asked the Under-Secretary of State for India why the Berkshire Regiment, quartered at Rasmak, in Waziristan, are deprived of special allowances granted to the regiments which preceded them there; whether the Commander-in-Chief in India has promised to reconsider this withdrawal of such allowances; and what action is to be taken to ensure the fair and equal treatment of all regiments in this territory?

The grant of field service concessions generally to troops serving in Waziristan was withdrawn when Waziristan ceased to be regarded as a field service area. My Noble Friend is now considering, in communication with the Government of India, the question of restoring some part of them, and an announcement will be made very shortly.

Can the Noble Lord say whether the concession will be made retrospective?

I will answer that question when the announcement is made. I have not said that there would be any concession. I said that there would be an announcement very shortly.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether any decision has been come to with regard to the claims of those members of the provincial services who have retained their non-Asiatic domicile to have extended to them the benefits conferred on their colleagues in the covenanted services by the Act of 1919 and by the Report of the Lee Commission, in so far as these latter have been adopted; and whether, in the event of the matter not having been decided, due attention will be paid to the recommendations on the subject contained in the letter from the Viceroy of India to the Secretary of State for India, dated Delhi, 5th March, 1919, and in the Report of Lord South-borough's Committee?

My Noble Friend is considering the position of the officers to whom my hon. Friend draws attention, and, in making his decision, will bear in mind the papers referred to.

Will the Noble Lord put forward the suggestion that all British officers with non-Asiatic domicile who hold gazetted appointments prior to the Act should be brought under the Report, of the Committee?

All the relevant circumstances have been taken into consideration by my Noble Friend.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether any representations have been made to him as to the treatment of old members of the staff of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway in connection with the termination of the company's contract on 30th June next, when the railway will be taken over by the State; and if he can make any statement regarding the position?

Representations have been made by the company as regards their London office staff, which are being considered.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether he is in a position to state what action His Majesty's Government proposes to take on the Report of the Muddiman Committee?

I am not yet in a position to make any statement on this subject.

As this will be one of the subjects discussed with Lord Reading may I ask whether there is any intention of securing a general agreement in all parts of the House or will it be made a party issue?

I do not think that arises out of the question on the Paper.

I presume that the Noble Lord will not be in a position to make any statement until he has seen the Viceroy?

Obviously I think that follows.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India what date the Viceroy is expected to arrive in this country; and how long he expects to be absent from India?

The. Viceroy is leaving India on the 10th April, and will probably reach this country about the 23rd or 24th April. He will be clue back in India not later than the 10th August.

asked the Under-Secretary of State, for India. whether there is any distinction between men arrested under the Bengal Ordinance and those arrested under Bengal Regulation III of 1818; whether orders of detention under the Ordinance have been substituted for those under Regulation III in respect of all prisoners arrested in October, 1924; whether it is intended to use Regulation III again so long as the Ordinance or the Criminal Law Amendment Act, which takes its place, are in operation; and whether all State prisoners are now under the Ordinance with the exception of those who were arrested and detained before the Ordinance came into operation?

All the persons recently arrested in Bengal under the Regulation of 1818 are now treated as arrested under the Ordinance, which permits less rigid treatment of individual cases and authorises the grant of allowances to their families. But, obviously, I cannot give any undertaking that new and unforeseen circumstances may not necessitate further arrests under the Regulation.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he has yet received any accurate account of the recent speech by the Acting Governor of Kenya on the coercion of native labour?

A telegram has been sent to the Acting Governor asking for the fullest available report of the speech to be sent by mail. It cannot be expected for three or four weeks. The Acting Governor has reported by telegram that he made no suggestion or proposal for forced or compulsory native labour. He adds that the policy mentioned in my reply to the hon. Member for East Woolwich on the 23rd March is being strictly followed.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether, if the Islington Committee on Land Policy in Africa is not to sit and report, this House will have an opportunity of discussing the Report of the Land Tenure Commission of Kenya Colony before Government sanction is accorded to any of the proposals contained in it?

The views of the late Governor of Kenya on land policy have been received, but no decision has been taken by my right hon. Friend, or will be taken until he has also considered the report of the East Africa Commission which deals very fully with this matter. When this report is discussed in the House, the recommendations in the report of the local Commission of 1922 can also be discussed.

Is there no chance of them seeking to compromise by converting these leaseholds into freeholds meanwhile, as recommended by the Report?

None whatever. That requires legislation and none will be undertaken in any way until these various proposals have been considered.

Can the hon. Gentleman say when the Report is likely to be issued?

The Report of the African Commission is in print, and it is merely a question of proof corrections to get it out. I am arranging, if it is not actually published by the time the House rises for the. Easter Recess, to lay a copy in dummy in order that it can be issued as early as possible during the Recess.

Is it understood that the Report of this Commission deals with the land question as well as other questions, or will that be excluded from their purview?

It will not be excluded from their purview, and we are dealing with it very fully in all respects.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether his attention has been called to the reported statement by Lord Delamere that if the policy laid down by the British Cabinet in the Kenya White Paper of 1923 proved to be, in the opinion of the settlers, impossible they would have to take steps to prevent its operation; and whether he will inquire if Lord Delamere was correctly reported?

No, Sir; I think it highly unlikely that any such statement was ever made, as Lord Delamere, when acting as leader of the colonists' delegation in 1923, publicly accepted the policy defined in the White Paper, and has ever since been laying emphasis on the importance of its being implemented completely.

Do we understand that Lord Delamere was incorrectly reported, and, if so, may we obtain a correct report of what he said?

I have not seen any report which touches the question of the White Paper. I have searched various newspapers. I found one sentence in an alleged speech, and it does not touch this at all.

It was in the "Times."

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether the concessions made to oil concessionaries in Iraq involve the payment of royalties and, if so, on what basis; whether the revenue is ear-marked in any way for the reduction of the debt of the Iraq Government to this country; and, if not, why no steps were taken to obtain security for the repayment of capital or interest on this debt, when these concessions were under discussion?

I understand that the terms of the concession recently granted by the Iraq Government to the Turkish Petroleum Company provide for the payment to that Government of a. royalty based primarily upon output; so far as I am aware there is no intention on the part of the Iraq Government specifically to assign future revenue from this source to the extinction of their debt to this country. His Majesty's Government consider that the Financial Agreement made under Article XV of the Anglo-Iraq Treaty affords sufficient security for the due discharge of that debt.

If large royalties are being paid, are we to get no repayment for the heavy cost of the garrison and Air Force in Iraq which made these concessions possible?

Is it not the case that these royalties are only paid when the oil is actually flowing.

At the present moment there is no oil flowing. I said in my reply that the royalties are based on output, and we are not yet sure that, there is going to be any output.

Surely the time to ear-mark this is now, when we are uncertain.

There is absolutely no intention of ear-marking. That would be highly reprehensible in view of our position in Iraq.

Then if there is no oil, we are going on paying, and, if there is oil, we do not get any of our money back?

That would be absolutely contrary to the spirit of the Covenant of the League of Nations and to our whole position in Iraq, and I should like to repudiate that suggestion most strongly.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he is aware that the contractor appointed by the Iraq Railways as sole agent for canvassing for traffic earned in the 10 months ending 31st March, 1923, more than2½lakhs of rupees; whether he can give the exact amount paid to the contractor for the period in question; and whether it has been found possible to limit payment of commission as suggested by the Comptroller and Auditor-General?

The Secretary of State's attention has recently been drawn to the matter referred to by the hon. and gallant Member, and the High Commissioner for Iraq has been requested to furnish a full report which has not yet been received.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what were the reasons which led to the arrangements made by the late Government for the making of a grant of £900,000 to the Irish Free State; for what purpose has the money been utilised by the Free State Government; and if he will arrange for papers giving details of the transaction to be laid upon the Table?

In reply to the first part of the question, I would refer the hon. and gallant Member to the detailed reply which my right hon. Friend gave on 16th December last to a question addressed to him by the hon. Member for Central Portsmouth (Sir H. Foster), of which I am sending him a copy; and, in reply to the second part, I would refer him to the reply which my right hon. Friend, gave on 16th February to a question addressed to him by the hon. Member for East Cardiff (Sir C. Kinloch-Cooke). In reply to the third part, I do not think there is anything I can usefully add to the full information which has already been given to the House on this subject.

With regard to the first part of my question, is the hon. Gentleman aware that the reply to which he has drawn my attention did not give any real answer to the first part of this question?

Could the hon. Gentleman say whether, in connection with all these arrangements with the Irish Free State, the late Government departed in any way from the original agreement?

No, Sir; this payment by the late Government follows on precisely similar payments made by previous Governments. There has been no alteration of policy, but complete continuity, ever since the Wood Renton Commission started to operate, in the settlements come to with regard to the payments to be made by this country.

