asked the Minister of Transport whether he is aware of the inconvenience and expense caused to the agricultural community by the continuance of the operation of Section 5 (1) ( b ) of the Locomotive Act, by which the attendance of three men on locomotives driven on the highways is enforced; and whether, since the Departmental Committee on the taxation and regulation of road vehicles recommended the repeal of that Section, he will introduce legislation at an early date to give effect to that recommendation and relieve agriculture of an unnecessary burden?

:This point is under consideration in connection with the Bill which I propose to introduce dealing with the regulation of road vehicles.

asked the Minister of Transport whether, in view of the large number of accidents caused by motor vehicles and motor cycles, he will introduce legislation requiring as a condition precedent to the granting and issue of a licence for any motor vehicle or motor cycle that an unlimited insurance policy for third-party risks taken out with a reputable British insurance office shall be produced to the licensing authority?

:The question of compelling motorists to insure against accidents is under consideration in connection with contemplated legislation.

asked the Minister of Transport whether, before the final draft of the Clause in the Government's proposed Road Vehicle Bill dealing with rear lights or reflectors on pedal cycles is determined, he will receive a deputation from the national societies representing the cyclists in the country?

:As I informed the hon. Member yesterday, I have already received deputations from various cyclists' organisations on this point, but if any further object is to be gained I will see them again at a suitable time.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he has received from the town clerk of Plymouth a copy of a resolution passed by the watch committee suggesting that an Act of Parliament should be passed requiring the provision of red rear-lights on motors and motor cycles in order to safeguard the public generally; and whether he proposes to take action upon these lines?

:I have received resolutions to this effect from Plymouth and from other local authorities. As I have already stated, the Government propose to introduce a Bill dealing generally with the regulation, including the lighting, of road vehicles.

asked the Minister of Transport if he is aware that the platforms of Ardleigh Station, London and North Eastern Railway, are lower than the standard height, and further that the stairways of the subway are insecure and not of uniform width, affording conditions dangerous to the travelling public; and will he take steps to have these defects remedied?

:My attention has not previously been called to this matter, but I will make inquiries and let my hon. Friend know the result.

asked the Minister of Transport whether there is any intention of reducing the present restrictions governing maximum axle-loads of motor vehicles, in view of the proposed increase of legal speed for heavy road vehicles from 12 to 16 miles per nour?

:I have already explained that the Government propose to introduce legislation dealing generally with the regulation of motor vehicles, and I would prefer not to anticipate the provisions of the Bill on points of detail.

asked the Minister of Health if he will give an undertaking that the Government will, in the preparation of its housing scheme, offer assistance and encouragement to builders of blocks of hygienic self-contained flats of a low rental value, and thus meet the needs of a district like Hackney, where the only available spaces for building are those to be obtained by the clearance of slums?

:Assistance is available, both by way of loan and subsidy, under the existing Acts of 1923 and 1924, for the building of self-contained flats, and my right hon. Friend will be glad to consider any such proposals submitted to him by local authorities, whether as part of schemes for the clearance of insanitary areas or otherwise. Blocks of flats have already been erected, or are proposed to be erected, with Government assistance, in London and elsewhere.

asked the Minister of Health whether he will introduce during this Session a Bill designed to destroy any rings which may' tend to prevent the proper carrying out of the Housing Acts?

:I would refer my hon. Friend to the statement made on this point in the course of the Debate yesterday.

asked the Minister of Health if he proposes to introduce legislation for the reduction of rents of pre-War houses and to prevent property-owners obtaining rent for houses which have been condemned by the sanitary authorities as unfit for human habitation?

:My right hon. Friend does not propose to introduce fresh legislation for the purposes mentioned by the hon. Member. The efforts of the Government will be directed towards reconditioning repairable houses and expediting the erection of new houses to take the place of those that are beyond repair.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware of the profiteering which continues in respect of housing accommodation, especially in London; and whether he will consider the possibility of appointing Fair Rent Courts to which all cases of unfair rents may be submitted?

