asked the Under-Secretary of State for War what is the number of British troops in occupied territory in Germany; and what was the cost of maintaining these troops during the year 1923?

The answer to the first part of the question is 8,872 all ranks and to the second part £1,600,000 approximately, which is mainly recoverable. This is exclusive of accommodation and miscellaneous services provided free by Germany.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that his Department has refused to disclose to the parents of an officer in the Army the address or whereabouts of such officer; and whether he will take steps to ensure that, in eases where acute domestic distress is caused by the practice of the Department, information of a soldier's whereabouts may be given to the parents?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. The general rule adopted by the Department, and believed to be in consonance with the practice of banks and other similar institutions, is that the private addresses of officers and soldiers cannot be disclosed to third parties without the consent of the person concerned. In the case to which I understand the hon. Member to refer, several letters from the parents have been forwarded by the War Office to the officer's last known address and have not been returned. I presume, therefore, that the officer has received them, but does not wish to communicate with his parents. In these circumstances, whilst fully sympathising with the parents' distress, I very much regret that I cannot take the action suggested in the last part of the question. I may add that the officer concerned is a demobilized temporary officer, who has now no connection with the Department.

asked the Minister of Pensions whether any order has been issued prohibiting treatment by specialists in the case of men suffering from neurasthenia and assessed at 20 per cent. or under; and, if so, do the medical advisers of the Ministry consider that treatment is unnecessary in these cases?

The answer is in the negative. The provision of treatment is undertaken by my Department in all cases of neurasthenia in which a Neurological Medical Officer of the Ministry considers it to be necessary.

asked the Minister of Pensions what was the total economy effected in the 12 months ending 31st December, 1923, by the reductions made in the pensions of parents and dependants after review; and whether he will arrange that any further review of parents' and dependants' pensions shall be made by the area War Pensions Committee?

As I informed the House yesterday, the result of the review is that only one in ten of the 330,000 pensions to dependent parents and others in issue has been affected, and the net result as regards the expenditure on dependants' pensions, which amounts to over £8,000,000 a year, is a reduction in the present year of about £85,000, or about 1 per cent. of the total cost. The review will be finished within the next few weeks, and in these circumstances it would scarcely be practicable to make any such change as is suggested in the last part of the question.

asked the Minister of Pensions how many dependants' pensions have been altered during the last six months in the north-western regional area owing to an error in the original assessment; and how many of these alterations have involved a reduction in the pension?

In approximately 3,600 cases a reduction of the pension has been made, after re-investigation, during the past six months. There are approximately 50,000 pensions to parents in issue in the north-western region.

asked the Minister of Pensions if he is aware that the pension of 18s. per week granted to Mrs. Elizabeth Mitchell, of 25, Bank Yard Road, Parton, Cumberland, in respect of the death of her son, Lance-Corporal James Mitchell, No. 1178, has been terminated on the death of the said Elizabeth Mitchell, and that consequently Elspeth Mitchell, sister of the late Lance-Corporal James Mitchell, who is permanently crippled and unable to do any work, is left wholly without resources; and, having regard to the fact that she was wholly dependent upon her late brother, will he arrange that a substantial part of the pension hitherto given to her mother, and from which she was maintained, should now be awarded to Elspeth Mitchell?

There is no provision in the Royal Warrant under which the suggested transfer of the pension awarded to the late soldier's mother could be made.

asked the Minister of Pensions upon what grounds was the pension awarded to John Burns, of 32, Scotch Street, Whitehaven, 2/M/B. 5969, stopped; and, in view of the additional facts supplied in this ease, can Burns' pension be restored?

Compensation appropriate to the degree of disablement found by examining Medical Boards has been granted to this man, and a final award has been confirmed on appeal by the independent tribunal. The case is not now, therefore, open to review. No additional information appears to have been supplied to the Ministry.

asked the Minister of Pensions if he is aware that pensions granted to mothers are being reduced on the grounds that the wages of the dead soldiers were higher than the pre-War average and presupposing that the profit derived by the mother was abnormal; and, seeing that many of these soldiers' Wages would have been increased every six months by an agreement then, and still, in force, will he inquire into this matter?

