asked the Secretary of State for Air the number

The following Table gives the desired information:

Comparable official figures are only available for civil air transport mileage, and not for civil aircraft hired for joy-riding, photography, etc.The civil air transport mileage was as follows:—of aeroplanes and seaplanes of all types ordered by the Government to be con structed in Great Britain between the 1st November, 1917, and the 1st November, 1918, for use with the British and Allied Forces?

The answer is 32,450 aeroplanes and 1,697 seaplanes.

asked the Secretary of State for Air the number of pilots trained by the Air Ministry between the 1st November, 1917 and the 1st November,. 1918

I regret that no complete record of the number of pilots trained during the period referred to is available. The only figure available is that of military pilots trained by the Royal Flying Corps during the five and a half months between 1st November, 1917, and 15th April, 1918, namely, 3,782 pilots.

asked the Secretary of State for Air the total value of all contracts arranged for in respect of all contracts arranged for in respect of areoplanes, seaplanes, and their parts and accessories with private firms or Government. Constructional Departments in Great Britain between the 1st November, 1917, and the 1st November, 1918?

The answer is approximately £150,000,000.

asked the Secretary of State for Air the approximate extra cost to the annual Estimates of his Department if home-grown meat was used by the Air Force instead of imported supplies?

The estimated extra annual cost would be approximately £80,000.

asked the President of the Board of Education how many women teachers there are in boys' schools in England and Wales?

As on the 31st March, 1925, the number of women teachers in boys' departments of public elementary schools in England and Wales was 7,074. For details my right hon. Friend would refer my hon. Friend to Table 21 of the Board's Volume of Statistics, 1924–25.

asked the President of the Board of Education the number of vacancies for women students in the training colleges of England and Wales for 1926; the number of applicants for admission during the same period; and the corresponding figures for the training colleges for men?

The number of candidates admitted to training colleges in England and Wales in 1926 was 7,735 (2,102 men and 5,633 women), and this number may be taken to represent, approximately, the number of vacancies. My right hon. Friend has no information regarding the number of applicants for admission to the various colleges for the same period. In any case, the figures would be unreliable, since the majority of candidates snake application to more than one college.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty whether men entered as skilled labourers in His Majesty's dockyards and Admiralty experimental and kindred establishments who, although not qualified to receive the maximum rate of pay of that class under Admiralty Letter C, Sec. P.L., 3701/20, dated 2nd October, 1920, are employed on work of a very secret nature, and who had to produce on entry references of the highest description as to their fitness under the Official Secrets Act, could be given the opportunity, if so recommended by their superior officers to reach the maximum pay of their class?

Men entered as skilled labourers may, in due course, and subject to the recommendation of their officers, be advanced to the normal maximum rate of pay authorised for skilled labourers as a class; rates in excess of those provided for the general class of skilled labourers are allowed for qualified men employed on special kinds of work, but these rates are not otherwise awardable to skilled labourers.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty the number of men established in Devonport dockyard during the year 1926, together with the average number of years of service, showing those who have served their apprenticeship in the dockyard and those who have served it outside, respectively?

Twenty workmen were established at Devonport in 1926; their average service was 18 years; five of the men with an average service of 10 years were mechanics who had served their apprenticeship in the dockyard, and 10 were mechanics with average service of 20 years who had not served their apprenticeship in the dockyard.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty the length of service of each of the six men discharged from the Navy in 1926 for tuberculosis held to be attributable to the conditions of service?

The service of the six men, reckoning for pension, was as follows:

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department, as representing the First Commissioner of Works, the number of cinematograph operators' passes that were issued in connection with the opening of Parliament on the 8th February; and the number of such permits that were issued to employés of British film companies?

The number of cinematograph operators' permits issued in connection with the State opening of Parliament by His Majesty the King on the 8th instant, was 16. As regards the second part of the question, all that can be said is that the companies to whom the permits were issued have registered offices in this country. No permits were refused except in one instance, where the limited accommodation available had already been allotted at the time the application was received.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury how many offices used by Government officials throughout the country are rented, and what is the annual cost?

Approximately 2,800 offices occupied by Government officials are rented by the Office of Works at an annual expenditure of £686,000. This figure is exclusive of post offices and telephone exchanges.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury what exceptions are allowed to the general Civil Service rule for Crown servants that candidature for Parliament involves resignation from the service?

The existing rule, under which candidature for Parliament involves resignation from the service, is at present applicable to all civil servants. The Government have already announced their intention of giving effect to the conclusions on this matter, in so far as they were unanimous, of the Blanesburgh Committee on the Parliamentary, etc., Candidature of Crown Servants. The broad effect of this decision is that the rule, as stated above, will be applied to all Crown servants with the exception of industrial staffs under the Fighting Departments.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether any representations have been made to his Department relative to the policy of the Government of India in artificially maintaining the rate of exchange at 1s. 6d.; and whether any action is contemplated in this regard?

I would refer the hon. and gallant Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Finsbury (Mr. Gillett) on the 13th of December last. As regards the second part of the question the Bill, drafted to give effect to the recommendation of the recent Royal Commission in regard to the ratio, is now before the Indian Legislature.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he is in a position to make any statement as to a conference of Colonial governors and senior officials to be held in London this year?

I am arranging for a Colonial Office Conference to he held in London in May next, at which most of the non-self-governing Colonies, Protectorates and Mandated Territories will be represented either by the Governor or by a senior official. This conference will be of an experimental nature, and its primary object will be to explore the desirability of holding Colonial conferences of a more comprehensive nature at fixed intervals, and to consider the possibility of setting up any other machinery to secure more effective co-operation between Colonial Governments in matters of general administration, economic development, scientific and technical research. The Conference will open on the 10th May, and I anticipate that it will last about three weeks.

asked the Home Secretary the number of proceedings that have been instituted during each of the last three years for breaches of the Business Names Act; and what steps are taken by his Department in order to compel firms to comply with the Act in question?

I have been asked to reply. The number of prosecutions instituted by the Board of Trade during each of the last three years for breaches of the Registration of Business Names Act, 1916, is as follows:

asked the Home Secretary whether he is aware of the case of Max Luhr, who was born in Heligoland, lived in this country from the age of two, was interned during the War and on release went to Hamburg, had three brothers who served in the British Army during the War, and has only been allowed to visit this country once since, namely, in 1923; and whether he will reconsider the possibility of granting a permit to this man to enter this country for permanent or, at any rate, temporary residence?

I went fully into the matter some time ago, and, on consideration of all the circumstances, I came to the decision that this man's return to the United Kingdom ought not to be facilitated. I fear I must adhere to that decision.

asked the Home Secretary if he has received representations from the Uxbridge magistrates urging that the whole or part of a fine for breach of the Factory Act be applied for the benefit of the injured person or his family; and whether any action is contemplated in this regard?

I assume that the hon. Member is referring to a case in which a workman named Lewis Sidney May was killed by an electric shock whilst working in a brickfield near Uxbridge. In view of the magistrates' representations, and after inquiry into the circumstances of the family, I directed that a sum of £50 out of the fines should be applied for the benefit of the deceased workman's mother. This amount was paid to her on the 8th instant.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that Mrs. L. Lancaster, of Knaresborough, Yorkshire, whose husband died 1st July, 1925, and was an insured person from the beginning of the Health Insurance Act, Mrs. Lancaster also being an insured person, has been informed that her pension of 10s. a week for herself and 5s. for her daughter until the age of 14 under the Widows' and Orphans' Pensions Act will both cease when the daughter attains 14, which will be 23rd August next; and what is the reason for stopping Mrs. Lancaster's pension?

Reference has been made to the official papers relating to Mrs. Lancaster's pension, but these contain nothing to suggest that the information referred to, which is entirely incorrect, was given by my Department. As the husband died before the commencement of the Act, Mrs. Lan- caster's pension will, in accordance with the provisions of Section 18, cease to be payable six months after her daughter attains the age of 14. The allowance for her daughter will continue to be payable after she attains 14, only if and so long as she remains at school, and will in any event terminate when she reaches 16.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, in reference to the friendly agreement with the United States as to searching British vessels, whether he can state What other nations made similar agreements; and what nations refused or stipulated for special concessions in return?

The following countries, as far as my information goes, have concluded with the United States conventions for the regulation of the liquor traffic similar to that concluded between His Majesty's Government and the Government of the United States: The Dominion of Canada, Cuba, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden Spain and Panama. I have no information regarding the second part of the hon. and gallant Member's question beyond what may be gathered from the texts of the Conventions themselves, as published.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he is in a position to state the views of His Majesty's Government on the question of the renewal, termination, or revision of Congo and Zambesi basin agreements; and, if not, whether he will forthwith consult with the Colonial Office on this subject?

I assume the hon. and gallant Member refers to the general Act of Berlin and the general Act and Declaration of Brussels. These were revised by the Convention signed at St. Germain on the 10th of September, 1919.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs which of the signatories have ratified and which have not yet ratified the Treaty of Lausanne and the Straits Convention; and whether any and, if so, what reservations have been made by any of the signatories or by any of the Dominions of the British Empire with regard to their obligations under the Straits Convention?

The Treaty of Lausanne has beer ratified on behalf of

• The British Empire,
• France,
• Italy,
• Japan,
• Greece,
• Turkey.

asked the Postmaster-General the amount deposited in the Trustee Savings B talks and the Post Office Savings Bank on the 31st December, 1925 and 1926, respectively?

(1) Balance due to depositors in the Post Office Savings Bank: