asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will give a list of the treaties, other than commercial treaties and conventions, concluded since 1924 between nations members of the League of Nations and between members of the League and nations not members of the League, giving the date of their signature and ratification, the date of their registration with the League of Nations secretariat, under Article 18 of the Covenant, and noting in which cases their terms have not been published?

Under Article 18 of the Covenant every treaty entered into by any member of the League has to be registered with the secretariat before it is binding. As I informed the hon. Member on the 6th instant, I am not aware that any treaties since 1919 between States members of the League have not been so registered, and this applies equally to treaties between members and non-members. Nor have I any reason to suppose that such treaties, with all necessary particulars, are not forthwith published by the League, under Article 18, in the 'League of Nations Treaty Series. I would therefore invite the hon. Member to refer to that publication, of which he will find a copy in the Library of the House.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether, in view of the fact that the Venezuelan Court at Puerto Cabello has found Captain Brining, of the British steamer "Ninian," not guilty of manslaughter, and that this officer is still in custody, he will state what steps are being taken to secure his immediate release?

His Majesty's Minister at Caracas has reported that the confirmation by a superior Court of Captain Brining's acquittal will be completed in a few days. Everything is being done to secure Captain Brining's release at the earliest possible moment.

asked the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs whether the composition of the Oversea Settlement Committee has been brought to his notice, especially in regard to the importance of the House of Commons representation not being confined to one political party?

I agree with my hon. and gallant Friend that the members of this House who serve on the Oversea Settlement Committee should not be confined to one political party. The constitution of the Committee is at present receiving consideration, and the question of arranging representation for all political parties will not be lost sight of. I would, however, invite my hon. and gallant Friend's attention to the fact that of the three Members of this House who are now members of the Committee, one is my hon. Friend the Member for the Rushcliffe Division of Nottingham-shire (Mr. Betterton), who serves on the Committee as Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Labour, the others being the hon. Member for Rothwell (Mr. Lunn), who is a former Chairman of the Committee, and the hon. Member for Wallsend (Miss Bordfield).

asked the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs what has been the total amount of expenditure by the Empire Marketing Board an advertising Home-grown produce and Dominion and Colonial produce, respectively; how much has been spent on advertising Scottish produce; and how much has been spent upon advertisements in Scotland?

It is not the policy of the Empire Marketing Board to draw any clear line between its expenditure on the advertising of home and oversea produce, or to allocate special sums to the advertising of the products of particular countries. I am, therefore, unable to give the particulars desired by my hon. Friend. As I have explained in answer to previous questions, the Board gives precedence to the claims of the home, including, of course, the Scottish producer.In reply to the second part of the question, the information for which the hon. and gallant Member asks could not be ascertained without an amount of labour which I do not feel would be justified; and the information would in any case be misleading inasmuch as many newspapers published in England circulate widely in Scotland, and vice versa.

asked the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs the amount granted by the Empire Marketing Board to the Rowett Institute; and on what conditions and in what circumstances it has been granted?

A grant of £2,000 per annum for five years for an investigation into the mineral contents of natural pastures has been made to the Rawett Institute, whose Director is also supervising a series of similar investigations in the Empire overseas. A grant of £3,000 per annum for two years has also been made to the Institute for a closely related research into certain dietetic questions which is being conducted chiefly in Kenya. In addition a capital grant of £2,000 and a maintenance grant of £500 per annum for five years have been made to the Institute to enable it to join in a scheme of poultry research, the centre of which will, however, be in Northern Ireland. The grants are in all cases made through the Board of Agriculture for Scotland.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what recent developments have taken place with regard to the amended Conscription Bill of Kenya?

The hon. Member no doubt refers to the Kenya Defence Force Bill. I am awaiting the usual authenticated copies of the Bill.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the number of proof gallons of British spirits distilled in England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, respectively, in the years ended 31st March, 1926 and 1927?

The particulars required are as follow:British spirits distilled in England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, respectively, in the years ended 31st March, 1926 and 1927:

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the number of clubs and the Club Duty received in England and Scotland, respectively, during the year ended 31st March, 1927?

The number of clubs charged with Club Duty in (a) England and Wales, and (b) Scotland during the year ended 31st March, 1927, with the duty received, is as follows:

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the net receipts of Customs and Excise for the year ended 31st March, 1927, in respect of beer, home spirits, foreign and Colonial spirits, wine, Liquor Licences, Monopoly Value, and Club Duty?

The net amount of Customs and Excise revenue derived from beer, home-made spirits, imported spirits, wine, Liquor Licences, Monopoly Values and Club Duty during the year ended 31st March, 1927, was as follows:

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury the number of £1 and 10s. currency notes in circulation on the 1st day of April in each of the years from 1920 to 1927?

The following were the amounts in circulation on the first Wednesday in April in each of the years 1920 to 1927:

asked the Secretary for Mines the average time underground per shift in each mining district in Great Britain?

The average time underground per shift consists of the nominal 7½ 8 hours as the case may be, plus the average time spent underground on account of winding time. The number of minutes to be added in each district on account of winding time is discussed on page 269 of the recent Royal Commission's Report. The resulting figures, to the nearest 15 minutes,, in the larger districts are as follow:—Scotland, Lancashire and Cheshire, Staffordshire and South Wales 8½ hours, Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire and Derby eight hours, Northumberland and Durham 7¾ hours for hewers, and 8¼ to 8½ hours for others.

asked the Postmaster-General the number of auxiliary postmen employed for each of the last five years?

The approximate number of auxiliary postmen and postwomen employed during the last five years is as follows:

asked the Minister of Labour whether, in the interests of men really seeking work, he could instruct the Employment Exchange superintendents to make the hours for signing on in the afternoon instead of in the morning?

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given on the 16th June last to a similar question put down by the hon. and gallant Member for Dulwich (Sir F. Hall). I am sending him a copy of that reply.

asked the Minister of Transport what is the estimated expenditure out of the Road Fund upon Scottish Roads for the current year?

I am unable to state the amount which will be actually spent in the year, but it is estimated that the allocation to Scottish authorities, out of the revenues of the Road Fund available for distribution in grants during the current year, will amount to £2,110,000. This sum does not include any payments towards expenditure incurred on works still in hand, towards which grants have been made in previous years.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what were the total imports and exports from Northumberland and Durham ports in 1913, 1919, and 1926?

The following statement shows the value of merchandise imported into and exported from Northumberland and Durham ports during the years specified. Similar particulars for 1925 have been added in view of the special effects on the activities of the ports in question which resulted from the coal dispute of last year: