asked the First Lord of the Admiralty the number of submarine accidents since 1920, attended with injury and loss of life, to members of the crews, British and other Powers, respectively?

Since 1920, four British, three American, two Japanese and one Italian submarines have been sunk. During the same period there have been accidents involving loss of life to one submarine of each of the British, American, Japanese, French and Swedish Navies.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether Admiralty experts are conducting experiments with a view to discovering devices whereby disabled submarines may give an indication of their position to service craft and communicate with their salvors, either by means of a telephonic buoy or some other measure?

Automatic telephone buoys and similar appliances have been considered on many occasions by the responsible authorities. It is, however, found that no device of this nature is satisfactory under all conditions, and the alternative arrangements already provided in His Majesty's submarines are considered superior to any invention of this nature. The alternative arrangements are numerous, and if any of the crew of a submarine which is disabled and unable to rise to the surface are alive, they can use some of them to indicate the position of the submarine and the others to communicate with surface vessels. The existing arrangements are:

(1) Fessenden underwater signalling apparatus.

(2) Discharging from various fittings tins containing messages.

(3) Discharging torpedoes with messages attached.

(4) Discharging oil.

(5) Discharging air.

(6) Hammering on the hull, and others which, owing to the use for which they are primarily installed, are of a confidential nature.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether any reduction has been made in the pay for new entrants into the Navy; if so, what are the reductions in each rating or rank; and whether an opportunity will be given to the House to consider the new scales of pay?

The reply to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. I am sending the hon. Member a comparative table of the old and new rates of pay. As regards the last part of the question, I would refer the hon. Member to the reply which the Prime Minister gave to the hon. Member for Chester-le-Street (Mr. Lawson) (OFFICIAL REPORT, 17th November, 1925, column 187).

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty how many men it is proposed to retain as care-and-maintenance parties at Rosyth and Pembroke Dockyards; to what departments the men will belong; and the number of officials, and their rank, who are to act as supervisors?

Definite figures have not yet been settled, but the care-and-maintenance parties at Rosyth and Pembroke will number, roughly, 190 and 60, respectively, of whom the directing and subordinate supervising officers will number about 14 and seven. In addition, about 170 men will be retained at Rosyth for dredging work.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether, in view of un-established transferees being included in the number now under notice of discharge from Rosyth Dockyard, he has come to a decision regarding the future of these men; and is it proposed to re-transfer them to the dockyards from which they came?

A decision has not yet been reached regarding the manner of dealing with the workmen referred to; special consideration is being given to these cases, and pending the announcement of a decision, no transferees will be discharged.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty how many officers and men have been discharged from His Majesty's Navy since the Armistice suffering from tuberculosis; how many have been treated in sanatoria; out of this number how many have recovered and how many have died; and in how many instances did a medical board find that the disability was due to service?

I am having the figures, so far as they are available at the Admiralty, prepared and, with my hon. Friend's permission, will circulate them in the OFFICIAL REPORT as soon as as they are ready.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty the rates of wages paid to fitters, electricians and labourers employed by the Admiralty at Gibraltar, Simons Town and Hong Kong?

It is presumed the hon. Member refers to local men, and the present weekly inclusive rates of wages are: at Gibraltar—from 43s. 6d. to 60s. for engine fitters, from 43s. 6d. to 57s. for electrical fitters, or electricians, and 26s. to 28s. a week for labourers; at Simons Town the rates range from £5 8s. to £6 a week for engine and electrical fitters and from 25s. to 45s. a week for labourers; at Hong Kong the rates for engine fitters range from one dollar, 19 cents to four dollars, 34 cents a day, for electrical fitters, from one dollar 19 cents to three dollars 50 cents, and for labourers from 56 cents to 63 cents a day.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty how much money has been spent on private firms out of the Navy Estimates for each of the years since 1900, and what proportion the sums in each year bear to the total Navy Estimate for the year?

I regret that, in view of the very large expenditure of time and labour which would be required to extract this information from Navy Votes over a period of 25 years, I am unable to accede to the hon. and gallant Member's request.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty if he will state the equipments of foreign origin or manufacture, with their quantities and values, under orders outstanding on 1st November, 1924, and under orders placed subsequently for the Admiralty; and if he will state, in respect of each of such orders, the circumstances which necessitated foreign sources of supply?

I hope my hon. and gallant Friend will be content when I say there has been no change in policy or practice in this matter since my predecessor, the present Parliamentary Secretary of the Treasury, stated in answer to a question on the 25th April, 1923 (OFFICIAL REPORT, column 434), that less than 1 per cent. of Navy contracts, except for oil fuel which is in great measure a foreign production, went to foreign contractors during the financial year 1924–25. The preparation of the full information asked for in the question would entail a call upon the time of the staff of the Department which I am sure my hon. and gallant Friend would not consider justified in the circumstances.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether, as a result of the recent Army manœuvres, any decision has been reached to increase the cavalry?

The answer is in the negative.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether it is still an obligation upon entrants for the Service that they shall be vaccinated before actual enlistment; whether he is aware that as the proportion of persons vaccinated has been reduced so the deaths from smallpox has correspondingly decreased; and whether, therefore, as members of His Majesty's Forces live generally under sanitary and good conditions, he will remove any obligation to vaccination?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. As regards the second part of the question, the statistics show that as the deaths from smallpox have diminished, so the demand for infantile vaccination has declined. My right hon. Friend is not prepared to remove the present obligation of recruits in regard to vaccination.

asked the Secretary of State for War why officers who in 1915 served for some time in the trenches in France or Flanders, discharging instructional duties without being definitely attached to any unit, are refused the 1915 star unless they chance to have been killed or wounded, while officers who were attached to units during the same period, but who never visited the trenches, are entitled to receive the said star?

