asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether his attention has been drawn to the request to the Government of India by the Indian community in South Africa, that there should be a representative of that community on the Indian delegation to the forthcoming round-table conference in Cape Town; and, if so, whether he is in a position to state what action the Government of India propose to take in the matter?

I understand that such a representation was made, and that the Government of India informed the South African Indian Congress that as the Conference was to be between the two Governments, it would not be possible to give the Indian community in the Union direct representation in the Indian delegation, but that they would be glad to receive any views and suggestions which the community may desire to put forward in regard to the matters at issue, and to communicate them to their representatives at the Conference.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India if the Government have had any recent communications with the Government of India regarding the possibility of releasing the prisoners who have been detained under the Bengal Criminal Ordinance Act for several years without trial; and if he can state the Government's intentions regarding these prisoners?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the negative. The intentions of the Government were somewhat fully stated by the Home Member in the course of a Debate in the Legislative Assembly on 26th January last, and I gave the hon. Member the gist of them in reply to his question of 8th March. So far as my Noble Friend is aware, the views of the Government of India have undergone no change, but he will inquire.

Can the Noble Lord hold out any hope at all that these men who have been imprisoned so long are going to be released eventually?

I have nothing to add to the answer I have given. As I said, my Noble Friend will inquire if there is any change in the views of the Government of India.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India if he is aware that Mr. S. C. Bose, who is at present detained under the Bengal Criminal Ordinance Act, and who has been duly nominated as a candidate for the Bengal Provincial Council, has not been allowed to issue his election manifesto; and if he will state the ground for this inhibition?

The fact of this prohibition and the reason for it have been reported in the Indian Press. My Noble Friend has no further information, but will inquire.

Is the Noble Lord aware that the electors of Calcutta have elected Mr. Bose by a large majority?

I do not know what bearing that has on the question, except to show that the hon. Gentleman is wrong in assuming that any harm has been done by not issuing any election manifesto.

asked the Under-secretary of State for India whether the family pension scheme for all-Indian services has now been considered by the Government of India; whether any decision has been arrived at; whether details can now be given of this scheme; and if an opportunity will be available for the service organisations concerned to comment on the proposals before they are finally decided upon?

The Government of India have examined the scheme, which will now be communicated to the officers concerned for their consideration. I hope to be able to give details of it shortly.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India what action is being taken by the Indian Government following the recommendations of Mr. A. Patterson, His Majesty's commissioner of prisons, as a, result of his inquiry into gaol conditions in Burma?

A Resolution was published by the Government of Burma on the 9th October reviewing the 24 recommendations made in Mr. Paterson's report and explaining inter alia that as regards five of them, which related to prevention of crime, a representative Committee was to be set up. I shall be glad to send the hon. Member a copy of the Resolution if he so desires.

Can the Noble Lord say whether the Committee has yet, been set up?

I should require to have notice of that question. The Resolution referred to stated that the Committee would be set up, and presumably it either has been or is in process of being.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India the total number of convicts incarcerated on the Andaman Islands on the latest convenient date, together with the number for the corresponding period of 1921?

In 1921 the convict population numbered 11,532, of whom 1,168 were self-supporters or persons who, though still under sentence, are released from close confinement and allowed to earn their living. In December, 1925, the convict population numbered 7,740, of whom 2,105 were self-supporters drawing wages from Government, and 2,272 were agricultural and other self-supporters.

Is it the intention of the Government to give up these islands as a penal Colony?

The policy of abandoning penal settlements is being steadily pursued and has been pursued for years past.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether his attention has been drawn to the outbreak of scurvy at the Hyderabad central gaol; and whether any steps have been taken with a view to an improved diet being afforded, so as to avoid any future epidemics?

My noble Friend has received no information on the subject.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether it is the intention of the Government of India to include women among the nominated members of the new provincial councils and legislative assembly?

The selection of the persons to fill the nominated seats is under the Statutory rules a matter for the personal discretion of the Governor-General in the case of the Indian Legislature and of the Governor in the case of a provincial Legislative Council. My noble Friend has no information as to their intentions in this matter.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what steps the Government of Nigeria are taking to deal with the critical health and mortality situation as indicated in the Annual Report?

The Nigerian Government is taking every possible step to deal with the outbreaks of disease referred to in the Report, which is for the year 1925. I am given to understand that the severe epidemics in the Northern Provinces did not recur in 1926. As regards plague in the Southern Provinces, a special visit was paid to Nigeria by Sir Edward Thornton of the Union of South Africa, and as a result an energetic campaign has been undertaken with the aid of personal borrowed from the Army. Thirty-one medical officers have been appointed to Nigeria since January, 1925, and the medical and sanitary departments have been expanded and will be further enlarged. It is not correct to describe the situation as critical. In a country so large as Nigeria, it is quite impossible to prevent the introduction of epidemic disease from time to time.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether it is proposed to make any further reduction in the rates of the Nigerian Railway?

The railway tariff was last revised a year ago, and I have not received any information to the effect that further reductions are contemplated.

May I ask whether the railway is making a profit?

I am not quite sure, but I think it just pays its way.

asked the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs whether he is aware that the State shipping service of the Government of Nigeria, after allowing for depreciation, overhead charges, etc., can profitably transport coal from Port Harcourt to Lagos at 6s. 9d. per ton, and that the Elder Dempster Company is charging 198. 6d. per ton for the same service; and whether he will take any steps to assist the Nigerian Government to extend its State Shipping Department so that the railways and industries of Nigeria may be supplied with coal at lower freights?

I am aware that the Nigerian Marine Department is able to carry coal at the figure stated. The Government of Nigeria has recently purchased a new Colner and the completion of the Nigerian Eastern Railway will enable coal to be railed direct to the tin mines which are the only consumers of coal apart from the Government railways and there is no need for any further expansion of the Marine Department.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he has under consideration a request for self-government from the Colony of Kenya?

The answer is in the negative.

also asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he has any information as to what sentence has been passed upon a European called Jasper Abraham, of Kenya, who has been recently in Court again for assaulting a native?

No, Sir.

asked the Minister of Agriculture how many Orders for the compulsory acquisition of land have been made by the Cambridgeshire County Council under the Small Holdings and Allotments Act, 1908, and the Land Settlement Act, 1919, within the County of Cambridge; and whether he will indicate, as far as possible, the owners from whom such land has been compulsorily acquired, together with the names of the parishes in which the land is situated?

As the reply is rather

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether the Government intend to carry out the recommendations of the Rew Committee for the extension of Unemployment Insurance to agricultural workers?

The Government have considered the Report of the Inter-Departmental Committee on Agricultural Unemployment Insurance, and do not see their way to adopt the recommendations of the Majority Report of the Committee.

Does the answer imply that this matter is definitely settled?

Oh, yes; it is quite definite. The Committee recommended a special scheme for agriculture, and we are not able to accept their recommendations.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether, during the present visit to this country of Dominion Ministers, he is arranging for the resumption of the export of pedigree stock to these Dominions either from England as a whole or from districts which can he certified as free from disease?

If the present improvement in the position with regard to foot-and-mouth disease is maintained, I propose to approach the Dominion Governments on this subject, but I think it would he premature to do so at the present moment.

May I ask whether at the present moment it would not be desirable to put forward the suggestion that there should be two quarantine stations near the ports, one in the North and one in the South, to which animals for export could be sent for a sufficient period to ensure freedom from disease.

As the hon. Gentleman is aware, there used to be a quarantine station at the Government expense, and, with the approval of the Breed societies, it was abolished. We are now discussing the possibility of re-establishing quarantine facilities at the expense of the people who use them, and when the arrangements are complete we will approach the Dominion Governments.

asked the Minister of Agriculture if he is aware that peat moss imported from Holland is being used as litter for stock and is afterwards spread on the land as manure; if he will inquire whether foot-and-mouth disease is prevalent in Holland; and, if so, take steps to prohibit the import of peat moss into this country?