The basis of pre-War dependence pension is the ascertained amount of support regularly given by the deceased soldier to the dependant, after allowing for the value of any benefits which he derived from his contribution. In order that the parents of men who enlisted a long time after the beginning of the war, and who, during the intervening period, had been engaged on war work and thus been able to draw abnormally high rates of wage, should not be in a more favourable position as regards pension than the parents of men who enlisted on the outbreak of war, the Warrants of the Ministry have, from the outset, provided that any increase of the regular contribution due to war conditions, should be excluded. There has been no change in the provisions of the Warrant on this point since 1917, except the addition of the 20 per cent. bonus.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether the Crown salmon fishings on the River Cairn have been leased; what are the terms and conditions; whether the fishings were open to public competition; and who were the offerers and who the successful lessees?

The Crown salmon fishings in the River Cairn are held on a number of varying tenancies at small rents determinable at Martinmas next, the tenants in the majority of cases being the ex-adverso proprietors and in the remaining cases certain local angling associations. The fishings were not offered for public competition. The question of the letting of the salmon fishings from Martinmas next is now under consideration.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware that the Government entered into a contract in 1921 with the Royal Burgh of Dumfries to erect a post office before 4th November, 1924, on condition that the burgh fulfilled certain obligations; that the burgh has fulfilled those obligations; that the unemployed benefits paid in the burgh have been as high as £700 per week; and that repeated appeals have been made to the Government to fulfil its contract and give some relief to the suffering arising from persistent unemployment; and whether any steps have yet been taken by the Government to fulfil its contract?

In accordance with the Agreement made with the Dumfries Town Council, provision for the erection of a new post office at Dumfries has been made in the Revenue Buildings Estimates for 1924–5. The plans have been settled, and building work will begin as soon as the Estimates have received Parliamentary approval.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty (1) If, in view of the serious reductions in wages at Rosyth dockyard, he is prepared to consider making arrangements with the Scottish National Housing Company for a substantial reduction in the rents of the houses at the garden city;(2) if he is aware of the practice of the Scottish National Housing Company in raising the rents of the householders at Rosyth garden city who have been discharged from the dockyard, and that on the reinstatement of these men in the dockyard the rents arc maintained at the higher level; is he aware that the same practice prevails at the bungalow city; and will he take steps to have this system stopped.

The Admiralty have no control over the rents charged by the Company, but it was agreed that rents at an uneconomic rate could he raised when the occupants left Admiralty employment, though not before they obtained other work. I agree that there is an anomaly in such men paying the increased rate after re-entry in the dockyard while their colleagues who were not discharged continue to enjoy the unincreased rate, and I am having the matter looked into at once to see if any accommodation is possible. I am advised that rents generally paid by Admiralty employés are substantially the same as those charged by the Burgh of Dunfermline for houses erected under the national housing scheme, so that I fear no general reduction could be justified.

asked the Solicitor-General for Scotland whether he is aware that the crofters in the Highland counties of Scotland generally pay their rent for the whole year at Martinmas whereas, in most cases, the rate notices are not then issued and are, in any event, not payable until the following January; that the crofter is thereby prevented from following the procedure contemplated in the Agricultural Rates Act, 1923, by which he should retain the portion of his rates repayable by the landlord from his rent, and that both landlord and tenant are thereby inconvenienced; and whether he is prepared to introduce amending legislation whereby the tenant would be assessed only on the amount he is finally called upon to contribute to the rates?

I am aware that in cases such as are referred to by the hon. Member some delay must occur in recovering the portion of the occupier's rate finally chargeable against the owner, unless recovery be effected otherwise than by retention out of rent. I hope that an opportunity will occur for further consideration of this matter in connection with any general measure of rating reform.

asked the Under-Secretary to the Scottish Board of Health whether the scheme examined and reported on last summer by the Board of Agriculture for Scotland, in connection with a common grazing ground for young cattle in the island of Islay, can now be proceeded with?