:No cases have recently been brought to my notice. As the hon. Gentleman is aware, certain provisions of the Rent Restriction Acts can be invoked in this connection. My right hon. Friend does not think the establishment of Rent Courts would be an effective substitute for such Acts at the present time.

asked the Minister of Health what schemes have been submitted by county councils and other local authorities for the provision of houses or cottages suitable for the requirements of constables stationed in villages and country towns; and whether, in view of the present shortage of houses throughout the country, he will give special consideration to any such schemes as affording some relief to the present inadequate supply of houses?

:A number of county councils have carried out schemes for the provision of police cottages, and houses erected by other local authorities would be available for constables in common with other working-class persons. County councils have power under the Housing Acts to erect houses for their employés, and my right hon. Friend is always willing to give favourable consideration to schemes put forward for the housing of constables.

asked the Home Secretary whether the Reports of His Majesty's Inspectors of County Constabulary Forces throughout the country indicate whether increased efficiency results from each village in an area being provided with a house specially built by the county authority to meet the requirements of village constables?

:I do not think this point has been dealt with by His Majesty's Inspectors in their Reports, at any rate in recent years.

asked the Minister of Health whether he can hold out any hope for the introduction during the next Session of the Smoke Abatement Bill?

:The Government contemplate the introduction of a Smoke Abatement Bill as soon as a convenient opportunity arises, but I cannot promise that the Bill will be introduced before 1926.

asked the Minister of Health (1) whether he will take immediate steps to secure that the guardians of the poor who are stated in the official survey of provincial casual wards to withhold from casual paupers the midday meal or food-ticket to which they are entitled under the Casual Pauper Regulations of 1914 shall provide such meal or ticket, and to secure that the guardians who are stated in the survey not to provide night garments for their men and women casual paupers, which they are bound to provide under the Regulations of 1882, shall henceforth make such provision;

:I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer given on Monday last to the hon. Member for Pontypool (Mr. Griffiths) in reply to a similar question. I am sending him the names of the unions in Dorset and Devonshire to which he refers.

asked the Home Secretary the number of persons charged last year with vagrancy or small larcenies; whether his attention has been called to the official Survey of Casual Wards in England and Wales outside London and to its statements with regard to the bad condition of the wards, poor condition as to their cleanliness, the absence of night-clothing (required by the Casual Paupers Regulations of 1882), and the absence of the mid-day meal or food ticket (required by the Regulations of 1914) in some unions; and whether he will circularise the justices calling their attention to the Workhouse Act, 1790, Section 1, and the Poor Law Amendment Act, 1834, Section 43 (Stone's Justice's Manual, 54th edition, page 1045, note), and informing them of their power to visit any casual ward in any place where they are resident and have jurisdiction, and to examine into the state and condition of the casual paupers therein and of their food, clothing and bedding, and also inform them of their further powers under those Acts?

:The condition of the casual wards is not a matter which comes within the purview of my Department, and I am not aware of any reason for issuing a circular to Magistrates on the subject.

asked the Minister of Health whether he will consider the desirability of making percentage grants to local authorities for the provision of open spaces, for the beautifying of streets by means of trees, and for other similar improvements?

:My right hon. Friend is afraid that he cannot hold out any hope of special grants from Government funds for these purposes.

asked the Minister of Health whether, seeing that the employer of a woman exempted at her own request from benefit under the Health Insurance Act, and therefore not compelled to make weekly payments, is obliged to contribute the employer's normal payment for such employee, there have been any refusals to pay under such circumstances; and, if so, what action the Government has taken in the different cases?

:The answer to the first question is that no refusals of contribution in the circumstances stated have been traced in my Department. The second question accordingly does not arise.

asked the Minister of Health whether, in view of the fact that modern methods of vaccination produce only faint marks which sometimes entirely disappear although the operation has been thoroughly successful, he will see that good marks are not in future made the test of successful vaccination in cases of post-vaccinal small-pox, as is done in the Table which appears on page 37 and in the footnote on page 38 of the Annual Report of the chief medical officer of the Ministry of Health for the year 1923?

:The Table and footnote referred to do not seem to my right hon. Friend to imply the view that the presence of good marks is the criterion of successful vaccination.

asked the Minister of Health if, when framing the new Regulations relating to the use of preservatives in food, he will extend the Regulations so as to make it an offence to use arsenic in the preparation of cocoa or ironground soapstone in baking powder, having in view the fact that both substances so introduced constitute a danger to the public?

:As at present advised, I propose to confine the Regulations to carrying out the principal recommendations of the Committee on the use of preservatives in food. My hon. Friend will appreciate that the scope of these Regulations would need material expansion to cover such points as those to which he refers.

asked the Minister of Health whether, in the case of applicants for old age pensions, persons who are unable to produce a birth certificate but put forward as evidence of age a marriage certificate certifying that they were of full age at the date of marriage, the officials concerned have received any instructions as to how many years these words cover?

:I have been asked to reply. If I am right in assuming that the officials referred to are the pension officers, no instructions have been issued to them in this matter. But I would point out that the question whether an applicant for an old age pension has attained the necessary age is a matter for the determination of the local pension committee, or, if appeal be entered, of the Minister of Health in this country, and of the Scottish Board of Health in Scotland.

asked the Minister of Health whether there have, in the last five years, been any retirements on pension from his Department on grounds other than health; and, if so, on what grounds and under what Clause of the Superannuation Acts?

:During the last five years there have, in addition to retirements on the ground of health, been 53 retirements on pension of persons who had attained or exceeded the age of 60 years, which are covered by Section 10 of the Superannuation Act, 1859; and 13 retirements on pension under Section 7 of the Superannuation Act, 1859, in consequence of abolition of office or for the purpose of facilitating improvements in the organisation of the Department by which greater efficiency or economy was effected.

asked the Minister of Pensions how many temporary full-time medical men now in the employ of the Ministry did not serve overseas during the late War; what the names of these officers are; where they are serving; and whether the officers under notice with overseas service are not considered capable of taking their places?

:Of the 220 administrative temporary medical officers at present in the employ of the Ministry, 49 are men with no overseas military service during the late War, but of this latter number 37 had military service at home, leaving only 12 with no military service. As to the reasons which have necessitated the retention of certain of these officers, I would refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave to the hon. and gallant Member for Southampton (Colonel Perkins) on Tuesday.

asked the Minister of Pensions how many regional headquarters still exist; what is the name and office held by the regional director or acting regional director; whether it is proposed during the year 1925–26 to abolish any regional headquarters; and whether, in those cases where the commissioner of medical services acts as regional director, he receives any additional remuneration other than the salary paid to the commissioner of medical services?

:Five regional headquarters still exist. There are three regional directors (Lieut.-Colonel H. L. Warden, C.B.E., D.S.O., Edinburgh, Lieut.-Colonel C. H. Townsend, Manchester, and Lieut.-Colonel E. V. Sydenham, D.S.O., Birmingham) and two acting regional directors (Dr. C. R. Stewart, O.B.E., Newcastle-on-Tyne, and Lieut.-Colonel W. Bickerton Edwards, C.B.E., Cardiff). Proposals for abolishing some of these regional headquarters are under consideration. No additional remuneration is paid to the two officers holding the dual posts of acting regional director and commissioner of medical services.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether the Committee set up by the Government to review the question of the class of accommodation when travelling on duty in the case of State servants generally has reported; and, if so, what are its conclusions?

:A sub-committee of the main committee was appointed to examine the question in detail as affecting the various grades of officers belonging to all Crown Services. In the result it has not proved possible, in view of the disciplinary and other considerations involved, to recommend that the existing regulations on the subject should be modified.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware that the permanent and temporary staffs employed at the Claims and Record Office, Kew, are working excessive overtime weekly; and will he arrange for the overtime to cease and for several hundred clerks to have temporary employment while the pressure on this Department continues, thus reducing the charge on unemployment insurance?

:Nearly 700 additional clerks have been engaged at this office, to deal with claims for compensation under Section 9 of the Unemployment Insurance (No. 2) Act of 1924, and it would be neither practicable nor economical to meet the present requirements by engaging further clerks.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury the present average age of the ex-service men who took the 1921 open competition examination for the administrative class of the Civil Service?

:The present average age of the ex-service men who took the 1921 open competition for the administration class of the Civil Service is 27 years and 7 months.

asked the Minister of Labour the total increase and decrease of the full-time rate of wages per annum in the United Kingdom from 1913 to 1923, inclusive?

:The appended Table shows, for each of the years 1913–1923, the aggregate amount of increase in the weekly full-time wages of those workpeople who obtained net increases in rates of wages and the aggre- gate amount of decrease in the weekly full-time wages of those workpeople who sustained net decreases in the rates of wages so far as reported to the Department , in the industries٭ for which statistics are available. Notification of changes in rates of wages is not compulsory, and the changes reported are, in the main, those affecting organised groups of employers and workpeople; many changes affecting unorganised workers, particularly those arranged by individual employers, do not come to the notice of the Department. If comprehensive statistics were available for all classes of workpeople, the totals given would be appreciably greater.

asked the Minister of Labour the number of seamen employed on the steam, sailing, and motor vessels of the British mercantile marine, exclusive of foreign vessels, at the present time, and indicate how many of these are foreigners and how many are Lascars; and whether he will give the similar figures for 12 months ago?

:I have been asked to reply. To obtain definite information as to the number of seamen employed in British merchant ships at any given time is a matter of some difficulty, owing to the impossibility of communicating simultaneously with ships which are absent from this country. There are three different methods of obtaining information on the subject which are at present in use. These are as follow:

Note .—These figures relate to engagements rather than to individual seamen (for instance, if a particular man were engaged twice during 1923, he would be counted twice in the total), but the percentages probably give a fairly accurate representation of the actual state of affairs.

The percentage of British among the Asiatics and Africans cannot be stated with certainty, but is probably considerable.

merchant ships at one time or another during each year, but it does not give an exact figure, since some seamen may be counted twice in the enumeration and others may not be counted at all. As the agreement with the crew does not become available until the end of the voyage, which may be a long one, the table obtained by this method cannot be completed until some considerable time after the end of the year to which it relates. Statistics obtained by this method for the years 1911 to 1923 are shown, so far as they are available, in Table II.

The third method is to ascertain, by examination of the agreements of all ships, the exact number of seamen employed in British merchant ships on a given date. This method gives exact figures, but takes no account of seamen, who, on the particular date chosen, were not actually serving as members of the crews of British ships. It is extremely laborious and can only be adopted at relatively wide intervals. The last figures obtained by this method relate to the 19th June, 1921; and these, with earlier figures obtained at intervals of ten years, are shown in Table III.

The differences between the figures in Table II and those in Table III will represent the estimated number of persons normally employed in the Mercantile Marine, who, for one reason or another, were not so employed on the actual census day.

1. These figures show the persons employed on vessels registered under Part I of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1894, belonging to the British Isles returned as employed at some time during the year and remaining on the register at the end of the year. The estimated number is the sum of the number of persons engaged for the first crew of each vessel employed during the year .

2. Under the heading "Lascars" are included all Asiatics and East Africans employed on vessels trading between India and this country or entirely in Eastern waters and serving on agreements which terminate in Asia.

٭3. The 1923 figures have not yet been published and are approximate only.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will give the latest available figures of alien seamen employed on British shipping, distinguishing, if possible, between Europeans and Asiatics?

:I would refer the hon. Member to the answer which was given to-day to the Noble Lord the Member for Southampton (Lord Apsley).

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware that James Black, 27, Hamilton Street, Govan, has been refused benefit on the ground that he did not accept a situation offered by the Employment Exchange; whether he is aware that Black produced a doctor's certificate to prove his inability to accept the situation; and whether he will have this case reviewed and benefit paid?

:The situation in question was offered to Mr. Black, not through the Employment Exchange, but direct by a local firm, by whom he was engaged on the 24th October. He did not report for work, but three weeks later he produced a medical certificate, dated 14th November, saying that he visited the doctor on the 5th November suffering from a cold, which he stated had attacked him a week earlier. He had been signing at the Exchange during the period when he claimed to be ill. The claim was referred to the Chief Insurance Officer and disallowed. Mr. Black appealed to the Court of Referees, before which he stated his case personally. The court came to the conclusion that his failure to start work was not reasonable and that benefit should be disallowed. The hon. Member will be aware that I have no power to review this decision.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware that Mary Reid, 18 years of age, of 44, Logie Street, Govan, has been refused benefit because she declined a situation at Dundee as a domestic servants; how many domestic servants were registered at Dundee Labour Exchanges during the week ending 11th November; and whether, in view of the distance from Glasgow, the number of girls unemployed in Dundee, and the age of this girl, he will have this case reconsidered and benefit paid?

:The situation in question was for a resident kitchen maid. During the week ended 11th November there were only seven applicants registered at the Dundee Exchange for resident domestic service. None of the seven had experience as kitchen maid, but four of them were submitted unsuccessfully for the situation. Miss Reid had had previous experience as a kitchen maid. When she refused the situation, her claim was disallowed by the Chief Insurance Officer. She appealed to a Court of Referees, attended the hearing, and stated her case. The court thought she had no satisfactory reason for refusing the situation, and disallowed her claim. The hon. Member will be aware that I have no power to review this decision.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he proposes to take steps to examine the circumstances under which uncovenanted unemployment insurance benefit is being at present administered; and whether, seeing the payment of such benefit is in many cases preventive of effort to secure employment and inflicts hardship upon contributors to the Unemployment Insurance Fund, he will consider the advisability of amending the Unemployment Insurance Acts so as to terminate in the shortest possible time the payment of uncovenanted benefit altogether?

:I would refer my hon. Friend to my reply to the hon. Member for the Devizes Division (Mr. Hurd) on 11th December, 1924, of which I am sending him a copy.

asked the Minister of Labour what are the unemployment figures in the United States of America, France, Germany, and Italy, respectively, at the last published returns; and what percentage in each case these figures represent as compared with the percentage of unemployment at present in this country?

:A summary of the latest available information with regard to unemployment in foreign countries is published each month in the "Ministry of Labour Gazette," of which I am sending my hon. Friend a copy. I regret that, owing to the varying degrees of completeness of the figures and the differences in the methods of compilation, it is not possible to give comparable percentages.

asked the Minister of Pensions whether he is aware that Mr. C. A. Day, of 56, Sunbury Lane, Walton-on-Thames, was assessed on 20th September, 1916, by an invaliding board at three months' total incapacity for neurasthenia and then at nine months at one-half; that on 24th November, 1916, a special medical board assessed at three months at three-quarters; that on 26th February, 1917, a special medical board assessed at six months at one-quarter; that on 17th September, 1917, the board assessed at nil; that, although no further award was made, Mr. Day was granted treatment allowances from 17th May, 1922, to 21st August, 1923; that the Pensions (Assessment) Appeal Tribunal ultimately admitted disability at 50 per cent, from 22nd August, 1923; that Mr. Day is totally unfit for employment; and that, between 10th January, 1918, and 16th May, 1922, a period of four years and 126 days, he was paid nothing at all; and whether, in view of the hard circumstances of the case and the fact that disablement has ultimately been admitted after a number of years of its existence, he will take steps to secure for Mr. Day arrears of pension during the period of his disablement since 10th January, 1918, during which no pension was received?

:In September, 1917, in June, 1918, and in March, 1919, successive medical boards found no disablement. No further application was received from the man from the latter date until May, 1922, when he was placed under treatment with full allowances. In these circumstances, there is no ground for granting arrears for the period in question.

asked the Minister of Pensions how many pensions have been awarded to widows whose husbands died owing to a war disability more than seven years after discharge?

:I would refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. and gallant Member for Fairfield (Major Cohen) on the 15th instant, of which I am sending him a copy.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware of the inadequate postal facilities afforded to the Borough of Salford, a town of nearly a quarter of a million inhabitants; whether any other town of the same size in England is without a general post office, or is similarly deprived of the right to send a telegram, obtain a money order, or register a letter after seven o'clock p.m.; and if he will take steps to remedy these grievances?

:I am not aware that the public facilities which are provided at Salford are inadequate to present requirements; but I am having inquiries made, and will write the hon. Member.

asked the Postmaster-General whether there are any Regulations which prevent a private trader acting as a sub-postmaster from becoming a candidate for a local authority?

:The answer is in the negative.

asked the Home Secretary whether he will take steps to compel people with wireless sets to have corks attached to outdoor aerials, in view of the damage done to homing pigeons who come into contact with these aerials?

:I have been asked to reply. As at present advised, I do not think it would be practicable or reasonable to require all licence holders, of whom there are upwards of one million, to provide special apparatus for the protection of pigeons. I am making some inquiries, and if it is found that in any locality the pigeon mortality due to contact with aerials is exceptionally high, I will endeavour to use such means of persuasion as are open to me.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India the number of Europeans resident in Bombay and Calcutta and the average military strength of the garrisons of these two towns?

:According to the Census of 1921 the number of persons of European descent resident in Bombay was 14,726, and in Calcutta 12,907. The approximate strength of the regular military garrisons is 2,310 and 3,750 respectively.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India the number of Europeans assassinated in British India from January, 1923, to date, and the number of outrages on Europeans during the same period not attended with fatal results?

:So far as my information goes, in the period named the number of persons of European descent killed has been 16, and the number attacked, but not killed, 22. These figures include 8 murders and 3 other outrages on and near the north-west frontier, attacks on police or other officers in the execution of their duty, assaults or murders on trains or elsewhere with robbery as the motive, attacks on managers of tea gardens, attacks by villagers on British soldiers out shooting, as well as political offences.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India what, if any, associations of European Government servants are recognised either by the Government of India or by the Provincial Governments?

:It will be necessary to refer to the Government of India to obtain full information on the subject of the hon. and gallant Member's inquiry, and I will have this done. It is known, however, that the Indian Civil Service Association and the Indian (Imperial) Police Association are recognised by the Government of India.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether it is the intention of the Secretary of State for India to set up a Commission to investigate the position of Indian exchange and currency?

:The question of the appointment of such a committee is one that has received and will receive the most careful consideration.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India what educational facilities are in existence for the children of British foremen employed in the Government rifle factory, Ishapore; where the nearest school is; and what are the fees charged?

:I am having inquiries made locally, and will communi- cate with the hon. Member as soon as a reply is received.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he proposes to secure for married officers in India the same married allowances as they would receive if they were serving in England?

:I have been asked to reply to this question. The revision of pay of British officers in India is now under examination, and the question raised by my hon. Friend is among those to be considered.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that in order to retain business with Calcutta a Newport manufacturer of iron goods has to pay a freight of 38s. per ton from Newport to Calcutta, whilst at the same time the shipping firm, and sometimes the same boat, accepts the cut freight of 13s. 7d. for similar goods from Antwerp; and whether, seeing that this disparity in freightage costs against British manufacturers or British exports has an important bearing on the large number of unemployed in manufacturing and shipping centres throughout the country, he will consider some action to obtain conditions of fair play for British interests in trading with our own Colonies?

:The attention of the Board of Trade has frequently been drawn to the differences between the freights charged from Continental ports and those from British ports to the same destination. The example given in the question is, I am informed, correct. The reason given is that Continental lines are able for various causes to carry at a lower cost than their British competitors, and British lines have to carry at the Continental rates if they are to secure any of the business from Continental ports. The matter is watched carefully by the Department, but there is no power to regulate freights or to require Continental rates to be charged from British ports.

asked the President of the Board of Trade the annual tonnage from the year 1910 to the last Return of imports of foodstuffs, foreign iron ore and foreign steel bars, and exports overseas of coal, iron, and steel goods, and tin plates at Newport, Monmouthshire, and each of the principal South Wales ports?

:Particulars of the weights of all foodstuffs imported are not available. The following statement shows for each of the years 1910 to 1923, inclusive, the tonnage of grain and flour, iron ore, and steel bars, imported into Newport, Monmouthshire, and the other principal ports of South Wales, together with the exports from those ports of coal, of tinned plates and sheets, and of other iron and steel manufactures, so far as particulars are available:

asked the President of the Board of Trade the volume and value of imports into Great Britain of iron and steel from France and Belgium, respectively, for the months of July, August, September, October and November, 1922, 1923 and 1924?

:The following Statement shows the quantities and declared values of the imports of iron and steel, and manufacturers thereof, into the United Kingdom, registered during each of the months specified, as consigned from France and Belgium, respectively:

Note . — From 1st April, 1923, the direct imports, if any, into the Irish Free State from France and Belgium were excluded from the accounts of the Trade of the United Kingdom.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Overseas Trade Department whether His Majesty's Government intend to cancel the present exclusion of Russia from the export credits scheme?

:It is not proposed to make any change in this respect in the administration of the export credits scheme.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, in view of the fact that large quantities of foreign turkeys and other poultry are annually imported into this country, where they are easily passed off as English products, he will take steps to put them in the same position as regards labelling as imported meat, as denned by the Sale of Food Order, 1921?

:There is no statutory power to add to or vary the existing provisions of the Sale of Food Order, 1921, as continued by the Expiring Laws (Continuance) Acts.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how many German baths were imported into this country during the past 12 months?

:During the 12 months ended 31st October, 1924, the number of iron or steel baths (porcelain enamelled or other finish) imported into the United Kingdom, consigned from Germany, was 3,800.

asked the President, of the Board of Trade if he can state what was the amount of shipping, net register, that plied between different ports in the United Kingdom in the years 1920, 1921, 1922 and 1923, as compared with the year 1913?

:The following statement shows the number and net tonnage of vessels, including their repeated voyages, that arrived at, or departed from, ports of the United Kingdom, with cargoes or in ballast, in the coasting trade, ^* ; in the year 1913 and in each of the years 1920 to 1923, inclusive:

asked the President of the Board of Trade how much war material, and of what description, has been shipped from Great Britain to Poland, Latvia, Esthonia and Lithuania from May, 1923, up to the present date?

:I regret that there has not been time to compile the figures which the hon. Member asks for. I will, however, have them circulated in the OFFICIAL REPORT as soon as they are ready.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether the capital ship

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether the settlement of claims for loss of life and property by British subjects due to enemy submarines and aircraft during the war, under the Royal Commission of which Lord Sumner was chairman, are to be considered as final, or whether the Government recognise that the full satisfaction of these claims is a first charge upon any reparations recovered from Germany?

:I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by the Financial Secretary to the Treasury on the 15th December to the hon. Member for East Cardiff (Sir C. Kinloch-Cooke), a copy of which I am sending him.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how long the Reparation Commissioners are expected to take before they determine the relative quotas payable by the States which have succeeded to the ownership of the Austrian Imperial railways, and especially of the Nordwestbahn and Franz Josefsbahn; and with whom the responsibility for the delay lies?

:The Reparation Commission decided in December, 1922, the proportions in which responsibility for the pre-War Austrian and Hungarian debts secured on railways should be distributed between the States concerned. The loans referred to in the question were distributed in the following percentages:

tonnage of the British Navy has exceeded the 528,000 tons allowed by the Washington Arms Conference treaties; and whether he can state that the obligations under those treaties regarding the scrapping of the "Thunderer," the "Ajax," the "Centurion," and the "King George V" have been fully carried out?

:The capital ships which may be retained by the British Empire are stated by name in Chapter II, Part 1, of the Treaty, and their total tonnage is given as 580,450 tons. All other capital ships will be scrapped or otherwise disposed of in accordance with the Treaty by the date required by the Treaty, namely, 17th February, 1925. The amount of 528,000 tons mentioned by the hon. Member is, apparently, a mistake for 525,000 tons, which is the amount to which the total tonnage of British capital ships is to be reduced by 1942. No obligation to commence scrapping the vessels mentioned in the latter portion of the question will arise for some time. Under Article 2 of the Naval Treaty, and in accordance with the rules laid down therein in Chapter II, Part 2, Section 4 (6), the scrapping of these vessels has to be commenced not later than the date of completion of the "Nelson" and "Rodney," which are now building; or, in the event of delay in their completion, not later than four years after they were commenced, i.e ., the 28th December, 1926.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty when the last naval joiner was advanced to shipwright; whether such promotions will be continued; and, if so, when is the next promotion likely to be made?

:No case of a joiner being transferred to shipwright has occurred since June, 1919. It is not proposed to abolish the Regulation which permits of such transfers being made, but such transfers would only be allowed in very exceptional circumstances, and it is impossible to say when the next one will be made.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty whether, in view of the considerable amount of repair work lost to His Majesty's dockyard, Portsmouth, through the removal of a part of the Atlantic Fleet to the Mediterranean station, the Board of Admiralty will approve of the capital ships of the Mediterranean Fleet being refitted annually or as necessary at their home port dockyards?

:My hon. and gallant Friend will understand that the arrangements for refitting the ships of the Mediterranean Fleet cannot be governed by the state of employment at the home ports, but I can assure him that there is every prospect of the resources of Portsmouth dockyard remaining fully employed.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty if the Board of Admiralty will anticipate a portion of the Estimate for 1925–26 in connection with the building of H.M.S. "Suffolk" in order to provide additional work for the unemployed in Portsmouth during the forthcoming winter?

:I regret that this suggestion cannot be adopted, as the work on H.M.S. "Suffolk" is being carried out as rapidly as the supply of materials will permit.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty whether he is aware of the feeling that now exists at the submarine depot against the continual musters and inspections that are taking place and which reflect on the number of ratings volunteering for this service; and will he consider the possibility of promulgating instructions of comfort and relaxation on shore in view of the arduous and dangerous duties which they are called upon to perform?

:No complaints have been received at the Admiralty, and from inquiries I have made I feel that my hon. and gallant Friend is under a misapprehension in suggesting that such a feeling exists. As this House is aware, the Board of Admiralty are always willing to consider sympathetically any questions affecting the well-being and contentment of the men of the Navy which are brought to their notice through the normal service channels.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty, with reference to the deductions that are made from estab- lished men's wages, thereby placing them in a lower category as regards payment than those men who are not established, whether he will take steps to annul the Regulation under which these deductions are made, in view of its antiquated character?

:I am afraid that I cannot agree with the suggestion that the antiquity of a Regulation is itself any reason for its annulment provided that Regulation has operated satisfactorily as it has in this case. As the hon. Member is aware, the established man is in a better position than the hired man.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty when it is anticipated the next promotion to boatswain will be made?

:Promotion will be resumed about July next when the first candidates qualified under post-War Regulations become available.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty whether he is aware that the difference between the pay of skilled and unskilled Maltese non-continuous service ratings is proportionately smaller than between skilled and unskilled continuous service ratings; and whether he will place Maltese non-continuous service artisans on an equitable footing in comparison with continuous service artisans?

:The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative, and the question of effecting a readjustment for future entries will be considered when the new rates of pay for future entries are settled. Readjustment of the rates of men now serving could only be made by increasing the rates of the artisans, which would not be justified, or by reducing the rates for the seamen and stokers, which would be contrary to Admiralty policy, the intention being not to reduce the rates of men now serving.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty whether he is aware that the cooking in the royal naval hospitals at home and abroad is performed by unskilled labour; and whether, in view of the importance that hospital food should be properly prepared and cooked, he will consider the appointment of properly-qualified cooks?

:The civilian cooks at naval hospitals at home are as a general rule drawn from pensioner cook ratings, and are entered with due regard to their service record and qualifications. In no sense can they be considered unskilled labour. At hospitals abroad also, every care is taken to enter duly qualified men. The importance of having the food properly prepared and cooked is fully recognised, and every precaution, by daily inspections, etc., is taken at the naval hospitals to ensure this.