Does the hon. Gentleman recognise that this £900,000 has been spent by the Government and we have got nothing at all in return for it?

I think that if my hon. Friend will read the reply—it was a very long one—which my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State gave, he will see that this is a final discharge of the account which we owe in respect of past years, and has been agreed to by both sides.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what contributions have been made in accordance with the terms of the treaty by the Government of Southern Ireland towards the redemption of Imperial debt and towards the cost of war pensions; and how such contributions compare with their obligations under the treaty?

I would refer the hon. Member to the answers given to the hon. and gallant Member for Maidstone on the 2nd March, and to the hon. and gallant Member for Central Hull on the 19th March.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Overseas Trade Department what Consular Officers are now stationed in Russia, and in which cities or ports; and whether it is proposed to take any steps with a view to appointing any additional Consular Officers?

In addition to the Mission at Moscow, assistant official agents have been appointed at Leningrad and Vladivostok. It is not proposed to make further appointments at present.

Is it not a fact that there is a considerable amount of trade going on through Odessa, Novorossisk and other ports on the Black Sea, and is the hon. Gentleman content to have no Consular representative there at all?

I think the question rests with the Prime Minister, but I do not agree with the premises of the hon. and gallant Member's question.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether the Government is now satisfied that the Russian Government is fufilling in a satisfactory manner their undertaking to cease all subversive propaganda work in this country and in British Dominions; and, if not, will he state what steps are being taken to enforce compliance with this obligation, particularly in the case of persons operating under the shelter of the Russian trade delegation?

His Majesty's Government have not considered it desirable or useful to repeat the warnings contained in the Notes of my predecessor and myself, but this must not be taken to mean that they are satisfied that propaganda has ceased.

May we take it that the right hon. Gentleman is satisfied that the Russians are not carrying out the obligation they have entered into?

May I ask the right hon. Gentleman whether there is any evidence that any members of the trade delegation are doing this?

I do not think I have any evidence that I can produce that any members of the trade delegation are doing so.

Has the right hon. Gentleman any evidence that the Third International carries out any of this propaganda?

asked the Minister of Agriculture how much of the £15,000,000 capital expenditure for providing ex-servece men and others with small holdings was spent on purchase of land and haw much for equipment of land?

:£9,600,000 has been expended on the purchase of land and £5,400,000 on equipment.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether, in view of the uncertainty now prevailing among smallholders regarding the continuance of the present rebates on rent, he will consider the advisability of arranging for the rent of a small holding to be fixed at such a figure as will give the tenant a reasonable chance of making a living from his holding?

The rents of small holdings provided under the Land Settlement Scheme have recently been revised in nearly every county. In the case of Shropshire, however, the Small Holdings Sub-Committee has, until now, continued to make temporary abatements, as it has been impossible to arrange for the inspection of the holdings owing to foot-and-mouth disease. A revaluation is now being carried out with a view to permanent reductions in rent being granted where necessary as from the half-year which ended Lady Day, 1925.

Will the right hon. Gentleman, in further considering this very important matter, examine the great losses which these smallholders have sustained in running their small holdings, before he decides what reduction is to be made in the future?

Of course, that, with other relevant facts, is always present in the minds of those who advise me about the question of revaluation.

asked the Minister of Agriculture (1) in view of the reduction of the numbers of sheep in the country, stated in the Linlithgow Report to be, approximately, 6,000,000 since the year 1900, if he will state what encouragement, if any, is being given to agriculturalists to at least make up this deficiency which must have a considerable bearing upon the present high food costs;

I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer which I gave on 16th February to the hon. Member for Blackpool (Sir W. de Frece), a copy of which I am sending to him. The Linlithgow Report was based on figures for 1922, and since that date the number of cattle in Great Britain has increased by nearly 200,000, or about 3 per cent., while sheep have increased by over 1,600,000, or about 8 per cent.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether farmers who grow sugar beet have been given any opportunity to take a financial interest in the companies proposed to be formed under the subsidy scheme?

I understand that the capital for the building of new factories in course of erection has been secured from sources other than the growers of sugar beet, as appeals in the past in this direction have been unsuccessful. I am, however, informed that some of the new factory companies do contemplate giving individual growers, who so desire, the opportunity of taking up shares, of which in one case farmers have already taken advantage.

asked the Minister of Agriculture what are the profits for the year disclosed in the last balance-sheet issued by the Cantley beet-sugar factory; and how much this company paid during the same period to farmers for sugar beet?

