asked the Under-secretary of State for India whether Indian candidates for commissions in the Indian Army Veterinary Corps must pass through the Dehra Dun Military College; and whether the capacity of this college is equal to the demands made by Indian candidates for commissions?

I have no doubt that the Government of India will be willing to consider candidates who have not passed through the Dehra Dun College provided that they are members of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and are fully qualified in other respects. It is within the capacity of the Dehra Dun College to produce candidates for the small number of veterinary appointments which it is desired to fill from this source in addition to its primary function of producing candidates for the Indian vacancies at Sandhurst.

asked the Under-secretary of State for India whether his attention has been drawn to the notice inserted on behalf of the Government of India in the Electrical Review, of London, inviting applications for the appointment of a deputy transportation superintendent for the Great Indian Peninsula Railway, in which it was specified as one of the necessary qualifications that the candidates be European-British subjects; and whether he will inform the House of the considerations the Government had in view in excluding Indians from the appointment?

It has been decided that recruitment in this country to the Transportation Department of the Indian State Railways shall be restricted to Europeans, and the recruitment in India to Indians (including Statutory Indians), in order to establish the proportion between Europeans and Indians in the department which is considered desirable.

asked the Undersecretary of State for India the number of inspectors employed to enforce factory legislation in Bengal; and the number of workers engaged in the times each year the factories are officially visited?

There are at present employed under the Government of Bengal one chief inspector of factories, four inspectors of factories, and two assistant inspectors of factories. The services of these officers are shared between the Governments of Bengal and Assam. There are also two posts of inspector and one of assistant inspector which, according to the latest information available, are vacant. The average daily number of employés in registered factories in Bengal in 1924 (the latest year for which figures are available) was 543,123. The number of factories working was 1,065. The total number of official visits made was 1,209. 52 factories were inspected more than three times, 40 were inspected three times, 100 twice, and 558 once.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether it is the intention of the Government of India to bring forward legislation to deal with the form of slavery known in Bengal and Chota Nagpur as Kamiauti, whereby a peasant in debt contracts, on behalf of himself and his children, to work for the moneylender for life in return for the bare necessities of food and clothing; and whether he is aware that this practice obtains over a large part of India and is condemned by the British population?

The Kamiauti system of Behar probably exists in other provinces under other names, but I should hesitate to agree that it obtains over a large part of India, and I do not know the views of the British population upon it. Legislation already exists in Behar and Orissa to regulate this form of agreement, and the local Government will no doubt take such steps as they find possible to make it more effective than it appears to be at present.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether he is aware that Mr. Harnam Sunder Lal, who was to have accompanied the delegate nominated by the Government of India to represent the Indian workers at the eighth session of the International Labour Conference at Geneva, was refused the necessary passport; and on what grounds this refusal was made?

I have no information on the subject. The matter is one for the local authorities, and my Noble Friend sees no reason to interfere.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether, following the proposal of the International Labour Conference, any steps have been taken with a view to the appointment of an Indian correspondent to the International Labour Conference?

The Resolution of the International Labour Conference recommends to the Governing Body that an early decision should be taken regarding the establishment of a correspondent in India. No action by the Government of India is therefore required, and it is presumed that the Governing Body will consider the matter in due course.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether all the publications of the League of Nations and the International Labour Office are available for inspection by Members of the House, in the Library or otherwise?

The following League of Nations publications are supplied to the House of Commons Library: Records of the Assembly; Reports to the Assembly on the work of the Council and Secretariat; Monthly Bulletin of Statistics; Monthly Summary of Information; Reports on the Work of the Permanent Mandates Commission; Monthly Official Journal; all International Labour Office Publications received by His Majesty's Government. While the above comprise the more important items, they do not include all publications issued by the League, which are very voluminous. If the hon. Member has any particular one in mind not included in the above, I shall be happy to consider whether it can be supplied.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in what countries, if any, naval missions are now maintained by this country for the purpose of instructing or advising the country or Government concerned in naval matters?

