asked the President of the Board of Education how many elementary school buildings, which were condemned by His Majesty's inspectors before August, 1914, are still in use; the number of children attending them; and how long does he propose to continue to allow them to be used?

It would require much time and labour to trace in the records of the Board the present condition of all school premises to which, 10 years ago, the Board had taken serious exception. I have instituted a systematic inquiry into the number of schools, the premises of which should cease to be recognised so soon as other accommodation can be provided.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether his Department will consider making the offer of a certain number of scholarships to British students which would enable those who qualified to visit certain sections of the British Empire for a period to be agreed upon?

State scholarships, provided by the Board, are at present tenable only in universities in England and Wales. Though I cannot commit myself to an extension of the scheme so as to include universities in the Dominions, I should, naturally, consider on their merits any representations to that effect which may be made to me. The Board, however, have power, under their Regulations for the Training of Teachers, to assist teachers to take courses of university study abroad; but their experience up to now does not suggest to them that there is any great demand for university courses in the Dominions.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether, in view of the fact that certain local authorities did not adopt the Burnham scale, so far as it applied to their art teachers, he approves the action of those local authorities who are now endeavouring to force such teachers to accept a voluntary reduction of 5 per cent, despite the fact that they received no increase of salary at all under the Burnham scale, and, in many instances, have had no advance for a long period of years?

The question whether an individual art teacher falls within one of the categories to which the offer of abatement was applicable, can only be answered by reference to the facts of the particular case. A conciliation committee was appointed by the Burnham Committee to assist, where desired, in dealing with such questions.

asked the President of the Board of Education how many teachers there are under the educational authorities in Great Britain: and how many have retired on pension?

For the year ended the 31st March, 1922, the latest year for which full figures are available, the number of teachers in full-time service in schools or educational institutions in England and Wales, for which local education authorities are financially responsible in various degrees, may be taken at about 208,460. A few of these may be in schools for Winch the responsibility of local education authorities is not complete. The number of teachers living on the 31st March, 1922, who had retired on pension was 12,579. For corresponding figures for Scotland I must refer the hon. Member to my right hon. Friend the Secretary for Scotland.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether he has received any report or application from the managers of the. Wesleyan schools, Frome, respecting the new schools so recently built; and what is the number of children now attending that school, the number of classes, and the number of rooms available and in use?

The Board understand that the managers desire recognition of an extension of the school buildings which they have recently made without consulting the Board. This matter is now under consideration and, I hope, will be settled very shortly. On the 31st March, 1924, the number of children on the registers of the school was 163, organised in six classes. The number of rooms in the present recognised accommodation is five. I gather that the two additional rooms that have been added are not yet in use.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty what is the total number of guests, other than officials, it is proposed to entertain on the "Enchantress" during the naval review: and whether it is the intention of the Government to include in the list of invitations Members of Parliament of the various parties and representatives of the Press?

Apart from officials, there will probably be accommodation for about '70 guests in the "Enchantress." It is the intention to include in the list of invitations Members of the present Cabinet and ex-First Lords of the Admiralty. Owing to the large number of representatives of the Press, they will be accommodated, not in the "Enchantress," but in some of the other vessels provided for official visitors.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty whether the regulations governing the award of Greenwich Hospital pensions to retired naval warrant officers permit special consideration being accorded to those retired warrant officers who, although permanently disabled during the War, are not in receipt of disability pensions?

The selection of officers for the award of Greenwich Hospital pensions is entirely at the discretion of the Board of Admiralty, provided that they have the necessary qualifying service. Officers who have received severe wounds or disabling hurts from active service, or officers retired from physical unfitness which arose in, and is directly due to the service, are exempt from the rules for qualifying service. In making the selection, a factor such as that referred to would be duly taken into consideration in conjunction with the other relevant factors.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty whether he will publish the scale of money allowances made from Greenwich Hospital funds to the wives or persons having charge of the children of naval ratings certified insane and sent to the mental hospital at Great Yarmouth?

The Greenwich Hospital allowances payable to the wives or persons having charge of the children of naval pensioners admitted to the Royal Naval Hospital, Great Yarmouth, are

Man's Pension.	Allowance per week.
6d. to 1s. a day	4s.
Over 1s. and not exceeding 1s. 6d. a day	5s.
Over 1s. 6d. and not exceeding 2s. a day	6s.

