of which I am sending a copy to my hon. and gallant Friend.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether his attention has been drawn to the decision of the League of Nations to discuss the question of slavery in the light of information placed at the disposal of the Council; whether the League has made any application, direct or indirect, to him for information as to the existence of surviving slave-owning in British Colonial territories, and the steps taken to abolish the practice; and whether such information has been or will be supplied to the Council?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative; to the second part in the negative. Any information required will, of course, be supplied, but slavery does not exist in any part of the Empire.

asked the Prime Minister whether it is intended among the delegates to the next Assembly of the League of Nations to appoint a woman?

No decision has yet been taken in regard to representation at the meeting of the Assembly of the League of Nations.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will consider the advisability of introducing legislation which will enable the Federated Malay States to raise loans in London which will be a trustee security, and so remove the unsatisfactory position under which they labour in comparison with the Colony of the Straits Settlement at present in this respect?

His Majesty's Government are not prepared to introduce legislation extending the scope of the Colonial Stock Acts.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether his attention has been drawn to the serious statement made in the Legislative Council of Kenya Colony that there is more unrest among the natives of that Colony that he had ever known; whether he has official information to the effect that a fine of 10,000 head of cattle had recently been imposed upon the Masai, and that this fine is in process of collection; whether the Secretary of State has asked the Governor for a Report on the question; and if this Report will be laid upon the Table of the House?

I have seen a newspaper report of the statement by an elected member of the Kenya Legislative Council to the effect quoted by the hon. Member, but apart from the Purko Section of the Masai I have no reason to suppose that the position is in any way serious. In consequence of repeated acts of violence, including murder, by young men of the Purko Section who entered the warrior class in 1920, and of the fact that in many instances the offenders could not be brought to justice, the late Governor approved of the imposition on the Section, under the Collective Punishment Ordinance of 1909, of a fine of 10,000 head of cattle, this being about 3 per cent. of the stock belonging to the Section. My right hon. Friend drew the attention of the present Governor to the apparent severity of the punishment, and for this reason, as well as because a general inquiry into the position of the Masai is in prospect, the collection of the fine has been suspended. The inquiry has been postponed because of the absence in England of an unofficial member of the Executive and Legislative Councils whose experience and understanding of the Masai will be of special value. It will cover the causes and circumstances of the recent Masai unrest and the means of promoting the advancement and prosperity of the Masai tribe. Pending this inquiry, it would, I think, be premature to lay Papers.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies if he has any information that the Irish Free State Government is negotiating to obtain a guarantee by British banks of an Irish Free State loan; if His Majesty's Govern- ment has been consulted by either of the parties to any such negotiations; and if any advice has been given or any influence used by the Government in the matter?

I am not aware of any such negotiations as are suggested in the first part of the question, and the second and third parts, therefore, do not arise.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether the projected land Ordinance for Tanganyika has yet been passed; and, if so, will he lay a copy in the Library?

The reply is in the affirmative. I am arranging for a copy of the Ordinance to be laid in the Library.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will give a statement showing in detail the residential and other qualifications for the franchise in each of the British Dominions for British subjects entering those Dominions from Great Britain or other Dominions?

I regret that I am unable to furnish at short notice an authoritative statement showing in detail the information desired by my hon. and gallant Friend, but, as already stated in my reply to his question on the 2nd July, I shall be happy, if he so desire and will communicate with me, to place at his disposal any information in the Department that can be made available.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether, in view of the fact that the Vor-Taveta railway in East Africa is to be pulled up to save cost of upkeep to the British taxpayer, he will continue the policy of economy in railway development by ensuring that all new railway construction be carried out by the cheapest system, whether departmental or private enterprise, and that comparative tenders shall be invariably obtained in connection with scuh construction?

When Departmental Estimates of the cost of construction of a new railway are received it may well be considered desirable to secure comparative information by inviting tenders for construction by contract. While I can assure my hon. Friend that his suggestion will be carefully borne in mind, I am not prepared to undertake that tenders shall invariably be invited. Every case will be considered on its merits.

asked the Minister of Labour whether any persons living in the administrative county of Glamorgan have been reported to his Department either by the Ministry's local officials or by the local police on the ground that they have used their unemployment grant for the purpose of betting; whether such reports, if any, were investigated and what was the action taken thereon; and whether he can state the number of such reports received in the years 1920, 1921, 1922, and 1923, up to 30th June, respectively?

