asked the Secretary of State for Air whether he is aware that certain posts in the directorate of buildings in the Air Ministry, which have hitherto been classified as technical, have as the result of mature consideration been' graded as higher clerical; that, in spite of this, preferential consideration is being given in the filling of these posts to officers with alleged technical qualifications; and that this has produced discontent amongst the clerical staffs; and whether he will go into the matter with a view to ensuring that posts classified as higher clerical shall be filled by promoting suitable clerical officers in the ordinary way?

I am aware that it has been agreed that certain posts in the Works Department, hitherto classified as technical, may in future be filled by the promotion of clerks who have had suitable experience in the Works Department or as clerical officers on similar work. It has been arranged that the claims of such clerks to these posts shall be weighed against those of the existing holders by the Board which is making the selections for the other established posts in the Works Department. Future vacancies in these posts will be filled, I hope, by promotion from the clerical staff of the Works Department.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that young girls about 16 years of age are being engaged for temporary jobs in his Department, while older women are being dismissed; and will he retain some of the latter to deal with such temporary work?

A limited number of girls of this age are employed in the General Register Office in sorting documents concerned with the verification of certain particulars given in the forms of application for widows' and orphans pensions. The work is purely temporary and is quite unsuitable for adult clerks. No older women are being or have been discharged from this Department.

asked the Minister of Health how many women clerks in his Department are now working overtime in connection with the new Pensions Act; how long will such overtime work continue; is he aware that 250 woman clerks are now under notice of dismissal at the Ministry of Pensions; and, in view of their experience of pensions work, will he employ some of them rather than permit overtime?

One hundred and fifteen clerks have been employed on overtime for the last completed month, the numbers varying from week to week according to the needs of the work. I am most anxious to bring overtime to an end at the earliest possible opportunity, and I hope that the. need for it will sensibly diminish by the end of the year. In rep [y to the later part of the question I would refer to the answer given to my bon. Friend the Member for Wandsworth (Sir H. Jackson) on the 23rd ultimo.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office if he is aware that nine established civilian clerks

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury if he will state the number, by grades, and the cost of the establishment employed during the years 1923–24, 1924–25, and at present at the Department of Overseas Trade, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Mines, the Ministry of Pensions, the Enemy Debt Department, the Land Valuation Department, and the Board of Agriculture (Scotland)?

My hon. and gallant Friend will find full information on the

The rate of 36s. basic, which with bonus equals 62s. 7d., is the maximum rate of these clerks on the present scale. A new scheme of organisation, with gradings and pay for established posts which are based on the Re-organisation Committee Report of 1920, with modifications agreed to by the staff side of the War Department Whitley Council, has been approved for application to War Department out stations. Existing staff will be assimilated to appropriate grades as soon as the complement of each grade has been fixed.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty the number of naval officers, naval or marine clerks, civil servants, temporary and other clerks employed at the Admiralty for the years 1923–24, 1924–25. and during the present year, respectively?

Excluding messengers, labourers, and charwomen, the figures asked for are as follow:numbers, grading and costs of the staffs in question for the years 1923–24, 1924–25 and the present year in the Estimates presented for the respective Departments.

asked the Secretary of State for Air if he will state the equipment of foreign origin or manufacture, with their quantities and values, under orders outstanding on 1st November, 1924, and under orders placed subsequently for the Air Ministry; and if he will state in respect of each of such orders the circumstances which necessitated a foreign source of supply?

The total value of equipment of foreign manufacture under orders outstanding on the 1st November, 1924, and orders placed subsequently by the Air Ministry is approximately £240,000. By far the largest items in this total are the Irving parachutes and Curtiss engines, purchases which have already been the subject of previous questions, in reply to which I have furnished my hon. and gallant Friend with a full account of the circumstances necessitating these orders being placed abroad. Excluding these two items, the value of equipment ordered abroad is considerably less than 1 per cent. of the value of total orders placed during this period. I may add that it is the general policy of the Air Ministry to rely upon British sources of supply, and that orders have not been and will not be placed abroad unless in wholly exceptional cases.

asked the Secretary of State for Air the present number of equipped beds in hospitals under the Air Ministry; and the average daily number of patients in these hospitals during the current year?