The grant of the 1914–15 Star was confined to those who served on the establishment of a unit in a theatre of war. The rule was designed to exclude the large number of persons who paid visits to theatres of war for temporary purposes. I am not sure what is the class of officers referred to who discharged instructional duties without being attached to any unit; if the hon. Member will furnish me with particulars, I will have the cases enquired into.

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether the Air Ministry has ordered 30 aeroplane engines valued at £60,000 from America; and, if so, will he state why British-made engines were not ordered?

I would refer my hon. and gallant Friend to my reply to the hon. Member for Govan (Mr. Maclean) yesterday.

asked the Minister of Pensions how many cases there are in which ex-service men were granted permanent pensions as stated on the official pension forms supplied to them, but who were subsequently deprived of such pensions on the reconsideration of their cases?

The only cases in which such a pension could be cancelled would be either, on the one hand, as provided by the Royal Warrants and Regulations, that it was found to have been obtained by fraud or misrepresentation or awarded on error of fact (in each of which cases there would be a right of appeal to the independent Appeal Tribunal), or, on the other hand, where on appeal by the man the final award of pension had been reduced to one of compensation at less than pension rate.

asked the Minister of Pensions why the claim for a pension of Mrs. Gears, of 88, Trafalgar Street, Sheffield, the widow of the late Private Gears, of the Royal Fusiliers, has been refused, in view of the fact that this soldier died in March, 1925, as a result of pneumonia contracted in October, 1918, while on service in France; and why the pension of this man was reduced by 50 per cent. when he was dying?

As regards the second part of the question, Private Gear's pension was not reduced in the circumstances suggested. He had been in receipt of treatment allowances, but these allowances obviously could not be continued after the treatment had terminated. I am again going into the merits of the widow's claim and will communicate with the hon. Member.

asked the Minister of Pensions how many ex-service men are now in the Star and Garter Home for Disabled Soldiers and Sailors suffering from encephalitis lethargica; how many are receiving pensions on account of this disease; and how many wives of such men are receiving allowances?

This institution is not under my control, and I am not therefore in a position to furnish the desired information, except as regards those cases for whose treatment in the institution my Department is responsible. Three such cases suffering from the disease referred to are being maintained in the home at the cost of the Ministry. In each case the usual treatment allowances are being paid in lieu of pension.

asked the Minister of Pensions whether, when pensioners at the Ministry of Pensions hospitals demand and are given their discharge, it is still the practice of the Ministry to forfeit the accumulated balance of their treatment allowances; whether he will state the total sum which has been withheld from patients in this way; and what is the authority for this practice?

The conditions subject to which allowances during treatment shall be payable are under the terms of the Warrant prescribed by the Minister. One of the conditions subject to which the balance of any personal allowance to the man (apart from the allowances currently payable to his dependants) is payable, is that he completes the course of treatment prescribed for him. In a case where, against the advice of the medical officer, he leaves the hospital prematurely, the. personal allowance due to him is consequently subject to forfeiture. The information asked for in the second part of the question is not available.

asked the Minister of Pensions (1) the number of officers' appeals heard by the Victoria Street Tribunal presided over by Mr. Meysey-Thompson, and the percentage of successful appeals;(2) the number of officers' appeals heard by the Cecil Chambers Tribunal presided over by Mr. Ratto, and the percentage of successful appeals?

I cannot undertake to give the figures asked for. These are judicial tribunals whose duty it is to decide each case that comes before them upon the evidence relevant to the appeal. There is no numerical standard or measure to which they ought to, or can, conform. Such statistics as are asked for tend to render their work more difficult and embarrassing and less judicial, by suggesting that their judgments ought to reach and produce some numerical result.

asked the Minister of Pensions why the medical superintendent and medical officer of Edenhall Hospital, Midlothian, have been replaced by English doctors; if there is any professional or other qualification possessed by the new superintendent which the late one had not; and if he is aware that medical and lay opinion in Edinburgh and district condemns the action of the Ministry in this matter, as the hospital was highly efficient and the work of the superintendent much appreciated?

The staff changes to which the hon. Member refers have been necessitated by the recent conversion of this hospital from a general neurasthenic hospital into a neurological institution of a special and widely different type. The claims and qualifications of the late medical superintendent were fully considered before it was decided to replace him by a medical officer possessing more specialised neurological experience, and this decision involved no reflection upon his general professional ability or upon the efficiency of his past service with the Ministry. I need hardly add that the question of the nationality of the officers concerned did not enter into the comparison.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether he is aware that the Report of the evidence given before the Departmental Committee appointed to inquire into the conditions surrounding the export of worn-out horses to foreign countries has been published at the price of 30s.; and will he consider having this evidence published at a price which will make it available to the general public?

The net cost of the volume in question for printing alone was £357, and on the basis of that cost the normal selling price would have been £2 5s. per copy. The price has been specially reduced to 30s. a copy, and I do not feel able to direct any further departure from the application of the pricing system in this case. The hon. Member is probably aware that the Report of the Committee is issued separately at a price of 1s.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury how many men were discharged from the Royal Mint on 11th November; for what reason they were discharged; and how many were ex-service men?

Owing to a reduction in the amount of work in hand and in sight at the Mint, it was necessary to terminate the services of 29 men with effect from the 11th November. Of the number discharged, 18 were ex-service men. Twenty-one of the men concerned had, at the time of their engagement, been offered employment for a period of approximately six weeks, which period expired on the date mentioned.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury if he will give the average rate of taxation per head of the population for the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Holland, Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia, and the United States of America?

I regret that the information for which my hon. Friend asks is not readily available for all the countries which he mentions. Figures for the five chief countries were given by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the 2nd April last, and I will send my hon. Friend a copy. I would add that owing to the great difference between the financial systems of the various countries, and the wide variations in their national income, comparisons between the burden of taxation in different countries require to be drawn with the greatest caution and with many qualifications.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury if he will state the names of trade unions which have a political fund; and the number of members who contribute to the fund, and the number who have claimed exemption, for the year ended May, 1925?

I have been asked to reply to this question. I will circulate in the OFFICIAL RETORT a table furnished by the Chief Registrar of Friendly Societies, giving the latest figures available.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury what is the cost of the Customs and Excise services, including wages, rent, and ancillary charges, for any convenient period subsequent to 1st July last?

The net expenditure from the Customs and Excise Vote for the quarter ended 30th September last, including the cost of services rendered to other Departments, but excluding the cost of services rendered by other Departments, was £1,178,000.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether he can state the number of new staff employed in connection with the administration of the Widows, Orphans' and Old Age Contributory Pensions Act, and the salaries thereof?

I have been asked to reply. The number of new staff employed in connection with the administration of the Pensions Act is 548, of whom 192 have been engaged on a temporary basis. The grades and substantive salaries of the new staff are as follow:

• Assistant Inspectors (Men), £100—£400.
• Assistant Inspectors (Women), £100—£300.
• Clerical Officers (Women), £60—£180.
• Writing Assistants, 18s. to 36s. a week.
• Temporary Male Clerks, 52s. 11d. to 69s. 10d. a week.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department, as representing the First Commissioner of Works, whether the Government has considered any and, if so, what plans for the erection of a large new building to house the Air Ministry and other Departments in Whitehall Gardens?

The Government has considered several schemes in outline for the erection of new buildings in the neighbourhood of Whitehall Gardens. Owing to the financial situation, further consideration has had to be deferred.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether he will state for the last convenient date the yield of the Silk Duties and the amount paid in rebates?

As the hon. Member is aware, the Budget Estimate of the yield of the Silk Duties for this financial year was seriously prejudiced by the heavy importations which took place whilst the Budget was under discussion. I am, therefore, glad to be able to state that the net receipts of the duties up to 31st October last amounted to £1,035,800, the gross revenue being £1,095,600, and drawbacks and other repayments, £59,800.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the total debt issued under the 3½ per cent. Conversion Loan; and what is the total amount received in cash?

3½ per cent. Conversion Stock has been created to a total nominal amount of £823,117,478. Of this total, £129,660,000 stock has been sold, and the. cash proceeds will amount, when the last issue has been fully paid up, to £99,903,220. The balance, viz., £693,457,478 stock, has been issued in exchange for other forms of debt.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if any steps are being taken to obtain returns of income for tax assessment purposes from persons living permanently in hotels; and, if not, whether he will consider taking such action?

Hotel-keepers are required under the provisions of the Income Tax Acts to furnish the names of all persons resident in hotels. These returns are examined as a part of the regular machinery of administration, and care is taken that the persons named therein are required to render their individual returns of income for Income Tax assessment purposes.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the withdrawal of Treasury notes for £1 and 10s. from circulation and an issue of Bank of England notes for the same amount is contemplated; and when such an alteration is likely to be made?

As I stated in my Budget speech, His Majesty's Government have accepted in principle the recommendations for such a transfer made in the concluding paragraphs of the Report of the Currency Committee (Command Paper 2393), to which I would refer my hon. Friend. There will be no immediate change.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the total percentage of the cost of collecting reparations?

The amount allocated out of the Dawes Annuity during the period from 1st April, 1925, up to the present date for the cost of the Reparation Commission (including the Agent-General's office in Berlin) was 5,155,939 gold marks, or £257,797, which amounts to under 1 per cent. of the Dawes Receipts during the same period.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what is the present position of the negotiations for the funding of the Italian debt;(2) what is the present position of the negotiations for the funding of the French debt?

In reply to these questions, I would refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Reading (Mr. H. Williams) on the 17th November.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will consider the advisability of recommending the Government to sell their holding in the Anglo-Persian Oil Company and at the same time altering the articles of association of the company with a view to the Government retaining such control as might be necessary against the possibility of foreign shareholding being in the majority?

His Majesty's Government have, as has already been stated, no intention of selling their holding in the Anglo-Persian Oil Co.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he proposes to introduce a Finance Bill this Session dealing with the safeguarding of industries and the Reports of the committees recommending safeguarding of various industries, including the wool textile industry?

I have been asked to reply. The Government propose to introduce this Session legislation to impose such safeguarding duties as may be recommended by committees, and approved by the Government, in time for action to be taken. The Worsteds Committee is not, I understand, likely to be able to complete its enquiry until well on in December.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he can state the total cost to the public of preparing the spring register of electors?