I am not aware that any such reports have been received, nor do I see what action my right hon. Friend could take on receipt of such a report, unless it were alleged that the conditions for benefit were not satisfied. I assume that the hon. Member does not refer to betting offences. Arrangements are in operation for these, and other offences committed by persons known to be drawing benefit, to be reported to the Employment Exchange, and the right to benefit is then examined afresh through the usual machinery. The number of cases so reported, however, is quite small.

asked the Minister of Labour, whether he will give the latest figures of disabled ex-service men who are now employed by firms and local, authorities who are on the King's Roll; how many employable disabled ex-service men are still unemployed; and what were the respective figures a year ago?

I would refer the hon. and gallant Member to the reply given to-day to his other questions with regard to the King's Roll.

asked the Minister of Labour what steps he intends to take for ex-service men who have been employed in Crown Colonies and Protectorates and have had their services terminated owing to retrenchments and are thus thrown on the labour market?

I have been asked to answer this question. I can assure the hon. and gallant Member that every effort is made to offer re-employment under other Colonial Governments to the personnel indicated in his question.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether, seeing that Southern and Northern Rhodesia, portions of East Africa, the Highlands of the Cameroons, and other parts of our Crown Colonies and Protectorates, suitable for the settlement of white men, are closed to the unemployed ex-service applicants for free grants of land, and that applicants are refused entry into the two Rhodesias for this purpose unless they possess a capital of £2,000, the Government will have these territories thrown open for these free grants?

As regards Rhodesia, I would refer to the first part of my reply, on the 14th May, to my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Central Wandsworth (Sir J. Norton-Griffiths). The alienation of Government land in the highlands of Kenya has been discontinued, pending a settlement of various political questions, and I doubt whether in any case that region would be suitable for the settlement of unemployed ex-service men, since even those who are most anxious to promote the entry of new British settlers consider a minimum capital of £2,000 to be essential, preferably with a stand-by in the form of an assured private income of at least £200 a year. In the Cameroons, development has been on plantation lines and considerable capital is required. It should be borne in mind that, in order to make free grants of land, land suitable for European settlers must be at the disposal of the Government, and must not be required for the present or prospective needs of the African population, whose interests the Government are bound to protect. These conditions are by no means easy to satisfy in our tropical African Dependencies.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs the number of British subjects who have been refused admittance to the United States of America during the last two weeks; are they being repatriated free of charge or have they to pay their return passage money; and can he make representations to the United States Government that immigrants who are refused admittance into the United States should be allowed to remain on the ship which brought them and be repatriated by the same shipping company, and not to be incarcerated on Ellis Island?

I have no information to give in reply to the first part of the question. Immigrants who are refused admission into the United States are, under United States law, repatriated by the shipping company which brought them, at the expense of that company. There are many difficulties in the way of giving effect to the suggestion contained in the last part of the question; the liners which carry these immigrants do not usually remain in harbour more than two or three days before starting on the homeward voyage. Immigrants who remained on the vessel and who had not succeeded in gaining admission to the United States before the expiration of the period would then be liable to be taken back to England against their wish. Nor would it be fair to impose on the shipping companies the responsibility of seeing that the immigrants did not go ashore without permission.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs how many British subjects are now under detention in Ellis Island; and how many are waiting to be shipped back to England?

The Secretary of State has not got this information. The hon. Member will realise that the number necessarily fluctuates almost daily.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the estimated total sum of all the concessions made in the Finance Bill, since it was introduced, amounts to?

The concessions made by my right hon. Friend are estimated to cost this year about £780,000 and in a full year one million and three quarters of a million pounds.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the net profits of the coal mines for each of the years between 1916 and 1923, after deducting Excess Profits Duty and coal levy?

I have been asked to reply. I regret that the information asked for by my hon. Friend is not available, and could only be obtained by such an expenditure of time and money as would not, in my view, be justified by the results to be obtained.

asked the Minister of Health the rent charged by each of the housing authorities in the administrative County of Surrey for each type of house erected under the Addison and later schemes; and the amount of rates charged upon each type of house so erected?

