asked the Minister of Agriculture if he can yet state his decision regarding throwing open the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, free of charge on all days of the week excepting Tuesday and Friday?

I regret that I am not yet in a position to announce my decision with regard to opening the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, free of charge except on Tuesdays and Fridays. Perhaps my hon. Friend will repeat his question in a fortnight.

asked the Minister of Agriculture how many schemes have been formulated for the development of rural industries under Section 8, sub-Section (4), of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries Act, 1919; in what counties have such schemes been sanctioned; what is the nature of the schemes; and what have been the total annual expenses sanctioned by the Ministry, with the approval of the Treasury, under this sub-Section of the Act?

The expenses that may be sanctioned by the Ministry under Section 8 (4) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries Act, 1919, are confined to the cost of making enquiries with a view to formulating schemes under that Section and do not extend to the cost of putting any such schemes into operation. Enquiries have been made by the majority of the 60 county agricultural committees in England and Wales at the cost of a small sum for postages, printing, etc., and the results have been communicated to the Rural Industries Intelligence Bureau and various other bodies likely to make use of them. Schemes promoted by the county councils of Oxfordshire and the North Riding of Yorkshire have been approved and grants out of the Development Fund have been sanctioned to cover the initial cost. The Oxfordshire scheme consists of the provision of a farriery and welding instruction van, which has been purchased and equipped at a cost of £470, and has been loaned for use in Oxfordshire and subsequently in other counties. The running costs will be defrayed by the county council, but their expenditure will be aided out of the Ministry's grant for agricultural education. The North Riding scheme is in the nature of propaganda work with a view to the encouragement of village industries. The grant amounts to £150, and is for a period of one year from the 1st January, 1924.

asked the Minister of Agriculture when the final Report of the Agricultural Tribunal will be issued?

As I stated in reply to the hon. Member for Wells on the 14th February last, the Agricultural Tribunal hoped to present their final Report early in this month. Owing, however, to illness and other unforeseen circumstances, this has not been possible, but the tribunal are making every effort to present the Report before Easter. The question of publication will be considered when the Report is received.

asked the Minister of Agriculture the acreage of land in England and Wales under wheat and oats for 1918, 1919, 1920, 1921, 1922 and 1923, and a similar return for Scotland; and if the Government proposes to do anything to compel home production of food supplies in order that the nation may be less dependent upon foreign sources of supply than at present?

The areas returned as under wheat and oats on agricultural holdings of over one acre in England and Wales and in Scotland in the years

In reply to the latter part of the question, the Government do not propose to make compulsory any particular method of cropping.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he is aware that there is considerable dissatisfaction in Leicestershire as to the conditions under which cattle infected with foot-and-mouth disease are slaughtered and the carcases removed; and if he will undertake to see that proper precautions as to disinfection, burning and burying of offal, and disinfection of the slaughtermen, and especially lorry-drivers responsible for removing the carcases, are enforced in order to avoid spreading the infection?

I am not aware of any widespread dissatisfaction in Leicestershire with the methods employed by the Ministry's officials in slaughtering infected animals and destroying their carcases. The same methods are successfully employed in other counties. If, however, the hon. and gallant Member will furnish me with any specific instances which have caused dissatisfaction, I shall be glad to have them investigated

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether consideration is being given to a scheme whereby agricultural workers who lose their employment consequent upon the slaughter of animals with foot-and-mouth disease can be compensated for the loss of wages involved; and, if not, will consideration be given to this matter in the near future?

mentioned in the question were as follow:

So far as I can ascertain, comparatively few agricultural workers are without employment owing to outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease, and, though I should be willing to consider any proposals which my hon. Friend may care to put forward, I would point out that such compensation cannot be provided under the Diseases of Animals Act.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether, in his promised extension of the credit facilities of the Trade Facilities Acts to agricultural interests, he will have regard to the desirability of bringing the matter prominently to the notice of the agricultural community, particularly in reference to outlying districts such as in the Highlands of Scotland?