When the man's pension exceeds 2s. a day an allowance equivalent to the excess of pension over that amount is granted, with the proviso that such allowance shall not be less than 6s. a week. Steps are taken by the hospital authorities to pay these allowances in all eligible cases.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty whether he will consider the desirability of establishing a pension scheme for the benefit of the masters and navigating and engineer officers of those vessels attached to the Navy known as the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Service; whether a memorial to this effect has been addressed by these officers to the Admiralty; and whether such a scheme will now be adopted?

In certain of the Royal Fleet Auxiliaries employed on harbour duties and manned under dockyard agreement the master and 1st class engineers are already included on the pensionable establishment of the Admiralty dockyards. The personnel of the remaining Royal Fleet Auxiliaries is engaged and serves under ordinary Board of Trade agreements and their masters and officers who receive the standard mercantile rates of pay are subject to the ordinary conditions of that service. These conditions render them ineligible for the ordinary establishmfent privileges of employés in the Government service. No recent memorial on this subject has been received.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Admiralty the number of naval officers and men, and dockyard officials and employés who are now employed at Singapore; and, in view of the cessation of the work of the Singapore base development, what is the reason for their retention at this place?

There are 10 civilian officers and three workmen who have been temporarily retained at Singapore to carry out the work necessary to prevent the site, which had been partially cleared, becoming a breeding ground for mosquitoes and a malaria centre, and also to clear up plant and materials, and other incidental work. In addition, there are one medical officer appointed in connection with anti-malaria work and two sick berth ratings. All will be returning to England within the next month.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether any decision has been arrived at in relation to the claim for increased wages by the semi-skilled and unskilled workers employed in the Royal Arsenal at Woolwich?

I hope that die decision will be communicated to my hon. Friend before the end of this week.

asked the Minister of Pensions why Mrs. M. A. Richardson, of 36, Loxham Street, Bolton, Lancashire, has been subjected to three medical examinations before her pension could be increased by 7d. per week?

I am inquiring into the facts of this case and will communicate later with my hon. Friend.

asked the Minister of Pensions whether he will revise the Regulations which prevent an ex-service man undergoing home treatment from receiving any monetary allowance even when the disability for which he is being treated prevents him from following his normal occupation?

I regret that I cannot, at present, see my way to accepting the suggestion of my hon. Friend. I may, perhaps, add that there are at the present time about 8,000 men undergoing courses of treatment at home and drawing full allowances under Article 6 (1) of the Royal Warrant.

asked the Minister of Pensions whether he is aware that the Regulations for the Ministry of Pensions' Hospital, Ewell, provide that letters respecting patients addressed to the medical superintendent should contain stamped addressed envelopes for reply; and whether, in view of the often necessitous condition of the relatives of disabled pensioners, he will withdraw the Regulation and arrange that replies shall be sent at the cost of the State?

The rule referred to has been withdrawn. I understand that, in practice, it was rarely observed, the reply being almost invariably sent in an official envelope.

asked the Minister of Pensions if, in cases of officers in receipt of pensions for wounds which are certified as not equivalent to the loss of a limb, and which the disabled officer claims is so equivalent and produces the necessary medical evidence to that effect, he will consider whether it is possible to allow these questions affecting these officers to be dealt with by the House of Lords Tribunal, as at present they have no redress further than a pension appeal board?

Wound pensions are outside the scheme of final awards and the statutory Final Awards Regulations. They are in the nature of exceptional provision for a particular type of disability not determined by the general scale of assessment for disablement. Wound pen- sions, like wound gratuities, are administered, not under Ministry Warrants, but under Regulations common to the Service Departments and the Ministry of Pensions, and appeals are most carefully considered by a Central Board, which includes eminent surgeons.

asked the Secretary of State for War if, in view of the fact that a Regular Army captain placed on retired pay through wounds under the 1914 Warrant at not less than half-pay of his rank, viz., £128 per annum, plus a wound pension of £50 per annum, now only receives half-pay of his rank minus the wound pension, he can see his way clear to issue instructions that this class of officer shall receive at least 50 per cent. increase on the 1914 Warrant, or the present rate of half-pay plus wound pension, whichever is the most beneficial?

The Regulation under which a regular officer, retired for wounds, may receive, if more beneficial to him, a rate of retired pay, inclusive of the wound pension, equal to the new and materially augmented half-pay rate of his rank is in accordance with the considered advice of the Select Committee on Pensions, who were impressed with the marked distinction as regards rates of compensation embodied in the warrants in favour of officers suffering from wounds, as compared with those for officers suffering from disease.

asked the Minister of Pensions whether he will reconsider the case of Mr. T. F. Lazell, of 2, Red Lion Place, Shooters Hill, who is claiming a pension on the ground that his present disability is attributable to his military service?