The following table shows the rents agreed between the various housing authorities in the administrative county of Surrey and my Department, as constituting the basis for the determination of the amount of Exchequer subsidy payable to them under the Local Authorities (Assisted Housing Scheme) Regulations, 1919. Information as to rates is not available.

Local Authority. Rents agreed to at 30th June, 1923. Living-room scullery and three bedrooms. Parlour, living-room, scullery and three bedrooms. Parlour, living-room, scullery and four bedrooms. Other types. Town Councils. Godalming … 8s. 6d. to 9s. 6d. — — — Guildford … … 9s. 6d. to 10s. 6d. 11s. 7d. to 12s. 6d. 13s. 8d. to 15s. — Reigate … … 9s. 6d. to 10s. 12s. 6d. to 13s. 6d. — — Richmond … … 13s. 15s. 6d. 17s. 9d. — Wimbledon … 12s. 1d. 15s. 7d. to 18s. — — Urban District Councils. Barnes … … 11s. 16s. 6d. — — Beddington and Wallington. — 15s. — — Carshalton … 10s. 12s. to 14s. 6d. — — Chertsey … … 8s. 6d. 10s. to 10s. 6d. — — Coulsdon and Purley. — 15s. 17s. 6d. 11s.* Dorking … … 9s. 12s. — — East and West Molesey. 10s. 6d. to 11s. 12s. 6d. to 13s. — — Epsom … … 9s. 6d. 11s. 6d. — — Farnham … … 8s. 6d. 10s. 6d. — — Frimley … … 7s. 6d. 9s. 6d. — — Ham … … — 12s. to 13s. 6d. — — Haslemere … — 12s. 14s. — Leatherhead … 9s. 4d. 11s. 8d. — — Merton and Morden 12s. 6d. 14s. 16s. 6d. 11s. 6d.* 13s. 6d.† Mitcham … … — 14s. 6d. 18s. — Surbiton … … 12s. to 13s. 6d. 14s. 6d. to 16s. 6d. 16s. 6d. to 18s. 6d. — Sutton … … 13s. 15s. — 13s. 6d.‡ The Maldens and Coombe. 11s. 13s. — — Walton-upon-Thames. — 12s. 6d. — — Woking … … 10s. 12s. 6d. — — Rural District Councils. Chertsey … … 7s. to 8s. 9s. 6d to 10s. 6d. — — Dorking … … 8s. to 9s. 12s. — — Epsom … … 8s. to 12s. 6d. 10s. to 15s. — — Farnham … … 8s. 10s. 6d. — — Godstone … … 6s. 9d. to 9s. 6d. 9s. to 11s. 6d. — — Guildford … … 6s. to 8s. 9s. 6d. to 11s. — — Hambledon … 6s. 6d. to 8s. 6d. 9s. to 11s. — — Reigate … … 9s. to 9s. 6d. 11s. 6d. — 7s.* * Living-room, scullery and two bedrooms. † Living-room, scullery and four bedrooms. ‡ Parlour, living-room, scullery and two bedrooms.

asked the Minister of Health the total number of houses erected under State-assisted schemes by each of the local housing authorities in the administrative county of Surrey, and the total number of houses sold by each authority?

I will send the hon. Member a statement giving him the information that he desires.

asked the Minister of Health whether he has now decided to issue regulations to govern the sale of dried milks; and, if so, when they will be published in draft?

I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer which I gave on this subject on the 4th instant to my hon. Friend the Member for the Frome Division (Mr. Hurd). I hope there will be no undue delay in publishing the draft regulations.

asked the Minister of Health the number of deaths of children for each year from 1914 to 1922, giving separate figures for illegiti-

DEATHS—ENGLAND AND WALES. — Under 1 year. 1–2 years. 2–3 years. Total. Illegitimate. Total. Illegitimate. Total. Illegitimate. 1914 … … … 91,971 7,712 24,967 — 10,072 — 1915 … … … 89,380 7,369 30,279 — 12,482 — 1916 … … … 71,646 6,000 20,000 — 8,611 — 1917 … … … 64,483 7,474 20,296 — 9,724 — 1918 … … … 64,386 7,694 26,447 — 14,955 — 1919 … … … 61,715 7,237 14,124 1,131 7,658 469 1920 … … … 76,552 7,017 14,741 1,162 6,100 364 1921 … … … 70,250 6,115 15,636 1,041 4,994 336 1922 … … … 60,121 4,736 18,948 1,064 8,678 453

also asked the Minister of Health the number of children born in each of the years from 1914–22, giving the numbers separately for illegitimate births?

