asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he will give further consideration to General Request 71 of the 1924 Welfare Conference that attendance at divine service on Sundays of all religious denominations be made optional?

The Board are not prepared to alter the existing rule in this matter.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether, seeing that the Admiralty are placing large orders with private firms for shipbuilding and thus reducing the amount of work going to His Majesty's dockyards, he can make it a condition, when giving contracts to private firms, that they shall absorb some portion of the discharged men from His Majesty's dockyards should these men be disposed to take up the employment?

It is not a fact that the Admiralty are giving a greater proportion of work to private firms than formerly. In view of the unemployment which prevails in the shipbuilding industry generally, the hon. Member's suggestion is not one which the Admiralty could in fairness adopt.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether, seeing that £150,000 and £100,000 were spent on repairs of Admiralty overseas oil-tankers at private yards during the years 1924–25 and 1925–26, respectively, as contrasted with £34,350 and £2,568 spent on similar work at His Majesty's Dockyards, he will consider the possibility of giving a larger proportion of this repair work to His Majesty's Dockyards?

Repairs to Admiralty overseas oil-tankers are effected at His Majesty's Dockyards in so far as the economical employment of these vessels will permit. The smallness of the amount of repair work which it was possible to carry out in the Royal Dockyards in 1925–26 was due to exceptional circumstances.

asked the Secretary of State for War the estimated annual cost of the Somerset Light Infantry machine gun battalion as compared with the annual cost of an ordinary infantry battalion?

This unit is on a purely experimental basis, and while at this stage it is not possible to give a precise estimate, I do not anticipate that there will be a great difference in the annual cost.

asked the President of the Board of Trade the number of prosecutions and convictions obtained under the Registration of Business Names Act to the last convenient date; and separately the number of prosecutions that have taken place for the 12 months ended to the last convenient date?

The Board of Trade instituted legal proceedings under the Act referred to in 215 cases down to the 30th April, 1927; and in 179 cases convictions were obtained. The figures for the 12 months ended on the 30th April, 1927, are:—prosecutions, 24; convictions, 19. These figures do not include proceedings instituted by the police or by members of the public.

asked the Minister of Health if his attention has been called to the recent case of King v. Southwark Guardians, ex parte Peabody Donation Fund, and if he is prepared to take steps to protect the interests of parents making the statutory declarations of belief that vaccination would be prejudicial to the health of their children by amending the Vaccination Orders of 1898 and 1907, so as to ensure that such statutory declarations shall not be open to public inspection?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. As regards the second part, as the register required to be kept, under the Vaccination Act of 1867, would still be open to inspection, it does not appear that the course suggested would serve any useful purpose.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware that dissatisfaction has been aroused among the postal indoor staff at Newport, Monmouth, by the passing over of the two senior sorting clerks and telegraphists, Mr. F. J. Turner and Mr. A. W. Ivins, in the filling of a vacant overseership; if he is aware that it is the opinion of the staff that due consideration was not given to the merits of these officers; that Mr. A. W. Ivins was the senior sorting clerk and telegraphist on the acting list for 12 months and had performed the overseer's duties, including the pay duty; that further dissatisfaction has been created by the removal of Mr. F. J. Turner's name from the 1927 acting list; that it is felt that too little credit has been allowed for the difficult circumstances under which Mr. Turner worked when in charge of the Llanhilleth Sub-office from June to September, 1926; and whether he will have inquiry made into the passing over of these two officers and consider the immediate reinclusion of Mr. Turner's name on the acting list for 1927?

The case of Mr. Ivins has already been before me, and I am satisfied that he is not so well qualified for promotion as the officer

asked the Home Secretary the number of children in industrial and reformatory schools in 1914 and 1926?

asked the Minister of Labour the number of persons in the hosiery trade who are unemployed and partially employed, respectively, at this date and at the corresponding date last year?

At 25th April, 1927, the number of persons classified as belonging to the hosiery trade recorded as unemployed in Great Britain was 7,455, of whom 4,815 were temporarily stopped from the service of their employers. The corresponding figures for 26th April, 1926, were 5,927 unemployed, including 3,584 temporarily stopped.

asked the Minister of Labour the total number of persons employed in the boot and shoe trade in July, 1925, and July, 1926, and give the percentage of workers unemployed and partially employed, respectively, in that industry at those dates and at this date?

The following Table gives the information desired:

On the 31st December, 1914, the number of children in these schools sent by order of Court was 18,976. On the 31st December, 1926, the number was 6,871.

asked the Home Secretary what number of inspectors of industrial and reformatory schools have had experience of administration and teaching in the schools; and whether promotion to the inspectorate is possible in the case of head teachers of such schools, and how many have been promoted?

There are eight inspectors attached to the Children's Branch of the Home Office who inspect reformatory and industrial schools and perform other duties. None of them were at any time employed in these schools, but they all have medical, teaching or other special qualifications for which they were selected for this work. There is nothing to prevent a member of the staff of the schools being appointed as an inspector on a vacancy occurring if a candidate with suitable qualifications were forthcoming.