I have already explained to the hon. Member, in the course of correspondence with him, that the position in the case is that the rejection of the man's disability has been confirmed by the independent Appeals Tribunal, and it is not possible for the case to be reconsidered unless additional evidence can be produced to show that the original decision was incorrect. If any such evidence is forthcoming, and the hon. Member will forward it to me, I shall be glad to consider whether any further action can be taken.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Air what are the reasons which have led to the suspension of the Liverpool-Belfast air service; whether it is intended to restart this service; and, if so, when and with what typo of machine?

The answer to the first part of the question is that the air service referred to has been discontinued because, with the limited special facilities for weather reporting which it was possible to provide for an experimental service, the bad meteorological conditions encountered rendered the service too unreliable to be economic. As regards the second and third parts of the question, the promoters hope to open a daily Glasgow-Belfast service with the same machines at an early date. An aerodrome with weather-reporting facilities exists near Glasgow, at Renfrew, and reconnaissance has shown that the weather conditions of the proposed new route are much better than those on the former one.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Air what is the maximum speed and date of design and construction of the aeroplanes belonging to the Royal Air Force which will be seen at the air pageant at Hendon; and what is the speed and date of construction and design of the aeroplanes belonging to the French air squadron which is to be present on the same occasion?

It is undesirable to enter upon comparisons between the relative performances, designs and other similar particulars of British and foreign service aircraft.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Air whether at the aerial pageant on Saturday opportunity will be afforded to test the respective merits of British and French planes in any form of international competition?

No, Sir in extending the invitation to our French visitors to take part in the pageant there was never any intention of engaging them in any form of international competition.

asked the Home Secretary what arrangements are being made to secure easy access to and from Hendon by vehicular traffic on the occasion of the aerial pageant; whether he is aware of the great difficulties experienced in other years owing to the large volume of traffic; who is to be responsible for the parking of spectators' cars; and whether steps can be taken to so park the vehicles that it will be possible for those who wish to do so to see the pageant from the vehicles themselves?

The traffic arrangements for the aerial pageant have been issued and circulated as widely as possible, but they are of too great length to compress into an oral reply. I will send the Noble Lord a copy. It is known that difficulty was experienced a few years ago, but no exceptional difficulty has been brought to notice during the past two years. It must be remembered there are virtually only two approach roads, one of which is narrow and somewhat steep. The police will, by arrangement with the Royal Air Force, park the cars within the enclosures; and it is proposed to park the cars this year in herring-bone formation, with the fronts towards the flying ground.

asked the Home Secretary whether he is aware that at Wembley on Whit Monday night the London General Omnibus Company were obliged to obtain permission from the official in charge of the char-à-banc park to allow the company to park over 120 omnibuses to enable them to convey the people away, and that this occurred at a time when the police regulations prohibited other omnibuses from picking up passengers outside at all; and, in view of the strong public feeling that undue preference is being given to this company, whether he will consider the revision of the regulations?

It is known that the London General Omnibus Company did make arrangements for a number of omnibuses to stand in the chars-a-bane park, and so far as the police are concerned it is open to the proprietor of any omnibus to make similar arrange- ments. The regulations which were in force only prevented omnibuses stopping in the Wembley Hill Road South of Raglan Gardens. No preference whatever has been or will be given by the police; and it is not proposed to revise the regulations, which have secured the object for which they were made.

asked the Home Secretary how many local authorities have power, under Section 85 of the Public Health Acts Amendment Act, to make by-laws with regard to the public control of agencies for domestic service: and how many have exercised such power?

96 cities or boroughs, 72 urban districts and two rural districts have obtained Orders declaring Section 85 in force in their areas. By-laws have been made by 38 cities or boroughs, 17 urban districts and one rural district.

asked the Home Secretary whether his attention has been called to the fact that many applications for naturalisation made years ago have not yet been dealt with by his Department, and that there is no prospect of the present limited staff being able to cope with the arrears; whether he will consider an enlargement of the staff, which will make it possible to avoid the present delays; and whether there are competent ex-service men available for this purpose?

I am aware that there are many applications for naturalisation which have not yet been decided upon, notwithstanding that a considerable period has elapsed since they were first submitted. I would point out, however, that the lapse of time is inevitable in numerous cases in which length of residence is itself a factor for consideration. It is therefore by no means merely a question of staff. Any difficulty that may have arisen on this score is, I believe, in process of being remedied, and I am prepared to deal without any undue delay with all cases where the applicants are in a position to satisfy me that they may properly be given the privilege of British nationality.

asked the Home Secretary if his atention has been drawn to an advertisement, apparently inserted by or for the Home Office, which refers to a person applying for naturalisation and which only contains the names of the applicant and not his address; and if he will give instructions that such advertisements must in future also contain the full address of the applicant?

The hon. Baronet has been good enough to supply me with a copy of an advertisement published by an applicant for naturalisation which does not give the address of the applicant. I am much obliged to him, but the rule and the practice are as I stated in my reply to his question last week. This particular case has not been proceeded with, and will not be until the applicant has complied with the rules.

asked the Home Secretary whether his attention has been drawn to the desirability of extending the Check Weighing in Various Industries Act, 1919, to managers and others responsible for stocks in the distributive trade in such a manner as would secure to them, or their trade union on their behalf, the right to examine the books of any firm charging them with a shortage; and what action he proposes to take in the matter?

Yes, Sir, my attention has already been called to this matter. On the information laid before me it does not appear that it could be dealt with by an extension of the Check-weighing Act, which relates to a different kind of matter—the checking of weights on which wages are paid. I am, however, proposing to make some inquiry into the point raised in the question.

asked the Home Secretary how many police there are in Great Britain: and will he state the number retired on pension?

According to the latest available figures, the actual strength (including additional constables) of the police forces in Great Britain is 62,546 of all ranks; and the number of pensioners is 31,660.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if the Government will consider opening the Foreign Office records to a later date than 1833 without supervision?

The Foreign Office records are already open down to the end of the year 1860 without any further supervision than that which is exercised over the use of all records preserved at the Public Record Office. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has already under consideration a substantial advance from this date, but the matter is one of those which require previous consultation with the Dominions. If the hon. Member will put down another question during the Autumn Session, I may be able to give him more precise details.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if the Government propose to accept the compulsory arbitration of the Court of International Justice.

I have nothing to add to the reply given on the 24th of June by the Lord Privy Seal to the hon. Member for North Hackney (Mr. J. Harris).

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury if he can say how many civil servants there are in Government offices in Great Britain; and how many have retired on pension?

As shown in the monthly statement presented to Parliament, the total non-industrial staff em- ployed in Government Departments in Great Britain numbered, approximately, 296,400 on 1st May, 1924, of whom 244,600 were permanent. There are 32,000 pensioners.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Air whether any further steps have been taken to find alternative employment for Major Barnard, a disabled ex-service man recently dismissed from his Department?

Department		Salary of Controller of Typists.	Number of established Typists.	Number of unestablished Typists.
War Office	…	£250 per annum.	104	94
Ministry of Health	…	£300–400 per annum.	199	73
Ministry of Labour	…	£200–250 per annum.	141	44
Ministry of Pensions	…	£230–300 per annum.	138	191

The salaries shown carry Civil Service cost of living bonus in addition, and the salary of the officer in the Ministry of Health is personal to the present holder. The established typists employed under these officers are paid on the usual Service rates, which are as follows:Superintendents of typists, £150 to £180 per annum.Shorthand typists, 28s. to 46s. per week.Typists, 22s. at the age of 18, rising to 2Ss. at 21 and thence to a maximum of 36s. a week.Cost of living bonus being payable in addition.The consolidated rates of pay of adult temporary typists and shorthand typists employed on the basis of a 42-hour week in London are as follows:Temporary shorthand typists, Grade 1, 51s. 6d. to 57s. 6d. per week; Grade 2, 44s. 9d. to 52s. 9d. per week.Temporary typists, Grade 1, 44s. 1d. to 50s. 1d. per week; Grade 2, 36s. to 44s. per week.These rates are inclusive.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether the claims for reparation of merchant seamen

I regret that it has not been possible to find any alternative employment for Lieut.-Commander Bernard.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury the Departments in which controllers of typists are employed: the numbers of established and unestablished typists for whom each controller is responsible: and the scale of pay for each class in question?

The following is the information required:torpedoed at sea, ex-prisoners, and others, have yet been finally settled; what is the total sum already paid to claimants in respect of these reparations; what total sum has up to now been received for reparations from Germany; and how it has been allotted?

