asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether, seeing that it is detrimental to British prestige in India that Army officers should receive inadequate pay, he will recommend that the pay and allowances of officers in India be readjusted at an early date to meet the greatly increased cost of living there?

Revised Fates which take effect from the 1st July last have now been sanctioned, and an announcement has, I understand, just been made in India. Full information will be issued in this country as soon as the details arc available. I must add that, in fixing these rates of pay, the question of prestige is not taken into consideration.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether his attention has been drawn to the trial which took place at Cawnpore, from 22nd April to 9th May, 1924, of four Indians accused of sedition whether he is aware that the trial took place before the Sessions Judge sitting with three Indian assessors; that one of the assessors found two of the accused, Usmani and Ahmad, guilty, and two of them, Dange and Gupta, not guilty; that the second assessor found only one of the accused, Usmani, guilty, and the other three not guilty; that the third assessor found all the accused not guilty, and that the Sessions Judge, delivering judgment on 20th May, 1924, agreeing with two assessors and differing with the third regarding Usmani, agreeing with one assessor and differing with the other two regarding Ahmad, and differing with the three assessors regarding Dange and Gupta, convicted all four accused men, and sentenced each of them to four years' rigorous imprisonment; and whether he will state what are the status and functions of Indian assessors in a trial of this nature?

The status and functions of assessors who are not jurors or members of the Bench are described in Chapter XXIII of the Indian Code of Criminal Procedure (Act No. V of 1898), in particular Sections 284, 235 and 309 The Judge is bound to record the opinion of each assessor, but in giving his judgment, it is provided, "he shall not be bound to conform to the opinions of the assessors."

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that in the case of a trial for murder the Lord Chief Justice sentenced an Englishman to 12 months' imprisonment for murder, and that three men were sentenced to these terms of rigorous imprisonment for writing letters?

I do Lot see that that has anything to do with the question. I must respectfully be excused from commenting either favourably or adversely on judicial decisions come to by the High Court.

They happen to be coloured men in one case and white men in another. [HON. MEMBERS: "Order!"]

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether he is aware that two persons, Sarbat Ali and Belat Ali, of Chittagong, were arrested at Rangoon by Criminal Investigation Department officers, on information furnished by police informers, for being in possession of two automatic pistols and 47 rounds of ammunition and, after being kept in custody for two months, were acquitted by the western sub-divisional magistrate of Rangoon, who, after a four days' hearing of the case, pronounced the prosecution evidence as unworthy of belief; and what measures, if any, have been taken against the Criminal Investigation Department informers?

I have no information in the matter, but inquiry will be made.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether it is proposed to appoint a committee to inquire into the question of Indian currency and exchange and to make recommendations as to future policy?

As announced by the Viceroy on the 20th January, the intention is to appoint an authoritative committee to consider the question of the rupee exchange as soon as world economic factors appear sufficiently stable to justify the formulation of a new policy.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he is prepared to give instructions that no further alienation of lands in Kenya Colony shall be permitted to white immigrants, without his prior sanction, until the Southborough Committee has submitted its Report?

No, Sir. There have been few alienations of Crown land in the last two years, and I see no reason to forbid alienations until I am satisfied that it is necessary to do so. I would point out that land questions are outside the terms of reference of the Southborough Committee.

Is it not the object of the Southborough Committee to deal with this question, and in view of the imminence of that Report will the right hon. Gentleman stop the rush for concessions before that Report is issued?

I presume that the right hon. Gentleman refers to the Commission presided over by my right hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies (Mr. Ormsby-Gore). There is no rush for the alienation of lands, nor has there been for two years.

Will the right hon. Gentleman prevent any alienation prior to the publication of the Report, so that advantage may not be taken of the inaction of the Government?

There is no necessity for stopping a rush which does not exist.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if any steps are being taken to develop the sea fisheries of the Kenya Protectorate; and if he can state what those steps are?

The late Governor reported in August that he was in communication with the Administration of the Cape Province on the subject and that he hoped to be able to formulate definite proposals for the improvement of the industry and the engagement of a fishery expert. I will inquire whether any progress has been made.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether land in the vicinity of that proposed to be surrendered by Lord Delamere in Kenya Colony was recently sold for Gs. per acre; whether the land which this gentleman is to receive in exchange is valued by the land valuers' office at 37s. 6d. per acre; and whether he proposes to forbid this exchange taking place?

The exchange has been approved. If the hon. Member will give me the information on which his question is based, I will make inquiries. My information is that in total value the two areas are approximately equal, and that the land to be surrendered is valued at 15s. an acre. There will be a great increase in the rent paid by Lord Delamere, because rent depends only on acreage and also because the rate of rents has been increased since the grant of the lease now to be surrendered.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he is now able to announce the names of the Committee he proposes to set up to inquire into the export of live British horses to the Continent for butchery purposes?

I am pleased to say that the personnel of the Committee is now complete, but, with the permission of the hon. Gentleman, I will circulate the full list of names in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

Would the right hon. Gentleman say what consideration he had in mind in asking people to serve on the Committee?

The desire to get as strong a Committee as possible, and one that would command the respect of the House.

Did the right hon. Gentleman select people who were impartial, or experts in these matters?

Of course, it is always difficult to secure any quite ignorant people who could be relied upon to be entirely impartial, but I have done my best to secure people who appear to me to be impartial.

asked the Minister of Agriculture what has become of the £250,000 or thereabouts which, under orders of the Food Controller in 1919, was wrongly levied upon milk exported from the South-Western counties; how much has been spent in legal and other expenses; and what use is being made of the balance?

I have been asked to reply. Apart from a balance, as yet unclaimed, of approximately £3,500, the milk licence fees have been repaid by the Government to the persons from whom they were received. No special legal or administrative charges have been incurred.

What does the hon. Gentleman mean by "special" when he says that no legal charges were incurred?

As far as I understand, the only charge having anything to do with the distribution of this money is the process of redistribution. The money is going back to those who paid it. As far as I know, no legal expenses have been incurred by this fund.

asked the Minister of Agriculture if it is his intention, under Section 11 of the Agricultural Wages (Regulation) Act, 1924, to pay the travelling expenses of those workers making application for a permit under Section 2 (3) of the said Act when attending a meeting of the committee or sub-committee called for such purpose?

The Act does not authorise the payment of the travelling expenses of applicants for exemption. In most cases the Wages Committees are taking steps to meet the convenience of the applicants as far as possible by local hearings.

asked the Minister of Agriculture if he will give the number, and the total amount, of the loans to co-operative agricultural enterprises which have been sanctioned?

The number of loans sanctioned to date is 10, and the total amount £29,370.

What is the amount lent to bacon factories?

I could not say without notice.

Does the raising of the Bank Rate mean that there will be an increase in the interest charged on the money?

I presume that that is a result which is likely to follow.

Is that going to increase the price of the produce?

The hon. Member can draw his own conclusions.

Is that not something of which the Prime Minister might take advantage, in order to widen the ambit of the Food Commission in dealing with a question like this?

asked the Minister of Agriculture what is the quantity and value of eggs imported into this country per annum, liquid, frozen, and shell, and the countries from which they come; and whether, seeing that much of the land now imperfectly cultivated could be used to provide food for poultry, will he have

I am circulating in the OFFICIAL REPORT a statement giving the figures for which the hon. Member asks in the first part of his question. I am well aware that there are great opportunities for the increase of egg production in this country, and both the Ministry and the leaders of the poultry industry, who are in close touch through the Ministry's Poultry Advisory Committee and otherwise, are constantly considering methods of assisting the industry to take advantage of them.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he has officials in his Department with a technical knowledge of beet-sugar growing; and, if so, whether he has given them instructions to get into touch with prospective growers of beet-sugar in this country?

Members of the Ministry's technical staff are familiar with the technique of sugar-beet cultivation and their advice is always available to growers in cases of difficulty. Generally speaking, however, prospective growers who feel themselves in need of advice on specific points not covered by the general instructions issued from the factories should consult the Agricultural Organiser of the county in the first instance. Further, there are technical advisers attached to each agricultural college whose function is to advise farmers in the area served by the college on fertilisers, soil management, diseases, etc.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether, in any State financial support given to the beet-sugar industry in this country, it is the intention of the Government to require that the capital, labour, and machinery employed must be British?

Clause 2 (b) of the British Sugar (Subsidy) Bill provides that not less than 75 per cent. of the plant and machinery in the factory shall be wholly manufactured in this country, except in the case of factories already erected or where the Minister for some special reason decides to dispense with this condition. There are no special requirements as to capital and labour, but I may say that while in certain cases some of the capital is derived from Foreign sources, practically the whole of the labour is British, and with the exception of a few technical experts, is obtained from the neighbourhood of the factories.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he will submit to the House a Return showing the amount of privately subscribed capital for the erection of sugar beet factories in Great Britain not covered by any guarantees under the Trade Facilities Act?

According to information supplied by the beet sugar factory companies, the amount of share capital so far subscribed privately or guaranteed to be so subscribed, excluding loans and mortgages, and any capital covered by guarantees under the Trade Facilities Acts, is £2,145,507, of which the amount actually paid up is £848,594.

Do I understand that is exclusive of loans?

Yes; my words were "excluding loans and mortgages, and any capital covered by guarantees under the Trade Facilities Acts."