The last balance-sheet issued by the Cantley Beet Sugar Factery, dated the 11th October, 1923, showed a net profit of £103,081 14s. 11d. During the manufacturing season 1922–23, covered by this account, the average price paid to growers for their beets by the factory company was 35s. 11 d. per ton.

Has not the right hon. Gentleman yet received the balance-sheet of this company for last year?

No, Sir; I do not think I can have, or my figures would have been based on it.

asked the Minister of Agriculture how many acres were planted with sugar-beet during 1924; and how much seed was supplied to farmers by the beet-sugar producers during the same period?

22,637 acres were planted with sugar-beet in Great Britain, and approximately 150 tons of seed were supplied to farmers by beet-sugar producers in 1924. I would add that all beet delivered to the factories is grown from seed which the factories have provided.

asked the Minister of Agriculture the number of deaths among pigs from pig erysipelas during each of the years 1922, 1923 and 1924?

As swine erysipelas is not a scheduled disease, outbreaks and deaths are not reported to my Department, and I regret, therefore, that the desired particulars are not available.

Cannot the right hon. Gentleman give any kind of estimate of the severity of these deaths?

Yes, Sir. I think it is about 3 per cent.—

Three per cent. on the whole stock?

—but I would rather not answer the question without notice, as I do not want to mislead my hon. and gallant Friend. If he will put the question down, I will give him as precise an estimate as I can.

asked the Minister of Agriculture if his attention has been called to the value of the specific vaccine and serum, at present only obtainable from the Continent, for the prevention of pig erysipelas; and if he will arrange for this remedy to be stocked by veterinary surgeons throughout this country?

The reply to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. I would point out that for the last 20 years the Ministry has issued a leaflet on swine erysipelas, which, amongst other things, describes vaccine and serum treatment. I understand that at present supplies are only obtainable from the Continent, because the demand has not been such as to encourage firms in this country to stock the material. I have no power to arrange for this remedy to be stocked by veterinary surgeons throughout the country, but no doubt veterinary surgeons and firms will do so if pig owners will show them that there is a sufficient demand.

Would it not be advisable to arrange that there should be such a provision, which would obviously be to the advantage of the agricultural interest?

Obviously, the desirability of such a provision would depend upon the demand. If there is a demand, there will be provision.

Should not the right hon. Gentleman's Department be ahead of the demand, for the sake of the educational value?

We were so far in front of the demand that some years ago we obtained a large supply of this serum, and the demand was so small that it was left on our hands.

Was not that due to lack of educational propaganda on the part of the Department?

Does not the right hon. Gentleman realise that the request which is now being made to him tampers with the principles of Protection?

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that the Wood Green Council is refusing to authorise the building of subsidy houses; and, if so, what steps he is taking to compel local authorities which, by refusing to operate the Housing Acts fully, are casting an increased burden upon the remaining local authorities?

I am in communication with the local authority referred to and understand that the whole question is being reopened by the council.

asked the Minister of Health whether he contemplates legislation which will enable purchasers of houses on a weekly or monthly repayment system to occupy the houses without having first to pay an original deposit such as is now required under the Small Dwellings Act?

I presume the hon. Member is referring to the amount which may be advanced by a local authority under the Act in question. This is fixed at a maximum of 90 per cent. of the market value of a house, and in view of the desirability of an owner-occupier having some definite stake from the outset in the property which he is acquiring I would not propose to introduce legislation amending the very generous provisions already made in this direction.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he has any information as to the proposed new electoral law in Egypt?

The reply 33 in the negative.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether the Commission dealing with the distribution of Nile water has yet met, whether they will report before the new elections are held in Egypt; and, if not, can he make some authoritative statement calculated to allay the feeling occasioned by the ultimatum?

The Commission held its first meeting more than a month ago and will report by the end of June.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what progress has been made with the discussion with the Egyptian Government on the four reserved points?

Discussion on the reserved subjects has not been resumed since the conclusion of the conversations between my predecessor and Zaghloul Pasha.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs the amount of the interest and sinking fund for the Egyptian tribute loan of 1891 and 1894 deposited with the National Bank of Egypt?

According to the stated intention of the Egyptian Government the amount deposited in a blocked account with the National Bank of Egypt is that which would normally have been remitted to the agents of these loans since default took place.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say whether the deposit is made in Cairo or in London?