The answer to the first par is in the affirmative. Owing to the prevalence of foot-and-mouth disease in Holland imports of farm produce such as hay and straw for use as fodder or litter are prohibited. Seeing that peat moss litter is not generally produced on farms, and there is no evidence connecting an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease with its use, I have not felt justified in prohibiting its entry.

If I can place proof in the right hon. Gentleman's hands that this litter is actually being sold and placed on the land in Gloucestershire, will he reconsider the matter?

It is not merely a question of whether it is to be used on a farm here. What we are primarily concerned about is the conditions of production, and whether it originates in an area where it is likely to be infected by foot-and-mouth disease. I am informed it comes from a part of Holland where there is little or no grazing; it is baled on the moors and sent down a canal direct for shipment.

asked the Minister of Agriculture the yearly expenditure on research for foot-and-mouth disease during the past three years; how much it is proposed to spend in the future; and what progress has been made in the discovery of the origin of the disease?

The actual expenditure of the Foot-and-Mouth Disease Research Committee was £6,546 in the year ended 31st March, 1925, and:C9,521 in the year ended March last. In the current year the estimated expenditure is £15,000. So far as can be at present foreseen, the future requirements of the Committee may be expected to be in the neighbourhood of £15,000 a year. A first progress Report, giving full information of the Committee's activities, was published last year, and a second Report is in the Press. Broadly speaking, the Committee are making some progress along several different lines of attack; but the whole problem is still obscure.

asked the Minister of Agriculture the number of allotments taken in the past 12 months for town extension purposes which have not been replaced elsewhere by the local authority taking them; and whether in all these cases where necessary his Department has made representations in favour of such substitution?

The particulars required by my hon. Friend are only available in respect of those cases where my consent to the transaction is required under Section 8 of the Allotments Act, 1925. In 19 such cases allotment land has been taken by local authorities for own extension purposes during the last 12 months, the number of plot holders dispossessed being 255. In every instance alternative accommodation was available.

Are they entitled to compensation for dispossession, and if so, from whom?

Perhaps my hon. Friend will put down a question.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty how many capital ships and aircraft carriers, respectively, were actually scrapped in pursuance of the terms of the Washington Naval Conven- tion of 1922; and what was the annual cost of the maintenance of those units in commission before they were scrapped?

Twenty capital ships of the British Empire were scrapped in pursuance of the terms of the Washington Naval Convention of 1922; one additional ship was transformed into an accommodation vessel in accordance with the terms of the Treaty, and a further ship which might have been retained as an accommodation vessel was in fact scrapped. The Washington Treaty did not require the scrapping of any aircraft carriers of the British Empire.

None of the British ships were in full commission at the time of the Washington negotiations; some were in reserve or special commission, and others were out of commission. The only figures available now regarding the cost of maintenance of these ships indicate that the approximate expenditure for those in reserve was at the rate of about £100,000 a year each, nearly half of that sum being for pay of officers and men; the expenditure on those ships that were paid off would be considerably less.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty how many units of the projected Admiralty programme of capital ships and aircraft carriers, respectively, were abandoned in consequence of the Washington Naval Convention of 1922; what would have been the approximate total capital cost of the construction of such units; and what would have been the approximate annual cost of their maintenance in commission?

Four capital ships, included in the 1921–22 building programme, were abandoned in consequence of the Washington Naval Convention; no projected aircraft carriers were so abandoned. The approximate total capital cost of construction of the four capital ships was estimated as £30,000,000, of which we saved all but about £2,000,000.

It is impossible to state with any real accuracy what would have been the annual cost of maintenance of these capital ships in commission had they been completed, but I am of opinion that, as a rough estimate, the annual cost of maintaining, at present prices, each of these capital ships in full commission would have been £500,000.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty whether men invalided and in receipt of a Naval Service Pension are eligible for the Greenwich Age Pension of 5d. and 9d. per day on attaining the age of 55 and 65, respectively?

The answer is Li the affirmative, except so far as men who entered or (after a break in service) reentered the Service after the 3rd October, 1925, are concerned. Such men are not eligible for the increased pension of 9d. a day. I would also refer my hon. and, gallant Friend to the reply given to his question of the 4th May, 1925, in regard to pensions paid to naval ratings by the Ministry of Pensions (OFFICIAL REPORT, col. 535).

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty how many chief and petty officers' messes in the shore establishments at Portsmouth, Devonport, Chatham and Rosyth have elected to be messed on the general messing system; and if he can give any reasons why this system of messing is unpopular with chief and petty officers?

The reply to the first part of the question is, six. As regards the second part, there is no reason to think that the general mess system, as such, is unpopular with chief petty officers or petty officers in shore establishments, but, generally speaking, it suits their convenience and peculiar circumstances to run their own messing.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty the number of naval ratings invalided between the 1st January and 30th September, 1926, and the number whose invaliding disability is considered to be attributable to service; the number of naval ratings invalided with tuberculosis between the 1st January and 30th September, 1926; and the number which are considered to be attributable to service?

The number of naval ratings (including marines) invalided between 1st January, 1926, and 30th September, 1926, was 1,361, and the number of these whose invaliding dis- ability was considered to be attributable to the service was 59. The number of naval ratings (including marines) invalided with tuberculosis between 1st January, 1926. and 30th September, 1926, was 154, of which seven cases were considered to be attributable to the service.

asked the Home Secretary whether it was upon his instructions that the public meeting proposed to be held at Stapleford on 7th November last was prohibited; if so, will he state the reason for this action; and whether there have been any breaches of the peace in the neighbourhood in question?

This meeting was prohibited by the Chief Constable of Nottinghamshire under the general authority given by me on the 19th ultimo in pursuance of No. 22 of the Emergency Regulations. Although there had been no disturbances in Nottinghamshire, near Stapleford, there had been disturbances lust over the Derbyshire border, and the Chief Constable accordingly thought it necessary to prohibit the meeting.

Ts it not rather strange that a meeting should be prohibited in Nottinghamshire at all, seeing the way the miners have acted throughout this dispute?

I agree that the miners have acted admirably, hut the Chief Constable certified to me that he thought this particular meeting at that particular time might lead to a breach of the peace. It was one of the very few that have been prohibited.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say if this meeting was held under the auspices of the Communist party, or whether a Communist was billed to speak?

The hon. Member must give me notice of a detailed question like that.

asked the Home Secretary if it was on his instructions that, a meeting at Swallownest, Bother Valley Division, was banned on Sunday evening, 14th November; and whether, seeing that a similar meeting under the same auspices and with the same speakers was allowed to proceed at Woodhouse, two miles distant. he will explain what is the principle governing in these eases?

The meeting at Swallownest was prohibited by the Chief Constable of the West Riding under the general authority given by me on the 19th October in pursuance of No. 22 of the Emergency Regulations. The meeting at Woodhouse was in a different police area, and the chief constable concerned was entitled to use his discretion.

asked the Home Secretary whether it was on his instructions that the Chief Constable of South Shields took exception to a meeting of millers only, proposed to be held in the Pavilion Theatre Hall, South Shields, because he had not been notified of it, so that the Letting of the hall was withdrawn by the proprietor on representations from the chief constable; whether he has issued instructions to all chief constables that they must be notified of all meetings proposed to be held in their respective areas; and whether there have been any breaches of the peace in South Shields?

The answer to the two first parts of this question is in the negative. The answer to the third part is in the affirmative.

asked the Minister of Health whether he will publish a list of the boards of guardians representing mining areas, showing the number of persons who received outdoor relief during each month of the mining disputes in 1921 and the present year?

I will circulate in the OFFICIAL REPORT a statement giving the desired information.