The numbers of children born (total and illegitimate) for each year, 1914 to 1922, are shown below: England and Wales—Births. Total. Illegitimate. 1914 879,096 37,329 1915 814,614 36,245 1916 785,520 37,689 1917 668,346 37,157 1918 662,661 41,452 1919 692,438 41,876 1920 957,782 44,947 1921 848,814 38,618 1922 780,124 34,138

asked the Minister of Pensions what was the total number of

mate children, and covering the ages of under 12 months, over one year and under two years, and over two years and under three years of age, respectively?

No figures respecting deaths of illegitimate children of one to two years or two to three years of age are available prior to 1919, when they were first abstracted. The rest of the required figures are, however, given below:

appeal cases heard in Justiciary Buildings, Glasgow, for the three months ending March, 1922, at No. 1 and No. 2 Entitlement Courts and at Nos. 1, 2, and 3 Assessment Courts, respectively; and what number of such appeals was disallowed at each of the above-named Courts?

I have been asked to reply to this question. I understand that the information desired by the hon. Member is for the three months ending March, 1923. The figures are as follow: Total number decided. Disallowed. Entitlement appeals 430 311 Assessment appeals 815 655

I am not prepared to give figures for each Court separately.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, with reference to the cost of maps sold to the public, whether the cost of production includes any amount for rent, rates and taxes, interest and depreciation, and any proportion of the salaries of the principal officials of the Survey Department; if so, the respective amounts under each of these headings; and what royalties would have been charged to private firms if these smaller scale maps had been produced by them?

The cost of production of maps sold to the public includes a percentage charge which is considered reasonable to cover the items mentioned in my hon. Friend's question, but no separate allocation of the charge is made among the different items referred to. As the Ordnance Survey has never arranged with private firms for the production of small scale maps, the amount of royalty which would be charged in such circumstances has never been considered.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether, in view of the desirability of assessing at an actual cash value the inclusion in the remuneration offered to agricultural labourers of a free cottage and garden or cottage, he will consider as soon as occasion offers the enforcement of such assessment by law whenever any agreement is made between the employer and the employed?

I am not aware of any general desire among the agricultural community for action on the lines indicated by the hon. Member, and I see considerable difficulty in enforcing any such assessment.

asked the Home Secretary whether he is aware that the appointment of Sir Arthur Griffith-Boscawen as Chairman of the Welsh Church Commission has caused considerable dissatisfaction, as being a breach of the understanding which prevailed on the setting up of the Commission that the chairman should be free from association with either party to the controversy; and whether, in view of this fact and of the desirability that Nonconformity should be represented on the Commission, he will reconsider the appointment?

I believe that the appointment of Sir Arthur Griffith-Boscawen has widespread approval. I do not know of any understanding of the kind indicated in the question. I cannot undertake to reconsider the appointment.

asked the Home Secretary whether he can inform the House of the number of prostitutes known to the police in the Metropolitan police area; and whether he will take steps to set up a Committee of Inquiry into the causes of prostitution, its incidence, and its effect upon the national health?

I have no figures which would supply an answer to the first part of the question. The police are concerned only in so far as offences are committed against public order. The answer to the last part of the question is in the negative.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport the causes which led to the serious collision at Diggle, on the London, Midland, and Scottish Railway; and what steps he is taking in the matter?

In accordance with the usual practice of the Department, an inquiry will be held, and Colonel Pringle, the Chief Inspecting Officer of Railways, has been appointed. The inquiry has opened this morning, and I am unable to make any statement as to the causes of the collision until I have received Colonel Pringle's Report.