It has always been open to agriculturists to apply on the same basis as any other class in the community for guarantees under the Trade Facilities Acts for loans raised by them for capital expenditure within the scope of the Acts. I should be glad of the co-operation of the hon. Member in bringing the provisions of the Acts to the notice of the areas in question.

asked the Minister of Pensions if he is aware that ex-trooper Robert Maxwell Mason, No. 4,542, late Cavalry Reserve, died at the Stockton and Thoresby Hospital on the 13th February, 1924, through a disability aggravated by service during the Great War and in respect of which he was in receipt of a permanent disablement pension under Article I ( i ) of the Royal Pensions Warrant, 1919, his disability being assessed at 20 per cent.; that his widow, who has two of his children to keep, has been refused a pension on the ground that her late husband's death did not take place within seven years of his removal from duty on account of the disability which caused his death; and will he take action to have the Royal Warrant amended in such a way as to prevent this and similar claims made in respect of disabilities admittedly received in the Great War being refused on account of the action of a time limit?

This case has been carefully reviewed by my medical advisers who, while of opinion that it is not wholly free from doubt, advise me that it is one which can properly be dealt with under the concessions announced last year for meeting cases of merit which would otherwise be barred by the operation of the seven years limit. An award of pension will accordingly be made to the widow.

asked the Minister of Pensions if he has received any complaints as to the treatment of disabled ex-service men by the Special Medical Board (No. 1), Birmingham; and, if so, will he cause inquiries to be made into the operations of this board?

My right hon. Friend has received no complaints regarding any of the medical boards in the Birmingham area. I may add that the personnel of the boards is varied from day to day.

asked the Minister of Pensions how many cases have been dealt with by the House of Lords Tribunal in January and February, respectively; and how many of the cases were turned down?

I have been asked to reply. 10,012 appeals were heard during the period mentioned, of which 4,058 were disallowed. The figures relate to England and Wales only. I am publishing details in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

The details are as follow:

Twenty-five appeals were withdrawn by appellants during the two months.

Sixty-three appeals were withdrawn by appellants during the two months.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Air whether, in view of the fact that he recently received a deputation from the Association of ex-Service Civil Servants, which protested, inter alia, against transfer of permanent clerical officers from the General Post Office to the Air Ministry, and that an assurance was subsequently given that any clerical officer transferred from the Post Office would only be placed in the Air Ministry to fill vacancies, he will state why three of the transferred clerical officers have been placed in the Directorate of Equipment, replacing three temporary ex-service clerks who have been employed in that branch for some years, although this was against the wishes of the section head concerned; whether he is aware that this action resulted in the transfer of the ex-service men concerned to other sections; and what is the reason for this failure to carry out the undertaking given to the ex-service men's representatives?

The assurance given was that the transfer of the permanent clerical officers from the General Poet Office would not involve the discharge of temporary ex-service clerks employed in the Air Ministry, and this undertaking has been observed. It was never intended to be, and was not in terms, an undertaking not to transfer temporary ex-service clerks between branches of the Air Ministry as the interests of the public service may require.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Air whether the Air Ministry have made any effort to apply paragraph 45 of the third Lytton Report to the establishment of technical ex-service men in the Air Ministry; and, if so, will he specify exactly each case so dealt with?

I would refer the hon. and gallant Member to the reply which I gave on Thursday last to the hon. Member for Dartford (Mr. Mills).

asked the Minister of Agriculture how many holdings have been provided under Section 20 of the Land Settlement (Facilities) Act, 1919; and what is the number in each county?

The Ministry has not in its possession precise information as regards each county showing the number of holdings provided of the kind referred to. The information is, however, being obtained from the Councils, and when it is received I will communicate with the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for War if it has been brought to his notice that claimants for compensation in respect of the occupation of premises for war purposes by the War Department or the Ministry of Munitions are dissatisfied with the progress made towards the settlement of their claims; will he make arrangements to ensure that no unavoidable delay occurs; if he will state the number of ouch claims still outstanding; how many of these cases! are still with his department awaiting reports to the War Compensation Court; and the amount of time which he estimates will elapse before the whole of the cases are disposed of?

I am of course aware that claimants for compensation are dissatisfied with the progress made, but such dissatisfaction is inevitable, having regard to the number and complexity of the claims. The composition of the Court established for dealing with these claims is! in itself a guarantee against avoidable delay. The number of claims known to the War Compensation Court as being not yet reported upon to that Court by the War Office is about 800. I trust that the great bulk of the outstanding cases will be before the Court within the next 12 months. Many of them are large and complicated claims which necessarily take time. The bulk of the simpler cases have already been disposed of.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether he is prepared to support such alteration in the Superannuation Acts as will permit employés at Woolwich Arsenal who have served for upwards of 20 years and been compelled to relinquish their appointments for substantial reasons to be entitled to an appropriate gratuity?

I do not think there are any grounds for amending the Superannuation Acts. I would point out that these Acts already authorise the payment of gratuity to employés discharged on account of age or permanent medical unfitness after a minimum of 15 years qualifying service.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he can give the reasons why Mauritius pays a contribution towards the upkeep of the British Army, whereas no contribution is received from Bermuda; and why Ceylon pays a similar contribution, whereas Jamaica pays nothing?

This is a matter which goes far back into ancient history. I would refer the hon. and gallant Gentleman to the Report of the Select Committee of 1861, House of Commons Paper No. 423 of 1861, which first explicitly asserted the position taken up by the Imperial Government on this question. Further information will be found in C. 4186 and C. 4226.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether there are any Crown Colonies which do not contribute towards the cost of their military protection; and whether there are any others which do not contribute the full value of such protection?

The Colonies of Bermuda, Jamaica, Cyprus, Malta, Mauritius, Gibraltar and Sierra Leone make no direct contribution towards the cost of the Imperial troops stationed there. Ceylon makes a contribution which is limited to two-thirds of the cost of the garrison.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies, whether he will consider publishing as a White Paper the ordinance issued by the Hong Kong Government dealing with the question of the mui tsai in that Colony; and, if not, will he cause copies to be placed in the Library of the House?

Yes, Sir, I will cause copies to be placed in the Library of the House.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India, the Wartime regulation under which B. H. Horniman was deported from India; and whether, in view of the fact that this regulation has now lapsed, he will state the reasons why Mr. Horniman is still excluded from returning to India?

Mr. B. H. Horniman was deported under Rule 3 (d) of the Defence of India (Consolidation) Rules, 1915. He is not allowed a passport to return because of the objections of the Government of Bombay and the Government of India. I would refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave to a similar question on the 3rd March last.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India the charge under which B. H. Horniman was deported from India five years ago; and whether Mr. Horniman was given an opportunity of replying to the charges then or since or whether the deportation was of a summary character?

Mr. Horniman was informed in the Order for his deportation that the Government considered he had acted, was acting and was about to act in a manner prejudicial to the public safety and the defence of British India. As regards the second part of the question, Mr. Horniman was not called upon to answer any charge. The provisions of the Act under which he was deported did not require any such procedure.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether steps have been taken to give effect to the recommendations put forward in the Report by the hon. Member for Farnham (Mr. A. M. Samuel) upon the winding-up of the Shipping Liquidation Board?

A good deal has been done to give effect to the recommendations made to my predecessor by the hon. Member for Farnham about the work of the Shipping Liquidation Department; every effort will continue to be made to ensure that there is no avoidable delay in completing the liquidation.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Overseas Trade Department how many trade commissioners and commercial counsellors are now employed by the Department; whether they all publish annual reports on the trade carried on in the territories allotted to them; and, if so, haw many such reports have been published, how many sold in respect of each area for the last year under review, what the total proceeds of such sales amount to, and what the cost of publication was?

There are at the present time 13 trade commissioners and 34 commercial doplomatic officers, of whom five are commercial counsellors. Except when special circumstances render it inadvisable, it is the practice of the Department of Overseas Trade to call for an annual report on the commercial, financial and economic conditions of each country where a trade commissioner or commercial diplomatic officer is stationed. With regard to the second part of the question, particulars of the sales and cost of the annual reports are not immediately available in the form required. I am, however, making inquiries into the matter and will communicate with my hon. Friend.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury the number of permanent civil servants still serving who have reached the retiring age of 60 years?

I would refer to the answer which I gave on the 4th March to the hon. Member for Edinburgh East (Mr. Hogge).

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury on what rate of cost-of-living bonus salaries for the 1924–25 Estimates are based?

The rate of bonus for Estimate purposes is based on an assumed average cost-of-living figure of 180 as compared with a pre-War 100.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he can state the present personnel of the Southborough Committee; what Members of Parliament have been substituted for those who were on this body last year; what portion of the reference is now under consideration; and how many times the Committee has met since the beginning of the year?

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury how many meetings have been held by the Southborough Committee during this Session of Parliament; whether the Committee is to be reconstituted in any way; and whether he can give any approximate date as to when a Report will be received?

The Southborough Committee, in the personnel of which certain changes have been made, is, I am informed, meeting this afternoon, and but for illness, would have met 10 days ago. The personnel now comprises:—

The Rt. Hon. the Lord Southborough, G.C.B., G.C.M.G., G.C.V.O.,

K.C.S.I. (Chairman).

H. B. Betterton, Esq., C.B.E., M.P.

Lieut.-Colonel W. R. Campion, D.S.O., M.P.

Mrs. W. L. Courtney, O.B.E.

C. Duncan, Esq., M.P.

A. E. Jephcott, Esq., M.P.

F. Martin, Esq., M.P.

G. Middleton, Esq., M.P.

Major G. Owen, D.S.O., M.P.

A. A. Somerville, Esq., M.P.

Dame Meriel Talbot, D.B.E.

Lieut.-Colonel D. Watts-Morgan, C.B.E., D.S.O., M.P.

It will, I feel sure, be the earnest endeavour of the Committee to submit a final Report at the earliest date possible. In this connection I would point out that the Committee has already submitted two interim Reports, the first dealing with the initial salary of Lytton entrants, and the second with the employment of ex-service men in a temporary capacity in the Government service, and effect has been given to these. The matters remaining to be considered have reference mainly to the application of the Reports of Lord Lytton's Committee as regards the employment of ex-service men in a permanent capacity.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether in any Bill proposing to amend the Old Age Pensions Act it is intended to deal with the loss of income accruing to boards of guardians owing to the disqualification imposed by Section 3 (1) (a) of the Old Age Pensions Act, 1919?

I must ask my hon. and gallant Friend to await the introduction of the Bill.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, seeing that old age pension officers are bound by their instructions to report without undue delay to the local committee every application for an increased pension made by a pensioner in receipt of less than the full rate, and that such an application was received by the pension officer for the district, London South 4, Station 8, on or about 19th January, 1922, and was not reported on to the local committee until about 6th November, 1922, he will say whether action will be taken in order to ensure that similar delays in submitting cases to the determination of local committees do not arise?

I understand that in the particular case to which this question is understood to refer, the old age pension was reduced from 10s. to 6s. per week as from 7th October, 1921. On the 18th January, 1922, an application was made for increase of the pension. On investigation the means disclosed differed from those stated in the application, and the pension officer was unable to obtain any explanation of the discrepancy. On 17th March, 1922, a further application was made for increase of pension on another statement of means. The pension officer regarded this application as superseding the previous one and submitted it to the Pension Committee, who on 4th April, 1922, increased the pension to 10s. per week as from 17th March, 1922. Payment was forthwith made accordingly. On 29th May, 1922, in response to an inquiry from the Pension Committee, the pension officer informed them of the facts as to the two applications and the action taken, and on 27th July, 1922, at their request, forwarded to them a copy of the first application. On 31st August, 1922, the Pension Committee asked the pension officer to investigate and report the means between 18th January, 1922, and 17th March, 1922. The pension officer had great difficulty in ascertaining the necessary particulars, and it was hot until 3rd November, 1922, that she was in a position to report. The Committee then confirmed the previous award. The old age pensioner had been actually in receipt of pension at the full rate from the 10th April last. The case was an exceptional one, and it does not afford ground for the suggestion that there is delay by pension officers in submitting applications for increase of old age pensions for determination by local pension committees.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether he will investigate the case of Mr. Alfred H. Smith, of 201, High Street, Stratford, whose old age pension of 4s. weekly was decided as and from 4th January?

I am making inquiry into this case and will communicate with my hon. Friend.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury if he can now supply information as to the port of registry, the owner, the destination of, and the consignors of the cargo of whisky on board the s.s. "Caid," which left the Clyde on 9th January last; if this ship has yet reached the destination for which she was cleared; and what was the amount of export allowance or bonus paid from the British Treasury upon her cargo of spirits?

The s.s. "Caid" sailed from the Clyde for St. Pierre under the French flag, but no information is available as to the name of her owner, port of registry or the consignor of her cargo. It is not known whether the vessel has yet reached the destination for which she was cleared. The export allowance on her cargo is in course of being paid and will amount to approximately £660.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury the Exchequer receipts on all Death Duties; the net receipts on Estate Duty, including Settlement Estate Duty; the number of estates liable to duty; and the number of deaths in the United Kingdom, of all ages, liable to pay Death Duty for the years ending March 1921, 1922, and 1923?

Owing to the transfer of the administration of the Death Duties to Northern Ireland (as from 22nd November, 1921) and to the Irish Free State (as from 1st April, 1922), complete

The following figures (for Great Britain only) show the number of deaths in the three calendar years 1920, 1921 and

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury the number of persons who are assessable on incomes over £100,000 for the financial year ending March, 1922–23, and from March, 1923, to December, 1923?

The numbers of individuals with incomes in excess of £100,000 who, up to the present time, have been assessed to Super-tax in respect of the years 1922–23 and 1923–24, are 135 and 95 respectively. It will be remembered that assessments to Super-tax may be made, or amended, at any time within six years after the end of the year of assessment; the above figures, therefore, are provisional, and subject to revision in the light of further assessments.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the amount

information in respect of the United Kingdom is not available for each of these years. The following details are not, therefore, strictly comparable:

1922, and the number of estates on which duty was paid in the financial years 1920–21, 1921–22 and 1922–23:

collected through the Clearing House of debts due to British traders to Germany, what amount has been collected in Germany for debts due to British traders, and the percentages in relation to the debts actually due in August, 1914?

I have been asked to reply. The total amount collected under Article 296 by the British Clearing Office in respect of debts due by British debtors resident in Great Britain and Ireland to German nationals, up to 11th March, 1924, was £17,615,855 9s. 6d. I have no information as to the amounts collected by the German Clearing Office from German debtors, but the German Clearing Office has admitted, and the British Clearing Office has paid, debts of British nationals under Article 296 to the amount, with interest, of £44,531,696 5s. 7d. It is not possible to state the percentage which the above figures bear to the debts actually due on 4th August, 1914, as a large number of such debts is contested, and many of them have been referred to the Anglo-German Mixed Arbitral Tribunal for adjudication.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if Italy has, or is negotiating, any foreign loans to any European countries; and, if so, which countries?

I have no information beyond what has appeared in the Press recently on the subject of a loan to Poland by Italian banks.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he is aware that the pensions officer for Station Greenwich B, on or about 23rd September, 1923, informed a claimant under the Blind Persons Act that she must go to the local committee and must appeal to the Minister of Health, in the event of their adopting the pensions officer's recommendation, for the refusal of a pension, but that the pensions officer was of the opinion that the pension would be granted; and whether, seeing that such orders from a pensions officer to a claimant are ultra vires and place the local committee in an invidious position, he will inquire into the matter?

It is not possible to make inquiry as to the statements alleged to have been made to the claimant, to whom the question is understood to refer, as the pension officer, who dealt with the case, is no longer employed. The only information available is that the pension officer reported to the local pension committee against allowance of the claim, and, subsequently, appealed to the central pension authority against the committee's award of pension.

asked the Home Secretary if he has now fully considered the practical proposals, submitted to him at his request, for bringing legal assistance to poor persons in England in line with the provisions in Scotland; and, if so, what action does he propose to take, it any, to provide legal assistance, where so desired, for poor people in England, as is already provided for in Scotland?

Yes, Sir; and I have been in communication with the Lord Chancellor, who has undertaken, as soon as the Committee mow engaged under the chairmanship of Mr. Justice Lawrence in investigating the operation of the Poor Persons Rules has completed its task, to-institute a similar inquiry into the position of the poor litigant in Petty Sessional Courts. I should add that in view of the radical differences in the legal systems of the two countries the suggestion that the arrangements in operation in Scotland should simply be extended to England is not practicable.

asked the Home Secretary whether he is aware that either the central or the local advisory committee of the State management district scheme at Carlisle has made over a building that is Government property to the Carlisle Labour party as their headquarters; from what date the tenancy of this property commenced, the capital value of the property, and the rental thereof; whether any public funds have been, or are being, spent in alterations and additions to these premises, and, if so, the actual or estimated amount; whether the cost of such alterations is to fall upon the lessors or lessees; and whether other bodies were given an equal opportunity to lease the premises, and the fact that the premises were to let was fully advertised?