The total sum provided by the taxpayer for ex gratia payments for war damages is £5,300,000; of which about £2,200,000 has been paid for personal injuries, loss of personal effects at sea, etc., and about 22,100,000 for damage to property, leaving about. £1,000,000 still to be paid (including £300,000 for belated claims). The awards, made by the Royal Commission on Compensation for Suffering and Damage by Enemy Action, are final. The amount received from Germany for reparation is approximately £15,000,000 which accrues to the Exchequer. As has frequently been explained, reparation receipts are due by Germany to the State and not to private individuals. If the receipts had been divided between the State and private individuals proportionately to their respective claims the amount available for the latter would not have exceeded £150,000.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether be can give information as to when there is to be another distribution of compensation gratuities to British civilian prisoners in Rühleben prison camp, 1914–18; and on what principle certain prisoners who entered claims on their release have been compensated and others have as yet, received nothing?

In reply to the first part of the question, I would refer the hon. Member to the reply which my hon. Friend the Financial Secretary to the Treasury gave to the right hon. and learned Member for Cambridge University (Mr. Rawlinson) on the 23rd June. As regards the second part of the question, payments have been made on the recommendations of the Royal Commission on Compensation for Suffering and Damage by Enemy Action on the principles explained in their Reports (Command Papers 1798 and 2066).

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what countries in Europe use the United States dollar as a base value of exchange?

Under existing conditions it is hardly possible to distinguish between those countries which have adopted gold and those which have adopted the United States dollar, or between those which have definitively established one of these two standards and those which have for a longer or shorter period maintained a standard as a matter of administrative practice. Under the recommendations of the Dawes Report the proposed new German currency will be kept in a fixed relationship to gold.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, having regard to the financial inability of many farmers to pay labourers adequate wages, His Majesty's Government will, pending the recovery of the agricultural industry from its present depressed state, grant farmers such a subsidy per acre of productive tilled land as would permit a reasonable increase in wages to be paid?

I have been asked to reply. I am not satisfied that farmers cannot pay their labourers adequate wages, but, in any case, the Government are not prepared to adopt the method suggested by the hon. Member, which I may remind him did not secure the support of the country at the General Election last year.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a provision in respect to Income Tax assessments under Schedule A that house owners be granted an abatement representing the actual loss incurred by the depreciation of the value of such property?

It is a governing principle of the Income Tax Acts that no deduction or abatement can be allowed in respect of a loss of capital. But in so far as the depreciation of property is reflected by a fall in its annual value, and this is the case which the hon. Member presumably has in mind, provision is already made by Section 26 of the Finance Act, 1923, which gives a statutory right to an owner or tenant to appeal against an assessment to Income Tax under Schedule A for any year, other than a year of reassessment, if he considers that the annual value of the property for that year is less than the value adopted for the purposes of assessment.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give a list of clubs in London, with an annual subscription of £5 or more, on which Entertainments Duty is levied: and on what basis is the amount to be paid calculated?

The information asked for in the first part of the question is not available. As regards the second part, Entertainments Duty is chargeable, under Section 1 (4) of the Finance (New Duties) Act, 1916, on such part of the subscription to any club as represents payment for the right of admission to entertainments in respect of which Entertainments Duty is payable. The question whether in any particular case there is liability, and, if so, to what extent, depends upon the facts of the case.

asked the Secretary for Mines whether his attention has been drawn to the fact that the mineowners in the Bristol district have refused to accept the national agreement entered into between the mineowners of Great Britain and the Miners' Federation; and what steps he is prepared to take to bring the Bristol mineowners into line with those in other parts of the country?

I understand that a meeting is being arranged between the Bristol mineowners and the Bristol miners for the purpose of considering the position in that coalfield.

asked the Minister of Transport if he is aware of the general inconvenience experienced by all sections of the travelling public in consequence of the inadequacy of a canal bridge on the main road, Doncaster Road, Mexborough; who is responsible for the maintenance or strengthening of the same to meet presentday transport requirements and whether he will cause inquiries to be made with a view to widening and strengthening the bridge as early as possible?

I presume the hon. Member's question refers to the bridge known as Pasture Bridge over the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation Company's canal between exborough and Conisborough. My attention has already been drawn to the inconvenience caused by the restrictions on traffic seeking to use the bridge which at present is maintainable by the Navigation Company. After considerable negotiation, arrangements have now been made for the reconstruction of the bridge to meet modern requirements by the county council, with the aid of a grant from the Road Fund and a contribution from the Navigation Company. After reconstruction the bridge will be maintained as a county bridge.

asked the Postmaster-General what are the exact conditions which entitle a London sorting clerk to 21 days' annual leave after five years service?