There are now no British naval missions in foreign countries, but certain British officers are acting as noval advisers to the Chilean Government.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he anticipates that the settlement with Turkey over the Mosul will lead to economies in the administration of Iraq and be thus productive of diminished burdens on the British taxpayer?

Yes, Sir.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies the number of men, married and single, with and without families, who were assisted to migrate up to and including 31st December last year under the Empire Settlement Act of 1922, and the amount of assistance given to these men either by way of loan or grant?

The number of men who were assisted to migrate under the Empire Settlement Act up to 31st December, 1925, was 49,594. Of these, 35,128 were single, 11,962 were married men with families, and 2,504 married men without families. The information asked for in the second part of the question could not be obtained without a very considerable amount of labour, as existing records do not classify payments under these headings.

asked the Secretary of State for War why no less than 2,131 animals, as disclosed by the War Department, were subjected to gas poisoning experiments in this country between May, 1923, and January, 1926; and whether, in view of the Washington Conference Treaty, 1922, and the Geneva Protocol, 1925, against the use of poison gas in warfare, which has been ratified by 31 States, it is necessary to continue these experiments?

Experiments with animals are unfortunately essential in order to obtain the necessary data for ensuring adequate defence against poison gas and for evolving efficient methods of treating gas casualties. As regards the second part of the question, the Government does not feel that the Agreements referred to justify it omitting to take all posible precautionary measures to protect the Forces of the Crown and the inhabitants of the country against gas attacks in war, and for this reason the experiments referred to must continue.

asked the Secretary of State for War the present position with regard to recruiting; and, in particular, whether more recruits have been obtained during the recent period of unemployment?

Figures for the current recruiting year show some diminution as compared with the figures for the corresponding period of last year, but there has been some improvement during the last three weeks.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether he is aware that the local authority at Chesterfield has refused to put the Act for the provision of meals for school children into operation; and whether, in view of the distress in this area, he will make special inquiries into the matter?

I have no information on this matter. I would remind the hon. Member that under the provisions of the Education Act, 1921, it is for the local authority to decide whether there is a need in their area for the exercise of their powers to provide meals, and I do not think I can properly interfere with their discretion in the matter.

asked the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs the amount of money allocated by the Government for the erection of houses in Northern Ireland and the Irish Free State for the use of Irish ex-service men, and in ratification of promises made to them during the war; and the number of houses completed in each country and at what cost, together with the cost of administration of the amount allocated?

The total amount of money allocated for the erection of houses for ex-service men in Ireland under Section 4 of the Irish Land (Provision for Sailors and Soldiers) Act, 1919, and Section 3 of the Irish Free State (Consequential Provisions) Act, 1922, is £3,239,000. 2,245 houses have been completed and are occupied, 194 are at present under construction, and arrangements are being made for the construction at an early date of a further 1,053. Of the houses completed and occupied, 733 are in Northern Ireland and 1,692 in the Irish Free State. Of the total amount allocated, £2,444,167 has been spent to 31st March last; and of this sum, £2,288,730 was expended in the purchase of land and the building of Houses and £155,437 upon administration.

asked the Minister of Health the amount of the housing subsidy granted in each of the last 12 months; and whether there are any districts and, if so, which, where the demand for housing accommodation can now be regarded as substantially met by the operation of State assistance and private enterprise?

I will circulate in the OFFICIAL REPORT a statement giving the information desired by the hon. Member in the first part of his question. With regard to the second part my right hon. Friend is not in a position to furnish my hon. Friend with such a list as he desires; at the same time I can say generally that the present rate of house construction is not only providing for the normal increase of population, but is also making considerable progress in overtaking arrears.

STATEMENT showing the number of houses completed during the 12 months to 1st May, 1926, in respect of which Exchequer subsidy under the Housing Acts of 1923 and 1924 is payable.

asked the Minister of Health if, in view of recent events, his Department has reconsidered the question of permitting the giving of birth control information at maternity and child welfare centres?

No, Sir.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he can state the amount of duties actually collected on silk goods brought into this country during the past financial year by travellers?

Precise figures relating to the amount of Silk Duty collected from travellers are not available, but it is estimated that the amount so collected in the period 1st July, 1925, to 31st March, 1926, was approximately £35,000.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether any definite response is to be expected from his appeal to the different Departments to exercise increased economy, in view of the expenditure on industrial troubles?

My right hon. Friend continues sanguine on the subject raised in the question, and His Majesty's Government will continue to do their best in spite of all the difficulties caused by the industrial troubles.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he is in a position to give the number of ex-service temporary clerks in the taxes branch of the Inland Revenue Department who have received notices to terminate their appointments on the 31st July; and whether he can see his way clear to postpone the operation of these notices in view of the fact that it is notorious that tax offices all over the country are badly overworked and suffering from inadequacy of staff?

The answer to the first part of the question is 248. The men under notice will be replaced by ex-service men who have been successful at the Southborough examination and the clerical establishment will, therefore, not fall below the authorised strength.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he can furnish in-

formation as to the services run day by day in the London area by omnibuses, tramways, and tube railways, respectively, during the General Strike?

From information which has been supplied to me, I understand that the numbers of ( a ) omnibuses, ( b ) tramcars, and ( c ) train-units on the Underground and Metropolitan Railways, operated day by day in the London area during the period 4th May to 15th May, 1926, inclusive, were as set out in the tables which follow:

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury the number of dog licences taken out for the 12 months ending the last convenient date?

The number of dog licences taken out in Great Britain in the 12 months ended the 31st March, 1926, was 2,810,162.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury if he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT the names of the mineral royalty owners in the whole of Great Britain?

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave to the hon. Member for Rothwell (Mr. Lunn) on the 10th June.

asked the Prime Minister if any decision has been reached as to when the conference to consider alterations in the franchise and electoral law will be called?

No, Sir.

asked the Secretary for Mines what are the present arrangements as to the dates when the compulsory deliveries of German coal and the French monopoly of the Saar Valley mines are to come to an end; and how does the present French coal production, together with the above-mentioned coal deliveries, compare with the pre-War production?

With regard to the present arrangements governing the dates when the compulsory deliveries of German coal are to come to an end, I would refer my hon. and gallant Friend to the reply given to him in answer to a somewhat similar question on 3rd August last (OFFICIAL REPORT, col. 964; Vol. 187). Those arrangements are still in force.

As to the Saar mines, it was provided under Section IV of Part III of the Treaty of Versailles that all the deposits of coal situated within the Saar Basin as defined by the Treaty became the complete and absolute property of the French State from the date of the coming into force of the Treaty. If at the termination of a period of 15 years from that date (namely, 10th January, 1935) the population of part or the whole of the territory of the Saar Basin inchoate their desire for union with Germany, France's rights of ownership in the mines situated in such part of the territory will be repurchased by Germany in their entirety under the conditions laid down in the Section referred to. No alteration has been made as regards this provision. The present French coal production, including that of the Saar Basin as well as that of the coalfield of Alsace Lorraine, the sovereignty in which was restored to France as from the date of the Armistice of 11th November, 1918, and the production of coal in the same coalfields in 1913 are shown below, together with the quantities of German coal, coke, etc., delivered to France under the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles.

asked the Minister of Agriculture the name and situation of the bacon factory in Carlisle where foot-and-mouth disease was discovered on 26th May; and whether there has been any spread or fresh outbreak in the district since that date?

The bacon factory is owned by Messrs. Caraghan and Gray, Limited, and is situated at Harraby in the City of Carlisle. There has been no further outbreak or spread of disease since the initial outbreak on the 26th May last.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Overseas Trade Department if, taking the different countries of Europe and North and South America, he can state the number of British firms who have established factories in each of them, respectively?

I regret that I am not in possession of the information desired, which could only be secured by a very elaborate and comprehensive inquiry.