The house formerly known as the "Lion and Lamb" was one of the many public-houses acquired by the Central Control Board (Liquor Traffic) in 1916 in which the Board discontinued the sale of drink, and from as long ago as 1917 the Board habitually let it, under the name of the "Trades Hall," for meetings of trade union branches and friendly societies, many of which had previously been accustomed to hold their meetings on licensed premises. In 1921, as a convenient way of continuing their use for such purposes, the premises were let at a rent of £37 a year to three nominees of the Carlisle Trades Council, and in 1923 the rent was increased to £57 a year in consideration of the making of certain improvements to meet the wishes of the trades council at a cost to the State of about £250. The premises were purchased as part of a larger property and no separate capital valuation of them is available.

asked the Home Secretary when he proposes to introduce the Bill to amend the Factory and Workshops Act?

I regret I am not yet in a position to say when this Bill will be introduced.

asked the Home Secretary whether the Government propose to proceed with the Street Trading Bill; and, if so, when?

My right hon. Friend is arranging to receive a deputation on this

For the whole of England and Wales, including the Metropolitan Police Dis-

The figures for 1923 are provisional only, and particulars of the number of convictions in England and Wales for 1923 are not available, as the calendars are not yet all received and tabulated.

Bill at an early date, and in the meanwhile I can add nothing to the reply given on the 19th February.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases of burglary and housebreaking, respectively, there were reported to the police in the County of London during the years 1921, 1922 and 1923; how many prosecutions were ordered and convictions obtained, respectively; whether he is in a position to give similar information with respect to the country generally, or parts of the country; and, if so, which?

The particulars are as follow:

trict, the figures are:

asked the Home Secretary how many men and women, respectively, who were aliens have been naturalised in this country in each year since the termination of the War?

The following figures are taken from the Returns presented annually to Parliament, with the addition of provisional figures from the Return for 1923, which is now in preparation:

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, as the result of the final Report of the Royal Commission on Compensation for Damage by Enemy Action, any sum is now avail able to compensate a householder whose house was destroyed during an air raid in October 1915 and whose claim was duly submitted and receipt thereof acknowledged by the Department?

As stated in paragraph 17 of the final Report of the Commission £2,738,000 is available for claims in respect of damage to property. Whether and to what extent a householder whose house was destroyed by air raid in October, 1915, may participate in the £5,000,000 compensation fund must depend on the particular circumstances of the case.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he is now prepared to take the necessary steps to investigate the system of staffing telephone exchanges in small towns with a view to relieving the salaried officers of the necessity to attend for a large number of hours per week in excess of their normal duties, and generally to establish a system whereby ex-service men may be employed on this telephone work at a reasonably economic wage in place of the system of payment which is now favoured by his Department?

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given on the 19th of February to a similar question by the hon. Member for Carlisle (Mr. Middleton).

asked the Minister of Labour whether, in view of the findings of the Cave Committee, expressed in their Report, that the operations of some trade boards had contributed to the volume of trade depression and unemployment, he will take steps to amend the Trade Boards Acts of 1909 and 1918 upon the lines recommended by the Cave Committee?

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 12th March to the hon. Member for Newport (Mr. Clarry).

asked the Minister of Labour if he is in a position to state when his proposed Bill to legalise the 48-hours working week will be presented to the House?

My right hon. Friend hopes to be in a position to introduce a Bill to deal with the Washington Hours Convention at an early date.

asked the Minister of Labour what increases in wages have taken place in the principal industrial groups since September, 1923?

Details of the changes in rates of wages reported to the Ministry of labour are published regularly in the monthly issues of the "Ministry of Labour Gazette." I am sending the hon. Member a copy of each issue of the Gazette since September last, together with a statement summarising the principal increases that have come into operation since that date.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will resume the publication of standard time rates of wages, also covering the period since 1921 when publication was stopped?

I hope to be able to arrange to resume publication of certain volumes of labour statistics, including that dealing with standard time rates of wages and hours of labour. I am afraid that it would not be practicable to include information for intermediate dates on account of the magnitude of the work involved and the size of the resulting volume. The hon. Member will be aware that the last volume issued ran to nearly 300 pages.

asked the Minister of Agriculture if, in considering unemployment next winter, he will include ditching and field draining, either bush or pipe draining, as eligible for a Government grant in connection with drainage schemes?

The operations to which the hon. Member refers are no doubt highly desirable, but I would point out that they are ordinary operations associated with good farming and estate management, and I cannot, therefore, regard them as suitable works for State grants.

asked the Minister of Labour whether, on works carried out under the unemployed grants scheme, the period of probation at 75 per cent. is arrived at by calculating broken periods of employment at 75 per cent. not necessarily on the same works or under the same employers?

