asked the Secretary of State for Air what is the present position of the negotiations now taking place in regard to the establishment of a commercial airship service between this country and India?

The Sub-Committee of the Committee of Imperial Defence, which has been examining this question, hopes to present a report shortly for the consideration of the Government.

asked the Minister of Pensions what is the average cost per day of pensions patients at hospitals which are under the direct control of the Ministry of Pensions?

The average is 8s. 2½d. per patient.

asked the Minister of Pensions whether he is aware that Mr M. R. Moss, 18, Fryatt Road, Tottenham, late 3/7th Middlesex Regiment (regimental No. 3873, pension No. S.D.V. 4107), has been in receipt of a pension for tuberculosis of the lungs attributed, since 1915, and that his papers have recently been altered to aggravated; that the Ministry now deny that this man has ever been on a higher basis than aggravation, despite the fact that an award was made on 3rd September, 1918, to take effect from 18th September, 1918, signed by Mr. Songer, Controller, Soldiers' Award Branch, Burton Court, of 50 per cent. for 65 weeks for tuberculosis attributed to war service; and what steps he proposes to take in the matter?

As already stated in my reply of the 26th June, the tuberculosis from which this man suffers has never been regarded by the Ministry as attributable to but only as aggravated by service, and if by a clerical error he has been at any time incorrectly informed as regards his entitlement I much regret it. He remains eligible for compensation for so long as the effects of service remain, and if he disagrees with the finding of the Ministry on entitlement he may exercise his statutory right of appeal to the Pensions Appeal Tribunal.

asked the Prime Minister what date it is proposed to bring in the Bill to amend the Pensions Increase Act, 1920; and whether it is the intention to make the Bill retrospective to the 1st April, 1923?

I would refer my hon. and gallant Friend to the replies given to questions on this subject on the 5th and 9th of July, of which I am sending him copies.

asked the Secretary for Mines the amount of money hitherto awarded under the Miners' Welfare Fund and the general lines on which it has been applied?

The amount allocated to date is £1,104,163. As regards the remainder of the question, I would refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave on the 12th June to the hon. Member for North Dorset (Mr. Emlyn-Jones). I hope that the first Report of the Miners' Welfare Committee will be published in a few days.

asked the Postmaster-General if he can explain the cause of the delay in laying down the telephone cable between Balfron, Buchlyvie, Kippen, Gargunnock, and Stirling, decided upon two years ago; and if he will expedite this work?

No telephone cable is being laid between the places named. The establishment of exchanges at Buchlyvie and Kippen by running overhead lines to Glasgow and Stirling, respectively, was authorised during the latter part of March. A considerable amount of work is involved, and is being expedited. Gargunnock was canvassed for subscribers at the same time as Kippen, but the necessary support for an exchange could not be found there.

asked the Postmaster-General whether, seeing that the difficulty of the British producer to obtain close commercial contact with the consumer is largely responsible for the present distressed condition of British arable agriculture, he will favourably consider the granting of such reduced charges and other preferential postal facilities as will enable agricultural produce to be economically brought direct to the consumer?

I have every sympathy with the object which the hon. Member has in view. A reduction in the rates of parcel post became operative on the 14th May of this year, and I must wait to see the effect of this reduction upon the traffic before any further reduction can be considered.

asked the Postmaster-General whether, in the case of the firm of Messrs. Hammonds, clothing contractors, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, who are in receipt of a large clothing contract from his Department, he is aware of a stoppage having taken place as a result of the firm declining to discuss the question of the prices to be paid with the accredited representative of the workpeople's trade union (the Tailors' and Garment Workers'); and what action, if any, he has taken or proposes to take in the matter?

asked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware that a stoppage has taken place at the works of Messrs. Hammonds, of Newcastle-under-Lyme, who are in receipt of a clothing contract from his Department, in connection with the contract; that the stoppage is due to the firm having refused to negotiate with the representatives of the trade union to which workers belong; and whether he proposes to take any action in the matter?

I have learned of the stoppage with regret, but so long as the Fair Wages Clause in the contract is observed, there is no ground on which I could properly intervene.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware of a proposal to reduce the status of Billingsgate branch office, in the City area, by the withdrawal of the assistant superintendent; and whether, in view of the large amount of cash which daily passes through the hands of the officer in charge, and also of the importance of the post office in question, he will consider the maintenance of the existing position?

The question of withdrawing the post for an assistant superintendent at the Billingsgate branch office has been under consideration for some time, but a decision has been postponed pending examination of later figures of business. On the basis of figures at present available the existing grading of the post is not warranted in comparison with the arrangements at other offices of similar importance in London.

asked the Minister of Labour whether his attention has been called to the low wages of assistants in sub-post offices; and whether he will consider the advisability of bringing this branch of the Post Office service under the Trade Boards Act?

I am advised that I have no power to do what is suggested.

asked the Postmaster-General what is the present position of the Government's wireless schemers as affecting the British West Indies; is a wireless station in operation there; and, if not, what alternative methods are proposed?

There is no high power wireless station at present in operation in the West Indies. There are objections to a system of high power wireless telegraphy as the sole method of communication with the West Indies, and the Government take the view that the needs of the West Indies can best be met by supplementing and improving the present system of cable communication. There are certain low power wireless stations in the West Indies which are used for local communication, and it is possible that under the new scheme additional stations of this kind may be erected as auxiliaries to the cable system.

asked the Minister of Labour if he will state the types of professions and industries, and the number of employés, whose wages and remunerations may be regarded as dependent either wholly or partially, and either directly or indirectly, on the cost of living index; and whether he has received any representations from any sources, other than the dockers, against its fairness and reliability?

Details of the industries and services in which rates of wages are automatically adjusted with reference to the cost of living index number were given in the "Ministry of Labour Gazette" for August, 1921, and July, 1922, copies of which I am sending to the hon. Member. Since the latter date a few of the agreements then in force have, for various reasons, ceased to operate and in a few industries, employing relatively small numbers of work-people, agreements making similar provisions have been signed. It is estimated that the total number of workers covered by the agreements now in force is between 2¾ and 3 millions. I should observe, however, that in the great majority of these agreements the index number determines only the amount of variations in wage rates, the actual amount of wages paid being dependent on other influences prevailing in the particular industry. The chief representation regarding the index number, other than that made by the dockers, which has been received this year was from the Association of British Chambers of Commerce, which approached the question from a different standpoint.

asked the Minister of Labour the total contributions under the Unemployment Insurance Acts from 1st January, 1919, down to the latest date for which there are particulars, distinguishing between the contributions of insured persons, their employers, and the State; the total amount expended during the same period on roads and other public works for the relief of unemployment, distinguishing between the amounts raised by the localities, from the Road Fund, and Treasury grants; and for the same period the total amount of credits sanctioned under the export credit scheme and the total amount of loans guaranteed under the Trade Facilities Act?

From the 1st January, 1919, to the 2nd June, 1923, the total contributions under the Unemployment Insurance Acts are £ 1. Employers of insured persons 42,700,000 2. Insured persons 36,700,000 Exchequer 25,800,000 In addition, the Exchequer had up to the 2nd June, 1923, made advances to the Unemployment Fund on loan at interest to a net amount of £15,690,000.

It is not yet possible to state the total amount expended on relief works of various kinds, as many of the works are still in progress and the actual amounts of grants are frequently not determined until the completion of the work.

The Ministry of Transport on road works from the winter of 1920 to date have approved schemes costing approximately £23,600,000, to which the Government and local authorities have made roughly equal contributions.

The Unemployment Grants Committee, including schemes for 60 per cent. of the wages bill and loan schemes, have approved schemes costing in all about £43,000,000. It is not possible to give the exact figures of the Government and local authorities' contributions, because some of the works are still in progress, but a provisional estimate is that £14,300,000 represents Government contribution (the greater portion spread over a period of years), and £28,700,000, local authorities' contribution.

The figures in the two preceding paragraphs do not include road works or other works put in hand by local authorities for the relief of unemployment without the assistance of Road Fund or Exchequer grants; the amount expended in this way cannot be given, but is believed to be considerable.

Schemes under the Ministry of Agriculture costing £670,000 have been approved, of which about £177,750 will be repaid by the drainage authorities or landowners concerned, the balance of £492,250, representing the net Government contributions. Similar schemes under the Scottish Board of Agriculture amount to approximately £100,000.

The Forestry Commission have spent £200,000 by direct contributions.

As regards light railways, schemes costing £325,000 have been approved towards which the Government are providing half the capital, while local authorities are also making substantial contributions.

The total amount of credit sanctioned to the 28th May, under the Export Credits Scheme, was £26,701,914. The total amount actually in use is £15,353,364.

The total amount of guarantees under the Trade Facilities Act, which the Treasury have stated their willingness to give, is £26,019,645.

Considerable work has also been accelerated on contracts for Government Departments, with a view to providing employment.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether, seeing the continued unemployment prevailing in this country, and the urgent need of recovering our Continental markets, he will extend to Anglo-Russian trade relations the full benefits applicable under the provisions of the Trade Facilities Act?

I fear that existing financial conditions in Russia are not such as to justify a British Government guarantee for Russian purchases.

asked the President of the Board of Trade the total amount advanced to 30th June under the Trade Facilities Act?

The Trade Facilities scheme does not provide for advances. My hon. Friend will find particulars of the guarantees given down to the 30th June in the quarterly statement, which was presented on the 4th July.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that the provision of work for the large numbers of unemployed in Middlesbrough is being impaired by the continued delay on his part in sanctioning the purchase of foreign cement by the Middlesbrough Corporation, which they can secure for road-making purposes at 9s. 9d. per ton less than from the English cement combine; and, under these circumstances, can he see his way to issue his consent without further delay so that this work may not be debarred from assistance by the Unemployed Grants Committee?

My right hon. Friend has already more than once informed the hon. Member that this matter is within the discretion of the Unemployment Committee and not of his Department. I understand that the Committee wrote to the Town Council on 5th July agreeing to the use, for the present month, of Belgian cement on unemployment schemes; and, subject to certain conditions, they are prepared to entertain future applications for the use of foreign cement.

asked the hon. Member for Monmouth, as representing the Forestry Commissioners, whether his attention has been drawn to the Interim Report of the Agricultural Tribunal of Investigation (Cmd. 1842), dated 29th March, 1923, Section 39, headed Relief of Rural Unemployment; and whether, in view of the gloomy harvest prospects in the crofting counties of Scotland owing to the cold and wet weather during the summer, and of the large areas of ground formerly afforested in the county of Sutherland which were denuded of timber during the War, the Forestry Commissioners are prepared to consisder the extension at an early date of their present operations in Sutherland?

The Forestry Commissioners entirely agree Keith the Interim Report of the Agricultural Tribunal of Investigation, Section 39, with regard to relief of rural unemployment. In April last a definite scheme for the extension of the Commissioners' operations was submitted to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, but up to the present they have not received authority to make the timeous and adequate preparation which is essential.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether his Department has given, or is giving, any encouragement to British firms to take part in the agricultural exhibition to be held in Moscow in mid-August, and at which German, French, American, Scandinavian, and Czechoslovakia firms will be represented; and whether his Department is dissuading British firms from entering into long-term contracts for electrical and agricultural machinery with the Russian Government?

In answer to the first part of the question, I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given yesterday to the hon. Member for Mother-well (Mr. Newbold) on the same subject. The answer to the second part of the question is in the negative.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will submit a Return to the House showing the quantity of world sugar-beet planted for the years 1922 and 1923, together with the amount for each sugar-beet growing country?

The following statement shows the area under sugar-beet in the under-mentioned countries for the years specified, as far as the particulars are available: Country. Planted in 1921 and Harvested in the Season 1921–2. Planted in 1922 and Harvested in the Season 1922–3. Planted in 1923 for the Season 1923–4 (Provisional Estimate). Acres. Acres. Acres. Germany … … … 962,400 1,031,100 832,000 Czechoslovakia … … 543,500 519,500 542,000 France … … … 297,700 287,700 358,000 Netherlands … … … 181,900 142,200 179,000 Belgium … … … 143,400 149,200 179,000 Sweden … … … 120,000 41,400 108,000 Denmark … … … 85,800 60,000 74,000 Poland … … … 196,700 270,200 353,000 Russia … … … 513,000 437,400 734,000 Hungary … … … 102,900 89,000 109,000 Italy … … … … 159,000 148,300 222,000 Austria … … … 19,000 27,700 31,000 Bulgaria … … … 20,600 24,000 24,000* Spain … … … … 134,000 111,900 148,000 Serb-Croat-Slovene State … 41,300 49,700 74,000 Finland … … … 2,700 2,500 3,000 Luxembourg … … 300 300 300 England and Wales … 8,300 8,400 16,000 Roumania … … … 57,000 53,900 97,000 Switzerland … … … 3,000 3,000 3,000* Total—Europe … 3,592,500 3,457,400 4,086,300 Canada … … … 28,400 20,700 21,000* United States … … 809,400 536,000 723,000 Total-above countries 4,430,300 4,014,100 4,830,300 *In 1922. The figures given in the first two columns for 1921 and 1922 have been compiled from information contained in the Monthly Crop Report issued by the International Institue of Agriculture, Rome. The figures for 1923 have been compiled partly from official estimates, and partly from the estimates of well-known sugar statisticians.

asked the Minister of Health upon what terms of interest and repayment money may now be borrowed for the Public Works Loan Commissions or other bodies making the same in respect of land, road, sewers, and buildings?

The cost of raising money for loans by the Public Works Loan Commissioners depends upon the price of local Loans Stock. The interest yield at the present price is about 4⅝ per cent. There is no sinking fund attached to the stock.

asked the Minister of Health whether his attention has been called to the defective water supply at Hathersage, in the Bakewell rural district area, which is privately owned and is not under the necessary supervision to prevent pollution; whether he is aware that many people would build houses in Hathersage if a sufficient supply of pure water was laid on to the town's mains; and whether, seeing that such supply can be had from the Derwent Valley water board, whose supply rims through the whole district, he will take such steps as are necessary to bring about the desired result?

The Minister is aware of the local circumstances, and proposes to arrange that an Engineering Inspector shall visit the district at a convenient opportunity.

asked the Minister of Health whether his attention has been called to the case of Mrs. Rogers, of Bake-well, who has been ejected from her house on an order of the Bake-well magistrates; whether he is aware that the house from which she was ejected is still vacant; that Mrs. Rogers is living in one room with four grown-up sons, such room being used as a living room and bedroom for the whole family; and whether, in view of the grave danger to the health of the family, he will inquire into the whole circumstances of the case, with a view to alternative accommodation being provided?

The attention of the Minister has not previously been drawn to the case referred to. My right hon. Friend has no authority to interfere with the decision of the magistrates, but he will communicate with the local authority as to the sanitary conditions under which Mrs. Rogers is living.

asked the Minister of Health whether, seeing that a county council is compelled to pay, through the medium of the Exchequer contribution account, to every urban sanitary authority whose area is situate wholly or partly within the county one-half of the salary of a sanitary inspector appointed by such authority, and that sanitary authorities are now empowered to appoint two or more sanitary inspectors, he will say on what grounds he has refused to accede to a request made to him by the County Councils Association that his sanction to the appointment by an urban sanitary authority of additional sanitary inspectors should not be given until the views of the county council as to the necessity for the additional appointments have been ascertained, and has thus departed from the important principle that financial responsibility should at least be accompanied by the right to be consulted as to the appropriateness of the purpose in respect of which such responsibility is incurred?

The Public Health (Officers) Act, 1921, which empowered urban sanitary authorities to appoint more than one sanitary inspector merely extended to urban authorities powers which had long been possessed and exercised by rural sanitary authorities and metropolitan borough councils. It does not appear to my right hon. Friend that this Act gives occasion for such a change as is suggested in the practice of his Department in dealing with applications for sanction to the appointment of sanitary inspectors.

asked the Solicitor-General for Scotland whether, in view of the criticism of the two draft education codes for Scotland passed by the majority of Scottish Members and by education authorities and teachers' organisations in Scotland, he will consider the advisability of issuing further drafts of the codes before they are laid upon the Table of the House, in order that Scottish opinion on the subject may be accurately known before the terms of the codes are finally adopted?

Copies of the proposed Day School and Secondary School Regulations were laid on the Table of the House on Friday last.