asked the Secretary of State for War the number of officers and men who have been invalided out of the Service during the last three years for which records are available, suffering from pulmonary tuberculosis; and in how many of these cases the disease has been considered a not attributable to the conditions of the Service?

The number of soldiers invalided from the Army on account of pulmonary tuberculosis during the last three years was:

asked the Secretary of State for War whether, in view of the fact that British troops have evacuated Cologne, he will consider the advisability of advising His Majesty to remit the remainder of the sentences passed upon Hans Mehl and Jak Franzen at present in the central prison in Wiesbaden?

I am having inquiries made, and will communicate the result to the hon. Member in due course.

asked the Secretary of State for Air how many air stations there are in Egypt; and what is the cost for 1925–26?

The number of Royal Air Force stations in Egypt, including Command Headquarters and repair and training establishments, is six. The est mated cost for 1925–26, including a detached flight in the Sudan is £1,170,000.

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether the flight of the four Royal Air Fai ee machines from Cairo to Cape Town, due to start from Egypt on or about 1st March, is a preliminary to the establishment of an air-mail service to South Africa by air; and what preparatiots are being made to establish and develop such air-mail service?

The flight is being undertaken in accordance with the policy of the Air Force to make visits by air to distant parts of the Empire and to gain experience in long distance flying. At the present moment there is no intention of establishing a Royal Air Force mail service to the Cape, but I hope that the experience gained on this and other occasions may help in deciding the practicability of the operations of civil air services on these routes and linking up communications with distant parts of the Empire by air.

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether any of the equipment required for the Royal Air Force is ordered from the Royal Air Craft Establishment, Farnborough?

Apart from the production of small numbers of instruments and accessories which have not yet been standardised for service use, no equipment for the Air Force is ordered from the Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough.

asked the Secretary of State for Air when it is likely that sufficient married quarters will be provided at the Henlow aerodrome, so as to relieve the present congestion in housing conditions in the surrounding villages?

Married quarters for officers and airmen to the extent of 80 and 57 per cent. respectively, of the full scales authorised have already been provided at Henlow, or will be completed in the course of the next four months. The provision of further quarters to complete the full entitlement for this station will proceed as rapidly as circumstances and available funds permit. I would add that married quarters are not provided for married personnel borne on the strength of a unit but only temporarily attached to the station for courses of instruction.

asked the Secretary of State for Air the number of bombs dropped during the year 1925 from British aeroplanes in Iraq; the number of airmen killed and aeroplanes seriously damaged while engaged in the bombing; the number of men, women and children killed or wounded by the bombs; and the value of any property destroyed or flocks and herds killed?

Apart from intermittent operations against armed rebels in the Sulimaniyeh district no bombing operations have taken place in Iraq since May, 1925. Details of operations prior to that date were given in the replies to the hon. and gallant Member for Leith (Captain W. Benn) on 27th May and to the hon. and gallant Member for Hull Central (Lieut.-Commander Kenworthy) on 30th April last. One officer and one airman were killed and one aeroplane was seriously damaged in the course of these operations. I regret that I am not in a position to furnish the remainder of the information requested by the hon. Member, but, as regards the loss of life involved, I can say that warnings were issued on all occasions except two, when an invasion of Iraq territory by hostile tribesmen was actually in progress, and the casualties inflicted are consequently believed to have been small.

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether, in connection with the about-to-be-established air route to India, he will consider, on the one hand, the linking up of this with European mail services so as to make a continual air-mail line from Croydon to Burma; whether, on the other hand, he has examined the possibilities of extending the service by air to Australia; and if he is aware of the advantage to the trade between this country and the Dominions that would follow from an extension of the carriage of mails by air to the Dominions?

