asked the Prime Minister whether any extension of the operation of the Trade Facilities Act is contemplated in the coming autumn?

The period during which guarantees may be given under the existing Act expires in November, but it is proposed to ask Parliament to extend it.

asked the Under-Secretary a State for Foreign Affairs if he is in a position to make a statement on the scope and present position of the conference on the future of Tangier?

I regret that I cannot usefully make any statement respecting the conversations now in progress in regard to the holding of a conference on the future status of Tangier.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what is the present naval strength of Turkey; and whether any, and, if so, what ex-German ships are employed by that Power?

I have been asked to reply. The following Turkish warships are at present under Allied supervision: 1 Battle cruiser (ex-German). 1 Old battleship (ex-German). 3 Old armoured vessels. 2 Light cruisers. 6 Destroyers. 6 Torpedo boats. 1 Sloop. 2 Torpedo gunboats. 7 Gunboats. 4 Minelayers and a number of motor launches. The Admiralty have no definite information of the number of vessels in the hands of the Turkish Nationalists, but they are believed to consist of two gunboats and a number of smaller vessels. There are no ex-German vessels in the hands of the Turkish Nationalists.

asked the Secretary of State for Air the date on which the rudder control of aircraft was introduced; whether this country was the first to introduce this control; and, if so, who was the person who submitted the idea?

I am unable to give the information asked for in the first part of the question, except to say that the rudder as a means of controlling the direction of flight appears to have been an integral part of most of the designs put forward by inventors long before the advent of the practical flying machine. The earliest practical application of rudder control to aircraft, both dirigible balloons and flying machines, appears to have been made in foreign countries, namely, France, Germany, and the United States of America. The answer to the second part of the question is therefore in the negative, and the third part does not arise.

asked the Minister of Agriculture what action, if any, has been taken to carry out the recommendations of the Interim Report of the Departmental Committee on the distribution and prices of agricultural produce; and if any communication has been sent to the United Dairies Company, Limited?

As was announced by the Prime Minister on the 4th inst. in reply to the hon. and gallant Member for Woodbridge (Sir A. Churchman), the President of the Board of Trade, in conjunction with the Secretary for Scotland and myself, is calling a conference of representatives of the milk trade to discuss the recommendations in the First Interim Report of the Linlithgow Committee. The United Dairies Company have accepted an invitation to send representatives to that conference.

asked the First Commissioner of Works whether his attention has been called to the proposed appointment of four men, named Milne, Goodison, Clouting, and Robb, as assistant architects in the ancient monuments branch of the Office of Works; whether he is aware that neither Milne nor Goodison is an ex-service man; that Milne left the Government service voluntarily in 1919 to take up an appointment with the Anglo-Persian Oil Company; that applications were not invited from the unestablished staff for these posts, and that Milne, if appointed, will receive £500 per annum, and thereby be in a better position than many who were his senior and have given continuous service; whether any of these four men have special qualifications for the posts and, if so, what they are; whether he is aware of the grave dissatisfaction existing in the Department in question about the appointments recently made in the Department; and whether he will inquire into the cause of such dissatisfaction and meantime suspend the proposed appointments?

I have already given very careful consideration to this question, and am satisfied that the four officers referred to are the best qualified for the highly specialised work, and that their appointment is in the best interests of the Department. Three of the appointments have already been made, and I regret that I am unable to suspend the appointments as suggested. Of the total professional, administrative and clerical male staff of the Department at the present time, 75 per cent. have served with the Army, Navy or Air Force.

asked the Postmaster-General whether his Department obtained any evidence during the thunderstorm which visited London on Monday night and Tuesday morning last which would in any way support the idea that it was due in a great measure to the presence of the large number of aerial wires in the neighbourhood?

There is no evidence which would in any way support the interesting suggestion made by my hon. Friend.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport whether his attention has been called to the many accidents, some fatal, which have occurred at Hanging Bridge, near Ashbourne, Derbyshire; and whether since this is largely due to the dangerous nature and conformation of the road, he will take such steps as are necessary, and are within his powers, to put this road in a safe position compared with its present state?

I have particulars of a fatal accident that occurred on this bridge in December, 1920, owing to the failure of the brakes of a lorry. While I cannot admit that in comparison with the generality of highway bridges this structure or its approaches can be termed dangerous, I am prepared to give full consideration to any proposals which the highway authorities concerned may submit for effecting an improvement at this point.

asked the Home Secretary whether his attention has been called to the hardship entailed on country innkeepers because of the restricted hours their houses are allowed to keep open; and if he will consider whether the pre-War hours, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., can be returned to?

My right hon. Friend is not clear what is the precise alteration which the hon. Member desires, but at present he has no general evidence in favour of any change which cannot be dealt with by local licensing authorities.

asked the Home Secretary if he will institute an inquiry into the alleged wrongful dismissal of ex-Inspector John Syme?

I would refer the hon. Member to the full statement which I made in the course of the Debate on Thursday last.

asked the Home Secretary whether he has considered the Report on child adoption made by the Committee appointed to make such Report by the Home Office, and the two Bills which have been introduced to give effect to its recommendations; and if he can hold out any hopes of the Government bringing in or giving facilities to any Bill for this purpose?

Yes, Sir. I am afraid the Government cannot undertake to introduce legislation on this subject at the present time, and the pressure of Parliamentary business makes it impossible to give special facilities to a private Member's Bill.

asked the Home Secretary if his attention has been called to the conviction of a baker for exposing for sale loaves which did not weigh 1 lb. or an even number of pounds; and, seeing that this is a War-time Regulation, and that, as provided bread is sold by weight, there is no further object in maintaining in existence the legislation referred to, will he consider its repeal?

I have been asked to reply. Yes, Sir, my attention has been called to this case. The question is under consideration.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies what harbour works have been carried out in West Africa within the last 20 years; what is the cost of them; by whom they have been carried out; whether by contract or by the State; and how the final cost in each case accords with the preliminary estimate of what the outlay would be?

For Nigeria, particulars of the more important works are as follow: (1) Lagos Harbour Entrance Works. —Constructed departmentally under the supervision of Consulting Engineers, Messrs. Coode, Fitzmaurice, Wilson and Mitchell; original estimate submitted in reports during 1906, £897,000; work commenced in 1908 and completed by 31st March, 1923; certain additions were authorised during the process of construction as found advisable; and the total cost of the completed works is £1,229,716; an entrance, very dangerous to ships, of 9–11 feet in depth, has been converted into a satisfactory entrance of 20 feet in depth or more. (2) Lagos Wharfage Scheme. —Dredging channels in inner harbour, entrance to customs wharf, Five Courie Creek to Apapa, etc.; work done departmentally under supervision of the same consulting engineers; estimated cost as inserted in the loan schedule of 1911, £400,000; work practically completed at a cost of £410,000. (3) Apapa Wharfage Scheme. —The provision of wharfage accommodation at Apapa; the terminal of the Lagos Railway has proceeded by stages concurrently with the deepening of the entrance to the harbour under the supervision of the same consulting engineers; the earlier stages were constructed departmentally, the present extension is being constructed under contract by Messrs. Armstrong, Whitworth and Company, Limited; the total estimated cost of the works, which are still in progress, is £806,250. (4) Coal and Kerosene Wharf, Iddo Island. —Constructed departmentally under the advice of the same consulting engineers; original estimate, submitted in 1920, £287,500; work still proceeding. (5) Port Harcourt Wharfage Scheme. —Being constructed departmentally under supervision of the same consulting engineers; original estimate, 1920, of cost of first instalment of 1,065 feet, £430,000; that instalment is now nearing comple- 1887 tion at a cost considerably below the estimate, the saving being due to the efficiency with which the work has been conducted and the fall in the cost of steelwork in England.

In Sierra Leone an export wharf at Freetown was projected in 1912 at a cost of £172,000 plus the cost of the land.

£70,000 plus £14,000, which proved to be the cost of the land, had been spent when the outbreak of war put an end to the work; since then lack of funds has prevented its resumption. The work was being carried out by Government under the advice of the same consulting engineers.

As regards the Gold Coast, I fear that it will be necessary to refer to the Colony in order to obtain exact figures, and I have telegraphed for them to be supplied.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies what number of officials of the Palestine Administration have been appointed by the High Commissioner; and what proportion of the number are natives of Palestine?