The answer to the first part of the question is 1,586; to the second, 528. Of the 1,586 equipped beds, 1,139 are in hospitals in Iraq and Palestine which cater for the whole garrisons, i.c., Army as well as Air Force and British as well as Indian troops and, in Palestine, the British Gendarmerie in addition. I may add that it is necessary to provide beds considerably in excess of the average occupation in order to be in a position to cope with epidemics, casualties, seasonal illnesses, and the special conditions under which the forces in the Middle East are serving, but their number is and will continue to be brought under constant review.

asked the Secretary of State for War what is the approximate cost of each cadet at Woolwich and Sandhurst; what is the proportion of instructional and medical staff, respectively, to the number of cadets; and whether the whole of the available accommodation at each of these institutions is now occupied?

For the year 1925–26 the estimated cost of a cadet is £524 at Woolwich and £391 at Sandhurst. The proportion of instructional staff to the number of cadets is 1 to 43 at Woolwich and 1 to 63 at Sandhurst. At Woolwich there is one medical officer and five other ranks, and the proportion is therefore 1 to 37·5. At Sandhurst there are two medical officers, two nurses, eight other ranks and three civilians, and the proportion is therefore 1 to 40, but the medical personnel attend to the staff as well as the cadets, and at Sandhurst they attend also to the Staff College. At neither of the institutions is the whole of the available accommodation occupied at present.

asked the Secretary of State for War the present number of equipped beds in military hospitals under the control of the War Office; and the average daily number of patients in these hospitals during the current year?

The information is as follows:—

asked the Secretary of State for War whether it is in contemplation to transfer the Infantry Pay and Record Office from York to Barnard Castle, or elsewhere?

The question of the transfer of the Infantry Pay and Record Office from York to Barnard Castle is under consideration?

asked the Secretary of State for War whether, while an officer attached to a unit in France in 1915, merely for instructional purposes and not as an integral part of that unit, has not been regarded as entitled to receive the 1915 Star, his widow, if he happened to be killed when so attached, has been granted that Star?

It would be contrary to the Regulations that an officer's widow should receive the 1914–15 Star, even if her husband were killed in France in 1915, unless he was entitled to it under the conditions which I explained in answer to a question by the hon. Member for Oxford University on the 27th November. No case has come to notice in which an award has been made contrary to these Regulations.

asked the Prime Minister whether, before deciding on any further reductions in the pay of the Fighting Services, he will undertake to have all the factors elucidated in public in order that the inaccurate statements of the Anderson Committee may be examined?

Any action taken on the responsibility of the Government is, of course, open to discussion in this House. The Report of the Anderson Committee is a public document, and I am not aware that the accuracy of the statements contained in it has ever been challenged.

asked the Under-Secre-tary of State for India whether he is aware that the Southern India Chamber of Commerce on 8th October passed a resolution emphatically protesting against the passing of the Burma (Expulsion of Offenders) Bill, and requesting the Viceroy to refuse his assent to the same; and, if so, what steps he intends taking in the matter?

I have seen a notice in the Press to the effect stated in the first part of the question, but I have no information as to what action, if any, the Viceroy proposes to take.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India the reason why, after the official Reports for every year from 1884 until 1918 have stated the ratio of vaccinations performed out of every 100 estimated births, this information is no longer obtainable; whether the officials who compiled the figures for the years 1884 to 1918 have been supplied by local officers with the same information in regard to vaccinations performed and estimated births for the years 1919 to 1924 as they received during the years 1884 to 1918; and, if so, whether he will obtain from the responsible officials statistics showing the ratio of vaccinations performed for each year from 1919 onwards out of every 100 estimated births?

The ratio was obtained from the "Statistics of British India," published by the Government of India. This publication has been discontinued, the latest figures published in it being those for 1919–20. My Noble Friend does not know whether the statistical officers of the Government of India still receive figures from which the ratio could be calculated; but, so far as he is aware, no publication containing this ratio is now issued. With reference to the last part of the question he regrets that he does not feel prepared to call for statistical returns in regard to transferred subjects.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs how many British subjects have lodged claims for imprisonment without trial in Soviet Russia; how many have received compensation, and what amount; and does His Majesty's Government intend to take any steps to obtain satisfaction for those sufferers who have not yet been compensated?

The information at my disposal docs not enable me to distinguish between the claims of imprisoned British subjects who underwent some form of trial and those who did not; but the total number of claims in respect of imprisonment between 1917 and 1920 registered with the Russian Claims Department is 309. These include six claims in respect of death in prison, while certainly five and possibly six relate to persons who died, on release or later, as a result of imprisonment. Seventeen persons claim to have been permanently disabled as a result of their imprisonment. In two cases compensation was received by the claimant, Mrs. Stan Harding being paid £3,000 in respect of her own claim and Mrs. J. C. Davison £10,000 in respect of the death of her husband in August, 1923.With regard to the last part of the question, I regret that I cannot at this moment expect satisfaction from any renewal of the representations made by His Majesty's Government on behalf of the remainder of these unfortunate claimants.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will inform the House of the present stage of the negotiations with the Chinese authorities regarding the settlement of the Hankow incident, and of the reasons of the delay in reaching a settlement?

The local Chinese authorities put forward a number of demands based upon their own version of the facts, and the questions thus raised have been taken up with the Central Chinese permanent Government. Meanwhile satisfactory local arrangements have been made for co-operation, between the Chinese police and the police of the British Concession.

asked the Attorney-General whether, in regard to nominations for and the appointment of persons to the Commission of the Peace, hs is aware that, in accordance with a rule or practice laid down by his predecessors, the Lord Chancellor will not appoint persons carrying on certain businesses; and, if so, whether he will take steps with a view to ending such practice and ensuring that all persons nominated shall receive consideration on their general merits and fitness for appointment?

In accordance with a long-standing practice, which is referred to in the Report of the Royal Commission on the Selection of Justices of the Peace, 1910, holders of licences for the sale of intoxicating liquor and pawnbrokers are not usually appointed to the Commission of the Peace. The Lord Chancellor does not think it would be desirable to alter this practice.

asked the Secretary for Scotland how many town-planning schemes have been approved in Scotland since 1st January, 1920; and how many local authorities are known to be engaged in the preparation of such schemes?

Since 1st January, 1920, the number of town planning schemes that have been approved in Scotland is two, namely, Dunfermline Burgh (Rosyth area) and Edinburgh Burgh (Fountainbridge area). The number of local authorities that have carried through the statutory procedure preliminary to the actual preparation of town-planning schemes is 20.

asked the President of the Board of Education in how many schools there has been a reduction in the size of classes since 1st January. 1925; in which area such schools are situated; and what the number in each of such reduced classes is?

The returns of local authorities for the period in question are not yet available, and, in any event, the special investigation of the position of every class in the country would involve more heavy labour on the part of my Department than I should feel justified in undertaking, but I may mention that the number of adult teachers in elementary schools to-day is 2,106 more than at this time two years ago.

asked the President of the Board of Education what provision has been made since 1st January, 1925, for effecting improvements in or the replacement of insanitary schools?

I would refer the hon. and gallant Member to the reply given by me on the 30th November to the hon. Member for Penistone (Mr. Rennie Smith), a copy of which I am sending him.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether the policy set forth in Circular 1358, dated 31st March last, whereby local education authorities were urged to undertake new schemes of educational development, has been definitely abandoned by the Board of Education; and, if not, will he state how such policy can now be pursued by local education authorities if the proposals contained in Circular 1371 are approved by Parliament, particularly in view of the heavy burden of the Education Rate in the areas of so many of the most progressive authorities?

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given by me on 3rd December to the right hon. Member for Newcastle Central (Mr. Trevelyan) and the hon. Member for Wellingborough (Mr. Cove), a copy of which I am sending him.

asked the Minister of Transport the result of the experiments being made for the utilisation of slate dust, in North Wales, as a method of road making?

I am aware of these recent experiments, but am advised that the results are not yet sufficiently conclusive to warrant my expressing a definite opinion on them.

asked the Minister of Transport whether, in view of the importance of the public inquiry recently held by his instructions to inquire into travelling facilities in North London, copies of the evidence will be available for Members of the House upon application?

Copies of the evidence are available and can be obtained by Members requiring it on application to the Controller of the Stationery Office.

asked the Minister of Transport the number of private motor cars, commercial motor cars and motor vehicles, respectively, plying for hire for which licences have been granted in Great Britain during 1925?

The total number of motor vehicles (excluding tramcars and trade licences) in respect of which licences were current on 31st August, 1925, was approximately 1,510,000, including 580,000 cars taxed on horse power, 572,000 motor cycles, 224,000 commercial goods vehicles and 99,000 motor hackneys. As soon as it has been prepared, I will send my hon. Friend a detailed statement showing the numbers of licences issued during the complete calendar year under the different categories of motor vehicles.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he can state the amount of opium which is produced in, imported into, and exported from Iraq; how many shops are licensed for its sale; whether at any time, and, if so, when, the trade has been suppressed except for medicinal purposes; and, if so, why its revival has been permitted?