As regards the first part of the question, the fortnightly air service from Egypt to India and back will be timed to fit in with the arrival and departure of the mail boats, but I hope that ultimately it will be linked up with European air mail services. As regards the second part, the possibility of the extension of the service beyond India is continuously under consideration and investigation. The answer to the last part of the question is in the affirmative.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Overseas Trade Department how many 48 and 68 sheet posters advertising the British Empire Exhibition were printed and how many were used; whether the Billposters' Association were consulted as to the number of stances which were available for these sizes of posters before they were printed; the number of stances that had to be specially erected to display these posters; and whether the total cost of this method of advertising can be stated?

I am informed that no posters of the sizes mentioned by the hon. Member were printed, but a considerable quantity of 32 and 96 sheet posters were used. The answer to the second part of the question is in the affirmative. As regards the third and fourth parts, I regret that the information is not available, but, thanks to the public spirit of a number of owners of valuable advertising sites, who placed them at the disposal of the exhibition authorities free of charge, I am assured that the poster advertising was carried out at an unusually low cost.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether any Regulations or instructions have been issued to inspectors giving them powers to stamp automatic counter scales under the Weights and Measures Act; whether inspectors of weights and measures are stamping these scales; and, if so, what these instructions or Regulations are and under which Act or Acts?

Inspectors are stamping these instruments under the authority of the weights and Measures Regulations, 1907, made under Section 5 of the Weights and Measures Act, 1904, and of the Notices of Examination in respect of patterns which have received the approval of the Board of Trade under Section 6 of that Act.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether any application has been received under the Safeguarding of Industries Act from the boot and shoe manufacturers; and, if so, how the application has been dealt with?

I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer which was given on the 4th February to the hon. Member for the Western Isles (Mr. Livingstone), of which I am sending him a copy.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he has any further information concerning the strike and boycott which has taken place at Sierra Leone; what steps the authorities are taking in order to adjust and settle the difficulties; how many persons are involved in the strike; do the authorities recognise the right of the workers to organise and accept the principle of collective bargaining; if any arrests have been made; whether any violence or disturbances have taken place, and the number of soldiers or extra police which have been employed in connection with the dispute; are any of the military or other forces being used to carry on the work and duties usually performed by the strikers; and has he any information indicating that the dispute has arisen from any causes other than legitimate grievances the persons involved consider they are suffering from?

I have now received a report from the Governor, from which it appears that the strike still continues although some men have resumed work. A meeting has taken place between the general manager and representatives of the union, at which the latter have been informed of the terms on which the Government is prepared to take the men hack. I do not know the number of persons involved, note the number of soldiers and extra police employed in connection with the dispute. The Colonial Government have not opposed the formation of the union nor refused to negotiate with it. Some European military personnel has been used for keeping open telegraphic communication and in assisting the European locomotive drivers. I have no information that the strike has arisen from any other cause then the alleged grievances of the strikers. With regard to the remainder of the question, I can add nothing feather to the reply given to the hon. Member on the 12th February.

asked the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs whether he has received a communication from any of the Dominion Governments with regard to the Reports of the Imperial Economic Committee; and, if so, to what effect?

Communications are passing between His Majesty's Government and the Dominion Governments on various aspects of the work of the Imperial Economic Committee, but I am not at present in a position to give the information asked for in the latter part of my hon. Friend's question.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether it is the intention of His Majesty's Government to take any steps to expedite the summoning of the Financial Conference contemplated by the Genoa Resolutions on Currency?

I regret that I cannot add to the answers which have already been given to the hon. Member on this subject. His Majesty's Government view with sympathy the co-operation between central banks, and are glad to believe that it is continually increasing.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he is aware of the wish of many Income Tax payers that the method of assessment of the profits of commercial undertakings under Schedule U and of employes under Schedule E should be altered from the present bases to that of the previous year so as to attain general uniformity, seeing that, if this simplification were adopted, it would be possible to introduce one tax based upon a single return of the income of the previous year to replace the present system of assessing Income Tax and Super-tax separately?