The total number of officials in the Palestine Administration, all of whom, as I explained on the 9th July to the hon. Member for Richmond (Mr. Becker) are appointed by the High Commissioner, is 377 senior and 2,183 junior officials. The Secretary of State is inquiring what proportion of these are natives of Palestine, but I would remind the hon. Member that Palestinian nationality must depend upon the Nationality Law which cannot be enacted until the Mandate has come fully into force.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether, in view of the existing uncertainty, the Departmental Committee to be set up to consider constructional work in Africa will report on the question as to the most economical method of railway construction; and whether he will consider delaying any decision as to carrying out work departmentally until such Committee has reported?

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether the Committee to be set up by the Colonial Office will not only report on the question of private enterprise, but also on the most economical methods of providing harbour and railway facilities, before any such work is undertaken departmentally?

The Committee will no doubt consider the question of Departmental as opposed to other methods of construction of railways and such subsidiary works as harbour works. But individual schemes will not come before them, and I do not think it is necessary to delay any scheme in the expectation which can hardly be entertained that the Committee will advise that Departmental construction cannot in any circumstances be economical. It would be most undesirable to hold up any schemes of development matured or maturing in view of the desirability of getting early orders for material from this country to relieve unemployment.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether, before any work is undertaken departmentally, he will arrange that the Crown agents or their consulting engineers shall submit detailed estimates as to the cost of the work to be undertaken?

When any important work has to be carried out by a Colonial Government estimates are always prepared, by the Government concerned, by the Crown Agents for the Colonies or by consulting engineers according to the circumstances of each case.

asked the Prime Minister whether any cases in connection with claims under Article 297 for compensation for the seizure of British property, rights, and interests in Germany have yet been heard by the Anglo-German mixed arbitral tribunal; and, if so, what has been the result?

I have been asked to reply. Fifty-three judgments after trial have been given by the Anglo-German Mixed Arbitral Tribunal in respect of claims for compensation under paragraph ( e ) of Article 297 of the Treaty of Versailles, and, in addition, over 2,500 claims have been settled by agrement and confirmed by formal judgments of the tribunal. The total amount of compensation awarded either after trial or by agreement between the parties to date is £3,382,494.

asked the Prime Minister (1), the number of sittings held by the Anglo-German Mixed Arbitral Tribunal during the course of the present year;

(2), whether he is aware that the great delay in settling compensation cases by the Anglo-German Mixed Arbitral Tribunal is due to pressure of work upon the members of that body; and when will steps be taken to increase the membership of the tribunal with a view to remedying a state of affairs which is very prejudicial to British commercial interests?

I have been asked to reply. The Anglo-German Mixed Arbitral Tribunal has sat on 35 occasions to hear cases during the present year. The agreement of the German Government has now been obtained to the constitution of a second division of the tribunal, which will commence its sittings immediately after the Long Vacation.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if the Royal Commission on Reparation Claims is still prepared to consider claims for suffering and damage by enemy action which have not been already presented?

Every belated claim will receive consideration under the direction of the Royal Commission on Compensation for Suffering and Damage by Enemy Action, and where sufficiently exceptional circumstances of excuse for delay exist the claim will be admitted for participation in the £5,000,000 compensation fund under the First Report of the Royal Commission.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Overseas Trade Depart- ment whether he is aware that the Italian Government have recently abolished the import duty on some salt fish such as cod and herrings, but that the import duty on salted pilchards has been neither reduced nor abolished; and whether, having regard to the importance of the pilchard fishing industry, he will make representations to the Italian Government so that salted pilchards might be included amongst the salt fish imported into that country without duty?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. As to the second part, His Majesty's Ambassador at Rome has already been requested to furnish a report, in the light of which the utility of taking action as suggested will be considered.

asked the Minister of Health whether, with a view to the purification of our rivers and economies in sewage disposal, he will consider the advisability of authorising an official inquiry into the possibility of adopting the process of septic gas production which is in operation in Australia and which has been successfully demonstrated by means of plants erected in Australia and in this country?

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer which I gave on the 13th instant in reply to a similar question by the hon. Member for Westhoughton (Mr. Rhys Davies).

asked the Minister of Health if he will publish a return of the vaccinations per cent. of the births, the total number of small-pox deaths registered, the small-pox death rate per 100,000 of the population, and the deaths from cow-pox and other effects of vaccination from the year 1872 to the year 1922 for England and Wales; and the total number of small-pox deaths for London for the same years, with the small-pox death rate per 100,000 and the percentage of the births vaccinated?

The figures, so far as they are available, are as follows: Year. England and Wales. London.* Vaccinations per cent. Of Births. Small-pox Deaths. Small-pox Death rate per 100,000 population. Deaths from cow-pox and other effects of vaccination. Vaccinations per cent. of Births.† Small-pox Deaths. Small-pox Death rate per 100,000 population. 1872 … 85 19,022 82.1 ‡ 81.9 1,786 53.7 1873 … 85.2 2,303 9.8 ‡ 81.6 113 3.4 1874 … 85.05 2,084 8.8 ‡ 81.5 57 1.7 1875 … 84.9 849 3.5 37 81.0 46 1.3 1876 … 86 2,408 9.9 21 84.0 736 20.7 1877 … 86.3 4,278 17.3 32 83.9 2,551 71.0 1878 … 85.3 1,856 7.4 39 83.1 1,417 38.8 1879 … 86.0 536 2.1 36 83.4 450 12.1 1880 … 85.1 648 2.5 41 83.8 471 12.5 1881 … 86.6 3,098 11.9 58 85.3 2,367 61.9 1882 … 85.9 1,317 5.0 65 84.6 430 11.1 1883 … 85.6 957 3.6 55 84.2 136 3.5 1884 … 84.4 2,234 8.2 53 83.5 1,236 31.3 1885 … 84.7 2,827 10.3 52 83.5 1,317 33.2 1886 … 83.4 275 1.1 45 82.0 20 0.5 1887 … 82.8 506 1.9 45 80.6 9 0.2 1888 … 81.7 1,026 3.7 45 79.8 9 0.2 1889 … 79.8 23 0.1 58 78.6 1 .0 1890 … 78.0 16 .0 43 75.5 3 0.1 1891 … 75.8 49 0.2 43 73.2 8 0.2 1892 … 74.5 431 1.5 58 71.6 29 0.7 1893 … 72.3 1,457 4.9 59 70.7 186 4.3 1894 … 70.4 820 2.7 50 69.4 89 2.1 1895 … 67.8 223 0.7 56 64.2 55 1.3 1896 … 66.0 541 1.7 42 63.0 9 0.2 1897 … 62.4 25 .0 36 60.1 16 0.4 1898 … 61.0 253 0.8 26 53.8 1 .0 1899 … 66.4 174 0.5 34 58.8 3 0.1 1900 … 68.7 85 0.3 25 61.7 4 0.1 1901 … 71.4 356 1.0 17 64.3 229 5.1 1902 … 74.8 2,464 7.5 22 68.0 1,314 28.5 1903 … 75.4 760 2.3 26 68.9 13 0.3 1904 … 75.3 507 1.5 28 69.7 25 0.6 1905 … 75.8 116 0.4 26 70.7 10 0.2 1906 … 73.4 21 0.1 29 68.1 — — 1907 … 70.9 10 .0 12 65.9 — — 1908 … 63.2 12 .0 13 63.0 — — 1909 … 59.8 21 0.1 11 61.7 2 .0 1910 … 55.9 19 0.1 8 58.4 — — 1911 … 52.3 23 0.1 14 54.8 9 0.2 1912 … 50.1 9 .0 10 52.2 1 .0 1913 … 46.5 10 .0 7 48.3 — — 1914 … 44.6 4 .0 6 45.8 — — 1915 … 45.5 13 .0 11 48.0 3 0.1 1916 … 44.7 18 .0 4 47.4 — — 1917 … 43.3 3 .0 9 45.6 — — 1918 … 41.5 2 .0 5 45.7 — — 1919 … 40.6 28 0.1 7 45.0 6 0.1 1920 … 39.5 30§ 0.1 19 45.6 4 0.1 1921 … 38.3 5 .0 8 43.0 1 .0 1922 … † 27 0.1 7 — 20 .4 * The Administrative and Registration Counties of London were made co-extensive in 1901. The figures for earlier years relate to the Registration County. † Figures for 1922 not yet available. ‡ Figures for 1872–4 not available. § In addition one death, certified as influenza and so classified, was regarded by the Ministry of Health as definitely ascribable to hæmorrhagic small-pox.

asked the Minister of Health what steps are being taken to bring the insulin treatment within the reach of the very poor?

It is within the powers of guardians, on the advice of the medical officer, to pay for the supply of insulin in cases of destitution.

asked the Minister of Health what has been the average tender price per month for A and B type of houses, respectively, erected under the Housing Act, 1919, from its inception to the present day?

Statement showing the average tender price of A3 and B3 type houses built under the Housing Act, 1919, Assisted Scheme: Month. A3 Type. Average tender price. B3 Type. Average tender price. 1919. £ £ June 643 785 July 713 833 August 757 852 September 800 868 October 750 834 November 735 882 December 744 837 1920. January 782 856 February 798 932 March 817 919 April 817 914 May 855 953 June 860 972 July 870 955 August 875 956 September 881 949 October 888 958 November 859 960 December 841 943 1921. January 834 932 February 824 878 March 700 838 April 697 798 May 697 813 June 693 792 July 665 752 August 612 707 Month. A3 Type. Average tender price. B3 Type. Average tender price. 1921. £ £ September 594 659 October 573 667 November 577 661 December 514 566 1922. January 494 560 February 494 518 March 436 513 April 395 446 May 392 422 June 382 419 July 378 413 August 370 407 September 349 398 October 346 407 November 332 387 December 346 387 1923. £ £ January 346 373 February 367 373 March 363 402 April 355 390 May 363 378 June 299 —

The figures for the last few months cannot be regarded as representing average prices of building, as they relate to small numbers only. For the first three years approximately the tender prices were subject to fluctuations in the cost of labour and materials.

asked the Minister of Health what are lowest and highest rents, respectively, that have been agreed to by the Ministry of Health for A and B type of houses erected under the Housing Act, 1919, from its inception to the present day?

The information asked for by the hon. Member is as follows:— A Type. Per week. Lowest rent 3s. 3d. Highest rent 18s. 6d. B Type. Per week. Lowest rent 4s. 3d. Highest rent 21s. 6d. These rents are in all cases exclusive of rates.

asked the Minister of Health if he will give for the years 1914–22 the number of local authorities taking action under the Health and Housing Acts in respect of insanitary houses; the number of representations made to them; and the number of houses closed by voluntary and compulsory action for each year, respectively?

Information is not available for the period during the War, and the information obtainable from the annual reports of medical officers of health for 1919 was too incomplete for tabulation.

The summarised particulars for 1920 and 1921 (the latest year for which information is available) are as follow: 1920. 1921. Total number of local authorities who submitted reports 1,503 1,665 Number of above local authorities who reported action under the Health and Housing Acts 1,227 1,364 Number of representations made with a view to the making of Closing Orders 3,189 2,965 Number of dwelling-houses in respect of which Closing Orders were made 1,808 2,291 Number of dwelling-houses in respect of which Closing Orders were determined after the houses had been rendered fit 754 527 Number of dwelling-houses in respect of which Closing Orders became operative following declaration of owners after action under Section 28, Housing Act, 1919 425 623

asked the First Commissioner of Works whether, so long as the present housing shortage continues, he will give instructions that where houses under the control of his Department become empty steps shall be taken to secure their immediate re-occupation, and that in no case where suitable tenants are available shall houses be allowed to remain unoccupied pending arrangements being concluded to secure their sale?

The policy of the Government is to sell all houses under its charge as and when they become vacant. The demand for such houses is very great, and there is no danger of houses lying idle for any appreciable length of time.

asked the Minister of Health why he is pressing upon the Tilbury Urban District Council to increase the rent of the various houses under their control by several shillings per week; if he is aware that 90 per cent. of the adult population are casual workers and the average wage is less than £2 per week; and if he will take action in the matter?

As my right hon. Friend explained to the hon. Member for Westhoughton (Mr. Rhys Davies), in answer to a question on the 11th instant, he has already taken action in this matter by having the question in dispute referred for decision to the independent Rent Tribunal.

asked the hon. Member for Cheltenham, as Chairman of the Kitchen and Refreshment Rooms Committee why it is necessary to charge 4d. for an orange and 3d. for a banana?

It was necessary to make the charges complained of for oranges and bananas in consequence of the wholesale prices prevailing at the time, which left a very small margin to cover the expenses incidental to retail supply.