No opium is produced in Iraq. The cultivation of the poppy for this purpose was prohibited in 1918. The latest available figures of imports and exports are those for the first five months of the current financial year. During that period, apart from merely transit trade, opium to the value of rupees 16,869 was imported into Iraq; none was exported. In 1924 there were 26 licensed shops for the retail sale of opium. So far as I am aware the answer to the third part of the question is in the negative. The last part does not, therefore, arise.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if there are any large schemes at present under consideration for carrying out large programmes of public works in the Colonies or Protectorates for which loans have been raised in this country; and whether any and, if so, which will receive imperial assistance with a view to stimulating trade?

As is usually the case, considerable programmes of large public works in one or other of the more important Colonies and Protectorates to be financed by loans raised in this country are at present under examination, but the raising of a loan does not generally precede the starting of the work, and the loans which have already been raised are allocated to works already sanctioned.

asked the Minister of Labour the number of unemployed registered at the end of June, August, and October, 1925, in Scotland and England, respectively?

The following statement gives the information desired:

asked the Minister of Labour the amount paid out in unemployment benefit in 1924?

The amount of unemployment benefit paid during the calendar year 1924 was about £38,000,000.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he can state the number of ex-service men who have been refused benefit in the three months ending 31et October on the ground that they have not proved a reasonable period of employment or that insurable work is not likely to become available?

The statistics of refusals of unemployment benefit do not distinguish between ex-servicemen and others.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware that employers in Durham County are bringing workmen from outside to fill vacancies while there are workmen of their own unemployed who are fully capable of doing such work; and whether he will have inquiries made with a view to having such a practice put an end to?

I am having inquiry made as to the facts, and will communicate with the hon. Member. I may say, however, that so far as the question relates to vacancies notified to the Employment Exchanges, the standing instructions are designed to secure that available work is offered to suitable local applicants before particulars are circulated in other areas.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if, in view of the large number of unemployed in British ship-repairing yards and the number of British ships which are sent abroad for repairs which could be effected in Great Britain, and in order to encourage such work being carried out in this country, he will bring to the notice of the Committee on Ship-building the desirability of instituting a tax on all such repairs executed in foreign countries provided a reasonable British tender has been refused by the owners or their representatives, which practice has been carried out with success in the United States of America?

I am in entire sympathy with the hon. Member's object, the increase of employment in British ship-repairing yards, but the particular measure he proposes, namely, taxing repairs effected abroad, is open to so many objections, and would be so difficult to work practice, that I cannot undertake to support it.

asked the Minister of Labour the number of persons that applied for extended benefit in each month of the present year at the Aberdare and Mountain Ash Labour Exchanges, and the number of cases in which benefit was refused?

The following Table gives the information available.

asked the Minister of Labour the number of persons employed in the motor·manufacturing industry in Coventry, Wolverhampton, and Birmingham, respectively, in each quarter from the year 1920 to 1925; and the number of persons in the same industry recorded at the Employment Exchanges in those towns as unemployed at the same dates?

pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 2nd December, 1925, Col. 2213], supplied the following information:Owing to a reclassification in June, 1923, of the industrial groups into which the unemployment statistics are divided, comparable figures can only be given from that date. This is done in the following table:

asked the Minister of Labour the number, respectively, of masons, bricklayers, plasterers, joiners, and plumbers employed in building houses in Glasgow; and the number of the same trades employed in luxury buildings, such as banks, warehouses, picture houses, etc.?

There are no statistics available showing the number of building trade workers engaged in house building as distinct from other types of buildings.

asked the Minister of Health if he is aware that two valuable horses were burnt alive at a fire at Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, on the 24th November, 1925; that this town with a population of 15,000 has no fire brigade; and will he draw the attention of the local authority concerned to the provisions of the Public Health Act, 1875, as affecting protection from fire.