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he has received evidence from Switzerland as to the effects there of the Shaw remedy for foot-and-mouth disease; and when this remedy is to he tested by his Department?

The reply to the first part is in the negative. With regard to the second part, I hope it may be possible to carry out a test of Dr. Shaw's remedy in the near future.

In that event, will Dr. Shaw be given an opportunity of being present, seeing that this is his remedy

I would rather not answer without notice. In any cage, I propose to have the remedy tested in the presence of a committee or representation of impartial persons.

In the event of Dr. John Shaw refusing to hand over his remedy unless he is satisfied that he can be present when the official test is made, how can the test be carried out?

I understand that there is no difficulty about obtaining material for the test.

In view of the fact that Dr. Shaw has told me that he has not given any samples of his remedy to any official of the Ministry of Agriculture, is that treating fairly or properly the man who claims to have discovered a remedy?

It is rather a difficult subject to argue by question and answer, without full time to develop our respective points of view on each side. If my hon. Friend thinks that Dr. Shaw is being treated unfairly, and will afford me an opportunity of a little conversation, I think I can satisfy him that that is not the case. I hope my hon. Friend will give me that opportunity.

asked the Minister of Agriculture if he can make a statement concerning the cause of the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease near Northwich?

Careful inquiries have been made from the first as to the means by which infection was brought to these premises, but I regret to say that as yet no explanation can be found.

asked the Minister of Agriculture the number of horses, cattle, and sheep which were destroyed by order of the authorities during the epidemic of foot-and-mouth disease in the years 1923 and 1924: and the total sum paid in compensation to the owners?

111,993 cattle, and 54,532 sheep were slaughtered in connection with foot-and-mouth disease during 1923 and 1924. Horses are not slaughtered for the purposes of the measures against this disease. The total compensation paid to the owners of the cattle and sheep was £3,326,942.

urther asked the Minister of Agriculture whether, in view of the great loss the nation sustains from time to time through epidemics of foot-and-mouth disease, he will consider the question of recommending that larger sums be granted to veterinary colleges for the purpose of research; and whether, in order to widen the field of operation so that investigations may be made on more varied lines, he will consider the desirability of making grants to a larger number of veterinary institutions?

The method by which research should be conducted was considered when the Foot-and-Mouth Disease Scientific Committee was set up in March last. It was decided that the problem should be attacked upon a co-ordinated plan and that the resources of existing research institutions in this country should as far as possible be utilised. This is the course followed by the Committee, of which the directors of the four principal veterinary research institutions are members. The funds available for the work of the Committee are at present ample, and will permit of considerable expansion as the investigation proceeds.

asked the Minister of Agriculture (1) what fertilisers are connected with fixated nitrogen and the agricultural value of these products;

(2) the prices at which fertilisers connected with fixated nitrogen are sold; and what factories are producing them;

(3) the monthly output of factories supplying fertilisers connected with fixated nitrogen and whether the Government has any interest or control in any of these factories?

I propose to answer these questions together. The better-known fertilisers derived from atmospheric nitrogen are synthetic sulphate of ammonia, cyanamide and nitrate of lime. All of these are of recognised value for agricultural purposes. The only plant turning out synthetic nitrogen products on a commercial scale, so far as I knew, is that of "Synthetic Ammonia and Nitrates, Ltd.," at Billingham-on-Tees, the output of which, I understand, is in the neighbourhood of 120 tons a day. The Government has no interest in, or control of, the production of fertilisers by this company. Neutral sulphate of ammonia (21·1 per cent. nitrogen), which is, I understand, the quality produced by this factory, is being sold at present in 4-ton lots delivered to the farmer's station at 14 guineas per ton.

Are they all running to-morrow?

Can the right hon. Gentleman give the House any idea of the amount of sulphate of ammonia produced from other sources?

I will do my best to give the hon. Member the information, if he puts another question down.

Is it not the case that the greater part of these products go abroad and are not used in this country at all?

I must also ask for notice of that question.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he is aware that there are 11 men employed on a drainage scheme at Causey, Tanfield, County Durham, who are receiving 9½d. per hour and are working nine hours per day; and whether he will have inquiries made with a view to the recognised wages and conditions for this class of labour being put into operation?

Yes, Sir, this scheme is one of a number of schemes the primary object of which is the relief of unemployment among agricultural workers and the conditions laid clown do not permit, except in exceptional circumstances, of the payment to workers on such a scheme of a wage in excess of that paid to agricultural workers in the neighbourhood. I am not aware of any exceptional circumstances that would justify the wage. being raised in this particular case.

What about the hours?

I have not the point of the hours particularly in my mind. My attention was more directed to the rate of pay, but I will make further inquiries into the question of hours and communicate with the hon. Gentleman. As a matter of fact, I think the scheme is almost concluded.

is the right hon. Gentleman aware that there is a Board dealing with this matter, the Civil Engineering and Constructional Board, and they have fixed a rate of wages in excess of the rate being paid for this job, and if these men are doing navvies' work, why should they not be paid navvies' rate of wages?

As I have pointed out to the hon. Gentleman, these men are unemployed agricultural labourers.

That does not give you the right to sweat them.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that in the case of Cambridge there is a subsistence allowance over and above the rate of wages?

I am afraid I cannot without notice claim knowledge of the conditions in every case.

May I ask whether the right hon. Gentleman will make inquiries into these matters? These men are work- ing under conditions dominated by an Industrial Board established by Government Departments.

The hon. Member had better put that into writing.

asked the Prime Minister whether the stipulations laid down in the Treaty of Versailles regarding the German Navy and Air Force have been completely fulfilled by Germany?

As regards the Air Clauses of the Treaty, the German Government were informed by the Allied Governments in April, 1922, that they were considered to have completely carried out Article 202 of the Treaty, which deals with aeronautical disarmament. As regards the Naval Clauses, the German Government were informed by the Allied Governments in September last that they were considered to have fulfilled those Disarmament Clauses for the execution of which a time-limit was fixed which concern the Navy alone.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether the Report of the Inter-Allied Military Mission of Control will be published?

I would refer the hon. Gentleman to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, on the 5th March, to which I have nothing to add.

Is the right hon. Gentleman in a position to say to what extent Germany is fulfulling the requirements of the Allies as to military disarmament?

I have nothing to add.

Is the right hon. Gentleman not able to state to any extent; or can he fix a date for making a statement?

I think the hon. And gallant Gentleman did not catch my answer, in which I said I had nothing to add. I will ask him to believe that that is true?

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he is aware that, following upon the denunciation by Greece of the Geneva Protocol respecting the rights of minorities in Greece and Bulgaria, numbers of Macedonians, fearing a repetition of massacre, have fled into Bulgaria; and whether His Majesty's representative on the Council of the League of Nations will take steps to bring before the Council the need of securing the observance of the Minority Clauses of the Peace Treaties?

As regards the first part of the question, no such information from official sources has reached His Majesty's Government. As to the second, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is acting as rapporteur to the Council of the League of Nations at their present meeting on the question of the refusal of the Greek Government to carry out the terms of the Protocol signed at Geneva in September last., and the right hon. Gentleman may rest assured that, in making his report to the Council, my right hon. Friend will not overlook the importance of ensuring the strict observance by Greece of her Treaty obligations in respect of minorities.

asked the Secretary of State for War (1) whether the fortifications on the western frontier of Germany and in Heligoland have been totally dismantled;

(2) whether the German Reichswehr has been reduced to the strength provided for by the Treaty of Versailles?

The fortifications of Heligoland have been completely dismantled; the work was undertaken by the Inter-Allied Naval Commission of Control. It would not be advisable to make any statement regarding the fortifications on the western frontier of Germany or the present strength of the German Army until the Allied Governments have had an opportunity of considering the report which is being prepared by the Allied Military Committee of Versailles.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much in cash ho has received from the sale of dyestuffs received from Germany on reparation account; the total amount credited to Germany against such sales; the total cost of distribution in this country by way of commission, etc., to the Government. agents; details of such commission and other expenses allowed; and to what account has the balance between the net income and the amount credited to Germany been put?

I have been asked to reply. The last completed accounts for Reparation Dyestuffs are those for the financial year 1923–24. Up to 31st March, 1924, the gross amount realised by the sale of dyestuffs was £1,383,569; the amount credited to Germany for deliveries to that date, including stock not then sold, was 21,068,139; the amount paid to agents for commission, freight and distributing charges was £215,961, of which £109,015 represented commission and £106,946 freight and other charges. The net proceeds are paid by the Board of Trade to the Treasury as Miscellaneous Revenue.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the total amount the Agent-General of reparation payments has received?

I am circulating in the OFFICIAL REPORT a statement of receipts and payments to 31st January, 1925, which was published by the Agent General for reparation payments on the 18th February. The total receipts amount to 394,581,255 gold marks, or about £19,729,000, of which nearly the whole represents the proceeds of the German External Loan, 1924.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say how much we have received this year?

Since the Dawes scheme came into operation, the Agent-General for reparation payments, up to 31st January, 1925, paid over on account of the British Empire about £4,250,000.

Is that 22 per cent. of the total?

Yes, but, as the hon. Gentleman knows, there are all kinds of complications relating to priority.

Does that include the amount received by the British Customs under the German Reparation (Recovery) Act?

The Reparation (Recovery) Act is the chief means at present of the payments. The only other considerable amount has been received in the way of marks and services to the Army.