This matter is engaging the attention of my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer, but he is unable to make any statement thereon at the present time.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his attention has been given to the offer of the German Government to convert the 3?; per cent. loan into a new rentenmark loan at the rate of 2½ per cent.; and, if so, what action does the Government propose to take on behalf of British creditors?

Arrangements have been made by the German Government whereby British holders of various mark loans of the German Government and Prussian State, who have held such loans uninterruptedly since before the 1st of July, 1920, may lodge at the Bank of England their claims for the conversion of such holdings into allotments of the "Loan Liquidation Debt" under the German law of the 16th July, 1925, an allotment of 25 Reichs marks of the new debt being allowed in respect of each 1,000 marks of the old loans held. I would refer the hon. Member to the notice on the matter which was published in the British Press on the 30th of October last.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether any women clerical officer vacancies exist in the Department of the Public Trustee, and what steps are being taken to consider the promotion of writing assistants and members of the typing grades to, such vacancies?

There are no women clerical officer vacancies at the moment in the Department of the Public Trustee. Writing assistants and members of the typing grades are always considered for promotion to such vacancies as may from time to time arise.

asked the Minister of Health whether, in view of the fact that, although the Bristol City Council has been doing everything in its power to remedy the bad housing conditions in that city, he has been compelled to admit that the question of bad housing is clearly one which will require some time to solve, he will be prepared to recommend national assistance in order that this problem may be tackled on an adequate scale?

Local authorities already receive Exchequer assistance in carrying out slum clearance schemes. The question as to what steps could be taken to expedite these schemes is at present receiving consideration. My right hon. Friend does not consider that it is merely a question of granting further Exchequer assistance.

asked the Minister of Health what percentage of the population of Devonport are living in conditions which according to the census definition are officially recognised as overcrowded; and what is the figure for the St. Aubyn and Nelson Wards, respectively?

I regret that the figures asked for are not available. The census statistics of housing density are tabulated for the County Borough of Plymouth only as a whole, and net for its constituent areas.

asked the Minister of Health how many houses suitable for the working classes have been built in Devonport in each of the years since, and including 1919, and how many under assisted schemes in each of the years in question?

I am unable to give separate statistics for Devonport, but the following table gives the information desired so far as it is available, for the County Borough of Plymouth, which includes Devonport:

asked the Minister of Health whether he will give particulars of the sites acquired by the Plymouth Corporation since the War for assisted housing schemes, giving the price per acre of each site together with

asked the Minister of Health if any figures are available in his Department showing the number of houses condemned as unfit for habitation in England and Wales but still occupied?

Statistics are not available giving the information desired by the hon. Member. A tabulation of the information given in the Reports of Medical Officers of Health for the year 1923 showed that 14,367 houses were reported during the year as unfit for human habitation in England and Wales.

asked the Minister of Health if he has any figures in his Department showing the number of persons living in England and Wales in homes of one room; and the number living in homes of two rooms?

According to the census of 1921 there were in England and Wales 317,417 private families consisting of 623,869 persons occupying one room per family, and 917,958 private families consisting

The required information is set out in the following statement:of 2,834,802 persons occupying two rooms per family.

asked the Minister of Health whether he will consider some revision of the terms on which means are calculated in assessing old age pension, in view of the fact that under the present system no cognisance is taken of the actual income enjoyed, but only of the capital owned, and that the interest on at least a part of the capital is placed unduly high?

I would refer the hon. and gallant Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer to the hon. Member for Middlesbrough West (Mr. T. Thomson) in reply to a similar question on the 10th February, 1925, of which I am sending him a copy.

asked the Minister of Health the number of mothers who lost their lives from causes due to childbearing in England and Wales during 1923 and 1924, and the ratio of such deaths to the total births during the year?

The following statement gives the number of deaths from these

asked the Minister of Health what improvement, if any, is manifest respecting the maternal mortality in rural, textile, and coal-mining areas; and whether it is the custom for all medical officers of health to investigate all maternal deaths due to childbirth, and all cases of puerperal fever whether fatal or not?

On present information my right hon. Friend is unable to say that there has as yet been any general improvement in the maternal mortality rate in these areas, but the figures for 1925 are not yet available. As regards the second part of the question, the Circular issued by my right hon. Friend's Department in June, 1924, on the subject of maternal mortality impressed upon local authorities conducting maternity and child welfare schemes the desirability of competent medical investigation into all maternal deaths and all cases of puerperal fever. The extent to which this practice is adopted varies in different areas.

asked the Minister of Agriculture the amount advanced under the Agriculture Credits Act during the year 1925?

During the year 1925 advances were made by the Public Works Loan Commissioners under Section 1 of the Agricultural Credits Act, 1923, to the amount of £1,690,949, and by the Minister of Agriculture to agricultural

asked the Minister of Labour how mans persons, male and female, are employed in the beet sugar industry of Great Britain in the production of sugar beet, in the production of sugar front sugar beet, and in the production of machinery for sugar-beet factories, respectively?

I have been asked to reply. The number of persons employed in Great Britain in the production of sugar from sugar beet during the 1925–26 manufacturing season has been approximately 4,700. Owing to the large number of contractors engaged in supplying parts of machinery for beet sugar factories it is difficult to say how many persons are engaged in the production of machinery, but enquiries are being made. The number of persons engaged during 1925 in the erection of and extensions to beet sugar factories was over 6,000. No figures are available of the total number of persons employed in the production of the crop.

asked the Minister Agriculture whether the source of infection has been traced of the recent outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Leicestershire and Warwickshire; and whether he can state the reason for closing an area of a 20-mile radius from the outbreak instead of a 15-mile radius as heretofore?

I have been asked to reply. The answer to the first part is in the negative. With regard to the second part, the first outbreak in this area occurred at Packington, and a 15-mile area round Packington was, placed under restrictions. There was also reason to believe that Tamworth Market was infected, and a restricted area of 15 miles radius round Tamworth was considered to be necessary. The conjunction of these two areas accounts for the somewhat larger area under restrictions round Packington to which my hon. Friend refers.

asked the Postmaster-General if he will state the average length of service of the first, second and third batch of 20 writing assistants, respectively, employed in the London telephone service, and the average length of service of the 10 most senior members of the typing grades in the same branches of his Department; what is the average length of service of the 10 most renior members of the typing grades employed in the secretary's office, and the date when the last promotion to the clerical class took place from the ranks of the typing staff in the secretary's office; and what is the average length of service of the first, second and third batch of 20 writing assistants, respectively, employed in the money order department?

I am having inquiry made, and will write to the hon. Member.

asked the Minister of Labour the number of persons unemployed at the present time, and the numbers for the same period last year?

At 8th February, 1926, the number of persons on the iegisters of Employment Exchanges in Great Britain was 1,164,900, as compared with 1,242,959 at 9th February, 1925.

also asked the Minister of Labour the number of men at present employed on the various forms of relief work subsidised by the Unemployment Grants Committee, and the number similarly employed a year ago?

At 28th December, 1925, the latest date for which figures are available, the number of men directly employed on schemes of work subsidised through the Unemployment Grants Committee was 33,280, as compared with 28,605 at 27th December, 1924. These figures represent the number of men actually employed on the dates given, and exclude additional men not at work on those dates for whom employment was given by means of working alternate weeks or other short-time systems.

asked the Minister of Labour if he is aware that extended unemployment benefit has been reduced to unemployed men by the amount of benefit which ought to be paid for the children of the unemployed in the Leven district of Fifeshire; and if such reduction is being made because the children are receiving meals from the education authority?

I understand that in one case at any rate, and possibly in others, dependant's benefit has been disallowed on the recommendation of the local employment committee on account of allowance for meals averaging 5s. per week per child made by the education authority. The matter is not free from difficulty, and I am considering the question further.

asked the Minister of Labour whether, when household income is being calculated where the father is dead and the mother incapacitated, he will, when some members of the family are unemployed, give consideration on account of the extra expense due to the illness of the mother?

Yes, Sir; that is the present practice.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware that Miss Hannah Sheen, a tailoress, of 59, Church Row, Limehouse, has been deprived of unemployment benefit at the Mansell Street Employment Exchange on account of her refusal to take work below the Trade Board rate of wages; and whether he will give instructions to ensure that the Trade Board rates are observed, and that workers are not penalised for refusing to work for employers who are contravening the law?

I am having inquiries made, and will let the hon. Member know the result as soon as possible.

asked the Minister of Labour if he will arrange when the unemployment cards are next changed to classify persons in the manufacture of motor vehicles separately from those engaged in their repair; and whether he can state how many of these now classified as engaged in the manufacture and repair of motor vehicles, etc., are engaged in manufacture only?

The sub-classification of this employment group is a matter which I investigated recently. According to my information manufacture and repair of motor vehicles or work on parts which may either be used for new vehicles or for repairs, is performed by the same individuals to such an extent that a reliable classification under the headings of manufacture and repair is not practicable. I regret that I have no statistics on the point.

asked the Minister of Labour how many aliens, whether naturalised or not, are in employment in Great Britain and Northern Ireland?

I have been asked to reply. I regret that the information asked for is not available. I may, however, refer the hon. and gallant Member to the volumes of the Census Reports for 1921 (England and Wales) dealing with "Occupations," Table 7 on page 122 of which gives a summarised statement of the number of aliens engaged in different occupations in England and Wales at that date. Similar figures in respect of aliens in Scotland are given in Table 10 on page 258 of the corresponding volume of the Census Reports for Scotland.

asked the Minister of Transport whether his attention has been drawn to the fact that smoking is now permitted in the lifts of the underground railways of London; and whether, as this permission will increase the danger of fire in the lifts and, consequently, of panic, especially in view of the fact that lift attendants do not now in most cases accompany the passengers, he will say whether he proposes to take any action in the matter?

I have seen statements in the Press to the effect that the restriction against smoking in these lifts has been withdrawn. I have no reason to think that this withdrawal would involve danger, but I am making some further inquiries in the matter.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he can give particulars of the grants made during the last five years to county councils and rural district councils in England and Wales in respect of unclassified rural roads, distinguishing grants made for improvement and reconditioning from those made for ordinary maintenance?

I regret that the particulars asked for by my hon. and Gallant Friend are not readily available, and, as the information could only be extracted at a considerable expenditure of time and labour, I trust that he will not press for it.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether, seeing that the anti-British boycott in Canton from which the trade of this country is suffering is the result of propaganda carried on by Soviet subjects in Southern China, and that such propaganda constitutes a- breach of the Anglo-Soviet Trade Agreement of the 16th March, 1921, he will state whether he will, in the interests of our unemployed; make representations to the Government of Moscow to cause such propaganda to cease"

I do not think the representations suggested by my hon. Friend would at present achieve the object which he has in view.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to say whether any steps will be taken, in conjunction with the Governments of Australia and New Zealand, to institute negotiations with regard to the state of affairs in the New Hebrides?

His Majesty's Ambassador at Paris is in communication with the French Government on the subject. Our action is taken in consultation with the Governments of Australia and New Zealand.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what is the total number of Allied troops now in the occupation of the Rhineland?

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave on Monday last in answer to the right hon. Gentleman the Member for Central Newcastle (Mr. Trevelyan).

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what is the number of native police at present operating in the Saar Valley; and what is the number of French troops in the Saar now and one year ago?

According to a statement of the Governing Commission the gendarmerie provided for by the Treaty of Versailles will number 1,005 men by the end of March next. I do not know the strength of the French troops now in the Saar, and have not had time to secure the information since I saw the hon. Member's question, but the number is less than it was a year ago.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he proposes to recommend any changes in the course of this year in the administration of the Saar, and, in particular, with regard to the President of the Administration?