The only condition is that the officer concerned shall have had five years' established service?

asked the Postmaster-General whether his attention has been called to paragraphs 25 and 26 in the Southborough Report referring to postal servants in the manipulative grades; and whether the members of those grades which passed the qualifying examination in September, 1923, will be duly called up to the departmental clerical class?

The question of the appointment to the clerical class of unsuccessful qualified candidates from the Post Office limited competition of September, 1923—which was a competitive, not a qualifying, examination—will shortly be considered by the Departmental Whitley Committee which is mentioned in paragraph 26 of the Southborough Report. Twenty of these candidates were called up before that Report was issued.

asked the. Secretary of State for the Colonies if the-Private Enterprise Committee, under the chairmanship of Lord Ronaldshay, has reported; and if it intended to issue that Report, which would be of much interest to those engaged in West African trade developments?

The Report has been laid before Parliament, as Command Paper No. 2016.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury the number of bills for sums of £500 or less which have been endorsed on behalf of the Government under their export credits scheme in each of the last three years, and also the total amounts involved?

The number of Bills for £500 or less, and the total amounts involved are as follow:

		Amount
	No.	£	S.	d.
To 31st May, 1922	922	149,392	5	11
To 31st May, 1923	2,604	372,016	18	7
To 31st May, 1924	1,152	179,077	3	10

I should explain that these figures include renewals.

asked the President of the Board of Trade the imports and expects to this country of the Irish Free State from 1st January to 31st May, 1924?

The following statement shows the values of imports into and exports from the United Kingdom registered during the five months, January to May, 1924, as consigned from and to the Irish Free State:—

	£
Imports	16,195,868
Exports:
United Kingdom produce and manufactures	17,890,050
Foreign and Colonial merchandise	4,767,340
Total exports	£22,657,390

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, in view of the fact that companies controlling subsidiary companies are able by increasing or decreasing transfers from their subsidiaries to disguise their real position in regard to profits and reserves, he will consider the necessity of, introducing legislation to compel such companies to publish the profits and financial position of what are, in reality, simply departments of the one business?

The matter to which the hon. Member has drawn attention has already been noted for consideration when the revision of the Companies Acts is undertaken.

asked the President of the Board of Trade the Preferences given by Great Britain to her Colonies and self-governing Dominions and the Preferences given by the Colonies and self-governing Dominions to Great Britain on articles of import and export to and from this country?

The following statement shows the extent of the Preferences accorded by Great Britain to Empire produce and manufactures:—

I.-GREAT BRITAIN.
Goods.	Full rate of Duty.			Preferential Rebate.
*Spirits:	£	s.	d.
Brandy and rum per proof gallon.	3	15	4	2s.	6d.
Wine per gallon:
Still Wine n.e. 30°	0	2	6	40%
Exceeding 30° but n.e. 42°.	0	6	0	33⅓%
Additional if imported in bottle.	0	2	0	50%
Sparkling Wine n.e. 30°	0	2	6	40%
	Plus
	0	12	6	30%
Exceeding 30° but n.e. 42°	0	6	0	33⅓%
	Plus
	0	12	6	30%
†Tea, per 1b.	0	0	4	One-sixth.
†Coca, per cwt.	0	14	0	One-sixth.
†Coffee, per cwt.	0	14	0	One-sixth.
†Chicory, per cwt.	0	13	3	One-sixth.
†Sugar, per cwt.	0	11	8	One-sixth.
‡Dried Fruits (other than currants) per cwt.	0	10	6	One-sixth.
Currants, per cwt.	0	2	0	One-sixth.
Tobacco, per 1b.	0	8	2	One-sixth.
§Cinema Films per foot:
Blank	0	0	0⅓	One-third.
Positives	0	0	1	One-third.
Negatives	0	0	5	One-third.
§Ad Valorem Duties:
Clocks and watches	33%⅓			One-third.
Motor Cars and parts
Musical Instruments
* Preference was given on Empire Spirits by imposing a surtax of 2s. 6d. on non-Empire spirits, charged by the proof gallon, and corresponding surtaxes on Spirits charged by the liquid gallon.
† These duties were reduced by the House of Commons Resolution of the 29th April, 1924.
‡ The duty on Dried fruits, other than currants, is to be reduced to 7s. 0d. per cwt., from the 1st August, 1924, thus reducing the preferential rebate to 1s. 2d. and the preferential duty to 5s. 10d.
§ The duties on these articles are to be abolished from the 1st August, 1924.