I have been asked to reply. The cost of each of the two Registers—Spring and Autumn—is approximately £445,000.

asked the Postmaster-General whether ho is aware that letters addressed to residents in Withington, Manchester, are now sorted at the sorting office in Grange Street, Rusholme; and whether, in order to facilitate the delivery of letters in the large and growing district of Withington, he will consider the provision of a sorting office in that area?

I understand the hon. Member to refer to the temporary arrangements made early last year whereby the Withington delivery is made from the Manchester South District Sorting Office pending the erection of a new sorting office to serve Withington, Didsbury and West Didsbury. It is anticipated that the building of the new office will commence next March.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he will consider the desirability of providing a public telephone box on the Wednesbury municipal housing estate?

The question of providing a public telephone call office at the Wood Green Post Office is at present under consideration. This site is within 150 yards of the Wednesbury municipal housing estate.

asked the Postmaster-General if he is aware that a post (pillar) box has been placed on the south side of the Leeds and Pontefract Road in the Rothwell urban district; that it does not serve a single house on that side whilst there are hundreds on the north side; that there is a great amount of motor traffic passing every hour of the day; that several people have been killed on the road recently by fast competing omnibuses; that to allow the pillar-box to remain on the south side is to the danger of life and limb, and particularly of children; that the Assistant Postmaster-General promised the hon. Member for Rothwell that it would be moved to the north side on the 20th October last; and why his instructions have not been carried out?

The box to which the hon. Member refers is fixed in the brickwork of a railway bridge and will be moved to the other side of the road as soon as the railway company intimates its consent. I will have the matter expedited as far as I can.

asked the Postmaster-General whether his Department has under consideration proposals affecting the grading of the Nairn post office?

No proposals are at present under consideration, but the status of the office is to he reviewed when the postmastership falls vacant.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he can yet inform the House as to the recent occurrences in Damascus and the charges made against the British Consul there?

There, has not yet been time for me to receive the reply from the French Government which I am awaiting. I should be obliged if the hon. and gallant Member would put his question down for Wednesday next.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether the Chinese Government was invited officially to appoint or nominate representatives on the International Judicial Commission appointed by the ministers of the Treaty Powers at Pekin; and, if so, what were the grounds of the refusal of the Chinese Government to appoint representatives?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. The refusal of the Chinese Government to participate in the International Judicial Inquiry was based on their contention that the facts had already been sufficiently investigated last June by their own delegates and by the delegates of the Diplomatic Body, and that their findings furnished sufficient basis for negotiations for a settlement.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he can state if any supplies of oil have been purchased by the British Government from the Turkish Petroleum Company; and whether the price paid was any lower than the market price?

The hon. Member appears to be under a misapprehension. The Turkish Petroleum Company has not yet reached the stage of producing or selling oil.

asked the Minister of Transport on how many rural roads work has been commenced since the end of September; and if he can give the number of men to whom employment has thus been given?

The only schemes about which I obtain definite information as regards the date of commencement and the number of men employed, are those which have been specially initiated with a view to the relief of unemployment. I regret I am unable to give my hon. Friend the in- formation he asks for in respect of the large number of works of road maintenance and improvement which are being carried out in rural areas, in the ordinary way, with assistance from the Road Fund.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he has received any recommendations from the London Committee on Traffic regarding the traffic difficulties at High Street, Aldgate; and, if so, what action he proposes to take in the matter?

I have certain proposals under consideration for the improvement of traffic conditions in the High Street, Aldgate, but I am not at present in a position to make any statement on the subject.

asked the Minister of Transport whether his attention has been called to the abnormal amount of sickness and loss of working time suffered by the drivers on the Burton and Ashby Light Railway owing to the exposed nature of the route; and whether, in the circumstances, he will be prepared to urge the proprietors, the London, Midland and Scottish Railway Company, to concede the appeal of the men for the fixture on the existing 20 cars of adequate protection against the weather?

My attention has not been called to this matter, But if the hon. Member will furnish me with full particulars I shall be happy to consider them.

asked the Minister of Transport whether, in settling the list of local authorities to be empowered with authority for the licensing and regulation of public service vehicles, he will include the councils of the non-county boroughs with a population of 10,000 and upwards?

My hon. and gallant Friend is doubtless referring to the possibility of legislation on the lines suggested in the First Interim Report of the Departmental Committee on Licens- ing and Regulation of Public Service Vehicles. If and when such legislation is introduced the point raised by him will receive very careful consideration.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he is aware that the present hours during which passengers are permitted to stand in omnibuses in London do not coincide with the actual rush-hours of traffic; and whether he will extend the periods of standing until 10 o'clock in the morning and 7.30 in the evening?

I have been asked to reply to this question. With the concurrence of the Minister of Transport, I have accepted a recent recommendation of the London Traffic Advisory Committee to extend the periods during which standing passengers may be carried up to the limits previously in force. The morning period each week-day is being extended by one hour and will terminate at 9.30 a.m. instead of 8.30 a.m., while the evening period on week-days other than Saturday is being extended by half-an-hour from 6.30 p.m. to 7 p.m. A further extension is also being given from 10.30 p.m. onwards on every day of the week (including Sundays). The change will take effect in the Metropolitan Police district to-morrow.

asked the President of the Board of Trade the quantities of butter imported into this country during the last 12 months and during the corresponding months of 1912–13 and 1913–14?

The quantities of butter registered as imported into Great Britain and Ireland during the 12 months ended October, 1913, amounted to 4,118,628 cwts. and during the 12 months ended October, 1914, to 4,051,772 cwts. The imports of butter into Great Britain and Northern Ireland during the 12 months ended October, 1925, amounted to 5,831,631 cwts., of which 383,252 owts. were consigned from the Irish Free State and 5,448,379 cwts. from other countries.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that the British film industry is in a depressed condition owing to foreign competition; and whether, in order to stimulate such industry, he will consider the desirability of introducing, at an early date, legislation restricting the admission of foreign films into this country?

The position of the British film industry has been under consideration for some time. I understand that the various interests concerned are considering a scheme designed to promote the production of British films, and will probably submit detailed proposals for the consideration of the Government at an early date.

asked the President of the Board of Trade the. quantity of steel produced in the United Kingdom, and the quantity of coal consumed in its production, in the years 1920 and 1924, respectively?

The production of steel ingots and castings in the United Kingdom in 1920 and 1924, as estimated by the National Federation of Iron and Steel Manufacturers, amounted to 9,067,300 tons and 8,221,100 tons respectively. The federation have estimated the coal consumed in the conversion of pig-iron and scrap into steel in 1924 to be 9,915,000 tons, but no estimate for 1920 is available.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware, on the admission of representatives of the farmers, that a home-made loaf can be supplied at 6d. a quartern, especially if there is a larger intermixture of English wheat; and whether he will bring the matter before the notice of the Food Council?

I have not seen the statement referred to, but I shall be glad to ask the Food Council to consider any information on the subject which my hon. Friend can supply.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether his atten- tion has been called to announcements that tine London bakers are considering an increase in the price of bread; whether the Food Council is prepared to deal with any such action; and whether he has received any report from the Council as to the justification for such a step?

My attention has been called to these announcements. My hon. Friend will find that the question of bread prices is dealt with in the Report of the Food Council, which was published in the Press on 17th November, and a copy of which I am sending to my hon. Friend.

asked the President of the Board of Education the number of children who applied for and passed the entrance examination for admission to secondary schools, and the number, if any, of such children who were refused admission to such schools?

I have not the information asked for, but the hon. Member may be interested to know that the number of admissions to grant-earning secondary schools this term was about 65,750, as compared with about 64,250 a year ago.

asked the President of the Board of Education what accommodation is available in secondary schools per head of the number of children attending elementary schools?

I am unable to give the information asked for, since the Board do not fix a maximum figure of accommodation for secondary schools. The hon. Member will, however, find some relevant figures given in Tables 62, 71 and 72 of the Board's latest Statistical Volume.

asked the President of the Board of Education if he will give the number and names of the local education authorities which have exercised their power to raise the age of compulsory school attendance to 15 years of age; and what steps, if any, the Government proposes to take to urge upon those local authorities who have not raised the age to exercise this power?

The number of authorities is two: the authorities are those for Carnarvonshire and East Suffolk. As regards the second part of the question, I do not propose to take any action on the lines suggested by the hon. Member at the present time.

asked the Attorney-General if he will state what steps are being taken to appoint Labour men and women as Justices of the Peace in the Malvern area, seeing that there is only one Labour man on that bench at present?

The Lord Lieutenant recommends persons for appointment as Justices of the Peace in the Malvern area after consultation with the Advisory Committee for the county of Worcester. Labour is represented on the Committee, and the Lord Chancellor has no doubt that the Committee, when they are recommending persons for appointment, will give consideration to the names of suitable men and women of all shades of political opinion.

asked the Secretary for Scotland whether, seeing that his Department has informed the Glasgow Corporation that the Government will pay an extra subsidy for all houses of the Weir type erected within a certain period, he will inform the House of the actual amount of extra subsidy proposed to be paid and the conditions attaching to the same; and will he also inform the House under what authority this proposed extra expenditure has been sanctioned?

The hon. Member is apparently referring to the Circular issued on 3rd October by the Scottish Board of Health to all local authorities in Scotland. I am sending him a copy of that Circular, from which he will see that no reference is made to any particular type of house, and that the amount of the proposed special premium is £40 per house. The conditions attached to this premium are contained in the Circular. The expenditure involved will be included in the Scottish Board of Health Vote, and can be discussed by Parliament when the Board's Estimates are presented.

asked the Minister of Health the number of Weir, Telford, Atholl, and Wild houses, respectively, which he has approved in the schemes of local authorities; and how many local authorities are building; houses of these types?

The following table gives the number of houses (including those to be erected for demonstration purposes) of the different types referred to which have been approved and the number of local authorities to which approval has been given in England and Wales:

Type.		No. of Houses.	No. of Local Authorities.
Dennis-Wild	…	1,356	21
Telford	…	266	33
Weir	…	23	12
Atholl	…	50	25

asked the Minister of Health the relative cost of cast-iron and steel houses of the same type and dimensions, and also the rapidity of erection in each instance?

I have not sufficient information on this subject to form a reliable opinion.

asked the Minister of Health whether he has received any applications during the past 12 months from the London County Council for permission to reduce the rents upon their post-War houses; and whether any application has been made for permission in respect of their White Hart Lane estate?

No applications have been received from the London County Council for approval of a reduction of rents during the past 12 months.

asked the Minister of Health the total number of houses now in the course of erection with State-assistance and the total number sanc- tioned, giving separate totals for those by local authorities and those by private enterprise?