My attention has not been previously drawn to this matter, but I am communicating with the Council respecting the same.

asked the Minister of Health whether his attention has been called to the complaint of Mr. F. W. Marshall, of 14, Briarwood Avenue, South Gosforth, Northumberland, as to the neglect of the registrar and vaccination officer at Gosforth and Newcastle (Western District), respectively, in the carrying out of the Rules and Regulations provided under the Vaccination Acts, in respect of his child, Frederick William Marshall, born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne on 6th April, 1925; whether he is aware that the registrar omitted to furnish this parent, at the time he registered the birth, with the form setting forth the requirements as to vaccination; that the vaccination officer omitted to send Form Q, which the Regulations provide shall be sent within three months and seven days after date of birth, but sent, in lieu thereof, a form not provided for by the Regulations and that only after the child had attained the age of four months; and that the declaration of conscientious objection, which was sent in within two days of the receipt of this first intimation of the requirements as to vaccination, was returned as too late; and whether he will take such steps as may be necessary to see that the vaccination officers in Newcastle union observe the Rules and Regulations provided by his Department for the carrying out of the Vaccination Acts, so that parents in this union may not be denied their statutory right in claiming exemption from the operation?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative, and I have already admonished the vaccination officer for his neglect of duty in this case.

asked the Minister of Health whether, seeing that under the Widows, Orphans and Old Age Contributory Pensions Act, allowances to orphans will be paid to institutions, and in view of the possibility that the effect of these new proposals will be to withdraw such children from institutions, he will say whether any supervision will be exercised in such cases to ensure that the care of children will be at least as effective outside as inside such institutions?

I do not think that I can undertake to adopt the hon. Member's suggestion. I have no reason to suppose that the children in question would not be cared for properly at home, and consequently I feel that it would be invidious to subject them to special supervision.

asked the Minister of Health the cost of Poor Law administration for 1924?

The amount expended in England and Wales during the financial year ended 31st March, 1924, on administrative charges in respect of the relief of the poor and purposes wholly connected therewith was £1,187,906.

asked the Secretary for Scotland whether he can state the number of people receiving poor relief in Scotland at the end of June, August and October, 1925?

I am not in a position to give the information asked for in the question because Returns are not collected in Scotland for the dates mentioned. The detailed returns collected as at 15th May, 1925, give the following figures:

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he will reconsider the answer given to Request No. 3 of Group VIII at the 1924 Welfare Conference and amend the Regulations to the effect that sick-berth ratings who have passed provisional examinations, and who fail at the first attempt to pass finally, shall lose only the seniority equal to the period between the first final attempt and date of subsequent passing?

The existing rule is considered to be a fair one, and no reason is seen for any change.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty the latest date given by the Admiralty in determining whether a man enlisted voluntarily for the purpose of re-assessment of civil pay for the period of service with His Majesty's Forces under the recent decision on the Sutton case?

I regret that it is not possible to give a specific answer as the cases affected by the Sutton decision are of several different types, and the question whether a man enlisted voluntarily or otherwise has to be determined with reference to the provisions of the various Military Service Acts. A claimant for re-assessment of civil pay has been treated as having enlisted voluntarily if he attested prior to the date on which he would have been deemed to have been compulsorily enlisted under the provisions of the Military Service Act applying to him. My hon. and gallant Friend is no doubt aware that the Military Service Acts of 6th February and 18th April, 1918, withdrew the "periods of grace" allowed by former Military Service Acts within which persons coming under the Acts could enlist voluntarily; and the dates of those Acts became the final dates beyond which no un attested person could be reported as having joined voluntarily, namely:

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether the Ministry of Agriculture will consider publishing daily in the leading papers the exact locality of additional cases of foot-and-mouth disease, as such statement as another case is reported in Wiltshire is of little help to a farmer wishing to take extra precautions in the event of there being a case reported within five miles of his farm?

It is the duty of the local authorities to make known in an infected district the infected places, the prohibited areas and the extent of country subject to restrictions. The information given to the Press by the Ministry can hardly be expected to reach individual farmers, but I am willing that it shall in future specify the exact locality of each outbreak.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether the Ministry could arrange through their local inspectors for weekly bulletins to be circulated in the local papers as regards precautions and Regulations for the prevention and control of foot-and-mouth disease owing to the difficulty experienced by farmers in scattered districts of getting possession of the necessary leaflets?

It is the statutory duty of local authorities to publish, either in newspapers having local circulation or by means of placards and handbills, the Regulations imposed by the Ministry for the prevention and control of foot-and-mouth disease. The Ministry has supplied copies of a leaflet, entitled "Advice to Farmers," in connection with foot-and-mouth disease, to every local authority and police force, and has asked that a supply may be kept at all police stations so as to be readily available to hand to stockowners in the areas concerned. It would be impossible to place further duties upon the inspectors in charge of an outbreak, but I am considering what information can be issued through the news service prepared at the Ministry.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he is aware that local offices in the Blackburn area, representing his Department in regard to foot-and-mouth disease, have stipulated that passes, granting movement orders for cattle, are only issued between the hours of 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., and that this rule is quite unknown even to the police in that district; and whether, in view of the fact that many farmers concerned have to travel long distances to attend such local offices, at considerable inconvenience and expense, he will instruct his local representatives to issue passes at any time during the usual working day, and to take steps to ensure that all persons concerned know the times and places at which such orders may be obtained?