NOTE.—The duties under the Safeguarding of Industries Act (Key Industry Duty and Depreciated Currency Duty) do not apply to Empire goods.

asked the Minister of Health if his attention has been drawn to the further comments made by the Southwark Coroner on the housing conditions in that borough, and to his suggestion that immediate provision should be made for the clearance of slum property and the erection of temporary accommodation for the persons so displaced, pending the building of houses under the Government scheme; and whether the Minister will consider how the problem of the slum areas can be more effectively provided for?

My right hon. Friend has received a communication from the Southwark Coroner on this matter. The Housing Act of 1923 provides for an Exchequer contribution on a half-and-half basis towards the cost of slum clearance schemes (including the rehousing of the occupants) undertaken by local authorities. Since 1919 11 such schemes have been confirmed in the County of London and others are under consideration

asked the First Commissioner of Works how many houses have been built by direct labour by his Department during the years 1919 to 1923, giving the numbers for the respective years and the savings, if any, as compared with contractors' prices, or offers, for houses of similar accommodation?

AVERAGE COST per house of House Building Schemes carried out by the Office of Works, as compared with similar schemes carried out in the same area and during approximately the same period.
Area.				(1) Schemes carried out by the Office of Works.		(2) Schemes carried out for adjacent Councils.
				A.3.	B.3.	A.3.	B.3.
				£	£	£	£
London	…	…	…	877	978	912	1,010
Provincial—
Birmingham District	…	…	…	—	776	—	926
Durham District	…	…	…	734	880	896	1,005
Hull District	…	…	…	643	749	811	926
Kent District	…	…	…	669	695	879	1,001
Wales	…	…	…	690	832	727	866
Note.—The figures in Column 1 are exclusive of the cost of land, roads and sewers, and of a Headquarters charge of 27·475 per cent. to cover Office of Works expenditure on Architects', Quantity Surveyors' and other services.
Those in Column 2 are exclusive of the cost of land, roads and sowers, Architects', and Quantity Surveyors' fees and salaries of Clerks of Works.
Type A.3 = Non-Parlour house with 3 bedrooms
Type B.3 = Parlour house with 3 bedrooms.

asked the Minister of Health whether any circular has been sent to rural district councils, or any other inquiry has been made, in order to ascertain the present housing needs of the rural parishes; and, if so, will he make it available to Members of this House?

The numbers of houses built by direct labour during the years in question are as follow:

1919	56
1920	48
1921	1,169
1922	1,428
1923	1,893
	4,594

As regards the second part, of the question, the following statement was submitted to the Public Accounts Committee in 1923 showing the average cost per house under building schemes carried out by the Office of Works by direct labour as compared with similar schemes carried out for local authorities under contract in the same area and during approximately the same period.

According to the Reports niacin by rural district councils in 1919, 83,659 houses were required during the subsequent three years in rural districts to meet unsatisfied demands and 66,761 to replace unsatisfactory houses. Since that date 56,618 houses have been erected in rural districts with State assistance and a further 11,907 are in course of construction. In addition, 22,425 houses were erected by private enterprise without State aid during the year ended 31st March last and a further 11,288 were in course of construction at that date.

also asked the Minister the number of houses to the acre it is proposed to build in agricultural parishes under the Housing (Financial Provisions) Bill?

The matter is primarily one for the local authorities. Under the Housing Acts a cottage provided by a local authority may include a garden of not more than one acre. The general advice given by my Department is that in agricultural areas houses should not, unless there are special circumstances, be built at more than eight to the acre.

further asked the Minister of Health whether any estimate has been made as to the number of villages in rural district council areas which will not be entitled to the enlarged subsidy under the Housing (Financial Provisions) Bill as agricultural parishes; and, if so, what the number is?

It is estimated that roughly one-third of the parishes in rural district council areas will not be treated as agricultural parishes for the purpose of the increased subsidy under the proposals in the Housing Bill.

asked the Minister of Health if he has received a resolution, recently passed by the Abertillery Urban District Council, protesting against the increasing number of hoardings erected for the purpose of bill-posting; and will he promote a Bill, giving definite powers, making it illegal to erect hoardings without the consent of local authorities?