On the 1st instant the numbers of houses in course of erection in schemes under the Housing Acts of 1923 and 1924 were

By local authorities	…	…	40,526
By private enterprise	…	…	33,031

The total numbers of houses in schemes sanctioned under these Acts including those completed or in course of erection are

By local authorities	…	…	140,781
By private enterprise	…	…	187,833

asked the Minister of Health whether the Wednesbury Town Council have yet provided houses for tenants recently ejected from houses situated in Hitching Croft?

I am informed that two of the tenants evicted from Hitchen's Croft have been provided with houses on the corporation's housing estate. A third tenant has been offered a corporation house, but declined the offer.

asked the Minister of Health how many claims have been made by widows and orphans, respectively, for pensions under the Widows', Orphans' and Old Age Contributory Pensions Act; how many of these claims have been admitted by his Department; and the estimated number of claimants entitled to receive benefit on 4th January next?

The number of claims made in England and Wales for widows' pensions 'is 99,291 and for orphans' pensions 1,965. 33,574 claims for widows' pensions have been admitted; the final examination of the claims for orphans' pensions is being deferred. The estimated number of widows in England and Wales entitled to pensions on 4th January next is 174,000, and of orphans 27,500.

asked the Minister of Health if he can state how many local authorities have petitioned against the passing of the Hating and Valuation Bill?

No, Sir. I understand that a body representative of the existing assessment authorities has taken steps to organise petitions from parish councils and other local authorities. But although I have seen copies of these petitions, they have only been sent to me directly in comparatively few cases.

asked the Minister of Health whether any boards of guardians have raised the scale of out-door relief this year; if so, what are the facts in each case; and whether any guardians are granting relief to persons in regular employment?

Scales of relief are not ordinarily subject to approval or disapproval by my Department, and are not universally used by boards of guardians, and it is not, therefore, possible for me to give the information for which my Noble Friend asks. As regards the last part of the question, perhaps I may refer to the reply I have given to-day to a question put by my hon. Friend the Member for Nottingham Central (Mr. Bennett).

asked the Minister of Health what boards of guardians have had members surcharged during the past four months; and what are the reasons for the surcharges?

Surcharges on members of boards of guardians have been reported to me during the period mentioned in two cases—Lambeth and Lewisham. In both cases the surcharge relates to a payment of superannuation allowance which the auditor holds is in excess of the amount legally payable.

asked the Minister of Health whether legislation is contemplated to meet the exceptional action taken by his Department in regard to West Ham?

No, Sir. No legislation is necessary in connection with the action which was taken by my Department.

asked the Minister of Health whether he has received requests from electors in London and the provinces asking that advice and instruction on birth control should be given at maternity centres to married women on the recommendation of medical men; and whether these requests included many from medical officers of health and other persons in authority?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. As regards the second part, I have no record of having received such a request from any medical officer of health, but a few have been received from magistrates, doctors, teachers and other responsible, persons.

asked the Minister of Health if he is aware that improvers, such as boric acid, used by bakers to improve bread, results in dermatitis, a serious form of skin disease; and whether, in view of this danger to public health, he will consider the advisability of making an order prohibiting the use of such improvers by bakers?

The effect on the health of the consumer of the treatment of flour with "improvers" and other chemical substances is at present being investigated by a Departmental Committee, and pending their Report I could not entertain a proposal to make restrictive regulations. I may add that, so far as I am aware, boric acid is never added to flour.

asked the Minister of Health if he will give statistics, with such approximate accuracy as the available information permits, to the House, showing the proportion of the population then living which had been vaccinated at public expense in each of the years 1852, 1853, 1854, 1871, 1872, 1882, 1883, 1884, 1902, 1903, 1904, 1922, 1923 and 1924, if figures for that year are available, and the number of deaths from small-pox in each year; and the number of cases of supposed small-pox notified in each year, beginning with 1892?

There are no statistics available showing what proportion of the population living in the years mentioned in the question had been vaccinated at public expense, but I would refer the hon. Member to the figures given him on the 7th April last as to the percentage of vaccinations to births, and the numbers of deaths from small-pox during each of the years 1872 to 1924. The deaths from small-pox during the years 1852, 1853, 1854, and 1871 numbered 7,320, 3,151, 2,808, and 23,062, respectively. As regards the last part of the question, particulars of the numbers of cases of small-pox notified are available only for the years 1911 onward, and the figures (excluding port sanitary cases) are as follow:

1911	…	…	…	…	265
1912	…	…	…	…	111
1913	…	…	…	…	90
1914	…	…	…	…	57
1915	…	…	…	…	78
1916	…	…	…	…	135
1917	…	…	…	…	6
1913	…	…	…	…	51
1919	…	…	…	…	262
1920	…	…	…	…	243
1921	…	…	…	…	311
1922	…	…	…	…	967
1923	…	…	…	…	2,477
1924	…	…	…	…	3,757

It should be understood that these figures represent net notifications only. They have not been subjected to the corrections and additions set forth in the small-pox section of the Annual Reports of the Chief Medical Officer of the Ministry of Health.

asked the Minister of Agriculture how many animals have been slaughtered since 25th September in connection with the recent outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease; whether any information is available as to the origin of this outbreak; and what steps are being taken to confine it to the existing centres of the disease?

The numbers of animals which have been slaughtered on account of foot-and-mouth disease between the 25th September and the 18th November, 1925 (inclusive), are approximately as follow:

• 5,000 cattle,
• 6,000 6heep,
• 2,000 pigs.