The rule limiting wages on relief works to 75 per cent. of the usual rate has been abolished. Accordingly the points of interpretation raised in the question no longer arise. The present rule is that the local authority may pay the rate usually paid to their own workpeople doing a similar class of work or the recognised district rate (if such exists) if that is lower.

asked the Minister of Labour whether the Government has framed any schemes for providing work for the unemployed in the shipbuilding and engineering trades; and, if so, the particulars of the schemes?

Under the Trade Facilities Act the construction of certain liners and their engines and equipment, and also of smaller ships, has already been assisted. Other schemes of State-aided work involve the production of material which will give work in the engineering trade. The position of employment in the two industries can, however, be most effectively improved by a revival in the general trade of the country, and to this the Government are devoting all possible attention.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether, as under the Trade Facilities Acts, credits for the buildings of vessels have been given to shipowners, similar facilities will be given to fishermen for the provision of new fishing vessels?

I know of nothing which would prevent the Advisory Committee set up under the Trade Facilities Acts from considering an application for a guarantee of a loan proposed to be raised by a fishing company for building vessels in the United Kingdom.

asked the Secretary for Mines the profits made by the colliery owners in Great Britain for the past 12 years, giving the total and the average amount per ton for each year separately?

The following are the statistics for which the hon. Member asks:—

The above statement is subject to the following reservations:—

(1) The figures up to 31st March, 1921, are estimates. Thereafter they are taken from the Statistical Summaries published quarterly by the Mines Department, which cover about 95 per cent. of the industry.

(2) The statistics do not include the profits of coking, by-product and other ancillary operations.

(3) The Income Tax allowance for wear and tear of plant and machinery has been deducted in arriving at the profits, but nothing has been charged in respect of amortisation of shafts and equipment. Bank interest has been deducted, but not debenture and other annual interest.

(4) No deduction has been made for Excess Profits Duty, Income Tax and other taxation and no account has been taken of the payments to or by owners under the Coal Mines Control Agreement (Confirmation) Act, 1918, and the Coal Mines (Emergency) Acts, 1920 and 1921.

asked the Prime Minister whether, in view of the forthcoming Anglo-Russian Conference and the close connection between a settlement at that conference, and an accurate estimation of the damage inflicted on the Russian nation by foreign intervention, His Majesty's Government will appoint without further delay a commission to in- vestigate thoroughly the part played by this country during the period of foreign intervention in Russia and the damage resulting therefrom?

The step suggested is quite unnecessary. All information is available.

asked the Prime Minister whether he is now in a position to state the date upon which the London Traffic Bill will be introduced?

I stated on 25th February that the Government were considering the provisions of the London Traffic Bill. We have now approved the provisions of a Bill, which will, be introduced without delay and taken as soon as Parliamentary business allows.

asked the Prime Minister whether his attention was drawn to the Motion standing in the name of the hon. Member for Tottenham North (Mr. R. Morrison) for Wednesday last, in favour of the appointment of a Select Committee to consider the hours of sitting of this House; and whether, in view of the fact that the hon. Member was deprived of his right to move the Motion, he will consider the possibility of assenting to the proposal?

I regret that my hon. Friend's Motion was not discussed, but, had it been, I think unanswerable reasons would have been given why no substantial alteration is possible. I must, therefore, adhere to the reply which I gave on 4th March to a question by the hon. and gallant Member for Central Hull (Lieut.-Commander Ken worthy).

asked the Prime Minister whether he is prepared to extend the terms of reference to the proposed Royal Commission on National Health Insurance so as to include the relations between that service and workmen's compensation, and the possibility of amalgamating the two?

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Lord Privy Seal on 26th February in reply to a question by the Noble Lord the Member for South Nottingham (Lord H. Cavendish-Bentinck). I would add that the question of amalgamating the sickness insurance scheme with the existing statutory provision for compensation for workmen in the case of accidents and industrial disease was fully considered in 1920 by the Holman Gregory Committee, who came unanimously to the conclusion that such a course is not practicable. In the course of ordinary business during the Session, opportunity might be taken to have this subject discussed.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty the number of men who were imported into Devonport from other areas during the War period, and the arrangements, if any, made for their repatriation when their services were no longer required?

I have been asked to reply. As regards the first part of the question, no accurate information is available. As regards the second part of the question, arrangements were in force from the Armistice until the 31st July, 1919, under which free tickets could be obtained through Employment Exchanges by workers discharged from or leaving munitions work or work on Admiralty or War Office contracts, to enable them to return to their homes.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty whether he is aware that the Admiralty issued a statement dated June 1902, revised April 1903, showing the value of the Empire trade during the year 1900 in eastern waters east of Africa as £596,000,000, and the cost of the naval defence in those seas at that period and at the lower prices of the day as £2,247,000; and whether he can give the corresponding figures for 1922?

The corresponding figures for the year 1922 are approximately as follow:

asked the Minister of Health if there are any parishes in England and Wales in which assessments for ratings are not regulated by the Union Assessment Committee Acts; and, if so, will he give a list of such parishes and the respective local Acts under which assessments are made and revised?

According to my right hon. Friend's information, there are five parishes in England and Wales outside the Metropolis in which the making of assessments for the purpose of poor rates is not regulated by the Union Assessment Committee Acts. The names of these parishes and of the Local Acts under which the assessments are made are as follows:

Statement of parishes in England and Wales (outside the Metropolis) in which the making of assessments for the purpose of poor rates is not regulated by the Union Assessment Committee Acts, and of the Acts under which the assessments in those parishes are made:

Manchester (Township).—Manchester Overseers Act, 1858.

East Stonehouse.—Parochial Assessments Act, 1836.

Kingston-upon-Hull.—5 George IV, c. xiii.

Plymouth.—53 George III, c. 73.

Middleton.—Middleton Corporation Act, 1910.

asked the Minister of Health whether he will make inquiries as to the reason why the Romney Marsh Rural District Council have allowed condemned cottages, such as Lorden, Grantham, and Buckhurst Cottages, St. Mary's, and others throughout Romney Marsh, to be occupied, while they have refused to adopt the Housing Act which would enable private residents to earn the subsidy of £75 on each house; whether he will propose that the county medical officer should visit all the workmen's cottages in Romney Marsh, New Romney, and Lydd, as many of them are in a very dilapidated state; and whether he will urge the New Romney and Lydd Corporation to have a proper pipe drainage instead of the insanitary cesspool system?

The hon. Member world appear to be under a misapprehension in regard to the point referred to in the first part of his question, as the Rural District Council of Romney Marsh have adopted a scheme under the Housing, Etc., Act, 1923, for assisting private persons to erect houses, and this scheme has received my approval. With regard to the second part of the question, I would point out that under Section 17 of the Housing, Town Planning, Etc., Act, 1909, it is the duty of the local authorities of the areas referred to by the hon. Member to carry out inspections of their districts? A considerable amount of inspection work has been carried out in Romney Marsh and Lydd. In the case of the New Romney Borough, an inspection was made by one of the Depart- ment's medical inspectors some months ago, and representations were made to the local authority, and this case is being kept under review. I have no special information which would justify pressing the local authorities referred to in the last part of the question to incur the heavy expenditure which my hon. Friend's suggestion would involve.

asked the Secretary for Scotland whether he will consider the advisability of allowing approved service given by Scottish teachers in the Dominions to rank for purposes of salary and pension?

As to salary, I would refer the Noble Lady to the Minute of 12th August, 1919, and particularly to Note 2 (a), which allows education authorities complete discretion in the matter. As to pension, I am in complete agreement with the recommendations made in paragraph 98 of the Report of the Emmott Committee.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether he will consider the advisability of allowing approved service given by teachers in the Dominions to rank for purposes of salary and pension?

This subject was discussed at the Imperial Education Conference last summer, and I may refer the Noble Lady to Appendix A of the Preliminary Statement of Transactions and Conclusions issued after the conclusion of I the Conference, a copy of which I am sending to her. Service outside England and Wales could not be treated as recognised service for the purposes of the School Teachers' Superannuation Acts without amending legislation. The question of the recognition of such service for the purpose of the calculation of salary is now under my consideration.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Overseas Trade Department what proportion of the goods dis- played and sold at the British Empire Exhibition will be British Empire produce and what proportion will be foreign?

The regulations laid down by the British Empire Exhibition authorities require that all goods exhibited must have been manufactured or produced within the British Empire. As regards goods for sale by the caterers and others, it has, I understand, been prescribed that all such goods must be of British origin with the exception of certain wines and tobacco.