My right hon. Friend has received the resolution, and I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given on the 26th ultimo to the hon. Member for South East Essex (Mr. Hoffman).

asked the Minister of Health how many asylums have been, or are about to be, opened this year; is he aware that the Mental Hospitals' Association reported in 1922 vacancies in public asylums to the extent of 18,000 beds which have apparently been now filled up: and, in view of the increase in insanity thus indicated, an increase undoubtedly traceable to lack of preventive measures, will he reconsider the question of encouraging by Parliamentary grant the provision under health committees, as distinct from asylum committees, of hospitals quite apart from lunacy administration, where uncertifiable cases may have the benefit of such early and appropriate care as may promote their speedy recovery without the risk and detriment of being placed under lunacy control?

One new public mental hospital has been or will be opened this year. With regard to the latter part of the question, I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Eccles (Mr. Buckle) on the 5th June.

asked the Minister of Health (1) in how many cases has a petition prepared by the manager of St. Andrew's Hospital, Northampton, and presented by him to a judicial authority, for an order to detain a voluntary boarder as a lunatic been found, on examination by the board of control, to differ from the copy supplied to the board by the manager under the provisions of Section 316 of the Lunacy Act, 1890; in how many such cases does the statement of a reason for not calling in the boarder's usual medical attendant appear unsigned by the petitioner in the original but signed in his name in the official copy; and in how many is the date of presentation of the petition as given by the petitioner altered in the official copy in such manner as to bring it into conformity with the date of the above-mentioned statement forming part of the petition; will he state what steps have been taken under the direction of exclusive of those in the education and the board of control to ascertain whether any such false entries were knowingly made or whether they were due to mere accident or oversight; and what disciplinary measures have been taken in either case under the terms of Sections 318 or 320 of the Lunacy Act, 1890:(2) in how many cases in which a petition for a judicial order changing the status of a voluntary boarder at St. Andrew's Hospital, Northampton, to that of a certified lunatic, has been posted by the petitioner to the manager of this private asylum prior to its presentation to a judicial authority, and has been presented by the manager or his agent without having again been in the hands of the petitioner has such petition been found, on examination by the board of control, to contain an entry in the handwriting of the manager or his agent bearing a date subsequent to the date appearing in the handwriting of the petitioner against his signature; and in how many such cases has it been made to appear in the copy sent to the board of control that the petitioner signed on the later date, by the substitution in the copy of the later date for the earlier date given by the petitioner against his signature?

There has been one such case. As the hon. Member is aware, the details of this case have already received full consideration, not only by the board of control, but by the Courts; and no disciplinary measures have been deemed necessary.

asked the Minister of Health how many officials there are in the employment of the various local authorities in Great Britain: and how many are retired on pension?

I regret that I have no separate record of the officials employed by local authorities or of the number retired on pension. According to the last census, the total number of persons of all occupations employed by local authorities in England and Wales, exclusive of those in the education and police services, was as follows:

Services other than education and police and those separately stated below	350,315
Poor Law service	48,855
Tramways	60,812
Harbours, docks, etc.	42,444
Gas works	27,428
Electricity supply	22,098
Waterworks and hydraulic power	15,933
Rolling stock manufacture	2,783
Canal authorities, etc.	1,213
Omnibus service	1,097
Total of above services	572,978

asked the Minister of Labour if, in considering schemes for the relief of unemployment in the skilled trades in the North-Eastern area, he will take into account the possibility of reopening the State factory at Birtley, County Durham?

I would refer the hon. and gallant Member to the reply given by my hon. Friend, the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, to a similar question by the hon. Member for Dumbarton (Mr. Kirkwood) on the 19th June. Similar considerations apply also to the suggested reopening of the factory mentioned in the question.

asked the Minister of Labour the number of women at present out of employment and the amount of State aid that they are receiving?

The number of women on the 16th June, 1924, recorded on the registers of Employment Exchanges in Great Britain was 205,200. Of these, about 188,000 had current claims to benefit, the amount of unemployment benefit represented by this number being approximately £85,000 for the week. As the hon. Member is no doubt aware, this benefit is paid out of the Unemployment Fund, to which these women contribute when in work.

asked the Minister of Labour what is the estimated extra cost if men who have been given unemployment relief work by the authorities were allowed to receive insurance benefit immediately on ceasing such work; and whether he is prepared to put forward a Measure to allow this, in view of the short periods for which this work is provided?

No comprehensive information is available as to the length of the spells of employment on relief works, and, in consequence, it is not possible to give such an estimate. If unemployment is broken by spells of employment of less than three weeks no further "waiting period" has to be served and unemployment benefit is payable, subject, of course, to the fulfilment of the other statutory conditions for the receipt of benefit.