asked the President of the Board of Trade whether it is proposed to resume the publication of the Statistical Abstract for Foreign Countries, which was discontinued after the outbreak of the great War?

As my hon. Friend may be aware, the League of Nations issue certain publications, the general purpose of which is similar to that of the Statistical Abstract for Foreign Countries formerly issued in this country, namely, an annual Memorandum on Balance of Payments and Foreign Trade Balances, in two volumes, and an annual International Statistical Year Book. In addition to these yearly publications, a number of special reports and memoranda prepared for the recent International Economic Conference at Geneva have been published by the League of Nations. A list of these is given on the covers of the Report of the Conference, which has also been published.In the circumstances, I doubt whether the cost and labour involved in resuming the publication of the Statistical Abstract could be justified, at least for the present. I will, however, bear the matter in mind.

asked the President of the Board of Trade the amount of Empire brandy imported into this country during the first five months of this year and of the two preceding years?

I have been asked to reply. The imports of brandy consigned from Empire countries and mandated territories, in the first five months of 1925, 1926 and 1827 were:

					Proof Gallons.
1925	…	…	…	…	3,686
1926	…	…	…	…	1,322
1927	…	…	…	…	2,901

asked the President of the Board of Trade (1) how many permits for the export of rifles were issued during the months of February, March and April in 1926 and 1927, respectively; whether he will state the countries to which they were sent; the quantities to each in the two periods, respectively; and what proportion, if any, were supplied by Government arsenals;

pursuant to his reply [OFFICIAL REPORT, 24th May, 1927; col. 1,813] supplied the following statement:Five licences to export military rifles to foreign countries were issued during each of the periods February, March and April, 1926 and 1927. The particulars asked for by the hon. Member are given in the statement below. None of these rifles were supplied by Government arsenals.

February, March and April, 1926.
Number of Rifles.				Destination.
12	…	…	…	Esthonia
2	…	…	…	Greece
11	…	…	…	Afghanistan
50	…	…	…	Afghanistan
2	…	…	…	Greece

February, March and April, 1927.
Number of Rifles.				Destination.
30	…	…	…	Turkey
2	…	…	…	Lithuania
3	…	…	…	Roumania
2	…	…	…	Portugal
2	…	…	…	Lithuania

No licences were issued for the export of arms to Japan in the period February, March and April, 1926, but four licences, particulars of which are given below, were issued in the corresponding period of 192f. None of the articles specified were supplied by Government arsenals.(1.)

asked the Minister of Health whether, in view of the anxiety of the public, he can state a definite date on which he will be able to make an announcement of the Government's policy for the future of the Rent Restrictions Act?

No, Sir; but, as I have previously stated, I hope to be in a position to make a statement before the end of the Session.

asked the Postmaster General if he is aware of the delay in the delivery of correspondence addressed to members of the Shanghai Defence Force; and what steps have been taken by his Department to facilitate the delivery of such correspondence?

I am not aware of any delay in the delivery of correctly addressed correspondence for the Shanghai Defence Force. Such correspondence is sent to the Army Post Office attached to the force and is delivered in accordance with the location for the time being of the unit addressed. If unauthorised forms of address are used, delay may arise through the correspondence being sent to the Chinese Post Office for delivery at a civil address.

asked the Home Secretary the number of children born an prisons in this country for each of the last 10 years?

The numbers of children born in prison in England and Wales during each of the 10 years from 1916–17 to 1925–26 were 28, 33, 21, 24, 19, 23, 18, 10, 15, and 15.

asked the Home Secretary the number of prisoners removed from prisons to mental institutions during each of the last 10 years?

The figures are as follow:

Prisoners in England and Wales removed to Mental Institutions in each of the 10 years 1916–17 to 1925–26.
	Removed under
	The Mental Deficiency Act, 1913, Section 9.		The Criminal Lunatics Act, 1884,Section 2.
1916–17	…	29	125
1917–18	…	38	101
1918–19	…	63	97
1919–20	…	102	89
1920–21	…	91	112
1921–22	…	57	102
1922–33	…	66	134
1922–24	…	57	104
1924–25	…	24	114
1925–26	…	43	106

Persons dealt with under Section 8 of the Mental Deficiency Act, 1913, criminal lunatics ordered by a Court to be detained during His Majesty's pleasure, and persons received into mental institutions on discharge from prison on expiry of sentence, are not included. More details will be found in the Annual Reports of the Commissioners of Prisons; see, for instance, Cmd. 2826, pp. 27 and 31.

asked the Home Secretary the number of prisoners removed from prisons to undergo operations for each of the last 10 years?

It is not practicable to confine the answer to removals for operations. The numbers of prisoners removed, under Section 17 (6) of the Criminal Justice Administration Act. 1914, for surgical or medical treatment which could not be given in prison in each of the 10 years from 1916–17 to 1925–26, were 20, 26, 22, 72, 54, 86, 66, 57, 82, 95. Further details will be found in the Annual Reports of the Commissioners of Prisons; see, for instance, Cmd. 2826, pp. 27 and 31.

asked the Home Secretary the number of persons who have been convicted of driving a motor car without a licence, or with an expired licence, for the 12 months ended to the last convenient date?

Statistics for the whole country are not available. During the 12 months ended 31st March, 1927, 2,903 persons were convicted in the Metropolitan police district of driving a motor car without being in possession of a current driving licence.