I presume that the case referred to by the hon. Member is that of the farm of Tallant and Grobolls, near Bowmere, on the Islay Estate. A scheme is being prepared by the Board of Agriculture under Section 9 of the Land Settlement (Scotland) Act., 1919.

asked the Under Secretary to the Scottish Board of Health whether anything has been done to implement the promises made with regard to the relief of grievances endured by the smallholders of Sark Tower, in Dumfriesshire.

My Noble Friend the Secretary for Scotland is informed that arrangements have been made by the Board of Agriculture for the prevision of an improved water supply at this place and that one of the Board's Surveyors is at present on the ground in connection with this and other matters in regard to which complaint has been made.

asked the Home Secretary whether his attention has been called to the repeated appeals made for financing the shipment of whisky to the United States; and, in view of the moral and political objections to such enterprises, will he introduce legislation to make such actions illegal?

I would refer the hon. Member to my reply yesterday to the hon. Member for North Newcastle.

asked the Home Secretary if, having regard to the frequency of the collapse of textile factories in the West. Riding of Yorkshire during recent years, he will at an early date introduce a Bill to make it compulsory to inspect factories at least once a year?

I think it is an exaggeration on the part of the hon. Member to speak of the frequency of such collapses. The number which has come to the notice of my Department in the last 10 years is three, besides the one that has just occurred. As regards the rest of the question, I do not think I can usefully add anything to the answer which I gave on Wednesday.

asked the Home Secretary if he will give a list of the selected busy points in London at which

NUMBER OF VEHICLES PASSING THE POINTS OF ENUMERATION BETWEEN 8 A.M. AND 8 P.M. ON A PARTICULAR DAY IN EACH OF THE YEARS INDICATED.
Point of Enumeration.	1912.	1915.	1919.	1920.	1921.	1922.	1923.
Hyde Park Corner	41,106	35,342	36,773	43,505	48,034	51,664	56,039
Trafalgar Square	34,897	34,561	31,071	35,981	38,436	38,849	42,042
Piccadilly Circus	39,322	32,911	32,080	36,801	36,340	40,450	41,270
Marble Arch	31,927	25,794	25,612	31,854	33,096	35,164	35,594
Piccadilly, St. James' Street	27,125	21,717	22,705	27,219	26,506	29,898	31,894
Oxford Circus	27,310	21,303	23,683	26,914	28,413	31,071	31,289
Mansion House	30,934	—	22,775	27,832	23,895	29,951	31,120
Sloane Street	28,620	19,384	22,215	24,745	26,847	29,146	31,031
Blackfriars Bridge North	30,191	—	24,391	28,773	27,564	20,604	29,611
High Holborn, Southampton Row.	24,286	21,472	18,984	23,974	25,495	25,891	26,611
Elephant Headway	20,782	18,856	17,716	23,390	24,666	26,528	26,329
Oxford Street, Tottenham Court Road.	24,479	21,700	18,290	23,709	24,869	25,977	26,285
King William Street	24,344	—	19,206	21,182	15,867	21,104	25,550
Strand, Wellington Street	24,743	—	19,698	23,628	27,267	22,870	24,558
Ludgate Circus	27,9409	—	18,659	24,385	21,223	21,019	24,361
King's Cross	13,495	—	12,901	19,995	20,638	21,196	23,965
Vauxhall Cross	19,035	16,537	15,881	19,258	20,968	22,106	23,091
Hammersmith Broadway	12,974	—	13,785	18,224	19,210	21,211	22,792
Mansion House Station	24,131	—	19,205	21,240	20,746	19,704	22,786
Euston Road, Tottenham Court Road.	6,308	—	14,138	16,305	19,604	19,934	21,847
Holborn Circus	24,412	—	16,771	20,950	17,425	20,592	21,655
Edgware Road, Praed Street	16,185	—	16,859	17,867	18,865	21,174	21,250
Kensington High Street, Church Street.	16,989	11,758	14,562	16,583	17,673	18,555	20,973
Gray's Inn Road, Theobald's Road	17,822	17,419	13,987	15,356	18,194	20,052	20,888
Angel, Islington	13,606	—	11,750	14,870	16,088	18,265	20,201
City Road, Old Street	16,002	14,181	13,167	16,446	16,859	19,627	19,697
Blackfriars Bridge South	18,980	16,581	14,953	22,220	17,789	20,126	19,554
London Bridge South	15,850	17,961	13,001	16,470	16,123	17,094	18,662
Queen Victoria Street, Queen Street	19,316	—	14,386	16,130	16,664	19,720	18,647
Whitechapel, Gardiner's Corner	19,498	17,775	17,265	18,178	18,197	20,077	18,448
Shepherds Bush Green	9,849	—	12,940	13,697	18,082	18,763	18,314
G.P.O. (old site)	20,213	—	14,153	16,793	18,258	19,589	17,802
Notting Hill Gate	13,049	—	9,982	13,077	13,971	16,302	17,158
Bishopsgate, Liverpool Street	18,295	—	14,591	16,216	19,385	15,548	16,705
Cheapside, King Street	17,313	—	11,311	13,893	16,489	17,442	15,470
Aldgate, Minories	13,425	13,209	13,009	13,606	13,713	16,218	15,421
Old Street, Kingsland Road	12,255	—	6,897	11,019	12,328	14,119	15,313
Cornhill, Bishopsgate	12,648	—	11,256	13,749	8,088	14,288	14,425
Moorgate, London Wall	16,784	—	8,650	11,478	10,314	13,428	13,998