I do not know.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware that the intention of the Government to offer a further issue of 3½ per cent. Conversion Loan for the amount of £30,000,000, announced on Wednesday last at four o'clock, was publicly known on the Stock Exchange during the morning; and whether there is any explanation of this disclosure?

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware that the issue of £30,000,000 3½ per cent. Conversion Loan was prematurely divulged on the Stock Exchange; and whether he will institute an inquiry directed to the discovery of the source and method by which this information was divulged?

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his attention has been drawn to the premature disclosure of the terms of the offer of Conversion Loan announced on Wednesday afternon; and whether he will make any investigation into the circumstances?

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he has any information as to the manner in which the news of the 3½ per cent. Conversion Loan was divulged; and if he is prepared to take strong action to prevent such disclosures in the future?

As soon as I heard of the suggestion that the new 3½ per cent. Conversion Loan issue had been disclosed before the public announcement at 10 minutes to four on Wednesday last, I asked Sir Warren Fisher, the head of the Civil Service, to make a full personal investigation on my behalf. Sir Warren informs me that after inquiry of all the persons directly concerned in the preparations for the issue, and of those in the market who would be directly affected, he is satisfied that no such disclosure in tact took place. I am also informed that the movement of prices, which was general, and not confined to Government stocks, was entirely explicable by the state of the market, and that sales on Wednesday were not abnormal.

Will the right hon. Gentleman cause some inquiries to be made of the Committee of the Stock Exchange as to what losses were suffered by dealers in the Consol market owing to this suggestion?

The inquiries which Sir Warren Fisher made covered that sphere, but if the hon. Gentleman has any further information to give on the subject I shall make further inquiries.

Who prints these prospectuses? Is it done by the Government Printing Department or are they printed outside?

Prospectuses are printed in the Bank of England and there is no suggestion that any leakage occurs there.

In view of the fact that this knowledge was divulged, will the right hon. Gentleman have another searching inquiry, because it is proved that leakage takes place somewhere and we ought to know where?

The tenor of my answer was contrary to the assumption contained in the supplementary question of the hon. and gallant Gentleman.

Does the right hon. Gentleman think it a proper course to pursue to introduce the name of a permanent civil servant in a controversy in this House when the responsibility is his own?

:I do not in the least desire to avoid responsibility, but it seems to me a natural thing to ask Sir Warren Fisher, who is the head of the Treasury and also head of the Civil Service, and who happened not to be directly concerned with this particular transaction, to make inquiry of the Governor of the, Bank of England, the Government broker, and among jobbers in the Stock Exchange market concerned to ascertain whether anything abnormal or unusual had taken place, and I have given his report to the House. I take the fullest responsibility for anything which took place. If there are any other facts which are known to any other Member of the House, and they are brought to my notice, I will make further inquiry.

What is the authority of the right hon. Gentleman for the entirely new precedent of introducing the name of a permanent civil servant as head of the Civil Service?

If I have unwittingly trespassed into the field of constitutional precedent, I wish to enter at this stage all possible disclaimers, but the Permanent Secretary to the Treasury is responsible to the Prime Minister as First Lord of the Treasury, and only in a secondary degree is he responsible to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who is the Second Lord of the Treasury.

As this movement was not quite normal, and these stories have been circulated, does the right hon. Gentleman think that there was an absolute coincidence on that morning?

I have given all the information which has been in my possession. Of course, many people are interested in finding out what is going to take place in these matters. They make their living by doing so, and many rumours are current from time to time. I have given all the information that is at my disposal.

Can the right hon. Gentleman indicate any occasion during the last generation when there have been similar rumours accompanied by a similar movement?

I am unable to indicate everything that has taken place in a period covering so many years as the last generation without making some further inquiries than are open to me at present.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will state approximately the saving in interest and the addition to the nominal value of the National Debt which are likely to result from the conversion of Treasury Bonds maturing on 1st May next into 3½ per cent. Conversion Loan, and the corresponding saving and addition to nominal value which would be likely to result if the conversion of these bonds were to be made into 4½per cent. Conversion Loan?

The offer of 3½ per cent. loan is by tender, and the result of the offer is not, of course, yet known. At the minimum price of 76¾ the saving of interest would be over £100,000 a year. The increase in the nominal amount of the National Debt would be a little under £7,000,000, but the new stock is virtually irredeemable. The second part of the question is purely hypothetical and depends on the price at which 4½ per cent. Conversion Loan could be issued. The annual saving would, however, certainly have been less and there was no question on the present occasion of issuing a stock which the Government are under an obligation to redeem in 19 years.