I think it not unlikely that some change may be proposed which the British representative would be prepared to support.

asked the President of the Board of Education the number of new schools which have been in contemplation in Bristol; and the number of cases in which the plans have been dropped as a result of the new policy of economy announced by his Department?

Five proposals, with plans, for new schools in Bristol have been submitted by the local authority to my Department since the beginning of last year. Notices have been issued for another new school and a site has been approved. I am not aware that in any of these cases progress has been suspended as a result of the issue of Circular 1371 and Administrative Memorandum 44; in fact, two of them have been approved since the date of the Circular. The provision of one handicraft centre and the enlargement of another have, I understand, been postponed by the authority, but they have not notified me of their decision.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether the latest figures available show any decrease of tuberculosis in the Navy; and whether he is satisfied that all reasonable precautions are enforced to prevent the spread of this disease?

The ratio per 1,000 invalided for tuberculosis during the last four years was:

asked the hon. and gallant Member for West Bristol the number of ex-service men's appeal cases heard before the House of Lords' Tribunal during the past year in respect of tuberculosis declared by the Ministry of Pensions to be neither attributable nor aggravated by war service; and whether he can give a summary of the results of these appeals?

It is regretted that the records of the Pensions Appeal Tribunals axe not kept in such a form as to enable this information to be given without incurring a very considerable amount of additional work, involving the examination of many thousand individual cases.

asked the Attorney-General if he will give the names and dates of appointment of the Advisory Committee to the Lord-Lieutenant of Middlesex, appointed for the purpose of advising as to the selection of new justices of the peace for the Acton Petty Sessional District?

There is at present no effective advisory committee for the county of Middlesex. A committee was appointed in 1922 for a term of office of three years which expired on the 12th December last. The Lord Chancellor is at present considering the formation of a new committee.

asked the Attorney-General whether his attention has been drawn to the privileged position accorded to the mother who, under the provisions of the Guardianship of Infants Act, 1925, can now apply to a Court of summary jurisdiction for a ruling regarding the custody of her children, while her husband retains only his original power of application to the High Court; and whether he proposes to bring about an approximation between the rights of the two parents

My right hon. Friend has asked me to answer this question. I have seen reports raising suggestions as to the effect of the Act, but it is too early as yet to come to any decision as to the effect of this Act upon the rights of parents.

asked the Home Secretary if he will give the number and names of towns last year at which the respective licensing justices have granted an application for the extra half-hour of opening, firstly for the summer season and secondly for the whole year; how many applications for such extension have been made this year; and how many have been granted to date?

I regret I am not in a position to furnish the information asked for. Particulars of the permitted hours in force at the end of 1921 in the various licensing districts in England and Wales were given in the published licensing statistics for that year, but similar information has not been collected in respect of subsequent years.

asked the Home Secretary on what authority a general search of the houses and headquarters of the arrested Communists was carried out in October of last year; why papers, furniture, etc., were taken away without regard to their possible relevance to the case; and before what magistrate and on what grounds a search warrant was sworn out?

It has been the practice from time immemorial for police officers to search the dwelling of a person for whose arrest a warrant has been issued, whenever it seems likely that any material evidence, whether for or against the accused, can be obtained. The practice is brought to the cognisance of Courts almost daily, and has never, so far as I know, been adversely commented on by a Judge—much less held to be illegal. The last part of the question does not arise.

asked the Home Secretary whether he will consider the desirability of publishing the Report made by a Scotland Yard official in reference to the sinking of His Majesty's Ship "Hampshire" in 1916?

I have made fill inquiry, but can find no trace of any police report on the subject.

asked the Prime Minister if he will consider the advisability of legislation with a view of removing the anomaly whereby graduates of the University of London who are women are debarred from exercising the Parliamentary franchise until they attain the age of 30 years?

I have been asked to reply. This is a matter which can be considered by the conference proposed to be held on the general question of the franchise of women.