asked the Home Secretary whether he is aware that John a census of the traffic was taken by the Commissioner of Police during 1922, and state what increase the results show at each point during the past 10 years?

The practice of taking a census annually was not adopted till 1919, but figures are available for 1912, 1915, 1919, 1920, 1921, 1922 and 1923. These figures are as follow:Alfred Davidson was recently sentenced by the Carlisle magistrates to three months' hard labour, without the option of a fine, for damaging trees with intent to steal; that it was Davidson's first offence; that he has hitherto borne an excellent character; and that the sentence has created a great deal of feeling in the city; whether he has received representations from citizens of Carlisle asking for a lightening of the sentence; whether he has yet considered any representations made to him; and, if not, whether he will do so at once?

I have considered this case, and regret that I should not feel justified in interfering with the sentence.

asked the Minister of Health whether his attention has been called to the fact that the new issue of insurance incapacity certificates, on the back of which is a form of death certificate, has a very serious detrimental effect upon the health of the insured patient; and will he immediately take steps to have these certificates withdrawn?

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer given to similar questions by the hon. Members for South-East Southwark and Neath on the 17th January.

asked the Minister of Health if he is aware of the fact that, owing to advertisements issued by unskilled, untrained, and unqualified people practising medicine and surgery claiming special knowledge and ability to relieve and cure such dreaded diseases as cancer, etc., many lives have been seriously endangered, and in some instances lost; and whether he is prepared to take immediate steps to prohibit them from advertising in any shape or form?

My attention has been called to a recent case, where it appears that a patient may have been misled by an advertisement, but no information is available as to the extent of the evil to which the hon. Member refers, and I doubt whether legislation to prohibit unqualified medical practice would be regarded as uncontroversial.

asked the President of the Board of Education how many classes of over 50 children there are at present in public elementary schools; what was the corresponding number in 1914; and what steps have been taken by the Board during the last 12 months to reduce the size of these classes?

I have no figures before 1919–20, and the latest year for which figures have ben tabulated is the year ending on the 31st March, 1922. The figures for 1922 and the two preceding years, for England and Wales, are as follow:

1920	38,174
1921	35,137
1922	33,031

Steady progress in this respect is being made by more careful classification of children and better distribution of teachers, but the problem is largely one of accommodation.

ask the President of the Board of Education whether the Board of Education during the past year has refused to sanction the provision of new class-rooms by local education authorities unless for the accommodation of more than 40 children; and whether this still continues the policy of the Board?

In a new building the size of the class-rooms will depend to some extent upon the size and the organisation of the school. In small departments for children of all ages the classes will be comparatively small. In "central schools" providing advanced instruction for older children it is not desirable that a class should be larger than 40. In other schools the board, in existing financial conditions, have not felt able to agree to schemes of staffing based upon a uniform standard of 40; but, in order not to prejudice the future, they have consented to the building of class-rooms which, according to the new Building Regulations of 1914, would accommodate 40 pupils, on the condition that it may prove necessary for a time that the classes using them should be somewhat larger.

asked the President of the Board of Education in how many cases during the year 1923 the Board has refused to sanction the building of new public elementary schools or the enlargement of existing buildings; and whether the Board is now prepared to encourage local authorities to proceed with such work?

I am afraid that in the the time available it has not been possible to obtain complete information with regard to the first part of the question. I will do my best to have such information circulated in the OFFICIAL REPORT on Monday next. The Board will continue, as hitherto, to treat every case on its merits.

asked the Minister of Labour the approximate number of working days lost by trade disputes in Great Britain during the year 1923; and the number of workpeople involved in those disputes.

The approximate number of working days lost by trade disputes in Great Britain and Northern Ireland in 1923 was 10,640,000. The number of workpeople involved in these disputes (including workpeople rendered idle at the establishments where the disputes occurred, in addition to those actually on strike or locked-out) was approximately 400,000. Disputes involving less than 10 workpeople, and those lasting less than one day, are not included in these figures unless the aggregate duration (i.e., the number of workpeople involved multiplied by the number of working days) exceeds 100 days. No statistics are available as to the number of working days lost, owing to disputes, at establishments other than those directly affected by the disputes.

asked the Minister of Labour what steps, if any, are taken to prevent the payment of unemployment benefit to persons on the live register who take part-time work in some non-insurable occupation?

Applicants for unemployment benefit are required to attend at Local Offices of the Department whilst unemployed and each applicant is required to sign a declaration that he was unemployed on each day for which he receives benefit. No distinction is made in this respect between insurable and non-insurable work. Posters explaining the meaning of the word "unemployed" for the purposes of the Unemployment Insurance Acts and warning applicants against claiming benefit whilst in employment are prominently exhibited in the Local Offices. At each Employment Exchange there is also one or more Investigating Officers whose duty it is to enquire into the question whether the prescribed conditions for the receipt of benefit are fulfilled by applicants.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he can indicate the numbers of women who have been in receipt of unemployment pay since their discharge from Government Departments or factories engaged on Government contracts; what is the longest period over which such payments have been made; and whether, in view of the Report of the Committee on Conditions in Domestic Service, any steps are being taken to stop the payment of unemployment benefit to women who are fitted for, but unwilling to enter, domestic service?

It is not possible to distinguish women in the categories mentioned by the hon. Member from other women applicants for benefit. Generally, women applicants were entitled, under the statutory provisions, to receive benefit for the same length of time as men during the special periods which have been in operation during the past three years and will be similarly entitled during the first benefit year now current. The hon. Member is no doubt aware that benefit is only paid to women who are normally employed otherwise than in domestic service and standing instructions already provide that unemployment benefit shall not be paid to women who are suitable for and who refuse domestic service.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies when the Order in Council relating to constitutional reforms in Ceylon will be published; and whether it contains any modifications beyond those previously announced in this House?

The Order in Council, which was passed on the 19th December, has only recently been for- warded to the Governor of Ceylon, and will be published when it reaches his hands. The only important change provides for an additional territorial constituency in the Southern Province, thus increasing the total number of unofficial members in the Legislative Council to 37, out of a total of 49.