It has not been possible to trace the origin of the outbreak. I will circulate in the OFFICIAL REPORT particulars of the steps which are being taken to control the spread of the disease.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether the officials of the Ministry have been able to trace a common origin of the initial outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease that started recently?

No common origin of the recent outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease has been discovered.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether any steps are being taken to ascertain the efficacy of Dr. John Shaw's cure for foot-and-mouth disease in cattle?

A test of Dr. Shaw's specific was arranged by the Ministry a few months ago. Dr. Shaw himself did not keep his appointment to administer his specific. Afterwards at the Ministry's invitation, representatives of the National Farmers' Union and a committee of Cheshire farmers were invited to co-operate in a test of the material supplied by Dr. Shaw. A statement on the subject by the National Farmers' Union was published in the Press on the 12th August, 1925, which was to the effect that the animals which had been inoculated with Dr. Shaw's preventive had fallen to the disease. This test was undertaken as an exceptional measure in view of the strong claims which had been made for the specific as a preventive of foot-and-mouth disease, and the Ministry cannot contemplate further action in the matter.

Metropolitan Borough.				Rateable Value of Agricultural Land in Borough on 6th April, 1924.	Amount of Grant paid to Local Authorities under Agricultural Rates Act, 1923.
				£	£	s.	d.
Camberwell	…	…	…	429	53	6	11
Deptford	…	…	…	130	22	7	4
Fulham	…	…	…	59	7	16	8
Greenwich	…	…	…	934	133	4	3
Hammersmith	…	…	…	240	26	5	5
Hampstead	…	…	…	149	19	11	9
Islington	…	…	…	12		18	3
Lambeth	…	…	…	354	42	16	5
Lewisham	…	…	…	2,777	319	15	2
Paddington	…	…	…	18	2	6	6
Poplar	…	…	…	35	9	6	11
St. Pancras	…	…	…	277	34	7	4
Stoke Newington	…	…	…	77	10	15	7
Wandsworth	…	…	…	2,980	335	5	3
Woolwich	…	…	…	3,428	450	12	0
Total	…	…	…	11,899	1,468	15	9
Amount of fixed grant under Agricultural Rates Act, 1896, in respect of London area. (This is not apportionable as between Boroughs.)					3,003	2	4
Total amount of Grants					4,471	18	1

asked the Minister of Agriculture if the Report on the farming and management of the profit-sharing farm being run at Patrington, under the Land Settlement Act of 1919, is yet available?

I have been asked to reply. The Report on the Patrington Farm Settlement has been received and is being considered by my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture. The Report will be published as soon as practicable after a decision has been reached in regard to the future of the Settlement.

asked the Minister of Health if he can state the amount of agricultural land in each of the metropolitan boroughs, and the amount paid in relief of rates of the owner under the Agricultural Rates Act?

The following statement shows the rateable value of agricultural land in metropolitan boroughs and the amount of the grants under the Agricultural Rates Acts for the year ended 31st March, 1925:

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether it is his intention to place before the House of Commons a Report of the findings of the late Minister of Agriculture, resulting from his visit to Denmark to inquire into the merits of co-operative farming as it exists in that country; and whether he is prepared to facilitate the extension of the application of co-operative methods to the agricultural industry in this country?

The late Minister of Agriculture did not write a Report on his visit to Denmark last summer and the answer to the first part is therefore in the negative. With regard to the second part of the question, my right hon. Friend is anxious to facilitate the extension of co-operative methods to British agriculture so far as it is practicable for him to do so, but it is for producers themselves, rather than for the Government, to adopt co-operative methods in their industry. It is by the dissemination of information relating to the experience and progress of agricultural co-operative enterprises here and abroad that the Government can most effectively promote the adoption of sound co-operative methods, and I would draw the hon. Member's attention to the Reports on Agricultural Co-operation which have recently been issued by the Ministry of Agriculture.

asked the Minister of Labour if he is aware that at various Employment Exchanges a new custom has been adopted of refusing to allow those who have been turned down by rota committees to further sign on; under whose instructions are they acting in this matter: and, if there is no regulation for such procedure, whether he will make it known that such refusal is likely to prejudice large numbers of people from qualifying for further benefit, even if there is an alteration in the circumstances of the cases?

I am not aware of any such custom and shall be glad of particulars of any specific case, so that I may investigate it. The prescribed practice is precisely the contrary.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he can state, in the case of an applicant for unemployment benefit whose claim has been refused on the ground that he is not genuinely seeking employment, over what period he is required to produce proof and what is the character of the proof called for?

The proof to be required in respect of the statutory condition "genuinely seeking work" is determined not by me but by the Insurance Officer, Court of Referees or Umpire, and varies according to the varying circumstances of individual cases.

asked the Minister of Labour whether, in view of the impending discharge of workmen from the dockyard, he is prepared to open an Employment Exchange office at Rosyth?

I am enquiring as to the need for extended Employment Exchange facilities in this district and will communicate with the hon. Member as soon as possible.

asked the Minister of Labour if his department has issued amended regulations or instructions under which employment on relief work organised by local authorities will be held to be qualifying employment for unemployment benefit notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs 61 to 64 of L.E.C./82/15; and whether, if such amended regulations or instructions have not been issued, ho can state on what date they will be issued?

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware that men who have been engaged upon relief work under a local authority are denied extended unemployment benefit: will be state the reason for this policy; whether an unemployed man in receipt of unemployment benefit would be disqualified if he refused employment on relief work; and, if so, whether, in view of all the circumstances, he will issue instructions that employment upon relief work shall not prejudice a man's claim to unemployment benefit?

The performance of test work, while not disqualifying a man for extended benefit, does not help him to qualify. This is because the performance of such work affords no appreciable evidence of satisfaction of the conditions for extended benefit. This rule does not apply to other forms of what has been termed relief work, such as grant-aided schemes of relief. There has been some misapprehension with regard to existing Directions to Committees upon the subject, and an amending Direction will shortly be issued. Apart from any bearing on the special conditions for extended benefit, the question whether refusal to do relief work would disqualify a man for benefit would be for the Insurance Officer and the Umpire.

asked the Minister of Labour whether his attention has been called to the misleading character of the cost-of-living index figures; and whether it is proposed to make any alteration in the basis on which these figures are calculated?

I am aware of criticisms of the cost-of-living figures but the principle on which they are based is that accepted by statisticians of authority in all countries. As regards the compilation of a new basis, I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given yesterday to the Member for Blackpool (Sir W. de Frece).

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department, as representing the First Commissioner of Works, whether he is aware that in connection with a contract for work of renovation in the Law Courts about 30 labourers were employed by the contractors instead of skilled french polishers, that the entries in the firms pay sheets showed that these men were receiving the french polishers' rate of 1s. 9d. per hour, whereas they were only receiving 1s. 4d. per hour; that the foreman, when questioned, stated that the men were skilled french polishers, but contrary evidence was subsequently secured showing that they were labourers; that, in addition to deceiving the Office of Works, the foreman had apparently been keeping for himself the difference between 1s. 4d. and 1s. 9d. per hour; whether the foreman has been prosecuted; whether the Department has any evidence that the firm were aware that the men in question were not french polishers and were not receiving their proper rate for the work being done; whether there have been any previous complaints against this firm with regard to alleged violation of the Fair Wages Clause; and, if so, whether these facts will be borne in mind in the event of the firm ever again tendering for a Government contract?

The actual violation of the Fair Wages Clause in the manner indicated was brought to the notice of the Department, which is requiring the contractors concerned to pay the men the difference between the french polishers' rate of 1s. 9d. per hour and the rate of 1s. 4½d. per hour actually received by them at the time. The Department has no reason to believe that the firm were aware of the foreman's defalcations, but they understand that he was discharged and that, having undertaken to reimburse the money he had misappropriated, he was not prosecuted. So far as the Office of Works is concerned, there have been two previous complaints of specific failure to pay the correct rate of wages. In the first case, the rate was at the time in dispute, and there appeared to be a genuine misunderstanding. The rate was adjusted, and the arrears due were paid to the men by the firm. In the second case, investigation failed to reveal any case of underpayment. As regards the last part of the question, all relevant considerations are borne in mind before placing any contract.

asked the Home Secretary whether J. G. Prickett, now an inmate of Broadmoor criminal lunatic asylum, has been certified by the medical superintendent to be sane; if so, when was he first certified sane; whether since such certification he has shown any sign of insanity; whether he is fit for suitable work if liberated; whether his case has been considered for liberation; and, if so, on what grounds the application was rejected?

Prickett has not been certified sane. Applications for his discharge have been considered very carefully, but, in view of all the circumstances of the case, I should not feel justified in authorising this man's release.

asked the Home Secretary if he is aware that the demolition of Neweastle-upon-Tyme city gaol and the consequent removal of prisoners to Durham City is imposing upon visiting justices of the peace railway expenses between the two cities, and that some of these are working men who can ill afford this expense for voluntary duties; and will he exercise his Departmental or discretionary powers to reimburse the said justices with out-of-pocket expenses?

I regret that I have no authority to pay the travelling expenses of those magistrates who act as visiting justices of local prisons. The closing of the prison was in the interests both of economy and efficiency.

asked the Home Secretary whether his attention has been drawn to the circumstances surrounding the holding of a coroner's inquest on Bridget Therese Meagher, aged seven years and four months, of 283, Deane Church Lane, Bolton; whether he is aware that, although the child died at 1.20 a.m. on Friday, 16th October, the inquest was not held until the following Monday, the child's body being eventually returned to the home of the parents at 4.30 p.m. on that day, and that, despite the efforts of the father, the deputy mayor, and other public officials of Bolton, nothing could be done to expedite the holding of the inquest owing to the week-end absence of the coroner; and whether, in view of the fact that severe aggravation of grief was caused the parents by the detention of the body and consequent decomposition, he will take steps to ensure that, in the absence of a coroner, a deputy will have power to act and thus prevent any unnecessary delay and resulting suffering to the relatives of the deceased?

My attention has been called to this case. The Coroner having fixed Monday for the inquest, his deputy could not advance the holding of the inquest; he could only have acted if on Monday the Coroner had been unable to attend. The facts of this case do not appear to me to disclose reasons for proposing a change in the law.

asked the Prime Minister what attitude the British delegates took on the question of night baking in bakeries when the League of Nations agreed that it should be stopped; whether the Government intends to introduce legislation to carry the agreement into effect; and, if so, when a Bill will be brought in?

The Prime Minister has asked me to reply. I would refer the hon. Member to the Report by the British Government Delegates which was recently presented to Parliament and to the reply I gave to the question asked on this subject by the right hon. Member for Newcastle Central on the 2nd July last. For the reasons then stated His Majesty's Government do not intend to take any steps towards the ratification of this Convention.