Shortly after the establishment of a local office at Blackburn, outbreaks of disease were being confirmed in rapid succession, and applications for licences were being made at all hours of the day and night. In order to enable the staff available to deal with the more urgent work in connection with these outbreaks, and in the interests of applicants, it was decided that applications for licences should be made between 9 a.m.-ll a.m. and 3 p.m.-5 p.m. A notice to this effect was issued to the Press and no complaints have been received of any inconvenience. As soon as the outbreaks decreased in number the hours were extended, and for the last 14 days the hours within which licences have been granted daily have been 8.30 a.m. and 6 p.m.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether, seeing the great waste and cost to this country of foot-and-mouth disease and that France, which is in such close proximity to us, takes no steps to stamp it out, he will consider the advisability of appointing some official or unofficial body of representative persons to confer with them with a view to inducing them to adopt some measures for dealing with this disease?

At the instance of the French Government an International Veterinary Bureau, to which Great Britain has signified adherence, has been formed, with headquarters at Paris, to discuss questions of the kind referred to by the hon. Member. Preliminary discussions have already taken place, but it is obvious that the insular position of Great Britain gives enormous advantages as regards the application of an eradication policy, which Continental countries' unfortunately do not possess.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury what is the approximate amount or approximate value of textiles in bonded warehouses in London on 1st January, 1925, and on 1st December, 1925?

Bonded warehouses for the storage of textiles did not exist before the introduction of the silk and artificial silk duties on the 1st July, 1925. Particulars of the total quantity or value of textiles lying in bonded warehouses in London on the 1st December, 1925, could not be obtained without considerable labour, but particulars of the approximate weight of silk and artificial silk contained in such textiles are being compiled, and will be furnished to the right hon. Member as soon as they are ready.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the per capita taxation in Germany, the United States, and France, as compared with the per capita taxation in Great Britain?

I will refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Wednesbury (Mr. Short) on the 3rd December.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, in view of the unexpected receipt from Germany under the property right and interest claims, the Government will consider the making of further grants in respect of reparations of ex-enemy damage in this country?

I would refer the hon. and gallant Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer to the hon. Member for the Hillsborough Division (Mr. A. V. Alexander) on the 24th November.

The following table shows the value of imported lace registered as re-exported during each of the months August, September and October, 1925:

asked the Home Secretary the countries from which the aliens, numbering 316,615, who landed during the nine months ending 30th September, 1926, came; how many of these aliens were given permission to remain permanently in this country; and how many of those given permission to remain permanently had signified their intention to follow a trade or occupation in this country?

The information asked for by the hon. Member is not at present available. Certain particulars (including nationality) of alien passengers landed in the United Kingdom are given each year in the annual statistics published in connection with the administration of the Aliens Restriction Acts. I will send the hon. Member a copy of the statistics for 1924; those for 1925 will be published in due course. I would mention, however, that of the 31G,615 alien passengers who came here during the first nine months of the present year only a very small proportion would have been admitted for permanent residence, and that 305,920 embarked during the same period, and I anticipate that by the end of the year the permanent addition will be very small.

asked the Home Secretary the number of hours that the staff of the Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum spend each week within the institution; and whether the 48-hour working week can be applied to the staff?

Subject to certain occasional hours off, the ordinary attendants spend 13 hours each working day within the institution. They, however, have two whole rest days after every four working days, besides annual leave. If annual leave and time allowed for meals are taken into consideration, they actually work on an average about 48 hours a week.

asked the Home Secretary whether, in view of the census that has been taken recently by Government officials of the garage accommodation and of the numbers of motor vehicles in London and district, when the proprietors were warned that their property was liable to be commandeered at a minute's notice, he can state by whom those instructions were given and for what purpose?

The hon. Member appears to be under a misapprehension. No such instructions as he mentions have been given. I understand that certain inquiries have recently been made by officers of the General Post Office for their own purposes. If the hon. Member desires further information on

asked the Home Secretary the cost of the police force in counties, boroughs, and the Metropolis, giving the amount paid from the Exchequer and the amount paid from rates, in 1924?

The latest available figures are for the financial year 1923–24 and are as follow: